"It is not this danger which I fear for him," replied the Prince; "but the unpractical theories and disturbing ideas which are there promulgated." "Yet we should learn what one has to battle against," rejoined the Lord High Steward. "Does your Highness think, from the varied experience which you have attained through a highly intellectual life, that an acquaintance with these ideas is so dangerous?" "Does a person go to hell in order to become pious?" asked the Prince, good-humoredly. "A great poet having ventured this," replied the Lord High Steward, "wrote his divine poem; and my gracious lord, who himself has always preserved a warm interest in learned pursuits, considers our Universities at best a species of mild purgatory. If an infernal flame should cling to the soil of our illustrious Prince after his return from this place, it will soon be eradicated by the high interests of his princely calling." "Yes," assented the Prince, with lofty expression, "there is a consecration in the office of princes which fits even a weak man for the great interests which he has to grapple with through his life. But, your Excellence, it is difficult to observe without contemptuous pity the sentimental fools' paradise of the new rulers, and hear the old phrases of love and confidence believed in and spoken of by princely mouths. Undoubtedly these popular ebullitions are transitory, and many of us older ones have once indulged in dreams, and endeavoured to plant green moss where it has been withered by the sun; but the fearful dangers of the present times make such wavering more dangerous to the new rulers, and false steps in the beginning of a reign may often ruin the position of the ruler afterwards." The Lord High Steward replied apologetically: "It is perhaps well to be wiser than others, but to be more moderate is at no period advantageous. Still a little poetry and youthful enthusiasm may be allowed to our princes; and if I therefore venture to recommend a visit to the University for his Highness, the Hereditary Prince, it is with the satisfactory feeling that in doing so I express your Highness's own opinion." The Prince looked sharply at the Lord High Steward, and a sudden cloud passed over his brow. "How should you know what my secret thoughts are?" "That would be quite a vain attempt with your Highness," replied the old courtier, gently, "and it would little benefit an old servant to spy into the secret thoughts of his master. But your Highness has always hitherto given the Hereditary Prince tutors and attendants who were not military. This leads every one to a conclusion respecting your Highness's wishes." "You are right, as always," said the Prince, appeased. "It is a pleasure to me to find that your views coincide with mine. For it is a serious decision that I have to make; it robs me for a long time of the company of my dear Benno."