The king slowly shook his head. “You forget that the general to whom I am indebted for this favor has begged my consent to this marriage, and that I have granted it.”
“Sire, I conjure you to recall it! Upon my knees I implore you not to grant it! Do not make two people unhappy, who only beg of your majesty the permission to love and live with each other!” Moritz threw himself at the king’s feet, praying with clasped hands, his face flushed with deep emotion, and his eyes dimmed with tears.
“Rise!” commanded Frederick, “rise, do not kneel to me as to a God. I am a feeble mortal, subject to the same ills which threaten you and the whole human race. Rise, and answer me one question—are you rich?”
“No,” answered Moritz, proudly raising his head; “no, I am poor.”
“Do you know that Fraulein von Leuthen is poor? Her father is worse off than Job, for he is in debt.”
“If General von Leuthen’s daughter were rich, or even moderately well off, I never would have presumed to address your majesty on the subject, for fear that you might misconstrue my intentions, and suppose that my love was inspired by self-interest. Fortunately, Marie possesses nothing but her noble, beautiful self. She leads a joyless existence under the severe discipline of her cold-hearted parents; and therefore I can truthfully say, that with me she will lose nothing, but gain what she has never known—a tranquil, happy life, protected by my love.”
“How much salary do you receive as teacher?”
“Majesty, as conrector of the college attached to the Gray Monastery, three hundred and fifty dollars.”
“Do you expect to live upon that yourself, and support a family besides?”
“Sire, I shall earn money in other ways, as I have already done. I shall write books. The publishers tell me that I am a favorite author, and they pay me well.”