the tall, slender form of his friend and preceptor became visible, he
could restrain himself no longer, but, forgetting all ceremony, all
etiquette, hurried with outspread arms to meet Leuchtmar, and impetuously
clasped him to his breast.

"God be praised that I have you again!" he said, with a warm embrace.
"Once more I have found a father and a faithful friend. Welcome, you man
of loyal heart, with my whole soul I bid you welcome!"

"And you, most gracious sir," cried Leuchtmar, deeply moved, "may you ever
receive blessings and good gifts from on high, and always deserve them by
noble thoughts and deeds! Such shall be my prayer evening and morning, and
your highness shall verify my petition."

"Amen! God grant it!" said Frederick William solemnly. "And now, look at
me, my friend, and let me read in your features that you are the same as
of old."

"The same as of old, indeed!" smiled Leuchtmar. "These two years have made
an old man of me, and blanched my hair. I not merely longed after you, I
grieved for you, knowing, as I did, what your grace had to bear and
suffer. My heart was weighed down by grief and sorrow when I thought of
what my beloved young master was undergoing."

"It is true," said Frederick William. "I have gone through hard trials and
had many humiliations to endure. I have been treated as an adventurer and
alien, unworthy of being employed or consulted. I was forever subjected to
suspicion, and accused of coveting a throne before my time. If I asked
after my father's health, he supposed I did so because I longed for his
death; and if I made no inquiries, he accused me of indifference and want
of natural affection. Alas! Leuchtmar, in the despair of my soul I have
actually thought at times that the beggar on the street had an enviable
fate compared with that of the Electoral Prince of Brandenburg--and--But
hush! hush! I will no longer think of the past with bitterness and
chagrin. Reproach against my father shall never pass my lips. He rests
with God, and, as his soul has entered into everlasting rest, let us not
stir up the ashes of memory, but let peace be between father and son,
eternal peace! And now, my friend, be the past forgotten and blotted out,
with all its pains and wounds, and to the present and future only be our
thoughts dedicated. You are here; I have again my most trusted friend; and
in this the very first hour of our reunion I will confess something to
you, Leuchtmar, which you ind