Her Royal Lover: A Novel — page 20: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

12 HER ROYAL LOVER. duke, who could not mistake this cry of admiration which escaped (if I may so express it) from the princess: “Truly, she is very beautiful !” “Not as beautiful as you, princess,” the grand duke responded, very gallantly. “Does she please you?” “Oh, yes, very much! and my sister, Agusta, is en- tirely of my opinion. The ambassadress possesses such a charm that it seems that no one can resist her; but her husband, however, is a veritable Blue- beard, jealous as a tiger, who, it is said, renders her life miserable. “But it seems to me that,” commenced Ivan Alex- androwitch, with a peculiar smile, looking toward the king and Madame de Mineleko. He did not finish his thought. “What does it seem to your highness?” said Aline of Thessaly, in an icy tone, desiring to make him comprehend that she would defend the king and Madame de Mineleko against him and against every one, and that on occasion she would retain a very strong resentment to him who, even in thought, would dare to reproach. those two beings, one of whom was so dear to her and, the other so sympa- thetic. The king was now no longer speaking to Madame de Mineleko, but to that one of the ladies who, in the circle which he formed, had been able to hold his attention the longest; he continued this fatiguing drudgery, consisting of finding two or three amiable but different words for each of these ladies, who, bowing to the ground on the passage of his majesty, vied with each other as to who should at the most opportune time best perform that famous Gomicbooks (€ 0)