The king, though pretending
to be learned in the noble art of astrology, asked me to translate my
solution, and I did so, almost in the words of Monsieur l'Abbe this
afternoon."
"Thank you," remarked George.
"No, no, do not thank me," said Lilly, disclaiming all credit. "What
Monsieur said was so reasonable and fitted so aptly to the probable
conditions of the future, read in the terrestrial light of the present,
sound reason, that it was hardly necessary to ask the stars. But in
compliance with the king's request, I set my figure and found, as usual,
that the revelations of the stars coincided with the dictates of reason.
It is true the stars sometimes forecast events which seem almost
impossible in view of present conditions, but the questioner of the
heavens who does not use his reason to help his interpretation of the
stars is, to say the least, far from wise."
"Yes," interrupted the Abbe. "But come to the point! What did the king
say?"
"He did not entirely accept the message of the stars," returned Lilly.
"He does not seem to object to war. He says there is no time when it is
as easy to raise money from the people as in times of war. I suggested
that money in the nation's treasury was not in the privy purse, where the
king most wants it. But he said it was only a short journey from the
treasury to the privy purse, and--well, I agreed with him. If you want to
convert a vain, stubborn fool to your way of thinking, don't let him know
what your way is.
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