Diotimos Library · Literary Fiction Collection · English Edition
The Keepers of the People
A Critical Edition of the 1898 Novel
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English Edition · Branch 224 of 254
Chapter XVII · The Last Path · pp. 317–330
The Keepers of the People
p. 322“Nothing,” said Ruth. “Would you have me write to the ill-conditioned creature?”
“Well, I wonder what it is all about; and I think I will go and see her before dinner to-night. I suppose she is learning how patient the Princes are,” said Althea.
When she came to the Princess Agnes, she found her still in a feverish irritation; the lack of an ear into which to pour the story of her wrongs had by no means lessened her sense of them. Althea’s was but a poor ear to pour them into: there was little hope of sympathy from her: but the need to unburden herself was too strong. She told her of Prince Raleigh’s command, and raged at it; and then she told her that Ruth had treacherously stolen from her Prince Ralph’s heart; and could find no words of a violence to express her detestation of her.
Althea heard her carelessly: she had no manner of doubt that the Princess Agnes had never held her husband’s heart: and as she listened to her angry outcry, she pondered what to do.
At last words failed the angry Princess; and Althea said, “It’s all very silly, don’t you know? This about Ruth —” and then she added in a lower voice, half to herself — “Now if you had been angry about Latchimi, it would have been another matter.”
“Latchimi! Who is Latchimi?” cried the Princess.
Althea shook her head.
“I will know! I have the right to know! I insist on knowing!” cried the Princess.
“You might know that you cannot bully me,” said Althea gently.
“Althea, dear Althea, tell me! Do tell me!” And the tears of utter distress trickled slowly from her eyes.
Althea looked at her with a faint contempt.
“I will not tell you. Why should I?” she said gently.
“You are as hard as stone!” said the Princess, despairing.
“Not at all,” said Althea. “You insulted Ruth, and I am fond of Ruth. But I must say you are a hopeless fool! You weary Prince Ralph beyond endurance; and you suppose that a man like that goes about waiting for you to grow amiable! You never suspected even the Pavilion of Wonderful Delights! You’re not worth troubling about!” said Althea impatiently.
“The Pavilion of Wonderful Delights! What is that?” cried the Princess.
Socrates
Reading The Keepers of the People · Book II, Chapter XVII · The Last Path · Book II, Chapter XVII · The Last Path · pp. 317–330
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
Edgar Jepson’s The Keepers of the People begins as a late-Victorian lost-kingdom romance and becomes an unsettling political argument. Ralph Falcon moves from an English country house to the hidden state of Varandaleel, where laughter, secrecy, violence, education, and the duties of rulers are tested against one another.
Historical Text
The novel was first published in London in 1898 by C. Arthur Pearson. This reading text follows the owner-supplied critical edition, whose copy-text is the Methuen Colonial Library issue of the same year digitised by the Internet Archive. The supplied editorial note records the edition’s corrections, normalisations, limits, and unresolved textual risks.
About This Edition
This English Edition preserves the complete supplied text and apparatus: the introduction, reading guide, key words, plot outline, editorial note, both books and all thirty chapters, and the end notes. Its reader branches end at paragraph boundaries, with the original chapter structure and chapter page references mapped to the 1898 printing.
Rights
Edgar Jepson’s 1898 novel is in the public domain. The introduction, reader’s guide, key words, outline, editorial note, notes, editorial arrangement, and design of the supplied edition are © 2026 Diotimos Editions.