"Oh, my father!" said the young prince, throwing his arms around his father's neck. Then, to Benedict: "Yes, indeed, my poor father was in terrible fear. I was bathing in the sea at Nordeney. I can swim fairly well; but without perceiving it I let myself be carried away on a current; and, upon my word, I was on the point of sinking when I grasped the arm of an honest fisherman who had come to my assistance. One second more, and all would have been over with me." "And I was there," said the king. "I could hear his cries, I stretched my arms towards him--it was all I could do. Gloucester offered his kingdom for a horse: and I would gladly have given mine for a ray of light. Do not let us think of it. All the misfortunes of the future together are not more terrible than the shadow of that misfortune which did not happen." "And so, sire?" said Benedict. "And so I am convinced," said the king. "I have no need of further proofs. Let us pass on to the future." Benedict looked with great attention at the king's hand. He hesitated a moment and asked for a magnifying glass, to see more distinctly. It was brought. "Sire," he said, "you are about to be drawn into a great war. One of your nearest neighbours will not only betray, but will despoil you; and notwithstanding--look, monseigneur!" he said to the prince, "the line of the Sun shows victory: but an empty victory, useless, without fruit." "And then?" asked the king. "Oh, sire, what do I read in this hand!" "Good tidings, or bad?" "You told me to keep nothing from you, sire." "And I repeat it. Tell me then; this victory--" "This victory, as I have told Your Majesty, leads to nothing. Here is the Line of the Sun broken off above the Line of the Head by a line starting from Mars which also cuts the Mount of Jupiter." "And that foretells?" "A defeat. But however--No," said Benedict, seeking to read the most mysterious secrets from the royal hand; "moreover, it is not the last word of your destiny. Here is the Line of the Sun after its breakage starting afresh, reaching the ring-finger and stopping at its base. And there see further, above this line traversing Jupiter, a straight line like a furrow crowned with a star, as a sceptre is crowned with a diamond." "And that prophesies?" "Restoration." "Then according to you, I shall lose the throne and reconquer it?" Benedict turned towards the prince. "Your hand, if you please, monseigneur." The prince gave him his hand. "After the age of forty, monseigneur, the Line of Life sends a branch towards the Line of the Sun. At that period you will ascend the throne. This is all that I can tell you. Now, if you ascend the throne, prince, it can only mean that your father has either recovered or has never lost it." The king remained silent for a moment, resting his head on his left hand. He seemed gazing fixedly before him as if absorbed in some great idea. The most profound silence reigned in the apartment.