II + 

Concerning the Colour of MenтАЩs Hair + 

It was a maxim of my Uncle WilliamтАЩs that no man should pass through Paris without spending four-and-twenty hours there. My uncle spoke out of a ripe experience of the world, and I honoured his advice by putting up for a day and a night at The Continental on my way toтБатАФthe Tyrol. I called on George Featherly at the Embassy, and we had a bit of dinner together at DurandтАЩs, and afterwards dropped in to the Opera; and after that we had a little supper, and after that we called on Bertram Bertrand, a versifier of some repute and Paris correspondent to The Critic. He had a very comfortable suite of rooms, and we found some pleasant fellows smoking and talking. It struck me, however, that Bertram himself was absent and in low spirits, and when everybody except ourselves had gone, I rallied him on his moping preoccupation. He fenced with me for a while, but at last, flinging himself on a sofa, he exclaimed: + 

тАЬVery well; have it your own way. I am in loveтБатАФinfernally in love!тАЭ + 

тАЬOh, youтАЩll write the better poetry,тАЭ said I, by way of consolation. + 

He ruffled his hair with his hand and smoked furiously. George Featherly, standing with his back to the mantelpiece, smiled unkindly. + 

тАЬIf itтАЩs the old affair,тАЭ said he, тАЬyou may as well throw it up, Bert. SheтАЩs leaving Paris tomorrow.тАЭ + 

тАЬI know that,тАЭ snapped Bertram. + 

тАЬNot that it would make any difference if she stayed,тАЭ pursued the relentless George. тАЬShe flies higher than the paper trade, my boy!тАЭ + 

тАЬHang her!тАЭ said Bertram. + 

тАЬIt would make it more interesting for me,тАЭ I ventured to observe, тАЬif I knew who you were talking about.тАЭ + 

тАЬAntoinette Mauban,тАЭ said George. + 

тАЬDe Mauban,тАЭ growled Bertram. + 

тАЬOho!тАЭ said I, passing by the question of the de. тАЬYou donтАЩt mean to say, BertтБатАФ?тАЭ + 

тАЬCanтАЩt you let me alone?тАЭ + 

тАЬWhereтАЩs she going to?тАЭ I asked, for the lady was something of a celebrity. + 

George jingled his money, smiled cruelly at poor Bertram, and answered pleasantly: + 

тАЬNobody knows. By the way, Bert, I met a great man at her house the other nightтБатАФat least, about a month ago. Did you ever meet himтБатАФthe Duke of Strelsau?тАЭ + 

тАЬYes, I did,тАЭ growled Bertram. + 

тАЬAn extremely accomplished man, I thought him.тАЭ + 

It was not hard to see that GeorgeтАЩs references to the duke were intended to aggravate poor BertramтАЩs sufferings, so that I drew the inference that the duke had distinguished Mme.┬аde Mauban by his attentions. She was a widow, rich, handsome, and, according to repute, ambitious. It was quite possible that she, as George put it, was flying as high as a personage who was everything he could be, short of enjoying strictly royal rank: for the duke was the son of the late King of Ruritania by a second and morganatic marriage, and half-brother to the new king. He had been his fatherтАЩs favourite, and it had occasioned some unfavourable comment when he had been created a duke, with a title derived from no less a city than the capital itself. His mother had been of good, but not exalted, birth. + 

тАЬHeтАЩs not in Paris now, is he?тАЭ I asked. + 

тАЬOh no! HeтАЩs gone back to be present at the kingтАЩs coronation; a ceremony which, I should say, heтАЩll not enjoy much. But, Bert, old man, donтАЩt despair! He wonтАЩt marry the fair AntoinetteтБатАФat least, not unless another plan comes to nothing. Still perhaps sheтБатАФтАЭ He paused and added, with a laugh: тАЬRoyal attentions are hard to resistтБатАФyou know that, donтАЩt you, Rudolf?тАЭ + 

тАЬConfound you!тАЭ said I; and rising, I left the hapless Bertram in GeorgeтАЩs hands and went home to bed. + 

The next day George Featherly went with me to the station, where I took a ticket for Dresden. + 

тАЬGoing to see the pictures?тАЭ asked George, with a grin. + 

George is an inveterate gossip, and had I told him that I was off to Ruritania, the news would have been in London in three days and in Park Lane in a week. I was, therefore, about to return an evasive answer, when he saved my conscience by leaving me suddenly and darting across the platform. Following him with my eyes, I saw him lift his hat and accost a graceful, fashionably dressed woman who had just appeared from the booking office. She was, perhaps, a year or two over thirty, tall, dark, and of rather full figure. As George talked, I saw her glance at me, and my vanity was hurt by the thought that, muffled in a fur coat and a neck-wrapper (for it was a chilly April day) and wearing a soft travelling hat pulled down to my ears, I must be looking very far from my best. A moment later, George rejoined me. + 

тАЬYouтАЩve got a charming travelling companion,тАЭ he said. тАЬThatтАЩs poor Bert BertrandтАЩs goddess, Antoinette de Mauban, and, like you, sheтАЩs going to DresdenтБатАФalso, no doubt, to see the pictures. ItтАЩs very queer, though, that she doesnтАЩt at present desire the honour of your acquaintance.тАЭ + 

тАЬI didnтАЩt ask to be introduced,тАЭ I observed, a little annoyed. + 

тАЬWell, I offered to bring you to her; but she said, тАШAnother time.тАЩ Never mind, old fellow, perhaps thereтАЩll be a smash, and youтАЩll have a chance of rescuing her and cutting out the Duke of Strelsau!тАЭ + 

No smash, however, happened, either to me or to Mme.┬аde Mauban. I can speak for her as confidently as for myself; for when, after a nightтАЩs rest in Dresden, I continued my journey, she got into the same train. Understanding that she wished to be let alone, I avoided her carefully, but I saw that she went the same way as I did to the very end of my journey, and I took opportunities of having a good look at her, when I could do so unobserved. + 

As soon as we reached the Ruritanian frontier (where the old officer who presided over the Custom House favoured me with such a stare that I felt surer than before of my Elphberg physiognomy), I bought the papers, and found in them news which affected my movements. For some reason, which was not clearly explained, and seemed to be something of a mystery, the date of the coronation had been suddenly advanced, and the ceremony was to take place on the next day but one. The whole country seemed in a stir about it, and it was evident that Strelsau was thronged. Rooms were all let and hotels overflowing; there would be very little chance of my obtaining a lodging, and I should certainly have to pay an exorbitant charge for it. I made up my mind to stop at Zenda, a small town fifty miles short of the capital, and about ten from the frontier. My train reached there in the evening; I would spend the next day, Tuesday, in a wander over the hills, which were said to be very fine, and in taking a glance at the famous castle, and go over by train to Strelsau on the Wednesday morning, returning at night to sleep at Zenda. + 

Accordingly at Zenda I got out, and as the train passed where I stood on the platform, I saw my friend Mme.┬аde Mauban in her place; clearly she was going through to Strelsau, having, with more providence than I could boast, secured apartments there. I smiled to think how surprised George Featherly would have been to know that she and I had been fellow travellers for so long. + 

I was very kindly received at the hotelтБатАФit was really no more than an innтБатАФkept by a fat old lady and her two daughters. They were good, quiet people, and seemed very little interested in the great doings at Strelsau. The old ladyтАЩs hero was the duke, for he was now, under the late kingтАЩs will, master of the Zenda estates and of the castle, which rose grandly on its steep hill at the end of the valley a mile or so from the inn. The old lady, indeed, did not hesitate to express regret that the duke was not on the throne, instead of his brother. + 

тАЬWe know Duke Michael,тАЭ said she. тАЬHe has always lived among us; every Ruritanian knows Duke Michael. But the king is almost a stranger; he has been so much abroad, not one in ten knows him even by sight.тАЭ + 

тАЬAnd now,тАЭ chimed in one of the young women, тАЬthey say he has shaved off his beard, so that no one at all knows him.тАЭ + 

тАЬShaved his beard!тАЭ exclaimed her mother. тАЬWho says so?тАЭ + 

тАЬJohann, the dukeтАЩs keeper. He has seen the king.тАЭ + 

тАЬAh, yes. The king, sir, is now at the dukeтАЩs hunting lodge in the forest here; from here he goes to Strelsau to be crowned on Wednesday morning.тАЭ + 

I was interested to hear this, and made up my mind to walk next day in the direction of the lodge, on the chance of coming across the king. The old lady ran on garrulously: + 

тАЬAh, and I wish he would stay at his shootingтБатАФthat and wine (and one thing more) are all he loves, they sayтБатАФand suffer our duke to be crowned on Wednesday. That I wish, and I donтАЩt care who knows it.тАЭ + 

тАЬHush, mother!тАЭ urged the daughters. + 

тАЬOh, thereтАЩs many to think as I do!тАЭ cried the old woman stubbornly. + 

I threw myself back in my deep armchair, and laughed at her zeal. + 

тАЬFor my part,тАЭ said the younger and prettier of the two daughters, a fair, buxom, smiling wench, тАЬI hate Black Michael! A red Elphberg for me, mother! The king, they say, is as red as a fox or asтБатАФтАЭ + 

And she laughed mischievously as she cast a glance at me, and tossed her head at her sisterтАЩs reproving face. + 

тАЬMany a man has cursed their red hair before now,тАЭ muttered the old ladyтБатАФand I remembered James, fifth Earl of Burlesdon. + 

тАЬBut never a woman!тАЭ cried the girl. + 

тАЬAye, and women, when it was too late,тАЭ was the stern answer, reducing the girl to silence and blushes. + 

тАЬHow comes the king here?тАЭ I asked, to break an embarrassed silence. тАЬIt is the dukeтАЩs land here, you say.тАЭ + 

тАЬThe duke invited him, sir, to rest here till Wednesday. The duke is at Strelsau, preparing the kingтАЩs reception.тАЭ + 

тАЬThen theyтАЩre friends?тАЭ + 

тАЬNone better,тАЭ said the old lady. + 

But my rosy damsel tossed her head again; she was not to be repressed for long, and she broke out again: + 

тАЬAye, they love one another as men do who want the same place and the same wife!тАЭ + 

The old woman glowered; but the last words pricked my curiosity, and I interposed before she could begin scolding: + 

тАЬWhat, the same wife, too! HowтАЩs that, young lady?тАЭ + 

тАЬAll the world knows that Black MichaelтБатАФwell, then, mother, the dukeтБатАФwould give his soul to marry his cousin, the Princess Flavia, and that she is to be the queen.тАЭ + 

тАЬUpon my word,тАЭ said I, тАЬI begin to be sorry for your duke. But if a man will be a younger son, why, he must take what the elder leaves, and be as thankful to God as he can;тАЭ and, thinking of myself, I shrugged my shoulders and laughed. And then I thought also of Antoinette de Mauban and her journey to Strelsau. + 

тАЬItтАЩs little dealing Black Michael has withтБатАФтАЭ began the girl, braving her motherтАЩs anger; but as she spoke a heavy step sounded on the floor, and a gruff voice asked in a threatening tone: + 

тАЬWho talks of тАШBlack MichaelтАЩ in his HighnessтАЩs own burgh?тАЭ + 

The girl gave a little shriek, half of frightтБатАФhalf, I think, of amusement. + 

тАЬYouтАЩll not tell of me, Johann?тАЭ she said. + 

тАЬSee where your chatter leads,тАЭ said the old lady. + 

The man who had spoken came forward. + 

тАЬWe have company, Johann,тАЭ said my hostess, and the fellow plucked off his cap. A moment later he saw me, and, to my amazement, he started back a step, as though he had seen something wonderful. + 

тАЬWhat ails you, Johann?тАЭ asked the elder girl. тАЬThis is a gentleman on his travels, come to see the coronation.тАЭ + 

The man had recovered himself, but he was staring at me with an intense, searching, almost fierce glance. + 

тАЬGood evening to you,тАЭ said I. + 

тАЬGood evening, sir,тАЭ he muttered, still scrutinizing me, and the merry girl began to laugh as she called: + 

тАЬSee, Johann, it is the colour you love! He started to see your hair, sir. ItтАЩs not the colour we see most of here in Zenda.тАЭ + 

тАЬI crave your pardon, sir,тАЭ stammered the fellow, with puzzled eyes. тАЬI expected to see no one.тАЭ + 

тАЬGive him a glass to drink my health in; and IтАЩll bid you good night, and thanks to you, ladies, for your courtesy and pleasant conversation.тАЭ + 

So speaking, I rose to my feet, and with a slight bow turned to the door. The young girl ran to light me on the way, and the man fell back to let me pass, his eyes still fixed on me. The moment I was by, he started a step forward, asking: + 

тАЬPray, sir, do you know our king?тАЭ + 

тАЬI never saw him,тАЭ said I. тАЬI hope to do so on Wednesday.тАЭ + 

He said no more, but I felt his eyes following me till the door closed behind me. My saucy conductor, looking over her shoulder at me as she preceded me upstairs, said: + 

тАЬThereтАЩs no pleasing Master Johann for one of your colour, sir.тАЭ + 

тАЬHe prefers yours, maybe?тАЭ I suggested. + 

тАЬI meant, sir, in a man,тАЭ she answered, with a coquettish glance. + 

тАЬWhat,тАЭ asked I, taking hold of the other side of the candlestick, тАЬdoes colour matter in a man?тАЭ + 

тАЬNay, but I love yoursтБатАФitтАЩs the Elphberg red.тАЭ + 

тАЬColour in a man,тАЭ said I, тАЬis a matter of no more moment than that!тАЭтБатАФand I gave her something of no value. + 

тАЬGod send the kitchen door be shut!тАЭ said she. + 

тАЬAmen!тАЭ said I, and left her. + 

In fact, however, as I now know, colour is sometimes of considerable moment to a man. + 