THE PLAINS OF KITSEE.
On the first of May, 1683, the Emperor Leopold reviewed his troops
on the plains of Kitsee, not far from Preshurg, To this review, all
who had promised to sustain Austria were invited. Her appeals had at
last roused the German princes to action; but they had been so
dilatory in their councils, that not one of them was prepared for
war.
The army assembled on the plains of Kitsee was not numerous. There
were thirty-three thousand men in all, who, with their faded
uniforms and defective weapons, made no great show.
The emperor, as he emerged from his tent, looked discouraged.
Sternly he rode forth on his richly-caparisoned gray horse, and,
when his men greeted him with enthusiastic shouts, he bowed his head
in silence, and sighed heavily.
He turned to Charles of Lorraine, who rode a few paces behind him,
and said:
"Come hither, Carl." The duke obeyed at once, and at one bound was
at the emperor's side. "Tell me, Carl," said he, anxiously, "how
many infantry are there here?"
"Twenty-two thousand, your majesty."
"And cavalry?"
"Twelve thousand mounted troops."
"About what may be the strength of the enemy?"
"Your majesty, our scouts report that the combined forces of Turkey
and Hungary amount to more than two hundred thousand."
Leopold raised his eyes to the calm, self-possessed face of his
brother-in-law. "You say that, as quietly as if it were a pleasant
piece of news; and yet methinks we are in a critical position."
"Your majesty, I have known this for so long a time that I am
accustomed to contemplate it with equanimity. Before our decision
was made, I was timid and irresolute; but since the die is cast, I
am bold and self-reliant, for I know that I will either conquer or
die."
"You think success then a possibility! With thirty-three thousand
men, you hope to repulse two hundred thousand?"
"The King of Poland adds forty thousand to our number, the Electors
of Bavaria and Saxony are making preparations to re-enforce us, and
the other princes of Germany will soon follow their example. The
Moslem has put out all his strength for one decisive blow; the
longer we avoid an engagement the weaker he grows; while time to us
brings accession of numbers, and lessens his chance for reaching
Vienna."
The emperor shook his head. "That you are a hero, Carl, I confess:
this hour proves you one. But I cannot share your hopefulness. When
I look around me at all these men, and think that they are death-
doomed, my heart grows faint, and my eyes dim."
"Do not think so much of the number of your troops, sire; look at
their countenances. See those stern, resolute faces, and those fiery
eyes. Every man of them chafes to march against the infidel--"
"Hurrah for our emperor!" cried out a lusty voice, close by. "Hurrah
for our general, Charles of Lorraine!"
"Ah, Christopher III, are you there?" cried the duke, cordially.
"Yes, your highness," replied the cuirassier, while his horse
stepped a few paces in front of the ranks. "Yes, your highness, I am
here to fight the infidel with a will as good as I had at St.
Gotthard's twenty years ago. That was a glorious day; and I thank
God that I am alive to see your highness win another victory as
great over the insolent Turk."
"You think, then, that we will be victorious, Christopher?"
"Ay, indeed, your highness, for God is with us."
"Bravely spoken," said the emperor, gazing with visible satisfaction
at the wrinkled face and snow-white beard of the old cuirassier.
The Duke of Lorraine signed to him to advance. "Your majesty," said
he to Leopold, "allow me to present one of your bravest soldiers,
Christopher III. In all the army there is not a man as old as his
youngest son, and I venture to say that he is the oldest man in
Europe under arms."
"That is a broad assertion," replied Leopold. "How old may you be,
Christopher III?"
"Last Thursday I was a hundred and nine years old, please your
imperial majesty," said Christopher, bowing to his saddle-bow.
"A hundred and nine years old!" cried Leopold, incredulously. "Nay--
that is impossible. No man of that age could sit a horse or carry a
sword as you do."
"Your majesty, it is said in Holy Writ, that, when our fore-fathers
were five hundred years old, they were young and lusty; and I can
assure my emperor, that when once I am on my horse, with my sabre in
hand, I will fight with the best lad of twenty years. I mount rather
stiffly, because of a wound I received at Leipsic when we had the
ill-luck to be defeated by Gustavus Adolphus."
"Why, man, do you mean to say that fifty-two years ago you were in
the army?"
"Yes, sire; and there I received the wound from which I still suffer
to-day. The battle of Leipsic was far from being my first: it may
have been the twentieth, but I am not quite sure. When first I
entered the service, I used to mark our battles with a red cross
when we were victorious, and a black one when we were unfortunate;
but, after I had been in the army for twenty years, I stopped. There
were too many fights to record."
"But you can remember your first battle, can you not?"
"Certainly, sire. I began, as I am likely to end, by fighting the
Porte; and we defeated him then, as we assuredly intend to do now."
"When was it?" asked Leopold, with interest.
"Eighty years ago, sire, when the Hungarians and Turks made war upon
the Emperor Rudolph the Second. Yes, even then, the dogs were after
Vienna, and those mutinous Hungarians were giving trouble to your
majesty's forefathers. The Emperor Mathias, who succeeded his
brother, made a treaty with them for twenty years, for we had as
much on our hands as we could manage, with the rebels of Bohemia.
They rose again and again under the three Ferdinands, but we brought
them down at last. I have served under six emperors, and all have
vanquished their enemies, even as my last gracious sovereign Leopold
shall do. Long live our Leopold, the conqueror of the Turks!"
"Long live our Leopold!" shouted the cuirassiers, delighted with the
condescension of the emperor to Christopher. The shout was taken up
by the other troops, until it resounded like rolling thunder along
the plains of Kitsee.
The emperor greeted his army with something like a reflection of
their enthusiasm, and then returned to Christopher.
"Christopher," said he, "you have served under six emperors, and
have done more than your duty toward Austria. I give you your
discharge, for he who has worked faithfully all day has a right to
rest when night sets in. I appoint you castellan of my palace at
Innspruck; and, in addition to your salary, bestow upon you a
pension of four hundred florins."
"Thank your majesty, but indeed I cannot go," replied the old man,
resolutely. "I hardly think the Turkish hounds will ever get as far
as Innspruck, so I must e'en go forward with the army to fight them
wherever they are to be met. My night has not yet set in, sire."
"What!" cried Leopold, laughing, "you refuse?"
"Yes, your majesty. I crave neither pension nor sinecure. I intend
to follow the army, and, if God calls me hence, then I shall be
willing to rest; but before I go I hope to mow down a few Turks'
heads to take to St. Peter, for him to use as balls when he plays
ninepins. But, if your imperial majesty will grant it, you might do
me a favor."
"What is it, my brave cuirassier? tell me."
"Your majesty, will you allow me to present my sons, grandsons,
great-grandsons, and great-great-grandsons? They are all in my
regiment."
"The Eleventh Cuirassiers of Herberstein, your majesty," added the
Duke of Lorraine.
"Ah," cried the emperor, in a voice intended to be heard by all the
men, "that is an old and renowned regiment. Were you in it,
Christopher, when it was commanded by the great Dampierre in 16l9?"
"Yes, your majesty, I was the first man enrolled. I was there when
the regiment rescued the Emperor Ferdinand from a body of
insurgents, who had surrounded his imperial palace, and were trying
to compel him to abdicate. Just as they were forcing the gates, the
trumpets of Dampierre sounded an alarm, and the emperor was saved.
The cuirassiers galloped into the midst of the insurgents, and
dispersed them like so many cats."
"And to reward their loyalty and opportune aid," cried the emperor,
"Ferdinand conferred upon the Eleventh Cuirassiers the privilege of
riding through Vienna, trumpet sounding and colors flying, and of
pitching their tents on the Burgplatz." [Footnote: This is
historical, and in 1819, on the two hundredth anniversary of the
rescue, the privilege was extended to the present time.--See
Austrian Plutarch.]
"Hurrah! Hurrah! The emperor knows our history," shouted Christopher
Ill.
"Hurrah! Hurrah!" echoed the regiment, and once more through the
plains of Kitsee rang the jubilant cry, "Long live Leopold! Long
live our emperor!"
"And now," said the emperor, when the shouts had died away, "now let
me see your children, my brave veteran.--Baron Dupin," added
Leopold, addressing himself to the colonel of the regiment, "will
you permit them to step out of their ranks?"
Baron Dupin bowed, and, riding to the front with drawn sword, he
called out: "All the descendants of Christopher Ill--forward!"
There was a general movement among the cuirassiers, and fifty-four
men rode up, and clustered around their common ancestor. There were
bronzed faces with white beards--others with gray; there were men in
the prime of life, and others in the flower; there were youths
approaching manhood, and lads that had scarcely emerged from
childhood; but from peeping bud to fruit that was about to fall,
they one and all resembled their parent stem; every mother's son of
them had Christopher Ill's aquiline nose, and large, sparkling eyes.
"Your majesty perceives," said the old man, looking proudly around
him, "that if I have sabred many a Turk's head, I have replaced each
one by that of a Christian; so that I owe nothing to humanity for
the damage my sword has done.--Now, boys, cry out, 'Long live the
emperor!'"
So the boys, young and old, echoed the shout; the regiment took it
up, and for the third time Leopold's heart was cheered by the
enthusiastic affection of the army.
"Well, Christopher," said he, gayly, "although you reject my pension
for yourself, you will not, I hope, reject it for your sons. Let it
be divided between them, and long may you live to see them enjoy
it!"
With these words, the emperor raised his hat, and waving it in token
of adieu, he returned to his tent, far happier than he had left it
some hours before.
"Carl," said he to the Duke of Lorraine, "I thank you for presenting
Christopher III to my notice. That old man's spirit is catching, and
I feel the pleasant infection. I recognize the might of bravery, and
it seems as if my small army had doubled its numbers. This veteran,
who in his person unites the history of six of my predecessors, has
taught me that individuals are nothing in the sight of God. Six
emperors have succumbed to the immutable laws of Nature, but the
house of Hapsburg is still erect. What, then, if I meet with
reverses? The Lord has given me a son, who, if I should be
unfortunate, will prop up our dynasty, and avenge his father's
misfortunes."
"We will try to leave him none to avenge, sire. Your men are full of
loyalty, and God will preserve your majesty's life until your son is
fit to be your successor."
"His holy will be done!" said Leopold, crossing himself; then,
having given orders for an advance upon the fortress of Neuhausel,
he changed his dress preparatory to starting for Vienna.
He had just been equipped in his black travelling-suit when Prince
Louis of Baden entered the tent, followed by a young man whose
simple costume presented a striking contrast to the magnificence of
the uniforms around. He wore a brown coat buttoned up to the throat,
leaving visible merely the ends of his cravat of costly Venetian
lace. Ruffles of the same encircled his white hands, which, it was
easy to see, had never been hardened by work, or browned by the sun.
His face, though youthful, bore traces of thought and suffering; and
his bearing was self-possessed, although every eye was upon him.
"Whom bring you hither?" inquired Leopold, with a smile.
"Your majesty, I bring nothing but a young Savoyard: nevertheless I
predict that, one of these days, he will be one of the great
generals of the world." [Footnote: The Margrave of Baden's own
words.--See Arinatli, "Prince Eugene," vol. i., p. 23.]
"I am not so presumptuous as to expect that I will ever rival Prince
Louis of Baden or Charles of Lorraine," said Eugene. "All I have to
ask of your majesty is the favor of being allowed to serve under
them."
There was a pause. Everybody looked in amazement at the bold being
who, all court etiquette disregarding, had ventured to address the
emperor without being spoken to by his majesty; but he was perfectly
unconscious of his blunder. He looked so frank, so modest, and yet
so unembarrassed, that the emperor was disarmed, and a smile
nickered over his pleasant face.
"I see that he is a stranger," was Leopold's deprecatory remark.
"Present him, your highness, that I may welcome him to Austria."
The prince, taking the young man by the hand, led him up to the
emperor.
"Sire, I have the honor to present you my kinsman, Prince Eugene of
Savoy. He has come to Austria to join his brother, and like him, to
serve under the Austrian flag."
"Prince Eugene of Savoy, you are welcome to Austria," said Leopold,
graciously.
Eugene answered the salutation by a low bow, and then calmly raised
his head. But Prince Louis of Baden whispered in his ear, "The
Spanish genuflection--quick! bend the knee!"
Eugene looked surprised, for he had not understood the warning. But
the emperor had overheard, and came once more to the rescue.
"Never mind the Spanish genuflection," interposed he, with a good-
natured laugh. "The prince is not my subject; he has been educated
in France, where people know little or nothing of the customs and
usages of our court."
But scarcely were the words out of Leopold's mouth before Eugene had
approached his arm-chair, and had fallen on one knee.
"Sire," said he, in his soft, melodious voice, whose tones went
straight to the emperor's heart, "allow me to consider myself as
your subject, and to render you homage according to the usages of
your majesty's court. It is my misfortune to have been educated in
France, and thereby to have lost twenty years of my life."
"Why lost?" inquired Leopold. "What was wanting in France to make
you happy?"
"Every thing, sire!" cried Eugene, warmly. "And the only thing I did
not want was thrust upon me."
"What was that?"
"The tonsure, sire. I begged the King of France for an insignificant
commission in his army; I was scornfully repulsed. And now that I
have shaken the dust of his dominions from my feet, I never wish to
return thither unless--"
"Well," said the emperor, as Eugene paused. "Finish your sentence.
'Unless'--"
Eugene raised his magnificent eyes until they met those of the
emperor. Then, in a calm voice, he continued:
"Unless I could do so as his majesty's victorious enemy." [Footnote:
Eugene's own words.--See Rene, "Mazarin's Nieces."]
"Your majesty sees that he is the stuff of which heroes are made,"
observed Louis of Baden.
"You do not love France?" said Leopold.
"Sire, my family and I have suffered persecution at the hands of the
French monarch, and I yearn for satisfaction. Your majesty sees how
unfit I am to be a priest, for I cannot love my enemies, nor do good
to those who despitefully use we."
"Let us hope that you will learn this lesson later. Meanwhile you
seem more fitted for the career of a soldier than the vocation of a
churchman. Your appearance here reminds me of my own youth. I, too,
was destined for the priesthood, and wore the garb of an abbe. I was
a younger son, and nothing but an appendage to royalty. But it
pleased God of His servant to make a sovereign, and to send as His
messenger, death. My brother Ferdinand, the hope of Austria, died,
and I stepped forth from my insignificance to become the heir to a
mighty empire. Your brother Louis has frequently mentioned you to
me, and from him I learned that at the French court you were known
as 'the little abbe!' If of me, who was once a novice, Almighty God
has made an emperor--of you, little abbe, He may make a great
warrior!"
"Sire, my fate is in His hands; but all that lies in my own, I will
do to serve your majesty as your loyal subject, hoping to follow
from afar in the footsteps of the distinguished models before me."
At the same time, Eugene bowed low to the Duke of Lorraine.
"Will you take him as your pupil?" asked Leopold of his brother-in-
law. "No one in Austria can teach him better how to win laurels."
"With your majesty's permission, I accept the task," replied the
duke. "But he must expect to find me a hard master, and, as my pupil
in war, to have little leisure for aught else."
"You see," said Leopold, gayly, "what a miserable lot you have
chosen for yourself. You have fallen from Scylla into Charybdis, my
poor youth."
"I have my Ulysses, your majesty, in his highness of Lorraine. I
give myself up to his sage guidance."
"If Prince Eugene is as ready with his sword as with his tongue, my
enemies will have to look out, methinks," cried Leopold. "So take
him along, Duke of Lorraine, and of the little abbe of the King of
France make a great captain for the Emperor of Austria."
"With your majesty's permission, I will confer upon him the rank of
colonel, and the first vacancy that occurs. Until then, prince, you
can accompany me as a volunteer."
"As a volunteer for life, your highness," replied Eugene; "and,
although I have already to thank his majesty for much gracious
encouragement, I feel more grateful to him for placing me under your
highness's orders, than for any other of the favors he has so kindly
bestowed upon me to-day."
"I am glad to know it," returned the emperor. "Follow your leader,
then, my young friend; and see that, although you have relinquished
the priesthood, you hold fast to Christianity. We part for a time,
but we shall meet again before long. Let us hope that it may be to
give thanks to God for victory and peace."
The emperor then rose, and, followed by his officers, left the tent.
His carriage stood without, and in a few moments, amid the
respectful greetings of his staff, and the hurrahs of the army, he
disappeared from the plains of Kitsee.
The Duke of Lorraine signed to Eugene to follow him. Laying his hand
gently upon the prince's shoulder, he said: "Young man, you have
requested me to be your instructor, and I have accepted the office,
for you please me, and my heart inclines toward you. Let me then
begin at once. I wish to give you some advice."
"I am all attention, your highness."
"Weigh well your words, before you give them utterance. You will
find enemies in the Austrian ranks, as well as in those of the
Turkish army. You have already gained a few; and by-and-by, if you
are not careful, you will have as many as myself."
"What can I have done, your highness, during the half hour I have
spent in his majesty's tent, to provoke enmity from the strangers
around me? That you should have enemies, I comprehend; for
distinction always calls forth envy. But I, an unknown youth! who
could envy me?"
"Those who saw how graciously you were welcomed by the Emperor of
Austria. But that is not all. You have offended your kinsman, Louis
of Baden. It was he who presented you to the king. He is a brave and
distinguished officer, and deserved all the compliments you bestowed
upon me. Believe me, if you know your own interest, you will select
him for your model and master in the art of war. He will be
flattered at your preference, and will serve you efficiently. His
friendship is worth having."
"I love Louis of Baden from my heart," said Eugene; "and, AFTER your
highness, he has the first place in my consideration and esteem."
"After me, say you? Give him the first place, and he will procure
you rapid advancement. For myself, I am unpopular, and if you love
or respect me, do so in secret. You will not long have been an
Austrian officer before you make the discovery that it is not
politic to praise Charles of Lorraine."