"The king is very good; but I am not ill—I do not suffer."
"But, your royal highness, your eyes suffer. They are weak and inflamed: allow me to examine them."
"Yes, as my brother has commanded it; but I warn you, you cannot heal them."
Meckel, the physician, examined her eyes with the closest attention, then shook his head thoughtfully.
"Princess," said he at last, in low, respectful tones, "if you grant your eyes no rest; if, instead of sleeping quietly, you pass the night pacing your room; if you continue to exhaust your eyes by constant weeping, the most fatal consequences may result."
"Do you mean I will become blind?" said Amelia, quietly.
"I mean your eyes are suffering; that, however, is no acute disease; but your whole nervous system is in a dangerous condition, and all this must be rectified before your eyes can be healed."
"Prescribe something, then, as his majesty has commanded it," said
Amelia, coldly.
"I will give your royal highness a remedy; but it is of so strong and dangerous a nature, that it must be used only with the utmost caution. It is a liquid; it must be heated, and you must allow the steam to pass into your eyes. Your highness must be very, very careful. The substances in this mixture are so strong, so corrosive, that if you approach too near the steam, it will not only endanger your eyes, but your face and your voice. You must keep your mouth firmly closed, and your eyes at least ten inches above the vessel from which the steam is rising. Will your highness remember all this, and act as I have directed?"
"I will remember it," said Amelia, replying only to the first part of his question.