rved, that he had no reason
to rejoice, since a measure necessarily connected with the one he had
recommended, would be to order his arrest, and proceed against him for
the misuse of the elector's name. For if necessity required that the
veil should be let down before the throne of justice, over a series of
iniquities, which kept on indefinitely increasing, and therefore could
no more find space to appear at the bar, that was not the case with the
first misdeed that was the origin of all. A capital prosecution of the
chamberlain would alone authorise the state to crush the horse-dealer,
whose cause was notoriously just, and into whose hand had been thrust
the sword which he carried.

The elector, whom von Tronka eyed with some confusion as he heard these
words, turned round deeply colouring, and approached the window. Count
Kallheim, after an awkward pause on all sides, said that in this way
they could not get out of the magic circle which encompassed them.
With equal right might proceedings be commenced against the prince's
nephew, Prince Frederic, since even he, in the singular expedition
which he undertook against Kohlhaas had, in many instances, exceeded
his instructions; and, therefore, were the inquiry once set on foot
about the numerous persons who had occasioned the present difficulty,
he must be included in the list, and called to account by the elector
for what had taken place at Muehlberg.

The cup-bearer, von Tronka, while the elector with doubtful glances
approached his table, then took up the subject, and said, that he could
not conceive how the right method of proceeding had escaped men of such
wisdom, as those assembled unquestionably were. The horse-dealer, as
far as he understood, had promised to dismiss his force if he obtained
a free conduct to Dresden, and a renewed investigation of his cause.
From this, however, it did not follow, that he was to have an amnesty
for his monstrous acts of vengeance; two distinct points which Dr.
Luther and the council seemed to have confused. "If," he continued,
laying his finger to the side of his nose, "the judgment on account of
the horses--no matter which way it goes--is pronounced by the Dresden
tribunal, there is nothing to prevent us from arresting Kohlhaas on the
ground of his robberies and incendiarism. This would be a prudent
stroke of policy, which would unite the views of the statesmen on both
sides, and secure the applause of the world and of post