The Princess has a lover - a Baron, as he calls himself, from East

Prussia; and the Prince is so little of a man, sir, that he holds

the candle. Nor is that the worst of it, for this foreigner and his

paramour are suffered to transact the State affairs, while the

Prince takes the salary and leaves all things to go to wrack. There

will follow upon this some manifest judgment which, though I am old,

I may survive to see.'

'Good man, you are in the wrong about Gondremark,' said Fritz,

showing a greatly increased animation; 'but for all the rest, you

speak the God's truth like a good patriot. As for the Prince, if he

would take and strangle his wife, I would forgive him yet.'

'Nay, Fritz,' said the old man, 'that would be to add iniquity to

evil. For you perceive, sir,' he continued, once more addressing

himself to the unfortunate Prince, 'this Otto has himself to thank

for these disorders. He has his young wife and his principality,

and he has sworn to cherish both.'

'Sworn at the altar!' echoed Fritz. 'But put your faith in

princes!'

'Well, sir, he leaves them both to an adventurer from East Prussia,'

pursued the farmer: 'leaves the girl to be seduced and to go on from

bad to worse, till her name's become a tap-room by-word, and she not

yet twenty; leaves the country to be overtaxed, and bullied with

armaments, and jockied into war - '

'War!' cried Otto.

'So they say, sir; those that watch their ongoings, say to war,'

asseverated Killian. 'Well, sir, that is very sad; it is a sad

thing for this poor, wicked girl to go down to hell with people's

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