ou
have given to the horse his fiery speed; you have declared that man is
the king of creation; you have marked upon his brow the seal of freedom,
and this is his holiest possession. Oh, friend, will you consent that a
noble gentleman, who has nothing left but his freedom, shall be unjustly
deprived of it! Duke, I call upon you! Be a providence for my unhappy
friend, and set him at liberty. And through my whole life long I will
bless and honor you! AMELIA."

"If he does not listen to this outcry of my soul," she whispered, as she
folded and sealed the letter--"if he has the cruelty to let me plead in
vain, then in my death-hour I will curse him, and charge him with being
the murderer of my last hope!"

The princess called Pollnitz, and, with an expressive glance, she handed
him the letter.

"Truly, my memory has not failed me," she said to Mademoiselle Marwitz,
who entered behind Pollnitz, and whose sharp eyes were fixed upon
the letter in the baron's hand. "I have been able to write the whole
monologue. Give this paper to my brother, Pollnitz; I have added a
few friendly lines, and excused myself for declining the invitation. I
cannot see this drama."

"Well, it seems to me I have made a lucrative affair of this," said
Pollnitz to himself, as he left the princess. "I promised Weingarten
only fifty louis d'or, so fifty remain over for myself, without counting
the ducats which the princess intends for me. Besides, I shall be no
such fool as to give my servant, who steals from me every day, the
reward the princess has set apart for him; and if I give him outside
work to do, it is my opportunity; he is my slave, and the reward is
properly mine."

"Listen, John!" Said Pollnitz to his servant, as he entered his
apartment. Poor John was, at the same time, body-servant, jockey, and
coachman. "Listen; do you know exactly how much you have loaned me?"

"To a copper, your excellency," said John, joyfully. Poor John
thought that the hour of settlement had come. "Your excellency owes me
fifty-three thalers, four groschen, and five pennies."

"Common soul," cried Pollnitz, shrugging his shoulders contemptuously,
"to be able to keep in remembrance such pitiful things as groschen and
coppers. Well, I have a most pressing and important commission for
you. You must saddle your horse immediately, and hasten to deliver this
letter to the Duke of Wurtemberg. You must ride night and day and not
rest till you arrive and deliver this