ng to his home, some pleasant spot, far away.
His hat was brown by long use, and rent at the rims, beneath which his
white hair, here and there, straggled forth. His coat, once black, was
now thread-bare and worn at the elbows; while his shoes, almost without
soles, kept sad unison with the other parts of his dress. The other old
man, whose clothes were equally squalid, sat more upright, and seemed
livelier, and of a lighter heart, misfortune not having yet touched so
blightingly the natural volatility of his disposition; for, now and
then, he spoke in low tones to his companion, who sometimes smiled, but
rarely made answer.

"You are observing those black men?" said the Spanish Minister. "They
are the most interesting objects in Copenhagen."

"Who are they?" we asked.

"Those two men," continued the Spaniard, "were once men of note in their
own country; and their misfortune resolves itself into this simple
tale. The man with grey hair, nearest to us, seemingly bent with excess
of sorrow, was the king of some Danish colony in the East Indies; and
the other, his favourite minister. After having reigned for many years
with equity and wisdom, and having seen his little island, cradled in
the lap of peace, put forth the strength of prosperity, the old
monarch's bright day of happiness and glory was suddenly overshadowed by
a cloud, which, though, by its insignificance, at first unobserved,
gradually gained bulk and darkness, and replete, at last, with all the
elements of storm and destruction, burst upon his head. A man murdered a
woman, his wife; and, according to the criminal code of his country, was
arrested, tried, and convicted; and this king, by the advice of his
minister, ordered the assassin to be executed. The intelligence reached
the ears of the Court of Denmark, and by command of Christian, the black
monarch and his adviser were arrested, on the plea, that, the one being,
though a monarch, a subject of Denmark, had no power to carry the
statutes of his own realm summarily into effect, without the previous
assent of the Danish Government; and, that, the other, being the
principal minister, was as culpable as his master in permitting such an
infringement of the law. They were both subsequently tried for the
offence, and being found guilty, were placed on board a Danish ship of
war, and brought to Copenhagen, where, within this fortress, they are
doomed to pass, in solitary confinement, the small portion of life w