RASTADT.
The congress of Rastadt had been in session for nearly two years. For
nearly two years the German ambassadors had been quarrelling with France
about the ancient boundaries of the empire, and had been quarrelling
among each other about a few strips of land, a few privileges which one
state demanded, while another would not grant.
It was a sorrowful and humiliating spectacle this congress of Rastadt
presented to the world, and all Germany was looking on with feelings of
pain and shame, while France pointed at it with scornful laughter, and
exclaimed:
“It is not France that destroys and dissolves Germany, but Germany is
annihilating herself. She is dissolving away, owing to her own weakness,
and the dissensions of her rulers will kill her!”
Yes, indeed, Germany bore the germ of death and dissolution in her sick,
lacerated breast, and the first symptoms of putrefaction already made
their appearance. These first symptoms were the envy, jealousy, and
hatred the rulers of Germany felt toward each other, and the malicious
joy with which one saw another die, without pitying his torments, and
only mindful of the fact that he would be the dying state’s heir.
The first section of Germany which succumbed under these circumstances,
embraced the bishoprics and ecclesiastical states. They exhibited most
of all the corruption and putrefaction of German affairs. Hence, such
German states as expected to be benefited by their dissolution, voted
for secularization, while such as were threatened with losses voted
against it. A new apple of discord had been thrown into the German
empire; the last spark of German unity was gone, and two hostile
parties, bitterly menacing each other, were formed. Austria loudly
raised her voice against the secularization of the ecclesiastical
possessions, because she could derive no benefit from it; while Prussia
declared in favor of secularization, because she believed she would
be able to aggrandize her territory in consequence; and the secondary
princes demanded the dissolution of the bishoprics even more urgently
than Prussia, because they knew that a portion of those dominions would
fall to their own share.
Covetousness caused the German princes to overlook all other interests,
and to act contrary to all correct principles; covetousness caused them
first to shake the decaying ancient German empire; covetousness caused
them to destroy the old political organization of the country, and
German hands were the first to tear down the edifice of the imperial
constitution.
The German ambassadors at Rastadt forgot, therefore, the original
object of their mission; they had come thither to secure the continued
existence of the German empire, and to protect Germany from the
encroachments of France, and now they were threatening the German
empire themselves. They had come thither to establish the boundaries
of Germany, and now they were attacking the boundaries of the single
sections and states of the empire themselves.
No wonder that France sought to profit by these dissensions of the
Germans among each other; no wonder that she thought she might seize a
piece of Germany, too, seeing, as she did, that the German states were
quarrelling among themselves about the division of the spoils. France,
therefore, advanced her troops farther on the right bank of the Rhine,
and claimed the fortresses of Kehl, Ehrenbreitstein, and Castel.
This fresh and unparalleled exaction silenced the domestic quarrels
among the Germans for a moment, and all voices united to protest loudly
and solemnly against the new demand of the French Republic.
But the French replied to the solemn protests of the German ambassadors
at Rastadt by cold sneers and violent threats. Ehrenbreitstein not
being surrendered to them after the first summons, they blockaded the
fortress, levied contributions on the right bank of the Rhine, and
declared the possessions of the nobility to be forfeited to the French
Republic. [Footnote: Vide Hausser’s “History of Germany.” vol. ii., p.
201.] The German ambassadors at Rastadt complaining of these oppressive
proceedings, the French declared, “the magnanimity of the French had
exceeded all expectations. They were able to take every thing, and they
had contented themselves with very little.”
The congress had met at Rastadt in order to conclude peace, but so far
the negotiations had produced nothing but exasperation and a strong
probability of ultimate war. The arrogance and scornful bearing of
France became every day more intolerable, and the desire of Austria
became proportionately more evident to punish France for her insolence,
and to take revenge for the numerous and galling insults she had heaped
upon Germany. Prussia hesitated to join Austria, and to declare in favor
of open hostilities against France; she deemed such a war injurious to
her particular interests, and desired to maintain peace; the secondary
German states, however, allowed themselves to be intimidated by the
threats of France to devour all of them, and they were quite willing to
expose Germany to further humiliations, provided that their own petty
existence should not be endangered.
The work of pacification, therefore, made no progress whatever, but only
became a disgrace to Germany, and the congress of Rastadt was nothing
but a symptom of the disease of which Germany was soon to perish.
Germany seemed destined to die, like an aged and decrepit man, of her
own weakness and exhaustion.
This weakness was every day on the increase. In January, 1799,
Ehrenbreitstein succumbed, and the French occupied the fortress.
Still the peace commissioners remained in session at Rastadt, and
continued their negotiations with the French, who just now had again
perfidiously violated the treaties, and appropriated German possessions.
If the German ambassadors, perhaps, were lost to all sense of honor and
of their disgraceful position, the representatives of France were fully
conscious of their dignity. They treated the ambassadors of Germany in
the most scornful manner; they dared haughtily and arrogantly to meddle
with the domestic affairs of Germany; they constantly trumped up new
claims in the most overbearing attitude, and in their habitual imperious
tone, and the representatives of the German empire scarcely dared to
refuse their exactions even in the most timid manner.
Only one of the three French ambassadors, for the last few weeks, had
been less supercilious than his colleagues; he had participated less
than formerly in the affairs of the German congress, and while Roberjot
and Jean Debry were raising their arrogant and haughty voices in
every session of congress, Bonnier kept aloof. He even held no further
intercourse with his own countrymen; and his tall and imposing figure,
with the proud and gloomy countenance, was seen no longer every night as
heretofore in the drawing-rooms of the wives of Roberjot and Debry.
He kept aloof from society as he kept aloof from the congress, and the
French ladies smilingly whispered to each other that something strange,
something unheard of, had happened to the austere republican. To the
man who heretofore had proudly resisted the blandishments of beautiful
women, they said he had fallen in love with that wondrously lovely and
strange lady who had been at Rastadt for the last few weeks, but who
was living in such seclusion that the public had only occasionally got a
sight of her. No one knew who this strange lady was, and what she wanted
at Rastadt; she had paid visits to no one, and left her card nowhere.
She had arrived only attended by a footman and a lady’s maid; but in
advance, a brilliant suite of rooms and a box at the theatre had been
retained for her. In this box every night the beautiful strange lady
was seen closely veiled, and the gloomy pale face of Bonnier had been
repeatedly beheld by her side.
Victoria de Poutet, therefore, had accomplished her purpose; she had
tamed one of the French bears, and surrounded him with the magic nets
of her beauty. She was the mysterious strange lady whose appearance had
created so great a sensation in the drawing-rooms of Rastadt for the
last few weeks; she was the lady whom Bonnier was following as though he
were her shadow.
She had come to him as a refugee, as a persecuted woman, with tears in
her eyes. She had told him a tragic story of Thugut’s tyranny and wanton
lust. Because she had refused to submit to the voluptuous desires of
the Austrian minister, he had sworn to ruin her, and his love had turned
into furious hatred. She further stated the minister had threatened her
with the confiscation of her property, with imprisonment, death, and
disgrace, and she had only succeeded by her courage and cunning in
saving herself and in escaping from Austria. Now she came to Bonnier
to invoke the protection and assistance of generous France, and to flee
from the rude violence of a German minister to the chivalrous aegis of
the French Republic.
How beautiful she was in her tears, with the mournful smile on her
swelling lips! But how much more beautiful when a deep blush mantled
her cheeks, and when her large dark eyes were sparkling in the glow of
revenge and anger!
For Victoria de Poutet did not only want protection--she also sought
revenge--revenge on that tyrant Thugut, who had dared to threaten her
innocence and virtue, and to assail her honor and happiness. She was not
only persecuted--she was also insulted, and she wished to chastise
the Austrian minister for these insults. Bonnier was to lend her
his assistance for this purpose. He was to procure means for her to
overthrow Thugut.
How eloquently and enthusiastically did she speak to Bonnier about her
misfortunes, her anger, and her thirst of revenge! How much truthfulness
there was depicted in her face--what a demoniacal ardor in her eyes; how
much energy in her whole bearing, so indicative of bold determination
and of an indomitable spirit!
Bonnier gazed at her in wondering delight, in timid awe. He who had
hated women because they were so weak, so peevish, and insignificant,
now saw before him a woman with the energy of a hatred such as he had
scarcely known himself, with the enthusiasm of a revengefulness that
shrank back from no dangers and no obstacles. Under this delicate,
ethereal female form there was concealed the spirit and firm will of a
man; bold thoughts were written on her forehead, and an enchanting
smile was playing on her full lips. While Bonnier was listening to the
dithyrambics of her hatred and revenge, love glided into his own heart;
she had fascinated him by her revengeful hymns as others fascinate by
their love-songs.
Victoria was conscious of her triumph; her eagle eye had watched every
motion, every step of this innocent lamb she was going to strangle; she
had seen him fall into the glittering nets she had spread out for him;
she knew that he was a captive in her meshes without being aware of it
himself.
Her bearing now underwent a change; she was no longer merely a woman
thirsting for revenge, but also a tender, loving woman; she was no
longer merely filled with hatred, but she also seemed susceptible of
gentler emotions; she lowered her eyes before Bonnier’s ardent glances
and blushed. To his timid and faltering protestations of love she
replied by subdued sighs, and by a dreamy smile; and when Bonnier at
length dared to approach her with a bold confession of his passion--when
he was on his knees before her, all aglow with love and enthusiasm,
Victoria bent over him with a sweet smile, and whispered: “Give me the
papers that are to ruin Thugut; surrender that vile man to my revenge,
and my love, my life are yours!”
Bonnier looked up to her with a triumphant smile. “You are mine, then,
Victoria,” he said, “for you shall have those papers! I surrender that
infamous and treacherous man to your revenge!”
She stretched out her hands toward him with a cry of boundless joy.
“Give me the papers,” she exclaimed; “give them to me, and I will thank
you as only love is able to thank!”
Bonnier looked a long while at her, and his face, usually so gloomy, was
now radiant with happiness and delight.
“To-morrow, my charming fairy,” he said, “to-morrow you shall have
the papers which are to open hell to your enemy, and heaven to your
enraptured friend. But you must give me also a proof of your confidence
and love; you must come to me and call in person for the papers. I give
you the highest proof of my love by delivering to you documents that do
not belong to me, but to the republic. Then give me likewise the highest
proof of your love. Come to me!”
She cast a long and glowing glance on him. “I shall come!” she
whispered.
And Victoria kept her word. Early on the following morning a
closely-veiled lady was seen to glide into the castle of Rastadt, where
the three French ambassadors were living at that time. Bonnier received
her in person at the foot of the wide staircase, and gave her his arm
in order to conduct her to the rooms occupied by himself. They exchanged
not a word with each other, but walked silently through the sumptuous
apartments and finally entered Bonnier’s study.
“We are at the goal--here I bid you welcome, my fairy queen!” exclaimed
Bonnier. “Remove now these odious veils. Let me now at length see your
beautiful features!”
He violently tore off her black veils, and Victoria suffered it
smilingly, and looked at him with a wondrous air of joy and happiness.
“Are you content now?” she asked, in her superb, sonorous voice. “Has
the proud lord of creation now prepared a new and satisfactory triumph
for himself? The poor slave whom he loves must come to him and beg him
for love and happiness!”
She had crossed her hands on her breast, and half kneeling down before
Bonnier, she looked up to him with a fascinating mixture of archness and
passion.
Bonnier lifted her up and wanted to imprint a kiss upon her lips, but
she violently pushed him back.
“No,” she said, “let us be sensible as long as we can. First we must
attend to our business.”
“Business!” exclaimed Bonnier. “What have we to do with business?
Leave business to the diplomatists and their clerks. Why should lips so
charming and beautiful pronounce this cold and dismal word?”
“If I spoke of business, I meant revenge,” said Victoria, fervently.
“Give me the papers, Bonnier--the papers that are to ruin Thugut!”
Bonnier took her head between his hands and looked at her with flaming
eyes.
“Then you hate him still? You still desire to take revenge on him?” he
asked.
“Yes, I hate him!” she exclaimed, “and the happiest day of my life will
be the one on which I see him hurled down from his proud eminence, and
sneaking alone, miserable, and despised into obscurity.”
“One might, indeed, really believe that she is in earnest, and that
truth alone could utter such words,” muttered Bonnier, who constantly
held her head in his hands, and thus gazed at her. “Swear to me,
Victoria, swear to me by what is most sacred to you, that you hate
Thugut, and that you desire to ruin him!”
“I swear it by what is most sacred to me,” she said, solemnly; “I swear
it by your love!”
“That is the best and most unequivocal oath, and I will believe you,”
said Bonnier, laughing.
“Then you will now give me those papers?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said, bluntly, “I will give them to you. Come, my angel, you
are right? let us first speak of business matters. There, sit down here
at my desk. Oh, henceforth this spot will be sacred to me, for your
heavenly person has consecrated it. Let me sit down here by your side,
and thus we will lay our dispatches before each other, like two good
and conscientious diplomatists. Look here! this portfolio contains
your revenge and your satisfaction. This portfolio contains the papers
proving that Thugut has received large sums of money from Russia and
England for the purpose of instigating the Emperor of Austria against
France, and that his pretended patriotic indignation is after all
nothing but the paid role of a comedian. I have abstracted this
portfolio from the archives of our embassy. Do you understand me,
Victoria? I have stolen it for you!”
“Let me see the papers!” exclaimed Victoria, trembling with impatience.
Bonnier opened the portfolio and drew a paper from it. But on looking
at it, a dark cloud passed over his face, and he shook his head
indignantly.
“What a miserable fool I was to make such a mistake!” he ejaculated
angrily. “I have taken the wrong portfolio. This one does not contain
the papers you are looking for.”
“That is,” said Victoria, with cutting coldness--“that is, you have
intentionally deceived me. You decoyed me hither under false pretences.
You told me a story about important papers that were in your possession,
and with which you were to intrust me for the purpose of gratifying
my revenge. And now when I come to you, nobly trusting your chivalrous
word, now it turns out that you have deceived me, and that those
important papers do not exist at all.”
“Ah, believe me there are papers here perhaps even more important
than the documents you are looking for,” said Bonnier, shrugging his
shoulders. “Believe me, Baron Thugut would give many thousands if he
could get hold of the papers contained in this portfolio. They are,
perhaps, even more important than those other documents.”
A flash burst forth from Victoria’s eyes, and the angry air disappeared
at once from her features. She turned to Bonnier with a fascinating
smile.
“What sort of papers are those?” she asked.
“Papers that do not interest you, my charming fairy,” he said,
smilingly; “for what have love and revenge to do with the negotiations
of diplomacy? This portfolio contains only diplomatic documents, only
the secret correspondence between ourselves and the Prussian government,
and the negotiations concerning an alliance between France and
Prussia--that is all. They do not interest you, my beautiful Victoria,
but Thugut would gladly purchase these papers for those which you are so
anxious to obtain.”
Victoria’s eyes were fixed on the portfolio with a glowing expression,
and her hand was involuntarily approaching it. Bonnier saw it, and a
peculiar smile overspread his gloomy face for a moment.
“Happy for me,” he said, “that I discovered my mistake before giving
you the portfolio. The loss of these papers would have compromised me
irretrievably. But you are silent, Victoria--you do not utter a word.
Then you do not yet believe in the truthfulness of my words? I swear to
you, my fascinating sorceress, it was a mere mistake--I only seized the
wrong portfolio.”
“Do not swear, but convince me,” said Victoria. “Go and fetch the other
portfolio.”
“And I should leave you here all alone so long?” he asked, tenderly. “I
should be such a prodigal as to squander these precious minutes during
which I am permitted to be by your side!”
Victoria rose and looked at him with flaming, imperious eyes.
“Fetch the papers,” she shouted, “or I leave you this very moment, and
you shall never see me again!”
“That is a word by which you would drive me even into the jaws of hell!”
said Bonnier, ardently. “Wait for me here, Victoria--I am going for the
papers.”
He greeted her with a rapid nod, and placing the portfolio under his
arm, he hastily walked to the door. Here he turned around toward her and
his eyes met hers steadfastly fixed upon him. He kissed his hand to her,
and while doing so, the portfolio softly glided from under his arm and
fell upon the floor. Bonnier took no notice of it; his whole attention
was riveted on the beautiful lady. But she saw it, and her eyes sparkled
with delight.
“Return as soon as possible,” she said, with an enchanting smile, and
Bonnier left the room. She anxiously looked after him until the door
had closed, and then she listened to the sound of his footsteps. Now the
latter were no longer audible, and every thing about her was silent.
Victoria did not stir; she only swept with her large eyes searchingly
over the whole room; she fixed them upon every curtain, upon every piece
of furniture. But nothing was there to arouse her suspicions; a profound
stillness reigned around her.
Now she rose slowly from her seat and made a few steps forward. The
rustling of her heavy silk dress alone interrupted the silence.
She paused again and listened, and her eyes fixed themselves longingly
upon the portfolio lying at the door. Why were not her eyes endowed
with the power of a loadstone? Why were they not able to attract the
portfolio to her?
The portfolio lay there quietly and immovably; Victoria vainly stretched
out her hands toward it--she was unable to reach it.
Once more she impetuously glanced round the room; then she bounded
forward like a lioness rushing toward her prey.
She grasped the portfolio and raised it with a triumphant smile. Her
small hands quickly plunged into it and drew forth the papers. There
were but a few letters, and besides several closely written pages.
Victoria did not take time to look at them; she rapidly pushed the
papers into the pocket of her dress, and arranged the folds of the
latter so as to conceal the contents of her pocket. She then closed
the portfolio and replaced it on the floor, precisely on the spot where
Bonnier had dropped it.
Her purpose was accomplished! How her face was glowing with delight! How
deep a blush was burning on her cheeks! How her eyes were sparkling with
diabolic exultation!
With light, inaudible steps she now crossed the room again, and resumed
her seat at the desk. And it was fortunate that she had done so, for
steps were approaching in the adjoining room; the door opened, and
Bonnier entered.