The German Emperor recently made an interesting presentation to the
Hohenzollern Museum. It consists of the “death-dice,” by the help of
which one of the Emperor’s ancestors decided a difficult case in the
seventeenth century. How they came to be known as the “death-dice” is
thus related by the London _Tatler_:
A beautiful young girl had been murdered, and suspicion fell on
two soldiers, Ralph and Alfred, who were rival suitors for her
hand. As both prisoners denied their guilt, and even torture
failed to exact a confession from either, Prince Frederick
William, the Kaiser’s ancestor, decided to cut the Gordian knot
with the dice-box. The two soldiers should throw for their
lives, the loser to be executed as the murderer. The event was
celebrated with great pomp and solemnity, and the Prince himself
assisted at this appeal to divine intervention, as it was
considered by everybody, including the accused themselves.
Ralph was given the first throw, and he threw sixes, the highest
number, and no doubt felt jubilant. The dice-box was then given
to Alfred, who fell on his knees and prayed aloud: “Almighty
God, thou knowest I am innocent. Protect me, I beseech thee!”
Rising to his feet, he threw the dice with such force that one
of them broke in two. The unbroken one showed six, the broken
one also showed six on the larger portion, and the bit that had
been split off showed one, giving a total of thirteen, or one
more than the throw of Ralph. The whole audience thrilled with
astonishment, while the Prince exclaimed, “God has spoken!”
Ralph, regarding the miracle as a sign from heaven, confest his
guilt, and was sentenced to death. (Text.)
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