The Prince receives the letter. He reads it aloud while Nathalie listens. She grows pale; for she feels what a man must do who is called upon to be his own judge. Nevertheless she urges the Prince to write the words which the Elector requires; she snatches the letter from the Prince's hand; when he hesitates, she reminds him of the open grave he has already seen. But neither is the Prince any longer in doubt concerning the significance of the moment, concerning the Elector, concerning his own guilt. He says, "I will not face the man who faces me So nobly, with a knave's ignoble front! Guilt, heavy guilt, upon my conscience weighs, I fully do confess--" He writes this to the Elector, and Nathalie embraces him exclaiming: "And though twelve bullets made You dust this instant, I could not resist Caroling, sobbing, crying: 'Thus you please me!'" I would gladly follow the great poet through the fifth act also, but it is not indispensable for the analysis of the play, as the _dénouement_ is easy to foresee--namely that the Prince, after already suffering one death through the relinquishment of that idea which has been the guiding principle of his life hitherto, is spared a second death. Finally I must add that I have not chosen the _Prince of Homburg_ as the subject of my criticism because this tragedy is the most successful of all Kleist's plays, but merely because it offers the best opportunity for drawing a comparison between the dramatic achievements of Kleist and those of Körner. And now, courage. We must start in with Körner and we will choose that one of his products which is universally declared the greatest, his _Zriny_. In discussing the _Prince of Homburg_ I could limit myself to a general outline, as it is not possible that any one who reads the play could ever have the least doubt whether the characters are correctly drawn. We have not such an easy task with Körner's _Zriny_, but rather must take the opposite way. In order not to overpass the limits of this essay, however, we will pay less attention to the play as a totality, which, indeed, can occupy our attention only if the first investigation prove favorable to the author.