I would not have been in his shoes for the throne of the Universe ...
All afternoon we sped southward, mostly in a country of hills and wooded valleys.

Stumm, for him, was very pleasant.

His imperial master must have been gracious to him, and he passed a bit of it on to me.

But he was anxious to see that I had got the right impression.
'The All-Highest is merciful, as I told you,' he said.
I agreed with him.
'Mercy is the prerogative of kings,' he said sententiously, 'but for us lesser folks it is a trimming we can well do without.' I nodded my approval.
'I am not merciful,' he went on, as if I needed telling that.

'If any man stands in my way I trample the life out of him.