His Sans-Souci was the great king’s holy and solitary retreat; and there it was that the hero and king breathed his last sigh on earth, without murmur or complaint.
He died on the morning of the 17th August, in the year 1786.
A great man had ceased to live. There lay the inanimate form of him who had been called King Frederick the Second. But a star arose in the heavens, and wise men gave it the name Frederick’s Honor. The same star still shines in the firmament, and seems to greet us and Prussia: Frederick’s Honor!
BOOK II.
CHAPTER I.
AFTER THE KING’S DEATH.
“The king is dead! Frederick the Second is no more! I come, your majesty, to bring you this sad intelligence!”