think that his
life should end like this! I took his hand and held it tenderly in mine.
Oh, why could I not give my life for his, and thus draw him back from
that dark land into which he was so swiftly passing? That the end was
very near there could be no doubt. Once more opening his eyes, which had
remained closed for upwards of a minute, he whispered to me that he
would like to bid farewell to the general and to the man who had been
his companion in so many strange places and under such different
circumstances. Accordingly, I went to the door and called them in.
Groplau was the first to advance towards the bed. The old man was
genuinely affected. Max looked up at him and gave him his hand. Not a
word passed between them; indeed, speech was unnecessary. There was a
long silence, a hand-grip, and then Groplau stepped back, and Bertram,
the Englishman, took his place. He made no attempt to conceal his grief.
"Good-bye," said Max. "You have been a good friend to me, Bertram; be as
faithful to my brother. It is my wish that you should serve him. God
bless you both!"

Bertram tried to speak, but his voice failed him, and he turned away
with the tears streaming down his face. Then Max looked at me, and I
went to him again.

"Paul," he said, but so feebly that I could scarcely hear the words, "it
is very near now. God bless you, Paul. Kiss me, dear old brother; we've
been----"

Stooping, I kissed him on the forehead, on which the dews of death were
quickly gathering.

Then, softly as a tired child, he fell asleep.

Maximilian, the uncrowned King of Pannonia, was dead!

CHAPTER XXI.

The last moments of a loved friend or relative are, and must be, sacred.
Let it suffice, therefore, that for some minutes after my poor brother
had drawn his last breath I knelt beside the bed in silent prayer, then,
with one last look at the face I loved so well, I left the room, taking
Bertram with me. General Groplau would, I knew, make all the necessary
arrangements. In the meantime it behoved me to summon another council,
and that done, to despatch messengers to the capital with the sad
intelligence. Within an hour a proclamation had been issued, and it was
known that the King, who had been missing for so long, had in reality
been serving with his army, and had given his life, as unostentatiously
as its humblest unit, for the country he loved so well. The announcement
was received with a sort of stupefaction by the army. If t