added superficial minds, of the generous inten-
tion of the offended Prince. 
From a man so naturally and wilfully eccen-
tric, everything was possible, even virtue, even 
clemency; above all, if perchance he hoped to 
find therein unexpected pleasures. But with 
those who like myself were able to pierce more 
deeply into the depths of this curious sick soul, 
it seemed infinitely more probable that the his-
trionic talents of a man doomed to death; he 
wished to profit by his opportunity to make a 
physiological experiment of capital interest, 
and to discover to what point the habitual tal-
ents of an artist might be altered or modified 
by the extraordinary situation in which he 
found himself. But beyond that, was there in 
his soul a more or less well defined intention of 
clemency? That is a point which has never 
been cleared up. 
At last, the great day being arrived, this lit-
tle court displayed all its pomp, and it would be 
difficult to imagine, unless one had seen it, all 
that the privileged class of a small State with 
limited resources can exhibit in the way of 
splendour on an occasion of royal solemnity. 
This was doubly true, first of all by the magic 
of the luxury displayed, and secondly by the 
mysterious moral interest which was attached 
to it.