'Not willingly,' said Arwed. Finally, however, he set the card which had been recommended.--It won. 'His majesty bears himself bravely,' said Kolbert, laughing; 'the banker can obtain no advantage over him.' Megret angrily threw to Arwed his winnings, at the same time fixing his rolling eyes upon the prophet. A passionate remark appeared to hover upon his tongue, but he suppressed it and the playing proceeded. 'How stands it now with our expedition against Drontheim?' asked Kolbert at the close of the game. 'I am surprised that we have had no well-founded intelligence from thence for so long a time.' 'According to my calculations,' said Posse, 'Armfelt must have already entered Drontheim. Have you no news from thence, Herr Swedenborg? What is our army about?' 'They are plundering the copper mines of Roeraas,' answered Swedenborg coolly. 'That would not be very agreeable to me!' said Posse jestingly, 'The position is somewhat distant from the capital, and would give the appearance of a retreat. This time, however, I firmly believe in a glorious victory for our arms. Do you not, also?' 'Excuse my answering,' said Swedenborg sorrowfully. 'The powerful elements hate mankind, and they are the stronger!' The officers looked thoughtfully at each other, and a profound stillness pervaded the assembly. 'Let the Finlanders protect their own skins,' said Kolbert, finally breaking the mournful silence. 'We will stick to Frederickshall, which we have already in our hands. The golden lion battery has been won after a brilliant engagement. When once the trenches are pushed a little further, then with a resolute escalade, we shall be there.' 'For God's sake, my dear friend!' said Swedenborg, anxiously, 'rely not so confidently upon the uncertain fortune of war! Bound to the wild steed of accident, the goddess of fortune ranges through the world--and when she stops and looks back upon her bloody and smoking path, she finds that she has only described a hopeless circle. She stands upon the point whence she started, and all the life and happiness, which she has trampled down in her furious course, is offered up in vain.' 'You speak so learnedly that I cannot wholly understand you,' laughingly observed Kolbert; 'but I gather from your conversation, that you lack the true soldier's faith. You have done well, therefore, in consecrating yourself to the pen. The sword would make you too deeply anxious. We, on the contrary, when our king leads us forth, would cheerfully grapple with the devil himself in his own dominions, and sing over him the _te deum prænumerando_.' 'And who can guarantee, proud man,' asked Swedenborg with a piercing glance, 'that your king will see the breaking of another morning, to lead you on to strife and victory?' He speedily withdrew. An indignant murmur arose among the officers; 'It is almost too bad,' said count Posse.