in the
air they, and indeed every one surrounding the Emperor, had long
been aware, it was just possible that the strain of State affairs
was becoming too much for him, and that he had been smitten with
sudden indisposition. And yet, after all, he had probably only
fallen asleep! Whichever it was, however, they were uncertain how
to act. If they thrust ceremony aside and entered the study, they
knew that very likely they would only expose themselves to the
royal anger. The order was strict, "When the Emperor works in his
study no one may enter it without being bidden." Should they inform
the Lord Chamberlain of the palace? But, if there was no
sufficiently serious reason for such a step, they would incur _his_
anger, almost as terrible to face as that of their royal master.

A little more time dragged by, and at last, deciding to risk the
consequences, the guards approached the study. One of them, the
most courageous of the three, lifted a heavy curtain, and slowly
and cautiously opened the door. He gave one rapid glance into the
room beyond, then, returning to his companions said in a low voice
and with a terrified gesture towards the interior of the study:

"Look!"

The two guards obeyed him, and an alarming spectacle met their
eyes. In the middle of the room, beside a big table littered with
papers and military documents, lay the Emperor, stretched full
length upon the thick velvet pile carpet, one hand, as if to hide
something dreadful from view, across his face. He was quite
unconscious, and while two of the guards endeavoured to revive him,
the other ran for the doctor. Upon the doctor's arrival they
carried him to his sleeping apartments, and after some time
succeeded in reviving him. The Emperor then, in trembling accents,
told his astounded listeners what had occurred.

Exactly at midnight, according to his custom, he had rung the bell
which was the signal that he was ready for his repast. Curiously
enough, neither of the guards, although they had been listening for
it, had heard that bell.

He had rung quite mechanically, and also mechanically, had turned
again to his writing desk directly he had done so. A few minutes
later he had heard the door open and footsteps approach him across
the soft carpet. Without raising his h