Ah, my heart
bleeds, and the wound is deep."
The king, mastered by his grief, laid his head in his hand and wept
aloud. Then, after a long pause, he raised himself; he was calm and
stern. "Jordan," said he, firmly, "death hath no more power over me,
never again can he wring my heart; he has laid an iron shield upon
me, and when I go to battle I must be triumphant; my friend has been
offered up as a victim. Jordan, Jordan, my wound bleeds, but I will
bind it up, and no man shall see even the blood-stained cloth with
which I cover it. I have overcome death, and now will I offer battle
and conquer as become a hero, and a king. What cares the world that
I suffer? The world shall know nothing of it; a mask before my face,
and silence as to my agony. We will laugh and jest while we sorrow
for our friend, and while we prepare to meet the enemy. We will PLAY
Caesar and Antonius now; hereafter we may really imitate them. Come,
Jordan, come, we will try 'The Death of Caesar.'"
CHAPTER VIII.
THE FAREWELL AUDIENCE OF MARQUIS VON HOTTER, THE AUSTRIAN
AMBASSADOR.
This was to be a fete day in the royal palace of Berlin. The king
intended giving a splendid dinner, after which the court would take
coffee in the newly furnished rooms of the dowager queen, and a mask
ball was prepared for the evening, to which the court, the nobility,
and higher officials were invited.
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