The King. Why not? The Princess. Well, suppose some day you are "joined in the bonds of holy matrimony," as the parsons so beautifully put it? The King. If I were, it would be for the sake of knowing what family life is. The Princess. Like any other citizen? The King. Precisely. The Princess. Are you going to keep no servants? The King. As many as are necessary--but no more. The Princess. Then I must secure a place as chambermaid in your Majesty's household as soon as possible. Because if my financial circumstances are inquired into there will be nothing else left for me but that! The King. You have too sacred a vocation for that, Princess! The Princess. How pretty! Your Majesty is a poet, and poets are allowed to be enthusiastic about ideals. But the people are poets too, in their way; they like their figure-head to be well gilded, and don't mind paying for it. That is their poetry. The King. Are you certain of that? The Princess. Absolutely certain! It is a point of honour with them. The King. Then I have to weigh my honour against theirs! And my honour forbids me--for the honour of my people and their poetry--to keep up my palaces, my guards, and my court any longer! _Voila tout_! The Princess. My dear King, certain positions carry with them certain duties! The King. Then I know higher duties than those!--But, Princess, here are we two seriously discussing-- The Princess. Yes, but there is something at the bottom of it that is not to be laughed away. All tradition and all experience proclaim it to be the truth that a king--the kingly majesty--should be a dignity apart; and should be the ultimate source of law, surrounded with pomp and circumstance, and secure behind the fortified walls of wealth, rank, and hereditary nobility. If he steps out of that magic circle, the law's authority is weakened. The King. Has your Royal Highness breakfasted yet? The Princess. No. (Bursts out laughing.) The King. Because, if you had, I should have had great pleasure is giving you a lesson in history; but on an empty stomach that would be cruel. The Princess. Do you know--you used to be such an entertaining king, but this last year you have become so tedious! The King. Most beautiful of princesses! Do you really mean to say that I rise and fall in your estimation according as I have my pretty royal gew-gaws on or not? The Princess. In my estimation? The King. Or in any one's? You know the story of "The Emperor's New Clothes"? The Princess. Yes. The King. We don't keep up that pretence any longer. The Princess. But will every one understand? The King. You understand, don't you? The Princess. The people or I--that is all the same, I suppose! You are very flattering. The King. Heaven forbid that I should lump your Royal Highness together with the common herd; but-- The Princess. We have already had proof of the fact that your Majesty does not hold the same place in _every one's_ estimation that you do in mine, at all events!