"I accept!" said he, speaking through his clenched teeth.
"I will be the judge," said Augustus. "And we cannot postpone sentence; Hoym must bring his wife here immediately, and introduce her at the Queen's first ball."
"Write at once, Hoym! The King's courier will carry the letter to Laubegast," said Fürstenberg.
"Yes, write; write!" resounded from all sides.
Paper was laid before him in a moment, and Fürstenberg put a pen into his hand. The unfortunate Hoym, in whom the fear of the husband was aroused, as often as he remembered the gallantry of the King, could not tell how he ever wrote to his wife, commanding her to come to Dresden. But in the twinkling of an eye, the paper was snatched from his hand, and some one had rushed with it into the courtyard, and ordered the King's courier to ride with it at once to Laubegast.
"Fürstenberg," whispered Augustus, "I can see by Hoym's face that, should he become sober to-day, he will send a counter order. We must make him dead drunk."
"He is so drunk already, that I fear for his life!" returned the Prince.
"I do not," replied Augustus quietly, "I hope I should be able to find some one to fill the office that would become vacant by his death."
The smile with which the King accompanied this speech had such an effect on those present, that they all crowded round Hoym, pouring wine into his glass, and suggesting toasts, with the result, that within half-an-hour Hoym fell asleep on the table, his face, pale as a corpse, his head hanging, and his mouth open. For the sake of security, they did not convey him home, but placed him instead in one of the King's rooms, where he was watched over by the giant Cojanus, who received orders not to let him return home, should he unexpectedly come to his senses.
Having got rid of him, they continued their carouse.