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 hands⁠[1] of his ancestor the miller, and stating⁠[2] that⁠[3] 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 hand⁠[4], 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 survives⁠[5], for the building belongs⁠[6] to the history of Prussia, and is a standing⁠[7] 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 dollars⁠[8] to pay off your debts, and hope the sum will be sufficient for the purpose. Consider me⁠[9] always

Your affectionate⁠[10] neighbour,

Frederick William.”

The mill still stands, and is occupied by the⁠[11] descendants of the resolute miller who had the fortitude to thwart the despotic monarch in his desire⁠[12] to improve the prospect from the windows of his palace.—Chambers’s “Short Stories.”