"Long live the libertines and mistresses! They shall rule over Prussia! They shall guide the ship of state; and we, Wilhelmine Enke, we two will be the leaders and masters of this merry band! We will fight with each other and for each other; and the Pharisees and Rosicrucians are, and shall ever be, our common enemies! Give me your hand on this, my queen!" "Here is my hand. Yes, the Pharisees and Rosicrucians are, and shall ever be, our common enemies!" "You will aid me, and I you! We will protect and watch over each other. Our interests are identical, what furthers yours furthers mine. You, my beautiful Wilhelmine, are ambitious, and are not contented with my well-sounding name. You aim higher, and I do not blame you, for a crown would become you well, although it were only the crown of a countess." "That would suffice," said Wilhelmine, smiling. "And you, my friend, what do you aspire to?" "I am a very modest man, and decorations and titles have no charms for me. I do not wish ever to become more than I now am; but that, my queen, I would like to remain. I have no desire to be dispossessed of my situation; on the contrary, I desire to make of it a right warm and comfortable nest." "And I will procure you the necessary down," cried Wilhelmine, laughing. "Very well, but it must be eider-down, my love, for that is the softest. I love the exquisite and the excellent; I am a gourmand in all things. If there is one thing I could wish for, it would be that my whole life might consist of one long dinner, and I remain sitting at the savory, richly-laden table, until compelled to leave it for the grave. I am not ambitious, nor am I miserly; but money I must have, much money. In order to lead a comfortable and agreeable life one must have money, a great deal of money, an immense quantity of money. My motto is, therefore, 'My whole life one good dinner, and--after dinner, no advice for nothing!'" "I consider this a wise motto, and, although I cannot make it my own, I will always respect it as yours, and act in accordance with it in your interest." "That will be very agreeable," said Rietz. "I will then be able to realize my ideal." "And in what does your ideal consist, if I may ask the question?"