'Very true!' exclaimed Georgina. 'The ruins of royalty are a worthy mausoleum for the great man; but his children despair.'
Arwed continued:
'Mors regis, fidesque in regem et ducem, mors mea.'
'That means?' asked Georgina in a faint voice.
'The death of the king and fidelity to him and to the duke are the cause of his death.'
'Alas, how true!' sighed Georgina, and, breaking out in a flood of tears, she sunk upon Arwed's shoulder.
The door of the adjoining room now opened, and Goertz entered with a serene countenance, followed by the weeping Conradi. 'Father!' shrieked his daughters, throwing themselves into his arms.
'My dear children!' cried he, joyfully pressing them to his bosom, and kissing them tenderly.
'If that adamantine heart were here,' said Arwed to Conradi, with deep emotion, 'this scene would yet melt it.'
'I thank God that the queen is not here,' answered the latter. 'She would remain inexorable, and thus aggravate her responsibility in the next world.'