“You must dance with me, father,” said Charles Henry, laughing. “I will take no refusal.”
“I will, my son, I will; joy has made me young again, and if Phylax, the old graybeard, does not mind, and will allow me, I will dance with you, but you know he is always jealous of you. I am sure the whole village will envy you your gay young partner. But now, my son,” he continued gravely, “tell me of our king, and how is it that he has declared peace so suddenly, and whether he has been victorious or the reverse.”
“I know nothing of the king,” said Charles Henry; “I was not near him, but in the division of the Duke of Brunswick.”
“I know that, my son; but the duke would not proclaim peace without the knowledge and consent of the king.”
“Oh, father, they will compel the king to make peace,” cried Charles Henry. “And as for the Duke of Brunswick, he has given up the attack against Wesel and has withdrawn to Westphalia, and the French are in possession of the entire lowlands, which, it is to be hoped, they will retain.”
“You hope that?” asked his father, with astonishment.
“Well, yes, father. The French king is now, and perhaps will always be, the lord of Cleve; and, as his subjects, we must wish him success, and hope that he will always conquer the King of Prussia.”
“What do you say, my son?” asked the old man, with a bewildered expression. “I fear you are right. The French are our masters now, and, as our king has declared peace with France, we have the unhappiness of being French subjects. May God protect us from such a fate! It would be fearful if we dared not call the great hero—king our king, and, if we should live to see the day when our sons should be compelled, as French soldiers, to go to battle against their king. Only think, Charles Henry, you would not be allowed to wear your fine Prussian uniform on Sundays, and it is so becoming to you, and is as good as new. But how is it, my son, that they have left you the uniform? They are usually taken from the released soldiers and put amongst the army stores.”
“We all came home in our Prussian uniforms,” said Charles Henry, “but of course we will lay them aside to-day.”
“Why to-day?”