At the end of a quarter of an hour, the door opened, the count hearing the _frou frou_ of a satin dress, turned and bowed low before a woman of forty to forty-five years of age, who had evidently possessed great beauty and was indeed still beautiful. Perhaps, if the "Almanach de Gotha" were consulted, it would be found that the lady was rather older than this, but as the proverb says: "A woman is as old as she looks," and I see no reason why queens should be excepted. The lady was Queen Marie Louise Augusta Catherine, daughter of Charles Frederic, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and known throughout Europe as the Queen Augusta. She was of medium height--is best described by the essentially French word _attrayant_. She wore on her left arm the feminine Order of Queen Louise of Prussia. She passed the minister slowly and somewhat haughtily, saluting him indeed, but without her usual kindness. By the doors through which she passed the count understood she had been with the king, and was now returning to her own apartments. The queen had left the door belonging to the king's apartment open behind her, and the usher now intimated that the minister might enter. He waited, however, until the door had closed upon the queen. "Yes," he said, "it is true that I was not born a baron, but let us see what the future will do for me." And then he passed forward. The various lackeys or chamberlains whom he met hastened to open the doors leading to the audience-room. Reaching it the chamberlain announced in a loud voice: "His Excellency Count von Bismarck." The king started and turned round. He was standing before the chimney-piece, and heard the name of von Bismarck with some surprise, it being barely a quarter of an hour since the minister had left him. The count wondered if the king had already heard what had happened to him in the interval. He bowed low before His Majesty. "Sire," he said, "an event of great importance has recalled me to Your Majesty, but I see with regret that the moment is unfavourable--" "Why?" enquired the king. "Because I have just had the honour of meeting the queen in the ante-room, and not having the happiness of being in Her Majesty's good graces--" "Well, count, I admit that she does not see eye to eye with you." "She is wrong, sire, for my devotion belongs equally to my king and to my queen, and the one cannot become Emperor of Germany without the other becoming Empress." "A dream, my dear count, in which Queen Augusta unfortunately believes, but which is not the dream of a reasonable being." "Sire, the unity of Germany is as much decreed in the design of Providence as the unity of Italy." "Excellent," said the king, laughing; "can there be a united Italy while the Italians possess neither Rome nor Venice?" "Italy is in formation, sire. She began her march in '59 and will not stop on the way. If she looks like stopping, she is only taking breath. Indeed, have we not promised her Venice?"