re
in favor of it."

The queen turned pale, and the painful quivering of her lips betrayed
her inward emotion. "There were eleven present besides you," said she,
breathlessly. "Seven voted for ratifying the treaty; four were opposed
to it! But what did the king say, who had to decide every thing? Did my
beloved husband side with the majority?"

"The king," said Frederick William, slowly, "decided in favor of the
minority."

Louisa uttered a cry, and, seizing his hand, bent over and imprinted a
warm kiss on it. "Oh, my dear husband, you did not accept the
ignominious Charlottenburg bargain?" she asked, joyfully. "You did not
yield to the majority? My God! I thank Thee, for Thou hast fulfilled the
most fervent wishes of my soul! Oh, my dear husband, if there were in my
heart still a spot which love for you had not consecrated, it would be
now! My whole heart is filled with pride, delight, and esteem for you.
We shall not make peace, then, with the tyrant, or accept the
hypocritical friendship of our mortal foe--we shall remain faithful to
ourselves, to our honor, and to our ally."

"Yes, we shall reject that treaty," said the king. "We shall try to
carry on the war. But let us not yield to illusions; let us not endeavor
to deceive ourselves by indulging in sanguine hopes! In again drawing
the sword, we have to struggle for our existence, and we may possibly
fail."

"Better to be buried under the ruins of the throne than to sit on it
with the stigma of perfidy and dishonor!" exclaimed the queen. "Even the
crown would not cover such a stain!"

"We may lose our state and our crown, and be compelled to flee as
nameless beggars across the Russian frontier. Are you prepared for it?"

Louisa passionately encircled her husband's neck with her arms, and
looked him in the face with-an air of unutterable tenderness. "I am
prepared for every thing, provided I may stay with you," she said,
affectionately. "Let the worst befall us, it will find me calm and
courageous, for I shall share it with you. Where you go I go. And though
we should have to flee from our invincible enemy into the remotest wilds
of Russia, my heart would be glad, for honor would accompany us, and
love would be our comfort!"

The king laid his hand on her head, as if blessing her, and clasped her
in his arms. "You are a noble and heroic woman," he said, "and I thank
God from the bottom of my heart for having given me such a wife. Pray
for me, Louisa; pray