“There goes the King!” said Von Glauben; “Majesty departs for the present, having so far satisfied his curiosity! That gun is the signal. Child!”--and turning towards her again, he took both her hands in his, and spoke with emphatic gravity and kindness--“Remember that I am your friend always! Whatever chances to you, do not forget that you may command my service and devotion till death! In this strange life, we never know from day to day what may happen to us, for constant change is the law of Nature and the universe,--but after all, there is something in the soul of a true man which does not change with the elements,--and that is--loyalty to a sworn faith! In my heart, I have sworn an oath of fealty to you, my beautiful little princess of the sea!--and it is a vow that shall never be broken! Do you understand? And will you remember?” Her large dark blue eyes looked trustingly into his. “Indeed, I will never forget!” she said, with a touch of wistfulness in her accents; “But I do not know why you should be anxious for me--there is nothing to fear for my happiness. I have all the love I care for in the world!” “And long may you keep it!” said the Professor earnestly; “Come! It will soon be time for me to leave you, and I must see Réné before I go. If you follow my advice, you will say nothing to him of having met the King--not for the present, at any rate.” She agreed to this, though with some little hesitation,--then they ascended the cliff, and walking by way of the pine-wood through which the King had come, arrived at Ronsard’s house, to find the old man quite alone, and peacefully engaged in tying up the roses and jessamine on the pillars of his verandah. His worn face lighted up with animation and tenderness as Gloria approached him and threw her arms around his neck, and to her he related the incident of the King and Queen’s unexpected visit, as a sort of accidental, uninteresting, and wholly unimportant occurrence. The Queen, he said, was very beautiful; but too cold in her manner, though she had certainly taken much interest in seeing the house and garden. “It was just as well you were absent, child,” he added--“Royalty brings an atmosphere with it which is not wholesome. A king never knows what it is to be an honest man!” “Those are your old, discarded theories, Ronsard!” said Von Glauben, shaking his head;--“You said you would never return to them!” “Aye!” rejoined Ronsard;--“I have tried to put away all my old thoughts and dreams for her sake”--and his gaze rested lovingly on Gloria as, standing on tiptoe to reach a down-drooping rose, she gathered it and fastened it in her bosom. “There should only be peace and contentment where _she_ dwells! But sometimes my life’s long rebellion against sham and injustice stirs in my blood, and I long to pull down the ignorant people’s idols of wood and straw, and set up men in place of dummies!”