"This is all mine; I won it with my spear and bow. It is mine, and I will never yield it up. I will prove to Maria Theresa that what was good to take was not good to restore. No, no! Silesia is mine; my honor, my pride, and my fame demand it. I will never give it up. I will defend it with rivers of blood, yes, with my own heart's blood!" He took his glass and looked again over the luxurious valley; he started and fixed his glass steadily upon one point. In the midst of the smiling meadows through which the highway wound like a graceful stream, he saw a curious, glittering, moving mass. At the first glance it looked like a crowd of creeping ants; it soon, however, assumed larger proportions, and, at last, approaching ever nearer, the forms of men could be distinctly seen, and now he recognized a column of marching soldiers. "Austrians," said the king, with calm composure. He turned his glass in the other direction, where a road led into the valley; this path was also filled with soldiers, who, by rapid marches, were approaching the cloister. "Without doubt they know that I am here," said the king; "they have learned this in the village, and have come to take me prisoner. Eh bien, nous verrons." So saying, Frederick put his glass in his pocket, descended the steps, and with cool indifference entered the room of the abbot. "Messieurs," said he, laughing merrily, as he looked at the good- natured and unsuspicious faces of the worthy abbot and the young officer, "we must decide upon some plan of defence, for the Austrians draw near on every side of the cloister." "Oh, my prophetic soul!" murmured the abbot, folding his hands in prayer. Trenck rushed to the window and looked searchingly abroad. At this moment a loud knock was heard upon the door, and an anxious voice called to the abbot. "All is lost, the Austrians are already here!" cried Tobias Stusche, wringing his hands despairingly. "No!" said the king, "they cannot yet have reached the cloister, and that is not the voice of a soldier who commands, but that of a monk who prays, and is almost dead with terror; let us open the door." "O my God, your majesty! would you betray yourself?" cried Stusche, and forgetting all etiquette, he rushed to the king, laid his hand upon his arm and held him back. "No," said the king, "I will not betray myself, neither will I conceal myself. I will meet my fate with my face to the foe." "Open, open, for God's sake!" cried the voice without. "He prays in God's name," said the king. "I will open the door." He crossed the room and drew back the bolt. And now, the pale and anxious face of Brother Anastasius appeared. He entered hastily, closed and fastened the door. "Pardon," said he, trembling and breathless--"pardon that I have dared to enter. The danger is great; the Austrians surround the cloister." "Are they already here?" said the king.