"MY QUEEN, MY POOR QUEEN!"
On the night of July 18 a travelling carriage dashed towards Fürstenburg, the first town within the Duke of Mecklenburg's dominions, the driver urging its horses to their utmost.
Within sat the King, pale and thin from a severe attack of malaria. With him were the Crown Prince and Prince William, the faces of the boys wet with tears, their eyes struggling with weariness.
On dashed the horses.
"Faster! Faster!" now and then ordered the King, clenching his hands.
Presently a rosy light heralded the day, the clarion of the cocks announced the morning, the stars faded from the brightening sky, and the carriage dashed through Fürstenburg.
Two hours more. The King looked at his watch and cried:
"Faster! Faster!"
The people of the town, startled by the wheels, wondered who was passing in such haste. Later came a second carriage, a girl's white, tearful face gazing from one window, a round, rosy-cheeked boy against her shoulder.
It was the King, the Crown Prince and Prince William, and Princess Charlotte and Prince Carl hastening to Queen Louisa.