The doctor, sipping his tea, at length inquired,—
"Does the Prince Pougatcheff hold property in this neighborhood? I saw him on the road just now. I recognized him, for I once met him at a costume-ball given by the French ambassador at Rome."
"The prince is our seigneur," replied the priest, who was a small man, of fresh complexion, and with eyes set widely apart in a round face.
"He has been a great traveller, if I am not mistaken," pursued the doctor, who had acquired a habit of placing people in a methodical fashion in his own memory. "I think he had just returned from a Nile journey when I met him."
"Our lord has been truly a great traveller," assented the priest, with discreet reticence.
The doctor nodded, seeking another thread of souvenir: "The prince spent his winters at Vienna and Paris, and his summers at Wiesbaden. He did not pass much of his time in Russia."
The priest took a lump of sugar between his finger and thumb, as he rejoined,—
"Our noble bârine was recalled by the Czar, and he prefers the province to the capital. He came here three years ago, and seldom quits the estate."
"He has some malady," suggested the doctor, quickly. "Is he truly ill?"
The priest shook his head and sighed: "No other malady than old age, between ourselves. He lives with his books and his pictures."
The coachman appeared at this moment, to announce that the tarantass would require some slight repairs before proceeding on the journey.
At the same time the traveller's papers were restored to him, as satisfactory, by the official.
The question of accommodation for the night was still under discussion, when the same light carriage noticed by the doctor on the road at an earlier hour drew up before the priest's house, and a servant alighted. This servant was a Swiss valet, very alert, deferential, and polished in manner, but with a flavor of Lucerne and Interlachen still lingering about him in a distant land.
"Fritz Hauser, if my eyes do not deceive me!" exclaimed Dr. Weisener, in surprise.
The valet smiled, and returned his greeting. The pair had last met at the Wengern Alp, where Fritz Hauser filled the post of secretary. This son of Helvetia rapidly explained that, a capricious world of fashion having deserted once popular resorts in favor of Hombourg and Norway, he had been tempted to try his fortunes in the service of the prince. Dr. Weisener, genuinely glad to encounter the honest fellow, shook hands with him. Fritz announced the object of his mission.
"His Excellency the Prince remembers having met the Herr Doctor at Rome," he said, resuming his capacity of menial, with a series of stiff bows. "His Excellency the Prince desires the Herr Doctor to return with me for dinner, and to pass the night at the château, instead of in the village. I have been sent to invite him."
