On the outside he stood still for a moment,
and drew a long breath of relief.
"Poor woman! unfortunate queen!" he murmured, returning slowly to
his chambers. "But why pity her? Is not her lot mine, and that of
all princes? A glittering misery--nothing else!"
A few minutes later and the royal equipage again drove through the
court yard.
The king was returning to his summer residence at Charlottenburg.
The queen, who was on her knees, crying and sobbing, heard the
carriage as it drove off. "Gone! he is gone!" she exclaimed, with a
cry of anguish; "he has deserted me, and I am a poor discarded
woman! He despises me, and I--I love him!" And wringing her hands,
she sobbed aloud. For a while she was tranquil and prayed, and then
again burst into tears. Her soul, which had suffered so long in
silence, once mora rebelled. The voice of her youth made itself
heard, and demanded in heart-rending accents a little sunshine, a
little of the joy and happiness promised to mankind.
She was at last quieted; she accepted her destiny, and bowed her
head in humility and patience. Morning was already dawning when
Elizabeth Christine arose from her knees, pale and trembling, but
resigned. "Soffri e taci!" said she, sadly. "This was the motto of
his youth, and this shall be the motto of my whole life! Soffri e
taci! how sad, and yet how grave are these words! Oh! Frederick,
Frederick! why do you condemn me to such torture; why has your heart
no pity with me, no pity with my love? But no!" she exclaimed,
firmly, "I will weep no more.
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