The king had asked this question with a proud and haughty glance; suddenly his manner altered, his countenance assumed an humble, penitent look, his head sank down upon his breast, and he folded his hands as if in prayer. "I am a sinner and a criminal," he murmured. "In the pride of my new dignity I forgot my superiors; and the little visible creature dared to consider himself the equal of the Invisible! I now repent, beg for mercy, and am ready to yield obedience to my superiors.--They have then spoken to you again, these superior beings? They have imparted to you their wishes?" "Your majesty," said Bischofswerder, in a mysterious whisper, "while sleeping last night, I was suddenly awakened by a wondrous radiance, and I sprang from my bed, believing that fire had broken out and enveloped my room in flames; but I felt that a gentle hand forced me back, and I now saw that the light which had terrified me came from a luminous countenance, which stood out in bold relief amid the surrounding darkness. The eyes of this countenance shone like two heavenly stars, shedding a soft light upon me. With a celestial smile on its lips, the spirit spoke to me: 'Your heart is humble and guileless. You have no craving after earthly honors, and are not attracted by grandeur and riches; but I command you to arise from your humility, and no longer to withdraw yourself from earthly honors, for those whom the Invisible love must also be recognized and elevated by the visible, that their favor be made manifest before men. You will be advanced to-morrow, and on the ensuing day you will receive a second advancement; and what your king offers you must accept. This is the will of the Invisible.' And after this wonderful spirit had spoken it vanished, and all was again enveloped in darkness. I, however, lit a candle, in order that I might have tangible proof, on arising the next morning, that this had been no dream; I wrote down on a sheet of paper the last words the spirit had spoken, and the hour at which it appeared. Your majesty, I have brought this paper with me to show it to my king. Here it is!" The king took the writing, and read in a low voice: "You will be advanced to-morrow, and on the ensuing day you will receive a second advancement; and what the king offers you must accept. This is the will of the Invisible. Command of the radiant spirit, given in the night between the sixteenth and seventeenth of August, at twenty minutes past two." "The hour at which the king died," exclaimed Frederick William, with astonishment, "and the hour at which I also suddenly awoke! Wonderful, wonderful indeed!" "Your majesty, for those endowed with intuition there are no wonders," said Bischofswerder, quietly, "and your majesty belongs to this number." "But only in a very slight degree," sighed the king. "I am still groping in the twilight; my eyes are yet dazzled by the splendor of the Invisible."