long hidden--oh! then did I say to you that it was my weakness had come
upon me? It was my last outcry of self--the "I" expiring. I am now
yours, "We" has long overshadowed "I," and now engulphs it. We are one.
If it were new to me to find myself interrogating the mind of my beloved,
relying on his courage, taking many proofs of his devotion, I might pause
to re-peruse my words here, without scruple, written. I sign it, before
heaven, your Ottilia.

'OTTILIA FREDERIKA WILHELMINA HEDWIG,
'Princess of Eppenwelzen-Sarkeld.'




CHAPTER XXXII

AN INTERVIEW WITH PRINCE ERNEST AND A MEETING WITH PRINCE OTTO

A messenger from Prince Ernest commanding my immediate attendance at the
palace signified that the battle had begun. I could have waited for my
father, whose return from one of his expeditions in the prince's service
was expected every instant; but though I knew I should have, had a
powerful coadjutor in him to assist me through such a conference, I
preferred to go down alone. Prince Otto met me in the hall. He passed
by, glancing an eye sharply, and said over his shoulder,

'We shall have a word together presently!'

The library door was flung open. Prince Ernest and the margravine were
in the room. She walked out with angry majesty. The prince held his