Section 208 The King and the Miller. — II
In his distress he wrote to Frederick William IV, who was at that time king of Prussia, reminding him of the refusal experienced by Frederick the Great at the hands1 of his ancestor the miller, and stating2 that3 if His Majesty now wished to obtain possession of the property, he would, in his present embarrassed circumstances, most willingly dispose of the mill. The king immediately wrote, with his own hand4, the following reply:
“My Dear Neighbour,
I cannot allow you to sell the mill. It must remain in the possession of your family as long as one of your descendants survives5, for the building belongs6 to the history of Prussia, and is a standing7 memorial of the integrity of our judges and the impartiality of our laws. I am sorry, however, to hear that you are in straitened circumstances, and therefore send you six thousand dollars8 to pay off your debts, and hope the sum will be sufficient for the purpose. Consider me9 always
Your affectionate10 neighbour,
Frederick William.”
The mill still stands, and is occupied by the11 descendants of the resolute miller who had the fortitude to thwart the despotic monarch in his desire12 to improve the prospect from the windows of his palace.—Chambers’s “Short Stories.”
Notes
1 reminding — hands = reminded him of the refusal (abschlägige Antwort) which Fred. the Gr. had received at the hands (seitens).
2 = stated.
3 = that he would in his present embarrassed circumstances most willingly sell the mill, if, etc. ‘To obtain possession of the property’, here das Besitzthum käuflich erwerben.
4 with — hand, eigenhändig, adj., which use after ‘following’.
5 noch am Leben sein.
6 an´gehören.
7 bleibend, adj.; to, an.
8 Thaler (m.), formerly the standard coin in Germany, and equal to 3 sh. English.
9 = I remain always.
10 here wohlwollend, adj.
11 = and is still in the possession of the.
12 to thwart — desire = to oppose (sich einer Sache widersetzen) the desire of the despotic king.