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 University of California. 
 
 
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 You dare set your foot into the house of the Hohenzollerns ? " asked the spectre in a hollow, 
 
 menacing voice. P. 83. 
 
-A. I* O L ! O JV I JS Gr J 14 JV1 -A. .N' V 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 HISTORICAL NOVEL. 
 
 BY 
 
 L. MUHLBACH, 
 
 AUTHOR Ot 
 
 UAITOHTKB OF AN EMPRESS," "MARIE ANTOINETTE," "JOSEPH II. AND HIS COURT," " FREnERICK 
 THE GREAT AND HIS FAMILY," " BERLIN AND SANS-SOUCI," ETC.. ETC. 
 
 TKANSLATED FKOJI THE OKHJIAN, BY 
 
 F. JORDAN. 
 
 COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME 
 
 u3 PT 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 
 
 1, 3, AND 5 BOND STREET. 
 1892 
 
ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 186T, by 
 
 D. APPLETON & CO., 
 
 La the Clork'8 Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District 01 
 
 New York. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 NAPOLEON AT DRESDEN. 
 
 FAGB 
 
 JHAP. L Frederick William and Hardenberg, 5 
 
 II. The White Lady, ... 14 
 
 III. Napoleon and the White Lady, . 18 
 
 IV. Napoleon at Dresden, . . 28 
 
 V. Napoleon's High-born Ancestors, . 33 
 
 VI. Naooleon's Departure from Dresden, 37 
 
 THE LAST DAYS OF 1812. 
 
 VII. The Conspirators of Helgoland, 
 VIII. The European Conspiracy, . 
 IX. Gebhard Leberecht Blucher, 
 X. Recollections of Mecklenburg, 
 XI. Glad Ti . . 
 
 XH.-The Oath, 
 
 CHANCELLOR VON HARDENS BUG. 
 
 X III. The Interrupted Supper, . . 78 
 
 XIV. The Defection of General York, . 82 
 
 XV. The Wan.' . . 87 
 
 XVI. The Diplomatic. . . fcj 
 
 XVII. The Clairvoyantc, . . 98 
 
 XVIII. An Advc.m . . . 102 
 
 XIX. The Two Diplomatists . . 112 
 
 XX. The Attack 119 
 
 XXI. The Courier's Return, . . 125 
 
 THE VOLUNTEERS. 
 
 XX I! -The Manifesto, . 
 XXII I .Leonora Prohaska, . 
 XXIV. Joan of Orleans, 
 
 XXV. The National Representatives, 
 
 \VAH ANT) AN ARMISTICE. 
 XXVI. Theodore K<~nicr. 
 
 KXVIL-The Herok Tailor. 
 
 130 
 
 m 
 
 189 
 
 14T, 
 
 155 
 161 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. The General-in-Chief of the 
 
 Silesian Army, . . 16c 
 
 XXIX. The Ball at the City Hall of 
 
 Breslau, . . .109 
 
 XXX. The Appointment, . . . 175 
 
 X X X I. After the Battle of Bautzen, 180 
 
 XXXII. Bad News, . . .184 
 
 XXXm. The Traitors, . . . 190 
 
 XXXTV. Napoleon and Metternich, . 193 
 
 DELIVERANCE OF GERMANY. 
 
 XXXV. On the Katzbach, . . 199 
 
 XXXVI. Blncher as a Writer, . . 203 
 
 XXXVII. The Revolt of the Generals, 206 
 
 X X X Vm. The Battle of Leipsic, . 211 
 
 XXXIX. The Nineteenth of October, . 217 
 
 HANNIBAL ANTE PORTAS. 
 
 XL. Blucher' s Birthday, . . 228 
 
 XLI. Passage of the Rhine, . . 232 
 
 XLIL Napoleon's New-Year's-Day, 238 
 
 XLin. The King of Rome, . . 243 
 
 XLIV.-Josephine, ... 248 
 
 XLV.-Talleyrand, . . . 251 
 
 XLVI. Madame Lctitin, 253 
 
 FALL OF PARIS. 
 
 XLVIL The Battle of La Rothiere, . 266 
 
 XT.VIIT .-The Diseased Eyee, . . 271 
 
 XI. IX. On to Paris I . . .270 
 L. Departure of Maria Louisa, 
 LI. The Capitulation of Paris, 
 L1I. Night and Morningnear Paris, 289 
 
 LI 1 1. Napoleon at Fontaineblean, 293 
 
 LTV. A Soul in Purgatory, . 296 
 
NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER 
 
 NAPOLEON AT DRESDEN. 
 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 FREDERICK WILLIAM A.XD HARDEN 7 BERG. 
 
 IT was a fine, warm day in May, 1812. The 
 world was groaning under the yoke of Napoleon's 
 tyranny. As a consolation for the hopeless year, 
 came the laughing spring. Fields, forests, and 
 meadows, were clad in beautiful verdure ; flowers 
 were blooming, and birds were singing every- 
 where even at Charlottenburg, which King Fred- 
 erick William formerly delighted to call his 
 " pleasure palace," but which now was his house 
 of mourning. At Charlottenburg, Frederick Wil- 
 liam had spent many and happy spring days with 
 Queen Louisa ; and when she was with him at this 
 country-seat, it was indeed a pleasure palace. 
 
 The noble and beautiful queen was also now 
 at Charlottenburg, but the king only felt her 
 presence he beheld her no more. Her merry 
 remarks and charming laughter had ceased, as 
 also her sighs and suffering; her radiant eyes had 
 closed forever, and her sweet lips spoke no more. 
 She was still at Charlottenburg, but only as a 
 corpse. The king had her mausoleum erected in 
 the middle of the garden. Here lay her coffin, 
 and room had been left for another, as Frederick 
 William intended to repose one day at the side of 
 his Louisa. 
 
 From the time that the queen's remains had 
 been deposited there from that day of anguish 
 and tears the king called Charlottenburg no 
 longer his " pleasure palace." It was henceforth 
 a tomb, where his happiness and love were buried. 
 Still, he liked to remain there, for it seemed to 
 him as though he felt the presence of the spirit 
 of his blessed queen, and understood better what 
 she whispered to his soul in the silent nights 
 when she consoled him, and spoke of heaven and 
 a renewed love. The bereaved husband, how- 
 ever, did not prefer to dwell hi the magnificent 
 abode of his ancestors, where he had formerly 
 passed in spring so many happy days with his be- 
 loved Louisa. He had, therefore, a small house 
 near the palace ; it was into this plain and hum- 
 ble structure that he had retired with his grief- 
 stricken heart. Here, in his solitude, he had 
 already passed two springs. 
 
 The second year had nearly elapsed since the 
 queen's death, and Frederick William's heart was 
 still overburdened with sorrow, but yet he had 
 learned what time teaches all mortals he had 
 learned to be resigned. Yes, resignation in these 
 melancholy days was the only thing that remained 
 to the unfortunate King of Prussia. It was a 
 sad and difficult duty, for he had lost happiness, 
 love, greatness, and even his royal independence 
 
 
6 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 It is true, he was still called King of Prussia, but 
 he was powerless. He had to bow to the de- 
 spotic will of Napoleon, and scarcely a shadow:f 
 ais former greatness had been left him. The days 
 of Tilsit had not yet brought disgrace and humili- 
 ation enough upon him. The Emperor of the 
 French had added fresh exactions, and his arro- 
 gance became daily more reckless and intolerable. 
 In the face of such, demands it only remained for 
 Frederick William to submit or resist. He looked 
 mournfully at his unhappy country ; at those 
 whom the last war had deprived of their husbands 
 and fathers ; at his small army ; at the scanty 
 means at his disposal, compared with the resources 
 of Napoleon, and the king submitted. 
 
 He had indeed hesitated long, and struggled 
 strongly with his own feelings. For, by submit- 
 ting to Napoleon's behests, he was to become the 
 open enemy of the Emperor Alexander, and the 
 King of Prussia was, jointly with the Emperor of 
 the French, to arm against the Emperor of Rus- 
 sia. It was a terrible necessity for Frederick 
 William to sacrifice his friend to his enemy, and 
 at the very moment when Alexander had offered 
 his hand for a new league, and proposed to con- 
 clude an offensive and defensive alliance with 
 Prussia and England. 
 
 But such an alliance with distant Russia could 
 not strengthen Prussia against neighboring France, 
 whose armies were encamped near her frontiers. 
 The danger of being crushed by Napoleon was 
 much more probable than the hope of being sup- 
 ported by Russia. Russia had enough to do to 
 take care of herself. She was unable to prevent 
 France from destroying Prussia, if Napoleon de- 
 sired, and the crown might fall from the head of 
 Frederick William long before a Russian army of 
 succor could cross the Prussian frontier. He 
 submitted therefore, and accepted with one hand 
 the alliance of France, while threatening her with 
 the other. 
 
 On the 24th of February, 1812, the Prussian 
 king signed this new treaty. As was stipulated 
 by the first article, he entered into a defensive 
 alliance with France against any European power 
 with which either France or Prussia should here- 
 
 after be at war. Napoleon, the man who 
 broken Queen Louisa's heart, was now the friend 
 and ally of King Frederick William, and the ene- 
 mies of France were henceforth to be the enemies 
 of Prussia ! 
 
 It was this that the king thought of to-day, 
 when, in the early part of May, he was alone, and 
 absorbed in his reflections, at his small house in 
 Charlottenburg. It was yet early, for he had 
 risen before sunrise, and had been at work a long 
 time, when he ceased for a moment and yielded 
 to his meditations. Leaning back in his easy 
 chair, he gazed musingly through the open glass- 
 doors, now on the serene sky, and again on the 
 fragrant verdure of his garden. 
 
 But this quiet relaxation was not to last long ; 
 the door of the small anteroom opened, and the 
 footman announced that his excellency Minister 
 and Chancellor von Hardenberg requested to see 
 his majesty. 
 
 " Let him come in," said the king, as he rose, 
 turning his grave eyes, which had become even 
 gloomier than before, toward the door, on the 
 threshold of which the elegant and somewhat 
 corpulent form of the chancellor of state ap- 
 peared. He bowed respectfully. His noble and 
 prepossessing countenance was smiling and ge- 
 nial as usual ; the king's, grave, thoughtful, and 
 sad. 
 
 " Bad news, I suppose ? " asked the king, 
 briefly. " You come at so early an hour, some- 
 thing extraordinary must have happened. What 
 is it?" 
 
 "Nothing of that kind, your majesty," said 
 Hardenberg, with his imperturbable smile. " Yet, 
 it is true, we are constantly in an extraordinary 
 situation, so that what otherwise might appear 
 unusual is now nothing but a very ordinary oc- 
 currence." 
 
 " A preamble ! " said Frederick William, 
 thoughtfully. " You have, then, to tell me some- 
 thing important. What is it? Take a seat and 
 speak ! " The king pointed to a chair, and re- 
 sumed his own. Hardenberg seated himself, and 
 looked down for a moment with an air of em- 
 barrassment. 
 
 had 
 
FREDERICK WILLIAM AND HARDEXBERG. 
 
 "Any thing the matter in Berlin ? " asked the 
 king. " Perhaps, a quarrel between the citizens 
 and the French ? " 
 
 " No, your majesty," said Hardenberg, to whose 
 thin lips came his wonted smile. " The people 
 of Berlin keep very quiet, and bear the arrogance 
 of the French with admirable patience. I have 
 to report no quarrels, and, on the whole, nothing 
 of importance ; I wished only to inform your 
 majesty that I received a courier from Dresden 
 late last night," 
 
 The king started, and looked gloomy. " From 
 whom ? " he asked, in a hollow voice. 
 
 " From our ambassador," replied Hardenberg, 
 carelessly. " Surprising intelligence has reached 
 Dresden. They are expecting the Emperor Na- 
 poleon. He left Saint Cloud with the Empress 
 Maria Louisa on the 9th of May, and no one knew 
 any thing about the object or destination of the 
 journey. It was generally believed that the 
 emperor, with his consort, intended to take 
 a pleasure-trip to Mentz, but immediately after 
 his arrival there he informed his suite that he 
 was on his way to a new war, and would ac- 
 company his wife only as far as Dresden, where 
 they would meet their Austrian majesties. Cou- 
 riers were sent from Mentz to Vienna, to Dresden, 
 to King Jerome, and to all the marshals and gen- 
 erals. The columns of the army have commenced 
 moving everywhere, and are now marching from 
 all sides upon Dresden. As usual, Napoleon has 
 again succeeded in keeping his plans secret to the 
 very last moment, and informing the world of his 
 intentions only when they are about to be real- 
 
 i/r.l." 
 
 ." exclaimed the king, in a tone of intense 
 hatred and anger " yen, he wears a kind, hypo- 
 critical mask, and feigns friendship and pacific 
 intentions until he has drawn into his nets those 
 whom he intends to ruin ; then he drops his mask 
 and shows his true arrogant and ambitious face. 
 He caressed us, and protested his friendship, until 
 we signed the treaty of alliance, but now he will 
 insist on the fulfilment of the engagements we 
 have entered into. He commences a new war, 
 ai 1, by virtue of the first article of our treaty, I 
 
 ai 1, by virl 
 
 have to furnish him an auxiliary corps of twenty 
 thousand men and sixty field-pieces." 
 
 " Yes, your majesty, it is so," said Hardenberg, 
 composedly. " The new French governor of Ber- 
 lin, General Durutte, came to see me this morn 
 ing, and demanded in the name of his emperor 
 that the Prussian auxiliary troops should imme- 
 diately take the field." 
 
 " Auxiliary troops ! " exclaimed the king, an- 
 grily. " The Prussian victims, he ought to have 
 said, for what else will my poor, unfortunate sol- 
 diers be but the doomed victims of his ambition 
 and insatiable thirst for conquest ? He will drive 
 them into the jaws of death, that they may gain 
 a piece of blood-stained land, or a new title from 
 the ruin of the world's happiness ; he does not 
 care whether brave soldiers die or not, so long as 
 his own ambition is served." 
 
 " Yes," said Hardenberg, solemnly, " his path 
 leads across corpses and through rivers of blood, 
 but the vengeance of God and man will finally 
 overtake him, and who knows whether it may not 
 do so during this wild Russian campaign ? " 
 
 " My evil forebodings, then, are proving true," 
 said the king, sighing ; u the expedition is directed 
 against Russia ? " 
 
 " Yes, against Russia," said Hardenberg, sneer- 
 ingly ; " the master of the world intends to crush 
 Russia also, because she ventured to remain an 
 independent power, and the Emperor Alexander 
 was so bold as to demand the fulfilment of the 
 promises of Tilsit and Erfurt. Providence is al- 
 ways just in the final result, your majesty. It 
 punishes the Emperor Alexander for suffering 
 himself to be beguiled by the flatteries and prom- 
 ises of Napoleon, and the territories which he 
 allowed Napoleon to give him at Tilsit, at the 
 expense of Prussia, will be no precious stones in 
 his crown." 
 
 " Not a word against Alexander ! " exclaimed 
 the king, imperiously. " However appearances 
 may be against him, he has always proved a true 
 friend of mine, and perhaps especially at a time 
 when we suspected it the least. His keen eyes 
 penetrated the future, and behind the clouds dark 
 ening our horizon he believed he could desert 
 
NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 light and safety. He yielded, in order to lull Na- 
 poleon to sleep ; he pretended to be fascinated, 
 in order to convince him of his attachment 
 and devotedness. He wished to be regarded as 
 Napoleon's friend until he had armed himself, and 
 felt strong enough to turn against the usurper. 
 Hush ! do not contradict me. I have heard all 
 this from Alexander's own lips. On his return 
 from Erfurt he confided the plans of his future to 
 me and tbe queen, under the seal of secrecy. 
 Louisa carried the secret into her grave, and I 
 have preserved it in my breast. Now I may com- 
 municate it to you, for the hour of decision has 
 come ; it finds me on the side of France, and 
 God has decreed that I should turn my arms 
 against my friend, against Alexander ! Ah, happy 
 the queen, because she did not live to see this day 
 and witness my new humiliation and disgrace ! 
 And was it, then, unavoidable ? Was it, then, 
 really necessary for me to enter into this hateful 
 alliance ? Was there no way of avoiding it ? " 
 And as the king put this question to himself 
 rather than to Hardenberg, he laid his head 
 against the back of his easy-chair, and looked 
 gloomy and thoughtful. 
 
 " There was no way, unfortunately, of avoiding 
 it," said Hardenberg, after a short pause. " Your 
 majesty knows full well that we submitted to 
 stern necessity only ; to act otherwise would have 
 been too dangerous, for the crown on the head 
 of your majesty would have been menaced." 
 
 " It is better to lose the crown and die a free- 
 man than live a crowned slave ! " exclaimed the 
 king, impetuously. 
 
 " No, pardon me, your majesty, for daring to 
 contradict you," said Hardenberg, smiling; "it 
 is better to keep the crown, and submit to neces- 
 sity as long as possible, in order to be able to 
 take future revenge on the oppressor. At times 
 I am likewise tortured by the doubts and fears 
 now disquieting the noble soul of your majesty. 
 But at such hours I always repeat to myself, in 
 order to justify our course, a few words from the 
 letter which the Duke de Bassano addressed to 
 our ambassador, Baron von Krusemark, as the 
 ultimatum of the Tuileries. I have learned this 
 
 letter by heart, and, if you will graciously permit 
 me, I will repeat a few words." The king nodded 
 assent, and Hardenberg added : " This letter read : 
 ' My dear baron, the moment has come when we 
 must give you our views about the fate of Prussia. 
 I cannot conceal from you that this is a matter of 
 life and death for your country. You know that 
 the emperor entertained already at Tilsit very un. 
 friendly intentions against Prussia. These inten- 
 tions still remain the same, but will not be car- 
 ried out at this time, on the condition that Prus- 
 sia become our ally, and a faithful one. The 
 moments are precious, and the circumstances 
 very grave.' " * 
 
 " An outrageous letter ! " muttered Frederick 
 William to himself. 
 
 " Yes, an outrageous letter," repeated Harden- 
 berg, bowing, " for it contained a serious threat, 
 and yet, on the other hand, it offered us a sort of 
 guaranty. Prussia was lost, in case she refused 
 to join the alliance, for Austria had likewise ac- 
 ceded to it, and, by holding out against the wishes 
 of France, Prussia would have run the risk of 
 being crushed by two armed enemies in the north, 
 as well as in the south, and blotted out from the 
 list of nations. We, therefore, were obliged to 
 submit ; we had no other choice." 
 
 " But what did we gain by submitting ? " asked 
 the king, angrily. " In order to preserve my 
 people from the horrors of war, I bowed to Napo- 
 leon's will, and accepted the disgraceful alliance. 
 I thereby wished to secure peace to my unfortu- 
 nate country, which stands so greatly in need of 
 it. Instead of attaining this object, the alliance 
 plunges us into the very abyss which I intended 
 to avoid, and I am compelled to send my soldiers 
 into the field for an unjust cause against a mon- 
 arch who is my friend, and under the orders of a 
 commander-in-chief who is my enemy, and has 
 always shown his bitter hostility to me." 
 
 " But your majesty has at least prevented yotu 
 own country from being devastated by war. It 
 is true, you send out your army, but the war will 
 not lay waste the fields of Prussia ; it will no1 
 
 * " M6molres <Tun Homme d'fitat," vol. xi., p. % 824. 
 
FREDERICK WILLIAM AND HARDEXBERG. 
 
 9 
 
 
 trample in the dust the crops of the Prussian 
 farmer, interrupt the labors of the mechanic, or 
 carry its terrors into our cities and villages, our 
 houses and families. The enemy is at least far 
 from our own country." 
 
 " You only wish to palliate the calamity," ex- 
 claimed the king. " The enemy is here, and you 
 know it. He is dogging every step of ours ; he 
 is listening to every word of mine, and watching 
 every movement. An inconsiderate word, an im- 
 prudent step, and the French gendarmes will 
 rush upon me and conduct the King of Prussia as 
 a prisoner to France, while no one can raise his 
 hand to prevent them. We have the enemy in 
 Berlin, in Spandau, and in all our fortresses. Our 
 own soldiers we have to send into the field, and 
 our cities and fortresses are occupied by French 
 garrisons. An army of four hundred and eighty 
 thousand infantry and seventy thousand cavalry 
 cover Prussia like a cloud of locusts ; Berlin, 
 Spandau, Konigsberg, and Pillau, have received 
 French garrisons; only Upper Silesia, Colberg, 
 and Graudenz, have remained exempt from them. 
 The whole country, as though we were at war, is 
 exposed to the robberies, extortions, and cruelties 
 in which an enemy indulges : this time, however, 
 he comes in the garb of a friend ; and, as our ally, 
 he is irritating and impoverishing the farmers, 
 and plundering the mechanics and manufacturers. 
 And I am not only obliged to suffer all this in 
 silence, but I must send my own soldiers, the 
 natural defenders of our states, into a foreign 
 country, and command them to obey the man 
 who has heaped the vilest insults not only on 
 myself, but on the whole of Prussia, and has 
 broken the heart of my beloved wife ! " And 
 the kinjr, quite exhausted, breathless with his un- 
 usually long speech, and almost ashamed of his 
 own tremulous excitement, buried his face in his 
 hands and groaned aloud. 
 
 Hatdenberg gazed upon him for a moment 
 with an expression of profound sympathy; he 
 then looked around the room with searching 
 glances, which seemed to pierce every niche, 
 every fold of the curtains, and every piece of fur- 
 niture and sculpture. " Is your majesty sure 
 
 that no one can hear and watch us here?" be 
 asked in a low voice. 
 
 The king dropped his hands from his face, and 
 looked at him in surpri 
 
 " Your majesty, you yourself say that you are 
 surrounded by spies and eavesdroppers," added 
 Hardenberg. "Does your majesty suspect any 
 such to be here ? " 
 
 "No," said the king, with a mournful smile, 
 " it is the last blessing of my Louisa that she has 
 secured me this quiet asylum. The spies do not 
 venture to penetrate here this retreat is not des- 
 ecrated by their inquisitive and lurking glances." 
 
 "Well," said Hardenberg, almost joyously, 
 " if we need not be afraid of the eyes and ears 
 of spies, your majesty will permit me to speak 
 freely to you. My king, great events are matur- 
 ing; while impenetrable darkness still seems to 
 surround us, morning is gradually dawning, and 
 the day of retribution is not distant. Europe is 
 utterly tired of war, and this incessant blood- 
 shed; she has practised forbearance until it is 
 exhausted and converted into an intense indigna- 
 tion. Thanks to his unscrupulous machinations, 
 Napoleon has hitherto succeeded in bringing 
 about wars between the different nations of Eu- 
 rope in order to derive benefits for France alone 
 from these fratricidal struggles. It was be who 
 drove the Poles and Turks into a war against the 
 Russians, the Italians against the Austrians, the 
 Danes against the Swedes and English, and armed 
 the princes of the Rhenish Confederation against 
 thv. i ir German countrymen and brethren. He in- 
 stigated all against each other; he made them 
 continue the struggle until they sank from loss of 
 blood, for he knew that he would then be able to 
 take the property of those whom he had made 
 murder each other. And who could preveat 
 him ? the warriors, exhausted by their long and 
 bloody work the starving people, to whom, in 
 their hunger and anguish, only he who brought 
 them piMi-e and a little bread seemed a true 
 friiMid ! Italy wished to deliver herself from the 
 Austrian yoke, and after long struggles the liberty 
 that Napoleon had promised her consisted but in 
 entire submission to his own behests. To Poland, 
 
 
10 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 too, he promised deliverance, and, after the un- 
 fortunate country had risen, and spent her last 
 strength and her best blood in the war against 
 Russia, she oecame exhausted, and offered no re- 
 sistance when he claimed her as his spoil, and 
 declared the Poles, who had dreamed that they 
 were free, to be subjects of France. The princes 
 of the Rhenish Confederation were compelled to 
 send their German troops to Spain, to wage war 
 against a nation that was struggling for inde- 
 pendence ; and Napoleon in the meantime placed 
 a French adventurer upon a throne in the middle 
 of Germany, and erected a kingdom for him from 
 the spoils he had taken from German princes. 
 Holland, which had endeavored to preserve some 
 vestiges of liberty, was suddenly deprived of her 
 sovereign, and converted into a French province ; 
 and when Napoleon had succeeded in bringing 
 about a war between Sweden aud Russia, and 
 instigating unfortunate Finland to resist the 
 latter power, he profited by the favorable mo- 
 ment, and took Stralsund and the Island of 
 Riigen, both of which belonged to the King of 
 Sweden, who had been his ally up to that time. 
 In Italy only the Pontifical states and the holy 
 father at Rome still resisted him, after the re- 
 mainder of the peninsula had awakened from its 
 dreams of liberty under the rule of French mar- 
 shals and Napoleonic princes. He instigated 
 Naples and Sardinia against Rome, and when 
 the struggle had commenced, he magnanimously 
 hastened to the assistance of his brother-in-law 
 Murat, arrested the pope, conveyed him as a pris- 
 oner to France, and declared Rome to be the 
 property of that country until the pope should 
 submit to his will. No country, no nation, es- 
 caped his intrigues conflagrations, devastation, 
 and death accompanied him everywhere ! But the 
 nations, as I have stated already, are at length im- 
 patient ; they are wearied of fighting ; or, rather, 
 f they still fight, they intend to do so only in 
 order to conquer peace for themselves, and bring 
 retribution on him whc was the sole cause of all 
 this bloodshed." 
 
 " And they commenced by rushing, at his com- 
 mand, into the field by entering upon another 
 
 war!" exclaimed Frederick William, shrugging 
 his shoulders with a sneer. 
 
 'Your majesty," said Hardenberg, solemnly, 
 " they will do so now for the last time. Napoleon 
 is digging his own grave, and, by consolidating the 
 forces of all countries into one vast army, he 
 makes friends of those whom he hitherto success- 
 fully tried to make enemies and adversaries of 
 each other. But when the nations have once 
 found out that they are really brethren, it only 
 needs a voice calling upon them to unite for one 
 grand object that is to say, for the deliverance 
 of Europe from the tyrant's yoke ! " 
 
 " Those are Utopian dreams," said the king. 
 " Whence should this voice come ? Who would 
 be so audacious as to utter it ? " 
 
 " Whence should this voice come ? " asked 
 Hardenberg. " Your majesty, it will come from 
 heaven, and find an echo on the whole earth. It 
 will resound from the hundred thousand graves 
 of the soldiers killed in battle , from the breasts 
 of sorrowing widows and orphans, and, like the 
 noise of the tempest, it will come from the lips 
 of thousands of humiliated and disgraced men. 
 This voice will not be that of a single man ; but 
 God, Nature, and all nations, will unite, and mil- 
 lions will utter that one shout of * Liberty ! Let 
 us rise and expel the tyrant ! ' " 
 
 " But, then, the story of the tower of Babel 
 will be reenacted," said Frederick William, sigh- 
 ing ; " the nations will not understand each other ; 
 an endless confusion of languages will ensue, and, 
 finally, the building, which they intended jointly 
 to erect, will fall to ruins and they be dispersed." 
 
 "In order to prevent this, a chieftain must 
 gladly place himself at their head, and direct 
 their will," exclaimed Hardenberg. " I hope God 
 will intrust this leadership to your majesty." 
 
 "To me?" asked the king, almost angrily. 
 " Will you take the liberty of mocking my dis- 
 tress, or do you believe that I ought to be con 
 soled in the calamities of the present by such 
 hopes of the future ? " 
 
 u No, your majesty, I am only convinced thai 
 God will one day intrust the task of retribution to 
 Prussia, because it is she that has suffered most." 
 
FREDERICK WILLIAM AND HARDENBERG. 
 
 11 
 
 
 'Let us leave retribution to God," said the [ 
 king, gently. 
 
 "No, your majesty," exclaimed Hardenberg, 
 " let us now take upon ourselves the task of 
 avenging our wrongs, and only pray to Heaven 
 for a blessing on our efforts. And that God is 
 with us, that lie at last averts His face from the 
 man who has so long trampled the world under 
 foot, is shown by the new war into which Na- 
 poleon is about to enter. This expedition to 
 Russia is the first step to his ruin ! " 
 
 "Oh, you are mistaken!" exclaimed the king, 
 almost indignantly. " It will be a new triumphal 
 procession for Napoleon. Russia will succumb to 
 him, as we all have done. He marches upon the 
 position of his enemy with the armies of all his 
 allies half a million of warriors and thousands 
 of cannon while Russia stands alone ; she has no 
 force compared with his, and no allies what- 
 ever." 
 
 " She has one friend more powerful than any 
 Napoleon has," said Hardenberg, solemnly " Na- 
 ture. When this ally appears, with its masses of 
 ice and snow-storms, Napoleon is lost." 
 
 "But he will take good care not to wait for 
 this reinforcement," exclaimed the king. "As 
 always, he will finish the war in a few weeks, 
 vanquish the feeble forces of Alexander with his 
 own tremendous columns in one or two decisive 
 battles, and then, on the ruins of the Russian em- 
 pire, dictate terms of peace to the humiliated 
 emperor. This has been the course of events 
 evtr since Bonaparte commanded, and so it will 
 be hereafter." 
 
 " Your majesty, it will not ; for, during twelve 
 years, he has been the instructor of the world, 
 and the nations have learned from him not only 
 the art of war, but his special strategies. His 
 secret consists in the rapidity of his movements. 
 He has made Macchiavelli's words his own: 'A 
 short and vigorous war insures victory ! ' He must, 
 therefore, be opposed by a protracted and desul- 
 tory war his enemies must fight long, not with 
 heavy column?, but with light battalions, now here, 
 now there ; they must take care not to bring on a 
 general battle, but slowly thin the ranks of his 
 
 army, and exhaust his resources and his patience. 
 This was the course which the Spaniards pursued, 
 and their hopes are, therefore, promising; they 
 are carrying on a guerilla warfare, and he is ob 
 liged to renew the struggle every day without 
 being able to defeat them in a decisive battle. 
 Russia will adopt a similar plan. She will take 
 pains to draw Napoleon farther and farther into 
 the interior of the country, incessantly alluring 
 him forward by insignificant victories, rendering 
 him eager for a great battle. In strict obedience 
 to the plans he has adopted, she will especially en- 
 deavor to weaken Napoleon, and cut him off from 
 his supplies and base of operations. She will 
 successively fight him at every important poin', 
 with a strong army, supported by large reserves, 
 tire him out, and ruin him in detail. This plan 
 she will adhere to until her great ally approaches 
 from Siberia grim Winter, covering Russia with 
 an invulnerable defence, so that her sons may at 
 last take the offensive, and expel the terrified 
 enemy." 
 
 " That is a grand, but an infernal scheme ! " 
 exclaimed the king, who had risen, and was walk- 
 ing up and down with hasty steps. u Who con- 
 ceived it?" 
 
 " No single brain ; it is the result of the con- 
 sultations of the most eminent Russian generals. 
 They also have studied Macchiavclli, and found 
 that significant axiom, 'He who knows how to 
 resist will conquer in the end.' The Russian*, 
 therefore, will resist, and they will conquer." 
 
 " But who tells you that this is the plan which 
 Russia will adopt?" asked the king. " Whence 
 have you derived such accurate information ? " 
 
 "Your majesty," said Hardenberg, smiling, 
 " though we publicly act as the enemies of Rus- 
 sia, and are compelled to send our army against 
 her, she secretly regards us as her ally, and 
 knows well that we are only waiting for the favor- 
 able moment to drop the mask and become the 
 open enemy of the usurper. We have, therefore, 
 warm friends in Russia, who will keep us in- 
 formed about every thing going on, that we may 
 prudently use the favorable moment when we 
 al~o can take up arms against Napoleon." 
 
 
12 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER, 
 
 " No rash steps no coups de main" exclaim- 
 ed Frederick William, gravely and imperiously, 
 standing in front of Hardenberg, and looking him 
 full in tbe face. " I am opposed to any sort of un- 
 derhand games ; when you are not strong enough 
 to attack your enemy openly and honestly, you 
 ought to be too proud to shoot at him from an 
 ambuscade, like a coward and bandit. The bul- 
 let may miss him, and he who fired it dies as a 
 traitor, overwhelmed with disgrace. I have con- 
 cluded this alliance with France ; I am now her 
 ally, and thereby compelled to furnish her an 
 auxiliary corps of twenty thousand men against 
 Russia; so long, therefore, as this campaign 
 lasts, I must, by virtue of the pledges I have 
 given, stand by France, and woe to the general 
 of mine who should forget this, and disobey the 
 orders I have given him ! " 
 
 " There may be circumstances, however, your 
 majesty," said Hardenberg, in an embarrassed 
 tone, " circumstances " 
 
 "There can be none," interrupted the king, 
 "justifying us to turn traitors. A man has but 
 one word to pledge, and that I have pledged to 
 Napoleon. When my soldiers forsake the colors 
 under which I have placed them, they shall be 
 punished as deserters. No one knows the an- 
 guish with which I say this, but as a man who 
 must keep his word, and as a commander-in-chief 
 who, above all, must maintain discipline and sub- 
 ordination, I cannot speak otherwise. Tell your 
 friends in Russia so. I am sad and dejected 
 enough, compelled as I am to become Napoleon's 
 ally. But I will not perjure myself! " 
 
 "Your majesty, 1 bow in admiration of these 
 noble words of my king," exclaimed Hardenberg, 
 enthusiastically ; " I wish the whole world could 
 hear them. At this hour you obtained a greater 
 victory than Napoleon ever gained on the battle- 
 field a victory of duty and fidelity over your 
 own inclinations and wishes ! Far be it from me 
 to oppose this magnanimous resolution. Our 
 army, then, will march out side by side with the 
 French troops, and will return, if it ever should, as 
 an auxiliary corps of the grand army. But then, 
 your majesty, the new day will dawn, for which 
 
 we must prepare while Napoleon is in Russia- 
 It must be in secret in the dead of night but 
 the rising sun will find us ready. The world i 
 now united for the great work ; brethren are offei 
 ing their hands to brethren from the shores of 
 the Mediterranean to those of the Atlantic and the 
 Baltic. Their common sufferings have filled their 
 hearts with the same love and hatred. All the 
 nations are uniting into one family, and in their 
 wrath will destroy him who is menacing all alike. 
 Secret messengers keep the brethren in the west 
 and north, in the south and east, well informed 
 of what is done by their friends. Patriotic poets 
 are arousing the nations from the lethargy that 
 enthralled them during so many years ; they make 
 them hear the gospel of liberty, and awaken them 
 from their indifference. In secret workshops the 
 brethren are forging arms ; in the night the sis- 
 ters are at work upon uniforms, and their chil- 
 dren are making lint for warriors to be wounded 
 in the holy war of liberation. They are quietly 
 preparing for it in the offices, the students' halls, 
 and the workshops. At the first call they will 
 fling aside their pens and tools, take up the 
 sword, and hasten into the field, to deliver the 
 fatherland. All Europe, at the present moment, 
 is but one vast secret society, which has even in 
 France active and influential members. Napo- 
 leon stands on a volcano, which will soon engulf 
 him." 
 
 " Enough ! " exclaimed the king, anxiously. 
 " Say no more ; I will know nothing about secret 
 societies and conspiracies. They are perhaps an 
 inevitable evil in these times, but still they are 
 an evil, destroying those for whose benefit they 
 were intended." 
 
 " May God hi His mercy favor them in advan- 
 cing our cause," exclaimed Hardenberg, "that 
 from them may arise the army that is to deliver 
 the nations from the yoke of the tyrant ! I am 
 convinced that it will be so, and that the moment 
 will come when Prussia will be able to redeem 
 the oath which I am sure every Prussian took 
 when be saw the coffin of the august Queen 
 Louisa. On the day, your majesty, when I saw 
 it, I resolved to strive for no other object than to 
 
FREDERICK WILLIAM AND HARDENBERG. 
 
 ia 
 
 deliver my country. For this I will devote my 
 whole strength my life, if need be ! Heaven 
 heard my oath, and I shall not die before its ful- 
 Slment." 
 
 The king gazed long and mournfully upon the 
 queen's portrait which hung over his desk, and 
 represented her in the attire in which Frederick 
 William had seen her for the first time. " But 
 she died before the hour of deliverance struck," 
 he said, gloomily, to himself. " Her heart was 
 broken, and she did not even take hope with her 
 into the grave. She ," he stopped suddenly, and 
 turned his eyes toward Hardenberg. "I will 
 communicate something to you," he said briefly 
 and impulsively ; "I will confess to you that I 
 comprehend your oath ; for I also took one when 
 I held the queen's corpse in my arms. In the be- 
 ginning the terrible blow paralyzed my soul, and 
 I felt as though I had been hurled into a dark 
 abyss. Suddenly I heard, as from a voice resound- 
 ing in my ears, * You must not die before you 
 avenge her death upon him who broke her heart ! ' 
 I bent over her, and, kissing her lips, swore that 
 I would live only to obey. I have not forgotten 
 that oath and that hour, and, you may depend on 
 it, I shall ever remember it ; but I will wait for 
 the favorable moment, and it must not be sup- 
 posed that I can allow myself to be carried away 
 by imprudent projects." 
 
 " No one would wish that, your majesty," said 
 Hardenberg, hastily. " On the contrary, pru- 
 dence, above all, is necessary at the present time, 
 and for this reason I would entreat you to over- 
 come your feelings and go to Dresden, to pay your 
 I respects to the emperor." 
 " Never 1" exclaimed Frederick William, start- 
 ing up and blushing with indignation. " No, no- 
 where else than in battle can I meet again this 
 man, who has destroyed my happiness, my honor, 
 and my hopes ! Do not allude to this any more. 
 It cannot be. How can I meet him, whom I have 
 not seen since the days of Tilsit ? Who can ask 
 me to go to Dresden, to stand there as a courtier 
 at the door of an arrogant victor, and mingle 
 with the crowd of his trainbearers ? " 
 
 " Your majesty, the Emperor of Austria will 
 
 also go to Dresden," said Hardenberg, entreat- 
 ingly. 
 
 " The Emperor of Austria does so, because he 
 is unfortunate enough to be Napoleon's father-in 
 law." 
 
 "Nevertheless, the Emperor Francis saw his 
 son-in-law for the last time on the day when, 
 after the battle of Austerlitz, he repaired as a 
 supplicant to the bivouac-fire of Napoleon, and 
 implored the conqueror to grant him peace. That 
 was even worse than Tilsit, and still the Emperor 
 of Austria comes to Dresden, to become, as your 
 majesty said, the trainbearer of the victor." 
 
 " Why does he do so ? " asked the king, shrug- 
 ging his shoulders. " Because he must because 
 at the present time every wish of Napoleon ia 
 almost an order, even for princes. Napoleon 
 caused his ambassador at Vienna verbally to in- 
 form the emperor that he wished to see his father- 
 in-law at Dresden, and witness the meeting of hia 
 consort, Maria Louisa, with her parents. The 
 Emperor Francis hastened to comply with thia 
 request, and is expected to arrive to-morrow." 
 
 " Well, Bonaparte, fortunately, expressed to me 
 no such wish, and it will not be expected that I 
 should go thither without being requested to do 
 so." 
 
 " Pardon me, your majesty, our ambassador at 
 Dresden received a similar communication from 
 the French envoy at the court of Saxony. The 
 Emperor Napoleon desires likewise to see your 
 majesty at Dresden. Here is the letter from the 
 ambassador." 
 
 The king took the paper and hastily glanced 
 over it. He then heaved a profound sigh, and, 
 returning it to Hardenberg, fixed bia eyea once 
 more upon the portrait of the queen. He gazed 
 steadfastly upon it. Gradually the expression of 
 his features became milder, and his gloomy eye 
 more cheerful. With a wave of bis hand he 
 called Harden berg to his side ; looking again at 
 the portrait, and saluting it with a gentle nod, he 
 said, " She overcame her feelings, and went to 
 Tilsit, because she believed it necessary, for the 
 welfare of Prussia, to pacify the wrath of Na 
 poleon. I will follow the example of my b* 
 
NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 loved Louisa. I will conquer myself, and go to 
 Dresden. But you, Hardenberg, must accom- 
 pany me." 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE WHITE LADY. 
 
 GREAT commotion reigned at the palace of Bai- 
 reuth. Servants hurried through the brilliantly- 
 decorated rooms, spreading out here and there 
 an additional carpet, placing everywhere vases 
 filled with fragrant flowers, or dusting the finely- 
 polished furniture. It was a great and important 
 day for Baireutb. All felt it, and excitement and 
 curiosity drove the inhabitants into the streets. 
 No one cared to stay at home, or be absent at 
 that historic hour which was to shed upon Bai- 
 reuth a ray of her ancient glory. 
 
 The man at whose feet the world was prostrate, 
 to" whom kings and princes were bowing, before 
 whom empires trembled and thrones passed away, 
 who had only to stretch out his hand to establish 
 new dynasties, and whom the world admired 
 while it hated Napoleon was to arrive at Bai- 
 reuth. The quartermasters had arrived already 
 early in the morning, and ordered in the name of 
 the emperor that the rooms at the palace should 
 be put in readiness, because he intended to reach 
 Baireuth in the afternoon of the 14th of May, and 
 stop overnight. 
 
 The whole population seemed to be in the 
 streets. The windows of the houses along the 
 route of the emperor were open, crowded with 
 the most distinguished ladies of the city ; they 
 were dressed in their most beautiful toilets, and 
 held in their hands bouquets, with which they in- 
 tended to salute Napoleon. But the greatest 
 commotion, as we have remarked, reigned at the 
 new palace, for the emperor had given express 
 orders that apartments should be prepared for 
 him there, and not at the old palace of the Mar- 
 graves of Brandenburg. Count Munster, intend- 
 ant of the palaces, had, of course, complied with 
 these orders, and four brilliant rooms were readv 
 
 for the reception of Napoleon. All the arrange- 
 ments were completed, and the intendant, fol- 
 lowed by the castellan, walked for the last time 
 through the imperial rooms to satisfy himself that 
 every thing was in good order. 
 
 " No, nothing has been left undone," said the 
 cotfnt, when he stepped into the bedchamber 
 destined for the emperor. "Every thing is as 
 comfortable as it is splendid ; the arrangement 
 reflects a great deal of credit upon you, my dear 
 Schluter, and will, doubtless, procure you a lib- 
 eral reward from the emperor, who is said to be 
 very munificent." 
 
 " I do not wish to accept any presents at the 
 tyrant's hands," growled the castellan, with a 
 gloomy face ; " I do not want to stain my hands 
 with the plunder which he brings from foreign 
 lands, and which is accompanied with a curse 
 rather than a blessing." 
 
 " You are a fool, my dear Schluter," exclaimed 
 the count, laughing. "You see at least that 
 curses do not incommode the emperor, for his 
 power and authority are constantly on the in- 
 crease. He is now going to Dresden, to see at 
 his feet all the princes of Germany ; and he will 
 then hasten northward, to gain new victories and 
 humiliate the only man in the world who still 
 dares to defy him, the Emperor Alexander of 
 Russia." 
 
 "I know some one else who will not bow to 
 him, and whom he will not humiliate," said the 
 castellan, contemptuously shrugging his shoul- 
 ders. 
 
 " Well, and who is that ? " asked Count Mun- 
 ster, quickly. 
 
 " It is the White Lady ! " exclaimed the cas- 
 tellan, solemnly and loudly. 
 
 Count Munster shuddered and glanced around 
 in evident terror. " For Heaven's sake, hush 1 " 
 he said, hastily. " Pray forget these foolish hal- 
 lucinations, and, above all, do not venture to talk 
 about them at the present time." 
 
 The castellan shook his head slowly. "You 
 ought not to talk of hallucinations, count," he 
 said, solemnly. " The White Lady is awake and 
 walking, and she knows that the enemy of her 
 
THE WHITE LADY. 
 
 House, the house of Brandenburg, will spend the 
 coming night at this palace. I repeat it to your 
 excellency, she is walking, and her eyes are filled 
 with wrath, and there is a curse on her !ips against 
 the enemy of the Hohenzollerns. I would not be 
 surprised if she should shout to-night into the 
 ears of the tyrant, and, by her words, awaken him 
 from his slumber." 
 
 " Gracious Heaven, Schluter, do not talk so 
 audaciously ! " exclaimed the count, anxiously. 
 " If one of the attendants of the emperor over- 
 hear your words, you would perish. Napoleon is 
 said to be somewhat superstitious; he, who other- 
 wise is afraid of nothing in the world, is said to 
 be easily terrified by ghosts, and to believe in all 
 iorts of omens and prophecies. He has already 
 heard of the White Lady of Baireuth, and there- 
 fore given express orders that apartments should 
 be prepared for him at the new palace, and not at 
 the old one, and rooms selected in which she was 
 not in the habit of walking.* I hope that you 
 have punctually carried out this order, and that 
 these rooms are exempt from the visits of the 
 apparition ? " 
 
 " Who has the power to give orders to spirits, 
 and command them, 'So far and no farther?'" 
 asked the castellan, almost scornfully. " She 
 goes whither she desires, and the doors closed 
 against her she opens by a breath. The walls 
 disappear before her, and where you expect her 
 least of all, there you suddenly meet her tall, 
 majestic form in the white dress, her head covered 
 with a black veil, under which her large angry 
 eyes are flashing." 
 
 '* Hush, Schluter ! " exclaimed the count, anx- 
 iously, " I know the portrait of the White Lady, 
 which hangs in the cabinet adjoining the audi- 
 ence-hall, and it is, therefore, unnecessary for you 
 to describe her appearance to me." 
 
 "Your excellency knows that we have two 
 portraits of the White Lady," said the castellan, 
 laconically. 
 
 "Yes, the one with the white dre.-s is at the 
 hermitage; the other, representing her in a dark 
 
 Historical. Vide Minutoli, The White Lady," p. 17. 
 
 Historical 
 
 dress, is here at the palace. Thank Heaven! 
 there is but one portrait of her here, and I hojie 
 it is in the other wing of the building." 
 
 " That is to say, I saw the portrait there this 
 afternoon, but who knows whether it is still 
 there ? " 
 
 " How so ? Who knows ? " asked the count 
 impatiently. " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " I mean, count, that it is in fact no portrait, 
 but only the bed in which the White Lady sleeps 
 until it pleases her to wall:, and that, while she 
 is walking, it will certainly not be found at its 
 place. Did I not report to your excellency six 
 months since that the portrait had again broken 
 the nail and fallen ? It was an entirely new nail, 
 count, so firm and strong, that half a regiment of 
 French soldiers might have been hung upon it at 
 the same time ; I had had the nail made by the 
 blacksmith, and the mason fixed it. I myself 
 hung up the portrait, and it seemed as firm as 
 though it had grown in the wall. But that very 
 night a noise like a thunder-clap rolling over my 
 head awakened me, and when I opened my eyes, 
 the White Lady stood at my bedside ; her right 
 hand raised menacingly, her black veil thrown 
 back, she stared at me with a face flashing with 
 anger. I uttered a cry, and shut my eyes. When 
 I opened them again, she had disappeared. In 
 the morning I went into the hall to look after the 
 portrait It was gone. Where the nail had been 
 fixed nothing but a blood-red stain was to be seen ; 
 the nail itself, broken into small pieces, lay on the 
 floor. The portrait had walked to the small cabi- 
 net adjoining the hall, and was quietly leaning 
 there against the wall as though nothing had 
 happened." 
 
 " And I told you to let it stand there, and not 
 try again to hang it up. The large painting ig 
 too heavy." 
 
 " If the large painting wanted to hang on the 
 wall it would allow the smallest nail to hold it," 
 said Schluter, shaking his head. u But the White 
 La 1 y wishes to stand on her own feet, and no hu- 
 man power is able to prevent her." 
 
 " Schluter, I repeat to you, you are a dreamer," 
 exclaimed the count, impatiently. " Let us speak 
 
NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 no more of the apparition. It makes one feel 
 quite curious. Tell me now whether you have 
 really removed the portrait far enough that it can- 
 not be seen by the emperor ? " 
 
 " When I was an hour ago at the cabinet ad- 
 joining the audience-hall, the portrait was still 
 there. But who knows what may have happened 
 since then ? " 
 
 " Well, it is a fixed idea of yours," said the 
 count, shrugging his shoulders. " I do not wish 
 to hear any more of it. These rooms are finely 
 arranged, and I have no fault to find with them. 
 Now lock the entrance-door, and let us go out 
 through the Gallery of Palms, by which the em- 
 peror will have to enter." 
 
 " Pray, your excellency, lead the way ; I shall 
 lock the door and immediately follow you," said 
 the castellan, walking hastily through the opened 
 rooms. 
 
 Count Munster slowly walked on, thoughtfully 
 looking down, and shuddering inwardly at the 
 immovable superstition of the castellan, whom 
 his reason vainly endeavored to deride. 
 
 " And still it is folly, nothing but folly," he 
 muttered to himself, while opening the high hall- 
 door, and stepping into the anteroom, to which, 
 on account of its length and narrowness, and the 
 fresco paintings of tropical plants on the walls, 
 the name of the "Gallery of Palms" had been 
 given. 
 
 All was silent in this gallery ; the setting sun 
 shed its beams through the windows, covered with 
 dark curtains, and drew trembling shining lines 
 across the high room. The footsteps of the 
 count resounded so loudly that he himself was 
 frightened, and glanced anxiously around. Sud- 
 denly he started in dismay, and quickly advanced 
 several steps. He had seen something moving 
 at the lower end of the gallery, and it seemed to 
 him as though he had heard approaching foot- 
 steps. Yes, he was not mistaken ; now he saw 
 it quite distinctly ! A lady approached. The sun 
 illuminated her tall form, and shed a golden light 
 over the white dress falling down in ample folds 
 over her feet. She approached with slow steps, 
 quite regardless of the count, who at first looked 
 
 at her in surprise, and then turned with an angry 
 face toward the castellan, who just then entered. 
 
 " You did not comply, then, with my orders, 
 Schluter ? " exclaimed the count, vehemently. " I 
 told you expressly to keep the rooms shut until 
 the emperor's arrival, and not to admit any one. 
 How could you dare disobey my instructions ? " 
 
 "But, your excellency, I did obey them," an- 
 swered Schluter. " Not a human being be- 
 sides the footmen has been permitted to enter 
 here, and even those I drove out two hours ago, 
 and shut the doors." 
 
 " If that be true, how does it happen that there 
 is a lady here in the gallery," asked Count Mun- 
 ster, stretching out his arm toward the lower end 
 of the apartment. 
 
 " A lady ? " asked Schluter, greatly amazed. 
 " Where is she, your excellency ? " 
 
 The count fixed his eyes searchingly on the 
 large arched window, in the bright light of 
 which he had distinctly seen the lady. She was 
 gone the gallery was empty. " You forgot to 
 shut the lower door, and while I turned and 
 scolded you, the lady escaped ! " he exclaimed. 
 He hastily rushed forward, and tried to open the 
 door leading into the corridor : but this was 
 locked. The count vainly shook the lock. " That 
 is strange," he muttered, dropping his hand. " I 
 know I saw her distinctly ; it is impossible that I 
 could have been mistaken. Where can she be ? 
 What has become of her ? Where has she con- 
 cealed herself ?" 
 
 " What becomes of the last sigh of a dying 
 person, your excellency," asked Schluter, solemn- 
 ly. "Where does the soul conceal itself after 
 escaping from the body ? " 
 
 "Ah, nonsense!" ejaculated Count Munster. 
 " It could not have been a spectre. Why, it is 
 not a spectre's hour, and, besides, I certainly saw 
 the lady plainly ; it was a decidedly earthly fig- 
 ure. Her face was pale and grave, but there waa 
 nothing spectral about it. She wore a black veil 
 thrown back from her face ; the upper part of her 
 body was covered with " 
 
 "A dark pelisse trimmed with fur," inter- 
 rupted Schluter, composedly. " Below this dark 
 
THE WHITE LADY. 
 
 17 
 
 pelisse protruded a white silk dress, falling to the 
 ground in full folds." 
 
 " Yes, yes, that was the costume," exclaimed 
 the count " But how do you know it without 
 having seen her ? " 
 
 " It is the costume of the White Lady, your 
 excellency," said Schluter, " and it was she who 
 just walked through the gallery. Pray, count, 
 go with me to the other wing of the palace and 
 look at her portrait ; your excellency will then be 
 convinced that I tell the truth." 
 
 " No, no, I do not wish to see it/'' replied 
 Count Munster, whose cheeks turned pale, and 
 who felt his heart frozen with terror. " Unlock 
 the door, Schluter ! The air here is sultry and 
 very oppressive ! Quick ! quick ! open the door ! " 
 The castellan obeyed, and the count rushed out 
 into the corridor, where he opened a window and 
 inhaled the fresh air in eager draughts. 
 
 At this moment shouts were heard at a dis- 
 tance, and at the same time the count's footman 
 ruhed breathlessly down the corridor. "Your 
 excellency, the emperor is coming. He has al- 
 ready passed through the gate, and the people 
 are loudly cheering him. I have run as fast as I 
 could, in order to inform your excellency." 
 
 "I am coming," said the count, advancing 
 rapidly. But, having proceeded a few steps, he 
 turned again and beckoned the castellan to his 
 side. " Schluter," he whispered to him, u if you 
 love your life, do not say a word about what has 
 just happened here. It must remain a secret." 
 
 A secret!" muttered Schluter to himself, 
 gazing after the count, who hurried away. " The 
 White Lady will maiugf the affair in such a man- 
 ner that he at least will hear of the secret, and 
 bloodthirsty tyr.int will not sleep well in the 
 ce of tin.' Margraves of Brandenburg." He 
 ently closed the door and stepped out into 
 large Staircase-hall, the doors of which opened 
 n the street. Uttering incoherent words of 
 ignation in an undertone, the castelian pushed 
 open one of the windows and looked gloomily 
 down on the stivi-t. An immense crowd were in 
 front of the palace ; all eyes were turned to the 
 Bide from which the emperor waa to approach. 
 
 Breathless with curiosity, the people waited for 
 the arrival of the hero who had conquered nearly 
 all the world. 
 
 " How those fools are gaping ! " growled Schlu- 
 ter. " Idle and lazy as usual ; they like to com- 
 plain and lament, but they never think of doing 
 any thing. If only each one would take up a 
 single stone from the pavement and throw it as a 
 greeting at the tyrant's iron head, all this distress 
 and wretchedness would be at an end. But no 
 one thinks of that, and I should not wonder if 
 those fellows, instead of cursing him, should en- 
 thusiastically cheer him." 
 
 The shouts drew nearer at this moment, as the 
 crowd rushed from the lower part of the street, 
 their acclamations growing constantly more deaf- 
 ening. French lancers galloped up to keep the 
 people back, and several carriages, preceded by a 
 plain calash, came in view. A negro, dressed in 
 a richly-embroidered livery, sat on the box by the 
 side of the coachman ; two plainly-dressed gentle- 
 men occupied the inside of the carriage. 
 
 " That is he ! " growled Schluter. " The Evil 
 One brings him hither he is his best friend 
 Yes, that is he, and he looks pale, grave, and in- 
 censed, as though he would like to wither by a 
 single glance the whole miserable rabble staring 
 at him." 
 
 "That is he!" shouted the people. "Long 
 live Napoleon ! Long live the emperor ! " 
 
 Napoleon gazed coldly and impassively upon 
 the crowd, whose cheers came to him as a sound 
 to which he had long been accustomed, and which 
 was by no means agreeable. It was not worth 
 while for him to smile on these inhabitants of a 
 small city ; a cold, quick nod waa a sufficient ac- 
 knowledgment " Long live Napoleon ! " shouted 
 the crowd again, when the emperor, having left 
 the carriage, now turned again in front of the 
 palace-gate, and gazed long and indifferently upon 
 the spectators. 
 
 The castellan closed his window. " Ah ! " he 
 Mil 1, " he dares to enter this palace. The White 
 Lady will !>M him welcome, and know how to 
 hasten the flight of this arrogant tyrant Napo- 
 leon is coming ! Do you hear that, White Lady f 
 
 
18 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUOHER. 
 
 Napoleon is coming ! " He burst into laughter, 
 and, opening the door of the corridor, took a 
 position at the one leading into the Gallery of 
 Palms. 
 
 Footsteps resounded on the staircase, and vari- 
 ous persons appeared. Generals, adjutants, and 
 lackeys hurried in and formed on both sides, as it 
 were, in line of battle. The emperor then entered 
 the lower end of the corridor ; Count Munster 
 walked by his side in the most respectful and 
 submissive manner. All bowed their heads rever- 
 entially, but the emperor took no notice of them, 
 and slowly passed the saluting officers and ser- 
 vants. 
 
 " I hope you have punctually fulfilled my or- 
 ders, count ? " he asked, in his sonorous voice. 
 " This is the new palace, is it not ? " 
 
 " It is, sire. And this man will testify that no 
 one has set foot into the imperial rooms," said 
 Count Munster, pointing with a smile to the cas- 
 tellan, who, holding his bunch of keys in his up- 
 lifted arm, stood at the entrance of the Gallery of 
 Palms. 
 
 " Who is it ? " asked Napoleon, whose eagle 
 eye was fixed upon Schluter. 
 
 " Sire, it is the castellan of this palace, a faith- 
 ful, reliable man, who has been on service here 
 for more than thirty years. He has guarded and 
 locked the rooms, and they open now only to 
 your majesty's orders." 
 
 " Open," ordered the emperor, with a quick 
 wave of his hand. The castellan obeyed, and 
 Napoleon entered. Count Munster followed, and 
 the attendants crowded in after them. Advan- 
 cing quickly into the middle of the gallery, the 
 emperor stood directly in front of (he arched win- 
 dow in which Count Munster had before seen the 
 strange apparition. 
 
 " The White Lady, then, never appears in this 
 wing of the palace ? " asked Napoleon, abruptly. 
 
 " No, sire never," said Count Munster, sol- 
 emnly. " On the whole, sire, no one here be- 
 
 V'h* 
 
 soon have supper ; you will be my guest, 
 said, turning on the threshold to Count Munster 
 and dismissing the gentlemen of his suit. 
 
 The door closed. He was now a guest at th 
 palace of the ancestors of the royal family of Prus 
 sia, the Margraves of Brandenburg. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 NAPOLEON AND THE WHITE LADY. 
 
 THE emperor had long risen from the supper- 
 table. The imperial suite had been allowed to 
 withdraw. Alone he sat in a comfortable night- 
 dress on the high, antiquated easy-chair, in front 
 of the fireplace, in which, at his express order, 
 notwithstanding the warm weather, a large fire 
 had been kindled. He liked heat; the sun of 
 Egypt and the desert had never been too warm for 
 him ; in the hottest summer days in France he 
 frequently felt chilly, and called for a fire. It 
 seemed as though the inflamed blood in his veins 
 made the world appear cold to him ; he saw the 
 light of the sunbeams, but did not feel their 
 warmth. He now sat close to the fire, his face 
 bent over the large map that lay on the table. It 
 was a map of Russia. He rapidly drew several 
 lines across it, marking positions with the colored 
 pins, tajcen from the small boxes beside him. 
 " Yes, this is my plan," he said to himself, after 
 a long pause. " Three of my corps must be 
 placed on the Niemen ; Davoust, Oudinot, and 
 Ney, will command them. There, farther to the 
 left, the cavalry reserves, under Nansouty and 
 Montbrun, will take position. Here the old guard, 
 under Lefebore; there the young guard, under 
 Mortier and Bessieres, with the cavalry of the 
 guard. At this point, farther to the south, the 
 fourth corps, composed of the Italians and Ba- 
 varians, will operate, and the Viceroy of Italy, 
 
 lieves in the absurd old story, and I am sure no Eugene, will be its general-in-chief. Farther 
 one knows of the White Lady otherwise than down, here at Grodno and Bialystock, I will place 
 from hearsay." 
 
 The emperor nodded, and passed on. u Let us 
 
 the Poles, Westphalians, and Saxon? ; the fifth, 
 seventh, and eighth corps to be commanded by 
 
NAPOLEON AND THE WHITE LADY. 
 
 19 
 
 my brother Jerome. The Prussians will halt at 
 Tilsit, and form the extreme left wing ; Macdonald 
 will be their leader ; and below there, at Dro- 
 chiczyn Schwartzenberg with his Austrians will 
 form the extreme right wing. The preparations 
 are complete, and the thunder-cloud is ready to 
 burst over Russia if Alexander should persist in 
 bis obstinacy. Like the waves of the tempestuous 
 ocean, my arn,ies are rolling toward the shores of 
 Russia, They can still be stopped by a suppliant 
 word from Alexander. If he refuses, let his des- 
 tiny be fulfilled, and let the roar of my cannon in- 
 form him that his hour has struck, and that the 
 -_nd of his imperial power draws nigh. It was his 
 own will. He himself has brought destruction 
 upon his head ! He " 
 
 A loud noise above his head, making the walls 
 tremble and the windows rattle, suddenly inter- 
 rupted the stillness. The emperor rose from his 
 seat and shouted " Roustan ! " The door of the 
 adjoining room opened, and the Mameluke ap- 
 peared on the threshold. 
 
 "What was it? " asked Napoleon, hastily. 
 
 "Sire, it was as if a wall fell in above us; 
 the noise was as loud as though a cannon were 
 fired in the palace. I rushed immediately into 
 the corridor, but every thing there was quiet. 
 Only the castellan of the palace appeared in the 
 utmost haste in his night-gown, and asked whether 
 an accident had happened in the rooms of the 
 emperor." 
 
 " Where is the castellan now ? " 
 
 , when I told him that the noise was on 
 the upper floor, he immediately went thither in 
 order to see what had occurred." 
 
 44 Go and bring him to me," ordered Napoleon ; 
 aid when Roustan had withdrawn, the emperor 
 fixed his eyes steadfastly on the door, and his 
 compressed lips quivered with impatience. 
 
 Finally, the door opened again; Roustan ap- 
 red, followed by the castellan, pale and trera- 
 behind the Mameluke, and clinging with his 
 ands to the door to support himself. 
 
 Napoleon cast upon him one of his quick 
 lances. " What was this noise, and why do you 
 
 mble so violently ? " 
 
 " Pardon me, your majesty,'' faltered Schluter, 
 44 but my terror the surprise I am afraid I have 
 lost my senses. I have just seen something so 
 unheard of, so incredible, that I" 
 
 "What have you seen?" asked Napoleon. 
 44 Speak ! What was this noise ? " 
 
 The castellan slowly raised his bead, and 
 stared with terrified eyes at the emperor. " Your 
 majesty," he said, solemnly, " the White Lady 
 made the noise ! " 
 
 Napoleon started,and his brow grew clouded. 
 44 But did they not tell me that the miserable 
 spectre never haunted this part of the palace ? " 
 he asked. " Did I not issue orders that rooms 
 should be given me where I should not be dis- 
 turbed by this apparition ? " 
 
 44 Your majesty, she has hitherto never entered 
 these rooms," exclaimed Schluter. " Never be- 
 fore has the White Lady directed her steps 
 hither, and this afternoon her portrait stood 
 quietly in a cabinet of the other wing of the 
 palace. I can take an oath that this is true." 
 
 " What portrait do you refer to ? " asked Na- 
 poleon, impatiently. 
 
 44 The portrait of the White Lady," said Schlu- 
 ter. 44 1 saw it this very day in the cabinet on the 
 other side ; all the doors were locked, and now I 
 suddenly find this large painting in the room above 
 you ; it was lying on the floor as if in walking it 
 had stumbled over something and fallen. It is 
 the first time that the White Lady appears in this 
 wing of the palace ; her portrait has come from 
 the other side, and Heaven alone knows how it 
 has happened. Whenever we wished to convey 
 the painting, with its enormous wooden frame, 
 from one room to another, no less than six men 
 were required to carry it, and now it is here as 
 though it had flitted through the air: and it is 
 1 ying on the floor as if struck down by lightning." 
 
 44 And you think the fall of the painting pro- 
 d:uvd (he noise?" 
 
 " I feel convince 1 of it. If your majesty wishes 
 
 me to do so, I will get a few men, go up-stairs to 
 
 the painting, and let it fall again, that your 
 
 majesty may judge whether it is the same noise 
 
 or not," 
 
 
NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 " Ah, you do not feel much respect for your 
 walking portrait," exclaimed the emperor, smil- 
 ing. " You want to abuse it, and make experi- 
 ments with it. We will suppose that the fall of 
 the painting was the sole cause of the noise. Now, 
 that it is on the floor, I believe it will lie still and 
 disturb us no longer, unless it be that your por- 
 trait should fall asleep and snore. What do you 
 know about that ? " 
 
 "Your majesty," said Schluter, gravely, "the 
 White Lady never sleeps ! " 
 
 The emperor cast a searching glance upon him, 
 and then turned away, folded his hands, and 
 slowly paced the room. Suddenly he stood in 
 front of the castellan. 
 
 " What about this White Lady ? " he asked, 
 hastily. "Who was she, and what is her his- 
 tory?" 
 
 " Ah, sire, it is a long and melancholy history 
 concerning the ancestors of the Margraves of 
 Brandenburg," said Schluter, sighing. 
 
 " You know the history ? " 
 
 " Yes, your majesty, I know it well." 
 
 " Tell it to me, but very briefly," said Napo- 
 leon, throwing himself on the easy-chair in front 
 of the fireplace, and ordering Roustan, by a wave 
 of his hand and the word "Fire!" to add fresh 
 fuel. 
 
 " Now, tell me all about it." 
 
 " Your majesty," replied Schluter, hesitatingly, 
 " I do not know how to narrate a story in fine 
 words, and you must pardon me if I do not acquit 
 myself very satisfactorily." 
 
 " Who was this White Lady ? " 
 
 " Sire, her name was Cunigunda, Countess von 
 Plassenburg. Her parents had compelled her to 
 marry the old Count von Plassenburg, and when 
 her husband died, after two years of unhappy 
 wedded life, the Countess Cunigunda of Orla- 
 munde and Plassenburg was a young widow, 
 twenty-four years of age, heiress of the splendid 
 Plassenburg, and mother of two children. She 
 was a gay-spirited lady, and looked around for 
 another husband. Her eyes fell on the Burgrave 
 of Nuremberg, the distinguished nobleman Albert 
 the Handsome. The whole German people called 
 
 him so ; and all the girls, far and near, daughters 
 of the nobility, as well as those of the citizens of 
 Nuremberg, loved the fine-looking Burgrave of 
 Nuremberg, who was the ancestor of the House of 
 Hohenzollern. But the noble Count Albert loved 
 only one young lady, beautiful Beatrice of Hai- 
 nault, and would marry none but her. The Count- 
 ess Cunigunda of Orlamunde, however, was not 
 aware of this, and sent him a message, asking 
 him whether he would not like to marry her. 
 She would give him, besides her hand, the splendid 
 Plassenburg and all her other property. Burgrave 
 Albert the Handsome smiled when he heard the 
 message ; shrugging his shoulders, he said : ' Tell 
 your countess I regard her as very amiable, and 
 should like to marry her, provided four eyes were 
 not in existence. But as it is, I cannot do so.' 
 The burgrave referred to the eyes of his parents, 
 who did not like the Countess of Orlamunde, and 
 he wished to make them responsible for his re- 
 fusal, so as not to offend the beautiful widow. 
 But Cunigunda interpreted the words differently, 
 and thought the four eyes, which the Burgrave 
 said were in the way of their marriage, were those 
 of her two children. She loved the handsome 
 Burgrave so intensely, that she henceforth hated 
 the children, because she believed them to be the 
 sole obstacles to her marriage. The Evil One and 
 her passion whispered into her ear, ' Go and kill 
 your children.' So Cunigunda rose from her 
 couch ; in a long white night-dress, her head 
 covered with a black veil, she crept to the bed 
 of her children, and, drawing from her. raven hair 
 a long golden pin, set with precious stones (a 
 gift which she had once received at the hands of 
 Burgrave Albert), she pierced the heads of her 
 children, penetrating the brain to the vertebra." 
 
 "Medea!" ejaculated Napoleon, staring into 
 the fire. " This, then, is the history of the Medea 
 of the Hohenzolleru." 
 
 "No, sire, the name of the countess was not 
 Medea, but Cunigunda," said Schluter, respect- 
 fully. 
 
 Napoleon smiled. " Proceed," be said. 
 
 " On the following morning there was great 
 wailing at the Plassenburg, for the two sweet lii 
 
NAPOLEON AND THE WHITE LADY. 
 
 21 
 
 tie children lay dead in their bed ; not a vestige 
 of violence was to be seen, and the physician of 
 the countess decided that a stroke of apoplexy 
 had killed them. The Countess of Orlamunde 
 sent a mounted messenger to Nuremberg to Bur- 
 grave Albert the Handsome, requesting him to 
 come and see her. And when the burgrave came 
 she met him in a white bridal dress, and looked 
 at him with radiant eyes ; in her uplifted right 
 hand she had the golden hair-pin, and said, ' The 
 four eyes are no longer in existence. For your 
 sake I have stabbed my two children with this 
 pin, your first love-gift ; the four eyes are extin- 
 guished forever. Now, marry me ! ' But the bur- 
 grave recoiled in terror, and pushed back the 
 murderess, who was about to embrace him. He 
 then dragged her through the rooms to the dun- 
 geon of the castle. She begged and cried, but 
 the burgrave had no mercy upon the infanticide, 
 and hurled her down into the dungeon. He then 
 informed the courts of the crime that had been 
 committed. The Countess von Orlamunde, the last 
 member of her family, was put on trial, and 
 sentence of death passed upon her. The Bur- 
 grave of Nuremberg sent the first executioner 
 from the city to the Plassenburg, and the count- 
 ess was beheaded in the presence of the bur- 
 grave, and in the same room in which she had 
 murdered her children. Before putting her head 
 on the block she glanced at the handsome bur- 
 grave, raised both her arms toward heaven, and 
 took a fearful oath that she would avenge herself 
 on him and his house ; that, whenever one of 
 his descendants was at the point of death, she 
 would be present, as the burgrave himself was 
 now present at her death ; that she would never 
 rest in her grave, but live and walk, though 
 the burgrave had her executed, and that, as she 
 was before him now at h;r last hour, she would 
 appear to him at his last hour. After uttering 
 these words, she put her head calmly on the block. 
 The burgrave then had her buried at the convent 
 of Himmelskron, and, by virtue of an old ti 
 the Burgraves of Nuremberg now succeeded to the 
 fiefs of the Counts of Orlamunde, whose line had 
 Lecome extinct. The Plassenburg, with Buireuth 
 
 and Burgundy, and all the possessions of the 
 Counts of Orlamunde, therefore passed into the 
 hands of Bnrgrave Alben the Handsome. He did 
 not enjoy the inheritance a long time, for, a few 
 years afterward, shortly after he had married the 
 beautiful Countess Beatrice of Hainault, he died 
 very suddenly. His wife was awakened by a loud 
 cry he uttered. He then exclaimed, ' Cunigunda, 
 do you come already to take me away ? Woe to 
 me ! Woe to me ! ' All became still ; the count- 
 ess called for the servants and a light. They 
 rushed into the room with torches. Burgrave 
 Albert the Handsome lay in his bed dead. That, 
 your majesty, is the history of the White Lady of 
 Baireuth." 
 
 "This lady, then, followed the Hohenzollern 
 from the Plassenburg to Baireuth and Berlin ? " 
 asked Napoleon. " For she appears sometimes 
 at Berlin, does she not ? " 
 
 "At Berlin, and all places where members of 
 the house of Hohenzollern, the descendants of the 
 Burgravps of Nuremberg, are about to die." 
 
 " Oh, the dear lady, then, appears only to the 
 family of the Hohenzollern," exclaimed Napoleon, 
 smiling. " Is it not so ? " 
 
 " Xo, your majesty, at times she appears also 
 to others," said Schluter ; " she walks about the 
 palace, and if there is any one in her way whom 
 she dislikes, she tells them so, and angrily orders 
 him away. She forgets no insult heaped upon her 
 house, and she is terrible in her wrath." 
 
 " I have heard of it," exclaimed the emperor, 
 gloomily. " My generals complained vehemently 
 of the annoyances they had suffered here in 1806, 
 owing to the movements of this lady. You were 
 here at that time, were you not ?" 
 
 " I wa?, sire, and so I was when General d'Es- 
 pagne, in 1809, established his headquarters at 
 this palace." 
 
 " Ah, I remtmber," said Napoleon to himself. 
 " Duroc told me the horrible story at that time. 
 Te'.l me what was it that befell General d'Espagne 
 here?" 
 
 " Sire, the general had arrived late at night, 
 and, being wrary, had immediately retired. In 
 the night terrible crtes were heard in his room. 
 
 
 /' 
 
 ((UN 17 
 
22 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 The orderlies hastened into it ; the general's bed, 
 which, when he retired for the night stood at the 
 wall, was now in the middle of the room ; it was 
 upset, and, having fainted, he lay under it. He 
 was placed on a couch, and a doctor sent for, who 
 bled him, and, when he awoke, gave him sedative 
 powders. The general declared that the White 
 Lady had appeared to him, and tried to kill him. 
 While struggling with her, his bed was upset, 
 and, when about to succumb, he uttered loud 
 cries for assistance. He described all the particu- 
 lars of the countenance, form, and dress of the 
 apparition, and, at his express request, I had to 
 conduct him to her portrait. As soon as he saw 
 it, he turned pale, and almost sank to the floor, 
 muttering, 'It is she ! She looked exactly like 
 that when she appeared to me ! Her apparition, 
 doubtless, indicated my impending death ! ' His 
 officers tried to dissuade him from this belief, but 
 he adhered to his conviction, and left the palace 
 that very night in order to establish his head- 
 quarters at the * Fantaisie,' the king's little villa 
 near the city. On the following morning General 
 d'Espagne sent a large detachment of soldiers to 
 this palace ; they had to open the floor under the 
 direction of their officers, and take down the wall- 
 paper, in order to see whether there were any 
 secret trap-doors or hidden entrances.* But they 
 found nothing, for the White Lady needs no 
 theatrical apparatus ; she goes where she pleases, 
 and walls and locked doors open to her. General 
 d'Espagne, however, was unable to overcome his 
 horror. He left Baireuth on the following day, 
 and when he rode out of the gate he said, 'I 
 heard my own death-knell here at Baireuth. I 
 shall soon die!'" 
 
 "And he really died shortly after, for he was 
 killed at the battle of Asperu," f said Napoleon 
 to himself, staring gloomily into the fire. A pause 
 ensued ; suddenly the emperor rose. " It is all 
 right," he said. " Go ! Your story of the White 
 Lady was quite entertaining. I hope she will 
 keep quiet now. Go ! And you, too, Roustan ! 
 I will afterward call you ! " Long after the two 
 
 * Vide Mirmtoti, " The White Lady," p. IT. 
 t Ibid., p. IT. 
 
 had withdrawn, the emperor walked slowly up 
 and down the room. He stood nt length in front 
 of the fireplace, and stared moodily into the 
 blazing flames. His face was pale and gloomy. 
 " Foolish stories, which no man of sense can be 
 lieve ! but which, nevertheless, are fulfilled now 
 and then," he added, in a lower voice. " Was it 
 not predicted to Josephine that she would be- 
 come an empress; and that not death, but a 
 woman, would hurl her from the throne? The 
 prophecy was fulfilled ! Poor Josephine ! I bad 
 to desert you, and, at your lonely palace of Mai 
 maison, you are perhaps praying for me at this 
 hour, because you know I am about to brave 
 new dangers. Poor Josephine ! you were my 
 good angel, and, since you are no longer at my 
 side no matter ! " the emperor interrupted him- 
 self ; " I will retire to rest." He advanced several 
 steps toward the door leading into his bedroom, 
 where Roustan and Constant were waiting for him, 
 but stopping said, " No, I will first arrange my 
 plans, and fight my decisive battles with the Em- 
 peror Alexander." He returned with rapid steps to 
 the table covered with maps, and resumed his seat 
 in the easy-chair. The tapers were burning dimly ; 
 the flames in the fireplace flickered, shedding a 
 dark-red lustre on the marble face of the emperor, 
 who, bending over the map, sat motionless. Per- 
 haps it was the heat, or the profound silence, that 
 lulled him to sleep. His head fell back into 
 the chair, and his eyes closed. The emperor 
 slept, but his sleep was not calm, and his fea- 
 tures, which when awake were so firm and mo- 
 tionless, were restless, and expressive of various 
 emotions. Once he exclaimed in a tender voice, 
 " My father ! Do you at last come to me ? Oh, 
 welcome, father ! " And a joyous expression 
 overspread the countenance of the sleeper ; but 
 it soon faded away, and he appeared angry, and 
 his lips quivered. " No, no," he said, with a fal- 
 tering tongue, impeded by sleep, "no, father, 
 you are mistaken ! my luck does not resemble the 
 changing seasons ; I am not yet in autumn, when 
 the fruits drop from the trees and winter is at 
 hand." He paused again, and his face assumed 
 the expression of an attentive listener. " What I " 
 
NAPOLEON AND THE WHITE LADY. 
 
 be then exclaimed in a loud voice, " you say my 
 family will leave me, and betray me in adversity ? 
 No, that is impossible, I have lavished kindnesses 
 on them, I " He paused, and seemed to listen 
 again. "Ah," he exclaimed, after a short inter- 
 -larting violently, "that is too much! All 
 Europe is unable to overthrow me. My name is 
 more powerful than Fate ! " 
 
 Awakened, perhaps, by the loud sound of his 
 own voice, he opened his eyes and looked around 
 uneasily. " Ah," he said, putting his hand on his 
 moist forehead, " what a terrible dream it was ! 
 My father stood before me, and predicted what 
 would befall me. He prophesied my ruin ! He 
 cautioned me against my relatives, and the in- 
 gratitude of my marshals!* It is the second 
 time that this is predicted to me, and just as I 
 now saw and heard my father in my dream, the 
 old sorceress spoke to me by the pyramids of 
 Egypt" And the emperor, absorbed in his reflec- 
 tions, muttered in a hollow voice: "'You will 
 have two wives,' said the Egyptian sorceress to 
 me ; ' your first wife you will unjustly desert. 
 Vour second wife will bear you a son, but your 
 misfortunes will nevertheless begin with her. You 
 will soon cease to be prosperous and power- 
 ful. All your hopes will be disappointed; you 
 will be forcibly expelled, and cast upon a foreign 
 .<.il, hemmed in by mountains and the sky. Be- 
 ware of your relatives! Your own blood will re- 
 volt against you ! ' f Nonsense," exclaimed the 
 emperor, quickly raising his head; "all this is 
 Tolly. The palace, with its weird traditions, has 
 infected me, and I scent ghosts in the air, and 
 transform my dreams into prophecies. I will re- 
 tire!" 
 
 For the second time he approached the door 
 >f the bedroom, but suddenly recoiled and stood 
 with dilated eyes. In front of it appeared a tall 
 female figure, her arms spread out before the 
 door, as if she wished to prevent the emperor 
 from passing out A long white dress covered 
 her slender form, a black veil concealed her bosom 
 
 *Le Normand,"' vol. ii., p. 421. 
 t This propbecy Is historical Vil " I,o Norman* ' 
 ToL II., ; 
 
 and her erect head ; but behind the transparent 
 tissue of the veil was a pale, beautiful face, the 
 eye* of which were flashing like swords' point? 
 Breathless with horror, he fixed his eyes stead 
 fastlv on the apparition, that approached him nov 
 with uplifted arms. Trembling in spite of him 
 self, he drew back, and, putting his hand on the 
 back of the easy-chair, gazed searchingly at the 
 approaching figure. 
 
 " You dare set your foot into the house of the 
 Hohenzollerns ? " asked the spectre, in a hollow, 
 menacing voice. "You come hither to disturb 
 the repose of the dead? Flee, audacious man 
 flee, for destruction is pursuing you ; it will seiz* 
 and destroy you! Your last hour has come! 
 Prepare to stand before your Judge ! " 
 
 " Ay. you will kill me, then, beautiful lady ? " 
 asked Napoleon, sneeringly. "You will revenge 
 the defeats I have inflicted on the descendants of 
 Burgrave Albert the Handsome, on the battlle 
 fields of Jena, Eylau, and Friedland ? In truth, I 
 should have thought that beautiful Cunigunda of 
 Orlamunde would rather welcome me as a friend, 
 for was it not I who avenged her on the faithless 
 house of Hohenzollern ? " 
 
 " You try to mock me," said the spectre, " for 
 your heart is filled with doubt, and your soul with 
 pride. But beware, Bonaparte beware, I tell 
 you for the last time your hour has come, and 
 every step you advance is a step toward your 
 ruin. Turn back, Bonaparte, if you intend to be 
 saved, for ruin awaits you on the battle-fields of 
 Russia ! Turn back, for the souls of your victims 
 cry to God for vengeance, and demand your blood 
 for theirs your punishment for the. ruthlessly de- 
 stroyed happiness of whole nations! Bonaparte, 
 escape from the soil of Germany, and dare no 
 longer to set foot upon it, for disgraceful defeats 
 are in store for you ! Return to France, and en- 
 deavor to conciliate those who are cursing you as 
 a perjurer and renegade ! " 
 
 " Who are they who dare call me a perjurer and 
 renegade?" asked Napoleon, hastily. 
 
 " Who are they ? " repeated the spectre, advan- 
 cing a step toward the emperor and fixing her 
 menacinr; eyes upon him. " The men to whon 
 
 
24 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 you once vowed eternal fidelity, and whom you 
 called your brethren Philadeiphians ! " 
 
 The emperor started in terror, and his cheeks 
 turned livid. His features, which had hitherto 
 had a sneering, scornful air, were now gloomy, 
 and he stared with an expression of undisguised 
 fear at the lady who stood before him in an im- 
 posing attitude, with her arm lifted in a menacing 
 manner. 
 
 "The Philadeiphians?" asked Napoleon, tim- 
 idly. "I do not know them." 
 
 " You do ! " said the spectre, solemnly. " You 
 do know that the invisible ones are watching you, 
 and will punish you because you have broken 
 your oath ! " 
 
 " I know of no oath ! " 
 
 " Woe to you if you have forgotten it. I will 
 repeat it to you! It was in 1789, at the forest 
 of Fontainebleau, that you appeared at the meet- 
 ing of the brethren and requested to be initiated. 
 The Philadeiphians admitted you into their league 
 and received your oath. Shall I repeat this oath 
 to you ? " 
 
 " Do so if you can ! " 
 
 " You swore that never again should a freeman 
 obey kings, and that death to tyrants under all 
 titles and in all governments is justifiable." 
 
 " That was the formality of the oath of every 
 club and secret society at that time," exclaimed 
 Napoleon, contemptuously. 
 
 "But the Philadeiphians demanded still an- 
 other written oath of you. It read as follows: 
 ' I consent that my life be taken if I ever become 
 reconciled to royalty. In order to contribute to 
 its eradication in Europe, I will make use of fire 
 and sword, and, when the society to which I be- 
 long asks me to do so, sacrifice even what is most 
 precious to me.' You wrote this and affixed your 
 name to it with your blood." * 
 
 " It is true, I did ! " muttered Napoleon. " I 
 was a fool, dreaming, like all the others, of the 
 possibility of a republic." 
 
 "You were a believer, and have become a ren- 
 egade," exclaimed the spectre, in a threatening 
 
 * "Le Normand," voL ii., p. 516. 
 
 voice. " The invisible ones will judge and punish 
 you, unless you make haste to conciliate them. 
 You have forgotten that you stand under the 
 yoke of the Philadeiphians. The Emperor Na- 
 poleon believes that he has power to blot out 
 with the blood of subjugated nations the words 
 of the sacred oath which Lieutenant Bonaparte 
 swore to the Philadelphiaus in the forest of Fon- 
 tainebleau." 
 
 " And I have the power to do so ! " exclaimed 
 Napoleon, proudly. " I stretch out my arm over 
 Europe, and she bows before me." 
 
 "But the Philadeiphians will break your arm, 
 and convert your crowns into dust, unless you 
 make haste to conciliate them," exclaimed the 
 spectre. " Turn back, for it is yet time. Return 
 to France, renounce conquests : France wants no 
 more wars ; she is cursing the tyrant who refuses 
 peace to her and to Europe. There has been 
 bloodshed enough. Take an oath at this hour 
 that you will renounce your ambition, and no 
 longer pursue a career of crime and blood ! 
 Swear that you will return to France to-mor- 
 row ! " 
 
 " Never ! " ejaculated Napoleon, vehemently, 
 and coloring with anger. 
 
 "Swear that you will return, or I will kill 
 you!" cried the spectre. "I will kill you as a 
 wolf. Swear that you will return ! " 
 
 "Never!" 
 
 "Ah, you will not swear you prefer to die, 
 then," and at a bound she was by the Emperor's 
 side, gra?ped him with iron hands, and threw him 
 down on the easy-chair. " You prefer to die ! " 
 she repeated wildly, tearing the black veil from 
 her head and showing her face unveiled. It was 
 livid as that of a corpse, the bloodless lips quiver- 
 ing, and her red eyes flaming with rage. 
 
 " You prefer to die ! " exclaimed the spectre, 
 for the third time. " Well, die ! " And her arms 
 encircled Napoleon's breast like iron rings, her 
 glanr.e seemed to pierce his face, her lips opened 
 and exhibited terrible teeth, as if ready to tear 
 his breast. The emperor was unable to breathe; 
 he felt his strength giving way, and, with a last 
 effort, he uttered a shrill cry calling for help. 
 
 inish 
 
 
 
NAPOLEON AND THE WHITE LADY. 
 
 25 
 
 ''Sire, sire, awake!" cried an anxious voice by 
 his side. Napoleon started up, and violently 
 pushed back the hand which touched his arm. 
 " Who is there ? " he asked, angrily. 
 
 M Sire, it is I ! Constant ! " said the faithful 
 valet de chambre. " I heard in the antechamber 
 your majesty's groans and cries ; I rushud in and 
 saw you writhing on the easy-chair. A bad dream 
 seemed to torment your majesty, and I therefore 
 ventured to awaken you." 
 
 " And I am glad you did, Constant," said the 
 emperor. " Ah, my friend, what a terrible dream 
 it was ! The White Lady was here ; she threw 
 herself upon me like a tigress; she wanted to 
 tear me and drink my heart's blood." 
 
 "Your majesty had once before a similar 
 dream," said Constant, smiling. 
 
 " Where where was it ? " asked Napoleon, 
 hastily, wiping the cold sweat from his brow. 
 
 "Sire, it was at Erfurt, when the Emperor 
 Alexander was there." * 
 
 " Yes, I remember," said the emperor, in a low 
 voice. " It seems this bad dream returns as soon 
 as I approach Alexander. Does Fate intend to 
 warn me ? Is he to be the wolf that will one 
 day lacerate my breast ? Ah, it was an awful 
 dream, indeed, and even now it seems to me as 
 really seen and heard." He glanced around the 
 gloomy room. Every thing was in precisely the 
 same condition as when he had entered it. 
 The maps lay undisturbed on the table before 
 him; the colored pins stood in long rows like 
 little armies, and opposite each other, drawn up 
 in line of battle. But the tapers had burned 
 down, and the fire was nearly extinguished. Na- 
 poleon rose shudderiugly from his easy-chair. " I 
 will go to rest," he said. 
 
 Constant, taking a candlestick, preceded the 
 emperor, and opened the door of the adjoining 
 room. Fifteen minutes afterward Napoleon was 
 in bed, and Constant and Roustan hud with* I 
 into the antechamber. 
 
 But this sleep was not to be of loticr duration. 
 A loud cry, uttered by his master, invalicnc-d Con- 
 
 * Constant, u M6motres," vol. iv., p. 79. 
 
 slant, and caused him to rush into the bedroom. 
 The emperor had raised himself in bed. " Con- 
 stant," he said, " it was no dream this time. The 
 White Lady was here I saw her distinctly I 
 hud not fallen asleep, my eyes and all my senses 
 were awake. I saw the tall white figure, her 
 head covered with the black veil, at the wal 
 there, as though she had grown from the ground. 
 At a bound she was at my bedside, and raised 
 her hands. I quickly seized her and called for 
 you. She then glided from my fingers and dis- 
 appeared. Like General d'Espagne, I say there 
 must be a trap-door somewhere in this room. 
 Call Roustan, take lights, and examine the walls 
 and the floor.'' 
 
 The valet de chambre hastened to fetch Rous- 
 tan ; they took lights and made a thorough ex- 
 amination, but hi vain. The oaken planks of the 
 floor were firmly joined, and the dark velvet 
 hangings glued to the walls. 
 
 " Well, then, the White Lady has fooled me in 
 another dream," said the emperor. " Go ! Let 
 us sleep." The two servants withdrew. 
 
 About an hour had elapsed, when another cry, 
 uttered by the emperor, called Constant back 
 into the bedroom. Seized with dismay, he halt- 
 ed at the door. The bed was in the middle 
 of the room ; the table which stood beside it was 
 upset, and the night-lamp lay thrown on the 
 floor. 
 
 " I hope that no accident has befallen your 
 majesty,'' said Constant, rushing toward the en\ 
 peror. 
 
 "Xo," said Napoleon. "But this accursed 
 white spectre was here again. It wanted to treat 
 me like General d'Espagne ; to upset my bed and 
 throttle me. I awoke just when this horrible 
 monster of a woman pushed the bed with the 
 strength of a giant into the middle of the roon 
 I called for you, and she disappeared. As thr 
 White Lady apparently iocs not like several pel 
 sons to be in the room, yon and Roustan must 
 remain here to-night." 
 
 "And, with your majesty's leave, each of ua 
 will hold a pistol in his hand, that we may fire at 
 the apparition if it return." 
 
26 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 "Ah, my friend, -ou know little of the power 
 of spectres," said Napoleon, smiling. " When 
 you have fired at them, they laugh scornfully, 
 throw the bullet back to you and pass on entirely 
 uninjured. That is their fashion. But you may 
 take your pistols, and if she has still a human 
 heart in her breast, she will feel some respect 
 for it." 
 
 And the White Lady really seemed to have a 
 human heart. Constant and Roustan, who sat 
 on the floor beside the emperor's bed with cocked 
 pistols, waited in vain for the return of the appa- 
 rition. Every thing remained quiet ; nothing 
 stirred in the room, where the emperor, guarded 
 by his faithful servants, now at last enjoyed re- 
 pose. 
 
 When he rose on the following morning, his 
 face was even paler and gloomier than usual. 
 He who generally on being dressed conversed in 
 an affable manner with his servants, remained si- 
 lent and grave that day, and muttered only occa- 
 sionally, "The accursed palace! The miserable 
 spectre-hole ! " * 
 
 Constant and Roustan, having finished the em- 
 peror's toilet, were about leaving the room, when 
 he called them back by a gesture. " You will 
 not mention any thing about what happened 
 here last night ! " he said, imperiously. " If I 
 find out that you disobey my order, I shall be very 
 angry. Go! 1 ' And the emperor went into the 
 Gallery of Palms in order to receive the reports 
 of his suite and give the usual audiences. With 
 a nod and a dismal look he greeted Count Mun- 
 ster, who inquired, with the fawning smile of a 
 true courtier, whether his majesty had passed an 
 agreeable night. 
 
 "Your castellan, then, has not informed you 
 of the horrible noise last night in the palace ? " 
 asked Napoleon, angrily. " You ought to get 
 better nails, count, to hang up paintings, so that 
 they do not fall down. He who wants to hang 
 anybody or any thing, even though it be but a 
 painting, ought to have at least a substantial gal- 
 lows." 
 
 * Historical. Vide MinutoH, " The White Lady," p. 17. 
 
 "Sire," faltered Count Munster, " I do not 
 prehend this palace " 
 
 " Is not even fit to be a gallows, for it drops 
 those who have been hung in it," exclaimed Na- 
 poleon, vehemently. "It is an accursed place, 
 and the air in it is as sultry and oppressive as in 
 a rat-hole. Have the carriages brought to the 
 door. Let us depart!" He did not deign the 
 count another glance, and returned into the ad- 
 joining room, whither none but the grand mar- 
 shal and his adjutants were permitted to follow. 
 
 Fifteen minutes afterward, the emperor, with 
 his numerous suite, left the palace of Baireuth 
 and set out for Plauen, where he intended to join 
 the Empress Maria Louisa, who had stopped 
 there overnight, and continue with her the jour- 
 ney to Dresden. The streets of Baireuth, which 
 had presented so animated a spectacle the day 
 before, were at this early hour quiet and desert- 
 ed ; all the windows were closed ; only here and 
 there a wondering, inquisitive face appeared be- 
 hind the panes and looked at the carriages that 
 rolled through the streets, and at the melancholy 
 countenance of the emperor, who sat in his open 
 calash. When out of the gate, he turned again, 
 and cast an angry glance on the palace, whose 
 high gray walls were brightened by the morning 
 sun. " An accursed old palace ! " he muttered to 
 himself. " I shall never spend there another 
 night." * And leaning back in a corner of the car- 
 riage he gazed in silence at the sky. 
 
 Count Munster, however, stood inside the pa> 
 ace of Baireuth, at the window of the Gallery of 
 Palms, and looked anxiously after the emperor. 
 The carriages disappeared at a bend in the road 
 behind the green willows, and the count turned to 
 Castellan Schluter, who was standing behind him. 
 
 "But tell me, for Heaven's sake, Schluter," 
 exclaimed the count, " what did the emperor refer 
 to ? What happened to him last night ? " 
 
 " There happened to him what will happen to 
 all those who dare disquiet the White Lady of 
 Baireuth or defy her power," said Schluter, sol- 
 emnly. 
 
 * Napoleon's own words. Vide MinutoH, p. 17. 
 
 com 
 
 Irops 
 
 
NAPOLEON AND THE WHITE LADY. 
 
 " You really believe, then, that she appeared 
 to him ? " asked the count, in terror. 
 
 " The emperor sent for me late last night, ami 
 again this morning. Shall I toll your excellency 
 what it was for? The portrait of the White 
 I a<h, which I had put yesterday into the cabinet 
 adjoining the audience-hall in the other whig of 
 the palace, had walked over to this side, and, in 
 the room directly above the emperor, had thrown 
 itself down with so much violence, that the noise 
 resounded through the whole building." 
 
 " But that is altogether impossible," exclaimed 
 Count Munster, in dismay. " Why, you told me 
 that the portrait was standing in the other wing 
 of the palace, and that you had carefully locked 
 all the doors." 
 
 " But I told your excellency also that locks 
 and bolts are unable to impede her progress, and 
 that, when she intends to wander, the walls open 
 to her, and that all obstructions give way. The 
 air wafted her over to the enemy of her house, 
 and, by the thunder of her wrath, she awakened 
 him from his slumber." 
 
 " And that was the reason why the emperor 
 ent for you last night ? " 
 
 " Yes, I had the honor of narrating to him the 
 history of the White Lady," said Schluter, laugh- 
 ing scornfully. " I did so, and told him also 
 what happened here to General d'Espagne." 
 
 " But did you not say the emperor had sent for 
 you again this morning ? " 
 
 The castellan no 
 
 " Well, what did he want again ? " 
 
 " I had to describe to him the costume in which 
 the White Lady is in the habit of walking her 
 dress, her veil, her countenance in short, I had 
 to tell him all about her appearance. I proposed 
 at last that I would have the portrait brought to 
 him, that he miht himself look at it ; but, when 
 I did so, he cast a furious glance on me, and said 
 
 (in an angry voice, ' No, no, I do not want to see 
 it ! Let me alone with your doomed portrait ! ' * 
 In truth, I believe the all-powerful emperor was 
 frightened, and the White Lady had paid him a 
 
 Historical. Vide Minutoli, p. 17. 
 
 visit In fact, he turned quite pale!" And 
 Schluter burst into loud and scornful laughter. 
 
 Count Munster shook his head gravely, and 
 hastened to leave the Gallery of Palms and the 
 haunted palace. 
 
 The castellan remained there and listened until 
 the count's footsteps died away. He then hur- 
 ried to the rooms which the emperor had occu- 
 pied. When he arrived at Napoleon's bedroom, 
 he pushed the bed aside, and stooped down to 
 the floor, at which he looked with searching eyes. 
 "It is all right! Nothing is to be seen! "he 
 muttered to himself. " The White Lady will yet 
 be able often to walk here ! " He burst into loud 
 laughter and left the imperial apartments to re- 
 turn to his own rooms, which were situated on 
 the ground-floor. " I will now put away my 
 dear treasures, that no uninitiated eye may be- 
 hold them," he said, carefully locking the door. 
 " Come, my mysterious treasures ! Come !" He 
 drew from his bed a long white dress, a small 
 cloak trimmed with fur, and a long black veil,* 
 and while carefully folding up these articles, which 
 he locked in a trunk standing under the bed, he 
 sang in a loud and merry voice : 
 
 t " Ein Kors\ Ihr kennt den Namen schon, 
 Beit vierzehn Jahr und druber, 
 Spricht alien Nationen Hohn, 
 Giebt Fursten Nasenstuber, 
 Sturzt Throne wie ein Kartenhans 
 Und treibt das Wesen gar zu Kraus, 
 Nicht Bona Malaparte I " $ 
 
 * These articles, belong-in? to the toilet of the White 
 Lady, were found in Scbluter's trunk when he died, U 
 1820. Vide Minntoli, p. 17. 
 
 t A comic song, sung in Germany in 1812. 
 
 $ A Corsican you know his name 
 
 For more than fourteen years 
 Has scorned the nations, to their shame, 
 
 And pulled their princes 1 ears. 
 He plays sad tricks upon his foes. 
 
 And, marching with his guards, 
 He casts down kingdoms as he goes 
 
 Like houses made of cards. 
 A better name for him would be 
 Not Bono, but JfaJo-part6. 
 
28 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 NAPOLEON AT DRESDEN. 
 
 JOT, happiness, and love, reigned at the court 
 of the King of Saxony. Napoleon bad honored 
 the royal house of Saxony with a visit ; he had 
 oome to Dresden to spend a few days in the fam- 
 ily circle of Frederick Augustus, whom he flatter- 
 ingly called his " cher papa" He had also come 
 to embrace his father-in-law, the Emperor of Aus- 
 tria, before setting out for Russia, and to shake 
 hands with his ally the King of Prussia ; and, 
 finally, to gather around him again his vassals, 
 the princes of the Confederation of the Rhine, 
 and, in the face of Europe, to receive the homage 
 of kings, emperors, and princes. 
 
 Amid the ringing of bells and the light of 
 torches, Napoleon and Maria Louisa made their 
 entry into Dresden. The late hour of the night, 
 when the imperial couple arrived, prevented the 
 population from greeting them with cheers. But 
 the good people of the Saxon capital were not to 
 be deprived of the happiness of bidding Napoleon 
 welcome, and seeing his beautiful young empress 
 The court, therefore, arranged a drive in open 
 calashes on the day after ; and everywhere on the 
 streets through which the procession passed the 
 people stood in vast crowds. The windows of the 
 houses were opened, and beautiful ladies looked 
 out of them. The imperial and royal carriages 
 made but slow headway, for thousands of excited 
 spectators preceded them, and thousands more 
 surrounding the carriages looked up with in- 
 quisitive eyes to the distinguished persons who, 
 greeting and smiling, bowed to them on all sides. 
 But the multitude were silent; not a cheer re- 
 sounded not a " Vive Cempercur" and the 
 praise of Napoleon, that was uttered by the lips 
 of princes, lacked the wonted accompaniment of 
 popular enthusiasm. 
 
 Good-natured King Frederick Angustus felt all 
 this as a rebuke administered to himself, as a re- 
 flection on his hospitality, and he looked with an 
 expression full of uneasiness and affection at the 
 emperor, who was sitting beside him. But Napo- 
 
 "" 
 
 
 leon's countenance was as calm and cold as 
 always was. Not a flash of inward anger was 
 seen in those unfathomable eyes. He conversed 
 quietly and almost smilingly with bis consort, 
 the Empress Maria Louisa, and did not even 
 seem to notice :hat the people received him in 
 silence. 
 
 " Well, he shall have a most gratifying com- 
 pensation at the theatre to-night," said Frederick 
 Augustus to himself. " The audience will there 
 at least receive the great Napoleon with enthusi- 
 astic cheers ; and when, on his return, he sees all 
 Dresden glittering in the illumination that is to 
 take place, he will have to admit, after all, that 
 my good Saxons, like their king, love and admire 
 him." 
 
 King Frederick Augustus was not mistaken. 
 The vast and brilliant audience, that in the 
 evening assembled at the royal theatre, received 
 the members of the court, on their appearance, 
 with deafening cheers ; all rose from their seats 
 and shouted with constantly recurring enthu- 
 siasm, " Long live Napoleon ! Long live the Em- 
 peror Francis ! Long live our dear King Fred- 
 erick Augustus ! " The band accompanied these 
 cheers, the ladies waved their bouquets, and the 
 gentlemen their hats and handkerchiefs, and when 
 this outburst subsided, hundreds of eyes were 
 fixed on the royal box, to watch every motion of 
 Napoleon's countenance, and admire him in the 
 circle of his family ; for this large gathering of 
 princes and kings were now bis family, and the 
 son of the Corsican lawyer was its head. There 
 was the Emperor Francis of Austria, who had 
 arrived but a few hours before, to greet his be- 
 loved son-in law, whom he had not seen since the 
 battle of Austerlitz. The emperor was accom- 
 panied by his young consort, the Empress Lu- 
 dovica. Every one knew that she hated Napo- 
 leon; that her proud heart never could forgive 
 him the humiliations which he haJ inflicted on 
 Austria, and that she had consented only with 
 the utmost reluctance, and with bitter tears, to 
 the marriage of her step-daughter, the Arch- 
 duchess Maria Louisa, with the conqueror of 
 Austria. And yet, notwithstanding her hatred 
 
 
NAPOLEON AT DRES1/EN. 
 
 29 
 
 grief, and humiliated pride, the Empress Ludovica 
 had likewise come to Dresden to witness the tri- 
 umph of Napoleon, to be the second lady at this 
 court, and the first in the suite of the Empress 
 Maria Louisa. There were the King and Queen 
 of Westphalia, sister-in-law of Napoleon and 
 daughter of the King of Wurtemberg, who deemed 
 himself happy that Napoleon was a relative of his. 
 There were, besides, the Grand-Duke jf Wurz- 
 burg, brother of the Emperor Francis, and now 
 ancle of Bonaparte; the Grand-Duke of Baden, 
 Napoleon's nephew, and the King of Saxony, the 
 cher papa of Napoleon; and finally, the crowd of 
 the petty German princes of the Confederation of 
 the Rhine, who had eagerly hurried to Dresden in 
 order to do homage to their protector, and seek 
 after new gifts of territories and titles from the 
 all-powerful master of Germany. But these per- 
 sonages formed only part of the suite; no one 
 paid attention to them ; they stood humbly and 
 modestly in the background, and only the two 
 emperors and empresses, the Queens of Saxony 
 and Westphalia, and the King of Saxony, occu- 
 pied front seats. The King of Saxony conducted 
 Napoleon to the first gilded easy-chair on the right 
 side ; to him belonged the seat of honor here as 
 everywhere. He was first in the line of emperors 
 and kings. By his side sat Maria Louisa, spark- 
 ling with diamonds, which covered her head, neck, 
 arms, and the golden belt around her slender 
 waist. Her countenance was joyful, and never 
 had she feasted her eyes on her husband with 
 more heart-felt pride than during this evening, 
 when, sitting beside him, she eclipsed her im- 
 step-mother in the magnificence of her 
 toilet and the splendor of her rank. It v 
 
 ipolron had taken h's seat that th-- K;n- 
 r and Empress of Austria, and all the other 
 gs and prinet-s, followed his example. The 
 ml immediately commenced the overture, and 
 
 ;H seen 
 
 e radiant tempi.- of the sun, surrounded by the 
 lliantlv-adorned crowd of priests and 
 
 "lieir arms, not to t'.ic temple 
 of the sun, but toward Napoleon's box, and, 
 tmid their soul-stirring chorus, the high-priest ' 
 
 when, 
 perial 
 
 stepped forth from the temple. Advancing to the 
 of the stage, he bowed to the imperial sun, 
 and commenced singing in a powerful voice, 
 " The sun rises gloriouslj on the firmament, illu- 
 minating and heating the world; but thou, hia 
 greater brother, thou conquerest him, and he drives 
 back his car, acknowledging that, since thou art 
 here, the world needs no other sun." While the 
 high-priest sang these words the temple on the 
 stage suddenly paled, and over its entrance the 
 following words appeared in large letters of gold : 
 " Di Lui men grande e men chiaro il Sole.' 1 '' * 
 
 At this sight, cheers burst from all sides of the 
 brilliantly decorated house; the audience rose 
 from their seats and turned toward the imperial 
 box to salute Napoleon ; the Emperor of Austria, 
 the King of Saxony, and the princes of the Con- 
 federation of the Rhine, joined in the applause. 
 But Napoleon, to whom these cheers were ad- 
 dressed, did not even seem to notice them. He 
 had suddenly risen and turned his back to the 
 stage, regardless of the high-priest and his em- 
 phatic words. Heedless of the cheers and ap- 
 plause, he left his place and hastened to the Em- 
 peror Francis, who was sitting on the left side, 
 close to the two empresses. " Sire," said Napo- 
 leon, " I request your majesty to exchange seats 
 with me, and pardon me for erroneously taking 
 the chair that was intended for you." 
 
 " No, no ; it is no mistake at all," exclaimed 
 the Emperor Francis, hastily. " It is all right as 
 it is, and your majesty must stay there, for that 
 easy-chair is the seat of honor." 
 
 " That is precisely the reason why it should be 
 
 occupied by your majesty, the august Emperor of 
 
 Austria, my beloved and revered father-in-law," 
 
 said Napoleon, bowing his head lower than he 
 
 had ever before done to any prince in the world. 
 
 " Come, sire, permit me to conduct you to the 
 
 hat is due to you alone." With gentle vio- 
 
 he took the emperor's hand and conducted 
 
 him to the seat at the right side of Maria Louisa, 
 
 * " Less preat and brilliant than be Is the snn." Thf 
 author of this cantata, performed in honor of Napoleon 
 was Orlandi. an Italian; Morlacchi had composed th( 
 music. 
 
 
30 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 " My dear Louisa," be said, turning to his con- 
 sort, " I renounce the happiness of sitting beside 
 you, because this seat is due to the head of our 
 family, the father of my consort, the grandfather 
 of my son. You may embrace the opportunity 
 to tell our dear papa all about the little King of 
 Rome." He greeted Maria Louisa with a beam- 
 ing smile, and then repaired to the seat which the 
 Emperor Francis had occupied, at the left side of 
 the Empress Ludovica. The smile was still on 
 his face ; he sat down on this chair, and, turning 
 to the empress, his mother-in-law, asked her, al- 
 most humbly, if she would grant him the happi- 
 ness of sitting by her side. 
 
 Ludovica felt flattered ; the gentle, suppliant 
 voice of the emperor, his smile, and flashing eyes, 
 exerted their wonted charm upon her. She had 
 armed her heart against the arrogant master of 
 the world, but, before the kind and almost humble 
 bearing of Napoleon, her arms sank to the ground, 
 and she who had hitherto felt nothing but hatred 
 against him, regarded him now with mingled as- 
 tonishment and admiration. 
 
 Napoleon seemed. to have read the depths of 
 her heart, for his face grew even milder, and his 
 smile more fascinating. " Your majesty has hated 
 me intensely, I suppose ? " he asked, in a low 
 voice. " Oh, do not deny it ; I have been portrayed 
 to you in very repulsive colors ? " 
 
 Ludovica looked at him admiringly. " I must 
 confess, sire," she said, " that not one of the por- 
 traits of your majesty which I have eeen, is like 
 you." 
 
 " Oh, I believe so," exclaimed Napoleon, has- 
 tily ; " they have always painted me too dark, and 
 the portraits shown to your majesty doubtless have 
 been of that description ; but before you, madame, 
 the Moor would like to wash his face, and I wish 
 you could see me painted less repulsively." 
 
 " Sire," said the empress, smiling, " did we not 
 sec but a few minutes since that your image is 
 even more radiant than the sun ? " 
 
 " Ah, those are silly coups de theatre" ex- 
 cliiimed Napoleon. " It is no great honor, in- 
 deed, to surpass the splendor of a sun made out 
 of paper. If the lamplighter had approached too 
 
 close to it it would have burned, while I think 
 that I can stand in fire without running the risk 
 of perishing. However, the fire of anger flashing 
 from your eyes, madame, would annihilate me, 
 and I pray you, therefore, to have mercy on me. 
 Pray, let us be frank. Why do you hate me ? " 
 He looked at the empress with so mild and smil- 
 ing an expression, that she felt confused by it, 
 and a faint blush suffused her beautiful face. 
 
 " No," she said, in a low voice, " who tells you 
 that ? How would it be possible to hate the man 
 to whom all Europe bows in admiration ? " 
 
 " I have put my foot on the neck of Europe; 
 I have tamed the wild horse, and it acknowledges 
 me as its master," said Napoleon, proudly. " But 
 is that a reason why you should hate me? Let 
 all lie in the dust before me, but Austria shall 
 stand erect by my side, for the Emperor of Aus- 
 tria is my father-in-law, and though I do not 
 venture to say that the beautiful young Em- 
 press of Austria is my mother-in-law, I may 
 be allowed to say that she is the mother of my 
 consort, and that I admire and esteem her with 
 all my heart. Austria has nothing to fear, so long 
 as she is friendly toward me. She shall share 
 my triumphs ; and, when at last all Europe is pros- 
 trate, the Emperors of France and Austria will 
 stand side by side, and divide the world between 
 them." 
 
 " And one will take his Herculaneum, and the 
 other his Pompeii," said the empress, sarcastically. 
 
 " Ah, you mean to say that the world we shall 
 have conquered will consist only of ruined cities 
 and dead subjects ? " asked Napoleon, gloomily. 
 
 "Sire," said Ludovica, gently, "I mean that 
 when Vesuvius shows itself to the wondering 
 world in its whole majesty and beauty, it cannot 
 prevent the molten lava, which rises from its 
 crater, as a natural consequence, from rushing 
 down its sides, and spreading everywhere death 
 and destruction." 
 
 "Well," exclaimed Napoleon, smiling, "if you 
 simile is correct, the molten lava will soon inun- 
 date Russia, and carry terror, death, and destruc- 
 tion into the empire of the arrogant czar." 
 
 " Ah, sire," said Ludovica, gravely, " Russia i 
 
NAPOLEON AT DRESDEN. 
 
 31 
 
 so very cold that I believe even the fires of Vesu- 
 vius would be extinguished there, the molten lava 
 would freeze, or, flowing back, injure Vesuvius 
 it-elf." 
 
 " Oh, no, madarac," exclaimed Napoleon, has- 
 tily, " Vesuvius will not be extinguished, for di- 
 vine fire is burning in its heart." 
 
 "And Russia will not thaw, for it is a divine 
 frost that freezes every thing approaching her," 
 said Ludovica, gently. 
 
 Napoleon cast on her one of his quick, angry 
 glances. " Madame," he said, " I" 
 
 At this moment the whole audience burst into 
 loud and enthusiastic cheers, and shouted, " Long 
 live the emperor ! Long live the hero who con- 
 quers the world ! " 
 
 Napoleon interrupted himself, and turned his 
 eyes toward the stage. The temple of the sun 
 was still dark, but a new brilliant light was beam- 
 ing over it ; in its middle was the word " Napo- 
 l3on " in large flaming letters, which illumined 
 the whole scene. At this sight the audience were 
 unable to restrain their delight, and burst into 
 the deafening cheers which had interrupted Na- 
 poleon's words. 
 
 The King of Saxony was evidently pleased with 
 this outburst of enthusiasm. " Now," he thought, 
 " the great Napoleon will forget the disagreeable 
 scene of this morning. The people then were 
 silent, and admired, but to-night they have re- 
 covered their speech ; and when we leave the 
 theatre, and behold the whole city in a flood of 
 l^tit, Napoleon will feel convinced that my sub- 
 jects love him sincerely. But what is that ? The 
 erupcror rises. Does he intend already to leave 
 theatre ? " And he hastened to Napoleon, 
 advanced toward him. " Let us leave, sire," 
 " These flatteries are more than enough, 
 see the sun has set here." 
 
 " But he is still among us, sire," said Frederick 
 Augustus. "And if it has grown dark on the 
 in i- simply, that all the light now 
 of Dresden, to prove to the great 
 Napoleon that there is no night where he is that 
 his presence turns darkness into light, and night 
 into day." 
 
 u Ah," said Napoleon, in a tired, wearied tone, 
 u :tn illumination then has been arranged ? " 
 
 "Sire, my people, as well as I, cannot find 
 words to utter to your majesty the transports 
 with which your visit has filled our hearts, and I 
 hope you will see this in the lights shining at 
 every window. I request your majesty not to re 
 turn directly to the palace, but first ride through 
 the city." 
 
 Napoleon nodded assent. " Let us do so, chcr 
 papa" he said ; " let us take a look at your illu- 
 mination ! " lie offered his arm to Maria Louisa, 
 and left the box with her. The crowd of kings, 
 dukes, and princes, followed him in haste. 
 
 As the King of Saxony descended the staircase 
 with his consort, Chamberlain von Planitz met 
 him with a pale and frightened face. 
 
 " Well," asked the king, " I suppose the illu- 
 mination has already commenced ? It must be a 
 splendid spectacle ! " 
 
 " Your majesty," said the chamberlain, hi a 
 low voice, " the royal palace and the public 
 buildings are brilliantly lit up, but the houses 
 of the citizens are dark, and the streets are de 
 serted." 
 
 " But," exclaimed the king, in dismay, " did 
 not the police command the citizens to illuminate 
 their houses ? " 
 
 " Fes, your majesty, the police have done their 
 duty." 
 
 'And yet " 
 
 " And yet, sire, all the houses are dark. It is 
 as if the whole population had conspired to dis- 
 obey the order. The police have again given 
 orders ; they received everywhere the same reply, 
 that neither oil nor candles were to be had any 
 
 "The stubborn people ought to ha\e been told 
 that they would be punished for this." 
 
 " The police tried this, too, your majesty, 
 threatening that every citizen who did not obey 
 should be fined a dollar, and all declared their 
 readiness to pay rather than illuminate." 
 
 " That is open rebellion," said the king, sigh 
 ing. " The streets, then, are dark ? " 
 
 " Yes, sire." 
 
NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 " Then we must not take the intended ride 
 through the city," exclaimed the king, anxious- 
 ly. " Make haste, baron, countermand the ride, 
 and" 
 
 At this moment the first carriage rolled from 
 the portal. "It is too late," groaned the king. 
 "The emperor has already started. He will wit- 
 ness our humiliation." 
 
 " Possibly, he may drive immediately to the 
 palace," said the queen. " He seemed tired and 
 exhausted " 
 
 " No, no," said the king, " he consented to see 
 the illumination, and the outriders are instructed 
 accordingly. I myself marked out the route. 
 But, an expedient occurs to me. Quick, Baron 
 von Planitz ! Go to the outrider of my carriage. 
 Tell him to follow the imperial carriage as fast as 
 he can ride. He must overtake it, though his 
 horse die under him. He must order the driver 
 to turn and pass down Augustus Street to the 
 Linden, and then slowly across the square, to the 
 palace. Make haste ! " The chamberlain has- 
 tened to carry out the king's orders. 
 
 " And we ? " asked the queen " shall we also 
 follow him ? " 
 
 " No, we return to the palace, and will wait for 
 him there. The others, of course, will follow the 
 imperial carriage, and I hope we shall soon see 
 the two emperors again." Profoundly sighing, 
 the king conducted his consort to the carriage, 
 and drove with her toward the palnce. A flood 
 of light beamed upon them in the palace square. 
 Huge pillars, covered with festoons of colored 
 lamps, stood in front of the long palace bridge, 
 and were connected with each other by brilliant 
 girandoles. Four similar pillars were in front of 
 the main portal of the Catholic church at the en- 
 trance of Augustus Street. Around the square 
 altars were erected, on which naphtha was burn- 
 ing. On the royal palace the Austrian and 
 French coats-of-arms displayed all their colors 
 with heraldic accuracy. It was a dazzling spec- 
 tacle, and even the king himself rejoiced at the 
 beautiful and imposing effect. "I think," he 
 said, pointing to the pillars, " I think this svill be 
 agreeable to him." 
 
 " Yes, but I am afraid that will be disagreeable 
 to him," said the queen, pointing to the Neustadt, 
 lying dark on the other side of the Elbe. 
 
 " Heaven grant that he may not see it ! " said 
 the king, sighing ; he then leaned back and closed 
 his eyes until they halted in front of the portal. 
 " I shall remain here until the emperors arrive," 
 he added, bowing to his consort. With anxious 
 eyes he gazed upon the place, and listened in sus- 
 pense to any distant noise. After waiting fifteen 
 minutes, the roll of approaching wheels was heard, 
 and now they thundered across the square and 
 entered the palace portal. King Frederick Augus- 
 tus, hat in hand, stepped up with a most submis- 
 sive air to the first carriage, the door of which 
 was just opened by lackeys in gorgeous liveries. 
 He lifted the young empress Maria Louisa out, 
 and then offered his hand almost timidly to Na- 
 poleon to assist him also. With a quick wave 
 of his hand he refused assistance, and alighted. 
 Anger was burning in his eyes. 
 
 " We left the theatre at an earlier hour than 
 the citizens expected," said the king, timidly, 
 " and that is the reason why the illumination has 
 not yet generally commenced." 
 
 " Oh, no," said Napoleon, in a petulant voice ; 
 " your illumination is magnificent; as to the in- 
 habitants of Dresden, it seems to me, they are the 
 children of the sun that we saw at the theatre 
 their lights have gone out." And the emperor, 
 coldly bowing to the king, and offering his arm to 
 his consort, walked with her into the palace. 
 
 " He is not in good humor," muttered Frederick 
 Augustus, in dismay. " Oh, he is incensed at 
 me ! " 
 
 At this moment the Emperor Francis, with his 
 consort, met him. "A very pretty idea," said 
 the emperor, with a laughing face, " to unite the 
 coats-of-arms of Austria and France in such a 
 blaze of variegated light ! It gladdens one's heart 
 to behold them. I thank your majesty for hav- 
 ing thus exhibited my coat-of-arms. It looks ad 
 mirably by Ihe side of that of France." 
 
 > 
 
 
 
 
NAPOLEON'S HIGH-BORN ANCESTORS. 
 
 33 
 
 anj 
 
 * 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 NAPOLEON'S HIGH-BORN ANCESTORS. 
 
 A NKW guest had arrived at Dresden to do 
 homage to Napoleon the King of Prussia, ac- 
 companied by the young crown prince, and Chan- 
 cellor von Hardenberg. The two inimical friends, 
 the Emperor of France and the King of Prussia, 
 met for the first time at the rooms of the Queen 
 of Saxony, and shook hands with forced kindness. 
 They exchanged but a few words, when Napoleon 
 withdrew, inviting the king to participate in the 
 gala dinner and ball to take place that day. The 
 king accepted the invitation with a bow, without 
 replying a word, and repaired to the Marcolini 
 palace, where quarters had been provided for him 
 and his suite. Not a member of the royal family 
 deemed it necessary to accompany him. He went 
 away quietly and alone. His arrival had not 
 been greeted, like that of Napoleon and the Em- 
 peror of Austria, with ringing of bells and cannon 
 salutes, nor had the soldiers formed in line on 
 both sides of the streets through which he passed 
 on entering the city. The court had not shown 
 any attention to him, but allowed him to make 
 entry into Dresden without any display what- 
 ever. 
 
 But if the court thought they might with im- 
 punity violate the rules of etiquette because Fred- 
 erick William was unfortunate, the people indem- 
 nified him for this neglect, and honored him. 
 Thousands hurried out of the gate to cheer him 
 his arrival, and escorted him amid the most 
 tic acclamations to the royal palace, 
 he left it again, the crowd followed him to 
 lini palace, and cheered so long in front 
 it that the king appeared on the balcony. It 
 true, the anterooms of the king were deserted ; 
 smiling courtiers' faces, no chamberlains 
 orncd with glittering orders, no dignitaii 
 
 princes, or dukes, were there; but 
 below in the street was hi> n-al anteroom there 
 devoted courtiers were waiting for their royal 
 ', looking up to his windows, and longing 
 his coming. The smiles with which they 
 
 greeted Frederick William were no parasites' 
 smiles, and the love beaming from 'those count- 
 less eyes was faithful and true. 
 
 Beneath the residence of Napoleon the people 
 did not stand, as usual, in silent curiosity staring 
 at the window?, behind which from tfme to time 
 the pale face of the emperor showed itself. The 
 street was empty those who formerly stood there 
 were now joyously thronging 'in front of the 
 King of Prussia's quarters ; they had recovered 
 their voices, and often cheered in honor of Fred- 
 erick William III. 
 
 The anterooms of Napoleon indeed presented 
 an animated spectacle. A brilliant crowd filled 
 them at an early hour ; there were generals and 
 marshals, the princes of the Confederation of the 
 Rhine, the dukes, princes, and kings of Germany, 
 whom Napoleon had newly created all longing 
 for an audience, in order to wrest from Napo- 
 leon's munificence a province belonging to a 
 neighbor, a title, or a prominent office. Germany 
 was in the hands of Napoleon, and to bow the 
 lower to him was to be raised the higher. In 
 these rooms of the emperor there was the un- 
 wonted spectacle of German sovereigns soliciting 
 instead of granting favors ; and, instead of being 
 surrounded by, were themselves courtiers, who, in 
 the most submissive manner, sought the interces- 
 sion of adjutants and chamberlains, to procure 
 admission to the imperial presence and favor. 
 
 And all these courtiers gave vent to their love 
 and admiration for Napoleon in terms of the most 
 extravagant praise. They spoke with prophetic 
 ecstasy of the fresh laurels that Napoleon was to 
 bind upon bis brow, and of Alexander's madness 
 to resist a conqueror destined to make new tri- 
 umphs for the glory of France and the humiliation 
 of Russia. Yet, when two or three of those ex- 
 pectant gentlemen stood in some window-niche, 
 and believed themselves beyond the reach of in- 
 discreet ears, they dared to ask each other, in a 
 low and anxious tone, whether all this splendor 
 would not soon vanish as a meteor whether one 
 might not see the aurora of a new day dawning 
 whether the battles into which Napoleon was 
 about to plunge so recklessly would not result in 
 
34 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 the downfall of him whom they publicly extolled, 
 but secretly cursed. But, to these whispered 
 questions the brilliant anterooms, the marshals 
 of the empire, crowned with victory, the dukes 
 and princes, the court of Napoleon, composed of 
 the sovereigns of Germany, made a triumphant 
 reply. Secret hope could hardly survive in the 
 recollection of the greatness and invariable good 
 fortune of Napoleon, and they who desired the 
 humiliation of the conqueror yielded to submission. 
 Returning to the crowd of princely courtiers, 
 they renewed their enthusiasm, and joined in the 
 plaudits of Napoleon's admirers. 
 
 When the emperor, with Maria Louisa, entered 
 the room, all pressed forward, anxious to receive 
 a glance, a smile, or a pleasant salutation. Rank 
 and etiquette were overlooked ; there was but one 
 master, one sovereign, to whom all were doing 
 homage. Rushing toward him, each one tried to 
 outstrip the other ; and many a high dignitary, 
 prime minister, prince, duke, or king, was pushed 
 aside by an inferior. Napoleon stood in the cen- 
 tre of the room, uttering words of condescending 
 affability to the fortunate men nearest him. 
 
 Suddenly cheers resounded in the streets, rat- 
 tling the window-panes. Napoleon looked in the 
 direction of the windows. " What is that ? " he 
 askevi, turning to the Duke de Bassano. 
 
 " Sire," said the duke, " the good people of Dres- 
 den are impatient to see their imperial majesties 
 of France, and pay them their respects." 
 
 More deafening shouts were heard. Napoleon 
 smiled, and hastily walking with his consort 
 through the circle of the courtiers, stepped to 
 the open window. He frowned as he looked 
 down. An immense crowd had gathered below, 
 but their faces were not turned toward the windows 
 of the royal palace, and their cheers were not in- 
 tended for the emperor. The multitude crossed 
 the square, and in their midst drove slowly an 
 open carriage, surrounded by the enthusiastic 
 people. In this carriage sat the King of Prussia, 
 to whom were given the loud greetings mistaken 
 by Napoleon. He understood it at a glance, and, 
 stepping back from the window with the empress, 
 turned to Grand-Marshal Duroc. who was stand- 
 
 ing by his side. "See that the populace go 
 home," he said, hastily, "and that they no 
 longer disturb the peace of the city by indecent 
 and riotous proceedings. I do not wish to hear 
 any more yelling near the palace ! " 
 
 Duroc bowed, and withdrew to instruct the po- 
 lice officers not to tolerate any similar conduct on 
 the part of the citizens. The emperor meanwhile 
 turned to Duke Augustus of Gotba, who had just 
 succeeded in penetrating through the ranks of 
 courtiers, with his broad shoulders and colossal 
 form. 
 
 " Ah, you are back again, duke ? " asked the 
 emperor, kindly. " Did you attend thoroughly to 
 your government affairs ? " 
 
 "I did, sire," said the duke, nearly bowing to 
 the ground, and then seizing the emperor's hand 
 to press it to his lips. 
 
 " Well, I must confess that you accomplished 
 your task with great rapidity. Was it not three 
 days since you took leave of us to go to Gotha? " 
 
 " Yes, sire, I set out three days ago." 
 
 " And you are back already ! You performed 
 the trip and your official business in so short a 
 time ! How large is your duchy, then ? " 
 
 "Sire," said the Duke of Gotha, quickly, "it 
 is as large as your majesty commands it to be." * 
 
 Napoleon's smile was reflected in the faces of 
 those seeking his favors. 
 
 At this moment the doors of the outer ante- 
 room opened, and on the threshold appeared the 
 grave and dignified form of King Frederick Wil- 
 liam. The courtiers, with an impatient expres- 
 sion, receded anxiously, as though afraid of con- 
 tact with this unfortunate man, who had no ter- 
 ritories, no riches, no honors to offer them, but had 
 come as a vassal to pacify the wrath of Napoleon, 
 and save at least a remnant of his kingdom. But 
 the king did not come with craven heart ; he did 
 not hasten his approach to the emperor with 
 fawning submissiveness, but slowly, with his head 
 proudly erect, and a grave air. 
 
 Napoleon received him with a haughty nod. 
 "Your majesty, you must have had a trouble- 
 
 * This reply is historical. 
 
NAPOLEON'S HIGH-BORN ANCESTORS. 
 
 35 
 
 gome drive from your quarters to the royal palace," 
 he said harshly. "I noticed that the gaping 
 crowd were thronging about your carriage and 
 annoying you." 
 
 " Pardon me, sire," said the king, " the people 
 did not annoy me. They did me the honor of bid- 
 me welcome, and this was the more generous, 
 as I am not one of those who are favored by For- 
 tune. But the German people yield sometimes to 
 generous impulses, and show thereby how little 
 they know of the etiquette and sagacity of cour- 
 tiers." 
 
 While uttering these words, the king glanced 
 "with his clear, calm eyes in which a slightly sar- 
 castic expression was to be seen at the multi- 
 tude of brilliantly adorned and distinguished gen- 
 tlemen who tried to get as far as possible from 
 him. Napoleon smiled. He himself despised syco- 
 phancy sufficiently to be pleased with this rebuke. 
 But his severe look returned, and he gazed with 
 some indignation upon the tall form of the King of 
 Prussia. He noticed that, while himself appeared 
 in silk stockings and buckled shoes, the king had 
 come in long trousers and boots. 
 
 " Your majesty, doubtless, was not informed 
 that there would be a ball after the banquet ? " 
 asked Napoleon, pointing to the king's boots. 
 
 " I was, sire, but since the death of my con- 
 sort I have not danced." 
 
 "But etiquette-," exclainu-d Napoleon, vehe- 
 mently, " etiquette is " 
 
 "Sire," interrupted the king, in a calm and 
 dignified tone, " etiquette is intended for parasites 
 and people of the court, and it is very proper for 
 them to adhere to it. But a sovereign king, I 
 should think, has a right to disregard it, and follow 
 the promptings of his own inclinations." 
 
 The door of the anteroom opened again, and 
 the grand marshal appeared to announce dinner. 
 The emperor offered his arm to Maria Louisa, 
 
 receded by the high 'li^nitaries and the officers 
 of his household, and followed by the swarm of 
 princes and gentlemen of the courts. The King 
 of Prussia, taking the place to which his rank en- 
 titled him, walked on the other side of the em- 
 press, and entered the dining-hall at the same 
 
 time with Napoleon, amid the notes of the im- 
 perial band. Napoleon walked with his consort 
 to his guests, who were waiting for him in the 
 centre of the hall the Emperor and Empress of 
 Austria, and the King and Queen of Saxony. 
 
 The banquet was a distinguished one, and the 
 French cooks of Napoleon's household had dis- 
 played all their culinary skill to satisfy the palate 
 of even the most fastidious epicures. Napoleon, 
 as usual, gave his guests but little tune to revel 
 in the delicacies prepared for them. Scarcely 
 half an hour had elapsed since the commence- 
 ment of the dinner, when he rose, and thereby 
 gave the signal that the gala-dinner was at an 
 end. 
 
 The Emperor Francis, who was almost always 
 in good-humor, could not refrain from frowning, 
 and, after offering his arm to his consort to con- 
 duct her to the saloon, where coffee was to be 
 served, he muttered, "I do not know, but it 
 seems to me that the Emperor Napoleon eats too 
 little." 
 
 " And yet he has so hearty an appetite, that he 
 is able to swallow and digest the territories of 
 sovereigns," whispered the Empress Ludovica, 
 with a sneer. " He is now as sated as an ana- 
 conda after devouring an ox." 
 
 " Yes, but we poor mortals are still hungry," 
 said Francis, thoughtfully. "It does not do us 
 any good that his appetite is satisfied." 
 
 " There will be a day when our hunger shall be 
 appeased, and he starve," said the empress. 
 
 " Hush ! " whispered Francis, " not a word 
 against him ! He is my son-in-law, Ludovica. 
 And, besides, he has an appetite strong enough 
 yet to swallow another ox." 
 
 " He will get it in Russia, I suppose ? " said 
 Ludovica, quickly. 
 
 " Yes," said Francis. " He explained his whole 
 plan to me and Metternich for over an hour to- 
 day, and proved to us that four weeks hence 
 there would be no Russian emperor ; that Russia 
 would fall to ruins and decay. He dwelt on a 
 great many other things, and told us of gigantic 
 schemes, which, to tell the truth, I did not com 
 prehend very well Let me confess to you," 
 
 
36 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 he whispered, standing near the door of the re- 
 ception-room, "that his words almost frightened 
 me. His heart may be all right, but as to his 
 head, I am afraid there is something wrong 
 about it." * 
 
 Ludovica smiled. " Do you believe, then, my 
 husband, that he has really a heart ? " she asked. 
 44 But as to his head, the princes and nations of 
 Europe, I hope, will soon find an opportunity to 
 set it right." 
 
 " Hush ! " said Francis again ; " he is my son- 
 in-law." 
 
 " And because he is your son-in-law, your ma- 
 jesty should hesitate no longer to deliver to him, 
 or rather to his consort, the precious gift which 
 you ordered for her, and which arrived to-day." 
 
 " It is true," exclaimed Francis. " Let us at 
 once present the gift to Maria Louisa." 
 
 He entered the saloon and hastily 'approached 
 his daughter, who stood with Napoleon in the 
 centre of the room, and was just handing him a 
 cup of coffee, to which she herself had added 
 sugar and cream.f 
 
 "Louisa," said Francis, kindly nodding as he 
 approached her, "I have a little gift for you, 
 which I hope will be acceptable. I ordered it 
 several months since, but when we set out from 
 Vienna it was not ready To-day, however, it has 
 arrived, and, as we are now in a family circle, I 
 may as well present it to you. That is to say," 
 added the emperor, bowing to Napoleon, " if your 
 majesty permits me to do so." 
 
 " Your majesty was right in saying that we are 
 here a family circle," said Napoleon, smiling; 
 " and as the father is always the head and mas- 
 ter, I have nothing to permit, but only to pray 
 that your majesty may make what present your 
 love has chosen for her." 
 
 " And I assure you, father," exclaimed Maria 
 Louisa, smiling, " I am as anxious to know what 
 
 * The emperor's own words. Vide Hormayer's " Le- 
 bensbilder," vol. iii. 
 
 t The Empress Josephine, in her tender care for Na- 
 poleon, who frequently forgot to take his coffee, was in 
 the habit of preparing a cup for him after dinner, and 
 presenting it to him. Maria Louisa had adopted Jose- 
 phine's habit 
 
 
 you have for me as I was at the time when I was 
 a little archduchess, and when your majesty prom- 
 ised me a surprise. Let me, therefore, see your 
 gift." 
 
 Francis smiled, and, walking to the open door 
 of the adjoining room (where the dukes, who did 
 not belong to the imperial family, the princes, the 
 marshals, and courtiers, were assembled), made a 
 sign to one of the gentlemen, who stood near the 
 door. The latter immediately left the room, and 
 returned after a few minutes with an oblong, 
 narrow something, carefully wrapped in a piece 
 of gold brocatel, which he presented to the em- 
 peror with a respectful bow. Francis took it 
 hastily, and approached Maria Louisa with a sol- 
 emn air. " Here, Louisa," he said, kindly, " here 
 is my present. It will show you what, it is true, 
 every day proves to admiring Europe, namely, 
 that genuine royal blood is flowing in the veins 
 of your husband." 
 
 Maria Louisa opened the covering with inquisi- 
 tive impatience, and there appeared under it a 
 golden box, ornamented with diamonds and pearls. 
 u What magnificent diamonds ! " she exclaimed. 
 
 " What skilful work ! " said Napoleon, smil- 
 ing. 
 
 "The box was made by Benvenuto Cellini," 
 said Francis ; " it was highly prized by my la- 
 mented father, the Emperor Leopold, who brought 
 it from Florence to Vienna. But that is not the 
 principal thing the contents are more important. 
 Here is the key, Louisa ; open the box ! " He 
 handed her a golden key, and Maria Louisa ap- 
 plied it to the key-hole, adorned with large ori- 
 ental turquoises. Around her stood the Emperor 
 and Empress of Austria, the King and Queen of 
 Saxony, the King of Prussia, and the Grand-duke 
 of Wurzburg ; Napoleon was close beside her. 
 All eyes were expressive of curiosity and sus- 
 pense. Nothing was there but a roll of parch- 
 ment. Maria Louisa unfolded it. " A pedigree ! " 
 she exclaimed, wonderingly. 
 
 " Yes, a pedigree," said the Emperor Francis, 
 merrily, " but a very precious and beautiful one, 
 which you may put into the cradle of the little 
 King of Rome, and from which he may learn hia 
 
NAPOLEON'S DEPARTURE FROM DRESDEN. 
 
 37 
 
 letters. Sire," he then added, turning to Napo- 
 leon, " your majesty must allow me to add an- 
 Dther jewel to your imperial crown. I moan, this 
 pedigree. It proves irrefutably that your majesty 
 i= the descendant of a glorious old sovereign 
 family, which ruled over Treviso during the mid- 
 dle ages. Signer Giacamonte, the most renowned 
 genealogist in all Italy, devoted himself, at my 
 request, for a whole year to this study, and suc- 
 ceeded in proving that the Bonaparte family is of 
 ancient and sovereign origin.** 
 
 " That is a splendid discovery," exclaimed 
 Maria 'Louisa, with delight ; " my little King of 
 Rome, consequently, has a very respectable num- 
 ber of distinguished ancestors ? " 
 
 "More than fifty!" exclaimed her father, 
 proudly. " Look here ; this is the founder of 
 the whole family, the Duca di Buon et Malaparte ; 
 :e lived in the twelfth century." 
 
 He pointed to the genealogical trunk of the 
 beautifully painted and ornamented pedigree, of 
 which Maria Louisa held the lower end, while the 
 King and Queen of Saxony obligingly took hold 
 of the upper end. The King of Prussia stood 
 beside them and witnessed this strange scene 
 with & scarcely perceptible smile, while the Era- 
 press Ludovica looked with undisguised scorn 
 'nto the joy-excited countenance of her step- 
 daughter. Napoleon surveyed the faces of all 
 present with a rapid glance, and an expression 
 of sublime pride overspread his countenance. 
 
 " Look." exclaimed the Emperor Francis, bend- 
 ing over the pedigree, "there is his name! 
 There is the founder of Napoleon's family." 
 
 At this moment Napoleon laid his hand gently 
 on his shoulder. "Oh, no," he said, "the 
 founder of that family stands here." 
 
 "Where, then?" asked Francis, eagerly, still 
 bending over and looking for the name. 
 
 "If your mnj^ty d^ires to see him, you must 
 be so kind as to avert your eyes from that piece 
 
 parchment, and turn them toward me," said 
 Napoleon, raising his voice. 
 
 Francis looked up and gazed wonderingly upon 
 his son-in-law. Napoleon smiled ; it was a tri- 
 ompbint smile. " I, and I alone, am the founder 
 
 of Napoleon's family," be said, slowly and sol 
 eranly. " I am the ancestor of those who beat 
 my name. The King of Rome needs no other, 
 unless it be that your majesty should count every 
 victory which his father gained an ancestor, and 
 compose his pedigree from the laurels I have ob- 
 tained in Europe and Africa. My son has a right 
 to despise ancestors invisible in the darkness of 
 by-gone centuries, whom history does not men- 
 tion, while the vainest genealogy can scarcely 
 discover that they lived and died. My grandsons 
 and great-grandsons need not seek the name of 
 the founder of their family on decayed parch- 
 ments and confused pedigrees ; they only need 
 read the pages of history. They will also find it 
 at night in the marshalled host of heaven, where 
 twinkles a star which science names Napoleon. 
 I think, sire, that star will never set ; it will illu- 
 minate the path of your grandson better than the 
 lamp flickering in the tombs of mouldering an- 
 cestors." 
 
 Maria Louisa at the first words of Napoleon 
 withdrew her hands from the pedigree, and stood 
 half sullen and ashamed by the side of her hus- 
 band. The royal couple of Saxony hastened to 
 roll up the pedigree as quickly as possible, and 
 put it back into the golden box. 
 
 Napoleon offered his arm to his consort 
 " Come, madame," he said, " let us go to the ball- 
 room." While he was walking away with her, 
 the Emperor Francis turned to Ludovica, and, 
 tapping his forehead, whispered cautiously, " I 
 was right ! There is something wrong in Napo- 
 leon's head." 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 NAPOLEON'S DEPARTURE FROM DRESDEN. 
 
 THE brilliant court ball ended, and Napoleon 
 retircil to his cabinet. He seemed more care- 
 worn than he had ever allowed any of his attend- 
 ants to notice. He was slowly walking his room, 
 casting an occasional glance on the map marked 
 
 
38 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 with the positions of the various corps now near 
 the frontiers of Russia. " Narbonne has not yet 
 arrived," he muttered to himself. "Alexander 
 seems really to hesitate whether to make peace 
 or not. My four hundred thousand men, who 
 have reached the Niemen, will frighten him, and 
 he will submit as all the others. He will not dare 
 to bid me defiance ! He will yield ! He" Sud- 
 denly Napoleon paused and stepped hastily to the 
 window on which he had happened to fix his eyes. 
 A ttrange spectacle presented itself. The large 
 square directly in front of his windows, which on 
 the day of his arrival had been so splendidly lit 
 up, was dark and silent ; but, on the other side 
 of the river, the Neustadt was now in a flood of 
 light, and it seemed to him as if be heard 
 cheers. He opened the window, and, leaning out, 
 saw the houses illuminated even the residences 
 of the neighboring Palace Street. These houses, 
 like those in the other parts of the city, had 
 given previously no token of joy, and remained in 
 darkness. The emperor shut the window angrily 
 and rang the bell. " Tell the grand marshal I 
 wish t see him," he said to the footman. 
 
 A few minutes afterward Duroc entered. " Du- 
 roc," exclaimed the emperor, in an angry voice, 
 and pointing his arm at the window, " what is 
 the meaning of that illumination? In whose 
 honor is it ? " 
 
 " Sire," said Duroc, slowly, " I suppose it is in 
 honor of the King of Prussia, who arrived to- 
 day." 
 
 The emperor stamped on the floor, and his 
 eyes flashed. " The inhabitants of Dresden are 
 rebels, and ought to be brought to their senses 
 by bomb-shells ! " he shouted, in a thundering 
 voice. " What does the King of Prussia concern 
 them ? And why do they show him this honor ? " 
 
 "Sire;" said Duroc, smiling, " the people, as 
 the King of Prussia said to-day, know but little 
 of etiquette, and are not so wise as courtiers." 
 
 " * People ! ' " growled Napoleon. " There are 
 no 'people;' there are only subjects, and they 
 ought to be punished with fire and sword if they 
 think of playing the part of ' the people.' Did I 
 not issue orders to-day to the effect that all dem- 
 
 onstrations should be prohibited? Why 
 my orders disobeyed ? " 
 
 " Sire, they were obeyed so far as it was in our 
 power. The police managed to prevent the popu- 
 lace from gathering and shouting in the street, 
 but they are unable forcibly to enter the houses, 
 because the inmates, without making any further 
 demonstration, placed a few lights at their win- 
 dows. Our agents, nevertheless, went to the pro- 
 prietors of some of the houses, and asked for the 
 reason of this sudden and unexpected demonstra- 
 tion. They replied that it was in honor of the 
 Emperor Napoleon, the guest of their king." 
 
 "The villains! They dare to falsify!" ex- 
 claimed Napoleon. " The facts are against them. 
 On the day when they were to illuminate in honor 
 of my arrival, all the houses were gloomy as the 
 grave, on account of hostility to me. The same 
 feeling is the reason of to-day's illumination. It 
 seems, then, that the king of Prussia is exceed- 
 ingly popular in Saxony ? " 
 
 " Yes, sire. The king, as I positively know, 
 had instructed the inhabitants of the Prussian 
 places through which he had to pass on his jour- 
 ney to Dresden, not to receive him in any formal 
 manner whatever ; but, of course, he was unable 
 to issue such orders in regard to the cities and 
 villages of Saxony. Well, so soon as he crossed 
 the Saxon frontier, he was everywhere received 
 in the most ardent manner. All the bells were 
 rung in the towns of Juterbogk and Grossenhayn 
 on his arrival, and the whole population, headed 
 by the municipal authorities, and all the other 
 functionaries, came to meet him on the outskirts 
 of the towns, and cheered him in the most jubi- 
 lant manner." 
 
 "And how did he receive these honors ? " 
 
 " He thanked the citizens, in plain and simple 
 words, for the disinterested respect they were 
 good enough to pay to a German prince." 
 
 " A German prince ? " repeated Napoleon, ve- 
 hemently ; " ah, this little King of Prussia still 
 braves me ! I was too generous at Tilsit ! 1 
 must cut his wings still shorter ! I will show 
 him what the French emperor can do with a Ger- 
 man prince, when he dares to bid me defiance ! " 
 
 
NAPOLEON'S DEPARTURE FROM DRESDEN. 
 
 39 
 
 " Sire," said Duro, in a suppliant voice, " I 
 beseech your majesty not to go too far ! The 
 King of l'ru-ia is backed by the sympathies of 
 the whole German nation. His misfortunes cause 
 the people to look on him as a martyr. They 
 also believe that he. participates but reluctantly 
 in this Russian war, and this increases the love 
 with which they regard him, for I venture to say 
 to your majesty that this nation is opposed to the 
 war." 
 
 " I have not appointed the German nation ray 
 secretary of war," exclaimed Napoleon, " and I 
 have not asked my grand marshal to give me his 
 advice. Carry out my orders, and do your duty. 
 Tell Berthier to come to me ! " 
 
 Duroc hung his head mournfully, and turned 
 toward the door. The flaming eyes of Napoleon 
 followed him. Just as the .jrand marshal opened 
 the door, he heard the emperor calling him. 
 " Sire ? n he asked, turning, and standing at the 
 door. There was now beaming so much love 
 and mildness in the emperor's face, that Duroc 
 was unable to resist, and, as if attracted by a 
 magnetic power, returned. 
 
 " Duroc, my old friend," said Napoleon, offer- 
 ing him his hand, "I thank you for your good 
 advice, for, though I did not ask it, it was well 
 meant. I know full well that the so-called Ger- 
 man people, as well as their princes, however 
 they may cajole me, are opposed to this war. 
 Oh, I know those treacherous princes! I know 
 that those who flatter me to-day in the most ab- 
 ject manner, are only watching for an opportunity 
 to avenge themselves for their sycophancy ; but 
 I have chained them to me with iron bands, and 
 extracted their teeth, so thit they are unable to 
 bite their teeth, that is to say, their soldiers, 
 horn I am taking with me into this last and de- 
 war. For I tt-11 you, Duroc, it will be our 
 
 t campaign. On the ruins of Moscow I w411 
 pel Alexander to submit, and then peace will 
 be restored to Europe for years to come. And 
 who knows, it may not be necessary to go so far? 
 Perhaps it may be sufficient for me to inarch my 
 army as far as the Niemen, to awaken Alexander 
 from his reveries, and bring him to his senses." 
 
 " Alas, sire ! " said Duroc, sighing, " Alexandei 
 has loved your majesty too tenderly not to feel 
 irritated in the highest degree." 
 
 "Is it I, then, who broke this friendship?" ex- 
 claimed Napoleon, vehemently. " Is it I who 
 brought about this war ? Have I not rather re- 
 sorted to all means in order to avoid it ? Have I 
 not twice sent Lauriston to Alexander, and offered 
 him peace in case he should fulfil my conditions : 
 to shut his ports against British ships, to lay an 
 embargo upon British goods, and give up com- 
 mercial intercourse with England ? But, em- 
 boldened by his victories over the Turks, the 
 Emperor of Russia takes the liberty of dictating 
 conditions to me ! He asks me to give him an in- 
 demnity for confiscating the states of his brother 
 in-law, the Prince of Oldenburg ; he demands that 
 I should not engage to reestablish the kingdom 
 of Poland ! He wants to impose on me the terms 
 by which peace is to be maintained ! Conditions ! 
 I am the man to make them, but not to accept 
 any ! That would be a humiliation I could not 
 submit to ! You see, therefore, Duroc, I have 
 been compelled to euter upon this war ; I did not 
 seek it, but I cannot avoid it. You see the jus- 
 tice of it, do you not ? You know that I desired ; 
 and am still desiring peace, and that it is with a 
 heavy heart I shed the blood of my brave sol 
 diers." 
 
 "Sire," said Duroc, with a faint smile, "I see 
 at lest that it is too late now to speak of peace, 
 inasmuch as an army of four hundred thousand 
 men is waiting on the Niemen for the arrival of 
 your majesty." 
 
 " Let Alexander speak ; let him accept my 
 terms, and it will not be too late," exclaimed Na- 
 poleon. " I am looking for Narbonne, who may 
 arrive at any moment. He will bring us either 
 peace or war. for he will have Alexanders 6nal 
 reply. As soon as he arrives he must be admitted, 
 no matter whether I am asleep or awake. Go, 
 no\v, Duroc ! Tell Berthier to come to me ! " 
 
 AV hon Berthier entered, the emperor was stand 
 ing at the window, and looking over to the Neu- 
 stadt, which was still in a blaze of light The 
 marshal remained respectfully at the door, wait 
 
 
NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 ing to be addressed. A long pause ensued. Sud- 
 denly Napoleon turned his pale countenance to 
 Berthier, and exclaimed : " Berthier, you will set 
 out immediately. Go to Berlin, and convey my 
 order to the Duke de Belluno. Tell him that I 
 recommend the utmost vigilance, and that it is 
 his task to maintain order in Prussia. The popu- 
 lation of that country are very seditious. They 
 are constantly ready to conspire and rise in rebel- 
 lion, and who knows whether Frederick William 
 will not make common cause with the insur- 
 gents ? This ought to be prevented by all means ; 
 war is at hand; hence we must redouble our 
 firmness and vigilance, that no revolution may 
 annoy us in our rear. You will repeat all this to 
 the duke, and take him my instructions." 
 
 " Sire," said Berthier, " if your majesty has no 
 further orders, I shall set out immediately." 
 
 u You will tell the Duke de Belluno that it is 
 my will that no Prussian general or officer shall 
 command at Berlin, and that the French general 
 aloae must give all necessary orders. Sit down ; 
 I will dictate to you the other instructions." 
 
 Berthier took a seat at the desk, and waited, 
 pen in hand, for the emperor's words. Casting 
 again a glance on the city honoring the King of 
 Prussia, he dictated : " Special care is to be taken 
 that neither at Berlin nor in its vicinity shall there 
 be a depot of small-arms or cannon, which the 
 populace might take possession of. No Prussian 
 troops whatever shall be left at Berlin, and what 
 few regular soldiers remain at the capital shall 
 exclusively perform the military service at the 
 palace. The French troops at Berlin shall not be 
 lodged with the citizens, but take up their quar- 
 ters at the barracks, and, if these should be in- 
 sufficient for their accommodation, encamp in the 
 open field. You will constantly keep some field- 
 pieces ready for immediate use, in order to sup- 
 press any seditious movements that might take 
 place. Every insult heaped upon a Frenchman 
 will be punished by a court martial according to 
 the laws of war. -Besides, it is necessary that 
 the governor-general of Berlin should organize a 
 necret police, that he may know what is going on, 
 and have a vigilant eye on all dangerous attempts 
 
 at disturbing the public peace. You will inform 
 the Duke de Belluno that the administration of the 
 country will be entirely left to the king's minis- 
 ters, but that the surveillance of the newspapers, 
 as well as all other publications, and the whole 
 organization of the police, must be in the duke's 
 hands, that nothing may give a dangerous im- 
 pulse to the people, and that they may have no 
 opportunities of entering into a rebellion. Prus- 
 sia must be kept down by all means at our com- 
 mand. You will tell the Duke de Belluno that I 
 have given orders that three or four well-informed 
 French officers should stay at Colberg and Grau- 
 denz v The right of having a Prussian garrison 
 was reserved only to Colberg, and Potsdam is the 
 only cily through which the French troops are not 
 allowed to pass ; but the inhabitants of Potsdam 
 should be accustomed to see many French officers 
 in their midst. The latter must frequently stop 
 there overnight on the pretext of seeing the city, 
 and, if their own curiosity should not impel them 
 to do so, their commander should induce them to 
 pursue the course I have indicated. The duke 
 shall, under all circumstances, show the greatest 
 deference to the King of Prussia, and even to 
 affectation at festivals and on all public occasions. 
 He shall, besides, frequently invite to his table the 
 Prussian ministers, and what few Prussian officers 
 will be left at Berlin, and always treat them in the 
 most polite and obliging manner. But at all 
 hours a vigilant eye must be bad on the king as 
 well as on the authorities and the people, and the 
 duke ought always to be ready to put down the 
 slightest demonstration or disorder. I have done," 
 said Napoleon. " Go, Berthier, and comply care- 
 fully with my instructions. No confidence can be 
 reposed in Frederick William or in his people. We 
 have subjugated Prussia, but it may perhaps be 
 necessary to crush her. At the slightest provo- 
 cation this must be done ; if she will not be an 
 honest ally, I will prove to her that I am an 
 honest enemy, and, to give her this proof, put an 
 end to her existence. Go, Berthier ; set out im- 
 mediately." 
 
 Berthier withdrew, while Napoleon returned to 
 the window with a triumphant air. "Ah, my 
 
NAPOLEON'S DEPARTURE FROM DRESDEN. 
 
 little King of Prussia," he said, scornfully, " they 
 kindle lights here under my eyes in honor of your 
 petty majesty, but my breath can extinguish them 
 and leave you in a profound darkness. Another 
 such provocation, and your throne breaks down. 
 Another " 
 
 The door of the antechamber was hastily 
 opened, and Roustan appeared. " Sire," he said, 
 " his excellency Count de Narbonne requests an 
 audience." 
 
 " Xarbonue ! " ejaculated Napoleon, joyously. 
 " Come in, Narbonne, come in ! " And he has- 
 tened to meet the count, who entered the cabinet, 
 and, as an experienced cavalier of the court of 
 Louis XVI., made his bows in strict accordance 
 with etiquette. 
 
 " Omit these unnecessary ceremonies," said 
 Napoleon, quivering with impatience and anxiety. 
 " I have been looking for you a long time. What 
 results do you bring me ? " 
 
 " Sire," said the count, with his imperturbable, 
 diplomatic smile, " I am afraid the result of my 
 mission will be war." 
 
 "What!" exclaimed Napoleon, eagerly, and, 
 for a moment, a faint blush tinged his cheeks. 
 " What ! The Emperor Alexander will not yield ? 
 He refuses to comply with my conditions ? " 
 
 >our majesty will permit me to repeat to 
 the emperor's own words," said the count, 
 with composure. " When I had laid your propo- 
 sitions before his majesty, and told him that if 
 the czar should shul his ports against British ships, 
 continue the war with England, lay an embargo 
 on all British goods, and give up all direct and 
 indirect commercial intercourse with England, 
 your majesty then would make peace with Rus- 
 sia, the Emperor Alexander exclaimed vehement- 
 ly, 'Such a peace I would accept only after 
 hiving been forced into the interior of Sibe- 
 ria!'"* 
 
 " Ah," exclaimed Napoleon, " I will give him 
 the pleasure of that journey. He will become 
 a^xjuaintoil with Siberia, and there I mean to dic- 
 tcite terms of peace, unless I prefer to leave him 
 
 * Alexander's own words. Vide w M6moires d'nn 
 Oommo d'tat," vuL xiil., p. 875. 
 
 n e i 
 
 there forever. Did you bring any other dis 
 patches ? " 
 
 " I did, sire. Here is the official reply of Min- 
 ister Count Romanzoff to the letter of the Duke 
 de Bassano, of which I was the bearer. It ia 
 nothing but a repetition of the phrases which the 
 Russian ambassador at Paris made to us up to 
 the day of his departure. Here is Romanzoff's 
 letter. Will your majesty be so gracious as to 
 read it ? " 
 
 Napoleon took the paper and glanced over it. 
 " You are right," he said, flinging the paper con- 
 temptuously on the table. " Nothing but the 
 same phrase : ' Alexander wants peace, but i3 un- 
 able to fulfil my conditions.' Well, then, he shall 
 have war ! The first shot discharged at my sol- 
 diers will be answered by a thousand cannon, and 
 they will announce to the world that Napoleon is 
 expelling the barbarians from Europe." 
 
 " Sire," said Narbonne, smiling, " if your ma- 
 jesty intends to wait until the Russians fire the 
 first gun, there will be no war, and may it be so ! 
 The Emperor Alexander has made up his mind 
 not to take the initiative. Only when the armies 
 of your majesty have crossed the frontier of Rus- 
 sia, when you have forcibly entered his states, 
 will Alexander look upon the war as begun, but 
 he will not carry it beyond the boundaries of his 
 country: he will not meet the enemy, whom he 
 would still like so much to call his friend, outside 
 the frontiers of his empire." 
 
 " Ah, I knew well that Alexander is hesitating," 
 exclaimed Napoleon, triumphantly. " He darea 
 not attack me, and his vacillation will give ine 
 time to complete ray preparations, and surround 
 him so closely that he cannot escape. While he 
 is still dreaming at the Kremlin of the possibility 
 of peace, I shall be at the gates, and ask him hi 
 the thunder of my cannon whether he will sub- 
 mit, or bury himself beneath th ruins of his 
 throne." 
 
 "He will choose the latter," exclaimed Nar- 
 bonne, quickly. 
 
 " He will not ! " said Napoleon, proudly. " He 
 will submit ! A terrible blow struck in the heart 
 of the empire, Moscow holy Moscow delivers 
 
 
NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 Russia into my bands. I know Alexander; I 
 exerted formerly great influence over him. I 
 must dazzle his imagination by boldness and en- 
 ergy, and he will return to my friendship." 
 
 " Heaven grant that it may be so ! " said Nar- 
 bonne, sighing. 
 
 " It is so ! " said Napoleon, confidently, walk- 
 ing with rapid steps and proud head ; " yes, it is 
 so ! Fate has intrusted me with the mission of 
 ridding Europe of the barbarians. The logic of 
 events necessitates this war, and even family ties, 
 such as we proposed to form at our interview 
 at Erfurt, would not have prevented it. The 
 barbarism of Russia is threatening the whole of 
 Europe. Think of Suwarrow and his Tartars in 
 Italy ! Our reply ought to be, to hurl them back 
 beyond Moscow ; and when would Europe be able 
 to do so, unless now and through me." * 
 
 "But, sire, Europe, in the madness of her 
 hatred, would prefer to make common cause with 
 Russia, Suppose she should offer her hand to 
 the Tartars and Cossacks, to deliver herself from 
 the yoke which the glory and greatness of Napo- 
 leon have imposed upon her neck ? Sire, at this 
 decisive hour you must permit me to tell you the 
 truth : I am afraid the hatred, the cunning malice 
 and rage of your enemies, will this time be stronger 
 than the military skill of your majesty, and the 
 bravery of the hundreds of thousands who have 
 followed you with such enthusiasm. Your ma- 
 jesty says that Alexander is hesitating, and that 
 may, perhaps, be true; but his people are the 
 more resolute, and so is the emperor's suite. They 
 are bent on having war, and with the whole 
 strength of mortal hatred and patriotic fanaticism. 
 The people, instigated by their venomous and im- 
 passioned priests, regard this as a holy war, com- 
 manded by God Himself. Their priests have told 
 them that the Emperor of the French is coming 
 with his armies to devastate Russia, to destroy 
 the altars and images of the saints, and to de- 
 throne the czar, in order to place himself on the 
 throne. The Russian people, who, in their child- 
 like innocence, believe to be true whatever their 
 
 * Napoleon's own words. Vide " Souvenirs du Comte 
 Vlllemain," voL L, p. 168. 
 
 priests tell them, feel themselves profoundly 
 wounded in their three most sacred sympathies : 
 love for the fatherland, the church, and the czar, 
 and they are rising to a man to save them. Sire, 
 this war which your majesty is about to com- 
 mence is no ordinary war: the enemy will not 
 oppose you in the open field ; like the Parthian, 
 he will seemingly flee from his pursuer ; he will 
 decoy you forward, but in the thicket or ravine 
 he will conceal himself, and when you pass by 
 will have you at an advantage. He will never 
 allow you to fight him in a pitched battle, but 
 every village and cottage will be an obstacle, a 
 rampart obstructing your route. Every peasant 
 will regard himself a soldier, and believe it his 
 bounden duty to fight, however sure he may be 
 to die. Sire, the terrible scenes in Spain may be 
 renewed in Russia, for all Russia will be a vast 
 Saragossa ; women, children, and old men, will 
 participate in this struggle ; they will die eating 
 poisoned bread with the enemy, rather than give 
 him wholesome food." 
 
 " You are exaggerating ! " exclaimed Napo- 
 leon, sneeringly. " In truth, it is mere imagina- 
 tion to compare the Russian serf the blood in 
 whose veins is frozen by Siberian cold, and whose 
 back is cut up and bowed by the knout with 
 the Spaniard, passionate and free beneath a torrid 
 sun, and who in his rags still feels himself noble 
 and a grandee. But these exaggerations shall not 
 influence me ! The die is cast : I cannot recede ! 
 Great Heaven ! this tedious old Europe ! I will 
 bring from Russia the keys to unlock a new world. 
 Or do you believe, you short-sighted little men, 
 that I have undertaken, merely for the sake of 
 Russia, this greatest expedition that military his- 
 tory will ever engrave upon its tablets? No; 
 Moscow is to me but the gate of Asia ! My route 
 to India passes that way. Alexander the Great 
 had as long a route to the Ganges as I shall have 
 from Moscow, and yet he reached his destination. 
 Should I shrink from what he succeeded in ac- 
 complishing ? Since the days of St. Jean d'Acrc 
 I have thought of this scheme ; if it had not been 
 for the discontinuance of the siege and the plague, 
 I should at that time have conquered one-half 
 
NAPOLEON'S DEPARTURE FROM DRESDEN. 
 
 43 
 
 of Asia, and have thence returned to Europe for 
 the thrones of Germany and Italy. Do not look at 
 me so wonderingly, Narbonne. I tell you nothing 
 but ray real schemes. They shall be carried into 
 effect, and then you and the world will have to 
 acknowledge that my words are oracles, my ac- 
 tions miracles, and every day a new one ! * In 
 the morning I set out early and repair to the 
 headquarters of my army. Do not say a word, 
 Narbonne ! I leave Dresden early in the morn- 
 ing. The fate of Russia is decided ! Go ! " He 
 waved his hand toward the door, and turned his 
 back to Narbonne. 
 
 * Napoleon's own words. Vide Villcmain, " Souve- 
 nirs," voL L, p. 180. 
 
 The count left the imperial cabinet with a sigh. 
 In the corridor outside he met Berthier and Du- 
 roc, who peemed to await him. "Well," both 
 of them asked eagerly, " were your represen- 
 tations successful? Will the emperor, at the 
 eleventh hour, make peace ? " 
 
 Narbonne shook his head sadly. " It was all 
 in vain," he replied. " He wishes war, and you 
 do not even dream how far he means to carry it. 
 When listening to him, one believes him to be 
 either a demigod, to whom temples should be 
 built, or a lunatic, who should be sent to Bed 
 lam ! " * 
 
 * Connt Louis do Narbonne's own wo Ms. Vlle U 3o- 
 venirs," voL 1. 
 
THE LAST DAYS OF 1812. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE CONSPIRATORS OF HELGOLAND. 
 
 THE storm was howling over the ocean, reveal- 
 iDg its depths, and hurling its foaming waves to 
 the sky. They dashed wildly against yonder lofty 
 rock that calmly overlooked the anger of the 
 tempest. It was the rock of Helgoland. In 
 times of old, it towered even more proudly above 
 fie unruly element surrounding it. It was then 
 a terror to seafaring nations, and when the ships 
 of the rich merchants of Hamburg, Bremen, Hol- 
 land, and Denmark, passed it at as great a dis- 
 tance as possible, the masters made the sign of 
 the cross, and prayed God would deliver them 
 from this imminent danger. In ancient days 
 Helgoland was ten times larger than it is now, 
 and on this old rocky island, which had been 
 the last asylum of the gods of northern pagan- 
 ism, lived a warlike people, who knew no other 
 laws than those of their own will, no other toil 
 than piracy, and who submitted to no other mas- 
 ter than the chieftain chosen from among their 
 most colossal fellows. The pirates of Helgoland 
 were desperate men, who had selected for them- 
 selves as a coat of arms a wheel and a gallows, 
 which they wore embroidered on the sleeves of 
 their jackets ; and their last chieftain, who espe- 
 cially terrified the hearts of sea-captains pass- 
 ing the island, called himself: "I, by my own 
 grace, and not that of God, Long Peter, Murderer 
 of the Dutch, Destroyer of the Hamburgers, 
 Chastiser of the Danes, and Scourge of the 
 
 Bremen Ships." But Long Peter, " by his o< 
 grace, and not that of God," had at length fallen a 
 victim to the vicissitudes of life. The women of 
 Helgoland, revolting against his cruelty, baseness, 
 and tyranny, surrendered the island, the seat of 
 the ancient gods, to Admiral Paulsen, of the 
 Danish navy. This occurred in 1684, and since 
 then Helgoland remained under the authority of 
 the Danish crown until 1807. The conflagration 
 of Copenhagen melted the chains that fastened 
 the old gray rock to Denmark, and England, 
 that triumphantly conveyed the whole Danish 
 fleet to her own shores, annexed Helgoland. 
 
 The island had become much smaller ever since 
 Long Peter, its last chieftain, died. The storms 
 had swept over it, tearing rocky masses from its 
 shores, and flinging them far into the sea, which 
 had undermined the foundations of Helgoland, 
 and hidden the conquest beneath the waves. 
 Although small, it was the beacon of Europe. 
 In the last days of 1812 the eyes of all German 
 patriots were fixed longingly and hopefully upon 
 that lonely rock in the North Sea. It was Brit- 
 ish territory the first advance which England 
 had made to the shores of suffering Germany, 
 and, her proud flag waving over it, made it the 
 asylum of persecuted patriots and members of 
 the secret leagues. To the red rock, in the midst 
 of the sea, came no French spies ; there were no 
 traitors' ears, for the pilot at the light-house kept 
 a good lookout, and no suspicious ship was per- 
 mitted to anchor; no one was allowed to land 
 without having given a good account of himself, 
 
THE CONSPIRATORS OF HELGOLAND. 
 
 45 
 
 and satisfying the authorities that confidence 
 might be reposed in him. Those allowed to dis- 
 embark were heartily welcomed, for, by setting 
 foot on the rocky island, they had beccme mem- 
 bers of the vast family of Napoleon's enemies 
 of the brethren who had united against his power 
 of the conspirators whose sworn duty it was to 
 oppose Napoleon with the weapons of cunning as 
 well as force of intrigue creeping in the dark, 
 or of brave and manly defiance. 
 
 In Helgoland the swarms of smugglers shel- 
 tered, who had taken upon themselves the risk 
 of trading English goods, against which Napo- 
 leon's hatred tried to shut the entire continent. 
 There came the crowd of foreign merchants, to 
 purchase of English dealers the goods which Na- 
 poleon's decrees had prohibited in his own do- 
 jainions, as well as in those of his allies. Every 
 British manufacturer and wholesale dealer had 
 his counting-house and depot at Helgoland. Vast 
 warehouses, resembling palaces, rose on the pla- 
 teau of the island, and approaching ships beheld 
 them from afar. In these warehouses were stored 
 all the articles which British industry was able to 
 offer to the rest of Europe, and which the people 
 of the whole continent desired the more ardently, 
 the more rigorously they were forbidden to pur- 
 chase them. Every large commercial firm of 
 London and Manchester had branches of their 
 business on the island ; every wealthy banker 
 had an office there, and people were justified in 
 calling Helgoland " Little London." You would 
 have thought yourself in the city of London, 
 when passing through the narrow streets of the 
 island, lined on both sides with vast warehouses, 
 and reading on each the names of the most cele- 
 brated London firms. You would almost have 
 fancied you were in the gigantic harbor of the 
 Thames, when looking at the forest of masts, the 
 animated crowds, the ships and boats, where from 
 three to four hundred vessels cleared and entered 
 CVCTV day. 
 
 Not only merchants and smugglers, adventurers 
 and speculators, flocked to Helgoland, but diplo- 
 matists, politicians, and patriots found on the 
 rocky island a refuge and convenient point, where 
 
 they might meet their brethren and reunite kin- 
 dred hearts. The members of the great secret 
 league hastened from the north and the south of 
 Europe to Helgoland, to hold meetings there, 
 concert plans, and communicate to each other 
 what they had succeeded in accomplishing. 
 
 On one of the last days in September, 1812, an 
 unusual commotion prevailed on the island. It 
 was noon, and yet more than two hundred ships 
 had arrived and cast anchor. All the stores were 
 open and the goods displayed ; brokers and spec- 
 ulators elbowed themselves in busy haste through 
 the multitude of merchants, owners of ships, 
 smugglers, and sailors, that filled the whole upper 
 part of the island, offering goods for sale in all 
 languages ; and among them were to be seen the 
 beautiful girls of Helgoland, dressed in their 
 strange costume, and carrying in baskets and on 
 plates all sorts of delicacies, for which they sought 
 purchasers. 
 
 At a distance from the throng stood three 
 men, who paid but little attention to the merry, 
 excited crowd. They were closely wrapped in 
 cloaks, with their hats drawn over their fore- 
 heads, and looked steadfastly upon the sea. Par 
 on the horizon there appeared another small 
 dark speck, which gradually assumed a definite 
 shape. 
 
 " A ship ! " ejaculated one of the three men, 
 eagerly. 
 
 " Yes, a ship," repeated his two companions. 
 They paused, looking eagerly at the vessel, which 
 rapidly darted across the waves, and could now 
 be discerned by the unaided eye. 
 
 " Look," said one of the three, " she is a man- 
 of-war. I see the port-holes." 
 
 " But I do not see her flag," said one of his 
 companions. 
 
 " I do," exclaimed the third, who had hitherto 
 looked at the ship through a large telescope 
 " Yellow and blue, the Swedish colors." 
 
 - At length ! " exclaimed the first speaker, joy 
 ously. " I hope it is he ! " 
 
 " There is another ship," said the second 
 speaker, pointing his hand to a different part of th 
 horizon. " How she is dashing along ! her keel 
 
 
NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 cuts the waves, so that their foaming crests sweep 
 like a silver chain behind her Oh, I like that 
 ship ! it seems to me as though she brings us 
 glad tidings, and comes for our sake, and not for 
 commercial purposes." 
 
 "Now she unfurls her flag!" exclaimed the 
 third speaker. " It is the union jack ! Oh, you 
 are right, she comes for our sake, and I hope 
 some friend is on board. But we are forgetting 
 the Swedish vessel. Where is she ? " 
 
 " There ! The little fish has become a whale, 
 And see, the English ship, too, is much larger, 
 and is dancing along like a beauty. Both are 
 very fast, and in half an hour they will be at an- 
 chor in the harbor." 
 
 " Heaven grant that the friends for whom we 
 are looking may be on board ! " said his two com- 
 panions, sighing. 
 
 " Your wish will be granted," said their friend. 
 " God is with us and blesses our league. Has He 
 not already for twelve days bidden the sea be 
 calm, and not detain us or one of ours by adverse 
 winds? Have we not all arrived to-day, as we 
 had agreed to, from three different parts of the 
 world ? Why should the other brethren of our 
 league not be able to do the same ? " 
 
 " Yes, you are right," said the first speaker, 
 'smiling. " Heaven does seem to be with us, and 
 it is apparently for our sake that this rock emerged 
 from the waves as a snug little boudoir for our 
 European rendezvous. Bonaparte may often 
 enough cast angry glances in this direction, but 
 the lightning of his eyes and the thunder of his 
 words do not reach our sea-girt asylum, which 
 God Himself has built and furnished for us. 
 Grim Bonaparte cannot hurt us here, but we will 
 try to hurt him, and one day he will find out 
 what we are doing at the political boudoir of 
 Helgoland." 
 
 " Look," exclaimed his friend, " the two ships 
 have reached the island at the same time, and are 
 now anchoring." 
 
 " They are lowering their boats," exclaimed 
 the third speaker. " The passengers are going 
 ashore." 
 
 " Let us go to the place agreed upon, and see 
 
 com- 
 turned 
 
 whether they are the brethren we are looking 
 for," said the first speaker. 
 
 "Yes, let us go," exclaimed his two com- 
 panions. 
 
 Without exchanging another word, they ti 
 and walked hastily through the busy crowds to 
 the staircase leading from the upper part of the 
 island to the lower shore. Here they passed 
 through the streets of small, neat fishermen's 
 huts, and then entered the last building. A foot- 
 man in a gorgeous livery received them in the 
 small hall, and opened with reverential politeness 
 the door leading into the only room of the hut. 
 The three men walked in, and locked the door 
 carefully. One of them took off his hat and 
 cloak, and now stood before his two companions 
 in splendid uniform, his breast covered with 
 orders. u Permit me, gentlemen," he said, smil - 
 ing " permit me to greet you here as guests of 
 mine, for you are now at my house. I have 
 bought this building for the purpose of holding 
 the meetings of the members of our league. Up 
 to this time we have recognized each other as 
 friends only by the signs and passwords that had 
 been agreed on ; but now, if you please, we will 
 drop our incognito. I am Count Munster, min- 
 ister of the Elector of Hanover and the King of 
 England." 
 
 "And I," said the second gentleman, taking 
 off his cloak " I have the honor of introducing 
 myself to your excellency as the chief of the Berlin 
 police, who was proscribed and exiled by Bona- 
 parte. My name is Justus Gruner." 
 
 "A name that I have known a long time, 
 though I was not acquainted with the man him- 
 self," said Count Munster, kindly offering him 
 his hand. " Let me bid you welcome as a faith- 
 ful and zealous adherent of the good cause as 
 a noble patriot in whom Germany confides and 
 hopes." 
 
 " It is my turn now to unmask," said the third 
 whose countenance had hitherto been almost en 
 tirely invisible, so closely had he muffled himself 
 Taking off his cloak and hat and bowing to life 
 companions, he said, "My name is Frederick 
 William of Brunswick." 
 
THE CONSPIRATORS OF HELGOLAND. 
 
 47 
 
 " I had the honor to recognize your highness 
 when you were yet in the boat, and I stood on 
 the shore/' said Count Munster, smiling and bow- 
 ing respectfully. 
 
 " And why did you not tell me so ? " asked the 
 duke, eagerly. 
 
 "Because I respected your incognito, your 
 highness," said the count. 
 
 The duke shook his head, which was covered 
 with dark, curly hair. " No etiquette, count," he 
 said, almost indignantly. " I am nothing but a 
 poor soldier, who scarcely knows where to lay his 
 head, whom grief is tormenting, and whose hun- 
 ger for vengeance is not appeased." 
 
 "There will be a time when all those who are 
 hungry, like your highness, will be satisfied." said 
 Justus Gruner, solemnly. 
 
 " If you speak the truth, my friend," exclaimed 
 the duke, with emphasis, " the eyes of my blind 
 father, who died in despair, will reopen, and he 
 will look down with blissful tears upon the de- 
 livered world. And they will blot out his last 
 dying words, that are burning like fire in my 
 heart. ' Oh, what a disgrace ! what a disgrace ! ' 
 were the last words my father uttered. I hear 
 them night and day; they are always resounding 
 in my ears like the fleath-knell of Germany ; they 
 are ever smarting in my heart like an open 
 wound. Germany is groaning and lamenting, for 
 Napoleon's foot is still on her neck, and, mortally 
 wounded and blinded like ray father, we are all 
 Oh, what a disgrace ! what a disgrace ! ' " 
 
 " But the time will soon come when our wounds 
 will heal," said Count Munster, gravely. " Our 
 night is passing, the morning dawns, and the star 
 of Bonaparte will fade forever." 
 
 "I do not think it," said the duke, sighing. 
 " It is still shining over our heads he is rather 
 like a threatening meteor, and its eccentric course 
 fields of Russia. But hush ! foot- 
 steps are appnm'hinir." The duke was not mis- 
 taken. They heard the door of the hut violently 
 open and clo-o, an 1 shortly after someone rapped 
 at the locked door. 
 
 "The password!" shouted Count Munster, 
 
 ittir.'.: his h.in 1 on the key. 
 
 
 " 11 fst tempt de fnir ! " replied a sonorous 
 voice outside. 
 
 Count Munster opened the door. A gentleman 
 of imposing stature entered the room. " Count 
 Nugent," exclaimed Count Munster, joyously, of- 
 fering both his hands to the friend whom he 
 had known for many years. " Was it you who 
 arrived on the last English ship ? " 
 
 " Yes," said the count, saluting the other gen- 
 tlemen. " But I believe there will be more guests 
 here directly. I saw close behind me two men, 
 wrapped in cloaks, who were also moving hither. 
 Ah, they are passing the window at this moment." 
 
 " And now they are entering the house," said 
 the count, listening. 
 
 Another rapping was heard, and the call for the 
 password was answered again by the shout of 
 " 11 ett temps dejinir 1 " 
 
 " They are the passengers from the Swedish ves- 
 sel, as I hoped they would be," said Count Mun- 
 ster, opening the door. Two men in cloaks en- 
 tered, and bowed silently to the others. 
 
 " Gneisenau ! My dear Gneisenau ! " exclaimed 
 Count Munster, tenderly embracing the gentleman 
 who had entered last. " Then, you have really 
 kept your word ! You have come in spite of all 
 dangers ! I thank you in the name of Germany ! " 
 
 " You will thank me only after having learned 
 what new ally I have enlisted for our holy cause," 
 said Gneisenau, smiling, and pointing to his com- 
 panion, who, still closely muffled, was standing by 
 his side silent and motionless. 
 
 " You come from Stockholm," said Count Mun- 
 ster, joyously, "you bring us a delegate of the 
 crown prince of Sweden, the noble Bernadotte, 
 do you not ? My heart does not deceive me 
 I am sure ! " 
 
 " No, your heart docs not deceive you," said 
 Gneisenau, smiling. " This gentleman is an envoj 
 of the crown prince of Sweden, who promises 
 us his friendship and assistance." 
 
 " No," said the stranger, slowly and solemnly. 
 " At this hour there must be truth between us. 
 I iim not an envoy of the crown prince of Sweden, 
 I am he himself, I am Bernadotte ! " He took off 
 his hat and cloak, and bowed to the astonished 
 
48 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 gentlemen. " I wish to prove to you, and to those, 
 whom you are representing, that I am in earnest," 
 said Bernadotte, in the most dignified manner. 
 "My French heart had to undergo a long and 
 painful struggle, but the crown prince of Sweden 
 conquered it. I must think no longer of the 
 blood that is flowing in my veins, but remember 
 only that, by the decree of the noble Swedish na- 
 tion, I have been destined to become its king, 
 and that, therefore, the interests of Sweden must 
 be more important and sacred to me than my 
 own heart. The Emperor of 'the French has 
 offered me an alliance. But Russia and Prussia 
 are urging me to espouse their cause. The in- 
 terest of Sweden requires me to ally myself with 
 those who have justice, strength, and honor on 
 their side; I shall, therefore, side with Russia, 
 England, and Prussia, This is the reply which I 
 made to the Russian ambassadors, and likewise 
 to the Prussian General Gneisenau here. But, at 
 the same time, I asked opportunity to complete my 
 preparations, and until that can be done, I have 
 requested the ambassadors to keep secret my ac- 
 cession to the northern alliance. It seemed to 
 me as though this request of mine were looked 
 upon as a proof of my vacillation, and as a want 
 of candor, and as though doubts were entertained 
 as to my ultimate decision. Hence I wished to 
 manifest my true spirit by coming myself to you 
 instead of sending a delegate. Now, you have 
 heard my political confession. Are you content 
 with it, and may I participate in your deliber- 
 ations ? " And the crown prince of Sweden, ut- 
 tering the last words, turned with a winning 
 smile to Count Munster, and sank his head as a 
 prisoner waiting for sentence. 
 
 " I pray your royal highness, in the name of 
 my friends present, to remain and participate in 
 our discussions," said Count Munster. "We 
 are now waiting for no further arrivals all the 
 invited gutsts have come. Let us take our seats. 
 Let the conference commence. But first permit 
 me to introduce the gentlemen to each other." 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE EUROPEAN CONSPIRACY. 
 
 THE six gentlemen sat down on chairs placed 
 .round the table standing in the middle of the 
 room. Count Munster bowed to them. " As it was 
 I who invited you to attend this conference," he 
 said, " I must take the liberty of addressing you 
 first. I must justify myself for having called upon 
 you in the name of Germany, in the name of Eu- 
 rope, to come hither notwithstanding the dangers 
 and hardships of the journey. Yes, gentlemen, 
 Germany stands in need of our assistance. But 
 not only Germany Spain, drenched in the blood 
 of her patriots; poor, enslaved Italy; Holland, 
 ruthlessly annexed to France; in short, all the 
 states that are groaning under the tyrant's 
 yoke; yea, France herself! all are crying for 
 deliverance from slavery. But whence is help to 
 come when every one shuts his eyes against the 
 despairing wail of Europe ; when every one idly 
 folds his hands arid waits for some one else to be 
 bold enough to call upon the people to take up 
 arms ? Every individual must be animated with 
 this courage ; must regard himself as chosen bj; 
 Providence to commence the task of liberation. 
 Each one must act as though it were he who is to 
 set the world in motion, and were the head of tht 
 great and holy conspiracy by which mankind is to 
 be delivered from the tyrant. I told myself sc 
 when I saw all Germany sinking ; I repeat it to 
 myself every day, and it is my excuse now for 
 having ventured to invite thither men who are 
 my superiors in every respect. But to Germany 
 alone we shall give an account of what we have 
 hitherto done for her liberation ; for her let U! 
 deliberate as to what we further ought to do, anc 
 what plans we should pursue. The world lies 
 prostrate, but we must raise it again; the nations 
 are manacled, but we must be the files that 
 imperceptibly cut through the fetters, and we 
 must then tell the people that it is easy for them 
 to gain their independence ; that it is only neces- 
 sary to take the sword, and prove by deeds that, 
 they feel themselves free then they will be 
 free. This is our task the task of all generous 
 
THE EUROPEAN CONSPIRACY. 
 
 49 
 
 patriots. Every one has been conscious of this, 
 but also that there should be a bond connecting 
 all the members of this secret league, to which 
 every patriot belongs. That was the idea which 
 mused several friends and myself to unite our 
 efforts. We did so, and this union made us feel 
 doubly strong ; we conferred as to our duties and 
 schemes, and by doing so they became clearer to 
 us, and better matured. We made ourselves emis- 
 saries of the sacred cause of the fatherland, and 
 went into the world to enlist soldiers, to create a 
 new nation, awaken the sleepers, enlighten the 
 ignorant, bring back the faithless, undeceive the 
 deceived, and console the despairing. For this 
 purpose I have struggled for years, and so have 
 all my friends, and so do all good and faithful 
 patriots, without perhaps being fully conscious 
 of it. But it is necessary, too, that those who, 
 like us, are fully alive to their duty, should 
 from time to time give each other an account 
 of what they have accomplished, that they 
 may agree upon new plans for the future. I, 
 therefore, requested my friends Count Nugent 
 and General Gneisenau, to come hither ; I wrote 
 to Minister von Stein, who is now at Prague, 
 either to come himself, or send a reliable repre- 
 sentative, and I requested another in Northern 
 Germany to send one of his intimate friends. 
 Four months ago I dispatched my invitations ; 
 the meeting was to take place to-day, and we 
 have all promptly responded to the call. My 
 friend in Northern Germany induced the noblest 
 and most faithful soldier of the fatherland, Duke 
 Frederick William of Brunswick, to go to Helgo- 
 land. Minister von Stein, who, in the mean time, 
 was obliged to go to Russia, sends us a noble 
 representative in the person of Justus Gruner, 
 find the mupMiiimous crown priuce of Sweden 
 offers us, by his voluntary appearance in our 
 midst, a iit-w plurality for the success of our 
 schem<-. \\V know now what has calK-d us 
 hither. Li t us comnmnii-atM to each other what 
 we have hitherto lour, in order to attain the ob- 
 ject for which we are striving, and whit plans 
 *e shall adopt. In this respect, the two noble 
 princes now in our midst are especially able to 
 
 make valuable suggestions, and it is to them 
 principally that we shall apply. The former 
 question, however, concerns chiefly ourselves, 
 who have for years been members of the league, 
 and have jointly tried to promote its objects. In 
 order to know what we should do, we must b 
 informed exactly of what we have already done. 
 To be able to conceive plans for the future, we 
 must carefully weigh, and render ourselves per- 
 fectly familiar with, the present political situa- 
 tion, and communicate our observations and ad- 
 ventures to each other. Let us do so now. Let 
 the gentleman who arrived last speak first. Gen- 
 eral Gneisenau, tell U3, therefore, what hopes do 
 you entertain in regard to Prussia ? What are 
 the sentiments of the king ? What has Germany 
 or Prussia to hope from the ministers of Fred- 
 erick William ? What is the spirit of the people 
 and the soldiers ? " 
 
 " You ask a great deal," said Gneisenau, sigh- 
 ing, " and I have but little to reply. I have no 
 hopes whatever in regard to Prussia. That is the 
 result of the observations during my present jour- 
 ney. Every thing is in about the same condition 
 as it was in 1811 ; the same men are still ruling, 
 and the same state of affairs, on account of which 
 I left the Prussian service at that time, is still 
 prevailing. The king is the noblest and best- 
 meaning mun, but his indecision and distrust in 
 his own abilities are his own curse, as well as that 
 of his country. When, in 1808, we heard at K6- 
 nigsberg the news of the events of Bayonne, the 
 king said, 'Bonaparte will assuredly not catch 
 me in such a manner ! ' and now he has delivered 
 himself into the hands of his most relentless ene- 
 my, who, if Russia should be defeated, would de- 
 throne him, or, if Bonaparte should not be suc- 
 cessful, keep him as a hostage.* The friends 
 of the French, the timid, and the cowards, are 
 still besieging the king's ears, and enjoying hia 
 confidence to a greater extent than Hardenberg 
 Hanli'iibcrg is all right, but he intends, 
 after the fashion of diplomatists, to attain the 
 great object slowly and cautiously, instead of 
 
 * Gnoisenau'B own words.-Vide " Lebonsbilder," vol. 
 1., p. 261. 
 
 
50 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 struggling for it boldly, and sword in hand. He 
 is secretly on our side ; he hates Napoleon and 
 curses the chains that are fettering Prussia ; he 
 is always planning as to the best means of 
 breaking them, but publicly he negotiates with 
 the diplomatists of Napoleon to bring about a 
 marriage between the crown prince and one of 
 Napoleon's nieces. There can be no question of 
 an army in Prussia, for the forty thousand men 
 whom Napoleon permitted the King of Prussia 
 still to retain under arms, had either to accom- 
 pany the French army to Russia, or are at least 
 stationed, as Napoleon's reserves, on the extreme 
 frontiers. Berlin, as well as all larger cities, and 
 the fortresses, are garrisoned by French troops, 
 keeping down the national spirit of the popula- 
 tion, and rendering any attempt at insurrection 
 an utter impossibility, even though the people 
 should intend to strike. But they think no longer 
 of rising. They are exhausted in their misery, 
 and have lost their energy. They feel only that 
 they are suffering, but they inquire no more for 
 the cause. And thus Prussia will perish, unless 
 some powerful impetus from abroad, some dis- 
 pensation of Providence, should arouse her from 
 her lethargy, ana restore her to the consciousness 
 of her disgrace and her strength. I hope that 
 this will occur ; for only this and England's 
 energy will be able to save us. But other hopes I 
 do not entertain. I, therefore, shall leave Prus- 
 sia again and accompany you to England, Count 
 Munster, when you return thither." 
 
 " I shall set out for England this day, as soon 
 as our conference is at an end," said Count 
 Munster, " and you will be a most welcome and 
 agreeable companion. It is only now that I per- 
 ceive how necessary a personal interview was, 
 and how good it is that we are here assembled. 
 Many things, which cannot be explained in the 
 longe&t letters, may be perfectly understood after 
 an interview of fifteen minutes. I believe and 
 hope, my friend, that your view of the present 
 state of affairs is by far too gloomy. You are 
 doping for an impetus from abroad ; but that will 
 scarcely be needed to arouse the nations from 
 their letharg/ -A Dew spirit is animating Ger- 
 
 many, and it is Spain, with her heroic victories, 
 that has awakened this spirit. The immortal 
 defence of Saragossa has passed like a magic 
 song throughout Europe, and has told the op- 
 pressed and enslaved nations that Bonaparte is 
 not invincible, and that a nation which will not 
 suffer itself to be enslaved has the strength to 
 defend itself against the most powerful tyrant. 
 Looking upon Spain, the nations recollect these 
 noble words of Tacitus : ' It is not the tyrants who 
 make nations slaves, but the nations degrading 
 themselves voluntarily to the abject position of 
 slaves make tyrants.' And the nations will have 
 no more tyrants, but are determined to annihilate 
 him who has put his foot upon their neck. Tell 
 us, Count Nugent you who, in the service of 
 holy liberty, have been wandering about the world 
 for the last two years tell us whether I am not 
 justified in asserting that the nations are about 
 to awake ? " 
 
 " Yes, I believe so," said Count Nugent, joy- 
 ously. " For the third time during two years I 
 have finished a journey through Europe. From 
 Vienna I went by way of Trieste, Corfu, and 
 Malta, to the British generals in Sicily, Spain, and 
 Portugal, thence to England, and from England I 
 returned to Vienna under an assumed name and 
 all sorts of disguises. During my first two jour- 
 neys I saw everywhere only that the nations sub- 
 mitted unhesitatingly, as though Bonaparte were 
 the scourge which God Himself had sent to chas- 
 tise them, and against whom they were not 
 allowed to revolt, although rivers of blood were 
 spilled. But I saw no prince who had the 
 strength or courage, or even the wish to rul< 
 as a free and independent sovereign over a 
 free people. The princes were everywhere con- 
 tent with being the vassals of France; they 
 deemed themselves happy to have secured by 
 their humiliation at least a title ; they were striv- 
 ing to obtain by base sycophancy additional ter- 
 ritories and orders, and betraying their own 
 country and their own people in order to tterve 
 the Emperor of France. It was a terrible, heart- 
 rending spectacle presented by Germany during 
 these last years, and which could not but fill th 
 
THE EUROPEAN CONSPIRACY. 
 
 51 
 
 heart of every patriot with shame and despair. 
 And yet this period of degradation was necessary 
 and even salutary, for it blinded Napoleon by 
 the glaring sunshine of his power; it rendered 
 him overbearing and reckless; he dared every 
 thing, because he believed he would succeed in 
 every thing, and that the world had utterly suc- 
 tumbed to his power. He dared all, trampled on 
 every feeling of justice, and thereby finally goaded 
 the nations to resist him. In 1810 he exclaimed 
 triumphantly, 'Three years yet, and I shall be 
 master of the world ! ' And when he lately took 
 ne field against Russia, he said, 'After humili- 
 ating Russia and reducing her to an Asiatic 
 power, I shall establish at Paris a universal Eu- 
 ropean court and universal archives ! ' He be- 
 lieves himself to be the master of the world ; he 
 thinks the thunderbolts of heaven are in his 
 hands, and his arrogance will drive him to de- 
 struction, for 'the gods first blind him whom 
 they intend to destroy.' And Napoleon is blind, 
 for he does not see the wrath of the nations ; he 
 is deaf, for he does not hear the imprecations 
 which all nations, from the Mediterranean to the 
 North Sea and the Baltic, are uttering against 
 him. Yes, the morning is dawning, and the na- 
 tions are awaking ; Napoleon has already passed 
 t ie zenith of his glory ; his star does not now 
 dazzle mankind ; they have commenced to doubt 
 
 -lability of his power. I saw a curious in- 
 stance of this last year in Vienna at Metternich's 
 saloon. When the courier who brought the news 
 of the birth of the King of Rome, still exhausted 
 by the rapid ride from Nancy, entered and held 
 up Champagny's letter containing nothing but 
 these words, 'Eh bien, Ie Roi de Rome ett ar- 
 
 ' ' every one cried, ' Is not the hand of God 
 there ? The wonderful man has the son he wished 
 for. Whither will the madmen and demagogues 
 direct their hopes now ? ' But a courageous and 
 merry native of Vienna exclaimed in the midst 
 of the diplomatists *0h! ten years hence this 
 King of Rome will be a poor little student in this 
 city ! ' * The diplomatists were silent ; the for- 
 mer ambassador of Hanover, however, Count Har- 
 
 Historical Vide " Lebenflbilder," voL 1., p. 80. 
 
 denberg, brother of tt j chancellor of state, burst 
 into loud laughter. These words were circulated 
 among the people, and the Viennese say now 
 smilingly, though as yet in a low tone, ' The King 
 of Rome will come as a poor student to Vienna.' 
 And the same words are repeated more boldly by 
 the faithful Tyrolese, the guardians of the fires 
 of patriotism. The Italians are whetting their 
 swords, and France herself is preparing for the 
 possibility of a new state of affairs. The military 
 ardor of her marshals is exhausted ; like the 
 whole country, they are longing for repose ; they 
 begin to curse him whom they have hitherto 
 idolized ; they want peace, and are determined 
 to compel Napoleon to comply with their de- 
 mands." 
 
 , ,And is our friend, Baron von Stein, also ot 
 this opinion ? " asked Count Munster, turning to 
 Justus Gruner. 
 
 " Yes, he is," said Gruner. " When the 
 Emperor Alexander invited him to come to St. 
 Petersburg, he went thither not so much became 
 he needed an asylum, but because ue believed he 
 could serve the cause of Germany in a more effi- 
 cacious manner in Russia than anywhere else, and 
 was convinced that Alexander needed a firm and 
 energetic adviser to fan his hostility to Napoleon, 
 and keep all pacific influences away from him. 
 Nothing but a crushing defeat of Napoleon in 
 Russia can deliver Germany; Stein feels con 
 vinced of it, and therefore he stands as an im- 
 movable rock by the side of Alexander, and never 
 s to influence the emperor by soul-stirring 
 and courageous advice. Here is a letter which 
 Stein requested me to deliver to Count Munster." 
 
 Count Munster took the letter and quickly 
 glanced over it. " Ah," he exclaimed, joyously, 
 " Stein, too, believes the day to be at hand when 
 Germany will and must rise ; he, too, prophesies 
 that Napoleon will speedily fall. It is, therefore, 
 time for us to think of the future, and agree as to 
 the steps to be taken. And now I take the lib- 
 erty of asking the crown prince of Sweden what 
 :ance he offers us, and what the nations en- 
 slaved by Napoleon may hope from him ? " 
 
 " All the assistance which. I and my country 
 
 
NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 are able to offer," said the crown prince, ardent- 
 ly. "The king has authorized me to take all 
 necessary measures for an active campaign. Al- 
 ready I have chartered transports; the troops 
 which are to participate in the campaign have 
 been concentrated in their camps, and will soon 
 march to the various points of embarkation. 
 When the German powers call me when it is 
 sure that England entertains honest intentions 
 toward us, and will stand faithfully by us, I shall 
 be ready to embark with my troops and partici- 
 pate in the great struggle, provided that the 
 annexation of Norway to Sweden be guaran- 
 teed." 
 
 " I am authorized to do so in the name of Eng- 
 land," exclaimed Count Munster. 
 
 " In that case the Swedes will regard this cam- 
 paign as a national affair," said Bernadotte, " and 
 will joyously rally round the banner of their crown 
 prince, who, on his part, longs for nothing more 
 than to follow the footsteps of the great Gustavus 
 Adolphus, and give Sweden fresh claims to her 
 ancient glory and the gratitude of the nations.* 
 I am waiting for the call of the allied powers to 
 hasten to the point where I may do good ser- 
 vice." 
 
 " And so am I," said the Duke of Brunswick, 
 eagerly. " I have nothing to offer to Germany 
 but my hatred against Napoleon, my burning 
 thirst for vengeance, my name, and my sword." 
 
 " But those will be the dragon's teeth, from 
 which, in due time, will spring up mail-clad war- 
 riors," exclaimed Munster " warriors who, with 
 the most ardent enthusiasm, will follow the hero 
 whose audacious expedition from the forests of 
 Bohemia to the Weser will never be forgotten 
 by the patriots of Germany. Let us prepare 
 every thing as secretly as possible ; let us enlist 
 soldiers for the great and holy army ; its chief- 
 tains are ready ; Gneisenau, Frederick William 
 of Brunswick, the crown prince of Sweden, and, 
 in due time, Blucher, Schwarzenberg, and Wel- 
 lington, will join them." 
 
 " Yes, let us prepare for the great task of the 
 
 * Bernadotte's own words. Vide " Memoires d'un 
 flomme d tat," vol. xj. 
 
 future," exclaimed Gneisenau. " I feel now 
 animated with hope, patience, and courage. I 
 go to London, but not to brood over my fate ; I 
 go to enlist an English legion for Germany ; to 
 tell the English ministers that the British gov- 
 ernment can take no step more conducive to the 
 liberation of the nations and the safety of Great 
 Britain than make Germany the principal seat of 
 war, and transfer thither Wellington, with all the 
 troops in Spain, and those which can be spared 
 from the islands of the United Kingdom. Let 
 them consider me a visionary ; the future will, 
 perhaps, prove to them that I was right. Oh, a 
 victory over Napoleon in Germany would loosen 
 the fetters of all governments, throw the most de- 
 termined efforts of many millions of people into 
 the scales of Great Britain, and deliver us, per- 
 haps forever, from the monster equally terrible in 
 his strength and in his poison." * 
 
 "And I go to Vienna to influence, together 
 with my friends, the patriotic impulses of the 
 emperor," said Count Nugent. " I go to Austria 
 to tell the noble Archdukes John and Charlea 
 that they ought to hold themselves in readiness, 
 and to inform the Tyrolese that the war of libera- 
 tion is at hand." 
 
 " Baron von Stein has sent me to Germany to 
 enlist there an intellectual army, and set in mo- 
 tion for Germany not only swords but pens," 
 said Justus Gruner, smiling. "Stein says the 
 sword will only do its work when the mind has 
 paved the way for it. The mind and the free 
 word, these are the generals that must precede 
 the sword, and, before raising an army of sol- 
 diers, we must raise an army of ideas and minds 
 to take the field. And there can be no better 
 mental chieftain than noble Baron von Stein. He 
 has placed a worthy adjutant at his side ; I refer 
 to Ernst Moritz Arndt, whom Stein has called to 
 St. Petersburg, and who is thence to send his 
 patriotic songs into the world, and by his soul- 
 stirring writings kindle the ardor of the Germans. 
 I have brought with me some of Arndt's pamphlets 
 that have been printed in St. Petersburg, and his 
 
 
 * Gneisenau's own words. Vide " LebensHlder," vol. 
 i., p. 274. 
 
THE EUROPEAN CONSPIRACY. 
 
 53 
 
 catechism for German soldiers, which gives in- 
 structions as to what a Christian warrior ought to 
 be, and has been circulated, in spite of Napoleon's 
 power, in all the German divisions of his army. 
 To influence public opinion in Germany is the 
 task which tein and the Emperor Alexander 
 have intrusted to me. I am to report about 
 every thing that takes place in the rear of the 
 French army, and try to obtain correct information 
 concerning its reinforcements and the condition 
 of the fortresses. My principal task, however, 
 will be to direct public opinion, exasperate the 
 people against their oppressors, and the accom- 
 plices of the latter, support isolated risings, and 
 organize flying corps for the purpose of intercept- 
 ing the couriers." * 
 
 " That is a plan strictly in accordance with the 
 indomitable spirit of Baron von Stein. However, 
 the influence and power of one person will not suf- 
 fice to carry it into effect." 
 
 "I am, therefore, authorized to enlist agents 
 whom the Emperor of Russia will pay," said 
 Gruner. "Hired observers and spies must be 
 ?pread all over Germany. I must everywhere 
 bave my confidants my agents and instruments. 
 Such I have already engaged in some forty cities. 
 . furnish them instructions, telling them what to 
 jo, in order to participate in the liberation of Ger- 
 many ; they have to send me weekly reports, writ- 
 ten of course in cipher and with chemical ink, and, 
 on my part, I address reports to the Emperor Alex- 
 ander and Baron von Stein, which I forward every 
 week by special couriers to Russia. My agents, 
 as well as myself, will endeavor to hold inter- 
 course with all prominent patriots, and our noble 
 Stein has referred me especially to the eminent 
 gentlemen here assembled. General Scharnhorst, 
 too, is aware of our enterprise ; President von 
 Vinke supports it in the most enthusiastic and 
 active manner, and we find everywhere friends, 
 assistance, and advice. Already the net-work is 
 f pread over the country ; this will every day be- 
 come more impenetrable a fatal trap in which, if 
 it please God, we shall one day catch Bonaparte." 
 
 "But beware of traitors," exclaimed Count 
 
 Pertz, u Life of Baron von Stein," vol. iii., p. 117. 
 
 Nugent, anxiously. "All your agents are not 
 reticent, for, to tell you the truth, I have already 
 heard of your bold scheme, and Austria is highly 
 indignant. Count Metternich, a few days since, 
 addressed a complaint to the Prussian cabinet 
 about what he calls your revolutionary intriguet, 
 and the Prussian Minister von Biilow, who if 
 friendly to France, is greatly exasperated against 
 Justus Gruner and his guerilla warfare. Be on 
 your guard, sir, that, while weaving this net-work 
 of conspiracy, you may not yourself fall into the 
 snares of the insidious police." 
 
 "And if I do, what matters it if one dies, 
 provided the cause he served lives ? " exclaimed 
 Justus Gruner, enthusiastically. " This sacred 
 cause cannot die ; it is strong enough to succeed, 
 even without me. It is spreading everywhere, 
 and will remain, though the little spider that 
 wove it should be crushed. There is but one part 
 of Germany in which my work still lacks the ne- 
 cessary point's where I might secure it." 
 
 " You allude to Austria, do you not ? " 
 
 " I do ; there my agents are distrustfully turned 
 away from the frontier, and I have so far been 
 unable to enlist special and active allies. I pray 
 you, therefore, give me the names of some re- 
 liable, honest, and faithful men to whom I may 
 apply ; for I must go to Austria." 
 
 "That is to say," exclaimed Count Nugent, 
 " you are going to prison. Let me warn you, do 
 not go to Austria ; Metternich's spies have keen 
 eyes, and if they catch you, you are lost." 
 
 " I must go to Austria," said Gruner, smiling ; 
 " the cause of the fatherland demands it. Dangers 
 will not deter me, and if the Austrian police are on 
 the lookout for me well, I have been myself a 
 police-officer, and may outwit them. In the first 
 place, however, I shall go to Leipsic, to have the 
 second volume of Arndt's excellent work, * The 
 Spirit of the Times,' secretly printed, and cause a 
 printing-office to be established on the Saxon 
 frontier for the purpose of issuing the war bul- 
 letins which I am to receive from Russia. But 
 then I shall go to Prague and Vienna." 
 
 " And may God grant success to your enter- 
 prise ! " said Count Munster. " We shall all, I am 
 
54 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 satisfied of it, nelp in carrying out your schemes 
 wherever we can. We will try to liberate you 
 if you are imprisoned, and avenge you if killed. 
 Shall we not ? " 
 
 " We shall ! " exclaimed Gneisenau and Berna- 
 dotte, Nugent, and Frederick William of Bruns- 
 wick, and all four offered their hands to Gruner. 
 
 " Henceforth we all act for one, and one for all," 
 exclaimed the Duke of Brunswick, enthusiastically, 
 " and my noble father is looking down and bless- 
 ing us. Oh, may the hour of liberation soon 
 strike ! We have our hands on our swords, and 
 wait for Germany to call us." 
 
 " We are ready, and wait for our country to 
 call us," they said, shaking hands with determined 
 eyes and smiling lips. 
 
 " And now, if the gentlemen have no objection, 
 I will adjourn the conference," said Count Mun- 
 iter, after a pause. " We well know each other, 
 and what we have to do. Here is the cipher in 
 which we may write to each other whenever im- 
 portant communications are to be made. Justus 
 Gruner will see to it that his agents will promptly 
 forward the letters to us." 
 
 "I will," said Justus Gruner, "and as long 
 as I am not in prison, or dead, you may be sure 
 that your letters will not fall into the hands of 
 enemies or traitors." * 
 
 "And now let us go. God save us and Ger- 
 many!" 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 GEBHARD LEBERECHT BLUCHER. 
 
 IT was a cold and unpleasant morning in De- 
 cember. The dreary sky hung like a pall over 
 the oppressed world. How beautiful and fragrant 
 
 * The predictions and apprehensions of Count Nugent 
 were fulfilled but too soon. Gruner went as far as Prague, 
 but there he was arrested in the last days of October, at 
 the special request of the Prussian police, deprived of his 
 papers and his funds, and sent to an Austrian fortress. 
 The Emperor of Knssia succeeded only nine months af- 
 terward in obtaining his release. Vide Pertz's * l Life of 
 Baron von Stein," vol. iii., p. 181. 
 
 had been the summer park of the estate of Kun- 
 zendorf ! now it was bereft of its flowers, and the 
 cold gray trees were moaning in the winter blasts. 
 How bright had been this large room on the lower 
 floor of the mansion of Kunzendorf, when the 
 summer morning flung its beams into the windows, 
 while a merry company were chatting and laugh- 
 ing there ! But, on this day, no guests were as- 
 sembled in it. It contained but two persons, an 
 old gentleman and lady. The gentleman was 
 sitting at the window and looking out mournfully 
 into the cold ; he seemed to count the snow- 
 flakes slowly falling. A large military cloak en- 
 veloped his tall, powerful form; his right leg, 
 encased in a heavy cavalry-boot, rested on a 
 cushion; his head was leaning against the high 
 back of the easy-chair on which he sat. His 
 bearing and appearance indicated suffering, age, 
 and disease ; he who did not look at his coun- 
 tenance could not but believe that he was in the 
 presence of a sick and decrepit old man ; but 
 when his face turned to the beholder, with its 
 large, fiery blue eyes, high and scarcely-furrowed 
 brow, Roman nose, and florid complexion, he 
 thought he saw the head of a man of about fifty 
 years. It is true, the hair which covered his 
 temples in a few thin tufts was snow-white, and 
 so was the mustache which shaded his mouth and 
 hung down on both sides of it, imparting a vigor- 
 ous and martial expression to the whole face, and 
 contrasting with his bronzed cheeks and flashing 
 eyes. 
 
 Opposite him, in the niche of the other window, 
 sat a lady in a plain, yet elegant toilet. Small 
 brown ringlets, threaded here and there with 
 white, peeped forth from the lace cap, trimmed 
 with blue ribbons, and a gray silk dress, reaching 
 to the neck, enveloped her slender and graceful 
 form. Her countenance, which still showed traces 
 of former beauty, was bent over her embroidery, 
 and her white, tapering fingers, adorned with 
 many rings, but-ily plied the needle. 
 
 The old gentleman blew dense clouds of smoke 
 from his long clay pipe, and nothing broke the 
 silence save the parrot (in a large gilded cage on 
 a marble pedestal in the third window-niche), 
 
GEBIIARD LEBERECHT BLUCHER. 
 
 5a 
 
 altering from time to time a loud scream, or 
 exclaiming in a sharp voice, "Good-morning!" 
 The ticking of the bronze clock on the mantel- 
 piece at the other end of the room could be dis- 
 tinctly heard. Suddenly the old gentleman struck 
 the window-board so violently with his right hand 
 that the panes rattled, the lady gave a start, and 
 the parrot screeched. " Well, now it is all 
 right," he exclaimed savagely, "it snows so 
 thickly that nothing can be seen at a distance of 
 twenty yards. The roads will be blocked up 
 again, and no one will come to us from Neisse 
 to-day. We shall be left alone, and the time 
 will hang as heavily with us as with a pug-dog in 
 a bandbox. But," he exclaimed, jumping up 
 so hastily tint his long clay pipe broke on his 
 knee and fell in small pieces on the floor, " it is 
 all right If the guests from Neisse do not come 
 to me, I will go to them." While uttering these 
 words, he fixed his lustrous eyes on the lady, and 
 eeemed to wait for a reply from her ; but she 
 remained silent, and seemed to ply her needle 
 even more industriously. " Well," he asked 
 at last, hesitatingly, "what do you say to it, 
 Amelia?" 
 
 "Nothing at all, Blucher," she replied, with- 
 out looking at him; "for you did not ask me 
 about it" 
 
 " Why, that is an agreeable addition to this 
 horrible weather, that my wife should pout ! " 
 exclaimed Blucher, casting a despairing glance at 
 the sky. He then looked again at his wife. She 
 was Btill bending over her embroidery and 
 remained silent. He approached, and seizing 
 both her hands with gentle violence, took the 
 embroidery and threw it away. " Why is your 
 attention directed to that old rag, Amelia, in- 
 stead of looking at me?" he said, with ill-re- 
 trained anger. " Wife, you know I am not rude; 
 when with you I am as gentle as :i lamb; but you 
 must not pout, Amelia, for that makes me angry. 
 And now speak tell me honestly what is it? 
 What have I done to you ? " 
 
 "Nothing." she said, fixing her dark eyes upon 
 him with a sad expression, " nothing at all ! " 
 
 " Aba ! you do not want to tell me," exclaimed 
 
 a.itu | j\ju 
 
 Blucher, looking at her uneasily, " but I know it 
 nevertheless. Yes, I know what ails you, and 
 why you are in bad humor with me. Will you 
 give me a kiss, if I guess what it is ? " She nod- 
 ded, and an almost imperceptible smile played 
 around her finely-formed lips. " Now, listen," he 
 said, drawing her to himself, and putting his hand 
 under her chin. " You are angry because I came 
 home from Nctsse so late last night ? " 
 
 "Last night?" she asked. "I believe it was 
 at five o'clock this morning." 
 
 " Yes, I promised you to be back at five o'clock 
 in the afternoon, because the doctor said the 
 night air is injurious to me, and would increase 
 my pains. But, you see, Amelia, it would not do. 
 We went to the 'Ressource,' and there I met 
 some old friends " 
 
 "And there we played faro," his wife inter- 
 rupted him, "and I lost the two hundred louis 
 d'ors with which I desired to buy four new car- 
 riage-horses." 
 
 " Yes, it is all true," said Blucher, soothingly. 
 " But what 'matters it ? In the first ^luce, I am 
 quite well, which proves what foola ct,e doctors 
 are ; they think they know every tein<r, and, in 
 fact, know nothing. I feel no pain, and yet have 
 inhaled the night air. And as to the two hundred 
 louis d'ors well, I am almost glad that I lost them, 
 for 1 amused myself. Do you know who was 
 among the gamblers ? Ex-Major von Leesten ! " 
 
 " Major von Leesten ? " asked his wife, wonder- 
 ingly. " But he never plays he is so sensible a 
 gentleman, that " 
 
 " That he does not deal cards, you mean ? " in- 
 terrupted Blucher, smiling. " Yea, you see, I am 
 also a sensible man, but I deal cards sometimes, 
 and, for the rest, to tell you the truth, I seduced 
 Major von Leesten to play last night." 
 
 " That was very wrong," said Madame von 
 Blucher, in a tone of gentle reproach. " Leesten 
 is poor ; he has a large family five full-grown 
 daughters, who, of course, will not be married 
 because they have no fortune. And now you se- 
 duce the poor man, and he will lose the last 
 penny belonging to his family. For the most ter- 
 rible consequences of this gambling passion are, 
 
56 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 that it deprives men of reflection, attachment to 
 their family, and prudence. A man who is ad- 
 dicted to playing cards, loves nothing but his 
 cards ; every thing else seems unimportant to 
 him ; I see it in your case, Blucher, and it makes 
 my heart ache. You do not love me, your time 
 hangs heavy in my presence; the card-table is 
 your only pleasure, and I believe, when the pas- 
 sion seizes you, and you have lost all your money, 
 you would stake the remainder of your property 
 on a card, and your wife to boot ! " 
 
 Blucher burst into loud laughter. "Why," he 
 exclaimed, " what an odd idea that is ! I stake 
 you on a card, you " 
 
 "You suppose that no one would care about 
 winning me ? " asked Madame von Blucher, smil- 
 ing. 
 
 " No, I do not think that," replied Blucher, 
 suddenly growing serious. "Why should no one 
 care about winning you ? You are still a very 
 pretty and charming little woman ; your eyes still 
 flash so irresistibly, your lips are still so red and 
 full, and" 
 
 "And my hair is beautifully gray," she in- 
 terrupted him, laughing, " and I am so astonish- 
 ingly young, scarcely fifty years of age ! " 
 
 " Well, that is not so very old," said Blucher, 
 merrily. " I have read somewhere a story about 
 one Ulysses, who, in times gone by, was a very 
 famous and shrewd captain. He set out to wage 
 war with the barbarians, and his wife, whose 
 name was Penelope, remained at home with his 
 son Telemachus. Ulysses was absent for twenty 
 long years, and when he returned home he found 
 fifty suitors who were all courting bis beautifnl 
 wife Penelope. Do you see, fifty suitors, one for 
 every year of Penelope's age, for she must have 
 been well-nigh fifty years old when Ulysses re- 
 turned, and yet she was still beautiful, and men 
 were gallanting about her. Why should not the 
 same thing happen to you, as you are scarcely 
 forty-eight? And who knows whether the wife 
 of Ulysses was as beautiful and good as you ? I 
 am sure she was not. For it seems to me you 
 are the dearest and best little woman, and look 
 precisely as you did twenty years ago, when you 
 
 were foolish enough to marry that rough old sol 
 dier Blucher, who was already fifty years of age." 
 
 " Woll that raa -nr\t an -crn-nir fnnMaVt " anU TU" 
 
 
 Well, that was not so very foolish," said Ma 
 dame von Blucher, smiling ; " on the contrary, it 
 was very well done, and but for those abomina- 
 ble playing-cards, nothing could be better." 
 
 " Ah, the shrewd little general has, by an 
 adroit movement, brought us back to the old 
 battle-ground," exclaimed Blucher. "We have 
 arrived again at last night's faro ! Now, tell me 
 first of all did I guess right ? Were you not 
 angry with me because I returned late ? " 
 
 " Yes," said his wife, " that was the reason." 
 
 " Hurrah ! Just as I thought ! " shouted Blu- 
 cher, jubilantly. " Now, quick, pay me for my 
 correct guess ! You know, you were to give me 
 a kiss ! a kiss such as you used to give me 
 twenty years ago ! " He encircled his wife with 
 his arms, and pressed a long and tender kiss on 
 her lips. 
 
 " Well, are you pacified now ? " he then asked, 
 " I see in your eyes that you are, and now, come, 
 I will (ell you all that occurred last night. You 
 see the money is gone, and what matters it! 
 Money is destined to be spent ; that is what the 
 good Lord gave it to us for, and men made it 
 round that it might roll away more rapidly. It' 
 it were to remain, they would have made it square, 
 when the fingers could hold it better. And, then, 
 why should I hold it ? We have enough more 
 than enough ; our two daughters are married to 
 rich men ; our two sons are provided for ; our 
 estate at Kunzendorf will not roll away, for it is 
 not round and brings us lots of money, and I am 
 sure there will be a day when I shall win very 
 large sums. I do not mean at the gaming-table, 
 Amelia, but on the battle-field. I shall recon- 
 quer to the king his cities and provinces. I shall 
 take from Bonaparte all that he has stolen from 
 Prussia; I" 
 
 " You intended to tell me what occurred last 
 night," interrupted his wife, who heard him, to 
 her dismay, beginning again the philippic against 
 Napoleon which he had repeated to her at least a 
 hundred times. 
 
 'Yes, that is true," said Blucher breathing 
 
GEBHARD LEBERECHT BLUCHER. 
 
 : 
 
 deeply, " I wished to tell you about Major von 
 Leesten. At the ' Ressource ' I met yesterday in 
 the afternoon an old friend of his, who told me 
 how sad and unhappy Leesten was. His eldest 
 daughter is betrothed to a young country gentle- 
 loan : the two young folks would like to marry, 
 out they have no money. If the young man had 
 only a thousand dollars, he might rent an estate 
 in this vicinity ; but, in order to do so, he must 
 give a thousand dollars security, and he is not 
 possessed of that sum. Leesteu's friend told me 
 all this, and also how disheartened Leesten was. 
 He said he had gone to all sorts of usurers, but 
 no one would lend him any thing, because he 
 could not furnish security, for he has nothing but 
 his pension." 
 
 " Poor man ! And could not hi.s friends col- 
 lect the amount and give it to him ? " 
 
 " His friends have not any thing either ! Who 
 has any thing? Every one is poor since the 
 accursed French are in the country, and Bona- 
 parte" 
 
 " You forget again your story of Major von 
 Leesten, my friend." 
 
 " Ob, yes. His friends have not any thing 
 either, and even if they had, Leesten would not 
 accept presents. No, believe me, Amelia, when 
 the poor are exceedingly proud, they would die of 
 hunger sooner than accept alms at the banus of a 
 pood friend, or ask him for a slice of bread and 
 butter. I know all about it, for I was poor, too, 
 and starved when my pay was spent. And Lees- 
 ten is proud also ; alms and presents he would 
 not accept, or if he did, for the sake of his daugh- 
 ter, his heart would burst with grief. That was 
 what his friend told me ; I pitied him, and thought 
 I should like to call on the dear major and shake 
 hands with him, that he might feel that I like him, 
 and that he ha< trirn-ls, how poor soevrr he may 
 
 . Well, I went with his friend to the major, 
 was glad to see us and took pains to be 
 merry, but I saw very well that he was sad ; 
 that his laughter was not genuine, and that, as 
 soon as some one else spoke, he grew gloomy. 
 But I did not ask what ailed him ; I feigned 
 not to see any thing, and begged him to accom- 
 
 pany us and spend a pleasant evening with a few 
 friends. He refused at first to do so, but I suc- 
 ceeded in overcoming his resistance, and I am 
 not sorry by any means that I did, for the poor 
 major grew quite cheerful at last ; he forgot his 
 grief, drank some good wine with us, more, per- 
 haps, than he had drunk for a year, and then 
 played a little faro with us for the first time in 
 his life. Well, we were all in the best spirits, 
 and that was the reason why I remained so 
 long and came home so late. It was Major 
 von Leesten's fault, and now my story is at an 
 end!" 
 
 "No, it is not!" exclaimed Amelia, "You 
 have not yet told me every thing, Blucher. You 
 have not told me who won your two hundred 
 louis d'ors for which you intended to purchase 
 four new carriage-horses ? " 
 
 "Yes, that was curious," said Blucher, com- 
 posedly, stroking his long white mustache " that 
 was really curious. Leesten had never before 
 handled a card ; he did not know the game, and 
 -yet he won from such un old gambler as I am 
 two hundred louis d'ors in the course of a few 
 hours. Leesten won the money that was to pay 
 for the carriage-horses, and you may give him 
 thanks for being compelled to drive for six months 
 longer with our lame old mares." 
 
 A sunbeam, as it were, illuminated Amelia's 
 countenance; her eyes shone, and her cheeks 
 were glowing with joy. Quickly putting her 
 hands on Blucher's shoulders, she looked up to 
 him with a smile. "You made him win the 
 money, Gebhard," she said, in a voice tremulous 
 with emotion. " Oh, do not shake your head- 
 tell me the truth ! You made Leesten win, be- 
 cause you wished to preserve him from the neces- 
 sity of accepting alms. You made him win, that 
 his daughter might marry ? " 
 
 N onsense ! " said Blucher, growliugly, " how 
 could I make him win when he did not really win ? 
 He would have found it out, and, besides, I would 
 have been a cheat." 
 
 " He did not find it out because you made him 
 drink so much wine, and because he knows noth- 
 ing about the game ; and you are no cheat, be 
 
58 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 cause you intentionally made him win ; on the con- 
 trary, you are a noble, magnanimous man whom 
 Heaven must love. Oh, dear, dearest husband, 
 tell me the truth ; let me enjoy the happiness that 
 I have guessed right ! You did so intentionally, 
 did you not ? The cards did not bring so much 
 good luck to Leesten, but Blucher did ! " 
 
 " Hush ! do not say that so loudly," exclaimed 
 Blucher, looking anxiously around ; " if any one 
 should hear and repeat it, and Leesten should 
 find out how the thing occurred, the fellow would 
 return the money to me." 
 
 "Ah, now you have betrayed yourself you 
 have confessed that you lost the money intention- 
 ally," exclaimed Amelia, jubilantly. " Oh, thanks, 
 thanks, my noble and generous friend!" She 
 took his hands with passionate tenderness, and 
 pressed them to her lips. 
 
 " But, Amelia, what are you doing ? " said 
 Blucher, withdrawing his hands in confusion. 
 " Why, you are weeping ! " 
 
 "Oh, they are tears of joy," she said, nodding 
 to him with a blissful smile " tears which I am 
 weeping for my glorious, dear Blucher ! " 
 
 " Oh, you are too good," said Blucher, whose 
 face suddenly grew gloomy. " I am nothing but 
 an old, pensioned soldier a rusty sword flung 
 into a corner. I am an invalid whom they be- 
 lieve to be childish, because he thinks he might 
 still be useful, and the fatherland might need 
 him. But I tell you, Amelia, if I ever should 
 become childish it would be on account of the 
 course pursued toward me ; why, I am dismissed 
 from the service ; I am refused any thing to do ; 
 I am desired to be idle, and the king has given 
 me this accursed estate of Kunzendorf, not as a 
 reward, nor from love, but to get rid of me, and 
 because he is afraid of the French. When he 
 gave it to me last spring, he wrote that I ought 
 to set out for Kunzendorf immediately, and live 
 and remain there, as it behooved every nobleman, 
 in the midst of my peasants. But his real object 
 was to send me into exile ; he did not wish me 
 to remain in Berlin ! " 
 
 " Well, he had to comply with the urgent rec- 
 ommendations of bis ministers," said Madame 
 
 von Blucher, smiling. " You know very well 
 that all the ministers of the king, with the sole 
 exception of Hardenberg, are friends of the 
 French, and think that Prussia would be lost if 
 she should not faithfully stand by France." 
 
 "They are traitors when they entertain such 
 infamous sentiments," cried Blucher, wildly 
 stamping with his foot ; " they should hang the 
 fellows who are so mean and cowardly as to think 
 that Prussia would be lost if her mortal enemy 
 did not condescend to sustain her. Ah, if the 
 king had listened to me only once, we should 
 have long since driven the French out of the 
 country, and our poor soldiers would not freeze 
 to death in Russia as auxiliaries of Bonaparte. 
 When the danger is greatest, every thing must 
 be risked in order to win every thing, and when 
 a fellow tries to deceive and insult me, I do not 
 consider much whether I had better endure him 
 because I may be weaker than he is, but, before 
 he suspects it, I knock him down if I can. You 
 see, that is defending one's life ; that is what the 
 learned call philosophy. But, dearest Amelia, 
 there is but one philosophy in life, and it is this : 
 ' He who trusts in God and defends himself 
 bravely will never miserably perish.' Now, the 
 king and his ministers know only one-half of this 
 philosophy, and that is the reason why the whole 
 thing goes wrong. They mean to trust in God, 
 even though, from their blind trust alone, all 
 Prussia fall to ruins ; but as for bravely defend- 
 ing themselves, that is what they do not under- 
 stand. It is too much like old Blucher's way of 
 doing things, and that is the reason why the 
 learned gentlemen do not like it. Ah ! Amelia, 
 when I think of all the wretchedness of Prussia, 
 and that I may have to die without having 
 chastised Bonaparte without having wrested 
 from him, and flung into his face, the laurels of 
 Jena, Eylau, and Friedland ah, then I feel like 
 sitting down and crying like a boy. But Heaven 
 cannot be so cruel ; it will not let me die before 
 meeting Bonaparte on the field of battle, and 
 avenging all our wrongs upon him. No, I trust I 
 will not die before that and, after all, I am quite 
 young ! Only seventy years of age ! My grand 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OF MECKLENBURG. 
 
 59 
 
 lather died in his ninetieth year, and my mother 
 told me often enough that I looked exactly like 
 my grandfather; I shall, therefore, reach my 
 ninetieth year. I have still twenty years to live 
 twenty years, that is enough " Just then 
 the door opeued, and a footman entered. 
 
 "Well, John," asked Blucher, "what is it? 
 Why do you look so merry, my boy ? I suppose 
 you have good news for us, have you not ? " 
 
 "I have, your excellency," said the footman. 
 " There is an old man outside, an invalid, at- 
 tended by a young fellow who, I believe, is his 
 son. The two have come all the way from Pome- 
 rauia, and want to see General von Blucher. He 
 says he has important news for your excellency." 
 
 " Important news ? " asked Blucher. " And he 
 comes from Pomerania? John, I hope it will 
 not be one who wants to tell me the same old 
 story ? " 
 
 "Your excellency, I believe that is what he 
 comes for," said John, grinning. 
 
 "Amelia," exclaimed Blucher, bursting into 
 loud laughter, " there is another fellow who wants 
 to tell me that he took me prisoner fifty years 
 since. I believe it is already the seventh rascal 
 who says he was the man." 
 
 " The seventh who wants to get money from 
 you and swindle you," said Madame von Blucher, 
 smiling. 
 
 " No, I believe they do not exactly want to 
 swindle me," said Blucher, " but I know they 
 like to get a little money, and as they do not 
 want to beg " 
 
 "They come and lie," interrupted Amelia, 
 umiling. " They know already that General 
 Blucher gives a few louis d'ors to every one who 
 come* and says, ' General, it was I who took you 
 prisoner in Mecklenburg in 1760, and brought 
 you to the Prussians. You, therefore, are in- 
 debted to me for all your glory and your 
 
 " 
 
 " Yes, it is true," said Blucher, laughing and 
 smoothing his mustache. " That is what all six 
 of them said. But one of them did take me pris- 
 oner, for the story is true, and if I turn away one 
 of those who tell me the same thing, why, I might 
 
 happen to hit precisely the man who took me, 
 and that would be a great shame. Therefore, it 
 is better I imagine a whole squadron had taken 
 me at that time, and give money to every one 
 who comes to me for it. Even though he may 
 not be the man, why, he is at least an old hussar, 
 and I shall never turn an old hussar without a 
 little present from my door." * 
 
 " Well, I see you want to bid welcome to youi 
 seventh hero and conqueror," said Amelia, smi- 
 ling. " Very well, I will quit the field and retire 
 into my cabinet. Farewell, my friend, and when 
 your hero has taken leave of you, I will await 
 you." She nodded pleasantly to her husband, 
 and left the room. 
 
 " Well, John," said Blucher, sitting down again 
 on his easy-chair at the window, " now let the 
 men come in. Bat first fill me a pipe. You 
 must take a new one, for I broke the one I waa 
 smoking this morning." 
 
 John hastened to the elegant " pipe-board " 
 which stood beside the fireplace, and took from 
 it an oblong, plain wooden box ; opening the lid, 
 he drew a new, long clay pipe from it. 
 
 " How many pipes are in it yet ? " asked Blu- 
 cher, hastily. " A good lot, John ? " 
 
 " No, your excellency, only seven whole pipes, 
 and eight broken ones." 
 
 " You may ride to Neisse to-morrow, and buy 
 a box of pipes. Now, give me one, and let the 
 hussar and his son come in." 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS OF MECKLENBURG. 
 
 JOHN, the footman, opened the door of the 
 anteroom, and shouted in a loud and solemn 
 voice, " Your excellency, here is Hennemann, the 
 hussar, and his son Christian ! " 
 
 " Well, come in ! " said Blucher, good-naturedly 
 puffing a cloud of smoke from his pipe. 
 
 * Blucher's own words. Vide "Life of Prince Bluchel 
 of Wahlstatt, by Varhagon von Ense," p. 8. 
 
NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 An old man with silver-white hair, his bent | 
 form clad in the old and faded uniform of a hus- 
 Bar, and holding his old-fashioned shako in his 
 hand, entered the room. He was followed by a 
 young man, wearing the costume of a, North- 
 German farmer, his heavy yellow hair combed 
 backward and fastened with a large uund comb; 
 his full, vigorous form dressed in a long blue cloth 
 coat, reaching down almost to his feet, and lined 
 with white flannel ; under it he wore trousers of 
 dark-green velvet that descended only to the 
 knees, and joined there the blue-and-red stock- 
 ings in which his legs were encased ; his feet 
 were armed with thick shoes, adorned with buck- 
 les, while their soles bristled with large nails. 
 
 " Where do you come from ? " asked Blucher, 
 fixing his eyes with a kind expression on the two 
 men. 
 
 " From Rostock, your excellency," said the old 
 man, making a respectful obeisance. 
 
 "From Rostock?" asked Blucher, joyously. 
 " Why, that is my native city." 
 
 " I know that very well, general," said the old 
 hussar, who vainly tried to hide his Low-German 
 accent. " All Rostock knows it, too, and every child 
 there boasts of Blucher being our countryman." 
 
 " Well," said Blucher, smiling, " then you come 
 from Rostock. Do you li ve there ? " 
 
 " Not exactly in Rostock, your excellency. My 
 daughter Frederica is married to a tailor in Ros- 
 tock, and I was with her for four weeks. I myself 
 live at Polchow, a nobleman's estate four miles 
 from Rostock ; I am there at the house of my 
 eldest son." 
 
 " Is that your eldest son ? " asked Blucher, 
 pointing with his clay pipe at the young man, 
 who stood by the side of his aged father, and was 
 turning his hat hi his hand in an embarrassed 
 manner. 
 
 " No, sir, he is my youngest son, and it is just 
 for hid sake that I have come to you. Christian 
 was a laborer in the service of our nobleman at 
 Polchow, and he desired to marry a girl with 
 whom he had fallen in love. But the nobleman 
 would not permit it; he said Christian should 
 wait some ten years until there was a house va- 
 
 cant in the village, and some of the old peasants 
 had died. This drove him to despair; be wanted 
 to commit suicide, and said he would die rather 
 than be a day laborer on an estate in Mecklen- 
 burg, which is no better than being the noble- 
 man's slave." 
 
 "Yes," cried Christian, indignantly, "that is 
 true, general. A day kborer on an estate in 
 Mecklenburg is a slave, that is all. The noble- 
 man owns him. It he wants to do so, he may dis- 
 able him, nay, he may kill him. Such a laborer 
 has no rights, no will, no property, no home, no 
 country ; he is not allowed to live anywhere but 
 in his village ; he cannot settle in any other place, 
 and is not permitted to marry unless the noble- 
 man who owns the village gives his consent, nor 
 can he ever be any thing else than what his father 
 and grandfather were, that is to say, the noble- 
 man's laborers. And I do not wish to be such 
 and do nothing else than putting the horses to the 
 plough. I want to marry Frederica, and become 
 a free man, and if that cannot be I will commit 
 suicide." 
 
 " Ahem ! he has young blood," said Blucher, 
 well pleased and smiling, " fresh Mecklenburgian 
 blood. I like that! But you must not abuse 
 Mecklenburg, Christian ; I love Mecklenburg, be- 
 cause it is my native country." 
 
 " It is a good country for noblemen who have 
 money," said Christian, "but for day laborers 
 who have none it is a poor country. And that 
 was the reason why I said to the old man, * Vat- 
 ting, * I shall commit suicide or run away and 
 enlist.' " 
 
 " And I then said, ' Well, my son, in that case 
 it will be better for you to enlist,' added the old 
 man, 'and, moreover, you shall enlist under a 
 good general. I will show you that my life is yet 
 good for something ; I will do for your sake what 
 I have purposed to do all my lifetime : I will gc 
 to General Blucher, tell him who I am, and ask 
 him to reward my boy for what I did for him.' " 
 
 Blucher looked with a good-natured smile at 
 the poor old man who stood before him in the 
 
 * " Vatting," Low-German for " papa." 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OF MECKLEXBURG. 
 
 GJ 
 
 faded and threadbare uniform of a private sol- 
 dier. 
 
 " Well, my old friend," he said, " what have 
 you done for me, then ? " 
 
 The old man raised his nead, and a solemn 
 expression overspread his bronzed and furrowed 
 countenance. " General," he said, gravely, " it 
 was I who took you prisoner in Mecklenburg in 
 1760, and to me, therefore, you are indebted for 
 all your glory and happiness." 
 
 Blucher covered his face with his hands, that 
 the old man might not see his smile. " It is just 
 as Amelia told me it would be," he said to him- 
 self. He then added aloud : " Well, tell me the 
 story, that I may see whether it was reallv you 
 who took me prisoner." 
 
 " It is a long story," said the old man, sighing, 
 " and if I am to tell it, I must ask a favor of your 
 excellency." 
 
 "Well, what is it? Speak, my old friend," 
 said Blucher, puffing a cloud from his pipe, and 
 satisfied that the old hussar would apply to him 
 for money. 
 
 " I must beg leave to sit down, general," said 
 the old man, timidly. " We have come on foot 
 all the way from Rostock, and it is only fifteen 
 minutes since we reached this village. We took 
 only time enough at the tavern to change our 
 dress ; I put on my uniform, and Christian put 
 on his Sunday coat. I am eighty years old, gen- 
 eral, and my logs are not as strong as Liey used 
 to he." 
 
 "Eighty years old ! " exclaimed Blucher, jump- 
 ing up, " eighty years old, and you have come on 
 foot all tin- way from Rostock ! Why, that is im- 
 possible ! Christian, tell me, that cannot be true ! " 
 -encral, it is true. We have been on 
 way f'.r three weeks past, for the old man 
 cannot walk very fast, and we had not money 
 enough to ride. We had to be thankful for hav- 
 ing enough to pay for our beds at the t*T< 
 And my father is more than eighty years of 
 age! We have brought his certificate of birth 
 with us." 
 
 " Eighty years of age, and he came on foot all 
 the way from Rostock, and I allow the old rain 
 
 to stand and offer him no chair ! " exclaimed 
 Blucher, " I do not aek whether he is hun- 
 gry and thirsty ! John ! John ! " And Blucher 
 rushed to the bell-rope and rang the bell so vio- 
 lently that John entered the room in great ex- 
 citement. " John, quick ! " shouted Blucher. 
 " Quick, a bottle of wine, two glasses, and bread, 
 butter, and ham ; and tell them in the kitchen 
 to prepare a good dinner for these men, and 
 have a room with two beds made ready for them 
 in the adjoining house. Quick, John ! In five 
 minutes the wine and the other things must be 
 here! Run!" 
 
 John hastened out of the room, and Blucher 
 approached the old man, who looked on, speech- 
 less and deeply moved by the kind zeal the gen 
 eral had displayed in his behalf. 
 
 " Come, my dear friend," said Blucher, kindly, 
 taking him by the hand and conducting him 
 across the room to his favorite seat at the win- 
 dow. "There, sit down on my easy-chair and 
 rest." 
 
 " No, general, no ; that would be disrespect- 
 ful ! " 
 
 " Fiddlesticks ! " replied Blucher; " an octogena- 
 rian is entitled to more respect than a gener- 
 al's epaulets are. Now do not refuse, but sit 
 down ! " And with his vigorous arras he pressed 
 him into the easy-chair. He then quietly took 
 his clay pipe from the window, and sat down on 
 a cane chair opposite the old hussar. " And now 
 tell me the story of my arrest as a prisoner. I 
 promise you that I will believe it all." 
 
 " General, you may believe nothing but what is 
 true," replied the old man, solemnly. 
 
 Blucher nodded. " Commence," he said, " but 
 no wait a while ! There is John with the win* 
 and the bread and butter. Now eat and drink 
 first." 
 
 " I cannot eat, for I am not hungry. But, if 
 neral will permit me, I will drink a glass 
 of wine." 
 
 " Come, John, two glasses ! fill them to the 
 brim ! And now, my friend, let us drink. Here's 
 to our native country ! " Blucher filled his glass 
 ^vith claret ; his eyes flashed, and his face kin- 
 
62 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 died with the fire of youth, when he, the young 
 septuagenarian, touched with his glass that of the 
 feeble octogenarian. " Hurrah, my old country- 
 man," he shouted, jubilantly, " long live Meck- 
 lenburg ! long live Rostock and the shore of the 
 Baltic ! Now empty your glass, my friend, and 
 you, John, fill it again, and then put the wine 
 and the bread and butter on the table beside the 
 fireplace, that Christian may help himself. Eat 
 and drink, Christian, but do not stir, or say a. 
 word, for we two old ones have to speak with 
 each other. Now tell me the story, my old 
 friend ! " 
 
 " Well," said the old man, putting down his 
 empty glass, " I had run away from my parents 
 because I was just in the same difficulty as Chris- 
 tian : I did not wish to remain a day laborer. I 
 also wanted to marry, and the nobleman would 
 not let me. Well, I ran away, and enlisted in 
 Old Fritz's army, in Colonel Selling's regiment 
 of hussars. It was in 1760; we had a great deal 
 to do at that time ; we were every day skirmish- 
 ing with the Swedes, for we were stationed in 
 Mecklenburg, and the Swedes were so dreadfully 
 bold as to make raids throughout Brandenburg 
 and Mecklenburg. One day, I believe it was in 
 August, 1760, just when we, Selling's hussars, oc- 
 cupied the towpath close to Friedland in Meck- 
 lenburg, another detachment of Swedish hussars 
 approached to harass us. They were headed by 
 a little ensign a handsome young lad, scarcely 
 twenty years of age, a very impertinent baby ! 
 And this young rascal rode closely to the old 
 hussars, and commenced to crow in his sweet 
 little voice, abusing us, and told us at last, if we 
 were courageous enough, to come on ; he had not 
 had his breakfast, he said, and would like to swal- 
 low about a dozen of Selling's hussars. Well, 
 the other hussars rejoiced in the pluck of the 
 young fellow, and a handsome lad he was, with 
 clear blue eyes and red cheeks. But his saucy 
 taunts iritated me, and when the little ensign 
 continued laughing, and telling us we were cow- 
 ards, I became very angry, galloped up to him 
 and shouted : ' Now, you little imp, I will kill 
 you!'" 
 
 " Sure enough," exclaimed Blucher, in surprise, 
 " that was what the hussar shouted. It seems 
 to me as though I hear it still sounding in my 
 ears. But none of the other hussars told me 
 this ; it is new, and it is true. Hennemann, 
 could it be possible that you should really be the 
 man who took me prisoner at that time ? " 
 
 "Listen to the remainder of my story, gen- 
 eral, and you will soon find out whether it was I 
 or not. I galloped up to him, and while the 
 Prussians and Swedes were fighting, I fixed my 
 eyes on my merry little ensign ; when I was quite 
 close to him, I shot down his horse. The ensign 
 was unable then to offer much resistance, and, 
 besides, I was a very strong, active man. I took 
 him by the collar and put him on my horse in 
 front of me." 
 
 "And the ensign submitted to that without de- 
 fending himself?" asked Blucher, angrily. 
 
 " By no means ! On the contrary, he was as 
 red in the face as a crawfish, and resisting struck 
 me. I held his arms fast, but he disengaged 
 himself with so violent a jerk that the yellow 
 facings of his right sleeve remained in my hand." 
 
 " That is true," exclaimed Blucher. 
 
 " Yes, it is true," said the old man, calmly ; 
 " but it is true also that I got hold again of the 
 ensign and took him to Colonel von Belling, to 
 whom I stated that I had captured the handsome 
 lad. The colonel liked his face and courageous 
 bearing ; he kept the Swedish ensign at his head- 
 quarters, where he appointed him cornet the next 
 day, and made the little Ensign Blucher apply 
 to the Swedes for permission to quit their ser- 
 vice." 
 
 " And I got my discharge," exclaimed Blucher, 
 quite absorbed in his reminiscences, "and be- 
 came a Prussian soldier. Good, brave Colonel 
 Belling bought me the necessary equipment, and 
 appointed me his aide-de-camp and lieutenant. 
 The Lord have mercy on his dear soul ! Belling 
 was an excellent man, and I am indebted to him 
 for all I am." 
 
 " No, general," said Hennemann, " it is to me 
 that you are indebted, for if I had not taken you 
 prisoner at that time " 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OF MECKLENBURG. 
 
 03 
 
 "Sure enough," exclaimed Blucher, laughing, 
 * if you had not taken me prisoner, I should now 
 be a poor old pensioned Swedish veteran. But 
 you certainly took me prisoner, I really believe 
 you did!" 
 
 " I have the proofs that I did," said the old 
 man solemnly. " Christian ! " 
 
 " Here I am, vatting," said Christian, rising. 
 " What do you want ? " 
 
 "Give me the memorandum-book with the 
 papers." 
 
 Christian drew from his blue coat a red mo- 
 rocco memorandum-book and handed it to his 
 father. " Here, vatting," he said, " every thing 
 is in it, the certificate of birth, the enlistment pa- 
 per, the discharge, and the other thing." 
 
 " I just want to get the other thing," said the 
 old man, opening the memorandum-book, " and 
 here it is!" He took out a yellow piece of 
 cloth and handed it to Blucher. 
 
 " It is a piece of my sleeve ! " exclaimed 
 Blucher, joyously, holding up the piece of cloth. 
 " Yes, Hennemann, it was really you who took 
 me prisoner, and I am indebted to you for being 
 a Prussian general to-day ! And I promise you 
 that I will now pay you a good ransom. Give 
 me your hand, old fellow ; we ought to remain 
 near each other. Fifty-two years since you took 
 me prisoner, but now I take you prisoner in turn, 
 and you must remain with me ; you shall live at 
 ease, and at times in the evening you must tell 
 me of Mecklenburg, and how it looks there, 
 and of Rostock, and well, and when you are in 
 good spirits, you must sing to me a Low-German 
 song ! " 
 
 " Mercy ! " exclaimed the old man, in dismay ; 
 "I cannot sing, general. I am eighty years old, 
 and old age has dried up the fountain of my 
 
 " Sure enough, you are eighty years old," said 
 Blucher, puffing his pipe, " and at that age few 
 persons are able to sing. But I should really 
 like to hear again a merry native song. I have 
 not heard one for fifty years, for here, you see, 
 Hennemann, people are so stupid and ignorant as 
 even to understand Low-German." 
 
 not even to un 
 
 "I believe that," said the old man, giavely, 
 "and it is not so easy to understand one must 
 be a native of Mecklenburg to understand it." 
 
 "It is a pity that you cannot sing," said 
 Blucher, sighing. 
 
 "But, perhaps Christian can," said old Henne- 
 mann. " Tell me, Christian, can you sing ? " 
 
 " Yes, vatting," replied Christian, clearing his 
 throat. 
 
 "'Vatting!'" exclaimed Blucher. "What 
 does that mean ? " 
 
 " Well, it means that he loves his father, and 
 therefore calls him, in good Mecklenburg style, 
 ' vatting.' " 
 
 "Sure enough, I remember now," exclaimed 
 Blucher. "Vatting! mutting ! * Yes, yes; I 
 have often used these words, ' mutting my mut- 
 ting ! ' Ah, it seems to me as though I behold 
 the beautiful blue eyes of my mother when she 
 looked at me so mildly and lovingly and said, 
 'You are a wild, reckless boy, Gebhard ; I am 
 afraid you will come to grief ! ' Then I used to 
 beg her, ' My mutting, my mutting ! I will no 
 longer be a bad boy ! I will not be naughty ! D< 
 not be angry any more, my mutting ! ' And she 
 always forgave me, and interceded for me with my 
 father, whenever he was incensed against me, and 
 scolded me, because, instead of studying my 
 books and going to school, I was always loitering 
 about the fields or hunting in the woods. At 
 last, when I was fourteen years old, and was still 
 an incorrigible scapegrace, they sent me to the 
 island of Riigen, to my sister, who was married 
 to Baron von Krackwitz. But I did not stay 
 there very long. The Swedes came to the island, 
 and I could not withstand the desire to become a 
 soldier; therefore, I ran away from the island 
 and enlisted in the Swedish army. Well, I had 
 to do so, I could not help it, for it was in my 
 nature. Up to that time I was like a fish 
 on dry land, moving his tail in every direction 
 without crushing a fly ; when I got into he water 
 it was all right. If I had been kept much longer 
 out, I would have died very soon, f When I waa 
 now in the water that is to say, when I was a 
 
 * u Mutting," mamma. 
 
 t Blucaer'B own words. 
 
64 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 soldier, I lost my mother ; I never saw her again, 
 and know only that she wept a great deal for me. 
 And I never was able to beg her to forgive me, 
 and tell her, 'Do not be angry, my dear mutting ! ' 
 I was a dashing young soldier, and she was weep- 
 ing for me at Rostock, for she believed I would 
 come to grief. Well, I was first lieutenant in 
 some Prussian fortress when they wrote to me 
 that my mother was dead. Yes, she had died and 
 I was not at her bedside ; I was never able to say 
 to her for the last time, ' Forgive me, my mut- 
 ting ! ' But now I say so from the bottom of 
 my heart." While uttering these words, Blucher 
 raised his head and fixed his large eyes with a 
 touching and childlike expression on the wintry 
 sky. 
 
 Old Hennemann devoutly clasped his hands, 
 and tears ran slowly down his furrowed cheeks. 
 Christian stood at the door, and dried his eyes 
 with his coat-sleeve. 
 
 " Thunder and lightning," suddenly exclaimed 
 Blucher, " how foolish I am ! That is the conse- 
 quence of being absorbed in one's recollections. 
 While talking about Mecklenburg I had really 
 forgotten that I am an old boy of seventy years, 
 and thought I was still the naughty young rascal 
 who longed to ask his rautting to forgive him ! 
 Well, Christian, now sing us a Low-German 
 song." 
 
 " I know but one song," said Chiistian, hesi- 
 tatingly. "It is the spinning-song which my Fred- 
 erica sang to me in the spinning- room." 
 
 " Well, sing your spinning-song," said Blucher, 
 ooking at his pipe, which was going out. 
 
 Christian cleared his throat, and sang : 
 
 Spinn doch, spinn (loch, min lutt, lewes Ddchtinir, 
 
 Ick schenk Di ock'n poor hubeche Schoh I 
 
 Ach Gott, min lewes, lewes Mutting, 
 
 Wat belpen mi de hiibschen Schoh 1 
 
 Kann danzen nich, un kann nich spinncn, 
 
 Denn alle mine teigen Finger, 
 
 De dohn mi so weh, 
 
 De dohn ml so weh ! 
 
 Spinn doch, spinn doch, min lutt, lewes Df>chtiii2, 
 
 Ick schenk Di ock'n schdn Stuck Geld. 
 
 Ach Gott, min lewes, lewes Mutting, 
 
 Ick wull, ick wibr man ut de Welt, 
 
 Kann danzen nich, un kann uich spinnen, 
 
 Denn alle mine teigen Finger, 
 
 De dohn mi so weh, 
 
 De dohn mi so weh 1 
 
 Spinn doch, spinn doch, min lutt, lewes Dochting, 
 
 Ick schenk Di ock'n hiibschen Mann I 
 
 Ach ja, min lewes, lewes Mutting, 
 
 Schenk min lewston, besten Mann. 
 
 Kann danzen nu, un kann ock spinnen, 
 
 Denn alle mine teigen Finger, 
 
 De dohn nich mihr weh, 
 
 De dohn nich mihr weh ! * 
 
 "A very pretty song," said Blucher, 
 " And I believe 1 heard the girls sing it when I 
 was a boy. Thank you, Christian, you have sung 
 it very well. But, tell me now, old Hennemann, 
 what is to become of Christian ? You yourself 
 shall remain here at Kunzendorf, and I will see 
 to it that you are well provided for. But what 
 about Christian ? " 
 
 " He is anxious to enlist, general," said Henne- 
 mann, timidly, "and that is the reason why I 
 brought him to your excellency. I wanted to re- 
 quest you to take charge of him, and make out of 
 him as good a soldier as you are yourself." 
 
 Blucher smiled. " I have been successful," he 
 said, "but those were good days for soldiers. 
 Now, however, the times are very unfavorable ; 
 the Prussian soldier has nothing to do, and must 
 quietly look on while the French are playing the 
 mischief in Prussia." 
 
 " No, general," said Hennemann, " it seems to 
 me the Prussian soldier has a great deal to do." 
 
 "Well, what do you think he has to do?" 
 asked Blucher. 
 
 * Spin, spin, my little daughter, dear |. 
 
 A pretty pair of shoes for theo I 
 Alas, my mother ! let me hear 
 
 What use are pretty shoes to me I 
 I cannot dance I cannot spin ; 
 And why these promised shoes to win ! 
 
 mother mine, I will not take 
 Thy kindly gift. My fingers ache ! 
 
 Spin, spin, my little daughter dear I 
 And a bright silver-piece is thine! 
 
 Alas, my mother's loving care 
 Makes not this shining money mine! 
 
 1 cannot dance I cannot spin ; 
 What use such wages thus to win ? 
 O mother dear ! I cannot take 
 This silver, for my fingers ache. 
 
 Spin, spin, my little daughter dear! 
 
 For thee a handsome husband waits. 
 Oh, then, my mother, have no fear ; 
 
 My heart this work no longer hates. 
 Now can I dance, and also spin, 
 A handsome husband thus to win. 
 Thy best reward I gladly take ! 
 No more no more, my fingers achfl 
 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OF MECKLENBURG. 
 
 !4 To expel the French from Prussia, that is 
 what he has to do," said the old man, raising his 
 voice. 
 
 "Yes," said Blucher, smiling, "if that could be 
 done, I should like to be counted in." 
 
 " It can be done, general ; every honest man 
 says .<o, and it ought to be, for the French are 
 behaving too shamefully. They must be ex- 
 pelled from Germany. Well, then, my Christian 
 wishes to assist you in doing so ; he wishes to 
 become a soldier, and help you to drive out the 
 French." 
 
 " Alas, he must apply to some one else if he 
 wishes to do that," said Blucher, mournfully. " I 
 cannot help him, for they have pensioned me. I 
 have no regiments. I but, thunder and light- 
 ning ! what is the matter with my pipe to-day ? 
 The thing will not burn." And he put his little 
 finger into the bowl, and tried to smoke again. 
 
 " The pipe does not draw well, because it was 
 not skilfully filled," said Christian. I know it 
 was badly filled." 
 
 1 asked Blucher. " What do you know ? 
 hn has been filling my pipes for four years 
 t." 
 
 "John has done it very poorly," said Christian, 
 posed! y. " To fill such a clay pipe is an art 
 which a good many are not familiar, and 
 hen it is smoked for the first time it does not 
 11. It ought first to be smoked by 
 one, and John ought to have done so yester- 
 y if the general wished to use his pipe to-day." 
 "Why, he knows something about a clay pipe," 
 Bluclr r, "and he is right; it always 
 tes better on the second day than on the first." 
 That is the re.ison why the second day al- 
 ,ys ought to be the first for General Blucher," 
 
 '.in. 
 
 "ile is right," exclaimed Blucher, laiu:hin:_', 
 44 it would smvly be hotter if the second were al- 
 ays til-.- first day. Well, I know now what is 
 he rn;i'lc <>f Clnistiau ; IK- is to become my pipc- 
 master." 
 
 "Pip. asked old Hennemaim and 
 
 Christian at the sanr.e time. " Pipe-master, what 
 
 iathat?" 
 
 6 
 
 : 
 
 it 
 
 = 
 
 " That is a man who keeps my pipes in good 
 order," said Blucher, with a ludicrously grave air 
 *' a man who nukes the second my first day 
 who smokes my pipes first puts them back into 
 the box at night, preserves the broken ones, and 
 fills them, however short they may be. He who 
 does not prize a short pipe does not deserve to 
 have a long one. A good pipe and good tobacco 
 are things of the highest importance in life. Ah ! 
 if, in 1807, at Liibeck, I had had powder for 
 the guns and tobacco for my men, I would have 
 raised such clouds that the French could not have 
 stood.* Well, Christian, you shall therefore be- 
 come my pipe master, and I hope you will faith- 
 fully perform the duties of your office." 
 
 " I shall certainly take pains to do so," said 
 Christian, "and you may depend on it, general, 
 that I shall preserve the broken, short pipes ; I 
 will not throw them away before it is necessary. 
 But suppose there should be war, general, and you 
 should take the field, what would become of me 
 in that case ? " 
 
 " Well, in that case you will accompany me," 
 said Blucher. " What should I do in the field if 
 I could not get a good pipe of tobacco all the 
 time ? Without that I am of no account. f But 
 it is necessary to do good service for Prussia, 
 and hence I need, above all, a good pipe of to- 
 bacco in the field. Well, then, tell me now 
 plainly, will you accept the office I offer you in 
 peace and in war, Christian ? " 
 
 " Yes, general," said Christian, solemnly. 
 " And I swear that General Blucher shall never 
 lack a well-lighted pipe, even though I fetch a 
 match from the French gunners to kindle it." 
 
 " That is right, Christian ; you are in my ser- 
 vice now, and may at once enter upon the duties 
 of your office. You, Hennemann, stay here and 
 do me the favor of living as long and being as 
 merry as possible. Now, pipe-master, ring the 
 bell!" 
 
 The new pipe-master rang the bell, and John 
 entered the room 
 
 * Blacher's own worda.-Vide Marshal Forward," 
 popular biography, 
 t Blucher's own word*. 
 
66 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 "John!" said Blucher, "I owe a reparation 
 of honor to this aged hussar. It was he who 
 took me prisoner in 1760. He brought me the 
 proof of it the yellow facing of the sleeve here. 
 Take it and fasten it to the old uniform of Blu- 
 cher, the Swedi&h ensign, which I have alwavs 
 preserved ; it belongs to it. You see that hussar 
 Henuemann is an honest man, and that I owe him 
 the ransom. He will stay here, and have nothing 
 to do but eat and drink well, sit in the sun, and, 
 in the evening, when it affords him pleasure, tell 
 you stories of the Seven Years' War, in which he 
 participated. If other hussars come and tell you 
 they took me prisoner, you know it is not true, 
 and need not admit them. But you must not 
 abuse the poor old fellows for that reason, nor 
 tell them that they are swindlers. You will give 
 them something to eat and drink, a bed over- 
 night, and, in the morning, when they set out, a 
 dollar for travelling expenses. Now take the 
 old man and his son to the adjoining building, 
 and tell the inspector to give them a room where 
 they are to live. And then," added Blucher, hesi- 
 tatingly, and almost in confusion, " you have 
 too much to do, John ; you must have an assist- 
 ant. It takes you too much time to fill my pipes, 
 and this young man, therefore, will help you. I 
 have appointed Christian Hennemann my pipe- 
 master. Well, do not reply take the two men 
 to the building, and be good friends do you hear, 
 good friends ! " 
 
 John bowed in silence, and made a sign to the 
 two Mecklenburgians to follow him. Blucher 
 gazed after them with keen glances. " Well, I 
 am afraid their friendship will not amount to 
 much," he said, smiling and stroking his beard. 
 " John does not like this pipe-master business, 
 and will show it to Christian as soon as an op- 
 portunity offers. I do not care if they do have a 
 good fight. It would be a little diversion, for it 
 is horribly tedious here. Ah, how long is this to 
 last ? How long am I to sit here and wait until 
 Prussia and the king call upon me to drive Napo- 
 leon out of the country ? How long am I to be 
 idle while Bonaparte is gaining one victory after 
 another in Russia ? I have not much time to 
 
 spare for waiting, and well," he suddenly inter 
 ruptod himself, quickly stepping up to the window 
 " what is that ? Is not that a carriage driving 
 into the court-yard?" Yes, it really is, just 
 entering the iron gate, and rolling with great 
 noise across the pavement. "I wonder who that 
 is ? " muttered Blucher, casting a piercing glance 
 into the carriage, which stopped at that moment 
 in front of the mansion. He uttered a cry of 
 joy, and ran out of the room with the alacrity of 
 a youth. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 GLAD TIDINGS. 
 
 " IT is he, it is he ! " exclaimed General Blucher, 
 rushing out of the front door, and hastening with 
 outstretched arms toward the gentleman, who, 
 wrapped in a Russian fur robe, alighted with his 
 two servants. " My beloved Scharnhorst ! " And 
 he clasped his friend in his arms as if it were some 
 longed-for mistress whom he was pressing to hia 
 bosom. 
 
 " Blucher, my dear friend, let me go, or you 
 will choke me ! " exclaimed Scharnhorst, laugh- 
 ing. " Come, let us go into the house." 
 
 " Yes, come, dearest, best friend ! " said Blu- 
 cher, and encircling Scharnhorst's neck with hia 
 arm, drew him along so hastily that, gasping for 
 breath, the latter was scarcely able to accompany 
 him. 
 
 On entering the sitting-room, Blucher himself 
 divested his friend of his fur robe, and, throwing 
 it on the floor in his haste, took off Scharnhorst's 
 cap. " I must look at you, my friend," he ex- 
 claimed. " I must see the face of my dear 
 Scharnhorst, and now that I see it, I must kiss 
 it ! To see you again does me as much good as 
 a fountain in the desert to the pilgrim dying of 
 thirst," 
 
 " Well, but now you must allow me to say a 
 word," said Scharnhorst. " And let me look at 
 yourself. Remember, it is nearly a year sines 
 I saw anything of you but your handwriting." 
 
GLAD TIDINGS. 
 
 "And that is very illegible," said Blucher, 
 jwghing. 
 
 " It is at least not as legible and intelligible as 
 your dear face," said Scharnhorst. " Here, on 
 this forehead and in these eyes, I can read quickly 
 and easily all that your excellent head thinks, and 
 your noble heart feels. And now I read there 
 that I am really welcome, and need not by any 
 means apologize for not having announced my 
 visit to you." 
 
 " Apologize ! " exclaimed Blucher. " You know 
 full well that you afford me the most heart-felt 
 joy, and that I feel as though spring were coming 
 with all its blessed promises." 
 
 " Well, let us not wish spring to come too early 
 this year. We need a good deal of ice and cold 
 weather, to build a crystal palace for Bonaparte 
 n Russia." 
 
 Blucher cast a flashing glance upon his guest. 
 Scharnhorst," he asked, breathlessly, " you have 
 come to bring me important news, have you not ? 
 Oh, pray, speak ! I am sure you have come to 
 tell me that the time has come for rising against 
 the French!" 
 
 " No ; I have simply come to see you," said 
 Scharnhorst, smiling. " And you are in truth a 
 cold-hearted friend to think any other motive was 
 required than that of friendship." 
 
 " I thought it was time for Providence to bring 
 about a change. But it was kind of you to come 
 to me merely for my sake, and, moreover, in 
 weather so cold as this, and at your age." 
 
 " At my age ! " exclaimed Scharnhorst, smiling. 
 11 Why, yes, my friend, at your age. If I am 
 not mistaken, you must be well-nigh sixty, and 
 at that time of life travelling in a season like this 
 is assuredly somewhat unpleasant, and but why 
 do you laugh ? " 
 
 " As you refer to my age, my dearest friend, I 
 suppose you will permit me to speak of yours ? " 
 " Why not? We are no marriageable ^irls on 
 the lookout for husbands." 
 
 ' Well, then, my dear General Blueher, how 
 old are you?" 
 
 " I ? I am a little over seventy." 
 
 tt And I am fifty-six, and yet you think old age 
 
 s weighing me down, while a wreath of snow- 
 drops is overhanging your brow." 
 
 " Yes, that is true," said Blucher, in confusion. 
 ' I had really forgotten my age." 
 
 " The reason is, that your heart is still young 
 and fresh," exclaimed Scharnhorst, looking at 
 him tenderly, and laying his hand on Blucher's 
 broad shoulder. "Thank God! you are still 
 young Blucher, with his fiery head and heroic 
 arm young Blucher whose eagle eye gazes into 
 the future, and who does not despair, however dis- 
 heartening the present may be." 
 
 " I am sure you have brought news," said 
 Blucher. " I can see it in your eves Heaven 
 knows whether good or bad. But you have news, 
 I know it." 
 
 " No, my young firebrand," exclaimed Scharn- 
 horst, "I bring only myself, and this self I 
 should like now above all to lay at the feet of 
 your respected wife." 
 
 "Yes, that is true," said Blucher; "in my 
 joy I almost forgot that my Amelia ought to 
 share it. Come, general, let me conduct you to 
 my wife." He took Scharnhorst's arm and con- 
 ducted him rapidly across the sitting-room toward 
 the apartments of Madame von Blucher. " Tread 
 softly ; you know what an admirer of yours my 
 wife is, and how glad she will be to see you. We 
 will, therefore, surprise her. She doubtless did 
 not notice your arrival, for her windows open 
 upon the garden. She does not yet know that 
 you are here, and how glad she will be ! Hush ! " 
 
 He glided to the door and rapped. " Amelia," 
 he said, " are you there, and may I come in ? " 
 
 44 Of course I am here," exclaimed Madame von 
 Blucher, " and you know well that I have already 
 been looking for you for two hours past. Come 
 in ! " 
 
 " I have a visitor with me ; do you allow me 
 to enter with him, Amelia '! *' 
 
 " A visitor ? " asked Madame von Blucher, 
 opening the door. " General von Scharnhorst ! " 
 she exclaimed, hastening to him and offering him 
 both her hands. " Welcome, general, and may 
 Heaven reward you for the idea of visiting an old 
 woman and her young husband in their wintry 
 
68 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 solitude. Come, general, do my room the honor 
 of entering it." She took the general's arm and 
 drew him in. 
 
 " Scharnhorst," said Blucher, " let me give you 
 some good advice. Do not make love in too un- 
 disguised a manner to my wife, for she is right in 
 saying that I am still a young man, and I may 
 become jealous ; that would be a pity ! I should 
 then have to fight a duel with my friend, and one 
 of us would have to die ; and yet we are destined 
 to deliver Prussia, and to drive that hateful man 
 Bonaparte out of Germany." 
 
 " See, madame, what a shrewd and self-willed 
 intriguer he is ! " exclaimed Scharnhorst. " He 
 avails himself of the boundless adoration I feel 
 for you to assist him in wandering into his favor- 
 ite sphere of politics. Madame, the barbarian be- 
 lieves it to be altogether impossible that I come 
 merely from motives of friendship, and insists 
 that it was politics that brought me ! " 
 
 " Yes," said Madame von Blucher, smiling, 
 " Blucher loves politics ; he has no other mis- 
 tress." 
 
 " No," said Blucher, laughing, " I know noth- 
 ing at all about politics, and believe the world 
 would be better off if there were no politicians. 
 They originate all our troubles. Those diploma- 
 tists are always sure to spoil what the sword has 
 achieved. Politics have brought all these calami- 
 ties upon Germany ; otherwise, we should long 
 since have risen against the French, instead of 
 allowing our soldiers to fight for Bonaparte in 
 Russia. I say it is absurd, and I am so angry at 
 it that it will make me consumptive. I say all 
 those diplomatists ought to be sent into the field 
 against Russia in order to study new-fangled poli- 
 tics in Siberia. I say " 
 
 u You will say nothing further about the mat- 
 ter, my friend, for there is John, who wishes to 
 tell us that dinner is ready," Madame von Blu- 
 cher interrupted her husband, who, glowing with 
 anger, and trembling with excitement, was fight- 
 mg with his arms in the air and with a terrible 
 expression of countenance. " Come, general, let 
 us go to the dining-room," said Madame von Blu- 
 cher, giving her hand to Scbarnhorst. " And 
 
 you, my valorous young husband, give me youi 
 hand, too ! " 
 
 " Wait a moment," Blucher replied. " I must 
 first give vent to my anger, or it will choke me." 
 At a bound, he rushed as a passionate boy toward 
 the sofa, and, striking it with both fists, so that 
 the dust rose from it in clouds, shouted : " Have 
 I got you at length, you horrible butcher are 
 you at length under my scourge ? Now you shall 
 find out how Pomeranians whip their enemies, 
 and what it is to treat people as shamefully as 
 you have done. I will whip you yes, until you 
 cry, Pater, peccavi I * There, take that for 
 Jena, and this blow for compelling me to capitu- 
 late at Lubeck ; and this and this for the infa- 
 mies you have perpetrated upon our beautiful 
 queen at Tilsit ! This last blow take for the Rus- 
 sian treaty to which you compelled our king to 
 accede, and now a few more yet ! If Heaven 
 does not strike you, Blucher must; you ought 
 not to be left unpunished 1 " 
 
 " Ah, well, that is enough, my friend," ex- 
 claimed Amelia, hastening to him and seizing his 
 arm, which he had already raised again. " You 
 are very capable of destroying my sofa, and you 
 believe that you have gained a campaign by tear- 
 ing my beautiful velvet in shreds." 
 
 " Well, yes, it is enough now, and I feel bet- 
 ter. Well, my friend," he said, turning to Scharn- 
 horst, who had witnessed his foolish antics with a 
 grave and mournful air, " you need not look at 
 me in so melancholy a manner. I suppose they 
 have told you, too, that old Blucher at times gets 
 crazy, and strikes at the flies on the wall, and 
 beats chairs and sofas, because, in his insanity, 
 he believes them to be Napoleon.* But it is as- 
 suredly no madness that makes me act hi thia 
 manner, as stupid fools assert, but it is simply a 
 way in which I relieve my anger, that it may not 
 break my heart. It is the same as if a man who 
 has to fight a duel should take fencing-lessons, 
 and practise with the sword, in order to hit his 
 
 * Owing to this peculiarity and the strange ebullitions 
 of rage in which he indulged from time to time, Bluchef 
 was really believed to be deranged for several years pre- 
 vious to the outbreak of the war of liberatioa 
 
GLAD TIDINGS. 
 
 69 
 
 : 
 
 adversary. But I have satisfied my anger, and 
 will again be as gentle as a lamb." 
 
 " Yes, as a lamb which reverses the order of 
 things, and, instead of allowing the wolf to devour 
 it, is quite ready to devour the wolf," said Scharn- 
 horst, laughing. 
 
 " Let us go to dinner, generals," cried Amelia ; 
 " but on one condition ! During the repast not 
 a word must be said about my hateful rival, poli- 
 tics, nor will you be permitted to sprinkle Napo- 
 leon as cayenne pepper over our dishes. Blucher 
 is too hot-blooded, and pepper does not agree with 
 :iira." 
 
 " But a glass rf champagne agrees with him 
 vben a dear friend is present," exclaimed Blucher. 
 
 Oh, John, come here ! Accompany my wife, 
 Scharnhoret; I have only to tell John whut he is 
 to fetch from the wine-cellar." 
 
 While Blucher gave his orders to John in a 
 hurried and low voice, instructing him to place a 
 ;intial battery of bottles of champagne in 
 front of the two generals, Scharnhoret preceded 
 him with Madame von Blucher to the dining- 
 room. 
 
 " Madame von Blucher," whispered Scharn- 
 horst, after satisfying himself by a quick side- 
 glance that Blucher was too far from them to 
 overhear his words, " permit me to ask a ques- 
 tion. Is your husband strong and healthy enough, 
 both physically and mentally, for me to talk to 
 him about politics ? May I communicate to him 
 some important news which I have received to- 
 day, or would I thereby excite him too much ? " 
 
 " Do you bring glad tidings ? " asked Amelia. 
 
 " I believe we may consider them so ; at all 
 events, they are encouraging/' 
 
 In that case, general, you may unhesitatingly 
 communicate them ; but, pray, do so only after din- 
 ner, and when he has somewhat recovered from the 
 excitement with which your welcome but unex- 
 ted visit has filled him. Blucher's mind is 
 fectly strong and healthy, but his body is 
 feeble, and he is still affected with a disease of 
 the stomach, which, precisely at dinner, very 
 often gives him severe pain. Pray, therefore, no 
 excitement and no politics at the dinner-table." 
 
 " So, here I am," said Bluchcr, who had fol- 
 lowed them, and now took the general's arm ; 
 "now, children, quick, for I long to take wine 
 again with my dear Scharnhorst," 
 
 Scharnhorst faithfully complied with the wishes 
 of Madame von Blucher. No allusion to politics 
 was made during the dinner, and their conversa- 
 tion was harmless, merry, and desultory. They 
 left the dining-room and took coffee in the cosy 
 sitting-room of Madame von Blucher. 
 
 " And now," said Blucher, who was sitting on 
 the sofa by the side of Suharnhorst, while his 
 wife sat in the easy-chair opposite them, " let us 
 fill our pipes, or rather smoke them, for they 
 have already been filled." 
 
 " But shall we be permitted to do so in your 
 wife's room ? " asked Scharnhorst. 
 
 " Oh, I have been accustomed to it for twenty 
 years past,*' exclaimed Amelia, laughing. " When 
 I wished to have Blucher in my room, and by my 
 side, I could not show the door to his pipe ; and 
 therefore, as a good soldier's wife, I have accus- 
 tomed myself to the odor of tobacco-smoke." 
 
 " Well," said Blucher, pointing to the two clay 
 pipes which lay on the silver tray beside the 
 burning wax-candle and the cup filled with paper- 
 kindlers, "take a match and fire the cannon; 
 luckily it makes no noise, but only smoke." 
 
 Madame von Blucher handed each of the gen- 
 tlemcn a clay pipe, and then held a burning 
 paper close to the tobacco. 
 
 " Now, the guns are ready, and the battle may 
 commence," said Blucher, puffing a cloud from 
 his pipe. 
 
 "You see, general," said Amelia, turning to 
 Scharnhorst with a significant glance, "madcap 
 Blucher cannot refrain from talking all the time 
 about battles and politics. Now, indulge him hi 
 his whim, general, and talk a little with him 
 about these topics." 
 
 " I believe it will amount to little," growled 
 Blucher. "If Scharnhorst had brought good 
 news he would not have kept me so long from 
 knowing it. No; the news is always the same; 
 I know it already 1 New bulletins favorable to 
 Napoleon nothing else ! " 
 
70 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 Scharnhorst smiled. " Why, my friend, what 
 is the reason of your sudden despondency ? Have 
 you, then, lost all your faith in the approach of 
 better times ? you who used to be more cou- 
 rageous than any of us, you who hitherto cherished 
 the firm belief in a change for the better, and 
 were to us a shining beacon of honor, hope, and 
 courage ! What shall we do, and what is to be- 
 come of us, when Blucher gets discouraged and 
 ceases to hope ? " 
 
 "Well," said Blucher, "I am not yet discour- 
 aged ; I still hope for a change for the better, 
 and know that it will surely come, for Scharn- 
 horst still lives and paves the way for more pros- 
 perous times. Yes, certainly, there will be better 
 times; Scharnhorst is secretly creating an army 
 for us, and when the army has been organized, 
 he will call me, and I shall put myself beside him 
 at the head of the troops, and we shall then march 
 against the French emperor with drums beating ; 
 we shall defeat him drive him with his routed 
 soldiers beyond the frontiers of Germany, so that 
 he never again shall dare to return to the father- 
 land. Providence has spared me so long for this 
 purpose ; I believe that I am chosen to chastise 
 the insolent Napoleon for all his crimes com- 
 mitted against Germany and Prussia. I am des- 
 tined to overthrow him, deliver my country, and 
 victoriously reestablish my dear king in all his for- 
 mer states. Napoleon must be hurled from his 
 throne, and I must assist in bringing about his 
 downfall ; and before that has been accomplished 
 I will and cannot die.* Yes, laugh at me as much 
 as you please ; I am already accustomed to that 
 when talking in this style ; but it will, neverthe- 
 less, prove true, and my prophecies will be ful- 
 filled. You may deride me, but you cannot shake 
 my firm belief in what I tell you." 
 
 " But I do not deride you," said Scharnhorst. 
 f I am glad of your reliance on Heaven, which, 
 while ah 1 were discouraged and despairing, stood 
 as a rock in the midst of the breakers. I always 
 looked to you, Blucher ; the thought of you al- 
 ways strengthened and encouraged me, and when 
 
 * Blucher's own words. Vide his biography by Varn- 
 bagen von Ense, p. 123. 
 
 I at times felt like giving way to despair, I said to 
 myself, * For shame, Scharnhorst ! take heart and 
 hope, for Blucher still lives, and so long as he 
 lives there is hope! ' " 
 
 " Henceforth," exclaimed Blucher, with radiant 
 eyes, giving his hand to his friend, " henceforth 
 no one will deny that God has made us for each 
 other. What you said about me I have repeated 
 to myself every day about you. What was my 
 consolation when Prussia, after the treaty of 
 Tilsit, was wholly prostrated and ruined? ' Scharu- 
 horst still lives ! ' What did I say to myself when 
 the cowardly ministers, in the beginning of the 
 present year, had concluded the abominable al- 
 liance with France ? ' Scharnhorst still lives ! ' 
 And when our poor regiments had to march to 
 Russia as Bonaparte's auxiliaries, I said to my- 
 self: 'Scharnhorst is still there to create a new 
 army, and God is there to give victory one day 
 to this army, which I shall command.' Oh, tell 
 me, my friend, what are your plans ? What have 
 you been able to accomplish in regard to the 
 reorganization of the army? And what about 
 the new officers' regulations which you are having 
 printed ? " 
 
 " They have already been printed, and I have 
 brought a copy for you," said Scharnhorst, draw- 
 ing a printed book from his breast-pocket, and 
 handing it to his friend. 
 
 Blucher gazed on it long with grave and mus- 
 ing eyes, read the title-page, and glanced over the 
 contents. " Scharnhorst," he then said, solemnly, 
 " this is a great and important work, and pos- 
 terity only will appreciate its whole importance, 
 and thank you deservedly for it. Our old mil- 
 itary structure was utterly rotten, and the first 
 storm, therefore, caused it to break down and fall 
 to pieces. But Scharnhorst is an architect who 
 knew how to find among the ruins material for a 
 new and solid structure, and this structure will 
 one day cause the power of Bonaparte to dis- 
 appear. This book, which entirely changes the 
 duties and relations of the officers of all arms, 
 and transforms our whole military system, is the 
 splendid plan of the building which you are about 
 to erect. By the introduction of these regula 
 
GLAD TIDING?. 
 
 tiona the antiquated system which brought upon 
 Prussia the defeats of Jena and Auerstadt, is 
 abolished ; the great simplicity of the scheme, and 
 its practical spirit, are the best antidotes against 
 the prevalence of the old-fashioned notions which 
 have proved so disastrous. You have performed 
 a great work, Scharnhorst, and Prussia must thank 
 you for it as long as she has an army." 
 
 " I may say at least that I have striven for a 
 grand object," said Scharnhorst, "and I have left 
 nothing undone in order to attain it. Many 
 changes had to be made, and many evils eradi- 
 cated, when the king, after the calamitous days 
 of Tilsit, placed me at the head of the commission 
 which was to reorganize the whole Pru>>ian 
 army. We had to work night and day, for it 
 was incumbent upon us to arrange a new system 
 of conscription, organize the levies, draw up new 
 articles of war, and complete the battalions, 
 squadrons, and batteries. It was, besides, our 
 task to give the army an honorable position, to 
 constitute the soldier the sacred guardian of the 
 noblest blessings of all nations liberty and na- 
 tionality; and to give- him a country for which he 
 was to fight. The soldier, therefore, had to be a 
 eitizen ; the army was no longer to consist of 
 hirelings, but of the sons of the country, and to 
 had to be intrusted the sacred and inevita- 
 
 e duty of learning the profession of arms, and 
 of devoting for some time their services to the 
 fatherland. The citizens had to be transformed 
 into soldiers, and the name of ' soldier ' had, as 
 it was among the Romans, to become a title of 
 honor. In order to bring this about, it was neces- 
 ary, too, that the distinction of birth, to which 
 'rnmcnt, in commissioning officers, had 
 hitherto paid so much attention, should be en- 
 tirely di Kvery recruit had to know 
 that by brav. gq industry, and intelli- 
 
 :it att:iiii the hi-hest posit; 
 t the private <cMier mi-lit l.eeume a general." 
 That is the very thing by which the aristo- 
 cratic officers of the old regime became inti-nse- 
 ly exasp ilnst your new system," said 
 
 Blucher. " I know what you had to suffer and 
 contend against, how many stumbling-blocks were 
 
 i in tit 
 
 * 
 
 ble d 
 
 MlUl 
 
 " T 
 
 cast in your way, and how they charged you with 
 being an innovator, and even a republican, trying 
 to transfer the liberty, equality, and fraternity of 
 the French sans-culottes into the Prussian army, 
 and to put general's epaulets into the knapsack 
 of the low-born recruit. But all these arrow* 
 glanced off from your dear head, which waa as 
 hard as a golden anvil, and they were unable to 
 prevent Scharnhorst from becoming the armorer 
 of German liberty!" 
 
 " But his head has received many a blow," 
 said Scharuhorst, smiling. " However, he who 
 wages war must expect to be wounded, and it was 
 a terrible war upon which I entered one against 
 prejudice and old established customs against 
 the rights and privileges of the aristocracy. God 
 was with me, and gave me strength to complete 
 my work ; He gave me, in Blucher, a friend who 
 never refused me his advice, and to whose sagacity 
 and courage I am indebted for one-half of what I 
 have achieved. Without your aid I woxild often 
 have given way ; but it strengthened me to think 
 of you, and your applause was a reward for my 
 labors. May we soon be enabled to carry into 
 effect the new organization of the army ! " 
 
 " My friend," said Blucher, shaking his head, 
 " God has forgotten us, I fear, and averted His eyes 
 from Prussia and the whole of Germany. Napo- 
 leon is an instrument in His hands, just as the 
 knout is an instrument of justice in the hand of 
 the Russian executioner. And it seems as though 
 the nations deserved much punishment, for He 
 still holds hi? instrument firmly in His hands. But 
 patience ! there will be a time when He will cast 
 it aside, and when we shall arise from our proi- 
 tration to take revenge upon our scourge." 
 
 "Who knows whether this new era will not 
 dawn at an earlier moment than we hope and 
 look for?" said Scharnhorst, smiling. 
 
 Blucher started, and cast a quick glance on life 
 guest. " Schamhorst," he said, hastily, " you 
 have brought news, after all. I felt it as soon as 
 I suw you, and it is no use for you to deny it any 
 longer. You know, and want to tell me some- 
 thing. Well, speak out! I am prepared for every 
 thing? What is it? Has Napoleon gained an 
 
NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 other victory ? Has he transported the Emperor 
 Alexander to Siberia, and put the Russian crown 
 on his head at the Kremlin? Have the Russian 
 people prostrated themselves before him, and, 
 like other nations, recognized him as their sov- 
 ereign and emperor ? You see, I am prepared 
 for every thing ; for I insist upon it, how high 
 soever he may build his throne, he must at last 
 descend, and it will be I who will bring him down. 
 Now, speak out ! Has he again obtained a great 
 victory ? " 
 
 " No, general," Slid Scharnhorst, solemnly, 
 " God has obtained a victory ! " 
 
 Blucher raised his head, and laid his clay pipe 
 slowly on the table. " What do you mean, gen- 
 eral ? " he asked. " What do you mean by say- 
 ing, ' God has obtained a victory ? ' " 
 
 " I mean to say that He has sent into the field 
 troops whom even Napoleon is unable to defeat." 
 
 " What troops do you refer to ? " 
 
 "I refer to the cold, the snow, the ice, the 
 howling storm blowing from Siberia, like the 
 angry voice of Heaven, striking down men and 
 beasts alike." 
 
 " And these troops of God have defeated Na- 
 |K)leon ? " 
 
 " They have, general ! " 
 
 Blucher uttered a cry, and, jumping up from his 
 chair, drew himself up to his full height. " The 
 troops of God have defeated Napoleon ! " he ex- 
 claimed, solemnly. "I have always believed in 
 divine justice slow sometimes, but sure. Tell 
 me every thing, my friend, tell me every thing," 
 he added, sinking back into the chair, quite over- 
 whelmed by what he had heard. " Commence at 
 the beginning, for I feel that my joy renders this 
 old head confused, and I must gradually accus- 
 tom myself to it. Tell me the whole history of 
 the Russian campaign, for it is the preface I 
 ought to read in order to be able to understand 
 the book. And, then, in conclusion, tell me what 
 the good Lord has done, and whether He will now 
 smploy His old Blucher. I feel as though an 
 altar-taper had been suddenly lighted in my heart, 
 and as though an organ were playing in my head. 
 I must collect my thoughts. Speak, Scharnhorst, 
 
 for you see this surprising news may make me 
 insane." He pressed his hands against his temples 
 and drew a deep breath. 
 
 His wife hastened to him, and with her soft 
 hand caressed his face, and looked with anxious 
 and tender glances into his wild eyes. " Be calm, 
 Blucher," she said. "Calm your great, heroic 
 heart, else you shall and must not hear any thing 
 further. General Scharnhorst, I am sure you 
 will not tell him anything as long as he is so 
 agitated." 
 
 " I will be calm," said Blucher. " You see 
 that I am so already, and that I sit here as still 
 as a lamb. Scharnhorst, tell me, therefore, everv 
 thing. I am all attention." 
 
 " And while listening to him, take again your 
 old friend, which has so often comforted you in 
 your afflictions put your pipe again into your 
 mouth," said Amelia, handing it to him. 
 
 But Blucher refused it, almost indignantly. 
 "No," he said, ' : one does not smoke at church, 
 nor when the Lord speaks, and Schamhorst ia 
 about to tell me that the Lord has spoken. While 
 listening to such words, the heart must be devout, 
 and the lips may bless or pray, but they must not 
 hold a pipe. And now speak, Scharnhorst ; I am 
 quite calm and prepared for good and bad news " 
 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE OATH. 
 
 " SPEAK," said Blucher, once more. " I am 
 prepared for every thing. Tell me about Bona- 
 parte in Russia." 
 
 "You know how victoriously and irresistibly 
 Napoleon penetrated with the various columns of 
 his army into the interior of Russia," said Scharn- 
 horst. "Nothing seemed to have been able to 
 withstand him nothing powerful enough to arrest 
 his triumphant progress. The Russian generals, 
 as if panic-stricken, retreated farther and farther 
 the deeper Napoleon advanced into the heart of 
 the empire. Neither Kutusoff, nor Wittgenstein. 
 
THE OATH. 
 
 73 
 
 nor Barclay, dared risk the fate of Russia in a 
 decisive battle ; even the Era peror Alexander pre- 
 ferred to leave the army and retire to MO.-JOU to 
 wait for the arrival of fresh reinforcements, and 
 render new resources available. Napoleon, in the 
 mean time, advanced still farther, constantly in 
 search of the enemy, whom he was unable to find 
 anywhere, and everywhere meeting another ene- 
 my whom he was nowhere able to avoid or con- 
 quer. This latter was the Russian climate. The 
 scorching heat, the drenching rains, bred diseases 
 which made more havoc in the ranks of the 
 French than the swords of living enemies would 
 have been able to do. At the same time supplies 
 were wanting, so that the immense host received 
 but scanty and insufficient rations. The soldiers 
 suffered the greatest privations, and the Russian 
 people, incited by their czar and their priests to 
 intense hatred and fanatical fury, escaped with 
 their personal property and their provisions from 
 the villages and the small towns rather than wel- 
 come the enemy and open to him their houses in 
 compulsory hospitality. The French army, re- 
 duced by sickness, privations, and hunger, to 
 y one-half of its original strength, neverthe- 
 continued advancing ; it forced an entrance 
 into Smolensk after a bloody struggle ; after tak- 
 ing a short rest in the ruined, burning, and en- 
 tirely deserted city, it marched upon Moscow. In 
 front of tlii.s ancient capital of the czars it met at 
 on the 7th of September the living enemy 
 
 had so long sought. Bagration, Kiitusoff, and 
 Barclay, occupied with their army positions in 
 front of it in order to prevent the approaching 
 foe from entering holy Moscow. Y6u know the 
 particulars of the bloo'iy battle on the Moskwa. 
 ins and the French foughl on this 7th 
 .IMT for eleven long hours with the most 
 ....-ration, with truly fanatical fury; 
 whole ranks were mowed down like corn under 
 
 e harvester's scythe ; their generals and chief- 
 themaelves were struck down in the unpar- 
 _ r le ; more than seventy thousand 
 
 killed and wounded covered the battle-field, and 
 yet there were no d i!ts. The 1: 
 
 had only been forced back, but not defeated and 
 
 aucec 
 
 r 
 
 iiuni ( 
 
 :,,, 
 
 it bad 
 
 part 
 
 1 
 
 who 
 the I 
 
 uiu- 
 
 routed in such a manner as to stand in need of 
 peace, in order to recover from the terrible con- 
 sequences of the struggle. To be sure, Napoleon 
 held the battle-field, and, on the 14th of Septem- 
 ber, made his entry into Moscow, but no messen- 
 gers came to him from Alexander to sue for 
 peace ; no submissive envoys to meet him, as he 
 had been accustomed to see in other conquered 
 cities, and surrender him the keys ; the streets 
 were deserted, and no excited crowd appeared 
 either there or at the windows of the houses to 
 witness his entry. The city, whence the inhabit- 
 ants and authorities had fled, was a vast gaping 
 grave." 
 
 " But the grave soon gave signs of animation," 
 exclaimed Blucher, excitedly ; " the desert was 
 transformed into a sea of fire, and the burning 
 city gave a horrible welcome to the French. The 
 governor of Moscow, Count Rostopchin, intended 
 to greet the entering conqueror with an illumina- 
 tion, and, as he had no torches handy, he set fire 
 to the houses. He removed the stores and sup- 
 plies, compelled the inhabitants to leave, had the 
 fire-engines concealed, ordered inflammable oils 
 and rosin to be placed everywhere in order to in- 
 tensify the fury of the conflagration, and then re- 
 leased the convicts that they might set fire to the 
 city. The first house kindled was Rostopchin's 
 own magnificent palace, close to the gates of 
 Moscow. Well, it is true, Rostopchin acted like 
 a barbarian ; but still the man's character seems 
 grand, and his ferocity that of the lion shaking 
 his mane, and rushing with a roar upon bis ad- 
 versary. To be sure, it was no great military ex- 
 ploit to burn down a large city, but still it was a 
 splendid stratagem, and, in a struggle with a hate- 
 ful and infamous enemy, all ways and means are 
 gpermitted and justifiable. I do not merely ex- 
 cuse Rostopchin, but I admire his tremendous 
 energy, and believe, if I were a Russian, I would 
 have done something of the sort. His 
 act compelled the enemy soon to leave, as he 
 not establish his winter-quarters amid 
 ruins, and to retreat instead of advan- 
 cing, and obliged the Emperor Alexander to cease 
 his vacillating course inasmuch as, after the 
 
74 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 conflagration, further attempts at bringing about 
 a compromise and reconciliation between the bel- 
 ligerents were entirely out of the question." 
 
 "No, general, Rostopchin did not bring this 
 about," exclaimed Scharnhorst, " but it was our 
 great friend Stein who did it. God Himself sent 
 Minister von Stein to Russia, that he might stand 
 as an immovable rock by the side of the mild and 
 fickle Alexander, and that his fiery soul might 
 strengthen the fluctuating resolutions of the czar, 
 and inspire him with true faith in, and reliance 
 on, the great cause of the freedom of the Euro- 
 pean nations, which was now to be decided upon 
 the snowy fields of Russia. We owe it to Stein 
 alone that the peace party at the Russian head- 
 quarters did not gain the emperor over to their 
 side ; we owe it to Stein that Alexander deter- 
 mined to pursue a manly, energetic course ; that 
 he refused to allow the diplomatists to interfere, 
 but left the decision to the sword alone, and con- 
 stantly and proudly rejected all the offers of peace 
 which Napoleon now began to make to him. 
 And Stein found a new ally in the climate uniting 
 with him in his inexorable hostility to the French. 
 Napoleon felt that he ought not to await the ap- 
 proach of winter at Moscow, and on the 18th of 
 October he left the inhospitable city with the 
 remnants of his army. But winter dogged his 
 steps ; winter attached itself as a heavy burden 
 to the feet of his soldiers ; it laid itself like lead 
 on their paralyzed brain, and caused the horses, 
 guns, and caissons, to stick fast in the snow and 
 ice. Winter dissolved the French army. Men 
 and beasts perished by cold ; discipline and sub- 
 ordination were entirely disregarded; every one 
 thought only of preserving his own life, of ap- 
 peasing his hunger, and relieving his distress. 
 Piles of corpses and dead horses marked the 
 route of this terrible retreat of the French ; and 
 when, on the 9th of November, they entered 
 Smolensk, the whole grand army consisted only 
 of forty thousand armed men, and crowds of 
 stragglers destitute of arms and without disci- 
 pline." 
 
 " And still this cruel tyrant and heartless brag- 
 gart, the great Napoleon, dared to boast of his 
 
 victories, and the splendid condition of his aimy," 
 exclaimed Blucher, angrily. " And he sent con- 
 stantly new bulletins of pretended victories into 
 the world, and the stupid Germans believed them 
 to be true, the supposed successes causing them 
 to tremble. I have read these lying bulletins, 
 and the perusal made me ill. They dwelt on 
 nothing but the victories, the glorious conduct, 
 and the fine condition of the grand army." 
 
 u But now you shall read a new one, friend 
 Blucher," exclaimed Scharnhorst; "here is the 
 twenty-ninth bulletin, and I will communicate to 
 you also the latest news from the grand army 
 and the great Napoleon, which couriers from Ber- 
 lin and Dresden brought me last night, and which 
 induced me to set out so early to-day in order to 
 reach my Blucher, and tell him of a new era. 
 Here is the twenty-ninth bulletin, and in it Na- 
 poleon dares no longer boast of victories ; he al- 
 most dares tell the truth." 
 
 " Let me read it ! " exclaimed Blucher, impa- 
 tiently seizing the printed sheet which Scharn- 
 horst handed to him. Gasping with inward emo- 
 tion, he began to read it, but his hands soon 
 trembled, and the letters swam before his eyes. 
 
 " I cannot read it through," said Blucher, sigh 
 ing. " There is a storm raging in my heart, and 
 it blows out the light of my eyes. Read the re- 
 mainder to me, my friend. I have read it to the 
 engagement on the Beresina, where Napoleon 
 says that General Victor gained another victory 
 on the 28th of November." 
 
 "But this victory consisted only in the fact 
 that General Victor, with his twelve thousand 
 men, prevented the Russians from reaching the 
 banks of the Beresina, so that two bridges could 
 be built across it, and that the ragged wretches 
 composing the grand army could reach the oppo- 
 site side of the river. That passage of the Bere- 
 sina v\as a terrible moment, which will never be 
 forgotten by history a tragedy full of horrors, 
 wretchedness, and despair. Stein's agents have 
 sent me Russian reports of this event, which con- 
 tain the most heart-rending and revolting details. 
 Books will be written to depict the dreadful 
 scenes of that day; but neither historians, noi 
 
THE OATH 
 
 75 
 
 painters, nor poets, will find words or colors to 
 portray those unparalleled horrors." 
 
 " And does he describe those scenes in his bul- 
 letin ? " asked Blucher. " Head me its conclu- 
 sion. Does he allude to those horrors of the 
 Beresina ? " 
 
 "No, general- he speaks only of the victory 
 and the passage across the river, and then con- 
 tinues : * On the following day, the 29th of No- 
 vember, we remained on the battle-field. We had 
 to choose between two routes : the road of Minsk, 
 and that of Wilna. The road of Minsk passes 
 through the middle of a forest and uncultivated 
 morasses ; that of Wilna, on the contrary, passes 
 through a very fine part of the country. The 
 army, destitute of cavalry, but poorly provided 
 with ammunition, and terribly exhausted by the 
 fatigues of a fifty days' march, took with it its 
 sick and wounded, and was anxious to reach its 
 magazines.' " 
 
 " That is to say," exclaimed Blucher, " they 
 died of hunger, and, as he says that they were 
 terribly exhausted by a fifty days' march, dropped 
 like flies. Oh, it is true, the Emperor Napoleon 
 is very laconic in his account of that retreat, but 
 he who knows how to penetrate the meaning of 
 his few lines cannot fail to receive a deep impres- 
 sion of the wretchedness that unfortunate army 
 had to undergo. Read on, dear Scharnhorst." 
 
 Scharnhorst continued : '"If it must be admitted 
 it is necessary for the army to reestablish 
 discipline, to recover from its long fatigues, 
 to remount its cavalry, artillery, and materiel, 
 it is only the natural result of the events which 
 we have just described. Repose is now, above all, 
 indispensable to the army. The trains and horses 
 are already arriving; the artillery has repaired its 
 losses, but the generals, officers, and soldiers, have 
 suffered intensely by the fatigues and privations 
 of the march. Owing to the loss of their horses, 
 many have lost their baggage ; others have been 
 deprived of it by Cossacks lying in ambush. 
 They have captured a great many individuals, 
 uch as engineers, geographers, and wounded 
 officers, who marched without the necessary pre- 
 ons, and exposed themselves to the danger 
 
 i* 
 
 ;r, 
 
 of being taken prisoners rather than quietly 
 march m the midst of the convoys.' " 
 
 "And the Cossacks have spared him!" ex- 
 claimed Blucher, impatiently. " They did not 
 take him prisoner ! What is he doing, then, that 
 the Cossacks cannot catch him ? Tell me, Scharn- 
 horst the bulletin, then, does not, like its pred- 
 ecessors, dwell on the heroic exploits of the great 
 emperor ? He does not praise himself as he for- 
 merly used to do ? " 
 
 " Oh, he does not fail to do so. Listen to the 
 conclusion : ' During all these operations the em- 
 peror marched constontly in the midst of his 
 guard, the marshal Duke d'Istria commanding 
 the cavalry, and the Duke de Dantzic the infan- 
 try. His majesty was content with the excellent 
 spirit manifested by the guard, always ready to 
 march to points where the situation was such 
 that its mere presence sufficed to check the ene- 
 my. Our cavalry lost so heavily, that it was dif- 
 ficult to collect officers enough, who were still 
 possessed of horses, to form four companies, each 
 of one hundred and fifty men. In these com- 
 panies, generals performed the services of cap- 
 tains, and colonels those of non-commissioned of- 
 ficers. The " Sacred Legion," commanded by the 
 King of Naples and General Grouchy, never lost 
 sight of the emperor during all these operations. 
 The health of his majesty never was better.' " * 
 
 " And he dares to proclaim that ! " exclaimed 
 Blucher, indignantly. "His army is dying of 
 hunger and cold, and he proclaims to the world, 
 as if in mockery, that his health never was bet- 
 ter ! It is his fault that hundreds of thousands 
 are perishing in the most heart-rending manner, 
 and he boasts of his extraordinary good health ! 
 He must have a stone in his breast instead of a 
 heart; otherwise, a general whose army is per- 
 ishing under his eyes cannot be in extrao-^inary 
 good health. He will be punished for it, and will 
 not always feel so well." 
 
 " He has already been punished, my friend," 
 said Scharnhorst, solemnly. "It has pleased 
 God to chastise the arrogant tyrant and to bovr 
 his proud head to the dust." 
 
 * FlH, u Manuscrit de 1812.' 
 
76 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 Blucher jumped up, and a deep pallor over- 
 spread his cheeks. " He has been punished ? " 
 he asked, breathlessly. " Napoleon in the dust ! 
 What is it ? Speak quickly, Scharnhorst ; speak, 
 if you do not want me to die ! What has hap- 
 pened ? " 
 
 " He has left his army, and secretly Jed from 
 Russia ! " 
 
 Blucher uttered a cry, and, without a word, 
 rushed toward the door. Scharnhorst and Amelia 
 hastened after him and kept him back. 
 
 "What do you wish to do?" asked Scharn- 
 horst. 
 
 " I wish to pursue him ! " exclaimed Blucher, 
 vainly trying to disengage himself from the hands 
 of his wife and the general. " Let me go do not 
 detain me ! I must pursue him I must take him 
 prisoner ! If he has fled from his army, he must 
 return to France, and if he wants to return to 
 France, he must pass through Germany. Let me 
 go 1 He must not be permitted to escape from 
 Germany ! " 
 
 "But he has already escaped," said Scharn- 
 borst, smiling. 
 
 " What ! Passed through Germany ? " asked 
 Blucher. " And no one has tried to arrest him ? " 
 
 " No one knew that he was there. He left his 
 army on the 6th of December ; attended only by 
 Caulaincourt and his Mameluke Roustan, recog- 
 nized by no one, expected by no one, he sped in 
 fabulous haste in an unpretending sleigh through 
 the whole of Poland and Prussia. Only after he 
 set out was it known at the places where he 
 stopped that he had been there. He travelled as 
 swiftly as the storm. On the 6th of December he 
 was at Wilna, on the 10th of December at War- 
 saw, aud in the night of the 14th of December 
 suddenly a plain sleigh stopped in front of the 
 residence of M. Serra, French ambassador at Dres- 
 den : two footmen were seated on the box, and 
 in the sleigh itself there were two gentlemen, 
 wrapped in furred robes, and so much benumbed 
 by the cold that they had to be lifted out. These 
 two gentlemen were the Emperor Napolecn and 
 Caulaincourt. Napoleon had an interview with 
 the King of Saxony the same night, and, con- 
 
 tinuing his journey, reached Erfurt cc the 1 5th, 
 and" 
 
 " And to-day is already the 17th of December,' : 
 said Blucher, sighing; "he will, therefore, be 
 beyond the Rhine. And I must allow him to 
 escape ! I am unable to detain him ! Oh, that 
 the little satisfaction had been granted me of cap- 
 turing Napoleon ! Well, it has been decreed that 
 this should not be ; but one thing at least is 
 settled. Napoleon has been deserted by his for- 
 mer good luck ; Dame Fortune, who always was 
 seated in his triumphal car, has alighted from it, 
 and now we may hope to see her soon restored to 
 her old place on the top of the Brandenburg gate 
 at Berlin. Hurrah, my friend ! we are going to 
 rise ; I feel it in my bones, and the time has come 
 when old Blucher will again be permitted to be a 
 man, and will no longer be required to draw his 
 nightcap over his ears." 
 
 " Yes, the time has come when Prussia needs 
 her valiant Blucher," said Scharnhorst, tenderly 
 laying his arm on Blucher's. " Now raise your 
 head, general now prepare for action, for Blucher 
 must henceforth be ready at a moment's notice to 
 obey the call of Prussia, and place himself at th.j 
 head of her brave sons, who are so eager for th 
 fray." 
 
 " Yes, yes, we shall have war now," exclaim 
 Blucher. " Soon the drums will roll, and the 
 cannon boom soon Blucher will no longer be a 
 childish and decrepit old man whom wiseacres 
 think they can mock and laugh at soon Blucher 
 will once more be a man who, sword in hand, 
 will shout to his troops, ' Forward ! charge the 
 enemy ! ' Great Heaven, Scharnhorst, and I have 
 not even dressed becomingly I still wear a miser, 
 able civilian's coat ! Suppose war should break 
 out to-day, and they should come and call me to 
 the army ? Why, Blucher would have to hang 
 his head in shame, and acknowledge that he was 
 not ready ! John ! John ! my uniform ! Com. 
 to my bedroom, John ! I want to dress ! to pu* 
 on my uniform ! " 
 
 Fifteen minutes afterward Blucher returned tc 
 the sitting-room, where his wife was gayly chat 
 ting with Scharnhorst. He was not now the sick. 
 
 

 
 t 
 
 I swear to 3011, Q,ueen Louisa, that I will not shea i hi- Ibis sword before I have avenged your cleail. " 
 
 p. 77. 
 
THE OATH. 
 
 77 
 
 suffering old man whom we saw this morning 
 pitting on the easy-chair at the window, but he 
 was once more a fiery soldier and i hero. His 
 head was proudly erect, his eyes were flashing, a 
 proud smile was playing round his lips ; his 
 broad-shouldered form was clothed in the uniform 
 of a Prussian general ; orders were glittering on 
 his breast, and the long rattling sword hung at 
 his left side. 
 
 Bluchor approached his wife and General 
 Scharnhorst with dignified steps, and, giving his 
 hands to both, said in a grave and solemn voice, 
 " The time for delay, impatience, and folly, is 
 past. With this uniform I have become a new 
 man. I am no longer an impatient septuagena- 
 rian, cursing and killing flies on the wall because 
 he has no one else on whom to vent his wrath ; but 
 I am a soldier standing composedly at his post, 
 and waiting for the hour when he will be able to 
 destroy his enemy. Come, my friends, come 
 with me!" 
 
 He drew the two with him, and walked so 
 rapidly through the rooms that they were scarcely 
 able to accompany him. They entered the large 
 reception-room, opened only on festive occasions. 
 It contained nothing but some tinselled furniture, 
 
 few tables with marble tops, and on the pil- 
 irs between the windows large Venetian mir- 
 rors. Otherwise the walls were bare, except over 
 the sofa, where hung, in a finely-carved and gilded 
 frame, a painting, which however was covered 
 with a large veil of black crape. 
 
 Blucher conducted the two to this painting ; 
 for a moment he stood still and gazed on it grave- 
 ly and musingly, and, raising hi^ right hand with 
 a quick jerk, he tore down the mourning-veil. 
 
 "Queen Louisa!" exclaimed Scharnhorst, ad- 
 miring tht- t;ill and beautiful la ly ?miling on him. 
 
 " Yes," said Blucher, solemnly, " Queen Lou- 
 isa ! The guardian angel of Prussia^ whose heart 
 Napoleon broke ! This pride and joy of all our 
 women had to depart without hoping even in the 
 possibility that the calamities which ruined her 
 might come to an end. On the day she died I 
 covered her portrait with this veil, and swore not 
 to look again at her adored countenance until 
 able to draw my sword, and, with Prussia's sol- 
 diers, avenge her untimely death. The time has 
 come ! Louisa, rise again from your grave, open 
 once more your beautiful eyes, for daylight is at 
 hand, and our night is ended. Now, my beauti- 
 ful queen, listen to the oath of your most faithful 
 servant ! " He drew his sword, and, raising it up 
 to the painting, exclaimed : " Here is my sword ! 
 When I sheathed it last, I wept, for I was to be 
 an invalid, and should no longer wield it ; I was 
 to sit here in idleness, and silently witness the 
 sufferings of my fatherland. But now I shall 
 soon be called into service, and I swear to you, 
 Queen Louisa, that I will not sheathe this sword 
 before I have avenged your death, before Ger- 
 many and Prussia are free again, and Napoleon 
 has received his punishment. I swear it to you, 
 as sure as I am old Blucher, and have seen the 
 tears which Prussia's disgrace has often wrung 
 from your eyes. May God help me ! may He in 
 His mercy spare me until I have fulfilled my oath ! 
 Amen ! " 
 
 " Amen ! " repeated Scharnhorst and Amelia, 
 looking up to the portrait. 
 
 " Amen ! " said Blucher again. " And now, 
 Amelia," he added, quickly, "come and give me 
 a kiss, and, by this kiss, consecrate your warrior, 
 that he may deliver Germany and overthrow Nap 
 poleon. For Napoleon must now be hurled from 
 the throne 1 " 
 
CHANCELLOR VON HARDENBERG. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE INTERRUPTED SUPPER. 
 
 IT was on the 4th of January, 1813. The bril- 
 liant official festivities with which the beginning 
 of a new year had been celebrated, were at an 
 end, and, the ceremonious dinner-parties being 
 over, one was again at liberty to indulge in the 
 enjoyment of familiar suppers, where more atten- 
 tion was paid to the flavor of choice wines and 
 delicacies than to official toasts and political 
 speeches. Marshal Augereau gave at Berlin on 
 this day one of those pleasant little entertain- 
 ments to his favored friends, to indemnify them, 
 as it were, for the great gala dinner of a hundred 
 covers, given by him on the 1st of January, as 
 official representative of the Emperor Napoleon. 
 
 To-day the supper was served in the small, cozy 
 saloon, and it was but a petit comite that assembled 
 round the table in the middle of the room. This 
 comii6 consisted only of five gentlemen, with 
 pleasant, smiling faces, in gorgeous, profusely- 
 embroidered uniforms, on the left sides of which 
 many glittering orders indicated the high rank of 
 the small company. There was, in the first place, 
 Marshal Augereau, governor of Berlin, once so 
 furious a republican that he threatened with death 
 all the members of his division who would ad- 
 dress any one with " monsieur," or " madame " 
 now the most ardent imperialist, and an admirer 
 of the Emperor Napoleon, The gentleman by 
 his side, with the short, corpulent figure and 
 aristocratic countenance, from which a smile 
 
 never disappeared, was the chancellor of state 
 and prime minister of King Frederick William III., 
 Baron von Hardenberg. He was just engaged 
 in an eager conversation with his neighbor, 
 Count Narbonne, the faithless renegade and 
 former adherent of the Bourbons, who had but 
 lately deserted to Napoleon's camp, and allowed 
 himself to be used by the emperor on various dip- 
 lomatic missions. Next to him sat Prince Hatz- 
 feld, the man on whom, in 1807, Napoleon's an- 
 ger had fallen, and who would have been shot as 
 a " traitor " if the impassioned intercession of his 
 wife had not succeeded in softening the emperor, 
 and thus saving her husband's life. Near him, 
 and closing the circle, sat Count St. Marsan, Na- 
 poleon's ambassador at the court of Prussia. 
 
 These five gentlemen had already been at the 
 table for several hours, and were now in that 
 comfortable and agreeable mood which epicures 
 feel when they have found the numerous courses 
 palatable and piquant, the Hock sufficiently cold, 
 the Burgundy sufficiently warm, the oysters fresh, 
 and the truffles well-flavored. They had got as 
 far as the roast ; the pheasants, with their deli- 
 cate sauce, filled the room with an appetizing 
 odor, and the corks of the champagne-bottles 
 gave loud reports, as if by way of salute fired in 
 honor of the triumphant entry of Pleasure. 
 
 Marshal Augereau raised his glass. " I drink 
 this in honor of our emperor ! " he exclaimed, in 
 an enthusiastic tone. The gentlemen touched 
 each other's glasses, and the three representatives 
 of France then emptied theirs at one draught 
 
TIIE INTERRUPTED SUPPER. 
 
 79 
 
 Prince Hatzfeld followed their example, but Baron 
 von Uardenberg only touched the brim of his 
 glass with his lips, and put it down again. 
 
 " Your excellency does not drink ? " asked 
 Augereau. " Then you are not in earnest ? " 
 
 "Yes, marshal, I am in earnest," said Harden- 
 berg, smiling, " but you used a word which pre- 
 vented me from emptying my glass. You said, 
 1 In honor of our emperor ! ' Now, I am the de- 
 voted and, I may well say, faithful servant of ray 
 master, King Frederick William, and therefore I 
 cannot call the great Napoleon my emperor." 
 
 " Oh, I used a wrong expression," exclaimed 
 Augereau, hastily. " Let us fill our glasses anew, 
 and drink this time ' the health of the great em- 
 peror Napoleon ! ' " He touched glasses with the 
 chancellor of state, and then fixed his keen eyes 
 upon the minister. 
 
 Baron von Hardenberg raised the glass to his 
 lips, but then withdrew it again, and, bowing 
 smilingly to Marshal Augereau, said : " Permit 
 me, marshal, to add something to your toast. 
 Let us drink ' the health of the great emperor, 
 and a long and prosperous alliance with Prus- 
 
 t 
 
 
 
 'And a long and prosperous alliance with 
 ssia,' " repeated the four gentlemen, emptying 
 their glasses, and resuming their chairs. 
 
 "We have just drunk to the success of our 
 divulged secret," said Prince Hatzfeld, smiling. 
 " For I suppose, your excellency," turning, to 
 Baron von HarJenberg, " this new happy alliance 
 between Prussia and France is now not much of 
 a secret ? " 
 
 "I hope it will soon be no secret at all," said 
 Hardenberg. "Prussia has received the propo- 
 sition of France with heart-felt joy, and will hail 
 the marriage of her crown prince Frederick Wil- 
 liam as the happiest guaranty of an indissoluble 
 union. Only the crown prince is too young as 
 yet to marry, and at the present time, at . 
 allusions to the happiness of his future should be 
 avoided. His thoughts should belong only to God 
 and religion, for you know, gentlemen, that the 
 crown prince will be solemnly confirmed in the 
 course of a few days. Only after he has pledged 
 
 his soul to God will it be time for him to pledge 
 his heart to love; only then communications will 
 be made to him as to the brilliant future that is 
 opening for him, and, no doubt, he will, like the 
 king, be ready to bind even more firmly the lies 
 uniting Prussia with France. He will be proud 
 to receive for a consort a princess of the house 
 of Napoleon, for such a marriage will render him 
 a relative of the greatest prince of his century ! " 
 
 " Of a prince whom Heaven loves above all 
 others, as it lavishes upon him greater prosperity 
 than upon others," exclaimed Prince Hatzfield, 
 emphatically. " God's love is visibly with him, 
 and protects His favorite. Who but he would 
 have been able to overcome the terrible dangers 
 of the Russian campaign, and, with an eagle's 
 flight, return to France from the snowy deserts 
 of Russia, without losing a single plume of his 
 wings ? " 
 
 "It is true," responded Augereau, thoughtfully. 
 " Fortune, or, if you prefer, Providence, is with 
 the emperor ; it protects him in all dangers, and 
 allows him to issue victoriously from all storms. 
 In Russia he was in danger of ruining his glory 
 and his army, but the battle of Borodino, and 
 still more that on the banks of the Beresina, 
 saved his laurels. The emperor travelled deserted 
 roads, without an escort or protection, through 
 Poland and Germany, in order to return to France. 
 If he had been recognized, perhaps it might have 
 entered the heads of some enthusiasts to attack 
 and capture him on his solitary journey ; but the 
 eyes of his enemies seemed to have been blinded. 
 The emperor was not recognized, and appeared 
 suddenly in Paris, where the greatest excitement, 
 consternation, and confusion, were prevailing at 
 that moment. For Paris had just then been pro- 
 foundly moved by the deplorable conspiracy of 
 General Mallet, and the Parisians were asking 
 e;uh other in dismay whether General Ma lief, 
 mhht not have been right after all in announcing 
 that Napoleon was dead, and whether his death 
 was not kept a secret merely from motives of 
 policy. Suddenly Napoleon appeared hi the 
 streets of Paris. All rushed out to behold the 
 emperor, or touch his horse, body, hands, or feet, 
 
80 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 to look into his eyes, to hear his voice, and satisfy 
 themselves that it was really Napoleon not an 
 apparition. Their cheers rang, and, in their hap- 
 piness at seeing him again hi their midst, they 
 pardoned him for having left their sons and 
 brothers, fathers and husbands, as frozen corpses 
 on the plains of Russia. Never before had Napo- 
 leon enjoyed a greater triumph as on the day of 
 his return from the Russian campaign. Fortune 
 is the goddess chained to the emperor's triumphal 
 car, and the nations therefore would act very 
 foolishly if they dared rise against him." 
 
 " Happily, they have given up all such schemes," 
 said Hardenberg, smiling, and quietly cutting the 
 pheasant's wing on his silver plate. " They are 
 asking and longing only for peace in order to 
 dress their wounds, cultivate their fields, and 
 peaceably reap the harvest." 
 
 " And the word of the Emperor Napoleon is a 
 pledge to nations that they shall be enabled to do 
 so," exclaimed St. Marson. "He wants peace, 
 and is ready to make every sacrifice to conclude 
 and maintain it." 
 
 " The German princes, of course, will joyously 
 offer him their hands for that purpose," said 
 Hardenberg, bowing his bead. " In truth, I could 
 not say at what point of Germany war could 
 break out at this juncture. The princes of the 
 German Confederation of the Rhine have long 
 since acknowledged the Emperor of the French 
 as their master, and themselves as his obedient 
 vassals. Powerful Austria has allied herself with 
 France bv the ties of a marriage, and the hands 
 of Maria Louisa and Napoleon are stretched out 
 in blessii g over the two countries. Poor Prussia 
 has not only proved her fidelity as an ally of 
 France, but is now, forgetful of all her former 
 humiliations, ready to consent to a marriage 
 of her future king with a Napoleonic princess. 
 Whence, then, could come a cause for a new war 
 between France and Germany ? We shall have 
 peace, doubtless a long and durable peace ! " 
 
 " And that will be very fortunate," said Count 
 Narbonne, " for then it will no longer be neces- 
 sary for us to allow miserable politics to poison 
 our suppers. ' Politics,' said my great royal pa- 
 
 tron, King Louis XVI., the worthy uncle of the 
 Emperor Napoleon, 'politics know nothing of 
 the culinary art ; they spoil all dishes, and care, 
 therefore, ought to be taken not to allow them to 
 enter the kitchen or the dining-room. One must 
 not admit them even directly after eating, for they 
 interfere with digestion; only during the morn- 
 ing hours should audiences be given to them, for 
 then they may serve as Spanish pepper, imparting 
 a flavor to one's breakfast.' That was a very saga- 
 cious remark ; I feel it at this moment when you 
 so cruelly sprinkle politics over this splendid 
 pheasant." 
 
 " You are right," exclaimed Hardenberg, laugh- 
 ing, "I therefore beg your excellency's pardon ; 
 for Spanish pepper, which is very palatable in 
 Cumberland sauce, and a few other dishes, is 
 surely entirely out of place when mixed with 
 French truffles." 
 
 " Unhappy man," exclaimed Narbonne, with 
 ludicrous pathos, "you are again talking politics, 
 and moreover of the worst sort ! " 
 
 " How so ? " asked Count St. Marson. " What 
 displeases you in the remarks of Minister voi 
 Hardenberg ? " 
 
 " Well, did you not notice that his e^cellenc) 
 alluded to our unsuccessful efforts in Spain- 
 Spanish pepper, he said, is surely entirely out o/ 
 place when mixed with French truffles, but ver; 
 palatable in English sauces. That is to say \ 
 Spaui and England are good allies, and Spain an& 
 France will never be reconciled. And it is true, 
 it is a mortal war which Spain is waging against 
 us, and unfortunately one which offers us but few 
 chances of success. The Spaniards contest every 
 inch of ground with the most dogged obstinacy, 
 and they have found very valuable auxiliaries 
 in Lord Wellington and his English troops. 
 They" 
 
 " Ah, my dear count," exclaimed Marshal Au- 
 gereau, smiling, " now it is you who talk politics, 
 and it behooves you no longer to accuse us." 
 
 " You are right, and I beg your pardon," said 
 Narbonne ; " but you see how true the old prov- 
 erb proves: 'Bad examples spoil good manners.' 
 Let us talk no longer about pepper, but truffles. 
 
THK INTERRUPTED SUPPER. 
 
 81 
 
 t 
 
 I 
 
 Just compare this truffle from P6rigord with the 
 Italian truffle at the entremets, and you will have 
 to admit that our Perigord truffle is in every re- 
 spect superior to the latter. It is more savory 
 and piquant. There can be no doubt of it that 
 Perigord furnishes the most palatable fruit to the 
 world." 
 
 " What fruit do you allude to," asked Harden- 
 berg, smiling. "Do you refer to the P6rigord 
 truffle, or to the Abbot of P6rigord, the great 
 Talleyrand ? " 
 
 " I see you are lost beyond redemption," said 
 Narbonne, sighing, while the other gentlemen 
 burst into "laughter. " Even in the face of a 
 truffle you still dare to amuse yourself with polit- 
 ical puns, and confound intentionally an abbot 
 with a truffle! Oh, what a blasphemy against 
 the finest of all fruits I allude, of course, to the 
 truffle oh, it is treason committed " 
 
 Just then the door of the saloon was hastily 
 opened, and the first secretary of the French em- 
 bassy entered the room. 
 
 " What, sir ! " shouted Count St. Marsan to him, 
 u you come to disturb me here ? Some important 
 event, then, has taken place ? " 
 
 The secretary approached him hurriedly. " Yes, 
 your excellency," he said, " highly important and 
 urgent dispatches have arrived. They come from 
 the army, and an aide-de-camp of Marshal Mac- 
 donald is their bearer. He has travelled night 
 and day to reach your excellency at an earlier 
 moment than the courier whom General von 
 York no doubt has sent to the King of Prussia. 
 Here are the dispatch-^ which the aide-de-camp 
 of the marshal has brought for you, and which 
 he says ought immediately to be read by your 
 excellency." He handed the count a large sealed 
 letter, which the latter eagerly aceepto 1 and at 
 once opened. 
 
 A. profound silence iv.w n-igned in tho small 
 n. The faces of the boon companions at 
 the table had grown grave, and all fixed their 
 eyes with an anxiou- '-'ing expn 
 
 upon the countenance ot m. He 
 
 read the dispatch at fust \\ith a calm and indif- 
 ferent air, but suddenly ;-ned an 
 
 expression of astonishment naj , of anger, and a 
 gloomy cloud covered his brow. 
 
 " All right," he then said, turning to the sec- 
 retary. " Return to the legation. I will follow 
 you in a few minutes." The secretary bowed and 
 withdrew. The five gentlemen were again alone. 
 
 "Well," asked Marshal Augereau, "were the 
 dispatches really important ? " 
 
 Count St. Marsan made no immediate reply. 
 He looked slowly around the circle of his com- 
 panions, and fixed his eyes with a piercing ex- 
 pression on the countenance of Chancellor von 
 Hardenberg. "Yes," he said, "they contain 
 highly important news, and I wonder if his ex- 
 cellency the chancellor of state has not yet re- 
 ceived them, for the dispatches concern above all 
 the Prussian army." 
 
 " But I pledge your excellency my word of 
 honor that I do not know what you refer to," 
 said Hardenberg, gravely. " I have received no 
 courier and no startling news from the Prussian 
 army." 
 
 " Well, then," said St. Marsan, bowing, " per- 
 mit me to communicate it to you. General York, 
 commander of the Prussian troops belonging to 
 the forces of Marshal Macdonald, has refused to 
 obey the marshal's orders. He has gone even 
 further than that, concluding a treaty with Russia, 
 with the enemy of France and Prussia ; and signed 
 at Tauroggen, with the Russian General von Die- 
 bitsch, a convention by virtue of which he severs 
 his connection with the French army, and, with 
 the consent of Russia, declares that the Prussian 
 corps henceforth will be neutral." 
 
 " But that is impossible," exclaimed Harden- 
 berg, " he would not dare any thing of the kind ; 
 he would not violate in so flagrant a manner the 
 orders given him by his king ! " 
 
 " But he did so," said Augereau, " and if your 
 '( ncy should have any doubts as to the truth 
 of what Count St. Marsan said, here is the auto- 
 rraph letter in which General von York informs 
 Ma-shal Macdonald of his defection ; and, besides, 
 another letter in which the commander of the 
 cavalry, General von Massenbach, notifies Mar- 
 shal Macdonald that he has acceded to York's 
 
 
82 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 convention, and henceforth will no longer obey 
 the marshal's orders. Conformably to this con- 
 vention, the Prussian troops have already left the 
 positions assigned them by Marshal Macdonald, 
 and returned to Prussian territory." 
 
 " It is true ; there can be no doubt of it," said 
 Hardenberg, with a deep sigh, and handing back 
 to the marshal the papers which he had rapidly 
 glanced over. He then rose from his chair and 
 said: "This is so unparalleled and unexpected an 
 event, that I am at the present moment almost 
 unable to collect my thoughts. You will pardon 
 me, therefore, for leaving you ; above all, I have 
 to inform his majesty, the king, of this important 
 intelligence, and receive his orders in regard to it. 
 But then I beg leave to see Count St. Marson 
 at his residence, to confer with him as to the 
 measures to be taken concerning this terrible 
 event." 
 
 " I will await you at whatever hour of the night 
 it may be," said Count St. Marsan ; " I am now 
 about to return to my residence." 
 
 " And I to the king ! " exclaimed Hardenberg, 
 taking leave. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE DEFECTION OF GENERAL YORK. 
 
 KINO FREDERICK WILLIAM had just returned to 
 his cabinet after attending to the last business, 
 which he never neglected to perform on any day 
 of the year ; that is to say, he had repaired to the 
 bedrooms of his children, and bidden the little 
 sleepers "good-night" by gently kissing them. 
 In former times he did this by the side of his 
 wife, with a happy heart and a smiling face ; it 
 had been, as it were, the last seal both pressed, 
 at the close of every day of their common happi- 
 ness, upon the foreheads of their sleeping chil- 
 dren. But since Louisa had left him, to bid this 
 "good-niglit" had become, as it were, a sacred 
 pilgrimage to his most precious recollections. 
 When he passed through the silent corridors at 
 
 night, and entered the rooms of his sons and 
 daughters, he thought of her who had left him 
 three years before, but whom he believed he saw, 
 with her sweet smile and loving eyes. He took 
 pains to remind such of his children as he found 
 awake of their dear departed parent, whispering 
 to them, " Remember your noble mother, whose 
 eyes behold you." And on the lips of those 
 asleep he never failed to press two kisses one 
 for himself and the other for Louisa. 
 
 The king had just returned to his cabinet, and, 
 like a dying glimmer of twilight, a faint smile 
 was illuminating his countenance, which, since 
 the queen's death, had grown grave and sad. He 
 seated himself on the sofa where she had so often 
 sat by his side, and cast a mournful glance upon 
 the vacant place beside him. " Alone ! Always 
 alone ! " he said in a low voice. " Nothing around 
 me but intrigues, quarrels, and malice ! No one 
 who loves me ! Alone I " With a quick motion 
 he turned his head toward the side of the wall 
 where hung over his desk the portrait of Queen 
 Louisa, in her white dress, and a rose on her 
 bosom. " Where are you, then, Louisa ! " he ex- 
 claimed ; " why did you leave me, though you 
 had sworn to bear joy and grief with me ? You 
 are not here to share them, and " Suddenly 
 the king paused and turned his eyes toward the 
 door. It seemed to him as though he heard 
 hasty footsteps, and some one softly rapping at 
 his door. Who, at this unusual hour, could ask 
 for admittance ? Who could dare now interrupt 
 his solitude, when it was well understood he de 
 sired to be left alone ? 
 
 The rapping was repeated, louder than before, 
 and a timid, imploring voice asked, " Has hia 
 majesty returned to his cabinet?" 
 
 " It is Timrn, my chamberlain," said the king. 
 " What can he want of me ? " 
 
 Ordering him in a loud tone to walk in, the 
 door was immediately opened, and the chamber- 
 lain appeared on the threshold. "Pardon me, 
 sire," he said, " but his excellency Chancellor von 
 Hardeuberg is in the anteroom, and urgently re- 
 quests your majesty to grant him an immediate 
 audience." 
 
TUE DEFECTION OF GENERAL YORK. 
 
 83 
 
 
 u Hardeuberg ! " exclaimed the king, anxiously. 
 M What has happened ; what" He interrupted 
 himself: " I will see the chancellor. Admit him 
 at once." 
 
 The chamberlain withdrew. The king arose 
 and advanced several steps toward the door ; 
 then, as if ashamed of his own impatience, he 
 stopped, while his face expressed the agitation of 
 his mind. 
 
 Hardenberg entered, and, closing the door rap- 
 idly, approached the king. " Your majesty," 
 he said, " I beg pardon for daring to disturb you 
 at so late an hour ; but the extraordinary im- 
 portance of the news I bring to you will be my 
 excuse. I was at the supper-table of Marshal 
 Augereau, in company with the French ambas- 
 sador, Count St. Marsan, when important dis- 
 patches, just arrived from the army, were de- 
 livered to the ambassador." 
 
 " A battle has been fought, has it not ? Has my 
 corps been routed ? " asked the king, breathlessly. 
 
 " No, your majesty, there has been no battle. 
 A much more extraordinary event has taken place, 
 General von York has concluded a convention 
 with the Russian General Diebitsch, and signed a 
 treaty by which the troops commanded by York 
 separate from the French, and engage to remain 
 neutral for two months." 
 
 " That is not tnie ! " exclaimed the king. " A 
 mere rumor ! an impossibility ! " 
 
 " Your majesty, it is but too true. I myself 
 have read the autograph letters in which Generals 
 York and Massenbach inform Marshal Macdonald 
 of their resolution not to obey his orders longer." 
 
 The king pressed his hands against his temple, 
 md exclaimed, in a tremulous voice : " Oh, this is 
 enough to throw one into a state of apoplexy ! * 
 It is unheard of, contrary to military law, con- 
 trary to all international obligations! It is open 
 rebellion, revolutionary resistance to his king and 
 commandt.T-iu-chU-f ! A general who dares com- 
 mit so terrible a crime must be tried by court- 
 martial, and sentence of death passed upon him. 
 
 I cannot pardon him ! 
 
 The king's own words. Vide Droysen'i "Life of 
 York," vol. ii , p. 86. 
 
 1OTK, VOI. 11. 
 
 " Your majesty," said Hardenberg, in dismay, 
 " it is possible that General York may have com- 
 mitted a crime against discipline, but, neverthe- 
 ; t is an heroic and magnanimous deed, and 
 no Prussian court-martial will dare inflict punish- 
 ment on him. We do not yet know the urgent 
 circumstances obliging the general to make this 
 decision ; we do not yet know from what dangers 
 he may have preserved the Prussian army by his 
 quick and resolute step." 
 
 " But we know that he has committed an un- 
 paralleled crime against discipline ! " 
 
 " A crime by which he may perhaps have saved 
 Prussia from utter destruction ! The general will 
 be able to justify his deed." 
 
 " But it seems that he does not even deem it 
 necessary to inform me of -his proceedings," ex- 
 claimed the king, indignantly. "He appears to 
 have made himself dictator, and as he does not 
 recognize my military laws, he refuses also to 
 acknowledge me as commander-in-cbief, to whom 
 he owes obedience." 
 
 " Your majesty, I believe there is his justifica 
 tion already," said Hardenberg, pointing at Timra 
 the chamberlain, who reentered the room at thia 
 moment. 
 
 "Well, what is it, Timm?" asked the king, 
 hastily. 
 
 "Your majesty, a courier from General von 
 York has just arrived; he is bearer of dis- 
 patches, which he is to deliver to your majesty 
 in person." 
 
 " Who is the courier ? " asked the king. 
 
 "The general's aide-de-camp, Major Thile." 
 
 " Let him come in," said the king. 
 
 The jingle of spurs, and heavy, weary footsteps 
 were heard approaching ; Major von Thile entered. 
 His uniform was covered with dust and mud; his 
 hair hung in wet locks upon his forehead, and 
 there shone in his mustache the snow-flakes with 
 which the stormy night had adorned it. 
 
 "Did you arrive now ? " asked the king, eying 
 him closely. 
 
 " I did, your majesty, and, agreeably to the 
 orders of General von York, have had myself 
 driven directly to the royal palace, for the general 
 
84 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 deemed it of the highest importance that I should 
 deliver my dispatches as soon as possible to your 
 majesty. Hence I rode night and day, and, my 
 horse breaking down to-day, I was obliged to 
 take a carriage." 
 
 " But the French courier reached Berlin earlier 
 than you did," said the king, gruffly. " How 
 does that happen ? Have the French quicker 
 horses or more devoted soldiers ? " 
 
 "No, your majesty, their road to Berlin was 
 shorter than mine, that is all. As I could not 
 ride across the French camp, I had to take a 
 roundabout road by way of Gumbinnen. This 
 caused a delay of four hours." 
 
 " Give me your dispatches," said the king. 
 
 Major Thile handed him a large sealed paper. 
 The king extended his hand to take it, but sud- 
 denly withdrew it again and started back. 
 
 " No," he said, " it does not behoove a king to 
 receive letters from a traitorous subject a rebel- 
 lious soldier. Take this dispatch, M. Chancellor ; 
 open and read it to me. Give il to his excellen- 
 cy." 
 
 Major Thile banded Hardenberg the letter, and, 
 while he was doing so, the eyes of the two men 
 met. The major's eyes expressed an anxious 
 question, those of Hardenberg made him a sad 
 and painful reply, and both were unable to restrain 
 a sigh. 
 
 " Read ! " said the king, stepping into the win- 
 dow-niche, folding his hands on his breast, and 
 placing himself so that the curtains shaded his 
 face, and screaned it from the two gentlemen. 
 
 Hardenberg unfolded the paper and read as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 " To his Majesty the King : TAUROGGEN, De- 
 cember 30, 1812. Placed in a very unfavorable 
 position by setting out at a later day than the 
 marshal did, and being ordered to march from 
 Mitau to Tilsit, for the sole purpose of covering 
 the retreat of the seventh division, I have been 
 compelled, on account of impassable roads, and 
 very severe weather, to conclude with the Russian 
 commander, Major-General Diebitscb, the enclosed 
 convention, which I beg leave to lay before your 
 majesty. Firmly convinced that a continuation 
 
 of the march would have unavoidably brought 
 about the dissolution of the whole corps, and the 
 loss of its entire artillery and baggage, as was 
 the case of the retreat of the grand army, I be- 
 lieved it was incumbent upon me, as your majes- 
 ty's faithful subject, to regard your interest, and 
 no longer that of your ally, for whom our auxil- 
 iary corps would only have been sacrificed without 
 being able to afford him any real assistance in the 
 desperate predicament in which he was placed. 
 The convention imposes no obligations whatever 
 upon your majesty, but it preserves to you a corps 
 that gives value to the old alliance, or a new one, 
 if such should be concluded, and prevents your 
 majesty from being at the mercy of an ally at 
 whose hands you would have to receive as a gift 
 the preservation or restoration of your states. I 
 would willingly lay my head at the feet of your 
 majesty if I have erred ; I would die with the 
 joyous conviction of having at least committed 
 no act contrary to my duty as a faithful subject 
 and a true Prussian. Now or never is the time 
 for your majesty to extricate yourself from tha 
 thraldom of an ally whose intentions in regard to 
 Prussia are veiled in impenetrable darkness, and 
 justify the most serious alarm. That considera- 
 tion has guided me. God grant it may be for the 
 salvation of the country ! YORK." * 
 
 A pause ensued. The king still stood with 
 folded arms in the window-niche, his face shaded 
 by the curtains, and inaccessible to the anxious 
 and searching glances of Hardenberg and the 
 major. 
 
 " Does your majesty now command me to read 
 the convention? " asked the minister. 
 
 "No," said the king, sternly, "what do I care 
 for a convention drawn up by a traitor ? I would 
 not be at liberty to accept it even though it should 
 secure me new provinces. Major Thile ! " 
 
 " Your majesty ! " said the major, advancing a 
 few steps with stiff, military bearing. 
 
 " Were you present at the negotiations prece- 
 ding this convention ? Are you familiar with the 
 circumstances that led to it ? " 
 
 * Droysen's "Life of York," vol. i^ p. 498. 
 
THE DEFECTION OF GENERAL YORK. 
 
 85 
 
 " Yes, your majesty ; General von York deigned 
 to repose implicit confidence in me ; I am perfectly 
 familiar wjth the course of the negotiations, and 
 was present when the convention was concluded. 
 I observed t'le inward struggles of the general ; I 
 witnessed the terrible conflict that took place in 
 his breast between his duty as a soldier and his 
 conscience as a faithful subject of your majesty. 
 As a soldier he was conscious of the crime he was 
 ibout to commit against discipline ; as a faithful 
 subject, he felt that he ought to commit it if he 
 wished to avoid plunging a corps of ten thousand 
 men, belonging to your majesty alone, into utter 
 and irretrievable destruction." 
 
 " Did the negotiations last a long time ? 
 Speak 1 I want to know all ; but, understand 
 me well, the truth. No protestations ! Speak 
 DOW ! " 
 
 " Yes, your majesty, the negotiations had been 
 going on for some time ; in fact, ever since the 
 so-called ' grand army ' made its appearance in 
 miserable, ragged, and starving squads mere 
 crowds of woe-begone, famished beggars while 
 the splendid and powerful Russian forces were 
 constantly approaching closer to our positions 
 and the Prussian frontier. The Russian generals, 
 Prince Wittgenstein and General Diebitsch, were 
 sending one messenger after another to York and 
 informing him of the dangers of his position, sur- 
 rounded on all sides by Russian troops. They 
 advised him therefore to yield, unless he wished 
 needlessly to expose the soldiers of your majesty 
 to inevitable destruction. They urged him, for 
 the salvation of Prussia, to grasp the saving hand 
 that was being held out to him, and compel Prus- 
 sia to forsake an utterly ruined ally, who, in order 
 to secure a brief respite, would assuredly not hesi- 
 tate to sacrifice for his own benefit Prussia's last 
 strength aixl n-sourvrs. But the general was still 
 unable to make up his mind to take a step which 
 might be disavowed by your majesty. In the 
 mean time, how, ,,n- that Memel 
 
 had been taken and occupied by the Russians, 
 and Prince Wittp-nstein simultaneously sent word 
 that he had placed a corps of fifty thousand men 
 3n the banks of the Nit-men, and was readv to 
 
 pursue the French army, whith would now seek 
 safety in Prussia. Prince Wittgenstein, therefore, 
 demanded categorically whether York would leave 
 the French army, or whether he was to be con- 
 sidered a part of it, and an enemy of Russia." 
 
 " And what did York reply ? " asked the king, 
 ha.-'tily. 
 
 " Your majesty, he was silent. Even we, his 
 confidants, did not know what decision he had 
 come to. Suddenly a messenger from Marshal 
 Macdonald, who had succeeded in getting into 
 our lines, appeared at York's headquarters. He 
 informed the general that the French troops of 
 the marshal were near Piktupo'hnen, and brought 
 orders that York should march to that place, 
 where Macdonald would await him, and that the 
 French and Prussian forces should then be united. 
 Henceforth further hesitation was out of the 
 question. The messengers, both of the Russian 
 General Diebitsch and the French Marshal Mac- 
 donald, were at his headquarters, and insisted 
 that he should make up his mind as to the course 
 to be pursued by his corps. York either had to 
 set out at once and force a passage through the 
 Russian lines, in order to join the French marshal 
 at Piktupohnen, or to refuse to obey the marshal's 
 orders, and, instead of marching upon Piktupoh- 
 nen, join the Russians, and proceed to Prussia. 
 But General York had not yet made up his mind. 
 Toward nightfall another messenger from General 
 Diebitsch arrived at his headquarters. This mes- 
 senger was Lieutenant-Colonel Clausewitz, whom 
 Diebitsch had sent to insist again on a . categori- 
 cal reply. York received him sullenly, and said 
 to him : ' Keep aloof from me. I do not wish to 
 have any thing to do with you. Your accursed 
 Cossacks have allowed a messenger from Macdon- 
 ald to pass through your lines, and he has brought 
 me orders to march upon Piktupohnen, and there 
 join him. All doubts are at an end. Your troops 
 do not arrive ; you are too weak ; I decline con- 
 tinuing negotiations which would cost me my 
 head/ " 
 
 " Did the general really say so ? " asked the 
 king, quickly. "Do you tell me the truth ? " 
 
 * York's own words. Vide Droysen, voL t p. 486. 
 
86 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 "Yes, your majesty, it is the whole truth. 
 Genera] York said so : I was present when Clause- 
 witz came to him. I remained with Colonel R6- 
 den in the room when Clausewitz, at last, at his 
 urgent request, received from General York per- 
 mission to deliver to him at least the letters he 
 had brought with him from Generals d'Anvray 
 and Diebitsch. The general read them ; he then 
 fixed his piercing eyes on Clausewitz, and said : 
 * Clausewitz, you are a Prussian ! Do you believe 
 that General d'Anvray's letter is sincere, and that 
 Wittgenstein's troops will be on the Niemen on 
 the 31st of December ? Can you give me your 
 word of honor upon it?' Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Clausewitz gave him his word of honor. York 
 was silent, and repeatedly paced the room, ab- 
 sorbed in his reflections ; he then gave Clause- 
 witz bis hand, and said in a firm voice, and with 
 a sublime air, ' You have me ! Tell General Die- 
 bitsch that we will hold an interview in the morn- 
 ing at the mill of Poscherun, and that I have 
 made up my mind to forsake the French and 
 th si? cause. I will not go to Piktupohnen ! ' 
 When he said so, we who witnessed that great 
 moment were no longer able to restrain our trans- 
 ports. Forgetful alike of etiquette and discipline, 
 Roden, Clausewitz, and myself, rushed up to the 
 general to embrace him, thanking him with tear- 
 ful eyes, and telling him that he had fulfilled the 
 most ardent wishes of the whole corps, and that 
 all Prussian officers would receive with heart-felt 
 rejoicings the news that we were to be delivered 
 from the French alliance. But York gazed on us 
 with grave, gloomy eyes, and said, with a faint 
 smile : ' It is all very well for you, young men, 
 to talk in this way. But the head of your old 
 commander is tottering on his shoulders.' * In 
 the morning he summoned all the officers of his 
 corps to his headquarters, and informed them in 
 an affecting speech of the decision he had come 
 to." 
 
 " What did he say ? " asked the king. " Can 
 you repeat his words to me ? " 
 
 " I can, your majesty ; for, after returning to my 
 
 * This \vhole scene is historical. Vide Droysen, vol. 
 1., p. 487. 
 
 room, I wrote down the speech I had heard in mj 
 memorandum-book, and I believe every word of 
 it was- engraven in my memory." 
 
 " Have you your memorandum-book here ? 
 
 " I have, your majesty." 
 
 " Read ! " 
 
 Major Thile drew his memorandum -book from 
 his breast-pocket, and read as follows : " ' Gentle- 
 men, the French army has been annihilated by 
 Heaven's avenging hand ; the time has come for 
 us to recover our independence by uniting with 
 the Russian army. Let those who share my sen- 
 timents, and are ready to sacrifice their lives for 
 the fatherland and for liberty, follow me ; those 
 who are unwilling to do so may remain with the 
 French. Let the issue of our cause be whatever 
 it may, I shall always esteem and honor even 
 those who do not share my sentiments, and who 
 prefer to remain. If we succeed, the king may, 
 perhaps, pardon me for what I have done ; if we 
 are unsuccessful, then I must lose my head. In 
 that case, I pray my friends to take care of my 
 wife and children.' Your majesty," said Major 
 Thile, closing his memorandum-book, " that waa 
 the whole speech." 
 
 " And what did the officers reply to it ? " asked 
 the king. " Mind ! the truth ! I want to know 
 the truth ! " 
 
 " And I am courageous enough to tell you the 
 truth, although I am afraid that your majesty 
 will be displeased. All the officers received the 
 general's speech with unbounded transports and 
 with tears of joy. They shook hands, they em- 
 braced, and greeted each other, as if they had 
 suddenly returned from a foreign country to their 
 beloved fatherland ; as if their tongues had sud- 
 denly been loosened, and liberty to use the lan- 
 guage of their country had been restored to them. 
 No one thought of remaining with the French ; 
 every one was animated with enthusiasm at the 
 thought, that he should at length risk his life for the 
 cause of his country and his king ; every one had 
 hi his heart, and on his lips, a fervent prayer for 
 the new sacred cause which he was to serve 
 again, and an imprecation for that which he had 
 been obliged to serve. When the general ex- 
 
 
 
THE WARNING. 
 
 87 
 
 claimed, in a ringing voice, * Let us then, with the 
 assistance of Providence, enter upon and achieve 
 the task of liberation,' all shouted Amen ! We 
 will die rather than serve the enemy longer!' 
 Your majesty, I have now told you nothing but the 
 whole truth. If the general deserves punishment, 
 ull the officers of his corps deserve it. He called 
 upon us to part with him if we did not share his 
 nmvictions. But none of us did so, for his convic- 
 tions were ours, and we are ready to share hi? 
 punishment, too, if your majesty should punish 
 York for what he did, as a noble and devoted 
 patriot ! " 
 
 " Your remarks are impertinent, major," said 
 the king, sternly. "I will not allow myself to 
 be dazzled by your tirides. Go! You need re- 
 pose. Report to me early in the morning. You 
 will then return with dispatches to the army. 
 Good-by!" 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 TIIK WARNING. 
 
 "WELL, M. Chancellor," said the king, when 
 Thile had left the room, " tell me your opinion 
 the best way by which we may counteract this 
 senseless and rash stop, and succeed in preserving 
 our country from the disastrous consequences." 
 
 " Your majesty, then, is not willing to approve 
 of the bold act York has taken ? " asked Har- 
 donberg. 
 
 " I hope you did not indulge for a moment in 
 such a belief," exclaimed the king. " York was 
 perhaps justified in preserving his troops from 
 I icing necdli-sly sacrificed; but he should have 
 bnsod hu conduct solely on this idea, and from 
 it have explained his action. Instead of doing 
 so, ho justifies it by political motives, and there- 
 < ompromises and endangers my own posi- 
 tion. Now, I am myself entirely at the mercy of 
 France, and utterly destitute of means to brave 
 
 the anger of Napoleon." 
 
 The king's words.--Vido Droysen, vol. i., p. 4^3. 
 
 " No," said Hardenberg, " your majesty is not 
 entirely at the mercy of France, and Napoleon'a 
 anger must no longer be allowed to terrify Prus- 
 sia. You have only to raise your voice and call 
 out your faithful subjects, and the whole nation 
 will rise as one man ; thousands will rally round 
 their king, and you will enter with an invincible 
 army upon the holy war of liberation. It will not 
 be with a visible army only that you will take the 
 field an invisible army will accompany you the 
 army of minds and hearts, the grand army whose 
 chieftain is public opinion, whose soldier is every 
 beggar on the street, whose cannon is every word 
 that is uttered, every love-greeting arid every 
 blessing. Ob, your majesty, this 'grand urmy' 
 will pave the way for you, and will enlist every- 
 where new recruits, fill your military chesta, 
 clothe and feed your soldiers, and, under your 
 colors, fight the enemy whom all Germany all 
 Europe hates intensely, and whose yoke every 
 one feels weighing upon his neck. Oh, let me 
 assure your majesty th'at it is only for you to h 
 willing, and all Prus?ia will rally round you for th 
 war of liberation!" 
 
 " But I must not be willing," said the king ; 
 " it is contrary to my honor and my conscience. 
 I pledged my word to the Emperor Napoleon ; I 
 am his ally; I am deeply impressed with the 
 sanctity of my existing treaties with France, and 
 feel, as every man of honor would, that the ob- 
 ligation to maintain them inviolate is only ren- 
 dered the more sacred by the disasters which 
 have overwhelmed the imperial armies. Besides, 
 you look at tilings in a light by far too partial 
 and rose-colored. Do not confound your enthu- 
 siastic hopes with stern reality. The ' grand army 
 of public opinion,' to which you refer, is an ally 
 which cannot be depended upon it is fickle, 
 turning with every wind it is an ally prodigal of 
 words, but not of deeds. If my soldiers were to 
 be clothed and fed by public opinion, they would 
 likely go naked and die of hunger. If my mili- 
 tary chests wait for public opinion to fill them, 
 they would remain empty. Public opinion, by 
 the way, has always been on my side and against 
 Napoleon ; it has, for six years past, disapproved 
 
88 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 uay, indignantly condemned his course toward 
 Prussia, and still it has permitted Napoleon to 
 halve my states ; to take much more than he was 
 entitled to by the treaty of Tilsit ; to leave his 
 troops in my states, in spite of the express stipu- 
 lations of the treaties ; to impose contributions 
 on Prussia and extort their payment. Public 
 opinion deplored it as a terrible calamity that I 
 should be, as it were, a prisoner here in the cap- 
 ital of my own monarchy, and at the palace 
 of my ancestors, and live under the cannon of 
 Spandau, a fortress unlawfully occupied by the 
 French. Public opinion, I say, deplored my fate, 
 but it did not come to my assistance ; it did not 
 preserve me from the humiliations which, at 
 Dresden, I had to endure, not only at the hands 
 of Napoleon, but of all the German princes. Do 
 not, therefore, allude again to your 'grand army 
 of public opinion ;' I despise it, and know its 
 fickle and faithless character. By virtue of the 
 existing treaties, I made my troops participate in 
 Napoleon's campaign against Russia. More than 
 one-half of my soldiers have been devoured by 
 wolves on the fields of Russia ; the other half are 
 now in open insurrection. And these are the 
 troops with whom I am to conquer! conquer 
 that powerful France which is able to call up 
 fresh armies as from the ground, and into the 
 treasury of which her unlimited resources are 
 pouring millions ! No, no ; I will not plunge into 
 so hazardous an enterprise. I will not, for the 
 sake of a chimera, risk my last provinces, the in- 
 heritance of my children ; I could joyously give 
 up my life in order to bring about a change of 
 our present deplorable situation, but I am not at 
 liberty to endanger my crown the crown of my 
 successor. Prussia must not be blotted from the 
 map of nations ; she shall not be swallowed by 
 France, and I am therefore obliged patiently to 
 bear the burden of these times and submit to cir- 
 cumstances. Hence, I am not at liberty to par- 
 don General York's crime, but must punish him 
 for his conduct in accordance with the laws of 
 war. I must give satisfaction to the Emperor of 
 France for the unheard-of conduct of my general, 
 and he shall have it ! General von York shall be 
 
 superseded in his command, cashiered, and put. 
 on his trial before a military commission. Gen- 
 eral Kleist will take command of the troops in 
 his place." 
 
 " And will your majesty cashier likewise all the 
 officers who received the announcement of the 
 bold resolution of their general with enthusiastic 
 cheers ? " asked Hardenberg. " Will your ma- 
 jesty likewise put on trial the spirit of resistance 
 pervading the whole Prussian corps ? I beseech 
 you again, in the name of your army and your peo- 
 ple in the name of the magnanimous queen 
 whose inspiring eyes are gazing upon us from yon- 
 der portrait take a bold and sublime stand ! Risk 
 every thing in order to win every thing ! Ap- 
 prove York's step, place yourself at the head of 
 the army, call upon the Prussians the Germans 
 to rally round your flag ! Oh, your majesty, be- 
 lieve me, Germany is only waiting for your war- 
 cry. Every thing is prepared, all are armed all 
 weapons, all hands are ready all eyes are fixed 
 upon your majesty ! Oh, do not hesitate longer ; 
 make our night end, and the new day commence. 
 Declare war against France leave her to her 
 destiny ! " 
 
 The king walked with rapid steps and in vis- 
 ible agitation; and, whenever he passed the 
 queen's portrait, he raised his eyes toward it with 
 an anxious expression. Standing in front of Har- 
 denberg, and laying his hand on his shoulder, 
 he looked gravely into his pale, quivering face. 
 " Hardenberg," he said at last, in an undertone, 
 " I cannot allow General York to remain unpun- 
 ished ; I am not at liberty to approve his course, 
 even well, yes, even though I should wish to do 
 so. As commander-in-chief of my army it is 
 above all incumbent on me to maintain discipline. 
 York acted without regard to his instructions, and 
 without having received any orders from me to 
 enter into so dangerous a course, and I ought not 
 afterward to approve what one of my generals 
 has done in so reckless and arbitrary a manner. 
 That would be rendering obedience dependent on 
 the whims and inclinations of every officer of my 
 army. Unconditional obedience, entire subordi- 
 nation of the individual will that is the bond 
 
THE WARNING. 
 
 89 
 
 
 Khich keeps armies together, and I cannot loosen 
 it Where sacred and necessary principles are 
 at stake, I must not listen to the voice of my 
 heart!" 
 
 " But still you ought to listen to the voice of 
 prudence, your majesty," exclaimed Hardenberg, 
 emphatically. " Now, prudence renders it neces- 
 sary for you to fight at this juncture against the 
 perfidious enemy, who never fulfilled his treaties, 
 never kept his word, and is even now plotting 
 mischief." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " asked the king, has- 
 tily. 
 
 " I mean that your majesty is every day in 
 danger of being arrested at the slightest symptom 
 that may appear suspicious to the French gentle- 
 men, and of being secretly conveyed to France. 
 I mean that the French are anxious that you 
 should give them such a pretext, so that they 
 might charge you with secret machinations, send 
 you to France, and appropriate the whole of Prus- 
 sia. Little King Jerome is tired of his improvised 
 kingdom of Westphalia. He longs for a more 
 exalted throne, the existence of which has already 
 been consecrated by centuries, and for a crown 
 which need not, like his present one, be specially 
 created for him. Napoleon has promised his 
 brother the crown and throne of Prussia in case 
 your majesty should give him the slightest ground 
 for complaint. He has therefore here in Berlin a 
 host of spies charged with watching every word, 
 movement, and step of your majesty. Oh, be- 
 lieve me, you are at all hours iu danger of seizure 
 and secret removal. I am familiar with the whole 
 plot ; by means of bribery, dissimulation, and 
 cunning, I have wormed myself into the confi- 
 dence of, and gained over to my side, some of 
 these spies. They have informed me that every 
 day, shortly before nightfall, a closed carriage 
 drives up to the royal palace, and waits there all 
 the night long ; that, at a short distance from it, 
 soldiers are posted in isolated groups behind the 
 trees, on the opera place, and the corners of the 
 streets intersecting the Linden ; that the royal 
 palace is surrounded constantly by a number of 
 gents of the French police, and that some of 
 
 B^fUlS Ul II 
 
 these men always find means to slip into the pal- 
 ace, where they conceal themselves in dark cor- 
 ners and in the garden, or the yard, in order to 
 watch every movement of your majesty. What 
 should be the object of all these proceedings, but, 
 on the first occasion, at the slightest symptom of 
 your defection, to seize the sacred person of you. 
 majesty, to carry into effect Jerome's ambitious 
 schemes, and transform the theatre king into a 
 real king ? " 
 
 Frederick William's face grew pale and gloomy ; 
 he compressed his lips as he used to do when 
 any thing displeasing was communicated to him. 
 " You have told me one of the absurd stories with 
 which nurses try to frighten their children," he 
 said, harshly. " But I do not believe it, nor shall 
 I allow myself to be frightened and take impru 
 dent steps. No one will dare attack or arrest 
 me. I am the faithful ally of France, and have 
 proved by my actions that I am animated with 
 honest intentions toward her, and stand sincerely 
 by the alliance which I have pledged my word to 
 maintain." 
 
 " But suppose France should look upon this 
 defection of General York as brought about by 
 the secret orders of your majesty ? Suppose Na- 
 poleon, in his incessant distrust, and Jerome, in 
 his ardent desire for the possession of Prussia, 
 should, notwithstanding all protestations of your 
 majesty to the contrary, believe in an understand- 
 ing between York and his king, and therein find 
 a welcome pretext for carrying into effect their 
 infamous schemes, seizing your majesty, and an- 
 nihilating Prussia ? " 
 
 " I shall give them such convincing proofs of 
 my sentiments that it will be impossible for them 
 to believe in an understanding between myself 
 and York," exclaimed the king. " Enough ! I 
 adhere to my resolution. York must be removed 
 from his command, and General Kleist will be his 
 successor. I shall, besides, address an autograph 
 letter to Murat, the emperor's lieutenant at the 
 head of the army, and express to him my pro- 
 found indignation at what has occurred, and 
 inform him of the penalty which I am about to 
 inflict on York." 
 
NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 "Very well," said Hardenberg, sighing, "if 
 your majesty so resolves, it must be done ; but it 
 should be done in haste this very hour. Count 
 St. Marsan is waiting for me at his residence, to 
 learn from me the decisions of your majesty be- 
 fore sending off his couriers to the Emperor Na- 
 poleon. It will be necessary for us to lay before 
 him the letter which your majesty intends to write 
 to the King of Naples, as well as the formal order 
 in regard to the removal of General York. You 
 ought also at once to name the courier who is to 
 convey your majesty's orders and letters to the 
 two camps in Old Prussia." 
 
 " You are right ; all this must be done imme- 
 diately," said the king, seizing his silver bell and 
 ringing. The door opened, and Timm the cham- 
 berlain entered. " Go to my aide-de-camp, Major 
 Natzmer," said the king to him. " Inform him 
 that he is to set out immediately on a journey, 
 and should, therefore, quickly prepare. In four 
 hours every thing must be done, and Major Natz- 
 mer must then be in my anteroom. Go yourself 
 to him, Timm, and inform him of my orders. 
 This one courier will be sufficient," said the king, 
 turning again to Hardenberg, after Timm had left 
 the room. "Natzmer will first repair to the 
 headquarters of the King of Naples, deliver my 
 letter to him, show him the orders intended for 
 Kleist and York, and then go to the Russian 
 camp in order to deliver these orders to my gen- 
 erals." 
 
 " Will your majesty not write also a letter to 
 the Emperor Alexander, begging him to spare 
 your troops, whom Wittgenstein henceforth will 
 consider enemies, and to address a word of con- 
 solation and encouragement to the emperor, whose 
 magnanimous heart will bitterly feel this new dis- 
 appointment ? " 
 
 " Very well," said the king, after a brief re- 
 flection, " I will write such a letter to Alexander, 
 and Natzmer shall himself take it after previously 
 geeing Murat, Wittgenstein, and York." 
 
 An hour afterward the king wrote his letters, 
 and Hardenberg drew up the decree removing 
 York from the command of the army. The chan- 
 cellor of state then left the king's cabinet to re- 
 
 pair to the residence of the French aubassador, 
 and inform him of the resolutions of his majesty 
 The king looked after him long and musingly, 
 and, folding his hands behind him, paced his 
 room. A profound silence reigned around him ; 
 the storm of the cold January night swept dense 
 masses of snow against the windows, making 
 them rattle as if spectral hands were tapping at 
 the panes ; the wax-tapers on the silver candelabra, 
 standing on the king's desk, had burned low, and 
 their flickering light flashed on the noble portrait 
 of the queen. The king noticed the fitfully illu- 
 minated face gazing upon him, as it were, with a 
 quick and repeated greeting; he could not help 
 gently nodding, as if to return the salutation, and 
 then approached the portrait with slow steps. 
 
 "Louisa," he said, in a loud, solemn voice, 
 " God has counted your tears, and taken upon 
 Himself the revenge of your wrongs. It was at 
 Piktupohnen where you first met Napoleon, and 
 where the overbearing man bowed your noble 
 head in the dust. At Piktupohnen the Queen of 
 Prussia implored the emperor of the French to 
 spare her country, and grant her lenient terms of 
 peace. It was France now that was waiting for 
 Prussia at the same place, asking Prussia for as- 
 sistance, and Prussia refused it. Where the dis- 
 graceful alliance commenced has been seen its 
 bitter end. God is just; He has counted your 
 tears, and He is preparing your revenge. It be 
 gan at Piktupohnen." 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE DIPLOMATIST 
 
 DURING an hour Chancellor von Hardenberg, 
 in the cabinet of the French ambassador, Count 
 St. Marsan, conferred in an animated and grave 
 manner as to Prussia's new position, and the 
 guaranties she offered to France for the sincerity 
 of her alliance. Count St. Marsan felt entirely 
 satisfied, after reading the letter which King 
 Frederick William had written to the King of 
 
THE DIPLOMATIST. 
 
 91 
 
 Naples, and the decree removing York from his 
 command. He cordially shook hands with the 
 chancellor, and assured him that this disagreeable 
 affair would not leave the least vestige of dis- 
 trust ; that his august emperor would also feel 
 entirely satisfied of the sincerity of the king's 
 sentiments. 
 
 "And you may add that this will also satisfy 
 the emperor of the sincerity of my sentiments 
 toward him," said Hardenberg, smiling. " I 
 know that Napoleon has unfortunately often dis- 
 trusted me, and has believed me to be animated 
 with feelings hostile to his greatness. Hence- 
 forth, however, his majesty will have to admit 
 that I am one of his most reliable and faithful 
 adherents. It was I who prevailed upon the 
 king to stand by France so firmly and constantly. 
 You are aware of it, and I need not conceal it 
 from you, that King Frederick William loves the 
 Emperor Alexander, and would be happy, if cir- 
 cumstances enabled him, to renew his alliance 
 with his friend Alexander. The Emperor of Rus- 
 sia has already stretched out his hand toward 
 him, and is only waiting for Frederick William to 
 grasp it. York's defection was carefully prepared 
 on the part of Russia ; it was to be the impulse 
 which should cause the king to take Alexander's 
 hand. And let me tell you, confidentially, he was 
 not only greatly inclined to do so, but even the 
 enthusiasm of those gentlemen of his suite, who, 
 heretofore, had always been ardent adherents of 
 the Emperor of the French, had cooled down 
 since the disasters of the grand army in Russia, 
 and they believed it to be incumbent on them to 
 advise the king to join Russia. But I I have 
 obtained a victory over them all, and, by my zeal 
 and eloquence, have succeeded in convincing 
 Frederick William that just now .1 firm mainte- 
 nance of the alliance with France is most advan- 
 tageous both to the honor and welfare of Prussia. 
 The king saw the force of my arguments, and the 
 consequence was that he rejected the proposals 
 of Russia, and declared in favor of a faithful con- 
 tinuance of the alliance with France, as is proved 
 by this letter to Murat, and this decree, removing 
 York, which I have drawn up, and which is al- 
 
 ready signed. France may now confidently count 
 on Prussia, for you see we have passed through 
 our ordeal, and have proved faithful." 
 
 " Yes, you have," exclaimed Count St. Marsan, 
 "and the reward and acknowledgment due to 
 your fidelity will soon be conferred on you. The 
 emperor knows full well that the magnanimous 
 and disinterested character of your excellency will 
 not permit him to bestow upon you any other re- 
 wards and thanks than those of honor and of the 
 heart. As for the latter, please let me return them 
 to you now in the name of the emperor and of 
 France, and perhaps you will authorize me to 
 inform him that your excellency will consider the 
 grand cross of the Legion of Honor as a sufficient 
 acknowledgment." 
 
 " Great Heaven ! " exclaimed Hardenberg, with 
 a face radiant with joy, " you have divined tbe 
 object of my most secret wishes. You have road 
 my mind, and understood my ambition. There 
 is but one order to wear which is a proud 
 honor, and this order has not as yet decorated 
 my breast." 
 
 Count St. Marsan bent closer to the ear of the 
 chancellor. " My noble friend," be said, smiling, 
 and in a low voice, " we shall fasten this order to 
 the breast of the chancellor of state on the day 
 when we sign the marriage-contract of the crown 
 prince and a princess of the house of Napoleon." 
 
 " Yes," exclaimed Hardenberg, " let it be so. I 
 accept this condition. I shall not claim, nor 
 deem myself worthy of receiving, this longed-for 
 order before the day when the Prussian crown 
 prince will be betrothed to an imperial princess of 
 France. To bring about thin joyful event will 
 henceforth be for me an affair of the heart, and, 
 moreover, to such an extent that, if this honor 
 should previously be offered me, I would refuse it, 
 because I first wish to deserve it." 
 
 "And does your excellency believe that you 
 will have to wait long ? " asked Count St. Marsan. 
 " Do you believe that the day when the betrothal 
 will take place is yet remote ? " 
 
 " I hope not. The crown prince will be con" 
 firmed next month, and after his confirmation it 
 will be time to speak of his marriage. I am 
 
92 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER, 
 
 satisfied that all will turn out well, and conforma- 
 bly to our wishes, provided " 
 
 " Well ? " asked St. Marsan, when Hardenberg 
 suddenly paused. "Pray, your excellency, con- 
 fide in me, and tell me the whole truth. You may 
 rest assured of my most heart-felt gratitude, my 
 entire discretion, and the most unreserved con- 
 fidence on my part. I beseech you, therefore, to 
 speak out." 
 
 " Well, then," said Hardenberg, in a low voice, 
 and with an air of entire sincerity, " I was going 
 to say that every thing would turn out conforma- 
 bly to 3 r our wishes, provided the king do not listen 
 to the incessant secret entreaties and insinuations 
 of Russia, and the new Russian party at our 
 court. So long as / remain here, 1 am afraid of 
 nothing ; but if those gentlemen should succeed in 
 persuading the king to leave Berlin, and repair to 
 a city where he would be closer to Russia, then I 
 would really be afraid." 
 
 "And your excellency believes that the king 
 might entertain such an intention ? " asked Count 
 St. Marsan, in breathless suspense. 
 
 Hardenberg shrugged his shoulders. " I do 
 not want to believe it," he said, " but I am almost 
 afraid of it. However, both you and I will be 
 vigilant. But listen, your excellency, the clock is 
 striking two ! Two o'clock in the morning ! Both 
 of us have yet to send off couriers, and then we 
 may well be allowed to seek an hour's sleep for 
 our exhausted bodies. Good-night, then, my dear 
 count and ally ! good-night ! I hasten to the 
 king to tell him that France will be content with 
 the satisfaction which we offer her, and thereby 
 I shall procure him a quiet and peaceful slumber 
 for the present night." 
 
 " Ah, you are in truth a magician, your excel- 
 lency ! " said St. Marsan, gayly, " for you under- 
 stand both how to take away and give sleep. So 
 long as I am near you, I forget all weariness ; and 
 after you have left me I shall, thanks to your 
 words and promises, be able to sleep more quietly 
 than I have done for a long time. You have 
 quieted my soul, and my body therefore will also 
 find rest. Bid me good-night again, for when you 
 Bay so 1 will be sure to hare it." 
 
 " Good-night, then, my dear count," said Har- 
 denberg, shaking hands with his friend, and with- 
 drawing, with a smile, from the room. 
 
 This affectionate smile was still playing round 
 the lips of the chancellor when he entered his 
 carriage. But no sooner had its door closed and 
 the carriage was moving, than an expression of 
 gloomy hatred overspread his features. " I hope 
 I have quite succeeded in misleading St. Marsan 
 and arousing his suspicions in regard to the 
 king," he said to himself. " As the king refuses 
 to listen to my warnings and supplications, and 
 does not believe it to be possible that France 
 should dare seize him, it is time to give him 
 some irrefutable proofs. Perhaps he may then 
 make up his mind to leave Berlin. I may 
 sign this longed-for betrothal at some other place, 
 too, and then fasten on my breast the order for 
 which I am longing. In truth," he added, laugh- 
 ing, " it is no fault of mine that dear Count St. 
 Marsan interprets my desire in the way he does. I 
 did not name to him the order I wish to wear. It 
 is no fault of mine that he imagines I wish for 
 the grand cross of the Legion of Honor. To be 
 sure, I wish to obtain an order of honor, but one 
 of a German patriot, and that I can only obtain 
 from the gratitude of my countrymen and im- 
 partial history." 
 
 The carriage stopped in front of the royal 
 palace, and Hardenberg hastened to the king. 
 Silence reigned in the anteroom; a few sleepy 
 footmen were sitting on the cane chairs beside the 
 door, and scarcely took notice of the arrival of 
 the chancellor, who passed them with soft, hurried 
 steps, and entered the small reception-room. 
 Here, too, all was still, and the two candles on the 
 table, which had burned low, shed but a dim 
 light in the room. The chancellor noticed two 
 figures sitting on both sides of the door leading 
 into the adjoining room, and slowly swinging 
 to and fro, like the pendulum of a clock. He 
 softly approached the two sleepers. "Ah," he 
 whispered, with a smile, " there sleeps Timm, the 
 chamberlain, who is to announce my arrival to the 
 king; and here sleeps Major Natzmer, to whom I 
 j want to say a word before he sets cut." He laid 
 
 
THE DIPLOMATIST. 
 
 nia hand gently on the major's shoulder. Xutz- 
 raer jumped up at once and drew himself up in a 
 stiff, military attitude. "You are verj prudent 
 in nodding a little now," said Hardeabeig, kindly 
 giving him his hand, " for I am afraid you will not 
 find much time for it during the remainder of the 
 ni^ht. You are ready to set out immediately, 
 are you not ? " 
 
 " I am, your excellency." 
 
 "And your dispatches, I believe, are ready, 
 too. My dear Tirana," he then said to the cham- 
 berlain, " pray announce my arrival to his ma- 
 jesty." 
 
 " I believe it is unnecessary," said Timm, with 
 the familiarity of a favorite servant. " His ma- 
 jesty is waiting for your excellency." 
 
 "You had better announce my arrival," said 
 Hardenberg, smiling, "for it might be possible 
 that I surprise the king in the same manner as I 
 did these two gentlemen here, und that would be 
 disagreeable." 
 
 " That is true," said Timm, hastily approach- 
 ing the door. " I will immediately announce 
 your excellency." 
 
 No sooner had he left the room, than the chan- 
 cellor laid Ins band on the major's arm, and bent 
 over him. " My friend," he said, in a low, hur- 
 ried voice, u I know you share my views." 
 
 " Your excellency knows that I adore you as 
 the statesman who holds the future happiness of 
 Prussia in his hands, and that I abhor the French, 
 who have brought Prussia to the brink of ruin." 
 
 "Will you do something to bring her back 
 from this brink ? " 
 
 "Yes, your excellency, though it cost my 
 life." 
 
 I" That would be a high price. Xo ; we stand 
 in need of your life and your arm, for Prussia 
 will soon need all her soldier-. What I ask of 
 you is not near so valuable. Listen to me. The 
 king sends you as a courier to Old Prussia. Re- 
 pair, in the first place, to Murat's headquarters, 
 and deliver the king's letter to him. Go to the 
 Russian headquarters, and call upon Prince Witt 
 gen-:U'i:i. All I ask of you is to inform Prince 
 Wittgenstein that you ire the bearer of two dis- 
 
 patches. Tell him that one is an autograph letter 
 from the king to the Emperor Alexander, and the 
 other a decree removing General York from his 
 command, and ordering him to be put on his trial 
 before a military commission." 
 
 ' What ! " exclaimed Natzmer, in dismay. 
 " Our noble York is to be removed from his com- 
 mand ? " 
 
 "Yes; the king has resolved to remove anc 
 cashier him, because he has gone over with his 
 corps to the Russians." 
 
 "York gone over to the Russians ! " exclaimed 
 Xatzmer, joyously. " And for this wondrously 
 bold step I am to bring him a decree superseding 
 and cashiering him ? " 
 
 " That is what the king orders you to do, and, 
 of course, you will have to obey. But, I repeat 
 to you, the only thing I ask of you is to inform 
 Prince Wittgenstein what dispatches are in your 
 hands, and what their contents are." 
 
 " But suppose the king should not tell me any . 
 thing about them ? Suppose their contents, there- 
 fore, should be unknown to me ? " 
 
 " The king himself will communicate the con- 
 tents to you, and even order you to mention 
 everywhere on the road that you are the bearer 
 of a decree cashiering York, the criminal general. 
 It is of great importance to his majesty that every 
 one, and, above all, France, should learn that he 
 is highly incensed at York's defection, and that 
 Hush ! I hear Timm coming ! You will comply 
 with my request?" 
 
 ;< I shall inform Prince Wittgenstein of the con- 
 tents of my dispatches." 
 
 "In that case, I hope York will be safe! 
 Hush ! " 
 
 The door opened again, and the chamberlain 
 entered. " Your excellency was quite right," he 
 said ; " it was well that I announced your arrival 
 U\< majesty, like ourselves, had fallen asle>p 
 But now he is awaiting you." He opened the 
 folding-doors, and Hardenberg hastened across 
 the adjoining room to the king's cabinet, to torn- 
 municate to him the result of his interview with 
 the French ambassador. 
 
 An hour afterward Major Natzmer received 
 
94 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 three dispatches at the hands of the king. The 
 first was a letter to Napoleon's lieutenant at the 
 head of the French army, the King of Naples. 
 In this Frederick William informed Murat that 
 he was filled with the most intense indignation at 
 the step York had taken, and that he bad com- 
 missioned Major Natzmer to deliver a royal de- 
 cree to General Kleist, authorizing him to take 
 command of the troops and arrest General York. 
 He declared further in this letter that, as a matter 
 of course, he refused to ratify the convention, and 
 that the Prussian troops, commanded by General 
 Kleist, should be, as they had been heretofore, 
 subject to the orders of the Emperor Napoleon, 
 and his lieutenant, the King of Naples.* The 
 second dispatch was confidential, to the Emperor 
 Alexander, the contents of which the king had 
 not communicated even to his chancellor of state. 
 The third was, the decree superseding York, and 
 ordering Kleist to take command of the troops. 
 
 " I think," said the king, after Natzmer had 
 withdrawn, " we have now done every thing to 
 appease Napoleon's wrath, and avert from Prus- 
 sia all evil consequences. Are you not also of 
 this opinion, M. Chancellor ? " 
 
 " It only remains to send a special envoy to 
 Napoleon himself and assure him of your majes- 
 ty's profound indignation," said Hardenberg, 
 eloomily. " The proud emperor, perhaps, expects 
 such a proof of the fidelity of your majesty." 
 
 The king cast a quick and searching glance on 
 the gloomy countenance of the chancellor, and 
 then gazed for some time musingly. "You are 
 right," he said, after a pause ; " I must send a 
 special envoy to Paris. When it is necessary to 
 appease a bloodthirsty tiger, no means should be 
 left untried. I myself will write to Napoleon and 
 assure him that I will faithfully adhere to the al- 
 liance. Prince Hatzfeld will depart with this let- 
 ter for Paris early in the morning." 
 
 "Your majesty will then have done every 
 thing to satisfy the French of the sincerity of 
 your friendly intentions toward them, but I am 
 afraid they do not care to be satisfied." 
 
 * Droysen I " Life of Ycrk," voL ii., p. 37. 
 
 " You believe, then, seriously that the French 
 are menacing me ? " asked the king, with a con- 
 temptuous smile. 
 
 " I am convinced of it, your majesty." 
 " But what do you believe, then ? What 
 you afraid of ? " 
 
 " As I said before, I am afraid they will dare 
 abduct the sacred person of your majesty, and 1 
 beseech you to be on your guard ; never leave 
 your palace alone and unarmed ; never go into 
 the street without being attended by an armed 
 escort." 
 
 " Ah," said the king, with a sad smile, " do not 
 the French always see to it that I am attended by 
 an escort ? Am I not always surrounded by their 
 spies and eavesdroppers ? " 
 
 " If your majesty is aware of this, why do you 
 not yield to my entreaties? Why do you not 
 leave Berlin ? " 
 
 " Perhaps to go to Potsdam ? Shall I be less 
 watched there by the spies ? Shall I there be less 
 a prisoner ? " 
 
 " No, your majesty ought to leave Berlin in 
 order to deliver yourself at one blow, and thor- 
 oughly, from this intolerable espionage. Youi 
 majesty ought to make up your mind to go to 
 Breslau. There you would be nearer your army ; 
 there your faithful subjects and followers would 
 rally round you, and the Emperor Alexander per- 
 haps would soon come thither. At all events, 
 your majesty would there be secure from the 
 French spies, and your adherents would be deliv- 
 ered from their anxiety for the personal safety of 
 your majesty." 
 
 " To Breslau ! " exclaimed the king, anxiously. 
 " That is impossible ! that would be pouring oil 
 into the fire that would be to advance on the 
 path into which York has entered." 
 
 " It would be another step toward the deliver- 
 ance of your majesty, the salvation of the country, 
 and the annihilation of the tyrant ! " said Harden- 
 berg, raising his voice. 
 
 The king made no reply ; he stepped to the 
 window, and, turning his back to the chancellor, 
 looked out musingly into the night. Hardenberg 
 looked now at him, and then on the queen's portrait 
 
 - 
 
THE DIPLOMATIST. 
 
 95 
 
 (i 
 
 . 
 
 Suddenly his features grew milder, and an inde- 
 scribable, imploring expression was to be seen in 
 his eyes. " Help me, queen," he whispered, in a 
 fervid tone. " Direct his heart, guardian angel 
 of Prussia ; render it strong and firm, and " 
 
 The king turned again :o the chancellor and 
 approached him. " I cannot comply with your 
 request," said Frederick William, " foi, if I should 
 go to Breslau, it would be equivalent to a decla- 
 ration of war, and we are, unfortunately, not in a 
 position to justify that. I must not rashly plunge 
 myself and my country into a danger which proba- 
 bly would bring about our utter ruin. But I pledge 
 you my word that, if your apprehensions should 
 really be verified if I really obtain proofs that 
 my person and liberty are menaced, I shall then 
 deem it incumbent on me to escape from this 
 danger, and remove the seat of government to a 
 safer place perhaps Breslau." 
 
 " Is your majesty in earnest ? " exclaimed Har- 
 denberg, joyously. "You really intend, after 
 having satisfied yourself that dangers are threat- 
 ening }ou here, to leave Berlin and place yourself 
 beyor.d the reach of the French ? " 
 
 " I pledge you my word of honor that such is 
 my intention," said the king, solemnly. " And 
 now, enough ! I believe both of us need a few 
 hours' rest. In the course of the forenoon I will 
 write the letter which Prince Hatzfeld is to take 
 to Paris. Good-night, M. Chancellor ! " 
 
 "Drive me home as fast as your horses can 
 shouted Hardenberg to his coachman, on 
 entering his carriage. 
 
 "We shall be there in five minutes," mut- 
 tered the coachman, whipping his horses into a 
 gallop. 
 
 Precisely five minutes afterward the carriage 
 stopped in front of the chancellor's residence, and 
 a well-dressed young man, hastily pushing aside 
 the footman, opened the coach door. 
 
 "Ah, is it you, my dear Richard?" said Har- 
 i. " Why have you not \\t 
 gone to bed ? " 
 
 " Because I could not sleep while your excel- 
 lency had not returned," said the young man, 
 assisting the minister in alighting. " It is nearly 
 
 
 four o'clock ; the whole house was ' greatly 
 alarmed." 
 
 " Well, and what were you afraid of, you dear 
 fools ? " asked Hardenberg, smilingly, while as 
 cending the staircase. 
 
 " That your enemies had found means to kid- 
 nap you, and that the French had resorted to 
 such an outrage to get rid of their most danger- 
 ous and powerful adversary." 
 
 "Ah, you big children!" exclaimed Harden- 
 berg, laughing. " How could you give way to 
 such senseless apprehensions while I was supping 
 in a friendly way at the house of the French 
 marshal ? '' 
 
 ' Just for that reason, your excellency," said 
 Richard, smiling. " We may know well how to 
 get into a mouse-trap, but we do not know how 
 to get out again. A panic prevailed among your 
 servants, and the footmen had already made up 
 their minds to arm themselves, go to the house 
 of Marshal Augereau, and forcibly deliver your 
 excellency." 
 
 " I was lucky, therefore, in escaping from such 
 ridicule," said Hardenberg, gravely. "A min 
 ister who is taken home by his servants vi et ar- 
 m/5, because he takes the liberty not to return 
 at an early hour what a splendid farce that 
 would be ! Pray be kind enough to tell my ser- 
 vants that their anxiety was very foolish. The 
 greatest cordiality prevails between myself and 
 the French gentlemen, and never before has there 
 been such a friendly understanding between 
 France and Prussia. My servants should always 
 remember that, and commit no follies. " 
 
 He intentionally said this in so loud a tone that 
 the two footmen who preceded him with lights, 
 as well as the two servants who followed, bean* 
 and understood ever- word he uttered. Harden- 
 berg knew, therefore, that all his servants, fifteen 
 minutes afterward, would be informed of the new 
 entente cordiale between Prussia and France ; that 
 all Berlin would be aware of it on the following 
 day, and that lie would thus have attained his 
 object. 
 
 " Your excellency will not yet retire ? " asked 
 Richard, when the minister, instead of going down 
 
96 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 the corridor to his bedroom, now halted at the 
 door of his cabinet. 
 
 "No, M. Private Secretary," said Hardenberg, 
 smiling. " As you are still awake, and appar- 
 ently not sleepy, let us hold a little business con- 
 ference. Come ! " 
 
 No sooner had the servants put the lights on 
 the table and left the room, than the face of the 
 chancellor suddenly assumed a grave air. Order- 
 ing, with an imperious wave of his hand, his pri- 
 vate secretary to be silent, he hastened to his 
 desk and quickly wrote a few lines. " Richard," 
 he said, casting the pen aside, and turning his 
 head toward the young man, who witnessed his 
 mysterious proceedings in great surprise, " Rich- 
 ard, come here ! " 
 
 The young man hastened to him, and when 
 Hardenberg gave him his hand, with a kind smile, 
 Richard stooped down and pressed a tender kiss 
 on it. 
 
 " Ah, lips as glowing as yours are, should kiss 
 only beautiful girls," said Hardenberg, smiling. 
 
 " But these lips like better to kiss the hand of 
 my benefactor, my protector," exclaimed tlie 
 young man, " the kind hand of the man who ex- 
 tricated me from poverty, distress, and despair ; 
 who caused me to be fed, educated, and instruct- 
 ed ; and who (until I myself, by his liberal kind- 
 ness, was enabled to discharge this sacred duty) 
 secured to my poor sick mother an existence free 
 from cares." 
 
 " Do not allude to these trifles," paid Harden- 
 burg, carelessly. "Tell me, rather, do you re- 
 gard me with respect and love ? " 
 
 " Indescribably, your excellency; with the ten- 
 derness of a son, with the devotedness and fidel- 
 ity of an old servant." 
 
 " Will you give me a proof of it ? " 
 
 " I will, your excellency, and should you de- 
 mand my heart's blood, I would willingly spill it 
 for you ! " 
 
 " Listen to me, then ! In five minutes you must 
 be on horseback and ride at a gallop, night and 
 day, until you reach the Russian camp." 
 
 "In three days," said Richard, gravely, " but 
 the journey Avill kill my horse." 
 
 " I will give you two horses for him, provided 
 you arrive sooner than Major Natzmer at the 
 headquarters of Prince Wittgenstein, commander- 
 in-chief of the Russian troops ! " 
 
 " Has Natzmer left Berlin already ? " 
 
 " Yes, about an hour since, and you know that 
 he is con?idered the most dashing and reckless 
 horseman among all our officers:. He has, more- 
 over, another advantage. He will ride through 
 the French camp, and will thence go to the Rus- 
 sian army, which is in the rear of it ; but you 
 must ride around the French camp, and go by 
 way of Gumbinnen, unnoticed by the French, to 
 the Russian headquarters. But the main point 
 is, that you arrive there sooner than Major Natz- 
 mer." 
 
 " I will arrive there sooner. Your excellency 
 knows that I have often been in Konigsberg and 
 its surroundings ; I know all the by-ways and 
 short cuts, and am, moreover, a good horseman." 
 
 " I know all that. I presume, therefore, that you 
 will be with Wittgenstein before Natzmer reaches 
 him. But you will tell no one that it is I who 
 sent you. It is your task to find means to speak 
 to him alone. But wait I will give you your 
 credentials. Take this ring. General Wittgen- 
 stein knows it ; he has often seen it on my fin- 
 ger, and he is familiar with my coat-of-arms. 
 Send him this ring by his aide-de-camp, and he 
 will admit you." 
 
 " He will admit me, should I have to shoot 
 down the sentinels." 
 
 " As soon as you are face to face with the gen- 
 eral, deliver to him this little note, which I have 
 penned. Read it, and then I will direct and 
 seal it." He handed the paper to the young 
 man. " Read it aloud," he said. 
 
 "In one or two hours Major Katzracr will ar- 
 rive at the headquarters of your excellency, and 
 beg leave to pass through the Russian camp in 
 order to repair to General York. If your excel- 
 lency should grant his request, and allow him to 
 reach York's headquarters, the hopes of Prussian 
 patriots would be annihilated at one fell swoop. 
 But if York remains at the head of his troops, so 
 enthusiasticallv attached to him if the whole na- 
 
THE DIPLOMATIST. 
 
 97 
 
 iran 
 
 
 tion and the whole corps may from this fact de- 
 rive the hope that York acted in compliance with 
 the secret instructions of his king, then we may 
 hope for a speedy change in our affairs. The 
 fate and the future of Prussia therefore lie in the 
 hands of noble General Wittgenstein." 
 
 44 Now read over the letter twice for yourself," 
 said Hardenberg, " that you may engrave it on 
 your memory. For in case you should happen 
 to lose the letter, or if it should be stolen from 
 you, you must verbally repeat its contents to 
 Prince Wittgenstein." 
 
 44 1 shall not lose it, and no one can steal it 
 from me, for I shall carry it in my heart. I have 
 nothing further to do than to deliver this letter to 
 him?" 
 
 14 You have to say yet to the general a few 
 words which I dare not intrust to paper, but only 
 to your memory. You will say to him: 'Every 
 thing is ready, and the period of procrastination 
 and hesitation is drawing to a close. In a few 
 days the king will leave Berb'n, where he was in 
 danger of being arrested by the French, and re- 
 pair to Breslau. At Breslau he will issue a mani- 
 festo to his people and call them to arms.' Hush, 
 young man, hush ! no joyous exclamations, no 
 transports ! You must eet out ! It is high time ! 
 Beware of the bullets of the French, and the 
 vish hands of the Russians ! You must reach 
 
 ittgenstein sooner than Natzmer does ; do not 
 forget that ! " 
 
 44 1 shall not Farewell, your excellency ! " 
 
 44 Farewell, my young friend. For a week at 
 least, then, I shall not see your dear face greeting 
 me every morning in my cabinet. You must in- 
 demnify me for it." 
 
 44 In what way, your excellency ? " 
 
 4 ' You must embrace me, my young friend," 
 exclaimed H:ir.lenberg, stretching out his arms 
 toward the young man. 
 
 44 Oh, how kind, how generous you are!" ex- 
 claimed Richard, encircling the minister with his 
 arms, and then reverentially kissing his shoulder? 
 and his ha:. 
 
 " Now, your excellency," he said, rising quick- 
 ly, "now I am ready to brave all dangers. Fure- 
 7 
 
 well ! " He waved his hand again to the minister, 
 and left the room. 
 
 44 He will outstrip Natzmer," said Hardenberg, 
 gazing after him ; 4 ' it is an arrow of love which I 
 have discharged, and it will not miss its aim. 
 And now let us see how it is about the other 
 arrow of love, which mes chers amis mes ennemu 
 would like to discharge at me!" He rang the 
 bell. Conrad, his faithful old footman, entered 
 the room. 
 
 "Has there no note come for me?" asked 
 Hardenberg. 
 
 " Yes, there has, your excellency," said Con- 
 rad, in a low and anxious tone. " Two letters, 
 your excellency." 
 
 44 Give them to me." 
 
 Conrad cast a searching glance over the room 
 he then drew two tiny, neatly-folded letters from 
 his bosom and handed them to the minister. 
 44 She herself was here," he whispered, "and 
 seemed very sad when I told her his excellency 
 was not at home, and at first she refused to be- 
 lieve what I said. Only when I swore to her 
 it was true, she gave me the first note. She 
 returned afterward and brought the second let- 
 ter." 
 
 44 But why do you tell me all this in so mys- 
 terious and timid a manner ? Are you afraid lest 
 some one has concealed himself, and plays the 
 eavesdropper ? " 
 
 "Not that exactly, your excellency," whis- 
 pered Conrad ; " but the walls might have 
 ears!" He pointed furtively at the ceiling of 
 the room. 
 
 "Ah, we are here under my wife's bedroom," 
 said Hardenberg, laughing. " You are afraid lest 
 she should be awake, and overhear our words 
 through the floor of her room." 
 
 44 Madame von Hardenberg sees, hears, and di- 
 vines every thing," *ud Conrad, with an air of 
 dismay. 
 
 44 It is true," muttered Hardenberg to himself. 
 44 her jealousy izive- her a thousand eyes, and the 
 events of her own life have familiarized her with 
 all sorts of cabals and intrigues. In this way 
 she succeeded hi becoming my wife and in bea*- 
 
98 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 ing my name before the world. But, no matter ! 
 I am not afraid of her Argus eyes, nor shall she 
 prevent me from pursuing my own path, and 
 adorning my dreary private life with a flower or 
 two of pleasure." 
 
 "I believe and fear, your excellency," whis- 
 pered Conrad, "Madame von Hardenberg has 
 found out that the young lady was here, and that 
 I received these letters from her." 
 
 " What makes you believe so ? " 
 
 " Madame von Hardenberg sent for me at 
 eleven o'clock to-night, and asked me when your 
 excellency would return, and whither you had 
 gone. When I told her I could not inform her, be- 
 cause I did not know, she was pleased to box my 
 ears aud threaten that she would before long turn 
 me out of the house." 
 
 " These are, indeed, very valid reasons for your 
 suppositions," said Hardenberg, smiling. "But 
 do not be alarmed. I know how to protect you 
 from being turned out, and as to having your 
 ears boxed, it is no insult, by the soft little hands 
 of a lady. Any other news ? " 
 
 " Yes, your excellency, the physician of the young 
 lady was here at a late hour in the evening, in 
 order to tell me that she had again fallen asleep, 
 and, before doing so, bad announced she would 
 be clairvoyant at eight o'clock in the morning." 
 
 "At eight o'clock!" exclaimed Hardenberg. 
 " Do you hear, Conrad ? I must be there at eight 
 o'clock. That is to say, you must awaken me at 
 seven o'clock." 
 
 "But, your excellency, you will then have 
 slept scarcely two hours," said. Conrad, sadly. 
 
 " My old friend," said Hardenberg, " shall we 
 not have time enough for sleeping in our graves ? 
 Let us be awake here on earth as long as possi- 
 ble. You will awaken me at seven o'clock. And 
 now, come and assist me in retiring." 
 
 Fifteen minutes afterward Hardenberg was in 
 bed. A neat little table, with a night-lamp burn- 
 ing on a golden plate, was standing at his bed- 
 side. Before falling asleep, the chancellor read 
 the two notes which Conrad had delivered to him. 
 " Protestations of love ! " he whispered, smiling 
 and folding them up. " Protestations of love 
 
 that is to say, falsehoods. But I must confess 
 that this arrow, which mes chers amis mes ennemi* 
 have discharged at me, is at least very finely 
 feathered and very attractive. At eight o'clock 
 in the morning, then ! Well, I shall see whether 
 I do not succeed in playing my hostile friends a 
 little trick, and in returning the arrow to their 
 own breast." 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE CLAIRVOYANTS. 
 
 FOR some time past the inhabitants of Berlin 
 had paid a great deal of attention to the doings 
 of Doctor Binder, and told each other wonderful 
 stories of the new medical system of this strange 
 physician. He treated his patients in an entirely 
 novel way, and performed his cures in a manner 
 bordering strongly on the romantic and miracu- 
 lous. He neither felt the pulse of his sick friends, 
 nor did he examine their tongue; he only gazed 
 on them for a minute with his sombre, flaming 
 eyes, and the patients then felt as if fascinated by 
 them. Their pain ceased, their blood burned less 
 ardently, and an indescribable feeling pervaded 
 their body for a moment. When the doctor per- 
 ceived this, he would raise both his hands, and 
 with the palms softly and repeatedly stroke his 
 subject's face. Then the sufferer's cheeks colored ; 
 a wondrous, long-forgotten smile played round 
 the lips which, for many months, had opened only 
 to utter prayers, or sighs and complaints ; the 
 dimmed eyes began to brighten, and fixed them- 
 selves with a radiant expression on the face of 
 the doctor, whose steadfast, piercing glancea 
 seemed to penetrate the sick one's countenance, 
 and reach down into his soul, in order to divine, 
 in its innermost recesses, his most secret feelings 
 and thoughts. By and by a sweet peace per- 
 vaded the soul of the patient; his aching limbs 
 relaxed ; he folded his hands, which had hitherto 
 moved convulsively and restively on the counter- 
 pane ; the eyes, which had steadfastly rested on 
 
THE CLAIRVOYANTE. 
 
 99 
 
 : 
 
 The 
 
 I 
 
 the face of the wonderful physician, closed grad- 
 ually, and soon bis long and regular breathings 
 indicated that he had at length found the slum- 
 ber which, during his sickness, he had so long 
 sought and yearned for. 
 
 It is true, the patient awoke after a time, and his 
 sufferings returned ; the end of his slumber was 
 often accompanied by painful convulsions, an in- 
 describable feeling of depression, and the most 
 profound sadness, but Dr. Binder was present ; his 
 eyes exorcised the patient's pain, his hands quieted 
 the quivering limbs, and chased away the tears, 
 and the sufferer fell again into a sweet and refresh- 
 ing slumber. This lulling the patient to sleep, 
 this fascinating gaze, and laying on of hands, were 
 the only medicines which the doctor administered, 
 and by which he succeeded in freeing them from 
 their sufferings and diseases. People related the 
 most wonderful cures which he had performed ; 
 they spoke of persons who had been blind ever 
 since their birth, and whom he had caused to see 
 of deaf-mutes, to whom he had given the power 
 of speech and hearing after a few days' treat- 
 mentof lame men, who suddenly, after being 
 touched by the doctor's hands, had thrown away 
 their crutches, and walked freely and easily. 
 
 But the public's attention was particularly 
 riveted by the case of a young girl who had been 
 for some time past under Dr. Binder's treatment. 
 She had come from a distant city to seek a cure 
 at the hands of the famous physician and pupil 
 
 IMesmer. A bad cold had brought about a 
 alysis of all her limbs ; she was unable to 
 move her hands and feet, and had for months 
 lain on her bed as motionless, rigid, and dumb, as 
 a marble statue. Her parents had, in the anguish 
 of their heart, at length applied to Dr. Binder. 
 The doctor received her into his house. He pub- 
 
 :ly invited all the physicians of Berlin to visit 
 patient, to examine her condition, and to 
 
 tisfy themselves of the efficacy of his cure. He 
 also requested the public to watch the pn 
 of it, and to come to his house at the hours when 
 he lulled his patient to sleep. The physicians 
 had disdainfully refused to have any thing to do 
 with the " quack doctor," who pretended to cure 
 
 diseases without medicines; but the public ap- 
 peared the more eagerly. 
 
 And this public enjoyed the satisfaction of see- 
 ing that the motionless form of the young girl, 
 who at first had lain on the bed as rigid as stone, 
 very slowly commenced to move. It was seen that, 
 a few days afterward, she raised her right hand, 
 and, shortly after, her right foot ; gradually life 
 and motion were restored to her limbs, and at 
 length, at a truly solemn hour, the young girl, at 
 the doctor's loudly-uttered command, arose from 
 her couch and paced the room with firm and 
 steady steps. It is true she uttered a piercing 
 cry, and fell at the feet of the doctor, her limbs 
 quivering as though she were seized with convul- 
 sion, but gradually she grew more quiet ; a peace- 
 ful expression beamed from her features, and she 
 commenced talking in a tone of joyous enthu- 
 siasm. She spoke of the wonderful world on 
 which she was gazing with her inward eyes, of 
 the visions which burst on her soul, and her lips 
 whispered strange prophecies. This condition of 
 the patient repeatedly occurred every day, and 
 with unfailing regularity followed every " crisis." 
 
 The young woman had become a clairvoyante ; 
 and it was a truly wonderful fact that she, who, 
 according to the statements of her relatives, had 
 never cared for politics or public affairs, and to 
 whom it was entirely indifferent whether Napo- 
 leon or any other sovereign ruled Germany, sud- 
 denly, in her clairvoyant state, devoted her whole 
 attention to political questions, and that she had, 
 as it were, become a prophetess of the destinies 
 of states. 
 
 It was not very strange, therefore, that this 
 phenomenon excited even the attention of states- 
 men, and that they too went to see the clairvoy- 
 ante in her political ecstasy, and to put to her 
 questions on public affairs, which she answered 
 always with truly wonderful tact, and with the 
 lolound insiirht into all such questions. 
 
 Among those who took an interest in her was 
 the chancellor of state, Minister von ITardenberg. 
 Curiosity had at first induced him to call upon 
 her ; then her clever and piquant remarks struck 
 him as something very strange, and at last he be- 
 
100 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 came a regular visitor. Of late, at his special 
 request, the room of the patient, during her crises 
 and clairvoyant trances, had been shut against all 
 other visitors, and only the chancellor and the 
 physician were present. 
 
 The young woman, who, during her trances, reg- 
 ularly announced at what hour of the following 
 day she would relapse into this condition, had 
 predicted that she would awake from her mag- 
 netic slumber at eight o'clock in the morning, and 
 would then be in a state of clairvoyance. This 
 hour had not yet arrived ; the clock which stood 
 in her room on the bureau under the looking- 
 glass indicated that about ten minutes were still 
 wanting to the stated time. A profound silence 
 reigned in the room of the young patient. The 
 physician sat reading on a high-backed chair at 
 her bedside his book contained the history and 
 revelations of Swedenborg, the great Swedish 
 ghost-seer. From time to time, however, he turned 
 his large, flashing eyes toward the young woman, 
 and seemed to watch her slumber with searching 
 glances. 
 
 The patient was motionless and rigid. A white, 
 neat negligee enveloped her slender figure, which 
 was stretched out on the bed without being cov- 
 ered with a counterpane. Her small, beautifully- 
 shaped hands were folded on her breast, her head 
 was thrown back sideways, and rested on a pil- 
 low of crimson velvet, which contrasted strangely 
 with her pale face, and black hair, that overhung 
 her marble cheeks hi long tresses. The clock 
 was striking eight. The doctor cast a quick 
 glance on the patient, and then slowly closed his 
 book. She began to stir and opened her lips, 
 from which issued a long, painful sigh. At this 
 moment there was heard the roll of a carriage on 
 the street. The noise ceased, the carriage seemed 
 to stop in front of the house. The clairvoyante 
 shuddered, and joy kindled her countenance. 
 " He is coming ! he is coming ! " she said, in a 
 deep, melodious voice. " I see him ascending the 
 staircase. He is pale and exhausted, and his 
 eyes are dim, for he has slept but little. Govern- 
 ment affairs have kept him awake. Oh, now I am 
 arell, for there he is!" 
 
 In fact, the door softly opened, and the chan- 
 cellor cautiously entered. By a quick wave of 
 his hand, he ordered the doctor not to meet 
 him, and then approached the bed softly and on 
 tiptoe. 
 
 The young woman did not change her position; 
 her eyelashes did not quiver, nor did she open 
 her eyes, and yet she seemed to see Hardenberg, 
 for she said in a mournful and tremulous voice : 
 " Well, doctor, was I not right ? Just see how 
 pale he looks, and how the sweet smile with which 
 he formerly used to come to us is to-day very 
 faintly playing round his lips like a little will-o'- 
 the-wisp ! But I told you already he has slept 
 only two hours ; he had to be so long minister 
 of state as to find scarcely two hours' rest for the 
 poor, exhausted man." 
 
 The physician cast an inquiring glance on the 
 chancellor. Hardenberg nodded smilingly. " You 
 are right, Frederica," he said. " I was minister 
 of state all day long yesterday." 
 
 " No, no," she exclaimed, " not all the day. 
 At the commencement of Marshal Augereau's sup 
 per you were merry, and succeeded in forgetting 
 your onerous business ; and had not the secretary 
 of Count St. Marsan made his appearance and 
 brought the dispatches, you would have finished 
 your pheasant's wing with good appetite and in 
 the best of spirits." 
 
 The minister's face assumed an air of astonish- 
 ment, and almost of terror. "Ah," he said, " it 
 seems you were present at that supper ? " 
 
 "Certainly I was, for my soul is accompa- 
 nying you all the time, and my soul is the eye 
 of my body. I see all you do, and know all your 
 thoughts." 
 
 " Well, then," said Hardenberg, smiling, " telj 
 me what you saw last night. Look backward, 
 Frederica, and tell me where I was, and what T. 
 did." 
 
 " Then you doubt my words ? " she asked, re- 
 proachfully. " You want to see whether I am 
 able to tell you the truth? You know that it 
 makes my eyes ache to look backward, and that 
 my spirit soars with easier flight into the futur* 
 than the past ! " 
 
TEIE CLAIRVOYAXTE. 
 
 103 
 
 - 
 
 " Do so nevertheless, Frederica," said Harden- 
 berg, imperiously. " I wish you to do so ! " He 
 laid his hand upon her arm, and the contact made 
 her start as an electric shock. 
 
 " I will obey," she whispered, in an humble 
 tone. " 1 see you sitting at the table of Marshal 
 Augereau. You are in excellent spirits ; you are 
 just telling the marshal that the betrothed of the 
 crown prince with a princess of the house of Na- 
 poleon will take place before long ; Count Nar- 
 bonne is complaining of the political conversa- 
 tions with which you are spicing the supper in 
 too piquant a manner ; dispatches arrive and dis- 
 turb your mirth." 
 
 " From whom do these dispatches come ? " 
 asked ITardenberg. 
 
 " From Marshal Macdonald, who addressed 
 them to the French ambassador, Count St. Mar- 
 Ban." 
 
 " Do you know their contents ? " 
 
 " I am reading them. There is, in the first 
 place, a letter from General York" 
 
 "Hush!" interrupted Hardenburg; "we will 
 ppeak of that hereafter ; do not allude to it now. 
 Tell me what else I did last night." 
 
 " After reading the dispatches, you hastened 
 to the king to inform him of the dreadful news. 
 Scarcely had you been with him for a few minutes, 
 when a courier from General York arrived and 
 delivered dispatches concerning the same subject 
 to which the others had referred. After a pro- 
 tracted interview with the king, you went to the 
 French ambassador, and informed him of the 
 sentiments and resolutions of his majesty. The 
 count declared himself satisfied with what you 
 told him, and you then hastened back to the 
 king. You there met Major Natzmer, whom the 
 g intended to dispatch as a courier to Murat 
 General York. You entered the king's room 
 in<l had another protracted interview with him. 
 Thereupon you returned to your residence." 
 
 " With whom did I speak there first of all ? " 
 
 The clairvoyante was silent for a moment. " I 
 do not see it," she said, " the night is so dark." 
 
 " Open your eyes until you see ! " 
 
 " Ah, I see now ! " she exclaimed. " Your 
 
 excellency spoke with old Conrad. He accom- 
 panied you to your bedroom and handed you two 
 letters." 
 
 " She is right," muttered the chancellor, loudly 
 enough to be heard by the young woman and the 
 physician. " Yes, she is right ; it is all precisely 
 as she says." He then asked aloud : " Did . 
 speak with any one else than Conrad ? " 
 
 "No," she said; "I do not see anybody else. 
 Conrad told you that I would open the eyes of my 
 soul and see at eight o'clock this morning. You 
 ordered him to awaken you at seven o'clock, and 
 went to bed." 
 
 " What did I do before falling asleep ? " 
 
 "You read the two little notes," she said, with 
 a coy smile. 
 
 The chancellor turned his eyes toward the 
 physician, who witnessed this scene in silent and 
 solemn earnestness. "Doctor Binder," he said, 
 " all that this young lady told me just now is 
 strictly true. All my doubts are henceforth dis- 
 pelled, and from this hour I am one of the be- 
 lievers. No ; I say this is no deception, no im- 
 position ; it is a mystery of nature, which I am 
 unable to explain, but in which I am compelled 
 to believe. It is given to this young lady to look 
 with the eyes of her soul into the past, as well as 
 into the future, and to perceive and penetrate the 
 most secret things. I believe in her, and shall 
 henceforth allow myself to be directed and in- 
 structed by her revelations. I thank you for 
 having brought this wonderful girl to my notice, 
 and you may always count on my heart-felt grati- 
 tude." 
 
 " Belief in the high art of my science and doc- 
 trines is the only gratitude I am yearning for, and 
 my only desire is not to be prevented from heal- 
 ing poor patients and making suffering humanity 
 happy by my holy science." 
 
 " Xo one shall be allowed to prevent you from 
 doing so as long as 7am minister, I pledge you 
 my word," said Hardenbcrg, gravely. " Take 
 heart, therefore, and do not be afraid. I am your 
 disciple, and at the same time your protector. 
 But now grant me a request : I should like to put 
 to our charming seer yet a few questions in re 
 
102 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 gard to last night's events. She shall, in her 
 inspired and prophetic prescience, give me her 
 advice and tell me what course I must pursue ; 
 but, in doing so, I shall have to allude to state 
 secrets, and to speak of affairs which no one is 
 allowed to know but the king and his ministers, 
 and" 
 
 " I pray your excellency to permit me to leave 
 you alone with our young seer," interrupted 
 Doctor Binder, with a polite smile. " I have to 
 see several patients, and my presence is required 
 at the ' Hall of Crises ' below, for my two young 
 assistants are scarcely able to restrain our female 
 patients when the crisis sets in." 
 
 " Go, then, to your patients," said Harden- 
 berg; "I shall stay here with our clairvoyante 
 until she awakes." 
 
 " If your excellency needs any thing," said the 
 doctor, approaching the door, "it will only be 
 necessary for you to ring the bell ; the nurse is 
 in the reception-room, and will immediately call 
 my assistants." 
 
 He bowed to Hardenberg, bent once more with 
 % searching glance over the couch of his patient, 
 drew with his hands a few circles over her head, 
 and left the room with noiseless steps. The 
 chancellor and the clairvoyante were alone. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 AN ADVENTURESS. 
 
 WHEN the physician left the room, the chan- 
 cellor returned to the bedside of the young wo- 
 man; her position was the same, and her eyes 
 were still closed. She did not see, therefore, the 
 sarcastic smile with which Hardenberg looked 
 down upon her, or the proud, triumphant ex- 
 pression that was beaming from his eyes. Hers 
 wwe closed, and, notwithstanding her clairvoy- 
 mce, she saw nothirg, nor did Hardenberg's 
 voice betray to her aught of the expression of his 
 countenance or the character of his thoughts. 
 
 " Frederica," he said, in his soft, gentle voice, 
 
 " speak to me now, my soer ; be my prophetess 
 now, and let me see the future. Tell me what I 
 must do in order to reconcile all these dissensions, 
 and harmonize all these clashing interests. On 
 which side is justice, prosperity, and peace? " 
 
 " On the side of the great man whose gigantic 
 strength has lifted the world out of its hinges, 
 and given it a new aspect," she said, gravely. 
 "Stand faithfully by the alliance with France, 
 unless you wish the crown to fall from the bead 
 of your king, and Prussia to be divided into two 
 provinces, one annexed to the kingdom of West- 
 phalia, and the other to the duchy of Warsaw." 
 
 " But will France then still have power to do 
 so ? " asked Hardenberg ; " is not France herself 
 on the brink of the abyss into which she has 
 hurled all states, princes, and crowns ? " 
 
 " France is as powerful to-day as she ever was," 
 responded the seer. " New armies at the beck of 
 Napoleon will spring from the ground, his mit 
 itary chests will be filled with new millions, and 
 the invincible chieftain will lead bis legions to 
 new victories. Woe then to Prussia if she proves 
 faithless woe to her, if, in insensate infatuation, 
 she turns her back upon France, and allows he ;- 
 self to listen to the insinuations and promises b v 
 which Russia is trying to gain her over to her 
 side ! Russia herself is weak and exhausted ; she 
 will be unable to afford Prussia any adequate 
 support. Be on your guard ! Russia has always 
 been a perfidious ally ; she has always crushed the 
 hand of her allies in her grasp, while seemingly 
 giving a pledge of her good faith. France alone 
 is offering to Prussia substantial guaranties of 
 peace; Napoleon alone must remain the pro- 
 tector of Prussia. Banish, therefore, the insid- 
 ious thoughts that are troubling your soul ; try 
 no longer to dissuade the king from adhering to 
 the alliance Do not try to persuade him to ap- 
 prove York's defection ! He is a traitor, whose 
 head must fall ; for such is the decree of the laws 
 of war. To approve his defection is to throw 
 down the gauntlet to France, and annihilate 
 Prussia ! " 
 
 "You have played your part to perfection!" 
 exclaimed Hardenberg, laughing. "Please ao 
 
Leaping into the middle of the room, as light-footed as a sylph, and fascinating as one of the Graces, 
 
 she began to dance. p. 103. 
 
AN ADVENTURESS. 
 
 103 
 
 eept my sincere congratulations, my dear child ; 
 the greatest actress in the world could not per- 
 form her rolf any better than you have done to- 
 day, and ever since I became acquainted with 
 
 At the first words of the chancellor, the clair- 
 voyante gave a violent start ; a tremor pervaded 
 her whole frame, and a deep blush suffused her 
 cheeks for a moment; but all this quickly pa--ed 
 away, and now she was again as rigid and mo- 
 tionless as she was before. 
 
 Hardenberg's eyes were fixed on her. "You 
 do not desire to understand me, Frederica," he 
 s=iil. "Well, then, I will speak somewhat more 
 lucidly. Will you permit me to ask two addi- 
 tional questions ? " 
 
 " You know very well that I must reply when 
 your soul commands me to do so," said the young 
 woman, in a perfectly calm voice, " for your soul 
 has power over mine, and I must obey it." 
 
 * Well, then my first question : did I really, 
 night, on returning to my residence, speak 
 with no one but old Conrad ? Was no one but 
 he in my room until I went to bed ? Look sharp, 
 open the eyes of your soul as wide as you can, 
 and then reply ! " 
 
 " I see," she said, after a pause ; " but I see 
 that you were alone with Conrad, and with the 
 thoughts of a lady who loves you." 
 
 "I am very glad that you tell me so," said 
 Harden berg, calmly, "for I understand from it 
 that my enemies, who are furnishing you with 
 correct reports as to all my doings, have yet 
 remained ignorant of an affair in which I was 
 engaged last night. For thote really was another 
 perwon with me, and your patrons would give a 
 great deal to find out what instructions I gave to 
 that person. Now, ,is to my second question; 
 hut I hope you hear my words, ma toule belle, and 
 IIHVC not yet pa--cd from an unnatural sleep into 
 a natural one ! " 
 
 4 1 hear you, and I am ready to answer if your 
 Foul commands me.'' 
 
 "Well, the:)," -aid Hunlenherg, bending over 
 her, and fixing his piercing eyes upon her coun- 
 tenance. " my question is this : How much do 
 
 your protectors give you for playing the part 
 which you performed before me? " 
 
 A pause ensued. Suddenly the clairvoyante 
 opened her eyes, gazing with an indescribable 
 expression on the face of the minister still bend- 
 ing over her. 
 
 " They give me nothing," she said, in a firm, 
 sonorous voice, "but the hope of acquiring a 
 brilliant position in the future." 
 
 "You confess, then, that you have played a 
 considerable farce?" asked Chancellor von Har- 
 denberg, smiling. 
 
 " I confess that I have played my part very 
 badly, and that your eagle eye is able to penetrate 
 every thing. I confess that I adore you for hav- 
 ing unmasked me," she exclaimed, quickly en- 
 circling Hardenberg's neck with her arms, drawing 
 his head down to her, and pressing a glowing 
 kiss on his lips. Then, still keeping her arms 
 around his neck, she raised herself from the 
 couch, and leaned for a moment against the 
 manly form of the chancellor. 
 
 Disengaging herself from him, she jumped from 
 the bed to the floor, and, spreading out her arms, 
 and throwing back her head, she exclaimed in u 
 jubilant voice: "I am free! I need no longer 
 play my irksome r6le ! Oh, I am free ! " 
 
 Leaping into the middle of the room, as light- 
 footed as a sylph, and fascinating as one of the 
 graces, she began to dance, raising her feet and 
 moving her arms in a slow, measured manner, at 
 the outset ; Hut, turning more rapidly, with more 
 passionate movement and increasing ardor, her 
 countenance grew more glowing and animated. 
 Her large black eyes flashed fire an air of wild, 
 bacchantic ecstasy pervaded her whole appear- 
 ance, her cheeks were burning, her beautiful red 
 lips were half opened, and revealed her ivory 
 teeth, and her uplifted arms (from which the 
 wide sleeves of her negligee had fallen back to 
 the shoulders) were of the most charming con- 
 tour. Concluding her dance, she glided breath- 
 less and with panting bosom toward Harden- 
 . who had sunk into the easy-chair, and waa 
 looking on with wondering eyes. Bursting into 
 loud, melodious laughter, she sat ut his feet, and, 
 
104 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 
 pressing her glowing face against his knees, looked 
 Bearchingly and suppliantly into his eyes. 
 
 " You are angry with me," she said ; u oh, par- 
 don me, but I had first to give vent to my exul- 
 tation. Now I will be quite sensible." 
 
 " And what do you call sensible, then ? " asked 
 Hardenberg, who, under the power of the woman's 
 glances, vainly tried to impart to his countenance 
 an air of gravity and sternness. 
 
 " I call it sensible to reply honestly to the ques- 
 tions your excellency will put to me now," she 
 said, in a caressing tone. 
 
 " Well, then, let us see whether you are really 
 sensible or not," said Hardenberg. " In the first 
 place, please rise." 
 
 She shook her head slowly. "No," she said, 
 " I will remain at your feet until you have beard 
 my confession and granted me absolution." 
 
 "And suppose I refuse to grant you absolu- 
 tion?" 
 
 " Then I shall die at your feet ! " 
 
 " Ah, it is not so easy to die." 
 
 " It is easy to die when one wants to, and has 
 such a friend as this is," she exclaimed, drawing 
 from her hair one of the two long silver pins with 
 which her heavy black tresses were partially fas- 
 tened. 
 
 "Strange girl!" murmured Hardenberg, sur- 
 prised, while she was looking up to him with ra- 
 diant eyes, and a smile playing on her lips. 
 
 " Will you ask me now ? " she then said, 
 gently and almost humbly. " I am lying here 
 at your feet as if you were my confessor, and 
 I am longing with trembling impatience for my 
 absolution." 
 
 tl Well, then, tell me, in the first place, who you 
 are." 
 
 "Who am I?" she asked. "A cheat, who, 
 by intrigues, cabals, and cunning, tried to attain 
 the object she yearned for so intensely, namely, 
 to lie at the feet of a noble and eminent man, as 
 she is doing now, and to tell him that she loves 
 him. Who am I ? An adventuress, who has 
 gone out into the world to seek her fortune; to 
 play, if possible, a prominent part; to acquire a 
 distinguished name, and to obtain riches, power, 
 
 and influence. Who am I ? A diver, who ha 
 plunged with reckless audacity into the foam- 
 ing sea, to find at its bottom either pearls or a 
 grave." 
 
 " But, my child," said Hardenberg, " do you 
 not know that the divers, when plunging into 
 the sea to seek pearls, always gird a safety-rope 
 around their waist for the purpose of being drawn 
 to the surface whenever they are in danger of 
 drowning ? " 
 
 " The man who loves me will be my safety-rope 
 and draw me up,'' she said, gravely. 
 
 Hardenberg laughed. " In truth," he said, " I 
 must admire your sincerity and naivete. You 
 must be very courageous to utter such truths 
 about yourself." 
 
 " Certainly, it would have been easier to play 
 the virtuous, forsaken, and unfortunate girl," she 
 said, with a contemptuous smile. " It would have 
 been less troublesome to throw myself at your 
 feet, bathed in a flood of tears, and to say, * Oh, 
 have mercy upon me ! Free me from this un- 
 worthy r6le which has been forced upon me ! 
 Save me from the torture of being compelled to 
 dissimulate, to lie, and to cheat. Virtue dwells 
 in my heart, innocence and truth are upon my 
 lips. I have been forced to play a part that dis- 
 honors me. Have mercy upon me, save me from 
 the snares threatening me !' " While saying so, 
 she imparted to her features precisely the ex- 
 pression that was adapted to her words ; she had 
 spoken in a tremulous, suppliant voice, with folded 
 hands and tearful eyes. 
 
 " Poor child," exclaimed Hardenberg, surprised, 
 " you weep, you are deeply moved ! Ah, now at 
 last you show me your true face, now you cause 
 me to see the poor, innocent, and unfortunate 
 child that you really are ! " 
 
 She shook away her tears and burst into laugh- 
 ter. " No," she exclaimed, " I have only proved 
 to you that I would be able to play the virtuous 
 and innocent girl to perfection, and that I might, 
 perhaps, thereby succeed in touching your noble 
 heart. But you have commanded me to tell you 
 the truth, and I have pledged you my word to do 
 so. I tell you, then, I am no persecuted, virtuoui 
 
AN ADVENTURESS 
 
 105 
 
 
 girl, no innocent angel ; I am a woman, carrying 
 * heaven and a hell in her bosom ; I can be an 
 an^el, if happiness and love favor me ; I will be a 
 demon, if fate be hostile to me. Yes," she ex- 
 claimed, jumping up and pacing the room in great 
 agitation, " there are hours and days when I my- 
 self believe that I am a demon, an angel hurled 
 down from heaven, and doomed to walk the earth 
 on account of some crime. There are hours when 
 heavenly recollections fill my imagination, when 
 an indescribable, blissful yearning is, as it were, 
 enveloping me in a veil when there are resound- 
 ing in my heart the sweetest and most enchanting 
 notes of sacred words and devout prayers, and 
 when it seems to me as though I were sitting in 
 the midst of radiant angels, surrounded by lumi- 
 nous clouds, at the feet of God, His breath upon 
 my cheek, and looking down with compassionate, 
 merciful love upon the world, lying at an unfath- 
 omable distance under my feet. And then I say 
 to myself: ' You have reviled and slandered your- 
 self; you are, after all, a good angel; God is 
 with you, and prayer, love, and innocence, are in 
 your heart.' Then it suddenly seems to me as if 
 my heart were rent, and I heard loud, scornful 
 laughter. I fall from my heaven ; I look around 
 and behold men, with their bitter-sweet faces, 
 smiling on, and lying to, each other ; I see all 
 their duplicity and their infamy; I laugh at my 
 own transports and swear never to be human 
 with humanity, but a demon with the demons 
 to cheat as they cheat, to lie, and win from them 
 as much happiness, honor, and wealth, as I can 
 with some mimic talent, a cool and sharp mind, 
 a pretty figure, and an ugly face." 
 
 "Ah, you are slaiuli-ring yourself," exclaimed 
 Uardenberg, smiling. " You have no ugly face." 
 
 She hastened to the lookin. i ga/ed 
 
 on herself with search! i. " Yes," she 
 
 said, "I am really ugly. My mouth is too large, 
 my lips too full, my face is angular and by 
 no means pn _, my nose is vulgar, my 
 
 forehead too low and too wide, these bushy < \e- 
 brows become rather a grenadier than a youug 
 lady, and these larg.- black eyes look like a cou- 
 ple of sentinels, which, with sharp glances, have 
 
 
 to watch the rabble of nose, mouth, ear, and 
 cheek, lest one should try to escape from disgust 
 at the ugliness of the others. But I do not re- 
 gret my want of beauty, for it is uncommon and 
 piquant, and I can imagine that a gifted, eminent 
 man, who is tired of the pretty faces of so-called 
 virtuous women, may feel attracted by my ugli- 
 ness. Beauty at l?ast always becomes tiresome, 
 for it treats you at once to all that it is and ha?, 
 but ugliness excites your curiosity more and more 
 from day to day, for, at certain moments, it may 
 be transformed into beauty ! " 
 
 " Your own case shows that," said Harden- 
 berg, " for, although you call yourself ugly, there 
 is a fascinating beauty in your whole appearance." 
 
 She gazed on him with a long and radiant look. 
 " You are a great man, a genius, and you are, 
 therefore, able to understand me. I will tell you 
 my history now, that you may at last grant me 
 the blessing of your forgiveness." 
 
 " Well, tell me your history," exclaimed Har- 
 denberg. " Come, Frederica, sit down by my 
 side here on the couch on which you have so 
 often reposed as a modern Pythia, and proclaimed 
 to me the oracles which your mysterious priest 
 had whispered to you. Now you are no priestess 
 uttering equivocal wisdom, but a young woman 
 telling the truth, and making me listen to the 
 revelations of her heart." 
 
 " A young woman," she repeated, sighing and 
 reclining on the bed close to the easy-chair on 
 which Hardenberg was sitting. "Am I young, 
 then ? It seems to me sometimes as though I 
 wrre old so old as no longer to have any illu- 
 sions, any hopes or wishes; as though I were the 
 ' Wandering Jew ' who has been travelling through 
 the world so many centuries, seeking perpetually 
 for the rest which he can nowhere find. But still 
 you are right ; I am young, for 1 am only twenty 
 years old." 
 
 "And who are your parents? Where do they 
 live ? " 
 
 " Who are my parents? " she asked, laughing. 
 " My father was a holy man, a high-priest in the 
 temple of Time. It depended on him when men 
 were to awake or sleep, eat or work. It was his 
 
106 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCIIER. 
 
 will that regulated rendezvous and wedding?, par- 
 ties and arrests, and he had no other master than 
 the sun. He allowed the sun alone to guide him, 
 and still he was no Persian ! " 
 
 " But he was a watchmaker "? " asked Ilarden- 
 berg, smiling. 
 
 "Yes, he was a watchmaker, and, thanks to 
 him, the whole town where he lived knew exactly 
 what time it was. Only my mother did not know 
 it. She believed herself to be a great lady, al- 
 though she was only a poor watchmaker's wife, 
 but was unable to efface the recollections of her 
 youth. She was the daughter of a French mar- 
 quis, who, after gambling away his whole fortune 
 at the court of Louis XV., had emigrated with 
 his young wife and daughter to Berlin, in order 
 to seek another fortune at the court of Frederick 
 the Great. But Frederick the Great had already 
 become somewhat distrustful of the roving mar- 
 quises and counts whom France sent to Berlin. 
 Marquis de Barbasson, my worthy grandfather, re- 
 ceived, therefore, no office and no money, and a 
 time of distress set in, such as he would pre- 
 viously have deemed utterly unlikely to befall the 
 descendant of his ancestors. He left Berlin with 
 his family, to make his living somewhere else as 
 a teacher of languages. He travelled from one 
 place to another, and arrived at length at a small 
 town called New Brandenburg. There he re- 
 mained, for his feet were weary, and his poor wife 
 was sick and tired of life. Well, Madame la Mar- 
 quise de Barbasson died, and the marquis taught 
 the young ladies of New Brandenburg how to 
 conjugate avoir and etre ; his daughter assisted 
 him, and, as she was very pretty, she taught many 
 a young man how to conjugate aimer. But who 
 would have thought of marrying the daughter of 
 a French adventurer, who, it is true, styled him- 
 self marquis, but was as poor as a beggar ! He 
 was unable long to bear the privations and hu- 
 miliations of his life ; he fled from his creditors, 
 and perhaps also from his remorse, by commit- 
 ting suicide ; and his daughter, who was twenty 
 years of age at that time, remained alone, and 
 without any other inheritance than the debts of 
 her father. One of the principal creditors of the 
 
 marquis was the proprietor of the house in which 
 father and daughter had lived for three years 
 without paying rent, or refunding the small sums 
 he had lent to them. This proprietor was a 
 young watchmaker, named Hahn, an excellent 
 young man, who had given the family of the 
 French marquis not only his money, but his 
 heart. He loved the young Marquise de Bar- 
 basson, unfortunate, or, if you prefer, fortunate 
 man ! for his courtship was successful. Now, 
 after the death of the old marquis, he played 
 the part of an importunate creditor, and told 
 her she had the alternative of paying or mar- 
 rying him. The young Marquise de Barbasson 
 married him, and then paid the poor watchmaker 
 in a manner which was not very pleasant to him. 
 She never forgave him for having reduced her to 
 the humble position of a watchmaker's wife, and 
 found it disgusting to be obliged to call herself 
 Hahn, after having so long borne the aristocratic 
 name of Barbasson. However that might be, she 
 was his wife, and I have the honor to represent 
 in my humble person the legitimate daughter of 
 Hahn, the watchmaker, and the Marquise de Bar- 
 basson." 
 
 " And I must confess that you are representing 
 your mother and your father in a highly becom- 
 ing manner," said Hardenberg. " You have the 
 bearing and the savoir vivre of a French marquise, 
 and from your oracular sayings I have seen that 
 you are as familiar with the time as a watch- 
 maker is. But I can imagine that the descent of 
 your parents produced many a discord in your 
 life." 
 
 " S;y rather that my whole life was a discord," 
 she exclaimed, vehemently, " and that I have lived 
 in an unending conflict between my head and my 
 heart, my reality and my imagination. Oh, how 
 often, when lying in dreary loneliness, in the 
 shade of an oak on the shore of the charming 
 lake near the small town in which we lived how 
 often did I utter loud cries of anguish, and say to 
 the billows that washed the shore with a low, 
 murmuring sound : ' I am a French marquise , 
 there is aristocratic blood in my veins ; it is my 
 vocution to shine at the courts of kings, and to 
 
AN \DVENTURESS. 
 
 107 
 
 ee counts and princes at my feet ! ' Yet none 
 but the waves of the lake believed my words; 
 men treated me never as a Marquise de Barbas- 
 son, but only as little Frederics Halm, daughter 
 of a poor watchmaker. I frit this as a personal 
 insult, and at many a bitter hour it seemed to 
 me as though, like my mother, I hated my poor 
 father because he had robbed us of our brilliant 
 name and our nobility. My father bore my whims 
 patiently, for he loved me, and I believe he loved 
 nothing on earth better than his daughter. He 
 saw that I was pining away in the wearisome 
 loneliness of our dull life ; he knew that ambition 
 was burning in my heart like a torrent of 6re, and 
 he wept with me nd begged my pardon for being 
 a poor watchmaker, and no nobleman. He did 
 all he could to make amends for this wrong ; he 
 treated me not as his daughter, but as his supe- 
 rior ; and, although we were scarcely in easy cir- 
 cumstances, he surrounded me with all comforts 
 becoming an aristocratic young lady. I had my 
 servants, my own room, a tolerably fashionable 
 toilet, a piano, a small library ; and my father was 
 proud of being able to have me instructed by the 
 best and most expensive teachers, and of hearing 
 that I was their most industrious and talented 
 pupil. But what good did all this do me ? I re- 
 mained what I was Frederick Halm, the watch- 
 maker's daughter and the blood of the Barbas- 
 Ued against my position in life; and 
 the marquises and viscounts, my distinguished 
 ancestors, appeared to my inward eye, and seemed 
 to beckon me and call me to the proud castles 
 which had formerly belonged to our family. But 
 how should I get thither ? how escape from my 
 email native town ? how rid myself of the burden 
 of my name and my birth? That was the <)ii< -s- 
 lion whii-h put my brain night and day on the 
 rack, and to which my intellect was unable to 
 make a sati^'actory ivply. An accident, how- 
 ever, came to my assist an 
 
 "Ah, in truth, 1 to hear this," ex- 
 
 claimed Hani ; I am listening to you 
 
 in breathle>s suspense, and am as eager to learn 
 the conclusion of your history as though it were 
 the denouement of a drama. An accident, then, 
 
 
 furnished you with a rep.;, my beautiful Marquise 
 de Barbasson?" 
 
 " Yes, your excellency, and never shall I for- 
 get the day and the hour. It was on a beautiful 
 day last autumn. As I was in the habit of doing 
 every day, I had gone with my book into the 
 forest on the shore of the lake. I lay in my 
 favorite place under a large oak, in the dark 
 foliage of which the birds were singing, while the 
 waves of the lake at my feet were a sweet accom- 
 paniment. I was reading the lately published 
 poetry of my favorite bard, Goethe, and had just 
 finished * The Wandering Fool.' This poem struck 
 my heart as lightning. I dropped the book, 
 looked up to the clouds and shouted to them : 
 ' What are you but wandering fools ! Oh, take 
 me with you ! ' But the clouds did nob reply to 
 me ; they passed on in silence, and my sad eyes 
 turned to the lake extended before me like a 
 polished mirror, and mingling with the blue mists 
 of the horizon, and I said to the murmuring waves, 
 as I had said to the clouds : * Take me with you, 
 wandering fools ! I am suffocating in my cap- 
 tivity! I must leave this small town; it is a 
 prison an open grave ! ' At this moment, the 
 oak above me shook its foliage; a wind drove 
 the waves faster, until they broke on the shore; 
 and a sheet of paper, which some wanderer might 
 have lost, was blown toward me. I took it, and 
 suddenly the wind was silent as though it had 
 accomplished its mission ; the oak stirred no 
 more, the lake was tranquil, and even the clouda 
 seemed to pause and look on while I unfolded 
 and read the paper." 
 
 " Oh, I imagine what it was ! " exclaimed Har- 
 denberg. "A love-letter from one of your ad- 
 mirers, who knew that the beautiful nymph of 
 the lake had selected that spot for her sanc- 
 tuary." 
 
 " Ah, you do not imagine very well, your ex- 
 cellency. It was no love-letter, but a newspaper ! 
 It was a copy of your dear, venerable Voxsische 
 Z'itiinff.* I read it at first very carelessly, but 
 suddenly I noticed an article from Berlin, which 
 
 * The Vossische Zeitung, one of the oldest Berlin uew*> 
 papers, la still published. 
 
108 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 excited my liveliest attention. It alluded to the 
 strange cures performed by Doctor Binder, a 
 magnetizer. It related that many sufferers came 
 to Berlin from distant cities to be cured by the 
 doctor, whose whole treatment consisted of laying' 
 his hands and fixing his eyes on his patients. It 
 dwelt especially upon the adventures of a young 
 woman whose strange disease had riveted the at- 
 tention of all Berlin, and who, in consequence of 
 the doctor's treatment, had become a clairvoyante. 
 It said that the truly wonderful sayings and pre- 
 dictions of the young woman were creating the 
 greatest sensation, and that even ministers and 
 distinguished functionaries were visiting Doctor 
 Binder's ' Hall of Crises,' in order to listen and 
 put questions to the clairvoyante." 
 
 " Ah, that was little Henrietta Meyer, who died 
 a few months ago," said Hardeuberg. 
 
 " Yes, she was so accommodating as to die and 
 make room for me," exclaimed Frederica, smiling. 
 "When I had read this article about her, it 
 seemed to me as though a veil dropped from my 
 eyes, and I were only now able to descry my 
 future distinctly. I jumped up and uttered a 
 single loud cry that sped over the lake like a 
 etormbird, and was repeated many times by the 
 distant echo. Thereupon I ran back to town, as 
 if carried on the wings of the wind. The men on 
 the streets, who saw me running past, gazed won- 
 deringly after me. Some of them hailed and 
 tried to speak to me, but I took no notice of 
 them, ran on, reached at last the humble dwell- 
 ing of my parents, and there I fell panting and 
 senseless. They lifted me up, and carried me to 
 my bed. I lay on it motionless, and with dilated 
 eyes. No one knew my thoughts, or heard the 
 voices whispering in my breast and ominously 
 laughing. I stared upward, and matured my plan 
 of operations. My poor father sat all night long 
 at my bedside, weeping and imploring me to look 
 at him, and tell him only by a single word, a single 
 syllable, that I recognized him. My tongue re- 
 mained silent, but my eyes were able to glance at 
 and greet the poor man. But why tell you all 
 the particulars of my wonderful disease? In 
 short, all my limbs were paralyzed, and even my 
 
 mind seemed affected and confused. I could eat 
 and sleep, but I was unable to rise, and could not 
 utter a word. The physicians of our small town 
 tried all the remedies of their science to cure me. 
 In vain ! I remained dumb. Only once, four 
 weeks afterward, I recovered the power of 
 speech. It was in the night-time, and no one 
 was with me but my poor father, who passed 
 nearly every night at my bedside, always hoping 
 for a moment when I might get better when 
 the spell would leave my tongue, ana the power 
 of speech be restored. This moment had come 
 now ; I intimated it to my father with my eyes, 
 stared at him, and said in a slow and solemn 
 voice, ' Doctor Binder, at Berlin, is alone able to 
 cure me ! ' " 
 
 "Ah," exclaimed Hardenberg, drawing a deep 
 breath, "I give you permission to laugh at me. I 
 was just as foolish as your father was. Up to 
 this time I believed in the reality of your sick- 
 ness, and felt quite anxious and alarmed. The 
 words you uttered during that night quiet me 
 again, and illuminate the gloom, like a welcome 
 miner's lamp in a deep shaft. I hope, however, 
 that they did not exert the same effect upon your 
 father." 
 
 " No, your excellency, fortunately they did 
 not, and the proof of it is that I rode, a week 
 afterward in a comfortable carriage, and ac- 
 companied by my father to Berlin, to place my- 
 self under the treatment of Doctor Binder." 
 
 " Did the doctor promise to cure you ? " 
 
 " He gave me hopes at least that he would be 
 able to do so, and, after accepting three months' 
 pay in advance, received me into his house, and 
 the cure commenced. I willingly submitted to 
 his piercing glances and to his laying-on of hands. 
 I was so obliging as to fall asleep, and scarcely 
 three days elapsed when I began already to be- 
 come slightly clairvoyant. The doctor was him- 
 self surprised at the rapid effect of his cure ; he 
 informed some of his distinguished patrons of the 
 presence of a new clairvoyante at his house, and 
 invited them to witness my next awakening. 
 Among these patrons were some influential cour- 
 i tiers, Prince Hatzfeld and Field-Marshal Kal- 
 
 
AN ADVENTURESS. 
 
 109 
 
 n! 
 
 kreuth. I had been told that these gentlemen 
 were the most zealous adherents of the French 
 alliance, and the most ardent admirers of Napo- 
 leon. It was but natural, therefore, that when I 
 became clairvoyant on that day, in the present 
 of these gentlemen, I was the enraptured proph- 
 l of a golden future for Prussia, provided 
 we maintained the alliance with France. The 
 two courtiers were visibly surprised and delighted 
 at my prophecies ; and when the doctor had left 
 the room for a moment, I heard Prince Hatzfeld 
 say to Field-Marshal KaJkreuth, 'Ah, I wish 
 Hardenberg were here, and heard the predictions 
 of this wondeiful girl! He believes in clairvoy- 
 ance, and her words, therefore, would make a 
 profound impression upon him ! ' ' We must try 
 to have him brought hither,' said Field-Marshal 
 Kalkreuth ; ' we must try to influence the stub- 
 born fellow in this way.' " 
 
 " That was a very clever idea," said Harden- 
 berg, smiling ; " I almost envy those gentlemen 
 their very pretty intrigue. They then made of- 
 fers to you, did they not ? " 
 
 "No, I made offers to them." 
 
 i" How so ? " 
 " Listen to me. When the gentlemen left, and 
 I was again alone with the doctor, I suddenly 
 
 i awoke from my trance ; rising from my couch, I 
 stepped up to him, and made him a respectful 
 obeisance. He looked at me in dismay, and 
 seemed paralyzed with stupefaction, for you 
 know all my limbs were palsied, and I could only 
 move my tongue. * My dear doctor,' I said, very 
 calmly, ' I hope I have proved to you now that I 
 am possessed of considerable talent as an actress, 
 and that I am as well versed in playing my part 
 as you are in yours. Both of us try to obtain 
 fame and wealth, you as a magnetizer, I as a 
 clair\ : mutually in need of 
 
 each other. You are the stage-manager, and pos- 
 sessed of a tlu-atru that suits me, and I am the 
 leading actreas, without whom you would be un- 
 able to perform your play in a Mili<l'uctory man- 
 r. Let us, therefore, come to an understanding 
 and make an agreement.' Eh bien, your excel- 
 lency, we did come to an understanding ; \\e did 
 
 
 make an agreement. With a view to & better 
 position that soon would be accessible to me, I 
 remained temporarily the first actress, and, thanks 
 to my performances, I attracted an audience as 
 distinguished as it was munificent." 
 
 " Now *. comprehend every thing. You must 
 permit me, however, another question. Are 
 Prince Ilatzfeld and Field-Marshal Kalkreuth 
 aware that you are nothing but an actress ? " 
 
 " By no means, your excellency. They are so 
 kind as to take me for a bona fide clairvoyante. 
 The doctor told them that, by my spiritual con- 
 nection with him, I was compelled to say, think, 
 and do whatever he wanted and commanded me, 
 and that, if he gave me my instructions while 1 
 was awake, I had to act and speak in my clair- 
 voyant state in strict accordance with them. In 
 this way it happened, your excellency, that I was 
 used as the fox-tail with which the electrical ma- 
 chine is set in motion to make an impression 
 upon you, and to cure you of your hostility to 
 France. The doctor became the confidant of 
 these gentlemen, who desired to cure you. They 
 surrounded your excellency with spies, a minute 
 diary was kept of your movements, and this diary 
 was brought early every morning to the doctor, 
 who read it to me, and we agreed then as to the 
 manner in which I should avail myself of the in- 
 formation." 
 
 " And dupe me ! " exclaimed Hardenberg, laugh- 
 ing. " Fortunately, I did not allow myself to be 
 thus dealt with, but penetrated the handsome 
 little swindle at the outset ; yet I made up my 
 mind to continue playing the farce for some time, 
 because it afforded me an opportunity to discover 
 and foil the intentions, wishes, and schemes of my 
 adversaries. But tell me now, my pretty young 
 lady, what would have happened if I had not 
 allowed you to perceive to-day that I was aware 
 of the whole trick ? " 
 
 " In that case I myself would have disclosed 
 
 the intrigue to your excellency. Did I not send 
 
 my young nurse twice to your house yesterday, 
 
 in order to pray you to come to me, if possible 
 
 j bst night, because I had important news to com 
 
 I municate to you ? Did I not write to you that 
 
110 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 the doctor would not be at Lome during the whole 
 evening, and that I might, therefore, communi- 
 cate an important secret to you without being 
 disturbed ? " 
 
 " Unfortunately, I was not at home, and the 
 supper at Marshal Augereau's, which you used so 
 skilfully during your pretended trance, deprived 
 me of an hour of important disclosures ! But 
 suppose I had come, and met you alone ; what 
 would you have told me then ? " 
 
 " Precisely what I tell you now. I would have 
 fallen down before you as I do now, and, clasping 
 your knees in this manner, would have said what 
 I say now: 'Mercy, my lord and master, mercy ! 
 I can lie and dissimulate no longer before your 
 noble face; your eyes embarrass me; your smile 
 overwhelms me with shame; the farce is at an 
 end, and the truth commences. The truth, how- 
 ever, is that I adore you ; that I will no longer 
 unite with your adversaries against you ; that I 
 will serve you and none but you, and devote to 
 you my whole life and every pulsation of my 
 heart!'" She attempted to conceal her face, 
 bathed in a flood of tears ; but Hardenberg softly 
 laid his hands upon her cheeks, and, gently rais- 
 ing her head, gazed at her long and smilingly. 
 
 " What talent ! " he said ; " in truth, I admire 
 you ! It was a charming performance. True 
 love and passion could express themselves no 
 better, or surpass your imitation." 
 
 She arose from her knees and looked at him 
 with eyes flashing with anger. " You do not be- 
 lieve me ? " she asked, almost menacingly. " You 
 suspect me, although I have revealed my heart to 
 you as sincerely as I have ever revealed it to 
 Heaven itself." 
 
 " Foolish girl, how can I believe you ? " he 
 asked. " Have you not gone out into the world 
 to plunge into adventures, and to seek your for- 
 tune ? Have you not dived into the sea to find 
 pearls ? Can you wish me to play the agreeable 
 part of your safety-rope that is all ! " 
 
 " No, no ! " she exclaimed, wildly stamping with 
 her feet ; " that is a vile slander ! Why should I 
 choose precisely you for my safety-rope? why 
 leveal my soul to you ? Do you not believe that 
 
 those gentlemen who are using me against you, 
 who worship and admire me, would not be ready 
 to assist me ? But I have rejected their homage 
 and their offers ; I despise and abhor them all, 
 for they are your enemies. I hate France, I de- 
 test Napoleon, for you are opposed to the French 
 alliance, and you have been reviled by Napoleon ; 
 I am longing for an alliance with Russia, for I 
 know this to be your wish, and I have no wishes 
 but yours, no will but your will ! " 
 
 " Ah ! " exclaimed Hardenberg, laughing, " this 
 is the strangest political declaration of love which 
 woman ever made to man ! " 
 
 " Great Heaven ! you are laughing ! " she cried 
 angrily. " You do not believe me, then ? How 
 shall I be able to convince you ? " 
 
 " I will show you a way to do so," said Har- 
 denberg, suddenly growing very grave. 
 
 " Tell me, and I swear to you that I will try 
 it!" 
 
 " Serve me in the same manner as you have 
 hitherto served my enemies. Become the proph- 
 etess of my policy, as you have been the proph- 
 etess of the policy of my opponents. Permit me 
 to become the prompter of the clever clairvoy- 
 ante, and play now as inimitably against my ad- 
 versaries as you have played for them." 
 
 Frederica Hahn burst into loud laughter. " In 
 truth, that is a splendid idea," she said, " a re- 
 venge which your excellency has devised against 
 the other gentlemen. Here is my hand. I swear 
 to serve and to be faithful to you as long as I 
 live. Do you now believe in the truth of my 
 love ? " 
 
 "Let me first see the actions inspired by this 
 love," said Hardenberg, smiling. " I will prove 
 to you immediately that I confide in your head, 
 although I am not vain enough to believe in your 
 heart. Listen to me, then ! It is my most ardent 
 desire that the king should leave Berlin, and bf 
 withdrawn from the influence of the French 
 Prince Hatzfeld and old Field-Marshal Ealkrcuth. 
 however, insipt that he remain at Berlin, and 
 thereby manifest the adhesion of Prussia to the 
 alliance with France. I suspect, nay, I might 
 say, I know, that the king is in danger, and that, 
 
AN ADVENTURESS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 
 as soon as he utters a free and bold word, the 
 French will use it as a pretext to seize his person 
 and imprison him, as they have done Charles and 
 Ferdinand of Spain. Caution, therefore, the san- 
 guine and credulous gentlemen ; point out to them 
 the dangers menacing the king here ; tell them 
 that it is the bounden duty of his majesty to save 
 himself for his people ; shout with your inspired 
 and enthusiastic voice: 'Go! Destruction will 
 overwhelm you at Berlin ! Save *he king ! Con- 
 vey him to Breslau ! ' " 
 
 " I will play my part so f kilfully that even the 
 boldest will be filled with dismay," cried Freder- 
 iea, with flaming ejes, u and that dear old Field- 
 Marshal Kalkreuth will implore the king on his 
 knees to leave Berlin, and go to Breslau. But, 
 when I have played this part for you when you 
 have attained your object, and I have given you 
 proofs of my fidelity and obedience will you 
 then believe that I love you ? " 
 
 " We shall see," he said, smiling. " I am, per- 
 haps, not as wise as Ulysses, and shall not fill my 
 ears with wax, but listen to the song of the siren, 
 even at the risk of perishing in the whirlpool of 
 passion. Let us not impose upon ourselves any 
 promises concerning the destiny of our hearts ; 
 but your position in the world is an entirely dif- 
 ferent question. As to this, I must make you 
 promises, and swear that I shall fulfil them. You 
 :iat you will serve me, enter into my 
 
 .!--, and support my policy?" 
 
 nir excellency, I swear to you that your 
 nents themselves shall beseech the king to 
 
 ve Berlin, and renounce France." 
 
 " Well, then, on the day the king arrives safely 
 at Breslau, you will receive from me a document 
 securing you an annuity on which you will be 
 able to live independently here at Berlin." 
 
 "Ami is that all?" she asked, in a cor.tempt- 
 <. u You promise me nothing but mon- 
 ey to keep me from starvation?" 
 
 "No," s.ii'i Hardenberg, smiling, "I promise 
 you more than that. I promise that little Fred- 
 erica Hahn, the watchmaker's daughter, shall be 
 transformed into an aristocratic lady, and that I 
 
 ill procure you a husband, who will give you so 
 
 distinguished a name that the daughter of the 
 Marquise de Barbasson need not be ashamed of 
 it. Are you content with that, my beauty ? " 
 
 " Would it be necessary for me to love and 
 honor the husband whom your excellency will 
 give me ? " asked Frederica, after a pause. 
 
 " Suppose 1 reply in the affirmative ? " asked 
 Hardenberg. 
 
 " Then I answer : I prefer remaining Frederica 
 Hahn, for then I shall at least have the right to 
 sit at your feet and worship you, and no trouble- 
 some husband will be able to prevent my doing 
 so." 
 
 i4 Well, then, my charming little fool, I shall 
 select for you a husband who will, like a deus ex 
 machina, appear only in order to confer his name 
 upon you at the altar, and who will then disap- 
 pear again. Do you consent to that ? " 
 
 " Your excellency, that would be precisely such 
 a husband as I would like to have, and as my im- 
 agination has dreamed of a husband saw* con- 
 sequence not a man, but a manikin ! " 
 
 " I shall, however, see to it that this manikin, 
 besides his name, will lay at your feet another 
 splendid wedding-gift, and a corleille de noce, 
 which will be worthy of you. You accept my 
 offers, then, my friend ? " 
 
 u N'o, unless you add something to them." 
 
 " What is it, Frederica ? " 
 
 "Your love, your confidence, your belief in 
 my love ! " she exclaimed, sinking down at his 
 
 Ali," said Hardenberg, "let us not be so au- 
 dacious as to attempt to raise the veil that may 
 perhaps conceal a magnificent future from our 
 eyes!" 
 
 * This scene is not fictitious, but baaed upon the ver- 
 bal statements and disclosures of the lady who played tt 
 prominent a part in it L. M. 
 
 
112 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE TWO DIPLOMATISTS. 
 
 THE royal family celebrated an important festi 
 val at Potsdam on the 20th of January. Crown 
 Prince Frederick William had been confirmed at 
 the palace church. In the presence of the whole 
 royal family, of all high officers and foreign am- 
 bassadors, the prince, who was now seventeen 
 years of age, had made his confession of faith and 
 taken an oath to the venerable and noble Coun- 
 sellor Sack that he would faithfully adhere to 
 God's Word, and worship Him in times of weal 
 and woe. After the ceremonies at church were 
 over, a gala-dinner was to take place at court, 
 and invitations had been issued not only to the 
 members of the royal family, but to the dignita- 
 ries and functionaries, as well as the ambassadors, 
 who had come over from Berlin. This dinner, 
 however, was suddenly postponed. The king was 
 said to have been unexpectedly taken ill. It was 
 asserted that the excitement which he had under- 
 gone at church had greatly affected his nerves, 
 bringing on a bleeding at the nose, which had 
 already lasted several hours, and which even 
 the most energetic remedies were unable to re- 
 lieve. 
 
 The ambassadors repaired to the palace in 
 order to ascertain more about the health of the 
 king, and the principal physician of his majesty 
 was able at least to assure them that his majesty's 
 condition was not by any means alarming or dan- 
 gerous, but that the king needed repose, and could 
 not, according to his intention, go to Berlin that 
 day, but would remain at Potsdam, and, for a few 
 days, abstain entirely both from engaging in pub- 
 lic affairs and receiving visitors. This news did 
 not seem to alarm any one more seriously than 
 the French ambassador, Count St. Marsan. He 
 left the royal palace in depressed spirits, and, en- 
 tering his carriage, ordered the driver in a hur- 
 ried tone to return to Berlin as fast as possible. 
 Scarcely three hours elapsed when the carriage 
 stopped in front of the French legation, and the 
 footman hastened to open the coach-door. Count 
 St. Marsan, however, did not rise from his feet, 
 
 
 
 ; 
 
 */\ 
 
 but beckoned his valet de chambre to come to 
 him. " Have no letters arrived for me ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 "Yes, your excellency; this was brought 
 the legation a few minutes since," said the 
 valet, handing a small, neatly-folded letter to 
 the count. 
 
 St. Marsan opened the note hastily. It con- 
 tained nothing but the following words : " I have 
 just returned from Potsdam. I am probably an 
 hour ahead of your excellency, for I bad caused 
 three relays to be kept in readiness for me. As 
 soon as your excellency has arrived, I pray you 
 to inform me of it, that I may hasten to you. H." 
 
 " To the residence of Chancellor von Harden- 
 bevg ! " said the count, putting the letter into his 
 breast-pocket, and leaning back on the cushions. 
 The carriage rolled away, and ten minutes after- 
 ward it stopped in front of the residence of the 
 chancellor of state. St. Marsan alighted with 
 youthful alacrity, and, keeping pace with the 
 footman who was to announce his arrival, has- 
 tened into the house and ascended the staircase. 
 At the first anteroom the chancellor met him, 
 greeting him with polite words and conducting 
 him into his cabinet. " You have anticipated 
 me, your excellency," he said ; " my carriage was 
 in readiness, and I only waited for a message 
 from you to repair immediately to your resi- 
 dence." 
 
 " It is, then, highly important news that your 
 excellency will be kind enough to communicate to 
 me ? " asked St. Marsan, uneasily. 
 
 "On the contrary, I hoped you would commu- 
 nicate important news to me. I cannot conceal 
 from you that we are all in great suspense and 
 excitement ; and I suppose it is unnecessary for 
 me to confess to so skilful and experienced a 
 diplomatist as your excellency, that the king's 
 illness and bleeding at the nose were mere fictions, 
 and that his majesty thereby wished only to avoid 
 meeting you." 
 
 "Indeed, that was what I suspected," ex- 
 claimed St. Marsan ; " for the rest, every thing 
 at Potsdam appeared to me very strange and in- 
 explicable; I confess, however, that I do not 
 
THE TWO DIPLOMATISTS. 
 
 113 
 
 comprehend what has aroused the king's indig- 
 nation, and rendered my person so offensive to 
 him ? " 
 
 "What!" asked Hurdenberg, with an air of 
 astonishment. " Your excellency does not com- 
 prehend it ? It seems to me, however, that this 
 indignation is but too well-grounded. You know 
 the fidelity and perseverance with which Prussia 
 has adhered to the French alliance ; that the 
 king has withstood all promises of Russia, how- 
 ever alluring their character, and has proved by 
 word and deed that he intends to remain faithful 
 to his system, and never to dissolve the alliance 
 with France, And now, when my zeal, eloquence, 
 and untiring expositions of the utility of this alli- 
 ance have succeeded in rendering him deaf to all 
 promises, and attaching his heart more sincerely 
 to France, you mortify and insult the king in so 
 defiant a manner ! Ah, count, this is to postpone 
 inment of my object to a very distant 
 period, and to take from me, perhaps forever, 
 the order I am longing for. For how can I keep 
 my word ? how can I obtain the king's consent 
 to the betrothal of the crown prince with a prin- 
 of the house of Napoleon, if France treats 
 im with so little deference and respect, and 
 proves to him that she herself docs not regard 
 the treaties which she has concluded with Prussia 
 as imposing any obligations upon her? " 
 
 "But your excellency drives me to despair," 
 exclaimed Count S . "for I confess to 
 
 you again that I do not comprehend what act of 
 ours would ju?tii'\ re reproaches." 
 
 " Well, permit me, then, to remind you of what 
 has happened, nnd request a kind explanation. 
 Your excellency, I suj.p >-e, is aware that the di- 
 on of (iener.il (Jn'uier, nineteen thousand 
 :roathfd by forced marches from 
 iy and occupied Brandenburg: ? " 
 
 I am aware of tint," said St. '1 
 itatindy; "but these troops will rest there 
 a few : ; march/' 
 
 "On C >j th y 
 
 ."! to remain in B:\ui'!onburjr. Their 
 nders declare emphatically that they will 
 stationed in this province, and Brandenburg is 
 
 
 already so full of French soldiers that I do not 
 see how quarters and sustenance are to be pro- 
 vided for an additional corps of nineteen thou- 
 sand men. Besides, this augmentation of the 
 French forces is contrary to the express stipula- 
 tions of the existing treaties, and it is, therefore, 
 but natural that this fact, which in itself would 
 seem to point to a hostile intention, should have 
 excited the serious displeasure of the king." 
 
 " But the extraordinary circumstances in which 
 the French array has been placed ever since the 
 disastrous campaign of Russia, I believe ought to 
 excuse extraordinary measures," said St. Marsan, 
 in his embarrassment. "His majesty the Em- 
 peror Napoleon, on learning how offensive to the 
 king is this increase in the number of troops sta- 
 tioned in the province of Brandenburg, will as- 
 suredly hasten to explain the necessity of the 
 measure, and, however late it may be, request hia 
 ally's consent to it." 
 
 "Ah," exclaimed Hardenberg, quickly, "you 
 admit, then, that this reenforcement in Branden- 
 burg is intended to be permanent ? But I have 
 not yet laid all my complaints before your excel- 
 lency. I believe you are aware that, according 
 to the last convention between France and Prus- 
 sia, no French troops at all are to occupy Pots- 
 dam and its environs, and that they are not to 
 stay there even for a single night ? " 
 
 " Yes ; I am aware of this stipulation, and be- 
 lieve it has hitherto been carefully observed." 
 
 " Hitherto that is to say, until to-day I But 
 this forenoon, at the very hour we were at church 
 witnessing the confirmation of the prince, whom 
 you wish to be as a new tie between France and 
 Prussia, this stipulation was violated in as incom- 
 prehensible as mortifying a manner. Four thou- 
 sand men of Grdnier's division have marched this 
 morning from Brandenburg to Potsdam, and have 
 trie.l forcibly do you understand me, your ex- 
 ,., llency ? forcibly to occupy the city. The mu- 
 nicipal authorities vainly endeavored to assure 
 them that this was entirely inadmissible, and it 
 was only after a very stormy scene that they suc- 
 ceeded in prevailing upon the troops to leave 
 Potsdam, and withdraw several miles from the 
 
114 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 city.* If no blood was shed, it was not owing to 
 the disposition of your troops, but to the pru- 
 dence and moderation of the Prussian authorities. 
 Now, count, you fully comprehend the exaspera- 
 tion of my master, the king; and I hope you will 
 give me the satisfactory explanation which he has 
 commissioned me to request." 
 
 "Your excellency," said St. Marsan, greatly 
 surprised, " I really do not comprehend why the 
 king should be so irritated at this trifling devi- 
 ation from the stipulation of the treaties. You 
 yourself said it would be impossible to find quar- 
 ters and sustenance for so large a number of 
 troops in the province of Brandenburg. This 
 fact involved the military commanders in difficul- 
 ties, and explains why they at last thought of 
 sending a detachment to Potsdam, where there are 
 so much room and so many vacant barracks. We 
 could not suppose that the king would object to 
 this, and that the sight of the brave French sol- 
 diers would fill the ally of the Emperor of the 
 French with feelings of displeasure and indigna- 
 tion. But, you see, the troops yielded to the will 
 of the king, and left the city." 
 
 " But they remained near enough to be able to 
 reoccupy it at the first signal." 
 
 " And does your excellency believe that the 
 French authorities might have occasion to call 
 troops to their assistance ? " asked Count St. 
 Marsan, casting a quick, searching glance at the 
 chancellor. 
 
 But Hardenberg's countenance remained per- 
 fectly calm and unchanged ; only the faint glim- 
 mer of a smile was playing round his thin lips. 
 " I do not know," he said, " what motives might 
 induce the French authorities to call troops to 
 their assistance, as they are not in a hostile 
 country, but in that of an ally, unless it were that 
 they look upon every free expression of the royal 
 will as an unfriendly demonstration, and interpret 
 as an act of hostility, for instance, the king's de- 
 termination not to reside at Berlin, but at Pots- 
 dam, or, according to his pleasure, in any other 
 city of the kingdom." 
 
 * Beitzke's "History of the War of Liberation, vol. 
 .. p. 162. 
 
 " The king, then, intends to leave Potsdam aud 
 remove to another city ? " inquired St. Marsan, 
 quickly. 
 
 " I do not say that exactly," replied Harden- 
 berg, smiling and hesitating: ''but I should not 
 be greatly surprised if, to avoid the quarrels be- 
 tween the French and Prussian authorities, and 
 not to witness perhaps another violation of the 
 treaties, and a repeated attempt of the French 
 commanders to occupy Potsdam, he should re- 
 move to another city, where his majesty would be 
 safe from such annoyances." 
 
 " The king intends to leave Potsdam," said St. 
 Marsan to himself. He added aloud : " I do not 
 know, however, of any city in the kingdom of 
 Prussia where, owing to the present cordial rela- 
 tions between Prussia and France, there are no 
 French authorities and French troops. Yes, it 
 occurs to me that, according to the treaties con- 
 cluded last year, there are no French troops in 
 the province of Silesia, except on the military 
 road from Glogau to Dresden, and that they and 
 their auxiliaries are expressly forbidden to pass 
 through Breslau. Breslau, then, would be a city 
 where the king would not run the risk of meeting 
 French troops." 
 
 " You admit, then, that it is dangerous for the 
 king to meet them ? In that case it would truly 
 be a very justifiable and wise step for the king to 
 repair to Breslau. " 
 
 " It is settled, then, that the king will go to 
 Breslau ? " asked St. Marsan. " Your excellency 
 intended to be so kind as to intimate this to 
 me?" 
 
 " It is settled, then, that the king is in danger 
 near the French troops ? " asked Hardenberg. 
 " Your excellency intended to be so kind as to 
 intimate this to me ? Ah, it seems to me r e 
 have been playing hide and seek for half an 
 hour, while both of us really ought to be frank 
 and sincere." 
 
 " Well, then, let us be," exclaimed St. Marsan. 
 " I have likewise reason to complain, and must 
 demand explanations. What does it mean that 
 the Prussian government has suddenly dispatched 
 orders to all provincial authorities to recall the 
 
THE TWO DIPLOMATISTS. 
 
 115 
 
 furloughed soldiers and proceed to another draft ; 
 that artillery-horses are bought, and a vast quan- 
 tity of uniforms made ? " 
 
 "If means simply, your excellency, that tin- 
 King of Prussia expects to be requested by his 
 ally, the Emperor of the French, to furnish him 
 additional auxiliaries, and that he hastens to 
 make the necessary preparations, to be able to 
 comply at the earliest moment. These prepara- 
 tions, moreover, had to be made in so hasty a man- 
 ner, because, as soon as the Russians advance 
 farther into the interior of Prussia, of course both 
 a conscription and the recall of the furloughed 
 soldiers would be impossible." 
 
 " But this is not all. The king yesterday au- 
 thorized the minister of finance to issue ten mil- 
 lion dollars in treasury-notes, to be taken at par. 
 What is this enormous sum destined for, M. 
 Chancellor ? Why does the king suddenly need 
 so many millions ? " 
 
 " You ask what the king needs so much money 
 for? Sir, the clause ordering these treasury-notes 
 at par would be a sufficient reply to your ques- 
 tion. When a government is unable to procure 
 funds in any other way than by compelling its 
 x subjects to take its treasury-notes at par, it proves 
 that it has no credit to negotiate a loan no prop- 
 rrty which it might render available; it proves 
 that not only its treasury, but the resources of 
 the country, are completely exhausted, and that it 
 has reached a point where it must either go into 
 hopeless bankruptcy or endeavor to maintain it- 
 Keif by palliatives. Prussia has come to this. 
 us not examine by whose fault, or by what 
 amira illation of expenses and obligations, this 
 condition of affairs has been brought about ; bat 
 the fact remain?, and, as the king is unwilling 
 that the - tatc should be declared bankrupt, he 
 resorts to a palliative, and issues ten million dol- 
 lars in treasury-notes. In this manner he obtains 
 funds, is enabled to relieve the distress of his 
 subjects, and to procure horses and uniforms lor 
 the new re.Lnments to join the forces of his ally, 
 the Emperor Napoleon, Does not this account 
 for the issue? Are you satisfied with this expla- 
 nation, count t " 
 
 " I am ; for I have no doubt that yojr excel- 
 Uney is sincere." 
 
 " Have we not yet proved that we are sin- 
 cere ? " exclaimed Hardenberg, in a tone of vir- 
 tuous indignation. "Notwithstanding all allure- 
 ments and promises by which Russia is trying to 
 gain us over to her side, we are standing by 
 France and, please do not forget, at a time when 
 she is overwhelmed with calamities, we give her 
 our soldiers, and, the old ones having perished, 
 recruit and equip new ones for her ; we make all 
 possible sacrifices nay, we even run the risk of 
 making the king lose the sympathies of his own 
 subjects, who, you know, are not very favorable 
 to a continuation of this alliance! And still 
 France doubts the king's fidelity and my own 
 heart-felt devotion ! She entertains such doubts 
 at a moment when I declare it to be my chief ob- 
 ject to effect a marriage of the crown prince with 
 an imperial princtss ; and when I have already 
 succeeded so far that I believe I may almost posi- 
 tively promise that the king will give his con- 
 sent." 
 
 " What ! " exclaimed St. Marsan, surprised. 
 " The king consents to such a marriage ? " 
 
 "He will," said Hardenberg, smiling, "pro- 
 vided France make the first overtures, secure him 
 important advantages, and raise the kingdom to a 
 higher rank among the states of Europe." * 
 
 " Oh, the emperor will grant Prussia all this," 
 said St. Marsan, joyously. " It is too important 
 to his majesty, when a princess of his family as- 
 cends the throne of Prussia, that he should not 
 willingly comply with all the wishes of his future 
 brother, the King of Prussia." 
 
 "Then we are agreed," exclaimed Hardenberg, 
 offering his hand to the count, " and all misun- 
 indings have been satisfactorily explained. 
 Only confide in us firmly believe that the system 
 of the king has undergone no alteration that no 
 o\t Ttures, dim-t or indirect, have been made to 
 Kus-i.i, ami that he has rejected the offers which 
 she has made to him. The repudiation of Gen- 
 er.il York's course is a sufficient proof of all this. 
 
 Beltzk<% vol. L, p. ISO. 
 
 
116 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 Only believe our protestations, count, and en- 
 treat your emperor to dismiss the distrust he still 
 seems to feel, and which alienates the hearts of 
 the greatest emperor and the noblest king." 
 
 " I will inform bis majesty of the very words 
 your excellency has addressed me, and I have no 
 doubt that the emperor on reading them will have 
 the same gratification with which I have heard 
 them. Thanks, therefore, your excellency ! And 
 now I will not detain you longer from enjoying 
 your dinner. Both of us have returned from 
 Potsdam without dining, and it is but natural that 
 we should make up for it now. Therefore, fare- 
 well, your excellency !^' 
 
 Hardenberg gave him his arm, and conducted 
 him with kind and friendly words into the ante- 
 room. 
 
 "Does your excellency think," said St. Marsan, 
 on taking leave, " that I may venture to-morrow 
 to go to Potsdam and personally inquire about 
 his majesty's health ? " 
 
 " Your excellency had better wait two or three 
 days," said Hardenberg, after a moment's reflec- 
 tion. " By that time I shall have succeeded in 
 overcoming the king's displeasure, and if the 
 French troops in the mean time have made no 
 further attempts to occupy Potsdam, but, on the 
 contrary, have withdrawn still farther from the 
 city, it will be easy for me to persuade the king 
 that the whole occurrence was a mere misunder- 
 standing. Have patience, then, for three days, my 
 dear count ! " 
 
 "Well, then, for three days. But then I shall 
 see the king at Potsdam, shall I not ? " 
 
 " Ah," exclaimed Hardenberg, smiling, " how 
 can I know where it will please his majesty to be 
 three days hence ? The king is his own master, 
 and I should think at liberty to go hither and 
 thither as he pleases, provided he does not go to 
 the Russian camp, and I would be able to prevent 
 that." 
 
 "It is certain," muttered Count St. Marsan, 
 when he was alone in his carriage, " it is certain 
 that the king will no longer be at Potsdam 
 three days hence, but intends to remove secretly, 
 and establish his court at a greater distance. The 
 
 moment, therefore, has come when we must act 
 energetically. The troops have come for thi* 
 very purpose, and the emperor's orders instruct 
 us, in case the king should manifest any inclina- 
 tion to renew his former alliance with Russia* 
 and to break with France, immediately to seize 
 the king's person, in order to deprive the Prussian 
 nation, which is hostile to us, of its leader and 
 standard-bearer. Well, then, the orders of the 
 emperor must be carried into execution. We 
 must try to have the king arrested to-day. I 
 shall immediately take the necessary steps, and 
 send couriers to Grenier's troops." The car- 
 riage stopped, and Count St. Marsan, forgetful 
 of his dinner, hastened into his cabinet, and sent 
 for his private secretaries. An hour afterward 
 two couriers left the French legation, and shortly 
 after an elegant carriage rolled from the gateway. 
 Two footmen, who did not wear their liveries, 
 were seated on the high box ; but no one was 
 able to perceive who sat inside, for the silken 
 window-curtains had been lowered. 
 
 Chancellor von Hardenberg, after the French 
 ambassador left him, instead of going to the din- 
 ing-room, returned to his cabinet. Like Count 
 St. Marsan, he seemed to have forgotten his din- 
 ner. With his hands folded behind him, he wag 
 slowly pacing his room, and a proud smile was 
 beaming in his face. " I hope," he said to him 
 self, "I have succeeded in reassuring, and yet 
 alarming the count. He believes in me and in 
 the sincerity of my sentiments, and hence in the 
 fidelity of Prussia to France, and this reassures 
 him ; but he understood very well the hints 1 
 dropped about the possibility of the king leaving 
 Potsdam and going to Breslau, and this alarms 
 him. He may, perhaps, be hot-headed enough to 
 allow himself to be carried away by his uneasi- 
 ness, and make an attempt to seize the king. If 
 he should, I have won my game, and shall succeed 
 in withdrawing the king from his reach by convey- 
 ing him to Breslau. Well, fortunately, I have a 
 reliable agent at the count's house, and if any thing 
 should happen, he will take good care to let me 
 know it immediately. I may, therefore, tranquilly 
 wait for further developments." At this moment 
 
THE TWO DIPLOMATISTS. 
 
 117 
 
 the door opened, and Conrad, the old valet de 
 chambre, entered, presenting a letter on a silver 
 tray to the chancellor of state. 
 
 " From whom ? " asked Hardenber.L'. 
 
 "From her!" whispered Conrad, anxiously. 
 14 Her nuree brought the letter a few minutes 
 ago, and she says it ought to be at once deliv- 
 ered to your excellency." 
 
 "Very well," said Hardenberg, beckoning to 
 Conrad to leave the room. But Conrad did not 
 go ; he remained at the door, and cast imploring 
 glances on his master. 
 
 44 Well," inquired Hardenberg, impatiently, 
 44 do you want to tell me any thing else ? " 
 
 44 1 do," said Conrad, timidly ; " I just wished 
 to tell you that her excellency Madame von Har- 
 denberg has condescended again this morning to 
 box my ears, because I refused to tell her whither 
 his excellency the chancellor went every even- 
 ing." 
 
 44 Poor Conrad !" said Hardenberg, smiling, 
 44 my wife will assuredly pat your cheeks until 
 they are insensible. There, take this little golden 
 plaster." 
 
 He offered a gold-piece to Conrad, but the faith- 
 ful servant refused to accept it. " No, your ex- 
 cellency, I do not wish it, for I have as much as I 
 need, and I know that your excellency will t:ike 
 care of me when I am too old and feeble to work. 
 I only intended to take the liberty to caution 
 your excellency, so that you may be a little on 
 your guard. Madame von Hardenberg has told 
 her lady's-maid that she intends to follow the 
 chancellor to-night, in order to find out whither 
 he goes, and that she then would go in the morn- 
 ing to the lady and make such a fuss as to deter 
 her from receiving your excellency any more. 
 Tin- lad\'s-!iiaitl has confided this to me, and or- 
 dered me to report it immediately, for you know 
 that we all would willingly <lie for you, and that 
 even the female servants nflx-r <-\e.-llcnoy remain 
 with her only because they love and adore you, 
 nd because it is a great honor to In-long to the 
 
 I household of a mister whom nil Berlin 1<>\ 
 reveres." 
 * I thank you and the others for your attach- 
 
 ; 
 
 
 ment and fidelity," said Hardenberg, nodding 
 kindly to his old servant. " Tell my wife's maid 
 that I am especially obliged to her, and that I 
 desire her to continue serving me faithfully. For 
 what you all have to suffer by the displeasure of 
 my wife, I shall take pains to indemnify you, par- 
 ticularly if you mention as little as possible to 
 outsiders any thing about the state of affairs pre- 
 vailing in my family, and the sufferings we all 
 have to undergo in consequence of it. Go, Con- 
 rad ; be reticent and vigilant ! I shall profit by 
 your advice, and my wife will be none the wiser." 
 He nodded once more to Conrad, and, when the 
 servant left the room, Hardenberg turned his eyes 
 again toward the little note which he still held 
 unopened in his hand. He unfolded it hastily and 
 read. It contained only the following words: 
 " My predictions are producing a good effect. 
 Dear Kockeritz is greatly alarmed for the safety 
 of his beloved king, and even old Kalkreuth was 
 startled by the terrible prophecies of the clair- 
 voyante. I am sure both of them will advise the 
 king to shun the danger, and transfer the scat of 
 government to some other place. Heaven grant 
 that their words may be impressive, and that we 
 may attain our object for you, the liberty of 
 Prussia ; for me, the thraldom of my heart ! For 
 what else do I wish than to be your slave, and to 
 lie at your feet, to narrate to you the story of my 
 love? For you I wish to be an humble slave; 
 for all others, Diavolezzi Frederica, the watch- 
 maker's daughter and when shall I become a 
 marquise ? " 
 
 44 It is true," said Hardenberg, smiling, and 
 tearing the paper in small pieces ; " it is true, she 
 is a diavolezza, but one of the most amiable and 
 charming sort, and perhaps ere long I shall, not- 
 withstanding her deviltry, consider her an angel, 
 and believe her charming comedy to be entirely 
 true and lincere. But this is no time for think- 
 ing of such things. The grave affairs of life re- 
 ar exclusive attention. Kockeritz, then, 
 ':. and even Kalkreuth has been 
 slia'ien in his .stupid bt-li-f in the French! Well, 
 ;>t length succeed in taking the fortress 
 of this royal heart! Ah, some one raps again at 
 
118 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 
 the door ! Come in ! What, Conrad, it is you 
 again ? Do you come to tell me that my wife has 
 again boxed your ears ? " 
 
 "No," said Conrad, smiling. "This time I 
 have to announce a French soldier, who insists 
 on seeing your excellency. He says he has found 
 a precious ornament which you have lost, and for 
 which he would himself get his reward." 
 
 "Well, let him come in; we shall see what he 
 brings me," said Hardenberg. 
 
 A few minutes afterward Conrad opened the 
 door, and a French soldier entered the room. 
 " Now, let us see what you have found, my 
 friend," said Hardenberg, " and what you bring 
 back to me before I have missed it." 
 
 " Your excellency, it is a precious ornament," 
 said the soldier; "but I must give it to you in 
 secret." 
 
 "Withdraw, Conrad," said Hardenberg, beck- 
 oning to the servant, who had remained at the 
 door, and was distrustfully and anxiously watch- 
 ing every motion of the soldier. 
 
 Conrad obeyed, but he left the door ajar, and 
 regained close to it, ready to reenter the cabinet 
 at the first word of his beloved master. 
 
 "Now we are alone. Speak!" said Harden- 
 berg. 
 
 " Your excellency," whispered the soldier, ad- 
 vancing several steps, " the valet de chambre of 
 Count St. Marsan that is to say, my brother 
 has sent me to you. He dares not himself come, 
 for the house of your excellency is watched by 
 spies, and he would instantly be suspected, if he 
 were seen entering it. I am to ask your excel- 
 lency whether you will give me twenty louis d'ors 
 for a letter from my brother which I am to de- 
 liver to you." 
 
 " This letter, then, contains highly important 
 information ? " 
 
 "Yes, your excellency; my brother says he 
 would let you have it at so low a rate because he 
 bad so long been connected with j ou, and because 
 you had always treated him in a munificent man- 
 
 " Does your brother require me to pay that 
 sum before I have received the letter ? ' 
 
 " He said he would leave that entirely to yout 
 excellency ; only he thinks it would be more ad- 
 vantageous to you to pay the money before read- 
 ing the letter." 
 
 " How so, more advantageous to me ? " 
 
 "Because your excellency, after reading it, 
 would doubtless, in your joy at having received 
 this singular and important information, pay him 
 a larger sum than he himself had asked." 
 
 " In that case I prefer to read the letter first," 
 said Hardenberg, smiling, " for I must not allow 
 your brother's generosity to surpass mine." 
 
 "Well, then, your excellency, here is the let- 
 ter," said the soldier, handing a small, folded pa- 
 per to the chancellor of state. 
 
 Hardenberg took it, and, as if to prevent the 
 soldier from seeing the expression of his face 
 while he was reading it, he stepped into the win- 
 dow-niche and turned his back to him. The sol- 
 dier, however, fixed his lurking glances on the 
 chancellor. He saw that a sudden shock made 
 the whole frame of the chancellor tremble, and 
 a triumphant smile overspread the countenance 
 of the secret observer. 
 
 After a few minutes Hardeuberg turned round 
 again, and, carefully folding up the paper, con- 
 cealed it in his bosom. " My friend," he said, 
 "your brother was right. Twenty louis d'ors 
 would be too low a price for this letter. We 
 must pay more for it." He stepped to his desk, 
 and, opening one of the drawers, took a roll from 
 it and counted down a number of gold-pieces on 
 the table. "Here are thirty louis d'ors," said 
 Hardenberg, " and one for your trouble. See 
 whether I have counted correctly. Tell your 
 brother to continue serving me faithfully, and fur- 
 nishing me with reliable reports. He may al- 
 ways count on my gratitude ! " 
 
 Scarcely had the soldier left the room, when 
 Hardenberg drew the paper from his bosom and 
 glanced over it again. "At length!" he ex- 
 claimed, joyously. "The decisive moment is at 
 hand ! Now I hope to attain my object ! " He 
 rang the bell violently. " Have my carriage 
 brought to the front door in half an hour," he 
 said to Conrad, as soon as he entered the room 
 
THE ATTACK 
 
 119 
 
 * B.it my own horses are tired. Send for four 
 post-horses. A courier is immediately to set out 
 for Potsdam, and see to it that relay horses be in 
 readiness for me at Steglitz and Zehlendorf ! " 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE ATTACK. 
 
 IT was six o'clock in the afternoon. The 
 gloomy January day had already yielded to a 
 dark, cold nii;ht, on-hrouding the city and vicin- 
 ity of Potsdam. The king was, as usual, to go 
 to S.ms-Souci toward nightfall. There, far from 
 the turmoil of the world, he liked to spend his 
 mornings and evenings, retiring from intrusive 
 I into the quiet of his simple domestic life. 
 Like his august grand-uncle, Frederick II., the 
 king laid down his crown and the splendor of 
 hia position at the gates of the small palace of 
 Sans-Souc;, and, at this country-seat, consecrated 
 by so many historical recollections, he was not a 
 lung, but a man, a father, ami a friend. At San^- 
 Souci his children gathered around him every 
 evening, and, by their mirth and tender love, en- 
 deavored to dispel the clouds from the careworn 
 brow of their father; at Sans-Souci, Frederick 
 William received the small circle of his intimate 
 friends there old General von Kockeritz, Field- 
 Marshal Kalkreuth, Count Dohna, Chancellor von 
 Hardenberg, and the few who had remained faith- 
 ful to him, were allowed to approach without cer- 
 emonial or etiquette. Foreign guests and court 
 ore, however, were never received at the 
 oiintry pal.u-.- ; h<> saw them only in the city of 
 Potsdam, where lu- transacted government af- 
 '.\\r<. Thither the king repaired punctually at 
 VWk every morni')'_', where took place the 
 meetings of the eahinet, the consultations with 
 the high functionaries, the audiences :5ven to the 
 foreign ambassadors, and the official levees, and 
 there the king took his (Tinner in the midst of hi.s 
 
 Imily and the officers of his court. But as soon 
 u the clock struck seven he entered his carriage 
 
 ithout any attendants, and drove out to Sans- 
 Souci. This had been his invariable habit for 
 m.iny years ; and when the inhabitants of the 
 street leading to his country-seat heard the roll of 
 a carriage at that hour, they said as positively M 
 though they heard the clock striking, " It is just 
 seven, for the king is driving to Sans-Souci." 
 
 The coachman, as was his habit, as soon as the 
 clock struck six, would harness two horses to the 
 plain carriage which the king always used, and 
 generally drove up to the small side-gate a few 
 minutes to seven o'clock. Without giving any 
 orders, or uttering a word, the king would enter, 
 and noisily closing the door, give thereby the signal 
 to start. The chime of the neighboring church 
 had just commenced playing the first part of the 
 old hymn of " Ucb' immer Treu und Redlichkeii,"* 
 thus indicating that it was half-past six when the 
 carriage appeared at the side-gate. The wind 
 was howling across the palace square and through 
 the colonnade in front of the neighboring park, 
 hurling the snow into the face of the driver, and 
 lifting up the cape of his cloak around his head, 
 as if to protect him from the cold and stormy 
 night. Thomas, the king's coachman, had just re- 
 moved with some difficulty the large cape from 
 his face, and rubbed the snow from his eyes, 
 when he heard the side-gate open. A dark figure 
 emerged from it and entered the carriage, and 
 noisily closed the door. Thomas had received 
 his accustomed signal, and, although wondering 
 that the king had come fifteen minutes earlier 
 than usual, he took the reins, whipped the horses, 
 and the carriage rolled away along the route to 
 Sans-Souci. The snow-storm drowned the roll of 
 the wheels, and rendered the vehicle almost invis- 
 ible ; besides, there was no one to take particular 
 notice of it, for only here and there some closely- 
 muffled person was to be seen on the street, too 
 busy with himself too much engaged in holding 
 fast his fluttering cloak and protecting himself, 
 from the driving snow. 
 
 The square in front of the palace was deserted. 
 
 The two sentinels were walking up and down 
 
 tt Practise always truth and honesty." 
 
NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 with slow, measured steps in front of the main 
 portal, now looking up to the brilliantly-lighted 
 windows of the royal sitting-room, and now con- 
 templating the two dim lanterns which stood on 
 the iron railing, and whose light, struggling with 
 the storm, seemed about to be extinguished. The 
 side-gate of the palace remained dark and lonely, 
 but only for a short time. From the side of the 
 market-place a carriage slowly approached, and 
 stopped in front of the palace, precisely on the 
 same spot which the king's carriage had pre- 
 viously occupied. The coachman sat as rigidly 
 and stiffly on the box :is worthy Thomas, and the 
 storm played with his cloak, and threw the snow 
 into his face, precisely in the same manner. A 
 patrol marched across the palace-square, and ap- 
 proached the sentinels in front of the main portal ; 
 the usual words of command were heard, the 
 guard was relieved, and the sentinels marched 
 off, surrendering their places to their less for- 
 tunate comrades. When they passed the side of 
 the palace where the carriage was to be seen, 
 they said to each other: "Ah, we are off guard 
 a fe* minutes too early. It cannot be quite seven 
 o'clock, for the king's carriage is still waiting at 
 the gate." The driver's laugh was unheard. 
 
 It was really not yet seven the hour when the 
 king usually left the palace. He was still in his 
 sitting-room, and his two old friends, General von 
 Kockeritz and Field-Marshal Kalkreulh, were with 
 him. A pause in their conversation set in, which 
 seemed to have been of a very grave character, for 
 the faces of the two old gentlemen looked serious 
 and careworn, and the king was pacing the room 
 slowly and with a gloomy air. 
 
 " Kockeritz," he said, after a pause, standing 
 in front of the old general, who was his most in- 
 timate friend, and looking him full in the face, 
 " you are really in earnest, then ? You believe in 
 the prophecies of the clairvoyante ? " 
 
 "I confess, your majesty, that I cannot but 
 believe them," said Kockeritz, sighing. " Her 
 words, her whole manner, all her gestures, bear 
 the stamp of truthfulness to such an extent, that 
 I would deem it a crime against nature to be- 
 lieve her to be an impostor ; she has, moreover, 
 
 already predicted to me the most wonderfui 
 things, and in her trance read my thoughts. She 
 has looked, as it were, into the depth of my soul, 
 so that I cannot doubt longer that she really is ^ 
 prophetess." 
 
 " And you, field-marshal do you, too, believe 
 in her ? " asked the king. 
 
 " I do, reluctantly, and in spite of myself, but I 
 cannot help it," said the old field-marshal, shrug- 
 ging his shoulders. *' This girl speaks so forci- 
 bly, with such eloquence and such fervor of ex- 
 pression, that one is obliged to believe in her. 
 Your majesty knows that I have always side<l 
 with those who have deemed the alliance of Prus- 
 sia with France to be indispensable for the welfare 
 and salvation of the country, and that I entertain 
 the highest admiration for the genius, the charac- 
 ter, and military talents of the Emperor Napoleon : 
 I have never concealed my conviction that Prus- 
 sia is lost if your majesty renounce Napoleon, 
 and accept the proffered hand of Russia. Still, 
 this girl has filled me with misgivings. She 
 cried in so heart-rending a tone, with so in- 
 pressive an anxiety, ' Save the king the kin; 
 is in danger ! Leave Berlin leave Potsdam ! 
 save the king ! ' that I felt a shudder pei - 
 vading my limbs, and it seemed to me a* 
 though I saw already the hand which was raised 
 menacingly against the sacred head of your ma- 
 jesty. I certainly do not believe that the Em- 
 peror Napoleon has any thing to do with this dan- 
 ger; but some officious man in authority, some 
 adventurous general, might strike a blow on his 
 own responsibility, and in the belief that he would 
 gain the favor of his emperor, and anticipate his 
 most secret wishes." 
 
 " And what do you believe ? " asked the king, 
 moodily. " Tell me, Kockeritz, what sort of dan- 
 ger do you think is meancing me ? " 
 
 " I do not know, your majesty," said Kockeritz, 
 almost timidly, " but I am sure there is danger, and 
 I would beseech your majesty to remove the seat 
 of government to some place where you would be 
 safer, and where we would not be exposed to the 
 attacks of prowling, reckless detachments of sol- 
 diers, such as we saw here to our profound re 
 
THE ATTACK. 
 
 121 
 
 gret but a few . Your majesty ought 
 
 to go to Breslau ! " 
 
 " Ah," exclaimed the king, vehemently, " Ilar- 
 denberg has succeeded, then, in gaining you over 
 to his views V You are now suddenly of opinion 
 that I ought to remove to Breslau V " 
 
 " Your majesty, I swear to ^ou that Chancellor 
 von Hardenberg has not even tried to gain me 
 over to his views, and that he assuredly would 
 not have succeeded. I have no political motives 
 whatever in entreating your majesty now to go to 
 Breslau, but am actuated exclusively by my fears 
 for your personal safety. These troops of Gen- 
 eral Grenier have greatly alarmed me ; their 
 strange expedition to Potsdam was calculated to 
 give rise to the most serious misgivings, and when 
 I add to this the prophecies of the clairvoyantc, 
 a profound concern for the safety of your majesty 
 fills my heart, and 1 feel like imploring you on 
 my kiu-es to le.-ive Potsdam and to go to Bres- 
 lau ! " 
 
 " Let me join in the request of General Kb'ck- 
 eritz, your majesty," said Field-Marshal Kal- 
 kreutb, sighing ; " I, who on the battle-field never 
 knew fear, am afraid of a danger to which I am 
 not even able to give a name." 
 
 " And, owing to these vague presentiments, I 
 am to take a step that might endanger the peace 
 of my country and the existence of my crown ! " 
 exclaimed the kin,:, with unusual vehemence. 
 "For, do not deceive yourself in regard to this 
 point : if I go to Breslau, Napoleon, who is per- 
 
 Ppetually distru>tin._' mo, an<l who is well aware 
 that my alliance with him is highly repugnant to 
 my imTm.iti n- and my personal wishes, would 
 eem it equivalent to an open rupture, and l>e- 
 i.id gone over to his enemy, the Emperor 
 i. I)':t, what is -till worse, my country, 
 my people, will al-o Mi- 
 
 Every one will suppose that, although I publicly 
 branded ^ :ion as a mine, ami removed 
 
 I him from the command-in-chicf, I secretly con- 
 i at what he did, ami that my joun. 
 Breslau is but a continuation of York's plans. 
 Every one will believe that our policy has under- 
 gone a changet and that the alliance with France 
 
 
 is at an end. It was an eyesore to the people ; 
 and if they now believe themselves to be deliv- 
 ered from it, the most calamitous consequences 
 might ensue. A rising against the French will 
 t.ike place as soon as I merely seem to give the 
 signal for it." 
 
 " Yes, that is true," exclaimed Ealkreuth 
 " your majesty is right ; it might, after all, be 
 dangerous if you suddenly leave the city where 
 you have so long resided. It might be deemed 
 equivalent to a rupture with France, and we are, 
 unfortunately, too weak to run so great a risk. 
 France is the natural ally of Prussia ; that is 
 what the great Frederick said, and Napoleon is 
 also of this opinion. By changing your system of 
 policy, your majesty would only endanger your 
 position, and give the Emperor Napoleon grounds 
 for treating you as an enemy. To be sure, I know 
 that there are fools who regard France as pros- 
 trated, and utterly unable to rise again, but you 
 will soon see her with an army of three hundred 
 thousand men, as brilliant as the former." 
 
 "I am entirely of your opinion," said the king, 
 thoughtfully, " the resources of France seem inex- 
 haustible, and " 
 
 At this moment the door of the cabinet was 
 softly opened, and Tirana the chamberlain made 
 his appearance. " His excellency, Chancellor von 
 Hardenberg," he said, in a loud voice, and at the 
 same moment Hardenberg appeared on the thresh- 
 old of the royal room. 
 
 " Pardon me, your majesty," he said, quickly 
 approaching, " for availing myself of the permis- 
 sion you have given me of entering your cabinet 
 without being ceremoniously announced; but 
 pressing affairs will excuse me." 
 
 " Has any thing occurred at Berlin ? " asked the 
 kiii'_', hastily. 
 
 your majesty ; Berlin is, at least for the 
 
 it, perfectly quiet," said Hardenberg, laying 
 
 I on every word. " But scenes of the most 
 
 intense excitement and an open insurrection 
 
 .niizht have occurred at Berlin and at Potsdam 
 
 if I had not fortunately arrived here in time." 
 
 '' Wh.it do you mean ?" inquired the king. 
 
 " I mean," replied Hardenberg, slowly and sol- 
 
122 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 emnly, " I mean that your majesty is at this very 
 moment in danger of being seized and abducted 
 by the French." 
 
 The king gave a start, and his face colored for 
 a moment ; Kockeritz and Kalkreuth exchanged 
 glances of terror and dismay. 
 
 " You have also seen the clairvoyante, then ? " 
 asked the king, after a pause, almost indignantly. 
 " You too have allowed yourself to be frightened 
 by her vaticinations ? " 
 
 " No, your majesty, I do not believe in them, 
 but only in what is true and real. Will your 
 majesty condescend to listen to me for a mo- 
 ment?" 
 
 " Speak, M. Chancellor of State." 
 
 " I must confess that, imitating the example 
 set us by the French, I have my spies and agents 
 at the legation of Count St. Marsan, and at the 
 residence of Marshal Augereau, governor-general 
 of the province of Brandenburg, just as well as 
 they have theirs at the palace of your majesty, 
 at my house, and everywhere else. I pay my 
 spies liberally, and hence they serve me faithfully. 
 Well, three hours since I received a message from 
 my first and most reliable spy, and this message 
 seemed to me so important that I immediately 
 hastened hither in order to take the necessary 
 steps, and, if possible, ward off the blow aimed at 
 your majesty." 
 
 " And what blow what danger is it ? " 
 
 " I have told your majesty already that you are 
 in danger of being carried off by the French. 
 Will your majesty permit me to read to you what 
 my spy (who, as I stated already, is a very reli- 
 able man) writes me about it ? " 
 
 " Read ! " exclaimed the king. 
 
 Hardenberg bowed, and, taking a paper from 
 his memorandum-book, read as follows : " ' They 
 intend to seize the king to-night. A courier has 
 been dispatched to the troops of Gr6nier's di- 
 vision, which, since yesterday, is encamped at a 
 short distance from Potsdam ; he conveys to the 
 troops the order to march to the outskirts of the 
 city, and to wait there at a carefully designated 
 point for the arrival of a carriage. They are then 
 to surround this carriage, and take it at a full 
 
 gallop along the road leading to Biandenburg. 
 The king will be in this carriage seized in a very 
 simple manner. It has been ascertained that the 
 king drives at seven o'clock every evening to 
 Sans-Souci, and the most minute details of what 
 occurs on this occasion have been reported. A 
 man will, thereforef conceal himself shortly after 
 nightfall near the door by which the king leaves 
 the palace. He will approach the carriage a few 
 minutes before seven, enter it, and noisily close 
 the door as the king is in the habit of doing. 
 The coachman will believe this to be the usual 
 signal, and start. As soon as he has reached the 
 deserted avenue outside the gate leading to Sans- 
 Souci, the man sitting in the carriage will open 
 the front window, throw a cape over the coach 
 man's head, thus blindfolding and preventing him 
 from uttering any cries. At the same time two 
 agents, concealed bJiind the trees, will approach, 
 stop the horses, seize the coachman, draw him 
 from the box, tie his hands und feet, and then 
 put him into the carriage. The hoiscs are to be 
 half unhitched so that neither they net ffco coach- 
 man will be able to stir from the spot. In ib 
 mean time another carriage will occupy the plica 
 of the former, and wait for the king at the side- 
 gate of the palace. As soon as his majesty has 
 entered, it will start, take at first the route of 
 Sans-Souci, but outside of the gate will imme- 
 diately turn to the left, and drive for some time 
 at a quick trot along the narrow road near the 
 garden. At some distance from the city the 
 chasseurs of Grenier's division will await it, and 
 then form its escort. The carriage is arranged in 
 such a manner that it cannot be opened on the 
 inside. As soon as the king has entered it, he 
 will, therefore, be a prisoner.' " 
 
 "And you believe in the reliability of these 
 statements ? " asked the king, when Hardenberg 
 paused. 
 
 u I am satisfied of it, your ma/'esty. The re- 
 ports of my spy have hitherto alwa/t, proved cor- 
 rect and reliable. It would be impossible for me 
 to doubt his accuracy." 
 
 The king looked at his watch. " It is already 
 a quarter past seven," he said. "Tlun it is no* 
 
THE ATTACK. 
 
 123 
 
 my carriage that ia waiting for uae at the palace- 
 gate, but another?" 
 " Yes, your majesty." 
 
 "The clairvoyaute was right," muttered Gen- 
 em] KOckeritz. 
 
 " If I now enter the carriage, you believe, M. 
 Chancellor, I would be carried off? " 
 
 u That is what my spy reports, and I have ad- 
 ditional evidence confirming his statements. At 
 least it is entirely correct that Grenier's chasseurs 
 are again in the immediate vicinity of Potsdam. 
 I ronfess to your majesty thot, owing to this dan- 
 ger, I have already taken the liberty, without ob- 
 taining your consent, to take most urgent steps, 
 &nd that I have conferred with the commanders 
 of the garrison of Potsdam for this purpose. 
 These gentlemen, like myself, felt the necessity 
 of immediate action. Couriers and spies were 
 pent out by them in all directions, and have 
 brought the news that the four thousand men 
 who, two days ago, made an attempt to occupy 
 Potsdam ford My, are now again approaching the 
 city in the VTCI:?': haste. Already about fifty 
 chasseurs ar*. -taticued behind the high fence of 
 the last garden on the road, alluded to in the 
 of my spy, and seem to wait there for the 
 Your majesty will see all my state- 
 ments confirmed if you will be gracious enough 
 to receive the report of the officer who com- 
 ded tl e expedition, and who has now accom- 
 ied ra : to the palaeo. The commanders of 
 the garrison found t'le proofs of the insidious in- 
 tentions of tlie French to be so startling that they 
 ore causing at this moment all their troops to 
 form in line, and are marching them as n<>' 
 
 to the neighboring park." 
 " Without having previously applied to me for 
 ere?" u-ke 1 the kin, quickly. 
 'Your majesty, tin- pro-Mil^ ilanu'-T excuses 
 -hness. I have engaged to solicit your 
 <ure." 
 
 J" The troops -lull bo sent to their qn.i- 
 id the kin.-, llj, after a D 
 
 flection. 
 
 "Great 11 .--neral Koek- 
 
 eritz, anxiously, " what doe- your majesty intend 
 
 r; 
 
 to do ? Will you expose yourself to the danger 
 of" 
 
 "Hush!" interrupted the king, sternly, seizing 
 the bell and ringing. The chamberlain entered. 
 " The officer who is waiting in the anteroom is to 
 come in," ordered the king. A minute afterward 
 the officer appeared, and remained in a military 
 attitude at the door. 
 
 " Did you reconnoitre to-night ? " inquired the 
 king. 
 
 " I did, your majesty. A part of Grenier's di- 
 vision is rapidly approaching the city ; fifty chas- 
 seurs are already on the garden road behind the 
 last board fence." 
 
 " Return to the general commanding," ordered 
 the king. " The troops are at once to leave the 
 park and go back to their quarters. The whole 
 affair is to be kept a secret, and all eclat to be 
 avoided. Go ! " 
 
 The officer saluted, and turned toward the door, 
 but on opening it he looked back and cast an 
 inquiring glance on the face of the chancellor. 
 Hardenberg nodded almost imperceptibly. The 
 officer went out and closed the door after him.* 
 
 " I do not wish this affair to be made public," 
 said the king, " otherwise I should have to re- 
 nounce France immediately and decidedly; but 
 my circumstances forbid me to do so." 
 
 "But, your majesty, you are now exposing 
 yourself to the danger of falling into the hands 
 of the French," exclaimed General Kockeritz, 
 anxiously. " If Grenier's troops enter Potsdam 
 now, they would meet with no resistance what- 
 ever, as your majesty has withdrawn our own 
 soldiers." 
 
 "The French troops will not enter Potsdam 
 after seeing that their plan has failed, and that 
 I do not arrive in the coach at the place where 
 the chasseurs are waiting for me," said the 
 
 * When the klnp heard that the troops had been 
 marched to tho park, he ordered them to be dismissed to 
 their quarters; but the apprehensions of the officers 
 were so great that they dared to obey tho royal orders 
 only partially. They marched the troops from the park 
 to another place, where they kept them under wins dm> 
 ing the whole night and a part cf ; g (lay. 
 
124 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 "Besides," exclaimed Field-Marshal Kalkreuth 
 indignantly, " it remains to be seen whether the 
 whob intrigue is not a mei fiction. The chan- 
 cellor of state himself said that he paid his spies 
 well. Perhaps some enterprising fellow has got 
 up this story for the sole purpose of receiving A 
 large reward. He could imagine that the kir.g, 
 after being warned, would not drive out to Sans- 
 Souci to-night, and that the affair therefore would 
 be buried in the darkness of this evening." 
 
 "And does your excellency believe, too, that 
 my spy caused four thousand men to march upon 
 Potsdam to second his intrigue ? " asked Harden- 
 berg, smiling. " Do you believe that he is able 
 to send detachments of chasseurs whithersoever 
 he pleases?" 
 
 " I cannot believe in this plan ; it would be 
 too audacious ! " exclaimed Field-Marshal Kal- 
 kreuth. " I ask a favor of your majesty. If this 
 report is correct, the carriage in which you are to 
 be abducted ought now to be at the palace-gate 
 and await your majesty. Please permit me to go 
 down-stairs and enter it in your place. I want 
 to see whither they will take me." 
 
 "No," said the king "no! I wish to avoid 
 any thing like an open rupture with France. The 
 time for that has not come yet." 
 
 " Oh," whispered Hardenberg to himself, sadly 
 and reproachfully, " that time will never come ! 
 My hopes are blasted." 
 
 The king paced the room silently and musingly, 
 with his hands folded behind him. Field-Marshal 
 Kalkreuth and General Kockeritz followed every 
 motion in anxious suspense. Hardenberg cast 
 down his eyes, and his features were expressive 
 of profound grief. 
 
 "Gentlemen," said the king, "come with me! 
 Let us go down to my carriage ! " 
 
 " Your majesty, I trust, does not intend to 
 enter it ? " exclaimed Kockeritz, in dismay. 
 
 " Come with me ! " said the king, almost smil- 
 ingly. " Come ! " 
 
 The firm, determined tone of his majesty ad- 
 mitted of no resistance. The three left the cab- 
 inet with him in silence, crossed the anteroom 
 and the lighted corridor, until they arrived at the 
 
 small staircase leading to the side-gate of the 
 palace. All was silent. Not a footman met 
 them on the way, and only a single sentinel stood 
 at the upper end of the passage. The king, who 
 led the way, went quickly down and across the 
 small hall toward the door, which he opened with 
 a jerk. The storm swept into the hall and beat 
 into the faces of the gentlemen. It had already 
 blown out the two lanterns in front of the door, 
 and an impenetrable darkness reigned outside. 
 
 " Hush, now ! " whispered the king. " Step 
 out softly and place yourselves here at the wall. 
 No one will see you. Wait now ! " He quickly 
 stepped to the carriage, scarcely visible in the 
 darkness, and, groping for the knob of the coach 
 door, opened it. A moment of breathless sus- 
 pense ensued for those who stood at the wall, 
 and tried to see what was to occur. The king 
 slammed the door, and jumped back toward 
 the gate. At the same moment the coachman 
 whipped the horses and the carriage rapidly sped 
 away. 
 
 "Now, let us reenter the palace," said ths 
 king, with perfect composure. " It is a storm / 
 night ! Come ! " He stepped back into the hall, 
 and the gentlemen followed. " Well," he saic , 
 smiling, and standing still, " the coachman, i i 
 the firm belief that I am in the carriage, will take 
 the indicated route ; the chasseurs will surround 
 the carriage and capture it. Let those who got 
 up this miserable intrigue convince themselves to 
 their shame that it has miscarried. They wi'.l 
 not dare complain, and the whole affair will 
 never be revealed." 
 
 "But suppose it should really have been your 
 majesty's carriage ? " asked Kalkreuth. " The 
 darkness was so great that it could not be recog- 
 nized." 
 
 " But the darkness did not prevent me from 
 feeling," said the king, " and my hands served ine 
 this time instead of my eyes. I felt that it was 
 another carriage than mine. The door-knob 
 was much larger. But now I should like to 
 have some news about my dear o/d coachman, 
 Thomas, and learn what has become of him." 
 
 " If /our majesty will permit me, I will try to 
 
THE COURIER'S RETURN. 
 
 125 
 
 ;.iin if the carriage is still in the avenue out- 
 M'lc the gate," said Kalkreuth, quickly. 
 
 " I inteii'.led to request you to do so, ^eld-mar- 
 ' said the king. "Your coach is in readi- 
 il it n.. t :- " 
 "It is, your rnaj 
 
 " Let the servants, then, have it bt ought up," 
 
 saiu the king, ascending the staircase. On arriv- 
 
 t the anteroom, he himself ordered the lackey 
 
 in waiting to have the carriage of the field-marshal 
 
 brought to the door. 
 
 " If your majesty will permit me," said Gen- 
 eral Kockeritz, " I will accompany the field-mar- 
 shal;' 
 
 " I ask for the same favor," said the chancellor 
 of state, quickly. 
 
 impany the field-marshal, general," saul 
 the king, turning to Kockeritz. " Take no ser- 
 vants with you, except Timm my cl-amberlain, 
 who may r -tance to my poor Thomas. 
 
 My chamberlain is reticent and faithful. Pray 
 your carriage stopped at the entrance of the 
 avenue, and proceed then on foot. If you find 
 every thing as stated in the spy's report, Timm 
 will drive the carriage to Sans-Souci, that my 
 good old coachman may go to bed and recover 
 from his flight. You will tell him, however, that 
 I wish him not to breathe a word about his ad- 
 venture. You, gentlemen, will thereupon return 
 and report to me. And you, M. Ch-mceilor, will 
 )w me into my cabinet." 
 
 
 QHAPTEB XXI. 
 
 THK CO U HI Kit's KKTTRN. 
 
 .''met, tliL* king .>luwl-, 
 
 room, the presence 
 
 :, wlrj waited in 
 t patiemv, withdrew softly into a whsdow- 
 
 . to the noise of the . 
 
 rolling a\v.iy at this moment. " The spies the 
 out are driving to the avenue," said 
 Uardeuberg to himself. " They will, no doubt, 
 
 find every thing as stated In the report, and yet 
 all will be in vain. He will not make up hia 
 mind to enter a bold course, and while he is hesi- 
 tatini; all of us and Prussia will perish." 
 
 While he was thus absorbed in his sombre re- 
 flections, and sadly gazing out into the dark 
 night, he had not noticed that the king stood still 
 at the other end of the room, and, with his arms 
 folded on his breast, was casting searching glances 
 on the chancellor of state. Now he crossed the 
 room with slow steps and erect head, and stood 
 in front of Hardenberg. " M. Chancellor," said 
 Frederick William, in an unusually mild and gen- 
 tle tone, " you are sad and discontented, are you 
 not ? You are almost despairing, and it seems to 
 you that the King of Prussia, whom the French 
 have again so deeply insulted and humiliated, and 
 whom Napoleon is now threatening even with 
 seizure, should at length revolt against such treat- 
 ment, and submit no longer to it. It seems to 
 you that, cut to the quick by so many slights, in- 
 sults, and perfidies, he ought to put an end to hia 
 temporizing policy ; to rise and exclaim, ' I will 
 die rather than bear this disgrace any longer ! I 
 will die rather than endure these humiliations.' 
 You are right ; were I, like you, so fortunate aa 
 to be nothing but a man who had to defend 
 only his own honor and existence, I would be al- 
 lowed to risk every thing in order to win every 
 thing. But I am the king, and, moreover, the 
 king of an unfortunate state. I must forget my 
 own wrongs, and remember only that I have 
 sacred duties to fulfil toward my people, and that, 
 so far as my own person is concerned, I am not 
 yet allowed to possess any other courage than 
 that of resignation. I am not allowed to stake 
 the existence of my monarchy and the welfare of 
 my people to obtain per-onal satisfaction. Until 
 I obtain the incontestable certainty that such a 
 course would be brought to a successful issue, 1 
 not throw down the gauntlet to France, foi 
 failure in this case would be not only my ruin, 
 but that of my whole people. I shall wait, there- 
 fore, M. Chancellor, for an opportunity ; but I 
 believe that this course requires on my part more 
 constancy and courage than if I, as you wish me 
 
126 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 to do, should now unreservedly forsake France 
 and render the decision of my fate dependent on 
 the fortune of war. It is my solemn conviction 
 that I ought not to do thrs, but advance only 
 step by step, and with the utmost caution and 
 deliberation, for Well, what is it ? " asked the 
 king, turning to the chamberlain, who opened the 
 door and entered the cabinet. 
 
 " Pardon me, you majesty, for disturbing you," 
 said the chamberlain, respectfully. "But the 
 gentleman who has just entered the anteroom 
 assured me that he was the bearer of important 
 news, which admitted of no delay." 
 
 " And who is the gentleman ? " 
 
 " Sire, it is Major Natzmcr, whom your ma- 
 jesty sent recently as a courier to Old Prussia." 
 
 "Natzmer?" exclaimed the king, joyously, 
 " admit him at once ! Ah, M. Chancellor, we 
 shall hear now how affairs are looking in my 
 province of Prussia, and how my troops have 
 received York's removal from his command." 
 
 " I hope Major Natzmer will bring your ma- 
 jesty good and joyful news," said Hardenberg, 
 with perfect outward calmness, while his heart 
 was throbbing with impatience for Major Natz- 
 mer, who now entered ; and, while he saluted the 
 king, Hardenberg fixed his eyes, with an anxious 
 expression, on the countenance of the new-comer. 
 For a moment their eyes met. There was an in- 
 quiry in those of Hardenberg; Natzmer replied 
 by a slight motion of his eyelids, and an almost 
 imperceptible smile. 
 
 "In the first place, report to me briefly ind 
 succinctly," said the king. " Reply to all my 
 questions as pointedly and clearly as possible. Af- 
 terward we will expatiate on the most important 
 points. Well, then, you saw Murat and Mac- 
 donald?" 
 
 " I did, your majesty. I met the King of Naples 
 at Elbing, and had the honor of delivering your 
 majesty's letter to him. He received me very 
 kindly, and was delighted at being thus assured 
 of your friendly feelings toward France. Marshal 
 MacdonaH, to whose headquarters I then repaired, 
 was less kind and polite. He was still exceed- 
 ingly indignant at the course of General York, 
 
 which he openly stigmatized as traitorous ; btit 
 he was pacified when I informed him that I was 
 the bearer of an order depriving York of his com- 
 mand, and was about to convey it to the camp of 
 the Russians and Prussians." 
 
 " He raised no obstacles, then, but allowed you 
 to pass over without hindernnce to the Russian 
 camp ? " 
 
 "Yes, your majesty. While Macdonald con- 
 tinued his march, I rode to the Russian pickets, 
 and was conducted by an officer, detailed by Gen- 
 eral Choplitz for this purpose, to the commander- 
 in-chief, Prince Wittgenstein, who had established 
 his headquarters at Heilsberg." 
 
 "What business had you at Wittgenstein's 
 headquarters ? " 
 
 "I wanted, in accordance with your orders, to 
 ask his permission to pass through to General 
 York ; and, besides, I wished to ascertain where 
 the Emperor Alexander had established his head- 
 quarters, that I might repair to them." 
 
 " Prince Wittgenstein, of course, gave you im- 
 mediate permission to pass through his camp, did 
 he not?" 
 
 " No, your majesty ; he refused my request." 
 
 " How so ? What reasons could he adduce J 
 Did you tell him what you intended to do at 
 York's headquarters ? " 
 
 " Your majesty ordered me to tell every 
 what I was to do at General York's headquarters, 
 and what punishment you intended to inflict upon 
 him. I was therefore authorized and obliged to 
 inform General Wittgenstein of the object of my 
 mission." 
 
 " And he dared to resist you ? " 
 
 " He did, your majesty. He declared that he 
 would not permit me by any means to go to 
 York, and that so long as he lived no one should 
 bring to the general a dispatch by which the most 
 generous, magnanimous, and valiant general of 
 the Prussian army was to be deprived of his com- 
 mand." 
 
 " Then he really prevented you from going to 
 York ? " 
 
 "Yes, your majesty; he told me I was his 
 prisoner, and did not permit me to leave him," 
 
THE COURIER'S RETURN. 
 
 127 
 
 "So that, at this moment, General York has 
 not, as I desire, transferred his command to Gen- 
 eral Kleist ? " 
 
 "Precisely, your majesty. General York is still 
 in command." 
 
 " And he did not receive the order removing 
 him from his position ? " 
 
 " I was unable to deliver it, and your majesty 
 required me to give it to none but the general 
 himself. I was, however, a prisoner at General 
 Wittgenstein's. He asked me whether I had re- 
 ceived other commissions -, and when he heard 
 that I was to deliver a letter to his majesty the 
 emperor, he immediately had a sleigh brought to 
 the door, detailed an officer to escort me, and we 
 set out for the imperial headquarters." 
 
 " Let us speak of that hereafter," said the king, 
 quickly. " Tell me first whether you have heard 
 further news about my corps. General York, 
 th'-n, is still in command ? " 
 --, your majesty." 
 
 " But even though he has not received the dis- 
 patches, he must have seen the news in the news- 
 papers. For the Berlin journals contained a copy 
 of the order superseding him, and he must have 
 noticed it." 
 
 "I was told by General Wittgenstein, on return- 
 trom the headquarters of the Emperor of 
 a, that York had been informed by the 
 newspapers of the severe punishment which your 
 f y intended to inflict upon him, and that 
 you disavowed him and the course he had taken. 
 Accordingly, he requested General Kleist to take 
 command of the troops. But Kleist refused to 
 do so, allf/uiLi that he had received no direct 
 fiom your majesty, and that the dispatches 
 of your majesty, addressed to him personally, 
 would determine his course, and induce him to 
 iand of the trooj 
 
 .v.i- right in making this dec- 
 laration," said the king. "So long as York hud 
 not received the dispatches, he remained eom- 
 mander-in-diief.'' 
 
 "lie '.s still at the head of th. 
 claimed Natzmer, " for I bring back the dispatches 
 addressed to Generals York and Kleist. As I 
 
 addressed ' 
 
 was unable to deliver them, I return them to your 
 majesty." 
 
 The king took the papers 'which the major pre- 
 sented to him, contemplating them for a moment. 
 He turned toward Hardenberg, and saw that 
 heart-felt joy was beaming from his face. "Are 
 you glad that my orders have not been earned 
 into effect, M. Chancellor of State?" asked the 
 king. 
 
 "Yes, your majesty," said Hardenberg, in a 
 voice tremulous with emotion, " I am glad of it, 
 for now it seems to me as if our night is drawing 
 to a close, and a new morning is about to dawn 
 upon Prussia. York took the first step for this 
 purpose, and it will be necessary for your ma- 
 jesty to pursue the same course. For, as York 
 has not been deprived of his command, the French 
 will no longer believe that you disavow the action 
 of your brave general, and your people and all 
 Germany will take heart, for they will see that 
 the era of disgrace is past, and that a German 
 king dares at length to resist the French tyrant." 
 
 " Well, we shall see," said the king. " Now, 
 Major Natzmer, tell me about your mission to his 
 majesty the Emperor Alexander. I told you that 
 it was a state secret Did you keep it ? " 
 
 " I did, your majesty." 
 
 " Well, tell me the result." 
 
 " Will your majesty permit me to withdraw y " 
 said the chancellor, approaching the door. " As 
 you intrusted Major Natzmer with a secret mis- 
 sion " 
 
 " Oh, no, your excellency, pray remain ; I wish 
 you to hear the message I sent to the emperor, and 
 what he replied to it. Answer my questions now, 
 major. Did you carry out the commission I gave 
 you ? Dili you verbally lay before the emperor 
 the message which I dared not confide to pea and 
 paper* Did you tell the emperor that I would 
 offer him a defensive and offensive alliance if 
 Alexander would engage to carry on the wai 
 against Napoleon to the best of his power, and 
 the Vistula and the Oder without delay? 
 Did you make this offer to Alexander in my 
 name? " 
 
 " I did, your majesty." 
 
728 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 The king glanced quickly at Hardenberg, and 
 the surprised face of his chancellor of state made 
 him smile. 
 
 " And what did the emperor reply ? " asked 
 Frederick William, turning again to the major. 
 
 " The emperor was overjoyed at the offer, and 
 declared his readiness to grant all which you 
 would stipulate now and hereafter. The Emperor 
 Alexander imposed only a single condition." 
 " What was it ? " 
 
 " He demanded that the fortress of Graudenz 
 should be garrisoned by Russian troops, and in- 
 sisted most obstinately on this point." 
 
 " Did you not tell him that I had made up my 
 mind in regard to this point, and would renounce 
 the proposed alliance if Graudenz, the most re- 
 mote fortress of my kingdom, should be garri- 
 soned by other than Prussian troops ? " 
 " I stated this to the emperor." 
 " And then ? " 
 
 " The emperor resolved to yield even this 
 point, and to leave Graudenz to the Prussian 
 troops." 
 
 A sunbeam seemed to light up the grave, calm 
 face of the king, and the cloud that generally 
 darkened his brow disappeared. "M. Chancel- 
 lor," he said, turning to Hardenberg with a mild 
 and kind smile, "are you now reconciled with 
 your Fabius Cunctator Will you forgive me 
 for having hesitated until Natzmer would bring 
 me Alexander's reply ? " 
 
 " Oh, sire," exclaimed Hardenberg, " my soul 
 bows in joyous admiration, and your greatness 
 and mildness make me blush." 
 
 At this moment the door opened, and Kock- 
 eritz and Kalkreuth entered the cabinet. 
 
 " Ah," exclaimed the king, meeting them, " my 
 two generals whom I sent out on a reconuoissance ! 
 Well, gentlemen, speak ! Did you find my car- 
 riage?" 
 
 "We did, your majesty," said Field-Marshal 
 Kalkreuth, sighing. " The report was but too 
 true. A vile plot had been formed ; we have the 
 proofs, for we really found the carriage of your 
 majesty in the avenue leading to Sans-Souci ; the 
 horses had been partially unhitched " 
 
 " And my poor coachman ? " asked the king. 
 " Kockeritz, tell me what has become of my faith- 
 ful Thomas?" 
 
 " We found him exactly in the condition stated 
 in the spy's report," said General Kockeritz, 
 hastily. " He lay in the interior of the carriage ; 
 his hands and feet firmly tied ; his head covered 
 with a cape, which had been closely fastened 
 round his neck to prevent him from crying ; it 
 had, moreover, almost choked him when we ar- 
 rived." 
 
 " But he has recovered from his fright ? " asked 
 the king, in a tone of sympathy. 
 
 " Yes, your majesty," said Kockeritz, " and he 
 would not permit Timm to accompany him to 
 Sans-Souci. He felt strong enough to return to 
 Potsdam, and arrived here at the same time as 
 we did." 
 
 " I suppose you have ordered him to say noth- 
 ing about the whole affair ? " 
 
 "Yes, your majesty, and he swore he would 
 not mention it." 
 
 " And now, gentlemen, give me your opinion. 
 Field-Marshal Kalkreuth, you have satisfied your- 
 self now that the French really intended to seize 
 and abduct me to-night ? " 
 
 "I have unfortunately satisfied myself that 
 they made such an attempt," said the field- 
 marshal. 
 
 " And you, Kockeritz, believe so, too ? " 
 
 " I do, your majesty ; I am fully convinced 
 that such an outrage was in contemplation." 
 
 " And you, M. Chancellor of State? " 
 
 " I was confident of the existence of this plot 
 before coming hither, and every thing has con- 
 firmed it ; yes, such an outrage was surely in- 
 tended. The French meant to seize your sacred 
 person." 
 
 " Will your majesty permit me also to reply to 
 this question ? " said Major Natzmer. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " asked the king, sur- 
 prised. " Have you not just arrived ? How can 
 you pass an opinion on what occurred before 
 your arrival ? " 
 
 " Your majesty, it is true I have just novr 
 come ; but still I knew what was to occur here, 
 
 
THE COURIER'S RETURN. 
 
 129 
 
 ana wliat an infamous transaction was planned," 
 sui'l Major Nat/.mer. " The Emperor Alexander 
 iiave me this information ; he had just received 
 from a perfectly reliable source the news that 
 M.ir-hal Augereau had been instructed to seize 
 tiif person of your majesty. The emperor was 
 y alarmed, and told me he would be unable 
 to find any rest until he had heard that you were 
 ;ind had left Berlin and Potsdam.* I myself 
 set out at once in the greatest consternation, and 
 as I left the emperor on the 13th of January, I 
 would have arrived here much earlier if I had not 
 h'-ard at Landshut that Murat had issued an or- 
 der to all the authorities to have me arrested and 
 conveyed to the French headquarters, f This 
 compelled me to take a roundabout course, and 
 now I rejoice the more heartily as I have arrived 
 at the very time to caution your majesty, in the 
 n \me of the Emperor Alexander, against the in- 
 sidious designs of the French." 
 
 The king made no reply. He paced the room 
 slowly and with his head bent down ; the four 
 iT'-ntlemen stood in silence on both sides of the 
 cabinet. Suddenly standing in the middle of the 
 room, with his countenance full of determination, 
 said : " Gentlemen, I will tell you a state 
 t. Will you pledge me your word of honor, 
 ill four of you, that you will keep it ? " 
 
 
 M Life of York," voL 11., p. 120. t Ibid. 
 
 " We will ! " they all shouted at the same mo- 
 ment. 
 
 " Listen to me, then," added the king. " I 
 shall leave Potsdam and repair to Breslau, whithei 
 the seat of government will be temporarily trans- 
 ferred. All the necessary prepa rations must be 
 made from this hour with the utmost dispatch 
 and prudence. To-morrow nigb r I shall set out 
 with the crown prince ; the rest of the royal fam- 
 ily will follow me on the next day. Troops will 
 be stationed along the route ; the hussars form- 
 ing my escort, and the lifeguards following to 
 Breslau. It is my duty to place myself beyond 
 the reach of insidious attacks, and to render it 
 impossible for the French to seize me. I will, 
 therefore, go to Breslau ! " While uttering these 
 words, the king glanced successively at the faces 
 of the four gentlemen. He saw that Field-Mar- 
 shal Kalkreuth looked gloomy and abstracted, 
 and opposite him the chancellor of state, with 
 burning cheeks and radiant eyes. 
 
 "Well, Hardenberg," said the king, mildly, 
 " have you nothing to say to me ? " 
 
 " I am unable to say any thing," whispered 
 Hardenberg, in a tremulous voice, "but I do 
 what I have not done for many years past I 
 weep tears of joy ! Our night is at an end ; a 
 new morning is dawning upon Prussia, and the 
 sun of a new era will shed his beams upon all 
 of us!" 
 
THE VOLUNTEERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE MANIFESTO. 
 
 THE people were moving in dense crowds 
 through Berlin. The long and splendid street 
 " Unter den Linden " was filled with a vast multi- 
 tude, whose greeting cheers resembled the noise 
 of the ocean's billows. 
 
 " The king has safely arrived at Breslau ! " 
 cried one of the men to another, and immediately 
 the enthusiastic cry of " Long live the king ! " 
 burst from all those who heard it, and, like a ju- 
 bilant echo, the people along the whole street re- 
 peated, " Long live the king ! " 
 
 " The king has reappointed General Scharn- 
 horet quartermaster-general, and General Blucher 
 is with him at Breslau ! " exclaimed a stentorian 
 voice. 
 
 " Long live Scharnhorst ! Long live Blucher ! " 
 shouted the crowd. " Long live our heroes ! " 
 "Down with the French!" and thousands an- 
 swered in tones of intense hatred, "Down with 
 the French ! " 
 
 " They so long trampled us under foot ! " cried 
 another citizen. " Now, let us pay them for it ! 
 Come, let us go to the French ambassador and 
 ive him a few groans ! We will no longer be 
 eilent ! " 
 
 " Yes, we are determined to speak ! " yelled 
 the multitude, who hurried toward the gate in 
 front of which the residence of the ambassador 
 was situated. But suddenly they were stopped 
 by a procession approaehin< from the Branden- 
 
 burg gate. It was headed by three men one 
 short and feeble frame, his face pale and ema- 
 ciated, but lit up by large flashing blue eyes ; 
 the second was tall and broad-shouldered, his eye 
 looking frank and bold, and his hair falling on hia 
 shoulders like a lion's mane ; the third was not 
 tall, but of a firmly-knit frame, and, with hia 
 proud head and intrepid air, looked like the em- 
 bodiment of chivalry. Behind them was a line 
 of more than two hundred youths, in light, sim- 
 ple attire, their cheeks glowing with excitement 
 or exercise, and their eyes flashing with enthu- 
 siasm. 
 
 "Hurrah!" shouted the people. "Here ars 
 the Turners ! Here is Father Jahn with his 
 Turners ! Long live Jahn ! " 
 
 The Turners, at a beck from "Father Jahn,'' 
 had taken position across the street, and thus, 
 like a chain, prevented the citizens from pass- 
 ing on. The three leaders stood in front, and 
 gazed gravely upon the approaching multitude. 
 
 "Clear the track!" cried the crowd. "We 
 have business to attend to on the square in front 
 of the gate ! " 
 
 " Believe me, it is as I said," whispered the 
 smallest of the three men to his neighbor. " It 
 is a riot directed against the French ambassador ! " 
 
 " Where are you going ? " shouted the man 
 with the lion's mane, pushing back those ajb the 
 head of the crowd with his herculean arms. 
 
 "We are going to the French ambassador, to 
 sing him a new German song, and accompany it 
 with stones for his windows." 
 
THE MANIFESTO. 
 
 131 
 
 " And why do you wish to do so ? " asked the 
 tall man. " What do you care for the French- 
 man on this beautiful and joyous day ? Men like 
 you have something else to do than to break the 
 windows of the French ambassador. There will 
 be other battles before long. I hope you have 
 heard or read what great events have occurred ; 
 I hope you know the message which the king had 
 sent to us from Breslau ? " 
 
 41 No, we kuow nothing about them ! " replied 
 a few voices. " Yes, we do," said others. " But 
 we would like to hear the news again," cried an- 
 other. " Pray, repeat it to us, Father Jahn ! " 
 
 44 1 am not very well able to do so ; our gym- 
 nastic performances to-day have exhausted me," 
 replied Jahn. " I went out of the gate with my 
 pupils at an early hour in the morning. These 
 rntlcmen came to us and told us the news, 
 ami that is the reason why we have come back. 
 My friend will tell you what he told me, and he 
 knows better how to speak than I do, for he has 
 an eloquent tongue. This is well known to all 
 of you, for who among you is not acquainted with 
 Frederick Schlcierrnacher, the great preacher?" 
 
 44 Schleiermacher 1 Long live Schleiermacher ! 
 Let Schleiermacher repeat to us what the king 
 siiiii ! Let him tell us what is on the large pla- 
 cards on the street corners. Hearing it read, 
 we understand it better than on reading it our- 
 -." And many arms were stretched out 
 toward the feeble little man who stood by the 
 Fide of Jahn, lifting him up and placing him 
 
 ntly on the balcony fixed above the door of a 
 
 boring house. 
 
 That is a good pulpit," shouted the people ; 
 leiermaeher, address us from it !" 
 
 little man with bright eyes and a genial 
 tcuance gazed for a moment in silence upon 
 his auditors, who thronired around him in sus- 
 -o and curiosity. II,- then raised his arms, 
 commanding silence. The laughter, shouts, and 
 jvlis, died away ; all eyes were fixed upon Schleier- 
 macher, and the noise of the multitude seemed 
 arrested as by a ma^u-ian's wand, as the rd 
 the preacher resounded through the street clear 
 mi distinct "You want me to read what tut- 
 
 been addressed to us all," he said, "the mani- 
 festo which Minister von Hardenberg has issued 
 to the people in the king's name. Listen, then ! " 
 He took a large folded paper from his breast- 
 pocket, and, opening it, read as follows : " ' The 
 dangerous position in which the state has been 
 placed by recent events requires a rapid augmen- 
 tation of the troops now in arms, while our finan- 
 ces admit of no lavish expenditures. In con- 
 sideration of the patriotism and faithful attach- 
 ment to the king which have always animated 
 the people of Prussia, and manifested themselves 
 most strikingly in times of danger, there is but 
 an opportunity required to give a definite direc- 
 tion to these sentiments, and to the desire for 
 activity which distinguishes so many young men, 
 that they may swell by their accession to the 
 army the ranks of the older defenders of the 
 country, whom they would emulate in nobly ful- 
 filling the first of all duties incumbent upon us. 
 For this reason his majesty has designed to order 
 the organization of companies of volunteers, to be 
 embodied with the regiments of infantry and cav. 
 airy already in the service, that an opportunity to 
 enter the army in a manner suitable to their edu- 
 cation, and their position in life, may be given to 
 all those classes who, under the existing con- 
 scription laws, are exempt from service, and are 
 rich enough to pay for their own outfit and horse, 
 and that a prospect of distinguishing themselves 
 may be held out to men who, owing to their edu- 
 cation and intellect, might immediately do good 
 service, and soon be appointed line and field offi- 
 cers.'* It is unnecessary for me to read the con- 
 clusion of the proclamation," said Schleiermacher. 
 " You know enough, for you know now that the 
 king calls his people; that he calls upon all the 
 youths and men of his kingdom to rally round 
 him, and that he requests, and does not order 
 them to do so. The country is in danger; and 
 not the king's order, but your own voluntary 
 action, is to make you soldiers of the fatherland 
 and put arms into your hands. Remember that 
 your free will is your most precious and sacred 
 
 * Hordenberi: issued this manifesto at Breslau, on the 
 3d of February ; it WAS published at Berlin on the 5th. 
 
132 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 possession, and that he is twice a hero whom it 
 actuates, and is not forced into duty. No greater 
 honor can be conferred on you than that your 
 country calls you, trusts in your strong arm, and 
 hopes in your free will to save it from destruction. 
 Take that into consideration, and decide then 
 whether you will stay at home or obey the call." 
 
 The two men who had been by his side at the 
 head of the procession, Jahn, the brave Turner, 
 and the chivalrous La Motte Fouque, now as- 
 cended the balcony. 
 
 " I do not care to stay at home when my coun- 
 tey calls me to her aid ! " exclaimed M. de la 
 Motte Fouqu, in a loud, sonorous voice. k ' I joy- 
 fully offer my services as a soldier. I have a 
 wife and children, but my country is to me more 
 precious than they are, and I enroll here my name 
 as the first volunteer who responds to the call of 
 his king and country." 
 
 "And I enroll my name as the second volun- 
 teer ! " exclaimed Jahn, the Turners' father. " I 
 swear here to my country that I will joyously fight 
 for it. Henceforth, my blood and life belong to 
 the fatherland. And where are you, my boys, my 
 Turners ? Shall I march out all alone, or will you 
 accompany me ? " 
 
 " We will go with you ! " cried a hundred 
 youthful voices, and their enthusiastic shouts 
 rent the sky. " We will march with you ! We 
 will fight for the fatherland ! " And the crowd, 
 carried away by what they saw and heard the men 
 with tearful eyes, the youths with flashing glances 
 all shouted : " We will march with you ! We 
 will fight for the fatherland ! " Neighbor gave his 
 hand to neighbor, and friend embraced friend ; 
 those who had never before seen each other under- 
 stood the common feeling, and those who had never 
 exchanged a word conversed now like old ac- 
 quaintances. One grand impulse seemed to move 
 the multitude one patriotic feeling beamed from 
 all eyes one vow burned in all hearts : to be 
 faithful soldiers to their country. It was no mere 
 transitory enthusiasm, soon to disappear, and to 
 be succeeded by a corresponding reaction it was 
 no momentary ardor kindled by the manifesto 
 issued at Breslau, but the sacred fire of patriotism 
 
 burning in the heart of the whole people of Prus- 
 sia, and increased from day to day. Every one 
 felt himself a soldier, and would have considered 
 it a disgrace to remain at home while others 
 marched to the war of liberation. 
 
 The pupils of the lyceums closed their books, 
 and the teachers did not prevent them ; they only 
 appeared in the school-rooms, to say to the half- 
 grown youths : " Farewell ! The country has called 
 us ! Let us march to the field ! Those of you who 
 have reached their seventeenth year, and are 
 willing to fight, follow us ! " And, with shouts 
 of exultation, the older youths rallied round their 
 teachers, while the younger ones retired with 
 tearful eyes, as if ashamed of their age. What 
 occurred in the lyceum was repeated in the offices, 
 the courts, the counting-houses of the bankers 
 and merchants. No one would stay at home, or 
 refuse the country bis arm and his strength. All 
 selfish calculations, all distinctions of rank had 
 ceased. Princes and counts were seen in the 
 ranks of the volunteers by the side of the hum- 
 blest youths ; and poor men, who had sold every 
 thing they had to buy arms and a uniform, did 
 not think of their future, or what was to become of 
 them after their return from the war. The fathir- 
 land had called them, and they voluntarily took 
 up arms in its defence. Death had lost its ter- 
 rors, life had lost its value. With exulting 
 hearts, mothers saw their sous preparing for the 
 struggle. The affianced bride uncomplainingly 
 clasped her departing lover for the last time in 
 her arms ; without fear for the fate of bis wife 
 and children, the husband and father embraced 
 his dear ones, and his wife did not attempt to dis- 
 suade him. She would have despised him if he 
 desired to remain, and loved his wife and his 
 children more devotedly than his country, calling 
 to him in the hour of her peril. 
 
 Four days had not yet elapsed since the publi- 
 cation of the manifesto of the king, when there 
 stood on the Gensdarmes market at Berlin 
 one hundred and fifty young volunteers, wLD, 
 within a few days, had fully armed and equipped 
 themselves, either from their own means, or with 
 the assistance of friends, and who were now 
 
THE MANIFESTO. 
 
 133 
 
 
 I 
 
 about to march to Potsdam in order to set out 
 with a company of ninety volunteers, which had 
 been recruited in that city for the king's head- 
 quarters at Breslau.* All Berlin wished to par- 
 ticipate in the farewell of this first company of 
 volunteers which were sent to its king. Every 
 one desired once more to shake hands with the 
 courageous defenders of the country to shout a 
 love-greeting, a last wish to them, and bless the 
 soldiers of the fatherland. The windows of the 
 houses on the Gendarmes market were therefore 
 filled with ladies and children, who greeted the 
 departing volunteers with their handkerchiefs, 
 with wreaths and flowers; the church bells were 
 ringing in their honor, and the fathers of the city, 
 the burgomasters, and other members of the 
 municipality, adorned with their golden chains, 
 were assembled on the market-place to conduct 
 the young soldier?, in the name of the city, to the 
 gate, and behind them a dense multitude filled the 
 square. Those remaining looked gloomy, and 
 t'nvied their brethren, because they were to take 
 the field at so early a day ; wishing them joy, 
 they shouted : " Prepare quarters for us ; we shall 
 
 m follow you ! " 
 
 The church bells were ringing, and amid their 
 n peals and the deafening cheers of the 
 
 ny thousands who nodded to them in the 
 , and from the windows of the houses, the 
 
 ng soldiers left the Gendarmes market, es- 
 .orted by the members of the municipality. They 
 lid not, however, inarch dinvll\ to t!ir !' 
 
 te. They would not leave Berlin without re- 
 
 ving thrlil. '-ini: of the Church, and this was to 
 
 given by the man who road to them the mani- 
 festo four days before, and who had exhorted 
 them to comply with the call of their country. A 
 committee, appointed by the young volunteers, 
 had the. 1 on Schleiermachor, and re- 
 
 liitn to irive the blessing of the Church 
 
 th<-ir gravy undertaking, and he gl.-idly irr.int- 
 th.-ir -.j,, n DMTcbed tO 
 
 Nine thousand young men volunteered at Kerlln in 
 the first three days after the manifesto wan issued, and 
 active preparations were made to uniform and ?quip them 
 tt the earliest moment. 
 
 Trinity church. There were waiting their moth- 
 ers, sisters, and brides, greeting them with loving 
 glances, and beckoning them to occupy the re- 
 served places, embracing and praying hand in 
 hand with them for the last time. The orgaL 
 poured forth its solemn concords, and from all 
 lips burst forth the anthem of u In alien meineit 
 Tfiaten lass ich den Jfikhsten ralhen." * The last 
 notes of the music had not yet died away, when 
 the noble face of Schleiermacher appeared in the 
 pulpit. His eyes were beaming as never before; 
 his voice was never so fervent and powerful, nor 
 had he ever spoken with such irresistible elo- 
 quence, energy, and courage, as on that day. A 
 profound silence reigned in the vast building ; every 
 one listened eagerly to the inspiring words of the 
 prophet of a new and better era, and inwardly 
 resolved to remember the stirring exhortations 
 which Schleiermacher now, in concluding his ser- 
 mon, addressed to the young men, that they 
 may remain pure and true in the service of so 
 righteous a cause. The thoughts of the audience 
 were with God ; to Him their hearts had all 
 turned. But now Schleiermacher's voice grew 
 softer ; his eyes, which had hitherto been raised 
 toward heaven, looked upon the wives and moth- 
 ers, who sat in long lines before him. " Rejoice 
 in the Lord, ye mothers," he said, "blessed are 
 you in having given birth to such sons ! blessed 
 your breasts that nourished such children ! God 
 gave them to you, and you give them to the 
 fatherland ! Rejoice in the Lord, for He will 
 achieve great tliiiiiis through them! Rejoice, and 
 do not weep ! " But now they could restrain 
 no longer their tears and sobs. The words ad- 
 dressed to them had touched their feelings. 
 They felt their hearts' wounds, and wept aloud. 
 An electric shock, as it were, pervaded the whole 
 assembly ; not an eye remained dry, not a heart 
 unmoved ; even Srhleiennachor's voice was 
 tremulous when he uttered his "Amen ! " 
 
 They departed from the church to the Potsdam 
 md along the rou-l leading to Potsd.un, con- 
 tinuing their march on the following day, after 
 
 * " In all my deeds, I let the High-st counsel" 
 
 
134 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHEK. 
 
 being joined by the company which La Motte 
 Fouque" had recruited in that city. The grief 
 of their separation from their dear ones was for- 
 gotten as they hastened toward the future a 
 future of battles and victories. 
 
 "Now, no more tears, no more sighs ! Let us 
 sing a merry song ! " said the young volunteers. 
 
 " Yes. Where is a poet who can sing us a song 
 such as we need now ? " 
 
 " Fouque is here ; let him sing ! Yes, Fouque 
 is among us ! We have elected him captain ! 
 He is a chivalrous soldier, and gained his spurs 
 in 1794, during the war against the French. He 
 deserves to be our captain ! " 
 
 " But he deserves, too, to be our bard, for by 
 his ' Undine ' he has also won his laurels as a 
 poet." 
 
 " Let us have a song, brave La Motte Fouque" ! " 
 shouted all the volunteers. "There is Father 
 Jahn, who will persuade him. Ask Fouque" to 
 eing us a war-song ! " 
 
 Jahn galloped up to the poet, who was riding 
 in thoughtful silence at the head of his company ; 
 il is true, he had heard the solicitations of the 
 young men, but continued his way, smiling and 
 muttering to himself. " Fouqu6," shouted Jahn, 
 hi his stentorian voice ; "do you not hear the 
 requests of our bold youths ? Give some expres- 
 sion to the enthusiasm burning in their hearts. 
 Let us have a song, then, my poet } " 
 
 "Well," replied Fouque', quickly raising his 
 head, and smiling on his friend ; " I have just 
 composed a poem. Listen to me, my friends ! " 
 He turned his horse, and in a loud voice com- 
 manded the volunteers to halt. 
 
 " You wish me to sing. I will give you a song 
 just as it has sprung up in my heart during the 
 march, and I have also composed the air. When 
 I have finished repeat it with me ! " And he be- 
 gan to sing in a powerful voice : 
 
 Frisch auf zum frohlichen Jagen, 
 
 Es 1st schon an dcr Zeit ! 
 Es fangt schon an zu tagen, 
 
 Dcr Kampf 1st nicbt mebr weitt 
 
 u Auf lasst die Faulen liegen, 
 
 Gonnt ihnen ibre Rub ; 
 
 Wir rucken mit Vergnugen 
 
 Dem lieben Konig zu. 
 
 " Der Konig bat gesprochen : 
 
 Wo sind meine Jager nun? 
 Da sind wir aufgebrocben, 
 Ein wackercs "Werk zu thun, 
 
 tt Wir woll'n ein Heil erbnuen 
 Fur all das deutscbe Land, 
 Im froben Gottvertrauen 
 Mit rustig starker Hand. 
 
 " Schlaft rabig nun, Ihr Lteten I 
 
 Am vater lichen Heerd, 
 Derweil mit Feindeshieben 
 Wir ringen Keck bewehrt. 
 
 " O Wonne die zu scbutzen, 
 Die uns das Liebste sind! 
 Hei 1 Lasst Kanonen blitzen, 
 Ein frommer mntb gewinntl 
 
 " Die mehrsten zieh'n einst wieder 
 
 Zuruck in Siegerreih'n ; 
 Dann tonen Jubellieder 
 Dess' wird'ne Freude sein ! 
 
 " Wie gluh'n davon die Herzen 
 So froh und stark und weich. 
 Wer fallt, der kann's verschmerzen, 
 Der hat das Himmelreicb ! " * 
 
 
 * La Motte Fouqu6 composed tbis poem on the march 
 from Potsdam to Breslau, whither he conducted the firs{ 
 companies of volunteers. It was tbe first song of liberty 
 published in 1818: 
 
 Mount 1 mount! for sacred freedom fight? 
 
 The battle soon must be. 
 The night is past, and red the light 
 
 Streams o'er the dewy lea. 
 
 Up 1 let the coward idlers sleep! 
 
 Who envies them their rest ? 
 We march with joyful hearts to keep 
 
 Our honored king's request. 
 
 To us be said : u My brave ones all ! 
 My chasseurs ! where are they ? " 
 
 Responsive to his patriot call 
 We hastened to obey. 
 
 We vowed to strike with mighty bond 
 
 As it becomes the free 
 A safeguard for our native land 
 
 With Heaven's grace to be. 
 
 Sleep calmly, -wives and children dear! 
 
 To God your sorrows tell. 
 The hour, alas ! of blood is near. 
 
 But all yonr fears dispel. 
 
 Approved we hasten to tbe field; 
 
 What though the strife begins I 
 Tis joy our loved ones thus to shield, 
 
 For pious courage wins. 
 
 Returning, all may not be found I 
 
 But some, in glory's grave, 
 Shall never hear the songs resound 
 
 Of those they died t<> save. 
 
 Come, glowing heart 1 despise the pain 
 
 Of death; for, evermore, 
 Shall he who falls, a kingdom ga! 
 
 On heaven's eternal shore ! 
 
MIA PROHASKA. 
 
 135 
 
 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 LEONORA PROII ASK A. 
 
 OLD Sergeant Prohaska sat sad and musing in 
 ais old easy-chair near the stove ; before him 
 i copy of the Vossische Zetiung, which he 
 had just perused. He laid it aside with a sigh; 
 supporting his head on the leathern cushion, he 
 puffed clouds of smoke from his short clay pipe. 
 Close to him, at the small table standing in the 
 niche of the only window which admitted light 
 into the small, dark room, sat a young girl, busily 
 engaged in drawing threads from a large piece of 
 linen, and putting them carefully on the pile of 
 lint on the table. She was scarcely eighteen 
 years old, but her noble, pale countenance wore 
 an expression of boldness and energy ; her fore- 
 head was high, and vigorous thoughts seemed to 
 dwell there. Large black eyes were flashing 
 under her finely-arched eyebrows, which almost 
 touched each other above her beautifully-chiselled, 
 slightly-curved nose. Round her crimson lips 
 was an expression of melancholy, and her cheeks 
 seemed to have been bleached by grief rather 
 than sickness. She was tall and well formed, but 
 her whole appearance was more remarkable for 
 the stern and heroic character it indicated than 
 for grace and loveliness. While she was thus at 
 work, and engaged in preparing lint, troubled 
 thoughts seemed to pass from time to time across 
 lit-r face, and she raided ln-r >'* to heaven with 
 an angry and reproachful expression. She im- 
 linen, and jumped up. 
 
 No, father," she exclaimed, drawing a deep 
 th, "I r it any longer! " 
 
 What is it tli.it you cannot bear any longer, 
 
 xelaimi-d II.T father, surpri 
 -it here and prepare lint while the whole 
 world is astir, while ev.-ry h.-art is swell 
 patriotism and warlike enthusiasm! And I can- 
 not do any thing, I cannot join in the universal 
 exultation I can do nothing but prepare lint! 
 Father, it is ]. ; ,,.,[ U-.-u- it ! " 
 
 "Must not I bear it?" asked her father in a 
 tremulous voice, " Must not I sit still behind the 
 
 ISO 
 
 T 
 
 tremulous \ 
 
 stove, while all my old comrades are taking up 
 arms and marching into the field ? My right leg 
 was buried at Jena, and I must limp about now 
 as a miserable cripple; I cannot even take re- 
 venge for the disgrace of Jena ; I cannot even pa? 
 the French for my leg by cutting off the heads of 
 some of their accursed soldiers. I am a cripple, 
 while others are hastening into the field ! When 
 / must bear that, a girl like you ought assuredly 
 not to complain." 
 
 "Father," said Leonora, with flashing eyes, 
 " do not despise me because I am a girl ! Did 
 you not tell me of the heroic women of Spain and 
 the Tyrol, and of their glorious deeds ? Did you 
 not tell me that, by their intrepid patriotism, thej 
 had set a sublime example to the men, and that 
 by their influence their country was to be saved f 
 Was not the heroine of Saragossa a woman ? Did 
 not women and girls fight like heroes in the gorges 
 of the Tyrol ? " 
 
 "Yes, that is true," exclaimed her father, smil- 
 ing, "but then they were Spanish and Tyroleee 
 girls. They have fire in their veins, and love 
 their country with an undying patriotism ? " 
 
 " Ah, one need not be born in the South to 
 have warm blood," exclaimed Leonora, ardently. 
 " It is not the sun that gives love of country, 
 and patriotic hearts may throb even under the 
 snow." 
 
 " Have you such a heart, Leonora ? " asked 
 her father, casting on her a long and searching 
 toftk. 
 
 " Father," she said, pressing her hands on her 
 bosom, "there is something burning here like 
 fire ; and at times when I hear how all are rallying 
 round the flag and bow the warlike enthusiasm 
 is pervading the whole country, I feel as if the 
 Mood would burst from my heart and head. It 
 is true I am no Spanish girl, but I am a Prussian 
 girl ! " 
 
 " Ah, I would you were a Prussian boy ! n 
 
 i her father, shaking his head. "If you 
 
 were, I believe you would look well in the ranks 
 
 of the volunteers ; they would not likely reject the 
 
 young soldier of eighteen." 
 
 " I am quite tall and strong, although I am txii 
 
136 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 a girl," exclaimed Leonora, with flashing eyes ; 
 " I have seen among the soldiers who started yes- 
 terday many volunteers who were a great deal 
 shorter and slighter than I am." 
 
 " But, at all events, they had shorter hair and a 
 stronger voice than you have," laughed her father. 
 " Oh, I can cut off my hair," she said, quickly ; 
 " and as for my voice, Kalbaum, the tailor, who 
 accompanied the volunteers, has a voice no 
 stronger than mine, and yet he was accepted. 
 And then '' 
 
 " Hush ! " interposed her father quickly. " I 
 hear your mother coming. Do not speak of such 
 things when she is* present. It would alarm 
 her. Bold thoughts must be locked up in our 
 hearts, for, if we speak of them, it looks like 
 braggadocio ; we are only allowed to speak of 
 bold deeds. Do not forget that, my daughter, and 
 give me a kiss ! " Leonora hastened to her father, 
 and encircling him with her arms, pressed a glow- 
 ing kiss on the lips of the old invalid. 
 
 "Father," she whispered, "I believe you un- 
 derstand me, and can read my thoughts ! " 
 
 " God alone is able to read our thoughts," said 
 her father, solemnly, " and it is only from Him 
 that we must not conceal any thing. But what is 
 that ? Is not your mother weeping outside ? " 
 And old Prohaska jumped up and limped, as 
 quickly as his wooden leg permitted, toward the 
 door. 
 
 At this moment the door was noisily opened, 
 and a woman appeared on the threshold. Be- 
 hind her was a tall, slender, and pale boy, scarcely 
 fourteen years of age. Both entered the room 
 with tearful eyes and loud lamentations. 
 
 "Wife, what is the matter what has hap- 
 pened?" exclaimed Old Prohaska, anxiously. 
 
 " Why do you weep, my brother ? " asked 
 Leonora, hastening to the boy, and clasping nirn 
 in her arms. He laid his head on her breast and 
 wept aloud. 
 
 " What has happened ? " wailed his mother. 
 " All our hopes are blasted ; we have been re- 
 jected ! " 
 
 "Rejected? Where? And by whom ?" asked 
 the invalid, in amazement. 
 
 '" By the military commission ! " cried his wife, 
 drying her tears with her long apron. 
 
 " What did you want of the military commis- 
 sion ? Did you desire to become a vivandiert, 
 old woman ? " 
 
 "No, but Charles wanted to enlist, father! 
 Yes, you must know all now. We thought we 
 would prepare a joyous surprise for you, but the 
 good Lord and the military commission would not 
 let us do so. Look, old man ! I perceived very 
 well how painful it was to you, and how it was 
 gnawing at your heart, that your wooden leg 
 compels you to remain here at Potsdam, and 
 prevents your marching out with the soldiers who 
 are hurrying to the headquarters of their king at 
 Breslau." 
 
 " Yes, it is true, it is very sad ! My general, 
 old Blucher, under whom I fought in 1806, is also 
 at Breslau, and what will he say when he looks 
 for his old hussars of 1806, and does not find 
 Prohaska ! He will say, ' Prohaska has become 
 a coward a lazy old good-for-nothing.' " 
 
 " No, father, he will not say so," exclaimed 
 Leonora, ardently ; " if he knows you, he cannot 
 say so. But speak, mother, tell us what makes 
 you weep, and what has so afflicted my dear 
 brother ? " 
 
 " Both of us noticed father's secret grief, and 
 comprehended how painful it was for him to be 
 unable to participate in the war," said her mother. 
 "1 had not mentioned it to any one, and to God 
 alone I had complained how grievous it is that 
 I have no full-grown son, who, instead of his 
 father, might serve his king at the present time. 
 Last night, when all of you were asleep, Charles 
 came to my bedside. ' Mother,' he said to me, 
 ' mother, I must tell you something ! I will and 
 must enlist ! It would be an eternal disgrace for 
 me to stay at home, particularly as father is disa- 
 bled, and cannot fight any more. Mother, the honor 
 of the family is at stake ; I must enlist or die ! ' " 
 '' Ah, you are a true brother of mine," ex- 
 claimed Leonora, with a radiant face, drawing the 
 boy closer to her heart. 
 
 u And what did you reply to Charles, mother * ' 
 asked the invalid. 
 
LEONORA FROHASKA. 
 
 137 
 
 " ' You are my only son, aud my heart would 
 break if I should lose you. But you are right ; 
 it would be a disgrace for our whole family if it 
 did not furnish a single soldier to the king and 
 the fatherland, and if no substitute should enlist 
 in your father's place, and revenge him on the 
 French for crippling him at Jena. I will go with 
 you to the military commission to-morrow, and 
 we will pray the gentlemen to accept you, al- 
 though you are still under age. We will pray 
 them until they overlook your youth and enroll 
 your name. But say nothing about it to father 
 until we have been successful ; then, tell him all.' " 
 " And you really went with him to the commis- 
 sion ? " asked the old man, hastily. 
 
 His wife responded by nodding and sighing, 
 and burst again into tears. 
 
 xclaimed the boy, raising his 
 head from Leonora's shoulder, and drying his 
 eyes with an angry gesture, " we went to the mil- 
 itary commission. We begged, implored, and 
 wept ! It was all in vain ! They said they were 
 not allowed to accept boys of fourteen ; I was too 
 young, and looked too feeble. In our despair we 
 went to Eylert, the preacher, and begged him to 
 ntercede for me. He is always kind to me, and 
 ;ne for my industry in preparing for 
 onh'rmation. I revealed my whole heart to him ; 
 I told him I must consider myself disgraced, if 
 
 , that every one who is not a coward i- 
 ing the sword, I am compelled to go to school. I 
 told him I should not d:ire to raise my e 
 nho-.ild think all the inhabitants would point with 
 their lii ; the children in the streets 
 
 would deride me, and the old men would con- 
 
 thelt heads when I | 
 then,.'' 
 
 "Ah, i: . onora, 
 
 rally, "hitherto I have loved you as a 
 child, but he- -hall love as a hero ! " 
 
 'Hut it w;is all in vain/' cried Chail - 
 g aloud in his grief and anger. " Kven M. 
 '.3rt could not give us any comfort. 1! 
 i the commission to I 
 
 for, though they overlooked my youth and 
 somewhat feeble health, they could not enroll 
 
 inten 
 often 
 ronf 
 I to! 
 now 
 
 wuu 
 
 .!._. 
 
 "" 
 
 ..i.:i 
 
 me because I had not yet been confirmed. Buu 
 as we begged so very hard, and I shed BO many 
 tears, M. Eylert had at last pity on me, and went 
 with us once more to the military commission. 
 But it was of no avail. I am under age and have 
 no certificate of confirmation, and M. Eylert's in 
 tercession was fruitless.* They rejected me! 
 Father, what am I to do now ? I am doomed 
 to remain here at Potsdam, with my tall figure, 
 which will charge me with cowardice in the eyes 
 of every one, while my schoolmates, who are 
 much shorter than I am, are allowed to enlist 
 and fight for their country. Oh, mother, why 
 am I not your eldest child? Then I should be 
 preserved from the disgrace of running about as 
 a coward, or of being obliged to have my certifi- 
 cate of birth constantly in my pocket ! " 
 
 " My brother," said Leonora, laying her strong 
 white hand on her brother's light hair, " if I 
 could give you the four years by which I am older 
 than you, I would do so, though it should cost 
 me my life, for I comprehend your grief. But I 
 am innocent of your affliction, and I pray you, 
 therefore, not to be angry with me. It was God'a 
 will that I should be older, and have your place. 
 You must take into consideration that the war 
 may last a long time ; six months hence you will 
 be confirmed, and then it will be time for you to 
 enlist in the king's army, and fight for liberty. 
 Besides, my dear brother, it is not even settled 
 yet whether all these warlike preparations are 
 really intended for France. To be sure, every 
 one is in hope that such is the case, but as yet no 
 one is sure of it, for the king has not declared 
 his intentions, and he is still at peace with 
 Fran-- 
 
 "No, the king has declared his intent; 
 cried Charles, impetuously. " And that is exactly 
 what causes my distress and my despair. It is 
 '.ii now that there will be war with France, 
 You do not know, then, what has occurred? " 
 
 \ and daughter at the 
 
 timi', " we do not we have not yet seen 
 am one. Tell us the news, Charles." 
 
 * Eylert, Frederick William III.," vol. li., p. 160. 
 
138 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 "Well, we heard already At the office of the 
 military commission that a courier had just ar- 
 rived from Breslau, and brought a proclamation, 
 addressed by the king to his people ; they i^aid 
 it had immediately been sent to the printing-of- 
 fice, and was to be posted on all the street cor- 
 ners. The courier, besides, brought the news 
 that the Emperor of Russia had arrived at Bres- 
 lau, and that the first visit was to Baron von 
 Stein, who secretly lived at Breslau." 
 
 " Hurrah ! " shouted old Prohaska. " Prussia 
 is safe now, for Baron von Stein is back again, 
 and he will know how to expel Napoleon and his 
 French from the country. Where Minister von 
 Stein is he tolerates no French, and that is the 
 reason why Bonaparte hates him, and has always 
 been afraid of him. My boy, this is glorious 
 news ! Stein is back again ; now we shall be all 
 right ! Have you any other news ? " 
 
 "Yes, there is a great deal yet, father, but 
 the tears burst from my eyes when I think of it, 
 because I am unable to participate in the strug- 
 gle." 
 
 " Oh, what is it ? " begged Leonora. " What 
 else has happened at Breslau ? " 
 
 " Well," said Charles, in a tremulous and mel- 
 ancholy voice, " the courier reports that many 
 hundreds of volunteers are arriving every day, 
 not only from all parts of Prussia, but the whole 
 of Germany, and that the city is rejoicing as 
 though a festival were to be celebrated, and not 
 as though we were on the eve of a terrible war. 
 Above all, there is Major von Liitzow, round 
 whose standard hosts of young men are rallying, 
 enlisting a corps of volunteer riflemen, to whom 
 he has given the name of ' The Legion of Ven- 
 geance.' They are to wear a black uniform as a 
 sign of the sorrow and disgrace that have weighed 
 down the fatherland since 1806, and which they 
 intend to avenge before discarding it." 
 
 " Oh, that is a grand idea," exclaimed Leonora, 
 with flashing eyes. " To march cut in mourning 
 kO rush to the battle-field like angels of death and 
 shout, 'We are the legion of avengers, sent by 
 Prussia to atone for her disgrace ! Our uniform 
 is black, but we intend to dye it red in the blood 
 
 of the French ! ' And then to fight exultantly in 
 the thickest of the fray for the fatherland, and 
 for our queen, whose heart was broken by the 
 national dishonor and wretchedness ! Oh, it must 
 be blissful, indeed, to march with that legion to 
 avenge the tears of Queen Louisa, and " 
 
 " But Leonora ! " cried her mother, staring in 
 amazement at the young girl who stood before 
 her with glowing cheeks, panting bosom, and up- 
 lifted right arm, as if she had just drawn the 
 sword l( but, Leonora ! what is the matter with 
 you ? What does your impulsiveness mean ? 
 Has Charles infected you with his enthusiasm ? 
 Do you want to increase the excitement and de 
 spair of the poor boy ? He cannot join the ' Le 
 gion of Vengeance ; ' he cannot be one of Liitzow's 
 riflemen ! " 
 
 " No," said Leonora, vehemently and almost 
 triumphantly, "he cannot be one of Liitzow's 
 riflemen ! " 
 
 " Leonora ! " cried her father, in a warning 
 tone, " Leonora, what are you saying ? " 
 
 She started and dropped her arm. " It irt 
 true," she muttered to herself, "we should no; 
 betray our thoughts ; God alone must know them." 
 
 Her father limped to her, and, laying his hand 
 on her shoulder, looked into her excited and glow- 
 ing face. " Come, my daughter," he said, " let 
 us go out into the street and read what the kinj; 
 says to his people. For I believe the king's proc- 
 lamation must have been printed by this time. 
 Come, Leonora ! " 
 
 " No, it is unnecessary for you to go into the 
 street for that purpose, father," said Charles, 
 " we have brought a copy of the proclamation ; 
 the man who was to post them gave us one for 
 you, saying it would no doubt gladden your heart. 
 Where did you leave it, mother ? " 
 
 " I put it into my pocket. Here it is ! " said 
 the mother, taking a large printed sheet from the 
 pocket hanging under her apron. u There, father, 
 read it." 
 
 The old man took the paper and handed it to 
 Leonora. "Read it to us, my child," he sa!i, 
 tenderly. "I like best to hear from your lift 
 what the king says to his people." 
 
JOAN OF ORLEANS. 
 
 139 
 
 :: 
 
 OU9 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 JOAN OF ORLEANS. 
 
 LEONORA took the paper and read as follows, 
 with crimson cheeks, and her heart aglow with 
 enthusiasm : 
 
 " To my People ! I need not state the causes 
 of the impending war either to my faithful people 
 or to the Germans in general. Unprejudiced 
 Europe is fully aware of them. We succumbed 
 *o the superior strength of France. The peace 
 which wrested from me one-half of my subjects, 
 did not confer any blessings upon us, but inflicted 
 leeper wounds upon us than war itself. The en- 
 emy wus bent on exhausting the resources of the 
 country ; the principal fortresses remained in 
 his hands ; agriculture was paralyzed, and so 
 vere the manufactures of our cities, which had 
 formerly reached so proud an eminence ; trade 
 was everywhere obstructed, and the sources of 
 prosperity were thus almost entirely ruined. The 
 ountry was rapidly impoverished. I3y the most 
 scientious fulfilment of the engagements I had 
 taken upon myself, I hoped to mitigate the oner- 
 ous burdens imposed upon my people, and to con- 
 vince the French emperor at length that it was 
 to his own advantage to leave Prussia in the en- 
 joyment of her independence ; but my best in- 
 tentions were foiled by arrogance and perfidy ; 
 and we saw only too plainly that Napoleon's 
 than his wars, would slowly 
 and surely ruin us. The moment has come when 
 I deceptions ha-. Brandenburgians, 
 
 ians, . Pomeranians, Lithuanians ! 
 
 know what you have suffered for seven years 
 ; you know what your fate would be if we 
 ouid not succeed in the ri -ut to begin. 
 
 Uer the history of the past ; [vii;r:iil..T tin- 
 ;or; the gn;it and victorious Frederick ; 
 remember what our . ;th their 
 
 ood freedom of conscience, honor, iixicpen.i- 
 
 ; remi-m- 
 
 the \ 'les of our powerful allies, es- 
 
 pecially the Spaniards and the Portuguese 
 mailer notions, for the same blessings, entered 
 
 into a desperate struggle with more powerful foes, 
 and achieved a glorious victory. Remember the 
 heroic Swiss and Dutch. Great sacrifices will be 
 required of all classes, for our undertaking is a 
 great one, and the numbers and resources of our 
 enemies are not to be underrated. You will pre- 
 fer to make these sacrifices for the fatherland 
 and your legitimate king rather than for a foreign 
 ruler, who, as is proved by many examples, would 
 devote your sons and your last resources to ob- 
 jects entirely foreign to you. Confidence in God, 
 courage, perseverance, and the assistance of our 
 allies, will crown our honest exertions with vic- 
 tory. But whatever sacrifices may be required, 
 they are not equivalent to the sacred objects for 
 which we make them, and for which we must 
 fight and conquer, if we do not wish to cease 
 being Prussians and Germans. It is the last, de- 
 cisive effort which we make for our existence, 
 our independence, our prosperity. There is no 
 other issue than an honorable peace or a glorious 
 overthrow. You would not shrink even from the 
 latter, for honor's sake. But we may confidentlj 
 hope for the best. God and our firm determina 
 tion will make us victorious, and we shall then 
 obtain peace and the return of happiei times. 
 
 "FREDERICK WILLIAM. 
 
 " BRESLAU, March 17, 1813." * 
 
 A pause ensued when Leonora ceased reading. 
 Her father, who was standing by her side, and 
 was supporting his hands on his crutch, heard her 
 with a very grave face. Her mother sank down 
 on one of the cane chairs, and listened devoutly, 
 her hands clasped, and her eyes turned toward 
 heaven ; while her son, who was sitting by her 
 side, leaned his arms on the table, and buried hia 
 face in his hands. 
 
 " Is that all ? " asked the invalid, after a while. 
 
 * This proclamation was drawn up by Counsellor TOD 
 
 Hipprl, who proposed that the king should apply to bis 
 
 "lirrctly, and call upon them to rise against thy 
 
 unicatcd it to the chancellor of state 
 
 at one of the conference held every evening at Bres 
 
 lau, at Hardenberg's rooms, In presence of Gneisenau, 
 
 .horat, Thilo, and a few others. Haidenborg and 
 
 all the rest approved it, and BO did the kinjr. when it was 
 
 .aid before him on the following day. Vido Hipper* 
 
 work on the "Life of Frederick WdUfttt III.," p. 68. 
 
 
140 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 " I should really like to hear more of it, for it 
 sounds as sacred as a church organ. Did you 
 read it all, Leonora ? " 
 
 " No, father, there is still another mar if esto. 
 It is printed under the one I read to you. Y au 
 yourself must read it, for my heart is throbbing 
 as if about to burst. In his second manifesto the 
 king orders a ' landwehr * and a * landsturm ' to 
 be formed. Listen to what he says at the end of 
 this second manifesto : ' My cause,' he says, ' is 
 the cause of my people, and of all patriots in 
 Europe.' " 
 
 "Yes, he is right," said old Prohaska ; "the 
 king's cause is our cause ! " 
 
 " Queen Louisa died for us all," exclaimed Leo- 
 nora ; " we should all join the Legion of Ven- 
 geance that is, to avenge her death ! " 
 
 " And I I cannot do any thing," wailed 
 Charles, raising his face, which was bathed in 
 tears, and lifting up his hands as if supplicating 
 God to help him. " I must wait and suffer here ; 
 I am doomed to remain a boy while my school- 
 fellows have become men." 
 
 " Hush," said his mother, " an idea strikes me; 
 we may, after all, be somewhat useful to our 
 country, though we are unable to furnish soldiers 
 for it. There is a great deal to be done besides 
 fighting. The king's manifesto says expressly : 
 ' Great sacrifices will be required of all classes.' 
 Well, then, my dear ones, let us make sacrifices 
 for the fatherland and our king ! " 
 
 " What sacrifices do you mean, mother ? " 
 asked the invalid. " What have we, if we can- 
 not furnish any soldiers ? " 
 
 " We have our labor," exclaimed his wife, with 
 pride. "When there is war, and battles are 
 fought, there are wounded soldiers, I suppose ? " 
 
 " Of course, and cripples, too," said the invalid, 
 pointing to his wooden leg. 
 
 " And the wounded are brought home and con- 
 eeyed to the hospitals, are they not ? Who is to 
 attend to them, to dress their wounds, give them 
 food, and nurse them ? We worn en will do so ! 
 That is our task ! I will nurse the first wounded 
 brought to Potsdam. The first maimed soldier, 
 however, whom I meet at the hospital, and whose 
 
 right leg has been amputated as that of my deat 
 husband, we shall take to our house. You may 
 nurse him here, old man ; console him and show 
 him that he may live quite happily, though with 
 but one leg, and that wife and children will love 
 their husband and father no less ardently, pro- 
 vided he is a true man, and has a courageous 
 heart." 
 
 " You are right, mother," exclaimed Prohaska. 
 " Let us take a wounded soldier into our house, 
 and I will nurse him as a brother, teaching him how 
 to use his wooden leg, while you are at the hos- 
 pital, attending to the other sufferers. But you have 
 not thought of the children. What are Leonora 
 and Charles to do while we are thus engaged ? " 
 
 " They can help us," said his wife, quickly. 
 " Leonora will have a great deal to do. She will 
 prepare lint, make nourishing soups, wash band- 
 ages, and sew shirts and clothing." 
 
 The invalid cast a quick glance on Leonora. 
 She stood, drawn up to her full height, in the 
 middle of the room ; a proud, contemptuous smile 
 was playing about her lips, which uttered no 
 word in reply to her mother's plans. 
 
 " But what will Charles do ? " asked Prohaska, 
 quickly. " He cannot be as useful as his sister." 
 
 "Father! " ejaculated Leonora, somewhat re- 
 proachfully. 
 
 "Hush!" he said, almost sternly, "mother is 
 right; it behooves you women to prepare lint, 
 cook soups, nurse the wounded, and sew shirts 
 for them. But war itself is the task of the men. 
 But, my wife, before telling me what Charles is 
 to do for our wounded, I must ask a very sad 
 question. Where shall we find money for the 
 expenses we shall have to incur ? We are unfor- 
 tunately poor, dependent on the labor of our 
 hands. This small house and my pension of 
 three dollars a month constitute our whole for 
 tune, and if you were not the most skilful hair 
 dresser in Potsdam if 1 could not besides cam 
 a few dollars by making baskets, and if Leonora 
 were not the best seamstress in town, I should 
 like to know how we could live and send Charles 
 to the Lyceum. But if we are to nurse the 
 wounded, and devote our labor to then) alone, we 
 
JOAN' OF ORLEANS 
 
 141 
 
 
 hall unfortunately soon lack the necessaries of 
 life." 
 
 " 1 have thought of all thai, husband," paid his 
 wife, eagerly. " But, listen to me ! Charles wants 
 also to have his share in our sacrifices , h<3 does 
 not intend to be idle while all are at work to 
 promote the welfare of the country. As he can- 
 not enlist and ILht, lie must use his head. He 
 will, therefore, publish this advertisement : As 
 I have unfortunately been rejected by the military 
 commission on account of ray youth, and because 
 I have not yet been confirmed, I request generou? 
 patriots to allow me to give private lessons to 
 their children, that I may earn a sufficient sum 
 to nurse and support a wounded soldier till his 
 complete recovery.' " 
 
 "Yes, I will do that!" exclaimed Charles. 
 " The citizens will learn then why I have not en- 
 listed, and I shall, moreover, be able to earn 
 money for the country. I shall certainly get 
 pupils, for my teaehera are pleased with me, and I 
 ;xm already in the first class. I can give lessons 
 in Latin, Greek, mathematics, and history; I have 
 good testimonials, and, for the sake of the noble 
 object I have in view, parents* will assuredly in- 
 trust their children to me, and pay me well for 
 my trouble." 
 
 " All of you will have employment, then," said 
 Leonora, "and your labor will benefit the coun- 
 try. But i ](' useful to 
 the country." 
 
 "Well, you can " said her mother; 
 
 "you can prepare food, wash, and sew sh: 
 
 "However industrious I might be, n. other. I 
 could in that way earn only as much as my own 
 
 pport would cost," said Leonora, shaking her 
 "I can be of no use to you, I am supcr- 
 ; I will go therefore to unuth. -r plan-, win-re 
 
 can render myself useful and make money." 
 
 44 But whither do you intend to go, and what 
 do you wish to do ? " asked her mother in amaze- 
 ment, while her ; upon 
 her. 
 
 "To Berlin. an>i ituation as sale><- 
 
 womaa," said Leonora. "What money I earn 
 I shall send to you, and you will *pend it for 
 
 your wounded soldier. You know, mother, my 
 godfather, Rudolph Werkmeister, who is a mer- 
 chant at Berlin, has often asked me to go to 
 see him, and take such a situation at his house. 
 I have always refused, because I did not like to 
 leave you, but thought I would stay with you and 
 devote my whole life to nursing you ; but God 
 has decreed otherwise. Yesterday my godfather 
 wrote again, stating that his wife had been taken 
 sick, and that he was greatly embarrassed be- 
 cause he had no one at his house on whom he 
 could depend. He offers me a salary of eighty 
 dollars a year. Now, I pray you, dear parents, 
 let me go ! Let me pursue my own paths, and do 
 my duty as I understand it. Dear mother, I am 
 sure you will not refuse your consent ? You will 
 permit me to go this very day to Berlin, and 
 make money for our wounded soldiers ? " 
 
 " I will, my child," said her mother, her voice 
 trembling with emotion. "I have no diamonds 
 and golden chains to give my country, so I give 
 to it the most precious and beautiful jewels i 
 have my children. Yes, go, my Leonora; tako 
 the situation offered you, and give the money you 
 earn to the fatherland and its soldiers." 
 
 " Oh, thanks, mother ! " exclaimed Leonora, 
 hastening to her and clasping her in her arms 
 " thanks, for permitting me to put my mite on 
 the altar of the country ! " She kissed her mother 
 with fervent tenderness, and then turned toward 
 her father. "And you, father," she said, in a 
 low and almost timid tone " you do not say a 
 word you do not give your consent." 
 
 The invalid stood leaning on his crutch, and 
 looked thoughtfully into the noble face of his 
 daughter. He then slowly raised his right hand 
 and laid it on Leonora's shoulder. "I repeal 
 what your mother said. Like her, I have nt 
 treasures to give my country except this jewel 
 my Leonora ! Go, my daughter ! do what you 
 believe to be your duty, and may God bless you ! " 
 ( >prning his arms, she threw herself into them and 
 leaned her head on his breast. 
 
 " And now," said Prohaska, gently disenga- 
 
 trin-j him-elf trom a long and tearful embrace, " let 
 
 ' calm. These -ire the first tears I have wept 
 
 
142 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 
 since the death of our dear Queen Louisa the 
 first for your sake, my Leonora ! May the Lord 
 forgive them to a poor father who oas but one 
 daughter ! The heart will yield to jts emotions, 
 but now I must again be a soldier, who knows 
 no tears ! " 
 
 "But, husband, Leonora will not leave us im- 
 mediately," said her mother. " She must remain 
 yet a day with us. Alas ! we discover what 
 treasures we possessed only when we lose them. 
 I believe I have never loved Leonora so intensely 
 as I do at this hour, and my heart is unable to 
 part with her so suddenly. I must first accustom 
 myself to the separation, and engrave her image 
 upon my soul, that I may never forget her dear 
 features. Let her stay, then, until to-morrow ! " 
 
 The invalid gravely shook his head. "No," 
 he said ; " what is to be done must be done at 
 once; otherwise, our hearts will grow weak, and 
 our tears soften our resolutions. To-day I can 
 permit Leonora to leave us ; whether I shall be 
 able to do so to-morrow, I do not know." 
 
 "Father, the stage-coach starts for Berlin in 
 two hours, and I shall take passage in it ! " ex- 
 claimed Leonora, quickly. "You are right, what 
 is to be done must be done now, and when we 
 have taken a resolution, we must not hesitate to 
 carry it into effect. I will go to my chamber and 
 pack my trunk." 
 
 "I will go and help you," said her mother, 
 hastening toward the door, and leaving the room 
 with Leonora. 
 
 "And I will write my advertisement," said 
 Charles. "It must be published to-morrow, that 
 I am obliged to stay here because my country 
 will not accept me as a soldier, and that I desire 
 to give private lessons, the proceeds of which are 
 to be devoted to the support of a wounded sol- 
 dier." 
 
 " And I what shall I do ? " asked the old in- 
 valid, when he was alone. "I must swallow my 
 tears, and tell no one my thoughts. I shall 
 quietly accustom myself to the idea that the dar- 
 ling of my hoart, my Leonora, is to leave me, and 
 that my old eyes are to see no more her dear 
 face, or my ears hear her voice. Ah, when she 
 
 looked at me, I felt as though it were spring in 
 my heart, and the sun shining there ; and when 
 I heard her voice I thought it music rejoicing 
 my soul. Now, how quiet and gloomy all around 
 me will be in the small house no more sunshino 
 or music ! all will be gone when Leonora is gone. 
 And will she come back, then ? will not some 
 bullet, some sword-blade hush, my thoughts ! I 
 must not betray them ! Be still, my heart, and 
 weep ! Be still and " Tears choked his voice, 
 and the strong man, overwhelmed with grief, sank 
 into his easy-chair and sobbed aloud. After a 
 long time he raised himself again and dried his 
 tears. " Fie, Sergeant Prohaska ! " he said aloud. 
 " You sit here and cry like an old woman, and 
 wring your hands in grief, instead of being glad 
 and thanking the Lord that a substitute has been 
 found for the invalid sergeant with the wooden 
 leg. Thunder and lightning, Sergeant Prohaska ! 
 I advise you to behave yourself, and not be weak 
 and foolish, while women are becoming men. 
 Keep your head erect, turn your eyes on the 
 enemy, and then, ' Charge them ! ' as old father 
 Blucher used to say. I will go to work now," lu 
 continued, drawing a deep breath, after repeated!} 
 pacing the small room with measured steps. 
 " Yes, I will go to work, and that no one maj 
 discover that I have wept, 1 will sing a beautiful 
 song I learned yesterday from a volunteer. Yes, 
 I will work and sing ! " He hastened to the 
 chamber adjoining the sitting-room, and brought 
 from it a neat half-finished basket upon which he 
 had been at work the day before. " It must be 
 finished to-day; I have promised it," he said, 
 sitting down on his old easy-chair. He then com- 
 menced working assiduously, and sang in a pow' 
 erful voice: 
 
 " Nun mit Gott ! Es ist beschlossen ! 
 Aul', Ihr wackern Streitgenossen, 
 
 Endlich kommt der Ebrentag! 
 Besser flugs und frohlicb sterben, 
 Als so langsam bin vcrderben, 
 
 Und versiechen in der Scbmacb, 
 
 " Endlich darf das Herz sich regen, 
 Sich die Zunge frei bewegen, 
 
 AHe Fesseln sind entzwei. 
 Ach, da Alles scbier zerstoben, 
 Kara der Retterarm from oben, 
 
 Neuffeboren sind wir. frei I 
 
JOAN OF ORLEANS. 
 
 143 
 
 " Tg der Freihcit, Tag der Wonnc ! 
 Briider, seht ! es tanzt die Sonne, 
 
 Wieamerstcn Ostertagl 
 Todte sprengen ihre Grufte, 
 Unl durch Berg und Thai und Klufte 
 
 Hallt ein freudig Jauchzen uacli ! 
 
 * Auferstanden, auferstandon 
 Aus dtr Knechtschafl Todesbanden, 
 
 Strelter Gottes, nun zu Ilauf ! 
 DnsreAdler! Ha sie wittern 
 Ihrer Eaub die Feinde zittern, 
 
 Unsre Adler fahren auf I 
 
 44 Zn den Waffen, zu den Eossen, 
 Ant, Ihr wackern Kampfgenossen 
 
 Er 1st da, Der Ehrentag ! 
 Beascr flugb und frohlich sterben, 
 Als so langaam bin verderben, 
 T'nd verslochen In dt-r Schmach ! M * 
 
 .it is better to die quickly and merrily 
 than slowly pine away and perish in disgrace," 
 repeated a sonorous voice behind him. It was 
 Leonora, who had just entered the room, urfno- 
 tieed by her father, and had listened to the last 
 verse of his song. " Yes, the song is right," she 
 said, enthusiastically. " But I, father, have al- 
 ready been pining away for a long time. The 
 first volunteer I saw was as a dagger that pierced 
 my soul, and ever since I have been ill and suffer- 
 
 It is resolved In God's great name! 
 t"l>, comrades! to the field of fame 1 
 
 This day of glory save. 
 Quickly and merrily to die 
 IB better than the sick-bed sigh, 
 And an unbonored grave. 
 
 Oar heart at last resumes its life- 
 Cur tongues now urge to holy strife ; 
 
 The broken chains we see. 
 When all seemed lost, a saving band 
 From heaven vouchsafes to bless our land, 
 
 And make us strong and free. 
 
 O happy day ! The sun new-horn 
 Is dancing as on Easter morn ! 
 Sec, risen brothers, see ! 
 
 ..in.- fr Min r- unbound, 
 
 And mountains and the vales resound 
 With songs of jubilee. 
 
 lin^' from Oppression's night, 
 
 jbt I 
 
 rs of God. ari-< ! 
 The enemy will rue this day, 
 
 nts the prey 
 And onward quickly flies. 
 
 To arms ! to horse ! my comrade* brave 1 
 And lot the battle-slamlar.l 
 
 For now is honor's day. 
 The dying ehout of bloody strife 
 It better than the pining life 
 
 That sinks by slow decay. 
 
 ing, and in my heart a voice has been continually 
 singing the words I once heard at the theatre : 
 4 1 wish to be a man ! ' " 
 
 " And why do you wish to be a man ? " asked 
 her father, bowing his head, and seemingly de- 
 voting his whole attention to his work. 
 
 " Because a man is allowed to do freely and 
 boldly what he deems right and good," replied 
 Leonora ; " because, when the fatherland calls 
 him, he may step forth with a bold front, and re- 
 ply : ' Here I am ! To thee, my country, belongs 
 my arm my blood ! For thee I am ready to 
 fight, and if need be to die ! ' Father, when a 
 man talks thus, his words are sublime the 
 women clasp their hands and listen devoutly to 
 him, and the children fall on their knees and 
 pray for him. But if a girl talk thus, it would 
 be as mockery ; the women would deride their 
 heroic sister, and the children point at and shout 
 after her, ' Look at the foolish girl who wants to 
 do what is solely the task of men ! Look at the 
 crazy one, who imagines she can do men's work ! ' 
 Her most sacred sentiments, her most patriotic 
 desires and resolutions, would be mercilessly ridi- 
 culed!" 
 
 " That is the reason, my child," said her 
 father, calmly laboring at hi* basket, " why she 
 should not betray her sentiments, and confide 
 her thoughts to God alone. Have you forgotten 
 what Charles read to us about Joan of Orleans ? 
 She left her parents silently and secretly, and 
 went whither God called her." 
 
 " But her father cursed and disowned her for 
 it," said Leonora, in a tremulous voice. "Do 
 you think her father was right, merely because 
 she followed the voice of God, and went out to 
 deliver her king and country ? " 
 
 u Xo," said Prohaska, laying his basket aside 
 and rising, " I do not ; I w,is always indignant 
 when that particular ]> i--;i_'.> was read to us." 
 
 "And what would you, have said, father?" 
 asked Leonora, in a tone of profound emotion. 
 'Imagine me to be Joan, the inspired maid of 
 Orleans, and that I say : ' Father, I cannot re- 
 main any longer in this narrow dwelling. The 
 voice of the king and the fatherland has peoo- 
 
144 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 trated my heart also, and has called me. I must 
 obey it, for I feel courageous and strong enough, 
 and it would be cowardly to disobey.' What 
 would you say if I were Joan of Orleans, and 
 should talk thus to you? " 
 
 " I should say, ' Kneel down, my Leonora, 
 and receive my last blessing, ' " replied Prohaska, 
 straightening himself and approaching his daugh- 
 ter. 
 
 Leonora knelt down, and, raising her tearful 
 eyes to her father, whispered: "What blessing 
 would you give me if I were Joan of Orleans ? 
 Oh, think I am she, and give me your blessing ! " 
 
 " If you were Joan of Orleans," responded the 
 old man, solemnly, " and should kneel before me 
 as you do now, and ask my blessing, I should, as 
 I do now, lay my hands on your head, and say 
 to you: 'God the Lord, who holds heaven and 
 earth in His hand, and without whose will not a 
 hair falls from our head, watch over you and pro- 
 tect you ! May He be with you on the battle- 
 field ! May He give you a brave heart, a strong 
 arm, and a steady eye ! May He give you cour- 
 age to brave death! You have chosen men's 
 work, you have pledged your love and your life 
 to the fatherland ; go, then, and be a man ; love 
 your country like a man, fight like a man, and, 
 if need be, die like a man ! ' But when your 
 last hour has come, my daughter, think of your 
 father, and pray to God with your last thoughts 
 that He may soon deliver me also, and take me 
 away, for I shall feel lonely on earth when you 
 are no more, and even the victorious shouts of 
 the returning would no longer gladden my old 
 soldier's heart if I find you not among the con- 
 querors. But, hush ! let no tear desecrate this 
 sacred hour of our last farewell ! God has called 
 all strong and courageous hearts follow His call ! 
 It is incumbent on every one to love his country 
 more intensely than parents, brothers, and sisters. 
 Go, then, my daughter; do your duty, and re- 
 member that your father's blessing will be with 
 you in life as well as in death ! And now, give 
 me a last kiss." 
 
 Leonora rose from her knees, and, encircling 
 his neck with her arms, pressed a glowing kiss on 
 
 his lips. "Father," she said, looking at him with 
 a beaming face, " my lips have not yet kissed an} 
 man's lips but yours, and here I swear to you 
 and may God have mercy on me at my last hour 
 if I do not keep my oath ! I swear to you that I 
 shall kiss no man until I am permitted to return 
 to you, my father ! " 
 
 " I believe you, dear Leonora," said Prohaska, 
 solemnly. 
 
 " Leonora, my child, it is time now ! " exclaimed 
 her mother, hastily entering the room ! " The 
 postilion has already passed our house, and in a 
 quarter of an hour the stage-coach will stop at 
 our door. I have myself gone to the postmaster, 
 and he granted it as a favor that the stage-coach 
 should stop here, and thus save you the trouble 
 of going to the post-office. This will enable you 
 to remain with us fifteen minutes yet." 
 
 " But my trunk, mother ; we have to take it to 
 the post-office ? " asked Leonora. 
 
 " Oh, it would have been too heavy for us," 
 said Mrs. Prohaska ; " Charles and two of his 
 school-mates are just carrying it to the post-office. 
 Leonora's trunk is quite heavy, father. Thark 
 God, she is well provided, and for the first year it 
 will be quite unnecessary for her to buy ary 
 thing." 
 
 " My dear mother would indeed have packed up 
 all her own things and dresses for me if I had not 
 prevented her," said Leonora, smiling. 
 
 " I should like best to pack up my own heart 
 for you, my dear child," exclaimed her mother, 
 deeply moved, " but, as I could not do so, I put 
 my bridal dress into your trunk. It is a nice silk 
 dress, and I have worn it only three times hi my 
 life on my wedding-day, and on the days when 
 my two children were baptized ; it is as good as 
 new. I suppose, husband, you will permit me to 
 give it to her ? " 
 
 " Of course, but what is she to do with it ? " 
 asked Prohaska. 
 
 " Why, what a question ! " exclaimed Mrs. Pro 
 haska, " she is to wear it, and look pretty when 
 she goes to parties on Sundays. Leonora, I sup 
 pose you will know what to do with it ? " 
 
 " Yes, mother, I thank you from the bottom of 
 
JOAN OF ORLEANS. 
 
 145 
 
 my heart for the beautiful present, and I promise 
 you that I shall use it only in a noble and worthy 
 manner," said Leonora, gravely. " My mother's 
 bridal dress shall not be worn for frivolous pur- 
 poses, but it shall serve me to attain the highest 
 and purest objects." 
 
 " Oh, I know," whispered the mother, who was 
 scarcely able to restrain her tears, " I know that 
 you are an excellent girl, and a good daughter, 
 and that you will never do any thing of which 
 your old parents would have to be ashamed. You 
 have always been my pride and joy, and never 
 would I consent to part with you unless every one 
 ha'l now to make the greatest sacrifices for the 
 king and the fatherland. But still it is very 
 painful, and " 
 
 " Wife," interposed the old sergeant, " no tears 
 now 1 When we are alone we shall have time 
 enough for weeping. As long as Leonora is here, 
 let us gaze at and rejoice in her. I have to give 
 you a commission yet. Go to my general, old 
 Blucher, and tell him he ought not to be angry 
 with me that he must not believe me a lazy 
 ird because I do not go to the war. Tell him 
 that my leg had to be amputated some time after 
 battle, and that ho ought to excuse ray ab- 
 
 ice when the roll is called." 
 
 u I will assuredly repeat your words to the gen- 
 father." 
 
 !" asked Mrs. Prohaska, wonderingly, 
 
 i General Blucher now at Berlin ? " 
 
 " No," said her husband, carelessly, " he is at 
 lu, whither all the volunteers are marching." 
 But how is Leonora, then, to repeat your 
 Is to him ? " a.-ked his wife, in amazement. 
 
 "Father means that I shall tell General 
 Ulucher when he comes to Berlin ? " said Leo- 
 nora, quickly. " They say Blucher will come 
 soon to expel the French from the capital, and 
 r thinks I mL'ht then repeat tho~e wo: 
 
 tihouted (."' lelv into the 
 
 room. "The postilion has already blown his 
 
 Dugle for th" third time!" 
 
 ':, then, my child, we n. -aid the 
 
 M OU, UIMI, 
 
 old sergeant, deeply moved, and clasping Leonora 
 in his arms. " God bless you, my daughter ! Your 
 father's thoughts will always be with you ! " He 
 disengaged himself from her arms, and pushed her 
 gently toward her mother. The two women re- 
 mained a long time locked in each other's arms. 
 Neither of them said a word, but their tears and 
 their last look* were more eloquent than words. 
 
 "And you forget me?" asked Charles, re- 
 proachfully. " You do not care to take leave of 
 me?" 
 
 Leonora released herself from her mother's 
 embrace, and encircled her brother's neck with 
 her arms. " Farewell, darling of my heart ! " she 
 cried. "Be a good son to father and mother, 
 and remember that you must henceforth love 
 them for both of us. Farewell, brother, and 
 forgive me for being born earlier than you, and 
 thus preventing your being in my place. God 
 decreed it thus, putting us in our own places, and. 
 we must both fill them worthily." 
 
 "Yes," said Charles, amid his tears, "cer- 
 tainly we will" 
 
 A carriage was rattling over the pavement, 
 and stopped in front of the house, A bogle 
 sounded. 
 
 "Father, mother, and brother, farewell !" ex* 
 claimed Leonora. Then, raising her arms to 
 heaven, she added : " God in heaven, watch orer 
 them, and, if such be Thy will, let me return 
 to them ! " She hastily wrapped herself in he? 
 cloak, and, without looking at them again, rushed 
 out of the room, and jumped into the coach. 
 
 "Farewell, farewell!" shouted father, mother, 
 and brother, who had followed her, and were 
 standing in front of the house. 
 
 She leaned her head out of the coach window. 
 " Farewell," she exclaimed, " and God" The 
 bugle drowned her words; the carriage rolled 
 
 The loving relatives gazed after it until it had 
 ucarcd around the next corner, and then 
 returned sighing into the small house. Charles 
 hastened to hi.s little chamber up-stairs to give vent 
 to his grief. The parents returned to their sitting 
 room. " Oh, how still it is here now, as still as in 
 
146 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 
 the grave," sighed Mrs. Prohaska, " for I miss my 
 child, and will miss her everywhere. Oh, husband, 
 my heart aches, and I feel as though I had lost 
 my Leonora forever ! Ah, why did we allow her to 
 go ? Why did we not keep her here, our child, 
 our only daughter ? Oh ! if she should never re- 
 turn, if she should die ! God, have mercy on a 
 poor mother's heart protect my dear child ! " 
 She sank down on a chair, and, covering her 
 face with her apron, sobbed aloud. 
 
 The old sergeant paced the room in silence. 
 He scarcely knew that the tears, like large pearls, 
 were running down his cheeks into his gray beard. 
 The loud sobs of his wife aroused him. " Hush, 
 wife ; hush ! " he said, standing in front of her. 
 " It is too late now for weeping. Let us rather 
 be glad, for Leonora is possessed of a brave heart, 
 and has done her duty toward her country and 
 her old invalid father. Let us, therefore, be glad, 
 and sing!" And he commenced to sing in a 
 tremulous voice, while the tears were -still rolling 
 from his eyes : 
 
 "Ihr Deutsche auf in Sud und NordI 
 
 Hinweg gemeiner "Neid ! 
 Wir alle reden eine Sprach 1 
 Und stehen all' fur eine Sach' 
 Iin ehrenvollen Streit I 
 
 " Und wer sich feig entzieht dem Kampf 
 
 Fur Freiheit und fur Ehr\ 
 "Wer nicht das Schwertergreift zur Stund 1 
 Der leb' und sterb' als schlechter Hund, 
 Der sei kein Deutscher mehr 1 " * 
 
 CHAPTER XXY. 
 
 THE NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 LEONORA PROHASKA reached Berlin at four 
 o'clock in the afternoon. On the vtay, closing 
 
 * Arise, ye Germans, North and South 1 
 
 And honor's path pursue. 
 Since all one common language speak, 
 And all one sacred object seek, 
 
 Your jealousies subdue. 
 
 Let him who shirks his country's call, 
 
 To freedom and to fame, 
 Both live and die a cowardly hound, 
 Uesj ised wherever may be found 
 
 A man of German name. 
 
 her eyes, she leaned back on the cushions, so thai 
 her companions paid little attention to her, whom 
 they believed to be asleep. But Leonora heard 
 every word, and every conversation of her fellow- 
 travellers strengthened her soul and restored her 
 former courage. They spoke of the enthusiasm 
 in every city, village, and house an enthusiasm 
 spreading far beyond the frontiers of Prussia, and 
 carrying all away as an irresistible torrent, draw- 
 ing with it even the most cautious and timid, and 
 filling the most desponding and disheartened with 
 joyous hopes. One of the travellers was just re- 
 turning from Breslau, and dwelt with impassioned 
 eloquence on the bustle prevailing there ; on the 
 volunteers who were flocking in vast numbers to 
 that city and parading every day under the king's 
 windows ; and on brave Major von Liitzow, who, 
 with his beautiful young wife, had come to Bres- 
 lau, and was endeavoring to live at a miserable 
 tavern, because no other accommodations were 
 to be bad. 
 
 "And in the bar-room," he said, "beautiful 
 Madame von Liitzow receives the names of the 
 volunteers who wish to enlist in the Legion of 
 Vengeance. Her husband is busily engaged, from 
 dawn till late at night, in organizing his corps ; 
 in trying to procure arms, horses, and equipme its 
 for his men, and his handsome wife is his recruiting 
 officer. She is as charming as an angel, the daugh- 
 ter of a wealthy count, and has, by her marriage 
 with Major von Liitzow, contrary to her parents' 
 wishes, so much exasperated her proud fataer 
 that he gave her no dower, but, imposed it as a 
 condition of his consent that Major von Liitzow 
 should marry without any. But the count's 
 daughter joyously descended from the proud cas- 
 tle to the humble dwelling of the Prussian major, 
 whom she loved on account of his bravery, and 
 the scars which he bore on his forehead, and 
 which he had received in 1806, in the war against 
 the French." 
 
 " I know the lady," said the second traveller ; 
 "she is a daughter of the Danish Count von 
 Ahlefeldt, a wonder of loveliness, grace, and re- 
 fined manners. She hates the French as intensely 
 as her husband, and it was precisely this com- 
 
TIIE NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 147 
 
 won hatred of the French that brought them 
 together." 
 
 "How so?" asked the other. "Pray tell us 
 all about it." 
 
 "Several years ago, the young countess, at- 
 tended by her governess, made a journey to a 
 fashionable German watering-place. Both took 
 dinner at the table d'hote of the 'Kurhaus,' 
 where a crowd of persons from all countries were 
 assembled. The neighbor of the young countess 
 at the table happened to be a French officer, who 
 managed to involve the young lady in a highly 
 animated and interesting conversation. He told 
 her in a very attractive manner of his campaigns 
 and travels, and the young countess listened to 
 him with pleasure and manifested her sympathy 
 for him. The Frenchman dared to seize her hand 
 and kiss it. The young countess started ; a deep 
 blush suffused her fair face, and, without reflect- 
 ing, obeying only her first impulse, she took a 
 glass of water which stood before her, and poured 
 it over the hand which the Frenchman had dared 
 to kiss. Several Prussian officers, seated near 
 her had witnessed the occurrence, and, on notic- 
 ing how she removed the stain of the French kiss 
 from her hand, could not refrain from bursting 
 into a loud cheer. One of them was Major von 
 Liitzow. After dinner he approached the count- 
 ess, was introduced to her by a mutual acquaint- 
 ance, and expressed his ardent thanks, in the 
 name of all Germans, for the bold rebuke she had 
 administered to the Frenchman. That was the 
 beginning of her acquaintance with Major von 
 Liitzow, and the end of it was her marriage with 
 him. * She is now at Breslau, and you have 
 ween her." 
 
 "Yes, for I went to the major's headqu;. 
 a friend who wished to enlist in his corps. 
 
 e met there, however, only herself. She re- 
 
 un-lcr IKT 
 
 unl with so much gra !i a look of 
 
 jov >!j- .i\v,-lt in such soul-nin <,\\ the 
 
 I am Indebted for an account of this occurrence to 
 
 rmtess Ahlefeldt (f.rtmrly Madame M::J<T von 
 ) herself, who related It to me with charming 
 and gr.ce.-L. M 
 
 great and holy national war about to break out, 
 and in which every one ought to participate, 
 that I was quite fascinated by her eloquence, and 
 would have enlisted at once if I had not already 
 entered a landwehr regiment." 
 
 Not a word of this conversation escaped Leo- 
 nora, and she said to herself: " I must make the 
 acquaintance of this lady. I will go to her, and 
 she will enlist me for the German fatherland ! " 
 
 The travellers continued their conversation, re- 
 lating that Frederick William had not believed in 
 the success of the first manifesto, in which he 
 called for volunteers ; and, for this reason, had 
 not signed the manifesto which Chancellor von 
 Hardenberg had drawn up ; that four days after- 
 ward the king, who had just explained with un- 
 usual vehemence to General Scharnhorst the 
 utter uselessness of this call, was interrupted by 
 a strange noise in the street ; and that, anxious 
 to discover what was the cause, he stepped to the 
 window, and General Scharnhorst followed him ; 
 that a line of at least eighty wagons had come in 
 sight, and in them none but armed men wert 
 seated, who halted in front of the palace, and an 
 aide-de-camp, who entered the room at that mo- 
 ment, informed the king that they were volun- 
 teers just arrived from Berlin ; that Scbarnhorst 
 turned to him, and exclaimed triumphantly : 
 " Will \<>\ir majesty be convinced now that your 
 people are ready to fight for you and the father- 
 land ? " and that the king made no reply, but 
 a flood of tears rushed from his eyes, and he 
 smiled amidst his emotion. 
 
 At length Leonora arrived at Berlin. She stood 
 alone beside her trunk in the court-yard of the 
 royal post-office building. No notice was taken 
 of her ; no one manifested any sympathy for her ; 
 but she did not flinch, and her heart was free 
 from doubt or anxiety. She sent for a hackney- 
 coach by one of the boys playing in the court- 
 yard, and then drove away. But she did not 
 ;he coachman to convey her to her god- 
 father, Werkmeistcr, the merchant on Jager 
 Street. Driving first to Tauben Street, the car- 
 riage stopped in front of a large, gloomy house. 
 She alighted, and, begging the coachman to wait 
 
148 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 for her, slipped into the house. Quickly ascend- 
 ing three narrow flights of stairs, she reached 
 a silent corridor, on both sides of which were 
 small doors, and on each a number had been 
 painted. Knocking at the door of number three, 
 a female voice inquired, " Who is there ? " 
 
 " It is I, Leonora Prohaska ! " 
 
 A loud cry of joy resounded ; the door was 
 hastily opened, and a young soldier in full uni- 
 form appeared on the threshold. It was now 
 Leonora who uttered a cry, and blushing drew 
 back. " Pardon me," she said, timidly ; " there 
 must be a mistake. I am looking for my friend, 
 a young milliner, named Caroline Peters." 
 
 The young soldier laughed, but it was the 
 fresh, ringing laughter of a girl. "Then you 
 really do not recognize me, Leonora ? " he ex- 
 claimed. "You really take me for what I like to 
 be and am not a man ? " 
 
 " Great Heaven ! is it you f " exclaimed Leo- 
 nora. " You " 
 
 " Hush ! " whispered the other, hastily drawing 
 her into the room, and carefully locking the door. 
 " For mercy's sake, let no one hear us ! What a 
 scandal it would be, if it should be discovered 
 that Yoluntee* Charles Petersen receives the 
 visits of pretty girls at his room ! This hotel is 
 entirely occupied by volunteers, and none of them 
 suspect that I am a woman, nor shall they ever 
 find it out. But now welcome, my dear Leonora, 
 and tell me what has brought you to Berlin. Did 
 you receive my letter ? " 
 
 " Yes, Caroline, I did," said Leonora, gravely, 
 " and it gave me pain, for you called me cowardly 
 and destitute of honor, because I intended to stay 
 at home when my country was m need of the 
 arms of all its children, and when every one of 
 any courage was participating in this holy strug- 
 gle." 
 
 " And that is the truth, Leonora," exclaimed 
 Caroline ; " the fatherland has called us all, and 
 those who do not listen to this call are cowards f " 
 
 "But who told you that I did not listen to 
 H ? " asked Leonora. 
 
 " What ! " ejaculated Caroline, joyously. " Leo- 
 nora, you, too" 
 
 "Hush!" interrupted Leonora, " we must talk 
 about all this afterward. I am in haste now, 
 for there is a hackney-coach waiting for me 
 at the door, and my trunk is on it. Tell me 
 now quickly, Caroline, can I stay with you over- 
 night ? " 
 
 " In female dress, Leonora ? That would be 
 hardly prudent." 
 
 " No, in male attire, Caroline." 
 
 " Oh, then you are a thousand times welcome 
 here," exclaimed Caroline, encircling her with 
 her arms, and drawing her to her heart. 
 
 " But I have not yet my male attire," said Leo- 
 nora, smiling, " nor have I money to buy it. Give 
 me, therefore, quickly, the name of seme one who 
 buys dresses, for I will drive to him immediately 
 with my trunk, and sell all I have brought with 
 me." 
 
 " Come, Leonora, I will accompany you," said 
 Caroline. " I know at the Hospital Bridge a very 
 patriotic and kind-hearted old Jew, to whom I 
 have also sold my wearing apparel, and who paid 
 me a very liberal price for it, when I told hina 
 that I wanted to buy a uniform for my brother. 
 Let us drive there, but I will remain in the cr.r> 
 riage while you go into the store, for be might 
 recognize me. You will also find men's clothirg, 
 which you may purchase for your brother that 
 is to say, for yourself." 
 
 " Come, then, and let us make haste," said 
 Leonora, drawing her friend with her. 
 
 Fifteen minutes afterward the hackney-coach 
 halted in front of one of the second-band cloth- 
 ing-stores near the Hospital Bridge, and Leonora 
 alighted, holding in her arms a large package of 
 dresses, shawls, skirts, and aprons, which she had 
 taken from her trunk during the drive. Mr. 
 Hirsch, the dealer in second-hand clothing, who 
 was standing in front of his store, received her 
 with a pleasant greeting, and invited her to enter 
 and tell him what she wanted. 
 
 Leonora put the wearing apparel on the coun- 
 ter, and, drawing a deep breath, said in a tone of 
 embarrassment, " I should like to sell those 
 things, sir." 
 
 The Jew put his spectacles slowly on his nose* 
 
Th ,Tt- put hiK r-p.Ttarl.-H -lowly ,,n hi- IK-P. and th.-ti lift.- 1 uj) the dresses, one an.-r anoilipr. 
 
 contemplating them with scnitinizinir planc^w. p 149 
 
THE NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 149 
 
 and then lifted up the dresses, one after another, 
 contemplating them with scrutinizing glances. 
 
 " If he should not give me as much money as I 
 need ? " Leonora asked herself, anxiously " if 
 these things should not amount to so much that I 
 cannot purchase a uniform ? " 
 
 And old Ilirsch, as if he heard the anxious 
 question of her heart, said, shaking his head : " I 
 cannot give very much for these few calico dresses 
 ind aprons. They are all very nice and well pre- 
 served, but of no value whatever." 
 
 " But there is also a silk dress, sir," said Leo- 
 nora, in a tremulous voice " an entirely new silk 
 dress." 
 
 " New ? " asked the Jew, shrugging his shoul- 
 ders, drawing out the dress, and unfolding it with 
 a sneer. " The dress is not new, for it is made 
 after such an old fashion that it could be worn 
 only at a masked ball ; and the stuff is not worth 
 any thing, either, for it is only half silk. It was 
 just made to look at. It appears like heavy silk, 
 jut the oblique threads that make it look so 
 leavy are all cotton. How much do you want 
 for the whole, my pretty miss ? " 
 
 " I do not know," said Leonora, in a low voice, 
 " as much as you can give me for it." 
 
 " Yes, yes," grumbled the old man, " I am to 
 give a great deal of money for very poor goods ; 
 that is what they all ask me to do. I will tell 
 you, I cannot give you more than twelve dollars 
 for the whole lot." 
 
 " Twelve dollars ! " ejaculated Leonora, with 
 such an expression of dismay that the Jew started, 
 :ig his green spectacles to his forehead, and 
 ng his small, twinkling eyes on Leonora. 
 
 " Twelve dollars ! " repeated Leonora, and, no 
 longer able to restrain her tear?, she wrung her 
 ds, and muttered : " It is all in vain, then ! 
 ve dollars are not sufficient to buy a uniform 
 arms." 
 
 rsch heard her words. " What ? " he aked, 
 ily. " You want to sell the dresses in order 
 
 buy a uniform and arms ? ' 
 
 "Yes, sir," replied Leonoia, "my mother and 
 anted to sell our dresses, because we hoped 
 would get money enough to buy my brother a 
 
 '-: 
 
 !,. 
 
 complete uniform a rifle, sword, and shako; for 
 my brother intends to enlist in Liitzow's corps of 
 riflemen." 
 
 " Your brother intends to enlist in Liitzow's 
 corps of riflemen?" asked Hirscli, quickly. " Is 
 that no pretext, eh? Do you not tell me so 
 merely for the purpose of extorting money from 
 me ? Can you swear to me that that is why you 
 wish to sell the dresses ? " 
 
 " I can swear it by the great God in heaven, in 
 whom we all believe," said Leonora, solemnly. 
 " But I can prove it to you, too." 
 
 " How so ? In what way ? " 
 
 " By buying a uniform for my brother here at 
 your store. He is of the same height as I am, 
 and has precisely the same figure : we are twins." 
 
 "And your brother intends to enlist in Liit- 
 zow'd corps ? Why did he not himself come to 
 select- a uniform ? " 
 
 " He is at Potsdam, sir, and does not know that 
 I am here. To-morrow is his birthday, and we 
 want to surprise him by giving him his uniform 
 to-morrow." 
 
 " And he shall have it I " exclaimed the Jew ; 
 " yes, he shall have it ! I read in your eyes that 
 you have told me the truth, my child, and that 
 you do not want the money for frivolous pur- 
 poses, but for the great cause of the German 
 fatherland. I have also a heart for my country, 
 and no one shall say that we Israelites do not feel 
 and act like true Germans that our hearts did 
 not suffer under the disgrace which, for long years, 
 has weighed down all Germany, and that we will 
 not joyfully sacrifice our blood and our life ; and, 
 what is still more, our property, for the sake of 
 the fatherland. Who was the first man at Berlin 
 to make a voluntary contribution to this object ? 
 It was a Jew ! The president of the Jewish con- 
 gregation, M. Gumpert, made the first patriotic 
 contribution. He sent three hundred dollars to 
 the military commission, with the request that 
 this amount might be spent for buying eq lip 
 ments for poor volunteers.* Our Gumpert was 
 ihe first man who made a sacrifice for the benefit 
 
 * Historical 
 
150 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 of the fatherland, and I do not wish to be the 
 last. I made a mistake in appraising your things ; 
 I will do it over again, and what I can give I will 
 give." He glanced again at the dresses; then, 
 shaking his head, and stroking the silk dress with 
 his long, lean hand, he said, " How could I make 
 such a mistake, and believe this stuff to be only 
 half silk ? It is all silk, heavy silk and two 
 dresses of the now fashionable tight cut can ea- 
 sily be made out of this splendid one. For this 
 alone I will give you twenty dollars, and as for 
 the other things, well, I will give you twenty dol- 
 lars more." 
 
 "Oh," exclaimed Leonora, radiant with joy, 
 and giving both her hands to the old Jew " oh, 
 you are a noble, generous man, a true patriot ! I 
 thank you, and may the delivered land some day 
 reward you ! " 
 
 "Ah, poor Hirsch cannot deserve great re- 
 wards at the hands of the fatherland," said the 
 old man, sighing. " I am poor, I have not even 
 a son whom I might give to the country, and in- 
 trust with the task of avenging me. I had a son, 
 a good, dear boy ; but, in 1807, when the French 
 arrived here, he wished to defend our property 
 against the soldiers who broke into our house ; he 
 grew very angry with the infamous ruffians, and 
 called them and their emperor murderers and rob- 
 bers. Thereupon they mortally stabbed him 
 they killed him before my own eyes ! He was my 
 only child, my only joy cm earth ! But, hush ! this 
 is no time for lamentations. I will rejoice yes, 
 rejoice, for the hour of vengeance has come, and 
 we will pay the French for what wrongs they 
 have inflicted on us. If I were not so old and 
 feeble, I should myself willingly fight, but now 
 I am only able to assist in equipping soldiers. 
 Your brother shall become a soldier, my child ; 
 we will equip him for the Legion of Vengeance. 
 He shall avenge my son, my innocent, beloved 
 son, upon Napoleon the tyrant, and the French 
 rabble, who have trampled us under foot so long 
 and so disgracefully. Yes, yes, I will give you 
 forty dollars for your things, but I will not give 
 you the whole amount in cash. Look at this 
 black uniform ; it is quite new, the tailor delivered 
 
 it only yesterday. Did not you tell me that yotu 
 brother is of the same stature as you are ? " 
 
 *' Of the same stature and figure, for he is my 
 twin-brother." 
 
 " Well, let us see if this uniform fits you." 
 
 Mr. Hirsch took out his tape-line, and measured 
 Leonora's figure with the skill of an experienced 
 tailor. He then applied the tape-line to the 
 trousers and the coat of black cloth. " It fits 
 splendidly," he exclaimed. " And here is also a 
 nice silk vest that belongs to it. Now, listen to 
 me ! I charge you twelve dollars for the whole 
 suit ; you will, therefore, receive twenty-eight dol- 
 lars in money. Now you will, in the first place, 
 buy your brother a fine rifle, such as Liitzow's rifle- 
 men need. You will pay ten dollars for it ; be- 
 sides a sword and a shako, which will cost to- 
 gether five dollars. You will then have thirteen 
 dollars left. For this amount you will put a pair 
 of good shirts and a new pair of boots into your 
 brother's knapsack, and the remainder you will 
 give him for pocket-money. Is it to be so ? Is d 
 bargain struck ? " 
 
 " Yes, the bargain is struck." 
 
 "Very well. Here' is your uniform, and here 
 are the twenty-eight dollars." He counted the 
 shining dollars on the counter, and then pushed 
 the money and the clothing toward Leonora. 
 " Here is our Liitzow's rifleman's uniform," he ex- 
 claimed. 
 
 "And here are the dresses, sir," said Leonora, 
 handing the wearing apparel to the old man, but, 
 while doing so, she quickly bent over it, and 
 pressed a kiss en the silk dress. 
 
 Old Hirsch looked at her with amazement. 
 
 " It is my mother's bridal dress, sir," said Leo- 
 nora, as if apologetically. " It was our greatest 
 treasure, and I gave it only a farewell kiss." 
 
 The Jew looked down musingly. " Listen, my 
 child," he said ; " I must not sell this dress. I 
 shall keep it until the war is over. If your 
 brother gets safely back, you may bring him here, 
 and, as a greeting of welcome, I will present your 
 mother's bridal dress to him. But in return, be 
 must do me a favor." 
 
 " What favor ? " 
 
 
THE NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 151 
 
 
 " Whenever he cuts down a Frencnman, ne is 
 to shout, ' Moses Hirsch is avenged t ' Moses was 
 the name of my dear, unfortunate son, and I 
 think he will sleep more calmly in his grave when 
 he hears that his father has sent out an avenger 
 of his death. Will you promise me, in your 
 brother's name, that he will not forget to shout 
 what I tell you ? " 
 
 " I promise it ! Whenever my brother cuts 
 down a Frenchman, he will shout, ' Moses Hirsch 
 is avenged ! ' " 
 
 "Thank you!" said Hir^ch, greatly moved. 
 "My son will hear it, and he will smile down 
 from heaven on his old, lonely father. And now, 
 my dear, beautiful child, good-by 1 Give me the 
 package ; I will take it for you to the carriage ! " 
 
 " No, no, give it back to me," exclaimed Leo- 
 nora, anxiously. 
 
 But the old man did not listen to her. He 
 took the package, and hastened with it out of 
 his store to the hackney-coach. Charles Peter- 
 sen, at this moment, looked impatiently out of 
 the window, and shouted to her friend to make 
 haste. 
 
 Old Hirsch uttered a cry and stared at Caro- 
 ne. " Great Heaven ! " he exclaimed, " you in 
 
 iform you a volunteer ? " 
 
 " Ah," said Caroline, concealing her confusion 
 by loud laughter, "I see what astonishes you. 
 You confound me with my sister. I know she 
 sold her dresses to you to buy a uniform and 
 arms for me. Yes, it is difficult to distinguish us, 
 for we greatly resemble each other. The reason 
 we are twi 
 
 " He has a twin-sister as you have a twin- 
 brother," said Hirsch, turning to Leonora with a 
 strange smile. " Hush ! I understand it all now. 
 Jod protect the courageous twins ! Coachman, 
 I" 
 
 " Whither ? " asked the coachman. 
 
 " T.) M. Wrrkim-Uter's house, 23 Jager Street," 
 led Leonora, nodding a last greeting to the old 
 . The carriage wheeled away. 
 What do you want at M. Werkmeister's?" 
 isked Caroline. 
 
 " To pay him my last visit as a girl," said Leo- 
 
 K", 
 unif, 
 
 nora. " Returning from his bouse, I shall divest 
 myself of my female costume and become yout 
 comrade. Let us then go out together and Imv 
 my arms." 
 
 ;i But would it not be better for me to drive 
 back to our hotel while you are Werkmeister's ? " 
 asked Caroline. "You have had the hackney- 
 coach already above an hour, and we volunteers 
 must be as economical as possible in order to 
 support ourselves as long as we can, and not be- 
 come a burden to the state." 
 
 " That is true," said Leonora. " I will alight 
 here, and you will be so kind as to take my trunk 
 and the package to your quarters." The hack- 
 ney-coach halted, and Leonora, wrapping herself 
 in her shawl, leaped out of the carriage. " Drive 
 back to Tauben Street, now," she said, "and 
 assist the gentleman in carrying this trunk up to 
 his room. But previously I will pay you the 
 whole fare. How much do I owe you ? " 
 
 "From the post-office to Tauben Street, four 
 groschen," said the coachman, composedly. 
 
 "And besides?" 
 
 " Nothing else." 
 
 " How so nothing else ? You waited a good 
 while in Tauben Street; we then drove hither, 
 where you waited a long while again, and now 
 you are about to return to Tauben Street." 
 
 "Yes; but in Tauben Street we took in a vol- 
 unteer," said the coachman, whipping his horses 
 in a gentle, caressing manner. "We hackmen 
 never take any money for driving a volunteer. 
 Every one must do as much for the fatherland 
 as he can. You owe me, therefore, only four 
 groschen." 
 
 "Here they are," said Leonora, binding the 
 money to the hackman, "and we are much 
 obliged to you." 
 
 " Oh, you are not obliged to me at all," said 
 the hackman, "for you see I do not drive girls 
 for nothing only volunteers." 
 
 "To-morrow he wjll drive me, too, for noth- 
 ing,' 1 sai'l Leonora, gazing after the hackney- 
 coach. " To-morrow I will no longer be a girl ! 
 For I am going now to bid a last adieu to my 
 outward maidenhood and my past ! " And she 
 
152 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 talked with resolute steps across the Gendarmes 
 Market toward Jager Street. 
 
 " I must tell my dear godfather that I cannot 
 accept his offer," she said to herself; " for, if I 
 should not, he might perhaps write another letter 
 to me to Potsdam, and mother would then learn 
 prematurely that I told her a falsehood, and am 
 not now at my godfather's house ; but when he 
 knows that I cannot come, he will not write 
 again, and no one will discover my plans." 
 
 There was an unusual throng to-day in front 
 of the house No. 23 on Jager Street, where Werk- 
 meister the merchant lived. It was not without 
 difficulty that Leonora penetrated through the 
 crowd to the door, where was to be seen a large 
 placard, containing the following words : " Gold 
 wedding-rings exchanged for iron ones here.' 1 '' 
 Somewhat astonished at this strange inscription, 
 Leonora entered the house, and stepped across 
 the hall to the open door of her godfather's sit- 
 ting-room. 
 
 M. Kudolph Werkmeister, without looking at- 
 tentively at her, presented her a small box con- 
 taining a large number of glittering rings. 
 "Please select one of these, and drop the gold 
 ring into the aperture of the locked box," he 
 said. 
 
 Leonora looked at him smilingly. "It is I, 
 godfather," she said, offering him her hand. 
 
 " Ah, it is you, Leonora Prohaska," exclaimed 
 M. Werkmeister, putting down the box. "You 
 have received my letter, then, my child ? You 
 have at length made up your mind to comply 
 with my wishes to come to my house, and to 
 assist my wife at the store and in the household ? 
 Well, you could not have come at a better hour, 
 and I thank you for your kindness." 
 
 Leonora fixed her large dark eyes with an af- 
 fectionate expression on the good-natured, pleas- 
 ant face of the merchant, and stepping up to him 
 laid both her hands on his shoulders. "God- 
 father, dear godfather," she said, greatly moved, 
 " do not be angry with me, and forgive me for 
 coming only to tell you I cannot accept your 
 offer. Do not ask me why I cannot. I am not 
 allowed to tell yoi the reason, but I know that, 
 
 when you learn it some day, you will certainly 
 approve what I have done. I really am no ua 
 grateful girl, but I cannot come to you, dear 51. 
 Werkmeister. I have greater and holier duties 
 to fulfil duties to which God Himself has called 
 me!" 
 
 " That is to say, my child, you do not wish to 
 leave your poor old parents ? " asked Mr. Werk- 
 meister, in great emotion. " You will stay with 
 them at their small house and eat the invalid's 
 brown bread rather than live luxuriously at the 
 beautiful capital of Prussia ? You are right, per- 
 haps, my child. You are the only joy of your 
 parents, and I was selfish, perhaps, in trying to 
 rob them of you. But, in doing so, I thought 
 more of yourself, and desired to give a better and 
 brighter sphere to your youth. But we must all 
 pursue the paths which God and our conscience 
 have marked out for us." 
 
 " Yes," exclaimed Leonora, enthusiastically, 
 " you are right. Let me, therefore, pursue my 
 own path, and may Heaven accompany me ! Yon 
 are not angry with me, then, godfather ? You 
 really are not ? No ? Now give me your han 1, 
 godfather, and let me take leave of you with an 
 affectionate kiss ! " She threw her arms roue d 
 the old man's neck, and kissed him tenderly. 
 
 " But you do not intend to leave immediate- 
 ly ? " asked M. Werkmeister, surprised. " You 
 have not even seen my sick wife, and talk already 
 of taking leave ? " 
 
 " Ah, I must go. I have still much to attend 
 to, and must leave Berlin to-night. But, tell me 
 one thing ! What is the meaning of the inscrip- 
 tion at your door, and why is there such a crowd 
 in front of your house ? " 
 
 " They are reading the placard which I have 
 hung out," said M. Werkmeister " the request 
 which I addressed to all patriots." 
 
 " And what do you request of them to do, god- 
 father ? " 
 
 " I request all families, and especially all wives 
 and affianced brides, to bring their gold wedding- 
 rings to me and receive iron ones in return ; and 
 in commemoration of these times, I have had 
 ten thousand iron rings made, and the royal au 
 
THE NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 153 
 
 Itionties approved my scheme and intrusted me 
 with the collection of the gold ones. My request 
 was published in the papers of this rooming, and 
 already more than thirty gold rings have been ex- 
 changed. Look, here are the iron ones. They 
 are very neat, are they not? the exact shape 
 of genuine we<1 ding-rings ; only in place of the 
 names, the inside contains the words, '/ gave 
 gold for iron, 1813.' Read ! " 
 
 " Oh, that is a very beautiful idea," exclaimed 
 Leonora, contemplating the ring which he had 
 handed her. u Such a memento will henceforth 
 be the most precious ornament of nil wives, and 
 no gold will shine so brilliantly and be so valu- 
 able as these iron rings with which our women 
 pledge their love to their native land. Ah, dear 
 godfather, I would like to ask a favor of you. I 
 am no wife, nor am I an affianced bride, and I 
 have, therefore, no wedding-ring to give you. I 
 have nothing but my heart, and in this heart 
 there is no other love than that of country. Let 
 me, therefore, offer it to the fatherland instead 
 of gold, and give me for it an iron ring with 
 the beautiful inscription : ' / gave gold for iron, 
 13.' " 
 
 " There is a ring, my child ; your heart is pure 
 gold ; let it remain so ; then you will well deserve 
 your ring ! " He placed it on her finger, and she 
 thanked him with a blissful smile. 
 " And now I go, dear godfather," said Leonora. 
 Farewell, and do not forget me ! And " 
 At this moment a lady entered the room. Her 
 dress indicated poverty, and her face was pale 
 sunken, but her eyes were lit up with a noble 
 enthusiasm. "The wedding-rings are exchanged 
 here ? " she asked. 
 "Yes, hi- 1 
 
 She quickly drew two from her finder, and 
 nd.-.l thnn to M. \\Yrkraeister. "Take them," 
 e cried. " One of these rings belongs to me, 
 the other I drew from the finger of my dear hus- 
 band. Ten years have elapsed since then; I 
 I hive always worn them, and, although I have 
 often suffered great privations, I could never part 
 with my only treasure. But to-day I do so joy- 
 Give me my iron rings 1 " She took 
 
 : 
 
 : 
 
 ^ 
 
 enth 
 
 J 
 
 : 
 
 those handed her, and placed them on her finger. 
 " Farewell, sir," she said. "These will be my 
 daughter's heirloom, and I know she will rejoice 
 over them." She had not yet crossed the thresh- 
 old when another lady appeared, and another, 
 and more followed in rapid succession. The 
 newspapers, containing the request, had been 
 read in the whole city ; all the married women 
 hastened to comply with it, and to lay down their 
 wedding-rings on the altar of the fatherland. 
 Leonora stood as if fascinated by the beautiful 
 and soul-stirring scene. With radiant eyes she 
 gazed at the ladies who came and received with 
 joyous pride iron rings in exchange for gold 
 ones at the young women, who, blushing and 
 with tearful eyes, gave up their first love-pledge 
 at the old matrons who came totteringly to ex- 
 change the golden reminiscences of the days of 
 their youth for iron ornaments.* Tears of pro- 
 found emotion fell from Leonora's eyes. She 
 wished to embrace these women and thank them 
 for their patriotism. 
 
 "I will also prove to the country how ardently 
 I love it," she said to herself. " I will also make 
 my sacrifices. I must go, Caroline is waiting for 
 me. I must buy arms for the soldiers whom I 
 intend to furnish." She shook hands with her god- 
 father in silence. The crowd in front of the door 
 receded before her, and allowed her to pass, filled 
 with reverence for the women who returned from 
 the solemn sacrifice they had made. She passed 
 on, absorbed in her reflections. Once she raised 
 her hand, and contemplated the iron ring on her 
 finger. " I gave gold for iron I " she said, raising 
 her dark eyes toward heaven. " I am now a bride, 
 too, the bride of my country ! Will it give me 
 only iron for the gold of my love? Only a bul- 
 let or a sword-cut ? No matter ! I am the bride 
 of the futherland ! I will live and die for it!" 
 She was aroused from her musings by cheers sud- 
 denly resounding from the side of the Gendarmes 
 M.nket. An immense crowd bad assembled there, 
 nnd shouted frantically, their faces beaming with 
 joy. 
 
 * On the first day about two hundred weddlng-rlngi 
 were exchanged. Vide Beitzke, vol. i. 
 
154 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 " What is it ? " 
 
 And a hundred jubilant voices replied : " Gen- 
 eral York is coming with the Prussians ! The 
 king has reinstated Yorkl The court-martial 
 has acquitted him ! " * 
 
 " Long live noble General York ! " shouted the 
 crowd. " York was the first man to take heart, 
 and brave the French ! " 
 
 "York is coming to Berlin!" shouted others, 
 hurrying from the adjoining streets to the market- 
 place. " York, with his Prussians, is outside the 
 King's Gate, and to-morrow he will make his en- 
 try into Berlin ! " 
 
 " Long live the brave general ! All Berlin will 
 meet him to-morrow, and cheer him who first 
 
 * York made his entry into Berlin at the head of the 
 Prussian troops on the 17th of March, 1813, and was re- 
 wired with boundless enthusiasm. 
 
 drew his sword against the French ! The new 
 era is dawning on Prussia ! " 
 
 " Yes, the new era is dawning on Prussia ! " ex- 
 claimed Leonora. " We have long walked in 
 sadness. But morning is breaking the morning 
 of freedom. Now we shall boldly raise our heads. 
 The country has called us, and we all have heard 
 the call, and are ready to conquer or die. Hail, 
 brave York ! The time of thraldom is past ! We 
 shall rise from the dust, and the Germans will 
 now reconquer the sacred right of being Germans. 
 Oh, my heart, rejoice ! I am no longer a girl, I 
 am one of Liitzow's riflemen, and to-morrow I 
 shall go to Breslau, and add another soldier to 
 the Legion of Vengeance. Farewell, Leonora Pro- 
 haska, farewell ! Now you are a man, and your 
 soul must be manly, strong, and hopeful. Long 
 live Prussia 1 " 
 
WAR AND AN ARMISTICE. 
 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THEODORE KOKXER. 
 
 ANOTHER corps of volunteers leaving Berlin 
 tad arrived at Breslau, and just alighted from 
 their wagons on the large market-place, called 
 the " Ring," and received their tickets for quar- 
 ters at the city hall Two of these volunteers, 
 emerging from the building, descended arm in 
 arm the steps of the front staircase. They were 
 two young men of slight forms and strangely 
 
 thful appearance. Not the faintest down was 
 
 und their fresh lips, and white and delicate 
 their foreheads. But no one was surprised 
 at their tender age, for people were accustomed 
 nowadays to see lads emulate manhood, believing 
 that courage did not depend on years. By the 
 side of aged men, boys who had just been con- 
 were seen to enter the ranks of the volun- 
 and handle their muskets with the same 
 strength and energy as veteran soldiers. No one, 
 therefore, particularly noticed the youthful age 
 of the two volunteers who came forth from the 
 city hall, and were now crossing the place arm in 
 arm. 
 
 "Now our lot is cast," said one of thorn, with 
 a smile. " We are soldiers ! " 
 
 "Yes, we are soldiers," cried the other, "and 
 we phall be brave ones, Caroline 1" 
 
 " Caroline ! " echoed the other, in dismay. 
 " How imprudent I Did we not leave our female 
 names with our wearing apparel at Berlin with 
 Jew, Leonora ? " 
 
 two 
 
 youtl 
 
 aroui 
 
 WCT ! 
 
 firmed 
 teers, 
 
 " Ah, and you call me, too, by my female name," 
 said Leonora, with a gentle smile. " No matter ! 
 it is all right enough so long as no one hears it. 
 We have no secrets from each other, and we are, 
 therefore, allowed to call each other by the names 
 received at the baptismal font." 
 
 " But before the world we call ourselves differ- 
 ently now ; I am Charles Petersen, and you 
 what is your name now, Leonora ? " 
 
 " My name is Charles Renz," said Leonora, 
 smiling. " That was the name of my dear teach- 
 er, to whom I am indebted for what little knowl- 
 edge I have acquired, aud who originally induced 
 me to take the step I have ventured upon. He 
 had been a soldier a long time, and loved his 
 country and the royal family. History was his 
 favorite study, and he told me of the heroic deeds 
 of ancient nations in their struggles for liberty. 
 His eyes beamed with transcendent ardor, and 
 the words flowed from his lips like a stream of 
 poetry. He taught me that, when the country 
 was in danger, it was the duty of the women to 
 take up arms in its defence, and that there was 
 no more beautiful death than that on the field of 
 honor. Joan of Orleans and the Maid of Sara- 
 gossa were his favorite heroines, and he always 
 called Queen Louisa the martyr of German lib- 
 erty. When she died, three years ago, the first 
 idea that struck me was, how my old teacher 
 would bear up under this grief, and that it was 
 incumbent upon me to comfort him. I ha>t 
 to htm, and fouud him sad and disheartened. 
 4 Now my hopes for Germany are gone,' he wi>\ 
 
156 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 1 for the genius of German liberty has left us and 
 fled to heaven. Beautiful and noble Queen Louisa 
 might, perhaps, have still inspired the Germans 
 to rise in arms against the tyrant; but she is 
 dead, and liberty has died with her.' ' No,' I 
 cried, ' no ! liberty will blossom from her grave. 
 Germany will rise to avenge the martyrdom of 
 the queen ; Germany's wrath will be kindled anew 
 by the sufferings of this august victim that Na- 
 poleon's tyranny has wrung from us. Yes, the 
 country will rise to avenge Louisa.' He gazed at 
 me a long while, and his tears ceased to flow. Af- 
 ter a prolonged pause he said : ' If it be as you 
 say, if Germany take up arms, what will you do, 
 Leonora? Will you stay at home, knit stock- 
 ings, and scrape lint, or will you sacrifice your 
 heart, your blood, your life, and be a heroine ? ' 
 I exclaimed, joyously : * I will sacrifice all to the 
 fatherland, and help to achieve the victory, or die 
 on the battle-field ! ' The eyes of my old teacher 
 were radiant with delight. * Swear it to me, Leo- 
 nora,' he cried, ' swear to me, by all that is sa- 
 cred swear by the memory of our sainted Queen 
 Louisa ! ' I laid my hand on the Bible, and swore 
 by the memory of Queen Louisa to fight like a 
 man and a hero. I am now about to fulfil my 
 oath, and, as my dear old teacher has died, I 
 have adopted his name as my inheritance, and 
 call myself Charles Renz. It seems to me it is a 
 doubly sacred duty now to be brave, for I must 
 do honor to my teacher's name." 
 
 " And you will do so, I am sure," cried Caro- 
 line. " And I will do so, too, Leonora. No 
 teacher has impelled me to love my native land. 
 This sentiment is spontaneous; perhaps because 
 I have nothing else to love. I am alone in the 
 world; my dear parents are dead; I have no 
 brothers or sisters, no lover ; and inasmuch as I 
 have nothing to love, I gave up my heart to ha- 
 tred. I hate the French, and, above all, Napo- 
 leon, who has brought so much misery on Europe, 
 and for ten years has spilt rivers of blood. It is 
 hatred that has incited me hatred has forced 
 the sword into my hand, and when we go into 
 battle, I shall not only call, like you, ' Long live 
 the fatherland!' but add, 'Death to the tyrant 
 
 1 Napoleon, the enemy of the Germans ! ' Yes, I 
 hate this Bonaparte more intensely than I lore 
 my own life ; and, as I could not stab him with 
 the needle, with which I made caps and bonnets 
 for the fair ladies of Berlin, I have cast it aside, 
 and taken up the sword. That is my whole his- 
 tory the history of the ci-devant milliner Caro- 
 line Peters, the future horseman Charles Peter- 
 sen." 
 
 " What ! " ejaculated Leonora, in amazement. 
 " You intend to enlist in the cavalry ? " 
 
 " If they will accept me. I am well versed In 
 horsemanship, for when my father was still living 
 I rode out with him every day. He was a much- 
 respected farmer in the suburbs of Stralsund, and 
 owned many horses. During the siege of Stral- 
 suud he lost every thing, and we were reduced to 
 extreme poverty. My father died of grief, and 
 since that time I have not again mounted a horse. 
 But I think I still know how to manage one, and 
 am not afraid of doing so." 
 
 " But why will you ? Why not remain in the 
 infantry, which would be much more natural and 
 simple ? " 
 
 " Why ? Shall I tell you the truth, Leonora ? 
 Let me tell you, then, confidentially ; it is because 
 long marches would incommode me. And you ? 
 Would it not be better for you to follow my ex- 
 ample ? " 
 
 "No," said Leonora, "I shall remain in the 
 infantry, and become one of Liitzow's riflemen 
 a member of the Legion of Vengeance. I be- 
 lieve we have arrived at the house designated to 
 us. Major von Liitzow lives here ; the numer- 
 ous volunteers who are going in and out show 
 that we have reached his headquarters. Now, 
 Caroline, farewell ! and let me greet you, friend 
 Charles Petersen!" 
 
 " Leonora, farewell ! and let me greet you, 
 friend Charles Renz ! " They shook hands and 
 looked into each other's glowing faces. 
 
 " Forward now, comrade ! " said Caroline, walk 
 ing toward the house. 
 
 " Forward ! " echoed Leonora, jubilantly, 
 
 Arm in arm they walked across the gloomy haU 
 to the low, brown door, entering the room pointed 
 
THEODORE KORNER. 
 
 157 
 
 out to them as Major von Liitzow's recruiting- 
 office. It was a large, low room ; long tables, 
 painted brown, such as are to be found ic small 
 taverns or beer-saloons, stood on both sides of 
 the smoky whitewashed walls ; low stools, of the 
 same description, were beside them, and con- 
 stituted, with the tables, the only furniture of 
 this hall, where the citizens and mechanics had 
 formerly taken their beer, and where now the 
 volunteers came to take the oath of fidelity to the 
 fatherland and Major von Liitzow. In the mid- 
 dle of this room stood a young lady of rare beauty. 
 A plain black dress enveloped her form, reach- 
 ing to her neck and veiling her bust. Her 
 face was very white and delicate, a complexion 
 to be found only among the fair daughters of the 
 North ; her blond hair fell down in heavy ringlets 
 beside her faintly-flushed cheeks ; a fervent light 
 was beaming from her large light-blue eyes. 
 
 " That is Madame von Liitzow, to whom the 
 travellers in the stage-coach alluded," said Leo- 
 nora to herself; "it is the count's noble daugh- 
 ter, who poured a glass of water over her hand 
 because a Frenchman had kissed it, and who de- 
 Hcended fjoru her father's castle to marry a poor 
 Prussian officer, whom she loved for the scars on 
 his forehead." 
 
 The beautiful lady approached the two young 
 volunteers with a sweet, winning smile. "You 
 wish to see Major von Liitzow, do you not ? " she 
 inquired. " Unfortunately, he is not at home ; 
 business matters prevent him from per- 
 lly welcoming the young heroes who wish to 
 
 in him. He has charged me with doing so in 
 and you may believe that I bid you 
 with as joyous a heart as my husband 
 would do." 
 
 Oh, we are so happy to be received by you," 
 said Leonora, smiling, " for we were told at Ber- 
 lin of noble and beautiful Madame von Liitzow 
 
 i who is 80 
 
 a re; of the preat idea of our 
 
 igglc. For our struggle U one both < : 
 
 ince and love. Since then we bave longed 
 be enlisted by you, madame, ind to take our 
 
 th of fidelit. 
 
 " I accept it in the name of Major von Lutzow," 
 said the lady, with a gentle smile. " Here are 
 your numbers, and now give me your names that 
 I may enter them in the recruiting-book." She 
 approached the table on which the large open 
 book was lying, and quickly noted down the 
 names which the two volunteers gave, affixing the 
 numbers already given. " Now, then," she said, 
 kindly nodding to them, " you are enlisted in the 
 sacred service of the fatherland, and I hope you 
 will do your duty. I hope you " 
 
 At this moment the door was opened hastily, 
 and a young man rushed into the room. 
 
 " Theodore Korner ! " ejaculated the lady, 
 greeting him cordially. 
 
 " Yes, Madame von Lutzow, it is I," exclaimed 
 the young man, saluting the two volunteers " it 
 is I, and I come to you a prey to boundless de- 
 spair ! " 
 
 Madame von Lutzow hastened to him, and 
 looked with an expression of heart-felt sympathy 
 into his handsome, pale face. 
 
 " Yes, indeed," she said, " your face looks like 
 a cloud from which thunder and lightning may 
 be expected at any moment. What is the mat- 
 ter ? What has happened to you, my poet and 
 hero ? " 
 
 " Come, let us go," whispered Caroline to her 
 friend. 
 
 " No, let us stay," said Leonora, in a low voice. 
 " If it is a secret, they will bid us go ; but I should 
 like to know what ails the fine-looking young man 
 whom Madame von Liiteow calls a poet and a 
 hero. Oh, I have never yet seen a poet, and this 
 one is so handsome ! " 
 
 "Let us sit down on this bench," whispered 
 Caroline, " and " 
 
 "Hush, let ua listen!" said Leonora, sitting 
 down. 
 
 " It is not that, then ? " exclaimed the lady, wh 
 in the mean time had continued her conversa- 
 tion with the young man. "Your father has 
 not rri>'ike<l 'iis aon for the quick resolve be had 
 taken." 
 
 " No, no," said Theodore Korner, hastily, " on 
 the contrary, my father approve* iny detennina- 
 
158 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 tion to enlist, and sends me Ms blessing. I re- 
 ceived a very touching letter from him this morn- 
 ing." 
 
 " It is his affianced bride, then, that has driven 
 our poet to despair, because he loves her more 
 ardently than the fatherland," said Madame von 
 Liitzow. " It is true, I cannot blame her for it, 
 for the woman that loves has but one country 
 the heart of her lover, and she is homeless as soon 
 it turns from her. But this is precisely the grand 
 and beautiful sacrifice that you give up for the 
 sake of your country all that we otherwise call 
 the greatest and holiest blessings of life your 
 affianced bride; your pleasant, comfortable exist- 
 ence ; a fine, honorable position, and a future 
 full of a poet's fame and splendor. It is, indeed, 
 a sacrifice, but a sacrifice for which the father- 
 land will thank you, and which will incite thou- 
 sands to emulate your noble example." 
 
 " Would it were so ! " exclaimed Korner, enthu- 
 siastically, raising his large black eyes to heaven ; 
 " would that our patriotic ardor struck all hearts 
 like a thunderbolt, and kindled a conflagration, 
 whose flames would shed a lustre over the remotest 
 times ! I do not deny that I felt how great was the 
 acrifice I made, but this very feeling filled me with 
 enthusiasm. All the stars of my happiness were 
 shining upon me in mild beauty, but I was not 
 allowed to look up to them because it was the 
 night of adversity; but now that this night is 
 about to vanish, and a new morning is dawning, 
 my stars, too, must fade before the sun of liberty. 
 That was the sacred conviction which drove me 
 away from Vienna, from my betrothed bride, and 
 caused me to cast aside all that otherwise im- 
 parts value to life. A great era requires great 
 hearts. I felt strong enough to go out and bare my 
 breast to the storm. Could I do nothing but sing 
 songs in honor of my victorious brethren ? No 
 one would have then loved and esteemed me any 
 longer ; my parents would have been ashamed of 
 me, and my affianced bride would have coiiterapt- 
 uously turned away from the cowardly poet. 
 Therefore, I gave up every thing for the sake of 
 my native land. It is true, my parents and my 
 Emma wil. weep for me. May God comfort them ! 
 
 I could not spare them this blow. It is not mucla 
 that I risk my life ; but that this life is adorned 
 with love, friendship, and joy, and that I never- 
 theless risk it, is a sacrifice that can be compen- 
 sated only by love of country, more sacred than 
 any other love, and to it we should devote our 
 life.* My noble father feels and knows this, and 
 so does my betrothed." 
 
 " And yet, agreed though you are with yourself 
 and your dear ones, why this despair ? " asked 
 Madame von Liitzow, with a smile. 
 
 Korner looked down in confusion, and then 
 raised his flaming eyes with a strange expression. 
 "Ah, madame," he exclaimed, "I divine your 
 stratagem ; it is that of an angel, and, therefore, 
 worthy of you." 
 
 " What stratagem do you mean ? " she asked, 
 with a semblance of surprise. 
 
 " The angelic stratagem by which you com- 
 forted me in my grief, without knowing its cause. 
 When I rushed so impolitely into this room, I 
 told you that I was in despair. And you, in- 
 stead of urging me to tell you at once the cauue 
 of it, inquired for the great affairs of my life, ar d 
 whether my affliction came from niy parents or 
 my affianced bride. You thereby wished to a 3- 
 monish me that these momentous affairs and re- 
 lations of my life, not having lost their harmony, 
 my grief was, perhaps, but a passing dissonance, 
 and that it really might not be worth while to 
 give way to despair on account of it. I am sure, 
 madame, I have understood you : was not this the 
 object of your questions ? " 
 
 Madame von Liitzow nodded gently. "You 
 have understood me," she said. " I think in all 
 our grievances we should, before giving way to 
 vexation or despair, lay the great questions of life 
 before us, and inquire whether that which weighs 
 us down touches them, whether it strikes at our 
 true happiness. Now, if this is not the case, we 
 should bear the grievance lightly, and not con- 
 sider it a misfortune. To feel greatly what is 
 great, and to heed little what is little, is the true 
 wisdom of life." 
 
 * His own words. Vide "Theodore Earner's Works, 
 edited by Carl Streckfuss, p. 54. 
 
THEODORE KORXER. 
 
 159 
 
 
 "You are right, as you always are," said Theo- 
 dore Korncr, reverentially bowing to the beautiful 
 lady, *' and let me penitently confess, then, that I 
 have this time heeded greatly what is little and 
 have considered what grieved me a great misfor- 
 tune. But now that I have confessed my guilt, 
 the guardian angel of the volunteers must have 
 mercy upon me and come to ray assistance. For 
 something very unpleasant has really befallen me, 
 and no philosophy can dispute it." 
 
 " Well, confess what it is," exclaimed Madame 
 von Liitzow, smiling. 
 
 <l You know, madame, that our Legion of Ven- 
 geance is to be solemnly consecrated at the vil- 
 lage of Rochau, at the foot of the Zobtenberg, on 
 Sunday next ? " 
 
 " Of course I do, and I shall accompany Liit- 
 zow and the volunteers in order to witness the 
 ceremony." 
 
 " At the village church we are all to appear for 
 the first time in our black uniforms, to receive 
 the preacher's blessing, and to be consecrated as 
 soldiers of the fatherland. I myself have written 
 & poem, adapted to the air of an anthem, for this 
 
 emn occasion, and all my comrades will sing it. 
 r the sermon the volunteers in the church 
 will take the oath of war upon the swords of their 
 officers. I have been ardently yearning for this 
 
 ,y, and now I shall probably be unable to par- 
 ticipate in its services, for do not laugh, ma- 
 dame, at my insignificant mishap the tailor re- 
 to make me a uniform by that time, and in 
 
 tizen's clothes, as a fashionable dandy, I really 
 cannot appear among the brave men who will 
 proudly walk about in their litcfkacs. The tailor 
 le for him to make a uniform 
 at so short a notice; he pretends to be over- 
 whelmed with work, and does not know where 
 to find hands. Xow you, the helping, advising, 
 and protecting genius of the volunteers, arc my 
 
 st consolation and resort. If you send for the 
 el tailor, and tell him how important it is for 
 
 e to participate in that ceremony, your words 
 will ren what now he declares impos- 
 
 aible. Therefore, send for the tailor, madame ; he 
 fortunately lives close by, in the court-yard, in 
 
 C: 
 wi 
 
 Ki 
 1 
 
 tic, 
 
 dame 
 fu.es 
 citize 
 
 shAvtmj 
 
 and 
 
 I 
 
 the large rear building ; order him to make me a 
 uniform, and he will have to do so, for who could 
 withstand your words ? " 
 
 " Well, I will try," said Madame von Liitzow, 
 smiling. " I will see whether my words are so 
 impressive as to move a tailor's heart." 
 
 " And if he is unable to comply with your 
 wishes because he lacks assistants," said Leo- 
 nora, hastily rising from her seat near the door, 
 and approaching Korner and Madame von Liit- 
 zow, " I offer myself as an assistant, for I am a 
 tailor." 
 
 " So am I," exclaimed Caroline, vividly. " I 
 know, too, how to ply the needle, and am ready 
 to assist in sewing a comrade's uniform." 
 
 " Ah, the volunteers whom I have just en- 
 listed, and whose pardon I have to ask for hav- 
 ing forgotten them," cried Madam Von Liitzow, 
 smiling. 
 
 " We have rather to ask your pardon for stay- 
 ing here," said Leonora. " But we are indebted 
 to you and to the poet Theodore Korner for the 
 most soul-stirring sentiments, and it seems to me 
 as though we have received only now the true 
 consecration for the future that lies before us. 
 Now, that I know what great sacrifices one may 
 joyously make, I feel how incumbent it was upon 
 me to make them too, and I have no remorse at 
 leaving my parents and my brothers. It is cer- 
 tainly true, as the poet said: 'A great era re 
 quires great hearts 1 ' And therefore I will 
 try, to the best of my power, to have a great 
 heart, that I may be worthy of our great era." 
 
 A great and noble heart is beaming from 
 your eyes, my friend," said Theodore Korner, 
 offering his hand to Leonora. " I greet you both 
 as dear comrades of mine, and beg you to treat 
 me as one." 
 
 " Yes, we will do so," exclaimed Caroline, shak- 
 ing hands with the poet. " And we will prove 
 it directly by going to tliat tailor and offeri: 
 assist him : 
 lieutenant." 
 
 44 Softly, my friend!" laughed Theodore Kor- 
 ner, " I have not yet risen so high ; I am 110 lieu 
 tenant" 
 
160 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 " But you will be soon," said Caroline, ardent- 
 ly ; " for one may easily read in your face that 
 you are born to command, and not to obey. We 
 volunteers are to elect our own officers. Well, 
 then, I shall vote for Theodore Korner." * 
 
 " So shall I ! " ejaculated Leonora. 
 
 " But while indulging in such dreams as to the 
 future, we forget the grim tailor," said Theodore 
 Korner, smiling. " Madame von Liitzow, I be- 
 seech you, pity my distress, and send for him, 
 that your eloquence may soften his heart." 
 
 " But suppose he does not comply ? " asked 
 Madame von Liitzow. " It would be wrong, too, 
 to occupy his time while so busy. You say the 
 man lives near ? " 
 
 " Scarcely fifty steps from here." 
 
 "Well, then, conduct me to him!" said Ma- 
 dame von Liitzow, " we will pay a visit to him 
 as Torquato Tasso once went to the Duke di 
 Ferrara. You, my two young friends, will please 
 accompany us, that we may present to him two 
 willing assistants. Come ! " 
 
 " Yes, madame, and may your eloquence pre- 
 vail ! " exclaimed Korner, opening the door, and 
 posting himself beside it in order to allow the 
 lady to pass out. 
 
 Graceful and smiling, she hastened through the 
 gloomy room and approached the door, followed 
 by the two volunteers with their rosy faces and 
 bright eyes. When about to cross the thresh- 
 old, she stood and gazed archly at Korner. 
 " Stop," she said, " I have to impose a condition. 
 If we are to assist a poet, he must in return pay 
 us a poet's tribute. I shall not cross this thresh- 
 old before you recite one of your new war- 
 songs." 
 
 "Yes, a song ! " cried the two volunteers. 
 
 " Well, you are silent ? " asked Madame von 
 Liitzow, smiling. "Strike the chords of your 
 lyre, and let us hear a battle-hymn ! " 
 
 "No, not a battle-hymn," said Theodore 
 Korner; "that requires the accompaniment of 
 clashing arms and booming cannon. But to the 
 fair patroness of the Legion of Vengeance I will 
 
 * Theodore Korner was elected lieutenant by his com- 
 rdes on the 24th of April. 
 
 communicate, although it is not completed, mv 
 hymn to the guardian angel of German liberty- 
 Queen Louisa!" Raising his dark-blue eyes to 
 heaven, he recited the following lines, addressed 
 to Queen Louisa : " 
 
 "Du Heilige! hor' Deiner Kinder Flehen, 
 Es dringe machtig auf zu deinem Licht 
 
 Kannst wieder freundlich auf uns niedersehen, 
 Verklarter Engel I langer weine nicht! 
 
 Denn Preussens Adler soil zum Kampfe wehen. 
 Es driiugt Dein Yolk sich jubelnd zu der Pflicht, 
 
 Und Jeder wa'hlt, und keinen siehst du leben, 
 
 Den freien Tod fur ein bezwung'nes Leben. 
 
 
 " Wir lagen noch in feige Nacht gebettet; 
 
 Da rief nach Dir Dein besseres Geschick, 
 An die unwurd'ge Zeit warst Du gekettet, 
 
 Zur Rache mahnte Dein gebroch'ner Blick. 
 So hast Du uns den deutschen Muth gerettet. 
 
 Jetzt sieh auf uns, sieh auf Dein Volk zuriick, 
 Wie alle Herzen treu und muthig brennen I 
 Nun woll' uns auch die Deinen wieder nennen 1 
 
 " Und wie einst, alle Kriifte zu beleben, 
 Ein Heil'genbild, fur den gerechten Krieg 
 
 Dem Heeresbanner schutzend zugegcben, 
 Als Oriflamme in die Lufte stieg: 
 
 So soil Dein Bild auf unsern Fahnen schweben, 
 Und soil uns leuchten durch die Nacht zum Sieg ! 
 
 Louise sei der Schutzgeist deutscher Sache ! 
 
 Louise sei das Losuiigswort zur Rache 1 " * 
 
 " Louisa shall be the guardian angel of the 
 German cause and the battle-cry of vengea 
 echoed the two volunteers. 
 
 Madame von Liitzow said nothing. She 
 with her white hands clasped, as if in prayer, at.d 
 her sweet face turned heavenward. Tears were 
 
 
 
 * O sainted one 1 now let thy children's prayer, 
 As incense, rise to realms of heavenly light; 
 
 Beholding us thou canst with gladness hear, 
 And tears no more may dim thy vision bright : 
 
 For Prussia's standard in the battle near 
 Will nerve thy people to their ancient might 
 
 Thy sons in crowded ranks await the strife, 
 
 Preferring a free death to slavery's life. 
 
 Enthralled in long and timid gloom we lay ; 
 
 When Heaven recalled thee, and thy fetters broke 
 Which bound thee to thy times' unworthy sway, 
 
 Thy dying eyes of future vengeance spoke. 
 Thus didst thou save on that sad flnal day 
 
 The German honor, and our courage woke. 
 Behold us now, as we all fear resign, 
 With glowing hearts, and once more call us thine I 
 
 As erst to serried legions in the field, 
 
 A sacred symbol, as a golden flame, 
 Lit up the battle-standard, and revealed 
 
 For whom the victory's just though bloody claim ; 
 So let us, 'neath thy bannered image, wield 
 
 A valiant sword our " oriflamme " thy namo- 
 The pledge of honor and the gathering cry, 
 To live for Prussia's glory, or to die! 
 
THE HEROIC TAILOR. 
 
 131 
 
 glittering in her eyes ; and, giving her hand to the 
 poet, she said in alow voice: "You have paid 
 us a tribute worthy of you. Thanks ! And now 
 come ! " She quickly crossed the threshold tow- 
 ard the court-yard. Korner was by her side ; 
 Leonora and Caroline, the two volunteers, followed 
 her. 
 
 " The four windows on the ground-floor yon- 
 der are those of the tailor's shop," said Korner. 
 
 Madame von Lutzow nodded, and walked across 
 the wide court-vard toward the house. 
 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE HEROIC TAILOR. 
 
 THE tailor and his hands were very busy. All 
 sorts of colored cloths and pieces of uniforms 
 wen- lying about. On the bench, in the middle 
 of the room, sat four workmen, hard at work. 
 Not a word interrupted the silence now desecrated 
 by the noise of the opening door. He who sat on 
 \ somewhat raised seat, and was just braiding a 
 agnificent scarlet hussar-jacket, hastily looked 
 His hand, armed with his needle, had just 
 risen and remained suspended ; his eyes, which 
 he hu-1 at first raised carelessly from his work, 
 were fixed on the door, which framed so unusual 
 *nd attractive a picture a young lady of sur- 
 passing beauty, surrounded by three youthful sol- 
 who looked very fine and imposing, too, 
 and whose looks were turned to him with a kind 
 and inquiring expr< 
 
 "You ;in, the merchant tailor, are 
 
 . greeting the tailor with 
 nod. 
 "That is my name," said M. Martin, involun- 
 
 n his. seat. 
 
 then, my d -aid the lady, ad- 
 
 -ti-pa into the shop, " I should like 
 say a word to you." 
 
 . 1 imagine what it is," exclaimed the 
 tailor, who fixed his eyes now upon Theodore Kor- 
 ner, and recognized his tormentor. " The gentle- 
 
 passir 
 
 man has been here twice already about a uniform 
 for Sunday. But I could not make it, if an angel 
 descended from heaven to entreat me." 
 
 " Well, I thank you for your compliment," said 
 Madame von Lutzow, smiling. " But tell me now, 
 sir, why can you not accommodate him ? " 
 
 "Because I have more work now than I am 
 able to finish. I was rash enough to accept so 
 many orders, that I do not know how I shall be 
 able to fill them ; and in the excitement and con- 
 fusion prevalent in the city it is impossible to get 
 assistance at present." 
 
 " Well, if that is the only reason, we bring you 
 fresh help. These two young volunteers are 
 ready to work under your supervision, and finish 
 the uniform of their comrades." 
 
 The tailor glanced toward the two young vol 
 unteers. " Lads, scarcely sixteen years old ! " he 
 said, shrugging his shoulders ; " it is impossible 
 that they can be experienced artists." 
 
 " But both affirm that they are tailors," said 
 Madame von Lutzow, " and skilled in their 
 trade." 
 
 " Yes, sir, please give us a trial," begged Leo- 
 nora." 
 
 " We are quick and skilful workmen," protested 
 Caroline. 
 
 " Regular tailors ? " asked M. Martin. 
 
 " Yes, regular tailors,'' replied Leonora. 
 
 " Very well. Finish this collar ; the needle is 
 still in it," said M. Martin, handing the scarlet 
 soldier-jacket to Leonora. 
 
 The young volunteer blushed, and said in a bw 
 voice : " To be sure, sir, I must ask you to show 
 me how to do it, for I have never yet worked on 
 men's clothes." 
 
 "A ladies' tailor!" exclaimed M. Martin, with 
 an expression of boundless contempt. u The other 
 one, too ? " 
 
 " Yes, I also am a ladies' tailor," said Caroline, 
 smiling. 
 
 "Ami tln\v.ire bold rnouirh to offer their assist 
 ance to me!" exclaimed M. Martin, shrugging 
 his shoulders. 
 
 " It is only necessary for you to give tnem 
 ctions, sir,' i me von Lutzow, 
 
 11 
 
162 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 entreatingly, "for as they know how to ply the 
 needle they will easily understand what to do." 
 
 "And if the uniform should not fit well, or be 
 badly made, it will be laid at ray door, and M. 
 Martin will be blamed for it. I assure you I can- 
 not take the job ; I am short of workmen of the 
 accessary experience. No one wants to work 
 nowadays all heads are turned all young men 
 are enlisting." 
 
 " No, sir," said the lady, " all heads are turned 
 right again to one thing necessary at this time 
 to the service of the fatherland." 
 
 " Bah ! my shop is my fatherland," said the tai- 
 lor, contemptuously. 
 
 " That is not true," exclaimed Madame von Lut- 
 zow, " you do not and cannot think go. For if 
 you did, you would be no Prussian, no German, 
 and no one could love and respect you. During 
 the period of adversity and disgrace, your shop 
 may have been a comfort to you ; but now that 
 the sun of liberty is rising, all hearts must throb 
 joyously; all must go out and gaze upon the 
 new world; the shop no longer contains the 
 work worthy of a freeman it is to be found 
 only on the battle-field deliverance of the coun- 
 try!" 
 
 "The lady is right!" exclaimed the tailor's 
 three assistants, who had hitherto looked up but 
 stealthily from their work, but now cast it aside 
 with impetuosity. " Yes, the lady is right ! It 
 is a shame for honest men to sit here in this room 
 and ply the needle, while our friends and brethren 
 are drawing the sword and marching out to the 
 holy war of liberation. We must also participate 
 in the great struggle ! " 
 
 " Oh, yes," cried the tailor, in grim despair, 
 " now my last workmen are coaxed away from 
 me ! You have taken the money I offered you 
 when you entered my service, and as honest men 
 you must keep your word. Resume your work ! 
 You know well that we are very busy." 
 
 The men commenced their work again with 
 morose faces, whispering to each other : " As 
 soon as the week has expired, we shall leave the 
 shop and enlist." 
 
 " Well, madame, what do you wish ? " exclaimed 
 
 the tailor, furiously. " You have come to give 
 me a job, and at the same time you disparage 
 my business, and seduce my workmen to leave 
 me. I shall soon have to close my shop." 
 
 " But you will not do so, dear M. Martin, be- 
 fore having made a uniform for this young man," 
 said Madame von Liitzow, in an entreating tone 
 and with a sweet smile. " I have certainly not 
 come to disparage your honorable business, for 
 what should we do without the skilful tailor, who 
 makes the uniforms of our soldiers and fits them 
 out, as it were, for the service of their country ? 
 Oh, I am sure that you have worked at them with 
 grand reflections, since this labor is more agreea- 
 ble to you than if you bad to make the most gor- 
 geous suit for a chamberlain, and it gladdens you 
 to think : ' I am likewise working hard for the 
 fatherland. I am in my own way a soldier of 
 the country ; for I devote to it my skill and 
 labor.' " 
 
 " That is true," said M. Martin, in confusion, 
 " and that you may not believe me to be a worse 
 man than I really am, I must tell you tliat 1 
 do not take pay for these jobs, but that I huve 
 offered to make twelve uniforms for our soldi 2rs 
 free of charge. I have nothing else to offjr; 
 hence, I give all I can ! " 
 
 " And there is no nobler gift ! " exclaimed Ma> 
 dame von Liitzow. " You are a good man ; pray 
 give me your hand and let me thank you." She 
 offered her hand to the tailor, and he put his 
 broad, cold hand timidly into it. 
 
 " Oh, now I fear nothing," said Madame von 
 Liitzow, joyfully ; " as you are so good a patriot, 
 you will fulfil our prayer, and make a uniform for 
 this young man for next Sunday." 
 
 " But I have told you already that I cannot," 
 replied M. Martin, almost tearfully" I cannot fin 
 ish it." 
 
 " And I reply : Try, sir ! I am sure you will 
 finish it. For, take into consideration, dear M. 
 Martin, that your own reputation is at stake, and 
 that all the brave volunteers would execrate your 
 name if it should be your fault that their favorite 
 and celebrated bard could not attend the Sunday's 
 ceremony." 
 
THE HEROIC TAILOR. 
 
 163 
 
 "How so? What bard do you allude to, ma- 
 aame ? " 
 
 " I allude to the great poet who stands before 
 you Theodore Korner." 
 
 " Ah, this is Theodore Korner ! " exclaimed 
 the tailor. "The poet who wrote 'Toni,' the 
 splendid comedy that I saw last winter at our 
 theatre ? " 
 
 " The same, ray dear sir," said Madame von 
 Liitzow, while Korner nodded to the tailor with a 
 I smile. " And he has written many other 
 beautiful plays, and magnificent songs to boot. 
 This is the reason why, though he is only twenty- 
 one years old, he is famous throughout Germany, 
 and at Vienna occupied a brilliant position. He 
 '3 affianced to a dear, sweet young woman, whom 
 he loves with all his heart, and to whom he was 
 to be married within a month ; but suddenly the 
 battle-cry of freedom resounded throughout Ger- 
 many, the King of Prussia called upon the able- 
 bodied young men to volunteer and avenge the 
 disgrace of Germany, and see what love of coun- 
 try can accomplish ! The young man casts aside 
 every thing he gives up all, his fame, his be- 
 thed, his position, and hastens with enthusi- 
 to offer his arm and his services to ex- 
 ange his poetical fame and his earthly happi- 
 ness for victory or an honorable death on the 
 battle-field." 
 
 " Oh, that is really glorious," cried the men, 
 king witli their clinched right hands their 
 knee, a? though it were a recruiting-drum. 
 
 41 Yes, it is so," said M. Martin, thoughtfully, 
 himself. 
 
 iic-," whispered the poet, smiling, " you 
 ke me blush by your too kind prai 
 
 n y fault that a plain statement of the 
 in the case is such praise for you ? " asked 
 ron Liitzow. " For I have told you the 
 M Martin, and all happened precisely as I 
 re SUte-l it He has jrir.-n up all to enlist, 
 winly d<> hi* parents and his loved one w 
 
 H" htm ees nothing for his 
 
 Us him, and he ifefft He does not 
 re happiness before his country is free, and 
 eetr than the most blissful life seems to him a 
 
 glorious death for the fatherland. So he has 
 come; the volunteers greeted him with shouts of 
 exultation, and they believe now that Providence 
 will cause their arms and their bravery to be suc- 
 cessful, since an inspired bard will take the field 
 with them, and endow them with redoubled 
 ardor by his songs. But, before taking the field, 
 they wish to implore God's blessing at the altar, 
 and on Sunday next all those who are already 
 uniformed and equipped are to take the oath of 
 war and be consecrated. Theodore Korner has 
 written for the occasion a pious hymn, which all 
 the volunteers will sing, and now how can you be 
 so cruel as to prevent him from singing his own 
 hymn with them ? " 
 
 " I ? " cried the tailor, in dismay. 
 
 " Yes, you ! For, If you do not accommodate 
 him, he cannot be present." 
 
 M. Martin heaved a profound sigh, and cast a 
 glance of despair around hU shop. " There are 
 still three hussar-jackets to be finished," he mur- 
 mured. " If it were but a hussar-uniform that 
 the gentleman asks for ! But he does not wish 
 to join the hussars ? " 
 
 "No, my friend. I enlist in the Legion of 
 Vengeance, and become one of Major von Liit- 
 zow's volunteer riflemen. It will, therefore, be 
 less troublesome to suit me." 
 
 " But that dress is not near as showy as the 
 other," said the tailor, morosely. "An entirely 
 black uniform with red trimmings on the sleeves 
 looks sad, and cnu-1." 
 
 " And that is as it ought to be, my dear sir. 
 The black color signifies our grief, the red aig- 
 nifies blood." 
 
 And suddenly he commenced to sing : 
 
 i-h tranern wir im schwarzon Racherkleide 
 Um den gestorbnen Mnth, 
 Doch fragt man Each, was dieses Roth bedentc; 
 Das deutet Frankenblut! 
 
 * By this black uniform wo ever mourn 
 
 The public spirit dead ! 
 And why is then this crimson facing worn? 
 With Frenchmen's blood it's red. 
 
 When biph nbovo vast heaps of slaughtered foea, 
 The star of peace shall shine, 
 
 ianner white, which victory bestows, 
 Raise by oar own free Rhine. 
 
164 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 
 *Mit Gott! Einst geht hocb fiber Feindesleichen 
 
 Der Stern des Friedens auf; 
 Dann pflanzen wir ein woisses Siegeszeichen 
 Am freien Eheinstrom auf." 
 
 "Then we shall raise a white symbol of our vic- 
 tory on the banks of the free Rhine ! " echoed the 
 volunteers, and the tailor and his assistants. 
 
 " M. Martin ! " cried Madame von Ltitzow, 
 laughing, " you have forgotten yourself; you have 
 joined in the chorus ! " 
 
 " Yes, it is true," he said, " I have sung these 
 few words with them ; they make my heart swell, 
 and I do not know what has happened to me it 
 seems to me the song and all you have said make 
 another man of me, and " 
 
 "You will make the uniform for Theodore 
 Korner ? " asked Madame von Liitzow, smiling. 
 
 M. Martin was silent, and quickly raised his 
 head and looked at his assistants, who were gaz- 
 ing at him inquiringly. 
 
 " You have made up your minds, then ? " he 
 asked ; " When the week is up, and your jobs are 
 finished, you intend to leave me, and volun- 
 teer ? " 
 
 "Yes, we have come to that determination," 
 replied the three, unanimously, "and nothing 
 shall prevent us from carrying it out." 
 
 " Well, then, I must close my shop, and discon- 
 tinue the tailoring business." 
 
 " But what do you intend to do, then, sir ? " 
 asked one of the journeymen, in surprise. 
 
 " I intend to enlist ! " replied M. Martin. 
 "This beautiful lady and the song have en- 
 chanted me. Hurrah ! I also will enlist ! " 
 
 " But my uniform ? " asked Korner. 
 
 " Oh, you need not be concerned," exclaimed 
 the tailor, in a proud tone ; " it shall be made ! I 
 will work all night, and not lay aside my needle 
 before it is done. Will you help me, journey- 
 men ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir, we will!" 
 
 " And you, too, volunteers ? It is true, you are 
 only ladies' tailors, but you know at least how to 
 line and pad a coat. Will you take the job ? " 
 
 "Yes, M. Martin, we will joyously do so," 
 cried Leonora and Caroline. 
 
 "Well, then, we can finish two uniforms by 
 
 Sunday one for the poet, the other for mf 
 self!" 
 
 " My dear sir, I thank you from the bottom of 
 my heart," said Madame von Liitzow ; and then, 
 turning her radiant face to Korner, she asked, 
 " Are you now satisfied ? " 
 
 " Ah, I knew well that no one could resist you, 
 and that you are our good angel," whispered the 
 poet, pressing the hand of the lovely lady to his 
 lips. 
 
 " But listen, M. Korner," said the tailor ; " if I 
 am to work for you so industriously, I must im- 
 pose a condition, and you must promise to ful- 
 fil it." 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 " It is that you shall not pay me for my labor." 
 
 " But, sir, it is impossible for me to" 
 
 Madame von Liitzow laid her hand softly on 
 his shoulder. " I am sure you do not wish to 
 offend this excellent man ? " she whispered. 
 
 "It is impossible for me to take pay for a 
 favor which I do to one of my future comrades," 
 said M. Martin. " I suppose that is what you 
 wanted to say, and you are right. But if you in 
 sist on indemnifying me, there is another way foi 
 you to do so." 
 
 " Pray tell me." 
 
 " You sang two verses, which sounded so bold 
 and fresh that they touched by heart. Was that 
 the whole song, or are there any more verses ? " 
 
 " No, sir, they are the two last ; three others 
 precede them." 
 
 "Well, comrades," said M. Martin, gayly, "if 
 you insist on my doing my last tailoring job for 
 you, then sing me the other three." 
 
 Korner glanced inquiringly at Madame von 
 Liitzow. " I do not know," he said, hesitatingly, 
 " if madame will permit it ? " 
 
 Madame von Liitzow smiled. " I not only per- 
 mit, but pray you to sing," she said. " Give us 
 the whole song, and let us all join in the refrain. 
 Come, brave soldiers of the future ! cast aside 
 your work, form in line, and sing with us the 
 song of the Black Riflemen ! " 
 
 The three journeymen jumped up, and posted 
 themselves beside M. Martin. The lady again 
 
THE GEXERAL-IX-CHIEF OF THE SILESIAN ARMY. 
 
 165 
 
 withdrew to the door. On both sides stood the 
 two young volunteers, with their blooming faces, 
 and between these two groups stood the tall and 
 noble form of the young poet, whose fine face 
 beamed with courage and energy, and on whose 
 brow genius had pressed the kiss of inspiration. 
 
 "Now, ligten attentively ! " said Theodore Kcir- 
 ner, smiling. "My song is easy to sing, for who 
 is ignorant of the song of the Rhenish wine. Let 
 us sing it to that melody ! " 
 
 And through the tailor's shop, hitherto so 
 peaceful and silent, resounded the song of the 
 Black Riflemen : 
 
 "In's Feld, In's Fold, die Eachegeistor mahnen, 
 
 Auf, deutsches Yolk, zum Krieg I 
 In's Feld, in's Feld ! Hoch flattern unsere Fahnen, 
 Sie fuhren uns zum Sieg ! 
 
 "Klein ist die Schaar, doch gross 1st das Vertrauen 
 
 Auf den gerechten Gott 1 
 Wo seine Engel ihre Yeste bauen, 
 Slnd Hollenkunste Spott. 
 
 " Gebt kein Pardon ! Konnt Ihr das Schwert nicht 
 
 heben, 
 
 So wurgt sie ohne Schen ! 
 TTnd hoch verkauft den letzten Tropfen Leben, 
 Der Tod macht Alle frei ! " * 
 
 To the field! the spirit* of vengeance cry ; 
 
 Rise, and your country save ! 
 Uplift your eagle banners to the sky 
 
 For victory they wave 1 
 
 In number small, but great our confidence 
 In a just God's decree ; 
 
 V.'li.-n His own angels build our sure defence, 
 Vain is hell's stra< 
 
 No quarter give, but strike the fatal blow, 
 
 Dear let your life-blood be ; 
 Ask not for mercy, and to none bestow, 
 
 For death makes all men free. 
 
 This whole scene is based on facts, for which I am 
 Indebted to personal communications from the Countess 
 Ahlefeldt Theodore KOrner fell in the first year of the 
 war of liberation, before the decisive battle of Lcipsic, on 
 the 26th of August, 1813, In a skirmish which the corps 
 ' jor von Lutzow had with the French near Gade- 
 busch. Only an hour prior to his death, while lying In 
 ambush, he wrote his immortal "Song of the Sword" 
 in his note-book. The statement of Mr. Alison, the his- 
 torian, that he was killed in the battle of Dresden, is 
 e iron eons. 
 
 Leonora Prohanka fell in an ensrncement on the Gf.nle, 
 the 16th of S : i. v bullet pierced her breast. 
 
 AVTien she felt that she & revcaU-d to her 
 
 comrades that she was a woman, and that her name was 
 I-eonora Prohaska, and not Charles Renz. 
 
 Caroline Peters was more fortunate. She partici- 
 pated in the campaigns of 1S13 and 1S14, was decorated 
 with the order of the Iron Cross on account of her bra- 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 THK GENERAL-IN-CHIEF OF THE SILESIAN AltMY. 
 
 GENERAL BLUCHER was more morose and de- 
 jected than he had been for a long time. From 
 the day he heard of the king's arrival at Breslau, 
 and immediately left his farm of Kunzendorf to 
 repair to that city, a perpetual sunshine lit up his 
 face, and a new spring bloomed in his heart. 
 But now the old clouds of Kunzendorf were again 
 lowering on his brow, and a frost seemed to have 
 blighted all the blossoms of his hope. 
 
 He sat on the sofa, closely wrapped in his 
 dressing-gown, drumming with his hand a quick- 
 step on the table in front of him, while he was 
 blowing clouds of smoke from his long pipe. 
 Very gloomy thoughts appeared to fill Blucher's 
 soul, for his bushy eyebrows contracted, the quick- 
 step was more rapid, and the smoke arose in 
 denser masses. In the violence of bis inward 
 trouble, he grimly shook his head without think- 
 ing of the fragile friend in his mouth. Its deli- 
 cate form struck against the corner of the table 
 and broke into pieces. 
 
 "So," muttered Blucher to himself, " that was 
 just wanting to my afflictions. It is the second 
 pipe broken to-day. Well, there will be a day 
 when Bonaparte shall pay me these pipes that he 
 has already cost me. That day must come, or 
 there is no justice in Heaven. Christian I 
 Christian ! " 
 
 The door opened. Christian Hennemann ap- 
 peared on the threshold, awaiting the orders of 
 the general. 
 
 " Another wounded pipe, Christian," said Blu- 
 cher, pointing at the pieces on the floor. " Pick 
 them up, and see if there is not a short pipe 
 among them." 
 
 "No, your excellency," said Christian, ap- 
 proaching and carefully picking up the pieces, 
 " that is no wounded pipe, but a dead one. Shall 
 I fetch another to your excellency ? " 
 
 very, and honorably discharged at the end of the wac 
 She was then married to the captain of an English vessel 
 whom she accompanied on his travels, and with whom 
 she visited her relatives at Stettin in 1844 L. M. 
 
166 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 
 He was about to turn away, but Blucher seized 
 the lap of his hussar-jacket. " Show me the 
 broken pipe," he said, anxiously ; " let me see 
 if it really will not do anymore." 
 
 " Well, look at it, your excellency," said the 
 pipe-master, in a dignified tone, holding up the 
 bowl with a very small part of the tube. " It is 
 impossible for you to use it again. If I should 
 fill the bowl with tobacco and light it, your ex- 
 cellency, it would assuredly burn your nose." 
 
 " That is true," said Blucher, mournfully ; " I 
 believe you are right. I might burn my nose, 
 and that would be altogether unnecessary now. 
 I burn it here at Breslau every day." 
 
 "How did you do it?" asked Christian, in 
 dismay. " Your excellency has not yet smoked 
 short pipes." 
 
 " Because I am myself like a short pipe," cried 
 Blucher, with a grim smile, " or because the mis- 
 erable, sneaking vermin at court well, what does 
 it concern you ? Why do you stand and stare 
 at me ? Go, Christian, and fetch me a new 
 pipe." 
 
 " What, a new pipe ! " asked a voice by his 
 side. " Why, Blucher, you are still in your dress- 
 ing-gown ! " 
 
 It was his wife who had just entered the room 
 by the side-door and approached her husband 
 without being noticed. She was in full toilet, her 
 head adorned with plumes, her delicate form 
 wrapped in a heavy dark satin dress, trimmed 
 with costly silver lace. Her neck and ears were 
 ornamented with jewelry in which large diamonds 
 shone ; in her hand, radiant with valuable rings, 
 she held a huge fan, inlaid with pearls and pre- 
 cious stones. 
 
 " Yes, Amelia, I am still in my dressing-gown," 
 said Blucher, gloomily gazing at his wife. " Why, 
 you are splendidly dressod to-day! What is it 
 for ? and whither do you design to go V " 
 
 "Whither!" exclaimed the lady, in surprise. 
 " But, husband, do you forget, then, the festival 
 to take place to-night ? " 
 
 "Well, what is it?" asked Blucher, slowly 
 drawing his long white mustache through his 
 fingers. 
 
 "Blucher, to-night the great ball takes pla<* 
 which the city of Breslau gives at the city hall in 
 honor of the Emperor of Russia, when both their 
 majesties will appear." 
 
 " Well, what does that concern me ? " 
 
 "It concerns you a great deal, for you have 
 solemnly promised the burgomaster, who came 
 personally to invite us, that you would attend the 
 ball to-night." 
 
 "And I shall not go to it after all, Amelia," 
 cried Blucher, striking with his hand on the 
 table. "No, Amelia! I am no dancing-bear 
 to turn around at a ball, and to be led by the 
 nose." 
 
 " But, Blucher, what has happened to you ? " 
 asked bis wife, wonderingly. "You were as merry 
 and high-spirited as a young god of spring ; the 
 violets laughed when they saw you pass by, and 
 the snow-drops rang their tiny bells in your honor, 
 and now suddenly it is winter again ! Pray, tell 
 me, what has happened to you ? " 
 
 " Nothing at all has happened to me that is 
 just the misfortune," cried Blucher. " It is more 
 than a month now since I have been sitting here 
 at Breslau, and nothing has happened. I am still 
 what I always was an old pensioned general, 
 who has no command, and nothing to do but to 
 retire to Kunzendorf and plant cabbage-heads, 
 while others in the field are cutting off French 
 heads. And it will be best for me to go back to 
 Kunzendorf. I have nothing to do here ; no one 
 cares for an old fellow like me. I have hoped on 
 from day to day, but all my hopes are gone now. 
 Amelia, take off your tinsel, and pack up our 
 traps. The best thing we can do will be to start 
 this very evening and return to our miserable, ac- 
 cursed village ! " 
 
 " Dear me ! what a humor you are in ! " ex- 
 claimed his wife. " Every thing will be right in 
 the end, my husband ; you must not despair ; 
 things are only taking their course a little more 
 deliberately than my firebrand wishes. But 
 finally all will be precisely as you want it, for 
 without Blucher they are unable to accomplish 
 any thing, and will, therefore, at last resort to 
 him." 
 
THE GEXERAL-IX-CHIEF OF THE SILESIAN ARMY". 
 
 167 
 
 11 And I toll you they will try to get along with- 
 out me," cried Blucher ; " I shall be a disgraced 
 man, at whom the very chickens will laugh, if he 
 has to sneak back to Kunzendorf instead of tak- 
 ing the field. Pack up, Amelia, we shall leave 
 this day ! " 
 
 " But that is impossible, Blucher ! It would 
 look like a cowardly fliirht, and your enemies 
 would rejoice over it. No, you must go to the 
 ball to-night ; you " 
 
 " General Scharnhorst ! " announced a footman 
 at this moment, and there appeared in the open 
 door the general, dressed in his gala-uniform, and 
 his breast decked with orders. 
 
 " I am glad you have come, general," exclaimed 
 Amelia, hastening to him, and shaking hands 
 with her friend. " Look at that stubborn old 
 man, who does not wish to go to the ball ! Say 
 yourself, general, must he not go ? " 
 
 "Certainly he must," said Scharnhorst, smil- 
 ing, "and I come to beg of you a seat in your 
 carriage, and to let me have the honor of appear- 
 ing in the suite of General and Madame von 
 Blucher. You had, therefore, better dress at 
 once, my dear general. It is high time. Even 
 their majesties have already set out." 
 
 Blucher gently shook his head, and slowly raised 
 his eyes toward Scharnhorst, who stood in front 
 of him. " Scharnhorst," he said, " every thing 
 turns out wrong, and I wish myself dead rather 
 than see such a state of affairs." 
 
 " What do you mean, general ? " inquired 
 Scharnhorst " What has happened ? " 
 
 Blucher cast a piercing glance on him, and 
 seemed to read in the depths of his soul. " Is 
 the matter settled?" he asked. "Pray, my 
 friend, tell me the truth without circumlocution. 
 It is better for me to know it at once than allow 
 this incertitude longer to gnaw at my heart. 
 ! implore you, tell me the truth ! 
 !I:i-- the comnian lor of the Silesian army been 
 appointed ? " 
 
 " No, general," said Scharnhorst, gravi-ly. 
 
 "And you do not know whom they will ap- 
 point ? The truth, my friend ! " 
 
 " Well, then, the truth is, that I do not know it, 
 
 and that their majesties themselves do not know 
 it, although every patriot thinks they ought not 
 to doubt which of the three gentlemen who stand 
 on the list should be appointed, for every heart 
 echoes, ' General Blucher is the man whom we 
 need, and who will lead us to victory.' The em- 
 peror and the king are still vacillating ; precious 
 time is lost Napoleon is organizing new armies, 
 and strengthening himself on all sides, while they 
 are hesitating." 
 
 " Three, then, stand on the list," said Blucher. 
 " I have two competitors. Who are they, gen- 
 eral ? " 
 
 " One is Field-Marshal Kalkreuth." 
 
 Blucher started, and his eyes flashed with an- 
 ger. "What!" he cried. "That childish old 
 man to command an army ! He who is constantly 
 singing hymns of praise to Napoleon and his 
 French he who, -only the other day, showed 
 again that he deemed a frown of Bonaparte more 
 terrible than the peril of a German patriot ! He 
 command an army to vanquish Napoleon ! I sup- 
 pose you know what he has done ? He betrayed 
 to the French ambassador, Count St. Marsan, who 
 followed our king to Breslau in order to watch him, 
 that Minister von Stein, our noblest friend, had se- 
 cretly come for the purpose of negotiating with the 
 king in the name of the Emperor of Russia ; that he 
 was living in a garret, and that conferences of 
 the enemies of Napoleon were held there every 
 night." * 
 
 " Yes, that is true," said Scharnhorst, " Field- 
 Marshal Kalkreuth did so, and it is no fault of his 
 that Baron von Stein, with his friends, one of 
 whom I happen to be, was not secretly seized 
 and carried off by the French. Fortunately, dear 
 Count St. Marsan did not believe the field-mar- 
 shal who betrayed his German countryman. The 
 French ambassador allowed himself to be deceived 
 by the stillness that reigned in the garret, which, 
 according to the statement Kalkreuth made to 
 him, was inhabited by dangerous Minister von 
 Stoin."f 
 
 " Well, and this man. the head of the French 
 
 * Pertz's " Life of Stein," voL iii., p. 810. 
 t Beitzke, vol. L, p. 170. 
 
168 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 party, they wish to appoint general-in-chief of the 
 Silesian army," said Blucher, mournfully. " Ame- 
 lia, pack up our traps ; let us return to Kun- 
 zendorf." 
 
 " But Field-Marshal Kalkreuth has not yet been 
 appointed," said Scharnhorst, smiling ; " I be- 
 lieve his two competitors have as good nay, bet- 
 ter prospects than he has." 
 
 "It is true, I forgot the second competitor," 
 grumbled Blucher. " Who is it ? " 
 
 " It is Lieutenant-General Count Tauentzien, in 
 whom the Emperor Alexander takes a great deal 
 of interest." 
 
 " Of course," said Blucher, sarcastically, " he 
 is a count, and he has such a polish, and courtly 
 manners ; he knows how to flatter the sovereigns, 
 and tell them only what is agreeable. But now, 
 you yourself must admit, Scharnhorst, that it is 
 best for me to set out immediately for Kunzen- 
 dorf, and that I have no prospects none what- 
 ever! The two sovereigns, the king and em- 
 peror, alone will make the appointment, will they 
 not?" 
 
 " Of course, they alone ! " 
 
 " Well, each of them has a candidate of his own. 
 The emperor is in favor of Count Tauentzien, and 
 the king is for Field-Marshal Kalkreuth. Who, 
 then, is to think of and speak for me ? " 
 
 " Your glory will speak for you, general," said 
 Scharnhorst, feelingly; "the love which every 
 soldier feels for you will speak, and you will speak 
 for yourself by your noble appearance your self- 
 reliant bearing, your energy and strength, which 
 do not shrink from truth. Come, let us get 
 ready for the ball, and, my friend, do not impose 
 any restraint upon yourself there ; give the reins 
 to your discontent; tell every one frankly and 
 bluntly that you are dissatisfied that you ar- 
 dently desire to be appointed general in-chief, and 
 that you would consider it a great misfortune if 
 another man should be preferred to you." 
 
 "But, dear general," exclaimed Madame von 
 Blucher, in dismay, " how can you give Blucher 
 such advice ? You know how hot-headed and 
 rash he is ! He will rave about so, that the king 
 and the emperor themselves will hear him." 
 
 " Well," said Scharnhorst, smiling, " it is some- 
 times very well that there should be a man cou* 
 rageous enough to tell the kings and emperors the 
 truth, and prove to them that mankind do not 
 always fawn upon them with polite submissive- 
 ness." 
 
 "Scharnhorst is right," exclaimed Blucher, sud- 
 denly straightening himself; " yes, I will go to 
 the ball, and tell them there at least what sort of 
 men those are whom they wish to appoint, and 
 what we may expect from them. They shall not 
 afterward excuse themselves by saying that they 
 were not forewarned, and that no one had called 
 their attention to Blucher. I will do it myself 
 yes, thunder and lightning ! I will remind them 
 of Blucher, and they shall hear and understand 
 me. 
 
 " Well," cried Madame von Blucher, " I beg 
 permission to stay at home, for Blucher will have 
 a scene, at which I do not wish to be present." 
 
 "Oh, no, there will be no scene whatever," 
 said Blucher. " I shall make my obeisance to 
 their majesties and then step aside, but of course 
 I am not to keep altogether still, and well, you 
 know my motto, ' At them ! ' * Well, then, * at 
 them!' Let us go to the ball. You must ac- 
 company me, Amelia, there is no help for it ; for 
 it may be necessary for you to bring me back to 
 reason. You know well that no one but jou can 
 do that." 
 
 " I am sure, madam e, you will not abandon us 
 at this critical hour ? " begged Scharnhorst. 
 " You do not desire his guardian angel to leave 
 him ? " 
 
 " Yes, I will go with you," she said, smiling, 
 " if for no other purpose than to restrain my fiery 
 thunderer in proper time." 
 
 " Well, it may not be of any avail," said Blu- 
 cher, dryly. " By Heaven ! I must unbosom my- 
 self a little to-day I must tell them the truth, 
 which no one here at Breslau likes to hear. 
 Well, Amelia, do me the favor to turn toward the 
 window. I wish to take off my dressing-gown 
 and put on my uniform coat then I am dressed ; 
 
 " Immer drauf ! 
 
TilE BALL AT THE CITY HALL OF BRESLAU. 
 
 169 
 
 &nly my coat is wanting; it lies on the chair 
 youder; wait until I have put it on, and then 
 we shall ride to the ball. I will call John to assist 
 me." 
 
 " Do not call any one," eaid Scharnhorst, " but 
 permit me to assist you. Here is the coat." 
 
 " And here I am," cried Blucher, throwing off 
 the dressing-gown and quickly plunging into the 
 coat which Scharnhorst handed him. 
 
 " But now listen, general," said Scharnhorst, 
 handing Blucher the sword and belt. " As you 
 are BO very amiable and kind, I will tell you good 
 news. Gneisenau will be here to-morrow." 
 
 " What ? Is he no longer in England ? " asked 
 Blucher, joyously. 
 
 " Xo, he is in Germany, and, as he wrote to me, 
 will arrive to-morrow at the latest. He landed 
 nearly a week ago from a Swedish ship at Col- 
 berg, where he was received with enthusiasm. 
 The whole city was illuminated on the evening of 
 his arrival, and the citizens marched in procession 
 to bis lodgings.* You see the old hatred and the 
 old love are still alive in the people ; they have 
 not forgotten their oppressors, nor their heroes 
 either." 
 
 " Then Gneisenau has come, too," exclaimed 
 Blucher; "he is the petrel that heralds the storm. 
 There will be war now, certainly ; and if I am not 
 permitted to share in it, my heart will burst like 
 an overcharged gun. Gneisenau come ! all men 
 are coming, and Blucher is to stay at home! 
 "\\Y11, if they do not appoint me commanding 
 general, I will enlist as a private. For I must 
 participate in the war that is to put an end to 
 Bonaparte's tyranny ; and, if I cannot be first 
 lancer, I shall be one of the musicians. Chris- 
 tian, have the carriage brought to the door ! " 
 
 THE 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THK BALL AT T1IK <'ITY HA I.I. OF IJI'.KSLAU. 
 
 THE large saloon of the city hall of Brcslau 
 presented an exceedingly festive and brilliant 
 
 
 * Beitzke, vol. i., p. 196. 
 
 spectacle. The walls were tastefully dtcorated 
 with festoons and flags, exhibiting alternately the 
 Russian and Prussian colors ; between them were 
 the Prussian eagle and the double-headed Russian 
 eagle in richly-gilt medallions, surrounded by re- 
 splendent tapers. On the ceiling were suspended 
 three enormous chandeliers, each adorned with 
 fifty large wax candles, which shed a flood of 
 light through the whole hall, and reflected them- 
 selves a hundred times in their balls and pendants 
 of rock crystal. In the gallery, fixed on the up- 
 per half of one of the walls of the hall, and 
 splendidly decorated with garlands and Prussian 
 and Russian flags, sat a band of fifty musicians, 
 who caused soul-stirring greetings to roll down 
 into the hall, where the brilliant and numerous 
 crowd of guests, whom the municipal authorities 
 had invited, were moving up and down ; the ladies 
 in the most magnificent toilets, in the gorgeous 
 splendor of diamonds and other precious stones, 
 of flowers and laces ; the gentlemen in their gold- 
 embroidered uniforms, their breasts ornamented 
 with orders ; but among them were seen also the 
 dark figures of Liitzow's riflemen, the plain coats 
 of the citizens, and even some of the peasantry 
 in their becoming rural costumes. All classes 
 were represented at this great ball, which tho 
 municipal authorities of Breslau gave in honor 
 of the Emperor of Russia, for these representa- 
 tives of all classes were to offer to Alexander the 
 homage of the Prussian people, and to return 
 thanks to the noble ally of the king for the assist- 
 ance that he intended to lend to Prussia. 
 
 The emperor and the king, therefore, were re- 
 ceived with boundless enthusiasm when they en- 
 tered the hall arm in arm, each decorated not 
 with his own orders, but with those of his ally. 
 Alexander had acknowledged this flattering re- 
 ception with the affability and the smiling grace 
 peculiar to him; Frederick William, with the 
 gravity and calmness that never left him. After 
 the first presentations and official addresses were 
 over, Alexander requested the presiding burgo- 
 master to set aside the embarrassing ceremonial, 
 and to allow every one to yield without restraint 
 to the enjoyment of the festival. In order to giv 
 
170 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 an example to the assembled guests, the emperor 
 suggested to the managers that dancing might 
 begin, and, offering his arm to the wife of the 
 presiding burgomaster, he opened the ball with 
 the Polonaise. After the dance he moved about 
 the hall with the most amiable affability, always 
 endeavoring by his kindness and politeness to 
 cause all to forget the gulf separating them from 
 the emperor. The king had, like him, partici- 
 pated in the opening of the ball ; but he retired, 
 grave, silent, and cold as ever, into the adjoining 
 apartment which was destined for the private 
 audience-room of the two sovereigns, and which 
 none were permitted to enter but those whom 
 the footmen of the king and the emperor ex- 
 pressly invited. As long as Alexander and Fred- 
 erick William were in the large hall, they only 
 desired to be the guests of their kind hosts, and 
 affable and unassuming members of the party ; 
 no sooner, however, had they crossed the thresh- 
 old of their audience-room than they were again 
 the king and the emperor, whom no one was 
 allowed to approach without being requested. 
 From this audience-room a door, veiled by heavy 
 velvet curtains, led into another apartment, where 
 a small table, covered with the choicest cold 
 viands, and the most exquisite and rare wines, 
 had been set for the two sovereigns, and this 
 Email apartment led to the large supper-room 
 that was again connected by a small room with 
 the vast saloon. One of the long walls of this 
 supper-room was occupied with an enormous 
 buffet, loaded with the most select delicacies in 
 colossal dishes of silver and porcelain, and beside 
 which were large crystal bowls, filled with smok- 
 ing punch or fragrant cardinal. In the remaining 
 space was a number of small round tables ready 
 for supper, at which those might take seats who 
 desired to refresh themselves after the exhausting 
 pleasures of the festival. 
 
 Alexander and Frederick William had retired 
 into the audience-room, and sent for those per- 
 sons whom they desired to distinguish particu- 
 larly to-night. There were Majors von Liitzow 
 and Petersdorf, who had been invited to the 
 honor of an audience which had been conferred 
 
 even upon some of the volunteers, among them 
 upon Baron la Motte Fouque and Theodore. 
 Korner ; and Alexander told them with charming 
 enthusiasm of his sympathy for the heroic Prus- 
 sian nation, and of his admiration of its glorious 
 self-denial. He stated to Major von Liitzow that, 
 if he did not happen to be emperor, he would not 
 allow any one to prevent him from volunteering 
 in his Legion of Vengeance; and to Theodore 
 Korner, in proof of the admiration he felt for his 
 poems, he recited the first verses of his patriotic 
 song, u Frisch auf, mein Volk, die Flammenzei- 
 clien rauchen." 
 
 Frederick William contented himself with ad- 
 dressing a kind word, a brief salutation, to each 
 of them, and then again moving toward the 
 portiere, looked at, the motley crowd in the ball- 
 room. Suddenly, while the two sovereigns were 
 standing side by side, engaged in a familiar chat, 
 and looking into the hall, an unusual commotion 
 was noticed. All rushed toward the entrance of 
 the hall, through which the two burgomasters 
 had just stepped into the outer reception-room. 
 Undoubtedly some one was expected, and more- 
 over one whom all the guests were anxious to 
 see and to welcome in the most enthusiastic 
 manner. 
 
 The large folding-doors opened, and between the 
 two burgomasters appeared the slender, firmly- 
 knit form of General Blucher. Behind him was 
 General Scharnhorst, escorting Madame von Blu- 
 cher. Blucher advanced, with a winning smile 
 on his fine, good-natured countenance, greeting 
 the assembled guests by pleasantly nodding to 
 the right and left. At first his polite saluta- 
 tions were returned in silence, but gradually there 
 arose murmurs and whispers the eyes which 
 were fixed upon the hero's form grew more ra- 
 diant, and soon cheers resounded through the 
 whole hall deafening shouts of "Long live 
 Blucher ! Long live our hero, brave General 
 Blucher ! " 
 
 " A flourish '' shouted other voices to the mu- 
 sicians. The presiding burgomaster nodded.smil- 
 ingly, and waved his white handkerchief. The 
 musicians made a loud flourish resound, and more 
 
THE BALL AT THE CITY HALL OF BRESLAU. 
 
 171 
 
 deafening and jubilant became the shouts of 
 "Long live Blucher ! Long live our horo!" 
 Blucher bowed, confused and almost ashamed, 
 and with so charming an expression of surprise 
 and joy that (his called forth a new outburst of 
 tumultuous applause and enthusiasm. 
 
 The two sovereigns stood in the open door of 
 the audience-room, and witnessed this strange and 
 unexpected scene, Alexander smiling and appar- 
 ently well pleased, Frederick William grave and 
 with a slight shadow on his brow. 
 
 " Ah, sir," said Alexander, in a low and quick 
 voice, " it seems to me the guests intend to make 
 A little demonstration in honor of your general, 
 and to give us a gentle hint whom they would 
 like to have appointed general-in-chief of the Sile- 
 sian army." 
 
 " Indeed, it seems so," said Frederick William, 
 morosely, " but I do not like such demonstrations, 
 and they have no effect upon myself." 
 
 "But let us now greet the hero," exclaimed 
 Alexander, smiling; "people ought to see that 
 we share the general sympathy." He quickly 
 stepped into the ballroom ; the king followed him 
 elowly and hesitatingly. 
 
 "Welcome, my dear General Blucher," said 
 Alexander, offering hii hand to the general, while 
 the king saluted him merely with a nod. The hum 
 and noise which hitherto filled the hall like the 
 roar of the sea, immediately died away. Silence 
 ensued ; every one stood still as if riveted to his 
 place ; all 6 .rncd in eager suspense and 
 
 with breathless curiosity toward the group that 
 stood in the middle of the hall ; all tried to catch 
 a word, a glance, in order to draw therefrom their 
 own conclusions. And, amid this general silence, 
 was heard the melodious voice of Alexander, who 
 said again, " Welcome, my dear General Blucher ! 
 I am really glad to greet you, and to meet you 
 again after so long an interval. I did not know, 
 indeed, that you were here in Breslau ; otherwise 
 I would have cilled upon you." 
 
 " That would have been very gracious, and in 
 accordance with the character of your majesty," 
 giid Blucher, loudly and firmly. "For your ma- 
 jf*ty is known never to forget those who are 
 
 worthy of being remembered. All patriots have 
 learned, with feelings of gratitude and enthu- 
 siasm, that your majesty, directly after your ar- 
 rival, called upon that noble and intrepid Ger- 
 man, Minister von Stein, who was living solitary, 
 sick, and deserted, in his garret, and who, up to 
 that time, only a few faithful friends and a few 
 cowardly enemies had remembered." * 
 
 These words, uttered in a loud and powerful 
 voice, produced various effects. The Emperor 
 Alexander smiled and bowed his head quickly 
 and repeatedly ; King Frederick William frowned 
 slightly, and this authorized the gentlemen of his 
 suite, who stood behind him, Field-Marshal Kal- 
 kreuth and General Knesebeck, to frown too, and 
 cast angry glances at Blucher. Madame von 
 Blucher, who had modestly kept somewhat in the 
 background, turned very pale, and leaned trem- 
 blingly upon the arm of General Scharnhorst, who 
 smiled and whispered, "Blucher is grand! He 
 is a true fire-king among the will-o'-the-wisps ! '* 
 The two burgomasters and the host of courtiers 
 smiled when they glanced at the emperor, and 
 looked grave and gloomy when they turned their 
 eyes to the clouded brow of the king. Blucber, 
 however, did not seem to notice the impression 
 produced by his words, and looked around as 
 composedly as if he had made a mere courtier's 
 reply to the emperor's gracious salutation. 
 
 " I am happy to be one of Stein's friends,'* 
 said Alexander, " but I do not think it requires 
 particular courage to profess friendship for a 
 ni.i unanimous man whom all Germany reveres and 
 admires." 
 
 "Xo, your majesty," said Blucher, calmly, "only 
 
 * Minister von Stein had arrived sick at Breslau, and 
 lived, as stated above, in a small garret, which Major 
 von Lutzow had surrendered to him. Only his intimate 
 friends visited him there, and this was the reason why 
 Count St Marsan, whom Field-Marshal K.ilkreuth had 
 informed of Stein's arrival at Breslau, did not believe in 
 tho truth of this information. Baron von Stein, however, 
 received secretly many proofs of love and sympathy. The 
 king alone took no notice of him, and the members of thj 
 court, too, were prohibited from entering into any rela- 
 tions with Stein. There was a change for the better, 
 however, as soon as tho Emperor of Russia arrived, and 
 at once called upon Stein. Now all hastened to visit him, 
 and overwhelmed him with protestations of devotion, 
 which he rejected frequently with great asperity. 
 
 
172 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 a short time ago it required a great deal of courage 
 for a German to profess friendship for Minister 
 von Stein, for the Emperor Napoleon hates and 
 fears him, and for this reason three-fourths of the 
 Germans hate and fear him from humble respect 
 for the Emperor of the French. Is it not so ? " 
 added Blucher, suddenly turning to Field-Marshal 
 Ralkreuth, who stood close beh:nd the king, "is 
 it not as I say ? Do you not admit that I am 
 right, Field-Marshal Kalkreuth ? " 
 
 This question, which was addressed to a by- 
 stander, with utter disregard of etiquette, caused 
 the blood of the courtiers to freeze, and made 
 Field-Marshal Kalkreuth turn purple with anger. 
 The Emperor Alexander, however, burst into loud 
 laughter, and, turning to the king, he whispered 
 to him in a hurried, low voice, " You are right, sire, 
 Blucher is a madcap, a genuine hussar, always 
 ready to charge ! " The king nodded, and as 
 Alexander laughed, he forced himself also to 
 smile a little. Field-Marshal Kalkreuth responded 
 to Blucher's question only by a quick, angry 
 glance and a gentle bow. "Well," said Alex- 
 ander, turning again to Blucher, " I am satisfied, 
 however, that you did not belong to the three- 
 fourths of the Germans that hated and loved ac- 
 cording to the wishes of the Emperor Napoleon, 
 general ? " 
 
 " No, your majesty," exclaimed Blucher, " I 
 have always belonged to his most consistent and 
 implacable enemies, though I really owe him a 
 great deal nay, almost my life." 
 
 " How your life ? " asked Alexander, in amaze- 
 ment. " Did the emperor ever save you from 
 peril ? " 
 
 " Yes, your majesty," said Blucher, casting a 
 quick and fiery glance around the large circle of 
 his audience, "the Emperor Napoleon did save 
 ine from a danger menacing my life. For, ever 
 since the disastrous days of Tilsit, I was near 
 dying of grief at the misfortunes of Prussia ; and 
 when our noble and august Queen Louisa died 
 our queen, who was so true and patriotic a Ger- 
 man lady, and whose heart had been broken by 
 the calamities that had befallen Prussia I really 
 thought a dagger had pierced my heart, and I 
 
 would have to bleed to death. But then I coia 
 forted myself by remembering that Napoleon still 
 lived, and that I ought to live, too, in order to see 
 the day when the tyrant would be brought to 
 judgment, and I felt strengthened by the convic- 
 tion that God had destined me to be the instru- 
 ment by whom He wanted to destroy Napoleon, 
 and that I was intended to assist in delivering 
 Germany and avenging Queen Louisa ; and this 
 thought, sire, kept me alive, invigorating and 
 strengthening me ; it rendered me again so young 
 and ardent that I am yearning for the fray like a 
 war-horse that has heard the bugle-call." 
 
 A murmur of applause was heard, and only the 
 feeling of awe inspired by the presence of the two 
 sovereigns seemed to restrain a tumultuous out- 
 burst of general sympathy. Every one looked 
 with proud and joyful glances now at the aged 
 general, whose noble face was full of courage and 
 determination, and again at the Emperor Alexan- 
 der, who seemed to contemplate the intrepid sol- 
 dier with a sort of amazement. 
 
 A brief pause ensued, when the king approach- 
 ed Madame von Blucher, standing by the side of 
 Scharnhorst. " Good-evening, madame," said 
 the king, in a loud and somewhat harsh voice ; 
 " please tell me how old General Blucher is." 
 
 " Your majesty," said Madame von Blucher, 
 making a profound obeisance, " according to his 
 heart and strength, he is a youth ; according to his 
 certificate of birth, he is seventy-one years old." 
 
 " So old ! " said the king ; " Blucher so aged a 
 man ! But, it is true, his tongue is that of a strip- 
 ling." 
 
 " Your majesty," said Blucher, quickly turning, 
 " may it please the good God and my king to give 
 me an opportunity to refute my certificate of 
 birth, and to prove that I am a vigorous, coura- 
 geous lad, who knows how to use his sword as 
 well as his tongue ! " 
 
 " It is not sufficient, however, to know how to 
 use the sword and the tongue, but one must know, 
 too, how to restrain both," said the king, quickly 
 turning and beckoning Field-Marshal Kalkreuth 
 to his side, with whom he commenced chat 
 ting. 
 
THE BALL AT THE CITY HALL OF BRESLAU. 
 
 173 
 
 The Emperor Alexander laid his hand hastily 
 on Blucher' s shoulder, as if to soften and restrain 
 the impending outburst of the genei^l's anger, 
 and, looking with a kind smile into his flushed 
 face, he said : " restraint is not what suits you ? 
 Your motto is, Always forward ! ' And you be- 
 lieve it is time that all Germany, myself, and my 
 army, should adopt this motto ? Well, perhaps 
 you are right, my dear general. At all events, it 
 will be seen soon who are right, those who wish 
 to procrastinate, or those who are in favor of im- 
 mediate and decisive action." 
 
 He nodded pleasantly to Blucher, and then 
 called General Scharnhorst to his side, turning, 
 like the king, back to the audience-room. The 
 guests who had crowded in breathless silence 
 into the middle of the hall, dispersed again and 
 returned to the adjoining rooms. Blucher es- 
 corted his wife to the gallery occupied by ladies, 
 and then followed the burgomasters, who had 
 solicited the honor of conducting him to the sup- 
 per-room. 
 
 Frederick William's brow was gloomy and 
 clodded, and he was even graver and more ret- 
 icent than usual. He retired into the back- 
 ground of the room, addressing only now and 
 then a few quick words to Field-Marshal Kal- 
 kreuth, who stood by his side. Alexander's 
 countenance was serene and pleasant, and a smile 
 played round his lips while he conversed ea_'c:ly 
 with General Seliarnhorst. 
 
 " You say, then, that Stein is of the. same 
 opinion ? " asked Alexander, thoughtfully. " He 
 thinks, too, that General Blucher should be pre- 
 fcrred- 
 
 , sire," said Scharnhorst, "this is the 
 opinion of Minister von Stein, and, I may add, 
 the opinion of every Prussian who has the happi- 
 ness and of the fatherland at heart. 
 Sire, those who are in favor of a tftiid and vacil- 
 lating policy, who would like to ni-::otiate and 
 i- iiMpromis.-, who .-till believe in the possibility 
 of a reconciliation with France, who still think 
 tiiat the pen should smoothcn the rugged path 
 before us, or unravel the knot of our difficulties 
 taose cowardly, grovelling heatts are the real ene- 
 
 mies of our cause, and more dangerous than Xa- 
 poleon with all his armies. For they are weigh- 
 ing down our courage, paralyzing our arms, and 
 stifling our enthusiasm. But for them the king, 
 who, in his modesty, is utterly unaware how fiery 
 a soul, how great a heart he is possessed of, would 
 have long since concluded an alliance with your 
 majesty. But the king is unfortunately so mod- 
 est that he distrusts himself, and subordinates his 
 own opinion to that of his old and, as he believes, 
 well-tried and faithful advisers. Now, these ad- 
 visers are to blame for all the misfortunes of 
 Prussia ; they inveigled us into the alliance with 
 France ; they caused us to adhere to it, and would 
 even now like to force us back into it. They 
 would stifle the fire of patriotism because they 
 are afraid lest it annihilate them and destroy 
 their unworthy efforts. For this reason Blncher, 
 with his heroic soul, is as much an eyesore to 
 them as Stein, with his plans of liberation and his 
 energetic action for constitutional reform. One 
 wishes to create a new Prussia, the other a new 
 state, and both these ideas are utterly distasteful 
 to some, for they cling to the rotten old system, 
 and new things fill them with terror." 
 
 Alexander listened to the words of Scharnhorst 
 with the liveliest attention, and looked down 
 musingly. 
 
 " Listen, general ! " he said, in a low and hur- 
 ried voice, glancing around the room as if to con- 
 vince himself that no one could overhear his 
 words, " reply honestly and sincerely to the fol- 
 lowing question: Is the King of Prussia suf- 
 ficiently strong to cope with France for any 
 length of time ? " 
 
 "No," said Scharnhorst, firmly. "The army 
 the king could place in the field would not be 
 able to achieve a single victory over Napoleon. 
 But the Prussian nation is strong, and arming 
 itself for a struggle in which it will triumph, bt 
 cans.- no army can resist the will of a unitco 
 pi -ot ilc, and because God is an ally of the nation* 
 fighting for their liberty and their princes; but 
 be who is audacious enough to endeavor to stifla 
 the flame of this national enthusiasm, instead of 
 bearing it aloft like an oriflamme in the van of 
 
174 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 the great army of liberation, would render him- 
 self guilty of a fearful sin. Prussia will conquer 
 with her whole people, but she will succumb if 
 she relies only on her army." 
 
 " It is true," said Alexander, thoughtfully, 
 " the Prussian nation has manifested of late a won- 
 derful enthusiasm, and has risen as one man. It 
 lias risen for its king and its honor, And do you 
 not believe that it will fight equally well for botn, 
 whether Tauentzien, Kalkreutb, or Blucher, be its 
 chieftain ? " 
 
 "No, sire," said Scharnhorst, quickly; "I 
 know that it will not. The people, with their 
 quick and unerring instinct, know those very 
 well in whom they may confide, and I request 
 your majesty to take graciously into consider- 
 ation that it is this time the people that must 
 render Prussia victorious. It is true, the regi- 
 ments of volunteers that have already been or- 
 ganized would not disband, even though Kal- 
 kreuth or Tauentzien should be appointed gen- 
 eral-in-chief of the Prussian or Silesian army, but 
 the regiments that have not yet been organized 
 and equipped will hesitate and retire, unless they 
 know that a general will command them who has 
 sworn unending hatred to the Emperor Napo- 
 leon, and who will die a thousand times on the 
 battle-field rather than conclude peace and a new 
 alliance with him. Now, such a general is Blu- 
 cher, the youth of seventy, a modern knight 
 ' without fear and without reproach.' If he 
 stands at the head of our army, the Prussian 
 people will rally exultiugly round the standards, 
 and the diminished regiments be replaced by new 
 ones that will rush into the field, because they 
 know that there is at their head a hero in whose 
 breast there is room for only two sentiments 
 love of country and hatred of the French ; and 
 who serves, without fear, his God, his l:ing, and 
 his fatherland, impelled by this very hatred and 
 love, without any secondary motives nay, per- 
 haps, even without personal ambition." 
 
 " If Bluche\ is really such a hero as you de- 
 pict him," cried Alexander, " it would be a crime 
 not to place him at the head of the Silesian army. 
 Had you told the king all you have told me, he 
 
 would certainly not have hesitated a moment as 
 to the general who should be appointed com- 
 mander-in-chief." 
 
 " Sire, I did tell him all that my heart and my 
 head prompted me, and to-day at noon I was still 
 convinced that the king would appoint General 
 Blucher as soon as he should have satisfied him- 
 self that he thereby would not act contrary to 
 the will and wishes of your majesty. But the 
 little scene at the hall a few minutes ago has un- 
 fortunately shaken my conviction, for the king 
 seemed offended at the rough and somewhat im- 
 petuous bearing of the hussar general." 
 
 " And this very bearing of the hussar general, 
 as you call Blucher, has impressed me very favor- 
 ably, for he who relies so firmly on his own 
 strength must feel sure of victory. I like to see, 
 towering above the crowd of the fawning cour- 
 tiers surrounding us, men who do not bend their 
 backs, nor sink into the dust, before our so-called 
 ' divine rights,' but who stand erect, and fear no 
 one, because they are true to themselves." 
 
 " If that is the opinion of your majesty, then I 
 am at liberty to confess that I share it," said a 
 voice behind him ; and when the emperor turned, 
 he met the smiling gaze of the king, who had ap- 
 proached during the conversation with Scharn- 
 horst, and, as he did not wish to interrupt it, 
 listened to its conclusion without being noticed by 
 the two speakers. 
 
 " What ! " asked Alexander, offering his hand 
 to the king. " Your majesty, then, is of my 
 opinion you like, too, the men who sometime? 
 allow us to see their brow instead of their reve 
 rentially-bent back, and who tell us the truth in- 
 stead of those eternal, perfumed flatteries ? " 
 
 " Certainly, sire," said the king, gently bowing 
 his head. "It is true, the truth is sometimes 
 a somewhat bitter medicine, but it restores oui 
 health, while ^weet flatteries spoil our taste and 
 ruin our stomach." 
 
 " And we must really have a healthy stomach 
 to digest the hard fare of these tunes ! " exclaimed 
 Alexander, smiling. "Scharnhorst thinks that 
 Blucher would be a good phjsician for our stem 
 achs. That is your opinion, general, is it not i " 
 
THE APPOINTMENT. 
 
 175 
 
 " Sire, he is at least a physician who will not 
 resort to palliatives," said Scharnhorst, " but will 
 immediately try to eradicate the evil by a thor- 
 ough operation." 
 
 " But I have been told that a great many pa- 
 tients have died in consequence of operations, 
 when they might have lived a long time if they 
 had borne their ills with patience and resigna- 
 tion," said the king, growing again gloomy and 
 thoughtful. 
 
 The emperor laid his hand on the shoulder of 
 his royal friend. "But who would prefer a life 
 on the sick-bed to the quick and glorious death 
 of a hero on the field of honor?" he said, feel- 
 ingly. " Not you, my august friend, I know ; and 
 t even better than to me it is known to the angel 
 who is hovering over you, and whose earthly eyes 
 were closed in grief. But," Alexander interrupted 
 himself, " these are thoughts that are unsuitable 
 for a festival, and I beg your majesty's pardon for 
 having ventured to indulge in them." 
 
 " Still, they are the thoughts that always ac- 
 company and never leave me, sire," said the king. 
 " True, I have overcome my grief, but I will never 
 learn to forget. At the present time I am think- 
 ing of my Louisa with redoubled longing. How 
 her heart would have rejoiced over the renewal of 
 an alliance which she so fervently desired, and 
 how the noble spirit of the nation would have de- 
 lighted and inspired her !" 
 
 " The noble queen, I believe, was also a warm 
 friend of General Blucher, was she not ? " asked 
 the emperor, after a pause. " I believe she be- 
 longed to those who expected a great deal from 
 him, and thought him a hero and a powerful ene- 
 my of Napoleon ? Is it not so, sire ? " 
 
 " Yes," said the king, thoughtfully, " the queen 
 had a great regard for Blucher, and considered 
 him a brave and faithful patriot." 
 
 "And what did she think of Field-Marshal 
 Kiukreuth?" asked Alexander, with seeming 
 carelessness. " Did he belong to those, too, in 
 whom the queen confided, and from whom she 
 uxpccted the salvation of the fatherland ? " 
 
 The king quickly looked up and met for a 
 moment the searching gaze which the emperor 
 
 fixed on him. Frederick William smiled, and 
 inclined his head, as if he well understood the 
 emperor's question. "No," he said, "Queen 
 Louisa rarely approved of the views of the field- 
 marshal, and although she felt high esteem for 
 the general who had already shown himself a 
 brave man under the great Frederick, she did not 
 agree with the predilection he manifested for the 
 Emperor Napoleon and his invincible armies." 
 
 "A predilection," exclaimed Alexander, smil- 
 ing, " which I believe the field-marshal has not 
 yet got rid of, notwithstanding the experience 
 which Napoleon gained on the battle-fields of 
 Russia." 
 
 " On the same battle-fields on which your ma- 
 jesty gathered new laurels," said the king, bowing 
 slightly. 
 
 "And now there will spring up real laurel- 
 woods for your majesty here in Germany!" ex- 
 claimed the emperor. " The only question for us 
 now is, to find the right sort of gardener who 
 knows how to cultivate them. But, I repeat, 
 our thoughts are not suitable to this festival 
 Come, sire, permit me to offer you my arm aa 
 your cavalier, and to conduct you to the buffet, 
 for how exalted soever our position may be, we 
 must not forget that we are men, and that our 
 stomachs sometimes need food." 
 
 lie offered his arm to the Icing, and conducted 
 him to the small supper-hall adjoining the au- 
 dience-room. The gentlemen who were present 
 followed them, and the chamberlains hurried to 
 the sideboard to have supper served up to the two 
 sovereigns. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 THE APPOINTMENT. 
 
 ALEXANDER took a seat by the king's side at 
 the small table, loaded with a heavy gold service, 
 set for them alone near the door, which was cov- 
 ered with a heavy porttire, and led into the large 
 supper-hall. The emperor and the king had just , 
 
1Y6 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 put upon their plates some of the appetizing 
 pAte de foie gras which the master of ceremonies 
 himself had served up, and were proceeding like 
 other mortals to consume them with great relish. 
 The cavaliers, improving the opportune moment 
 of silence, stood about the room and partook of 
 the viands taken from the sideboard. Suddenly 
 this silence was interrupted by a voice which was 
 not uttered in the room itself, but swept through 
 it like the blast of a trumpet : " If this hesitation 
 and vacillation continue, all is lost ; and it would 
 then be better for us to throw ourselves imme- 
 diately at the feet of Bonaparte, and crave quar- 
 ter, than unnecessarily spill the precious blood of 
 the people, and at last submit. He who does not 
 advance goes backward without noticing it, and 
 he who is not courageous enough to attack, is 
 vanquished even before his adversary has forced 
 him to battle." 
 
 " Why," exclaimed Alexander, smiling, " these 
 are sentences that remind me of General Blu- 
 cher." 
 
 "Your majesty is right, it is his voice," said 
 the king ; " he will give vent to his indignation, 
 and, perhaps, at our expense. Let us not listen 
 to him." 
 
 "On the contrary, I beg your majesty's kind 
 permission to listen," said Alexander, pleasantly. 
 " There is in the words of the general something 
 that is as refreshing as a pure wind dispelling un- 
 healthy vapors. Ah, hear him, sire ; his tones 
 are roaring like a hurricane." 
 
 In fact, the voice in the adjoining room had 
 grown more violent, and the Emperor Alexan- 
 der was seated in such a manner that he could 
 distinctly hear every word uttered : 
 
 "What! you really believe it to be possible 
 that they will appoint Field-Marshal Kalkreuth 
 general-in-chief, and intrust our young and splen- 
 did army to him ? Great Heaven ! do they not 
 know, then, that Kalkreuth, however excellent a 
 man and brave a soldier he may be, is not fit to 
 confront Napoleon ? Is it not a matter of noto- 
 riety that the field-marshal loves and admires 
 Bonaparte, and that he considers a rupture with 
 France a great calamity for Prussia ? How could 
 
 he ever win a battle who could never look 
 straight forward at the battle-field, but would 
 squint sideways to see what faces Napoleon 
 would make, and whether he would not frown at 
 the audacity of the Prussians, who dare try to de- 
 feat the great Napoleon ? We need a man with a 
 direct look one who fixes both his eyes on the 
 object. We do not want any schielwippen I 
 They may all go to the mischief, for one never 
 knows what they are about I I repeat, we need a 
 man with a straight look ! " 
 
 "What is that? schielwippen?" inquired the 
 emperor, smiling. " I thought I had learned the 
 German language pretty thoroughly from my 
 mother and my wife, both of whom have the 
 honor of being natives of Germany, but I have 
 never heard this word from them. Pray, sire, 
 tell me what it means." 
 
 "I must confess that I do not understand it 
 either," said the king, shrugging his shoulders. 
 
 " General Scharnhorst ! " cried the emperor. 
 " Pray can you tell us what schielwippen means ? " 
 
 "Sire," said Scharnhorst, laughing, "it is a 
 slang term for a man who squints. General Blu- 
 cher likes to use the language of the people." 
 
 " Well, the Prussian people have recently used 
 such grand and magnificent language," said Al- 
 exander, " that we may say with heart-felt con- 
 viction, * Vox populi vox Dei ! ' and that it reflects 
 great credit on Blucher, if it is true that he 
 speaks like the people. But, hush ! what does 
 he say now ? " 
 
 "The cowards have brought all our misfortunes 
 upon us ! " thundered Blucher's powerful voice. 
 41 The hesitating men who always wish to patch 
 up and stop the holes, instead of tearing down 
 the old ruin and building a new house, are ou.- 
 curse, and have always involved Prussia in un 
 told calamities. When I think of them I would 
 like to have them here, to treat them as Jahn 
 treated the other day one of Jhe Turners at Ber- 
 lin. Do you know the story ? " 
 
 " No," shouted several voices, " we unfortu- 
 nately do not." 
 
 " Well, I will tell it to you. Jahu went with 
 his pupils down the Linden to the Brandenburg 
 
THE APPOINTMENT. 
 
 177 
 
 gate to perform the usual gymnastic exercises on 
 the drill-grounds outside the city. On the way 
 he happened to cast his eyes on the gate, where 
 the Victoria formerly stood, and which the French 
 stole and carried off to Paris. Jahn, like every 
 honest man who looks at the gate, felt his 
 heart swell with anger. He turned to the boy 
 who was marching by his side and asked him, 
 4 What stood formerly over the pillars of the 
 gate?' 'The Victoria,' said the boy. 'Where 
 is it now ? ' inquired Jahn. ' It is in Paris, where 
 the French carried it,' Jahn asked again, ' What 
 do you think when looking up to the vacant place 
 on the top of the gate ? ' Well,' said the boy, 
 with great composure, * what should I think ? I 
 think it is a pity that the Victoria is no longer 
 there.' And when he said so, Jahn lifted up his 
 hand and slapped the boy's face. ' You should 
 think that we will fetch back the Victoria, you 
 monkey ! ' he shouted. That is the whole story, 
 but I remember it whenever I see these dear 
 tame men who merely say, * It is a pity that we 
 have been so unfortunate ! ' and whose hearts 
 feel only a mild regret instead of the most ar- 
 dent revenge. And then my hand itches, and I 
 would like to lift it up, like Jahn, and slap their 
 faces." 
 
 "Your Blucher is a splendid hussar," said 
 Alexander, looking at the king. <: I believe it is 
 dangerous to stand before him when his htftid is 
 itching." 
 
 " Yea, his hand has been itching from the days 
 of Jena," exclaimed the king, smiling. " He has 
 been anxious to fight ever since. For this reason 
 I gave him the estate of Kunzendorf, and sent 
 him thither. I thought he would there quietly 
 cure himself; but it seems it was in vain; my 
 expectations have been disappointed. I believe 
 his hand is incurable." 
 
 "Your majesty, therefore, had better yield to 
 him, and allow him to fight," said Alexander, 
 almost entreatinglv. "The opportunity is excel- 
 lent at the present time. If you place him at the 
 head of the Silesian army, he will no longer slap 
 ;he faces of his friends and neighbors on the right 
 
 *nd left, but will rush forward and stretch out 
 12 
 
 h?s itching hand to deal the French terrible 
 blows." 
 
 " I am only afraid he would be too rash in his 
 wild hussar spirit," said the king, "and spoil 
 every thing by trying to tear down all barriers." 
 
 "A man should be placed by his side who 
 knows how to check his boldness," exclaimed 
 Alexander " a man who does not stifle Blucher'a 
 ardor, but gives it the true direction." 
 
 " But where shall we find such a one ? " 
 
 "I believe your majesty may find him close 
 by," said Alexander, pointing to Scharnhorst, 
 who was leaning against the portiere. 
 
 " Ah, sire," cried the king, almost merrily, " I 
 believe you are a magician, and understand my 
 most secret thoughts. Scharnhorst has a great 
 mind, and I owe him much. If he would take 
 upon himself that difficult and ungrateful part by 
 the side of Blucher, I believe the general's im- 
 petuosity would be less dangerous." 
 
 " Your majesty, please ask him whether he will 
 or not," said Alexander. 
 
 The king called Scharnhorst to his side. " You 
 have influence over General Blucher, have you 
 not ? " he asked, hastily. 
 
 " I may say, at least, your majesty, that Gen- 
 oral Blucher is convinced of my love and devo 
 tion, and that he confides a little in me." 
 
 " Could you make up your mind to occupy a 
 secondary position by his side, and, if I should 
 appoint Blucher general-in-chief of the Silesian 
 army, become his chief of staff? " 
 
 "Your majesty," exclaimed Scharnhorst, "I 
 would deem it a great honor to serve under the 
 heroic old man, and I am certain that with him I 
 would enter upon a glorious career, particularly 
 if your majesty should grant me a request." 
 
 "What is it? Speak!" 
 
 " If your majesty should condescend to place 
 General Gneisenau, who will arrive to-morrow, ai 
 quartermaster-general." 
 
 The king nodded. " You have selected a noble 
 companion," he said, smiling. 
 
 " It will be a splendid trefoil, it seems to me," 
 cried the emperor. " Blucher, Scharnhorst, and 
 Gneisenau ! They are three well-sounding names t 
 
178 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 
 But listen, sire, Blucher is still thundering. There 
 is a way to calm this tempest." 
 
 " What is it ? " asked the king, smiling. 
 
 " Your majesty ought to be so gracious as to 
 send for General Blucher, and tell him that you 
 wish to confer upon him the command-in-chief of 
 the Silesian army." 
 
 " You advise me to do so, sire ? " inquired the 
 king. " Your majesty, in counselling this, gives 
 up no wish ? " 
 
 "Yes, I do," said Alexander, smiling. "I 
 should wish to see General Tauentzien appointed 
 commauder-in-chief, just as your majesty probably 
 would prefer to bestow this position on Field- 
 Marshal Kalkreuth. Let us both, therefore, 
 sacrifice our wishes to the great object for which 
 I now believe Blucher to be the proper instru- 
 ment." 
 
 " So let it be, your majesty," exclaimed the 
 king. " I will send for Blucher." He beckoned 
 to Scharnhorst to approach again. " Pray go and 
 fetch your friend, General Blucher," said the 
 king, rising, like the emperor, from the table. 
 
 " An4 I beg leave, while the general goes into 
 the hall, to cast a glance into the next room, to 
 see what Blucher is doing," said the emperor. 
 " Now draw the portiere back, General Scharn- 
 horst, and stand there. In this way I am able to 
 survey the whole hall." 
 
 Scharnhorst, in accordance with the emperor's 
 order, opened the portiere and stood in it ; by 
 his side, shaded by the curtain, stood the emperor 
 and the king. Both gazed into the supper-hall, 
 which presented a highly animated spectacle. At 
 all the small tables sat the guests in attractive 
 groups, the ladies in their rich toilets, the gentle- 
 men in their brilliant uniforms. All were merry 
 and loquacious ; the choice delicacies had put 
 every one in good spirits; the fiery wine had 
 loosened all tongues. Even the eyes of the 
 ladies were sparkling with a higher lustre, and a 
 deeper crimson burned on their cheeks. But all 
 those merry faces turned frequently toward the 
 small table on one side of the hall near the por- 
 tiere. There sat General Blucher with his wife ; 
 several gentlemen were seated near him. On the 
 
 table stood one of the crystal bowls that had pre- 
 viously adorned the handsome sideboard, and 
 from this bowl, filled with an amber-colored 
 liquid, arose a delightful perfume. Blucher 
 seemed to inhale the fragrance with pleasure, 
 for an expression of infinite comfort beamed from 
 his features, and whenever he emptied his glasa 
 he seized the silver ladle that lay in the bowl, 
 and then drew his white mustache with a smile 
 of gratification through his fingers, while his eyes 
 surveyed the whole company with a flashing 
 glance. Then a shadow passed across his brow. 
 " We are highly elated to-day, because we are at 
 length to take up arms against our foe," he said ; 
 " we are overjoyed because we are to take our 
 revenge. And suppose every thing should again 
 turn out wrong ; suppose the cowards and the 
 schielwippen should, after all, remain at the helm? 
 Great Heaven ! the very idea maddens me ! For 
 I know them ! I know that they will ruin every 
 thing. At the decisive moment they are vacil- 
 lating, and, in order to dishearten others, too, 
 they exaggerate the strength of the enemy a hur - 
 dred-fold, and belittle our own resources in the 
 same proportion. Would that Heaven were t) 
 decree, ' Blucher shall command the Prussians ! ' 
 Good Lord, I pledge Thee my head that I woul 1 
 expel Bonaparte with all his French from Ger- 
 many, though I had but thirty thousand soldie 
 behind me !"* 
 
 "Now call him in, general," whispered Alex- 
 ander. Scharnhorst stepped into the hall. The 
 king and the emperor left the supper-hall and re- 
 turned into the audience-room. 
 
 A few minutes afterward Blucher entered, fol- 
 lowed by Scharnhorst, who remained at the door, 
 while Blucher advanced boldly toward the two 
 sovereigns. 
 
 "Your majesty was so gracious as to send for 
 me," he said, bowing to the king. 
 
 "Yes," said the king, gravely. "I wish to 
 sisk you whether you belong to the vacillating 
 cowards, or whether you are a whole man ? " 
 
 
 * Blucher's words. Vide Varnhagca, 
 Cher,'' p. 186. 
 
 Life of 
 
* t: j~> 
 
 ^ 
 
 I swear to your uiajcsiy, upon my houor, that I will hurl Bouaparie from his throne." 
 
 p. 179. 
 
THE APPOINTMENT. 
 
 170 
 
 H And I," exclaimed Alexander, pathetically 
 1 1 wish to request you to confess whether you 
 are al-*o a schiclwippe ? " 
 
 Blucher looked at the two sovereigns with a 
 gloomy, inquiring glance. But suddenly his face 
 brightened, and a smile played round his lips. 
 " Ah," he cried, " I understand ! Your majesties 
 have overheard my prattle, and have sent for me 
 to order me to be silent. But I cannot, your 
 majesties; I cannot! I must give vent to my 
 wrath, my vexation, and grief! I must be al- 
 lowed to scold, for if I did not I would be obliged 
 to weep, and it would be a disgrace for Blucher 
 to act like an old woman ! Let me scold, then, 
 your majesties ; it relieves my heart a little, and 
 my anger teaches me to forget my grief." 
 
 " You grieve, then, general ? " inquired Fred- 
 erick William, smiling. 
 
 " Yes, my lord and king, I do grieve intensely. 
 I should like to lay my complaint before your 
 majesty, and I will do so, too. I " 
 
 " Hush ! " interposed the king," hush, my 
 firebrand of seventy-one years ! First reply to 
 this question: would you like to be appointed 
 general-in-chief of the Silesian army ? " 
 
 " Would I like to be appointed general-in- 
 ehief?" cried Blucher, his eyes sparkling with 
 joy. " Your majesty, that is just as though you 
 a-k me whether I like to . ve any longer. For I 
 toll your majesty I will die at once rather than let 
 any one else have that position." 
 
 " Well, then," said the king, in a grave ~nd 
 dignified tone, " I appoint you general-in-chief of 
 the Silesian army. Do you accept the position ? " 
 Blucher uttered a cry, and his face brightened 
 as if lit up by a sunbeam. " I accept it," he ex- 
 claimed, " and here I swear to your majesty that I 
 ehall not lay down my command before Pru 
 again what she was prior to the battle of Jena, 
 and that I shall not sheathe my sword before we 
 have driven Napoleon beyond the Rhine, and 
 have made him so humble that he will never 
 again dare to cross it I swear to your majesty, 
 upon my honor, that I will hurl Bonaparte from 
 his throne that I will not rest before the crown 
 baa fallen from his head ! God has spared me 
 
 that I may chastise Napoleon ; He has told me 
 every night in my dreams, ' Do not despond, 
 do not lose heart ! Keep up thy courage and 
 thy confidence, for I shall soon need thee ! 
 Thou shalt soon cut Napoleon down from his 
 power, and throw him into the dust whence he 
 sprang.' And I have answered, * I am on hand, 
 and wait only for the struggle to begin.' Now 
 I say to your majesty what I then said, ' I am 
 on hand, and the struggle is to begin ! ' I have 
 sworn every day to chastise Bonaparte, and while 
 I live I shall thank your majesty for giving me an 
 opportunity. I am, then, general-in-chief of the 
 Silesian army ? " 
 
 "Yes, I appoint you, and his majesty the em- 
 peror approves my selection," said the king. 
 "All necessary directions, instructions, and or- 
 ders, you will receive to-morrow in writing. You 
 will immediately enter upon your office, and place 
 yourself at the head of the troops. Do you wish 
 to prefer requests and impose conditions ? " 
 
 " Yes, your majesty, I must impose two condi- 
 tions. In the first place, General Schanmore 
 must be my chief of staff, for Blucher is only half 
 a man when Scharnhorst is not with him. I have 
 the arm, he has the head ; therefore we must be 
 together." 
 
 "Your request is granted, and Scharnhorst 
 has already accepted the position," said the king, 
 smiling. 
 
 u Secondly, I must impose the condition that I 
 be allowed to leave Breslau to-morrow with my 
 Prussians, and advance toward Saxony." 
 
 " What ! You intend to start at once ? " cried 
 Alexander and Frederick William, in amazement. 
 
 " Yes, at once," said Blucher, with a joyful air. 
 " The years of waiting are past, and now comes 
 the day of vengeance. Like a thunderstorm we 
 must burst upon the French. Before they expect 
 us we must expel what troops of theirs remain in 
 Germany, dissolve the Confederation of the Rhine, 
 and by our bold exploits stir up all Germany that 
 she may rally round our flag, and form an enor- 
 mous army before Napoleon has concentrated his 
 newly-organized forces. That is our ta?k, and, 
 if it pleases God, we will fulfil it." 
 
 
180 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 AFTER THE BATTLE OF BAUTZEN. 
 
 FOB two days the battle bad been raging, and 
 even now, in the afternoon of the 22d of May, the 
 struggle was undecided. Blucher, who, with his 
 Prussians, occupied the heights of Kreckwitz, 
 near Bautzen, still hoped to achieve a victory. 
 For two days the Prussians and Russians fought 
 like lions along the extended line of battle ; they 
 engaged the hostile legions with undaunted cour- 
 age and joyful enthusiasm, regardless of the 
 scorching heat, hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. 
 During these days Blucher was constantly in the 
 midst of his troops. Where the shower of bul- 
 lets was thickest, where the danger was most im- 
 minent, his voice was heard inciting the soldiers ; 
 where the enemy approached with his most for- 
 midable columns, Blucher stood with his faithful 
 companion Gneisenau at the head of his Prus- 
 sians, brandishing his sword, advancing with ex- 
 ulting cheers upon the enemy, and causing him 
 to retreat. 
 
 The heights of Kreckwitz had to be held till 
 General Barclay de Tolly, with his Russians, 
 would arrive, and Generals York and Kleist, 
 with their Prussians, to cover Blucher's left flank, 
 which was threatened by Marshal Ney. The 
 booming of cannon was incessant. The Russians 
 stood like a wall, and when the front ranks were 
 swept down, others took their places ; the living 
 stepped over the dying, undaunted, and remem- 
 bering only one thing that they had to take re- 
 venge for the lost battle of Lutzen.* 
 
 " Boys," shouted Blucher to his soldiers, just 
 as the balls of the enemy struck down whole 
 ranks, " boys, remember that we have resolved 
 to sabre the French. They have exhausted the 
 soil of Germany, we must fertilize it with French 
 corpses. Remember Gross-Gorschen, where they 
 wounded our General Scharnhorst. We must 
 chastise them for that, and capture a few French 
 
 * Fought May 2, 1813. The French call this battle 
 that of Lutzen ; the Germans generally that of Gross- 
 Gorschen. Both sides claimed a victory. But the latest 
 German historians, especially Beitzke, admit that the 
 Germans were defeated. 
 
 generals.* We must get at least four of their 
 marshals in return for General Scharnhorst, for 
 the fellows are light, and four of them do not 
 weigh as much as one Scharnhorst. Now, tell 
 me, shall we get those four French marshals ? " 
 
 " Yes, Father Blucher, yes ! " shouted the Prus- 
 sians, jubilantly. " Long live Father Blucher ! " 
 
 " Only a little longer, and the day is ours ! " 
 cried Gneisenau, in a ringing voice. " The legions 
 of Marshal Ney are charging again, but General 
 Barclay, with his Russians, has occupied the 
 Windmill-knoll, near Gleime, and will repulse him 
 as we shall Napoleon's columns. The heights of 
 Kreckwitz are the Thermopylae of the Prussians, 
 and we will fall to a man rather than surrender ! " 
 
 "Yes, that we will do!" cried the officers, 
 enthusiastically, and the soldiers echoed their 
 shouts. 
 
 At this moment a terrific cannonade resounded 
 on the right wing of the Prussian troops. " There 
 are the French ! " exclaimed Blucher. " Boys, 
 now bring in those marshals ! " The cannon 
 roared, the muskets rattled, and, as though 
 heaven desired to participate in this struggle of 
 the nations, the thunder rolled, and flashes of 
 lightning darted into the clouds of battle-smoke. 
 
 But who was galloping up suddenly on a 
 charger covered with foam, his hair fluttering in 
 the breeze, and his face pale and terrified ? It 
 was a Prussian colonel, and still he does not join 
 in the exultation of his countrymen. He ap- 
 proached Generals Blucher and Gneisenau. 
 
 " Halloo ! Lieutenant-Colonel von Muffling," 
 shouted Blucher, " are you back ? Do you bring 
 us greetings from Barclay de Tolly ? Has he 
 finished the French ? Well, we are just about to 
 recommence our work here the last work for 
 to-day." 
 
 "General," cried Muffling, anxiously, "the 
 French will soon have finished Barclay de Tolly, 
 and defeated us ! For he is unable to hold out. 
 
 * General Scharnhorst was wounded at the battle of 
 Gross-GGrschen by Bluchcr's side. He believed his wound 
 was not dangerous, but he left the headquarters to be 
 cured. He went at first to Altenburg, and then to Prague, 
 to attend the peace congress. His wound reopened. an<f 
 he died at Prague on the 20th of June. J81&. 
 
AFTER THE BATTLE OF BAUTZEN. 
 
 181 
 
 He has only fifty thousand men, and Key is at- 
 tacking him with a much larger force. Barclay 
 Bends me for reenforcements, and if we do not 
 strengthen his line, he cannot maintain himself 
 on the Windmill-knoll. In a quarter of an hour 
 it will be in Ney's hunds." 
 
 " No ; in a quarter of an hour Ney will be in 
 our hands," shouted Blucher, confidently. " Ney 
 is a marshal, and we must have him ! Boys," he 
 cried, drawing himself up in his stirrups, .and 
 looking back toward his troops u boys, we must 
 have Marshal Ney, must we not ? " 
 
 " Yes, Father Blucher, we must have Marshal 
 Ney!" 
 
 Heaven responded with a loud clap of thunder, 
 the earth was shaken by the booming of the can- 
 non, the air was rent by the cheers of the living, 
 and the groans and imprecations of the wounded 
 and dying. Blucher still stood with his Prus- 
 sians on the heights of Kreckwitz, his face ra- 
 diant with enthusiasm, his eye flashing with 
 courage ; but a warning adviser stood by his 
 siie. 
 
 " General," whispered Muffling, " we are lost 
 if we remain here longer. We must retreat." 
 
 " Retreat ! " cried Blucher, in an angry voice, 
 and a clap of thunder burst at that moment. 
 
 Miiffling pointed silently down into the plain, 
 and over to the Windmill-knoll. " Look yonder ! 
 Napoleon is advancing directly upon our front, 
 the Windmill-knoll is evacuated, Barclay has 
 gone, and the Russians are routed ! " 
 
 " But we still stand," cried Blucher, triumph- 
 antly, " and we shall stand in spite of Napoleon 
 and the devil ! And, then, we are not without 
 gupport. The Russian artillery attached to our 
 corpft is thundering against the enemy, and York 
 and Kleist are covering our left wing." 
 
 " But, general, listen ! The Russian artillery is 
 less rapidly; General Kleist is no longer 
 able to cover our left wing, for the sovereigns 
 have sent him to Bairuth to cover Barclay's flank ; 
 and as for York, he was unable to prevent the 
 enemy from placing a battery near Basantwitz. 
 I saw it when I rode hither. We are, therefore, 
 in a triple cross-fire." And, as though the enemy 
 
 n 
 finng 
 
 intended to confirm these warning words, the 
 cannon flashed from three sides, and hurled their 
 balls into the ranks of the Prussians. 
 
 The flush of hoped-for victory paled in Blu- 
 cher's face ; Gneisenau grew grave and gloomy. 
 The staff came nearer to their chieftain, and tried 
 to read his thoughts in his eyes. The jubilant 
 shouts of the soldiers were hushed ; heaven was 
 still thundering, and in the distance burning vil- 
 lages, like gigantic torches, lit up the landscape, 
 and shed a blood-red lustre over the gray sky. 
 Blucher looked around in silence ; his lip quiv- 
 ered, his eyebrows contracted, and large drops of 
 cold perspiration stood on his forehead. Gneise- 
 nau was by his side, gloomy and taciturn, like his 
 chieftain. Behind them halted the staff-officers, 
 mournful as their leaders, for now every one rec- 
 ognized the danger, and knew that, if they re- 
 mained at the "Thermopylae of Prussia," they 
 would have to defend themselves to the last man, 
 or lay down their arms, because, as soon as the 
 enemy closed up the fourth side, escape would be 
 impossible.* 
 
 On the other side of Blucher halted Colonel 
 Muffling, who had brought back such calamitous 
 tidings from his reconnoissance. He pointed 
 silently to the French columns of Marshal Ney, 
 that just commenced climbing the heights, and 
 then pulled out his watch. "We have fifteen 
 minutes left," he said, in a loud, solemn voice, 
 " fifteen minutes to extricate ourselves from the 
 noose. Afterward we shall be hemmed in. If 
 we do not improve the time the cowards will sur- 
 render, and the brave die fighting to the last, 
 but unfortunately without promoting in the least 
 the welfare of the fatherland." f 
 
 Blucher did not reply, gazing down with a 
 sombre eye on the enemy, coming up in increas- 
 ing masses. The cannon of the French, firing 
 from three sides, spoke a disheartening language. 
 Tlie Russian batteries had ceased firing, for their 
 ammunition was exhausted. 
 
 " Gneisenau," asked Blucher at last, in 
 
 * Muffling:, u Aus ineinem Leben,' 1 p. 42. 
 t Muffling'* words. Ibid, p. 48, 
 
182 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 
 hollow voice, and sighing, as though a stone 
 weighed down his breast, " Gneisenau, what do 
 you say ? " 
 
 " I must admit that Lieutenant -Colonel von 
 Muffling is right," sighed Gneisenau. " Under 
 the present circumstances all further bloodshed 
 will be useless, and it is our bounden duty to 
 preserve our men for a better opportunity. We 
 must hasten to retreat."* 
 
 A single savage imprecation burst from Blu- 
 cher's lips, but only the nearest bystanders heard 
 it, for it was drowned by the roar of artillery and 
 the thunder of heaven. With a quick jerk he 
 drew his cap over his forehead, so that his eyes 
 were shaded those eyes which had flashed so 
 defiantly, but which were now dim, who could 
 say whether from the rain that was pouring down, 
 or the smoke of battle, or from despairing tears ? 
 He slowly turned toward the gentlemen of his 
 Btaff. " We must descend, therefore, from the 
 heights," he said, in a harsh voice. " Forward ! 
 March down the turnpike toward Weissenberg. 
 Make the enemy at least pay dearly for compel- 
 ling us to retreat. Let the cavalry advance, cov- 
 ering our retreat, and let not a single man or 
 standard fall into the hands of the French ! Come, 
 gentlemen, listen to what I have still to say to 
 you." 
 
 The quarter of an hour allowed by Muffling had 
 not yet elapsed when the Prussians commenced 
 slowly descending the heights of Kreckwitz, and 
 marching down the turnpike toward Weissen- 
 berg. Blucher had ridden from the position at a 
 brisk trot, with Gneisenau and the officers of his 
 staff, and galloped a short distance along the 
 level valley-road; then halting suddenly, and, 
 turning his horse, he looked up to the heights, 
 from which the Prussians were descending in 
 perfect order, but in gloomy silence. " This is 
 the second time we have been obliged to retreat," 
 said Blucher, mournfully, " the second time that 
 Bonaparte is luckier than we are; the block- 
 heads will now say again that Bonaparte is invin- 
 cible, and that they are fools who resist him, God 
 
 * Gnelsenau's words. Ibid., p. 43. 
 
 being on his side, and fortune never forsaking 
 him. But I say it is false ; the good God is not 
 on his side, but the devil is, and fortune is only 
 lulling him to sleep, to plunge him the surer and 
 deeper into the abyss. But it is true, neverthe- 
 less, that this is the second battle we have lost. 
 and the second time that we are obstructed in 
 our advance. But I swear here and may Heaven 
 record my oath ! that this shall be the last time 
 that,I fall back ; that I will specially pay Bona- 
 parte for my grief and anxiety for the past month, 
 and that I will bring him as much trouble as one 
 man can to another. What a fearful account 
 Bonaparte has to settle with me ! how much he 
 has to pay me ! But, no matter ; my sword ia 
 sharp, and will surely erase one item of his in- 
 debtedness after another. From this day I will 
 begin. Will you lend me your assistance, gen- 
 tlemen ? " 
 
 "Yes," replied the officers of his staff, "we 
 will ! " 
 
 " Well, then it is all right," said Blucher, nod- 
 ding ; " from to-day M. Napoleon had better be- 
 ware of me. Hitherto, I have only hated him ; 
 now I abhor him, and the word backward exists 
 no longer for me and my Prussians ! " He quickly 
 galloped up to his troops. "Well, boys," he 
 cried, " the heights of Kreckwitz are of no use to 
 us, and it is better for us, therefore, to descend 
 from them, and leave them to Bonaparte, who 
 may put them into his pocket, if it affords him 
 pleasure ; but henceforth let us reverse matters, 
 and put him into our pocket and keep him warm ; 
 otherwise, he might feel cold again, as be did in 
 Russia. Forward now, boys; forward! And as 
 we are now moving, I am sure you see that we do 
 not move backward ; he who asserts that we are 
 retreating is a blockhead. Forward ! " 
 
 But whatever Blucher said how plausibly so- 
 ever he tried to represent to his troops that they 
 were not retreating, but advancing it was unfor- 
 tunately but too true that the battle of Bautzen 
 was lost, and that the Prussians and Russians 
 were obliged to fall back. It is true, they did so 
 in excellent order, but they retreated, and Na- 
 poleon could boast of a new victory on German soil 
 
AFTER THE BATTLE OF BAUTZEX. 
 
 18S 
 
 The whole army of the allies commenced re- 
 Ireating about dusk on the same day, and turned 
 again toward Silesia. The troops marched sul- 
 lenly, and sombre too were the faces of the two 
 sovereigns, the Emperor Alexander and King 
 Frederick William. Full of hope that they would 
 achieve a victory, they had taken the field with 
 their troops; but now their hopes were blasted, 
 and they were compelled to return whence they 
 had set out. 
 
 While the troops were marching down the wide 
 highways, the two sovereigns, preceding their 
 forces, took a short cut to Reichenbach. They 
 were alone ; only two footmen followed them at 
 gome distance ; not a vestige of their earthly great- 
 ness surrounded them. They were both silent ; 
 slowly riding along, the king looked grave, while 
 the emperor frequently turned his eyes, with an 
 expression of mournful emotion, upon his friend, 
 or raised them heavenward with an entreating 
 glance. Silence reigned around ; only at a great 
 distance was heard the dull rumbling of wagons, 
 and here and there on the horizon still flickered 
 the burning ruins of a village. 
 
 For some time they thus rode side by side, 
 when the king stopped his horse. " There must 
 change ! " he exclaimed, in a tone of grief 
 despair. " We are moving eastward, but we 
 must advance westward." 
 
 " We must all move eastward," said the em- 
 peror, in a deep, fervent tone; "from the east 
 cam our salvation; eastward, therefore, every 
 good Christian turns his face whenever he prays 
 for assistance and redemption." 
 
 The king, perhaps, did not hear these words, 
 for he made no reply, but looked moody and 
 thoughtful. Both did not notice that the sky 
 had brightened, and that the sun in its splendor 
 as shedding its setting beams. It was a beautiful 
 ening. The earth, refreshed by the rain, ex- 
 haled sweet odors ; the air was fresh and balmy, 
 and the blooming nVliJs waved as a gentle sea. 
 The sovereigns were too much concerned with 
 themselves to be attracted by the beauties of out- 
 ward nature. Their eyes were turned inward. 
 "Oh," resumed the king, after a pause, "what 
 
 =2 
 
 TV a 
 
 ev< 
 
 Kol 
 
 will be the end of all this ? Were not they right 
 who cautioned me against this war, and pointed 
 to Napoleon's luck in order to prevent me from 
 entering upon it? Have not my troops done all 
 that can be demanded of human strength ? Have 
 they not braved with heroic resolution all fatigues 
 and privations, and behaved in battle with un- 
 surpassed valor? Have not the Russians also 
 manifested the noblest devotion, and the most in 
 trepid constancy? And still our armies have 
 been defeated in two pitched battles and still 
 we are retreating ? What have we to hope for? 
 What new resources have we? May we still 
 hope for the accession of Austria to our alli- 
 ance ? " 
 
 He uttered these questions in an undertone and 
 thoughtfully, as if to himself, and forgetful of the 
 presence of another who could hear him. When 
 the emperor, therefore, replied to him, Frederick 
 William gave a start, and raised his head almost 
 in surprise. 
 
 " No," said the emperor, gravely " no, we 
 must not count on Austria ; or, if you please, not 
 yet. The mission of Count Stadion ought to have 
 proved this to us. They sent their diplomatist 
 to treat with us that, in case of a victory, we 
 might not consider Austria, too, as our enemy. 
 Now, that we have not been victorious, Count 
 Stadion will undoubtedly leave our headquarters, 
 repair to those of Napoleon, and assure him ot 
 the most faithful and sincere devotion of Austria. 
 Austria desires only negotiation to fight with 
 words, not with the sword." 
 
 " But, without Austria," cried the king, vehe- 
 mently, " we are too weak ! Oh, at times it seems 
 to me as though no human strength were able to 
 accomplish any thing against the surpassing ge- 
 nius of Napoleon, and as though God alone, who 
 made him so great, and raised him so high, could 
 humble him ! We have done all that men could 
 do, but it is all in vain ! He has conquered ! " 
 
 " But we have made him purchase his victories 
 very dearly," said Alexander, " and if we yielded, 
 it was at least with honor. None of our battalions 
 were dispersed, and I believe the number of pris- 
 oners is about the same on both sides. On the 
 
184 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCDER. 
 
 whole, nothing is lost as yet, and with God's help 
 we will soon do better." 
 
 "Yes, but only with God's help," cried the 
 King; " we need it above all; without it we are 
 lost." 
 
 ** But God is with us," exclaimed Alexander, 
 enthusiastically, "I know it ; I have gained this 
 finn conviction ever since the great and terrible 
 days of Moscow and the Beresina. God sent me 
 those days of trial and terror that I might be- 
 lieve and now I do believe. Until then I was 
 a man enthralled by worldly doubts, relying 
 upon my own strength, and rejoicing, not with- 
 out vanity, in my earthly greatness. I thought 
 of God, I loved Him, but He did not fill my 
 whole soul I pursued my own path, and di- 
 verted myself. But the conflagration of Moscow 
 illuminated my mind, and the judgment of the 
 Lord on the ice-fields filled my heart with a 
 fervor of faith which it had never felt until 
 then. With the flames of the holy city the hand 
 of God wrote on the reddened sky, 'I am the 
 Lo-d thy God ! ' With the rivers of blood flow- 
 ing from the grand army of the French, the finger 
 of the Lord wrote on the snow-fields, ' Thou shalt 
 have no other gods before me ! ' Since then there 
 is a wonderful joy, an indescribable humility, 
 and an immovable faith in my heart since then 
 I have become another man. To the deliverance 
 01 Europe from utter ruin I owe my own soul's 
 salvation." * 
 
 " It is He alone who is able to deliver us," said 
 the king, profoundly moved ; " I bow my head in 
 humility, and confess that we are nothing without 
 Him. May He send us His support ! " 
 
 "He will," exclaimed Alexander, fervently; 
 " God will be with us, for we are engaged in a 
 just cause ! " 
 
 " Yes, it is just," responded Frederick William, 
 with deep emotion, and, slowly raising his eyes, 
 he whispered, " Pray for us, Louisa, that we may 
 conquer ! " 
 
 Both were silent, and, with pious emotion, 
 they lifted their hearts to heaven. Suddenly a 
 
 * The emperor's words. Vide Eylert, "Frederick 
 William III " vol., ii, p. 248. 
 
 joyful gleam kindled the face of the king, and, 
 offering his hand to Alexander, he said in a deeply- 
 moved tone, " We must not despond, but cour- 
 ageously continue the struggle. If God, as I hope, 
 bless our united efforts, we will profess before 
 the whole world that the glory belongs to Him 
 alone." * 
 
 ; 'Yes," cried Alexander, putting his right 
 hand into that of his friend. "Let us not be 
 ashamed to declare that the glory belongs to 
 God. And now, my friend," exclaimed the em- 
 peror, when they halted, "let us repair to our 
 headquarters, and hold a council of war with our 
 generals." 
 
 "Very well," replied Frederick William ; "let 
 us examine the strength of our forces, and see 
 what ought to be done. The battle of Bautzen 
 must not be the end of this war." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 BAD NEWS. 
 
 A MOMENT of repose had interrupted the great 
 contest. Napoleon had offered an armistice to the 
 allies prior to the battle of Bautzen ; they re- 
 jected it, full of confidence in their strength. After 
 the battle of Bautzen, the offer was repeated, and 
 accepted. Time was needed for levying additional 
 troops, organizing new regiments, and concen- 
 trating new corps. But Napoleon, deceived by 
 his victories, relying on his good luck, and on the 
 mistakes of his enemies, was fully satisfied that 
 this armistice was but the forerunner of peace ; 
 and that the allies, warned by the two lost battles, 
 would be eager to accept any peace not altogether 
 dishonorable. The negotiations were opened at 
 Prague. France, Prussia, and Russia, sent their 
 plenipotentiaries to that city; and Austria, having 
 taken upon herself the part of a mediator, in- 
 structed her envoy, Minister Metternich, to parti- 
 cipate in the congress. The armistice was from 
 
 * The king's words. Vide Eylert, " Frederick WU 
 Ham HI., 1 ' vc.. ii., p. 24& 
 
BAD NEWS. 
 
 185 
 
 ihe 4th of June to the 24th of July time enough 
 for agreeing on a peace equally advantageous to 
 both sides time enough, too, in case it should 
 not be concluded, to concentrate the armies and 
 bring reinforcements from France. 
 
 So soon as the armistice was signed, Napoleon 
 returned to Dresden, to await there the result of 
 the negotiations. At the Marcolini Palace the 
 emperor again established his headquarters ; but 
 no brilliant festivals were given, as previous to 
 his expedition to Russia ; the kings and princes 
 of Germany did not gather round the powerful 
 conqueror. The Emperor of Austria remained 
 quietly but sullenly at Vienna ; the King of Prus- 
 sia was at Reichenbach, and was now the enemy 
 of Napoleon, and all the princes of the German 
 Confederation of the Rhine, who, but a year be- 
 fore, were humble courtiers of Napoleon, kept 
 aloof "in morose silence, or refused obedience to 
 their former master, and raised difficulties when 
 called upon to furnbh new troops and open ad- 
 ditional resources. None of them came to offer 
 homage to him whom they had just feared as the 
 most powerful ruler in the world. Only the old, 
 feeble King of Saxony (who, at the commence- 
 ment of the war had fled with his millions, and 
 the diamonds of the Green Vault, to Plauen, in the 
 most remote corner of his territories), * returned 
 at the rather imperious request of Napoleon to 
 Dresden. The emperor dined with him sometimes, 
 but only in the most intimate family circle, and 
 without any outward splendor ; at night he went 
 to the French theatre, which had been ordered to 
 Dresden during the armistice. Sometimes, his 
 favorites, the ladies Mars and Georges, and the 
 great Talma, were allowed to sup with the em- 
 peror after the performance, and the beautiful 
 Mars, the impassioned fervor of the gifted 
 Georges, and the conversation of the no less 
 genial than adroit Talma, succeeded in dispelling 
 the emperor's discontent But no sooner was he 
 alone with his thoughts, his labors, his plans, 
 than his countenance assumed its sombre expres- 
 Thus days and weeks elapsed, and the 
 
 " Ixjbensbilder," vol. ill., p. 466. 
 
 congress was still assembled at Prague; the end 
 of the armistice was drawing nigh, and the pleni- 
 potentiaries liaJ not yet been able to agree on the 
 conditions of peace. 
 
 It was on the morning of the 28th of June. 
 Napoleon had just finished his breakfast, and en- 
 tered his map-room to conceive there the plans 
 of future campaigns, when the door of the recep- 
 tion-room opened, and Minister Maret, Duke de 
 Bassano, came in. Maret belonged to the few 
 men in whom his master placed implicit con- 
 fidence, and whose fidelity he never doubted; to 
 those who had at all times free access to him, 
 and were permitted to enter his apartments with- 
 out being announced. Nevertheless, his arrival 
 seemed to surprise Napoleon. Never before had 
 the duke entered his room at so early an hour, 
 for he knew well that the emperor, engaged in ex- 
 amining his maps and devising plans, did not like 
 to be disturbed. It was undoubtedly something 
 unusual that induced the Duke de Bassano to 
 come to him at such a time. 
 
 Napoleon cast a quick glance on Maret's face. 
 Standing up beside the map-table, and leaning his 
 hand upon it, he asked, vehemently, " Well, Ma- 
 ret, what is it ? " 
 
 " Sire, I have come only to deliver to your ma- 
 jesty a few letters which the courier has just 
 brought from Paris," said the duke, handing him 
 some sealed packages. 
 
 " Is a letter from the empress among them ? " 
 asked Napoleon, hastily. 
 
 " Yes, sire." 
 
 The emperor had already found it, and, throw- 
 ing the others upon the table, he hastily opened 
 the one from his wife and read it. His face, 
 which until then had been so stern and gloomy, 
 gradually assumed a milder and kindlier expres- 
 sion. 
 
 "Ah, dear Louisa," he said, when he had read 
 it, "how affectionately she writes, how she is 
 yen rning for me, and how well she knows how to 
 tfll me of the King of Rome, who is constantly 
 inquiring for his father, and every night, when he 
 goes to bed, calls aloud, 'Dear papa emperor 
 come back soon I ' " 
 
186 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLtJCHER. 
 
 "A call, sire, in which, I am satisfied, all 
 France joins," said Maret, quickly. 
 
 " Ah ! " exclaimed the emperor, contemptuous- 
 ly shrugging bis shoulders, " I know well that 
 France that even my marshals join in it, cot 
 from any devotion to myself, but because they 
 want peace. The little King of Rome, however, 
 is longing for me, and the empress, too, is wish- 
 ing for my return, without caring much whether 
 there is war or peace. These two love me ! Ah, 
 what a happy family would we three be if a last- 
 ing peace could be established ! I am tired of 
 war; like all of you, I am yearning to return 
 home, and to enjoy a little the fruits of our nu- 
 merous victories." 
 
 " Sire," said Maret, in a low, entreating voice, 
 " it is easy for your majesty to do so, and to re- 
 store peace to Europe." 
 
 " Do you wish also to join in the nonsense as- 
 serted by the fools ? " asked Napoleon, sharply ! 
 " Always the same air the same strain ! You 
 at least, Maret, ought not to sing it, for you 
 alone are aware of the proposals and negotiations 
 between me and my enemies, and should know 
 that it does not depend on me alone to restore 
 peace, but that I shall, perhaps, only be he who 
 must receive it." 
 
 "Still, sire, a few concessions on the part of 
 your majesty would be sufficient to bring about 
 peace," Maret ventured to say. 
 
 "What do you mean?" inquired Napoleon, 
 whose voice now assumed an angry tone. " Do 
 you intend to intimate, by your longing for con 
 cessions, that I should submit to the disgraceful 
 and humiliating terms on which Austria gives me 
 hopes of her further friendship and alliance ? 
 She dares ask of me the restoration of Illyria and 
 the territory annexed to the grand-duchy of War- 
 saw ; she demands for Prussia the evacuation of 
 her fortresses, the restitution of Dantzic, and the 
 restoration of the whole sea-shore of Northern 
 Germany. And Austria, in making these propo- 
 sals to me, in her equivocal part as mediator, does 
 not do so with the friendliness of an ally, but she 
 dares to threaten me, to say to me, * If France 
 does not accept, Austria will be obliged to side I 
 
 with the enemies of France, and make common 
 cause with them.' I am ready to make peace, 
 but I shall die sword in hand rather than sign 
 conditions forced upon me. I will negotiate, but 
 will not allow them to dictate laws to me.' " * 
 
 " Sire, none would dare dictate laws to your 
 majesty. On the contrary, Austria will be glad 
 if you merely declare that you are ready to nego 
 tiate, and she will not have much to ask. She 
 will be content if you restore Illyria to her ; and 
 I am convinced of it, never will the Emperor 
 Francis ally himself seriously with the enemies 
 of his son-in-law." 
 
 " But the Emperor Francis is not his cabinet," 
 exclaimed Napoleon. "I might, perhaps, repose 
 confidence in the personal attachment of my 
 father-in-law, but this could not blind me to the 
 policy of his cabinet. This policy never changes. 
 Treaties of alliance and marriages may somewhat 
 retard its course, but never deflect it. Austria 
 never renounces what she was compelled to cede. 
 When she is weaker than her enemy, she resorts 
 to peace, but this is always only an armistice for 
 her, and, in signing it, she thinks of a new war. 
 Such has been hrr conduct during the long series 
 of years during which I have been fighting and 
 negotiating with her. When closely pressed, she 
 always accepted peace, and offered me her hand 
 for the conclusion of an alliance ; but whenever 
 a reverse befell me, she withdrew her hand and 
 broke the alliance. Now believing that she sees 
 her own interest, she immediately resumes a hos- 
 tile attitude toward me. She will open the passes 
 of Bohemia to the allies, and thereby permit them 
 to turn the positions of the French army, attack 
 us in the rear, and cut us off from France. In a 
 word, Austria is unable to forget any thing ! She 
 will remain our enemy, not only so long as she 
 has losses to make up, but so long as the power 
 of France might threaten her with new humilia- 
 tions. This instinct of jealousy is more powerful 
 than her attachment; she will always strive to 
 aggrandize herself and to weaken France, and if I 
 should grant her Illyria to-day, she would, per- 
 
 * Napoleon's words. Vide Beitzke, vol. L, p. 560. 
 
BAD NEWS. 
 
 187 
 
 haps, to-morrow claim the whole of Lombardy, 
 and her former provinces in the Netherlands.* 
 Do not deceive yourself about it, Maret, and do 
 not think that Austria wants peace with us be- 
 cause the Emperor Francis is my father-in-law. 
 I must dictate peace to them sword in hand, and 
 then they will hasten to remind me that I am the 
 son-in-law of the emperor, and in consideration 
 of this relationship they will ask of me favorable 
 terms." 
 
 " But this, it seems to me, is the very situation 
 in which your majesty is placed now," exclaimed 
 Maret. " Your majesty has recently achieved two 
 new victories." 
 
 "But -what victories!" said Napoleon, gloom- 
 ily ; " they have cost me as many soldiers as the 
 enemy, and procured me no advantages. I had 
 hoped to gain many trophies ; but in the battles 
 of Lutzen and Bautzen not a cannon, not a flag, 
 but a few insignificant prisoners fell into our 
 hands. After two dreadful massacres, we have 
 obtained no results whatever and those men 
 have not left me a single nail to pick up. f They 
 are no longer the soldiers of Jena, you may be 
 sure of it, Maret ; another spirit animates them 
 and their commanders. The Prussians fought 
 like lions in those battles, and their commander, 
 General Blucher, is like a chieftain in the Iliad. 
 lie is at the same time a general and a private 
 soldier, a madcap and a Ulysses. The army 
 loves him, and the king confides in him. He 
 hates me, and has an excellent memory for his 
 defeats of Auerstadt and Lubeck, and wants to 
 take revenge for them." 
 
 " But it is unnecessary for Russia to take re- 
 venge," said Maret. 
 
 "Yes," murmured Napoleon, gloomily. "On 
 her snow-fields I lost my army, and perhaps also 
 my luck. But, no matter ; I shall struggle on to 
 the end, and compel Fortune to become again my 
 friend, that I may do without other allies. She 
 surely owes me attachment and fidelity, for have 
 
 not again paid her a he.ivy tribute? was it not 
 
 Napoleon's words. Vide " The Emperor Francis and 
 
 ilch," p. 60. 
 t Napoleon's words. Constant, vol. v. 
 
 necessary for me to act like Polycrates to keep 
 out of bad luck ? He sacrificed only a ring to 
 the gods, while I sacrificed two friends to For- 
 tune, and one of them my best friend Duroc. 
 The victory of Lutzen cost me Bessieres ; that ol 
 Bautzen, Duroc. It was a heavy sacrifice, Maret ; 
 my heart is still bleeding in consequence of it, 
 and this wound will never heal." 
 
 Maret made no reply, but turned his head aside, 
 and his face had a strange expression of uneasi- 
 ness and embarrassment. 
 
 Napoleon noticed it, and slightly shrugged hia 
 shoulders. " You think that I grow sentimental, 
 duke," he said, rudely, " and you mean that my 
 long military experience should have rendered 
 me insensible to such accidents. You are right ; 
 let us refer to them no more. Let us rather read 
 what the courier has brought." 
 
 He stretched out his hand for the other letters, 
 and took up the first one without looking at it 
 When he saw the superscription, his face bright- 
 ened, and, fixing a quick, reproachful glance upon 
 Maret, he said : " Fate is less rigorous than you 
 are, Maret. It reminds me that faithful friends 
 still remain, and that all the companions of 
 my youth are not yet dead. There is a letter 
 from Junot ! He is one of my faithful friends ! " 
 Opening it, he read hastily, and his face darkened. 
 " Maret," he cried, in an angry voice, " read see 
 what Junot dares write to me ! " He handed 
 the letter to Maret. " Read it aloud," he cried, 
 "otherwise I shall be afraid lest my eyes deceive 
 me, and I mistake his words. Not the commence- 
 ment, but the last page is what I want to hear." 
 
 Maret read in a tremulous voice : " ' I, who love 
 your majesty with the fervor which the savage 
 feels for the sun I, who belong to you with body 
 and soul must tell you the truth ; and this is : 
 we must wage an eternal war for you, but I will 
 do so no more ! I want peace ! I want at length 
 to be able to rest my weary head and aching 
 limbs in my house, in the midst of my family, to 
 enjoy their devotion, and no longer to be a stranger 
 to them to enjoy what I have purchased with a. 
 treasure that is more precious than all the riohea 
 of India with my blood, with the blood of a man 
 
188 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER 
 
 
 of honor, a good Frenchman, a true patriot. 
 Well, then, I ask I demand the repose that I 
 have purchased by twenty-two years of active ser- 
 vice, and by seventeen wounds, from which my 
 blood has welled, first for my country, and then 
 for your glory. It is enough ! my country needs 
 repose, and your glory is as radiant as the sun. I 
 repeat, therefore, I want peace. I speak in the 
 name of all your marshals and generals, in the 
 name of your army, in the name of all France : 
 we demand peace ; give it to us, then ! JUNOT, 
 Duke d'Abrantes. ' " * 
 
 " Well ! " inquired Napoleon, when Maret had 
 read the letter, " what do you think of this im- 
 pudence ? " 
 
 " Sire," said Maret, in a low, tremulous voice, 
 "your majesty knows well that the Duke d'Ab- 
 rantes is very dangerously ill, and that he is said 
 to be subject to frequent fits of insanity." 
 
 " It is true, it is the language of a madman, 
 but one who knows very well what he says. For 
 he is right ; he dares utter what all my marshals 
 are thinking, and gives utterance to their thoughts, 
 because he imagines that my friendship for him 
 gives him that right. The fool ! I shall prove 
 to him that I am, first and above all, the emperor, 
 and that the emperor will, without regard to the 
 person, punish the man who is so audacious as to 
 threaten him. Oh, I am glad that it is Junot who 
 has made himself the mouth-piece of my generals 
 and marshals ! I shall punish him with inexora- 
 ble rigor, and that will silence the others forever. 
 They will not dare that which not even Junot 
 was permitted to do with impunity ; they will 
 obey when my first anger has crushed this traitor 
 Junot. For he is a traitor, a " 
 
 " Oh, sire, I implore you, do not proceed ! " inter- 
 posed Maret ; " have mercy upon him who stands 
 already before a higher Judge, to receive his 
 sentence ! " 
 
 " What do you mean ? " asked Napoleon. 
 
 " I mean, sire," replied Maret, solemnly, " that 
 I came to bring you a sad message, and that your 
 majesty, therefore, just now did me injustice. 
 
 * "Memoirs of the Duchess d'Abrantes," b. svL, p. 828. 
 
 Sire, when you deplored the death of your lamented 
 friend, the Duke de Frioul, I was silent and em- 
 barrassed, not because I deemed such regrets un- 
 becoming, but because I waa filled with unbounded 
 grief at the thought that I had come to communi- 
 cate a similar affliction. The courier brought 
 me lso a letter from M. Albert de Comminges, 
 Junot's brother-in-law. He requests me therein 
 to inform your majesty of a melancholy occur- 
 rence the Duke d'Abrantes is dead ! Here is 
 a letter from M. de Comminges to your majes- 
 ty. 
 
 The emperor made no reply, but his face, 
 which generally seemed immovable, commenced 
 quivering, and his lips trembled. He took the 
 letter in silence, and, opening it with a hasty 
 hand, began to read it. But suddenly he dropped 
 it, and, pressing both his hands to his forehead, 
 he groaned aloud. Then he quickly stooped 
 down, picked up the letter and read it through. 
 " Junot ! " he then cried in a tone of profound 
 woe " Junot ! " He crumpled the letter in his 
 hands, and, with an expression from the depths 
 of his heart, he repeated, " Junot ! Oh, my God, 
 Junot, too ! " 
 
 At this moment his wandering eye fell upon 
 Maret, who was gazing at him, pale and filled 
 with profound compassion. Napoleon started 
 and concealed the tears which came to his eyes. 
 Before an observer he was not accustomed to 
 show himself a man overcome by grief. He 
 smiled, but with an indescribably mournful ex- 
 pression, and said in a firm voice, " Another brave 
 soldier gone ! The third victim that the war haa 
 required of me, Maret! It takes the very men 
 who were indispensable to me, because they set 
 so shining au example of bravery and fidelity to 
 the whole army. That is the only reason why I 
 complain ! " 
 
 "Your majesty has a twofold right to com- 
 plain," said Maret, in his calm voice ; " Juno 
 loved your majesty with the obedience of a ser 
 vant, the submissiveness of a child, the enthu- 
 siasm of a pupil, the ardor of a friend. He would 
 have gone through fire for you, and he was jus- 
 tified in saying that he loved your majesty with 
 
BAD NEWS. 
 
 189 
 
 the lore the savage feels for the sun. Your ma- 
 jesty was his sun ! " 
 
 " Yes, he loved me," said Napoleon, in a low 
 voice, dropping his head en his breast, " and I 
 could count upon his fidelity. We had spent our 
 youth toget'ier, had overcome together a thou- 
 sand dangers, and courageously braved the vicis- 
 situdes of fute. His star had risen with mine. 
 Will not mine sink with his ? Oh, Junot, how 
 could you leave me now, when you knew that I 
 stood so greatly in need of you ? Junot, this is 
 the first time that you desert me, and forget your 
 plighted faith. I am on the eve of a great and 
 doubtful war, surrounded by enemies and my 
 friends are deserting me and escaping into the 
 grave!" He pause.d, bowing his head lower 
 upon his breast, and wrinkling his forehead in 
 his grief. A sad silence ensued, which Maret 
 dared not interrupt by a motion or a word. At 
 length, the emperor raised his face again, resum- 
 ing his usual coldness and indifference. " Maret," 
 he said, in a firm voice, " I have no one in II- 
 lyria now, since Junot, governor of that province, 
 lias died. I must send another governor. But 
 whom ? " 
 
 " Sire," said Maret, in a timid voice, " will you 
 not take the proposals of Austria into consider- 
 ation ? She demands nothing but Illyria as the 
 price of her alliance and friendship. Fate itself 
 seems to give us a sign to grant this demand, for 
 
 has removed the governor of Illyria." 
 
 " Fate ! " cried Napoleon, shrugging his shoul- 
 you only acknowledge its hints when it 
 suits your purposes; you deny its existence when 
 it would seem to be contrary to your wishes. 
 Fute caused the governor of Illyria to die, be- 
 cause, as you yourself suid, he was subject to fits 
 of insanity ; it has thereby given me an oppor- 
 tunity to place a sensible and prudent man in 
 's stead, a man who will not dare tell me 
 
 eh impudent tilings as you read to me from his 
 letter. Well, then, I will obey the hint of Fate. 
 Write iniin.-'liat.'ly to Fnuche. He is at Naples; 
 tell him to set out at once and come to Di 
 I intend to appoint him governor of Illyria. Dis- 
 patch a courier with the letter. But waii! I 
 
 seems 
 
 "- 
 
 : 
 
 lumiy 
 Junof, 
 such ii 
 
 have not yet read all the dispatches brought from 
 Paris." 
 
 He stepped back to the table, and took one of 
 the letters from it. " A letter from the Duke de 
 Rovigo," he said, in a contemptuous tone, " from 
 the police minister of Paris ! He will tell me a 
 great many stories ; he will pretend to have seen 
 many evil spirits, and, after all, not know half of 
 what he ought to know, and what Fouche would 
 have known if he still held that position. There, 
 read it, Maret, and communicate the most im- 
 portant passages to me." He threw himself into 
 the chair that stood in front of his desk, and, 
 taking a penknife, commenced whittling the 
 wooden side-arm, while Maret unfolded the dis- 
 patch and quickly glanced over its contents. 
 
 " Sire," he said, " this dispatch contains sur- 
 prising news. It speaks of a new enemy who 
 might rise against your majesty." 
 
 " Well," said Napoleon, who was just cutting 
 a large splinter from the chair, " what new enemy 
 is it ? " 
 
 "Sire," said Maret, shrugging his shoulders, 
 "it is Louis XVIII." 
 
 Napoleon started, and looked at his minister 
 with a flash of anger. " What do you mean ? " 
 he asked, sternly. " Who is Louis XVIII. ? 
 Where is the country over which he rules ? " 
 
 "Sire, I merely intended to designate the 
 brother of the unfortunate King Louis XVI." 
 
 " My uncle 1 " said Napoleon, with a proud smil, 
 driving his knife again into the back of the chair. 
 " Well, what then ? Whereby has the Count de 
 Lille surprised the world with the news of his ex- 
 istence ? " 
 
 " Sire, by a proclamation addressed to the 
 French, and in which he implores them to return 
 to their legitimate lord and king, making them 
 many promises, which, however, do not contain 
 anj thing but what the French possess alreadj 
 by the grace of your majesty." 
 
 Napoleon shrugged his shoulders. " Savary, 
 then, has at length seen a copy of the English 
 newspapers which published this proclamation," 
 he said. " I read it several weeks ago." 
 
 " No, sire, it seems that the proclamation has 
 
190 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 
 not only appeared in the English newspapers, but 
 is circulating throughout France. The Duke de 
 Rovigo reports that secret agents of the Count 
 de Lille are actively at work in France. They 
 are scattering every day thousands of printed 
 copies of the proclamation among the people. 
 They are circulated at night in the streets, secret- 
 ly pushed under the doors into the houses and 
 rooms so that the police agents are unable to take 
 them away. These copies, it appears, are printed 
 on hand-presses, for their lines are often irregular 
 and slanting, and indicate an unpractised hand, 
 but those who receive them try to decipher them, 
 and deliver them to the police only after having 
 read them." * 
 
 Napoleon said nothing; he was still whittling 
 the back of his chair, and did not once look up 
 to his minister, who stood before him in reveren- 
 tial silence. "I thought I had crushed this ser- 
 pent of legitimacy under my foot," he murmured 
 at last to himself, " but it still lives, and tries 
 again to rise against me. Ah, I despise it, and 
 I have reason to do so. I alone am now the 
 legitimate ruler of France; the fifty battles in 
 which I have fought and conquered for France 
 are my ancestors ; the will of the French people 
 has made me emperor, and the voice of all the 
 sovereign princes of Europe has recognized my 
 throne. The daughter of an emperor is my part- 
 ner ; and the King of Rome, the future emperor 
 of the French, will be more of a legitimate ruler 
 than any other prince, for the battles of his father 
 and the ancestors of the Hapsburgs form his pedi- 
 gree. Let the Count de Lille, then, flood France 
 with copies of his proclamation, I shall ha the 
 mean time win battles for France, and with the 
 bulletins of my victories drive bis proclamations 
 from the field. I" 
 
 At this moment the door opened, and Roustan's 
 black face looked in. " Sire, the Duke de Vicenza 
 requests an audience," he said. 
 
 " Caulaincourt ! " exclaimed Napoleon, sur- 
 prised, rising and throwing the penknife on the 
 floor. " Caulaincourt ! Let him come in ! " 
 
 " M6moires <lu Due Rcvigo," vol. vt, p. 851. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 THE TRAITORS. 
 
 ROUSTAN stepped back, and the imposing form 
 of the Duke de Viceuza appeared on the thresh- 
 old. The emperor hastily met him and looked at 
 hiui with a keen, piercing glance. "Caulain- 
 court," he exclaimed, " whence do you come, and 
 what do you want here ? " 
 
 " Sire," said the duke, gravely and solemnly, 
 " I come from Prague, whither the order of your 
 majesty had sent me, to attend the congress 
 and to conduct the negotiations in the name of 
 your majesty." 
 
 " These negotiations are broken off, then, as 
 you have come without having been recalled ? " 
 
 " No, they are not broken off, but I have im- 
 portant news to communicate to your majesty, 
 and as I think that we are served best when serv- 
 ing ourselves, I have made myself the bearer of 
 my own dispatches, to be sure that they reach 
 
 
 your majesty in time. I have travelled post- 
 haste, and shall return to Pmgue in the same 
 manner." 
 
 " Well, then, inform me of the contents of your 
 dispatches orally and quickly." 
 
 " Sire, I inform your majesty that the Count de 
 Metternich is on the road to this city to convey 
 to you the ultimatum of Austria," 
 
 A flash of anger burst from the emperor's 
 eyes. " He dares meet me ! does he not fear 
 lest I crush him by hurling his duplicity and 
 treachery into his face ? For I know that Aus- 
 tria is playing a double game, negotiating at the 
 same time with me and my enemies." 
 
 " But it is still in the power of your majesty to 
 attach Austria to France, and secure a continued 
 alliance with her," exclaimed the Duke de Vi- 
 cenza. " This is the reason why I have hastened 
 hither: to implore your majesty not to reject en- 
 tirely, in the first outburst of your anger, the 
 proposals of Austria, however inadmissible they 
 may appear to be. I left Vienna simultaneously 
 with Count Metternich, but succeeded in getting 
 somewhat the start of him ; he will be here in an 
 hour, and I have, therefore, time enough to com- 
 
THE TRAITORS. 
 
 191 
 
 municate to your majesty important news which 
 I learned at Prague yesterday, and which is suffi- 
 ciently grave to influence perhaps your resolu- 
 tions." 
 
 " Speak ! " commanded the emperor, throwing 
 himself again into the chair, and taking, for want 
 of a penknife, a pair of scissors from his desk, 
 in order to bore the back of the chair with it. 
 Speak ! " 
 
 " In the first place, I have to inform your ma- 
 jesty that the Emperor of Austria has left Vi- 
 enna for Castle Gitschin, in Bohemia, and that an 
 interview of the Emperor Francis with the allied 
 monarchs took place there on the 20th of June." 
 
 " Ah, the first step to open hostility has been 
 taken, then," cried Napoleon. 
 
 " This interview, however, led to no results," 
 added Caulaincourt. " The Emperor Francis, ou 
 the contrary, declared emphatically that he was 
 still merely a mediator, and would consider the 
 alliance with France as dissolved, if your majesty 
 should reject the ultimatum with which he should 
 send Metternich to Dresden." 
 
 " That is the equivocal and insidious language 
 which the Austrian diplomacy has always used," 
 exclaimed the emperor, shrugging his shoulders. 
 " They want to keep on good terms with all, in 
 order to succeed hi being the friend of him who 
 is victorious. My father-in-law, it seems, has 
 learned by heart, and recited the lesson which 
 Metternich taught him. Proceed, Caulaincourt." 
 
 " Next, I have to inform your majesty that a 
 definite treaty was concluded yesterday between 
 Austria and the allies. It was concluded at 
 Reichenbach. Austria has solemnly engaged to 
 declare war against you if you refuse to accept 
 hei terms, the last she would send. Besides, 
 Prussia and Russia concluded a treaty with Eng- 
 land, which engaged to assist both powers with 
 money and materiel, and which, in return, received 
 the promise that Hanover, England's possession 
 io Germany, should be considerably enlarged at 
 the end of the war, and that new territories 
 hould be added to it." 
 
 "And the short-sighted monarchs have been 
 enough to grant this to England ! " cried 
 
 Napoleon, with a sneer. " In their blind hatred 
 against me they grant more territory in Germany 
 to their most dangerous enemy, that England 
 may spread still further the vast net of her egotism, 
 and catch all Germany in it, flood the country 
 with her manufactured goods, and drive the com- 
 merce of the continent into British hands ! Ah, 
 those gentlemen will soon perceive what a mis- 
 take they have committed in yielding to the de- 
 mands of those greedy English traders. For if 
 England gives money instead of asking it, she 
 must have a great many substantial advantages 
 in view, and these she can obtain only at the ex- 
 pense of the German sovereigns, to whom she 
 will furnish subsidies now. Are you through 
 with your news, Caulaincourt ? " 
 
 " No, sire, I have still something to add," said 
 the Duke of Vicenza, in a melancholy voice. 
 
 The emperor looked at him with a piercing 
 glance, which seemed to fathom the depths of his 
 soul. 
 
 "Speak! "he said, quickly. 
 
 " Your majesty knows that the crown prince 
 of Sweden, Beraadotte, landed with his army at 
 Stralsund on the 20th of May ? " 
 
 " Yes, I do," said Napoleon, shrugging hi* 
 shoulders. "My former marshal, who acquired 
 in my service a name and some fame, whom I 
 permitted to accept the dignity of crown prince 
 of Sweden that was offered him, a Frenchman, 
 had the meanness to turn his arms against his 
 country, and ally himself with the enemies of 
 France. But still it seems that his courage 
 is failing him. A month ago he disembarked in 
 Germany, and is idle with his troops in Mecklen- 
 burg. He allowed Hamburg to fall ; he did noth- 
 ing to save Brandenburg, and appears ready to 
 embark again for Sweden. Looking the crime 
 of treason full in the face, he was unable to bear 
 the thought of it, and will retreat from it to the 
 steps of the Swedish throne." 
 
 " N'o, sire," said Caulaincourt, gravely, " the 
 crown prince of Sweden has made up his mind, 
 and hesitates no longer. The Emperor Alexan- 
 der sent an envoy to Beraadotte, and requested 
 of him an interview with the mouarchs of Prussia 
 
192 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 and Russia, for the purpose of concerting with 
 them a joint plan of operations for the campaign. 
 Bernadotte, thanks to the persuasive eloquence 
 of the Russian envoy, eagerly accepted this invi- 
 tation, and the interview is to take place on the 
 9th of July at Trachenberg, in Silesia. The 
 crown prince is already on the road with a truly 
 royal suite, and he has been solemnly assured 
 that the sovereigns will receive him at Trachen- 
 berg with all the honors due his rank as a sov- 
 ereign and legitimate prince. The envoy of the 
 Emperor of Russia is accompanying Bernadotte 
 on this journey, to strengthen the favorable dis- 
 positions of the crown prince, and render him at 
 once an active and energetic member of the alli- 
 ance." 
 
 " Who is this envoy whom Alexander has dis- 
 patched to Bernadotte ? " asked Napoleon. 
 
 " Sire, it is Count Pozzo di Borgo." 
 
 "Ah, my Corsican countryman, and once an 
 ardent friend," exclaimed Napoleon. " He has 
 never forgiven me for not having assisted him, 
 the enthusiastic republican, in becoming King of 
 Corsica, but having left France in possession of 
 my native country. As he was unable to become 
 a king, M. Pozzo di Borgo entered the service of 
 the Czar of Russia to fight against me, his coun- 
 tryman, with the power of his tongue, as my 
 other countryman with the arms of the Swedes. 
 Well, I think it will not do the allies much good 
 to unite with traitors and apostates, and to look 
 for assistance against me from them. I gain 
 more moral weight by this struggle against trai- 
 tors than my enemies by their support. Berna- 
 dotte's treason is my ally." 
 
 " Sire, another man has joined the traitor, a 
 Frenchman, who wants to fight against France, 
 against his emperor and former comrade." 
 
 " Still another ! A third traitor ! Who is it ? " 
 
 " Sire, it is General Moreau." 
 
 " What! has Moreau returned from America? " 
 asked Napoleon, looking up quickly. 
 
 " Yes, sire ; he has left the banks of the Dela- 
 ware to fight against his country, as a general of 
 the Emperor of Russia." 
 
 The emperor looked thoughtfully, and suddenly 
 
 he raised his eyes, while a pleased expression lit 
 up his countenance. 
 
 " My enemies assert that I have a heart ot 
 iron," he said, in a gentle voice ; " they charge 
 me with being insensible to human emotions to 
 compassion, friendship, and love. Well, then, I 
 could have had Moreau and Bernadotte both 
 killed ; they were in my power, and deserved 
 death. Moreau had entered into a conspiracy 
 against me and the existing laws of our country 
 a conspiracy whose object was to assassinate 
 me. I believe I would have been justified if I 
 had made him feel the rigor of my laws, and ex- 
 piate his murderous intent by death. Bernadotte 
 disobeyed my orders in two battles ; I would have 
 been justified in having him tried by a court-mar- 
 tial, which would certainly have passed sentence 
 of death upon him. I permitted Moreau to emi- 
 grate to America, and indulge his republican 
 predilections there without hinderance ; and Ber- 
 nadotte to go to Sweden, and gratify the desires 
 of his ambitious heart. I pardoned both because 
 I loved them. They now reward me by allying 
 themselves with my enemies. This is all right, 
 however, for I have placed both under heavy ob- 
 ligations, and nothing is more difficult to forgive 
 than benefits." 
 
 "Sire, as I have alluded to these traitors, I 
 must mention still another. General Jomini, ad- 
 jutant-general of Marshal Ney, has deserted his 
 post and gone over to the camp of the allies to 
 offer his services to the sovereigns. He has be- 
 come a member of the Emperor Alexander's 
 staff." 
 
 " Well," cried Napoleon, with the semblance 
 of unalloyed mirth, "the world and posterity 
 will have to pardon me now if I lose a few bat 
 ties in this campaign, for those who are fighting 
 against me are commanded by generals who have 
 learned the art of war from me pupils of mine. 
 I must, therefore, allow them to gain a battle or 
 two to prove that I am a good teacher. Besides, 
 Joinini is not as guilty as Moreau and Bernadotte. 
 He is a native of Switzerland, and his treason is 
 aimed only at myself, and not at his country." 
 
 " It seems such is Jomini's excuse, too," said 
 
NAPOLEON AND METTERNICH. 
 
 193 
 
 Caulaincourt, "for I have been told that he 
 treated General Moreau with surprising coolness, 
 and when the latter offered him his hand he did 
 not take it, but withdrew with a chilling saluta- 
 tion. To the Emperor Alexander, who rebuked 
 him for it, he replied that he would gladly wel- 
 come General Moreau anywhere else than at the 
 camp of the enemies of Moreau's own country. 
 For if he, Jomini, were a native of France, he 
 would assuredly at this hour not be at the camp 
 of the Emperor of Russia." 
 
 " Ah ! " exclaimed the emperor, " I am con- 
 vinced that miserable Jomini imagines that he 
 acted in a very noble and highly-dignified man- 
 ner. A traitor who is ashamed of another traitor, 
 and blushes for him ! Ah, Caulaincourt, what a 
 harrowing spectacle! These acts of treachery 
 will in the end make me unhappy ! * For does 
 not Austria, too, wish to betray me? Has she 
 not entered into an alliance with me, and does 
 she not now wish to forsake me merely because 
 she imagines that it would be more advantageous 
 to her to side with my enemies? Austria is 
 oscillating, and Metternich thinks he can pre- 
 serve her equilibrium by placing Austrian prom- 
 ises as weights now into this, now into that scale. 
 But the cabinet of Vienna deceives itself. Count 
 Metternich wants his intrigues to pass for policy, 
 while the whole object of Austria is to recover 
 what she has lost." f 
 
 At this moment a carriage was heard to roll 
 up to the palace and stop close under the win- 
 dows of the cabinet. Maret, who, during the 
 conversation bt i 'Icon and Caulaincourt, 
 
 hid retired into a window-niche, turned and 
 looked out into the street. 
 
 "Sire," he then said, quickly, "Count Metter- 
 nieh , and already entered the palace." 
 
 .-n !" exclaimed 
 
 Napoleon, with an air of scornful triumph ; " he 
 wishr .ir the mask from his smirking 
 
 fa.ce! \\Y11, I shall comply with his wishes; I, 
 al, least, shall nor veil my real 
 
 -Constant's " M6nv>lres," vol. v., 
 
 Napoleon's words. F*in, " Mannscrit do 1813," vol. i. 
 13 
 
 thoughts ! Austria shall learn what I think of 
 her ! " 
 
 The door opened, and Koustan entered again. 
 " Sire," he said, " his excellency Count Metter- 
 nich, minister plenipotentiary of his majesty the 
 Emperor of Austria, requests an audience of your 
 majesty." 
 
 Napoleon turned his head slowly toward the 
 Dukes de Vicenza and Bassano. "Enter the 
 cabinet of my private secretary, Fain," he said. 
 "Leave the door ajar; I want you to hear all. 
 Fain, if he pleases, may take notes of this inter- 
 view, that he may afterward accurately testify to 
 it Go!" 
 
 The two gentlemen bowed in silence and with- 
 drew. The emperor gazed after them until they 
 disappeared through the door of the cabinet ; then 
 turning toward Roustan, " Let him come in," he 
 said, with a quick nod. 
 
 A few minutes afterward the slender form, and 
 the handsome, florid, and smiling face of Count 
 Clement de Metternich appeared on the threshold 
 of the imperial cabinet 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 NAPOLEON AND METTERNICH. 
 
 THE emperor quickly met the Austrian minis- 
 ter, but, as if restraining himself, he stood in the 
 middle of the room. Metternich approached, 
 making a stiff, solemn bow, and quickly raised his 
 head again, and turning his fine face, from which 
 the smile did not vanish for a moment, toward 
 the emperor, he waited in respectful silence for 
 the latter to address him. Napoleon cast a men- 
 glance of hatred upon him ; but Metternich 
 did not seem to perceive his threat He fixed his 
 large blue eyes with perfect calmness on the face 
 of the emperor, and awaited the commencement 
 of the conver-ation. 
 
 The emperor felt that it was his province to 
 break this silence. " Well, Metternich," he said, 
 " you are here, then ! You are welcome ! But 
 
194 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 answer me, without circumlocution, What do you 
 want ? " 
 
 " Sire, Austria wishes me to mediate a peace 
 between the Prussian and Russian allies and your 
 majesty." 
 
 " Ah, you want peace ! " exclaimed Napoleon, 
 sarcastically. " But why so late ? We have lost 
 nearly a month, and your mediation, from its 
 long inactivity, has become almost hostile. It 
 appears that it no longer suits your cabinet to 
 guarantee the integrity of the French empire? 
 Be it so; but why had you not the candor to 
 make me acquainted with that determination at 
 an earlier period? It might have modified my 
 plans perhaps prevented me from continuing 
 the war." 
 
 " But your majesty ought graciously to remem- 
 ber that, for the present, there is no question of 
 Austria and her wishes," said Metternich, calmly ; 
 " that Austria is merely trying to mediate peace 
 between your majesty and the sovereigns of Rus- 
 sia and Prussia." 
 
 "Ah, that is what you call mediating," ex- 
 claimed Napoleon, sneeringly. "When you al- 
 lowed me to exhaust myself by new efforts, you 
 doubtless little calculated on such rapid events as 
 have ensued. I have gained, nevertheless, two 
 battles ; my enemies, severely weakened, were 
 beginning to waken from their illusions, when 
 suddenly you glided among us, and, speaking to 
 me of an armistice and mediation, you spoke to 
 them of alliance and war. But for your perni- 
 cious intervention, peace would have been at this 
 moment concluded between the allies and myself. 
 You cannot deny that, since she has assumed the 
 office of mediator, Austria has not only ceased to 
 be my ally, but is becoming my enemy. You 
 were about to declare yourself so when the battle 
 of Lutzen intervened, and, by showing you the 
 necessity of augmenting your forces, made you 
 desirous of gaining time. You have improved 
 your opportunity, and now you have your two hun- 
 dred thousand men ready, screened by the Bohe- 
 mian hills ; Schwartzenberg commands them ; at 
 this very moment he is concentrating them in my 
 rear ; and it is because you conceive yourself in a 
 
 condition to dictate the law, that you pay this 
 visit." 
 
 " Sire, dictate ! " echoed Metternich, in a tone 
 of dismay, but with a strange smile. 
 
 " Yes, dictate ! " repeated Napoleon, in a 
 louder voice. "But why do you wish to dic- 
 tate to me alone? Am I, then, no longer the 
 same man whom you defended yesterday? If 
 you are an honest mediator, why do you not at 
 least treat both sides alike ? Say nothing in reply, 
 for I see through you, Metternich : your cabinet 
 wishes to profit by my embarrassments, and aug- 
 ment them as much as possible, in order to recover 
 a portion of your losses. The only difficulty you 
 have is, whether you can gain your object with- 
 out fighting, or throw yourselves boldly among the 
 combatants ; you do not know which to do, and 
 possibly you come to seek light on the subject. 
 Well, then, let us see ! Let us treat ! What do 
 you wish ? " 
 
 " Sire," said Metternich, with his smiling calm- 
 ness, which had not yielded for an instant to the 
 storm of Napoleon's reproaches, "Austria hss 
 no motives of self-interest. The sole advantage 
 which the Emperor Francis wishes to derive from 
 the present state of affairs is the influence which a 
 spirit of moderation, and a respect for the rights 
 of independent states, cannot fail to acquire from 
 those who are animated with similar sentiments. 
 Austria wishes not to conquer, but to preserve." 
 
 " Speak more clearly," interrupted the em- 
 peror, impatiently ; " but do not forget that I 
 am a soldier." 
 
 "Your majesty has taught Europe by upward 
 of fifty battles never to forget that," said Metter- 
 nich, with a pleasant nod. " Austria wishes to 
 wound your majesty neither as a soldier nor as 
 an emperor. She simply desires to establish a 
 state of things which, by a wise distribution of 
 power, may place the guaranty of peace under 
 the protection of an association of independent 
 states." 
 
 " Words, words ! " cried Napoleon, impatiently. 
 " Words having no other object than evasion, veil- 
 ing your own designs ! But I mean to go directly to 
 the object. I only wish Austria to remain neutral. 
 
NAPOLEON AND METTERNICII. 
 
 195 
 
 and I am ready to make sacrifices to her for it. 
 My army is amply sufficient to bring back the 
 Russians and Prussians to reason. All that I 
 ask of you is to withdraw from thft strife." 
 
 "Ah, sire," said Metternich, eagerly, "why 
 should your majesty enter singly into the strife ? 
 Why should you not double your forces ? You 
 may do so, sire ! It depends only on you to add 
 our forces to your own. Yes, matters have come 
 to that point that we can no longer remain neu- 
 tral ; we must be either for or agjinst you." 
 
 The emperor bent on him one of those piercing 
 glances which the eagle bends upon the clouds 
 to which he is soaring, seeking for the sun be- 
 hind them. " And which would be more desirable 
 to you," he asked, " to be for or against me ? " 
 
 " Ah, sire, the Emperor Francis wishes for 
 nothing more ardently than that the state of af- 
 fairs should enable him to be for France, whose 
 emperor is his son-in-law." 
 
 " But my father-in-law imposes conditions ! 
 Pray, tell me what they are ! " exclaimed Napo- 
 leon, striding up and down the apartment, while 
 Metternich walked by his side, respectfully hold- 
 ing his hat in his hand. 
 
 " Tell me what these conditions are ! " repeated 
 leon. 
 
 " Sire, they are simply these," said Metternich, 
 a bland tone. " During the late decade the 
 
 Uirs of Europe have been disturbed in a some- 
 violent manner. Austria only wishes to 
 have the equilibrium of Europe reestablished, and 
 all the states occupy again the same position 
 
 ich they held prior to these convulsions. If 
 your majesty consents to contribute your share 
 to this restoration, Austria in return offers to 
 France her lasting alliance, and, in case the other 
 powers should pursue a hostile course, her armed 
 assistance. Austria wishes to make no conquests, 
 iv no provinces, no titles she is animated 
 with the spirit of moderation. She demands only 
 onier, justice, and equality for all, and, moreover, 
 only the restoration of such states as h;r. 
 
 ized for centuries as members of the gen- 
 confederacy of European states, the recon- 
 struction of those thrones which have exi 
 
 "T 
 Napo 
 
 r: 
 
 age, and whose rulers have a legitin: ite right to 
 their sovereignty. I believe your majesty cannot 
 deny that the Bourbons have a well-founded right 
 to Spain, and that the Spaniards now, by the 
 blood sheJ in their heroic struggle, have estab- 
 lished their right to restore the throne to their 
 legitimate rulers. You will have to admit, further, 
 that no Christian sovereign, how powerful soever 
 he may be, has a right to overthrow the Holy See 
 of St. Peter, and to keep the vicegerent of God 
 away from the capital which all Christendom has 
 so long recognized as his own. You will have to 
 admit, too, that both Lombardy and Illyria have 
 long been possessions of Austria, and that Swit- 
 zerland has been recognized as a confederation 
 of republics by all the powers of Europe. If 
 your majesty acknowledges all this, and consents 
 to restore the state of things in accordance with 
 those well-established rights, it only remains for 
 us to find compensation for the three powers 
 which have already allied themselves against you. 
 As for Prussia, I believe a portion of Saxony 
 would be the most suitable indemnity for her 
 Russia, I suppose, would be content if, after the 
 dissolution of the duchy of Warsaw, Poland 
 should once more fall to her share, and England 
 demands only the possession of a few fortified 
 places and safe harbors on the shores of Hol- 
 land." 
 
 The emperor uttered a cry of anger, and, sud- 
 denly halting, cast glances on Metternich which 
 seemed to borrow their fire from the lightning. 
 " Are you through with your proposals, sir ? " he 
 asked, in a threatening tone. 
 
 Metternich bowed. " Yes, sire." 
 
 " Well, then," cried the emperor, stepping up 
 to the minister, " to all this I respond only by the 
 : How much money has England given 
 you to play this part ? " 
 
 At this question, uttered in a menacing voice, 
 Metternich turned pale, the smile passed from his 
 lirow darkened, and his eyes, usually so 
 mild and pleasant, kindled with anger, and al- 
 l->\\c<\ the thoughts, generally concealed in the 
 innermost recesses of the diplomatist's heart, to 
 burst forth for a moment, and betray hatred. 
 
196 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 " Ah," cried Napoleon, in a triumphant tone, 
 " I have at length torn the mask from your smil- 
 ing features, and I see that a serpent is hidden 
 under them as under roses. It would sting, but 
 I know how to be on my guard ; I will never 
 grant Austria the right to insult, dictate to, and 
 humiliate me. I will compel her, as I have done 
 so often, to prostrate herself in the dust before 
 me, and ask mercy and forbearance. Do you 
 hear what I say ? I will humiliate Austria, tram- 
 pling her in the dust." The emperor violently 
 raised his clinched fist, and striking it downward 
 struck Metternich's hat, which the minister still 
 held in his hand, and caused it to fall to the 
 ground. 
 
 The emperor paused and looked at Metternich, 
 as if to request him to pick up the hat. But the 
 latter did not make the slightest movement. His 
 thoughts and his hatred had already retired into 
 his bosom; his brow was serene again, and his 
 accustomed smile returned. He looked first at 
 the hat, and then at the emperor, who followed 
 his glances, and met them sullenly and defiantly. 
 This little incident, however, seemed to have dis- 
 pelled Napoleon's anger, or at least to have ap- 
 peased the first stormy waves of the sea. When 
 he spoke again his tone was milder, and his look 
 less scorching, returning from time to time, as it 
 were involuntarily, to the hat lying on the floor a 
 few steps from him. He commenced pacing the 
 apartment again with quick steps. Metternich 
 followed him, only with somewhat slackened 
 pace, and thus compelled the emperor to walk 
 a little slower. 
 
 " Now," said Napoleon, loudly, " I know what 
 you want ! Not only Illyria, but the half of Ita- 
 ly, the return of the pope to Rome, Poland, and 
 the abandonment of Spain, Holland, and Switzer- 
 land ! This is what you call the spirit of moder- 
 ation ! You are intent only on profiting by every 
 chance; you alternately transport your alliance 
 from one camp to the other, in order to be always 
 a sharer in the spoil, and you speak to me of 
 your respect for the rights of independent states ! 
 You would have Italy ; Russia, Poland ; Prussia, 
 Saxony ; and England, Holland and Belgium : in 
 
 fine, peace is only a pretext ; you are all intent 
 on dismembering the French empire ! And Aus- 
 tria thinks she has only to declare herself, to 
 crown such an enterprise ! You pretend here, 
 with a stroke of the pen, to make the ramparts 
 of Dantzic, Custrin, Glogau, Magdeburg, Wesel, 
 Mentz, Antwerp, Alessandria, Mantua, in fine, all 
 the strong places of Europe, sink before you, of 
 which I did not obtain possession but by my vic- 
 torious arms ! And I, obedient to your policy, 
 am to evacuate Europe, of which I still hold the 
 half; recall my legions across the Rhine, the 
 Alps, and the Pyrenees ; subscribe a treaty which 
 would be nothing but a vast capitulation ; and 
 place myself at the mercy of those of whom I am 
 at this moment the conqueror ! It is when my 
 standards float at the mouths of the Vistula, and 
 on the banks of the Oder ; when my army is at 
 the gates of Berlin, and Breslau ; when I am at 
 the head of three hundred thousand men, that 
 Austria, without drawing a sword, expects to 
 make me subscribe such conditions ! This is an 
 insult, and it is my father-in-law that has ma- 
 tured such a project ; it is he that sends you on 
 such a mission ! " * 
 
 While thus speaking, the emperor was still 
 walking, and Metternich by his side. Whenevei 
 they passed the hat lying on the floor, Napoleon 
 east a quick side-glance on Metternich, who ap- 
 peared to take no notice of the hat, and it seemed 
 entirely accidental that he slightly wheeled aside, 
 and thus succeeded in passing without touch- 
 ing it. 
 
 " You," cried Napoleon, in a thundering voice, 
 "have taken upon yourself the mission of in* 
 suiting me, and you think I will quietly sub- 
 mit ? " 
 
 " Sire," said Metternicb, with his imperturbable 
 calmness, " I believe you have already punished 
 me for it ! " 
 
 Now for the first time his eyes turned signifi- 
 cantly toward his hat, and then fixed themselves 
 steadfastly on the emperor. They did not dare 
 to threaten, but they defied Napoleon. They 
 
 * This whole speech contains only Napoleon's words 
 Vide 1'ain, "Mannscrit de 1818," voL i. 
 
NAPOLEON AND METTERNICII. 
 
 197 
 
 11 . i 
 
 ; 
 
 said : " You have insulted me by knocking my hat 
 out of my hand. I will not pick it up, but de- 
 mand satisfaction.'' 
 
 Possibly Napoleon understood this language, 
 for a smile, full of sarcasm and contempt, played 
 around his lips, und he slightly shrugged his 
 shoulders. 
 
 " I beg you to consider, besides," added Met- 
 ternich, calmly, " that I am here only because 
 my sovereign has commissioned and ordered me 
 to repair to you. and that, as a faithful servant, 
 I have repeated only what the emperor command- 
 ed me." 
 
 "Ah," cr'ad Napoleon, with a harsh laugh, 
 " you wish to make me believe that you are but 
 the emperor's echo ? Well, I will suppose it to 
 be true. Then go and tell your master that I 
 henceforth decline his mediation, and that noth- 
 ing would exasperate me more than the idea that 
 Austria, in return for her crimes and her breach 
 of faith, should reap the best fruits und become 
 the pacificator of Europe. Ask the Emperor 
 Francis in what position he intends to place me 
 regard to my son ? Tell him he is entirely 
 ken if he believes a disgraced throne can be 
 A refuge in France for his daughter and grand- 
 son.* That is my reply to the Emperor Francis. 
 Go !" 
 
 ]tfetternich bowed ; considering the emperor's 
 
 rds equivalent to his dismissal, he turned and 
 crossed the room. His way led him past his hat ; 
 he took no notice of it, but quietly walked on 
 toward the door. 
 
 " He does not wish to take his hat," thought 
 
 poleon. 
 
 Metternich reached the door, turned again to 
 the emperor, and made him a last reverential 
 bow. 
 
 "One word more, Count Metternich!" cried 
 Napoleon. " Come, I have still something to say 
 
 you." 
 
 Metternich blandly nodded assent and returned. 
 
 poleon commenced again pacing the room, with 
 Hetternich by his side. The emperor now di- 
 
 LZ 
 
 .: 
 
 
 * Napoleon's words. Vide Fain, " Manuscritde 1918," 
 rol. L 
 
 rected his steps in such a manner that he him- 
 self was near the hat. " I wish to prove to you, 
 : nieh," said Napoleon, " that I have seen 
 through you, and that the true reason of your 
 coming is well known to me. You did not for 
 an instant believe that I could accept these pro- 
 posals, which would dishonor and annihilate me; 
 you know me too well for that ; but they were 
 only to be the pretext of the real wish that 
 brought you hither. To be able to ally yourself 
 in a seemingly loyal manner with my enemies, 
 you want to get rid of the alliance which is still 
 connecting Austria with France. In direct con- 
 tradiction to all that Austria has hitherto said to 
 me, you wish to annul the treaty of Paris. Ad- 
 mit that this is the case." 
 
 The emperor, with his eyes fixed steadfastly 
 upon Metternich, crossed the apartment. Sud- 
 denly seeming to find an obstacle in his way, he 
 turned his eyes toward the floor. It was Metter- 
 nich's hat, which his foot had already touched. 
 As if merely to remove the obstruction, he stooped, 
 took up the hat, and threw it with an indifferent 
 and careless motion on a chair near the door. 
 He then quietly passed on and fixed his eyes 
 again upon Metternich.* "Well, reply to me 
 deny it if you can ! " 
 
 " Sire," said Metternich, in a bland, insinuating 
 voice, " I had already the honor of telling you 
 that matters have come to that point that we 
 can no longer remain neutral, but that we can 
 take up arms for your majesty, only if you con 
 sent to grant us all that I have laid before you, 
 and" 
 
 " No," interrupted Napoleon, proudly, " do not 
 repeat the insult ! The interview is ended. I 
 know what you desire, and I do not intend to dis- 
 appoint you ! I will not be a dead weight upon 
 my friends, nor raise the slightest objection to 
 the abandonment of the treaty that allies me with 
 Austria, if such be the wish of the Emperor 
 FraiK-is. I shall to-morrow repeat this to you in 
 
 * Vide " M6moires de la Dnchesse d'Abrantes," vol. 
 xvi., p. 173. There Is another version of this scene, ac 
 cording to which it was not Metternich's, but the emper 
 or's hat that fell to the fliwr. Vide Honnayr, " Lebens- 
 bilder," vol. ill., i>. , 
 
198 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 writing and in due form. Now we are through 
 farewell ! " He turned bis back on Count Met- 
 ternicb, with a quick nod, and continued his way 
 across the room. 
 
 Metternich cast a .ast smiling glance on him ; 
 went with rapid, soft steps to the chair, took his 
 bat which the emperor had picked up, hastened 
 across the room, and went out without a word or 
 a bow. 
 
 When Napoleon heard him close the door, 
 "He is gone," he murmured, "the alliance is 
 broken. I have now no ally but myself ! " For 
 a moment he looked melancholy, and then start- 
 ing glanced at the small door leading into the 
 cabinet of Baron Fain, his private secretary. He 
 remembered that his two dukes were there, and 
 that they could not only hear but see all. Com- 
 posing his agitated face, he shouted in a merry 
 voice, " Caulaincourt and Maret, come in ! " 
 
 The door opened immediately; the Dukes de 
 Bassano and Vicenza appeared on the threshold 
 and reentered the room. "Well, have you heard 
 every thing ? " asked Napoleon. 
 
 " Yes, sire." 
 
 " And Fain ? has he taken notes ? " 
 
 " Sire, he has written down every thing as far 
 as it was possible, considering the rapidity of the 
 conversation." * 
 
 " Ah, I shall read it afterward," said the em- 
 peror ; " it is always good to know hi what man- 
 ner we shall be recognized by posterity. Now, 
 gentlemen, since you have heard all, you under- 
 stand that war is unavoidable, and that Austria 
 will side with my enemies." 
 
 "Sire, we have heard it, and it has filled our 
 souls with uneasiness and anxiety," said Maret. 
 
 * Fain, "M6moires de 1818. ' Fain gives a full account 
 of this Interview, and I have strictly followed his n xrra- 
 ttf*. 
 
 "Perhaps, nevertheless, a compromise may 
 still be possible," exclaimed Caulaincourt. " The 
 armistice has not yet expired, and, in accordance 
 with the orders of your majesty, I have already 
 made the necessary overtures for prolonging it to 
 the 15th of August." 
 
 " It will be prolonged, you may depend upon 
 it," said Napoleon, "for the allies need time for 
 completing their preparations. We shall have 
 an armistice to that time, but then war will break 
 out anew, and it will be terrible. I shall not 
 indeed wage it as emperor, but as General Bona- 
 parte." * 
 
 11 Oh, sire," sighed Maret, " the whole world is 
 longing for peace, and France, too, entertains no 
 more ardent wish. I have> received many unmis- 
 takable intimations in regard to it. Paris is not 
 only hoping for peace, but expecting it confidently, 
 after the two victories by which your majesty has 
 humiliated your enemies." 
 
 " Paris is very badly informed if she thinks, 
 peace to depend upon me," replied Napoleon, in 
 dignantly. " You see how greedily Austria aug- 
 ments the demands of my enemies, by placing 
 herself at their head. We were always obligee 
 to conquer peace. Very well, we will conquer ii 
 again. The armistice will be prolonged to thd 
 15th of August time enough to complete, on 
 our side, all necessary preparations, and decree a 
 new conscription. But then, after the armistice, 
 war a decisive, bloody war a war that will lead 
 to an honorable peace ! Believe me, he who has 
 always dictated peace cannot submit to it with 
 impunity. Courage, therefore! France wanta 
 peace, and so do I, but my cannon shall dictate 
 the terms, and my sword write them ! " f 
 
 * Napoleon's words. 
 
 t Napoleon's words. Vide " Memoires du Due U 
 Rovigo," voL it 
 
DELIVERANCE OF GERMANY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXY. 
 
 ON* THE KATZBACH. 
 
 TOE armistice expired on the 15th of August, 
 md hostilities were resumed. The state of af- 
 fairs, however, was essentially different from what 
 it was at the commencement of the armistice; 
 for, at that time, Xapoleon had just obtained two 
 victories. During the armistice, the allies had 
 won an important victory over him ; they had 
 trained Austria over to their side, and now, at the 
 renewal of hostilities, Austria reenforced the allies 
 with two hundred thousand men. For nearly 
 fourteen years Xapoleon was invariably the more 
 powerful enemy, not only on account of his mili- 
 tary genius, but of the numerical strength and 
 
 ent organization of his forces. 
 For the first time the enemy opposed him with 
 superior forces, and this vast host struggled, 
 moreover, with the utmost enthusiasm for the 
 iveranee of the fatherland with the energy of 
 and wrath against him who had so long 
 laved and oppressed it. But Napoleon still 
 possessed his grand military genius. Soon after 
 expiration of the armistice, he gained a new 
 y over the allies, that of Dresden ; * and in 
 - 1. attic Morenu, the French general, who was 
 ting against his own countrymen, was struck 
 a French ball, which caused his death in a few 
 
 tary { 
 excell 
 
 rooreo' 
 
 K! 
 
 
 
 * The battle of Dresden lasted two days, thp 2Cth and 
 27th of August. Morean died on the 2d of September, 
 nu the battle of Culm wa> fought on the 29th and 80th 
 
 August. 
 
 days. But the allies took their revenge for the 
 defeat of Dresden in the great victory of Culm, 
 where they, also after a two days' battle, achieved 
 a brilliant triumph over General Yandamme. 
 
 General Blucher and his Silesian army had not 
 participated in these battles. At the tune when 
 the Russians, the Austriana, and a part of the 
 Prussians, were fighting and yielding at Dresden, 
 Blucher was at length to attain his object, and 
 meet the enemy in a pitched battle. Since the 
 20th of August he stood near Jauer with his 
 army, which was ninety thousand strong, com- 
 posed of Russians and Prussians, and awaited 
 nothing more ardently than the approach of the 
 enemy, in order to fight a general battle. For- 
 tune seemed to favor his wishes, for Napoleon 
 himself was advancing. On the 21st of August 
 the scouts reported the approach of the hostile 
 columns, who had crossed the Bober at Lowen- 
 berg. Bluther's eyes lit up with delight ; he 
 stroked his white mustache, and said : " We shall 
 have a fight ! To-morrow we meet the French !" 
 
 But the morning of the 22d of August dawned, 
 and the eyes of the general were still unable to 
 descry the advancing enemy. Yet his scouts re- 
 ported that the French army was advancing, and 
 that only a detachment had set out for Dresden, 
 " Then Bonaparte has left with this detachment," 
 grumbled Blucher; "for if he were still with 
 them, the French would not creep along like 
 sns.ils." 
 
 At length, on the 26th of August, the general's 
 wishes seemed to be near fulfilment. The French 
 
200 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 were advancing. They approached the banks of 
 the Katzbach, to the other side of which the Si- 
 lesian army was moving. " We shall have a 
 fight ! " shouted General Blucher, exultingly ; 
 " the good God will have mercy on me after all, 
 and treat me to a good breakfast ! I have been 
 hungering for the French so long, that I really 
 thought I should die of starvation. I shall fur- 
 nish the roast ; and, that there may be something 
 to drink, the rain is poiiring down from heaven 
 as though all the little angels on high were weep- 
 ing for joy because they are to have the pleasure 
 of seeing old Blucher at work ! Glorious hosts 
 in heaven ! " added Blucher, casting a glance at 
 the leaden sky, " now do me only the favor to put 
 an end to your weeping, and do not give us too 
 much of a good thing. Pray remember that you 
 put under water not only the enemy, but our- 
 selves, your friends. Do not soften the soil too 
 much, else not only the French will stick in the 
 mud, but ourselves, your chosen lifeguard ! " 
 
 But " the little angels on high " poured down 
 their " tears of joy " in incessant torrents from 
 early dawn. It was one of those continuous rains 
 from a dull gray sky, giving little hope of fine 
 weather for many days. The soil was softened, 
 the mountain-torrents swollen, and vast masses 
 of water foamed into the Katzbach, so that this 
 peaceful little stream seemed a furious river. A 
 violent norther was blowing, and driving the rain 
 into the faces of the soldiers, drenching their uni- 
 forms, penetrating the muskets, and moistening 
 the powder. 
 
 " Well, if the boys cannot shoot to-day, they 
 will have to club their muskets," said Blucher, 
 cheerfully, when he and his suite rode out of 
 Bollwitzhof, his headquarters, to reconnoitre the 
 position of the French. 
 
 But the wind and rain rendered a reccnnois- 
 sauce a matter of impossibility. The enemy was 
 nowhere to be seen, but still the dull noise of 
 rumbling cannon and trotting horses was heard 
 at a distance, and the patrols reported that they 
 had seen the foe approaching the Katzbach in 
 heavy columns ; not, however, on the other bank, 
 jut on this side. At this moment General Gneise- 
 
 nau came up at a full gallop. He had gone out 
 toward the pickets to reconnoitre, and came back 
 to report that the French were forming in line of 
 battle at a short distance on the plateau near 
 Eichholz, and that they had crossed to the right 
 side of the Katzbach. 
 
 " Right or left," said Blucher, " it is all the same 
 to me, provided we have them. If they have 
 already crossed the river, well then they know 
 the road, and will be better able to find their way 
 back. Let us allow them to cross, until there are. 
 enough of them on this side." Then, turning with 
 noble dignity toward his officers, he added, ic 
 an entirely changed, grave, and measured tone :; 
 " Gentlemen, the battle will commence in a few 
 hours. Promptness and good order are of vital 
 importance now. The orderlies ! " 
 
 The orderlies hastened to him. u You will ride 
 to General York, who is occupying the plateau 
 of Eichholz, and tell him to allow as many French 
 as he thinks he can beat to march up the ascent, 
 and then he is to charge them ! " shouted Blu- 
 cher to the first orderly, and, while he sped away 
 at a furious gallop, the general turned to the 
 second. " You will hasten to General von Sacker 
 and tell him that it is time for attacking the 
 French! And we, gentlemen," he added, ad- 
 dressing his staff, "will place ourselves at the 
 head of our troops. The soldiers must have their 
 meals cooked by two o'clock; all the columns 
 will then commence moving. When the enemy 
 falls back, I expect, above all, the cavalry to do 
 their duty, and to act with great courage. The 
 foe must find out, that on retreating he can- 
 not get out of our hands unhurt. And now, for- 
 ward ! The battle begins at two o'clock ! " He 
 spurred his horse, and galloped again toward the 
 troops. With a serene face and joyful eyes he 
 rode along the front. " Boys," he shouted, 
 " cook your dinners quickly, do not burn your 
 mouths, and do not eat your soup too hot ; but 
 when you have eaten it, then it is time for cook- 
 ing a whipping soup for the French." 
 
 " Yes. Father Blucher, we will cook it for them !" 
 shouted the soldiers. 
 
 " I am afraid that soup won't agree wUh the 
 
ON THE KATZBACH. 
 
 201 
 
 French," said Blucher, with a humorous wink. 
 " Blue-bean soup is hard to digest. But they 
 will have to swallow it, whether they like it or 
 or not, won't they ? " 
 
 , they will!" laughed the soldiers; and 
 Blucher galloped over to the other regiments, to 
 fire their hearts by similar greetings. 
 
 It was two o'clock ! " Boys, the fun will com- 
 mence now ! " shouted Blucher's powerful voice. 
 "Xow I have French soldiers enough on this 
 side of the river. Forward ! " 
 
 Forward they went, at a double-quick, directly 
 at the French. The cannon boomed, the mus- 
 ketry rattled ; but the rain soon silenced the 
 hitter. 
 
 " Boys, 1 ' shouted Major von Othegraven to his 
 battalion of the Brandenburg regiment, " if we 
 cannot shoot them, we can club them ! " And 
 amid loud cheers the soldiers turned their mus- 
 kets, and struck their enemies with the butts. A 
 terrible hand-to-hand struggle ensued howls of 
 pain, dreadful abuse and imprecations burst from 
 both sides ; but at length they ceased on this part 
 of the field : the Brandenburg soldiers had killed 
 a wl-ole French battalion with the stocks of their 
 muskets ! * 
 
 The battle raged on amid the terrible storm 
 ing on the combatants. The wind blew vio- 
 
 tly, and the rain descended in torrents. The 
 
 en sank ankle-deep in the softened soil, but 
 "Forward ! " sounded the battle-cry, and the sol- 
 iers left their shoes in the mud, Hushing in their 
 
 cks or bare-footed on the enemy, who fought 
 ith lion-hearted courage, here receding and 
 
 ere advancing. 
 
 "Father Blucher, we are doing well to-day ! " 
 the soldiers to their chieftain, galloping 
 up to the infantry. 
 
 u Yes, we are doing well," cried Blucher ; " but 
 wait, boyswe shall do still better ! " 
 
 At this moment the artillery boomed from the 
 other side. Two officers galloped up to Bluchcr. 
 One was the orderly he had sent to General von 
 Sacken. 
 
 
 * Beitzke, vol. 11., y. 204. 
 
 " What reply did General von Sacken make ? " 
 shouted Blucher. 
 
 " ' Reply to the general, " Hurrah! ' " * was all 
 he said, your excellency." 
 
 " A splendid comrade ! " cried Blucher, merrily. 
 
 " General," said the second officer, in an under- 
 tone, " I beg leave to make a communication in 
 private." 
 
 " In private ? Xo communications will be made 
 in private to-day," replied Blucher, shaking his 
 head ; " my staff-officers must hear every thing." 
 And he beckoned to his aides and officers to come 
 closer to him. 
 
 " Your excellency then commands me to utter 
 aloud what I have to say ? " 
 
 "Well, speak directly, and, if you like, so 
 loudly that the French will hear, too ! " 
 
 " Well, then, general, I have to tell you that 
 no time is to be lost, and that we must hasten to 
 advance, for the Emperor Napoleon himself ia 
 coming up at the head of his troops ; he is al- 
 ready in the rear of your excellency." 
 
 " Ah," inquired Blucher, with perfect composure, 
 " is the Emperor Xapoleon in my rear ? Well, I 
 am glad of it ; then he is able to do me a great 
 favor." He turned his eyes again toward the bat- 
 tle array with a defiant smile, as if confident of 
 final victory. 
 
 The victory was not decided, although the mur- 
 derous struggle had lasted already an hour. Mar- 
 shal Macdonald constantly moved up fresh troops, 
 and Blucher had sufficient reserves to meet them. 
 Here the Prussians gave way, and there the 
 French. From the right wing of the Prussian 
 army orderlies informed General Blucher that 
 General York, with his troops, had repulsed the 
 enemy, and was advancing victoriously ; messen- 
 gers hastened to him from the left wing, and told 
 him that General Langeron was about to fall back, 
 that the Prussian cavalry were retreating, and th 
 h cavalry approaching in dense masses, and 
 that the Prussian batteries were in imminent 
 danger of falling into the hands of the enemy. 
 
 Blucher uttered an oath a single savage oath ; 
 
 * Beltike, roL 1i., p. 20L 
 
202 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 
 then he turned his head aside and shouted, " Hen- 
 nemann ! pipe-master ! " 
 
 Christian Hennemann galloped up immediate- 
 ly. He was in full hussar-uniform, but did not 
 belong to the ranks ; he was in the suite of his 
 general, and had to be constantly near him. On 
 the pommel of his saddle was a long iron box, 
 and in his mouth a short clay pipe. " General, 
 here I am ! " 
 
 " Give me a short pipe, for now we charge the 
 enemy ! " 
 
 Hennemann took the pipe from his mouth, 
 handed it to the general, and said, with the ut- 
 most equanimity : " Here it is ! It has been 
 burning some time already, and I began to think 
 the general had entirely forgotten the pipe and 
 myself." 
 
 Blucher put the pipe into his mouth. At this 
 moment a Brandenburg regiment of lancers gal- 
 loped up, headed by Major von Katzeler, Blu- 
 cher's former adjutant. " We are going to assist 
 our men ! " shouted Katzeler, saluting the general 
 with his sword. 
 
 "We are moving to the relief of our com- 
 rades!" cried a captain of hussars, thundering 
 op at the head of his regiment. 
 
 " Very well ! " said Blucher. " God bless me, 
 I must go with them ! I can stand it no longer ! " 
 Drawing his sword, he galloped with the courage 
 and ardor of a youth to the head of the column 
 of hussars, who received him with deafening 
 cheers. The bugles sounded, and forward sped 
 Blucher at an impetuous gallop. 
 
 Suddenly some one shouted by his' side : " Gen- 
 eral ! general ! " It was the pipe-master. Blu- 
 cher, looking at him with eyes flashing with an- 
 ger, said : " Begone ! Ride to the rear ! " 
 
 " God forbid ! " said Hennemann, composedly ; 
 " here is my place ; did not the general order me 
 always to remain near him and hold a short pipe 
 in readiness ? Well, I am near, and the pipe is 
 ready." 
 
 " I do not want it now, Christian ; we are 
 about to charge the enemy. To the rear, pipe- 
 master ! " 
 
 ' 1 cannot think of it, general ; no one is at 
 
 liberty to desert his post, as you told me your- 
 self," cried Hennemann. < I am at my post, and 
 will not allow myself to be driven from it. You 
 will soon enough need me." 
 
 " Forward ! " cried the general. And amid 
 loud cheers the hussars rushed upon the enemy, 
 Blucher fighting at their head, brandishing his 
 sword with the utmost delight, forcing back the 
 enemy, and wresting from him the advantages he 
 had already gained. The French being driven 
 back, Blucher suddenly commanded a halt. 
 
 " Boys ! " he shouted, in a clarion voice, " this 
 is a butchery to-day ; let us stop a moment, take 
 a drink, and fill our pipes. Pipe-master, my 
 pipe ! " 
 
 " Did I not say that you would soon need 
 me ? " asked Hennemann, in a triumphant voice. 
 "Here is your pipe, general !" 
 
 When the horses had taken breath, and the 
 bold hussars a drink, and filled their pipes, the 
 general's voice was again heard : " Forward in 
 God's name ! we shall soon be done with the 
 French ! " 
 
 Toward dusk the battle was decided. In wild 
 disorder fled the enemy, delayed by the softened 
 soil, blinded by the rain, and obstructed by the 
 Katzbach and the Neisse, with their 'roaring 
 waters swelling every moment. In hot pursuit 
 was the exultant victor, thundering with his 
 cannon, and hurling death into the ranks of the 
 fugitives. Field-pieces were planted on the banks 
 of those streams, and when the French approach- 
 ed, they were greeted with fearful volleys. Turn- 
 ing in dismay, flashing swords and bayonets 
 menaced them. Piles of dead were lying on the 
 bunks of the Katzbach ; thousands of corpses 
 were floating down the foaming waters, showing 
 to Silesia the bloody trophies of battle, and that 
 Blucher had at length taken revenge upon his 
 adversary. At seven o'clock in the evening all 
 was still On all sides the French had fled. 
 
' ' 
 
 Drawing hi* *wurd, he -ullopod with tin- COOnffl ai..l anior of u youth at the head of the column 
 
 of hus0an. 
 
 p. 202. 
 
BLUCHER AS A WRITER. 
 
 203 
 
 CHAPTER XXXYI. 
 
 BLUCHER AS A WRITER. 
 
 DARKNESS came, and the rain continued. The 
 1 dear little angels in heaven," who, as Blucher 
 said in the morning, wept for joy at the prospect 
 of a fight, were now perhaps shedding tears of 
 grief at the many thousands lying on the battle- 
 field with gaping wounds, and whose last sighs 
 were borne away on the stormy wind of the night. 
 
 Blucher rode across the field toward his head- 
 quarters ; no one was by his side but his friend, 
 General Gneisenau, and, at some distance behind 
 them, Christian Hennemann, holding a burning 
 pipe in his mouth. Absorbed in deep reflections, 
 they were riding along the dreadful road strewed 
 with dead and wounded soldiers, and through 
 pools of blood. Even Blucher felt exhausted 
 after the day's work ; his joy was suppressed by 
 the incessant rain that had drenched his clothes, 
 and by the groans of the dying, which rent his 
 ears and filled his soul with compassion. But 
 soon overcoming his sadness, he turned toward 
 Gneisenau. "Well," he said, "this battle we 
 have gained, and all the world will have to admit 
 it ; now let us think what we may put into our 
 bulletin to tell the people how we have gained it. 
 For ten years past Bonaparte has issued such 
 high-sounding accounts of his victories that I 
 always felt in my anger as though my heart were 
 a bomb-shell rea.ly to burst. Well, this time, 
 let us also draw up such a bulletin of victory, and 
 show that we have learned something. Let us 
 proclaim that we have conquered, and draw 
 up the document as soon as we arrive at Brech- 
 telshof." 
 
 "General, you will h.ivc to decide the name of 
 the battle," said Gneisenau. " How is it to be 
 known in history ? " 
 
 "Yes, that is true," said Blucher, thoughtfully, 
 { it must have a 11:11110. Well, propose one, 
 Gneisenau ! " 
 
 ' We might call it the battle of Brechtelshof, 
 se the headquarters of our brave chieftain, 
 our Father Blucher, are at that place," said 
 Gneisenau, in a mild tone. 
 
 "' 
 
 jecau 
 
 " No, do not mix me up with the matter," said 
 Blucher, hastily ; " the good God has vouchsafed 
 us a victory, let us humbly thank Him for it, and 
 not grow overbearing. Wait, I have it now ! We 
 shall call it, in honor of General von Sacken, the 
 battle of the Katzbach ; for, by Sacken's vigor- 
 ous cannonade from Eichholz, on the Katzbach, 
 and with the assistance of his brave cavalry, that 
 drove the enemy into the river, we gained the vic- 
 tory, and the battle ought to have that name. 
 1 The battle of the Katzbach ! 'Well, here are our 
 quarters ! " 
 
 "Xow, general, you must rest," said Gneisenau, 
 with the tenderness of a sm " You must change 
 your dress, take food, and repose on your laurels, 
 though there is but a straw mattress for you." 
 
 Blucher shook his head. " My clothes will dry 
 quickest if I keep them on my body," he said, 
 " and I must do so, for we have still a great many 
 things to attend to ; we must inform the king of 
 our victory, take care of our wounded, arrange 
 for the pursuit of the enemy ; and, finally, write 
 the bulletins of victory. We may take refresh- 
 ment, but I do not care for laurels with it laurels 
 are bitter. But let us take a drink, and smoke a 
 pipe. Pipe-master ! " 
 
 Fifteen minutes afterward, General Blucber en- 
 tered with Gneisenau the small chamber called his 
 headquarters ; all the other rooms were filled with 
 the wounded prior to the general's arrival at 
 Brechtelshof. Pains had been taken to render 
 this chamber as cosy and comfortable as possible, 
 and, when Blucher entered, he was gratified in 
 seeing a straw mattress near the wall, and on the 
 table (beside a flickering tallow-candle placed in 
 a bottle) a flask of wine, with a few glasses, and 
 near it a large ink-'tand and several sheets of 
 paper. 
 
 "Well," cried Blucher, cheerfully, "let us di- 
 vide fraternally, Gneisenau ; I will take the wine, 
 and you the ink. But, first, I will give you a 
 glass, and in return you will afterward let me 
 have a drop of ink." Sitting down on one of the 
 wooden stools, he quickly filled two glasses to the 
 brim. " Gneisenau," he said, solemnly, " let ua 
 drink this in honor of those who are lying on the 
 
204 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 
 battle-field, and who have died like brave men ! 
 May God bid them welcome, and be a merciful 
 Judge to them ! Let us drink also in commemo- 
 ration of Queen Louisa and Scharnhorst, who 
 both doubtless looked down upon us from, heaven 
 to-day, and assisted us in achieving a victory. To 
 them 1 am indebted for all I am. But for the 
 angelic face of the queen the calamity of the ac- 
 cursed year 1807 would have driven me to de- 
 spair and death ; and but for Scharnhorst I should 
 never have been appointed general-in-chief. Why, 
 they all considered me a bombastic old dotard of 
 big words and small deeds ; but Scharnhorst de- 
 fended me before the king and the emperor, and 
 what I am now I am through him, because he, 
 the noblest of men, believed in me. And I will not 
 give the lie to his faith, I will still accomplish 
 glorious things to-day's work is only a be- 
 ginning." 
 
 " But what you have done to-day is something 
 glorious, your excellency," said Gneisenau. " That 
 we have gained the battle, thanks to your gen- 
 eralship and the enthusiasm of the troops, is 
 not the greatest advantage. A more important 
 one is, that the Silesian army has been able to 
 prove what it is, and what a chieftain is at its 
 head. Now, all those will be silenced who con- 
 stantly mistrusted and suspected us ; who tried 
 to sow the seeds of discord between the Sile- 
 eian army and the headquarters of the allies; 
 and who were intent on preventing your excel- 
 lency from entering upon an independent and 
 energetic course of action." 
 
 " It is true, they call me a mad hussar," said 
 Blucher, shrugging his shoulders; "and Bona- 
 parte, as I read somewhere the other day, calls 
 me even a drunken hussar. Well, no matter ! let 
 them say what they please. And, moreover, they 
 are all, to some extent, justified in making such 
 assertions ; for I cannot deny that the years of 
 waiting, during which I was obliged to swallow 
 ny grief, really made me a little mad, and with 
 sobriety I never intend to meet Bonaparte ; but, 
 for all that, it is unnecessary for me to be drunk 
 with wine. 1 am still intoxicated with joy that we 
 have at length been allowed to attack the French, 
 
 : 
 
 and God grant that I may never awaken from thiw 
 intoxication ! Well, Gneisenau, now let us go to 
 work ! you with the ink, and I with the wine ! 
 Draw up the necessary instructions for the pur- 
 suit of the enemy, and, in the mean time, I will 
 consider what I have to write." 
 
 Gneisenau took the pen, and wrote ; Blucher 
 the glass, and drank. Half an hour passed in 
 silence ; Gneisenau then laid down his pen, for he 
 had finished the instructions ; and Blucher pushed 
 the glass aside, for the bottle was empty. 
 
 " I beg leave now to read the instructions 
 your excellency," said Gneisenau. 
 
 " No," said Blucher, "not now ! I have mysel 
 gathered some thoughts, and if I defer writing 
 them down, they will fly away like young swal- 
 lows. Such ideas, that are to be written down, 
 are not accustomed to have their nest in my head, 
 and for this reason I will let them out immedi- 
 ately. I will write to the king and to the city of 
 Breslau, informing him that we have gained the 
 battle, and the city of Breslau that it ought to do 
 something for my wounded. Give me the pen ; I 
 shall not be long about it." With extraordinary 
 rapidity he wrote words of such a size that ii, 
 would have been easy even for a short-sigh te(. 
 person to read them at a distance ; and, although 
 they were drawn across the paper very irregularly, 
 the general always took pains to have broad in- 
 tervals between the lines, that there might be no 
 probability of leaving them illegible. A sheet 
 was soon filled ; Blucher fixed his signature, and 
 contemplated the paper for a moment. Half an 
 hour afterward t\vo other sheets, filled with 
 strange and uncouth characters, lay before the 
 old general, and he cast the pen aside with a 
 sigh. " It is abominable work to write letters," 
 he said ; " I cannot comprehend why you, Gneise- 
 nau, who are so good a soldier, at the same time 
 know so well liow to wield the pen. It is not my 
 forte, although I had a notion once to be a 
 savant, and really become a sort of writer. IP 
 those calamitous days, subsequent to 1807, de- 
 spair and ennui sought for some relief to my 
 mind, and made me write a book, and I believe 
 a good one." 
 
BLUCHER AS A WRITER. 
 
 205 
 
 ** A book ? " asked Gneisenau, in amazement. 
 '* And you had it printed, your excellency ? " 
 
 " N'ot I ; I was no such fool as to do that. The 
 critics aii'i newspaper editors, who talk about 
 every thing, and know nothing, would have 
 pounced upon my book, and severely censured it. 
 No, my dear Gneisenau, one must not cast pearls 
 before swine. I keep my book in my desk, and 
 show it only to those whom I particulaily esteem. 
 When we return home from the campaign I will 
 let you read it ; I know it will please you, and 
 you will learn something. My work is called 
 ' Observation* on the Instruction and Tactics of 
 Cavalry.' A splendid title, is it not ? Well, you 
 may believe me, there is a great deal in it, and 
 many a one would be glad of having written it.* 
 Let us say no more about it. Here are my two 
 dispatches ; there is the letter to the king, and 
 here is my letter to the city of Breslau, and 
 you must do me a favor, Gneisenau. You must 
 i what I have written, and if I have made 
 any blunders in orthography or grammar, be so 
 kind as to correct them." 
 
 " But, your excellency," said Gneisenau, " no 
 one can express himself so vigorously as you, and 
 no one knows how to put the right word in the 
 right place as quickly as you do." 
 
 " Yes, as to the words, you are right. But the 
 grammar! there's the rub. Men are so foolish 
 as to refuse speaking as they please, but render 
 life even more burdensome by all sorts of gram- 
 matical rules. I have never in my whole life paid 
 any attention to them, but have spoken ray mind 
 freely and fearlessly. But as people really do 
 consider him a blockhead who does not talk as 
 do, let us humor them, and please correct my 
 mistakes ; but, pray, do so in such a manner that 
 it will not be found out." He han-led Gneisenau 
 the pen, a-id pu-hiM the two letters toward him. 
 "Correct what I have written," he s.,id ; "in the 
 i ill read what you have written." 
 
 " And pray !e so kind as to correct it, too, your 
 
 * Blucher was proud of this work, the only one he 
 over wrote, and always referred to it in terms of great 
 wtUfcction. Vide Vanilia^-n 70:1 Ense, "Life of Prince 
 ither of Wablstatt," p. 580. 
 
 excellency," begged Gneisenau, "for possibly I 
 may have made mistakes weighing heavier than 
 mere infractions of grammatical rules, and I may 
 not have succeeded in rendering your instructions 
 in words as concise and distinct as you gave them 
 to me." 
 
 ' Well, we shall see," exclaimed Blucher, smil- 
 ing, and taking up the paper. 
 
 " Very good," he said, after reading it through, 
 " every thing is done just as I wished it, and if 
 all our commanders act in accordance with these 
 instructions, we shall give the enemy no time for 
 taking a position anywhere, but completely dis- 
 perse his forces without being compelled to fight 
 another battle." 
 
 " And when the city of Breslau reads this noble 
 and affecting plea for your wounded," said Gneise- 
 nau, " they will be nursed in the most careful 
 manner, and our able-bodied soldiers will receive 
 wagon-loads of food and refreshments. And 
 when the king reads this dispatch, announcing 
 our victory in language so mo lest and unassum- 
 ing, his heart will feel satisfaction, and he will 
 rejoice equally over the victory and the general 
 to whom he is indebted for it." 
 
 " Have you corrected the grammatical blun- 
 ders ? " 
 
 " I have, your excellency ; I have erased them 
 so cautiously that no one can see that any thing 
 has been corrected." 
 
 "Well, then, be so kind as to dispatch a 
 courier." 
 
 " But, your excellency," said Gneisenau, "shall 
 the courier take only these two dispatches? 
 Have you forgotten that you promised Madame 
 von Blucher to write to her after every battle, 
 whether victorious or not, and that I solemnly 
 '1 her my word to remind your excellency 
 of it?" 
 
 " Weil, it is unnecessary to remind me-," cried 
 Illncher, taking up the letter he had first written 
 Here is my letter to Amelia. She is a faithful 
 wife, and I surely owed it to her to tell her first 
 tiiat the Lord lias been kind and gracious enough 
 toward me to let me gain the battle. But you 
 need not correct ? t. My Amelia Till not blame 
 
206 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 me for my grammatical blunders, and to her I 
 freely speak my mind." 
 
 " Did you inform your wife, too, that you drew 
 your sword yourself, and rushed into the thickest 
 of the fray ? " 
 
 " I shall take good care not to tell her any 
 thing of the kind," exclaimed Blucher. " As far 
 as that is concerned, I did not speak my mind to 
 her. It is true I had promised my dear wife to 
 be what she calls sensible, and only to command 
 and play the distinguished general who merely 
 looks on while others do the fighting. But it 
 would not do you must admit, Gneisenau, it 
 would not do ; I could not stand still like a scare- 
 crow, while my old adjutant, Katzeler, was charg- 
 ing with the hussars ; I had to go with them, if it 
 cost my life. You will do me the favor, however, 
 not to betray it to Amelia." 
 
 " Even though I should be silent, your excel- 
 lency, your wife would hear of it." 
 
 " You believe Henuemann will tell her ? " asked 
 Blucher, almost in dismay. " Yes, it is true, she 
 has ordered the pipe-master not to lose sight of 
 me in battle, and always to remain near me with 
 the pipe. Well, the fellow has kept his word ; 
 but he will now also fulfil what he promised my 
 wife, and tell her every thing. Yes, the pipe- 
 master will tell her that I was in the charge of 
 ,he light cavalry." 
 
 " Yes," exclaimed Gneisenau, smiling, " he will 
 betray to your wife and to history that Blusher 
 fought and charged at the battle of the Katzbach 
 like a young man of twenty. But for the pipe- 
 master, history might not know it at all." 
 
 " Gneisenau, you are decidedly too sharp," 
 cried Blucher, stroking his mustache. "Well, 
 please forward the dispatches, and then let us try 
 to sleep a little. We must invigorate ourselves, 
 for we shall have plenty to do to-morrow. ' For- 
 ward, always forward ! ' until Bonaparte is hurled 
 from his throne; and hurled from it he will be! 
 Yes, as sure as there is a God in heaven ! " 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 THE REVOLT OF THE GENERALS. 
 
 ON the morning of the 10th of October, Napo- 
 leon took leave of the King and Queen of Saxony, 
 after delivering at Eilenburg, whither he had re- 
 paired with the royal family of Saxony, a solemn 
 and enthusiastic address to the corps which his 
 faithful ally, King Frederick Augustus, had added 
 to his army, and which was to fight jointly with 
 the French against his enemies. He then en- 
 tered the carriage and rode to Duben, followed 
 by his staff, the whole park of artillery, and all 
 the equipages. Gloomy and taciturn, the em- 
 peror, on his arrival at the palace of Duben, re- 
 tired into his apartments and spread out the 
 maps, on which colored pins marked the various 
 positions of the allies and his own army. " They 
 are three to one against me," he murmured, bend- 
 ing over the maps and contemplating the pins. 
 " Were none but determined and energetic gen- 
 erals, like Blucher, at their head, my defeat would 
 be certain. They would then hem me in, bring 
 on a decisive battle, and their overwhelming 
 masses would crush me and my army. Fortu- 
 nately, there is no real harmony among the allies : 
 they will scatter their forces, post them here anc 
 there, and in the mean time I shall march to Ber- 
 lin, take the city, repose there, and, with renewed 
 strength, attack them one after another. Ah, I 
 shall succeed in defeating them, I " 
 
 There was a low knock at the door, and Con- 
 stant, his valet de chambre, entered the room. 
 " Sire," he said, " Marshal Marmont and the gen. 
 tlemen of the staff are in the reception-room, and 
 request your majesty graciously to grant them an 
 audience." 
 
 An expression of surprise overspread the em- 
 peror's face, and for an instant lie seemed to hesi- 
 tate ; but gently nodding he said, calmly : " Open 
 the door. I grant them the audience." 
 
 Constant opened the folding-doors, and in the 
 reception-room were seen the marshals and gen- 
 erals assembled. Their faces were pale and 
 gloomy, and there was something solemn anj 
 constrained in their whole bearing. When Na 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE GENERALS. 
 
 207 
 
 poleon appeared on the threshold, the groups 
 dispersed, and the gentlemen placed themselves 
 in line, silent and noiseless, along the \vall oppo- 
 site the emperor, seemingly at a loss whether 
 they or the emperor should utter the first word. 
 Napoleon advanced a few steps. For the first 
 time his generals, the companions of so many 
 years and so many battles, seemed unable to bear 
 the emperor's glance. Napoleon saw this, and a 
 bitter smile flitted over his face. " Marmont," 
 he exclaimed, in his ringing voice, " what do you 
 all want ? Speak ! " 
 
 " Sire, 1 ' said the marshal, " we wish to take the 
 liberty of addressing a question and a request to 
 your majesty." 
 
 "First, the question, then!" 
 
 "Sire, we take the liberty of asking whether 
 your majesty really intends to cross the Elbe with 
 the army, and to resume the struggle on the right 
 bank ? " 
 
 " You ask very abruptly and bluntly," said Na- 
 poleon, haughtily. "I need not listen to you, 
 but I will do so, nevertheless. I will reply to 
 your question, not because I must, but because I 
 choose to do so. Yes, gentlemen, I intend to 
 
 nsfer the whole army to the right bank of the 
 
 be in order to occupy Brandenburg and Berlin, 
 then face about to the river, and make Magde- 
 burg the support of my further operations.* This 
 is my plan, and you, according to your duty, will 
 
 ist me in carrying it into execution. I have 
 ed to your question. Now let me hear your 
 
 uest" 
 
 said Marmont, alter a brief silence, 
 now that we have heard your gracious reply, I 
 dare to give expression to our request, which is 
 not only ours, but that of all the officers of the 
 army of France. Sire, we implore you, give up 
 this bold plan of operations ; do not vainly shed 
 the blood of thousands ! The odds are too great, 
 not only in numbers, but in warlike ardor. The 
 iggling against us with the fanati- 
 of hatrv.l, anl his tiuvrfbM superiority 
 to secure victory to him. Our army, on 
 
 Beitzke, vol. ii., p. 491. 
 
 the contrary, is exhausted and tircu of war. and 
 the consciousness of being ingaged in. a struggle 
 that apparently holds out no prospects of ulti 
 mate success, is paralyzing both its physical and 
 moral strength. Sire, we implore you, in the 
 name of France, make peace ! Let us return to 
 the Rhine! Let us at last rest from this pro- 
 longed war ! Oh, sire, give us peace ! " 
 
 " Oh, sire, give us peace ! " echoed the gen- 
 erals, in solemn chorus. 
 
 The emperor's eyes were fixed in succession 
 upon the faces of the bold men who dared thus 
 to address him, and who, at this hour, confronted 
 him in a sort of open revolt. An expression of 
 anger flushed his face for an instant, and his fea- 
 tures resumed their impenetrable, stony look. 
 " You have come to hold a council of war with 
 me," he said. " To be sure, I have not sum- 
 moned you, but no matter. It is your unanimous 
 opinion that we should return to the Rhine, and 
 thence to France, avoid further battles, and make 
 peace ? " 
 
 " Sire, we pray your majesty this time to re- 
 press your military genius under the mantle of 
 your imperial dignity," cried the marshal. " As 
 soon as the general is silent, the emperor will per- 
 ceive that his people and his country need repose 
 and peace. France has given her wealth, her 
 vigor, and her blood, for twenty years of victories, 
 and she has joyfully done so ; but now her wealth 
 is exhausted, her strength and her youth are gone, 
 for there are in France no more young men, only 
 the aged, invalids, and children ; the fighting-men 
 lie on the battle-fields. Boys have been enrolled, 
 and are forming the young army of your majesty. 
 Sire, it is the last blood that France has to sacri- 
 fice: spare it! The enemy is thrice as strong as 
 we are, and even the military genius of your ma- 
 jesty will be unable to achieve victories in so un- 
 equal a struck'. Listen, therefore, to reason, to 
 necessity, and t<> our pra\vr; makepeace. Sire, 
 let us return to France ! " 
 
 Another flush suffused Napoleon's face, but he 
 controlled his anger. " You believe, then, that it 
 depends on me only to make peace ? " he asked, 
 in a calm voice. " You think we would 6nd no 
 
208 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 obstacles in our way if we endeavored now to re- 
 turn to France? that the enemy would leave the 
 roads open to us, and be content with our evacu- 
 ating Germany ? This is a great mistake, gentle- 
 men. I cannot make peace, for the allies would 
 not accept it. They know their strength, and are 
 intent on having war. You say their armies are 
 thrice as strong as mine, and that is the reason 
 why we could not conquer ? I might reply to you 
 what the great Ccnde replied to his generals, 
 when he was about to attack the superior Spanish 
 army, ' Great battles are gained with small ar- 
 mies.' And on the following day he gained the 
 battle of Lons. Yes, gentlemen, the victor of 
 Rocroy and Lons was right; great battles are 
 gained with small armies ; only we must make 
 our dispositions correctly, and scatter the forces 
 of our adversaries, instead of giving them an op- 
 portunity to concentrate upon one point. Tt is, 
 therefore, of vital importance for me to hold the 
 line of the Elbe, for with it I possess all the 
 strong points of Bohemia ; and, besides, the for- 
 tresses of Custrin, Stettin, and Glogau, are close to 
 it. If I have to abandon that river, I abandon all 
 Germany to the Rhine, with all the fortresses, 
 and the vast materiel stored there. That would 
 be to weaken us and strengthen the enemy, now 
 on the left bank. I will, therefore, cross to the 
 right bank of the Elbe, for thence I am able to 
 deploy my whole army without hinderance, and 
 connect my line with Davoust at Hamburg, and 
 St. Cyr at Dresden. We shall easily take Berlin, 
 raise the sieges of Glogau, Stettin, and Custrin, 
 and become masters of the situation. Prussia, 
 the hot-bed of this fermentation and revolution, 
 will be subjugated and crushed. That will dis- 
 courage the others, and they will fall back as 
 they have so often, their plans will be disorgan- 
 ized, and then I shall have gained my cause ; 
 for the strength of the allies consists chiefly in 
 the fact that they are temporarily in harmony. 
 Let us disorganize their plans, foster their sepa- 
 rate interests, and we gain every thing. When 
 the Prussians see their country threatened, they 
 will hasten to its assistance; the Russians, Swedes, 
 and Austrians, will refuse to change and reor- 
 
 ganize their plans of operations for the sake of 
 Prussia, and discord will prevent them from act 
 ing. If Germany had been united, and acted 
 with one will, I could not have taken from her 
 a single village or fortress. Fortunately, how- 
 ever, the people do not act unanimously ; wherever 
 ten Germans are assembled, there are also ten 
 separate interests at war among them, and this 
 fact has delivered the country into my hands 
 Let us, therefore, profit by this national peculi- 
 arity ; let us stir up their separate interests, and 
 that will be as advantageous as though we gained 
 a battle. We shall, then, cross over to the right 
 bank of the Elbe, make Berlin our centre, sup- 
 port our left on Dresden, our right on Magdeburg, 
 and face toward the west. At all events, this 
 will bring about an entire change of position, and 
 it will then be my task to force my plans of oper 
 ation upon the allies." * 
 
 " A task that would be easily accomplished by 
 the genius of your majesty, which is so superior 
 to that of all the generals of the allies," said the 
 marshal ; " but still this whole plan, how admir- 
 able soever it may be, is altogether too bold. If 
 we pass over to the right bank of the Elbe, we 
 would give up all connection with France ; the 
 allies, it would be believed, had, by skilful ma- 
 noeuvres, cut us off hurled us into inevitable 
 destruction. Moreover your majesty will pardon 
 me for this observation we can no longer count 
 upon the assistance of our German auxiliaries. 
 They will abandon us at the very moment when 
 we need them most. Even Bavaria is no longer 
 a reliable ally, for, notwithstanding the benefits 
 your majesty has conferred on her, she is about 
 to ally herself with Austria. Sire, you said a few 
 minutes ago that you counted upon the discord 
 of the Germans, but this exists no more, or rather 
 it exists only among the princes ; but we have no 
 longer to fight the latter alone we have to strug- 
 gle against the genius of Germany, which haa 
 risen against us, and for the first time the whole 
 nation is united in hatred and wrath. Sire 
 this national spirit is more powerful than all 
 
 * Beitze, vol. ., p. 492. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE GENERALS. 
 
 209 
 
 princes and all armies, for it overcomes the 
 princes, and makes new armies spring as if from 
 the ground to defend the sacred soil of the father- 
 land. Those armies we shall be unable to con- 
 quer : for one-half of ours is composed of soldiers ex- 
 hausted by continued wars, and longing for peace ; 
 and the other half of young, ignorant conscripts, 
 who will yield to unwonted privations. There- 
 fore, sire, I dare renew ray prayer, and implore 
 your majesty to give up your plan against Berlin ! 
 Let us not pass over to fhe right bank of the 
 Elbe, but march toward the Rhine!" 
 
 " Is that your opinion, too, gentlemen ? " asked 
 Napoleon, turning toward the generals. "Do 
 you, though I have condescended to explain to 
 you at length my plan, and the motives that have 
 caused me to adopt it, still persist in your belief 
 that it would be better not to pass to the right 
 bank of the Elbe, but to return to the Rhine ? " 
 
 " Yes," cried the generals, unanimously, " we 
 persist in our opinion." 
 
 Xapoleon drew back a step, and a pallor over- 
 spread his face ; but apparently he remained as 
 cold and calm as ever. " My plan has been deep- 
 ly calculated," he said, after a pause; "I have 
 admitted into it, as a probable contingency, the 
 defection of Bavaria. I am convinced that the 
 plan of marching on Berlin is good. A retro- 
 grade movement, in the circumstances in which 
 we are placed, is disastrous ; and those who op- 
 pose my projects have undertaken a serious re- 
 sponsibility. However, I will think of it, and 
 inform you of my final decision."* He saluted 
 the generals with a careless nod and retin 
 into his cabinet. 
 
 The generals looked with anxious faces at one 
 another when the door closed. "What shall 
 now ? " they inquired. " Wait, and not 
 yield ! " murmured the n. nniong them, 
 
 and all agreed to do so. 
 
 With gloomy glances (lid NapoU-on. after his 
 rn to his cabinet, look at the door that sep- 
 arated him from his mutinous generals. He felt 
 
 J 
 
 * Nai>oleon's words. Vide Fain, " Manuscritdc 1S18,' 
 
 rol. i. 
 
 
 li 
 
 that now a new power had taken the field against 
 him that might become more dangerous than all 
 the others, and that was the revolt of his gener- 
 als. He heard distinctly their last words. They 
 had not said, " We persist in our opinion, and 
 would like to return," but, " We must return to 
 France." His generals, then, dared to have a will 
 of their own, and opposed to that of their em- 
 peror. They knew it, and it did not deter them ! 
 
 " Ah, the wretches," he murmured to himself, 
 " they are blind ! They will not see that we are 
 hastening to destruction. They compel me to 
 return as Alexander's generals compelled htm to 
 return ! Woe to us ! We are lost ! " He sank 
 down on the sofa ; and now, when none could see 
 him, the veil dropped from his face, the imperial 
 mantle fell from his cowering form, and he was 
 but a weak, grief-stricken man, who, with, a pale 
 and quivering face, was uncertain what to do. 
 Hour after hour elapsed. He was still sitting in 
 the corner of the sofa, rigid and motionless ; only 
 the sighs which heaved his breast from time to 
 time, and the quiver of his eyelids, betrayed the 
 life that was still animating him. 
 
 The court-marshal entered and announced din- 
 ner. The emperor waved his hand to him that 
 he might withdraw, and his marshals and gener- 
 als vainly awaited him. They looked at each 
 other inquiringly and murmured, " He is reflect- 
 ing ! We can wait, but we cannot yield ! " 
 
 At the stated hour in the afternoon, the two 
 raphers of the emperor, Colonel Bacler d'Al- 
 li;i, and Colonel Duclay, entered the emperor's 
 cabinet. As usual, they rolled the table, covered 
 with maps and plans, before the emperor, and 
 then took seats at the other table standing in the 
 corner, which was also covered in like manner. 
 They waited for the emperor, as was his habit, 
 to speak and discuss his movements with them. 
 
 " was silent; he took up, however, a ! 
 sheet of white paper, and pen, and* be^an tu 
 What did he write? The topographers 
 were unable to see it ; they sat pen in hand, 
 and waited. But Napoleon was still silent. Hour 
 after hour passed ; not a sound of the triumphant, 
 joyous, and proud life which used to surround 
 
210 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 the victorious emperor was to be heard in the 
 dreary palace of Duben. The anterooms were 
 deserted ; the generals remained all day in the 
 audience-room, and gazed with sullen faces upon 
 the door of the imperial cabinet. But this door 
 did not open. In the cabinet the emperor was 
 still on his sofa, now leaning back in meditation, 
 and now bending over the map-table, and writing 
 slowly. Opposite him sat the two topographers, 
 mournfully waiting for him to speak to them.* 
 But Napoleon wrote, gazed into the air, sank 
 back on the sofa, groaned, raised himself again, 
 and wrote on. 
 
 This indifference and silence made a strange 
 impression, which frightened even the generals, 
 when the topographers, whom the emperor had 
 at length dismissed with a quick wave of the 
 hand, and an imperious "Go!" entered the au- 
 dience-room, and told them of this extraordinary 
 conduct. But Napoleon had written something, 
 and it was all-important for them to know what. 
 They wished to discover whether letters or plans 
 had been penned by the emperor, and with 
 what he had been occupied all day. "Let us 
 speak with Constant," they whispered to each 
 other. " He alone will enter the cabinet to-day. 
 He has keen eyes, and will be able to see what 
 the emperor has written." Constant consented 
 to cast, at a favorable moment, a passing glance 
 on the emperor's desk. The generals remained 
 in the audience-room and waited. 
 
 An hour passed, when Constant, pale and sad, 
 entered the room; he held a large, crumpled 
 sheet of paper in his h;ind. " The emperor has 
 retired," he whispered. " He called me, and 
 when I entered the cabinet, he was still sitting 
 on the sofa at the map-table, and engaged in 
 writing. Suddenly he threw down the pen and 
 seized the paper, crumpled it in his hand, and 
 threw it on the floor. I picked it up, and may 
 communicate it to you, for it contains no secrets." 
 All the generals stretched out their hands. Con- 
 stant banded the paper to Marshal Marmont. 
 The sheet contained nothing but large capital 
 
 * Odeicoen, "The Campaign in Saxony In 1618.' 
 
 letters, joined with fanciful nourishes. * Tht 
 generals gazed at each other with bewildered 
 eyes. Those capital letters, this work of a child., 
 was the day's labor which the energetic emperor 
 had performed ! The letters, traced so carefully 
 and elaborately, made an awful impression on the 
 beholders a whole history of secret despair, 
 stifled tears of grief, and bitter imprecations., 
 spoke from this crumpled sheet of paper. The 
 generals turned pale, as if imminent danger was 
 hovering over them as if Fate had sent them its 
 Runic letters, which they were unable to decipher. 
 They left the room in silence, bnt murmured still, 
 " We can wait, but we cannot yield." 
 
 Night had come. Silence settled on the mourn- 
 ful palace of Duben. The emperor lay on his 
 field-bed, but he did not sleep ; for Constant, who 
 was in the cabinet adjoining the imperial bed- 
 chamber, heard him often sigh and utter words 
 of anger and grief. In the middle of the night 
 the valet heard a loud, piercing cry, and ran into 
 the bedchamber. The emperor was in agon}, 
 writhing, and a prey to violent convulsions. Ha 
 was ill with colic, which so often visited him, an 
 the pallor of death overspread his face. 
 
 Constant hastened to bring the usual remedies, 
 but he did not send for the doctor ; for he knew 
 that Napoleon did not like to have any import- 
 ance attached to this illness. The pain at length 
 yielded to the remedies applied. The emperor 
 submitted to Constant's entreaties, and drank the 
 soothing tea which he always took at these evil 
 hours, and the efficacy of which in such cases 
 had been discovered by the Empress Josephine. 
 He put the teacup on the table, and looked very 
 melancholy. Possibly he remembered how often 
 Josephine's presence had comforted him during 
 such hours how her small hand had wiped the 
 cold perspiration from his forehead how his 
 weary head had rested in her lap, and how her 
 tender words had consoled and strengthened him. 
 Possibly he remembered all this, for he murmured 
 in a low voice, " Ah, Josephine, why are you not 
 with me ? You were my guardian angel ! My 
 
 I 
 
 * Constant, " M6rnoircs," -v ol. v., p. 26ft 
 
THE BATTLE OF LEIPSIC. 
 
 211 
 
 star has set with you!" Then his head sank 
 oack on the pillow, and he closed his eyes. Per- 
 haps his grief made him sleep. 
 
 Eirly on the following morning a carriage 
 rolled into the court-yard, and Marshal Augereau 
 requested an audience of the emperor, who had 
 reentered his map-cabinet. 
 
 " Augereau," said the emperor to his marshal, 
 " you bring me bad news ! " 
 
 " Only news, sire, which your majesty has al- 
 ready foreseen. It is the defection of Bavaria, 
 and her accession to the alliance." 
 
 The emperor bent his head on his breast. u It 
 must be so. All are deserting me. I must sub- 
 mit. Augereau," he said, aloud, "Bavaria has 
 deserted me, but, what is still worse, my generals 
 have done so, too. They will no longer follow 
 me. They refuse to obey me; my plans seem 
 too rash and dangerous. They do not wish to go 
 to Berlin they want peace ! Do you understand, 
 Augereau, peace at a moment when all are arm- 
 ing when war is inevitable, and when it is all- 
 important for me to extricate myself as advan- 
 tageously as possible from the snare in which 
 we shall be caught if the allies profit by their 
 superiority, and draw together the net surround- 
 ing us." 
 
 " Sire, and I believe they have the will to do 
 so," cried Augereau. " Nothing but the com- 
 manding military genius of your majesty is still 
 able to conquer." 
 
 A painful smile quivered round the pale lips 
 
 the emperor. " Ah, Augereau," he said, "we 
 no longer the soldiers of Jena and Austerlitz. 
 I have no longer any generals on whose obedience 
 I may count. I shall give up my plan, I shall 
 not pass over to the right bank of the Elbe, but, 
 by taking this resolution, I renounce all victories 
 and successes, and it only remains for me to suc- 
 b with honor, and to have opened as advan- 
 ous a passage as possible through Germany 
 to France." 
 
 The marshals and generals were again assem- 
 bled in the audience-room, and gazed in sullen 
 expectation at the door of the imperial cabinet. 
 Suddenly the emperor, pale and calm as usual, 
 
 
 
 unu 
 
 cuml 
 
 t*ge< 
 
 walked in, followed by Marshal Augereau. All 
 eyes were fixed upon the emperor, whose lips 
 were to proclaim the events of the future. 
 
 Advancing into the middle of the room, he 
 raised his head, and sternly glanced along the 
 line of generals. " Gentlemen," he said, in a 
 loud voice, " I have changed my plan. We shall 
 not pass over to the right bank of the Elbe, but 
 turn toward Leipsic to-morrow. May those who 
 have occasioned this movement never regret 
 it ! " * 
 
 A shout of joy burst forth when the emperor 
 paused. The generals surrounded him, now that 
 they had attained their object, to thank him for 
 his magnanimity, and then they cheerfully looked 
 at each other, shook hands, and exclaimed in 
 voices trembling with emotion, " We shall again 
 embrace our parents, our wives, our children, 
 our friends ! " f 
 
 "Ah, Augereau," said the emperor, mourn- 
 fully, " you see I could not act otherwise ; it was 
 their will ! But you, who are of my opinion that 
 this retrograde movement is a calamity, will be 
 able to testify in my favor if the future shows 
 that I am right. You will state that I was com- 
 pelled to pursue a path which I knew would lead 
 to destruction 1 " 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF LEIPSIC. 
 
 THE struggle had already been going on for 
 two days. On the 15th and 16th of October the 
 Austrians, Russians, Prussians, and Swedes, had 
 fought a number of engagements with the French 
 between Halle and Leipsic. The Austriuns, or 
 the army of Bohemia, commanded by Schwartzen- 
 the general-in-chief, had been defeated by 
 the French at Waciiau on the 15th of October ; 
 but the Prussians and Russians, under Blucher, 
 had gained a brilliant victory at Mb'ckern on the 
 IGth of October; and though the Swedes, under 
 
 * Napoleon's worda. Constant, voL v., p. 289 
 t Ibid. 
 
212 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 Bernadotte, had not participated in the battle, 
 and had, as usual, managed on that day to keep 
 away from the carnage, they had at the same time 
 contrived to participate in the glory of victory. 
 
 The French had not gained a single decisive 
 battle during these two days, and yet Napoleon 
 himself was at the head of his forces, directing 
 their movements. Thousands of his soldiers lay on 
 the blood-stained field of Wachau, and thousands 
 more were mown down at Mockern. His army 
 was melting away hour by hour, while that of his 
 enemies constantly increased. Fresh reserves 
 were moved up ; the battle array of the allies 
 grew more imposing and overwhelming, and the 
 great, decisive battle was drawing nigh. 
 
 It was the evening of the second day, the 16th 
 of October. Napoleon, who had his headquar- 
 ters on the preceding day at Reudnitz, four miles 
 from Leipsic, removed them for the night into 
 the open field, from which the city could be 
 seen, and behind it the numerous fires of the 
 allies gleamed through the gathering shades. 
 Beside the emperor's tent a large camp-fire was 
 kindled, and near it, on a small field-stool, cov- 
 ered with red morocco, sat Napoleon, his gray 
 overcoat closely buttoned up, bis three-cornered 
 hat drawn over his forehead, and his arms folded 
 on his breast. His guards, who were encamping 
 in the plain in wide circles around him, could dis- 
 tinctly see him, partially illuminated by the camp- 
 fire. That bent, dark form was their only hope 
 a hope which did not look up to the stars 
 shining above them, but which was satisfied with 
 a mortal, who they believed could guide and pro- 
 tect them. And he indeed could save them from 
 death by discontinuing the struggle, by accepting 
 peace, though at the heaviest cost at the sacri- 
 fice of all his possessions outside of France. 
 
 Two forms approached the camp-fire. It was 
 only when they stood by the emperor's side, that 
 e perceived them and looked up. He recog- 
 nized the grave faces of Marshal Berthier and 
 Count Dam. 
 
 "What do you want?" he asked, in a husky 
 voice. 
 
 " Sire," said Berthier, solemnly, " we come, as 
 
 ""' 
 
 envoys of all the superior officers of the army, >; 
 lay our humble requests before your majesty." 
 
 " Have you any thing to request ? " asked Na- 
 poleon, sneeringly. "I thought I had fulfilled at 
 Duben all the wishes of my generals ; I gave up 
 my plan against Berlin and the right bank of the 
 Elbe, and marched to Leipsic, in order to take 
 the direct road to France. Are my generals no 1 ; 
 yet satisfied ? " 
 
 "Sire, who could suppose that on this road we 
 would meet all the corps of the allies ? " sighed 
 the Prince of Neufchatel. " Even your rnajc 
 did not know it." 
 
 " I did not," replied Napoleon, " but my star 
 forewarned me, and I conceived the plan of going 
 to Berlin. You overcame my will ; what do you 
 still want ? " 
 
 " Sire," said Berthier, almost timidly, " we 
 want to implore your majesty to offer an armis- 
 tice and peace to the allies. Our troops are 
 dreadfully exhausted by these days of incessant 
 fighting, and are, besides, discouraged by the coi> 
 tinued victories of our enemies. The general*;, 
 too, are disheartened, the more so as we are uns^ 
 ble to continue the struggle two days longer, b<- 
 cause our ammunition begins to fail. We have 
 recently used such a vast amount that scarcely 
 enough remains for a single day. Sire, if wo, 
 however, continue to fight and are defeated, the 
 road to France is open to our enemies, and your 
 majesty cannot prevent the allies from marching 
 directly upon Paris, for France has no soldiers to 
 defend her when our army is routed. Let your 
 majesty, therefore, have mercy on your country 
 and your people ; discontinue the war, and make 
 proposals of peace ! " 
 
 "Yes, sire," said Daru, "become anew the 
 benefactor of your country, overcome your great 
 heart for tbe welfare of your people and your 
 army, whose last columns are assembled around 
 you, and await life or death from your lips. The 
 terrible, unforeseen event has taken us by sur- 
 prise; we were not sufficiently prepared. We 
 have no ambulances, no hospitals; all the ele- 
 ments of victory are wanting, for when tht sol- 
 dier knows that, after the battle, if he should be 
 
THE BATTLE OF LEIPSIC. 
 
 213 
 
 wounded or taken sick, he will flud a good bed, 
 careful treatment, and medical attendance, he 
 goes with a feeling of some sort of security into 
 battle; but we are destitute of tlie-- 
 Your majesty knows full well that this is no fault 
 of mine, but still it is so, and that we lack almost 
 every thing. Your majesty, therefore, will be 
 gracious enough to take a resolution which, it is 
 true, is painful and deplorable, but under the cir- 
 cumstances indispensable." 
 
 Napoleon listened to the two gentlemen with 
 calmness and attention. When Count Darn was 
 silent, he fixed a sarcastic eye first on him, then 
 on Berthier. " Have you any thing else to say ? " 
 be then asked. The two gentlemen bowed in si- 
 lence. 
 
 '!, then," said Napoleon, rising, and, with 
 his arms folded, " I will reply to both of you. 
 Ilcrthier, you know that I do not attach to your 
 opinion in such matters as much as a straw's val- 
 ue ; you may, therefore, save yourself the trouble 
 of speaking ! As to you, Count Daru, it is your 
 to wield the pen, and not the sword ; you 
 are incapable of passing an opinion on this ques- 
 tion. As to those who are of the same way of 
 thinking, and whose envoys you are, tell them as 
 my determined and final answer simply, 'They 
 shall obey ! "' * 
 
 IIu turned his back upon them and entered his 
 t nt. Constant and Roustan had taken pains to 
 give it as comfortable and elegant an appearance 
 as possible. A beautiful Turkish carpet covered 
 the floor. On the table in the middle of the 
 t' tit were placed the emperor's supper, consisting 
 of some cold viands on silver plates and dishes. 
 On another table was an inkstand, papers, books, 
 nnd maps; and in a nook, formed by curtains 
 and draperies, stood the emperor's fieM-bed. The 
 sight of this snug little room, and the stillness 
 surrounding him, seemed to do him good ; the soli- 
 tude allowed him to let the mask fall from his 
 race, and to permit the melancholy and painful 
 thoughts which fille-1 his soul to reflect them- 
 s.'lves in his features. With a sigh resembling a 
 
 * Napoleon's wonls.-Vi.lo "Memoirs of the Duchess 
 i Abrantes," vol. xvi., p. 3S&, 
 
 groan he sank down on tho easy-chair. " They 
 want to crush me to earth," he murmured "to 
 transform the giant into a pigmy, because they 
 are tco much afraid of his strength. Their fear 
 li-ngth made brave men of these allies, and 
 they have resolved to put me on the bed of Pro 
 crustes, .and to reduce me to the size of a com- 
 mon man, like themselves. "Will it be necessary 
 to submit to this ? Must I allow them to cut off 
 my limbs, to save my life ? " He paused, and be- 
 came absorbed deeper in his reflections. 
 
 Suddenly he was interrupted by approaching foot- 
 steps. The curtain of the tent was drawn back, and 
 one of the emperor's adjutants appeared. " Sire/' 
 he said, " the Austrian General Meerfeldt, who was 
 taken prisoner by your majesty's troops at 
 Wachau, has just arrived under escort, and awaits 
 your orders." 
 
 The emperor rose more quickly than usual. 
 " Fate responds to my questions and doubts," be 
 said to himself, hastily pacing his tent floor. " I 
 endeavored to find an expedient, and a mediator 
 appears between myself and my enemies. All is 
 not yet lost, then, for Fate seems still to be my 
 ally." He turned with a quick motion of his head 
 toward the adjutant. " Admit General Meerfeldt 
 I will see him." 
 
 A few minutes afterward the Austrian general 
 entered the tent. The emperor quickly met him, 
 and gazed with a strange, triumphant look into 
 the embarrassed face of the count. " I believe 
 we are old acquaintances," said Napoleon, " for, 
 if I am not mistaken, it was you who, in 1797, 
 solicited the armistice of Leoben, and you partici- 
 pated, too, in the negotiations which terminated 
 in the treaty of Campo-Formio." 
 
 " Yes, sire, you are right ; I had at that time 
 the good fortune to become acquainted with 
 General Bonaparte," said Count Meerfeldt, with a 
 deep bow ; " he was just entering a career which 
 i him from victory to victory, and adorned 
 his h'.-ail with well-merited laurels." 
 
 ou were one of the signers of the treaty 
 of Campo-Formio," exclaimed Napoleon. " But 
 that was not all. Was it not you who wished to 
 present, me in the name of the emperor of 
 
214 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 Austria, with some magnificent gifts ? What was 
 it you came to offer me then ? " 
 
 " Sire," said the count, in confusion, " 1 had 
 orders to repeat that which Count Cobenzl had 
 already vainly proposed to General Bonaparte. I 
 had orders to offer him, in the emperor's name, a 
 principality in Germany, several millions in ready 
 money, and a team of six white horses." 
 
 " I declined the principality in Germany because 
 I thought that one ought either to inherit or con- 
 quer sovereignties, but never accept them as gifts, 
 for he who accepts a gift always remains the moral 
 vassal of the giver. I rejected the millions be- 
 cause I would not allow myself to be bribed ; but 
 I did accept the six horses, and with them made 
 my entry into Germany and came to Rastadt." 
 
 " It was the first triumphal procession of your 
 majesty in Germany, and, like Julius Csesar, you 
 could say, 'I came, saw, and conquered ! ' " 
 
 " Since then circumstances have greatly chang- 
 ed," said the emperor, thoughtfully ; " General Bo- 
 naparte became the Emperor Napoleon, and the 
 latter did what General Bonaparte refused to do : 
 he accepted at the hands of the Emperor of Austria 
 a gift more precious than principalities, for it was 
 a beautiful young wife. Ah, general you are my 
 prisoner, and I ought not to release you, but send 
 you to Paris, that you might have the good for- 
 tune of kissing the hand of the Empress of France, 
 the daughter of my enemy, and of seeing whether 
 the little fair-haired King of Rome looks like his 
 grandfather. But no, I will set you at liberty, I 
 will make you my negotiator ! You were one of 
 those with whom I concluded, in the name of 
 France, the first peace with Austria ; I, therefore, 
 commission you now to mediate my last peace ; 
 for I want to wage no more wars I am tired of 
 this unceasing bloodshed; I ask naught but to 
 repose in peace, and dream of the happiness of 
 France, after having dreamed of its glory. Go, 
 repeat this to the emperor, your master ; tell him 
 that I desire no more conquests, but repose. Tell 
 him that I long for nothing more ardently than 
 peace, and that I am ready to conclude it, even be- 
 fore our swords have crossed." 
 
 " Sire," said Count Meerfeldt, hesitatingly, " if ! 
 
 I repeat all this to the emperor, he will ask 
 what guaranties your majesty offers him, and what 
 cessions of territory you propose to make." 
 
 " Cessions of territory ! " exclaimed Napoleon. 
 " Yes, that is it ! You want to render me power- 
 less ; that is all you are fighting for; that is why 
 the Russians and Swedes are in Germany ; that h 
 why the Germans accept subsidies at the hands 
 of England ! all to attain a single object : to de- 
 prive me of my power, and narrow the boundaries 
 of France. But do you think that the Russians, 
 the Swedes, and the English, will require no in- 
 demnities for services rendered, and that they will 
 very conveniently find them in the territories 
 which you propose to wrest from me ? What will 
 Germany gain thereby ? She will have rendered 
 France, her natural ally, so powerless that she can 
 never assist her, and, in return, she will have se- 
 cured a footing in Germany to her three natural 
 enemies, Russia that is, barbarism ; England 
 that is, foreign industry and commerce in colonial 
 goods ; Sweden that is, navigation on the north- 
 ern shores. But you will do all this rather than 
 leave me in possession of my power, though I tell 
 you that I wish to fight no more, but long for rv- 
 pose. Is it not so ? " 
 
 " Sire," said Count Meerfeldt, in a low voic^, 
 "the allied sovereigns are, perhaps, familiar with 
 the words of Caesar, who said that laurels, if th<:y 
 were not to wither, should be often bathed in 
 hostile blood, and fed every year with soil from 
 new fields of victory. Your majesty being the 
 modern Ccesar, the allies may be afraid lest you 
 should adopt this maxim." 
 
 " Yes," cried Napoleon, " you are afraid of the 
 very sleep of the lion ; you fear that you will never 
 be easy before having pared his nails and cut 
 his mane. Well, then, after you have placed him 
 in this predicament, what will be the consequence ? 
 Have the allied sovereigns reflected ? You think 
 only of repairing, by a single stroke, the calami- 
 ties of twenty years ; and, carried away by this 
 idea, you never perceive the changes which time 
 has made around you, and that for Austria to gain 
 now, at the expense of France, is to lose. Tell 
 your sovereign to take that into consideration, 
 
THE BATTLE OF LEIPSIC. 
 
 215 
 
 Count Meerfeldt ; it is neither Austria, nor France, 
 nor Prussia, singly, that will be able to arrest on 
 the Vistula the inum.lation of a half-nomadic peo- 
 ple essentially conquering, and whose dominions 
 extend to China. I comprehend, however, that in 
 V to make peace, I must make sacrifices and 
 I am ready to do so.* For the very purpose of 
 -<tatin:c this to the Emperor Francis, I set you at 
 liberty, provided you give me your parole to serve 
 no longer in this campaign against France " 
 
 "Sire, to fight against France has been so pain- 
 ful a duty that I joyfully give ray word to serve 
 no longer unless permitted to do so for France 
 that is to say, for your majesty." 
 
 "You may go, then, and lay my proposal- be- 
 fore the Emperor Francis. You will tell him this : 
 I offer to evacuate all fortresses in Germany to the 
 Rhine, and consent to the dissolution of the Con- 
 federation of the Rhine. I am ready to restore 
 , Illyria and Spain to their former sovereigns. I 
 further consent to the independence of Italy and 
 Holland. If England refuses to grant peace on 
 the seas, we will try to negotiate it, and Austria is 
 to be the mediator." f 
 
 "Sire, these are such satisfactory pr< 
 cried Count Meerfeldt, " that I am afraid my mere 
 word will be insufficient to convince my master 
 that you really intend to grant so much." 
 
 "I will give you a letter to the Emperor Fran- 
 cis, in which I shall make these proposals," said 
 Napoleon, quickly. " Yes, I will write once more 
 to the emperor. Our political alliance is broken, 
 out between your master and me there is another 
 bond, which is indissoluble. That is what I in- 
 voke, for I always place confidence in the n- 
 of my father-in-law." 
 
 II ' went to his desk, and penned a few lines 
 with a histy hand, folded, sealed, and directed 
 the letter. "Here," he said, approaching the 
 t, "is my letter to my father-in-law. You 
 will immediately repair to him, and deliver it 
 into his hands. The emperor will communicate it 
 to the other sovereigns, and they will take their 
 
 Napoleon's words. Fain, "Manuscrtt de 1318." voL 
 pp.412, lit. 
 
 i n\> 
 
 - 
 
 _tn 
 
 -i VV- ^ L -< ^ l 
 
 tlbld. 
 
 resolutions accordingly. Tell him that I shall 
 not attack to-morrow, but discontinue further 
 hostilities until I have received his answer; and 
 that I shall certainly expect him to return an an- 
 swer by to-morrow. Adieu, general ! When on 
 my behalf you speak to the two emperors of an 
 armistice, I doubt not the voice which strikes 
 their ears will be eloquent indeed in recollec- 
 tions." * 
 
 " It is my last effort," murmured the emperor 
 to himself, when Count Meerfeldt had left ; " if it 
 tail, nothing but a struggle of life and death re- 
 mains to me, and, by Heaven, I will certainly 
 fight it out ! The crisis is at hand, and I cannot 
 evade it. I will meet it with my eyes open. The 
 laurels of Marengo and Austerlitz are not yet 
 withered. To-morrow there will be a cessation 
 of hostilities, and on the day after to-morrow 
 peace, or war to the last ! " 
 
 On the 17th of October no hostilities took 
 place. Napoleon awaited the reply of his father- 
 in-law. But it did not come ; it was deemed 
 unnecessary to observe the forms of courtesy 
 toward him before whom, only a year ago, they 
 had prostrated themselves so often in the dust. 
 
 The battle recommenced on the 18th of Octo- 
 ber. The booming of a thousand cannon was the 
 answer of the allies. Napoleon, with only three 
 hundred cannon, replied that he understood this 
 answer to his peace propositions. Upward of 
 three hundred thousand soldiers of the allies filled 
 the plains around Leipsic. Napoleon had scarce- 
 ly one hundred and twenty thousand to oppose to 
 them, and his men were exhausted and discour- 
 aged. But he appeared on this day along the 
 whole line, encouraging his troops by his cheerful 
 countenance and his brief addresses. He seemed 
 to infuse fresh courage and enthusiasm into the 
 hearts of the French. They arose with the hero- 
 ism of former diys, and plunged into the thickest 
 of the fight ; the earth trembled beneath the 
 thunder of cannon, the cheers of the victors, and 
 the imprecations of the vanquished. The French 
 did not yield an inch ; they stood like a wall, 
 
 >n's word*. Vide Boitzke. vol. IL, p. 
 
216 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 broken here and there, but the gaps filled up 
 again in a moment, and those who had taken the 
 places of the fallen exhibited the same devoted 
 heroism, for Napoleon was there. 
 
 And Blucher was also there. He baited oppo- 
 site the enemy with his Silesian army (one-half 
 of which he had placed under the crown prince 
 of Sweden), composed of Russians and Prussians. 
 Blucher, too, fired the hearts of his men by ener- 
 getic words, and they fought with matchless bra- 
 very, for they fought before the eyes of their gen- 
 eral. He shared with them every fatigue and 
 danger ; he drank with them, when he was 
 thirsty, from one bottle ; lighted his pipe from 
 their pipes, and spoke to them, not in the conde- 
 scending tone of a master, but in their own un- 
 reserved and cordial manner. Rushing onward 
 with shouts of victory, they attacked the enemy 
 with irresistible impetuosity, forcing the French 
 to fall back, step by step. 
 
 " Every thing is going on right, Gneisenau ! " ex- 
 claimed Blucher. "Bonaparte cannot hold out; 
 he must at length retreat. He is contracting the 
 circle of his troops more and more, and advanc- 
 ing toward Leipsic. Ah, I understand, M. Bona- 
 parte ; you want to march through Leipsic and keep 
 open the passage across the Saale ! But it w r on't 
 do it won't do ! For Blucher is here, and his 
 eyes are yet good. A courier ! Come here ! 
 Ride to General York! He is to set out this 
 very night and occupy the banks of the Saale, 
 and impede as much as possible the retreat of 
 the enemy, who intends to fall back across the 
 Saale. Another courier ! Ride to General Lan- 
 geron ! Be is to return to-night to the right 
 bank of the Partha, support General Sacken, 
 and, as soon as the enemy begins to retreat, pur- 
 sue him with the utmost energy." 
 
 " But, general," said Gneisenau, -when the cou- 
 rier galloped oft', " as yet Napoleon does not seem 
 to think of retreating. He maintains his position 
 and offers a bold front." 
 
 "He will not do so to-morrow," said Blucher, 
 laconically. " If we do to-day what we can, he is 
 annihilated. God grant that our victory may be 
 followed up, and that they may not grow soft- 
 
 hearted again at headquarters ! The Emperor of 
 Austria never forgets that Bonaparte is his son- 
 in-law ; nor the crown prince of Sweden that he 
 is a native of France, and he would like to spare 
 his countrymen further bloodshed ; nor the Em- 
 peror of Russia, that at Erfurt he plighted eternal 
 fidelity to Napoleon, and kissed him as his brother 
 But our king, I believe, will always remember 
 that Bonaparte humiliated and oppressed us, anu 
 that Queen Louisa died of grief and despair. He 
 will not suffer the others to make peace too early, 
 and cause us to shed our blood and spend our 
 strength for nothing. We must be indemnified, 
 and it is by no means enough for us merely to 
 gain a victory over Bonaparte. He must sur- 
 render all that he has taken from us. Germany 
 must have satisfaction, and I must have mine, 
 too ; for the anger I have felt for years has al- 
 most killed me. I want to be even with him, 
 and shall not rest before he is hurled from his . 
 throne. What is going on there ? Why are they 
 cheering yonder ? Look, Gneisenau, one of the 
 enemy's columns is advancing upon us. Do you 
 hear the music ? What does it mean ? " 
 
 " It means, general," shouted an orderly, who 
 galloped up, "that the Saxons are coming 
 over to us. With thirty-two field-pieces, and 
 drums beating, they have left the lines of the 
 French, and, when these tried to prevent them, 
 they turned their bayonets against their former 
 comrades." 
 
 Blucher's eye lit up. "Well," he said, "now 
 they will no longer extol Bonaparte's extraordi- 
 nary luck. To-day at least he has none. The 
 Saxons have felt at last that they are Germans, 
 and wish to purge themselves of their disgrace. 
 I say, Gneisenau, Bonaparte must retreat to- 
 morrow." And what Blucher said here to Gneise- 
 nau was what Berthier said to Napoleon : " The 
 battle is lost ! We must retreat." 
 
 Night came. It is true, the French remaineJ 
 on the field ; they did not flee, but they had no 
 strength to continue the battle; their ammunition 
 was exhausted, for they had discharged on thia 
 day an incredible amount of cannon-shot. Na- 
 poleon felt that he had certainly to retreat, and 
 
THE NINETEENTH OF OCTOBER. 
 
 submit to what \vas inevitable. At the camp- 
 fire, near the turf-mill, sat the emperor; his gen- 
 erals surrounded him, and listened in silence to 
 his words, falling from his lips slowly and sadly. 
 lie ordered dispositions to be made for a retreat, 
 and Berthier repeated the orders to his two adju- 
 tants, who were kneeling on the other side of 
 the camp-fire, and writing them down. Suddenly, 
 in the middle of a sentence, Napoleon paused, and 
 his head dropped on his breast Thj emperor bad 
 fallen asleep ! 
 
 His generals, respecting this respite from sor- 
 row and misfortune, preserved silence. The fire 
 shed a blood-red lustre over the group ; at times 
 the flames flickered up higher, and illuminated 
 the form of the emperor, who, with his head on 
 his breast, his arms hanging down on both sides 
 of the camp-stool, his body gently moving to and 
 fro, was still wrapped in slumber. At times, when 
 the fire blazed up, and shed a flood of light on 
 the plain, shadows were seen emerging from the 
 gloom, and a long line moved past. It was a 
 portion of the imperial army already retreating 
 toward Leipsic. 
 
 A quarter of an hour had thus elapsed when 
 Napoleon gave a slight start, and, raising his 
 head, cast a long look of astonishment on the per- 
 sons surrounding him. His sleep had made him 
 for an instant forget his troubles, but the sombre 
 glances of his generals and the noise of the troops 
 filing by, reminded him of what had happened. 
 Ilia eye resumed its calm expression, and, in a 
 firm, sonorous voice he recommenced giving his 
 orders. Suddenly a whizzing sound was in the 
 air above him a grenade fell to the ground close 
 to the emperor, burrowed into the earth, and 
 ttered the camp-tire. 
 
 " It is a cold night," said the emperor, com- 
 edy ; "make up the fire again, and add fresh 
 fuel!" 
 
 The adjutants ran to collect the firebrands, and 
 the generals themselves hastened to pil 
 fuel. But anot'ier whizzing sound rent the air, 
 and another grenade fell into the fire, which had 
 just blazed up again ; it almost extinguished the 
 flames, and remained in the midst of the coals. 
 
 to 
 
 : 
 
 Napoleon gazed musingly on the ball, and 
 strange thoughts probably filled his soul at the 
 sight of this messenger at his feet.* "It is 
 enough, 1 ' he said calmly ; " no more fire may be 
 kindled! My horse! ToLeipsic! I will spend 
 the night there." The horses were brought ; at- 
 tended by Berthier, Caulaincourt, and a few or- 
 derlies, the emperor rode to Leipsic, and took up 
 his quarters at the Hotel de Prusse. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 THE NINETEENTH OP OCTOBER. 
 
 IT was eight o'clock on the following morning. 
 A dense fog covered Leipsic as with an impenetra- 
 ble veil, and extended far over the landscape. No 
 one could see as yet, in the darkness of the night, 
 what had been done by friend or foe. At times 
 the allies heard loud explosions, and saw flashes 
 on the side of the French ; then all was dark and 
 silent again. Suddenly, however, a bright glare 
 illuminated the night, for in the French camp 
 large fires blazed, and, like a flaming serpent, 
 stretched out far into the plain. 
 
 " Ha !" said Blucher; " Gneisenau, I was right 
 after all : Bonaparte is retreating. Do you know 
 the meaning of those fires ? The French have 
 placed their caissons on both sidjs of the road, 
 and set them on fire, that they may serve as bea- 
 cons to the retreating troops. See ! they reach 
 up to the city of Leipsic. It is as I said ; the 
 French intend to march through that city, and 
 retreat across the Saale. Well, I think General 
 York will await them there, and Langeron will 
 finish them. But come, Gneisenau, the fog is 
 clearing. Let us ride to yonder knoll ; we shall 
 be al.le to see better there." 
 
 V.'ith the nimbleness of a lad Blucher mounted 
 lii.s horse, and, no longer restraining his impa- 
 tienee, he galloped off. Gueisenau rode by his 
 side, and at some distance behind him trotted the 
 
 * Bcitzke, vol. ii., p. 615. 
 
 
218 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 pipe-master, nith the iron box on the pommel of 
 his saddle. 
 
 They reached the crest of the knoll and stopped. 
 The fog had disappeared, and they could distinctly 
 see a field of horror and desolation as far as their 
 eyes reached. The immense plain was covered 
 far and wide with piles of corpses ; rivulets of 
 blood intersected the down-trodden soil; frag- 
 ments of wagons, cannon, and vast heaps of horses, 
 lay in wild disorder, and all around the horizon 
 gleamed the dying fires of upward of twenty 
 villages. 
 
 Blucher cast a mournful look on this harrow- 
 ing spectacle. " Gneisenau," he said, "it is al- 
 most impossible for one to rejoice over this vic- 
 tory, for it costs too many tears too much blood. 
 How those poor brave men are lying there, dead 
 or dying, and have not even a grave at which 
 their mothers and wives may weep ! May the 
 good God in heaven have mercy on their souls, 
 and comfort those who are weeping for them ! " 
 He took off his cap, and, shading his face with it, 
 uttered a short, low prayer for the repose of the 
 dead. With a quick jerk he then put on his cap 
 again. " Well," he said, " we have prayed, and 
 we will now try to find that accursed Bonaparte, 
 who is at the bottom of all this carnage, and " 
 
 At this moment the pipe-master galloped up to 
 his general. 
 
 " Well, what do you want, Christian ? " 
 
 " The morning pipe," said Christian, presenting 
 the short pipe to his master. 
 
 Blucher stretched out his hand for it, but drew 
 it back and cast a glance on the piles of dead 
 which covered the battle field. " No, pipe-mas- 
 ter," he said, solennly, " it would be unbecoming 
 to smoke here. We should show our respect for 
 the dead ; but hold the pipe in readiness for me, 
 aud when we ride back I will take it. Now, get 
 out of my way, that I may no longer see the pipe, 
 else Begone, Christian ! " 
 
 " No, I shall stay," said the pipe-master, cool- 
 ly; "I have promised the general's wife always 
 to stay near him, and, besides, you will soon need 
 me, for you will not stand it long without your 
 pipe. Call me, your excellency, when you want 
 
 me." He moved his horse a few stops back, 
 and was busily occupied in keeping the general's!! 
 pipe lit. 
 
 Blucher and Gneisenau in the mean time were 
 keenly looking to the side of the French camp ; 
 but not a vestige of it was to be seen. There 
 could be no doubt now that Napoleon had com- 
 menced retreating ; he had profited by the night 
 to remove the remnants of his army toward 
 Leipsic, that tjiey might still be able to cross the 
 Saale without hinderance. Blucher uttered a loud 
 cry of joy. " He is retreating ! Gneisenau, 
 I right now ? " 
 
 " Yes, general, you are. With your sagacity 
 you have divined Napoleon's plans better than 
 the rest of us, and, thanks to your wise disposi- 
 tions, he will find Langeron and Sacken at the 
 gates of Leipsic, and York on the banks of the 
 Saale." 
 
 " My dear sir, he will find us, too," exclaimed 
 Blucher, in great glee. " We are not through 
 yet; I know Napoleon thoroughly. You think, 
 perhaps, that he has merely rested at Leipsic, and 
 will evacuate the city without fighting ? No, sir. 
 then you do not know much about him. He will 
 not yield an inch unless he must. By a battle ir 
 and around Leipsic, he intends to cover the re- 
 treat of his army, and I tell you, Gneisenau, vrt 
 shall have hard work yet. Forward ! " 
 
 " Yes, forward ! " cried Gneisenau. " We must 
 dispatch couriers to all the generals, and send 
 them the glad tidings." 
 
 " Now comes the last assault," shouted Blu- 
 cher. " We must take the city by storm ; and 
 this will blow Bonaparte over the Rhine, and 
 back to France, like a bundle of rags ! Forward ! 
 Pipe-master, my pipe ! We will attack them ! " 
 
 At ten in the morning the cannon commenced 
 booming again around Leipsic. The city was at- 
 tacked on all sides by the armies of the allies. In 
 the south stood the commander-in-chief, Prince 
 Schwartzenberg, with the Austrian army ; in the 
 east, the Russian General Benningsen and the 
 crown prince of Sweden ; in the north, Blucher, 
 with the Prussians, and the Russian corps under 
 General Sacken. 
 
TIIE NINETEENTH OF OCTOBLR. 
 
 219 
 
 ** Charge ! " shouted Blucher to his troops. 
 * General Bulow has attacked the Halle gate ; we 
 must hasten to his assistance, for the French are 
 stubborn." 
 
 At this moment another volley of grape-shot 
 was discharged from the pieces which the French 
 had placed inside the city, and hurled death and 
 destruction into the ranks of the assailants. 
 
 " We must reenforce Bulow," cried Blucher ! 
 " General Sacken must advance his troops ! We 
 must hurl light infantry aga'nst the gate ! Charge ! 
 Forward ! " And, brandishing his sword, Blucher 
 galloped to the side of General Sacken, who 
 was moving with the Russians toward the point 
 of attack. 
 
 " Forward ! " thundered Blucher to the troops. 
 The Russians did not understand him, but they 
 saw his countenance radiant with impatience and 
 warlike ardor, his flashing eyes, and uplifted hand 
 pointing the sword at the gate, and they under- 
 stood his meaning. 
 
 " Perod ! " shouted the Russians, exultingly. 
 "Forward! Perod!" 
 
 The grape-shot of the enemy, and the rattling 
 fire of the French skirmishers behind the walls, 
 drowned their shouts. But when the artillery 
 ceased and the smoke disappeared, they saw again 
 the face of the old general with his young eyes, 
 and the long white mustache. He halted on his 
 horse in the midst of the shower of bullets fired 
 by the skirmishers, and uttered again and again 
 favorite corainan 1. 
 
 " Marshal Perod f" shouted the Russians. " He 
 is a little Suwarrow ! Long live little Suwarrow ! 
 Long live Marshal Forward ! " and, amid re- 
 newed battle-cries in honor of Blucher, and with 
 resistless impetuosity, the Russians assaulted the 
 
 While these soT.es were passing outside the city, 
 Xapoleon remained within. He had sat up till 
 daylight with Caul.iincourt and Borthier, receiv- 
 ing reports and issuing orders ; toward morning 
 he had slept a little, and now, at ten o'clock, he 
 dictated his last orders to the two general - 
 flic streets were heard the roar of artillery, the 
 crashing of falling buildings, the wails, shrieks, 
 
 
 
 and shouts of the terrified inhabitants. The 
 field-pieces rattled past, regiments trotted along, 
 and disappeared around the corners, constituting a 
 scene of indescribable terror and destruction ; but 
 here, in the emperor's room, every thing pre- 
 sented a spectacle of peace and repose. Oaulaiu- 
 court and Berthier sat at their desks, writing. 
 The emperor was slowly walking up and down. 
 He did not even listen to the noise outside ; he 
 dictated his orders in a calm, firm voice, and his 
 face was as immovable as usual. 
 
 " Marshal Macdonald," said the emperor, con- 
 cluding his instructions, " is commissioned to de- 
 fend the city and the suburbs ; for this purpose 
 he will have his own corps, and those of Lauris- 
 tou, Poniatowsky, and Reynier. He will hold 
 the city until the corps of Marmont and Ney have 
 evacuated it, and the rear-guard safely withdrawn. 
 As soon as these troops have crossed the Pleisse, 
 the bridge will be blown up." He nodded to his 
 generals, and, striding across the room, opened 
 the door of the antechamber. " To horse, gentle- 
 men!" he shouted to the generals assembled 
 there. " We must start for Erfurt ! " He slowly 
 descended the staircase and mounted his horse, 
 the generals and adjutants following him in 
 silence. 
 
 But the emperor did not turn his horse toward 
 the side where the troops were marching along in 
 heavy columns ; he rode to the market-place, and 
 halted in front of a large, old-fashioned house in 
 the middle of the square. The King of Saxony 
 and his consort lived there. "Wait! "said the 
 emperor to his suite, alighting from his horse, 
 and walking past the saluting sentinels into the 
 house. 
 
 In the small sitting-room up-stairs were old 
 King Frederick Augustus, his consort, and the 
 Princess Augusta. The king sat with his hands 
 folded on his knees, and his lustreless eye fixed 
 on the windows, trembling incessantly from the 
 roar of artillery and the rattle of musketry. The 
 queen was near him, and whenever the volleys 
 resounded, she groaned, and covered her face 
 with her handkerchief, which was already moist 
 with tears. The Princess Augusta knelt in a cor- 
 
 
220 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 ner of the room, praying, while tears were rolling 
 down her cheeks. 
 
 " Oh," murmured the queen when another rat- 
 tle of musketry rent the air, " why does not a 
 bullet strike my heart ! " 
 
 "Father in heaven, and all saints, have mercy 
 on us ! " prayed the princess. 
 
 " Giant victory to the great and noble Emperor 
 Jsapoleon, my God ! " sighed . the king. " I love 
 him as a father, and he has always treated me 
 with the love of a son. I have remained faithful 
 to him when all the others betrayed him. Punish 
 not my constancy, therefore, my Lord and God ; 
 grant victory to Napoleon, that happiness may 
 be restored to me ! " 
 
 A cry burst from the lips of the queen, and she 
 started up from her seat. " The emperor ! " she 
 cried, looking toward the door. 
 
 Yes, in the open door that form in the gray, 
 buttoned-up overcoat, with the small hat, and pale, 
 stony face, was the Emperor Napoleon's. " I come 
 to bid you farewell," he said, stepping slowly and 
 calmly to the king. 
 
 "Farewell!" groaned Frederick Augustus, 
 sinking back. "All is lost, then!" 
 
 " No, not all, sire," said Napoleon, solemnly. 
 " We have lost a battle, but not our honor. The 
 fortune of battles is fickle. After twenty years 
 of victory, it has this time declared against me. 
 But honor remains to me. I have, for four days, 
 held out agaiust an array three times as large as 
 mine in troops, as well as in artillery, and they 
 have not overpowered me. I have voluntarily 
 evacuated the battle-field, not in a wild flight as 
 did the Prussians at Jena, and the Austrians at 
 Austerlitz. Our honor is intact. With that we 
 must content ourselves this time." 
 
 " Oh, sire," cried the king, with tearful eyes, 
 " how generous you are ! You speak of our 
 honor ! But /have lost my honor, for my troops 
 have committed treason they deserted my noble, 
 beloved ally during the battle ! Oh, sire, pardon 
 me ! I am innocent of the defection of my 
 troops ! " And, rising, the king made a move- 
 ment as if to kneel ; but Napoleon held him in 
 His arms, and then gently pressed him back into 
 
 the easy-chair. " Sire," he said, " treason ia a 
 disease which, by this time, has become an epi 
 dernic in Germany. All those who are now fight- 
 ing against me are traitors, for all of them were 
 my allies, and, while still negotiating with me, 
 they had already formed a league against me. 
 Your Saxons were infected by the troops from 
 Bavaria, Wurtemberg, and Baden." 
 
 "Alas," sighed the king, "I had a better 
 opinion of my Saxons ! They have turned trai- 
 tors, and my heart will always remain incon- 
 solable." 
 
 " But this is no time for giving way to grief," 
 said Napoleon. " Your majesty must leave Leip- 
 sic immediately. You must not expose yourself 
 to the dangers of a capitulation, which, unfur 
 tunately, has become unavoidable. Come, sire, 
 intrust yourself to my protection. By my side, 
 and in the midst of my troops, you will be safe." 
 
 " No," said the king, resolutely ; " I remain ! 
 Let them kill me ; I am tired of the dangers of 
 flight ! But you, sire, you must make haste ! 
 Leave us ! your precious life must not be en- 
 dangered ! Every minute renders the peril more 
 imminent ! Hasten to preserve yourself to your 
 people, your consort, and your son ! " 
 
 " My son ! " said Napoleon, and for the first 
 time something like an expression of pain flashed 
 over his features. "Poor little King of Rome, 
 from whose blond ringlets his own grandfather 
 wants to tear the crown ! " He dropped his head 
 on his breast. 
 
 " Sire, make haste ! " implored the king. 
 " Make haste ! " echoed the queen and the 
 princess. 
 
 At this moment there was a terrific roar of 
 artillery. The queen buried her face in her 
 hands ; the princess had knelt again and prayed ; 
 the king leaned his head against the back of the 
 chair, pale as a corpse, and with his eyes closed. 
 Napoleon alone stood erect; his face was calm 
 and inscrutable ; his glances were turned toward 
 the windows, and he seemed to listen eagerly to 
 the thunders of war. 
 
 The door was violently opened, and Gener?! 
 Caulaincourt appeared, pale 'and breathless. 
 
THE NINETEENTH OF OCTOBER. 
 
 221 
 
 "Sire," he said, "you must leave! Bcrua- 
 dotte has taken one of the suburbs by assault, 
 ind the forces of Blucher, Benningsen, and 
 Schwartzenberg, are pouring in on all sides into 
 the city, so that our troops are compelled to de- 
 fend themselves from house to house." 
 
 " Sire, have mercy ! save yourself! " cried the 
 king. " I can no longer help you, no longer sup- 
 port you! I have nothing left to give you 
 nothing but my life, and that is of no value! 
 Save yourself, unless you want me to die at your 
 feet!" 
 
 " Sire," exclaimed Caulaincourt, " every min- 
 ute increases the danger. A quarter of an hour 
 hence your majesty may, perhaps, be unable to 
 get out of the captured city." 
 
 Napoleon turned with a haughty movement tow- 
 ard his general. '' Nonsense," he said, " have 
 I not a sword at my side ? But, as you wish me 
 to go, sire as you are alarmed, I will leave ! 
 farewell ! May we meet in happier circum- 
 stances ! " 
 
 " Sire, up there ! " said the king, solemnly, 
 pointing toward heaven. He then quickly rose 
 from his seat, and approaching Napoleon, who 
 had taken leave of the queen and the princess, 
 took his arm and conducted him hastily out of 
 the room, through the corridor, and down the 
 
 irease. At the foot he stood, and clasping 
 
 e emperor in his arms, whispered, "Farewell, 
 sire ; I feel it is forever 1 I shall await you in 
 another word now, sire! Make 
 He tunn-d, and slowly reascended the 
 
 ircase. The emperor mounted his horse, and 
 ted his course toward the gate of Ranstadt. 
 
 hind him rode Berthier, Caulaincourt, and a 
 generals ; a mounted escort followed them. 
 
 The streets presented a spectacle of i!, 
 and horror, which, the closer they approached the 
 
 IBBON hurt-rending. Field-pieces, 
 on foot and on horseback, 
 . wounded and dying cows, 
 sheep, and swine, entangled in an enormous 
 mass, mad i- it impossible to pass that way. Na- 
 poleon turned his horse, and took the road to 
 St. Peter's gate. Slowly, and with perfect com- 
 
 posure, he rode through Cloister and Burg 
 Streets. Not a muscle of his face betraved any 
 uneasiness or embarrassment ; it was grave and 
 inscrutable as usual. 
 
 When he arrived at the inner St. Peter's gat-? 
 he found the crowd and confusion to be nearly as 
 great as at that of Ransladt; he did not turn hi? 
 horse, but said, in a loud voice, " Clear a pas- 
 sage!" The generals and the mounted escort 
 immediately rode forward, and, unsheathing their 
 swords and spurring their horses, galloped into 
 the midst of the crowd, driving back those who 
 could flee, trampling under foot those who did 
 not fall back quick enough, and removing the 
 obstacles which obstructed their passage. In 
 five minutes a way was cleared for the emperor 
 the wounded lying on both side.", and a few 
 corpses in the middle of the street, showed how 
 violently the cortege had penetrated the obstruct- 
 ing mass. The emperor took no notice of this ; 
 he was silent and indifferent, while his escort at- 
 tacked the crowd, and rode on as if nothing had 
 occurred. 
 
 At length the city lay behind him; he had 
 passed the bridge across the Elster, and reached 
 the mill of Lindenau, where he intended to estab- 
 lish his headquarters. Constant and Roustan had 
 already reached the place with the emperor's car- 
 riages, and prepared a room for him. Napoleon 
 rapidly stepped into it, and, greeting Constant 
 with a nod, he said, "Only a little patience! In 
 a week we shall be in Paris, and there you shall 
 all have plenty of repose ! We shall leave our 
 beautiful France no more! Ah, bow the Em- 
 press will rejoice, and how charming it will be for 
 me again to embrace the little King of Rome 1 " 
 
 It was touching and mournful, indeed, to hear 
 this man, usually so cold and reserved, thU 
 
 ho had just lost a great battle, speak of his 
 return home and his child in so gentle and affec- 
 tionate a tone, and to see how his rigid feature* 
 M animated under the charm of his recol 
 1 ctions, and how the faint glimmer of a mournful 
 stole upon his lips. But it soon disap- 
 peared, and, with a sigh, the emperor drooped 
 V : s head. 
 
 
222 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 " Your majesty ought to try to sleep a little," 
 said Constant, in an imploring voice. 
 
 " Yes, sleep ! " exclaimed Napoleon. " To sleep 
 is to forget ! " 
 
 It was the first, the only complaint which he 
 allowed to escape his lips, and he seemed to re- 
 gret it, for, while he threw himself on the field- 
 bed, he cast a gloomy glance on Constant, and, 
 as if to prove how easy it was for him to forget, 
 he fell asleep in a few minutes. 
 
 From the neighboring city resounded the artil- 
 lery, indicating the final struggle of the French 
 and th3 allies. The emperor's slumber was not 
 disturbed, for the roar of battle was too familiar 
 to him. Suddenly, however, there was a terrific 
 explosion that shook the earth ; the windows of 
 the room were shattered to pieces, and the bed 
 on which the emperor was reposing was pushed 
 from the wall as if raised by invisible arms. He 
 sprang to his feet and glanced wonderingly around. 
 "What was that?" he inquired. "It was no 
 discharge of artillery, it was an explosion ! " He 
 quickly left the mill and stepped out of the front 
 door. There stood the generals, and looked in 
 evident anxiety toward Leipsic. Here and there 
 bright flames were bursting from the roofs of 
 the houses ; one-half of the city was wrapped in 
 clouds of smoke, so that it was impossible to dis- 
 tinguish any thing. 
 
 "An explosion has taken place there," said 
 Napoleon, pointing to that side. 
 
 At this moment several horsemen galloped 
 rapidly toward the mill ; they were headed by the 
 King of Naples in his uniform, decked with glit- 
 tering orders. A few paces from the emperor he 
 stopped his horse and alighted. 
 
 " Murat," shouted the emperor to him, " what 
 has happened ? " 
 
 " Sire," he said, " a terrible calamity has oc- 
 curred. The bridge across the Elster, the only 
 remaining passage over the river, has been blown 
 up!" 
 
 " And our troops ? " cried the emperor. 
 
 " Sire, the rear-guard, twenty thousand strong, 
 are still on the opposite bank, and unable to es- 
 cape." 
 
 The emperor uttered a cry, half of pain, ha,* 
 of anger. " Ah," he exclaimed, " this, then, is 
 the way in which my orders are carried out ! My 
 God ! twenty thousand brave men are lost hope- 
 lessly lost ! " He struck both his hands against 
 his temples. 
 
 No one dared disturb him ; his generals sur- 
 rounded him, silent and gloomy. Presently, 
 some horsemen galloped up ; at their head was a 
 general, hatless and in a dripping uniform. 
 
 " Sire, there comes Marshal Macdonald," ex- 
 claimed Murat. 
 
 Napoleon hastened forward to meet the mar- 
 shal, who had just jumped from his horse. 
 
 " You come out of the water, marshal ? " in- 
 quired Napoleon, pointing to his wet uniform. 
 
 " Yes, sire. By swimming my horse across, I 
 have escaped to this side of the river, and I come 
 to inform your majesty that the troops intrusted 
 to me have perished through no fault of mine. 
 Sire, they were twenty thousand strong, and I 
 come back alone. I come to lay my life at the 
 feet of your majesty." 
 
 " God be praised that you at least have been 
 preserved," said the emperor, offering his hand to 
 Macdonald. " But you say the troops have per- 
 ished ? Is, then, that impossible for the soldiers 
 which was possible for you ? Cannot they swim 
 across to this side of the river ? " 
 
 " Sire, my escape was almost miraculous. I 
 OMBC it to my horse, who carried me across in the 
 agony of despair ; I owe it to God, who, perhaps, 
 wished to preserve a faithful and devoted servant 
 to your majesty. But, by my side, no less faith- 
 ful servants were carried away, and, standing 
 on the other bank, I saw their corpses drifting 
 along." 
 
 " "Who were they ? " asked Napoleon, abruptly, 
 and almost in a harsh tone. 
 
 " Sire, General Dumoustier was one ; but he is 
 not the victim most to be lamented of this disas- 
 trous day." 
 
 "Who is it?" exclaimed the emperor, and, 
 casting around a hasty, anxious glance, he 
 seemed to count his attendants to see who was 
 missing. 
 
THE NINETEENTH OF OCTOBER. 
 
 223 
 
 " Sire," said Macdonald, in a trembling voice, 
 'Prince Joseph Poniatowsky plunged with his 
 horse into the river " 
 
 " And he perished ? " cried Napoleon. 
 
 sire, he did not reach the opposite 
 bank ! " 
 
 The emperor buried his face in his hands, and 
 groaned. He sat for some time motionless. At 
 length he removed his hands from his face, which 
 looked like marble, bloodless and cold. 
 
 " And my soldiers ? " he inquired. " Did they 
 endeavor to escape as Poniatowsky ? " 
 
 " Yes, sire ! Thousands threw themselves into 
 the river, but only a few succeeded in escaping, 
 while the others fell into the deep and muddy 
 channel ; and those who were on the opposite 
 bank were made prisoners by the allies, who are 
 now in possession of the city." 
 
 " Twenty thousand men lost ! " sighed Napo- 
 leon, and he relapsed into gloomy thought. Pres- 
 ently he raised his head again and cast a flaming 
 glance on Macdonald. 
 
 c% Marshal," he said, " you will investigate this 
 *flair in the most rigorous manner ; you will give 
 me the name of him who has dared to disobey 
 my orders. He is the murderer of twenty thou- 
 sand men ! He deserves death, and I shall have 
 no mercy on him ! " 
 
 " Sire, he stands already before his Supreme 
 e! It was the corporal charged with ap- 
 ing the match as soon as our troops had all 
 passed. He thought he saw the enemy advan- 
 cing upon the bridge, and fired the train, throw- 
 himsclf into the Elster. He is drowned ! " 
 
 - good for him," said Napoleon. " God 
 will deal more leniently with him than I - 
 have done. To horse, gentlemen, to h 
 He walked slowly and with bowed head to his 
 horse, an 1 murmured, " Another Beresina ! It 
 - me twenty thousand soldiers ! " 
 
 The generals followed him, and as t : 
 him walking with bowed head, they whispered to 
 one another, " Look at him now, how he is bro- 
 ken down ! That v appearance when 
 he returned from Russia ! He has no strength 
 to bear up under misfortunes ! " 
 
 While the emperor and his suite slowly and 
 mournfully took the road to Mark Ranstadt, the 
 allies made their entrance into Leipsic. At the 
 head of the procession rode the Emperor of IN-- 
 sia and the King of Prussia ; behind them fol- 
 lowed their brilliant staff, and then came the vie- 
 torious troops, with colors flying and drums beat- 
 ing. The cannon still thundered, but louder were 
 the cheers and exultant acclamations of the peo- 
 ple, who crowded the streets by thousands, to 
 receive the sovereigns and the victorious array. 
 The windows of the houses were opened, and at 
 them stood their inmates with joyful faces, hold- 
 ing white handkerchiefs in their hands, with 
 which they waved their greetings. The friends 
 the long-yearned-for friends were there, and they 
 received them with tears, exultation, and thanks- 
 giving. Merry chimes rang from every steeple, 
 and proclaimed the resurrection of Germany. 
 The sovereigns rode to the great square; they 
 halted in front of the very house of the King of 
 Saxony, but they turned no glance upward to 
 the windows, behind the closed blinds of which 
 the unfortunate royal family were assembled. 
 The victors seemed to have forgotten them. 
 
 The two monarchs alighted, for now came from 
 the other side the crown prince of Sweden, Ber- 
 nadotte, at the head of his guards, and through 
 the other street approached the commander-in- 
 chief of the allies, Prince Schwartzenberg. The 
 Russian emperor and the Prussian king advanced 
 into the middle of the square, and Bernadotte and 
 irtzenberg arrived there simultaneously with 
 them. Suddenly, deafening cheers rent the air; 
 they drew nearer, and amid these acclamations 
 Blucher, at the head of his staff, rode up. When 
 he perceived the monarchs, he stopped his horse 
 and vaulted with youthful agility from the sad- 
 dle in order to meet them ; but the Emperor Al- 
 exander, anticipating him, was by his side. " God 
 bless you, heroic Blucher ! " he exclaimed, affec- 
 tionat.lv embracing him. "You have fulfilled 
 your promise made at Breslau. You have be 
 come the liberator of Germany. Your brave 
 sword and your intrepid heart have conquered 
 Come, I must conduct you to the King of Prua 
 
224 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 sia ! " He took Blucher's arm, and, advancing 
 with him, he said, ' Sire, I bring you here your 
 hero, Blucher ! " 
 
 "You bring me Field-Marshal Blucher!" said 
 the king. " God bless you, field-marshal ! " 
 
 " Sire," exclaimed Blucher, " you apply to me 
 an honorary title " 
 
 "Which you deserve," interrupted the king. 
 "Do not thank me, for, if you do, for conferring 
 a title on you, how shall I thank you, who have 
 given me by far greater honor ? I know what I 
 owe you, Blucher; your energy, courage, deter- 
 mination, and ardor, have gained us the most 
 glorious victories ! " 
 
 " I have only done my duty, your majesty," 
 said Blucher. "But I think our work is not 
 half done yet, your majesty ; we are to-day in fact 
 only at the commencement of it. It is not enough 
 for us to drive the French from Leipsic ; we must 
 pursue them, and expel them from Germany. 
 For this purpose we must make haste. We have 
 no time to rest on our laurels and sing hymns 
 the main point is to pursue the enemy pursue 
 him incessantly and effectually." 
 
 "Again, the hot-headed madcap, whose fiery 
 spirit believes that every thing is done too slow- 
 ly," exclaimed the Emperor Alexander, smiling. 
 " Now I ask you, as the king asked you at Bres- 
 lau, ' How old are you ? ' you who never need 
 rest, like other poor mortals myself, for in- 
 stance ? I confess that, after all this excitement 
 and these long fatigues, I am longing for repose, 
 and would not take it amiss if war and pursuit 
 were no longer thought of. But you are always 
 intent on going forward ! " 
 
 "Sire," exclaimed the king, who in the- mean 
 time had conversed with General Sacken, " I just 
 learn that your troops have anticipated me, and 
 given Blucher a title that is far better than mine. 
 At the gate of Halle they cheered, and called him 
 ' Marshal Forward ! ' " 
 
 " Ah, I should like to embrace my soldiers for 
 this excellent word," cried Alexander. " That is 
 an honorary title, Blucher, which no prince can 
 confer, and which only your own merit and the 
 gratitude of the people can bestow. Yes, you 
 
 are ' Marshal Forward,' and by that name history 
 will know you; and Germany will lore, praise, 
 and bless you. You have earned this title by 
 your deeds, and the soldiers have conferred it 
 upon you as a token of their appreciation. Now, 
 the soldiers are a part of the people, and the 
 voice of the people is the voice of God. Heaven 
 bless you, ' Marshal Forward ! ' " 
 
 At this moment a procession was approaching 
 from the other side of the square, consisting of 
 twenty-four young maidens dressed in white. All 
 held wreaths in their hands, while the three who 
 headed the procession carried them on silken 
 cushions. They approached the emperor, the 
 king, and the crown prince of Sweden, and of' 
 fered them the wreaths.* The emperor took that 
 presented to him, and pressed it with a quick and 
 graceful movement on Blucher's head. " I rep- 
 resent the Muse of History," he said, " and crown 
 ' Marshal Forward ' in a becoming manner." 
 
 "And I," said the crown prince of Sweden, 
 handing %is laurel-wreath to Prince Schwartzen- 
 berg, " I present this to the commander-in-chief 
 of all our armies, and wish him joy of having 
 achieved a victory over which so many nation* 
 will rejoice, and which will render his name illus- 
 trious now and forever." 
 
 "Ah," cried Schwartzenberg, "I have unfor- 
 tunately been unable to do much. I have only 
 faithfully carried out my orders, and it is to them, 
 and to the brave troops, that we are indebted foi 
 the victory." f 
 
 The king said nothing ; holding his wreath, he 
 looked at it gravely and musingly. The presen- 
 tations were over, and the princes prepared to re- 
 turn to their quarters. 
 
 " I hope, sire, we shall all remain together to- 
 day ? " remarked Alexander, turning toward the 
 king. 
 
 " Pray excuse me, sire," said Frederick William 
 bowing, " I intend to go to Berlin to-night, but .' 
 shall be back in a few days." 
 
 * The emperor of Austria did not make liis entry with 
 the other monarch?, but came only in the afternoon tn 
 Leipsic, where he remainvd scarcely an hour. He then 
 returned to Efjtha. Beitze, vol ii. 
 
 t Prince Schwartzenberg's words. Beitzke, ii., 689. 
 
TUB NINETEENTH OF OCTOBER. 
 
 225 
 
 w But you, I suppose, will remain ? " asked 
 Alexander, turning toward Bernadotte. 
 
 " I shall remain, your majesty," said the crown 
 prince of Sweden, with a polite smile. " My troops 
 are in need of rest." 
 
 -, his troops are always in need of rest," 
 murmured Blucher to himrelf ; "I believe " 
 
 Just then the Emperor Alexander turned tow- 
 ard him. "Well, field-marshal, and you you 
 will stay, too, will you not? I pray you to be my 
 guest to-day." 
 
 " Sire, I regret that I cannot accept this gra- 
 cious invitation," said Blucher. " I cannot stay, and 
 my troops, thank GoJ ! are not in need of rest. 
 I shall start immediately in pursuit of the enemy. 
 It is not enough for us to have gained a victory ; 
 we must also know how to profit by it. I shall 
 march this very evening, and take up my quarters 
 for the night at Skeuditz." 
 
 " Marshal Forward ! always Marshal Forward !" 
 exclaimed Alexander, smiling. " Come, sire, let 
 us hasten to dinner; otherwise he will not even 
 permit us to dine, but compel us all to set out 
 immediately." He took the king's arm, and 
 went with him to the horses standing near. 
 When he was about to vault into the saddle, he 
 timed toward one of his adjutants. " Ah," he 
 said, " there is another little matter which I al- 
 most forgot ! General Petrowitch, go up there." 
 Me pointed to the house of the King of Saxony. 
 " Inform the king, in my name, that he is a pris- 
 oner.* Have a guard of thirty men placed in 
 front of the house." 
 
 On the same evening Blucher rode, by the side 
 
 of Gneisenau and attended by his stuff, out of the 
 
 gate of Leipsic, following his troops already on the 
 
 1 to Skeuditz. " Well," said Blucher, smok- 
 
 *his pipe, " we cannot deny that there has been 
 abundant shower of orders and titles to-day, 
 <nd that we have all been thoroughly drenched. 
 I am a field-marshal now ; the Emperor of 
 tia has conferred on me the order of Maria 
 Theresa ; and the Emperor of Russia has given 
 Die a splendid sword, which I will ?end as a sou- 
 
 
 * Beitzkf, vol. 11., p. 652. 
 15 
 
 venir to my Amelia. And you, Gneisenau, I hope 
 you have also received your share ? " 
 
 "Why, yes," said Gneisenau, "1 have received 
 titles from all the three monirchs. You are 
 i ::;!it, there was all day a perfect shower of them 
 orders and honors ; and not a general, not a 
 dignitary or diplomatist has been forgotten. Count 
 Metternich, you know, has been raised by his 
 sovereign to the rank of a prince, in acknowl- 
 edgment of his diplomatic services ; and Prince 
 Seh \\artzeiiberg, already enjoying the highest Aus- 
 trian honors, has received permission to add the 
 escutcheon of the Hapsburgs to his coat-of-arms." 
 
 " These two have been in the shower of honors, 
 but very little in the shower of balls," remarked 
 Bluchcr, laconically. "I wonder what rewards 
 will be conferred on the crown prince of Sweden ? " 
 
 " He has already received the highest Prussian, 
 Austrian, and Russian orders," replied Gneisenau, 
 scornfully. " As I stated before, no one has been 
 forgotten but one ! " 
 
 " Who is it ? " asked Blucher. " Who has been 
 forgotten ? " 
 
 "Field-marshal, one deserving the most honor 
 one that joyfully sacrificed property, blood, 
 and life, who did not demand any reward, and 
 did every thing for the sake of honor, and from 
 love of country, and for the princes." 
 
 " What ! " cried Blucher, angrily. " The mon- 
 archs have forgotten to reward such a one ? " 
 
 " Yes, field-marshal, they have ! This one is 
 the people, the German people! the noble, en- 
 thusiastic people, who joyously and generously 
 shed their blood for the deliverance of the father- 
 land, whose mothers and wives allowed their sons 
 and husbands exultingly to march into the field, 
 and made themselves sisters of charity for the 
 wounded and sick ; whose men and youths did 
 not hesitate to leave their houses, their families, 
 their property, their business, but readily took up 
 arms to deliver the fatherland ; whose aged men 
 ue young, whose children transformed them- 
 - into youths, to participate in the holy 
 struggle all these, the great, noble German peo- 
 ple, have received no reward, and not even a 
 promise I " 
 
226 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 " But, Gneisenau, how strange you are ! " said 
 Blucher, drawing his mustache through his fingers. 
 " The monarchs have rewarded those whom they 
 were able to reward. How can they reward the 
 people ? What could they do ? " 
 
 " They could bestow on them more liberty, 
 more independence and honor," said Gneisenau, 
 " by giving them the constitution which the King 
 of Prussia promised to his people in his manifesto 
 of the 17th of March." 
 
 " Yes, that is true," said Blucher, thoughtfully. 
 " Well, Stein is present, and he will surely remind 
 the king of what he ought to do. He is a patriot 
 and a true man ! " 
 
 " Yes, but he is alone," said Gneisenau, mourn- 
 fully. " His voice will die away like that of the 
 preacher in the desert. You will see, field-mar- 
 shal, these promises will soon be forgotten ! " 
 
 " Well," exclaimed Blucher, " we shall see. 
 For the time being let us rejoice that we have 
 fought the great battle of the nations, and that 
 Napoleon's doom is sealed now. It is all-impor- 
 tant for us to finish him quickly and without mer- 
 cy. You know my battle-cry : ' He must be de- 
 throned ! ' Oh, pipe-master ! Another pipe, this 
 one does not burn." 
 
 As Napoleon and Blucher left Leipsic on the 
 19th of October, King Frederick William set out 
 from the city for Berlin to rejoice with his people, 
 and to thank God for the victory. All Berlin re- 
 ceived the king with exultation, and the 20th of 
 October was a day of universal joy. Germany 
 was free, and this conviction transported every 
 heart, and every one wished to greet the king. 
 Thousands surrounded the royal palace at Berlin 
 all day, and whenever the king appeared at the 
 windows or on the balcony, they saluted him with 
 cheers and waving of hats and handkerchiefs. 
 Multitudes thronged toward the cathedral, to 
 thank God for the glorious victory vouchsafed to 
 them. In every house were festivities in honor 
 jf the great battle of the nations fought at 
 Leipsic. 
 
 But during this universal exultation the king 
 left Berlin, without his suite, attended only by 
 his old friend, General Kockeritz, and rode to 
 
 Charlottenburg. No notice was taken of the urt 
 pretending equipage, drawn by two horses, desti- 
 tute of escutcheons and liveries, which drove out 
 of the Brandenburg gate, and the king reached 
 Charlottenburg without being recognized. He 
 did not, however, enter the palace, but ordered 
 Kockeritz to fetch the castellan, that he might 
 open the vault of the royal tomb ; then, wrapping 
 his cloak closer about him, under which he seemed 
 to conceal something, he trod the dark path lead- 
 ing to the mausoleum. He paced the gloomy 
 avenue of cypress and pines with a slow step, ab- 
 sorbed in deep reflection. Holy peace surrounded 
 him not a sound of the people's joy reached him 
 naught disturbed the silence, save some gentle 
 breeze that rustled the foliage, and as a spirit- 
 voice greeted the king's return. The recollec- 
 tions of other days, with all their troubles, came 
 to him, and revived the painful emotions of the 
 past. He had suffered so much, and alone ! And 
 as he had been alone in his affliction, he was now 
 alone in his prosperity. No one was with him it 
 this holy hour to understand his heart, except h3r 
 whose spirit he believed to be always near him. 
 Grief for the humiliation of her country occa- 
 sioned her death ; joy and pride in the victory of 
 her country would, if possible, have reawakened 
 her from the dead. 
 
 The king slowly walked toward the mauso- 
 leum. The door was open, and he entered softly. 
 He looked around to assure himself that he was 
 alone, and that no strange eyes desecrated this 
 devout pilgrimage. He took off his cloak, and 
 that which he had borne under it was no longer 
 hidden. It was the laurel-wreath presented on 
 the preceding day at Leipsic. With this crown 
 of victory in his hand he approached the black 
 sarcophagus in which reposed all that was mor- 
 tal of Louisa ! Bending over it, he kissed the 
 place beneath which her head rested, and laid 
 down the wreath.* " Take it, Louisa," he mur- 
 mured. "It belongs to you! Your spirit was 
 with us, and led us to victory. Oh, why did you 
 
 * Eylert, " Characterzuge aus dem Leben Friedrich 
 Wllhelm III.," vol, ii., p. 162. 
 
THE NINETEENTH OF OCTOBER. 
 
 227 
 
 leave me? Why are you not with me in the 
 days of prosperity as in the days of adversity ? 
 I have seen your beautiful eyes shed many tears, 
 luf now I cannot see them brighten with joy. I 
 can hear no more your sweet voice, your merry 
 laughter ! I am alone ! " He leaned his hands 
 on the sarcophagus, and, pressing his head on 
 the laurel-wreath, shed abundant tears. After a 
 
 long pause, he rose and suppressed his grief. 
 " Farewell, my Louisa," he said. " I know that 
 you are with me, and that your love accompanies 
 me ! Farewell ! " Casting a parting glance on 
 his wife's tomb, the king left the sacred cell, 
 and walked slowly toward the palace through 
 the shadowy and silent avenue of the cyprea*- 
 trees. 
 
HANNIBAL ANTE PORTAS. 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 BLUCHER'S BIRTHDAY. 
 
 Two months had elapsed since the great battle 
 of Leipsic, during which, to Blucher's unbounded 
 despair, much had been spoken, much negotiated, 
 many schemes devised, but nothing done. Owing 
 to the slowness of the allies, Napoleon had suc- 
 ceeded, aside from some unfortunate engagements 
 during the retreat, in safely returning with the 
 remnant of his army to France ; and this dilatory 
 system of the allies seemed to be constantly 
 adopted. The armies advanced slowly, or not at 
 all. For weeks the headquarters had been at 
 Frankfort-on-the-Main. There were the Emperor 
 of Russia, the King of Prussia, the crown prince 
 of Sweden, and Prince Schwartzenberg, as repre- 
 sentative of the Emperor of Austria, besides Met- 
 ternich and Hardenberg, and the whole army of 
 diplomatists, who deemed it incumbent on them 
 to put an end with their pens to this war which 
 the swords of the generals had concluded by a 
 victory. The peace party were incessantly intent 
 on gaining the allies at headquarters over to their 
 side, and the crown prince of Sweden and Prince 
 Metternich stood at their head. Bernadotte cau- 
 tioned the allies against the dangers in which an 
 invasion of France would involve them ; Metter- 
 nich deemed it more advisable for them to con- 
 clude an advantageous peace with the angry lion 
 Napoleon. Blucher kept murmuringly away from 
 the headquarters, and stayed with bis staff at 
 Hochst, near his troops. 
 
 It was the 16th of December. The field-mar 
 shal was alone in his room, and sat on the sofa, 
 in his comfortable military cloak, smoking his 
 morning pipe. Before him lay a map of Ger- 
 many, on which he fixed his eyes, and across 
 which he eagerly moved his fingers from time to 
 time, drawing lines here and there, and appar- 
 ently conceiving plans of operation. The door 
 opened, and Pipe-Master Hennemann walked in 
 In full gala-uniform, holding both hands be 
 hind him, he stood at the door, hoping that hi? 
 field-marshal would see and ask him what he 
 wanted. But Blucher did not look up ; he wa^ 
 absorbed in studying his map. Christian Hen- 
 nemann, therefore, ventured to interrupt him. 
 "Field-marshal," he said, in a low and timid 
 voice, "I" 
 
 " Well, what do you want, Christian ? " asked 
 Blucher, lifting his eyes from the map. " What 
 is the matter? Why do you wear your gala- 
 uniform, and look as if you were about to go on 
 parade? Have you become a Catholic in this 
 Catholic country, Christian, and are you celebrat 
 ing a saint's holiday ? " 
 
 ;< Yes, field-marshal," said Christian, resolutely 
 stepping forward, " I am celebrating the holiday 
 of my saint, and his name is Blucher ! " 
 
 " He is a queer paint," cried Blucher, laughing. 
 " But what does it all mean, Christian ? " 
 
 "It means, field-marshal, that this is your 
 birthday, and that you are seventy-one years old 
 to-day." 
 
 ' That is true," said Blucher to himself. " Mj 
 
BLUUIIER'S BIRTHDAY. 
 
 229 
 
 __i 
 
 '. 
 
 I 
 
 birthday ! I had given strict orders not to cele- 
 brate it, and I hud forgotten it myself! " 
 
 " But no one can prevent me from celebrating 
 it, your excellency ! " exclaimed Christian. " That 
 would be very pretty, if 1 could not congratulate 
 my 'Marshal Forward' on his birthday. Long 
 live my field-marshal ! And may God spare him 
 many years to us yet, that we may catch Bona- 
 parte at Pans ; for, if ' Marshal Forward ' does 
 not do it, no one will ! " 
 
 " Yes, if they would oo'y let me ! " cried Blu- 
 cher, striking with his hand on the table; "but 
 they will not ! I am sitting here like a pug-dog 
 .n a deal box, and Bonaparte stands outside ; I 
 can only bark I cannot bite him, for they will 
 Dot let me out." 
 
 " They will have to, your excellency," said Hen- 
 nemann, quickly, "and before many pipes are 
 smoked. But I would request your excellency to 
 be so kind as to smoke this pipe." He drew 
 forth his right hand, which he had held behind 
 lim, and produced a short pipe, neatly adorned 
 with a rose-colored ribbon terminating in a rosette 
 with two long ends. "Field-marshal," he said, 
 " in return for all the favors you have conferred 
 on me, a poor boy, and for having made me, a 
 stupid peasant-lad, pipe-master of the famous 
 Field-Marshal Blucher, I take the liberty of pre- 
 senting you with this short pipe." And making 
 a polite obeisance, he handed it to the general, 
 \vho took it smilingly, and was about to reply, 
 
 t Christian added, in a louder voice, " But your 
 excellency must not think that this is a com- 
 mon pipe. In tlio first place, it is not made of 
 
 " said Blucher, contemplating it; "the 
 small tube is made of wood, and mounted with 
 silver, sure enough; the bowl is carved out of 
 wood, too, and there is another bowl inside." 
 
 " But it is no common wood, your excellency," 
 said Christian, solemnly. "You remember that 
 I requested a furlough immodiaU-ly after the bat- 
 tle of Lei; i I \vould go home, s< 
 dear Me.klenlmrg apiin, and visit my brothers 
 and sisters. Well, that was not my principal 
 
 iject ; there was another reason why I wanted 
 
 to go. I have never forgotten what my General 
 Blucher said when I first came to him, and what 
 he told us of his mutting that he still loved her. 
 Well, I thought it would gladden the field-mar- 
 shal's heart to have a little souvenir of his mother. 
 And, therefore, I wended my way to Rastow, 
 where my dear field-marshal's mother is buried. 
 I went to her grave, said my prayers, and then 
 cut off a branch from the linden which stands 
 on her grave. Like every other son of Mecklen- 
 burg, you ought to have a souvenir of your mut- 
 ting. Here it is. T.ie tube and the bowl of the 
 pipe I carved out of the branch cut from the 
 linden, and, that you might know what it is, I 
 cut these letters in the wood. Read, sir." 
 
 " Sure enough, there are letters on it," cried 
 Blucher. " They say, ' Souvenir of MuMing I ' " 
 
 " Yes, that it is," said Christian ; " you know, 
 with us, those who love their mother call her as 
 you did, and therefore I offer you this souvenir." 
 
 " Christian," said Blucher, in a tremulous voice, 
 " that was well done, and I can tell you that you 
 give me great joy, and that I shah 1 not forget your 
 kindness. This shall be my gala-pipe, and I will 
 smoke it on gala-days only, that is to say, when 
 we go into battle. I thank you a thousand times, 
 Christian, my boy, and if my dear mutting has not 
 forgotten me, she will look down upon her boy to- 
 day, who is seventy-one years old, and it will glad- 
 den her to know that he has now a memorial of 
 her und from her grave! You were on her 
 grave, then, Christian ? How does it look ? " 
 
 " It was decked with flowers, your excellency, 
 and finches and larks were chirping in the large 
 linden overshadowing it. The old grave-digger told 
 me the linden had been planted on the day when 
 Madame von Blncher was buried, and it was quite 
 11 t\vi_r at that time." 
 
 " Yes, that is the course of things," said Blucher, 
 mournfully ; " when I saw my mother last, shs 
 i handsome lady, and I was a boy of sixteen. 
 I have not felt, that so many years have e! 
 >ince then, and I feel myself still as active as a 
 lad. But they tell me I am decrepit, and that 
 there is hut a step between me and the grave." 
 
 " Well, I should like to see the giant who coulo 
 
230 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 cross that step," cried Christian ; " a hundred 
 thousand French corpses and Bonaparte's over- 
 turned throne lie in that step between you and 
 the grave." 
 
 Blucher laughed. " You are a good boy, pipe- 
 master, and in honor of you I will smoke the new 
 pipe to-day. Fill and light it ; I will who knocks 
 there ? Open the door, Christian." 
 
 " It is I, your excellency," said General Gneise- 
 nau, who entered the room. " You must not re- 
 fuse to see me. It is true, you have forbidden 
 any celebration, serenade, or congratulation ; but 
 you must not turn me from your door ; for you 
 know that I love you like a son, and therefore 
 you must permit me to come and wish myself 
 joy that Field-Marshal Blucher still lives for the 
 welfare of Germany." 
 
 Blucher kindly shook hands with him. "Would 
 that your were right, Gneisenau, and that I really 
 lived for the welfare of Germany I But the gen- 
 tlemen at headquarters need me no longer. I am 
 once more a nuisance and a stumbling-block I 
 am, according to them, the old madcap again 
 the rash hussar, just because I shout, ' We must 
 advance upon Paris ! ' while the trubsalsspritzen * 
 are croaking all the time, ( We must make peace ! 
 If we go to France, we are lost ! ' Gneisenau, if 
 this state of affairs goes on for any length of time, 
 this will be my last birthday, for I shall die of 
 anger. I know if we make peace, the blood shed 
 has been in vain, and our victories in vain ; and 
 in a few years, when he has recovered from his 
 losses, Bonaparte will commence the same game 
 and we shall have to pass through the same series 
 of disastrous events. But they are destitute of 
 courage. Bernadotte does not want us to hurt 
 the French, and the Emperor of Austria desires 
 to spare his dear son-in-law, and they are besieg- 
 ing our king and the Emperor Alexander in such 
 a vigorous manner, that they are at a loss what 
 to do." 
 
 " And what should we be here for ? " inquired 
 Gneisenau, smiling. " What would Field-Marshal 
 
 * A favorite expression of Blucher when he alluded 
 to the timid diplomatists who advised the'allies to make 
 peaci with Napoleon. 
 
 Blucher be here for, if we do not march forward f 
 No, the gentlemen who are so desirous of making 
 peace are greatly mistaken if they believe that 
 they are able to set at naught our successes, and 
 that it depends on their will only to make peace or 
 war. The wheel that is to crush Napoleon is in 
 motion, and no human hand can arrest it. Let the 
 trubsalsspritzen, as your excellency says, croak : 
 public opinion in Germany and throughout Eu- 
 rope speaks louder, and it clamors for war, and we 
 shall have it. For this reason your excellency ought 
 not to despond, nor prevent us from celebrating 
 your birthday in a worthy manner. Your whole 
 army longs to present its congratulations to you, 
 and the officers of York's corps, who intended to 
 give your excellency a ball to-night, and bad so 
 confidently counted upon your consent that they 
 had already made all arrangements, are in despair 
 because you did not accept their invitation. Gen- 
 eral York himself is quite vexed at your refusal, 
 and thinks you decline because you do not wish 
 to meet him." 
 
 "I do not care if he is vexed, old curmudgeon 
 that he is!" cried Blucher. "He must alwa}s 
 have something to grumble at, and has oftei 
 enough said very hard things about me. Let him 
 do so again, for aught I care ! I shall, never- 
 theless, not go to the ball. What should I co 
 there? Merry I cannot be, for my indignation 
 almost stifles my heart, and, instead of smiling on 
 people, I would rather show them my fist. Ah, 
 Gneisenau, men are mean and contemptible, after 
 all, and those at headquarters are the most des- 
 picable! They want peace! Do you compre- 
 hend that, Gneisenau peace ! now that we are on 
 the road to Paris, and only need make up our 
 minds to destroy the power of our enemy ! Oh, 
 it is enough to make a fellow swear! To the 
 gallows with all the trubsalsspritzen ! all the 
 old women who are wearing uniforms, and who, 
 in place of cocked hats, should rather put night- 
 caps on tneir heads ! " 
 
 " Ah ! " exclaimed Gneisenau, smiling, " should 
 they do so, your excellency would tear off 
 their nightcaps, and forcibly put their hats again 
 on their heads. And as for the old women. 
 
BLUCHER'S BIRTHDAY. 
 
 231 
 
 Blucher, the young hero, will in the end rout 
 them all, and drive them from the field." 
 
 " Ah, Gneisenau. if I succeed in doing so, then 
 I should be young again, and live to see still 
 many a birthday," sighed Blucher. " I have con- 
 ceived every thing so clearly and well the whole 
 plan of the campaign was already settled in my 
 mind ! Come, Gneisenau, let me show you all on 
 the map, and then you will have to admit that 
 Napoleon would be annihilated if we could carry 
 this plan into execution. Come, look at the 
 map ! " 
 
 Gneisenau stood by the side of the field-mar- 
 shal, and bent over the map lying on the table. 
 
 " See," said Blucher, eagerly, " here is Paris, 
 here is the Rhine, and here are we ; farther be- 
 low" 
 
 " But, your excellency," interrupted Gneise- 
 nau, surprised, " you have a very old and poor 
 map ; it is impossible to base any strategic plans 
 on it." 
 
 " How so ? " asked Blucher, in amazement. 
 
 " Because this map is certainly incorrect, your 
 excellency ; we have entirely new and very ac- 
 curate maps now, made from the latest sur- 
 
 " Ah, what do I care for your surveys ? " cried 
 Blucher, impatiently. " By your surveys, I sup- 
 
 :, you cannot displace the countries, cities, and 
 :s ? Paris remains where it is, the Rhine 
 3 where it has always flowed, and behind 
 Rhine lies Germany, where it has always 
 
 Ki 
 I 
 
 " Yes, but you will not find on this map the 
 113, village:?, forests, rivers, and hills, which 
 will meet on your advance, and which, if not 
 taken into consideration, might prove formidable 
 
 Eacles." 
 What do I care for the town-, villages, for- 
 i ivers, an 1 hills ? " replied Blucher : " I ad- 
 ;e all the time, and that says every thing, 
 troops 
 
 ke up their quarters ; through the forests we 
 .^i all cut a road if there is none ; we shall build 
 bridges across the rivers, and run over the tops 
 of the mountains ; if the field-pieces cannot be 
 
 hauled over them, we shall take them around the 
 l>as!-. The most important thing is, that we ad 
 vance, and I am quite able to consider that on 
 
 
 
 my map here. Now, then ! here is Paris. Pui 
 your finger on Paris, Gneisenau." The general 
 obeyed, and pressed the tip of his forefinger on 
 the spot indicated. " And here," cried Blucber, 
 pressing his own finger on the map, u here are 
 we, the Silesian army. Between us lies the 
 Rhine. Put your other finger on the Rhine, 
 Gneisenau." Gneisenau put his middle-finger on 
 the black line marking the Rhine. " Now put 
 your little-finger down here, between Mannheim 
 and Kehl ; there stands the army of Bohemia 
 under Prince Schwartzenberg ; and up here, where 
 I hold my thumb, in Holland, is Bulow, with his 
 corps. See, on this side, we have therefore com- 
 pletely hemmed in France; and, on the other 
 side, where the Atlantic Ocean is or is it no 
 longer there on your new-fangled maps ? " 
 
 " Yes, your excellency," exclaimed Gneisenau, 
 laughing, " it is still there." 
 
 " Well, then, England posts her ships there ; 
 and in the south, on the Pyrenees, stand the 
 Spaniards, who have sworn to revenge themselves 
 on Bonaparte. Now we advance all at the same 
 time into France. Prince Schwartzenberg pene- 
 trates with his army through Switzerland ; Bulow 
 marches through the Netherlands, after conquer- 
 ing them, and joins my forces ; and I cross the 
 Rhine here in three large columns with the Sile- 
 sian army the first column at Mannheim, the 
 second at Kaub, and the third well, now I have 
 no finger left to " 
 
 '' Here is mine, your excellency," said GncLse- 
 nau, raising the finger marking the line of the 
 Rhine. 
 
 But Blucher hastily pressed it down. " Do not 
 remove that ! " he cried ; " what is to become of 
 in v whole plan if that finger should desert its po- 
 sition ? Ktr;> it there, then ! Well, here, where 
 I hold my left thumb, at Cobleutz, the third col- 
 umn will cross the Rhine. On the other bank we 
 shall all unite, take Sarrebruck, advance by forced 
 marches upon Metz, and " 
 
 " Your excellency," shouted the pipe-master, 
 
232 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 throwing open the door, "a courier from the 
 King of Prussia, from Fnmkfort-ou-the-Main ! " 
 
 " Let him come in ! " cried Blucher, hastily 
 throwing off his military cloak, and putting on 
 his uniform-coat. He had not yet quite done so 
 when the courier entered the room. 
 
 "What orders do you bring from my king 
 and master ? " inquired Blucher, meeting the 
 officer. 
 
 " Your excellency, his majesty King Frederick 
 William III., and his majesty the Emperor Alex- 
 ander, request Field-Marshal Blucher to repair 
 immediately to Frankfort, where the monarchs 
 have an important communication to make to 
 the field-marshal. They wish your excellency to 
 start forthwith, in order to reach Frankfort as soon 
 as possible." 
 
 " Inform their majesties that I shall be there in 
 two hours. Well, Gneisenau, what do you say 
 now ? " asked Blucher, when the courier left the 
 room. 
 
 " I say that the monarchs have at length dis- 
 covered who alone can give them efficient assist- 
 ance and valuable advice, and that they have, 
 therefore, applied to Field-Marshal Blucher." 
 
 " And I tell you," shouted Blucher, in a thun- 
 dering voice, " that the monarchs send for me to 
 inform me that we are to face about and go home. 
 If it were any thing else, they would have sent me 
 word by an officer ; but, as it is, they are afraid 
 lest I grow furious, and so they intend to inform 
 me in the mildest possible manner of their decis- 
 ion, and wish to pat my cheeks tenderly while 
 telling me of it. But they mistake ; I shall tell 
 them tne truth, as I would any one else, and 
 they shall see that it is all the same to me whether 
 they have a crown on their heads or a forage- 
 cap ; the truth must out, and they shall hear it, 
 as sure as my name is Blucher! But I must 
 dress for the occasion it shall be a gala-day for 
 me. With my orders on my breast, and the em- 
 peror's sword of honor at my side, I will appear 
 before them and tell them the truth." 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 PASSAGE OF THE RHINE. 
 
 THE Emperor Alexander and Kin& Frederick 
 William were in the king's cabinet, awaiting 
 Field-Marshal Blucher, for the courier had just 
 returned and reported that the field-marshal prom- 
 ised to be at Frankfort within two hours. 
 
 " The two hours have just elapsed," said Alex- 
 ander, glancing at the clock, " and Blucher, who 
 is known to be a very punctual man, will un- 
 doubtedly soon be here. Ah, there is a carriage ; 
 it is he, no doubt ! " 
 
 " Yes, it is he," said the king, who had stepped 
 to the window, and was looking out. "He is 
 alighting with the nimbleness of a youth, in spite 
 of his seventy-one years. He is really a hero ! " 
 
 " And will your majesty be so kind as to enter 
 into my jest ? Will you assist me in it, and con- 
 firm my words ? " 
 
 " Certainly, sire ; but I tell you, beforehand, our 
 jest may render the old firebrand very grave, acd 
 we may happen to get a scolding." 
 
 "That is just what I am longing for," replied 
 the emperor, smiling. " Old Blucher's scoldir g 
 is wholesome, and invigorates the heart ; it is a 
 new and vital air which his words breathe upon 
 me. It is flattering to be scolded for once like a 
 common mortal." 
 
 " Well, if you desire that, sire," said the king, 
 smiling, "Blucher will certainly afford you this 
 pleasure to-day." 
 
 The door opened ; a footman entered and an- 
 nounced Field-Marshal Blucher. The two mon- 
 archs met him. Both shook hands with him, and 
 bade him welcome with great cordiality. This, 
 however, instead of gladdening Blucher, filled 
 him with distrust. 
 
 " They pat me, because they want to scratch 
 me," said Blucher to himself, " but they shall not 
 fool me ! " His features assumed a defiant ex- 
 pression, and a dark cloud covered his brow. 
 
 "To-day is your birthday, field-marshal," said 
 the king ; " that is the reason we have sent for 
 you ; we desired to congratulate you m person 
 
BUTCHER'S BIRTHDAY. 
 
 233 
 
 You have passed through a year of heroism, and 
 the new one cannot bring you nobler laurels than 
 those you have already." 
 
 "Ah, your majesty, I believe it might after 
 all," said Blucher, quickly. " The laurels grow- 
 ing in France are the noblest of all ; that is why 
 I should like to gather them." 
 
 " Ah ! the Emperor Napoleon will not suffer 
 it," said Alexander. " He values them too high- 
 ly, and it is not advisable for us to seek them, for 
 he is not the man to allow us to take what be- 
 longs to him." 
 
 " But he was the very man to take a great 
 many things that did not belong to him," cried 
 Blucher, vehemently. 
 
 " That which did not belong to him we have 
 taken again, and have satisfied the ends of jus- 
 tice," said the king, gravely. 
 
 " No, we have not satisfied the ends of justice," 
 cried Blucher. "It is justice if we march to 
 Paris to take all from him whom your majesties 
 still call the Emperor Napoleon, but who, in my 
 eyes, is nothing but an infamous tyrant, presump- 
 tuous enough to put a crown on his head, and as- 
 a throne to which he has no right whatever, 
 and who, moreover, has treated us Germans as 
 thoujh we were hi* slaves. Ay, it is justice if 
 we take from the robber of kingdoms, the brag- 
 gart winner of battles, all that he has appropri- 
 ated, and send him back to Corsica. That would 
 be justice, your majesty ; and if it is not adminis- 
 , it is a morbid generosity that prevents it, 
 
 which is utterly out of place in regard to 
 
 
 
 The emperor cast a glance full of indescribable 
 
 itisf.iction on tho king, who responded to it with 
 gentle nod. 
 
 "My dear Blucher," .- i ler, kindly, 
 
 n :i"t y.-t permitted me to wish you joy 
 your birthday. God bless you, my dear field- 
 Oial, an 1 may tlN ye;ir hrini: us the peace 
 id repose which one so much needs after the 
 exposures of campaign lit < -hilly when 
 
 fis seventy-one years old ! " 
 "I do not know whether I am as old as that," 
 Mud Blucher, indignantly ; " I know only that I 
 
 tUOU! 
 
 cend 
 
 am by no means desirous of repose, but rather 
 deem it a great misfortune just now." 
 
 The emperor seemed not to have heard him, 
 but continued quietly: "Yes, certainly, my deal 
 field-marshal, you need retirement ; at your ven- 
 erable age we should not subject ourselves to 
 such prolonged fatigues in the field." 
 
 " Besides, I am sure you wish peace, like the 
 rest of us," said the king, who saw that the veins 
 on Blucher' s forehead were swelling, and who 
 wished to forestall too violent a reply. "We 
 have reflected a long while how we might give 
 you a pleasant surprise on your birthday, but it 
 was difficult for us. You have already all the 
 orders and honor we can bestow ; you are blessed 
 with riches, and we have found it difficult to make 
 you a present worthy of the respect and love we 
 entertain for you." 
 
 " But his majesty the king has resolved to give 
 you something which will gladden your noble 
 heart. Field-marshal, we give you peace as a 
 birthday present ! We have resolved to make 
 peace with Napoleon ; and to-day, on your birth- 
 day, the conditions, which, you know, have for a 
 long time past formed the subject of secret nego- 
 tiations, are to be signed. The Emperor Napo- 
 leon has declared his readiness to accept them, 
 and, therefore, there are no further obstacles to 
 the cessation of war." 
 
 " To-morrow our troops will set out for home," 
 saM the king. "The requirements of honor and 
 duty have been satisfied ; the welfare and pros- 
 perity of our subjects demand peace. You, my 
 dear field-marshal, have been selected to direct 
 the retreat of the troops. Conformably to the 
 wishes of his majesty the Emperor Alexander, 
 and his royal highness the crown prince of 
 Sweden, I appoint you commander-in-chief of all 
 the retreating troops. The generals will have 
 Uy to comply with your orders; and, just as 
 Prince Schwartzenborg was general-in-chief of the 
 a-lv;mee, you, field-marshal, arc general-in-chief 
 of the retreat. Confiding in your energy, saga- 
 city, and zeal, we hope that you will conduct the 
 ;t satisfactorily, and the men will reach their 
 homes as soon as possible. YO-J are now, there- 
 
234 
 
 KAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 fore, coinmander-in-cbief ; that is your birthday 
 gift, and we hope you will be content with it." 
 
 "No," cried Blucher, drawing a deep breath, 
 and unable longer tc restrain his anger, " I am 
 not content with it not at all ; and I must say 
 that I do not wish this appointment, which seems 
 to me a disgrace. General-in-chief of the retreat- 
 ing armies ! I should like to ask his majesty the 
 Emperor of Russia why his soldiers have given 
 me the honorary title of ' Marshal Forward,' if I 
 am now to be ' General-in-chief Backward ? ' If 
 your majesty has given me the golden-sheathed 
 sword only for the purpose of wearing it on pa- 
 rade, I do not want it. Sire, here it is ; I lay it 
 down at your feet with due respect. Your ma- 
 jesty, you desired to give it to the general-in- 
 chief cf the retreating troops, and that I am not, 
 and cannot be ! " He hastily unbuckled his 
 sword, and laid it on the table beside the em- 
 peror. 
 
 "And why can you not?" asked Alexander, 
 composedly. 
 
 "Because I cannot disgrace my honest name 
 by doing dishonest things," cried Blucher, vehe- 
 mently. 
 
 "Blucher, you forget yourself," said the king, 
 almost sternly ; "your words are too strong." 
 
 "Yes, your majesty, I know that they are 
 strong," exclaimed Blucher; "but the truth is 
 strong, too ; I must relieve myself of it ; I can no 
 longer keep it back, and, the truth is, that it 
 would be a shame and a stupidity if we retreat 
 without reconquering, on the left bank of the 
 Rhine, that which we were obliged to cede to 
 France. Your majesties have said that the re- 
 quirements of honor and justice are satisfied. 
 Permit me to reply that this is not so, and can- 
 not be, if we retreat ; for we show that we are 
 Btill distrusting our own power, and, notwith- 
 standing our superior army, deem ourselves too 
 weak to attack the man who has been attacking 
 us for nearly twenty years, and to whom nothing 
 was sacred, whether treaties, or rights of prop- 
 erty, or nationality. No, the requirements of 
 justice are not satisfied if we face about now and 
 consider the frontiers of France more sacred than 
 
 the French have ever considered the frontiera 
 of Germany. Bonaparte has as yet Holland, a 
 piece of Germany, and Italy, and he says he will 
 not yield a single village which he has conquered, 
 though the enemy stand on the heights of Paris. 
 It would but be right for us to march to that 
 city, and compel him to disgorge, not merely a 
 village, but all that he has taken. And if this be 
 not done, if the peace-croakers attain their ob- 
 ject, a cry of disappointment and anger will 
 burst forth throughout Europe, and the nations, 
 lifting their hands to God, will curse the pusil- 
 lanimity and weakness of their princes. They 
 would be justified in doing so ; for it was not for 
 this that brave men, at the first call of their king, 
 left their families ; it was not for this that they 
 sacrificed their property on the altar of the father- 
 land. The women did not become nurses and 
 sisters of charity, nor did their husbands and 
 sons shed their blood, that only one great battle 
 might be gained over Bonaparte, and that h<3 
 then might be allowed leisurely to evacuate Ger- 
 many. We did not even pursue him, but marched 
 slowly, while he safely wended bis way to tho 
 Rhine. And now he is to remain quietly in 
 France ! The world is to receive no satisfaction, 
 and the tyrant is not to be punished ! If that bo 
 right and just, well no matter ! I am an old 
 soldier, and am not versed in the tricks of diplo- 
 matists! Nor do I care to be versed in them! 
 They know how to manage matters so insidiously 
 that at last they convert wrong into right false- 
 hood into truth, and disguise their cowardice in 
 such a manner that it looks like wisdom. The 
 only thing I understand is, that I am no more of 
 any use, and I request your majesty to give me 
 my discharge as a birthday present be so kind 
 as to grant it immediately. I am much too 
 young to become General-in-chief Backward, and 
 it is, therefore, better for me to stand aside, and 
 let others take the command of the retreating 
 troops. Your majesties will graciously pardon 
 me if I take the liberty of withdrawing." He 
 bowed with respect and turned quickly toward the 
 door. 
 
 "But why in such haste?" asked the king 
 
BUTCHER'S BIRTHDAY. 
 
 235 
 
 'Pray stay; I have not yet granted your dis- 
 charge." 
 
 " But your majesty, I know, will grant it, and I 
 consider you have already done so. I beg leave 
 to withdraw." 
 
 u But stay ! " exclaimed Alexander. 
 
 " Pardon me, your majesty, I must go ! " 
 
 " Why ? Tell us honestly the truth, field-mar- 
 shal." 
 
 "Well," said Blucher, standing at the door, 
 " if your majesty orders me to tell the truth, I 
 will do so. I must go, because I cannot endure 
 it here ; I must find some place where I may 
 give vent to my rage, and, by a vast amount of 
 swearing, relieve my heart." 
 
 " What ! " cried Alexander, laughing. " Your 
 heart is still oppressed ? " 
 
 "Yes, your majesty, what I have said is as 
 nothing," replied Blucher, in a melancholy tone ; 
 " those words were only as a few rain-drops ; the 
 whole violence of my anger, with its thunder, 
 lightning, hail, and storm, is still in my heart, 
 and may God have mercy on him on whom it will 
 burst ! Your majesties may see that it is high 
 time for me to withdraw." 
 
 ' Otherwise, you think, the thunder-storm 
 might burst here ? " inquired Alexander, smil- 
 hg. 
 
 41 I am afraid so, sire," replied Blucher, gravely. 
 
 " Perhaps it may be allayed, however," said 
 ck Willinm, approaching Blucher. " You 
 
 ve determined, then, not to accept the position 
 offered you ? " 
 
 " I ilemand at once my discharge, your majesty ; 
 my discharge ! " 
 
 " You do not wish to be commander-in-chief of 
 
 Eiug troops?" asked Alexander. 
 My name is ' Marshal Forward ! ' " said Blu- 
 , proudly. 
 Aii'l it is your firm belief, fieM-marshal," 
 ;d the king, " that it would be neither just 
 nor honorable for the allies now to make peace 
 and go home ? " 
 
 " Your majesty, it i? it is my earnest convic- 
 tion, and I shall never be able to change it." 
 I "Well, then," said Alexander turning toward 
 
 "Per 
 Frederic 
 have de 
 
 the king, " is not your majesty, too, of the opin. 
 ion that it would be advantageous for us to allow 
 ourselves to be directed by the views and convic 
 tions of so brave and experienced a general ? 
 Do you not believe that we owe it to him, in 
 consideration of the distinguished services which 
 he has performed, to believe him, the brave sol- 
 dier, rather than the tricky diplomatists ? " 
 
 " I have no doubt of it," said the king, smil- 
 ing, " and I confess that all that the field-marshal 
 has told us has greatly modified my views, and 
 induced me to adopt another course. If Blucher 
 insists that, in order to satisfy the requirements 
 of honor and justice, we should not now make 
 peace, I believe him." 
 
 " And if he has insurmountable objections to 
 being called Marshal Backward," exclaimed the 
 emperor, merrily, 4t well, then, he must retain the 
 name my soldiers have given him." 
 
 " But, your majesty," cried Blucher, who lis- 
 tened with amazement, " what means all this ? " 
 
 " It means," said the king, putting his hand 
 on Blucher's shoulder, "it means that I cannot 
 grant you the discharge which you have re- 
 quested, because I need your services more than 
 ever." 
 
 " It means," said the emperor, putting his hand 
 on Blucher's other shoulder, " that Marshal For- 
 ward is the very man we need at this juncture. 
 For, in spite of all ministers, diplomatists, and 
 peace-croukers (I thank you for that word), we 
 have determined to carry on the war to the best 
 of our power." 
 
 Blucher uttered a cry of joy, and lifting up 
 his large eyes, he exclaimed : " Good Heaven, I 
 thank Thee, with all my heart ; for the day is 
 dawning now, and we shall soon see how the sun 
 shines in Paris ! " 
 
 " You did not wish to be commander-in-chief, 
 of the retreating army," said the king, kindly ; 
 " let us appoint you, then, second general-in-chief 
 of the U'lvancinu' army." 
 
 " How so ? I do not underhand that," said Blu 
 cher, bewildered. " That is to say, I remain gen- 
 eral-in-chief of my Silesian army ? " 
 
 " Yes, but with enlarged power and indepeu 
 
236 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 
 dence, and with a greater number of troops. Your 
 corps has suffered a great deal ; on your victori- 
 ous fields of Mockern and Leipsic you lost many 
 brave soldiers. Your ranks need filling up, in 
 order that you may act vigorously and energeti- 
 cally. Therefore, three new corps will be added 
 to your forces* a Prussian corps under General 
 Kleist, a Hessian corps under the crown prince 
 of Hesse, and a mixed corps under the Duke of 
 Saxe-Coburg, the whole amounting to about fifty 
 thousand fresh soldiers. With these reenforce- 
 ments, added to your own eighty-five thousand 
 men, you will be at the head of an army with 
 which great things may be accomplished, and 
 with which I believe you may gather your laurels 
 in France." 
 
 "Moreover," said Alexander, kindly, "you will 
 hereafter not be responsible to any other com- 
 mander. We shall consider jointly with you all 
 operations of the war, and the whole plan of the 
 campaign, and lay before you all general com- 
 munications. Prince Schwartzenberg will always 
 keep you well instructed of the movements of the 
 grand army, and only request you to inform him 
 of those you deem it best for the Silesian army to 
 make in cooperation with the former, f You will, 
 therefore, be entirely at liberty to carry your 
 own plans into execution, and will have only to 
 report to Schwartzenberg and to us what you are 
 doing. Are you now content, Blucher ? " 
 
 " Do you still demand your discharge as a birth- 
 day present ? " inquired the king. 
 
 " You ask me whether I am content, or demand 
 my discharge? " cried Blucher, cheerfully. "Now 
 that we advance, I would not take my discharge, 
 and should your majesty give it to me, to punish 
 me for my unseemly conduct, I would secretly 
 accompany the army and fight in the ranks ; for 
 you ought to know that I do not advocate a 
 vigorous prosecution of the war on account of the 
 honor it might reflect on me, but for the rights of 
 all Germany ; and for this reason I am not only con- 
 tent, but I thank Heaven, my king, and the Em- 
 
 * Varnhagen von Ense, " Bkgraphy of Prince Blucher 
 >f Wahlstatt " p. 205. 
 t Ibid. 
 
 peror Alexander, from the bottom of my heart ; 
 and especially for the great confidence you place in 
 me. This is the most flattering of all the honors 
 you have lavished upon me, and I shall endeavor 
 with head and arm to render myself worthy of it. 
 I shall always remember that my king intrusted 
 me with the sacred mission of blotting out the 
 disgrace of Jena, and of causing our angel, Queen 
 Louisa, who shed so many tears for us on earth, 
 to rejoice in heaven over our deeds and " 
 his words choked his utterance, his eyes grew dim ; 
 pressing his hand to them with a quivering move- 
 ment, he said, in a stifled voice, " I believe may 
 God forgive me ! I believe I am weeping ! But 
 my tears are tears of joy ; they do my heart good, 
 and your majesties will forgive them ! Well, now 
 I am all right again," he added, after a pause. "I 
 request your majesties to give me instructions, 
 and tell me what is to be done, and when we 
 shall cross the Rhine." 
 
 Toward nightfall Blucher returned from Frank- 
 fort to Hochst. In front of his door he was met 
 by General Gneisenau, Colonel Muffling, and sev- 
 eral other gentlemen of his staff. Blucher made 
 a very wry face, receiving them with loud grun - 
 bling. " Oh, it is all very well," he said, alighting 
 from his carriage. " I can now communicate bal 
 news to you. We shall lie still here, like lazy 
 bears, during the whole winter ; we shall neither 
 advance nor retreat. The diplomatists have hatch- 
 ed out the idea, and I am sure they will arrange 
 a pretty treaty of peace for us ! Well, I do not 
 care ; I will try to suppress my grief, and lead a 
 happy life. If we are inactive, we shall at least 
 try to kill time in as pleasant a manner as pos- 
 sible. I shall commence diverting myself this 
 very day, and, despite the apostles of peace, show 
 that they have not ruffled my temper. The officers 
 of York's corps will give a ball at Wiesbaden to- 
 night. I will go, immediately setting out for 
 Wiesbaden, and conveying the tidings to old York. 
 Well, gentlemen, prepare to accompany me ; and 
 you, General Gneisenau, be so kind as to go with 
 me to my room for a minute or two. I wish to 
 tell you something." He saluted the officers, and 
 stepped quickly into the house Followed by 
 
BLUCHEITS BIRTHDAY. 
 
 237 
 
 Gneisenau, he entered the room, and carefully 
 locked the door. The wrinkles now disappeared 
 from hi? forehead, and an expression of happiness 
 beamec in his face. " Gneisenau," he said, encir- 
 cling the tall form of his friend in his arms, " now 
 .isten to what I have to say. What I told you 
 about peace was not true. We are to advance 
 ay, to advance ! and it seems to me as if I hear 
 Bonaparte's throne giving way ! " 
 
 " What, your excellency ! " exclaimed Gneise- 
 nau, joyfully, " we are going to advance to march 
 into France ? " 
 
 Blucher hastily pressed his hand on his mouth. 
 " Hush, general ! " he whispered. " At present no 
 one must hear it ; it is a secret, and we must try 
 to conceal our movements as much as possible. 
 We ought to do our best to mislead the enemy 
 that is ray plan. We must make him believe 
 that the whole offensive force of the allies is 
 turning toward Switzerland, and that the Silesian 
 army is to remain on the Rhine as a mere corps 
 of observation. Napoleon will make his disposi- 
 tions accordingly : he will leave but a small force 
 on the bank of the Rhine opposite us, and on 
 passing over to the other side we shall meet with 
 little resistance." 
 
 " That is again a plan altogether worthy of my 
 ,'' said Gneisenau, smiling. " It is all-im- 
 portant now for us to let every one, and above 
 all Napoleon, know as soon as possible that we 
 stay here." 
 
 "I will swear and rave so loudly that he will 
 certainly hear it in Paris," said Blucber. " Let 
 us curse the ncc'-.-.-ity imposed on us, and se- 
 cretly make all necessary dispositions, inform the 
 commanders, and issue the orders, so that we 
 may all cross the Rhine at midnight on the 31st 
 
 December." 
 
 " What ! The passage is to take place at 
 night on the 31st of December?" asked 
 senau. 
 
 "Yes, general. Let us begin the new year 
 with a great deed, that we may end it with one." 
 
 "But will that be possible, field-marshal? 
 Can all our troops be prepared at so short a 
 notice ? " 
 
 "That is your task, Gneisenau; .deas are your 
 province, execution is mine. You are my head, 
 I am your arm ; and these two, I believe, ought 
 jointly to enable us to cross the Rhine at mid- 
 night on the 31st of December, as the holy army 
 of vengeance, which God Himself sends to Bona- 
 parte as a New-Year's gift. But come, Gneise 
 nau, let us ride to the ball. I must dance ! Joy 
 is in my legs, and I must allow it to get out of 
 them. I shall ask old York to dance, and, while 
 we two are hopping around, I must tell him what 
 is to be done. We are to advance ! " 
 
 Blucher's resolutions were carried into effect. 
 All dispositions were made in a quiet and effi- 
 cient manner; and while the field-marshal scolded 
 vehemently at the inactivity of the winter, Gen- 
 eral Gneisenau secretly took steps to prepare for 
 the passage of the Rhine. Napoleon's spies at 
 Frankfort and on the Rhine heard only the grum- 
 bling of Blucher, but they did not see the prep- 
 arations of Gneisenau. 
 
 On the 26th of December orders were cLa- 
 patched to the commanders of the different corpa 
 of the great Silesian army, communicating the 
 time and place of crossing the Rhine, and on t;< 
 31st every soldier of that army stood on the bank 
 ready for the passage. This was to be effected at 
 three different points Mannheim, Caub, and Cob- 
 lentz. The grand, all-important moment bad 
 come ; midnight was at hand. 
 
 It was a clear and beautiful night; the deep- 
 blue sky was spangled with stars, and the air 
 cold and bracing. None saw the black columns 
 moving toward the Rhine. The French, on the 
 opposite side, were asleep ; they did not perceive 
 Field-Marshal Blucher, who, at Caub, on the bank 
 of the river, was halting on horseback by the side 
 of his faithful Gneisenau, apparently listening in 
 breathless suspense. Suddenly, the stillness wag 
 interrupted by the chime of a neighboring church- 
 clock; another struck, and, like echoes, their 
 notes resounded down the Rhine, in all cities and 
 villages, proclaiming that the old year waa past, 
 and a new one be^un. 
 
 Blucher took off his gray forage-cap, and, hold 
 ing it before his face, uttered a low, fervent 
 
238 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BUTCHER. 
 
 prayer. " And now, forward ! " he said, in a 
 resolute tone. " Let us in person convey our 
 ' happy New-Year ' to the French ! And Thou, 
 great God, behold Thy German children, who are 
 shaking off the thraldom of long years, and who 
 have become again brave men ! Heavenly Father, 
 bless our undertaking! Bless the Rhine, that 
 it may flow to the ocean again as a free German 
 river for German freemen ! And now, boys, for- 
 ward ! Build your bridges, for Heaven sends us 
 to France to punish Bonaparte, and sing him a 
 song of the Rhine ! Forward ! " 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 NAPOLEON'S NEW-YEAR'S-DAY. 
 
 IT was early on the morning of the 1st of Jan- 
 uary. Napoleon was angrily pacing his cabinet, 
 while the police-minister, Duke de Rovigo, was 
 standing by the emperor's desk, and waiting, as 
 if afraid to look at his master, lest his anger burst 
 upon his head. 
 
 " Why did you not tell me so yesterday, Sa- 
 vary ? " asked Napoleon, with his flaming eyes 
 on the police-minister. " Why did you not in- 
 form me, immediately after the close of the meet- 
 ing of the Chamber of Deputies, of the seditious 
 and refractory spirit of the speeches which cer- 
 tain members dared to deliver ? " 
 
 " Sire, I had no proofs of their guilt. Speeches, 
 it is true, had been made, but they vanish, and 
 offer no solid grounds for convicting men of crime. 
 As I have not the honor of being a member of 
 the committee which your majesty has appointed 
 to take the condition of France into considera- 
 tion, I was unable to hear the speeches delivered 
 at the meeting. I had to obtain palpable evi- 
 dence. I knew, not only that the commission of 
 the Chamber of Deputies had resolved to have an 
 address to your majesty published, but that the 
 opposition speaker of the committee, M. Ray- 
 nouard, intended to have his speech printed and 
 circulated, in order to prove to France that the 
 
 committee of the Chamber had done every thing 
 to give peace to the nation." 
 
 " As if that were the task of those gentlemen 
 as if they had to give me advice, or could in- 
 fluence me ! " cried Napoleon, vehemently. " They 
 have never dared raise their voices against me ; 
 but now that we are surrounded by enemies 
 now that it is all-important for France to startle 
 the world by her energy and the unanimity of her 
 will, these men dare oppose me ! You allowed, 
 then, their addresses to be sent to the printing- 
 office, Savary ? " 
 
 " Yes, sire. But I had the printing-office sur- 
 rounded by my police-agents, and waited until the 
 composition was completed and the printing com- 
 menced. Then they entered the press-room, seized 
 the copies already printed, knocked the types into 
 pi, and burned the manuscripts,* as well as the 
 proofs, except this one, which I have the honor of 
 bringing to your majesty." 
 
 The emperor, with an impetuous movement, 
 took up the printed sheet lying on the table by th'3 
 side of the duke, and glanced over it. " Savary," 
 he said, pointing out a passage on the paper, " read 
 this to me. Read the conclusion of Raynouard'u 
 speech. Read it aloud!" He handed the paper 
 to the duke, and pointed out the passage. 
 
 Savary read as follows: " 'Let us attempt no 
 dissimulation our evils are at their height; the 
 country is menaced on the frontiers at all points ; 
 commerce is annihilated, agriculture languishes, 
 industry is expiring ; there is no Frenchman who 
 has not, in his family or his fortune, some cruel 
 wound to heal. The facts are notorious, and can 
 never be sufficiently enforced. Agriculture, for the 
 last five years, has gained nothing ; it barely exists, 
 and the fruit of its toil is annually dissipated by 
 the treasury, which unceasingly devours every 
 thing to satisfy the cravings of ruined and famished 
 armies. The conscription has become, for all 
 France, a frightful scourge, because it has always 
 been driven to extremities in its execution. For 
 the last three years the harvest of death has been 
 reaped three times a year ! A barbarous war, with 
 
 14 M6moires d'un Homme d'fctat," vol. xii., p. 294, 
 
NAPOLEON'S NEW-YEAR'S-DAY. 
 
 239 
 
 out object, swallows up the youth torn from their 
 education, from agriculture, commerce, and the 
 arts. Have the tears of mothers and the blood 
 of whole generations thus become the patrimony 
 of kings ? It is fit that nations should have a 
 moment's breathing-time ; the period has arrived 
 when they should cease to tear out each other's 
 entrails ; it is time that thrones should be consol- 
 idated, and that our enemies be deprived of the 
 plea that we are forever striving to carry into the 
 world the torch of revolution ... To prevent the 
 country from becoming the prey of foreigners, it 
 is indispensable to nationalize the war ; and this 
 cannot be done unless the nation and its monarch 
 be united by closer bonds. It has become indis- 
 pensable to give a satisfactory answer to our ene- 
 mies' accusations of aggrandizement : there would 
 be real magnanimity in a formal declaration that 
 the independence of the French people and the 
 integrity of its territory are all that we contend 
 for. It is for the government to propose meas- 
 ures which may promptly repel the enemy, and 
 secure peace on a durable basis. Those measures 
 would be at once efficacious, if the French people 
 were persuaded that the government in good faith 
 aspired only to the glory of peace, and that their 
 blood would no longer be shed but to defend our 
 country, and secure the protection of the laws. 
 But these words of 'peace' and 'country ' will re- 
 sound in vain, if the institutions are not guaran- 
 teed which secure those blessings. It appears, 
 therefore, to the commission, to be indispensable 
 that, at the same time that the government pro- 
 the most prompt and efficacious measures 
 the security of the country, his majesty should 
 be supplicated to maintain entire the execution of 
 the laws which guarantee to the French the rights 
 of liberty and security, and to the nation the free 
 exercise of its political rights." * 
 
 " Well," cried the emperor, impetuously, " what 
 do you think of that ? Does it not sound like the 
 first note of the tocsin by which the people are to 
 be called upon to rise in rebellion ? " 
 
 , it is the language of treason !" replied 
 
 uiai, i 
 forth 
 
 u M6moIrrs d'un Uomme d'etat," voL xli., p. 298. 
 
 Savary. " The conduct of the members of this 
 committee would justify your majesty to have 
 them shot as traitors." * 
 
 The emperor made no reply, but bowed his 
 head on his breast, and, with his hands folded 
 behind him, paced the room for a few moments. 
 " Savary," he then said, " it is sufficient for u 
 to be at war with our foreign enemies ; let UB not 
 get into difficulty with our domestic adversaries. 
 This is not the time for doing so. If we conquer 
 our foreign enemies, the domestic ones will of 
 themselves be silent ; but if we succumb, every 
 thing will be different. Those gentlemen have 
 acted both foolishly and ungenerously (at a mo- 
 ment when it is all-important that France should 
 act and think as one man), to stir up politi- 
 cal partisan feeling ; and it is ungrateful to op- 
 pose me at a time when, overwhelmed with care 
 and work, I need my whole energy to maintain 
 my position. Let us leave it to fate to punish the 
 traitors. They will not have long to wait ! " 
 
 " And those haughty members of the Chambet 
 of Deputies do not even feel that they are desenr 
 ing of punishment," exclaimed the duke, indig 
 nantly. " The whole committee, and M. Raynou- 
 ard with them, have accompanied me to the Tuil- 
 eries, and repaired to the throne-hall in order to 
 offer your majesty their congratulations for the 
 new year." 
 
 " Ah, it is true, to-day is New-Year's-day," said 
 Napoleon ; " I had almost forgotten it, for the 
 cares and anxiety of the old year have, as a most 
 faithful suite, followed me into the new year. 
 But I am glad you remind me of it ! I will go to 
 the throne-hall and receive the congratulations of 
 my faithful subjects, or those who call themselves 
 so. Follow me ! " 
 
 In the throne-hall were assembled, as on every 
 New-Ycar's-day, the dignitaries of France and the 
 most prominent authorities of the government ; 
 but for the first time, since the establishment of 
 tin- empire, the representatives of the foreign pow. 
 ers and the ambassadors of the European princea 
 failed to appear at the reception in the Tuileries. 
 
 Ibi<L, jx 294. 
 
240 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 In former years they had hastened to present 
 their congratulations ; to-day not one of those 
 representatives was present, not even the ambassa- 
 dor of the Emperor of Austria, Napoleon's father- 
 in-law not even the ambassador of the King of 
 Naples, his brother-in-law ! The troops of the 
 Emperor Francis bad invaded France ; the troops 
 of King Murat had returned to Naples, and he 
 had informed his brother-in-law that the welfare 
 of his own country rendered it necessary for him 
 to forsake France. The very princes of the Con- 
 federation of the Rhine, hitherto the most syco- 
 phantic flatterers of the emperor, had likewise 
 turned away from him ; all the allies, adulators, 
 and friends of his days of prosperity had left him, 
 as rats desert the sinking ship. No one was in 
 the throne-hall except the dignitaries and officers 
 of France, and one-half of these came, perhaps, 
 because the duties of their offices rendered it in- 
 cumbent on them because the events of the 
 future could not be positively foreseen, and the 
 emperor, thanks to his lucky star, might finally 
 conquer his enemies. 
 
 The emperor entered with his usual proud and 
 careless indifference. His quick glance swept 
 past the ranks of the assembly, and rested for a 
 moment on the place where the ambassadors of 
 the foreign governments formerly stood beside 
 the throne, and where no one was to be seen to- 
 day. But not a feature changed ; he was still 
 calm and grave. With a gentle nod he turned 
 toward the ministers who were on the left, and 
 addressed each of them a few kind words; he 
 then quickly ascended the steps of the throne. 
 Under the canopy, he turned his eyes toward the 
 side where were the members of the senate and 
 the legislature. 
 
 Napoleon's eyes flashed down the silent assem- 
 bly with an expression of terrible anger. When 
 he spoke, his voice rolled like thunder through 
 the hall, and echoed in the trembling hearts of 
 those who were conscious of their guilt, and who 
 hung their heads under the outburst of their sov- 
 ereign's wrath. " Gentlemen of the legislature," 
 he said, " you come to greet me. I accept your 
 greetings, and will tell you what you ought to 
 
 hear. You have it in your power to do mucti 
 good, and you have done nothing but mischief. 
 Eleven-twelfths of you are patriotic, the rest are 
 factious. What do you hope by putting your- 
 selves in opposition ? To gain possession of 
 power ? But what are your means ? Are you 
 the representatives of the people ? I am. Four 
 tunes I have been invoked by the nation, and 
 have had the votes of four millions of men. I 
 have a title to supreme authority, which you have? 
 not. You are nothing but the representatives of 
 the departments. Your report is drawn up with 
 an astute and perfidious spirit, of the effects of 
 which you are well aware. Two battles lost in 
 Champagne would not have done me so much mis- 
 chief. I have sacrificed my passions, my pride, 
 my ambition, to the good of France. I was in 
 expectation that you would appreciate my mo- 
 tives, and not urge me to what is inconsistent 
 with the honor of the nation. Far from that, in 
 your report you mingle irony with reproach : yon 
 tell me that adversity has given me salutary coun- 
 sels. How can you reproach me with my misfor 
 tunes? I have supported them with honor, be 
 cause I have received from nature a sturdy 
 temper; and if I had not possessed it, I wouk 
 never have raised myself to the first throne in 
 the world. Nevertheless, I have need of con- 
 solation, and I expected it from you: so far 
 from receiving it, you have endeavored to de- 
 preciate me ; but I am one of those whom you 
 may kill, but cannot dishonor. Is it by such re 
 proaches that you expect to restore the lustre 
 of the throne ? What is the throne ? Four 
 pieces of gilded wood, covered with a piece of 
 velvet. The real throne has its seat in the heart 
 of the nation. You cannot separate the two 
 without mutual injury ; for it has more need of 
 me than I have of it. What could the nation do 
 without a chief? When the question was, how 
 we could repel the enemy, you demand institu- 
 tions as if we had them not ! Are you not con- 
 tent with the constitution ? If you are not, you 
 should have told me so four years ago, or post- 
 poned your demand to two years after a general 
 peace. Is this the moment to insist on such a 
 
XAPOLEOX'S NEW-YEAR'3-DA V. 
 
 241 
 
 demand ? You wish to imitate the Constituent 
 Assembly, and commence a revolution ? Be it 
 BO. You will find I will not imitate Louis XVI. : 
 I would rather abmdon the throne, I would pre- 
 f'.M- making part of the sovereign people, to being 
 an enslaved king. I am sprung from the people ; 
 I know the obligations I contracted when I ifl- 
 cended the throne. You have done much mis- 
 chief; you would have done me still more, if I 
 had allowed your report to be printed. You 
 speak of abuses, of vexations. I know, as well 
 as you, that such have existd ; they arose from 
 circumstance, and the misfortunes of the times. 
 But was it necessary to let all Europe into our 
 secrets ? Is it fitting to wash our dirty linen in 
 public ? In what you say there is some truth and 
 some falsehood. What, then, was your obvious 
 duty ? To have confidentially made known your 
 grounds of complaint to mo, by whom they would 
 have been thankfully received. I do not, any 
 more than roar-elves, love those who have op- 
 pressed you. In three months we shall have 
 peace : the enemy will be driven from our terri- 
 tory, or I shall be dead. We have greater re- 
 sources than you imagine : our enemies have 
 never conquered us never will. They will he 
 pursued over the frontier more quickly than they 
 crossed it. Go ! " * 
 
 The last word? of the speech were still resound- 
 ing through the hall when the deputies, with pale 
 faces, bowing timidly and silently before the 
 throne, turned and walked toward the door. All 
 eyes were riveted on them, and it was felt that the 
 men whom the emperor dismissed with such a 
 strain of vehement invective were twenty new ene- 
 mies whom Napoleon sent into the provinces, and 
 who would bring a new hostile army public opin- 
 ion into the ti -Id a_Min~t him. Many hoped that 
 the emperor, perceiving his blunder, would call 
 b.A'k the deputies by some pleasant word, in or- 
 der to bring a'ont a reconciliation between him 
 and those who, whatever the emperor might 
 
 ! in the throne-hall the opinion of the 
 
 liucher ct Roux, " Histoire ParL de Franco," vol. 
 , pp. 460, 46 J. 
 Ifl 
 
 But Xapoleon did not call them back ; stand- 
 ing on his throne, haughty anJ defiant, he 
 looked after the disappearing deputies in anger ; 
 and only when the door of the anteroom closed, 
 did he turn his eyes toward those who surrounded 
 him. As if by a magician's wand his face re- 
 sumed its former expression of august calmness. 
 He slowly left the throne, and, dropping here and 
 there a few condescending words, crossed the 
 hall. Suddenly he noticed Baron Fontaine, the 
 architect of the imperial palaces. "Ah," ex- 
 claimed Xapoleon, quickly advancing toward him, 
 "you are here, Fontaine? I intended to send 
 for you to-day. Did you bring your plans with 
 you ? " 
 
 " Yea, sire." 
 
 " Well, then, come ; and you, ministers, Duke 
 de Rovigo, Duke de Vicenza, Duke de Bassano, 
 pray follow me into my cabinet." 
 
 The officers and cavaliers who remained in 
 the hall looked after the emperor with anxious 
 glances. "A cabinet meeting on this holiday 1 
 and at which the imperial architect has to be 
 present!" they whispered. "What means this? 
 Will the emperor commission M. de Fontaine to 
 transform the Tuileries into a fortress, and con- 
 struct ramparts and ditches ? Are we, if all 
 should be lost, to defend ourselves ? Or will the 
 emperor convert Paris into a fortress ? Is M. de 
 Fontaine to erect outworks and fortifications? 
 Or will the emperor have a new Bastile built for 
 the purpose of confining the traitorous legisla- 
 ture and several hundreds of these new-fangled 
 royalists who are now springing up like mush- 
 rooms ? " 
 
 But the emperor did not think of all this when, 
 followed by the three ministers and Baron Fon- 
 taine, he entered his cabinet. An expression of 
 lity overspread his features, and round his 
 lips played the sunny smile which appeared so 
 irresistible to all who had ever seen it. " Come 
 hither, irentlemen," he said, merrily, "let us act 
 here as judges. Fontaine brings us plans for a 
 palace for the King of Rome. It is high time for 
 me to think of building one for the heir-apparent, 
 and this idea has engrossed my mind for a 
 
242 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 long period. If the times had not been so unfavor- 
 able, it would already have been completed. I will 
 begin now, in order to prove to the foreign powers 
 how great is the confidence felt by France and 
 her emperor in their ability to withstand the at- 
 tacks of the allies ; for, while their armies are 
 fighting the enemy, they are constructing a palace 
 for their future emperor. Now let me see your 
 plans, Fontaine ; unroll them ! " 
 
 Fontaine spread out on the table the papers 
 which he had brought with him from the ante- 
 room. The emperor bent over them, and asked 
 the architect to explain to him the different lines 
 and figures. The three ministers stood beside 
 them, grave and silent, and their furtive glances 
 seemed to ask whether this really was not a scene 
 intentionally contrived by the emperor whether 
 he really could think of building a palace for the 
 King of Rome at a moment when France was 
 hemmed in on all sides, and menaced by ene- 
 mies, endangering the existence of the imperial 
 throne ! 
 
 But Napoleon really seemed to be quite sincere. 
 With his magic energy he appeared to have ban- 
 ished all gloomy thoughts, and to be engrossed 
 only in plans for a serene future. " See here, Cau- 
 laincourt," he said, pointing to one of the plans, 
 " what do you think of this ? It is a sort of 
 castle or fort, and looks well, does it not ? " 
 
 " Very, indeed," replied Caulaincourt. " It re- 
 minds me of the palace at Oranienbaum, which 
 Paul I. built. The towers at the corners, the bas- 
 tions, and ditches, are similar ; and the interior 
 had not only many rooms, but secret staircases, 
 doors, and hidden passages." 
 
 "And yet Paul I. was assassinated in that 
 palace ! " cried the emperor, whose face suddenly 
 darkened. "The doors and passages did not 
 protect him from murderers. Well, Maret and 
 Savary, what do you think of it? Do you deem 
 it best that I should build the palace for the King 
 of Rome in the style of a fortress, like that of 
 Oranienbaum ? " 
 
 "Sire," exclaimed Savary, eagerly, " so pre- 
 cious a head cannot be sufficiently protected. In 
 building a palace for the king, less attention should 
 
 . 
 
 be paid to an attractive appearance than to safet; 
 and convenience." 
 
 "Is that your opinion, too, Maret?" 
 
 The Duke de Bassano was silent for a moment, 
 and closely examined the plan. " No, sire," he 
 then said, looking at the emperor, with a polite 
 yet somewhat singular smile " no, sire. I bt 
 lieve we should avoid the semblance of a fortress 
 built for the heir-apparent, just as though he 
 should ever need such a place of refuge against 
 his own subjects, and in the middle of his cap- 
 ital ! People would say your majesty intended to 
 reconstruct for your successor the old Bastile." 
 
 " Maret is right," exclaimed the emperor. " No 
 fortress! The confidence, love, and attachment 
 of his people should be the only safeguard of a 
 monarch. Ramparts did not save Paul I. ; the 
 greatest precautions, locked and guarded doors, 
 did not protect the sultan from the scimitars of 
 the Janizaries ; every one falls when his hour has 
 struck ; it will strike for me, too, and my life will 
 belong to him who is willing to give up his lire 
 for mine ! But I shall teach my son to govern 
 the Parisians without fortresses, and make them 
 love him. * It is true, however, there will always 
 be malicious men to frustrate our efforts, arcl 
 sow the seeds of discord between me and my 
 people." 
 
 " Sire," said Fontaine, anxious to turn the em- 
 peror's thoughts into a different channel, " here 
 is another plan. The former was in the old feu- 
 dal style ; this would look more like a villa." 
 
 " That is the very thing I want," exclaimed the 
 emperor, eagerly. " A villa in the grandest pos- 
 sible style a palace magnificent enough to be 
 mentioned after the Louvre, but still with all the 
 peculiarities of a villa. For the palace of the 
 King of Rome, after all, will be only a sort of 
 villa in Paris? ; as a winter residence the Tuileries, 
 or the Louvre, would be preferred. But, though 
 I want the building to be large and brilliant, the 
 total cost must not exceed ten million francs. I 
 do not want a chimera, but something real, sub- 
 stantial, and practical, for myself and the king, 
 
 * Napoleon's words. Vide "Memoirs of the 
 d'Abrantes." 
 
THE KING OF ROME. 
 
 243 
 
 and not a fanciful structure merely gratifying to 
 the architect. The completion of the Louvre will 
 give glory enough to the architect. As to the 
 palace of the King of Rome, he may forget his 
 personal interest, and think only of rendering the 
 structure as convent : >le. It is to be. 
 
 come a sort of Sans-Souci, where one is merry, 
 forgets care, enjoys the sunshine in the apart- 
 ments, and the shade in the garden, and may 
 combine the simplicity of rural life with the com- 
 forts of a great city. Imagine you were building 
 a commodious residence for a rich private citizen, 
 a convalescent who has need of comfort, repose, 
 and diversion. There must be, therefore, a small 
 theatre, a small chapel, a concert-hall, a ball- 
 room, a billiard-room, and a library ; fish-ponds, 
 and shady groves in the garden in short, a 
 genuine villa." * 
 
 " I believe your majesty will find all that you 
 wish for united in this," said the Duke de Bas- 
 sano, who had carefully examined the second plan. 
 " It is a villa in grand style, and surely worthy 
 of a great prince." 
 
 " Ah," said the emperor, with a profound sigh, 
 " would it were already finished, and I could live 
 ia it with my son ! I " 
 
 At this moment the fold ing- doors of the cab- 
 inet were thrown open, and the usher's voice 
 shouted, " His majesty the King of Rome ! " 
 
 TOE emperor, with a joyful exclamation, turned 
 toward the door. On it? threshold stood a boy 
 of remarkable ! Correggio or Mu- 
 
 nllo would ha-. ! as a cherub D 
 
 \\\< slimier but vigorous form was clothed in 
 shy-blue velvet, embroidered with silver, and his 
 fairy-like feet wore shoes of the same color. II !< 
 dimpled arms were bare, and a fleece of _ 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 THE KING OF ROME. 
 
 Napoleon's words. Vide Constant, u M6moires, <1 vol. 
 r. p. 1>L 
 
 ringlets fell on his f *ir neck and shoulders. An 
 ingenuousness, undeformed by bad training, in- 
 1 the charm of his natural beauty. There 
 was nothing affected in his blooming face ; and, 
 wliile a happy temper played about his lips, there 
 was a light in his large blue eyes, reminding the 
 beholder of his great father, from whom he also 
 inherited a forehead which, when the attractions 
 of his childhood had passed away, would at once 
 assert his manly gravity and thought. 
 
 Behind the boy appeared the dignified form 
 of Madame de Montesquiou, his governess, who 
 seemed to take pains to keep back the boy, and, 
 seizing his hand, hastily whispered a few words 
 to him. But he forcibly disengaged himself, and, 
 without noticing any one but the emperor, rushed 
 toward him with open arms. " Papa," he cried, 
 in an imploring tone " papa, have you not given 
 me permission to come to you at any time ? " 
 
 " Yes, sire," said the emperor, tenderly, lifting 
 him into his arm?, " and the proof of it is that 
 you are here." 
 
 "Well, dear 'Quiou," asked the boy, in a 
 triumphant tone, turning toward Madame de 
 Montesquiou " did I not tell you so ? The 
 usher would not admit me, papa, though I told 
 him I am the King of Rome ! " 
 
 u He ran away from me," said the governess, 
 "in the first anteroom, and so fast that I could 
 not follow him. 1 ' 
 
 " It was because I wanted to see my dear papa 
 emperor," cried the child, fixing his eyes with 
 an expression of indescribable tenderness on his 
 father. 
 
 " But that was the reason, sire," said the gov- 
 erness, " why the usher would not immediately 
 open the door to you. He did not know whether 
 he was allowed to do so, and waited, therefore, 
 until I came." 
 
 " But why did he not know that he was allowed 
 to do so?" cried the little king, impetuously. 
 " Did I not tell him, I will it, I am the King of 
 Rome ? ' Pray tell me, papa emperor, do not the 
 ushers obey you either when you say, ' I will 
 it?'" 
 
 The emperor laughed as loudly and merrily aa 
 
244 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 he had done in the days of his prosperity, and 
 the ministers and Baron Fontaine joined heartily 
 in his mirth ; even Madame de Montesquieu could 
 not suppress a faint smile. The boy saw it, and 
 asked hastily, " Why do you laugh, 'Qaiou? Did 
 I say any thing ridiculous ? " 
 
 " No, rather something charming," said the 
 emperor, smiling, laying his hand on the blond 
 head of his child, and pressing it closer to his 
 breast. With the child still in his arms, he 
 seated himself in an easy-chair, and, placing the 
 little fair-haired king on his knee, gazed at him 
 with joyful eyes. His whole countenance was 
 changed, and beaming with mildness ; even his 
 voice assumed another tone, and seemed in- 
 capable of command or threat. 
 
 " Sire," said the emperor, " we were just 
 speaking of you." 
 
 "Ah," cried the child, with an arch smile, "I 
 know what it was ! My papa emperor was think- 
 ing of a New-Year's present ! " 
 
 "But, sire," exclaimed the governess, sharply, 
 " it is unseemly to ask for presents." 
 
 A blush suffused the child's face, and seemed 
 reflected on the pale cheeks of the emperor, who 
 felt almost pained at seeing him so much ashamed 
 of himself. 
 
 " Madame," he said, turning hastily to the gov- 
 erness, " I have to ask a favor of you : pray leave 
 the King of Rome here with me for a time. I 
 myself will take him back to you, and I promise 
 to watch carefully over his majesty." 
 
 Madame de Montesquieu made a ceremonious 
 obeisance ; the little king kissed his hand to her, 
 and she then left the cabinet. No sooner had 
 the door closed than the boy, with a smile, en- 
 circled the emperor's neck with his arms, and cried, 
 " Now we are alone, papa emperor ! " 
 
 " Oh, no ! " said the emperor, smiling, " did you 
 not yet see these gentlemen ? " 
 
 " No," said the child, looking round in sur- 
 prise, " I saw only you, papa ! " 
 
 Never had the lips of the most beautiful 
 woman uttered words that gladdened his heart 
 go much as these. But before his ministers he 
 was almost ashamed of his sensitiveness, and, 
 
 therefore, he forced himself to assume a 
 air. " Sire," he said, " above all, you must greet 
 these gentlemen ; they are my ministers, and very 
 dear friends of mine." 
 
 " Ah, then they are friends of mine, too," cried 
 the boy, with that politeness which comes from 
 the heart. Quickly descending from his father's 
 knee to the carpet on the floor, the little King 
 of Rome walked several steps toward the gentle- 
 men, and bowed so deeply to them that his blend 
 ringlets rolled down over his face. "Pardon me, 
 gentlemen," he said, " if I did not see and greet 
 you ! I came to my papa emperor because to-day 
 is a holiday, and I desired to wish him a happy 
 New- Year. I see you now, gentlemen, and, if you 
 will permit me, I wish you all, too, a happy New- 
 Year." 
 
 The gentlemen bowed, and looked with an ex- 
 pression of gentle sympathy and emotion on the 
 lovely child, as if imploring the blessing of 
 Heaven upon him. The emperor probably read 
 this in their eyes, for he greeted the gentlemea 
 with a pleasant smile, and nodded to them with 
 the triumphant air of a happy father. 
 
 "Papa emperor," exclaimed the child, turning 
 once more to his father, " my dear Madame 'Quicu 
 says that France has now need of prosperity, ar d 
 that I, therefore, ought to pray the good God U) 
 grant us His favor." 
 
 " Well, and did you do so ? " inquired the em- 
 peror. 
 
 " Yes," replied the child, " I did, from the bot- 
 tom of my heart." 
 
 " How did you pray ? Let me hear, sire ; it 
 can do no harm if you pray to God once more to 
 grant us His favor. What did you say ? " 
 
 The child assumed a grave air, and knelt down. 
 He then raised his clasped hands, and, leaning 
 back his head, lifted up his large blue eyes. 
 " Good God," he said aloud, " I pray to Thee for 
 France and for my father ! " 
 
 These words, uttered in so clear and melodious 
 a voice, sounding like an angel's greeting in the 
 solemn cabinet of the emperor, made a wonder- 
 ful impression. The gentlemen averted their 
 heads, to conceal their emotion from Napoleon. 
 
" Gooc. (Jud, I pray to Thee for France and for my father." 
 
THE KING OF ROME. 
 
 245 
 
 But he paid no attention to them ; his eyes r 
 on his child with an expression of profound affec- 
 tion ; a veil seemed to overspread them, and as 
 it perhaps prevented the emperor from seeing his 
 kneeling child distinctly, he quickly moved his 
 hand across his eyes. The veil disappeared, but 
 the hand that had drawn it aside was moist. 
 
 The boy jumped up and hastened back to his 
 father, who clasped him tenderly in his arms, and 
 then, as if to apologize, turned toward his minis- 
 ters. " Well, gentlemen," he said, gayly, " do 
 you believe that the voice of the King of Rome 
 is strong enough to reach to heaven, and bring 
 prosperity to France and to myself?" 
 
 " Sire, I do," said the Duke de Bassano, in a 
 trembling voice. 
 
 " And I feel convinced of it," said the Duke 
 de Rovigo. " If any prayer can reach heaven, 
 this in 
 
 " It will bless France and her august emperor," 
 raid the Duke de Vicenza, " Sire, permit me to 
 ask a favor of you. Give to France as a Xew- 
 Year's present of your love, the picture of the 
 King of Rome praying for France and his father. 
 Your majesty, send for Isabey, and have him 
 resent the king in this charming attitude. He 
 will paint such a picture both with his hand and 
 his heart, and within a month it must be circu- 
 d as A copperplate throughout France. Sire, 
 venture to assert that this engraving will win 
 all hearts, and the members of the legislature 
 cannot excite half as much hatred in the prov- 
 inces as this picture will produce love." 
 
 "You are right," said the emperor, " that is an 
 ;cellent idea. France shall learn that my son 
 i for it, and then for me. Mnret, see 
 it that Isabey come to-morrow. The plate 
 <t be ready for distribution in the course of a 
 nth.* And now," added the emperor, putting 
 child again on his knee, "now tell m- 
 you want me to give you as a ' 
 
 nt ? " 
 Oh," cried the little king, smilincr, " I know 
 
 ::, 
 
 s 
 
 
 This copperplate really appeared shortly after ; it Is 
 iweet and beautLtil portrait of the little King of Rome. 
 
 something, dear papa emperor, but I dare not 
 say what it i#." 
 
 " Ah, you may," said the emperor. " I pledge 
 you my word that I will fulfil your wish, if it be 
 possible. Speak, then." 
 
 " Sire," asked little Xapoleon, nodding toward 
 the ministers, " sire, will these gentlemen not be- 
 tray me to Madame de Montesquiou ? " 
 
 "I warrant you they will not," said the em- 
 peror, gravely. "Let me hear what you want." 
 
 " Well, then, papa emperor," said the boy, 
 leaning his head on his father's breast, and 
 looking up to him, "I feel a great wish that I 
 could run just once all alone into the street, and 
 play in the mud and the gutter, as other children 
 do." * 
 
 The emperor burst into loud laughter, in which 
 the others did not fail to join. " Ah, you see, 
 gentlemen," exclaimed the emperor, " this is a 
 new rendering of Lafontaine's celebrated Tou- 
 jours pcrdrix ! ' The King of Rome, being able 
 to command all that is beautiful and agreeable to 
 his heart's content, is longing for the gutter. Be 
 patient, sire, I cannot immediately fulfil your 
 wish, but I shall have a palace for you, and in its 
 court-yard you shall have a gutter, too. Sire, 
 look at those plans which Baron Fontaine has 
 drawn up for a palace destined for you alone." 
 
 " What ! For me alone ? " asked the child, 
 in dismay. " You will not live with me hi the 
 palace ? " 
 
 " No, sire. The King of Rome must have a 
 palace of his own, where he will reside with his 
 court" 
 
 " Papa emperor, I thank you for your New- 
 Year's gift," said the boy, sullenly; "I thank you, 
 but do not accept it. I do not want a palace of 
 my own. I thank your majesty, but prefer remain 
 ing at the Tuileries." 
 
 " But, sire, just think of it a splendid palace 
 Dg to you ;i 
 
 " I do not want to live alone ! " 
 
 " Well, sire, then you will request your beauti. 
 
 * Bausset, " Memulres sur Interieur da Palais Inap6 
 rial," vol. 1L 
 
246 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 ful mother, the empress, to live with you. Will 
 that be sufficient ? " 
 
 The boy glanced quickly and anxiously around 
 the room, as if to satisfy himself that neither the 
 empress nor Madame de Montesquieu was present; 
 he then threw both his arms round the emperor's 
 neck, and exclaimed, " I want to be where you 
 are, papa ! " 
 
 Napoleon pressed his lips with passionate ten- 
 derness on his son's head. " Well, sire," he said, 
 in a voice tremulous with love, "I believe your 
 wishes will have to be complied with. As soon 
 as your palace is completed I shall live with you. 
 Do you accept your palace on this condition ? " 
 
 " Yes, my dear papa emperor," exclaimed the 
 prince, joyously, " now I accept it, and thank you 
 for it." 
 
 " Well, you hear that, Fontaine," said Napoleon, 
 turning toward his architect. " You may begin 
 the construction of the palace ; the King of Home 
 accepts it. I sanction this second plan. Build 
 a magnificent villa, and it must be completed in 
 two years. In two years " 
 
 Suddenly the emperor paused, and his face dark- 
 ened. " Ah," he said, gloomily, putting his hand 
 on the prince's head, "ah, we purpose building 
 you a palace, but if they conquer me you will not 
 even possess a cabin ! " * The emperor's head 
 dropped on his breast, und a pause ensued, 
 which the child, usually so vivacious, did not ven- 
 ture to interrupt. 
 
 At length Napoleon said : u Go, Fontaine, and 
 take your plans along; 1 will confer further about 
 the matter. And you, ministers, come, we have 
 to settle some questions of importance. But, 
 first, I must take the king back to his governess." 
 
 The boy clung with almost anxious tenderness 
 to his father. " Ah, dear, dear papa emperor," 
 he begged, " let me stay here ! I will be quiet oh, 
 so very quiet ! I will only sit on your knee, lean 
 my head on your breast, and not disturb you at 
 nil." 
 
 " Well, you may stay then," said Napoleon. 
 
 * Napoleon's words. Vide " Memoirs of the Duchess 
 d'Abrantes. 1 " 
 
 : 
 
 ace 
 
 : 
 
 "We shall see whether you really can be qui 
 and not disturb us." 
 
 The little child kept his word. Sitting quietly 
 on the emperor's knee, and leaning his little head 
 on his father's breast, he did not interrupt in the 
 least the important conference of Napoleon and 
 his ministers. An hour afterward the conference 
 was over, and the dukes were dismissed. 
 
 " Now, sire," said Napoleon, turning toward 
 child, " now let us play." 
 
 But the little king, who always received these 
 words with exultation, remained silent, and when 
 the emperor bent over him, he saw that he had 
 fallen asleep. " Happy king ! " murmured Napo- 
 leon, "happy king! who can fall asleep in the 
 midst of state business ! " Softly and cautiously 
 drawing the boy closer to his breast, and taking 
 pains not to disturb his slumber, he sat still 
 and motionless, scarcely breathing, although sad 
 thoughts oppressed his mind. It was an inter- 
 esting spectacle this lovely boy leaning his head 
 in smiling dreams on the breast of his father, 
 who was looking down on him with grave and 
 tender eyes. 
 
 The emperor sat thus a long time. Strange 
 and wonderful thoughts stole upon him though s 
 of past happiness, of past love. He thought of 
 how long he had yearned to possess a son, arid 
 how many tears his first consort shed how ar- 
 dently he had been loved by the noble and beau- 
 tiful Josephine, whom, in his pride, which de- 
 manded an heir-apparent, he had thrust into 
 solitude. Providence had given Bonaparte all 
 that his heart had longed for a beautiful young 
 wife, who loved him, and who was the daughter 
 of an emperor ; and a sweet, lovely child that was 
 to be the heir of his imperial throne. But Provi- 
 dence, by giving him all, had taken all from 
 Josephine the heart and hand of her husband, 
 her dignity and authority as an empress and sov- 
 ereign. She was now nothing but a deserted and 
 unhappy lady, who had only tears for her past, 
 no joy in the present, no hopes for the future. 
 
 All this was on account of the child adored by 
 his father, and hailed by France ; and yet, de 
 spite all the mischief this little boy had done her 
 
THE KING OF ROME. 
 
 247 
 
 and the fact that he was the child of another 
 womari, Josephine loved him, and often im- 
 plored the emperor to let her see and embrace the 
 little King of Rome. He had always refused to 
 grant this request, in order not to stir up the jeal- 
 ousy of his young wife, but, at this quiet hour, 
 when he was alone with his sleeping child, Napo- 
 leon thought of Josephine with melancholy ten- 
 derness. Amid the profound silence which sur- 
 rounded him, his recollections spoke to him. 
 They pointed him to Josephine in the imperish- 
 able splendor of her love, her grace, and good- 
 ness ; he thought he saw her sweet lips, which 
 had always a smile for him ; her brilliant eyes, 
 which had ever looked tenderly on him, and which 
 had learned to read his most secret thoughts. 
 
 " Poor Josephine !" he murmured, " poor Jose- 
 phine ! she loved me ardently, and many things 
 might be different now if she were still by my side. 
 She was my guardian angel, and with her my suc- 
 cess haa departed. She sacrificed her happiness 
 to me and my ambition ; and while formerly all 
 hastened to offer their congratulations on this day 
 and pay homage to the empress, she now sits lonely 
 and deserted at Malmaison. No," he then said 
 aloud, "no, she shall not be lonely and deserted ! 
 I surely owe it to her to occasion her a moment 
 of joy. She shall see my son I myself will take 
 him to her." He cautiously lifted up the boy in 
 his arms and rose. The prince awoke and looked 
 imly up to his father, who carried him to the 
 and laid him with ten.lcr care on the cush- 
 But little Napoleon jumped up, and said 
 ghingly : " I am no longer tired. The duL 
 
 now, and let u.s play, papa ! " 
 "No, sire," said the emperor, " not now, I have 
 to attend to. But listen to me : at noon 
 ay I will take a ride with you, all alone that 
 to be my N-\v -Year's present." 
 The boy uttered a cry of joy. " All alone, papa 
 pror? Oh, that will be splendid !" 
 " But now go to Madame de Montesqui.. 
 said the emperor. "Constant!" When the VA- 
 let de chambre entered the room, he ordered 
 Constant, " Pray conduct his m:ijesty the ! 
 Rome to Madame de Moutesquiou, and tell her I 
 
 - 
 
 
 shall call for him in a few hours in order to take a 
 ride with him alone, without any attendants what- 
 ever. Adieu, Sire, in a few hours we shall meet 
 again." 
 
 But the boy stood and looked at the emperor 
 
 ith grave and sullen glances. " Sire," he said, 
 
 my dear Madame 'Quiou tells me often a king 
 
 ought to keep his word. Now I ask you must an 
 
 emperor not keep his word also ? " 
 
 " Certainly, sire ! " 
 
 " Well, then, your majesty, take me to Madame 
 'Quiou," cried the boy, joyously ; %< you told her 
 you would do so. Come, papa ! " 
 
 "Ah," exclaimed the emperor, smiling, "you 
 are right an emperor must fulfil his word, 
 though he has pledged it only to a king. Come, 
 sire, I will conduct you to Madame de Montesquieu. 
 Constant, await me here ! " 
 
 A lew minutes afterward, the emperor returned 
 to his cabinet " Constant," he said, in a low 
 voice, " I know you loved the Empress Josephine, 
 and have not forgotten her, I suppose ? " 
 
 "Sire, the empress was my benefactress ; I owe 
 to her all that I am, and she was always kind 
 to me." 
 
 " More so than the present empress, you mean 
 to say ? " asked the emperor, casting a searching 
 glance on his vale* de chambre ; and, as Constant 
 was silent, NapoXeon added, " It is true, the young 
 empress is less condescending than my first con- 
 sort. But that is, Constant, because she was 
 brought up as the daughter of an emperor, and 
 her feelings were restrained by the narrow 
 limits of etiquette. Josephine forgot too much 
 that she was an empress, Maria Louisa forgets it 
 too little; but her heart is good and gentle, and 
 she would never wish to grieve me. So, Constant, 
 you have not yet forgotten the Empress Jose- 
 phine ? " 
 
 -ire, none that ever knew the Empress Jose- 
 phine could help remembering her. For ray own 
 p.irt, I ean never forget her." 
 
 \ i, what zfripoti you are, to give me such a 
 
 reply ! Well, I will prove to you, M. Fripon, that 
 
 I have not forgotten Josephine, either. This ia 
 
 Would you not like to offer 
 
248 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 your congratulations to the Empress Josephine 
 at Malmaison ? " 
 
 " Sire, if so liumble and low a servant as I am 
 may dare, I should certainly be very happy to lay 
 my congratulations at her feet." 
 
 " Go, I permit you to do so, and the empress will 
 Burely receive you very kindly." 
 
 " Particularly, sire, if I had a message from 
 his majesty the emperor to deliver." 
 
 " Fripon, I believe you take the liberty of guess- 
 ing my thoughts ! Yes, I will give you a message. 
 Hasten to the Empress Josephine, take her my 
 greetings, but see that the empress receives you 
 without witnesses. Do you hear, Constant with 
 out witnesses ? Then tell her to have her carriage 
 immediately brought to the door, and, on the pre- 
 text of being alone with her mournful New-Year's 
 meditations, to take a ride without attendants. 
 But when she is at a considerable distance from 
 Malmaison, she is to order the coachman to drive 
 to the little castle of La Bagatelle. She must be 
 there precisely at four o'clock. I shall be there, 
 and tell her majesty I shall not come alone. Now 
 make baste, Constant ! Recommend entire reti- 
 cence to the empress. As to yourself, pray do 
 not forget that, if any one shall hear of this affair, 
 you must be held responsible. Go ! " 
 
 (JHAPTEK XLIV. 
 
 JOSEPHINE. 
 
 JUST as the clock struck four, the carriage of 
 the Empress Josephine wheeled into the court- 
 yard of the little castle of La Bagatelle. She in- 
 quired of the castellan, in a tremulous voice, 
 whether any one had arrived there, and she 
 breathed more freely when he replied in the 
 negative. She left the carriage with youthful 
 alacrity and entered the castle, followed by the 
 castellan, who gazed in amazement at this em- 
 press without court or suite, who arrived stealth- 
 ily and tremblingly, like a maiden to meet her 
 v over for the first time. She hurried through the 
 
 well-known apartments of the castle, and entered 
 the hall in which, during the days of her happi- 
 ness, she had so often received the foreign princes 
 and ambassadors, or the dignitaries of France. 
 The hall was now empty ; no one was there to 
 receive the deserted empress ; but bright, merry 
 fires were burning in the fireplaces, and every 
 thing was in readiness for the reception of distin- 
 guished guests. 
 
 " You knew, then, that I was to come ? " in- 
 quired the empress of the castellan. 
 
 " Your majesty," he replied, in a low and rev- 
 erential voice, " M. Constant was here, and gave 
 orders to have the rooms in readiness. If your 
 majesty wishes refreshments, you will find every 
 thing served up in the dining-room." 
 
 "No, no, I thank you," cried the empress, has- 
 tily. " But tell me is my dressing-room my for- 
 mer dressing-room," she corrected herself falter- 
 ingly "is that heated, too ? " 
 
 " Your majesty will find all your rooms com- 
 fortable, just as though you still condescended to 
 reside here." 
 
 " Well, then, I will go to that room. If an? 
 one comes, I shall notice it through the opened 
 doors ; it is unnecessary for you to inform me ; I 
 will go then at once to the reception-room." 
 
 The castellan withdrew, and Josephine hastened 
 through the adjoining apartment into the dress- 
 ing-room. With a long, painful sigh she glanced 
 around the room which had so often witnessed 
 her happiness and her triumphs. Here, surround- 
 ed by her ladies in front of this mirror, she had 
 had her hair dressed, and the emperor had almost 
 always made his appearance at that hour to chat 
 with her, look at her toilet, and delight her heart 
 by a smile, a glance, that was more transporting 
 to her than all the homage and flattery paid her 
 by all her other admirers. Now she was here 
 again, but alone, and with a mournful sigh she 
 stepped to the mirror which had so often reflected 
 her charming portrait, radiant with happiness, and 
 sparkling with diamonds. 
 
 And what did she see new in this mirror ? A 
 woman with a pale, grief-stricken face, features 
 growing old, and a desponding exhaustion which 
 
JOSEPHINE. 
 
 249 
 
 only a good and pleasant life can disguise when 
 the vigor of youth has faded. 
 
 " Oh, I have become old ! " sighed Josephine ; 
 " the years of tears and solitude count double, for 
 one consumes then in days the strength of many 
 years. I have grown old because I have wept 
 foi Ae'w, and because I have felt his misfortunes. 
 Oh, how will he look ? Will his cheeks be even 
 paler and his eyes gloomier than formerly ? I 
 have no! seen him since his return from his dis- 
 astrous campaign ; if I read the history of his 
 sufferings on his face, my grief will kill me. But 
 no," she encouraged herself, "I will not weep, 
 nor trouble him with my tears. I will be serene, 
 and suppress my emotions. He will not come 
 alone ; but whom will he bring with him ? I hope 
 not the woman who is my rival to whom I had 
 to yield my throne ! No, I know Bonaparte's 
 heart, I know that he would be incapable of such 
 cruelty. She, young, beautiful, the reigning em- 
 pressI, old, sorrowful, faded, the deserted em- 
 press ! I ah, there is a carriage rolling into the 
 court-yard ! He comes ! " Her whole form trem- 
 aud, breathless, her face suffused with deep 
 ie?, she sank into an easy-chair. " I love him 
 , ' she murmured ; " my heart does not for- 
 get ! " A low knocking at the small side-door 
 leading to the inner corridor, was heard, and 
 Constant entered. Josephine rose hastily, and 
 with quivering lips asked, " Constant, is he 
 there?" 
 
 " Yes, your mnjesty. The emperor requests 
 to repair to the reception -room. He will be 
 in a moment." 
 
 " And who is accompanying him ? " 
 
 .missioned me to tell you 
 
 that it would afford him great satisfaction to pre- 
 pare a 1'r , and that he 
 has, therefore, t'ulttllrd a wish which you have felt 
 for a long time.'' 
 
 "Con -Josephine, joyfully, 
 
 the emperor !\inz of Rome to nu- : " 
 
 ~ty." 
 
 " Ah, Jicr child ! " cried the empress, with an 
 on of jealousy, burying her face in her 
 
 r, 
 
 a+:n ' 
 
 you t 
 .Here 
 
 " The emperor requests your majesty to be so 
 gracious as not to let the little king suspect 
 whom he has the honor to approach," whispere 1 
 Constant. 
 
 " Ah, she is not to suspect that her child has 
 come to me ! " murmured Josephine, while fresh 
 tears trickled down her cheeks. 
 
 " The emperor, besides, implores your majesty 
 not to frighten the prince by a sadness which 
 your majesty, in the generosity and kindness of 
 your heart, has so often overcome." 
 
 " Yes," said the empress, removing her hands 
 from her face, and hastily drying her tears with 
 her handkerchief, " I will not weep. It is true, I 
 have often begged that I might fee the King of 
 Rome the child for whom I have suffered so 
 much, and to read in his face whether he is wor- 
 thy of my sacrifice. The emperor is so kind as 
 to fulfil my wish ; tell him that I am profoundly 
 grateful to him, that I will restrain my emotion 
 and not make the prince suspect who I am. Tell 
 him that I shall not weep when I see the child of 
 the present empress. No, do not tell him that, 
 Constant ; it would grieve him tell him only 
 that I thank him, and that he shall not be dis- 
 pleased with me. Go ! I am ready, and shall be 
 happy to ?ee the boy. It is not her child, but hit 
 that I am to embrace." And greeting Constant 
 with that inimitable smile of grace and kindness 
 peculiar to her, she walked toward the reception- 
 room. " How my heart throbs ! " she murmured ; 
 " it is as if my limbs were failing me as if I 
 should die." Nearly fainting, she slowly glided 
 through the adjoining apartment, and entered the 
 reception-room. "Courage, my heart! for it is 
 hi* child that I am to greet." Sitting down on 
 an easy-chair near the window, she looked in 
 anxiety and suspense toward the large folding- 
 doors. 
 
 h the emperor appeared. Josephine 
 had not seen him for nearly a year, and at first 
 yes beheld only him. She read in his pal- 
 lid and furrowed face the secret history of his 
 sorrows, which he had not, perhaps, communi- 
 cated to any one, but which he could not conceal 
 from the eye of love. Unutterable sympathy and 
 
250 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 
 tender compassion for him filled her soul. And 
 now she almost timidly looked upon the child 
 that Napoleon led by the hand. 
 
 How charming was this child ! How proud of 
 him was his father ! Josephine felt this, and she 
 said almost exultingly to herself: "I have not 
 been sacrificed in vain ! This child is an ample 
 indemnity for my tears. I am the boy's real 
 mother, for I have suffered, sorrowed, and prayed 
 for him ! " Rejoicing in this sentiment, which 
 seemed to restore the beauty of former days, 
 Josephine stretched out her arms toward the 
 child. 
 
 " Go, my son, and embrace the lady," said Na- 
 poleon, dropping the hand of the prince. He ad- 
 vanced, while his father stood at the table in the 
 middle of the room, supporting his right hand on 
 the marble slab. He looked gravely but kindly 
 upon the empress, from whom he felt separated, 
 by the presence of his child, as by an impassable 
 gulf. 
 
 The little prince offered his band to the em- 
 press with a smile, and Josephine drew him into 
 her arms, pressing his head to her bosom. A 
 sigh, in spite of herself, came from the depths of 
 her heart. She slowly bent back the boy's head 
 and gazed at him with a mournful but loving ex- 
 pression. Then her glance fell upon the emperor, 
 and, with an indescribable look of love and ten- 
 derness, she said: "Sire, he is like you; God 
 bless him for it ! " 
 
 There was something so touching and heart- 
 felt in these words in the tone of her voice, and 
 the glance of her eyes, that the emperor was pro- 
 foundly moved, and responded only by a silent 
 nod, not venturing to speak lest the tremor of his 
 words should betray his emotion. Even the little 
 king seemed to understand the excellent heart of 
 this lady. He clung to her and said in a sweet 
 voice, " I love you, ma dame, and want you to love 
 me, too ! " 
 
 " I love you, sire," cried Josephine, " and shall 
 pray God every day to preserve you to your 
 father to your parents," she corrected herself 
 with the self-abnegation of a true woman. " You 
 will one day confer happiness on France and your 
 
 people, for you undoubtedly wish to become aa 
 good, great, and wise, as your father." 
 
 " Oh, yes, my papa emperor is very good, and 
 I love him dearly ! " exclaimed the boy, looking 
 toward his father. " But, papa, why do you not 
 come to us ? Why do you not shake hands with 
 this dear lady, who is so good and loves me so 
 well ? " 
 
 " The emperor is generous," paid Josephine, 
 gently ; " he wished me to have you a moment 
 by yourself, sire ; he has you every day, but I 
 have never had you before." 
 
 " Why did you not come and see me ? " asked 
 the child. "You live near Paris; and, if yoa 
 loved me, you would often come and see how the 
 little King of Rome is getting on. The emperor 
 told me you were a dear and kind-hearted lady, 
 and that every one loved you." 
 
 " Did he tell you so, sire ? " exclaimed the em- 
 press, drawing the boy into her arms. " Oh, 
 tell the emperor that I shall always be grateful 
 to him for it, and that these words will forever 
 silence my grief." Her eyes glanced m gratituc c 
 to the emperor, who softly laid his finger on h s 
 mouth, to admonish her to be silent and calm. 
 
 The little prince had now, with the facility with 
 which children pass from one subject to another, 
 turned his attention to the large diamond brooch 
 fastened to Josephine's golden sash. " How 
 beautiful it is ! " he exclaimed " how it is flash- 
 ing as though it were a star fallen from heaven, 
 and fastened to your breast, because it loves 
 you, madame, and because you are so good ! 
 And what fine ornaments youv have on your 
 watch ! Ah, look here, papa emperor ; see 
 these pretty things! Come, papa, and look at 
 them ! " 
 
 "No, sire," said the emperor, with a strange 
 and mournful smile, " let me remain here. I can 
 see all those pretty things quite distinctly." 
 
 " They are very beautiful, are they not ? " cried 
 the child. " And if" 
 
 . "Well, sire," asked Josephine, "why do you 
 pause ? Pray speak ! " 
 
 The boy had suddenly assumed a grave air, 
 and gazed upon the ornaments of the empress. 
 
TALLEYRAND. 
 
 251 
 
 I was just thinking but you will be angry if 
 . tell you what, madame." 
 
 " Certainly not, sire ; tell me what you thought." 
 
 " It occurred to my mind tliat we met in the 
 forest on our way a poor man who looked hag- 
 gard and wretched, and begged us to give him 
 Bomething. But papa and I could not, for we 
 had already distributed all our money among the 
 unfortunate persons whom we had previously met. 
 Why are there so many poor people, madame ? 
 why does my papa emperor not order all men to 
 be happy and rich ? " 
 
 "Because it is impossible for him to do so, 
 Eire," said Josephine. 
 
 "And because, in order to be able to make 
 others happy, we must ourselves be rich ! " ex- 
 claimed the emperor, smiling. "Xo\v you said 
 yourself, sire, we could not give the poor man in 
 the forest any thing, for \ve bad nothing to give 
 him." 
 
 "Yes, and I was very sorry," said the boy. 
 " And now I was thinking if we sent for the poor 
 man, and you, madame, gave him your watch 
 and your diamonds, and he sold them, he would 
 have a great deal of money, and be very rich and 
 happy." 
 
 Josephine pressed the boy tenderly to her 
 " Sire," she said, " I promise you that I 
 will send for your poor man and give him so much 
 money that he will never again be wretched." 
 
 "Oh!" exclaimed the prince, encircling the 
 lady's neck with his arms, " how good you are, 
 madame, and how I love you ! " 
 
 Josephine pressed his head to her bosom. " Oh, 
 you may certainly love me a little," she replied, 
 with a touching smilo ; " I have n -ally deserved it 
 of you." 
 
 "Sire," said the emperor, advancing a few 
 steps, "now bid the lady farewell. We must 
 
 i!" mrd the boy, joyou.-ly " papa, we 
 must take the dear lady with us ; she is so good, 
 and I love li K live with us in the Tuil- 
 
 cries, and al\va)=i stay with us. I want her to do 
 BO, and you, too, papa, do you not ? " 
 
 Josephine's eyes filled with tears, and she 
 
 Jos- 
 
 L 
 
 looked at the emperbr with an expression of un- 
 utterable woe. He immediately averted his face, 
 perhaps to prevent Josephine from noticing his 
 emotion. " Come, sire," he said imperiously, " it 
 is high lime ; it is growing dark. Take leave of 
 madame ! " 
 
 " Oh, no ; I will not take leave of her ! " cried 
 the boy, vehemently. "I say to her rather 
 Come with us to the Tuileries ! " 
 
 " It cannot be, sire," said Josephine, smiling 
 amidst her tears. 
 
 " Why ? " cried the boy, impatiently, and throw- 
 ing back his head. " Come ; you may accompany 
 the emperor, and I want you to do so ! " 
 
 Napoleon, painfully moved by this scene, 
 quickly advanced to the prince, and took his 
 hand. " Come, sire," he said in a tone so grave 
 that the boy dared no longer resist. Submitting 
 to his father's will, he stepped back, and, pleas- 
 antly bowing, took leave of the empress. 
 
 " We shall meet again," said Josephine, and, 
 turning her tearful eyes to Napoleon, she asked, 
 " We shall meet again, sire, shall we not ? " 
 
 " Yes," said Napoleon, gravely, " we shall meet 
 again." He then took leave of her with an 
 affectionate look, which fell as a sunbeam upon 
 her desolate heart, and, leading the boy by the 
 hand, turned quickly toward the door. She looked 
 after them in silence and with clasped hands. As 
 the door opened, the emperor turned again with 
 a parting but melancholy glance. 
 
 Josephine was again alone. With a groan she 
 fell on her knees, and lifting her face toward 
 heaven, she cried, " My God, protect preserve 
 him! Whatever I may suffer, oh, let him be 
 happy ! " 
 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 TALLKYRAXI). 
 
 FOR a week the emperor had scarcely left hia 
 cabinet; bending over his maps, he anxiously 
 examined the position of his army, and that of 
 
252 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BUTCHER. 
 
 the constantly advancing allies. Every day couri- 
 ers with news of fresh disasters arrived at Paris ; 
 rumors of invading armies terrified the citizens, 
 and disturbed the emperor's temper. It was im- 
 possible for the government to conceal ihe mis- 
 fortunes which had befallen France from the be- 
 ginning of the new year. The people knew that 
 Blucher had crossed the Rhine, and, victoriously 
 penetrating France, on the 16th of January had 
 taken up his quarters at Nancy. It was publicly 
 known that a still larger army of the allies, com- 
 manded by Prince Schwartzenberg, had advanced 
 through Switzerland, Lorraine, and Alsace, taken 
 the fortresses, overcome all resistance, and that 
 both generals had sworn to appear in front of 
 Paris by February, and conquer the capital. All 
 Paris knew this, and longed for peace as the only 
 way to put an end to the sufferings of the nation. 
 The strength and the superiority of the allied 
 army could not be concealed, and it was felt to 
 be impossible to expel the powerful invaders. 
 
 Napoleon himself at length saw the necessity 
 of peace, and, conquering his proud heart, he 
 sent the Duke de Yicenza, his faithful friend Cau- 
 laincourt, to the headquarters of the allies, to 
 request them to send plenipotentiaries to a peace 
 congress. The allies accepted this proposition, 
 but they declared that, despite the peace con- 
 gress, the course of the war could not in the 
 least be interrupted ; that the operations in the 
 field must be vigorously continued. Napoleon 
 responded to this by decreeing a new conscrip- 
 tion, ordering all able-bodied men in France to 
 be enrolled in the national armies. The terrors 
 of war were, therefore, approaching, and yet Paris 
 was in hope that peace would be concluded; 
 Caulaincourt was still at the headquarters of the 
 allies, treating with them about the congress. 
 
 Early on the morniug of the 23d of January, 
 another dispatch from Caulaincourt to Maret was 
 received at Paris, and the minister immediately 
 repaired to the Tuileries, to communicate it to the 
 emperor. This dispatch confirmed all the disas- 
 trous tidings which had arrived from day to day, 
 and convinced Napoleon and his minister that 
 the vast superiority of the allied armies rendered 
 
 ne ana 
 
 " 
 
 ling in 
 
 it impossible for the emperor to rid his countrj 
 of the formidable invaders. 
 
 "Maret," said Napoleon, gloomily, "come and 
 look at this map. What do you see here ? 
 
 " Sire, a number of colored pins extendi 
 all directions." 
 
 "And a small number of white pins. WeH, 
 these are my troops ; the colored pins designate 
 the armies of my enemies. They are allied ; but I 
 I have no longer a single ally at this hour; I 
 stand alone, and have to meet eight different 
 armies. See here, Maret : there is, in the first 
 place, the grand army of the Russians, Austrians, 
 Bavarians, and Wurtembergers, commanded by 
 Prince Schwartzenberg, and accompanied by the 
 allied monarchs ; next, there is the grand Prus- 
 sian army, with the Russian and Saxon corps, un- 
 der the command of Blucher, the hussar; here 
 stand the Swedes under Bernadotte, reenforced 
 by Russian and English corps, and the German 
 troops of the Confederation of the Rhine; there 
 comes the Anglo-Batavian array; here, farther to 
 the South, is Wellington's army, composed of 
 English, Spaniards, and Portuguese; there, in 
 Italy, is an Austrian corps under Bellegarde ; at ao 
 great distance from it, the Neapolitan corps unc er 
 the King of Naples ; and, finally, here at Lyons, is 
 another Austrian corps under Bubna. The armies 
 of Schwartzenberg, Blucher, and Bernadotte, are 
 about six hundred thousand strong. And now 
 see what forces I have I cannot call them ar- 
 mies ! Augereau's corps is stationed near Lyons ; 
 Ney, Marmont, and Mortier, are with their corps 
 here between the Meuse and the Seine; Sebas- 
 tiani and Macdonald are with the remnants of 
 their corps on the frontier of the Netherlands. 
 Maret, my troops are hardly one hundred thou- 
 sand ; the allies, therefore, are six to one." 
 
 "Sire," said Maret, "even a military genius 
 like that of your majesty, will be unable to cope 
 with such odds, and it reflects no dishonor on the 
 bravest to submit to the decrees of Fate." 
 
 "It is true," murmured Napoleon, throwing 
 himself into his easy-chair, with his arm leaning 
 on the desk, and his head bent forward " it is 
 true, I have no sufficient force to oppose them ; 
 
TALLEYRAND. 
 
 253 
 
 iheir armies are six time? as strong as mine, and, 
 unless fortune greatly favors me, I must yield ! " 
 
 "But fortune has forsaken us, sire, and we 
 have no strength left. Yield, therefore, sire; 
 submit to a stern necessity ; comply with the 
 anxious demand of France; restore peace to your 
 people to the world ! Do not endanger, with- 
 out prospect of success, your precious life, which 
 is necessary to France your throne, threatened 
 by foreign and domestic foes. All is at stake. 
 Save France, save the throne ! Make peace at 
 any cost ! " 
 
 While Maret was speaking, Xapoleon slowly 
 i his head, and sent a flaming glance on his 
 minister. Now, that Maret was silent, the em- 
 peror quickly took up an open book from his 
 desk and handed it to Maret. "I will not an- 
 swer you, duke," said Napoleon, "but Marmon- 
 tel shall. R ad this. Read it aloud." 
 
 Maret read : " ' I know of nothing more sub- 
 lime than the resolution taken by a monarch liv- 
 ing in our times, who would be buried under the 
 ruins of his throne rather than accept terms to 
 which a king should not listen ; he was possessed 
 of too proud a soul to descend lower than una- 
 voidable misfortune. He knew full well that 
 courage may n-st.Mv strength and lustre to a 
 crown, but that cowardice and dishonor never 
 can.' " 
 
 "That is my reply, Maret," exclaimed Xapo- 
 leon. "The example of Louis XIV. shall tc.ioh 
 me to perish rather than humiliate myself." 
 
 "Sire," said Maret, solemnly, " Marmontel is 
 wrong ; there is (something more sublime than to 
 be buried under the ruins of a throne a king 
 sacrificing his own greatness to the welfare of a 
 state that must perish with him." 
 
 <T ! " exclaimed the emperor, imp*' 
 "I can die beneath the ruins of my throne, but I 
 cannot sign my own humiliation ! Maret, I have 
 made up my mind : I will continue this struggle 
 to the la-t ; I v.ill conquer or die! To-morrow I 
 set out for the army. Ah, I want to see whether 
 
 MartnunU'l, "Grandeur ct D6csdence ics Remains' 
 
 * Mwinontel, 
 
 that drunken general of hussars, Blucher, shall 
 not yield to me, notwithstanding his crazy cavalry 
 tricks ; whether Schwartzenberg, my faithless 
 pupil, who had learned the art of war from me, 
 will meet me in a pitched battle ; and whether Ber- 
 nadotte, my rebellious subject, dare look me in 
 the face. Maret, the decisive struggle is at hand. 
 I will take the field, save Paris, and conquer the 
 enemy. I must call upon all the men of France 
 to defend the sacred soil of our country, and con- 
 vert every house into a castle, every village into 
 a fortress, so that my enemies shall have to wrest 
 every inch of ground from us ut a vast sacrifice. 
 Not another word about peace ! Every thing is 
 ready. Troops are hum ing forward from Spain 
 to fill up my army ; in a few days they will be 
 here. Between the Seine and the Marne all my 
 forces will unite and put a stop to the advance 
 of the allies upon Paris. We shall occupy a po- 
 sition by which it will be easy for us to divide, 
 disperse, and crush the enemy. Here, in the 
 plain between these rivers, I shall march along 
 the Aube, scatter the allied army, hurl most of 
 my troops at one of its wings, and, by skilful 
 manoeuvres, compel the other wing to fall back. 
 The enemy must retreat ; I shall profit by it, 
 and when I have gained a great battle over him, 
 I can impose my own terms ; I have then con- 
 quered an honorable peace for France one that 
 we can subscribe to without blushing. Ah, I see 
 a brilliant future ! It is time to begin. My eagles 
 are ascending ; they are not ravens or bats they 
 are soaring to the sun." As the emperor uttered 
 these words his soul illuminated his face ; he was 
 again the conqueror, confiding in his star. 
 
 Maret looked anxiously, but admiringly, at Xa- 
 poleon's face, in which great resolutions were 
 beaming, and he read there an assurance and 
 determination that nothing could change. "You 
 have made up your mind, then, sire: the war is to 
 go on, and the peace congress is not to meet ? " 
 
 " On the contrary," exclaimed Xapoleon, smiling, 
 
 "let it meet, if the allies wish it. While Caulain- 
 
 court, Metternieh, and Hardenberg, are dictating 
 
 of peace with their pens, we shall do so with 
 
 i our swords. *nd we shall soon see which will make 
 
254 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 the more progress. But let us now commence 
 with some movements of peace. We must be on 
 good terms with Spain and Rome. Let Ferdinand 
 return as King to Spain, and as such become my 
 ally. I shall also open the doors of Pope Pius's 
 prison at Fontainebleau ; let him return as pope 
 to Rome, and, as God's vicegerent, be on my side. 
 Maret, here are already two allies. In order to 
 conquer, but one is wanting ; and it is for you, 
 Maret, to procure it." 
 
 " Sire, what is the name of this ally ? " asked the 
 Duke de Bassano, in amazement. 
 
 " Money ! money ! and, for the third time, 
 money ! Procure me five millions in cash, and 
 I can add one hundred thousand men to my 
 army." 
 
 " Ah, sire, our chests are empty ! " sighed 
 Maret. 
 
 "But I must have money," replied Napoleon, 
 vehemently. " Without it no war can be waged 
 no victory gained. Five millions, Maret; I 
 need them ; I must have them ! " 
 
 Mo ret looked thoughtful. Suddenly his face 
 kindled, and his whole frame shook with joy. 
 " Sire, your majesty asks for five millions ? " 
 
 " Yes, five millions, to begin with." 
 
 " Well, then, sire, I can tell you where to find 
 them, and perhaps more." 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 u Sire, will you pledge me your imperial word 
 not to betray that it was I who told you where to 
 find this money ? " 
 
 4< Certainly, Maret." 
 
 " Listen, sire ; but permit me to whisper what 
 I do not wish even the walls to hear." He bent 
 close to the emperor's ear. 
 
 Napoleon listened with breathless attention, 
 and nodded repeatedly. " You really believe this 
 to be true, Maret ? " he then asked, eagerly. 
 
 " Sire, I affirm it to be true. It is a secret 
 known only to three persons ! It was betrayed to 
 me to gain me over by an act of treachery but 
 that is altogether another matter ; the fact is suffi- 
 cient." 
 
 " And this fact is, that I shall find with my 
 mother the millions tliat I need?" said the em- 
 
 peror. " Maret, if that is BO, I shall hare *heo 
 this very day." 
 
 "Your majesty believes so? Madame Le- 
 titia " 
 
 " My mother is avaricious, you wish to say ? 
 It is true, her extreme economy has often vexed 
 me ; to-day it gladdens my heart ; for, thanks to 
 her parsimony, I shall find with her what I need 
 for my army. She will deny these millions to 
 me, to be sure ; but you told me where to look 
 for them, and I pledge you my word I know how 
 to find and take them ! Hush, not another word ! 
 I shall have what I want within an hour. Go now, 
 Maret. You will meet the Prince de Benevento 
 in the antechamber. Send him to me. I have 
 to address a few parting words to M. de Talley- 
 rand." 
 
 The emperor stood in the middle of the mag- 
 nificently furnished cabinet when the Prince de Be- 
 nevento slowly opened the door and entered. The 
 prince bore the emperor's piercing look with * 
 perfectly composed air. Not a feature of his 
 aristocratic countenance expressed any anxiety 
 and his smile did not for an instant vanish from 
 his lips. With a sort of careless bearing he aj>- 
 proached the emperor, who allowed him to core e 
 near him, still watching every expression of his 
 countenance. 
 
 " I wished to see you," he said, " in order to 
 tell you that I shall set out for the army the day 
 after to-morrow." Talleyrand bowed, but made 
 no reply. " Do you desire to accompany me ? " 
 asked the emperor, vehemently. 
 
 " Sire, what should I do at the headquarters of 
 the army ? " said Talleyrand, shrugging his shoul- 
 ders. " Your majesty knows well that I could be 
 of very little service in the army that I am able 
 only to wield the pen." 
 
 "And the tongue!" added Napoleon. "But 
 before leaving Paris I will give you some whole 
 some advice ; bridle both your tongue and youi 
 pen a little better than you have done of late. ) 
 know that you will not shrink from any treach- 
 ery, and that you are the first rat that will desert 
 the sinking ship ; but consider what you are 
 doing. The ship is not yet hi danger, and, 
 
TALLEYRAND. 
 
 255 
 
 apieuding her sails, she will move >roudly on her 
 wa." 
 
 " I h.pe she will have favorable wind-; an 
 water," said Talleyrand, bowing carelessly. 
 
 Napoleon looked at him wifh hatred and rage. 
 These equivocal words the calm, cold tone in 
 which they were uttered, disturbed the emperor, 
 and hi* blood boiled. "I believe in the sincerity 
 of your wish," he said, "although there are many 
 who assart that you are a traitor. I have given 
 you fair naming ; now prorj to those who are ac- 
 cusing you, that they are doing you injustice. 
 No intrigues ! You will be closely watched. 
 Beware ! '' Talleyrand bowed again, and his 
 face still retained its indifferent, smiling expres- 
 sion. " Listen now to what I have to say," 
 added Napoleon. "Prior to my departure I de- 
 sire to put an end to the dissensions with Rome 
 and Spain. The pope will leave Fontainebleau 
 to-morrow and return to Rome. The Infante of 
 Spain, too, is at liberty to return to his country 
 and ascend the throne of his ancestors. Go to- 
 morrow to Valen9ay. It was you who conveyed 
 Ferdinand thither; you must, therefore, open the 
 doors of his prison that you locked." 
 
 "Sire, I thank your majesty for the favor 
 which you desire to confer on me," said Talley- 
 rand, gravely. " But it was not I who arrested 
 the sacred person of the legitimate King of Spain ; 
 it was not I who dared to deprive him of his 
 rights nay, his very liberty. I acted only as 
 the obedient servant of my master, for your ma- 
 jesty's orders made me the jailer of the Infante 
 of Spain." 
 
 Napoleon approached Talleyrand, and his Hani- 
 eyes seemed to pierce his soul. " What ! " 
 he shouted, in a loud voice. " You wish to give 
 yourself now the semblance of innocence in this 
 What ! You only executed my orders, 
 and I made you the jailer of the infante ! Who 
 it, then, that urged me to do this ? Who 
 it that told me it was in<i for me 
 
 to crush the head of this Spanish hydra ? Who 
 wished even to persuade me to more energetic 
 measures than imprisonment, in order to get rid 
 of the royal family of Spain ? Who told me at 
 
 * 
 
 that time that it would be wiser and better for 
 the welfare of Europe to cut the Gordian knot in- 
 stead of untying it ? Do you remember who did 
 all this?" 
 
 Talleyrand made no reply. His countenance 
 still exhibiting the same indifferent composure, 
 he seemed scarcely to have heard the rebukes of 
 the emperor. His head slightly bent forward, 
 his eyes half closed, his lips compressed, he stood 
 leaning with one hand on the back of a chair, 
 and with the other playimg with his lace-frill. 
 This conduct greatly augmented the emperor's 
 anger. " Will you reply to me ? " thundered Na- 
 poleon, stamping the floor, and so near to Tal- 
 leyrand's foot that the prince softly drew it back. 
 " Will you reply to me ? " 
 
 Talleyrand looked at the emperor with immov- 
 able calmness. "Sire," he said, slowly, "I do 
 not know what your majesty means." 
 
 "You do not know what I mean?" echoed 
 Napoleon. " If you do not, listen ! " Unable 
 longer to overcome his auger, he advanced tow- 
 ard Talleyrand, and the prince drew back. As if 
 beside himself, the emperor raised his clinche*. 
 fists, and held them toward the prince's face, 
 moving through the large room, while Talleyrand, 
 looking the emperor full in the face, retreated, 
 taking care to get nearer the door. 
 
 " I will tell you that you are a traitor," cried 
 Napoleon, rushing forward " a traitor who would 
 like to deny to-day what he did yesterday, be- 
 cause he believes that another era is dawning, 
 and that he must betray his master before the 
 cock crows for the first time. You wish to deny 
 that it was you who urged me to imprison the 
 Spanish prince ? You are impudent enough to 
 tell me that to my face ? " So saying, the em- 
 peror's clinched fist almost touched the cheek of 
 the prince, who was still receding, and now no- 
 ticed with a feeling of relief that he had reached 
 the end of i us promenu 
 
 " Do you really dare deny your past in so ban- 
 faced a manner ? " cried Napoleon, still holding 
 his fist so close to Talleyrand's cheek that he 
 almost felt it. 
 
 The prince aoftly put his hand behind his back, 
 
256 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 and fortunately succeeded in seizing the door- 
 knob. He opened the door with a hasty jerk so 
 wide that the gentlemen assembled in the ante- 
 room enjoyed the spectacle of Napoleon with up- 
 lifted fists threatening his minister. 
 
 " Sire," said' Talleyrand, in a calm voice, " I 
 shall not dare say any thing; for I know of no 
 reply to what your majesty has said." The prince 
 pointed with a sarcastic smile to the clinched fists of 
 the emperor, and, without complying with the re- 
 quirements of usual cej emony, he hastened, more 
 rapidly than his lame foot generally permitted him 
 to do, through the antechamber, saluting the gen- 
 tlemen as he passed with a wave of his hand and 
 a smile. On stepping into the outer room he ac- 
 celerated his pace, gliding down-stairs as softly as 
 a cat, and hurrying across the hall to his car- 
 riage. 
 
 " Home," he said aloud, " at a gailop ! " When 
 the horses started, Talleyrand leaned back, and 
 said to himself, " This was our last adieu ! I shall 
 take good care not to meet Napoleon again, pro- 
 vided he is stupid enough to give me time for 
 making my dispositions." 
 
 The emperor in the mean time, half ashamed 
 of himself, reentered the cabinet, and locked the 
 door. Angry as a lion in his cage, he paced to 
 and fro with quick steps, when suddenly a gentle 
 voice behind him said, " Sire, pray be so gracious 
 as to listen to me ! " 
 
 The emperor turned with an angry gesture, and 
 saw the Duke de Rovigo standing near the open 
 door of the antechamber. " Well, Savary, what 
 do you want? " he asked in a faint voice. "Shut 
 the door, and come here. Speak ! What do you 
 want?" 
 
 " Sire, to implore you to be on your guard," 
 said the duke. "Your majesty has just had a 
 violent scene with the Prince de Benevento." 
 
 ' Who told you so ? " 
 
 " Sire, we could distinctly hear 7our majesty's 
 voice in the antechamber ; and, when the prince 
 opened the door, the rest, like myself, saw your 
 
 
 threatening attitude. 
 know it." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 v. 
 
 In an hour all Paris will 
 
 " Sire, the Prince de Benevento is not the man 
 to forget an insult, and it will mortify him doubly 
 that the world will hear of it." 
 
 " Let it mortify him ! " cried Napoleon. " All of 
 you have insinuated to me that Talleyrand is a 
 traitor, deserving punishment. I have chastised 
 him ; that is all." 
 
 " Sire, the chastisement was either too severe, or 
 not severe enough," said Savary, gravely. " Had 
 it been too severe, the generous heart of your 
 majesty would think of offering him some satis- 
 faction ; but I know Talleyrand, and am firmly con- 
 vinced of the truth of my statement I pronounce 
 him a plotter of dangerous intrigues. Your "ma- 
 jesty therefore cannot chastise him too severely ; 
 and, having gone so far, you must now go still 
 farther." 
 
 " How so ? What do you mean ? " 
 
 " Sire, I mean that your majesty, instead of al- 
 lowing the Prince de Benevento to return home, 
 ought to send him to Vincennes, and recommend 
 him to the special care of your friend General 
 Daumesnil." 
 
 " Ah, I ought to have him arrested ! " cried Na- 
 poleon, shrugging his shoulders. " I ought to raak e 
 a martyr out of a traitor ! " 
 
 "No, sire, punish a traitor, neither more ncr 
 less ! I know that Talleyrand is one. He is is 
 secret communication with the legitimists, cor- 
 responding with the Bourbons, through other 
 hands ; at his house, meetings of malcontents and 
 secret royalists are held every day; there the 
 fires are kindled that will soon burst into devour- 
 ing energy, unless your majesty extinguish them 
 in time. You have disdained to regain Talleyrand 
 by promises or honors. You have insulted him, 
 and he will revenge himself, if the power of doing 
 so be left him. Sire, I venture to remind your 
 majesty of Machiavel, ' One ought never to make 
 half an enemy.' " 
 
 " It is true," murmured Napoleou to himself, 
 thoughtfully, "nothing is more dangerous than 
 such half enmities. Under the mask of friend- 
 ship they betray us the more surely." 
 
 " Hence, sire, pray tear this mask from Talley- 
 rand's treacherous face. Meet him as an open 
 
TALLEYRAND. 
 
 257 
 
 
 enemy. Then either his enmity will be destroyed 
 by terror, or he will betray his intentions." 
 
 " I lack proof to convict him," said Napoleon, 
 in a hesitating and wavering tone. 
 
 " Well, yes," exclaimed Savary, " you have no 
 proof, but there cannot be the least doubt aa to 
 the intrigues which he is bold enough to plot. 
 The opportunity is too favorable that he should 
 not endeavor to embrace it. Sire, I should like 
 to urge the example of the great police-minister 
 of Louis XV. Whenever M. de Sartines was on 
 the eve of a festival, or any great public ceremony, 
 he sent for all suspicious persons to whom his 
 attention was particularly directed, and said to 
 them, ' I have no charge against you at present, 
 but to-morrow It may be different. Habit you 
 know has power over you, and you are unlikely 
 to resist temptation. It would be incumbent upon 
 me to treat you with extreme rigor. For your 
 well as mine, be kind enough therefore 
 to repair for a few days to a prison, the choice of 
 which I leave to yourselves.' The suspected per- 
 sons willingly complied with his request, and no 
 arrests were m;ide." 
 
 " You may be right ; M. de Sartines was vin- 
 btedly a sagacious police-minister," said the 
 peror, musingly. " His precaution is good for 
 e who are afraid ; but I am not ! If I con- 
 quer my enemies, I thereby trample in the dust 
 this vile serpent, too, that would sting me, and 
 en would crawl as a worm at my feet. If I 
 yield to my enemies, let the structure which I 
 have Imih fall upon me. It will not matter then 
 whether Talleyrand's hand, too, broke off a piece 
 of the wall or not ; it would hay} fallen without 
 him. Not another word about it, Savary ! My 
 
 ge I will ride to my mother!" 
 On the evening of the same day, the Prince de 
 evento left his palace, rnN-iv ! a h 
 
 , and WHS driven to one of the n. ; 
 the Faubourg St. Germain. Ho stop: 
 t ol a small, mean-looking hou-c ; and, ulu-n 
 . the prince knock.' 1 three 
 iu a peculiar manner at the street door. It 
 and he cuitiou.-V No one was 
 
 to be seen in the lighted hall ; but TallevramI 
 17 
 
 seemed perfectly familiar with the locality ; and 
 crossing, without hesitation, a long passage, he 
 ascended the thickly-carpeted staircase. Here 
 was another locked door, beside which was a bell, 
 which the prince rang three times. The door 
 was opened, and he walked through a long corri- 
 dor. The passage widened, and the prince was 
 now in a brilliant hall, decorated with paintings 
 and gildings. The entrance through the small 
 house was plainly but a circuitous road to one of 
 the palaces of the Faubourg St. Germain where 
 the royalists were plotting mischief. At the end 
 of this hall was a portiere, in front of which waa 
 a richly-liveried footman. Talleyrand whispered 
 a few words ; the servant bowed and opened the 
 door. The prince now entered a saloon, furnished 
 in the most magnificent and tasteful style, where 
 another liveried attendant was waiting. " The 
 Countess du Cayla ? " asked the Prince de Bene- 
 vento. 
 
 "She is in her cabinet. Shall I announce your 
 highness ? " 
 
 " It is unnecessary." 
 
 He quickly approached and knocked softly at 
 the door of the cabinet. A sweet voice bade him 
 come in. Before him stood a young lady who 
 welcomed him with a charming smile, but with 
 an air of ill-concealed amazement. "Oh, the 
 Prince de Benevento ! " she exclaimed, merrily. 
 " You come to me to-day ; but yesterday, when 
 I went to you to bring you greetings from our 
 august master, King Louis XVIIL, you feigned 
 not to understand whom I wished to speak of, 
 and imposed silence." 
 
 " To-day I come to make amends for what I 
 did yesterday, countess," said Talleyrand, with 
 his graceful kindness. " Be good enough to in- 
 form his majesty King Louis XVIII. that he 
 may henceforth count upon my services and mj 
 is dcvotedness. I shall assist him in open 
 inir the road to I'aiis, and do all I can that his 
 ' v may soon be able to make his entrance 
 into the capital of his kingdom." 
 
 "Then you have forsaken Napoleon openly 
 and unreservedly ! " exclaimed the Countess du 
 Cayla, the zealous agent of the Count de Lille, 
 
258 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 
 whom at that time none but the royalists secretly 
 culled King Louis XVIII. " You are, then, one 
 of us, now and forever ? " 
 
 "Yes, I consider myself a member of your 
 party," said Talleyrand, " and at heart I was al- 
 ways one of the most faithful and zealous ser- 
 vants of the king. I can prove it, for it was I 
 who led Napoleon, step by step, frequently even 
 in spite of his reluctance, to the brink of ruin, on 
 which he is standing now, and I am ready to give 
 him a last thrust to plunge him into the abyss. 
 The emperor has been guilty of great folly to-day. 
 He ought to have had me arrested, but he failed 
 to do so. For this mistake I shall punish him by 
 profiting by my liberty in the service of his ma- 
 jesty the king. Let us consider, therefore, count- 
 ess, what we ought to do for the speedy return 
 of King Louis XVIII. to Paris." 
 
 " Yes, let us consider that," exclaimed the 
 countess ; " and if you have no objection, prince, 
 we shall allow the faithful friends of his majesty 
 to participate in the consultation. Upward of 
 one hundred friends are already assembled in 
 the large saloon, and they are doubtless aston- 
 ished at my prolonged absence. Come, prince ! 
 You will meet an old friend among your new 
 friends." 
 
 " Who is it, countess ? " 
 
 " The Duke d'Otranto ! " 
 
 "What? Is he here? Has he dared to re- 
 turn?" 
 
 " He has, with the emperor's sister, the Prin- 
 cess Eliza Bacciochi ; and he is believed to 
 be with her in the south of France, in order 
 to await the course of events. But he has se- 
 cretly and in disguise come to Paris, in order, 
 like you, to offer his services to King Louis. 
 Late events seem to have converted him into a 
 very zealous royalist, and he openly admits his 
 conversion. He boasts of having said to the 
 Princess Eliza : ' Madame, there is but one way 
 of salvation : the emperor must be killed on the 
 spot.' " * 
 
 " In truth, he is right," said Talleyrand, smil- 
 
 - M6molres dn Due rte Rovigo," voL vL, p. 352. 
 
 ing ; " that would speedily put an end to all em- 
 barrassments. Well, the emperor intends to join 
 the army ; perhnps, a hostile bullet may become 
 our ally, and save us further trouble. If not, we 
 shall speak of the matter hereafter. Permit me, 
 countess, to conduct you to the saloon." 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 MADAME LET1TIA. 
 
 PROFOUND silence reigned in the palace of " Ma- 
 dame Mere." It was noonday, and the male and 
 female servants, as well as the ladies of honor of 
 the emperor's mother, had left the palace to take 
 elsewhere the dinner which Madame Letitia re- 
 fused to give them, and for which she paid them 
 every month a ridiculously small sum ; only the 
 two cooks, whom madame, notwithstanding her 
 objections, had to keep, in compliance with the 
 express orders of the emperor, were in the kite i- 
 en, but under the vigilant supervision of old Cor- 
 delia, the faithful servant who had accompanied 
 madame from Corsica to France, and who, since 
 then, notwithstanding all vicissitudes, had re- 
 mained her companion. Cordelia not only watche d 
 the cooks and gave them what was needed for 
 preparing the meals, but, as soon as the dishes 
 were handed to the servant who was to carry 
 them to the table, she hastened after him in 
 order to prevent him from putting any thing 
 aside. When Cordelia went with the servant, 
 she opened, with an air of self-importance, a cup- 
 board fixed in the wall of the corridor, near the 
 dining-room, of which she alone possessed the 
 key, and, as soon as the servant returned with 
 the fragments of the dinner, she locked them in 
 this cupboard with the wine and bread ; only on 
 Sundays did the dinner-table of Madame Mere 
 provide any thing for the servants. 
 
 To-day, however, was not Sunday, and hence 
 Madame Cordelia herself had placed a bottle, hulf 
 filled with wine remaining from yesterday's din- 
 ner, on the table, at which no one but Madam* 
 
MADAME LETITIA. 
 
 259 
 
 Letitia was to scat herself, one of the ladies of 
 honor, who always dined with her, having been 
 excused on account of indisposition. Ma<lame 
 Letitia was therefore alone to-day; it was unne- 
 cessary for her to submit to the restraint of eti- 
 quette, and she yielded with genuine relief to an 
 unwonted freedom. She was in her sitting-room, 
 busily engaged in taking from a large basket, the 
 plebeian appearance of which contrasted strange- 
 ly with the magnificent Turkish carpet on which 
 it stood, the folded clothea which the washer- 
 woman had just delivered. The appearance of 
 Madame Mere herself was also in some contrast 
 with the gorgeous surroundings amid which she 
 moved. 
 
 The room was furnished with princely magnifi- 
 cence, the walls being hung with heavy satin, and 
 curtains of the same description, adorned with 
 gold embroideries, suspended on both sides of the 
 high windows ; the richly-carved chairs and sofas 
 were covered with purple velvet, and the tables 
 had marble slabs of Florentine workmanship. A 
 chandelier of rock-crystal hung in solid gold 
 chains from the ceiling ; masterly paintings in 
 broad, rich frames were on the silken walls ; Japan 
 vases stood on gilded consoles, and numerous 
 costly ornaments added to the splendor of the aris- 
 tocratic apartment. 
 
 Madame Letitia, standing be.-ide the wash-bas- 
 ket, presented a marked contrast with all this. 
 Her tail figure was wrapped in a liirlit white 
 muslin dress trimmed below with rosettes, and 
 from which protruded a rather large foot, covered 
 with a cotton stocking, and encased in a coarse, 
 worn-out shoe. A sash of rose-colored silk, with 
 roidcry, encircled her waist; a lace 
 >m, and tied in a care- 
 less knot on her back, enveloped her neck and 
 full shoulders. Iler hair, falling down in 
 gray : : Mounted by a sort of turban, 
 
 and a l.ir^e bouquet of artificial ro-. 
 above her forehead, was hor only ornai: 
 
 There uas nothing therefore imposing in the ap- 
 pearance of the emperor's mother ; but still there 
 as something noble about her, and that \\a~ h-r 
 fhce. It was of imperishable beauty; its outlines 
 
 were classic and of great dignity, and her eyes, 
 which were of the deep, incomparable color which 
 she had bequeathed to her son the emperor, pos- 
 sessed still the lustre of youth ; her lips were fresh, 
 and her teeth faultless ; not a single wrinkle fur- 
 rowed her forehead, and her finely-curved nose 
 added to the imperious expression of her features. 
 The whole bearing of Madame Letitia indicated a 
 lofty and yet a gentle spirit. He who beheld only 
 this form, with its strange dress, could not refrain 
 from smiling ; but a glance at the beautiful and 
 dignified face filled the beholder with feelings of 
 reverence and admiration. 
 
 Madame Letitia, as we have said, was engaged 
 in unpacking the clothes just returned by the 
 laundress. This was an occupation which she 
 never intrusted to any of her attendants, but in 
 which she could generally engage only secretly 
 and at night, after she had dismissed them ; for 
 the emperor made it incumbent on his mother's 
 ladies of honor to observe the strictest etiquette, 
 and forbade her to occupy herself with affairs 
 improper for the mother of an emperor. Hence, 
 Madame Letitia was obliged, for the most part, 
 to lead the life of an aristocratic lady, to embroider 
 a little, ride out, have her companions read to her, 
 receive visitors, and pass the day in ennui. Only 
 at night, when the ladies left the palace when eti- 
 quette permitted Madame Letitia to retire with 
 her maid Cordelia into her bedroom only then 
 commenced her active lifr. At that time madame 
 conversed -.vith her confidantes about her household 
 affairs ; she decided what dishes should be prepared 
 for the following day, and, when all were asleep 
 and she was sure of being watched by no one, she 
 proceeded with her faithful Cordelia to the cup- 
 ! of the corridor to examine the remnants 
 . from dinner, and to decide whether they 
 might not be served up again. 
 
 On tliis dny she was free from the restraints ot 
 etiquette. The lady on service had been taken ill ; 
 and her second lady of honor, not anticipating such 
 an event, had obtained leave to take a trip to 
 iame Letitia, therefore, was at 
 liberty to dispose of her time as she pleased ; sne 
 could fearlessly indulge in occupations entirely 
 
260 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 contrary to etiquette, and she embraced this rare 
 opportunity in the course of the forenoon of ex- 
 amining the clothes, which otherwise would have 
 had this honor only after nightfall. But the con- 
 sequence was, that the usually serene forehead of 
 Madame Letitia grew dark, because she was by no 
 means satisfied with the performance of her laun- 
 dress. Just as her busy hands took up another 
 piece from the basket and unfolded it, the door 
 behind her opened. She heard it, but did not turn, 
 knowing very well that it was Cordelia who entered 
 her room, for no one else had the right of taking 
 such a liberty without being duly and formally 
 announced. 
 
 " Cordelia," she exclaimed, " Cordelia, come and 
 look at these tbwels of the cook ; all of them are al- 
 ready threadbare, and it is but a year since I bought 
 them. You ought to tell the cook very emphat- 
 ically that he should be more careful and not ruin 
 my towels. Do you hear, Cordelia ? " 
 
 "Cordelia is not here," said a grave, angry 
 voice behind her. Madame Letitia started, and a 
 deep blush suffused her cheeks. Close behind her 
 stood the emperor, fixing his stern eyes on his 
 mother. 
 
 " The emperor ! " she murmured, yielding to the 
 first movement of terror, and sinking back on her 
 chair. 
 
 " Yes, the emperor ! " said Napoleon, approach- 
 iug and casting angry glances on the clothes spread 
 out on the table. " The emperor pays a visit to 
 nis mother, and finds to his amazement that little 
 respect is felt here for his orders, and that it is 
 deemed unnecessary to comply with his wishes. 
 Ah, madame, how can the emperor expect the 
 people to obey him everywhere and uncondition- 
 ally, when his own family set an example of dis- 
 obedience, and openly show that the emperor's or- 
 ders are indifferent to them ? " 
 
 " When have I shown indifference to them ? " 
 asked Madame Letitia, casting a despairing glance 
 on the basket. 
 
 "You show it at this very hour," said the em- 
 peror, sternly, " and every thing proves that you 
 are m the habit of disobeying my wishes. I met 
 with no footmen in the outer antechamber ; I ciid 
 
 not see the chamberlain of your imperial highness 
 in the adjoining room." 
 
 " It is noonday, and they have gone to dinner." 
 
 " Ah, it is true, your imperial highness directs 
 your court to take their meals at other houses," 
 exclaimed the emperor, with a sarcastic smile. 
 " You are paying board-money to the chamber- 
 lain, the valet de chambre, and the footman, so 
 that it is unnecessary for you to feed them. But 
 where is your waiting-lady, madame ? Did I not 
 issue orders that etiquette should be observed at 
 my mother's palace, and that your imperial high- 
 ness should always have your lady of honor with 
 you?" 
 
 " The Duchess d'Abrantes was suddenly taken 
 sick this morning, and had to return to her 
 house." 
 
 " In that case the second lady of honor ought 
 to have taken her place." 
 
 " Yesterday I gave permission to the Countess 
 de Castries to go to a family-festival to be cele- 
 brated at Versailles, and she went early this 
 morning." 
 
 " Every thing, then, is here just as it ought to 
 be!" cried the emperor, indignantly, thrusting 
 the basket with his foot. "It is in strict acco.'d-. 
 ance with my wishes that your house is empty, 
 that you are so occupied, that you are alone, and 
 that there was no one to announce my visit ? " 
 
 " But Cordelia certainly was there, and quite 
 ready to attend to this." 
 
 " Yes, she was," cried the emperor, " and it is 
 true she wished to do me that honor. But I 
 would not allow her, and preferred coming to you 
 without being announced. In truth, it would be 
 too ludicrous if the old Sibyl had served the em- 
 peror as mistress of ceremonies." 
 
 " She formerly did him far greater and more 
 difficult service," said Madame Letitia, in a firm 
 and calm voice, for she had fully recovered her 
 presence of mind, and, rising from her easy-chair, 
 proudly bridled herself up and turned toward 
 the emperor her face, which now had resumed its 
 expression of noble dignity and composure. 
 
 " When I first saw your countenance," she said, 
 calmly, "I was frightened, and greeted you in 
 
MADAME LETITIA. 
 
 261 
 
 my terror as the emperor. Pardon me for it ! I 
 ought to have remembered that when the em- 
 peror crosses the threshold of this house, he 
 ceases to be emperor, and is simply Napoleon 
 Bonaparte, who, as it behooves a son, comes to 
 pay his respects to his mother. Hence, I ought 
 to have greeted you at once as my son, and if I 
 did not, it was because I was frightened, for I am 
 not accustomed to see any one enter here without 
 Deing announced. Now, I have overcome my 
 terror, T bid you welcome with all my heart, my 
 dear son ! " She offered her hand to Napoleon 
 so proudly that the emperor, scarcely aware of 
 what he did, pressed the small r/hite hand of his 
 mother to his lips. 
 
 A gentle smile lit up the beautiful face of Ma- 
 dame Letitia. " I forgive you also your vehe- 
 ment words, my son ," she said ; " and how could 
 I be angry with you for forgetting for a moment 
 that you are here only my son, when I myself re- 
 membered only that you are the emperor ? Let 
 us, therefore, make peace again. Napoleon, my 
 son, I bid you welcome once more with all my 
 heart." 
 
 " Even, my mother, if I should come to ask my 
 dinner of you ? " inquired the emperor, smiling. 
 
 Madame Letitia was silent for a moment. 
 " Even then ! " she said, after a pause. ' My 
 son will be content with what I am able to give, 
 and he will pardon an old woman, who attaches 
 little value to the pleasures of the table, if she 
 has, on account of her health, but a very plain 
 dinner." 
 
 "That is to say, we shall have the national dish 
 of Corsica rice dumplings baked in oil ! " ex- 
 claimed the emperor, laughing. 
 
 " So it is," said madame, merrily. " Ah, I see 
 my son has not forgotten his native Corsica; then 
 he will also have a kind look for poor old Cor- 
 delia, who, both in good and evil days, has been 
 the most faithful and honest servant of our house, 
 who frequently carried Xapoleon Honaparte for 
 T'hole days in her arms, and when he was sick 
 eat at his bedside and nursed him with the ten- 
 derness of a mother. I will tell Cordelia to take 
 t iis basket away, and inform the cook that we 
 
 have a guest." She rang the bell; the door of 
 the adjoining room opened immediately, and old 
 Cordeli i entered. ?!ie stood still at the door, and 
 mournful "lances, HOT on Madame Letitia, 
 now on the emperor. 
 
 " Well, Cordelia, do you not greet my son ? " 
 asked madame. " He is not the emperor to-day, 
 but comes incognito as my son to ask dinner 
 of me." 
 
 "And listen, dear Delia," said the emperor, 
 speaking to her in the voice of a child " listen, 
 dear old Cordelia ; afterward let us go and play, 
 and gather shells on the sea-shore. Shall we do 
 so, 'Lia?" 
 
 An air of unutterable happiness illuminated the 
 face of old Cordelia when Napoleon repeated to 
 her, in the voice of his childhood, the words 
 which he had so often addressed to her. She 
 rushed toward him, and, sinking down before 
 him, seized both his hands and pressed them to 
 her lips. " Now do with me what you like, Na- 
 poleon," she cried, in the language of her native 
 country, v.-hile the tears were rolling down her 
 cheeks, " I belong to you again, with every drop 
 of my heart's blood. Trample me under foot, 
 strike me, kick me, as you often did during your 
 childhood I shall never murmur. I am as a 
 faithful dog, who allows himself to be beaten, 
 
 loves his master to the last ! " 
 " Yes, she is as constant as the sea that washes 
 the shores of our native country," said madame, 
 with a tear in her eye. " You may count on both 
 of us, Napoleon, and if there is power in our 
 prayers you will always be victorious." 
 
 The emperor's face darkened. He had for- 
 gotten every thing for a moment ; but he soon 
 recollected himself. In order to be victorious 
 and prosperous he needed not only soldiers but 
 money, and he had conic for the purpose of ob- 
 taining this from his mother. He disengaged his 
 hands from those of old Cordelia, and motioned 
 her to ri>i\ She oli-y. i >l in silence, quietly took 
 up the clothes, aud carried them off in the 
 bosket 
 
 dinner," said madame 
 to her. Cordelia turned and looked inquiringly 
 
262 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 at her mistress, who nodded to her; Cordelia 
 nodded, too, and went out smiling. 
 
 A quarter of an hour afterward, the emperor 
 conducted his loving mother to the diuing-table, 
 at which none other than themselves were to 
 be seated. When they entered, the emperor's 
 eyes glided with a strange, searching look along 
 the paintings hanging on the walls, and rested for 
 a moment on the landscape which, in a broad 
 gilded frame, was directly opposite ; then a faint 
 smile flitted over his features, and he turned 
 toward his mother to address a few pleasant 
 words to her. 
 
 The dinner commenced, as the emperor antici- 
 pated, with Corsican rice dumplings baked in oil. 
 He partook of them with great relish, and this 
 favorite dish of his childhood seemed to have re- 
 stored his good humor. "I believe," he said, 
 gayly, " I am still able to read as well in your 
 face, mother, as I could when I was a boy, and 
 took pains to discover whether or not I had de- 
 served punishment for some naughty prank. I 
 believe I have understood your mute dialogue 
 with Cordelia. Will you confess the truth to me 
 If I tell you what Cordelia's glances and your nod 
 signified ? " 
 
 " Yes, if you guess it." 
 
 "Well, then, mother, did not Cordelia inquire 
 by her glances whether she was to send to the 
 baker for bread, and whether the remnant of yes- 
 terday's dinner should not be served again in 
 honor of my presence ? And did not your nod 
 reply, * Yes ? ' Was not that the meaning of it ? 
 Do I guess right?" 
 
 "Yes, my son," said madame, smiling; " I see 
 that my haughty daughters Pauline and Eliza 
 have made you familiar with the habits of my 
 household." 
 
 44 They have," exclaimed Napoleon. " They 
 told me Madame Mere had every day only three 
 loaves of white bread brought from the baker for 
 herself and Cordelia." 
 
 "They told you the truth; all my officers and 
 servants receive their board-money, and three 
 loaves are sufficient for us two. Ah, my son, 
 how happy would you have often been, when still 
 
 a lieutenant, had you had only one of the three 
 loaves every day ! " 
 
 " Eliza told me still other things," said Napo- 
 leon, casting a glance toward the large oil paint- 
 ing. " She told me you had, like all honest bour- 
 geoises, your water-carrier, who furnished every 
 day six buckets of water." 
 
 " Eliza told you the truth again. It is still the 
 same water-carrier whom we employed when we 
 lived in the Faubourg St. Honore" ; he is a faithful 
 and honest man ; why, then, should I withdraw 
 this little patronage from him ? " 
 
 " But you pay him no more for his water, now 
 that you are the emperor's mother, than you did 
 when you were a* poor widow with nine children." 
 
 " God makes the water flow, and it is the same 
 now as then. Why should I, then, pay more for 
 it?" 
 
 "Eliza told me, also," added the emperor, 
 dwelling with singular perseverance on the same 
 subject, " that, instead of collecting a library, and 
 buying the books you read, you have subscribed 
 to the bookseller Renard's circulating library." 
 
 "There are very few books that deserve the 
 honor of being bought," said madame, in a d,g- 
 nified tone. 
 
 "And is it true, too," asked the emperor, "tl.at 
 you have the books brought by the bookseller's 
 clerk to you every week the year round, and that 
 you have the same exchanged by your servants 
 during only New- Year's week, in order thereby to 
 avoid giving a New- Year's present to the clerk ? " 
 
 "It is true," said madame, calmly. "This 
 clerk is not poor, nor the father of a family ; I 
 avoid, therefore, giving him the money which I 
 prefer giving to poor men." 
 
 " But, madame," cried Napoleon, angrily, " you 
 really surpass Harpagon, and Moliere has cause 
 to complain that he did not know you." * 
 
 "Moliere has assuredly cause to deplore that 
 he did not live at the present time," said ma- 
 dame, quietly, " for if he lived now, he would have 
 seen on the throne of France a prince who is 
 even greater and more illustrious than his OWE 
 
 * Napoleon's words. Yide Lo Normand, vol. ii., p. 451 
 
MADAME LETITIA. 
 
 263 
 
 Louis XIV. And he would have certainly been 
 glad to make my acquaintance, as I am the mother 
 of this great man." 
 
 " The mother of an emperor, and yet living so 
 parsimoniously that one might believe your son 
 ;.m to starve! And still, if I am not 
 mistaken, you receive a million francs a year for 
 defraying the expenses of your court. Am I 
 right, mother ? " 
 
 " Yes, my son ; I receive a million francs a 
 year." 
 
 " Ah, madame," cried the emperor, " then you 
 must, considering your economy, lay by riches 
 every year ? " 
 
 Madame Letitia'.s face was serious; the em- 
 peror had touched a chord unpleasant to her ear. 
 
 " No," she said, abruptly, " I lay by no riches, 
 for my expenses are heavy." 
 
 " But your income is larger," exclaimed Napo- 
 leon. "I am satisfied that you spend far less 
 than you receive. Whom do you economize for, 
 madarae?" 
 
 "Whom?" asked madame, in an angry voice. 
 " I might say for myself, for my future, for that 
 is uncertain, and one is never able to know what 
 may happen. But, in addition to myself, I have 
 to take care of your brother Lucien, for your ma- 
 ty knows well that he is poor." 
 
 " Because he would not accept the kingdom 
 
 ich I offered to him." 
 
 ' Because, as a king, he would not be a de- 
 dent vassal, the mere lieutenant of his brother. 
 
 hat, sire! Would you accept a kingdom of- 
 fered to you on condition that you should never 
 have a will of your own, but always obey that of 
 another ? " 
 
 "I would not," said the emperor, smiling; 
 " but I am the emperor." 
 
 " You are Lucien's brother, and he is no less 
 proud than the emperor. Let us say no more 
 about it. lie is poor; that was all 1 ffiihed t< 
 say. He is unable to endow his (laughters, and 
 I have, therefore, taken this upon myself. You 
 know now, tm my savings are for." 
 
 "But I am just as well your son as Lucien," 
 aid the emperor, in a bland voice; "you may 
 
 very well have laid by money for both of youi 
 sons. I am in the same predicament as my 
 brother. I am poor, and need money. Hence I 
 come to you, to my mother, and pray you, let 
 me have some of your savings. I know you have 
 money ; I need it, and you would place me under 
 the greatest obligations if you would lend me a 
 large sum." 
 
 Madame Letitia gravely shook her head. " You 
 are mistaken, sire," she said; "I have only as 
 much as I need." 
 
 The emperor's forehead darkened more and 
 more. " Madame," he cried, in a tone of irrita- 
 tion, " I repeat to you, it is a great favor which I 
 ask of you ! " 
 
 " And I repeat that I have no money to spare ; 
 I had some, but sent it recently to Lucien, who 
 needs it." 
 
 " Well, then, let us say no more about it," re- 
 plied the emperor, rising, and, as if to overcome 
 his vexation, turning toward the paintings, and 
 closely inspecting one after another. " You have 
 very fine paintings, madame," he said, after a 
 pause. 
 
 " Yes, the work of great masters," replied ma- 
 dame, composedly. " You reproach me with 
 being very parsimonious, sire ; I have, however, 
 paid very large sums to artists." 
 
 " I am especially delighted with this land- 
 scape," said the emperor, standing in front of the 
 Swiss landscape, on which he had repeatedly cast 
 furtive glances. 
 
 " Well, it is very fine and costly," said ma- 
 dame. 
 
 The emperor was silent, and looked up again 
 attentively to the painting. He then turned tow- 
 ard his mother, who stood near him. " Mother/ 
 he exclaimed, " I asked money of you, and you 
 n-fn-vd it, Will you refuse my request, too, if 
 I ask you to present me with this fine land 
 scap. 
 
 " On the contrary," said madame, " I am glad 
 to be able to fulfil your majesty's wish. I shall 
 have the painting conveyed to the Tuileries thii 
 very day." 
 
 No," exclaimed the emperor, smiling, "it wilJ 
 
264 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUOHER. 
 
 be better to take it at once with me in my car- 
 nage. You are so economical, mother, you might 
 repent of having given me so costly a present, 
 and might want to keep it." 
 
 " Sire," said madame, solemnly, " the emperor's 
 mother pledges you her word that you shall re- 
 ceive the painting this very day." 
 
 "Madame," replied her proud son, no less sol- 
 emnly, " the emperor's mother also pledged me 
 her word that she has no money to lend me, and 
 yet I venture to believe that she has laid by a 
 great deal. Pardon me, therefore, if I persist in 
 taking the painting with me. Delia, Delia ! " The 
 door of the corridor opened, and old Cordelia 
 looked in. " Run, Cordelia, and tell my two 
 yalets de chambre, Constant and Roustan, to 
 come hither at once." 
 
 Cordelia disappeared, and Napoleon now turn- 
 ed his head slowly toward his mother. Madame 
 Letitia became pale ; large drops stood on her 
 forehead ; her eyes were flashing with angry ex- 
 citement, and her lips were quivering. But over- 
 coming her agitation she forced herself to smile, 
 and offered her hand to the emperor. " Come, 
 my son, let us go into my cabinet and take coffee. 
 It is unnecessary for us to be present with the 
 servants. Come, sire." 
 
 The emperor did not take her hand, but, 
 slightly bowing, drew back. " Permit me to stay, 
 madame, till my servants have taken the painting 
 from the wall." 
 
 Madame could not suppress a sigh, and clutched 
 a chair, as if she needed a support. 
 
 The door opened, and the two imperial valets 
 de chambre, Constant and Roustan, entered. 
 "Come here," cried the emperor, "take this 
 down and carry it into my carriage." The valets 
 hastened to take the painting carefully from the 
 wall. The emperor's glance passed over the spot 
 which it had covered. He saw that part of the 
 Bilk hangings looked somewhat fresher and darker 
 than the rest. " One would think the wall here 
 were wet, and had moistened the hanging?," he 
 said, laying his hand on the dark spot. " No," 
 he then exclaimed, " the wall is hollow here ! Let 
 us see what it means." 
 
 Madame uttered a cry, and, sinking into a 
 chair, closed her eyes. 
 
 The emperor now hastily tore off the dark piece 
 covering the wall, and behind it was a deep square 
 hole, in which stood a rather large-sized iron 
 box. " Ah ! do you see, madame," cried the em- 
 peror, smiling gayly, " I discover here a secret 
 which you yourself were ignorant of. It is evi- 
 dently a box which the former proprietors of this 
 palace concealed here during the revolution from 
 the rapacious hands of the Jacobins." 
 
 Madame made no reply ; her eyes were still 
 closed, and she sat pale and motionless. 
 
 " The box is heavy ! " added the emperor, try- 
 ing to lift it up. *' Constant, fetch the footmen 
 to assist you in carrying it into my carriage. I 
 will take it with me, madame," he said, turning 
 toward his mother, " I will personally examine 
 its contents." At this moment Constant returned 
 with four footmen, and the six men succeeded at 
 length in lifting the iron box. " Now carry it 
 immediately into my carriage," commanded the 
 emperor. 
 
 Panting under their heavy load, the men Itft 
 the room. The emperor looked after them unt 1 
 the door closed. He then turned again towari 
 his mother, who sat motionless and with her eyes 
 closed. " Farewell, mother," he said ; " I am 
 anxious to examine the contents of the box which 
 I was lucky enough to find. But I must not dare 
 now to deprive you of your beautiful painting. 
 This hole in the wall must be covered, and yot.r 
 imperial highness might not at once have another 
 picture worthy of replacing this landscape. I 
 thank you, therefore, for your present, and take 
 the will for the deed. Farewell, madame ! " He 
 bowed and walked slowly toward the door.* 
 
 Madame Letitia said nothing, and made no 
 movement to return the emperor's salutation. 
 As he departed, she groaned and wept. " Five 
 millions !" she murmured, after a pause the 
 savings of long years has my son taken from 
 me. Five millions ! the dower that I had laid 
 by for Lucien's daughters that I had econo- 
 
 * Le Normand, " M6moires," vol. ii., p. 448. 
 
MADAME LETITIA. 
 
 265 
 
 mized for the time when these days of prosperity 
 will end." She buried her face in her h.iiuls ami 
 sobbed aloud. At length her grief seemed some- 
 what calmed, and she raised her head again. 
 " Well," she said, aloud, " I formerly supported 
 ouy family of nine children on an income of less 
 .iian a hundred louis d'ors a year ; if need be, I 
 can do so again, and I hope I shall have at least 
 so much left that Lucien and his daughters 
 will not starve. I must be even more parsimo- 
 nious." * 
 
 Two days afterward, on the 25th of January, 
 the emperor left^Paris for his army, and entered 
 upon the last struggle. He was fully aware of 
 the dangers threatening him. Hence, prior to 
 leaving Paris, he put his house in order. The 
 regency by letters-patent was conferred on the 
 Empress Maria Louisa, but with her was con- 
 joined his brother Joseph, under the title of lieu- 
 tenant-general of the empire ; and Garni aeeres, 
 the arch-chancellor, was placed at the head of the 
 council of state. The emperor then received the 
 officers of the National Guard of Paris in the 
 apartments of the Tuileries. The empress pre- 
 ceded him on entering the apartments, carrying 
 the King of Rome in her arms. Greeting the 
 officers, the emperor said : " Gentlemen of the 
 National Guard of Paris, I am glad to see you 
 assembled here. I am about to set out for the 
 army. I intrust to you what I hold dearest in 
 the world my wife and my son. Let there be 
 no political divisions ; let the respect for prop- 
 erty, the maintenance of order, and, above all, the 
 love of Franco, ai.nnate every heart. I do not 
 
 E 
 
 Lucien, the ablest and noblest of Napoleon's brother*, 
 ed in constant dissension with him, for he would not 
 mil to his will. He declined the throne of NapU-s 
 
 nse the emperor imposed the condition that he 
 should govern in precise accordance with the orders 
 given him. He married a distinguished and beautiful 
 Roman lady, and when Napoleon afterward offoml him 
 the throne of Tuscany on condition that he should get a 
 divorce from hia wife, Lucien refused, and preferred to 
 live in obscurity outside of France, and to dispense with 
 the splendor surrounding his family. 
 
 disguise that, in the course of the military opera- 
 tions to ensu\ the enemy may approach in force 
 to Paris ; it will lie an affair of only a fev\ days : 
 before they are passed I will be on their flanks 
 and rear, and annihilate those who have dared to 
 invade our country. Efforts will be made to cause 
 you to waver in your allegiance and the fulfilraen 
 of your duty ; but I firmly rely on your resisting 
 such perfidious temptations. Farewell, and God 
 bless us all ! " * Then, taking his son in hia 
 arms, he went through the ranks of the officers, 
 and, presenting him to them as their future sov- 
 ereign, he exclaimed, in a voice tremulous with 
 emotion : " I intrust him to you ; I intrust him 
 to the love of my loyal city of Paris ! " 
 
 The National Guard responded by protestations 
 of fidelity and devotedness. Cries of enthusiasm 
 rent the apartments ; tears were shed, and a sense 
 of the solemnity of the moment penetrated every 
 mind. All shouted, "Long live the emperor! 
 Long live the empress ! " Maria Louisa, pale 
 with emotion, her face bathed in tears, leaned 
 her head on the emperor's shoulder; and, holding 
 his son in his left arm, he placed his right around 
 the trembling form of his consort. At the sight 
 of this touching group the enthusiasm of the 
 National Guard knew no bounds. They wept, 
 cheered, and swore they would die to a man 
 rather than forsake the emperor that they would 
 allow Paris to be laid in ruins by the artillery of 
 the enemy rather than surrender the empress and 
 the King of Rome. 
 
 But this enthusiasm of the National Guard met 
 
 with no response beyond the Tuileries. Paris 
 
 maintained an ominous silence, and, when the 
 
 emperor rode through the city at night, the 
 
 streets were deserted ; no one had awaited him 
 
 to pay him homage on his departure. Paris was 
 
 > its sleep that of exhaustion and the 
 
 people were dreaming, perhaps, that adversity 
 
 .^toning upon them. 
 
 * Constant, " Memolre*," vol. vi., p. 7. 
 
FALL OF PARIS. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVII. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF LA ROTHIERE. 
 
 TEE morning of the 1st of February dawned 
 cold and gloomy ; heavy gusts, driving the snow 
 across the plain, gave to the landscape a sad and 
 dreary aspect. Silence reigned in the camps of 
 the hostile armies. In that of Napoleon at Bri- 
 enne, and farther down the valley at the village 
 of La Rothiere, on this side of the Aube, the 
 camp-fires of the night were flickering in the gray 
 morning, and far away on the horizon were seen 
 the dark outlines of the castle of Brienne. There 
 Napoleon had passed the last night of January, 
 and in the vicinity encamped his troops, scarcely 
 thirty thousand strong, the remnant of that 
 " grand army " which the emperor had so often 
 led to victory. 
 
 In the camp of the Silesian army, too, all was 
 quiet. It encamped beyond the Aube, on the 
 heights of Trannes and Eclance, in the vineyards 
 and the forests of Beaulieu ; it was enjoying re- 
 pose after a prolonged exposure and privation. 
 But its commander-in-chief, Field-Marshal Blu- 
 cher, seemed to have no need of rest. Scarcely 
 had daylight dawned when he was already on 
 horseback, and rode to the crest of the moun- 
 tain, by the side of his faithful adviser and 
 friend General GneSsenau, and followed by his 
 pipe-master. From the crest he was able to sur- 
 vey the whole valley of La Rothiere and Brienne, 
 lying at a distance of scarcely four miles. 
 
 Blucher raised his right arm toward the citj 
 
 and heaved a deep sigh. " Gneisenau," he fiaid, 
 " I am deeply mortified at the defeat which Bona- 
 parte inflicted on us two days ago. I cannot get. 
 over it, and can imagine what a hue-and-cry the 
 distinguished gentlemen at headquarters have 
 raised, and how the trubsalsspritzen are croaking 
 again: 'Blucher is a crazy hussar who always 
 wants to drive his head through a wall, and yet 
 cannot get through it, and only causes us all a 
 vast deal of trouble.' I can imagine how the 
 peace apostles are raising their voices again, cry- 
 ing that war ought to cease, and we should rua 
 home because we did not gain the battle of Bri- 
 enne. It is indispensable, therefore, for us;, 
 Gneisenau, to strike a good blow and get even 
 with Napoleon. Yonder the fellow stands, with 
 his few thousand men, showing his teeth, as if he 
 were still the lion that needed only to shake bis 
 mane to frighten us off as flies. I will show him 
 that I am no fly, but a man who is able at any 
 time to cope with him and such as are with him. 
 Gneisenau, we cannot help it; we must attack 
 him this very day. We must silence the trub- 
 salsspritzen, in order to accelerate our operations 
 against Paris." 
 
 "You are right, field-marshal," said Gneise- 
 nau ; " we must strike a decisive blow, and com- 
 pel the gentlemen at headquarters to discontinue 
 their present system of procrastination. We 
 must show Napoleon that we have also passed 
 through a military school, though not at Brienne." 
 
 " It makes me feel angry, Gneisenau, that we 
 were unable to show him that at the very city of 
 
THE BATTLE OF LA ROTHIERE. 
 
 267 
 
 Briennc. I had thought how well it would be for 
 me to prove to him, at the place where he passed 
 his examination and received his first commission, 
 that I had also passed my examination aod 
 learned something. Well, it is no use crying about 
 it now ; we must try to get ever it, and only think 
 of the best manner in which we may be even 
 with him. General Wrode must join us with his 
 troops at noon to-day, when we shall be stronger 
 than Bonaparte, Marmont, and all his marshals 
 together." 
 
 " See ! " cried Gneisenau, whose eyes were di- 
 rected to the camp of the enemy, " the troops 
 yonder have put themselves in motion ; I see it 
 quite distinctly now that the view is clearer. But 
 they are not advancing." 
 
 " Xo," cried Blucher, " they are retreating ; 
 they intend to escape us; Bonaparte wishes to 
 avoid a battle. But that will not do; I must 
 have my battle here ! How am I to get to Paris 
 if I do not rout his forces ? how am I to pull him 
 down if the present state of affairs goes on as 
 heretofore ? A blow must be struck now ; we 
 must take revenge for Brienne to-day ! " 
 
 " Wrede will be here with his troops at noon," 
 said Gneisenau, thoughtfully; "let us, therefore, 
 attack the enemy at twelve o'clock, and make all 
 necessary dispositions for it. Above all, couriers 
 should be sent to headquarters." 
 
 " Yes, Gneisenau, it is your province to attend 
 to all that, for you know well that you are the 
 ead and I am the arm. Consider all that is ne- 
 
 sary; I know only that Bonaparte contem- 
 plates a retreat, and that I must compel him to 
 accept battle. I have felt sad enough for the 
 
 st three days ; for, say yourself, Gneisenau, is 
 it not sheer arrogance for Bonaparte to remain 
 here so long quietly in front of us, as though he 
 intended to give us time for uniting our forces, 
 and thought we were, after all, too cowardh to 
 defeat him?" 
 
 , perhaps, not arrogance, but disgust and 
 weariness," said Gneisenau, thoughtfully. "The 
 prince of battles spems to be exhausted, and to 
 have lost confidence." 
 
 " A pretty fellow he is whom misfortunes at 
 
 hea 
 
 pla 
 ace 
 pa* 
 
 once exhaust," grumbled Blucher, "and who is 
 courageous only as long as he is successful ! But 
 I do not object to this disposition of Bonaparte, 
 for every thing turns out now highly advantageous 
 to us. The Austrians, the Wurtembergers, and the 
 Bavarians, have come up, and will cooperate with 
 us. Gneisenau, dispatch your couriers to head- 
 quarters, that the monarchs may come. Take 
 out your note-book ; I will dictate to you what 
 occurs to me, and what are my plans in regard 
 to the battle. Halloo, Christian ! give me a pipe ! 
 I can think much better when smoking ! " 
 
 Christian galloped up, and with a grave air 
 handed the short pipe to his master. " Pipe-mas- 
 ter," said Blucher, " hold a good many pipes in 
 readiness to-day, for there will be a fight, and you 
 know that our gunners fire more steadily when 
 my pipe is burning well. Well, write now, Gnei- 
 senau : ' Precisely at twelve the troops will be 
 put in motion, and descend from Traunes into the 
 plain. In the centre, Sacken'a infantry will ad- 
 vance upon La Rothiere in two columns. The 
 Austrians form the left, and will march on the 
 town of Diouville. The hereditary Prince of Wr.r- 
 temberg's corps, composing the right wing, will 
 penetrate through the forest of Beaulieu, and 
 take the village of La Gibrin. Olsuwiew's in- 
 fantry and Wassilchikow's cavalry, Sacken's re- 
 serves, will follow the two columns of the centre. 
 Two divisions of Russian cuirassiers and Rajews- 
 ki's corps of grenadiers will remain in reserve on 
 the heights of Trannes. The Bavarian corps, 
 under Wrede, will be stationed on the extreme 
 right wing.' * Well, that is enough ; close your 
 note-book," said Blucher, blowing a large cloud 
 of smoke from his mouth. "Every thing else 
 will come of itself after the fight has begun. I 
 have said what I had to say, and now commences 
 your work, Gneisenau, Dispatch couriers quickly 
 to the headquarters of the sovereigns, and may 
 they arrive here in time, and not again, by 
 their hesitation and timidity, spoil our game, 
 coming too late from fear of coming too early ! 
 Let me tell you that I am not afraid of Bona- 
 
 * Beitzke, vol. Hi., p. lia 
 
268 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 parte, with his young guard and his army of con- 
 scripts. We are twice as strong, for we have 
 eighty thousand men, and his forces, I believe, are 
 not forty thousand. Besides, we have allies <vhom 
 Bonaparte cannot have the good God and His 
 angel, Queen Louisa. He has sent us to put an 
 end to the tyranny of the robber of crowns, and 
 Queen Louisa is looking down and praying for 
 us and Prussia's honor. The enemy, however, 
 whom I am afraid of, is in our own flesh and 
 blood ; he is creeping around the headquarters 
 of the monarchs, and singing peace-hymns, and 
 raising a hue-and-cry about the greatness of 
 Bonaparte, representing him as invincible, and 
 ourselves as insignificant. In that way are all 
 our arms paralyzed ! Gneisenau, should they 
 hesitate to act in an energetic manner, and fail 
 to be on hand in time, it would be dreadful, and 
 I believe my rage would kill me ! " 
 
 But Blucher's apprehensions were not to be 
 rerified. All the corps on which he had counted 
 in drawing up his plan of operations arrived at 
 the stated hour, and precisely at noon appeared 
 the Emperor of Russia, the King of Prussia, and 
 Prince Schwartzenberg, with their numerous and 
 brilliant suites. The monarchs surveyed the posi- 
 tion of the two armies from the heights of Trannes, 
 and had Blucher explain his plan to them in his 
 brief and energetic manner. 
 
 The Emperor Alexander then turned with a 
 gentle smile toward Prince Schwartzenberg, com- 
 mander-in-chief of the allied forces. " And what 
 do you think of this plan of the brave field- 
 marshal ? " 
 
 ' It is as well conceived as it is bold," said 
 Schwartzenberg, " and I beg leave to intrust the 
 command of the whole army to Field-Marshal 
 Blucher. I renounce the privilege of directing the 
 operations of to-day, and leave every thing to the 
 discretion of the field-marshal." 
 
 Blucher's eyes sparkled with delight, and a 
 glow suffused his cheeks. " Prince," he ex- 
 claimed, offering his hand to Schwartzenberg, 
 " this is an honor for which I shall always be 
 grateful to you. You have a generous heart, and 
 know that I must take revenge for the disastrous 
 
 affair of Briemie. I thank you, prince, for giving 
 me an opportunity. Now I shall prove to their 
 majesties that Bonaparte is not invincible, or, if I 
 cannot prove it to them, I shall die ! Hurrah ! Let 
 ud begin ! " He galloped with the impatience and 
 ardor of a youth to the front of the troops, which 
 put themselves rapidly in motion, and rushed 
 like a torrent down the heights of Trannes. 
 
 Soon the artillery commenced to boom, and 
 transmitted Blucher's battle-cry to Napoleon. The 
 emperor, who had intended to retreat with his 
 small army, in order to avoid a fight, now halted 
 his troops, and formed them into line. As the 
 allies were advancing with great impetuosity, a fur- 
 ther retreat would have been equivalent to flight. 
 Napoleon, therefore, accepted the battle, and his 
 cannon soon responded. The engagement raged 
 with murderous energy ; the balls hissed in every 
 direction ; the allies rushed forward in strong 
 columns, but the French did not fall back before 
 them. In the midst of the fearful carnage they 
 stood like heroes, sometimes repulsing the su- 
 perior enemy with sublime valor; and when they 
 gave way, they rallied and advanced to reconquer 
 their positions. It was easy to see that it wa3 
 Napoleon's presence that inspired the Frenc'i 
 with irresistible courage. Hour after hour vast 
 numbers were slain on both sides, and while the 
 earth was trembling beneath the strife, the snow 
 fell to such a depth as to shroud the dead from 
 view. 
 
 The contest was most furious in and around 
 the village of La Rothi^re. The French held it 
 with the utmost obstinacy, and vainly did Sack- 
 en's corps, which had been repeatedly repulsed, 
 return to the charge; the French stood like a 
 wall, and their cannon hurled death into the ranks 
 of their adversaries. 
 
 Blucher witnessed this doubtful struggle for 
 some time with growing impatience; his loud 
 " Forward ! " encouraged the troops to charge, 
 but their assaults were in vain. " Gneisenau," 
 he cried, " we must take the village, for La Ro- 
 thiere is the key of the position. Halloo, pipe- 
 master ! " Hennemann was by his master's side. 
 " There," said Blucher, taking the pipe from his 
 
THE BATTLE OF LA ROTHIERE. 
 
 269 
 
 : 
 
 looutb, and handing it to Christian, " take this 
 pipe, and stay, do you hear, on this spot ! I shall 
 soon be back, and you will seo to it that I then 
 get a lighted pipe. I have to say a word or two 
 to the French." 
 
 " You may depend on it, field-marsLai, I 
 stay here," said Christian, gravely ; " you will 
 find me and the pipe here." 
 
 " Very well ; and now come, Gneisenau," said 
 Blucher, galloping to the head of the assaulting 
 columns. Turning his face, full of warlike ardor, 
 toward his soldiers, he shouted : " You call me 
 Marshal Forward ! Now I will show you what 
 that means ! " He turned his horse, and, bran- 
 dishing bis sword, rushed toward the village. 
 The soldiers followed him with deafening cheers. 
 
 Christian Hennemann looked composedly after 
 them, and, putting the field-marshal's pipe into 
 his mouth, he murmured, " Well, I wonder if this 
 will burn until the field-marshal returns, or if 
 I shall have to light another ! " At this moment 
 a bullet whizzed through the air, carrying away 
 the pipe from his mouth, and slightly wounding 
 him. " Well," he murmured, calmly, " the first 
 one is gone, and a piece of my head to boot ! 
 Let us immediately dress the wound, and then 
 light another pipe ; for if he should return, and 
 it H not ready for him thunder and lightning ! " 
 After giving vent to his feelings, the pipe-master 
 took out his little dressing-pouch, stanched the 
 blood, applied a plaster to the wound, and wrapped 
 a linen handkerchief around his head. " Now I 
 am all right again, and will do my duty," said 
 -tian, closing the pouch, and opening the 
 box, which was fastened to the pommel of his 
 saddle. 
 
 The fight was still raging. Night came, ac- 
 companied by a violent snow-storm, so as to ren- 
 der the muskets useless. As on the Katzbach, 
 Blucher's soldiers had to attack the enemy with 
 
 eir swords and bayonets. At length the allies 
 
 re successful ; the French were overpowered 
 and driven baek. The soldiers, headed by Blu- 
 chcr, ruslu-d exultingly into the village of La 
 Rothierc. "Forward!" shouted the field-mar- 
 shal. " Forward ! " repeated the soldiers. They 
 
 halted in the middle of the village. Tie French 
 still occupied the houses on both sides of the 
 principal street, and, converting every building 
 into a fortress, they fought like lions against the 
 impetuous enemy. Blucher was in the midst of 
 the flying bullets, but he did not notice them. 
 The position had to be taken, and he knew that 
 his presence inspired his soldiers to heroic efforts. 
 The village was soon on fire, for the wind carried 
 the flames from house to house, and the snowy 
 plain reflected the red glare far and wide. The 
 French rushed from the houses in hurried flight, 
 hotly pursued by Blucher's soldiers. The battle 
 was gained ! The enemy evacuated La Rothiere, 
 and retreated in disorder to Brienne and across 
 the Aube. 
 
 Blucher could now return to his headquarters 
 and inform the monarchs of a victory. He rode 
 back, thoughtfully ; and Gneisenau, who was by 
 his side, was also grave and silent. 
 
 " Gneisenau," he exclaimed, " I believe we have 
 done very well to-day ! " 
 
 " Your excellency must not say we, but 7 have 
 done very well to-day," said Gneisenau, smiling. 
 " You alone conceived the plan of battle, and di- 
 rected it ; for La Rothiere was the key of the 
 whole position, and it was Marshal Forward who 
 took it. This time your deeds must give the 
 name to the battle, and it must be called ' the 
 battle of La Rothiere.' " 
 
 " Well, I do not care," said Blucher. " We 
 have gained to-day, then, the battle of La Ro- 
 thiere, and, what is still better, we have shown 
 the French in their own country that Napoleon's 
 invincibility is a myth, and that he can be beaten 
 as well as any other general. But what is that ? 
 See there, Gneisenau ! what sentinel is posted on 
 the road yonder ? " 
 
 In fact, a dark form on horseback halted by 
 the roadside ; the flames of the burning village 
 rose higher, and shed a light on the stranger. 
 It was a man dressed in the uniform of an hus- 
 sar; a white, blood-stained handkerchief was 
 wrapped around his head and half his face ; his 
 right arm was also bandaged, and in his mouth wa* 
 A clay pipe. 
 
 
270 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 " It is the pipe-master ! " cried Blucher, quickly 
 galloping up. 
 
 " Yes, it is I who should it be ? " grumbled 
 Christian. 
 
 " But, Christian," exclaimed Blucher, " how in 
 Heaven's name do you look ! And what are you 
 doing here ? " 
 
 " I am waiting for Field-Marshal Bluchor. Did 
 you not tell me that I was to wait for you 
 here, and keep the pipe in order ? "Well, I did 
 wait for you, field-marshal. And you ask, too, 
 how I look ? Just like one around whom the 
 blue beans have been whizzing for hours past, 
 and whose head and arm have been scratched a 
 great deal. You kept me waiting a long time, 
 field-marshal more than four hours ! The French 
 have shot pipe after pipe from my mouth, and 
 this is the last I have. If you had not come 
 soon, it would have been smashed, too." 
 
 " No," said Blucher, smiling, " the French will 
 not break another pipe of mine to-day, Christian, 
 for they have taken to their heels. It is true, how- 
 ever, I have kept you waiting a long time. But 
 that was the fault of the French ; they resisted 
 with the greatest obstinacy. For the rest, Chris- 
 tian, you had a pipe of tobacco at least during 
 the whole time that you were waiting, and did not 
 fare so badly after all; as for your wounds, I 
 shall have them well attended to, my boy. You 
 have behaved as a brave man, and stood fire as a 
 genuine soldier ought to do. When we get home 
 I will relate it to your old father, and he will 
 rejoice over it. Now, give me the pipe ; it will 
 be the last that you will fill for me for some time 
 to come, for you are disabled ; your right arm is 
 shattered, and you must be cured." 
 
 " Well," exclaimed Christian, " with my left 
 hand I can fill your pipes. I am and must be 
 Field-Marshal Blucher's pipe-master, and, if they 
 do not shoot off ray head, I will not give up my 
 position ! " 
 
 On the following day Blucher received at the 
 castle of Brionne the congratulations and thanks 
 of the allied monarchs. The Emperor Alexander 
 embraced him, and his eyes were filled with tears 
 of joyful emotion. " Field-marshal." he Slid, 
 
 "you have crowned all your former efforts by 
 this glorious triumph. I do not know how we 
 are to reward you for this. But I know we must 
 admire and love you." 
 
 King Frederick William shook hands with 
 Blucher, and a smile illuminated his features. 
 "Blucher," he said, mildly, "you have kept 
 your word ; you have fulfilled all that you prom- 
 ised us at Frankfort, when I informed you of 
 your appointment to the command-in-chief. To- 
 day you have blotted out the disgrace of Jena. 
 Have you any wish which I am able to fulfil. Pray 
 let me know it, for I should like to prove to you 
 my gratitude and love." 
 
 " I have a wish, and before it is gratified, I shall 
 neither sleep well by night nor be calm by day. 
 Now your majesties are quite able to grant thi? 
 wish of mine, and therefore I urgently pray both 
 of you to do so." 
 
 " Tell us what it is ! " exclaimed the emperor ; 
 " 1 am anxious to grant it as far as I am con- 
 cerned, for an heroic head like yours must not lie 
 uneasy at night, and a childlike heart like youra 
 must be content. Speak, then ! " 
 
 "Ah, sire," said the king, smiling, and fixing a 
 searching look on Blucher's bold face, " sire, be- 
 ware of promising, for then he will leave us nc 
 rest ; he will not even let us sleep at night until 
 he has driven us to Paris. That is your wish, 
 Blucher, is it not ? " 
 
 " It is ! " exclaimed Blucher, ardently. " That 
 is my wish ; and, as your majesty has called upon 
 me to tell you something that you could grant, and 
 as his majesty the emperor tells me, too, that he 
 would like to gratify me I say, let us now set 
 out by forced marches for Paris. Let us advance 
 with all our armies on the capital, for then the war 
 will soon be over. I implore your majesties, let 
 us proceed quickly. Let us give Bonaparte nc 
 time for heading us off; but let us out?trip him 
 moving on Paris, and, if need be, take the city bj 
 storm. When Paris falls all France is ours, and 
 the war is over ! " 
 
 " Well, what says your majesty ? " asked Alex- 
 ander, turning toward the king. " Shall we com 
 ply with the wish of our young madcap ? " 
 
THE DISEASED EYES. 
 
 271 
 
 "Sire, as far as I am concerned, I have pledged 
 him my word," said Frederick William ; " hence, 
 I must keep it." 
 
 "And I assent with the greatest pleasure, sire," 
 exclaimed Alexander; "let us march on Paris, 
 then ; but we should agree as to the best way of 
 doing so." 
 
 " Well, we have invited our generals to hold a 
 council of war, and I believe they are waiting for 
 us now," said the king. " Come, therefore, sire ; 
 and you, Blucher, pray accompany us. One 
 thing is settled : we shall march on Paris in ac- 
 cordance with your wish only we have to select 
 the routes which the various columns of the army 
 Ore to take, for they are too large to move by the 
 same road ; they could not find the necessary 
 supplies in the same section of country. We 
 must divide them, and that is the question which 
 we shall now discuss with our generals." 
 
 " I do not care about that," replied Blucher, 
 merrily ; " if the chief point is settled, all the 
 re>t is indifferent to me ; I shall obey the orders 
 of my king, and be content with the route selected 
 for me and my corps. The point is we must 
 profit by our victory and outstrip Bonaparte ! We 
 must take Paris ! " 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 
 THE DISEASED EYES. 
 
 UPWARD of a month had elapsed since the vic- 
 tory of La Rothiere, and Blucher's ardent wish 
 had not yet been fulfilled ; the allies were not in 
 Paris. The system of procrastination had again 
 obtained the upper hand at the headquarters of the 
 . Austria hesiti ted to use her power in a 
 -ive manner against Xapoleon, the emperor's 
 son-in-law; the crown prince of Sweden wished 
 to spare France, and was still in hope that the 
 3, which had been in session at Chatillon 
 the 4th of February, would conclude 
 ' peace. Among the very attendants of the Em- 
 peror of Russia and the King of Prussia this peace 
 
 party had its active supporters, who opposed an 
 energetic policy, and wished the congress of Cha- 
 tillon, and not the army, to put an end to the 
 war. 
 
 Blucher once had dared openly to oppose thes* 
 " peace apostles," and disregarded the instruc- 
 tions received from the allied monarchs to move 
 farther back from Paris, and, instead of crossing 
 the Seine, retreat with his army to Chaumont and 
 Langres. This order filled the field-marshal with 
 anger, and his generals and staff-officers shared 
 it. Great as he was in all his actions, Blucher 
 took the bold resolution to pay no attention to 
 the retrograde movements of Schwartzenberg and 
 the crown prince of Sweden, but to continue his 
 march, even at the risk of appearing in front of 
 Paris without support. 
 
 But it was not as a rebel that he had wished to 
 take so daring a step ; on the contrary, before 
 moving, he wrote to King Frederick William, and 
 implored him to fulfil his wish, and allow him to 
 advance. He did not wait, however, for the 
 king's answer, but, though he knew that the 
 commander-in-chief, Prince Schwartzeuberg, had 
 already commenced retreating, continued to march 
 with his Silesian army alone upon the capital of 
 France. 
 
 The monarchs themselves were of Blucher's 
 opinion, and gave him full power, having his 
 army reenforced by the corps of Bulow and Win- 
 zingerode. With his forces thus increased to 
 twice their original strength, he was able to con- 
 front Napoleon, and at tick Paris even without 
 Schwartzenberg's assistance. But the fortune of 
 war is fickle, and he did not continue his march 
 without experiencing this. On the 7th of March 
 he fought a bloody battle with Xapoleon and his 
 marshals between Soissons and Craonne, and, to 
 his profound regret, was defeated, and forced to 
 retreat, 
 
 He took revenge at Laon, where he and hii 
 brave Silesian anny gained a victory on the 9th 
 of Maivh. This was followed t>\- still another. 
 He at length silenced the " trubsalaspritzcn " 
 and " peace apostles," who had up to this time 
 raised their influential voices at headquarters. 
 
272 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 All felt that a retreat, after this great victory, was 
 entirely out of the question, and even Schwartzen- 
 berg and Bernadotte joined in Blucher's " For- 
 ward ! " and marched their armies to Paris. 
 
 But the brave field-marshal himself was at this 
 time unable to join in the movement. Since the 
 battle of Laon he had been affected with a violent 
 inflammation of the eyes, aggravated by a fever. 
 Confined to his dark room, he was obliged to re- 
 main ten days at Laon, suffering not only physical 
 but mental pain. For how could he redeem his 
 pledge how achieve a final victory over Napo- 
 leon if, half-blind and doomed to the captivity 
 of a sick-room, he could not march with his 
 troops, and lead them in person into battle ? 
 Regardless of the warnings of his physicians, he 
 tried to brave his sufferings, and, putting himself 
 at the head of his troops, again advanced with 
 them. Finally, on the 24th of March, by way of 
 Rheims, he arrived at Chalons. But the inflam- 
 mation of his eyes had grown worse on the road, 
 and gave him intolerable pain ; the fever sent his 
 blood like fire through his veins, and what neither 
 age, nor defeat, nor disappointed hope, had been 
 able to accomplish, was accomplished by sickness. 
 He grew faint-hearted his disease destroyed his 
 enthusiasm. Longing for tranquillity, he remem- 
 bered how beautiful and peaceful his dear Kun- 
 zendorf was, how kind and mild the sweet face 
 of his Amelia, and with what soft hands she 
 would wash his inflamed eyes, and apply the 
 remedies. 
 
 During the last march from Rheims to Chalons 
 he constantly thought of this. At length he 
 made up his mind, and no sooner had he arrived 
 at Chalons than he sent for Hennemann, and 
 locked himself in his room with him. 
 
 " Christian," said Blucher, in a subdued voice, 
 " I am going to see whether you are really a 
 faithful fellow, and whether I may confide some- 
 thing to you." 
 
 " Yery well, field-marshal, put me to the test." 
 
 " Not so loud ! " cried Blucher, anxiously. " Lot 
 us first discover whether any one can hear us 
 here." He opened the door, and looked into the 
 antechamber. No one was there. He then ex- 
 
 amined the dark alcove adjoining the sitting 
 room, which was empty, too. " We are alone ; 
 no one can overhear us," said Blucher, returning 
 from his recounoissance to the sitting-room. 
 "Now, pipe-master, listen to me. First, however, 
 look at my eyes, do you hear; look closely at 
 them. Well, how do they look ? " 
 
 " Very sore," said Christian, mournfully. 
 
 " And they have not grown better, though 
 Voelzke, the surgeon-general, has been doctoring 
 them every day ; and, by his salves, mixtures, 
 leeches, and blisters, causing me almost as much 
 pain as the eyes themselves. Nay, they grow 
 rather worse from day to day, and if I remain 
 here longer, and allow the physicians to torment 
 me, I shall finally lose my eyesight altogether, 
 and when I am blind, I shall be of no account 
 unable to use my sword and fight Bonaparte. I 
 am afraid the good God will not permit me to 
 pull down Bonaparte from his throne. He knows 
 I should then be too happy, and therefore says, 
 ' Gotthold Leberecht Blucher, I have permitted 
 thee to bring Bonaparte to the brink of ruin ; 
 now thine armies are close to Paris, and will, with- 
 out thee, get into the city. Go, therefore, od 
 boy, and have thine eyes cured!' Well, I will 
 comply with God's will, and go to some place and 
 have myself healed, where they know better how 
 to do it than our doctors here. I have been told 
 that there are excellent oculists at Brussels, and 
 Brussels is not very far from here. I will, there- 
 fore, go there." 
 
 " The field-marshal intends to retreat, then ? " 
 said Christian, laconically. 
 
 "Retreat!" cried Blucher, angrily. "Who 
 takes the liberty of saying that Field-Marshal 
 Blucher intends to retreat ? " 
 
 "I take that liberty," said Christian. "Th/j 
 field-marshal intends to retreat from the inflam- 
 mation of his eyes." 
 
 " Why, yes ; that is an enemy from which it is 
 no disgrace to retreat." 
 
 " A retreat is always a retreat," said Christian, 
 with a shrug, "and if you carry out your inten- 
 tion you will no longer be called Marshal For 
 ward!" 
 
THE DISEASED EYES. 
 
 273 
 
 u I do not care to be called so now ! " exclaimed 
 Blucher. " The inflammation of my eyes has made 
 me desperate; I shall lose my sight if I stay 
 here, and then they will lead me by the nose like 
 a blind bear. There is no use in talking any 
 more about it ; I will and must go. If you do 
 not wish to accompany me say so, and you may 
 stay here." 
 
 " If you go, then I will too," said Cnristian, 
 with his usual calmness, " for where the field- 
 marshal is the pipe-master must be; that is a 
 matter of course. I have pledged ray word to 
 my father, to Madame von Blucher, and to the 
 good God, that I would never leave my general, 
 and it makes no difference if he is field-marshal 
 now. If they do not shoot me, I shall stay with 
 my field-marshal." 
 
 " Christian," said Blucher, offering him his hand, 
 " you are a dear boy ; your heart is in the right 
 place, and it is always the best thing in a man. 
 When we get back to Kunzendorf you shall lead 
 a very pleasant life, for I can never forget what a 
 faithful and excellent young fellow you have been. 
 n you will go with me? " 
 Yes, to the end of the world, general ! " 
 Well, we shall not go so far as that only to 
 where there are good oculists; and 
 when th'-y have cured me, I will see whether they 
 etill need me here, and whether every thing has 
 then been done to my liking." 
 
 " Oh, 1 believe it will be then as it is now," 
 f aid Christian, in a contemptuous tone. " When 
 Marshal Forward i^ no longer here, things will go 
 backward, that is sure. But we need not care, 
 we shall go forward to Brus.-- 
 
 " Yes, to I 1 .' id Blucher ; " we set out 
 
 to-night ; but no one must know it ; I will leave 
 as quietly as possible. I cannot stand bidding 
 them all farewell, and listening to their fine 
 eches ; I will leave, therefore, so that no one 
 
 ; it before I am gone." 
 t flight! " s;iM Christian, laconically. 
 
 " Secret flight ? how stupi-1 ! " grumbled Blu- 
 l! is strain:*' what ridiculous words the 
 boy uses ! How a flight ? I believe I am no 
 prisoner." 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 "No, but you are field-marshal." 
 
 Blucher's red eyes cast an angry glance on the 
 bold pipe-master. " You talk as you understand 
 it," he cried ; " when I am a poor blind fellow, 
 swallowing powders and using salves all day, I 
 am no longer a field-marshal, and had better re- 
 sign, not waiting to be deposed by a few polite 
 phrases. That is the reason why I am going to 
 leave." 
 
 " And I leave, too," said Christian ; " but as 
 the field-marshal does not wish me to say any 
 thing about it, of course I shall not. But 
 how are we to get away, if no one is to be in- 
 formed ? " 
 
 " Well, listen ! I will tell you. I have already 
 devised the whole plan of operations, and but, 
 hark ! something seems moving in the alcove, as 
 if a door opened." 
 
 " There is no door in the alcove," said Chris- 
 tian ; " it was, perhaps, a mouse, and it tells no 
 tales. Inform me, field-marshal, what I have 
 to do." 
 
 " Well, listen, Christian ! " And the field-mar- 
 shal began to explain to hip, in his vivacioua 
 manner, the whole plan of his departure. Chris- 
 tian comprehended it, and entered very seriously 
 into the duties of quartermaster-general to his 
 field-marshal. 
 
 " Do you remember it all now ? " asked Blu- 
 cher, at the conclusion of their conference. " Do 
 you know all that you have to do ? " 
 
 "I know all," said Christian. "In the first 
 place, I am to go to General Gneisenau and in- 
 form him that the field-marshal is sick and con- 
 fined to his bed to-day, and refuses to see any 
 one. General Gneisenau will mention it, of 
 course, to Surgeon-General Dr. Voelzke, who will 
 come to see the field-marshal. I am to tell him 
 tlv.it he is in so much pain from his inflamed 
 that he had ordered me to admit no one that he 
 is trying to sleep. Then I am to come back to 
 yon, and your excellency will give me the fare- 
 well letters to General Gneisenau, whereupon I 
 am to pack up your things and lock the bags. 
 Wln-n it grows dark, I am to carry them secretly 
 into our carriage. Then it will suddenly occur 
 
274 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 to your excellency to take an airing, the sun hav- 
 ing set, and therefore unable to hurt your eyes. 
 I am to accompany you, and we shall not come 
 oack." 
 
 " No, we shall not come back," said Blucher, 
 thoughtfully. " Well, every thing is settled now ; 
 run, and attend to what I told you. We shall set 
 out at seven o'clock to-night." 
 
 Christian hastened away. Blucher looked after 
 him with a mournful glance and a deep sigh. 
 " The die is cast," he murmured to himself; "now 
 T am indeed a poor old invalid, no longer of any 
 use. God has refused to fulfil my dearest wish ; 
 He would not let me hurl Bonaparte from his 
 stolen throne. I must face about at the gates of 
 Paris, and creep back into obscurity. Well, let 
 God's will be done ! I have labored as long as 
 there was daylight ; now comes the night, when I 
 can work no more. Ah, my poor sore eyes ! I 
 but there is, after all, some one in the alcove," 
 cried Blucher, springing to his feet. Again he 
 heard a noise as of footsteps, and an opening 
 door. He bounded into the alcove, but all was 
 etill ; no one was there, and no door to be seen. 
 " I was mistaken," he said. " A bad conscience 
 is a very queer thing. Because I am about to 
 do something secret, I am thinking that eaves- 
 droppers are watching me and trying to forestall 
 me." 
 
 It was seven in the evening ; the sun had set. 
 Field-Marshal Blucher, who was very sick all day, 
 now intended to take an airing. The pipe-master 
 had, therefore, ordered the coachman ; and the 
 field-marshal's carriage, drawn by four black 
 horses, had just come to the door. Blucher was 
 still in his room, but all his preparations were 
 completed. On the table lay two letters one ad- 
 dressed to the king, the other to General Gneise- 
 nau ; the carpet-bags had already been conveyed 
 into the carriage, together with the pipe-box. The 
 invalid had only to wrap himself in his military 
 cloak, leave the room, and enter the carriage ; but 
 he still hesitated. An anxiety, such as he had 
 never known before, had crept over him ; and, 
 what had never before happened to him, his heart 
 beat with fear. " That was just wanting to me," 
 
 he murmured. " I have become a white-livered 
 coward, whose legs are trembling, and whose 
 heart is throbbing ! What am I afraid of, then ? 
 Is that wrong which I am about to do? My 
 heart has never acted thus even in the storm of 
 battle. What does it mean ? Bah ! it is folly ; 
 no attention should be paid to it. I hope, how- 
 ever, that no one will meet me when I go down- 
 stairs, or at the carriage when I enter it. Let 
 me see if there is any one in the street." He 
 quickly stepped to the window and looked out; 
 there was no one in the street, or near his car- 
 riage. " I will go now," said Blucher, turning 
 again toward the room. " I " He paused, and 
 a blush suffused his cheeks. There, in the middle 
 of the room, stood General Gneisenau, and gazed 
 at him with a strange, mournful air. " Gneise- 
 nau, is it you?" asked Blucher, in a faltering 
 voice. " How did you get in ? " 
 
 " Simply by the door, your excellency," said 
 Gneisenau, smiling. " Your pipe-master kept the 
 door closed all day, and turned me away by in- 
 forming me the field-marshal had ordered him to 
 admit no one, because he wished to sleep; but 
 my desire to see you brought me back again and 
 again, and so I have come, fortunately at the op- 
 portune hour, when the Cerberus is no longer at 
 the door, but is standing below at the carriage, 
 waiting for the field-marshal, who intends to take 
 an airing." 
 
 " Yes, I do," said Blucher, casting an anxious 
 glance on the two letters lying on the table. " I 
 do intend to take an airing ; good-by, then, Gnei- 
 senau ! " He turned toward the door, but Gneise- 
 nau kept him back. " Your excellency must not 
 ride out to night," he said; "I implore you not 
 to do so. There is a cold wind, and you must not 
 expose your inflamed eyes to it. You are not 
 careful enough of your health ; Surgeon-General 
 Voelzke complains of the little attention you pay 
 to his prescriptions, and that your eyes, instead 
 of getting better, are growing worse and worse." 
 
 " Yes, that is true," grumbled Blucher, " they 
 are burning like fire. I will go out, therefore ; the 
 night-wind will cool them." 
 
 He turned again toward the door, but at this mo- 
 
THE DISEASED EYES. 
 
 275 
 
 ment it was thrust open, and Surgeon-General Voel- 
 zke entered the room. " I am told your excellency 
 intends to take an airing," said the physl 
 almost indignantly. " But I declare that I can- 
 not permit it. You have intrusted yourself to 
 rny treatment ; I am responsible to God, to the 
 king, to the whole world nay, to history, if 
 I allow you to rush so recklessly to destruction ; 
 I will not suffer it ; your excellency must not 
 ride out ! " 
 
 " I should like to see who is to prevent me ! " 
 cried Blucher, striding toward the door. 
 
 " The physician will prevent you," said Voelzke, 
 standing in the doorway with his large, tall 
 form. " The physician has the right of giving 
 orders to kings and emperors, and Marshal For- 
 ward has to submit to his commands, too." 
 
 " I do not think of it," said Blucher ; " I do 
 not permit any one to give me orders." 
 
 " Not even your disease your inflamed eyes ? " 
 asked Voelzke, solemnly. "Did you not obey 
 when your fever and inflamed eyes commanded 
 you to remain idle at Laon for ten days, although 
 you were in a towering passion, and were bent on 
 advancing with the army? Well, your excel- 
 lency, I tell you, if you do not now obey me, and 
 consent to desist from taking an airing if you 
 are determined to ride out in the cold night-air, 
 
 e more powerful than I am will compel you to 
 y ; and that one is your disease. You may 
 
 e out to-day, but to-morrow it will command 
 to keep your bed ; the inflammation of your 
 eyes will make you a prisoner, and you will be 
 unable to flee from it, notwithstanding your im- 
 
 rious will, or your four-horsed carriage." 
 
 " Well, well," said Blucher, " you put on such 
 
 turn airs as almost to frighten me. It is true, 
 so is very powerful, and this soreness of 
 
 already rendered me so d- 
 that" 
 
 "That your excellency has \v;itten 
 intcrposi"! (In. lining to the 
 
 "But, what do I see? There is one a 1. 
 to me ! " 
 
 give it to me," cried Blucher, embar- 
 rassed ; " now that you are here, I can tell you 
 
 
 every thing verbally, and it is unncccssaiyforyou 
 to read what I have written." 
 
 He was about to seize the letter, but Gneise- 
 nau drew back a step, and, bowing deeply, said, 
 " Your excellency has done me the honor of writ- 
 big to me. Permit me, therefore, to read." He 
 stepped quickly into the window-niche, and opened 
 the letter. 
 
 " Well, stand hack there, doctor," cried Blucher, 
 " let me out ! Do not make me angry ; leave the 
 door ! " 
 
 " I do not care if you are angry, your excel- 
 lency," said the surgeon-general, folding his 
 arms, " but in order to get me out of this door- 
 way you will have to kill me." 
 
 At this moment, Gneisenau uttered a cry of 
 terror, and hastened toward Blucher. " What ! 
 your excellency," he exclaimed, " you intend to 
 leave us ? To set out secretly ? " 
 
 " What do you say ? " thundered the physician. 
 " What did my patient intend to do ? " 
 
 " He intends to forsake us his army that wor- 
 ships him, his friends who idolize him, his king 
 who hopes in him he intends to leave us all ! " 
 said Gneisnau, mournfully. " It is written here, 
 doctor ; I may mention it to you, for you are one 
 of our most devoted friends." 
 
 " And he intends also to leave his physician ; 
 he will go, and get blind ! " exclaimed Voelzke, re- 
 proachfully. 
 
 " Well, it is precisely because I do not wish 
 to get blind that I must move from here," said 
 Blucher, who had now recovered his firmness, and 
 felt relieved, since his secret had been disclosed. 
 " What am I, a poor blind old man, to do longer 
 in the field ? I am fit for nothing. In the end I 
 .-hall perhaps fare like old Kutusoff, whom they 
 dragged along with the army. Thus would they 
 ie when I am no longer myself."* 
 
 " But," said the physician, " your excellency ia 
 not blind ; you will bo well in two weeks if you 
 only resolve to comply with my prescriptions, use 
 the i .u, anJ punctually obey my 
 
 * Blucher's words. Vide Varnhagen, "Prince Blucher 
 of Wahlstatt,'' p. 378. 
 
276 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 instructions. You intend to go to Brussels, where 
 you will certainly find celebrated physicians ; but 
 they do not know you; they will oniy doctor 
 your eyes, not suspecting that the seat of 
 your disease is in your nerves, and that your 
 eyes are unhealthy because your mind is suffer- 
 ing. And it will suffer still more when you have 
 deserted your army, your friends nay, I may 
 say, your duty. The strange surroundings, the 
 want of care, the unknown physicians, your anx- 
 iety at being ignorant of what the army is doing 
 all this will torture your soul, and aggravate 
 the disease of your eyes." 
 
 " It is true, I shall be very lonely in a foreign 
 city," said Blucher, thoughtfully ; " but it is, after 
 all, better than to stay here as a useless, blind old 
 man. I can never again command an army or 
 direct a battle." 
 
 " If you cannot command an army in person, 
 you can by your words," exclaimed Gneisenau ; 
 *' and if you cannot direct the battle with your 
 arms, you can do so with your spirit ; for that 
 fires our hearts as long as you are with us, and 
 bids defiance to the adversaries and hesitating 
 diplomatists. If your person leaves us, your 
 spirit does also, and with Marshal Forward we 
 lose all prospect of marching forward. Consider 
 this, your excellency ; consider that you endanger 
 not only the welfare of your army, but the suc- 
 cess of the war ; for when you are not present, 
 all will go wrong." 
 
 " "Well, you will be here, Gneisenau," said 
 Blucher; "you are half myself; you know my 
 thoughts just as well as I do nay, you often 
 know them much better! You will, therefore, 
 carry on all just as though I were still here." 
 
 "But shall I have the power to do so ? " asked 
 Gneisenau. " Your excellency did not take into 
 the account that when you leave the army, aud 
 give up your position as commander-in-ehtef, an- 
 other general must be appointed in your stead. 
 Who will receive this nomination? The senior 
 general is Langeron, and do you consider him 
 qualified to replace you ? " 
 
 " Well, that would be a pretty thing, if 
 he should become command er-iu-chief!" cried 
 
 Blucher. "The confusion and wrangling that 
 would ensue would baffle description; for York 
 and Bulow would be even more disobedient to 
 him than they are to me." 
 
 " But he would have to take command of the 
 army until orders from headquarters arrived ap- 
 pointing another general-in-chief. We might have 
 to wait a long time ; for we are distant from the 
 allied monarehs now, and they, moreover, will not 
 hasten to make that appointment. Until this is 
 done, Langeron will command the army, and 
 thereby I, the quartermaster-general, as well as 
 Colonels Muffling and Grolman, will be completely 
 paralyzed in the discharge of our duties, or even 
 lose our positions, which your excellency has al- 
 ways said we filled to your satisfaction, and in a 
 manner conducive to the welfare of the army. If 
 you go now, you thereby deprive three men of 
 their places, although they feel strong enough yet 
 to serve their country." 
 
 " It is true, I have not thought of that," said 
 Blucber, embarrassed. " It did not occur to me 
 that I should have a successor here, and that Le 
 might be so stupid as to be unable to apprecia" e 
 my Gneisenau, and the brave Colonels Muffling 
 and Grolman. No, no, that will not do ; Langercn 
 must not become commander-in-chief." 
 
 " If you leave us, he will surely have that posi- 
 tion, and our brave Silesian army will then Ira 
 headed by a Russian. No, field-marshal, yon 
 must not go. You have no right to quit the arm v 
 so arbitrarily, and without the king's permis- 
 sion ! " 
 
 " Well, I should like to see who would prevent 
 me ! " cried Blucher, defiantly. 
 
 " Your noble soul, your devotion to duty, and 
 your love of country, will prevent you," said 
 Gneisenau. " You will refuse to abandon your 
 work before it is completed. You will not incur 
 the disgrace of confessing to all the world that you 
 are unable to fulfil your word not to- rest before 
 having overthrown Napoleon, and made your en- 
 trance rnto Paris. Nor will you tarnish your 
 glory on account of your eyes. You will not be- 
 come a faithless lather and friend to your soldiers, 
 whom you have so often greeted as your children^ 
 
THE DISEASED EYES. 
 
 277 
 
 mil who have always confided in you ; nor will 
 you break our courage and paralyze our souls by 
 deserting us in this manner." 
 
 " It is true, I did not think sufficiently on 
 this matter," murmured Blucher to himself. 
 " Yoelzke," he then cried aloud, " you pledge me 
 your word of honor that you can cure me ? " 
 
 " I swear it to your excellency by all that is 
 sacred that, if you take care of yourself, and com- 
 ply with my prescriptions, you will be cured in the 
 course of two weeks." 
 
 " Well," said Blucher, after a short reflection, 
 in that case I will yield, and stay." 
 " Heaven be praiaed, your excellency ! " cried 
 Gneisenau, tenderly embracing Blucher, " you are 
 etill my noble field-marshal, who will not desert 
 hi* army, his fatherland, and his friends, for the 
 sake of his individual comfort." 
 
 " Yes, I will stay," said Blucher ; " but as I have 
 to ob<;y the grim doctor there, and submit to his 
 treatment thoroughly, as a matter of course I can- 
 .iot work and make the necessary dispositions, 
 :>ut leave this to my head to Gneisenau alone. I 
 'en 1 you my name for two weeks, and know that 
 you will make good use of it. But if at the end 
 of that time, doctor, I am not yet well, then, be- 
 ware 1 May the Lord have mercy on your soul ! 
 for you will certainly get yourself into trou- 
 ble. " 
 
 " Your excellency," cried a loud voice outside, 
 this moment "your excellency, are you not 
 ling at all ? " The door of the anteroom 
 violently thrust open, and the pipe-master 
 ired on the threshold. "It is past eight 
 ?k," he exclaimed, " and " lie paused on 
 i; the two gentlemen, and was about to 
 ire very quickly. 
 
 " Come here, pipe-master," exclaimed Blucher, 
 "come here and look at me. Now tell me, pipe- 
 toaster, have you been a chatterbox, after all, and 
 told these two gentlemen what was the object of 
 our airing ? " 
 
 "No, your , I have not uttered a 
 
 about it to any one," replied the pipe-in, is- 
 er, solemnly. " I have been as dumb as a fish ; 
 cret have I complained of my d; 
 
 and, when that did not relieve me, and I still felt 
 as though my heart would burst, I did what I have 
 learned to do from the field-marshal: I went to 
 my room, closed the door, and swore in the most 
 fearful manner ! That relieved my heart, and I 
 proceeded to do all your excellency charged me 
 with." 
 
 "First, therefore, you had to swear?" asked 
 Blucher, drawing his long mustache through his 
 fingers. "You were, then, greatly dissatisfied 
 with my departure ? " 
 
 " I did not conceal it from your excellency. I 
 told you honestly that you would no longer be 
 called Marshal Forward if you retreated." 
 
 " Yes, retreat that is just what he said," ex- 
 claimed Blucher, laughing, and turning again 
 toward the two gentlemen ; " and when I told him 
 I would leave the army and set out for Brussels 
 he remarked that it was a secret flight." 
 
 " The pipe-master is an honest man, who loves 
 his master," said Gneisenau, kindly smiling on 
 him. " I have often and urgently begged him to- 
 day to announce me to the field- marshal ; but he 
 persisted in replying that he was not allowed to do 
 so, and that he was ordered to admit no one." 
 
 " And I would have given my little-finger, if I 
 could have admitted General Gneisenau, and Dr. 
 Yoelzke, too ; for I knew that, as soon as they 
 would be with the field-marshal, his departure 
 would not be very soon. As they are here now 
 though I do not know how they got here so un- 
 e\i>e, -tedly I suppose, field-marshal, we shall not 
 set out, and I ma? send the horses back to the 
 stable ? " 
 
 " Yes, you may," said Blucher. " But wait, 
 Christian, do not go yet ; I have first to say a 
 few words to these gentlemen, and you may listen. 
 I will stay here, then, but on one condition. Will 
 you fulfil' it?" 
 
 " Yes, your excellency," cried Gneisenau and 
 ime time. 
 
 Well, tell me, then, how did you discover that 
 I intended to start to day, the pipe-master having 
 said nothing about it to you ? For I shall never 
 believe that both of you could happen to come 
 to me at so uuu.-aui .tu hour, and without any 
 
278 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 reason. Reply who told you that I was about 
 to leave ? " 
 
 " You yourself, your excellency," said Surgeon- 
 General Voelzke. 
 
 "What, I! What nonsense is this!" cried 
 Blucher, laughing. 
 
 " Yes, I beard it from yourself. Do you not 
 remember that you heard a mouse rustle in your 
 alcove ? " 
 
 " To be sure, I did ; I heard it twice." 
 
 "Well, then, the mouse was myself! I discov- 
 ered a small secret side-door in your room, and 
 desired to know whither it led. I therefore thrust 
 it open, and was in your alcove ; just as I entered 
 I beard your voice, saying, ' It is settled, then, 
 Christian, I shall set out for Brussels to-night, 
 but no one must know a word about it ! ' 
 Your excellency, I confess my crime : I stood and 
 listened ; only when the pipe-master left your room 
 did I softly creep away, too, and hasten to General 
 Gneisenau to inform him of what I had heard." 
 
 "Let us examine the alcove more carefully, 
 pipe-master," said Blucher, " and see whether 
 there is not somewhere else a secret door. Well, 
 you may go now, Hennemann, and send the horses 
 back to the stable." 
 
 " Heaven be praised ! " exclaimed Christian, 
 hastening out of the room. But scarcely had he 
 closed the door, when he thrust it open again. 
 " Field-marshal," he said, " General von Pietro- 
 witch, adjutant of the Emperor of Russia, wishes 
 to see your excellency immediately." 
 
 " Come in, general," exclaimed Blucher ; and, 
 offering his hand to the officer, he asked hastily, 
 " tell me, in the first place, general, whether you 
 bring good or bad news ? " 
 
 " I believe I bring what Marshal Forward 
 would call good news," said the general, smiling. 
 " I come as a messenger from the emperor my 
 master, and the king your master, and am com- 
 missioned to inform you of the determination 
 taken at headquarters, and to obtain your consent 
 and cooperation." 
 
 " Is it a secret mission? " asked Gneisenau. 
 
 " On the contrary, the whole army will have to 
 hear it to-night," said the general. "My first 
 
 news, then, is, that the congress of Chatillon wts 
 dissolved on the 19th of March." 
 
 " Without leading to any results ? " asked Bin- 
 cher, breathlessly. " Without agreeing on a 
 treaty of peace, or an armistice?" 
 
 " Nothing of the kind, your excellency. The 
 congress has had an entirely opposite result the 
 speedy and energetic prosecution of the war. All 
 the diplomatists, and the Emperor Francis with 
 them, after the dissolution of the congress, re- 
 tired southward to Dijon." 
 
 "And Schwartzenberg?" cried Blucher. 
 
 " Prince Schwartzenberg remained, and held a 
 council of war with the monarchs yesterday near 
 Yitry. The result of this I am commissioned to 
 communicate to you. The resumption of the of- 
 fensive against Paris has been decided upon. 
 Prince Schwartzenberg agrees with the sovereigns 
 that Paris is the decisive point, and that it is all- 
 important for us to cut off Napoleon from the 
 capital, and take the city before he is able to 
 reach it. Prince Schwartzenberg, therefore, seeds 
 word to your excellency that from this day all his 
 standards are turned toward Paris, and that the 
 army of Bohemia is marching in three columns 
 To-night they encamp at F&re Champenoise, 
 where the headquarters of the allies are to be. 
 Now, Prince Schwartzenberg invites you to parti- 
 cipate with the Silesian army in this advance, 
 starting at once, and advancing by the road of 
 Montrnirail and La Ferte~-sous-Jouarre, and then 
 form a connection with the army of Bohemia."* 
 
 "Yes, I shall certainly do so," joyfully cried 
 Blucher. " Hurrah ! This is good news ; now 
 the word is not only with us, but everywhere, 
 ' Forward ! ' Tell their majesties, and, above all, 
 Prince Schwartzenberg, that they have made me 
 very happy, and have performed a truly miracu- 
 lous cure. I was sick and desponding; now, 
 since you have come, I am again well and in good 
 spirits. I feel no longer any pain, and my eyea 
 will be all right again, now that they know that 
 they are to see the city of Paris. I thought that 
 it would come to this that my brave brothei 
 
 * Beitzke, voL iii., p. 431. 
 
ON TO PARIS! 
 
 279 
 
 Schwartzenberg would at length agree with me. 
 hall soon now put an end to the war. Bo- 
 naparte must be dethroned, and that speedily." * 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 ox TO PARIS! 
 
 NAPOLEON'S courage was not yet paralyzed ; he 
 had not yet given up the struggle. His indom- 
 itable heart was still wrestling with adversity, 
 and hoping that he would be able to overcome it. 
 It is true, the disastrous battle of Bar-sur-Aube, 
 where the army of Bohemia had gained a victory 
 on the 20th of March, had greatly weighed him 
 down ; but a few days sufficed to restore his de- 
 termination and energy. On the 26th, when he 
 arrived with his army at St. Dizier, he had al- 
 ready devised new plans, and was again resolved 
 ^ give battle to the allies. " We are still strong," 
 he said to Caulaincourt, who had just joined him 
 at St. Dizier. " We have upward of fifty thou- 
 ;;in<l men here. I have Issued orders to M;r 
 Marmont and Victor, as well as to all reenforcc- 
 ta that are on the road from Paris, to joiu 
 our army. When they arrive, my forces will be 
 v thousand, and the allies will not dare 
 march on Paris, where they will find me. If I can 
 now induce them to hesitate, and retard their op- 
 orations a short time, by drawing reinforcements 
 >m the neighboring foi tresses of the Meuse and 
 lie, I shall increase my army to upward 
 one hundred thousand, and it will then be 
 fur me to delay tin: progress of the enemy 
 ntly renewed attacks, and thus prolong 
 war." 
 
 " But I am afraid, sire, you labor umU-r a <k-lu- 
 as to one point : that it is still possible for 
 lay tin progKM of the allies by any 
 in- whatever," sighed Caulaincourt. "I have 
 uninci] every thing on my trip to your majes- 
 
 Blucher's own words. Vide Varnhngen von Ens*.*, 
 luclicr," p. 375. 
 
 ty's headquarters ; I have conversed with every 
 prisoner fallen into the hands of our troops, and 
 I do not believe that the army of Bohemia is in 
 the rear of your majesty, but that it has out- 
 stripped you, and is already on the road to 
 Pans." 
 
 Napoleon shrugged his shoulders and stepped 
 to the door, which he opened, shouting, "The 
 mayor of St. Dizier ! " The corpulent form of 
 the mayor, who greeted the emperor with awk- 
 ward obeisances, appeared immediately. " Pray 
 repeat your statements," said the emperor. " The 
 enemy's troops were here yesterday, were they 
 not ? " 
 
 u They were, sire ; all St. Dizier was occupied 
 by them. It was General Winzingerode, with tho 
 soldiers of the allies. They stated that they 
 were the vanguard of the principal army. Gen- 
 eral Winzingerode inspected all the large houses 
 in the city, and reserved the best, adding that the 
 Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia 
 would arrive here to-morrow, and take up their 
 quarters at those houses ; * but when the ap- 
 proach of your majesty was reported, the enemy 
 quickly left the city." 
 
 " Very well ; you may go," said Napoleon, mo- 
 tioning to the mayor to leave the room." Well, 
 Caulaincourt, have you satisfied yourself now ? 
 Do you see now that the allies are not in our 
 front, but .-till in our rear ? " 
 
 " Sire, suppose it were a delusion, after all ? " 
 1 Caulaincourt "Suppose the allies had 
 -'1 this stratagem, to mislead your majesty? 
 if none but Winzingerode's corps follow us, 
 hile the principal army is hastening toward 
 by different routes? Oh, I implore your 
 lo not suffer your keen eyes to be 
 blin<i " hopes! Look around and ex- 
 
 amine the evidences that confirm my views. All 
 tho prisoners report that the armies of Bohemia 
 tin! Sili -in li ivo united, and are now marching on 
 . on our way from I>ar-sur-Aube 
 to tl, I have nowhere met with large 
 
 * This was a stratagem, resorted to by Wlnzlngerode, 
 
 in i.nli-r to mi.-k-al Napoleon as to the march of thn allies 
 
280 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 columns of troops, and nothing whatever indi- 
 cates the approach of the enemy in force." 
 
 " Well," cried Napoleon, vehemently, " if we 
 have not met with the enemy's forces, it may be 
 because they are in full retreat toward Lorraine, 
 and that they are at last tired of carrying on a 
 fruitless struggle with me." * 
 
 "Ah, your majesty still thiuks that you are op- 
 posed only by the timid and desponding enemies 
 of former times ! " said Caulaincourt, sighing ; 
 " but this is a mistake, which will prove disas- 
 trous." 
 
 " A.h ! " cried Napoleon, vehemently, " you dare 
 .oil me that ? " 
 
 " Sire," said Caulaincourt, calmly, " it is my 
 duty to tell you the truth, and you are in duty 
 bound to listen to it.f Now, the truth is, that 
 the allies are firmly determined to carry on the 
 war to the last extremity, and that, at the best, 
 they will leave to your majesty the frontiers of 
 France as they were under the Bourbons. I ven- 
 ture, therefore, once more to implore your majesty 
 to make peace ; sire, peace at any cost ! Per- 
 haps it may be time yet. Send me once more to 
 the allied monarchs ! Tell them that you will 
 uow accept the ultimatum offered us at the con- 
 gress of Chatillon, and that you will content your- 
 self with the frontiers of France, as they were 
 previous to the rise of the empire. Send me 
 with this declaration to the Emperor Alexander 
 of Russia, who, at the bottom of his heart, is still 
 your friend ! " 
 
 " And whose devoted friend you are ! " cried 
 Napoleon. "Yes, you are Alexander's servant, 
 and not mine ! You are a thorough Russian ! " 
 
 " No, sire, I am a Frenchman ! " said Caulain- 
 court, proudly, looking the emperor full in the 
 face, " and I believe I prove it by imploring your 
 majesty to give peace to France and save your 
 crown." 
 
 " Ah, save my crown ! " exclaimed Napoleon. 
 " Who dares, then, threaten my crown ? " 
 
 u Sire, the allies and the Bourbons. The former 
 
 * Fain, " Matmscrit de 1814," p. 142. 
 t Caulainoourt's words, " Memoires d'un Homme 
 d'Stat," vol. xii., p. 892. 
 
 have issued a proclamation, stating that they come 
 to this country to make war on the Emperor Napo 
 leon, and not on France ; and the Bourbons, who 
 are now in France, at the headquarters of the 
 allies, have issued another proclamation, calling 
 upon the nation to return to its duty and to the 
 allegiance due to its legitimate king." 
 
 " I am neither afraid of the allies nor of the 
 Bourbons," said Napoleon. " The French nation 
 knows no Bourbons ; it knows none but me, its 
 emperor, and we two shall not break the faith we 
 have plighted to each other. We shall conquer 
 together. Dare no longer ask me to accept the 
 ignominious terms of the congress of Chatillon. 
 It is better to die beneath the ruins of my throne 
 than be at the mercy of my enemies. The allies 
 are in my rear, and the arrival of reinforcements 
 will soon enable me to give them battle ; I shall 
 win, and it will be for me to dictate terms. Under 
 the walls of Paris the grave of the Russians will 
 be dug. My dispositions have been made, and I 
 shall not fail." * 
 
 Caulaincourt sighed, and gazed with an air of 
 painful astonishment on the serene face of t le 
 emperor. "Sire," he said, solemnly, "I c.ill 
 Heaven to witness that I have tried my best to 
 incline your majesty to my prayers ! You have 
 refused to listen to me." 
 
 " Because I am not at liberty to do so, Cau- 
 laincourt ; and, besides, I do not believe in your 
 apprehensions. Suppose that Alexander aid 
 Frederick William should determine to continue 
 the war, there is a third sovereign who will de- 
 cide the matter the Emperor Francis, my father- 
 in-law, and grandfather of the King of Rome. 
 You see, therefore, that, though the present pros- 
 pects were unfavorable to me, I should at least 
 have nothing to fear from the Bourbons ; for the 
 emperor will not permit his daughter to be robbed 
 of her crown, nor his grandson of his rightful in- 
 heritance." 
 
 " Sire," said Caulaincourt, in a low voice, " do 
 not rely too much on the attachment of the Em- 
 
 * Napoleon's words. Vide Constant, " Memoires," vol 
 vi., p. 48. 
 
ON TO PARIS! 
 
 281 
 
 peror Francis. I know that, though he la your 
 father-in-law, he hus never forgotten the day when, 
 : the battle of Austerlitz, he met you as an 
 humble supplicant at your camp-fire, and begged 
 you to sp.ire him and make peace with him. I 
 know that that recollection has greater power 
 over him than any bonds of relationship. I know 
 that Mettcrnich, who is still devoted to your ma- 
 jesty, vainly tried a few days ago to prevail upon 
 the Emperor Francis to intercede energetically 
 with the other monarchs for his son-in-law and 
 daughter, and that he unsuccessfully urged him to 
 take into consideration the future of his grand- 
 son, the King of Rome." 
 
 "And what did the emperor reply?" asked 
 Napoleon, quickly. 
 
 " Sire, the emperor replied, in his strong Aus- 
 trian dialect, ' Do not always talk to me about the 
 child ! I have at home many children of whom I 
 ought to think first.' " * 
 
 " That is not true ; he did not say so ! " cried 
 Napoleon. 
 
 "Sire, he did; Prince Metternich told me so." 
 ;>oleon paused a moment A low knocking 
 at the do,->r interrupted his meditation. One of 
 the adjutants entered, and reported that the em- 
 peror's equerry, Count Saint-Aignan, whom the 
 emperor had intrusted with a mission, had re- 
 turned, and requested an audience of his majesty. 
 The emperor himself hastened to the door, and 
 eagerly motioned to the count to approach. 
 " Well, Saint-Aignan," he asked, " what did you 
 find ? How is the disposition of the people in the 
 south of France ? " 
 
 "Sire," said the count, mournfully, "I bring 
 no news that will gladden your majesty's : 
 
 France is discontented ; the people are 
 miplaining of the duration of the war; they 
 desire peace at any price, and are disposed to 
 resort to extreme measures in order to reestab- 
 lish it." 
 
 "What dors that mean?" asked the 
 
 * The Emperor Francis "aid: " R.Ws micr nit alk-wcil 
 . T on dem Kind ;bcl raior z' Haus bab ' ich gar vlelle Kinder, 
 an die Ich z' erst d-:nken inuess." 1 Ilonnayr, " Lebensbil- 
 ier," vol. i., p. 9S. 
 
 "I do not understand you; express yourself more 
 distinctly." 
 
 " Well, then, sire, the people there have read 
 the proclamation of the Bourbons, and think of 
 reinstating them, for the purpose of putting an 
 end to the war." 
 
 " They will not dare to do that," cried Napo 
 leon, casting an angry glance on Saint-Aignan. 
 
 "They have already, sire," said the count. 
 " The city of Bordeaux has declared for the Bour- 
 bons, and the Count d'Artois, as well as the 
 Duke and Duchess d'Angoulfime, have made 
 their entrance into the city, and " 
 
 "And have been received with enthusiasm by 
 the population ! " cried Napoleon. " Pray, finish 
 your sentence, and teil me so. Add that the in- 
 habitants of Bordeaux have returned to their 
 duty, and that you, too, have discovered what 
 your duty is, and that you intend to return to the 
 legitimate rulers of France ! Go ! I permit you ; 
 I relieve you of the duties of your office ! Go to 
 the Bourbons ! " 
 
 Count Saint-Aignan did not stir; pallor over- 
 spread his cheeks ; his eyes, fixed on the encperor 
 with an indescribable expression of grief, filled 
 with tears, and his quivering lips were unable to 
 speak. 
 
 "Sire," said the Duke de Vicenza, "your ma- 
 jesty does injustice to the count. You commanded 
 him to give a reliable report of his mission ; he 
 was not at liberty, therefore, to conceal any thing, 
 but was obliged to tell you the whole truth." 
 
 " The truth ! " cried Napoleon, violently stamp- 
 ing, " tint which you fear or desire you call the 
 truth ! You all see through the colored spectacles 
 of your anxiety, and would compel me tD do so, too ; 
 but I will not ; my eyes are open, and see thingt 
 as they are. Go, Count Saint-Aignan ; your report 
 is finished ! " The count, with a sigh, approached 
 the door, and, slowly walking backward, left the 
 room. " The Bourbons 1 " murmured Napoleon to 
 himself; "they shall not dare to threaten me 
 nith this spectre ! There are no Bourbons ! I am 
 the Emperor of France, and- it is to me alone that 
 the French nation owes allegiance ! " He looked 
 thoughtfully, with a dark and wrinkled forehead, 
 
 
282 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 but, presently lifting his head "Oh, Caulam- 
 court," he exclaimed, " I will personally satisfy 
 myself whether the army of the allies is really in 
 our rear, or whether your fears are well grounded. 
 Let us set out for Vitry ! " 
 
 " Heaven be praised ! " replied the Duke de 
 Vicenza, joyfully. " All is not yet lost ; for 
 Vitry is on the road to Paris." 
 
 On the following morning the emperor moved 
 with his forces toward Vitry, and took up his quar- 
 ters at Marolles, a short distance from the little 
 fortress. Here at length he was to find out the 
 true state of affairs. He was met by inhabitants 
 of Fere Champenoise, who had fled to Marolles, 
 and informed him that Marshals Marmont and 
 Mortier had suffered decisive defeats at the hands 
 of the allies ; that the divisions of General Pacthod 
 and Aurey had been annihilated, and that the 
 united armies of Bohemia and Silesia were in 
 rapid march on Paris. 
 
 An expression of terror passed over the face 
 of Napoleon, and his equanimity seemed to be 
 shaken ; but he soon overcame the effect of this 
 news, calmly remarking, " Well, if the allies are 
 inarching on Paris, we must march too." 
 
 " Yes, on to Paris ! " cried the marshals. " That 
 is the most important point in present circum- 
 stances, and it can be defended, if the emperor 
 hasten with his army." 
 
 " On to Paris, then ! " exclaimed Napoleon. 
 " But we must move with the speed of the wind ! " 
 He appeared to have regained bis whole energy ; 
 his eyes beamed again, his face resumed its old 
 determination, and he issued his orders in a firm 
 and cheerful voice. 
 
 It was all-important to defend the emperor's 
 throne at Paris, and to protect the inheritance of 
 the King of Rome from the allies and the Bour- 
 bons. Forward, then, by forced marches ! Na- 
 poleon's headquarters were soon at Montier-en- 
 Der much nearer the capital. On the 28th of 
 March he reached Doulerant, when a horseman, 
 covered with dust, pale and breathless, coming 
 from the direction of the capital, galloped up to 
 the head of the column. "Where is the em- 
 peror?" he cried. Having leen conducted to 
 
 him, "Sire," he whispered, "I am sent by the 
 postmaster-general, your faithful Count La Va- 
 lette, to deliver this paper." 
 
 The emperor unfolded the paper and read. A 
 slight tremor pervaded his frame, and his eye 
 grew gloomier. He cast another glance on tho 
 paper, and then, seizing it with his teeth, he tore 
 it to pieces. None but himself was to learn tho 
 contents of that paper, which read : " The ad- 
 herents of the invaders, encouraged by the defec- 
 tion of Bordeaux, are raising their heads ; secret 
 intrigues are helping them. The emperor's pres- 
 ence is necessary, if he wishes to prevent his cap- 
 ital from being delivered into the hands of the 
 enemy. We must march immediately. Not a 
 moment is to be lost." * 
 
 " Forward ! " shouted the emperor. " We 
 must hasten to Paris, and be there to-morrow ! " 
 The emperor, with the cavalry of his guard, 
 headed the column. His countenance was still 
 calm and impenetrable ; but at times a gleam lit 
 up his sombre eyes, as he moved on in a violent 
 thunderstorm. 
 
 Another courier galloped up and asked for the 
 emperor. " Announce me to him. The lieuten- 
 ant-general of the empire, King Joseph, the em- 
 peror's brother, sends me." 
 
 He was conducted to Napoleon, who received 
 him with the words, " News from my brother ir 
 Paris ? Give me your dispatch ! " 
 
 " Sire, I have no dispatch to deliver ; dispatches 
 may be lost, or revealed if their bearer should be 
 arrested ; but memory betrays nothing. I have 
 ridden from Paris in fourteen hours. Here are 
 my credentials, King Joseph's signet-ring." 
 
 " I recognize it. Speak ! " By a wave of his 
 hand Napoleon ordered the marshals to retire, 
 and, bending his head toward his brother's mes- 
 senger, he repeated calmly, " Speak ! " 
 
 " Sire," whispered the messenger, " the king 
 informs your majesty that the allies are near 
 Paris ; that Marshals Marmont and Morticr, 
 though determined to defend the capital, have no 
 hope of holding their positions. The king im 
 
 * Fain, "Manuscrit de 1814." 
 
DEPARTURE OF MARIA LOUISA. 
 
 283 
 
 ploree your majesty most urgently to leave noth 
 ing undone to hasten to the assistance of you 
 capital." * 
 
 Having heard this message, the emperor's fac 
 was unveiled ; it was quivering with anguish, am 
 - turned to heaven in despair. " Oh, if '. 
 had wings ! " he cried, in an outburst of grief 
 " if I could be in Paris at this hour !" Then he 
 became silent, and his head sank on his breast 
 His generals surrounded him, \\hen he lifted his 
 head again with drops of sweat on his forehead 
 but his face resir.ueJ its wonted calmness. " Gen 
 eral Dejean," he cried, in a powerful voice, "ride 
 to Parts as fast as you can. Inform my brother 
 that I am making a forced march to the capital 
 Hasten then to Marmont and Mortier; tell them 
 to resist to the last, and leave nothing untried in 
 order to hold out but for two days. In that time 
 I shall be in front of Paris, and it is safe ! Mar- 
 mont is to dispatch a courier to Prince Schwartz- 
 euberg, and inform him that I have sent an en- 
 ,yy to the Emperor Francis with propositions 
 leading to peace. Schwartzenberg will hesitate, 
 and we shall gain time. Haste, Dejean, and re- 
 member that the fate of my capital rests with 
 you ! " 
 
 When General Deje.in rode off, Napoleon 
 bought his faithful friend, the Duke de Vicenza. 
 He was by his side before the emperor had ut- 
 tered his name. <l Caulaincourt," he said, in a 
 gentlt,' voice, "you were right. I have lost two 
 days. I might now be in Paris. Fate is behind 
 me, intent on crushing me, and death itself re- 
 fuses to take me! At the battle of Bar-sur- 
 Aube I did all I could to die while defending my 
 country. I plunged into the thickest of the 
 fight ; the balls tore my clothes, and yet not one 
 of them injured me. I am a man doomed to 
 live f a man that, for the welfare of his people, is 
 to subscribe his own humiliation and di 
 Caulaincourt, go to the Emperor Francis of Aus- 
 tria, Tell him I ;u\vj>t the ultimatum which the 
 offered me at Chatillon. I sign the death- 
 
 - 
 
 * Falii, "Manuscrlt dc 1814." 
 
 t Napoleon 1 ? words. Vide Bausset's "M6molres," voL 
 11., p. *46. 
 
 warrant of my glory ! Hasten ! And now, for 
 ward ! In two days we must reach Paris ! " 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 
 DEPARTURE OF MARIA LOUISA. 
 
 Ox the same day, and nearly at the same hour 
 of the 29th of March, while the emperor was 
 moving with his troops toward Paris, a scene of 
 an entirely different description took place at the 
 rooms of the empress, his consort, in the Tuile- 
 ries. Napoleon, in his despair, wished for wings 
 to fly to Paris; Maria Louisa, in her anguish, 
 wished for wings to fly away from Paris ; for the 
 enemy was at its gates, and it was plain that the 
 city must either capitulate or run the risk of an 
 assault. 
 
 As yet Maria Louisa called the allies threaten- 
 ing the throne of her husband, and the inheri 
 tance of her son, her enemies, although her own 
 father was among them. She deemed herself in 
 duty bound to stand by her husband, to brave 
 the vicissitudes of fortune jointly with him, and 
 obey his will. The emperor desired that his con- 
 sort and his son should not remain in the city if 
 any danger should menace them. When the 
 news reached the Tuileries that the allies had ar- 
 rived at the walls of Paris, and it became obvious 
 that the corps of Marmont and Mortier were not 
 strong enough to withstand the armies of the 
 nemy, King Joseph, the lieutenant of the em- 
 peror, summoned the regent, Maria Louisa, and 
 he council of state, to deliberate on the grave 
 juestion whether or not the empress and the 
 of Rome should remain, or be withdrawn to 
 a place of safety beyond the Loire. 
 
 The decision was left with Maria Louisa ; but 
 ho regent had declared it was not for her to set- 
 le this question } it was for the very purpose of 
 dvising her and guiding her steps that the em- 
 >eror had associated the council of state with her. 
 ving Joseph produced a letter front Napoleon of 
 
284 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 a nature to indicate his wishes. It was dated 
 Rheims, 15th of March, and read : 
 
 " In accordance with the verbal instructions 
 which I have given, and with the spirit of all my 
 letters, you are in no event to permit the empress 
 and the King of Rome to fall into the hands of 
 the enemy. I am about to manoeuvre in such a 
 manner that you may possibly be several days 
 without hearing from me. Should the enemy ad- 
 vance upon Paris with such forces as to render 
 all resistance impossible, send off in the direc- 
 tion of the Loire the empress, the King of Rome, 
 the great dignitaries, the ministers, the officers 
 of the senate, the president of the council of 
 state, the great officers of the crown, and the 
 treasure. Never quit my son ; and keep in 
 mind that I would rather see him in the Seine 
 than in the hands of the enemies of France ! The 
 fate of Astyanax, a prisoner in the hands of the 
 Greeks, has always appeared to me the most de- 
 plorable in history. 
 
 " Your brother, NAPOLEON." * 
 
 This, of course, put an end to all debate. The 
 emperor's precise and final order, providing for 
 the very case which had occurred, could not be 
 disregarded, and Maria Louisa accordingly deter- 
 mined to leave with her son and her suite for 
 Rambouillet. The morning of the 29th of March 
 was fixed for the departure. The travelling-car- 
 riages, loaded with baggage, stood in the court- 
 yard of the Tuileries ; but Maria Louisa still hesi- 
 tated. Her travelling-toilet was completed ; her 
 ladies were with her in the reception-room, filled 
 with persons forming the cortege of the empress. 
 All entered in mournful silence, and to their bows 
 the empress responded only with a nod. Her 
 eyes, red with weeping, were fixed on the door ; 
 she awaited in suspense the return of King Joseph, 
 who had left the Tuileries at daybreak, and had 
 gone to the gates of Paris to reconnoitre the ene- 
 my's position. At first the departure was to have 
 taken place at eight in the morning ; now it was 
 past nine, and King Joseph had -not yet returned. 
 
 * Baron de Mcneval, "Marie Louise et Napoleon/ 
 rol. ii., p. 280. 
 
 This unexpected delay increased the anxiety. 
 None dared interrupt the breathless silence reign- 
 ing in the apartment ; only here and there some 
 one whispered, and, whenever a door opened, nil 
 started and turned anxiously toward it, as if ex- 
 pecting a bearer of sad tidings. The face of the 
 empress was pale and agitated ; her form trem- 
 bled ; at times she turned toward her ladies, who 
 stood behind her, and addressed to them some 
 almost inaudible question, not waiting for a reply, 
 but looking again tov.ard the door, or inclining her 
 head on her bosom. 
 
 Suddenly the door was opened, and on the 
 threshold appeared the little King of Rome, fol- 
 lowed by his governess, Madame de Montesquieu. 
 The boy's face did not exhibit to-day its air of 
 childlike mirth, which usually beamed like sun- 
 shine from his beautiful features. No smile 
 was on his fresh lips, and his lustrous eyes were 
 dimmed. With a sullen face and without looking 
 at any one, the child, so intelligent for his years, 
 stepped through the room directly toward his 
 mother. " Mamma empress," he said, in his sil- 
 very voice, " my 'Quiou says that we are about 1o 
 leave Paris, and shall no longer live at the Tuil > 
 ries. Is that true, mamma ? " 
 
 u Yes, my son, we must leave," said the em- 
 press, in a low voice, " but we shall return." 
 
 " We must leave ? " inquired the little king. 
 " But my papa once said to me, the word ( must ' 
 is not for me, and I do not want it either, and 
 I pray my dear mamma not to leave Paris wiih 
 me." 
 
 " But the emperor himself wishes us to leave, 
 Napoleon," said the empress, sighing, and with 
 some displeasure. "Your papa has ordered us to 
 depart if the enemy should come." 
 
 " The enemy ! " cried the boy ; " I am not afraid 
 of the enemy. If he comes, we do as my papa 
 emperor always does we beat the enemy, and 
 then he runs away." 
 
 But these words of the brave child, which would 
 have delighted his father's heart, seemed to make 
 a disagreeable impression upon his mother. She 
 murmured a few inaudible words, and slightl 
 shrugged her shoulders. 
 
DEPARTURE OF MARIA LOUISA. 
 
 285 
 
 Madame de Montesquiou took the child by the 
 nand. " Come, sire," she said, in a low voice, 
 " do not disturb her majesty. Come ! " 
 
 " No, no," cried the boy, violently disengaging 
 himself, " I am sure you want to carry me down 
 to the carriage, and I tell you I will not go ! Lot 
 me stay here with my mother, dear 'Quiou ; I do 
 not disturb her, for you see she is not busy, and 
 she does not want to be alone either, for there are 
 a great many persons with her. Therefore, I 
 may stay here, too, may I not, dear mamma em- 
 press ! " 
 
 " Yes, my son, stay here," said the empress, 
 abstractedly, looking again at the door. 
 
 " I am not afraid of the enemy," cried the little 
 king, proudly throwing bac khis head. " My papa 
 will soon come and drive him away. But tell 
 me, mamma, what is the name of the enemy who 
 wants to rob us of our beautiful palace. What is 
 l iis name ? " 
 
 " Hush, Napoleon ! " said the empress, almost 
 indignantly ; " what good would it do you to hear 
 what you do not understand ? " 
 
 "Oh, dear mamma," cried the child, with a 
 triumphant air, " I can understand very well, for 
 papa has often played war on the floor with 
 and we have built fortresses. And not long 
 papa emperor told me, too, that he was going 
 
 the army, and he spoke of his enemies. I re- 
 ber them very well : they are the Emperor 
 of Russia, who once kissed my papa's hand, and 
 thanked God that papa emperor consented to be 
 his friend ; the King of Prussia, from whom my 
 could have taken all his states ; the crown 
 prince of Sweden, who learned the art of war 
 from rny papa, and is a faithless servant ; and last, 
 the Emperor of Austria. But tell me, mamma, is 
 not he your fathor ? And did you not tell me 
 that I ought to pray every night for in; 
 father, the Emperor of Au.-tii 
 
 " I did tell you so, Napoleon," whispered the 
 ress, whose eyes filled with ( 
 
 The boy looked down for a moment in 
 and then, lifti: :<> his mother, 
 
 "Mamma," he said, "hetceforth I shall never 
 again pray for the Emperor of Austria, for he .a 
 
 DIB II 
 
 n,, 
 
 ; 
 
 now my papa's enemy, and, therefore, no longer 
 my grandfather. No, no, I shall not pray for 
 him, but only as my papa likes me to do." And 
 the boy knelt down, lifting up his hands, and ex- 
 claiming in a loud voice, " Good God, I pray to 
 Thee r or France and for my father ! " 
 
 Expressions of deep emotion were heard in 
 the room. The empress covered her face with 
 her handkerchief, and wept bitterly. The little 
 king was still on his knees, with his eyes raised 
 toward heaven. Suddenly the door at which the 
 empress had looked so long and anxiously, opened. 
 It was not King Joseph who entered, but the ad- 
 jutant of General Clarke, the regent's minister of 
 war. Approaching the empress, he begged leave 
 to communicate a message from the minister. 
 
 " Speak," said Maria Louisa, hastily, " and loud 
 enough for every one to hear the news." 
 
 " His excellency, the minister of war, has com- 
 missioned me to implore your majesty in his name 
 to leave without a moment's delay. He believes 
 that every minute increases the danger, and that 
 an hour hence it might be impossible for you to 
 get away, because your majesty would then ran 
 the risk of falling into the hands of roving bands 
 of Cossacks. The Russian corps are already near, 
 and we shall soon hear their cannon thunder at 
 the very gates of Paris." * 
 
 " Well, then," said Maria Louisa, with quiver- 
 ing lips, "be it so ! Let us set out." 
 
 All felt that the decisive hour was at hand. The 
 empress quickly advanced a few steps. " Come ! " 
 she exclaimed, in feverish airitation. " Let us set 
 out for Rambouillet ! " 
 
 Suddenly her son grasped her hand and en 
 deavored to draw her back. " Dear mamma," he 
 cried, anxiously, "do not go! Rambouillet is 
 an ugly old castle. Let us not go, but stay 
 here ! " f 
 
 " It cannot be, my son ; we must 
 
 Hut little Napoleon pushed back her hand with 
 tare of indignation. "Well, then, mamma,' 1 
 iid, "go! I will not go. I will not leav< 
 
 * Moneval, " Marie Louise," TO!. II., p. 266. 
 t Tho little king's words. Ibid. 
 
286 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 my house ! As papa is not here, I am the mas- 
 ter ! and I say I will not go ! " * 
 
 The empress motioned to the equerry on ser- 
 vice. " M. de Comisy," she ordered, " take the 
 prince in your arms and carry him to the car- 
 riage." 
 
 "The prince! I am no prince, I am the King 
 of Rome," cried the boy, in the most violent 
 anger. "I will not go! I will not leave my 
 house ; I do not want you to betray my dear 
 papa ! " f The empress took no longer any 
 notice of him ; M. de Comisy lifted the crying, 
 struggling boy into his arms. " 'Quiou, dear 
 'Quiou ! " cried the child, " oh, come to my as- 
 sistance ! I will not leave my house ! " 
 
 " Sire," said Madame de Montesquieu, weeping, 
 " we must leave : the emperor has ordered us to 
 do so ! " 
 
 " It is false ! " cried the prince, bursting into 
 a flood of tears, and still trying to disengage 
 himself. "My papa never ordered any such 
 thing, for he says that one ought never to flee 
 from the enemy. I will not go, I will not flee ! " 
 
 " Come, sire; come!" exclaimed M. de Comisy. 
 
 " I will not go ! " said the boy, and clung to the 
 door. But Madame de Montesquiou, vainly try- 
 ing to comfort the prince by gentle words, dis- 
 engaged his tiny hands, and M. de Comisy hurried 
 on. The whole court, the whole travelling cortege 
 thronged forward, following the empress and the 
 King of Rome. 
 
 Soon the brilliant apartment was empty ; but 
 the deserted rooms echoed the distant cries of the 
 little King of Rome. All his struggles were in 
 vain. M. de Comisy was not allowed to have 
 pity on him ; the will of the empress had to be 
 fulfilled. 
 
 At length the preparations were completed, 
 and all had taken their seats. The large clock 
 on the tower of the Tuileries struck eleven as 
 the empress's carriage rolled slowly across the 
 epacious court-yard. The crying of the little 
 king, who sat by the side of his mother, was still 
 
 * Meneval, " Marie Louise." 
 
 t The kiner's words. Vide " Memoires du Due to Ro- 
 
 heard. "With them were also the mistress of 
 ceremonies, the Duchess de Montebello, and the 
 governess. Nine other carriages followed, deco- 
 rated with the imperial coat-of-arms, and numer- 
 ous baggage-wagons, and the whole train of a 
 brilliant court. The procession filled the whole 
 length of the court-yard of the Tuileries. 
 
 "When the carriage of the empress drove through 
 the large iron enclosure, a small crowd of spectators 
 stood near, and gazed in mournful silence. Not 
 a hand was raised to salute the fugitives ; not a 
 voice shouted a farewell. The sad train passed 
 along, while the people looked after it, as if the 
 funeral procession of the empire. The imperial 
 party disappeared among the trees of the Champs 
 Elysees, and left Paris by the " Gate of Victory " 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 
 THE CAPITULATION OF PARIS. 
 
 THE roar of cannon, which continued 
 daylong of the 30th of March, began now to 
 cease; but the great battle which the allies 
 fought under the walls of Paris with the corps of 
 Marmont and Mortier, was not finished. Before 
 resorting to a bombardment, and an assault or 
 the city, conciliation was once more to be tried. 
 Delegates of the monarchs, therefore, repaired to 
 the marshals, and requested them to consent to 
 an honorable capitulation. 
 
 "This is another instance of our foolish gen- 
 erosity ! " growled Blucher, leaning back in his 
 carriage. " The whole rats'-ncst ought to be de 
 molished ; Bonaparte and the French would then 
 have to submit. But I see already how it will 
 be. The peace will be unsatisfactory, and our 
 demands will be as modest as possible, lest we in- 
 cur the displeasure of the dear French. Pipe- 
 master, hand me a short pipe ! I must smoke, to 
 stifle my anger." 
 
 " Your excellency," said Christian, riding up tc 
 the carriage, "you have promised the surgeon 
 
THE CAPITULATION OF PARIS. 
 
 287 
 
 "V 
 
 :: 
 
 general not to smoke much, and least of all a short 
 pipe, because the hot smoke- is injurious to the 
 
 - Your excellency has smoked six ; 
 day ! " 
 
 44 And it seems to me that is veryjittle ! What 
 are six pipes for a general-in-chief, who has to 
 reflect so much as I have to-day ? Give me 
 a pipe, Christian ; it is bad enough that I have 
 to sit in such a monkey-box of a carriage, in- 
 stead of riding on horseback at the head of my 
 troops." 
 
 " Nevertheless, every thing passed off very well," 
 said Christian, calmly. " You shouted your or- 
 ders out of the carnage like a madman, and the 
 generals and adjutants heard and executed all as 
 if you had been on horseback among them. In 
 fact, it would have been only necessary for you to 
 order, ' Forward ! ' It would have been just as 
 well, for your hussars were intent on nothing else ; 
 and, like their field-mat shul, they wished only to 
 reach P 
 
 " And now we have to wait here without firing 
 a gun," replied Blucher. " Moreover, my eyes 
 ache as if they were burning. The sun has been 
 blazing all day, as though curious to see whether 
 or not we should take Paris ; he has poured his 
 rays on me since daybreak, and I had no protection 
 my old eyes. On looking out of the carriage 
 early this morning I lost my shade ; the wind car- 
 ried it off as though it were a kite. I have lost 
 
 and, what is worse, I cannot even enter Paris, 
 16 sign a capitulation." 
 
 " Here is the pipe, your excellency," said Chris- 
 
 n, " and now, good -by, : . :1 ; I have to 
 
 to a little private matter." 
 
 Fie galloped off, and Blucher looked after him. 
 
 Happy fellow ! " li ing ; " he can gal- 
 
 ;d, while I must sit here as a 
 r old prisoner I" At this moment his adjutant, 
 Major von Nostiz, r>de up to the field-marshal's 
 carriage. "Well, Nostiz, tell me how thi. 
 in the outer world. What is the in- 
 
 "Bad and i_""l, ymr evflk-ney," said 
 
 A murderous battle has taken place to- 
 we have sustained heavy losses. About eight 
 thousand men were killed on our side, but in re- 
 
 turn we have gained a large number of trophies, 
 field-pieces, caissons, and stands of colors." 
 
 " We ought to have taken all their color^ ! " 
 cried Blucher, eagerly. " What say the mon- 
 archs now, Nostiz? Will they still leave the 
 Parisians the choice to suffer a bombardment or 
 not?" 
 
 " The negotiations are still pending." 
 
 " Are the monarchs themselves taking part in 
 them? Do they condescend to negotiate in 
 person ? " 
 
 "No, your excellency. The monarchs have 
 returned to their quarters ; the King of Prussia 
 has gone to the village of Pantin, the Emperor of 
 Russia to Bondy, and their representatives have 
 repaired to the suburb of La Chapelle, where 
 they are treating with Marshals Mortier and Mar- 
 mont and their two adjutants in regard to the 
 capitulation of Paris." 
 
 "Would that their negotiations were unsuc- 
 cessful that we might have the pleasure of 
 bombarding this infamous city which, for twenty 
 years past, has brought so much misery on Eu 
 rope ! " 
 
 "There is some prospect of it," said Nostiz, 
 smiling. "The allies have demanded that the 
 French corps should surrender as prisoners of 
 war. To this the marshals refused to accede, 
 declaring that they would perish first in the 
 streets, so the allies agreed to abandon this arti 
 cle. A discussion next rose as to the route by 
 which the corps of Marmont and Mortier should 
 , so as to be prevented from joining the ap- 
 proaching forces of the emperor, the allies insist- 
 ing for that of Brittany, the French for any tha' 
 t choose. The marshals n-fn.-.-.l posi- 
 o agree to tl .Is." 
 
 "They did ! " cried Blucher, in an angry v 
 " Well, I am glad of it, for I see now that we 
 shall have a bomhar Inunt. Let us immediately 
 make all necessary dispositions for it, in order 
 that when the fun common.- 
 
 With the activity of a 
 
 youth Blucher opened his carriage and vaulted on 
 the horse, which the groom led close to the car- 
 riage. For a moment he reeled in the saddle ; for 
 
288 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 he felt as if red-hot daggers were piercing his eyes, 
 but he overcame his faintness and pain. " Where 
 are the members of my staff, Nostiz ? " he asked, 
 eagerly. 
 
 " They are near, your excellency, at La Vil- 
 lette." 
 
 " Let us ride, then, to La Villette, and thence 
 up the Montmartre. Nostiz, you will have im- 
 mediately eighty or ninety pieces planted on the 
 Montmartre, that, when the bombardment com- 
 mences early in the morning, there may be no 
 delay.* Make haste, Nostiz ! There must be at 
 least eighty pieces ! We shall startle the Paris- 
 ians out of their slumber," growled Blueher, ri- 
 ding along the road to La Villette, attended by 
 his orderlies; "let them see that another state 
 of affairs exists, and that they are no longer the 
 masters of the world, and able to trample others 
 in the dust ! " 
 
 At La Yillette, Blueher met the members of his 
 staff, and, with Gneisenau and Muffling by his side, 
 and followed by the other officers, rode up the 
 heights of Montmartre. The sun had set, but his 
 last beams still lingered in the evening clouds. 
 The silence reigning around them after the up- 
 roar of the day, made upon their minds a solemn 
 impression. At first the party engaged in an an- 
 imated conversation, but it gradually ceased. 
 Peaceful nature in this spring eventide contrasted 
 the noise and bloodshed of the day with her own 
 indifference, so that even Blueher himself was 
 deeply moved. 
 
 They reached the crest of the Montmartre. 
 Paris the long-feared, but now vanquished Paris, 
 which for centuries had not seen a conquering 
 enemy near its walls lay at their feet. The 
 steeples of Notre-Dame, of St. Genevieve, the 
 large cupola of the Hotel des Invalides, the count- 
 less spires proudly looming up, the vast pile of 
 the Tuileries, the Louvre, the Palais-Royal, where 
 for twenty years Napoleon had given laws to 
 trembling Europe, were plainly discerned. And 
 this great city, with its temples and palaces, was 
 in the hands of the enemy. They were Prussian 
 
 Varnhagen von Ensc, " Life of Blucber,'* p. 8SO. 
 
 generals who looked down from the heights of 
 the Montmartre, and who for seven ysars had 
 borne the disgrace of their country with sad yet 
 courageous hearts ; but this moment was a suffi- 
 cient indemnity for the long years of wretched- 
 ness. 
 
 "This, then, is Paris," said Blueher, after a 
 long pause, and his voice was gentle and tremu- 
 lous. " This is Paris, for which I have longed 
 during seven years the city which I knew my 
 eyes would see, that I might die in peace ! Good 
 God," he cried, lifting his blue eyes toward heav- 
 en, and taking off his cap, " I thank Thee for 
 having permitted us to be here, for lending us 
 Thy assistance in attaining our object, and hurl- 
 ing from the throne the man who has so long 
 been a terror to humanity. I thank Thee for 
 having called us, the men who saw the disas- 
 trous day of Jena, to participate in the day of 
 liberation ! Blessed spirit of our Queen Louisa ! 
 if thou, with thine heavenly eyes that wept so 
 much on earth, now lookest down upon us, be- 
 hold our hearts full of gratitude toward God, and 
 of love for thee as when thou wast among us ! 
 Thou hast assisted us in gaining the victory; as- 
 sist us now, too, in profiting by it in a manne" 
 worthy ourselves, and for the welfare of the fa- 
 therland ! " He paused, and, shading his faco 
 with his cap, prayed in a low voice. The gener- 
 als followed his example ; removing their hats, 
 they offered silent prayers of gratitude to God. 
 " Now," cried Blueher, putting on his cap again, 
 " we have paid homage to Heaven, let us think a 
 little of ourselves. I am still in hope that there 
 will be a bombardment, and that we shall send 
 our balls to the Parisians for breakfast to-mor- 
 row. I will, therefore, remain on the Montmar- 
 tre, and establish here my quarters for the night." 
 
 " Field-marshal ! " shouted a voice at a dis- 
 tance. " Field-Marshal Blueher, where arc you ? " 
 
 " Here I am ! " shouted Blueher. 
 
 " And here I am ! " cried Hennemann, gallop- 
 ing up. 
 
 " Pipe-master, is it you ? " asked Blueher, in 
 amazement. "Well, what do you want, and 
 where have you been so long ? " 
 
NIGHT AND MORNING NEAR PARIS. 
 
 289 
 
 
 "I have just brought an eye-shade for you, and 
 oere it is," said Christian, handing with profound 
 gravity a lady's bonnet of green silk, with a broad 
 green brim. 
 
 "A bonnet!" exclaimed Blucher, laughing. 
 ''What am I to do with it?" 
 
 " Put it on," saM Christian, composedly. " We 
 can cut off the crown, then it will be a good 
 shade; your excellency will put it on, ami \\var 
 your general's hat over it." 
 
 " That will do," said Blucher. "But tell me, 
 tny boy, where did you get it ? " 
 
 u I saw this afternoon a lady with a green bon- 
 net at a villa near which I passed, and when you 
 told me you ought to have an cye-shide, I thought 
 immediately of the bonnet. Well, I rode to the 
 house, and knocked so long at the door that they 
 opened it. There were none but women at the 
 house, and they cried and wailed dreadfully on 
 seeing me. Well, I told them at once that I 
 would not hurf them, but was only desirous of 
 getting the green bonnet. While the women 
 were raising such a hue-and-cry, another door 
 opened, and the lady who owned the house came 
 in, with the bonnet on. Well, I went directly to 
 her, made her an obeisance, and said, ' Madame, 
 be so kind as to give me your green bonnet for 
 my field-marshal, who has sore eyes.' " 
 
 " Well, and did she understand your good 
 Mecklenburg German ? " inquired Blucher, smil- 
 ing. 
 
 " No, she did not understand me apparently, 
 I made myself understood, your excellency." 
 Well, what did you do ? " 
 
 "Oh, your excellency, I simply stepped near 
 her, took hold of the large knot by which her 
 bonnet was tied under her chin, loosened it, seized 
 the bonnet by the brim, and took it ver 
 from her head. She cried a little, ami fainted 
 away but that will not hurt a woman ; I know 
 ."he will soon i>e better. I secured my pri/.-, anl 
 hen- 1 am, ami here is your cxeellfm 
 Aide." 
 
 " And a good one it is. I thank you, my boy ; 
 I will wear it in honor of you, for my eyes are 
 i-ching dreadfully, and I have need of a shade. I 
 19 
 
 will raise this standard when we make our en- 
 trance into Paris, and I believe, pipe-master, the 
 fair Parisians \\ill rejoice at seeing me dressed in 
 the latest Parisian fashion. But now, milliner, 
 cut off the crown, else I cannot use it." 
 
 "I will do so at once," said Christian, taking 
 a pair of scissors from his dressing-pouch, and 
 transforming a lady's bonnet into an eye-shade. 
 
 A few hours afterward, all was quiet on the 
 Montmartre, and on all the other heights around 
 Paris. After the battle the armies needed sleep, 
 and it was undisturbed, for there was no longer 
 an enemy to dispute their possession of the French 
 capital. 
 
 CHAPTER LII. 
 
 NIGHT AND MORNING NEAR PARIS. 
 
 So the allied armies encamped and rested 
 round the bivouac-fires, while, at a house in the 
 suburbs of La Chapelle, the plenipotentiaries of 
 the sovereigns were still negotiating with the 
 French marshals the terms on which the city was 
 to be surrendered. But he who now rode along 
 the road to Paris at a gallop hi an open carriage 
 knew no peace or rest. His quivering features 
 were expressive of alarm ; ruin sat enthroned on 
 his forehead, covered with perspiration. By his 
 side sat Caulaincourt ; behind him, Berthier and 
 Flahault. The carriage thundered along at the 
 utmost speed. " Caulaincourt, I shall arrive at 
 Paris in time," murmured the emperor ; " we are 
 already at Fromenteau ; in an hour we shall be 
 there. The watch-tires of the enemy are seen 
 on the opposite bank of the Seine. Ah, I shall 
 extinguish them ; to-morrow night the enemy will 
 not be so near. But what is that ? Do you hear 
 nothing ? Have the carriage stopped ! " 
 
 liirr shouted to the driver the carriage 
 stopped. They all heard a sort of hollow noise. 
 
 "It is a squad of cavalry riding along this 
 road," whispered Cuulaincourt. 
 
 "It is artillery," murmured Napoleon. "For- 
 ward ! They can only be our own men. But 
 
290 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 why are they retreating from Paris ? For- 
 warl!" 
 
 Ihe carriage rolled on. And from the other 
 side of the road a dark mass, with a rumbling 
 noise, moved toward them. Napoleon was not 
 mistaken, nor was Caulaincourt mistaken. 
 
 " Who is there ? " shouted the emperor to the 
 horsemen at the head of the column. " Halt ! " 
 
 " It is the emperor ! " cried a voice, in amaze- 
 ment, and a horseman dismounting in a moment 
 approached the carnage. 
 
 " It is General Belliard," exclaimed the em- 
 peror, and alighted hastily from his carriage. 
 " General, whither are you moving ? What about 
 Paris ? " 
 
 " Sire, all is lost ! " said Belliard, after a mourn- 
 ful pause. 
 
 " How so ? " cried Napoleon, vehemently. 
 " You see I am coming ! I shall be in Paris in 
 an hour. I will call out the National Guard, and 
 pu l myself at the head of the troops." 
 
 "Sire, we are too weak; the enemy is five 
 times stronger." 
 
 " But I am there, and my name will increase 
 the strength of my army fivefold." 
 
 " Sire, it is too late." 
 
 " Too late ! What do you mean ? " 
 
 " Marmont and Mortier have capitulated ; we 
 are taking advantage of the night to evacuate 
 Paris, while the marshals are still negotiating the 
 terms of capitulation." 
 
 A single cry of anger burst from Napoleon's 
 lips ; then, as if crushed by the blow, his head 
 droj.pc^ on his breast. Recovering himself in a 
 moment, he said, imperiously : " General Bel- 
 liard ! return with your troops ; I shall be there 
 before you reach the city. Resuming hostilities, 
 I will call upon all Paris to take up arms ; the 
 people love me, they will remain faithful; the 
 majority of the working-men are composed of old 
 soldiers. They know how to fight, and I will 
 lead them. We shall fight as the Spaniards 
 fought against us at Saragossa, defending with 
 our blood the streets of our capital; detaining 
 the enemy at least for a day, my army will arrive, 
 and we shall be strong enough to give battle. I 
 
 must go to Paris ; when I am not there, they do 
 nothing but blunder ! My brother Joseph is a 
 pusillanimous and easily-disheartened man, and 
 Minister Clarke is a blockhead. Marmont and 
 Mortier are traitors deserving death, for they vio- 
 lated my express instructions. I asked them to 
 hold out only two days, and the traitors capitu- 
 lated before they had elapsed ! Oh, I shall hold 
 them responsible for it : I know how to punish 
 traitors and poltroons ! " He hurried on in a 
 rapid step, General Belliard walking by his side, 
 and Caulaincourt, Berthier, and Flahault follow- 
 ing him. " I must go to Paris," cried the em- 
 peror, after a momentary pause. " Order my 
 carriage ! " 
 
 " Sire," said Belliard, solemnly, " it is no longer 
 possible for your majesty to reach Paris. You 
 would run the risk of falling into the hands of the 
 vanguard of the allies. If your majesty were at 
 Paris, it would be of no avail. The enemy is 
 in possession of all the heights, and they can 
 bombard the city without being interfered with 
 by the exhausted troops of Mortier and Marmont. 
 Sire, all is lost; there is no prospect which would 
 justify us to hope for a favorable change." 
 
 " To Paris ! " cried the emperor. " You say I 
 can no longer enter the city. Well, then, I shall 
 put myself at the head of the troops of Marshals 
 Mortier and Marmont, and, while the allies are 
 making their entrance into the city, resume the 
 struggle." 
 
 "Sire," said Belliard, mournfully, "it is too 
 late, the marshals have agreed to surrender Paris ; 
 it was only on this condition that our troops 
 were allowed to move out. The capitulation can- 
 not be broken." 
 
 "What do I care for the capitulation of traitor- 
 ous marshals ? " said the emperor, stamping ; " my 
 will alone reigns here, and my will is, that the 
 troops face about and follow me. Say, Hulin," 
 said the emperor, turning toward the commander 
 of Paris, who had just approached him, " are you 
 not of my opinion ? The troops should return to 
 Paris ? " 
 
 " No, sire," said General Hulin, sighing, " the 
 capitulation has already been concluded, and it 
 
NIGHT AND MORNING NEAR PARIS. 
 
 291 
 
 
 Joes not permit the soldiers to return on any 
 pretext," 
 
 "Are you of the same opinion?" asked Na- 
 poleon, turning toward General Curial, who had 
 just come up with a corps of infantry, and saluted 
 the emperor. 
 
 "lam, sire," said Curial. "The capitulation 
 has been concluded, and we are happy to have 
 received permission for our troops, who are ex- 
 hausted, to evacuate the city. We are already 
 on the march in the direction of Fontaine- 
 bleau. We have no hope of conquering, and we 
 could only be involved in a last dreadful but 
 useless carnage. Your majesty cannot desire 
 that. Have pity on poor France, bleeding from 
 a thousand wounds ; you do not wish the enemy 
 to bombard the heart of our country." 
 
 " And you ? " asked Napoleon, turning his 
 eyes, with an expression of agony, toward his 
 attendants. " Caulaincourt, do you, too, share 
 the views of these gentlemen ? " 
 
 " Yes, sire," said Caulaincourt, with tears in his 
 eyes. " It is too late to conquer ; it only remains 
 for us to save what we can." 
 
 "And you, Berthier and Flahault?" 
 
 " Sire, that is our opinion ! It is too late ; all 
 is lost ! " 
 
 Napoleon's sigh sounded like a death-rattle. 
 " Well, then," he said, in a faint, hollow voice, 
 " I will return to Fontainebleau." 
 
 Napoleon reentered his carriage. When hie 
 three attendants had taken seats, be rose and 
 called out in a commanding voice, " General Bel- 
 liard ! " The general approached the carriage 
 hesitatingly ; he was still afraid lest the em- 
 peror should change his mind. 
 
 " Belliard," said Napoleon, " dispatch immedi- 
 ately an orderly to Marshals Marmont and Mortier, 
 and communicate to them that they march their 
 troops to Essonne, ten leagues south of Paris ; 
 there they are to take a position, and await fur- 
 ther orders. To Fontainebleau : " 
 
 The carriage passed again along the road oy 
 which it had arrived, bearing away a wearied and 
 despairing man, who a moment before was full of 
 hope and energy. The clock of the village of 
 
 Jurissy struck twelve, when he halted in front 
 of the " Cour de France," and had the horses 
 changed. "Caulaincourt," he said, hurriedly, 
 " alight, take post-norues, and hasten to Paris ! 
 Penetrate to the headquarters of the Emperor 
 Alexander! Prevent the capitulation do so in 
 my name ; you have full powers ! Negotiate, 
 consent to any treaty that recognizes me as sov- 
 ereign of France ! " * 
 
 It was past midnight, and with a new day be- 
 gan a new era. The rising sun shone upon the 
 brilliant array of the allies. The terms of the 
 capitulation had been adjusted at two in the 
 morning. It was stipulated that the marshals 
 should evacuate Paris at seven on the same day; 
 that the public arsenals and magazines be sur- 
 rendered in the same state in which they were 
 when the capitulation was concluded; that the 
 National Guard, according to the pleasure of the 
 allies, be either disbanded, or employed under 
 their direction in the service of the city ; that the 
 wounded and stragglers, found after ten in the 
 morning, be considered prisoners of war ; and that 
 Paris be recommended to the generosity of the 
 sovereigns.! 
 
 It was now eight in the morning, and the corps 
 of the allied troops that were to make their en- 
 trance into the city were in readiness. A staff, 
 composed of hundreds of Austrian, Russian, Prus- 
 sian, Wurtemberg, Bavarian, and Swedish gen- 
 erals, awaited the arrival of the Emperor of Rus- 
 sia and the King of Prussia, when the triumphal 
 march into Paris would take place. 
 
 Overcoming his pain, and keeping erect by a 
 violent effort, Field-Marshal Blucher had himself 
 dressed by his servants. The toilet was finished, 
 and, attired in his uniform, covered with glittering 
 orders, he stepped from his bedroom, and sent 
 for Christian. "Pipe-master," he said, "I am 
 ready now, and believe I look quite imposing; 
 but you must adjust the last ornament of my 
 toilet. You captured it, and ought to add It to 
 my uniform." 
 
 " What ornament, your excellency ? " 
 
 * Boitzke. vol. 1U M p. 496. 
 t M^moire* 4u Due de Rovlgo," voL HL 
 
292 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 "Well, the eye-shade, Christian. Come and 
 adorn me ! " He handed the crownless bonnet to 
 Christian, and sat down on a chair. The article 
 was carefully placed on the head of the field- 
 marshal, so that his bald scalp protruded from the 
 aperture of the shade like a full moon surrounded 
 by a green halo. He then carefully put on it the 
 field-marshal's hat, with its waving plumes and 
 gold-lace.* 
 
 " Now I am ready," said Blucher, ri?iug. 
 
 At this moment the door opened, and Gen- 
 eral Gneisenau, accompanied by Surgeon-General 
 Voelzke, entered the room. 
 
 '* What ! " exclaimed Gueisenau, in amazement. 
 ( * An hour ago I found you in bed, a prey to a 
 i aging fever, complaining of your eyes ; and now 
 fouhave not only risen, but are in full feather, and 
 ready for the march into the city ! " 
 
 " Why, yes, of course, I am," said Blucher, sul- 
 lenly. " I must make my entry, I must keep my 
 word, and get into Paris after aiding in getting 
 Aim out of it." 
 
 "That is to say," cried Dr. Voelzke, " you in- 
 tend to break your pledge, and prove faithless to 
 your oath ? " 
 
 "What oath?" asked Blucher, greatly sur- 
 prised. 
 
 " Did you not solemnly pledge me your word 
 four days ago, your excellency, to submit to my 
 treatment for two weeks, and adhere to my in- 
 structions ? " 
 
 " Yes, and I think I have kept my word. I 
 have swallowed your medicines, pills, and powders, 
 rubbed in your salves, and applied your plasters, 
 in accordance with your directions, although I 
 must say that all this did not help me any." 
 
 " But your eyes have not grown any worse, and 
 they will soon improve, if you continue my treat- 
 ment." 
 
 " Well, what do you want me to do, then ? " 
 
 *' You must stay here. You must not be six or 
 eight hours on horseback ; you must not expose 
 yourself so long to the dust and sun." 
 
 " What ! 1 am not to participate in the entrance 
 
 * Yarnhagen, "Lif- of BHcher," 1 p. 882. 
 
 of the monarchs into Paris ? " cried Blucher, in- 
 dignantly. 
 
 " I implore your excellency not to do so," said 
 the physician, in an impressive tone. " Give your- 
 self a few days' rest and recreation, and your eyes 
 will get well ; but if you expose yourself to-day I 
 shall never again cross your threshold, for I do 
 not care to be disgraced by the report that Field- 
 Marshal Blucher lost his eyesight while under my 
 care ; and I tell you, you will be blind, and then 
 I can do nothing for you." 
 
 " Stay here, your excellency," begged Gneisenau ; 
 " do not trifle with your dear eyes, destined to see 
 still many beautiful things, and gladden the world 
 by their heroic glances 1 What can a triumph of 
 a few hours' duration be to you to whom every day 
 will be a triumph, and whom delivered Germany 
 awaits to greet with manifestations of love and 
 gratitude ? " 
 
 " Ah, it is not for the sake of the triumph that 
 I wish to go," cried Blucher, morosely. " But I 
 have sworn, for seven years, and it has been my 
 only consolation, that, in spile of Bonaparte, I 
 would make my triumphal entrance into Paris, as 
 Bonaparte did into Berlin, and now you insist on 
 my not fulfilling my oath ! " 
 
 "You will nevertheless make your entrance into 
 Paris," exclaimed Gneisenau ; " though your per- 
 son be absent, your name will float as our banner 
 of victory over the monarchs, and all know full 
 well that Blucher is the conqueror." 
 
 " Stay ! " begged Voelzke ; " think of the pain 
 which you have already suffered, and of that 
 you will suffer, and of which I give yov pufficient 
 warning." 
 
 "Yes, field-marshal," begged llennemann, with 
 tearful eyes, " pray do what the doctor says ; do 
 not hazard your sight ; for, let me say, field-mar- 
 shal, a blind man is like a pipe that will not draw ; 
 both of them will go out." 
 
 "Well, I do not care," cried Blucher, "I will 
 stay. It w ill not hurt me. My task is performed, 
 and it makes no difference to me how I enter Paris. 
 I have my share of the victory, and no one can 
 take it from me. He has been cast down, and none 
 will deny that I assisted*" 
 
NAPOLEON AT FONTAINEBLEAU. 
 
 293 
 
 " Well, I think I have also assisted a little in 
 
 rt," said Christian, solemnly ; " for had I not al- 
 
 kept the pipes in so good a state, the field 
 
 '.a\\ would not have had such successful ideas, 
 
 nor could he have so well said, ' Forward !' " 
 
 "You are right, pipe-master," said Blucher, 
 pleasantly. " The pipe but what is that ? Was 
 not that a gun, and there another ? Have the 
 negotiations miscarried, after all, and the bombard- 
 ment commenced in earnest ? " 
 
 " No, your excellency," said Gneisenau, smiling, 
 "you must give up that hope! These are the 
 guns which give the troops the signal that the 
 monarchs have arrived, and that the march into 
 the city is to commence." 
 
 " Well, good-by, then ; make haste and leave ! " 
 cried Blucher, pushing Gneisenau and Voelzke 
 toward the door. 
 
 They left, and the field-marshal was again 
 alone with Christian Hennemann. 
 
 " Well," he said, " give me a pipe ; while the 
 others are making their entrance into Paris, I want 
 ycu to afford me a little pleasure, too. Come here, 
 therefore, and sing to me the Low-German song 
 which you sang to me on the day when you ar- 
 rived at Kunzendorf." 
 
 The reports of the artillery continued ; the 
 monarchs were entering Paris. The field-marshal 
 in the mean time sat with the green bonnet on his 
 head, puffing his pipe. Xo one was with him but 
 Christian Henuemann, who sang in a loud voice, 
 " Spinn dock, (tpinn dock, mihn llitt leices Dock- 
 tinfff" 
 
 
 CHAPTER LIII. 
 
 NAPOLEON AT FON'TAlNEBLEAl . 
 
 NAPOLEON passed seven days of indescribable 
 mental anguish at Fontain-bleau. Adversity had 
 befallen him, but ho bore it with the sembLiu-f 
 of calmness, uttering no comphint. His 
 the cold, inscrutable face of the emperor, such as 
 it had been on his triumphal entrance into Berlin 
 
 and Madrid, after the victories of Austerlitz and 
 Jena, in the days of Erfurt and Tilsit, at the confla- 
 gration of Moscow, at the Beresina, and at Leipsic. 
 He gave no expression to his soul's agony. It 
 was only in the dead of night that his faithful 
 servants heard him sometimes sigh, pacing his 
 room, restless and melancholy. He did not yet 
 feel wholly discouraged ; he still hoped. His 
 bravest marshals were still with him ; his Old 
 Guard had not yet gone, and at Paris there were 
 many devoted friends, because they owed to him 
 honor and riches. 
 
 He was hopeful that Marmont's troops would 
 arrive at Fontainebleau, when, concentrating all 
 his corps, he would march with them and recon- 
 quer his capital. Engrossed with this idea, he was 
 alone in his cabinet; bent over his maps, he ex- 
 amined the various positions of bis troops, and con- 
 sidered when they might all reach him. But 
 while he was thinking of war, his marshals were 
 thinking of peace. They had withdrawn into one 
 of the remote apartments of Fontainebleau for the 
 purpose of holding a secret consultation. Ther 
 were his old comrades Ney, Prince de la Moskwa; 
 Macdonald, Duke de Tarento ; Lefebvre, Duke de 
 Dantzic ; Oudinot, Duke de Reggio all of them 
 owing their glory to Napoleon : it was, therefore, 
 pardonable if he confided in their gratitude but 
 gratitude to the fallen, who had nothing more to 
 give, and whose misfortunes resembled an infec- 
 tious disease, repelling even his dearest friends. 
 
 "He is lost," said Oudinot, in an undertone; 
 "he is on the edge of the precipice, and those 
 who abide by him will fall with him." 
 
 "We must, therefore, leave him," whispered 
 Lefebvre. " We :ire unable to keep him back ; 
 prudence commands us to keep aloof." 
 
 " We have suffered and bled for him for years," 
 said Macdonald ; " it is time now for him to suffer 
 and bleed for us. His death would be a relief." 
 
 " Yes," murmured Ney, " his death would give 
 us a new life. But he will not die ; his heart ia 
 made of bronze, and will not break." 
 
 l> No, he will not die voluntarily," said Oudinot. 
 
 The marshals paused and looked at each other 
 with dark and significant glances. All seemed to 
 
294 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER 
 
 
 read each other's souls, and to divine the sinister 
 thoughts that began to find utterance. 
 
 "No, he will not die voluntarily," repeated 
 Macdonald. " But the millions of soldiers that 
 have fallen on the battle-fields have not died vol- 
 untarily, either: Napoleon drove them into the 
 jaws of death. Now he is no longer any thing 
 but a mere soldier ; could we be blamed, if, in 
 order to save France, we should drive him into the 
 grave ? " 
 
 " But how could we do it ? " asked Lefebvre. 
 "He has with him Caulaincourt, Berthier, and 
 Maret, who would certainly be capable of showing, 
 like Anthony, the blood-stained cloak of Csesar to 
 the people, and of bringing upon us a destiny such 
 as befell Brutus and Cassius. I am not desirous 
 of seeing my house set on fire, and of being com- 
 pelled to flee." 
 
 "We ought not to imitate Caesar's generals," 
 said Ney, gloomily. " He has lived like a demi-god, 
 and must die like a demi-god. Not a vestige of 
 him must remain ; he must, like Romulus, ascend 
 to the gods." 
 
 "Let us consider what ought to be done," said 
 Macdonald. 
 
 They whispered in low tones, so that they them- 
 selves scarcely heard each other. After a pro- 
 longed secret consultation, they seemed agreed as 
 to what should be done, and as if there were now 
 no longer any doubt or objection. 
 
 " Caulaincourt, Bertrand, and Maret, are alone 
 to be feared," said Oudinot, loudly. " If they re- 
 fuse to be silent, they must be silenced ! And 
 Berthier ? what are we to do with Berthier ? " 
 
 " We shall tell him all when it is over," respond- 
 ed Macdonald, with a shrug. "Berthier is not 
 formidable ; he has a heart of cotton, and a head 
 of wind." 
 
 All laughed ; Oudinot then said, in a grave and 
 menacing voice : " It is time for us to come to a 
 decision. We are already i April, and nothing 
 decided ; the Emperor of Russia is impatient, and 
 the future King of France will never forgive us if 
 we delay his return to Paris. Come, gentlemen, 
 ,et us for the last time try the way of kindness 
 Mid persuasion. Let us openly and honestly ad- 
 
 vise Napoleon to abdicate ; he must make up his 
 mind to do so, or " 
 
 "Or we shall compel him," said Macdonald. 
 ' He has often enough compelled us to do what 
 was repugnant to us. Come, gentlemen, let us 
 to the emperor." * 
 
 The emperor was still bending over his maps 
 when the four marshals entered his cabinet. 
 With a quick glance he read in their pale, sullen 
 faces that they came to him, not as friends and 
 servants, but as adversaries. " I am glad," he said 
 calmly, " that you anticipate my request, and come 
 to me when I intended to send for you. We must 
 hold a council of war, marshals. I have deter- 
 mined to make a general assault upon the allies 
 to-morrow, and I wished to assemble you here to 
 lay the details of my plan before you. One of 
 you may go and call Berthier, who should partici 
 pate in our deliberations." 
 
 " Sire," said Ney, in a harsh tone, " before en- 
 tering into deliberations on the war, we should 
 first consider whether it is still desirable." Na- 
 poleon cast on him a glance which once would 
 have frozen the marshal's blood, but which now 
 made no impression on him. " I believe," added 
 Ney, " that France can no longer bear the burden 
 of war. She is exhausted, bleeding from many 
 wounds, and would sink to certain ruin if she 
 continue a useless struggle. Her finances cannot 
 be restored, for the people are destitute. Our 
 fields are uncultivated, our industry is paralyzed ; 
 our workshops and stores are closed, our com- 
 merce is prostrated, for France is destitute of 
 money, credit, and laborers. What means has 
 your majesty to shield her from the most terrible 
 misfortunes ? " 
 
 " I have but one to attack the allies to-mor- 
 row, expelling those who have caused all the 
 misfortunes of France." 
 
 " Sire, our country is tired of war," cried Ney ; 
 " she wants peace." 
 
 " Is that your opinion, marshals ? " asked tne 
 emperor, hastily. 
 " Yes, sire, it is." 
 
 Memoirs of the Duchess d'Abrantea.* 
 
XAPOLEOX AT FOXTAIXEBLEAU. 
 
 295 
 
 " Well, then," said Xapoleon, after a moment's 
 reflection, " do you know of any way of restoring 
 peace? " 
 
 The marshals were silent. Their lips seemed to 
 shrink from uttering the thoughts of their souls ; 
 but the Prince de la Moskwa, Marshal Xey, over- 
 came his timidity. " Sire," he remarked, " the 
 allies say in their proclamation that it is not 
 France against which they wage war." 
 
 "Not France, but myself!" cried Xapoleon. 
 " Ah, you come to propose an abdication to me ? " 
 
 " AVe come to implore your majesty to make a 
 last great sacrifice." 
 
 " Sire," exclaimed Oudinot, " let your heroic 
 soul conquer itself, and restore peace to France." 
 
 " She will forever bless you," said Lefebvre. 
 
 " Restore to France the peace for which she has 
 been vainly longing for twenty-five years ! " cried 
 Macdonald. 
 
 Xow that they had all spoken, there was an 
 anxious, breathless pause. Suddenly Xapoleon 
 passed over to his desk. He cast a last glance, 
 full of pride, contempt, and anger, on his four 
 marshals ; then, seating himself, he took up a 
 pen with a firm hand, and wrote. The marshals 
 stood in silence, and looked at him in an embar- 
 rassed manner. Laying aside the pen, and rising, 
 he held up the paper on which he had written, 
 and motioned to Marshal Xey. " Here, Prince de 
 la Moskwa," said Xapoleon, u read to the mar- 
 shals what I have written." 
 
 / read in a tremulous voice : " ' The allied 
 powers, having proclaimed that the Emperor Xa- 
 poleon is the sole obstacle to the rei'-stablishment 
 of peace in Europe, the Emperor Xapoleon, faith- 
 ful to his oath, declares that he is ready to de- 
 scend from the throne, to quit France, and even 
 life itself, for the good of the country, inseparable 
 from the rights of his son, of the regency of the 
 empress, and of the maintenance of the laws of the 
 empire.' " * 
 
 "You have willed it so," said Xapoleon, when 
 Xey had finished. " Macdonald and NYy, with Cau- 
 laincourt, will immediately repair with this docu- 
 
 Fmin, "Manuscrit de 1814," p. 221. 
 
 ment to Park. On the way they will meet Mor- 
 tier, and request him to accompany them. The 
 four dukes will present my conditional abdication 
 to the Emperor Alexander, and treat with him in 
 regard to the future of my son and the regency of 
 my consort." 
 
 On the 7th of April the Duke de Vicenza entered 
 the emperor's cabinet, pale and with a mournful 
 air. 
 
 " Caulaincourt," cried Xapoleon, " you have de- 
 livered my abdication to Alexander ? " 
 
 "Yes, sire," said Caulaincourt, sadly. "Ah, 
 sire, I bring bad news, which my lips almost re 
 fuse to utter ! " 
 
 " Speak, I am courageous enough to hear all ; 
 be, then, courageous enough to tell me all. I wish 
 no concealment whatever I desire to know the 
 whole truth." 
 
 " Well, sire, all is lost. The Emperor Alexan- 
 der has issued to-day a manifesto, which has been 
 placarded over every part of Paris, to the effect 
 that * he would no longer treat with Bonaparte, 
 nor with any member of his family.' " 
 
 " Ah, the perfidious wretch ! " murmured Napo- 
 leon, " he plighted me once eternal friendship and 
 fidelity. Proceed, Caulaincourt ! What says the 
 so-called provisional government presided over by 
 M. Talleyrand, the renegade priest, whom I made 
 a man of distinction, whom I raised to the dignity 
 of a prince, on whom I lavished honors, and who 
 has now become the leader of the royalists? 
 What say M. Talleyrand, and the provisional gov- 
 ernment, and the senate, who swore allegiance to 
 me?" 
 
 " Sire, the senate solemnly declared yesterday, 
 the 6th of April, that the Emperor Xapoleon has 
 forfeited his throne, because, by abusing the pow- 
 mferred on him, by despotism, by trampling 
 under foot the liberty of the press, by undertaking 
 in violation of right, and by his openly mani- 
 of man and human law, be has 
 rendered himself unworthy of the sovereignty of 
 the nation. The senate, besides, have called back 
 the Hourbons to the throne of France. In conse- 
 quence of this declaration, the provisional govern, 
 ernment has proclaimed to-day that, till the ar 
 
296 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 rival of King Louis XVIII., the administration is 
 exclusively in their hands." 
 
 " Ah, the traitors!" cried Napoleon. "They 
 have dared to proclaim such sentiments ! to carry 
 their impudence so far ! See what venal crea- 
 tures those men are ! As long as fortune was 
 faithful to me, they, who now call themselves the 
 provisional government and senate, in the name 
 of France, were my most sycophantic servants. 
 A sign from me was an order for the senate, 
 who always did more than was desired of them, 
 and not a whisper was heard against the abuses 
 of power. Ah, they charge me with despising 
 them tell me, Caulaincourt, will not the world 
 see now whether or not I had reasons for my 
 opinion ? " * 
 
 " Sire, it is true, your majesty has met with 
 many ingrates during your career, and will still 
 meet with them," said Caulaincourt, sighing. 
 " Perfidy seems to have become an epidemic." 
 
 " Ah, I see you have not yet told me every 
 thing. Speak ! In the first place, what was the 
 result of your negotiations with the Emperor Al- 
 exander ? " 
 
 "Sire, if your majesty agrees to renounce, for 
 yourself and your heirs, the throne of France, 
 the allied sovereigns offer Corsica or Elba as 
 a sovereign principality, and France will pay 
 your majesty an annual pension of two million 
 francs." 
 
 " I am to renounce the throne, too, for my sou 
 my dear little King of Rome?" cried Napo- 
 poleon, mournfully. " No, never ! I cannot de- 
 prive my son of his inheritance. This is too 
 much. I will put myself at the head of my army 
 and run the risk of any calamities, rather than 
 submit to a humiliation worse than them all ! " 
 
 " Your majesty has no army. Treason has in- 
 fected your marshals." 
 
 " What do you mean ? Ah, it is true, you come 
 alone ! Where are the marshals ? Where is Ney ? 
 Where is Macdonald ? ' 
 
 " Sire, they have remained in Paris." 
 
 " Ah, I understand," exclaimed Napoleon, with 
 
 Fain, " Maimscrit de 1814," p. 225. 
 
 a scornful laugh ; " they are waiting there foi 
 King Louis XVIII., in order to offer him theii 
 services. But where is Marmont? You know 
 well that I am greatly attached to Marmont, and 
 I long to see him. Why does he not come ? " 
 
 " Sire, Marshal Marmont has passed over to the 
 allies with a corps of ten thousand men." 
 
 "Marmont!" cried Napoleon, almost with a 
 scream " Marmont a traitor ! That is false 
 that is impossible ! Marmont cannot have be- 
 trayed me ! " 
 
 " Sire, he did betray you. He marched the 
 troops, notwithstanding their undisguised reluc- 
 tance, to Versailles, in order there to join the 
 allies, after receiving from them the solemn 
 promise that the French soldiers should be treat- 
 ed as friends." 
 
 " Marmont has betrayed me ! " murmured Na- 
 poleon. "Marmont, whom I loved as a son 
 who owes me all who- " His voice faltered ; 
 his heart was rent, and, sinking on a chair, he 
 buried his quivering face in his hands. 
 
 CHAPTER LIV. 
 
 A SOUL IN PURGATORY. 
 
 IT was the llth of April. Napoleon, at Fon- 
 taint-bleau, sat at his desk and stared at the paper 
 before him. It contained an absolute resignation 
 of his throne for himself and his family. After 
 signing this document, he was no more Emperor 
 of France, nor his son King of Rome, nor his con- 
 sort empress perhaps, no longer even his wife. 
 By signing this paper, he accepted all the condi- 
 tions imposed on him by the allies ; that is to 
 say, he descended from the sovereignty of all his 
 states and went to the little island of Elba, to live 
 there a pensioner of Europe ; his consort wore no 
 longer, like him, the imperial title, but became 
 Duchess of Parma ; and the King of Rome be- 
 came not the heir of his father, the Emperor of 
 Elba, but the heir of his mother, the Duchess of 
 Parma, and the title of "Duke de Reichrtadt 7 ' 
 
A SOUL IN PURGATORY. 
 
 297 
 
 *us to be given bim. He renounced not only 
 Prance, but his wife and his son ! 
 
 Napoleon was fondly and sincerely attached to 
 Maria Louisa, and he loved the King of Rome 
 with passionate tenderness. Before consenting, 
 therefore, to affix his signature to this act of ab- 
 dication, he wished to know whether Maria Louisa 
 agreed to it, and whether she would not at least 
 ask the allies, one of whom was her own father, 
 to permit her to reside with her son and her hus- 
 band on the island of Elba, sharing the emperor's 
 exile. For some time he had not heard from his 
 consort ; he wrote to her every day, but for six 
 days past no answers came. He did not, however, 
 distrust her; he knew that Maria Louisa loved 
 him. His heart longed for her and his child. He 
 had sent Berthier to Orleans the day before with 
 a letter for Maria Louisa. He was to tell him 
 what his consort was thinking and wishing. If 
 she was courageous enough to claim her rights, 
 nnd desired to do so, Berthier was to convey her 
 to the emperor, and, at Fontainebleau, Maria 
 Louisa was to declare to her father that she in- 
 iisted on her sacred right of staying with her hus- 
 band. Napoleon expected this, and he was ner- 
 vous and anxious, waiting for the return of bis 
 general, and in hope that Maria Louisa would ac- 
 company him. 
 
 He contemplated the paper, and, while reading 
 e words of despair, he thought of the past of 
 days when Europe had been at his feet, and 
 when he himself showed no mercy. The door of 
 tne cabinet was softly opened, and the Duke de 
 no entered. " Maret," he exclaiinc-1, " you 
 come to inform me that Berthier has returned, do 
 you not ? " 
 
 I" Yes, sire." 
 "And he -he is alone?" 
 ' Yes, sire, he is alone." 
 Napoleon sighed. " Admit Berthicr," he said, 
 
 "but stay here." 
 Maret stepped to the door and opetu-d it. The 
 Prince of Neufchatrl entered, mournful and 
 A single glance told Napoleon that his m 
 had failed. 
 
 " Well, Berthier, you have seen the empress ? " 
 
 " I have, sire. I met the empress leaving Or- 
 leans." 
 
 "Ah, then, she is coming!" exclaimed Napo 
 Icon. 
 
 " No, sire. Prince Metternich had paid her a 
 visit on the preceding day, and delivered to her 
 autograph letters from her father the Emperor 
 of Austria. He had asked his daughter to repair 
 to Rair.bouillet, where he would meet her." 
 
 " And Louisa consented ? " 
 
 "She did, sire. Her majesty told me with 
 tears in her eyes that nothing remained for her 
 but to submit to the will of her father, because 
 only his intercession could secure her own future 
 and that of her son. She deplored that she was 
 not at liberty to come to Fontainebleau, but 
 stated she had solemnly pledged her word to 
 Prince Metternich, who, in the emperor's name, 
 had required a pledge neither to see nor to cor- 
 respond with your majesty." 
 
 " And she did not indignantly reject this base 
 demand ? " cried the emperor. " She did not re- 
 member that she is my wife, and that she plighted 
 her faith to me ? " 
 
 "Sire, the empress said that, for her son's sake, 
 she was allowed now only to consider herself a 
 princess of Austria, and the Austrian princesses 
 were all educated in unconditional and unmur- 
 muring obedience to the orders of the emperor 
 their father.* Hence, she obeyed her father now, 
 in order to enjoy at a later time the happiness of 
 belonging to your majesty. For, as soon as her 
 future was secured, as soon as the duchy of Par- 
 ma was settled upon her, and her son declared its 
 heir, nothing would prevent her from rejoining 
 her beloved husband ; and if your majesty agreed 
 to accept the island of Elba, the empress would 
 certainly soon repair thither. She proposed that, 
 prohibited from directly corresponding with your 
 majesty, you might have intercourse through your 
 private sreivtaries ; your majesty might have 
 Baron Fain write to her all you wished her to 
 km\v, and she would do the same through Baron 
 val." 
 
 * Meneval, " MSmolres," etc voL it, p. 80. 
 
298 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHEK. 
 
 "A genuine woman's stratagem," murmured 
 Napoleon, gloomily, to himself. "She is desti- 
 tute of courage, and does not love me enough 
 to brave her father. Berthier," he then asked 
 aloud, " did you see my son ? " 
 
 "No, sire, they would not let me see the 
 yrince ; they feared lest it would excite him 
 too much, and remind him of the past. For 
 the King of Rome is constantly longing for his 
 father." 
 
 " And his father cannot see him cannot call 
 him to his side ! Oh, Berthier, this is painful, 
 very painful ! " 
 
 " But your majesty will soon be reunited with 
 him," said Maret, feelingly. "Sign the act of 
 abdication ; go to Elba, sire, and no one can pre- 
 vent the empress from coming to you with her 
 eon. She wishes and has a right to do so." 
 
 " Well, then, be it so," said the emperor, draw- 
 ing a deep breath. " I will sign every thing. I 
 will abdicate ; I will sign this second treaty, which 
 makes me Emperor of Elba ! My wife and my 
 son must be restored to me ! " He quickly 
 gtepped to the desk, and signed the two papers 
 with a steady hand. 
 
 " Well," he said, flinging the pen into a corner 
 of the room, " now I am no longer Emperor of 
 France, but at the same time no longer a pris- 
 oner at Fontainebleau. At Elba I shall be free, 
 at least ; I shall be surrounded by the brave sol- 
 diers of my Old Guard ; I shall see again my wife 
 and my son. That is to say," he gloomily mur- 
 mured to himself, " if her father permits them to 
 rejoin me ; for without his permission she will 
 not come. Louisa is a princess of Austria, and 
 has, therefore, been brought up in obedience. 
 Oh, how I longed for the consolation of her pres- 
 ence ! She ought not to have left me alone in 
 these days ! " Eis lips murmured softly, " Jose- 
 phine would not have done so ! She would have 
 gone with me into exile ! " He sat a long time 
 absorbed in his reflections, which whispered to 
 him of the past, and of Josephine. He felt 
 that they moved him too deeply, and, with an 
 impetuous gesture, he jumped up, and, proudly 
 throwing back his head, exclaimed : " Well, then, 
 
 I have submitted to my fate, and shall bear it 
 manfully. We shall go to Elba, then ! You 
 will accompany me, my friends, and I shall not 
 be alone? Maret and Berthier, you will not 
 leave me, I hope ? " 
 
 " Sire, I would follow your majesty to the end 
 of the world ! " said Maret, tenderly. 
 
 " I know of no more glorious destiny than to 
 remain your majesty's faithful servant," exclaimed 
 Berthier, emphatically. "I thank you for per- 
 mitting me to go with you to Elba, and I joyfully 
 accept this permission ; but as I have to make 
 some necessary preparations, I request two days' 
 leave of absence of your majesty." 
 
 While Berthier was speaking, the emperor 
 contemplated him with painful astonishment ; 
 now he quickly came near him, and, laying his 
 band on his shoulder, he fixed his keen eyes on 
 him, as if he wished to read his most secret 
 thoughts. " Berthier," he said, in a gentle, im- 
 ploring voice, u you see how much I have need 
 of consultation ; how necessary it is for me to 
 have true friends about me. You will, the 
 return to-morrow, will you not ? " 
 
 " Sire, certainly," faltered Berthier. 
 
 Napoleon's eyes still rested on the pale, ccn- 
 fused face of the prince. "Berthier," he said, 
 after a pause, " if you wish to leave me, tell me so 
 frankly and sincerely." 
 
 " I leave you ! " exclaimed Berthier. " Your 
 majesty knows well that I am devoted to you 
 with immovable fidelity that my heart can never 
 forget you, and that I shall always be your obe- 
 dient servant." 
 
 " Words, words ! " said Napoleon, shaking his 
 head. " Well, then, it is your will : go, there- 
 fore, to Paris. Attend to the affairs which 
 you have more at heart than my wishes. Go, 
 and if you can, come back soon ! " 
 
 Berthier wished to grasp the emperor's "aand 
 and press it to his lips, but he hastily withdrew it, 
 and, lilling it up, pointed with an imperious 
 glance at the door. Berthier bowed, and, walking 
 backward, approached the door with bent head, 
 and departed. The emperor looked after him 
 long and gloomily ; then he slowly turned hlg 
 
 , 
 
UFI7ERSIT7 
 
"Josephine, I have wrun* many tears from you, but Fate has avenged you." p. 
 
A SOUL IX PURGATORY. 
 
 299 
 
 head toward tbe Duke dc Bassano. " Maret," be 
 Baid, slowly, " Berthier will not come back." 
 
 ' What, sire ! " exclaimed Maret, in dismay. 
 " Your majesty believes " 
 
 " I know it," said Napoleon, slowly, " Bcrthier 
 will not come back ! " He threw himself into an 
 easy-chair, at times heaving a sigh, out without 
 uttering a single complaint ; and thus he sat all 
 day. From time to time the few faithful men 
 who had remained with him dared to speak, but 
 the emperor, starting from his meditations, only 
 stared at them, and then slowly dropped his head 
 again on his breast. At dinner-time Maret en- 
 deavored to induce him to go to the table ; but 
 he only responded by indignantly shaking his 
 head, and waving him toward the door. 
 
 Evening had come, and the emperor still sat 
 alone in his cabinet, motionless and sad. He did 
 not hear the door behind him softly open ; he 
 did not see a dark, veiled female form that had 
 slowly entered, and now, as if overwhelmed by 
 grief, leaned against the wall. Her veil prevented 
 her, perhaps, from seeing Xapoleon ; she threw 
 it back, and now Josephine's pale, quivering face 
 seen. She fixed her eyes on him with an 
 expression of boundless tenderness, and then lifted 
 them to heaven with an imploring air, softly 
 rai-ing her arms, and her lips moving in inaudible 
 prayer. 
 
 The emperor did not yet notice her. Josephine 
 stepped noi-el'-sly across the carpet, and laid 
 her hand gently on his head. " Xapoleon," she 
 whimpered, " Xapoleon ! " 
 
 He uttered a cry and jumped up. "Josephine," 
 ho i xdaimed, " my Josephine ! Oh, now I am no 
 longer alone ! " He clasped her with impassioned 
 tenderness in his arms ; he kissed her quivering 
 li{s, and held her streaming face between his 
 hands, gazing at it with the tender expression of 
 a lover. Encircling her with his arms, and no 
 longer able to restrain his heart, he laid his head 
 on her shoulder, and wept bitterly. Recovering, 
 his face resumed its inseruta'ile 
 "Josephine," he said, "I have wrung many 
 tears from you, but Fate has avenged you ; I 
 iiavj wept, too; and whit is worse than tears is 
 
 that which is gnawing at my heart. I thank you, 
 Josephine, for coming to me. All have deserted 
 me!" 
 
 " I know it, Xapoleon," whispered Josephine, 
 smiling amid tears, " and that is why I am here. 
 You will not go all alone to Elba ; I shall go with 
 jou. Xo, Bonaparte, no! do not shake your 
 head ; do not reject me ! I have a right to ac- 
 company you ; for, whatever men may say, I 
 was your wife and am your wife, and what God 
 has joined together no man can sunder. My 
 soul is one with yours. I love you to-day as 
 tenderly as I did on the day when I stood with 
 you before the altar and plighted my fidelity to 
 you ; I love you now even more /ntensely, for you 
 are unfortunate, and have need of my love. Bid 
 me, therefore, not go any more. She is not here, 
 and her place by your side, which she has de- 
 serted, belongs to me ! " 
 
 " Xo," said Xapoleon, gravely, " let her ab- 
 sence remind her of her duty. I will not give my 
 son's mother a pretext for staying away from me ; 
 she shall not say that she cannot rejoin me be- 
 cause I have yielded to another woman the place 
 that belongs to her. Xo, Josephine, she must 
 not be able to reproach me. I thank you for 
 coming, but you have come to take leave of me. 
 I have seen you your faithful love has been a 
 balm to my heart. Xow, farewell ! " 
 
 " Then, you bid me go already ? " cried Jose- 
 phine, reproachfully; " oh, Bonaparte, let me stay 
 here at least till your departure. Xo one will 
 betray to her that I am here." 
 
 " It would remain no secret, Josephine, and it 
 would be used to excuse her, and to accuse me. 
 Go, then, and take with you the consciousness 
 that you have afforded me the last joy of my 
 life." 
 
 " Oh, Bonaparte, you break my heart ! " mur- 
 mured Josephine, leaning her head on his shoul- 
 der. " I cannot leave you, I cannot bear to se 
 you go alone into exile." 
 
 " Fate has decreed it, and so has the evil star 
 that arose upon my path when I left you, Jose- 
 phine ! Let this be my farewell. Xow, go ! " 
 No, Bonaparte," she cried, passionately ; 
 
300 
 
 NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER. 
 
 11 tell me not to go if you do not wish me to die ! 
 Your misfortunes have pierced my heart. My 
 only hope of life is by your side, for sorrow at 
 the remembrance of your misfortunes will kill 
 me" 
 
 A strange smile played around the emperor's 
 lips. " I do not pity those who die," he said ; 
 11 death is a kind friend, and pray God that He 
 may soon send this friend to me ! " He kissed 
 her forehead and conducted her gently to the 
 door. " Go, my Josephine," he said ; " this is 
 the last sacrifice which I shall ask of you ! " 
 
 "I go!" she sighed. "Farewell, Bonaparte, 
 farewell ! " She fixed on him a look full of love 
 and grief. " We shall never meet again ! " 
 
 " Yes," he said, slowly and solemnly, lifting his 
 hand toward heaven, " we shall meet again 1 " 
 
 " I shall await you there ! " she said, with an 
 expression of intense love and sorrow. 
 
 The door closed; Napoleon was again alone; 
 he stood in the middle of the room, as if still be- 
 holding her pale, smiling face, and hearing her 
 sweet voice. " She will await me there ! " he 
 murmured. " But why should she await me ? 
 Why should she die, and I live ? And why must 
 I live ? " he asked, in a loud, and almost joyful 
 tone. "Why shall I suffer these mean, cowardly 
 creatures, who formerly lay in the dust before 
 me, now to enjoy their triumph ? Why must I 
 live ? " He sank into his chair, thinking of the 
 disgrace soon to be brought upon him, remem- 
 bering that each of the allied sovereigns would 
 send an envoy to Fontainebleau, and that he was 
 to be transported to Elba escorted, like a caged 
 lion, by Russian, Prussian, and Austrian commis- 
 sioners ! His heart for a moment grew strong 
 in his anguish. He jumped up, rushed to his 
 desk, pulled out the drawers, and opened a secret 
 compartment. There lay a small black silken 
 bag. Taking it out, he cut it open, and drew a 
 package from it. " Ha ! " he exclaimed, joyfully, 
 "now I have the kind friend that will deliver 
 me ! They want to drag me through the country 
 a? a prisoner ! But thou, blessed poison, wilt re- 
 lease me ! " 
 
 In the night of the 13th of April, Constant, 
 
 Napoleon's valet de chambre, was av\ akened by 
 an extraordinary groaning, proceeding from Napo 
 Icon's bedroom, whither Constant hastened. Yes, 
 it was the emperor who was suffering. His face 
 was deadly pale ; his limbs were quivering ; a pa- 
 per lay on the floor in front of him ; on the 
 table by his side stood a glass, in which were still 
 seen some drops of a whitish color. Constant 
 rushed toward him. He gazed at his sen-ant 
 with fixed looks, and murmured, " I suffer dread- 
 fully ! Fire is consuming my bowels ; but it does 
 not kill me ! " 
 
 Uttering a cry, and hastening from the room, 
 Constant went for the domestic surgeon, Dr. 
 Ivan, Maret, and Caulaincourt. They appeared 
 in the utmost consternation, and surrounded the 
 easy-chair on which the emperor still sat. Dr. 
 Ivan felt his forehead, which was covered with 
 clammy perspiration ; and his pulse was feeble 
 and sluggish, but still throbbing. He recognized 
 his physician, and his livid lips murmured almost 
 inaudibly, " Ivan, I have taken poison, that which 
 you gave me one day in Russia ; but it has lost 
 its efficacy ! It does not kill, while it causes me 
 excruciating pain." 
 
 Ivan went weeping out of the room to prepare 
 a remedy, 
 
 Napoleon turned his eyes with an expression 
 of agony toward Maret and Caulaincourt, who 
 were kneeling before him. "My friends," he 
 said, " I sought death ! But you see God did not 
 will it ! He commands me to live and suffer." * 
 
 Or the morning after this night of terror, the 
 emperor rose from his couch, and his face, which 
 for the last few days had been so gloomy, as- 
 sumed now a serene expression. " Providence 
 has spared me for other purposes," he murmured 
 to himself. "Well, then, I shall live! To the 
 living belongs the future ! " f 
 
 A week afterward, on the 20th of April, Napo- 
 leon left Fontaiuebloau for Elba. In the court- 
 yard of the palace, the Old Guard was drawn up 
 
 * Constant's " M6moires," vol. vi., p. 88. Fain, " Man 
 uscrit." 
 t Baussefs " M6moires," vol. ii., p. 244. 
 
A SOUL IX PURGATORY. 
 
 301 
 
 In the splendor of their arms, with their eagles 
 and banners. Near the ranks of the soldiers, in 
 front of the main portal, stood Bonaparte's trav- 
 elling-carriage, and beside it the foreign commis- 
 sioners. Before setting out, he wished to take 
 leave of his faithful soldiers. Advancing into 
 the midst of the Old Guard, he addressed them in 
 a firm voice : " Soldiers of my Old Guard, I bid 
 you adieu ! During twenty years I have ever 
 found you in the path of honor. In the last 
 i!;iys, as in those of our prosperity, you have 
 never ceased to be models of bravery and fidelity. 
 With such men as you our cause could never 
 have been lost ; but the war would never end ; it 
 would have become a civil war, and France must 
 daily have been more unhappy. I have, there- 
 fore, sacrificed all our interests to those of our 
 country : I depart ; but you remain to serve 
 France Her happiness was my only thought ; it 
 
 will always be the object of my fervent wishes. 
 Lament not my destiny : if I have consented to 
 survive myself, it was because I might contribute 
 to your glory, Adieu, my children ! I would I 
 could press you all to my heart ; but I will, at 
 least, press your eagle ! " At these words, Gen- 
 eral Petit advanced with the eagle ; Napoleon re- 
 ceived the general in his arms, and, kissing the 
 standard, he added : " I cannot embrace you all, 
 but I do so in the person of your general ! Adieu, 
 once again, my old companions ! " 
 
 The veteran soldiers had no reply but tears and 
 sobs, and, stretching out their hands toward Napo- 
 leon, they implored him to stay. But the carriage 
 rolled rapidly across the court-yard, bearing into 
 exile, or at best to the sovereignty of an insig- 
 nificant island, a man who, in aiming at the em- 
 pire of the world, had subdued almost all the 
 kingdoms of Europe. 
 
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