's cabinet to which the Emperor had not given his
consent, or of which he had not previous knowledge. I must therefore for
the present still suffer Schwarzenberg to be lord of the Mark, for I have
not power to defy the Emperor and call down upon myself his rage. The Lord
High Chancellor and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire must for the present
bow humbly to the Emperor, and submit in silence to the evils of his lot.
My duchy of Pomerania the Swedes have appropriated to themselves, and I
can not, as I should like, wrest it from them by force of arms, for I have
no weapons, no soldiers, no army; I must now try to come to an amicable
understanding with them, and, if possible, make peace with them. In Julich
and Cleves I am duke, too, as my title vouches, but to be so really I must
first rescue these countries from the Dutch, and then be able to defend
them against the cupidity of France. And my duchies of Silesia, Croatia,
and Jaegerndorf? The Emperor has taken possession of them as if they were
his own fiefs, and he will be little likely to restore them to the
powerless Elector of Brandenburg. Neither will the Saxons easily
relinquish to the weak Elector Magdeburg and Halberstadt, which counties
they hold enthralled. Alas! Leuchtmar, you see of all my vast possessions
I only retain the empty titles."

"But one country your highness has omitted in your enumeration, and there,
undoubtedly, you are undisputed Sovereign, no enemy having supplanted you
in this land. You are Duke of Prussia, and there, at least, ruler also!"

"Yes, I am Duke of Prussia--that is to say, if King Wladislaus of Poland
will condescend to invest me with this duchy, and allow me to go to
Warsaw, humbly to kneel to swear allegiance to him, and acknowledge myself
one of his vassals. Until he has done so, I am not the legalized ruler
even here in Prussia, and the King of Poland will already consider it as
an infringement upon his supremacy that I have not forthwith dismissed the
Prussian chamber of deputies, which held its sitting in my father's
lifetime, but allowed it to prolong its session. There, too, as at the
imperial court, I must give fair words, must show myself humble and
obedient, so as not to excite untimely enmity against myself, and rouse
the mighty against the weak. For what refuge would remain to me, or
where would I find support, if the Emperor of Germany and the King of
Poland should threaten me with their enmity?"

"I should think the