orld might hear and see
her great grief. But no, no; this must not be. His agony, his tortures,
might perhaps be increased to punish her through him! She must not weep;
she must not complain. Trenck lived; although in prison and in chains,
he still lived; so long as he lived, she must conquer the despair of her
heart.

As she thought thus, she dried her tears, and raised her head with proud
resolve. She would be calm and self-possessed; perhaps this man, sent to
her by the landgrave, had something still to say to her. She half turned
her head toward him; he appeared not to be thinking of her, but was
quietly engaged placing his treasures again in his casket.

"Can you tell me who engraved this cup?"

"Certainly, your royal highness. A poor prisoner, who has been confined
for nine years in a subterranean cell in the fortress of Magdeburg,
engraved it. He is called Frederick von Trenck. Your highness has
perhaps never heard the name, but in Magdeburg every child knows it, and
speaks it with wonder and admiration! No one has seen him, but every
one knows of his daring, his heroism, his unfaltering courage, and
endurance, his herculean strength, and his many and marvellous attempts
to escape. Trenck is the hero of the nursery as well as the saloon. No
lady in Magdeburg is acquainted with him, but all are enthusiastic in
his praise, and all the officers who know him love and pity him. Many
are ready to risk their lives for him!"

The princess sighed deeply, and a ray of joy and hope lighted up her
countenance. She listened with suppressed breath to the jeweller's
words--they sounded like far-off music, pleasant but mournful to the
soul.

The stranger continued: "Some time since, in order to dispel the
tediousness of his prison-life, he began to engrave poems and figures
upon his tin cup with a nail which he had found in the earth while
making his last attempt to undermine the floor of his cell. During one
of his visits of observation, the commandant discovered this cup; he
was delighted with the engravings, took the cup and sent Trenck another,
hoping he would continue the exercise of his art. Trenck seized the
occasion joyfully, and since then he has been constantly occupied as
an engraver. Every officer desires to have a cup engraved by him, as a
souvenir. Every lady in Magdeburg longs for one, and prefers it to the
most costly jewel. These cups are now the mode--indeed, they have become
an important article in trade