Louisa of Prussia and Her Times Part 90

"No," exclaimed the queen, raising her radiant eyes toward heaven, "I firmly believe in the happiness of our future; I believe and know that G.o.d has selected you, the most generous and guiltless of princes, to break the arrogance of that daring tyrant, who would like to chain the whole world to his despotic yoke, and who, in his ambitious thirst after conquest, raises his hands against the crowns of all the sovereigns.

YOUR crown he shall not touch! It is the rock on which his power will be wrecked, and at the feet of which his proud waves will be broken.

Prussia will avenge the disgrace of Germany; I am sure of it, and for this reason I am so happy and confident since you, my king and husband, have cast off the mask of that false friends.h.i.+p for the tyrant, and have shown him your open, angry, and hostile face. A heavy cloud weighed down my heart so long as we still continued mediating, occupying neutral ground, trying to maintain peace, and hoping to derive advantages from that man so devoid of honesty, sincerity, and fidelity."

"Still, who knows whether I was right, after all, in taking such a course!" sighed the king. "Peace is a very precious thing, and the people need it for their prosperity."

"But your people do not want peace!" exclaimed the queen. "They are enthusiastic and clamorous for war, and long for nothing so much as to see an end put to this deplorable incert.i.tude. You have now caused your army to be placed on the war footing, and all faces have already brightened up, and all hearts feel encouraged; announce to your people that you will declare war against the usurper, and all Prussia will rise jubilantly and hasten to the battlefield, as if it were a festival of victory."

"You refer to the army, but not to the people," said the king. "It is true, the army is ready for the fray, and it is satisfied also that it will conquer. But who can tell whether it may not be mistaken? It is long since we have waged war, while the armies of Napoleon are experienced and skilled, and ready to take the field at any moment."

"The army of Frederick the Great, the army of my king has nothing to fear from the hordes of the barbarian!" exclaimed the queen, with flaming eyes.

The king shrugged his shoulders. "I stand in need of allies," he said; "alone I am not able to sustain such a struggle. If the courts of Northern Germany should comply with my invitation, if they should ally themselves with me, finally, if Austria should accept my proposition and unite with me, in that case I should hope for success. All this will be decided to-day, for I am now looking for the return of two important envoys--for the return of Hardenberg, who has delivered my propositions in Vienna, and for the return of Lombard, whom I have sent to the smaller German courts to offer them an offensive and defensive alliance in opposition to Napoleon's Confederation of the Rhine. I confess to you, Louisa, I await their replies tremblingly; I cannot think of any thing else; this feeling has haunted me all day, and now you know why I even forgot to greet you this morning. I intended not to betray the uneasiness filling my heart, but who is able to withstand such an enchantress as you? Now you know every thing!"

"And do you know already the new misdeed which the tyrant has committed?" asked the queen. "Do you know that he is ruling and commanding on German soil as if Germany were nothing but a French province, and all princes nothing but his va.s.sals? In a time of peace he has caused a German citizen to be dragged from his house; in a German state he has ordered a court-martial to meet, and this court-martial has dared to pa.s.s sentence of death upon a German citizen merely because he, a German bookseller, had circulated a pamphlet deploring Germany's degradation!"

"I have already known it for three days," said the king, gloomily. "I concealed it from you in order not to grieve you."

"But public opinion now-a-days conceals nothing," exclaimed Louisa, ardently, "and public opinion throughout Germany cries for vengeance against the tyrant who is murdering German honor and German laws in this manner! In every city subscriptions have been opened for Palm's family, for his young wife and his little girls. The poor as well as the rich hasten to offer, according to their means, gifts of love to the widow and orphans of the martyr; and believe me, the money which Germany is now collecting for Palm's family will be dragon's seeds from which armed warriors will spring one day, and Germany's vengeance will blossom from this blood so unjustly shed. Permit me, my friend, to contribute my share to these seeds of love and vengeance. They brought to me this morning a list on which the most distinguished families had subscribed considerable sums for Palm's family, and I was asked whether my ladies of honor and the members of my household would be allowed to subscribe for the same purpose. I should like to allow it and do even more--I should like to contribute my mite, too, to the subscriptions. Will you permit me to do so?"

"They will take that again for a demonstration," said the king, uneasily; "they will say we were stirring up strife and discontent among the Germans. I believe it would be prudent not to make a public demonstration prematurely, but to wait and keep quiet till the right time has come."

"And when will the right time come, if it has not come now?" exclaimed the queen, mournfully. "Remember, my beloved husband, all the mortifications and humiliations which you have received of late at the hands of this despot, and which, in your n.o.ble and generous resignation, did not resent in order to preserve peace to your people. Remember that he alone prevailed on you to occupy Hanover, that he warranted its possession to you, and then when your troops had occupied it, applied secretly, and without saying a word to you, to England, offering to make peace with her by proposing to restore Hanover to her."

"It was a grievous insult," exclaimed the king, with unusual vivacity; "I replied to it by placing my army on the war footing."

"But our armies remain inactive," said the queen, sadly, "while General k.n.o.belsdorf is negotiating for peace with Bonaparte in Paris."

"He is to negotiate until I am fully prepared," said Frederick William--"until I know what German princes will be for and against me.

Above all, it is necessary to know our forces in order to mature our plans. Hence, I must know who is on my side."

"G.o.d is on your side, and so is Germany's honor," exclaimed the queen; "moreover, you may safely rely at least on one faithful friend."

"You refer to the Emperor of Russia?" asked the king. "True, I received yesterday a letter from the emperor, in which he announced 'that he would come to my a.s.sistance with an army of seventy thousand men under his personal command, as a faithful friend and neighbor, and appear in time on the battle-field, no matter whether it be on the Rhine or beyond it.'"

"Oh, the n.o.ble and faithful friend!" exclaimed the queen, joyfully.

"Yes," said the king, thoughtfully, "he promises a great deal, but Russian promises march more rapidly than Russian armies. I am afraid events will carry us along so resistlessly that we cannot wait until the Emperor of Russia has arrived with his army. As soon as Napoleon suspects that my preparations are meant for him, he will himself declare war against me. He is always prepared; his army is always ready for war.

Whatever he may be, we cannot deny that he is a brave and great general; and I do not know," added the king, in a low voice, "I do not know whether we have got a general able to cope with him. Oh, Louisa, I envy your courage, your reliance on our cause. Do you feel then, no uneasiness whatever?"

"Uneasiness?" exclaimed the queen, with a proud smile. "I believe and feel convinced that now only one thing remains to be done. We must struggle with the monster, we must crush it, and then only will we be allowed to speak of uneasiness! [Footnote: The queen's own words--Vide Gentz's "Writings," vol. iv., p. 169.] I believe, besides, in divine Providence--I believe in you, my n.o.ble, high-minded, and brave king and husband, and I believe in your splendid army, which is eager for war! I believe in the lucky star of Prussia!"

"Oh, it seems to me that many clouds are veiling that star," said the king, mournfully.

"The thunder of battle will dispel them!" exclaimed Louisa, enthusiastically. "The smoke of powder purifies the air and destroys its noxious vapors."

Just then the door opened, and the king's valet de chambre entered.

"Your majesty," he said, "his excellency, Minister Baron von Hardenberg, requests you to grant him an audience."

"You see the decision is drawing near," said the king, turning to his wife. "I shall request the minister to come in directly."

The valet de chambre withdrew. The king paced the room several times, his hands folded on his back, and without uttering a word. Louisa dared not disturb him, but her radiant eyes followed him with an expression of tender anxiety and affectionate sympathy.

All at once, the king stopped in the middle of the room and drew a deep breath. "I do not know," he said, "I feel almost joyful and happy now that the decisive moment is at hand. Francis von Sickingen was right in saying, 'Better an end with terror, than a terror without end!'"

[Footnote: The motto of the celebrated knight, Francis von Sickingen: "Besser ein Ende mit Schrecken, als ein Schrecken ohne Ende!"]

"Oh," exclaimed the queen, joyfully, "now I recognize my n.o.ble and brave husband. When no longer able to avert terrors by mild words and gentle prudence, he raises his chivalrous arm and crushes them. But as we must not keep your minister waiting, I will withdraw. One word more. Will you permit me to add my subscription to the list of contributions for Palm's widow? I do not wish to do so as Queen of Prussia, but as a woman sympathizing with the misfortunes of one of her German sisters, and anxious to comfort her in her distress. I shall not mention my name, but cause our dear mistress of ceremonies to subscribe for me. Will you permit it, my friend?"

"Follow your n.o.ble and generous heart, Louisa," said the king, "contribute for the relief of the poor woman!"

"Thanks, my friend, a thousand thanks," exclaimed Louisa, offering her hand to her husband. He kissed it tenderly, and then accompanied the queen to the door.

Louisa wanted here to withdraw her hand from him and open the door, in order to go out, but her husband kept her back, and his features a.s.sumed an air of embarra.s.sment.

"I want you to do me a favor," he said, hastily. "When you have caused the mistress of ceremonies to subscribe in your name, please order your grand-marshal to contribute the same sum. I will return it to him from my privy purse." [Footnote: Palm's widow received large sums of money, which were subscribed for her everywhere in Germany, England, and Russia. In St. Petersburg the emperor and empress headed the list.--Vide "Biography of John Philip Palm," Munich, 1842.]

The queen made no reply; she encircled the king's neck with her beautiful white arms, and imprinted a glowing kiss on his lips; she then hastily turned around and left the room, perhaps, in order not to let her husband see the tears that filled her eyes.

The king, who had gazed after her with a long and tender look, said in a low voice to himself: "Oh, she is the suns.h.i.+ne of my life. How dreary and cold it would be without her! But now I will see the minister."

He hastened to the opposite door and opened it. "Request Minister von Hardenberg to come in," he said to the valet de chambre, waiting in the anteroom.

After a few minutes Hardenberg entered. The king went forward to meet him, and looked at him inquiringly.

"Good news?" he asked.

"Your majesty, 'good' has a very relative meaning," replied Hardenberg, shrugging his shoulders. "I believe an open and categorical reply to be good."

"Then you are the bearer of such a reply," said the king, quietly; "first tell me the result of your mission. You may afterward add the particulars of the negotiations."

"I shall comply with your majesty's order. The result is that Austria wants to remain neutral, and will, for the present, engage in no further wars. Her finances are exhausted, and her many defeats have demoralized and discouraged her armies. Napoleon has vanquished Austria, not only militarily, but also morally. The Austrian soldiers look on the Emperor of the French and his victorious armies with an almost superst.i.tious terror; the emperor is discouraged and downcast, and his ministers long for nothing more ardently than a lasting peace with France. His generals, on the other hand, are filled with so glowing an admiration for Napoleon's military genius, that the Archduke Charles himself has said: 'he would deem it a crime to continue the war against Napoleon, instead of courting his friends.h.i.+p.'" [Footnote: Vide "Libensbilder aus dem Befreiungskriege," vol. iii.]

"He may be right," said the king, "but he ought to have called it an imprudence instead of a crime. I know very well that we are unable to retrace our steps, and that the logic of events will compel us to draw the sword and risk a war, but I do not close my eyes against the serious dangers and misfortunes in which Prussia might be involved by taking up arms without efficient and active allies. I have taken pains for years to save Prussia from the horrors and evils of war, but circ.u.mstances are more powerful than I, and I shall have to submit to them."

"On the contrary, circ.u.mstances will have to submit to your majesty and fate."

"Fate!" the king interrupted him, hastily. "Fate is no courtier, and never flattered me much."

"Your majesty, I was going to imitate fate,--I did not want to flatter you, either," said Hardenberg. "I was merely going to say that fate seems to favor us suddenly. I have received letters from Mr. Fox, the English minister. King George the Third, now that he sees that Prussia is in earnest, and is preparing for war, is more inclined to form an alliance with Prussia. The first favorable symptom of this change of views is the fact that England has raised the blockade of the rivers of northern Germany; a British envoy will soon be here to make peace with Prussia, and to conclude an alliance, by virtue of which England will furnish us troops and money."

"Would to G.o.d the envoy would arrive speedily," sighed the king, "for we need both, auxiliaries as well as money." [Footnote: The British envoy, Lord Morpeth, unfortunately arrived too late; it was only on the 19th of October that he reached the king's headquarters at Weimar. But the French party, Minister Haugwitz, Lombard, and Lucchesini, managed to prevent him from obtaining an interview with the king; and dismissed him with the reply, that the results of the negotiations would depend on the issue of the battle which was about to be fought.--Vide Hausser's "History of Germany," vol. ii., p. 766.]

When Minister von Hardenberg left the king's cabinet, his face was radiant with inward satisfaction, and he hastened with rapid steps to his carriage.

"To Prince Louis Ferdinand," he said to the coachman. "As fast as the horses will run!"

Prince Louis Ferdinand was in the midst of his friends in his music-room when Minister Hardenberg entered. He was sitting at the piano and playing a voluntary. His fancy must have taken a bold flight to-day, for in the music he evoked from the keys there was more ardor, vigor, and enthusiasm than generally, and the n.o.ble features of the prince were radiant with delight. Close to him, her head leaning gently on his shoulder, sat Pauline Wiesel, the prince's beautiful and accomplished friend, and listened with a smile on her crimson lips, and tears in her eyes, to the charming and soul-stirring melodies. In the middle of the room there stood a table loaded down with fiery wines and tropical fruits, and twelve gentlemen, most of them army officers, were seated around it. They were the military and learned friends of the prince, his daily companions, who, like Hardenberg, were always allowed to enter his rooms without being announced.