woman, and I myself will put some of it to-day on the sandwiches of my
sons, who shall eat them in honor of good Mde. Nickel."

"And now I should like to beg leave to present a small gift to the
king," said the peasant. "I--"

"Ah, I guess what it is," exclaimed the king, merrily. "You bring me a
fine cheese to be eaten with the fresh butter."

"No, most gracious king. Thy loyal Mennonite subjects in the province of
Prussia have learned with the most profound grief how great the distress
is which God has inflicted upon thee, thy house, and thy states. We have
learned that the funds of thy military chest are entirely
exhausted--that the French have put them into their pockets. All this
affected us most painfully, and we thought thee might sometimes even be
out of pocket-money. All the men, women, and children of our community,
therefore, looked into their saving-Boxes, and contributed joyfully the
mite that is to manifest the love we entertain for our king. And here is
the money we have collected, good king, and I would urgently entreat
thee in the name of our community graciously to accept the trifle
offered thee by thy faithful Mennonite subjects, who will never cease to
love and pray for thee."

"No," exclaimed the king, in a tremulous voice, his face quivering with
profound emotion, "no, I am not poor so long as I have still subjects so
good and loyal as you are!" And he offered his hand with a grateful
look.

The queen had listened to these words with increasing emotion; her
beautiful countenance was beaming with joy; her eyes were lifted to
heaven, and her lips seemed to whisper a prayer of gratitude. When the
king cordially shook hands with the Mennonite, the queen, overcome by
her feelings, burst into tears--tears such as she had not shed for a
long while. She took the costly Turkish shawl from her shoulders and
threw it around the surprised woman.

"Keep it in memory of this interview," whispered the queen, in a voice
choked by tears.

"Thee permits me, kind king, to give thee our little savings, and to
place them on this table?" asked Abraham Nickel.

"I do," said the king. The peasant stepped to the table. After
deliberately untying the string of the gray linen bag, he turned it
upside down, and poured out the contents. The queen uttered an
exclamation of surprise, and the king himself was unable to suppress his
astonishment; for gold-piece after gold-piece rolled from the bag and
fell ringing in a