he was full of romance, faith, and hope; his
sanguine temper painted his future in enchanting colors. No, he would
not flee, he had faith in his star. Life's earnest tragedy had yet for
him a smiling face, and life's bitter truths seemed alluring visions.
No, the king only wished to try him; he wished to see if he could
frighten him into an effort to escape; he gave him the opportunity for
flight, but if he made use of it, he would be lost forever in the
eyes of Frederick, and his prospects utterly destroyed. If he bravely
suffered the chance of escape to pass by, and arrived in Berlin, to
all appearance a prisoner, the king would have the agreeable task of
undeceiving him, and Trenck would have shown conclusively that he had
faith in the king's magnanimity, and gave himself up to him without
fear. He would have proved also that his conscience was clear, and that,
without flattering, he could yield himself to the judgment of the king.
No, Trenck would not fly. In Berlin, liberty, love, and Amelia awaited
him; he would lose all this by flight; it would all remain his if he did
not allow himself to be enticed by the flattering goddess, opportunity,
who now beckoned and nodded smilingly from behind every tree and every
thicket. Trenck withstood these enticements during three long days; with
careless indifference he passed slowly on through this lonely region;
in his arrogant blindness and self-confidence he did not observe the
careworn and anxious looks of the officers who conducted him; he did not
hear or understand the low, hesitating insinuations they dared to speak.

"This is your last resting-point," said the officer who had conducted
him from the last station. "You will remain here this afternoon, and
early to-morrow morning the cavalry officer Von Halber will conduct you
to Berlin, where the last barracks of our regiment are to be found;
from that point the infantry garrison will take charge of your further
transportation."

"I shall not make their duties difficult," said Trenck, gayly. "You see
I am a good-natured prisoner; no Argus eyes are necessary, as I have no
intention to flee."

The officer gazed into his calm, smiling face with amazement, and then
stepped out with the officer Von Halber, into whose house they had now
entered, to make known his doubts and apprehensions.

"Perhaps the opportunities which have been offered him have not been
sufficiently manifest," said Von Halber. "Perhaps he has not regard