"A face of great strength," she said to herself, "but his thin, straight
lips, tightly compressed, seemed cruel, as well as determined." With a
flash of comprehension she understood now her guardian's warning not to
thwart him. It was easy to credit the acknowledged fact that this man
dominated the other two. Nevertheless, when he spoke his voice was
surprisingly mild.
"Madam," he said, "we are met here in an hour of grave anxiety. The
Emperor, who has been ill for some time, is now upon his death-bed, and
the physicians who attend him inform me that at any moment we may be
called upon to elect his successor. That successor has already been
chosen; chosen, I may add, in an informal manner, but his selection is
not likely to be canceled, unless by some act of his own which would
cause us to reconsider our decision. Our adoption was made very recently
in my castle of Ehrenfels, and we are come together again in the Castle
of my brother Treves, not in our sacred office as Archbishops, but in
our secular capacity as Electors of the Empire, to determine a matter
which we consider of almost equal importance.
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