They pronounced sentence of death on the prince royal. Katte was
sentenced to imprisonment for life, on the plea that his crime had been
only meditated, not committed. The latter sentence did not please the
despot. He changed it himself from life imprisonment to death, and with
a refinement of cruelty ordered the execution to take place under the
prince's window, and within his sight.
On the 5th of November, 1730, Frederick, wearing a coarse prison dress,
was conducted from his cell in the fortress of Cuestrin to a room on the
lower floor, where the window-curtains, let down as he entered, were
suddenly drawn up. He saw before him a scaffold hung with black, which
he believed to be intended for himself, and gazed upon it with
shuddering apprehension. When informed that it was intended for his
friend, his grief and pain became even more acute. He passed the night
in that room, and the next morning was conducted again to the window,
beneath which he saw his condemned friend, accompanied by soldiers, an
officer, and a minister of religion.
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