Reverdil now entered upon his duties, and remained alone with the King in his apartments. Before long Christian's mania manifested itself, despite his efforts to conceal it. His mind began to wander, and he broke out into rapid and incoherent speech. Occasionally he would recite lines from _Zaire_, in which he had acted years before; often he would address Reverdil as "Brandt," sometimes as "Denize" or "Latour"--two French actors who had been in his service--sometimes by his right name. Now and then he would vaunt himself, and recall the fact that he had been greeted like a god by the English nation, and declare that his glory and magnificence were above those of all other kings on earth. On other occasions he would become depressed and melancholy, and belittle himself, saying that no matter what he did he would never be more than a "little man" of no reputation. He talked much about his infirmities, and sometimes threatened to commit suicide. "Shall I drown myself?" he would say. "Shall I throw myself out of the window, or dash out my brains against the wall?" But this was only talk, for the King feared death greatly. For instance, one day when they were in a boat on the small lake round the palace of Hirschholm, the King said to Reverdil with a look of despair: "I should like to throw myself into the lake"; but he added as a quick after-thought: "and be pulled out again directly". He was aware of his mania, and strove hard to overcome it, but in vain. There were three marked degrees which he indicated by three German expressions. The first was: "_Ich bin confus_" (I am confused); the second: "_Es rappelt bei mir_" (There is a noise in my head); and the third: "_Er ist ganz übergeschnappt_" (I am quite beside myself). And often he would declare: "I can bear it no longer".