THE CONSPIRACY DISCOVERED.
The festival was over, the last guests had taken leave of Baroness de
Simonie, and the servants and lackeys were gliding noiselessly through the
empty rooms to extinguish the lights in the chandeliers and candelabra, and
here and there push the scattered pieces of furniture into place.
Baroness de Simonie had gone to her boudoir, but though it was late at
night she seemed to feel no disposition to retire to rest, nor was there
the slightest expression of weariness on her beautiful face; her eyes
sparkled as brightly as they had just flashed upon her guests, and there
was no change in the proud carriage of her head, or of the tall, slender
figure, still robed in white satin veiled with silver-embroidered white
crêpe. The diadem of diamonds still glittered in her hair, and clasps of
the same brilliant gems adorned her neck and her bare white arms.
Madame de Simonie was pacing up and down her boudoir with hasty, impetuous
steps; her whole being seemed intensely agitated. Sometimes she paused at
the door to listen, then with panting breath resumed her restless movement
to and fro, while her scarlet lips murmured: "He does not come yet.
Something extraordinary must have happened. But what? What? Can he be in
danger? Oh, my God, if this terrible week were once over, that--But hush! I
hear footsteps; it is he."
Springing to the door with a single bound like a lioness, she tore it
open.
"Is it you, father?"
"Yes, it is I," he answered, entering the room and cautiously locking the
door behind him.
"Thank heaven that you are here, father!" she sighed, with an air of
relief.
"What?" he asked, smiling, "has my Leonore again become so affectionate a
daughter that she is anxious about her father if he is suddenly called away
at night? For you have been anxious about me--about me and no one
else--have you not?"
"No, not for you," she cried impetuously, "for him, for him alone. Tell me
that he is not in danger, that he has nothing to do with the matter on
whose account you were so suddenly called away!"
"I swear it, Leonore. But, my child, the impetuosity of your passion is
beginning to make me uneasy. How will you keep your head clear, if your
heart is burning with such impetuous fire that the rising smoke must
becloud your brain? I have allowed you to give yourself the amusement of
love, but you must not make a serious life question of it."
"Yet I shall either perish of this love or be new-born by it," she
murmured. "But let us not talk about it. Tell me first why you left the
ball so suddenly?"
"Urgent business, my child. The emperor sent for me to come to Schönbrunn."
"The emperor! What did he want of you?"
"There is something to be discovered, Leonore--a murderer who seeks the
emperor's life."
"A murderer!" she said, shuddering; "my God, suppose it should be he!"
"The emperor has received an anonymous letter from Hungary, in which he is
informed that, during the course of the next week, a young man will come to
Schönbrunn to murder him.[D] I suppose that this comes directly from the
Emperor Francis' court at Totis. Some fanatic has told the Emperor Francis
that he will go there to murder his hated foe, and the kind-hearted
emperor, in his magnanimity has sent this warning to Napoleon."
"And _he_ was in Totis," said Leonore, trembling, under her breath, "and he
told me that in a week something decisive would happen."
"You are silent, Leonore?" asked her father. "Have you nothing to tell
me?"
She started from her sorrowful reverie; a bold, resolute fire again flashed
in her eyes. "I have many things to tell you, many important things," she
replied. "But I will not utter a single word unless you first take an
oath."
"What oath?"
"The oath that, if it is Kolbielsky who comes to murder Napoleon, you will
warn him and let him escape."
"But how am I to warn him in advance, since the probability is that, if I
really catch him, it will be at the moment of the deed."
"Well, then, you will let him escape at that moment, if it is Kolbielsky."
"But that is impossible, Leonore! You will understand yourself that it is
impossible."
"Well, then, do as you choose, but do not ask me to communicate my
discoveries. Good-night, father; I feel tired, I will go to sleep."
Passing her father, she approached the door. But just as she was about to
open it, he laid his hand on her arm and stopped her.
"Stubborn girl," he said, smiling, "I see that your will must be obeyed to
induce you to speak. Well, then, I swear that, if the person who comes to
murder Napoleon is Baron von Kolbielsky, I will let him escape if he falls
into my hands."
"Swear it by my mother's spirit and memory."
"I swear it by your mother's spirit and memory. But now, Leonore, speak.
Have you really discovered a conspiracy?"
"Yes, I have discovered a conspiracy, and, thank heaven, I can tell you
everything--the names of all the conspirators; for _he_ is not among
them--he has nothing to do with this crazy, reckless affair. Father, you
can tell Napoleon that a widespread conspiracy exists, and that it even has
numerous adherents in his own army. The most aristocratic members of it
were present at my entertainment and held a consultation here. Colonel
Mariage, as you know, had begged me to give him and his friends a room
where they could talk undisturbed."
"And you gave him the little red drawing-room didn't you?"
"Yes. I gave them the little red drawing-room, which is reached from this
boudoir. I was in the niche and heard all."
"So it is really an actual conspiracy?" asked her father, with a happy
smile.
"Really an actual conspiracy," she repeated gravely, "and unless you warn
the Emperor Napoleon, unless you save him, he will be a lost man within a
week, even if that murderer's dagger should not strike him."
"That is splendid, that is marvelous," cried her father. "Leonore, this
time we shall really attain our goal. We shall be rich. The emperor is
generous; he loves life. I will set a high price upon it. By heaven, the
Cæsar's head is well worth four hundred thousand francs! I will ask them,
and I shall receive. We shall be rich enough to do without and be
independent of men."
"And I shall be free," murmured Leonore, with a flash of enthusiasm upon
her beautiful face. "You will not forget, father, that you promised to give
me my liberty if I helped you to become rich. You will not forget that you
are to permit me to escape, with the man I love, from this false, pitiful
world, and fly with him to some remote, secluded nook, where no one knows
me--no one can betray to him the shame and sin of my past life. And above
all, father, you will not forget that you have solemnly sworn to reveal
nothing of my former existence, not to let him suspect who I am, and--"
"Who and what your father is, you wanted to say," he interrupted. "Yes, I
will remember and not disclose our little secrets to him. The virtuous
Baron von Kolbielsky would certainly be very much astonished if he made the
discovery that your major-domo has the honor of being your father, and that
the father of the proud baroness is no other than the well-known spy
Schulmeister, who has rendered the Emperor Napoleon so many useful
services, and whose name Kolbielsky has so often mentioned in my presence
with scornful execration. No, he must not learn all this. We will conceal
our past, we will begin a new life, and since we shall then be rich enough,
it will not be difficult for us to remain noble and virtuous. But now, my
Leonore, tell me exactly and in detail everything you know. Come, let us
sit down on this divan and allow me to note at once the most important
points in your story, and especially the names."
"Then listen, father! Thursday next the emperor is to be carried away by
force."
"Carried away--where?" asked Schulmeister, smiling.
"To some desolate island in the ocean. But do not interrupt me; don't let
me anticipate, but relate everything in regular order. So listen and note
what is necessary. There is a conspiracy which has its members in the
French army, in the garrison now in Vienna, nay, even among those who are
in the closest attendance upon the emperor, and which unites all the
malcontents in France with the foes of Napoleon throughout all Europe.
Heligoland is the meeting-place for the envoys of the conspirators
throughout Europe; there the central committee always assembles at certain
times, and from there by confidential messengers and fellow conspirators
issues its commands and directions to the members in all places; there is
the depot of the arms, ammunition, and other military stores. Thither
England has sent General Bathurst; Spain, General Bandari, for consultation
and agreement with the Austrian General Nugent, the Russian General
Demidoff, and a certain Baron von Moudenfels, who has apparently played a
prominent part in all these negotiations, and in whose hands all the single
threads of this many-branched conspiracy meet. There was devised and
arranged the plan which is now to be executed and in which Baron von
Moudenfels plays the most important part."
"Do you know this Baron von Moudenfels?" asked Schulmeister. "Was he at
your entertainment this evening? I saw several gentlemen who were strangers
to me, and whose names I was going to ask you, when I was called away. Was
Baron von Moudenfels among them?"
"No, father, he was not among them, and I do not know Baron von Moudenfels
at all. According to the descriptions which I heard of him this evening, he
is a man already advanced in years, but whose youthful vigor and energy
were extravagantly praised and admired. Baron von Moudenfels has been the
originator and director of the whole plan, and has been engaged for months
in making preparations for its execution. Listen to the rest of my story!
On Thursday the plot must be put into action. On that day the emperor will
take a ride in the afternoon, as he always does. If, by chance, he should
show no disposition to do so, they will induce him by some means, and will
persuade him to go to the woods near Schönbrunn. The emperor likes to
dismount there and stroll along the lovely, shady paths, talking with his
generals. To his surprise he will find a most charming little hut which he
has not seen before--for the very good reason that it was erected only the
previous day. The emperor, as is well-known, is curious, and he will go to
it. The conspirators--and his entire suite is composed of them--the
conspirators will propose going in. A French song, the signal that
everything is ready, will be heard within. The emperor will enter, his
companions will follow. Inside the hut armed conspirators will be
stationed, who, as soon as the emperor enters, will seize and gag him, bind
him hand and foot, and thus render him harmless. Then one of the party who
entered with the emperor, Colonel Lejeune, whose figure is exactly like
his, will put on a suit of clothes made precisely like the emperor's, and,
donning Napoleon's three-cornered hat, will leave the hut. Meanwhile
twilight will have gathered, and the conspirators, with the emperor--that
is Colonel Lejeune--at their head, will return to Schönbrunn. The guards
will salute as soon as they see the emperor dash into the courtyard. The
chief equerry will hold his stirrup, and help him to dismount. The emperor,
followed by his suite, will enter the castle, and silently, according to
his custom, ascend the stairs and go to the hall where he receives his
marshals; there, as he so frequently does, he will dismiss all who are
present with a wave of his hand and pass on into his study, which adjoins
his sleeping-room."
"Well, it must be admitted that so far the affair has a glimmer of
feasibility and probability," said her father, smiling. "But I should be
very anxious about the continuation. Would Roustan, who undresses the
emperor every evening, also be deceived by the masquerade, or would the
conspirators attempt to abduct him also? And then--has it been forgotten
that before going to rest the emperor now works an hour every evening with
his private secretary, Bourrienne?"
"Bourrienne is one of the conspirators. He will enter the room with his
portfolio and remain there an hour, after first bringing to the anteroom
the order, in the emperor's name, to make no further reports to him that
evening, as he was wearied and therefore wished to go to rest early. The
Mameluke Roustan could not be bribed, and therefore the attempt was
relinquished. But the day before, through a dose of arsenic which will be
administered to him, Roustan will be so dangerously ill that he cannot
attend upon the emperor, and Constant will take his place."
"And is the valet Constant one of the conspirators?"
"He is, and he will be on duty during the night in the anteroom of the
bedchamber. In this way the emperor's disappearance will be concealed until
the next morning, and the matter will not become known until the following
day at nine o'clock, when the generals arrive. What will happen then,
whether Eugene is declared emperor or the Bourbons are again summoned to
the throne, will depend upon what occurs in France, and what effect the
emperor's disappearance has upon the minds of the people there. We need
not trouble ourselves about it for the present; it does not belong to the
business which occupies our attention."
"No, no, we have to deal only with the emperor," cried Schulmeister,
laughing, "and I can tell you that I am as anxious about the progress of
this matter as if it were the development of a drama, and that I am
extremely curious to know what more is to be done with the gagged emperor.
We have left him in the hut."
"Yes, and he will remain there until the night has closed in. Then Baron
von Moudenfels and two other conspirators, disguised as workmen, will
convey him in a basket standing ready in the hut, such as are used in the
transportation of the sick to the place in the woods where a carriage will
be waiting for the basket and its companions. They will ride all night
long, relays will be ready everywhere at the appointed spots, and, when
morning dawns, they will have reached the house of a conspirator near
Gratz, and spend the day there. At nightfall the journey will be continued
in the same way, and so, constantly traveling by night and resting by day
in the house of a conspirator, until Trieste is reached. To be prepared for
all casualties, a French passport for the transportation of an invalid to
Trieste has been obtained. Count Andreossy issued it at the request of
Colonel Mariage, and for greater security, Captain de Guesniard, in full
uniform and provided with the necessary legal documents, will accompany the
party to Trieste."
"Who are to be the other companions of the captive emperor?"
"Three more persons will accompany him. First, Baron Moudenfels, the
originator and instigator of the whole plan. Then there are two subaltern
officers in the French army, for whom Captain de Guesniard answers, but
whose names were not mentioned."
"Oh, I will discover them," cried Schulmeister, "be assured I will discover
them; and I am glad that there is some special work for me in this affair.
Go on now, go on, my Leonore."
"There is but little more to say. A ship, laden with grain, lies in the
harbor of Trieste with papers ready to set sail at once for Genoa. The
Baron von Moudenfels, with the prisoner and the two French lieutenants,
will take passage in her for Genoa, where another vessel, furnished by the
Swedish members of the league, is ready to convey the party further. Count
von Kotte has already been sent from here to Genoa by Baron von Moudenfels
to give directions to the captain of the ship, who from that port will
relieve Baron von Moudenfels from the charge of the prisoner."
"And what is the goal of his journey?"
"As I told you, some desolate island in the ocean, where no ships touch.
There the emperor will be put ashore and left to support life like a second
Robinson Crusoe, or in his despair seek death."
"Well, the plan really is not impracticable, and has been devised with
equal boldness and calculation. Only I should like to know why so much ado
is made, instead of adopting the shorter process, that is, murdering the
emperor."
"For two reasons! The conspirators consider their task too sacred to
profane it by assassination. They wish to rid Europe of the unhallowed yoke
which weighs upon it in the person of the Emperor Napoleon. They are
convinced that they are summoned to the work; that they shall thereby
render the world and mankind a service full of blessing; but they will not
anticipate fate; they will leave it to God to end a life which they merely
desire to render harmless to God and men. This is the first motive for not
killing the emperor, the second is that they believe a speedy death would
be no fit punishment for the crime which Napoleon has perpetrated on
humanity, while a perpetual, hopeless captivity, embittered by the
omnipresent, ever alert consciousness of ruined greatness, of fame buried
in dust and silence, would be a lasting penance more terrible to an
ambitious land-robber than death could ever be."
"They are right, by the eternal God, they are right!" cried Schulmeister;
"I believe that the emperor would prefer a speedy death a hundred times to
such slow torture; and to you, Leonore, to you and to me will now fall the
vast, the priceless happiness of preserving the emperor from such
martyrdom. I say the priceless happiness, but I shall take good care that
the emperor pays me for it as dearly as possible, and--so far as it can be
done--balances the immense weight of our service by its compensation. By
heaven, half a million francs really seems a trivial reward, and I don't
know whether we can be satisfied with it."
"I shall be satisfied," cried Leonore, with an enthusiastic glance, "only
when you fulfill the vow which you made; when, after I have made you rich,
you make me free and permit me to go with the man whom I love wherever I
desire, taking care that you do not betray by a word, a hint, who I am, and
what I was."
"I will fulfill my oath to you," said Schulmeister earnestly, "for you have
performed yours. You have discovered a conspiracy, and through this
discovery saved the emperor from a terrible misfortune, and given me the
right to demand a high price. You will make me rich; you will drive the
demon of poverty from my head; I will repay you--I will guard yours from
the demons of disgrace and shame; you shall have no cause to blush in the
presence of the man whom you love. On the day that I bring from the
emperor half a million as my property and yours, your past and mine will
both be effaced, and we will enter upon a new life, in a new world! Let the
spy, Schulmeister, the adventuress Leonore de Simonie; be buried, and new
people, new names, rise from the budding seeds of the half million. But now
farewell, my daughter, my beautiful Leonie. I must begin the work, must
summon all my assistants and subordinates, and assign their tasks, for the
next few days will bring much work. It is not enough for me to inform the
emperor of the existence of a conspiracy, and the plan of the accomplices,
but I must be able to give him convincing and irrefutable proofs of this
plot, that he may not deem it a mere invention which I have devised in
order to be able to claim a large reward. No, the emperor must see that I
am telling him the truth, so I must not let the affair explode too soon. I
must first know the names and residences of all the conspirators,
investigate the details of the whole enterprise, and hold in my hand the
threads of the entire web in order to be sure that all the spiders who have
labored at it will be caught in their own net."
"Do so, father," cried Leonore joyously. "I will leave them all to you--all
these poor spiders of the conspiracy. I feel no pity for them. Let them
die, let them suffer, what do I care! I, too, have suffered, oh, and what
mortal anguish! Yes, let them die and rot; I shall at last be happy, free,
and beloved. Oh, God be praised that the man whom I love is not entangled
in this conspiracy, that I could disclose the whole plot, mention the
names of all the conspirators, without fear of compromising him. Yes, I
thank Thee, my God, that Kolbielsky has no share in this scheme."