lm voice he commanded them to go into
the village, and order the generals and higher officers to assemble the
remnants of their regiments before the hut.

"A general march must be sounded," said the king. "The morning air will
bear the sound into the distance, and when my soldiers hear it, perhaps
they will return to their colors."

When the adjutants left him, the king commenced pacing slowly up and
down, his hands crossed behind him.

"All is lost, all!" he murmured; "but I must wait and watch. If the
stupidity or rashness of the enemy should break a mesh in the net within
which I am enclosed, it is my duty to slip through with my army. Ah!
how heavily this crown presses upon my head; it leaves me no moment of
repose. How hard is life, and how terribly are the bright illusions of
our earlier years destroyed!"

At the sound of the drum, the king shivered, and murmured to himself: "I
feel now, what I never thought to feel. I am afraid my heart trembles at
the thought of this encounter, as it never did in battle. The drums and
trumpets call my soldiers, but they will not come. They are stretched
upon the field of battle, or fleeing before the enemy. They will not
come, and the sun will witness my shame and wretchedness."

The king, completely overcome, sank upon the bench, and buried his face
in his hands. He sat thus for a long time. The sounds before the door
became louder and louder, but the king heard them not; he still held
his hands before his face. He could not see the bright array of uniforms
that had assembled before the window, nor that the soldiers were
swarming in from all sides. He did not hear the beating of drums, the
orders to the soldiers, or military signals. Neither did he hear the
door, which was gently opened by his adjutants, who had returned to
inform him that his orders had been obeyed, and that the generals and
staff officers were awaiting him outside the hut.

"Sire," whispered at length one of the adjutants, "your commands have
been fulfilled. The generals await your majesty's pleasure."

The king allowed his hands to glide slowly from his face. "And the
troops?" he asked.

"They are beginning to form."

"They are also just placing the cannon," said the second adjutant.

The king turned angrily to him. "Sir," he cried, "you lie! I have no
cannon."

"Your majesty has, God be praised, more than fifty cannon," said the
adjutant, firmly.

A ray of light overspread the countenance of