conduct to me. I was not only a disobedient son, but a rebellious
subject. I richly deserved to mount the scaffold with Katte."

"Ah, my brother, there was a time when you wept for this faithful
and unfortunate friend," cried the prince, reproachfully.

"The sons of kings have not the right to choose their own path,
destiny has marked it out for them; they must follow it without
wavering. I neither placed the crown upon my head, nor the yoke upon
your neck. We must bear them patiently, as God and Providence have
ordained, and wear them with grace and dignity. You, my brother,
have acted like a wild horse of the desert--I have drawn the reins
tight, that is all!"

"You have caught, bound, and tamed me," said the prince, with a
faint smile; "only I feel that the bit still pains, and that my
limbs still tremble. But I am ready to submit, and I came to tell
you so. You desire me to marry, I consent; but I hold you
responsible for the happiness of this marriage. At God's throne, I
will call you to justify yourself, and there we will speak as
equals, as man to man. What right had you to rob me of my most holy
and beautiful possession? What right have you to lay a heavy chain
on heart and hand, that love will not help me to bear? I hold you
responsible for my miserable life, my shattered hopes. Will you
accept these conditions? Do you still wish me to marry?"

"I accept the conditions," said the king, solemnly. "I desire you to
marry."

"I presume your majesty has chosen a bride for me?"