Book IV.

I.--THE YOUTHFUL SOVEREIGN.

The Elector George William had been gathered to his fathers. On the 1st of

December in the year 1640 he had at last closed his weary eyes, and bidden

farewell to a world which had brought him much grief and disquiet, little

joy and repose, much mortification and disappointment, never a single

triumph or solid satisfaction.

The Elector George William had been gathered to his fathers, and his son

Frederick William was Elector now. Two melancholy years of privation and

humiliation, resignation and oppression, had he passed at his father's

side, ever suspected by him, ever watched with jealous eyes, and forcibly

denied any participation in the administration of the government, ever

struggling with care, even for daily food, and forced to borrow at

usurious rates of interest to provide even a meager support for his little

household. It had been a severe school, but Frederick William had passed

through it with a brave spirit and cheerful determination. Across the dark

and gloomy present his clear eye had ever been directed to the future, and

hope had ever lingered at his side, holding him erect when overburdened by

care, consoling him when vexed and humiliated by his father's unjust

suspicions and ill will. Not unexpectedly had the Elector George William

died; full two months before his summons came, the two physicians in

ordinary, after holding a long consultation with the celebrated Königsberg

doctors, announced to the Electoral Prince that the Elector was drawing

near his end, and that his dropsy and insidious fever were slowly but

inevitably causing death.

The Electoral Prince had had time, therefore, to prepare for the momentous

hour which would call him from obscurity and inactivity--time to summon to

him those whom he wished to have at his side in the critical hour. Up to

the period of his father's death he had been an obedient, submissive son;

yet he had well known that as soon as George William closed his eyes he

would have to step into his place and be his successor. And he would be a

worthy successor! That he had vowed, clasping his father's cold hand. He

had told his mother so when, beside her husband's corpse, she had blessed

him in his new dignity, and besought his protection and love for herself

and her two daughters! Yes, he would be his father's worthy successor; he

would force the world to respect him. Such were his thoughts as, on the

day after his father's decease, he for the first time entered his cabinet,

and seated himself before the great writing table at which the Elector had

been wont to sit.

To the last day of his life George William had himself held the reins of

government, and, in the timid jealousy of his heart, angrily refused all

aid, all assistance. No one had dared to open and read the incoming

rescripts nor to attend to neglected business.

On the table lay whole piles of unopened letters and rescripts, whole

heaps of acts awaiting only the Electoral signature. Frederick William

laid his hand on these acts which he had now to sign, and his large,

deep-blue eyes were uplifted to Heaven.

"Lord!" he cried fervently--"Lord, make known to me the way in which I

should go!"

These were the first words spoken by Frederick William on commencing his

reign, and on seating himself before his father's cabinet table, which was

now his own.

[Illustration: Robbery of peasants.]

He took up the first of the sealed documents and opened it. It was a

representation from the cities of Berlin and Cologne, whose magistrates

implored the Elector to furnish them some redress for their affliction and

want, and besought him, even now, to make peace with the Swedes, and to

command the Stadtholder in the Mark to institute a milder government in

the unhappy province. In heartrending words, they pictured the distresses

of both wretched cities, which had so far declined that they had now

hardly seven thousand inhabitants, while ten years ago they had numbered

more than twenty thousand. "But fire, pillage, and oppressions," so the

writing wound up, "have reduced us to the most extreme poverty. Many of

the inhabitants have made haste to end their wretched lives by means of

water, cord, or knife, and the rest are upon the point of forsaking their

homes, with their wives and children, preferring exile to remaining longer

in these cities, the abodes of pestilence and war. The Stadtholder in the

Mark, however, feels no pity for our sufferings, and just recently,

despite our entreaties, has had all the suburbs burned down, because the

Swedish general Stallhansch was on the march against us. We most urgently

entreat your highness to have compassion upon us in our low estate, and to

instruct the Stadtholder to slacken the severity of his rule and to spare

us in our grief." [29]

Sighing, Frederick William laid aside the melancholy writing, and took up

the next in order. It was a petition from the town of Prenzlow, not less

sad, not less moving than the first. The magistracy of Prenzlow likewise

prayed for compassion and redress of grievances, and painted in moving

words the misery of town and country. "Since," they wrote, "on account of

the unhappy war existing, the fields hereabout had been lying idle for

some years, such unheard-of scarcity had ensued that the people had not

only been driven to making use of unusual articles of diet, such as dogs,

cats, nay, even dead asses lying in the streets, but impelled by the

fierce pangs of hunger, in town as well as in the country, had fallen

upon, cooked, and devoured one another!" [30]

"Much to be pitied land, and much to be pitied Prince as well," sighed

Frederick William. "A heavy, an almost intolerable burden of government

has fallen upon my shoulders. God help me to sustain it worthily!" [31]

He stretched out his hand for a third paper, when the door opened and old

Dietrich entered.

"Well, old man," asked the Elector, "what brings you here? And why is your

old face so merry to-day?"

"Because I have something pleasant to communicate to your highness. The

two gentlemen whom your honor has been expecting are here. Colonel von

Burgsdorf and--"

"Leuchtmar?" joyfully inquired the Elector, and, upon Dietrich's assent,

he hurried himself toward the door. But after he had already stretched out

his hand to turn the knob, he paused and slowly resumed his place in the

middle of the room.

"Who is in the antechamber, besides?" he asked.

"Your highness, there are also without the gentlemen whom you summoned to

an audience, the Chamberlain von Schulenburg, Herr von Kroytz, Herr von

Kospoth, and the jeweler Dusnack."

"Those gentlemen may wait. Desire Herr von Kalkhun to come in."

Dietrich withdrew to the antechamber. The Elector's eyes were fastened

upon the door with an expression of joyful expectancy. When it opened, and

the tall, slender form of his friend and preceptor became visible, he

could restrain himself no longer, but, forgetting all ceremony, all

etiquette, hurried with outspread arms to meet Leuchtmar, and impetuously

clasped him to his breast.

"God be praised that I have you again!" he said, with a warm embrace.

"Once more I have found a father and a faithful friend. Welcome, you man

of loyal heart, with my whole soul I bid you welcome!"

"And you, most gracious sir," cried Leuchtmar, deeply moved, "may you ever

receive blessings and good gifts from on high, and always deserve them by

noble thoughts and deeds! Such shall be my prayer evening and morning, and

your highness shall verify my petition."

"Amen! God grant it!" said Frederick William solemnly. "And now, look at

me, my friend, and let me read in your features that you are the same as

of old."

"The same as of old, indeed!" smiled Leuchtmar. "These two years have made

an old man of me, and blanched my hair. I not merely longed after you, I

grieved for you, knowing, as I did, what your grace had to bear and

suffer. My heart was weighed down by grief and sorrow when I thought of

what my beloved young master was undergoing."

"It is true," said Frederick William. "I have gone through hard trials and

had many humiliations to endure. I have been treated as an adventurer and

alien, unworthy of being employed or consulted. I was forever subjected to

suspicion, and accused of coveting a throne before my time. If I asked

after my father's health, he supposed I did so because I longed for his

death; and if I made no inquiries, he accused me of indifference and want

of natural affection. Alas! Leuchtmar, in the despair of my soul I have

actually thought at times that the beggar on the street had an enviable

fate compared with that of the Electoral Prince of Brandenburg--and--But

hush! hush! I will no longer think of the past with bitterness and

chagrin. Reproach against my father shall never pass my lips. He rests

with God, and, as his soul has entered into everlasting rest, let us not

stir up the ashes of memory, but let peace be between father and son,

eternal peace! And now, my friend, be the past forgotten and blotted out,

with all its pains and wounds, and to the present and future only be our

thoughts dedicated. You are here; I have again my most trusted friend; and

in this the very first hour of our reunion I will confess something to

you, Leuchtmar, which you indeed have long since known, but which I in the

arrogance of youth have sometimes denied. I now feel that Socrates was a

wise man when he said, 'Our education begins with the first day of life,

nor is complete upon the last.' Fate has indeed placed me in a difficult

school, and I am conscious that I am far from possessing adequate

attainments, and that there is still much for me to study and digest.

Therefore, my friend, from you I demand aid, that I may study to some

purpose, and that I may at least take position in the world and among

posterity as a first-class scholar."

"Ah! most gracious sir," said Leuchtmar, smiling, "you are already more

than that, and have in these two years of trial passed your _examen

abiturientium_ with great distinction."

"And think you I am entered now as a student in the high school of

knowledge? Yes, Leuchtmar, such is indeed the case, and since it may well

be that at times I shall make false steps, and commit blunders through

inadvertence or misunderstanding, I demand of you to point out to me my

mistakes."

"But, your highness, I might myself be the one in error, and in my

short-sightedness attempt to teach one much better acquainted with the

subject than myself."

"In such case let us weigh and compare opinions, when, surely, we shall

discover the right. Only promise me this one thing, Leuchtmar, that on all

occasions you will speak the truth to me, according to the best of your

knowledge and perception--that you will not conceal it from me, even when

you may know that it will be irksome and disagreeable to me. Will you

promise me this, my friend?"

"I promise it. I promise, if your highness requests the expression of my

views and opinions, to give you the truth, according to the inmost

convictions of my heart."

"No, Leuchtmar, in important matters you must give me your opinion, even

when I have not asked for it."

"Well then, your highness, I promise that too."

"And on my side I promise always to listen patiently, and not to become

angry and excited, even when our opinions disagree and you utterly oppose

me. You smile and shake your head. Probably you think that I can not keep

my promise."

"I do think so, your highness; yet I fear not, and shall courageously

weather the storm. I am already old and have witnessed the gathering of

many a tempest, have seen the clouds burst, and afterward seen the bright

blue sky and cheerful sunshine again. I shall not fear, even though the

thunder roar and growl, for the thunder has somewhat of the voice of God,

and there is something exalted and majestic in the lightning's flash.

Only, gracious sir, it must not strike, but content itself with harmless

shining. Will you most kindly promise me thus much, gracious sir?"

"Am I Jupiter, that I hold the lightning in my hand, and can direct its

stroke?"

"Yes, indeed, sir, Jupiter you are, in your native element, amid the flash

of lightnings and the roar of thunder."

The Elector smiled. "Tell me, Leuchtmar, am I really then of so fiery a

temperament and of so passionate a nature? Why do you not answer me? The

truth, Leuchtmar, the truth!"

"Well, the truth is that your highness is of quite a fiery temperament and

of a tolerably passionate nature. But you are not to blame for this, for

it was entailed upon you with your Hohenzollern blood. You are the worthy

descendant of your ancestor Albert Achilles; and be glad of this, sir, for

by sluggish blood and soft complexion great things have never been

accomplished."

"Then you expect me to accomplish great things?"

"Yes, your highness, such are indeed my expectations, and I glory in them!"

"We will talk of this hereafter, friend," said the Elector, gently shaking

his head. "But now let us forget what I have become since yesterday, and

consider that I have a heart, which is young still and full of love and

ardor, despite all it has suffered. Two months ago, when the doctors told

me that my dear father's case was hopeless, I dispatched secret messages

to two friends, and requested them to come here and tarry in the

neighborhood of Königsberg until I should have them summoned by a courier.

I was not willing to vex my father in the least degree during his

lifetime, and would not even see my friends in secret, but preferred to

wait patiently until I could do so openly.[32] The two friends whom I sent

for to be near me were Burgsdorf and yourself, my Leuchtmar. But to you I

gave previously another commission. Have you executed it?"

"Yes, your highness, I have executed it."

"You have been to Holland? At The Hague and at Doornward?"

"I have been there, gracious sir!"

"You have been there," repeated Frederick William, drawing a deep breath.

"O Leuchtmar! you men in private life are happy because you are free. You

can go whither you will, and follow the dictates of your own hearts. But

we, poor slaves to our position, must accommodate ourselves to

circumstances, and patiently submit to the laws of necessity. How often

has it seemed to me as if my longings could not be repressed, as if I must

break all bonds and hasten to that free and happy land where the fairest

days of my life were passed. How often, in reflecting upon the past, has

it seemed as if a fire were kindled in my breast, mounting in clear flames

to my head to lay my reason in ashes. But I durst not allow this, and with

my own sighs extinguished the leaping flames, and, Leuchtmar, shall I

confess it? At this moment I am cowardly, and speak so much, because--yes,

because I lack the courage to ask one open question. But I will be bold

and courageous, I will conquer my poor, foolish heart. Tell me, then,

Leuchtmar, what I _must_ know! I sent you to Holland to obtain certain

information with regard to the evil reports which have been circulated

here. I gave no credit whatever to them, for I knew they were anxious that

I should contract a certain marriage, and would therefore crush the love I

was cherishing for another person. And yet this other lived within my

heart, and when I closed my eyes I saw her before me in all her beauty and

loveliness, and at night, when all the troubles of the day were over, and

I was alone in my chamber, she was near me, speaking to me and consoling

me with the sweet, kind words she whispered to my heart. Ah, you see,

Leuchtmar, I am but a very young man, and--courage, courage! out with the

question! Have you seen the Princess Ludovicka Hollandine?"

As Frederick William asked this question he walked to the window and

turned his back to the room. A pause ensued, then Leuchtmar replied, in

gentle, sorrowful tones, "No, gracious sir, I have not seen the Princess."

A shudder passed over the Prince's frame, but he did not turn around.

"Why did you not visit her? Why did you not see her, when I had

commissioned you to speak with the Princess herself?"

"Most noble sir, I could not speak with the Princess, for she was no

longer at The Hague."

"No longer in Holland?" asked the Elector, and his question sounded like a

cry of grief wrung from a tortured heart. "Where was she then? Where was

Ludovicka?"

"Most noble sir, you have imposed upon me the duty of always telling you

the truth, but at this moment I feel it to be a difficult duty."

"Perform it, Leuchtmar, I require you to do so! Where was the Princess

Ludovicka, if she was no longer with her mother?"

"Your highness, the Princess Ludovicka Hollandine has voluntarily forsaken

her mother and her family, and at first they knew not whither she had

gone."

"And do they know now?"

"The Electress of the Palatinate had received her first letter from the

Princess the day before I waited upon her, and, as the Electress had ever

honored me with her confidence, she communicated to me the contents of

that letter."

"What were they? Quick, tell them quickly, that my heart may not break

meanwhile. What was in the letter?"

"It said, most gracious sir, that of her own free will, and out of most

tender love for the chosen of her heart, she had forsaken her mother's

house because that Princess had refused her consent to her union with the

man--these were her own words--with the man whom she loved above all

others. It said, moreover, that the Princess had followed this man, the

Count d'Entragues, to France, and that for the present she had withdrawn

to a convent, preparatory to professing the Catholic religion and then

marrying Count d'Entragues."[33]

The Elector uttered a hollow groan, and, putting both hands before his

face, as if he were ashamed of what he felt, sank upon a chair, and sat

long thus, breaking the silence with occasional sighs and groans.

Leuchtmar dared not interrupt this sacred silence even by a word, or to

offer comfort to the agonized heart of the young Prince by words of

consolation. He knew that strong heart must first vent its grief in order

to gain repose, and that only from within could spring up that consolation

which strengthens and sustains.

After a long pause, after a bitter inward conflict, Frederick William

allowed his hands to drop, revealing a face pale as death and lips whose

corners twitched convulsively.

"Leuchtmar," he said, "this is the baptism by which I am consecrated to my

new office. It is, indeed, a baptism of tears, and has torn my wounded

heart, I grant you. But such a baptism of tears was needed to wash from my

heart all that could derogate from the lofty calling to which alone my

whole being should be dedicated. No one on earth can accomplish anything

great who has not first received a baptism of grief and tears. By such

baptism the soul extricates itself from earthly wishes and selfish

desires, and he who would be a thorough man and accomplish great things

must be lord of himself, and have no wishes for himself, but to attain

glory and honor! And so I now shake the past from my soul as a torn and

tattered garment, and would despise myself if even a sensation of pain

were left behind. No, no, I am free! My heart is coffined, and I shall

close the lid and bid it an eternal farewell!"

"Your heart coffined, your highness!" said Leuchtmar gently. "You think so

now, but I tell you it will again rise from the dead, and beat with full

ardor and glow, for, God be thanked, the heart of man is a tenacious

thing, and dies not from one dagger-thrust. Its wounds can be healed, and

then it is so much the stronger because it knows what it can suffer and

overcome!"

"Enough now, my friend, enough!" cried Frederick William, shaking his head

so violently that his brown locks fluttered in wild disorder. "Thus I

shake off an unworthy love and all vain lamentations. Now, Leuchtmar, I am

the man, the Elector. A very young man, you will say, but one who has

stood the brunt of battle and fire, who in days has lived through years,

and consequently is old, for my twenty years count double. Baron von

Leuchtmar, I have much to discuss with you, and I summoned you here for

important consultations, but stay--a man is without whom I can keep

waiting no longer, for his time is valuable, and he who makes a workman

wait robs him of his capital. I beg you, Leuchtmar, to open the door and

call the jeweler Dusnack."

Leuchtmar hastened to obey this order. As he turned toward the door

Frederick William once more passed his hand rapidly over his face, and

for a moment pressed it to his eyes. As he drew it away he felt a drop

fall burning upon his hand, and it shone there like a bright diamond,

but--his eyes were now dry and glittered with the fire of resolution.

"Well, Master Dusnack," exclaimed Frederick William to the approaching

jeweler, "have you brought us, as directed, a few seal rings, from which

to make our selection?"

"Here they are, your Electoral Highness," replied the jeweler, holding out

a little box and handing it open to the Elector. Frederick William

examined with interest the bright and sparkling rings, which were in

separate compartments, and nodded kindly to the jeweler.

"You are a skillful workman, and your rings please me well," he said.

"These things are tastefully designed and prettily executed. You must have

very good workmen, and it pleases me that such things are made in our

country. For I suppose, of course, these beautiful rings emanate from your

own workshop."

"Most gracious sir, I would that it were so, and it is not my fault,

indeed, that it is otherwise. I have been long in foreign lands and

studied and worked in the first jewelry establishments of Paris. But I

find no apprentices here capable of executing such artistic and delicate

work, and can only have ordinary gold and silver ware made here, such as

forks, spoons, mourning rings, and articles of that kind; but for my finer

ornaments and such costly rings as these I must send to Paris and Lyons,

where the goldsmith's art flourishes, while it is frightfully depressed

here, both for the want of purchasers and artisans."

"Then we must see to it," said Frederick William, "that such times are

ushered in, that men shall feel free to purchase golden trinkets, and that

clever workers in gold be attracted here, in order that we may dispense

with foreign manufactures. As soon as the times become somewhat more

tranquil, we, too, will have need of goods of that sort, for not long

since all the jewels of our house were stolen.[34] But I tell you, Master

Dusnack, we shall only buy such things as have been designed and executed

at home. Therefore exert yourself, and procure good workmen. For this time

I must needs content myself with foreign wares and select a seal ring. I

therefore take this one with the ruby, and you must engrave our country's

coat of arms upon it without delay."

"Your highness's orders shall be obeyed," replied the jeweler

respectfully. "Does your highness merely wish the coat of arms upon the

seal, or would you like a motto added?"

"Yes, master, a motto shall be added, to run thus, 'Lord, make known to me

the way in which I should go.' Will you write it down, master, that you

may not forget it?"

"Your Electoral Highness, it is not necessary, for you have impressed it

on my heart."

"Go then, master, and inscribe it for me right plainly on the stone."

The Elector turned to Baron Leuchtmar von Kalkhun as soon as the jeweler

had taken his departure, saying, "Now for you, friend, and our plans of

government."

II.--PLANS FOE THE FUTURE.

"Yes, friend, I want to discuss government affairs with you," continued

the Elector, with a faint smile, sinking back in the armchair before the

writing table. "Sit down, Leuchtmar, quite close to me, for I shall now

disclose to you what no other mortal ear must hear; I shall reveal to you

my thoughts and plans. Man is, after all, but a weak and tender creature,

and it is a necessity with him to have some trusted soul on whom he can

rely for sympathy, and to whom he can tell all that moves his inner being.

To me, Leuchtmar, you are that trusted soul, and in this hour I will make

known to you the inmost recesses of my heart. You shall learn who I am,

what I think, and what are my aspirations, that you may always comprehend

and appreciate me, standing with ever-ready succor at my side. For I hope

you have no engagements elsewhere, and from this moment enter my service?"

"I have hitherto lived in quiet and retirement at Cologne on the Rhine,

waiting for the hour which should summon me to my gracious master's

presence, for you are the only Sovereign upon earth whom I would serve,

and to you belong my being, thoughts, and all that in me is of energy and

skill."

"I have counted on you, Leuchtmar, and well I knew that my reliance would

not be in vain. You must aid and sustain me, for I stand in urgent need of

wise friends, of diligent, faithful workers, in order to gain the goal

which I have placed before me in the future, and to execute the schemes

which I have planned. In the first place, Leuchtmar, do you know properly

who I am?"

"Yes, your highness," replied Leuchtmar, smiling. "I think I know right

well. You are the youthful hero, the Hercules to whom the gods have

committed the twelve difficult tasks, that he may prove himself a

demi-god, and who now begins his work with the zeal of courage and the

inspiration of faith."

"The comparison may be slightly applicable," said the Elector, "and as far

as the Augean stable is concerned. I, too, have my stable to cleanse; only

it belongs not to Augias, but to Schwarzenberg. Still, I will try to

purify it. But I must set about my undertaking with dexterous hands; of

that, however, let us speak hereafter. I shall first consider your

simile, drawn from the story of Hercules. Do you know, Leuchtmar, the

names of my twelve tasks, and their extent? I ask you once more, do you

know who I am, or, rather, what my name is? Look, there lies the document

which I am just on the point of sending to my good subjects, and by means

of which I shall notify them of my assumption of the reins of government.

Just read the heading, Leuchtmar."

Leuchtmar took the paper handed him and read: "'We, Frederick William,

Marquis of Brandenburg, Lord High Chancellor and Elector of the Holy Roman

Empire, Duke of Prussia, Julich, Cleves, Stettin, Pomerania, Cassuben, and

Vandalia, as also Duke of Silesia, Croatia, and Jägerndorf, Burgrave of

Nuremberg, Prince of Rugen, Count of Markberg and Ravensberg, Baron of

Ravenstein.'"

"Enough!" cried the Elector. "You have now read the outlines of my

Herculean task, you now know who I am. A Prince of long titles, not one of

which has its foundation in truth and reality. And this is my Herculean

task, to make these titles real, and to give a good kernel to these empty

nut shells. Look, Leuchtmar, there is a map. Let us examine it and compare

it with my titles, for it is a map corresponding finely with these titles,

and on which all the counties and provinces pertaining to them are

designated. Marquis of Brandenburg, that is my first title, and you would

naturally suppose that this, at least, was veritable, for the Mark is the

oldest possession of our house, and my ancestor, the Burgrave Frederick

von Nuremberg, was invested with it by the Emperor. But what do I obtain

from the Mark? Friend and foe have quartered there, until they have

changed it into a desert; famine and pestilence hold sway there, and the

despairing inhabitants have left their fields untilled and wander about

shelterless and hungry. The only prosperous man there, possessed of power

and consideration, is the Stadtholder in the Mark, Count Adam von

Schwarzenberg. The Mark suffers and groans, but he is of glad heart, and

the distress of the people touches him not. What cares he for land or

people, save in so far as they conduce to the furtherance of his own ends,

and do you know what those ends are?"

"He is an Imperialist and a strict Catholic," said Leuchtmar, "and it must

be confessed that he would rather see the whole Mark go to destruction

than behold it Protestant and independent."

"Yes, he has let the Mark Brandenburg go to destruction!" cried the

Elector, with flashing eyes. "Catholic and Imperialist he would have it.

And I can not reach him, he knows very well that I must spare him, and

that _he_, the powerful, opposes _me_, the powerless. To him have the

commandants of the fortresses and the soldiers sworn allegiance; the

Emperor protects him, and would esteem it an act of rebellion against

imperial majesty itself if I were to depose Schwarzenberg from office. It

would be a departure from the course pursued by the Mark for twenty years

past, for, since Schwarzenberg has nourished as Stadtholder, the Emperor

has been the real lord of the Mark, and not an order nor rescript ever

issued from my father's cabinet to which the Emperor had not given his

consent, or of which he had not previous knowledge. I must therefore for

the present still suffer Schwarzenberg to be lord of the Mark, for I have

not power to defy the Emperor and call down upon myself his rage. The Lord

High Chancellor and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire must for the present

bow humbly to the Emperor, and submit in silence to the evils of his lot.

My duchy of Pomerania the Swedes have appropriated to themselves, and I

can not, as I should like, wrest it from them by force of arms, for I have

no weapons, no soldiers, no army; I must now try to come to an amicable

understanding with them, and, if possible, make peace with them. In Julich

and Cleves I am duke, too, as my title vouches, but to be so really I must

first rescue these countries from the Dutch, and then be able to defend

them against the cupidity of France. And my duchies of Silesia, Croatia,

and Jägerndorf? The Emperor has taken possession of them as if they were

his own fiefs, and he will be little likely to restore them to the

powerless Elector of Brandenburg. Neither will the Saxons easily

relinquish to the weak Elector Magdeburg and Halberstadt, which counties

they hold enthralled. Alas! Leuchtmar, you see of all my vast possessions

I only retain the empty titles."

"But one country your highness has omitted in your enumeration, and there,

undoubtedly, you are undisputed Sovereign, no enemy having supplanted you

in this land. You are Duke of Prussia, and there, at least, ruler also!"

"Yes, I am Duke of Prussia--that is to say, if King Wladislaus of Poland

will condescend to invest me with this duchy, and allow me to go to

Warsaw, humbly to kneel to swear allegiance to him, and acknowledge myself

one of his vassals. Until he has done so, I am not the legalized ruler

even here in Prussia, and the King of Poland will already consider it as

an infringement upon his supremacy that I have not forthwith dismissed the

Prussian chamber of deputies, which held its sitting in my father's

lifetime, but allowed it to prolong its session. There, too, as at the

imperial court, I must give fair words, must show myself humble and

obedient, so as not to excite untimely enmity against myself, and rouse

the mighty against the weak. For what refuge would remain to me, or

where would I find support, if the Emperor of Germany and the King of

Poland should threaten me with their enmity?"

"I should think the Swedes would be delighted to have your highness for an

ally, to stand with them against the Emperor and the German Empire, and

the States-General, too, would gladly give you the right hand of

confederation."

"Oh, yes, the Swedes would gladly accept me as their ally, provided that I

would voluntarily resign to them Pomerania and Rügen, renouncing all claim

to these lands; and the States would gladly extend to me the right hand of

fellowship, only I must have first laid down in this hand the duchies of

Cleves and Julich as an offering of friendship! But such a thing would I

never do, and never shall I peaceably resign the smallest strip of land

that should be mine to purchase thereby repose for myself. Up to this time

I have enjoyed only the title to my lands, but it must and shall be now

the purpose of my whole life to substantiate these claims, and not merely

to conquer back what is my own, but, an' it please God, to enlarge my

territories and give to them unity and compactness. I am now a Prince only

by my armorial bearings, but I _will_ be a veritable Prince. I now wear

only the most delapidated semblance of a Prince's mantle, inflated by

hollow wind, but I shall change it into a purple mantle, such as no German

Prince would be ashamed of, which every one in the German Empire shall

respect, yea, even the Emperor himself."

"And you will gain your end," cried Leuchtmar, "yes, you will gain it. It

stands written on your lofty brow, it shines forth from your fiery eyes,

and is spoken by every feature of your noble, energetic face. You will

gain your end. From the confusion and chaos of the present times you will

emerge as a distinguished, mighty Prince; out of nothingness and disorder

you will construct a powerful state, and to your towering titles give a

firm basis of strength and truth!"

"Amen! God grant it!" said Frederick William, piously lifting his large

eyes to Heaven. "It seems now, indeed, as if it were an unattainable

goal," he continued, after a pause, "and to no one else would I confess

it, for I would only become the scorn and derision of my enemies."

"But the delight of your friends!" cried Leuchtmar, deeply moved, "the

invigorator and uplifter of your friends!" "Friends, say you? Where are my

friends? Look abroad throughout the whole German Empire, the whole of

Europe, and then tell me where my friends are. I have not even friends in

my next-door neighbors, not even in my nearest relations! Yes, were I rich

and influential, had I protection to give and benefits to dispense, then

would the Princes far and near gladly bethink themselves of the claims of

consanguinity, and overwhelm me with civilities and attentions. But I am

powerless, and they dread lest I should need their protection and their

influence; therefore are they forgetful of family ties! But they shall

find themselves mistaken in me, my dear relatives! They shall be forced

some day to acknowledge that the Elector of Brandenburg is self-sustaining,

and stands erect without the aid of foreign supports. You look

at me doubtfully, and perhaps think me a braggart, promising great

things which I may never be able to perform? It would seem so,

indeed, now, for where are the means for accomplishing such aims? Wretched

and in the process of dissolution is all about me, nowhere do I see

determined friends, efficient followers!"

"Oh, gracious sir, in that you go too far! You know yourself how much

Schwarzenberg is hated in all your territories, how ardently all patriots

long for his deposition from the government; for the league with the

Emperor is detestable to everybody, and fear of Catholic domination and

desire for the Swedish alliance prevail among all your subjects."

"Yes," cried the Elector, "adherents of Sweden there are in my dominions,

and Schwarzenberg has indeed opponents enough. But he has friends as well,

whom he has purchased with his good money and his protection. But tell me,

where is an Electoral party, one deserving the name by its unity and

determination, a party which looks not to the right or left, but straight

ahead in the direction that I shall take? The old friends of my house are

dispersed, hunted into banishment, exiled, or dead; on whom else could I

depend? All positions in the army and government, all offices has

Schwarzenberg filled with his own creatures; and should I venture to step,

in their way, and endeavor to effect their and his ruin, I might easily

come to ruin myself. In what direction, then, can I look for help?"

"To yourself, most noble sir, to your own mind and heart!" cried

Leuchtmar, with enthusiasm.

"It is as you say, I should be a fool were I to seek protection elsewhere.

Protection from the Emperor, the empire, Poland? Protection from comrades

in the faith or blood relations? My empire is within myself, and by God's

help the foundations shall be laid! 'Man forges his own fortunes.' That is

a good old proverb. Well, I will try to be a good smith. I have played

anvil long enough, and hard enough have been the blows dealt me by Count

Schwarzenberg. I shall now try being the fist that guides the hammer, and

I think I have a tolerably strong fist, that will be able so to wield the

hammer as to fashion for myself a worthy scepter."

"A great and noble task has God committed to your highness," said

Leuchtmar; "to you is it given to create your own state, and what you

shall be hereafter you will owe to your own powers."

"And to the assistance of true servants, tried friends and followers!"

cried the Elector, cordially extending his hand to his faithful counselor,

"although now I only know two men on whom I can rely--yourself and

Burgsdorf. But together we form no contemptible trio, and I am confident

that great results will follow our efforts, and, in order that you may see

what I am projecting, tarry here while I call in old Burgsdorf."

With alert step the Elector moved to the door and opened it. "Colonel von

Burgsdorf!" he cried, then turned, strode through the cabinet and seated

himself in the armchair before his father's writing table.

In the door of the entrance hall now appeared Colonel von Burgsdorf, his

broad, red face wearing an embarrassed expression. Standing still in the

doorway, he looked across at the Elector, who, his back half turned,

seemed to take no notice of his approach.

"No doubt," said Burgsdorf to himself, "he has had me summoned in order to

give me my discharge; he has not yet forgotten how desperate I was in the

year '38. It is over with you, Conrad, and you can go home, because, like

the old ass that you are, in sooth, you uttered aloud the pent-up agony of

your soul!"

But while he was talking thus to himself with deep resentment, his

countenance expressed nothing but devotion and anxiety; in humble,

soldierly attitude he stood in the door. The Elector had his eyes fixed

upon some papers lying on the table before him, and seemed absorbed in

their perusal. Leuchtmar at last ventured to accost him.

"Gracious sir," he said softly, "Colonel von Burgsdorf, whom you called,

has come in and is waiting for your orders."

"He is waiting!" cried the Elector. "Then I shall certainly have to ask

his pardon in the end, for well I know that Colonel Burgsdorf does not

understand waiting."

"Without doubt," repeated Burgsdorf to himself, "he has summoned me merely

to give me my discharge."

"Colonel von Burgsdorf!" now cried the Elector, turning half toward him

with grave, severe countenance, "just tell me how strong was the regiment

which you enlisted for the Electoral army last year?"

"Most gracious sir, I enlisted two thousand four hundred men."

"That is to say," cried the Elector sternly, "you obtained the bounty

money for recruiting two thousand four hundred men; but I would be glad to

learn of you how many of those men actually existed."

"Your highness," stammered Burgsdorf in confusion, "I do not understand

what your grace means. If I obtained bounty money for two thousand four

hundred men, they certainly existed."

"So one would suppose, indeed," replied the Elector; "yet it can not have

been, for before me lies a letter from Count Schwarzenberg to my father,

and only hear what the Stadtholder in the Mark writes. Leuchtmar, come

here please and read."

Leuchtmar hastened forward, and, taking the paper which the Elector held

out to him, read: "'It is to be lamented that the officers contrive to

pocket so much press money and hardly produce one out of every six men

said to have been enlisted. Colonel von Kehrdorf received pay and rations

for twelve hundred men, and yet had not over eighty; General von

Klitzing's regiment ought to be two thousand strong, and in reality

numbers only six hundred; Colonel Conrad von Burgsdorf gives out that he

has two thousand four hundred recruits, and there are not quite six

hundred of them.'"

"That is a lie--a base lie!" cried Burgsdorf, whose face was purple with

passion. "The Stadtholder in the Mark has always been my enemy and

opponent, and if he maintains that I only enlisted six hundred men--"

"He maintains something quite untrue," interrupted the Elector; "but he

maintains no such thing. You interrupted Leuchtmar; let him read to the

end, and hear the conclusion." Leuchtmar read on: "'And if you pick

perhaps two hundred able-bodied men out of the six hundred, there remain

four hundred feeble, sickly fellows, who would fall down like dead flies

on the very first march.'"[35]

"You see that Schwarzenberg does not maintain that you enlisted six

hundred able-bodied men."

"Your highness!" cried Burgsdorf, trembling with passion, "this I see,

that you have had me called here in order to dismiss me, to banish me

forever from your presence--and yet I have served you so faithfully, and

have always hoped that you would forgive me."

"Forgive?" asked the Elector. "Had I anything to forgive in you?"

"Most gracious sir, that time after your return from The Hague I let my

old heart carry me away; it was wholly wild and ungovernable and forgot

the deference due your grace."

"Ah, I remember now," said the Elector, gently nodding his head. "That

time when you wanted to make a revolution and required me to place myself

at your head. You wanted to make of the poor little Electoral Prince a

mighty rebel, and were even so kind as to promise that when with your help

he had crushed Schwarzenberg he should become his father's prime minister

and Stadtholder in the Mark."

"Your highness," cried Burgsdorf indignantly, "those were well-meant

schemes, and originated in the excess of our love for you."

"Only, if I had adopted them, my father would have easily subdued the

princely rebel with the Emperor's support. The Stadtholder in the Mark

would then have had the pleasure of seeing upon the scaffold the Prince

who had dared rebel against his own father, as befell Prince Carlos of

Spain, when he revolted against his father, King Philip. I thought a

little about that unhappy, misguided Prince, and profited by his example.

You probably did not think of him, Burgsdorf, and fell into a great rage.

I am glad you remember that day, for actually I had forgotten it."

"Most gracious sir, I would like to bite out my own tongue and swallow

it," screamed Burgsdorf, raving. "I am a genuine old ass, and you do well

to dismiss me forthwith; for I deserve nothing better, and am served quite

right. Just speak out at once, your highness. I am discharged, am I not?"

"Quietly, Burgsdorf!" commanded the Elector sternly. "I am no longer the

Electoral Prince at whom you can scold and bluster, as you did that time

in the palace of Berlin."

"You always go back to the old story," groaned Burgsdorf.

"And you," said Frederick William, "you are just as impatient as you were

then. You cried murder and death, because the Electoral Prince would not

do your will! I told you--I remember that very well now--I told you that I

would learn and wait. I begged you to do the same and wait also. But you,

you would not wait; you cried out that you had already waited twenty

years, and that now your patience was exhausted. You had no compassion on

the youth of eighteen years, who had just come out of a foreign land, and

hardly knew how to distinguish friend from foe because he was not

acquainted with the condition of things. And yet you were already old and

in your twenty years of waiting ought to have learned a little prudence!

But you had learned nothing at all and could not wait, and gave me up with

wild impatience because I would not be guilty of criminal disrespect

toward my father."

"Most gracious sir, you cut me to the quick! Each of your words is a

dagger aimed right at my heart. Let me go; let it bleed in solitude and

retirement."

And old von Burgsdorf turned and went to the door.

"Stay there!" called out the Elector in commanding tone, arising from his

seat and standing proudly erect. Burgsdorf, who had just laid his hand

upon the door latch, let it glide down, and stood abashed and humble.

"You gave me up and forsook me that time in Berlin," continued Frederick

William, "scolded and upbraided me, merely because I wished to learn and

wait. That proves to me that you have never learned and never waited.

Learn now, Colonel Conrad von Burgsdorf. Withdraw into that window recess,

and wait until I speak to you again and tell you my decision with regard

to you." And once more the Elector opened the door of the antechamber and

called Chamberlain Werner von Schulenburg into his cabinet.

III.--DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS.

"Schulenburg," said the Elector to the advancing chamberlain, "you will

set out immediately. Go to Berlin and inform the Stadtholder in the Mark,

Count von Schwarzenberg, of my father's death. Announce to his excellency

that it is my urgent and pressing request, that he continue to burden

himself with the duties of the Stadtholdership."

An involuntary growl issued from the window where Burgsdorf was stationed.

The Elector took no notice of it, and proceeded: "Moreover, request the

Stadtholder in my name to write to me immediately, advising me what to do

with regard to the Regensburg Diet, because we can not now with the

required dispatch rightly apprehend and maturely consider the matter on

account of our great affliction."[36]

A second growl issued from the window, and called a slight, passing smile

to Frederick William's face.

"Then," continued the Elector, "notify the Stadtholder that I shall he

glad to retain the present governors and garrisons of the forts; but that

it would please me if we could inflict some injury upon the enemy at one

place or the other; but, mindful of his hitherto glorious and successful

management, I feel that I need only direct his attention in a special

manner to the fortresses."

Old Burgsdorf's growl now became almost a shriek of pain. "It is unheard

of," he said, in quite an audible voice.

With a proud movement of the head the Elector turned to him. "Burgsdorf,"

he said, "you were to learn to wait; be silent, then, as becomes an humble

scholar."

Again the Elector turned to the chamberlain. "That is all I have to say to

you, Schulenburg. I hope you have forgotten nothing, and that you will

punctiliously execute every command."

"I trust that your highness is convinced of my zeal and fidelity," replied

the chamberlain, bowing reverentially. "I shall punctiliously execute all

your orders, and have only to ask further when I am to set off?"

"Immediately," said the Elector, "and travel post haste. Farewell! But

hark! Schulenburg, you have obtained my official dispatches, now I shall

add a little private errand. When you have communicated all this to the

Stadtholder, exactly as directed, then converse a little with him in the

most friendly manner, and in the course of conversation, as if of your own

accord, sound Count Schwarzenberg as to his inclination to pay us a speedy

visit in Prussia, the better to consult with us concerning the onerous

duties of the administration. Then ask him casually, but in quite an

innocent manner, whom he would recommend meanwhile as his substitute.[37]

And now, God speed you, Schulenburg, go and carry out all my orders to the

letter. As you pass out, send in to me the two gentlemen waiting in the

antechamber."

With a condescending nod of the head, he offered his hand to the

chamberlain, who pressed it fervently to his lips, and then left the

cabinet with hasty steps.

"And now for you, gentlemen," cried the Elector, advancing a few paces to

meet Herr von Kreytz and Herr von Kospoth, who were just entering the

cabinet. "I have an important commission to intrust to both of you. You

are both to proceed to Poland and announce my father's death to King

Wladislaus. That is your affair specially, John von Kospoth. You know how

to frame courteous speeches, and will inform the King that my father

(peace be to his ashes!) has not been a more submissive vassal than his

successor Frederick expects to be; you will tell him that the Dukes of

Prussia are very faithful and obedient servants to the King of Poland, and

know very well that they should be his Majesty's most humble vassals."

Again a passionate murmur proceeded from the window, and Burgsdorf's

flushed, angry countenance appeared between the silk curtains. The Elector

saw this by a furtive glance, and again something like a smile passed over

his countenance.

Turning to the second gentleman, he continued: "You, Wolfgang von Kreytz,

will present my most submissive and respectful greetings to the King of

Poland, and acquaint him with the fact that I take my predecessor's place

as duke in the dukedom of Prussia. Inform him that I recognize the King as

lord paramount, and humbly sue for investiture. Tell him that I have

hitherto forborne to perform the functions of ruler, and committed the

government to a board of regency, and am meanwhile striving with the

greatest diligence to acquire a knowledge of the rights and privileges of

the land. Pay, both of you, the most polite and friendly court to the King

and all his ministers. Asseverate everywhere that we know right well that

our succession in Prussia depends wholly upon the King's choice, and that

we would naturally desire to present ourselves in person and swear

allegiance to his Majesty. And after you have impressed all these

statements fully upon his mind, add that to our deepest regret we can not

come immediately, on account of the bad condition of our hereditary

estates and manifold business pertaining to the Roman Empire, which just

now prevent us from undertaking the journey. Then petition for a gracious

dispensation from personal attendance, and request his Majesty to grant a

written order for the feoffment. Should the King make known to you through

his counselors that he will not grant this written order, then desire a

private audience of the King, and represent to him that we have been

forced to assume the government, and deprecate his displeasure. Wait also

upon the most prominent ministers, and represent the same thing to them.

By your eloquence and zeal I hope that you will accomplish your purpose,

and bring me the investiture. To this end spare neither flattery nor fair

words."

"Most gracious sir," asked John von Kospoth, with a meaning smile, "but

if, unfortunately, flattery and fair words prove of no avail, what must we

do then?"

"You answer that question for me, Wolfgang von Kreytz," said the Elector.

"Most gracious sir," exclaimed the young baron spiritedly, "if all

entreaties and persuasions fail to move, I think it will be time to assert

your Electoral dignity, and to have recourse to a little threatening. We

should give the King of Poland to understand that you claim the succession

in Prussia by virtue of your own good right; that your father, the Elector

George William, undertook the government before the investiture, and that

you will defend your duchy of Prussia with all the means at your command,

and will never give it up."

"Very good," said a deep voice from behind the window curtain.

"Do you mean to speak so too, John von Kospoth?" asked the Elector.

"If flattery and persuasions bring forth no fruit," replied Kospoth, "it

would be a satisfaction to me, too, to threaten."

"A poor satisfaction!" cried the Elector, "unless we could forthwith

follow up our threat by action, and send out our regiments to declare war!

No, sirs, if you try in vain to bribe with fair words, then we must resort

to money! Money is also a weapon, and, if report speak truly, an effective

one among the Polish lords, their King himself respecting it. In

extremity, therefore, if you can not go forward at all, then have their

Majesties, the King as well as Queen, notified, by means of some trusty

person, that if we obtain the grant of the government on the spot, and

have no difficulty with regard to investiture, we shall pay to both their

Majesties, as a bonus, the sum of sixty thousand Polish florins, and

afterward wait upon the great chancellor, vice chancellor, and lord high

chancellor, salute these gentlemen from me, and promise each one of them

ten thousand Polish florins. Take care, though, to stipulate for some time

to be allowed us for the fulfillment of these promises, for where the

money is to come from is as yet a riddle to ourselves. Such is my

commission, gentlemen. Hasten to execute it."

"And now," exclaimed the Elector, when the two gentlemen had left the

cabinet, "now, Colonel von Burgsdorf, you have received your first lesson,

and have learned to wait a little. Come forward now; I have something to

say to you."

"And I, sir," called out Burgsdorf, as he rushed forth from the bay window

and threw himself on his knees before the Elector, "first of all, I have

something to say to you. Your highness, above all things I must beg your

pardon from the bottom of my heart, and confess to you the evil thoughts

that led me to suppose that the Elector at twenty years of age did not

understand government and was only a timid young gentleman. I see now that

you are far wiser and more prudent than the old fool Burgsdorf, and that

you have learned more in your twenty years than will ever penetrate my

thick skull. You are a great statesman, your highness; on my knees I

implore your pardon for having doubted you, and beseech you, reject me

not, sir! Forget the nonsense I gave utterance to that time at Berlin, and

take the old broadsword into your service. It desires nothing better than

to be worn out in your service, to fly out of its scabbard at your bidding

and slash away at the enemy."

"To slash away at the enemy!" repeated the Elector. "First of all, stand

up, old colonel. There," he continued, smiling, holding out his hand to

him, "I must help you a little, for your old limbs have grown stiff in my

father's service. And now, just tell me, old broadsword, what you think

of it. How will you attack the enemy for me now? Enemies enough we have,

indeed, but too few soldiers, I should think, to cope with them. Or think

you that we could soon set an army on foot? Would you go out to battle

with your regiment of two thousand six hundred men, and win back for me my

contested territories?"

"I beg your highness not to speak of my two thousand six hundred men. You

know well that they have long since melted away, because there was no

money wherewith to pay them."

"Well then," said the Elector, "I will gratify you by forgetting that

splendid regiment, and by no longer reminding you of the things that were.

But this I tell you, Burgsdorf, under my administration everything must

correspond, and what is noted down on paper must really exist. And now we

shall see if you are acquainted with our military affairs."

"Alas! most noble sir," sighed Burgsdorf, "would that I did not know, for

it is a most sorrowful knowledge to an old soldier and in a most

distressing condition is the Brandenburg military department."

"Yes, indeed!" exclaimed the Elector. "The knights no longer take horse,

the citizens no longer care to defend their towns and gates, the States

refuse to pay subsidies for the support of the army, and our coffers are

exhausted. It is no wonder if there can be no talk of an army. How much

infantry and cavalry have we in all, Burgsdorf?"

"Most gracious sir," sighed the colonel, "in the Mark and Prussia together

we have not more than twenty companies of infantry, allowing a hundred and

twenty-five men to each."

"That would make two thousand five hundred men," said the Elector--"a

small nucleus for an army, truly; but something, nevertheless, provided

that these men are attached to me, and owe fealty to none besides myself."

"But that is just our misfortune," said Burgsdorf; "these men have sworn

allegiance not only to you, but to the Emperor's Majesty. They were

enlisted in the Emperor's name, and carry the imperial banner."

"Ah!" cried the Elector, "I see you know how it is, Conrad von Burgsdorf,

and understand the difficulties of the position in which we find

ourselves. Yes, the regiments of the Elector of Brandenburg have given

oath to the Emperor, and the Emperor's banners wave above our forts. All

my officers serve the Emperor first! Tell me, Burgsdorf, are you yourself

not in the Emperor's service? Have you not a regiment in the imperial

army, although you are governor of Küstrin, and therefore under my

command?"

"That is so," replied Burgsdorf. "I could not refuse the imperial regiment

because it was such a lucrative post, and the governorship paid me hardly

anything. The emoluments for heading the imperial regiment were more in

one year than I would have gained in twenty years from my Brandenburg

post. Necessity drove me to it."[38]

"I know that very well," said the Elector, "and I repeat that the past

shall be forgotten if you promise that in future you will be true and

loyal to myself alone."

"Your highness!" shouted Burgsdorf, "I will be faithful to you and your

government to the end of my life! I renounce empire and Emperor, and

henceforth the Elector of Brandenburg is my sole lord and general! Allow

me on the spot to give into your own hand my oath of office, and swear

to you eternal fidelity!"

"Here is my hand," said the Elector solemnly. "Swear upon this hand

hereafter to become the sword of Brandenburg, to serve me faithfully and

zealously, and to have no other Sovereign than myself!"

"In God's name I swear that I will have no other Sovereign, and serve

under no other Prince, than yourself alone, the Elector of Brandenburg!"

cried Burgsdorf, laying both his hands in that of the Elector and pressing

it fervently to his lips.

"And now, having sworn you into my service," said the Elector, in a

majestic tone, "now I commission you to return home to Küstrin and to

administer the oath to all the officers and men there. But understand, to

me alone, not to the Emperor."

"To you alone, not to the Emperor!" cried Burgsdorf, with animation.

"And I further order you to receive no imperial garrison

into your fortress, for we have a right to exact this, since it

is clearly stipulated in the peace of Prague that each Prince

is at liberty to man his fortresses with his own people, which

clause gives validity to this assertion of right."[39]

"Your Electoral Highness!" cried Burgsdorf, "that was spoken like a man!

Begin the good work in earnest, and command the Stadtholder without delay

to swear in the other governors of your remaining fortresses!"[40]

"You are of opinion, then, that this is very necessary, and that these

gentlemen might refuse to swear allegiance to me alone?"

"Yes, sir, I am strongly of that opinion, and would venture to lay a wager

that Colonel von Rochow at Spandow, and Goldacker and Kracht in Berlin,

will not take oath to your Electoral Highness."

"Woe to them if they do it not!" cried the Elector, with flashing eyes. "I

shall prove to them that they must bow in obedience to me, and that I

recognize no other lord but myself within the limits of my own dominions.

Now go back to the Mark, Burgsdorf, and do as I have bidden you. You may

also, as would once have been so pleasant to you, go over right often to

Berlin. Attend well to all that is going on, for it may be that I shall

soon have occasion for you there. Be on your guard, therefore, colonel,

and be pretty circumspect in word and deed. Ponder upon the advice given

you by the little Electoral Prince once: 'Learn and wait.'"

"Sir, you give me another thrust!" cried Burgsdorf; "but it does me good,

and I am glad of it. Yes, I shall learn and wait, for I see plainly the

last night of the world has not come yet, and my dearest master will not

always have to act so on the defensive as now; when the right time comes,

he will strike and prove to all his enemies, even the mightiest of them,

that he is more powerful than they. Mark now, mark my words; Schwarzenberg

may look out!"

"But meanwhile let Burgsdorf look out! Farewell now, Burgsdorf, you have

received my orders. Execute them."

"Now," cried the Elector, after the colonel had left the room--"now, my

dear Leuchtmar, you know all my views and plans. But the most weighty,

important, and difficult task I have reserved for you."

"I think I know what your highness means," said Leuchtmar, smiling. "Your

precautionary measures have been taken in all directions; as early as

yesterday your envoys departed laden with most submissive messages of

respect for the Emperor. Only in one direction have you done nothing, and

that remains for me. I am to go to Sweden, am I not?"

The Elector nodded and smiled. "It is as you say--you are to go to Sweden.

A great danger threatens my country. The Swedes are on the frontiers, or

rather within my territories, for they hold possession of Pomerania, which

is mine. They are on the point of invading the Mark, Banner again

threatens my poor, exhausted lands, and it is said that he has already

issued orders for the demolishing of Berlin. Schwarzenberg for that very

reason had the suburbs of Berlin and Cologne burned down, thus laying the

city open to assault; from Saxony, also, the Swedish general Stallhansch

advances upon Brandenburg, and all is in a fair way to encircle the Mark

in the flames of war. But, as you know, I have no money and no soldiers,

no power and no lands. I can not conduct a war! My single purpose must now

be, in the first place, to withdraw my oppressed land and people from

these flames of war into lasting repose and a peaceful security, and then

to govern them well.[41] I shall send you to Sweden, therefore, Leuchtmar,

to conclude for me a temporary armistice with the Swedes, and also to

negotiate the conditions of a peace. I must have peace at any price, for

on no terms can I carry on a war. Chancellor Oxenstiern is indeed a proud

and overbearing man, who will probably make hard conditions, but we must

accommodate ourselves to them, yield gracefully now, and defer our revenge

for a later day. Only if he demands Pomerania as the price of peace, you

may not yield; we will indeed be yielding, but not suffer ourselves to be

humbled. We can grant much, but not allow ourselves to be imposed upon in

everything. If Oxenstiern desires money and other material things, promise

them, but land and towns you may not give."

"Not a single title to land or town, your highness!" cried Leuchtmar, "for

you have said that you would substantiate your titles, and give kernels to

the empty shells; therefore the Swede shall not crack a single one of your

nuts."

"Not a single one," repeated the Elector, while he smilingly extended his

hand to his friend. "And now, one thing more, Leuchtmar. Do you remember

the plan about which my great-uncle Gustavus Adolphus spoke to my mother,

when he was here on a visit?"

"Yes, indeed," returned Leuchtmar promptly, "I remember it, and think it

were time now to carry it into execution. There is one means of uniting

Sweden and Brandenburg in the bonds of peace, without reducing Brandenburg

to humiliation. Only follow the plan of the great Gustavus Adolphus; you

know he destined his daughter Christina for your wife."

"Yes," said the Elector, and a sudden pallor overspread his cheeks--"yes,

he meant his daughter to be my wife. Go, Leuchtmar, and woo her, but quite

secretly and quietly. As I have already told you, my heart is dead, young

Frederick William no longer desires anything for himself, but the young

Elector a great deal still, and it is the Elector who offers his hand to

Queen Christina for the good of his country. I believe the little, young

Queen interests herself somewhat in her cousin Frederick William, at least

so my aunt, the widowed Queen, assured me. I shall intrust to you a letter

for the young Queen, which you must try to slip into her own hand without

Oxenstiern knowing anything about it. Go now, dear Leuchtmar, and prepare

all things for your journey. Meanwhile I shall write the letter."

"In one hour, your highness, I shall be ready," said Leuchtmar,

withdrawing with a low bow.

The Elector thoughtfully followed him with his eyes. "In one hour he will

be ready," he said, "and he goes away to woo for me a woman's heart. Oh,

Love and Faith, must you, too, bow to the great laws which govern the

world? Must you, too, be laid as sacrifices upon the altar of country?

Hush, poor heart and murmur not! Sink down into the sea of forgetfulness,

ye days of the past! A new era dawns upon me. I stand before the gates of

a great future, and I write above these gates, 'I will be a mighty and

distinguished ruler!' That is my future."

IV.--CONFIRMED IN POWER.

With triumphant expression of countenance Count Adam von Schwarzenberg

walked to and fro in his cabinet. The Chamberlain Werner von Schulenburg

had just left him, and the glad tidings which he had brought from the

young Elector had banished all doubts, all cares from the Stadtholder's

heart.

"I did him injustice," he said cheerfully to himself. "Frederick William

was not my enemy, not my opponent! He was only the son of his father, and

he will now also walk in his father's ways. I therefore remain what I am,

remain Stadtholder, the lord of the Mark! And," he continued, more softly,

"I would have put this amiable Prince out of the way! Who knows whether it

would have been for my advantage if he had died and my son stepped into

his place! My son is of my blood--that is to say, he is ambitious and

thirsts after power and distinction. He would not have left the government

in my hands, if he could have wrested it from me, and perhaps I would not

have remained Stadtholder in the Mark had it been in his power to displace

me!"

The count had thrown himself into a fauteuil, and supported his head on

his hand. The triumphant expression had long since faded from his

features, which were mow grave and lined by care.

"It pleases me not," he murmured, after a long pause--"no, it pleases me

not at all that my son associates so constantly with Goldacker, Kracht,

and Rochow at Spandow. They are disorderly fellows, who recognize no law

or restraint, and find their sole pleasure in tumult and strife. It would

seem fine to them if they could embroil father and son, for they would

surely fish in the troubled waters, and draw out some advantage for

themselves, which is ever their only concern. They exert an evil influence

over my son, I know that, and it would be infinitely better for him to go

away from here and--Ha! a good thought! I shall immediately carry it out."

He started up and grasped the large gold bell, which had been recently

presented to him by the Emperor. The clear, sonorous tones called a smile

to the count's lips.

"Yes, yes," he said, "the old Elector is dead, and I ring the new times

in; yet the new era is but a repetition of the old, and the end remains

ever the same, although the means by which we attain it differ. I used to

whistle, now I ring, but the object remains identically the same--to

summon serviceable spirits to my side.

"They do not come, though," he continued after a long pause, in which he

had awaited in vain the appearance of a lackey. "No, these, my serviceable

spirits come not; they incline not to the new order of things, and prefer

clinging to the old."

He took the little golden whistle, lying on the table beside the bell,

and gave a loud, shrill call with it. Immediately the door opened and a

lackey appeared.

"Why have you kept me waiting?" asked the count imperiously. "Did you not

hear the bell?"

"Yes, your excellency," replied the lackey, with reverential mien, "I

heard ringing. It was the beadle, giving notice that two women were to be

put in the pillory on the fish market for committing twenty thefts between

them!"

"Stupid fool! It was I who rang!" cried the count. "Did I not yesterday

notify you through the majordomo that I should no longer call you with a

whistle, but with a bell?"

"It is true, your excellency, and I beg your pardon for forgetting it,"

replied the lackey humbly.

"Mark it for all time to come," commanded the count. "Go now and tell my

son, Count John Adolphus, that I wish to speak with him, and request him

to come to me."

The lackey bowed obsequiously and left the apartment. He paused behind the

closed door, and with defiant, angry countenance, shook his clinched fist.

"You will no longer call us by a whistle," he muttered wrathfully, "and

yet you whistle for your parrot and your dogs. But that is quite too good

for your servants and lackeys, and they must now listen for that sheep

bell. Tinkle and ring for us, will you, as if you were the beadle and we

good-for-nothing folks to be put in the pillory? Ah me! every day the rich

and high become more haughty, and the poor and lowly must every day put up

with more! We had hoped, indeed, that other times would come, and that the

young Elector would shove that old tyrant of a Stadtholder aside, and oust

him from his dignities and offices. But Count Adam von Schwarzenberg

retains his place, and the only change for us is that he rings for us

instead of whistling as of old. We must just submit, and when he rings

obey his orders as if he whistled."

With a deep sigh and melancholy air the lackey now walked off to execute

his lord's commands, and summon Count John Adolphus to his father. This

young gentleman made haste to obey the call.

"My son," cried the Stadtholder, himself opening his cabinet door, "I

recognized your step and came to meet you."

"You have something very urgent to say to me then, since you have so

anxiously expected me?" asked John Adolphus, pressing his father's hand to

his lips.

"Yes, much that is urgent," replied the Stadtholder. "The young Elector's

envoy has arrived, and brought me a first missive from him."

"Good news?" asked his son hurriedly.

"Yes, good news. The Elector confirms me in all my offices and dignities.

I remain Stadtholder in the Mark, Director of the War Department--in

short, what I am, whence follows as a matter of course that the Elector

Frederick remains what his father was--my obedient servant. My son, the

power has not fallen from my hand, and your heritage remains."

"I assure you, my gracious father, I have but little desire to enter upon

this heritage of mine," cried young Count Adolphus, shrugging his

shoulders. "May I long remain what I am now, the son of the Stadtholder in

the Mark, the coadjutor of the Grand Master of the Order of St. John."

"I thank you, Adolphus, for this kind and friendly wish," said Count Adam,

giving his hand to his son. "It proves to me that you love your old

father, and that delights me. Truly, man is a wonderful creature, not

being able to live for himself alone, but always longing for some

sympathetic heart on which to lean. I have at last made the discovery that

I have a heart."

"And I," said Count Adolphus, laughing--"I have just discovered that I no

longer have a heart."

"Or rather, you are sick at heart, are you not?" inquired his father

quickly. "My son, you have avoided me of late--you have turned from me,

you no longer confide in me."

"I have nothing to confide, most revered sir," replied Count Adolphus,

smiling. "I lead a merry, harmless life, and care for nothing."

"For nothing?" repeated the count. "Not even for the Princess Charlotte

Louise?"

Count Adolphus slightly shuddered, and his cheeks paled a little, but he

carelessly shook his head, and continued to smile.

"My son," continued his father, "I ask you to-day, as I did two years ago,

on what terms are you with the Princess Charlotte Louise? During all this

time you have invariably eluded my efforts to converse on the subject. I

indulged you, for I know my prudent, cautious son, and waited for him to

give me his confidence voluntarily. Hitherto, however, I have but waited

in vain, so that I am compelled to take the initiative, and sue for your

confidence. Give it to me, Adolphus, tell me whether you love the Princess

Charlotte Louise."

"Wherefore?" asked Count Adolphus. "How would it profit you?"

"Me? Not at all, but perhaps it may profit you to tell me the truth. The

lofty hopes we once indulged in have come to naught, destiny has not

willed their fruition. We have been disappointed in our hope of seeing

George William's daughter become his heiress, and exalt her husband into

an Elector of Brandenburg. Frederick William is Elector, he has entered

upon his father's estates to their full extent. But the Princess Charlotte

Louise is still unmarried, and has remained so because she loves you and

is waiting for you."

"She has made me wait," cried the young count, with a sudden outburst of

passion. "She kept me standing and waiting two hours before a locked door,

and never, while I live, never, shall I forget the shame, the torture, and

degradation of those two hours of vain expectation. Oh, father, see what

power you have over me! I swore then that no human being should ever hear

of the insult put upon me by that haughty Prince's daughter, and yet I am

confessing it to you now. Pity me not, say nothing, nothing at all, for

each word but aggravates my pain and makes my heart swell with indignation

and grief. Oh, I loved her, trusted her, I dreamed of a proud and

brilliant future, which I should owe to her! And she played her part in

such masterly style, her countenance wearing a look of such innocence and

candor! O father! I loved her, and I, the experienced man of the world,

allowed myself to be deceived by that young girl, who knew nothing of the

world, and was yet such an accomplished hypocrite! Think not that I was a

mere idle coxcomb, arrogantly basing his expectations upon his wishes. No,

she deceived me, she disappointed me! You should have seen her at that

_fête_ which you gave to the Electoral Prince. How tenderly she leaned

upon my arm, as we walked through the greenhouse, with what glowing

cheeks, with what a blissful smile did she listen to my protestations of

love, with what amiable bashfulness did she respond to them! She even

anticipated my boldest hopes and desires, and when I ventured to ask for

a rendezvous, not only consented to it, but gave me a proof that she would

have granted it without waiting for me to seek one. There, in the

greenhouse, she pressed a little note into my hand, which stated clearly

and distinctly that she appointed ten o'clock of the following evening for

a rendezvous with me at the castle. And yet all was falsehood and

deceit--all only invented for the purpose of punishing the presumptuous

fool who had dared to lift his eyes to the proud Princess! Oh, how she

laughed perhaps, and mocked me with her sister, mother, and brother, while

I stood below before the locked door and waited, finally being obliged to

slink away, burying my rage and despair in my heart! I fancy her spying

from a neighboring window, watching me, and enjoying my confusion as I

stood there knocking at a bolted door, having at last to go off silent and

bowed down. It makes me furious to think of this, and yet continually the

idea haunts me, leaving me no rest, until the remembrance of these two

dreadful hours becomes absolute torture. O father! why have you wrenched

this secret from my heart?--why have you persuaded me to tell you, what I

have not even revealed to my father confessor?"

"I am glad, my son, that I have succeeded in opening this secret," said

the count quietly. "I say opening, for like a festering sore it has

rankled in your bosom, and believe me, Adolphus, since it has been opened,

you will experience relief and your heart will heal. It has befallen many

another man to be caught in the snares of a coquette, and to have a few

costly illusions dispelled. But consider, my son, each illusion lost is

an experience gained, and experience is cheaply bought with the dreams of

the heart. Experience, you know, brings knowledge of the world, and

knowledge of the world forms the diplomatist and statesman. You are

already, my son, no despicable statesman, and you will some day play a

great game, even though you are not the Electoral Princess's husband.

For the rest I can give you one comforting assurance, and relieve your

mind of an oppressive consciousness. In order to do this I have allowed

you to vent your rage, and listened with attentive ear to your passionate

complaints. My consolation is this: you have never loved the Princess

Charlotte Louise--that is to say, never loved her with your heart, but

only with your vanity and ambition. It was very flattering to you to be

loved by a Princess, and ambition whispered to you that through your wife

you might become reigning Elector, if the Electoral Prince were only put

out of the way by fate or some other obliging hand. There was surely some

prospect of this, and you know how exultingly we both looked forward to

such a future. But we made shipwreck of those plans, and now it is too

late to build them anew. However, let us not mourn over the past, but

forget it. This hour has witnessed your last lament over your dead past.

Its knell has been rung, let us both now doom it to oblivion. I have

retained one thing in my memory, however, and that is the note which the

incautious Princess gave you that evening in the greenhouse. Do you still

possess it?"

"Yes, I still possess it, and as often as I look at it my heart is like to

burst with indignation and wrath!"

"On the contrary, Adolphus, you ought to rejoice whenever you look at it,

for you can turn this little note into a formidable weapon against the

Electoral house. With this note you can some day force the young Elector

to make you my successor, confirm you in the rank of Grand Master of the

Knights of St. John, or even, if you still wish it, make you the husband

of his sister Charlotte Louise. Ah! my son, a note in which the Elector's

sister invites you to a rendezvous by night is worth more to you, indeed,

than if you could go out against your enemy with an army, for an army

might be vanquished, but in this _billet-doux_ of the Princess each stroke

of her hand becomes a soldier fighting with invincible armor."

"You are right, most gracious father," said Count Adolphus, with a

sinister expression of face. "The day may come when I shall march out

these soldiers against the faithless Princess and her whole house! I hate

her, I hate them all, and my whole heart longs for revenge, and--"

"Your excellency," said a chamberlain, approaching hastily--"your

excellency, a courier from Königsberg has just arrived, and is the bearer

of this dispatch from the Elector."

The Stadtholder took the proffered packet, and by a hurried sign dismissed

the chamberlain.

"A courier from Königsberg," he said, with a slight shaking of the head,

as he examined the great sealed envelope which he held in his hand. "A

writing from the Electoral Government Office, when Schulenburg was just

with me this very day, the bearer of verbal communications! I do not

understand it!"

"The best plan would be, most revered father, to open the letter!" cried

Count Adolphus briskly. "You will then see what news it contains."

The Stadtholder made no answer, but tore off the cover and drew forth the

inner paper. Slowly he unfolded this, and read.

His son had involuntarily advanced a few steps nearer, and watched his

father's countenance with the impatience of suspense. He saw him turn

pale, his brow darken, and his lips become firmly compressed.

"The letter contains bad news?" he said breathlessly.

"Not merely bad but astonishing news," replied the count, with forced

composure. "The Elector here makes several requirements of me, and not

directly, but through his private secretary Götz."

"What presumption!" exclaimed his son passionately.

"How can that little Elector dare to forward a writ of chancery to you,

the mighty and influential Stadtholder in the Mark, instead of addressing

his desires and requests to you privately in his own handwriting?"

"It shows at all events a little negligence and want of formality,"

replied his father thoughtfully, "although the Elector may certainly plead

as his excuse the many claims upon his time. For the same reason he only

gave Schulenburg verbal messages for me."

"And may I ask what the Elector demands of your grace? Or is this an

indiscretion on my part?"

"No, my son, you shall learn it. In the first place, the Elector requires

me to send unopened to him at Königsberg all letters arriving here

addressed to him, and not to open and answer them in his name as hitherto.

The Elector further desires me to conclude no act of government without

having previously called together the privy council. In the third place,

the Elector directs me forthwith to require of all the governors and

officers of the forts an oath of allegiance to himself. He lastly asks, if

I can make it convenient to come to Prussia, that we may confer together,

and that he may have the benefit of my aid and advice."

"And what answer will your grace return to these demands?"

"As regards the first requirement, I shall reply that the Elector's will

is law, and that all writings shall be henceforth forwarded to him

unopened. As to the second demand, I shall represent that it is now simply

impossible to gratify, since only a single member of the old privy council

is yet alive. As to binding the officers and commandants by oath to their

duty," continued the count slowly, "I shall but require a token of their

disposition to fulfill existing engagements. And lastly, as the Elector

wishes it, I can hardly refuse him my advice; so that I will go to him in

Prussia."

"No," cried Count Adolphus impatiently, "no, father, you shall not. You

shall not accept this artfully contrived invitation. You dare not go to

Prussia. My God, sir, are your usually keen and penetrating eyes so

blinded that they can not see what is so very palpable? Do you really not

perceive that the Elector only wants to entice you away, in order to get

you in his power, in order noiselessly and quietly to put you out of the

way? Ostensibly you are to go to Königsberg to advise the young,

inexperienced Elector. That is the pretext, the sand which they would

scatter in the eyes of yourself, your friends, the Emperor, yea, all

Germany, so that no one can see what is going on, or by any possibility

guess what will happen. You may set out for Königsberg, but you will never

get there; you will meet with an accident on the way--either your carriage

will be overset and you fatally injured, or robbers fall upon you in the

woods and murder you. However it may be, only as a dead man will you

arrive at Königsberg, and the Elector will have nothing further to do than

to decree your magnificent obsequies!"

"Ah, my son!" cried the Stadtholder, smiling, "you go too far. Never will

the Elector resort to such expedients. He is too pious and good a

Christian for that!"

"Father, are not you, too, a good, pious Christian, and yet--Believe me,

the Elector has forgotten nothing. He remembers the man found under his

bed once, with a murderous weapon in his hand and much gold in his pocket.

He remembers the sickness which so suddenly seized him two years ago at

the banquet which you had prepared for him. _Then_ you invited him, _now_

he invites you, and if sickness seizes you, you will probably not have the

good fortune to recover as he did."

"That is true; my God! he may be right," muttered the count, turning pale.

"It may be that they suspect me; they may have told him I meant to poison

him at that banquet. I have proofs of it which make it seem probable, and

that woman--Hush, hush! nothing of that--that has no place here! But I

believe myself that you are right, and will therefore ignore the Elector's

invitation."

"God be praised, father, that you have taken this resolution!" cried the

young count joyfully. "Now at last the crisis is upon us--open enmity and

a rupture, regardless of consequences! Waver and hesitate no more. The

Elector would ruin you; you must ruin him. Nay, look not so amazed and

shocked, father! I have long foreseen this moment, and have prepared

everything for meeting the emergency with dignity. As soon as the first

news of the Elector George William's death reached here, I gathered about

me my friends and yours, and held a long consultation with them, which

satisfied me of their fidelity and devotion. Oh, most gracious sir, you

have indeed no reason to bewail your lot, for you have many and reliable

friends, who are ready for your sake to confront the most imminent

dangers, to undertake what is most difficult and hazardous! All of our

friends were convinced with me that the Electoral Prince is your

implacable enemy, and that he only watches for an opportunity to

accomplish your ruin. In spite of his few years, however, he is much too

wise and cautious a man to attempt to act against you with open, swift

determination. He knows the Emperor loves you, and that he would regard

each act of enmity against you as directed against himself. Therefore he

would quietly remove and undo you. Here, in the midst of your faithful

friends, surrounded by soldiers and officers who have taken an oath of

fidelity to you and the Emperor, in the midst of your adherents and

retainers, the Elector would not dare to arrest and accuse you. He begins

much more prudently, much more circumspectly! In the first place, you are

to swear the governors and officers into the Elector's service. That is to

say, in other words, they are no longer to recognize the Emperor as lord

paramount or you as the Elector's representative, but their oath is to

bind them to the Elector alone, and only on his will are they to be

dependent. After having accomplished all this, you are to proceed to

Prussia, where no one defends you, where your friends can not rally around

you, where you will vanish, uncared for and unwept. No, my lord and

father, you must not go to Prussia, or if you do, not until you have

assembled around you your loyal subjects, when, at the head of your

regiments, you go forth to meet the Elector as his powerful and determined

foe, not as his servant."

"What do you say, my son?" asked the Stadtholder, shocked.

"I say, father, that your friends and I have been secretly active, that we

have prepared to defend you in case the Elector threatens you. Throughout

the whole Mark your friends are ready to make open opposition to the

Elector, and firmly determined to protect you and their own rights and

privileges sword in hand. Only carry out Frederick William's order,

summon the commandants of the forts here to Berlin, and demand of them

their oath of allegiance to the Elector. This they will refuse. All, with

the exception of Burgsdorf of Küstrin and Trotha of Peitz, will declare

that they have already given in their oath to the Emperor, and can not

conscientiously take any other. The colonels of the regiments will say the

same, especially Goldacker, the boldest, bravest of them all. They will

keep faith with the Emperor, and therefore the Elector of Brandenburg is

not their commander in chief. _You_, who administered the imperial oath,

they will obey in the Emperor's name, they will follow whithersoever _you_

lead."

"But whither can I lead them?" asked the Stadtholder.

"To battle against the little Elector of Brandenburg, who would revolt

against his lord the Emperor; to battle against the heretical vassal of

the Emperor, who threatens the German Empire and the Church, who would

break loose from Emperor and empire, who threatens all creeds, making

every effort to strengthen and aggrandize the reformed party. Oh, believe

me, not merely good Catholics, but the Evangelical and Lutheran sects,

will obey this call, and burn with enmity and wrath against the rash

little Elector. We have spread our net, and its meshes are entangling him,

even there in Prussia, where he thinks himself quite safe and secure. True

friends and trusty messengers have been sent by Goldacker and myself to

Prussia, to concert measures there with your adherents, and to rouse them

to strong, energetic action. Sebastian von Waldow, superintendent of the

palace and captain of Ruppin, assembles your friends together in perfect

secrecy, and I daily expect from him exact accounts as to the success of

his operations. In Königsberg itself we now have a powerful and efficient

friend, who co-operates with us and is like-minded with ourselves. It is

the ambassador whom the Emperor has sent to condole with the Elector. He

is my best, most confidential friend, Count von Martinitz. He is

acquainted with all my plans, he is the confidant of all my hopes and

views, and will second them with all his might. This ambitious, heretical

little Elector shall not rise, shall not arrive at power and distinction!

That is not only the view the Emperor takes of it, but all German princes.

The Elector of Brandenburg is a source of terror and embarrassment to them

all. He threatens Saxony, he threatens Brunswick and Hesse; of all he

claims land and property now in their possession. He has no friends,

adherents, nor allies, this little Elector Frederick William. Holland will

not side with him, because it will not relinquish Julich and Cleves,

Sweden contends with him for Pomerania, and Poland about the investiture.

He has only enemies and accusers! If, then, we attack him, he is lost! No

hand will be lifted in his defense, no arm outstretched to save him. The

Emperor will grant us his support and countenance, and all German princes

will secretly rejoice that so dangerous a rival has been happily removed.

O father! you see I have not abandoned hope of becoming some day Elector

of Brandenburg! Only, I shall not be indebted for it to the Princess

Charlotte Louise, but to you. I shall inherit the dignity as my father's

son! And this shall be my revenge upon the faithless, treacherous

Princess! I will ruin her and her whole house; I will put my father in her

brother's place; I will one day enter as master the palace before whose

closed portals they once insolently kept me two hours waiting. I swore

that night to be revenged for that insult, and now the moment has come.

Father, the fruit of revenge is ripe, and you must pluck it!"

"Yes, that I will," cried the Stadtholder, with animation. "Oh, my son, a

great, immeasurable joy fills my soul at this hour; and, first of all, let

me beg your pardon for having entertained a horrible suspicion with regard

to you which has lately forced itself upon me. I mistrusted you, seeing

your activity, your strange confidential transactions with the commandants

and officers; I felt that you were on the eve of some great undertaking,

and suspected that in you I had a rival, and that you wished to supplant

me! Forgive me, my son, forgive me in consideration of the misery my

suspicions caused me!"

"I have nothing to forgive, father," said Count Adolphus coldly. "It is so

natural for those incapable of love to suppose that others are only moved

by selfish ends! You, father, love nothing on earth but your own ambition

and fame, and so fancied that it was the same with me, and that ambition

could make the son a traitor to his own father!"

"My Adolphus!" cried the Stadtholder, "I have already told you, and repeat

again, that I feel I have a heart. I felt it in the pain which I

experienced when I doubted you; I feel it now in the rapture which thrills

me in beholding you act so boldly and courageously in behalf of your

father. Give me your hand, Adolphus, and--if you do not disdain such a

thing--embrace me, and kiss your old father."

He held out his arms, and his son threw himself on his breast and

imprinted a long, fervent kiss upon his lips. Long did Count Schwarzenberg

clasp him to his heart, then took the young man's head between both his

hands and looked at him with loving, tender glances. Finally, with a

singular expression of embarrassment, he bent down and kissed his eyes.

"My son," he said softly and quickly, "I love you. Yours are the first

eyes that I have ever kissed, and this kiss of your father's unpolluted

lips should be to you a life-long blessing. And now to work, now for

action, and bold adventurous deeds! Oh, of late how weak and worn out I

have felt myself to be, and longed to withdraw into solitude and

retirement, to rest from all labor! I believed it was old age creeping

upon me, and by its abominable touch unnerving my arm and crippling my

activity. But now I feel that it was only secret grief about you which

thus enfeebled me and robbed my arm of vigor. Now I am quite well again

and strong; now I will dare everything that you have so prudently and

wisely planned. Yes, yes, once more I am Schwarzenberg, the Stadtholder in

the Mark, and I shall not allow myself to be imposed upon; I shall do

battle with this little Frederick William, who ventures to defy and

threaten me. He opposes the Emperor, he would be an independent Sovereign,

while he is only the Emperor's vassal. For this he shall be punished. It

will not be our fault if this hurls him from his little throne, and how

could we be blamed, should the Emperor bestow the margraviate of

Brandenburg upon Prince Schwarzenberg, as he did the margraviate of

Jägerndorf upon Prince Lobkowitz? To work, my son, to work! Oh, now again

my eyes see clearly--now again my head conceives fixed and energetic

thoughts. My son, we two combined will surely be equal to the execution

of our exalted schemes. We two combined will ruin the Elector."

"And put you in his place," cried the young count.

"I must go before, that you may be my successor, and that our house stand

firm and strong, and not be inferior to that of Lobkowitz or Fürstenberg.

Already it is clearly defined in my mind what we shall have to do. In the

first place, we must render the Elector odious to all parties, making it

evident to each that he is a dangerous foe to all, who would enrich

himself at his neighbors' expense, and would arrive at honor and power by

weakening and degrading others. We have only to say to the Emperor that he

is his opponent, and seeks to release his officers from the oath they have

taken. Ferdinand is passionate and jealous of his prerogatives, and will

crush his rebellious vassal. To the Lutherans and their favorers we will

have it whispered by our friends that the Elector, as a rigid Calvinist,

threatens their faith, and proposes to restrict the privileges of their

country churches and to deprive of their offices all those who will not

confess the Calvinistic creed. The Lutherans are a hard-headed and

fanatical sect. He who menaces their faith is their arch-enemy, and they

will be ready to fight against him with fire and sword. The soldiers, you

know, are always ready to follow him who pays them best, and as regards

their officers, thanks to you, my son, we are sure of them. Let us now

adopt a fixed plan for hastening the crisis."

"I am only waiting for the return of the messenger whom I sent to

Sebastian von Waldow. He will bring us reliable information as to the

progress of organization among your adherents in Prussia, for Waldow has

gone himself to Königsberg to hold a consultation with Count Martinitz,

and to concert with our loyal friends a fixed plan of operations."

"We shall be obliged to go very slowly and cautiously to work," said Count

Adam thoughtfully. "We must first secure ourselves on all sides, and be

sure of the result before we venture to assume the offensive. The most

important thing now is to assure ourselves of the Emperor's favor and

approval. You, my son, must repair forthwith to Regensburg, where the

Emperor is at present. You will inform him that I have obtained orders

from the Elector to release the troops from their oath to the Emperor, and

to swear them into the Elector's service alone. You will say to his

Majesty that I have declined to yield to this order, and in the oath

administered to the officers have made their allegiance to the Elector

quite secondary to their obligations to himself. You will further notify

the Emperor that the soldiers' pay has been in arrears for a month,

because all our coffers are empty. Therefore ask, in my name, if it would

not perhaps be advisable, if we come to extremities, to take the

Brandenburg troops into the Emperor's pay, to give them rations in the

Emperor's name, and renew their oath to his Imperial Majesty. To effect

this, we have only to stimulate a little the discontent of the troops.

They are already tolerably desperate because they have not received their

wages. If the Elector does not speedily pay off the troops, the

desperation will reach its height, and a revolt break forth spontaneously."

"Thence it follows, most gracious sir, that they will become as wax to be

molded at your will."

"You are right, my son; we must manage to retain authority over friend and

foe. The troops here are a wild, lawless horde, knowing little of

discipline and order, and bearing much closer resemblance to a robber band

than a princely army. We must aim at having disciplined troops at hand,

such as are accustomed to obedience, and to this end must introduce

imperial troops into the Mark. Nothing further is necessary for this than

to begin hostilities against the Swedes with renewed activity, drawing

them down upon Berlin. It will then seem quite natural, considering the

weakness of the forces here, to invite the aid of the Emperor and his

troops in defending Berlin and protecting ourselves against the Swedes,

but in truth to help us in this great movement against the seditious

Elector, who would revolt against Emperor and empire.

"I commission you, my son, to unravel this whole scheme to the Emperor,

and to petition him for his countenance. For, without the imperial

approbation and without an assurance of success, we dare not proceed

further in this dangerous undertaking. We must have some security, too,

that the Emperor's Majesty will proportionately reward us if we gain the

Mark for him, and rid him of that mutinous, heretical Elector."

"I shall above all things seek to come to an understanding with Father

Silvio, and impress upon the Emperor's pious, zealous father confessor the

extent of glory and blessing to be acquired in behalf of the Church and

holy faith by wresting the Mark out of the hands of a heretic, and

bestowing it upon a believing, true Catholic, such as the Stadtholder in

the Mark. The father has the Emperor's ear, and, I believe, is favorably

disposed toward me. I shall use every means for enlisting his favor, and

it would be well to have some funds at my disposal for this purpose.

Father Silvio, noble and pious though he be, loves money, and is not

inaccessible to jewels and valuable gifts. He has in his apartments at

Vienna costly collections of precious stones and rare gold and silver

plate, and it affords him high gratification to add a few valuable

pieces to them."

"We will take care of that," said Count Adam, smiling. "Choose out of our

casket of gems a few things worthy the pious father's acceptance, and for

money you can draw upon the bankers Fugger of Nuremberg. I recently

deposited with them considerable sums, in case of emergency. They are

safer there than here in this starved-out Mark, among the desperadoes of

Berlin and Cologne, who have no affection for me, and perhaps some day may

take it into their heads to demand relief from me for their poverty and

want, and plunder me to enrich themselves. Among such a gaunt, hungry

populace we must be prepared for everything, and it is wise to be insured

against mishaps. In these present evil days, however, nothing but money

can raise an army, and only he who has money can aspire to being a

general."

"The little Elector of Brandenburg has no money!" cried Count Adolphus,

"for which God be praised! He, therefore, can be no general. His troops

and his land belong to us, and, like the Margrave of Jägerndorf and the

Elector of the Palatinate, the deposed Elector of Brandenburg may soon be

a wanderer in foreign lands, exposing his humiliation to the whole German

Empire. Nowhere will he find compassion, nowhere sympathy, for he is a

dangerous foe to all, and all will profit by his fall. Dear, honored

father, let me depart this very hour for Regensburg, in order to obtain

the Emperor's approval of our weighty plans, and to return to you the

earlier with plenipotentiary powers."

"You are right, Adolphus, haste makes speed, and we must strike while the

iron is hot. Set off, my son, this very hour if you choose. It will not be

necessary for me to write to the Emperor by you. You know perfectly how to

interpret my thoughts, and your spoken word is better than my written one.

God speed you, then, my son, I shall expect daily dispatches from you,

acquainting me with the progress of your negotiations."

"I shall write, father, and make use of the ciphers agreed upon between

us. You have preserved the key, have you not?"

"I have preserved it in my head," replied the count, pointing to his

forehead. "Important secrets should never be committed to paper, and I say

with Charles V, 'If one carries a great secret in his head, he should burn

his very nightcap, that it may not betray him.' Truly may it be said of us

two that we carry an important secret in our heads. Instead of a nightcap

I have burned the cipher key, that it may not one day betray us!"

"But the great secret will one day surprise the world," cried Count

Adolphus joyfully; "its trumpet peals will one day startle the whole of

Germany. From the palace balcony here in Berlin shall its triumphant

flourishes ring forth. The people in the streets will hear them in

astonishment, and to me they will sound as the rejoicing songs of the

heavenly hosts, and enraptured I shall look up to my father, standing

there majestic in the pomp of his princely power. If I may then fall at

your feet, all the ambitious dreams and aspirations of my heart will be

fulfilled, and all within me will rejoice and shout, 'Health and blessings

upon Prince Schwarzenberg, Margrave of Brandenburg!' Farewell now, dear

father! I hurry away, the earlier to return to you!"

V.--THE CATASTROPHE.

Their plans matured, and every day approached nearer to completion, while

with firm hand Count Adam Schwarzenberg held the reins which guided the

great machinery of insurrection. He had sent Colonel Goldacker with his

regiment to Mecklenburg to draw out the Swedes, and to provoke them to

advance upon the Mark. The Swedes took up the gauntlet thrown down to

them, and, while they were opposed to Goldacker in Mecklenburg, other

Swedish regiments marched from Lausitz against Berlin. This was exactly

what the Stadtholder wished, and once more the devoted Mark saw the flames

of war burst forth, in order that Schwarzenberg might have an excuse for

summoning Saxon troops to his aid.

To-day these troops had reached Berlin, and the Stadtholder wished to

celebrate their arrival by a sumptuous _fête_ in his palace. To this

entertainment he had bidden Colonel Goldacker from Mecklenburg; the

commandants of Spandow and Berlin, with their officers, were also invited,

and already, in the early morning, they were preparing the table in the

great hall for the magnificent collation to be served at noon.

Meanwhile lamentation and mourning reigned in the cities of Berlin and

Cologne, while life went so merrily in the Schwarzenberg palace. The wild

hordes of soldiers made the streets unsafe even in the daytime. Drunken

they roved through the city, with the greatest tumult and uproar; they

broke into the houses of peaceful citizens to plunder and rob, and

wherever anything was refused them, they committed the most wanton acts,

laughing and singing over the tortures they inflicted. In vain had the

burghers applied to the officers of these ungovernable outlaws and

besought them to restrain the soldiery from outrages, to confine them to

their quarters, and to punish them for their thefts and robberies. The

officers declared that there was no means of enforcing so rigid a

discipline, and that in times of war some allowance should be made for

soldiers who with their own bodies protected the burghers from their foes.

But the poor, tormented burghers did not want war; they wanted peace!

Peace at any price. The States, too, who held their session in Berlin,

wanted peace, and to this end had sent out a deputation from their midst

to the Elector at Königsberg to implore him to pity their distress and to

command the Stadtholder in the Mark to abstain from hostilities against

the Swedes.

The same suit the citizens desired to present to the Stadtholder, and

to-day, while preparations were in progress for a military entertainment

in the Schwarzenberg palace, a solemn deputation of the magistracy and

citizenship repaired to the same spot to lay before the Stadtholder their

wishes and entreaties. Count Schwarzenberg kept them waiting a long while

in his antechamber, and when he finally made his appearance his

countenance was proud and haughty, and his eyes shot angry glances upon

the poor representatives of the burghers, who stood with deprecating

humility before him.

"What would you have of me, sirs?" he cried, in a rough voice. "What have

you to say to me?"

"Most gracious sir," replied the burgomaster of Berlin, "we come to

entreat the aid and assistance of your excellency in behalf of our

afflicted cities. We are exhausted, hungry, plundered, driven to despair.

We can no longer bear the frightful burden of war. Have compassion upon

our affliction; make peace with the Swede, that he may not advance upon

Berlin, that we may not be forced to appeal to foreigners for our defense."

"Make peace!" cried the burghers, stretching out their hands imploringly

toward the Stadtholder, their eyes filled with tears. "O sir! we have

borne sorrow and wretchedness for so many long, bitter years! Our hearts

are crushed and desperate! Our souls are faint! Make peace, that we may

see some end to our trials! We have no nourishment, no money, not even a

shelter for our heads. The Swedes plundered us; the Imperialists took from

us what the Swedes left; and now our own soldiers drive us out of our bare

and empty dwellings, make sport of our calamities, mock the burghers,

insult our wives and daughters, and quarter themselves in our houses,

while we wander homeless about the streets, not even being able to procure

shelter in our churches because the cavalry have taken possession of these

with their horses, and converted the temples of God into filthy barracks!

Make peace, Sir Stadtholder, make peace!"