There is nearly half a million florins' clear profit in the transaction, at a moderate estimate." "Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the beautiful Cyrene.

"So the soldiers must eat half a million florins' worth of chaff and clay to enable Papa Cagliari to take his morning bath in champagne." "Well, what of that?
It makes, at most, only two florins' worth to a man, and the soldier who loves his country ought to be glad to eat two florins' worth of her soil.

Has the prince any other contract under consideration ?" "Yes, a very important one.

He has procured an order that the troops in Italy shall wear for their summer uniform cotton blouses instead of linen, and he has the contract for furnishing the material." "But the prices named here are very low," objected Vajdar, reading from the paper Rozina had handed him.
"Ah, but let me explain.

The cotton is to be thirty inches wide, with so and so many threads to the warp--according to the specifications.