Fiction > Book editions > London, 1885 - Prince Otto

A ROMANCE ig
Otto passed liis hand among his locks. At
that moment he was far from happy, and even
the tedious evenings at Mittwalden Palace began
to smile upon him by comparison.
' 0, six-and-thirty ! ' he protested. • ' A man
is not yet old at six-and-thirty. I am that age
myself.'
' I should have taken you for more, sir,'
piped the old farmer. ' But if that be so, you
are of an age with Master Ottekin, as people
call him ; and, I would wager a crown, have
done more service in your time. Though it
seems young by comparison with men of a great
age like me, yet it's some way through life for
all that ; and the mere fools and fiddlers are
beginning to grow weary and to look old. Yes,
sir, by six-and-thirty, if a man be a follower of
God's laws, he should have made himself a home
and a good name to live by ; he should have
got a wife and a blessing on his marriage ; and
his works, as the Word says, should begin to
follow him.'
' Ah, well, the Prince is married,' cried
Pritz, with a coarse burst of laughter.
' That seems to entertain you, sir,' said Otto.
' Ay,' said the young boor. ' Did you not
know that ? I thought all Europe knew it ! '
And he added a pantomime of a nature to
ex|)lain his accusation to the dullest.