to enter immediately.
You must promise me first, though, my beloved husband, that you will
listen to him without reproaches and anger, and that you will say nothing
in his presence against the only son given us by Heaven."

"I shall make no promises that I can not keep," cried the Elector warmly.
"I will speak with Schlieben. He must come in. Ho! Chamberlain Balthazar
von Schlieben, come in, I charge you to come in."

The little arras door opened and disclosed to view a slender, tall young
man, in gold-laced blue uniform, with red facings.

"At the command of your Electoral Grace," he said, making a reverential
obeisance.

"Come hither, Schlieben," cried George William, "close up to me, that I
may see if you are actually he who dares to return here without the one
after whom I sent him. So! Look me straight in the face, and tell me why I
sent you to Holland three months ago, and what was your errand there?"

"Your Electoral Highness, I was sent by your grace to Holland, in order
that I might conduct hither his Highness the Electoral Prince."

"Well, then, where is the Electoral Prince?"

"Your Electoral Highness, he is at present still at The Hague, and most
urgently and most submissively he beseeches your Electoral Highness
through me that he may be permitted to remain there at least for the
winter."

"He is yet at The Hague!" cried the Elector. "He ventures thus to brave
me--to oppose himself to my strict injunctions? Or have you not handed him
my letter, Schlieben? Or have you not repeated to him all that I said and
urged you by word of mouth to convey to him? Did you not inform him that I
ordered him, under penalty of my princely and fatherly displeasure, to set
out and journey hither in the speediest manner possible?"

"Your Electoral Highness, I carried out exactly every command given me by
your highness, and the Electoral Prince surely would not have delayed an
instant gratifying the demands of his revered father, if many concurring
circumstances had not made it impossible for him. The Electoral Prince has
himself more narrowly pointed out and explained these in this letter,
which he has charged me to deliver to your highness."

And with a deep inclination the chamberlain extended a large sealed packet
to his Sovereign.

George William took it with angry impatience, and so curious was he to
read the contents of the packet that he hastily tore off the cover, the
sooner to arrive at its purport. A close