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THE PRINCESS.
Your majesty is very gracious.

THE KING.
And now that we are friends, I hope you will not keep up the jest any longer. The lady who is to be my wife and queen arrives in a few hours. You can see how necessary it is that the matter be cleared up before she comes. You will not continue to embarrass me?

THE PRINCESS.
Now that we are friends, I will tell you the truth.
I am not she who is to be your wife and queen.

THE KING.
Thank you. And in return, I forgive you freely for all
the disturbances you have caused to me and my kingdom.

THE PRINCESS.
I am sorry.

THE KING.
Of course, you did not understand what you were doing. You did not realize how necessary to a kingdom is the tranquillity which comes only from perfect order and regularity. There has not been such a day as this before in the history of my kingdom. And there will never be such a day again. Tomorrow all will be smooth and regular again.

THE PRINCESS.
Smooth and regular!
Do you mean that you like things always
to be the same, with never any change?

THE KING.
I happen to like it, yes. But it is not a question of what one likes. It is a question of what is necessary. Even if I did not like order, I would have to submit myself to its routine. That is what it means to be a king.

THE PRINCESS.
And is that what it means to be a queen?

THE KING.
In this kingdom, yes. In other places, there may be some relaxation of the traditional rule which compels a queen to be in every way a pattern to her subjects. But the queen of my kingdom will always be a model of perfect womanhood.

THE PRINCESS.
And what if she did not wish to be?

THE KING.
She would learn that her wishes were unimportant.

THE PRINCESS.
And if she refused to learn that?

THE KING.
( grimly )

I would teach her.

THE PRINCESS.
( with flashing eyes )

You mean you would make her obey?

THE KING.
That is a hard saying. But this kingdom has not been built up with centuries of blood and toil to be torn down at the whim of a foolish girl. I have a duty to perform, and that is to hand on the kingdom to my descendants as it was handed on to me from my great ancestors, Otho and Magnus, Carolus and Gavaine. And by the blood that once flowed in their veins and now flows in mine, I will so do it–and rather than fail, I would break into pieces a woman’s body and a wife’s heart.

THE PRINCESS.
I understand you fully. And may I go now?

THE KING.
First you must tell me who you are and how you came to play this mad prank.

THE PRINCESS.
Your majesty, I am only a foolish girl. I will not tell you my name, but I came from the kingdom of Basque.

THE KING.
Have you ever seen the Princess, by any chance?

THE PRINCESS.
I was in the royal caravan.

THE KING.
Then you know the Princess!

THE PRINCESS.
Not so well as I thought, your majesty. But I had heard so much talk of her coming marriage and of her great happiness, that there was nothing else in my mind. I dreamed of it day and night.