you
come to me, my child, because you know that we two can mourn together.
But I do not weep, as you do; because I know that for a long time he had
been secretly praying for death. He has got his wish now. So you must
not weep so bitterly. You must wish what he wished, you know. Ah, what
grief there is in her eyes! (Sobs.)

(The GENERAL signs to the others that they should all withdraw quietly,
without turning round. They gradually do so; but the KING looks up and
perceives what they are doing.)

The General. Out of respect for your Majesty's grief, we were going to--

The King. Silence! With my hand on the head of this poor creature, who
used to trust so unassumingly and devotedly to his goodness of heart,
I wish to say something in memory of my friend. (ANNA clings to him,
weeping. The others come respectfully nearer, and wait.) Gran was
the richest man in the country. Why was it that he had no fear of
the people? Why was it that he believed that its salvation lay in the
overthrow of the present state of affairs?

Bang. Mr. Gran, with all his great qualities, was a visionary.

The King. He had not inherited all of his vast fortune; he had amassed a
great part of it himself.

Bang. As a man of business, Mr. Gran was beyond all praise.

The King. And yet a visionary? The two things are absolutely
contradictory.--You once called me "the padlock on your cash-box."

Bang. I allowed myself, with all respect, to make that jest--which,
nevertheless, was nothing but the serious truth!

The King. Why did he, who has met his death, consider that the security
for _his_ cash-box came from those _below_ him, as long as he did what
was right, and not from those above him? Because he understood the
times. No question of selfishness stood in the way of his doing
that.--That is my funeral oration over him!--(To ANNA.) Get up, my dear!
Did you understand what I was saying? Do not weep so! (She clings to
him, sobbing.)

The Priest. He was a very great man! When your Majesty speaks so, I
fully recognise it. But your Majesty may be certain that, though we may
not have been so fortunate as to see so far ahead and so clearly--though
our mental horizon may be narrow--we are none the less loyal to your
Majesty for that, nor less devoted! It is our duty as subjects to say
so, although your Majesty in your heaviness of heart seems to forget
it-seems to forget that we, too, look for everything from your Majesty's
favour, wisdom and ju