Emperor would speak him clear of any suspicion. He is my master, my
lord--that is what fills me with rage and indignation; and I will surely
die of this if the count does not succeed in dispatching me first, and
putting me out of the way."

"He will not venture to attempt that, for he knows public opinion would
accuse and denounce him as the murderer."

"What cares he for public opinion, what asks he about it--_he_ who has
power to repress it, _he_ who stands so secure that it can not touch
_him_?"

"Nobody stands so high, Prince, that public opinion can not reach him and
dash him into the depths below, for public opinion is the voice of the
nation, and the voice of the nation is the voice of God! And believe me,
Prince, this voice will one day accuse and sentence him."

"Yes, one day perhaps, when he has thrust me out of the way and murdered
me, when my father has gone to his last home, when the Emperor has
pronounced the Mark of Brandenburg an unincumbered fief, and bestowed it
as an act of grace upon Count Schwarzenberg or his son. Oh, I know all his
plans, and I know that no moment of my life is henceforth secure--know
that I am a victim of death if prudence and cunning do not save me! I
thought of all this during my long journey to this place. I have weighed
all, pondered all, and my whole future lay before me like a white sheet of
paper. I saw a hand unroll it, and with bloody letters inscribe the word
'Death'; but I saw this word blotted out by a cautious finger, and, ere it
was written to the end, replaced by the word 'Life' in characters small
and hardly visible. Yes, I _will_ live, _will_ reign, _will_ have fame,
honor, and influence, _will_ make a name for myself! Leuchtmar, I have