_Solomon_.--"His majesty himself put the vase into my hands, and commanded me to pack it up, with some other china, which he was going to send as a present to a gentleman at Paris. I am something of a judge of china myself, being used to selling small pieces of it up and down the town and country. So I was struck with the first sight of this beautiful vase; I looked at it very carefully, and wiped away, with my handkerchief, the dust which had settled on the white figures: here is the very handkerchief. I wiped the vase all over; but, when I came to rub the bottom, I stopped to read the verses _on the character of Frederick the Great_; and having read these, I rubbed the white letters quite clean: the ground on which they were written was blue. I found that some of the blue colour came off upon my handkerchief, which surprised me a good deal. Upon examining further, I perceived that the colour came off only in one spot, of about an inch long, and half an inch broad. The king was at this time standing with his back to me, looking at a new picture which had just been hung up in the gallery; but hearing me make an exclamation ('_Father Abraham!_' I believe it was that I said), his majesty turned round. 'What is the matter with you, Solomon? You look wondrous wise,' his majesty was pleased to say. 'Why do you call on Father Abraham at this time of day? Do you expect that he will help you to pack up that china--hey, Solomon, my friend?' I had no power to answer this question, for by this time, to my utter astonishment, I had discovered that, on the spot where I had rubbed off the blue paint, there was a word written--the word was _tyrant_. '_On the character of Frederick, the great tyrant!_' Said I to myself--'what can this mean?' The king snatched the vase from my hands, read what I had read, saw the paint which had been rubbed off upon my handkerchief, and without saying one word left the gallery. This is all I know about the matter." The Jew bowed to the court, and Mr. Warendorff told him that, having closed his evidence, he might depart. But Albert rose to desire that the judge would order him to remain in court, as he purposed to examine, or, according to the English term, to _cross-examine_ him further, at a proper time. The judge ordered the Jew to remain in court. The next witness called, on the part of the crown, was the master of the porcelain manufactory of Berlin; to whom Mr. Warendorff put the following questions:-- _Q_.--"Have you seen the verses which are inscribed on the foot of this vase?" _Answer_.--"Yes, I have." _Q_.--"Do you recollect what words are written over the verses?" _Answer_.--"I do: the words are--'On the character of Frederick, the great tyrant.'" _Q_.--"Do you know by whom those words and these verses were written?" _Answer_.--"I believe that they were written by Count Augustus Laniska." _Q_.--"How do you know? or why do you believe it?"