Tell me, in what way can I aid you?"
"Your excellency, by assisting me in finding the man whom I am seeking;
on whom the eyes of all good Prussians are fixed, and who is alone able
to save the country, to reestablish its prosperity at home, and to
obtain for it respect and authority abroad. The man whom the queen calls
her friend, and of whom she expects help--to whom the king offers his
hand, and whom he begs (understand me well, begs) to sustain him with
his strong arm and his powerful mind, and, for the sake of Prussia, not
to remember the wrongs he suffered in by-gone days--your excellency, I
am seeking this high-minded man, who forgets insults, and yet does not
close his ears against the cry of his country; whom adversity does not
deter, and whom the burden to be laid on his shoulders does not cause to
tremble; who forgets his own interests in order to have the satisfaction
of saving a state to which, from his youth, he has devoted his
strength--the man in whom all patriots confide, whom Hardenberg, when
Napoleon's despotic will compelled him to resign his office, pointed out
to the king as the only one by whom Prussia might still be redeemed.
Your excellency, can you tell me where I may find this man?"
While M. von Schladen was speaking, Stein slowly raised his head to
listen. His countenance had undergone a marvellous change; his features
had regained their wonted expression, and his eyes beamed with energy.
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