"
"Then he has fled with her, I suppose, and she will instigate him on the
way to pen new slanders, which, by virtue of the licentiousness of the
press, he will utter against me?"
"No, sire, he has not fled, but kept himself concealed here; our police,
however, ferreted out his whereabouts and arrested him. It remains for
your majesty to decree what is to be done with him."
"He shall be a warning example to the German scribblers, and remind them
of the penalty incurred by those who stir up resistance against me by
their insults and sneers. I will silence these libellers once for all,
and destroy their contemptible free press by the executioner's axe. The
punishment inflicted upon Palm seemed not sufficient--let M. Lange,
then, be another warning to them. Let him die as Palm died!"
"Your majesty, then, will give to the sentimental Germans another
martyr, to whom they will pray, and whose death will increase their
enthusiasm? Sire, martyrs are like fools. 'One fool makes many others,'
and thus we might say also, 'One martyr makes many others.' Suppose you
have this M. Lange shot to-day, because he is a faithful adherent of the
queen, and has written in accordance with her views--to-morrow
pamphleteers will spring up like mushrooms--there will be more libels
against your majesty, written by those having a vain desire of dying for
their beautiful queen, and in the hope that she would shed tears for
them, as she did for M.
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