The king seated himself on the sofa which stood in the middle of the room. Princess Amelia and the two princes seated themselves in chairs, in his immediate vicinity. In front of them, and near the window, stood a table covered with green cloth, and beside it three elegantly carved chairs. This was Frederick the Great's writing-desk, the desk at which he had thought and labored so much for the welfare and honor of his kingdom and subjects. "Baron von Hardenberg, minister, and extraordinary ambassador of his highness, the Duke of Brunswick," cried Count Herzberg as he entered and presented this gentleman to the king. Baron von Hardenberg bowed with the grace of a courtier and an elegant man of the world, and then looked up at the king, expectantly, with an air of perfect ease and composure. "Speak, Baron von Hardenberg," said the king, with some little embarrassment, after a short pause. "My uncle, the Duke of Brunswick, sends you. What message does the baron bring?" "Sir, I bring, at the command of my gracious master, the duke, the last will and testament of King Frederick the second, of blessed memory--with unbroken seals, and in exactly the same condition as when years ago delivered by his deceased majesty to the duke, and by him deposited in the state archives at Brunswick, where it has remained until now." The baron handed the sealed document to the king, and begged him, and the princes, and ministers, to examine the seals, to assure themselves that they had not been tampered with, and requested his majesty to break them, and open the will, after having satisfied himself of that fact. After this had been done, and after Herzberg had testified to Frederick's handwriting, the king returned the document to Baron von Hardenberg. "You brought us these last greetings and injunctions of the great king, and it is therefore but just and proper that you, as the representative of the duke, should make us acquainted with the contents of the will. I authorize you to read it aloud. Seat yourself at that table between my two ministers. And now read." Count von Hardenberg spread the document out on the table, and commenced to read in a loud and sonorous voice, as follows: