"You know that he has predicted our downfall?"
"Yes, but after a great victory. We are little kings, it is true; but we are, on the English side, great princes, let us act greatly."
"That is your opinion, Ernest?"
"That is my prayer, sire," said the young prince, bowing.
The king turned to his wife and interrogated her by a movement of his head.
"Go, my dear," said she, "and follow your own thought, which is ours also."
"But," said the king, "if we are obliged to leave Hanover, what will happen to you and the two princesses?"
"We will stay where we are, sire, in our castle of Herrenhausen. After all, the King of Prussia is my cousin, and if our crown is in danger through him, our lives are not. Summon your council, sire, and take with you the two voices which say to you: 'Not only no treason against others, but above all no treason against our honour!'"
The king called a council of his ministers, who unanimously voted for refusal.
At midnight Count Platen replied verbally to the Prince of Issemburg, who had brought the proposal.