You will throw the army into
Jugendheit, and there will follow a bloody war. For I have to inform you
that the prince regent, recognizing the false position he is in, has
taken the ram by the horns. His troops are already bivouacked on the
other side of the pass. This I learned to-day. He will not strike first;
he will wait for you."
"I will have my revenge!" stubbornly.
"Father, listen to me. _I_ am the affronted person; _I_, I alone, have
the right to say what shall be done in the matter. And I say to you if
you do these cruel things, dismiss his excellency and bring war and
death to Ehrenstein, I will never forgive you, never, never! You are
wrong, wrong, and I, your daughter, tell you so frankly. Leave it to me.
There will be neither war nor humiliation."
As the duke gazed at her the wrath gathering in his throat receded and
his admiration grew. His daughter! She was a princess, indeed, as she
stood there, fearless, resolute, beautiful. And her very beauty gave
recurrence to his wrath. A fool of a king he was, a fool of a king!
"My dear child," he said, "I have suffered too much at the hands of
Jugendheit. It was my daughter the first time; it is my honor now,"
proudly.
"Will it balance war and devastation?" the girl asked quietly.
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