Many changes took place at the Court in Dresden. Cosel was avenged
without putting her hand to it. Her foes disappeared one after another.
Amid the ruins King Augustus the Strong was always standing
magnificent, throwing away gold, seeking pleasures, but not being able
to find them.
The Countess Marie Denhoff, being afraid that she might meet the fate
of Cosel, thought it would be wise to marry, and the King did not
oppose it. The King enjoyed himself the best in Leipzig fairs, and
preferred short amours to those which would fetter him for a long time.
The beautiful and statuesque Sophie Dieskau claimed him for a while;
but the King found her cold as an icicle, and he married her to Herr
von Loss. After that he was in love for a while with Henriette
Osterhausen. These temporary love intrigues were followed by the reign
of Anna Orzelska, the daughter of Henriette Duval.
The King seemed to become younger at his beautiful daughter's side,
who, clad in a uniform embroidered with gold, accompanied him to
military reviews, man[oe]uvres, and hunting.
The King was always eager for distractions, and the arrival of Anna
Orzelska furnished him with an opportunity for the display of still
greater splendour.
Amid different pleasures furnished by the King's fancy, there were
moments when Augustus thought that he was a military genius, and wanted
military parades.
In 1727 the King was spending the spring in Pillnitz, where the troops
were camping. They tried new cannons which were able to break the rock
on which Koenigstein was built.
"I know some rocks," said Count Wackerbarth to the King, "which would
resist those cannons."
"Where?" asked Augustus.
Wackerbarth looked at the King, and it seemed as if he were sorry for
what he had said.
"Where?" repeated the King.
"At Stolpen; the basalt rocks would resist."
"In Stolpen!" exclaimed Augustus, and he was gloomy.
There was a moment of silence. The King walked to and fro impatiently;
it was evident that he was tormented by some fancy which he did not
want to satisfy.
"In Stolpen!" repeated he. "One could try the cannon on those rocks."
The general looked timidly at the King, who, as if he were pricked by
that look, exclaimed,--
"Why should we not try the balls on the basalt rocks? We cannot destroy
the castle, and a few shots--"
Wackerbarth was silent, and waited for orders, still not believing that
Augustus wanted to show that he was superior to the childish
consideration.
"Send two cannons to Stolpen," said he, "and give orders for them to be
trained on the rock. To-morrow I will see the trial personally. Yes,
to-morrow morning very early, for it is warm already towards noon."
He turned and went off.
Orders of the King were always executed, notwithstanding all
difficulties. The cannons were sent to Stolpen during the night.
Zaklika was sleeping in his solitary house, when, about midnight, he
was awakened by a great noise and shouting of impertinent soldiers. He
thought that Saxony was being invaded by the Prussians, but soon he
recognized the Saxons by the exclamation, "_Herr Jesus!_" repeated
continually. Then he went out and asked the officer what had
happened--why such haste.
"The King," shouted the officer, "will be here this morning."
"The King! In Stolpen?"
"Yes, yes; he will try cannons against the basalt rocks."
"Where?" cried Zaklika, amazed.
"Here, at the rocks on which the castle stands," said the officer.
The conversation was interrupted. Zaklika could not believe his own
ears. The King was going to fire at the castle in which he had
imprisoned that unfortunate woman! The King in Stolpen! His hair stood
on end to think what suffering it would cause the Countess. He wanted
to rush and tell her, to give her courage to bear such a trial bravely.
"It cannot be!" repeated he to himself. "At the last moment the King
will be ashamed, and will not come! It could not be!"
The dawn was breaking when Zaklika left his house and rushed to the
castle, where everybody was awake. The news that the King was coming
electrified the soldiers and officers. In the town and villages
soldiers were urging the population to make the emplacements. Crying,
shouting, and loud commands were heard all around.
One of the batteries they had already begun to build in the park near
Roehrpforte, the other at Hanewald.
When Zaklika arrived at the castle he found the gates already open.
They were sweeping and cleaning; the commandant was hoarse with
shouting; the officers did not know what to do. Round the St. John's
Tower the Countess's servants stood half-dressed, for they thought it
was an alarm of fire. They asked each other questions as to what they
should do. At the open window was Cosel. She was pale and trembling.
Zaklika rushed up the stairs.
She met him at the door with the exclamation,--
"The King is coming to me!"
"Not to you," interrupted Zaklika, "he comes to try his cannon balls on
the rocks."
Cosel laughed.
"You are a simpleton!" cried she. "I have dreamed of him for a week. My
spirit hovered over him and attracted him. He was searching for a
pretext; he wishes to see me. He knows that I love him, that I shall
forgive him. He is free; he wishes to marry me as he promised. I wish
to be beautiful! I want to remind him of that Anna before whom he used
to kneel. The King!" exclaimed she in ecstasy, "my king! my lord!"
"Call the servants," added she. "Tell them to take out my dresses!"
Zaklika rushed out and called the servants, then sat on the stairs,
silent, full of grief, half-dead, unable to move.
The day was bright. They counted minutes and seconds. Merciless
soldiers slashed at the peasants, urging them to work; the batteries
were rising before their eyes. It was a most charming May morning. The
scented trees were sprinkled with dew; all nature, like a baby in the
cradle, was awake smiling. Amid the quietude of nature, everything in
the castle was noisy, moving, seething like a bee hive.
The soldiers dressed in their best uniforms; the officers in new
armour. The commandant learned, to his great despair, that the King's
provisions were not coming to Pillnitz, and it was necessary to receive
the lord. What could they find worthy of His Majesty's palate? They
killed a couple of deer in the park, they found a few bottles of wine;
but how could the simplicity of the camp table agree with the King's
accustomed luxury! In fact they had only one decent glass with the arms
of Saxony worthy of lordly lips, but the plates and the other things
were very poor. The priest lent a table cloth from the church; the
innkeeper furnished a great many things.
The cannons were placed in the batteries. It was already four
o'clock--at any moment they might expect the King, who said he would
leave Pillnitz at daybreak. The commandant put a soldier on the tower,
to let him know when he should perceive dust on the road. The
artillerymen aimed the cannons so as to be sure the balls would strike
the rock.
Everything was ready when the soldier on the tower gave the signal. At
that moment the mayor of the town, with the councillors carrying a
rusty key on a tray, went out on the road. In the church, ringers were
ready to receive the lord with a peal of bells. The inhabitants of the
town were dressed in their best clothes, and crowded the streets and
market square.
The clouds of dust approached swiftly, and at last they perceived,
galloping at the head on a magnificent steed, a good-looking, majestic
man. He was followed by aides-de-camp and a small retinue of courtiers
and guests.
At the gate the King hardly nodded; the mayor and his councillors bent
to the ground; he went immediately in the direction of the castle. Here
the garrison was drawn up at the gate; the drum was beaten and the
commandant came out with a report. But the King seemed uneasy and in
bad humour. He did not say a word to anybody. He turned his horse to
the battery at Roehrpforts, looked for a while, and then hurried to
Hannewalde. In front of that battery there rose a black mass of basalt
rock. From here the St. John's tower and its windows, in one of which
was a white figure, could be clearly distinguished. But the King did
not raise his eyes.
At that moment General Wackerbarth arrived from Dresden, and stood
behind the King in silence. Augustus was in a hurry: he nodded. The
artillerymen put a light to the touch-hole of the cannon, and there was
a loud report which was echoed in the surrounding mountains. A sharp
ear could catch at the same moment a dreadful cry of despair and grief.
The King, however, could neither see nor hear anything, his attention
being absorbed by the cannon and the result of the firing.
The first shot directed at the wall built of basalt, made a hole in it,
but the iron ball was broken into pieces. The commandant brought some
pieces to the King, who deigned to look at them, and shrugged his
shoulders. The other shot was directed at the rock itself; the ball was
broken into pieces, but the rock withstood the blow.
The King, growing feverish, ordered a third and fourth shot to be
fired; the result was the same--the rock could not be broken, except
for a few splits where the ball struck.
From the first moment that Cosel heard of the King's coming, she was
half-mad. At first she thought that Augustus was coming to see her; she
dressed with feverish haste and the greatest care, looked long in the
mirror and smiled to herself.
"I am sure," she whispered to herself, "he is coming to see me. It is
the end of my captivity, and the beginning of my triumph."
She rushed from one window to another. From one of them she could see
the road coming from Pillnitz. She noticed clouds of dust, and her
heart throbbed--she cried. Then the pealing of bells and the beating of
drums were heard--the King was entering the castle. Then silence. She
pressed her heart with her hand, and waited. It seemed to her that she
would hear him on the stairs--that she would see him at the door, full
of pity and benevolence. The silence lasted too long, then the report
of a gunshot resounded, shot and cry. Cosel fell on the floor. Suddenly
she rose, mad, bewildered, and rushed to the wardrobe. Her hands
trembled; she opened the drawer and took a pistol that was hidden among
silk dresses. Then she went to the nearest window, looking round. From
this side she could hear the noise of the broken rock and the bursting
of the cannon balls on it. Cosel leaned out; her eyes were aflame; her
bosom heaved. She waited.
At each shot she beat her head and pressed her heart. Wild laughter was
on her lips and tears filled her eyes.
After the fourth shot, everything became quiet. Cosel did not move from
her place, and held the pistol in her hand. Soon the sound of the tramp
of horses resounded on the road. Cosel leaned out and looked.
It was he! Augustus, riding on a path near the walls!
She screamed. He raised his head, stopped his horse, and touched his
hat with his hand; he was pale.
Cosel leaned out still more, as though she would jump through.
"Sire! my lord! Have pity on me!" cried she.
Augustus did not answer; and Cosel laughed bitterly.
"To expect pity from you, vile tyrant! From you who break your promises
and then imprison those who ask you to fulfil them! What do you care
for human life? What do you care for human heart? Cosel, a prisoner,
despises you and curses you: yourself, your family and your country!
Die, you villain!"
She aimed and fired at the King. The pistol shot resounded in the
castle mingled with laughter. The King, hearing the whizz of the ball,
came to his wits; he saluted smiling, and galloped off in the direction
of Pillnitz. The commandant's efforts to offer the King a luncheon were
wasted.