FRANCIS JOSEPH II.
The greatest activity prevailed in Vienna--in the vicinity of the
Hofburg.[5] Aides-de-camp and orderlies came and went backwards and
forwards to head-quarters, which were literally fringed with staff
officers.
Although it was still early, only about eight o'clock, groups of
inquisitive people stood here and there in the large court yard, and
looked at each coming or going officer with the greatest anxiety, as if
he must be the bearer of most important news.
Public feeling was highly excited. Every one knew that important events
lowered like a tempest in the air, and that any moment might bring the
dazzling flash, followed by the mighty thunder-clap, which would
disperse the sultry fog.
The good citizens of Vienna were in a warlike mood. The press had for a
long time increased their bitterness against Prussia, and on every side
were heard angry expressions against the Northern power, and confident
hopes of victory for the Austrian arms.
Had not Field-Marshal Benedek, the man of the soldiers--the man of the
people, just been appointed commander-in-chief of the great Northern
army? He would show what the Austrian army could do when taken out of
the hands of the "Junker,"[6] and placed in those of a real working
soldier.
Though these hopes were loudly expressed, no very joyful looks were to
be seen on the faces of the people. It was the language of the lips
rather than the heart; for deep in the breasts of the lively
gesticulating speakers lurked many a doubt, which gave the lie to the
words they uttered. It was a new foe whom they were to oppose--a foe
untried since the Seven Years' War, and from that time traditionally
feared--a foe, of whose wonderful military organization they had heard
and read things that seemed almost fabulous.
But these doubts, however much they might be felt, were not openly
expressed, they only served to increase the general oppression
that weighed down the spirits of the people, and gave to merry,
light-hearted Vienna a character of unusual earnestness.
Suddenly the conversation in the different groups was hushed, and all
eyes turned towards the entrance gate of the Hofburg. Lieutenant
Field-Marshal von Gablenz appeared, the general who from his brilliant
valour and knightly bearing was the darling of the Viennese.
He walked firmly and gracefully into the courtyard, dressed in a grey
close-fitting general's uniform, his breast adorned with numerous
orders, the Cross of Maria Theresa around his neck, and a plumed hat
upon the noble head, with its well-formed expressive features.
He was accompanied by Colonel von Bourguignon, the chief of his staff,
two aides-de-camp, and by Lieutenant von Stielow, in the brilliant
Uhlan uniform, rejoicing at the distinction of being so near to the
celebrated general.
The crowd greeted von Gablenz as one whom they expected to fulfil their
loudly spoken hopes, to give the lie to their hidden fears.
The general replied to their enthusiasm with a military salute, in a
friendly but dignified way; he was aware of his popularity, he did not
seek it, but accepted it as something which naturally belonged to him.
He passed through the courtyard with his companions, entered by the
large portal, and ascended the steps which lead to the emperor's
apartments.
The door of the ante-room was opened for him by the door-keeper with a
low inclination. Deep silence reigned in the lofty spacious rooms,
furnished with dark tables, high silken chairs, and heavy curtains
hanging over enormous windows.
At the door which leads to the emperor's cabinet stood a life-guardsman
in military position. The equerry on duty leant against a window-frame
and looked down into the court-yard. He was a handsome young man, with
short dark hair and moustache, and wore the simple dark-green uniform
of the emperor's equerries, with the badge of a major; he advanced as
the general entered, and saluted him.
Baron von Gablenz returned the greeting, and then especially saluted
the life-guardsman, (each one of these holds the rank of captain, their
own captain being Field-Marshal Count Wratislaw); he then held out his
hand to the equerry.
"Well, dear Prince Liechtenstein, what have you all been doing in
Vienna since I saw you last?"
"The clock of duty here pursues its everlasting round," returned the
young prince: "we are not so fortunate as your excellency; we make no
noise in the world, and are obliged to content ourselves with hearing
of your valiant actions. You go to pluck fresh laurels----"
"Stop, my dear prince," interrupted the general; "we must not talk of
laurels until they are won. But," he continued, "is his imperial
majesty at leisure? I wish to be announced at once, and to return
immediately to the army."
"Count Mensdorff has just gone in," returned the prince, "but he will
be certain not to stay long, and as soon as he leaves I will announce
you."
The general and Colonel von Bourguignon stepped into a window recess,
whilst Prince Liechtenstein conversed with the aides-de-camp and Herr
von Stielow.
Whilst this went on in the ante-room, the Emperor Francis Joseph stood
before a large table covered with papers, books, and maps, in his
well-lighted and simply furnished cabinet. He wore a comfortable loose
grey overcoat after the Austrian military fashion. The expression of
his face was very grave, and his hand rested lightly on the table,
whilst he listened with deep interest to the statements of Count
Mensdorff, who stood near him holding reports and despatches.
"That Prince Solms has not succeeded in effecting an alliance with King
George of Hanover is most unfortunate," said the emperor: "we shall be
unable to threaten the Prussians from that side, and we must do all we
can to meet the whole of the enemy's forces in Bohemia, or let us hope
in Saxony, for the decisive battle. Do you think an alliance between
Hanover and Prussia is to be feared?"
"Certainly not, your majesty," returned Mensdorff; "the king will
decline an alliance with Prussia, as with us. His Hanoverian majesty
holds strictly to his neutrality, and will engage himself on neither
side. I fear the king is placing himself in an isolated situation,
which in his position, surrounded as he is by Prussian power, will
prove most dangerous to his safety; yes, even to his crown."
"To his crown?" asked the emperor, raising his head.
"Your majesty," replied Mensdorff, "when the first cannon has been
fired, Prussia will be utterly regardless of all national laws; and
Hanover has long been the object of Prussian desires."
"So long as the sword of Austria is not shattered in my hand by the
pitiless storm of war," cried the emperor proudly, "no German prince
shall lose his crown."
Mensdorff was silent. The emperor paced the room hastily, and then
stood again before his minister. "You do not believe in our success?"
he said, with a penetrating look at the count.
"Your majesty, I wear the uniform of an Austrian general, and I stand
before my emperor on the eve of a mighty war, when all the banners of
the Imperial States will be unrolled. How would it beseem me to doubt
the success of the Austrian arms?"
The emperor tapped his foot on the ground. "That is no answer," said
he, "I question not the general, but the minister."
"I would," returned Mensdorff, "that I stood as a general before your
majesty, or rather before your enemies; then my heart would be
lighter;" and he added, almost gloomily, "then I should have greater
hopes of victory, at least I could give my life to obtain it. As a
minister," he continued after a momentary pause, "I have already given
your majesty my opinion, and I can only again express my most earnest
wish--that it will please you to take from me this weighty
responsibility, and permit me to draw the sword."
The emperor made no answer to the count's last request.
"But my dear Mensdorff," he said, "I know your Austrian heart; does it
not beat higher at the thought of again raising in Germany the ancient
power of the house of Hapsburg, and of breaking the might of that
dangerous rival who would root out Austria and my royal house from
Germany, the old inheritance of my fathers? Shall I give up this
opportunity, which perhaps may never again occur?"
"Your majesty cannot bear in your heart deeper love to Austria, nor
greater pride in your noble house, than I," replied Count Mensdorff
warmly; "and I would give the last drop of my blood to see you again
enthroned from Rome to Frankfort, surrounded by the princes of the
empire, as lord and leader of Germany; but----"
"But?" cried the emperor with kindling eyes. "Do you believe the object
is to be attained without throwing the sword into the balance? That man
in Berlin, himself, says, 'Blood and the Sword must regenerate
Germany.' Now let the sword decide, and may the blood be upon him."
"I cannot," said Count Mensdorff, in a melancholy voice, "consider this
opportunity as favourable; to open two theatres of war at once, is play
which neither the present resources of Austria nor my hopes for her
future justify; especially when one enemy is so powerful, and so
untiringly energetic, that we shall need all our strength to withstand
him."
"Energetic?" said the emperor softly: "at Olmuetz the strong man quietly
gave way."
"Olmuetz will not be repeated; the Emperor Nicholas is dead, and between
Alexander and us lies Sebastopol!"
The emperor was silent.
"May I humbly suggest to your majesty's attention," said Count
Mensdorff, after a moment's pause, during which he looked through his
papers, "that the Duc de Gramont presses for an answer on the subject
of the French Treaty, to be concluded on condition that we give up
Venetia."
"Can the answer no longer be postponed?" asked the emperor.
"No, your majesty; the ambassador declares that an undecided answer
will be regarded as a definite refusal."
"What would you do?"
Count Mensdorff spoke slowly and calmly. "If your imperial majesty has
decided, as indeed you have, to undertake at the present moment a
mighty war for the re-establishment of the Austrian power in Germany,
that object is great enough to set aside every other; it is noble and
costly enough to demand a sacrifice. The house of Hapsburg was powerful
in Europe _without_ Venice, it has not obtained power with that
province; on the contrary, many embarrassments, troubles, and
difficulties. The war in Germany, and about Germany, would have greater
chance of success if the enemy in the south were removed, our own army
there set free, whilst our alliance with France would hinder Prussia
from concentrating her army against us. The enemy would be occupied on
two sides, whilst we should be able to throw our whole force on one
point, and our present unfavourable position would be turned completely
to our advantage. Under such a constellation a second Olmuetz would be
possible, or, if the sword decided, success would be far more certain.
Your majesty," concluded Count Mensdorff, calmly meeting the emperor's
searching, anxious gaze, "I would yield Venetia."
The emperor bit his lips in silence.
"Must I buy," he cried at last, "must I buy the position of my house in
Germany,--must I buy the rights of my ancestors? And from whom? from
this King of Italy, who has banished the princes of my race, who
threatens the Church, and is even ready to attack the holy patrimony
itself. No! no! Put yourself in my place, Count Mensdorff; you will own
I cannot do it."
"Forgive me, your majesty," said the count, "but everything must be
bought; every treaty is a purchase, and the more valuable the object
obtained, the better the bargain. Austria's Italian position, and
earlier policy, the correctness of which is doubtful, were given up
with Lombardy. Venice cannot avail us much, and would be a hindrance to
a possible alliance with Italy."
"You think of an alliance with Italy as possible?" cried the emperor
with astonishment.
"Why not?" said Count Mensdorff, "if Italy has the whole of what is
Italian, she has no further enmity with Austria, and would far rather
be a close friend to her, than to France, with whom sooner or later she
must struggle for the first place amongst the nations of Latin race."
"And the banished archdukes, and his Holiness the Head of the Church?"
asked the emperor. "I cannot do it," he continued, gazing before him:
"what would my uncle think, who is preparing to make Italy feel the
sharpness of the Austrian sword--what would my whole family, what would
history?--what would they say of me in Rome? When Italy is overcome,"
he said, after a moment's thought, "when we have attained our former
eminence in Germany, then we can negotiate about Venice; if then,
through this sacrifice, the safety of the Holy Father and the patrimony
of St. Peter can be guaranteed----"
"If your majesty is victorious in Germany, we shall need no
negotiations with Italy," said Count Mensdorff; "but----"
A knock at the door was heard, and the equerry on duty, Prince
Liechtenstein, entered.
"A despatch for your imperial majesty from the Field-Marshal;" and he
withdrew.
The emperor's eyes sparkled, and his hand trembled slightly as he tore
off the cover of the telegram.
"Perhaps an engagement," he murmured.
His eyes flew with the greatest anxiety over the lines. He turned
deadly pale, and with his eyes still fixed on the paper he held in his
hand, he sank upon the plain wooden chair before his writing-table. A
short silence ensued, during which the emperor gasped for breath.
Count Mensdorff watched his imperial master with the greatest anxiety,
but did not venture to interrupt the painful reflections in which he
was plunged by the intelligence he had just received. At last the
emperor roused himself.
"A despatch from Benedek!" he cried.
"And what does the Field-Marshal announce?" asked Count Mensdorff.
The emperor passed his hand over his brow. "He begs me to make peace at
any price. The army is not in a condition to fight, as he will explain
hereafter."
"Your majesty cannot believe that the Field-Marshal and I have
conspired. If he does not believe the army equal to the war which is
before us--he, the man trusted by public opinion"--Count Mensdorff said
this with an almost imperceptible smile,--"then there must be a strong
foundation for my belief."
The emperor sprang to his feet and hastily rang the golden bell which
stood upon his writing-table. The gentleman-in-waiting entered.
"Prince Liechtenstein!" cried the emperor.
A moment afterwards the equerry on duty stood before him.
"Beg Count Crenneville to come immediately. Who is in the ante-room?"
"General Baron Gablenz, with the chief of his staff and aides-de-camp,"
replied Prince Liechtenstein.
"Very good," said the emperor; "let them come in at once."
The prince immediately summoned the general and his companions. Baron
Gablenz advanced towards the emperor.
"I beg your majesty, before my departure for the army, to permit me to
express my humble thanks for the command you have bestowed upon me of
the 10th corps, and for your gracious expressions of confidence in me."
The emperor replied, "This confidence, my dear general, is no favour,
you have deserved it, and you will justify it by the fresh laurels
which you will bind around the banners of Austria."
Baron Gablenz presented Colonel Bourguignon, his aides-de-camp, and
Lieutenant von Stielow. The emperor said a few words to each in his
usually gracious and engaging way. To Herr von Stielow he said--
"You are from Mecklenburg?"
"At your command, your majesty."
"Yours will perhaps be a divided heart; for I fear your Fatherland will
be compelled to stand on the side of our enemy."
"Your majesty," replied the young officer with emotion, "so long as I
wear this uniform, my Fatherland is where your royal banners wave. My
heart is Austrian." He placed his hand on his breast, and pressed
closer to his heart the rose he had received the evening before.
The emperor smiled, and placed his hand on the young man's shoulder.
"I rejoice that the general has chosen you, and I hope to hear of you."
Prince Liechtenstein opened the door with the words, "General Count
Crenneville."
The emperor's adjutant-general entered. He wore undress uniform. His
sharply-cut features of the French type, his short black moustache, and
bright dark eyes, belied the fifty years which the general bore.
"Your imperial majesty sent for me," he said.
"I thank you, gentlemen," said the emperor, turning to Baron Gablenz's
staff. "I hope the campaign will give you opportunities of performing
fresh services to me and to the Fatherland. I beg you to remain, Baron
Gablenz."
Colonel von Bourguignon, the aides-de-camp, and Herr von Stielow
withdrew.
The emperor seized the dispatch, and said, "I have just received this
telegram, on which I desire your opinion. The field-marshal," he
continued, his voice trembling a little, "begs me to make peace, as the
army is in no condition to fight."
"Impossible!" exclaimed Count Crenneville.
"What do you say, Baron Gablenz?" said the emperor to the general, who
had remained silent.
He hesitated a moment before replying, whilst the emperor's eyes seemed
to hang upon his lips.
"Your majesty, the field-marshal must have most cogent reasons for his
request; usually he fears no danger, and dashing boldness, rather than
cautious prudence, is his characteristic."
"Your majesty's brave and brilliant army unfit to fight!" cried Count
Crenneville; "how can the field-marshal justify such ideas?"
"He promises to justify them," said the emperor.
Count Crenneville shrugged his shoulders in silence, whilst Baron
Gablenz asked, "_Can_ your majesty still make peace?"
"If I place Austria for ever in the second rank in Germany, or rather
if I permit her to be thrust out from Germany--yes; if I give Prussia a
double revenge for Olmuetz--yes! otherwise I cannot."
Count Crenneville looked anxiously at the general, who stood lost in
thought. "Your majesty," he said at last, in a quiet, impressive voice,
"no one can rate the power of our enemy higher than I. I have been with
Prussia in the field, and I know her material and moral power. Both are
immense; her arms are excellent, and the needle-gun is a frightful
weapon. If we alone were opposed to Prussia, I should go to the war
with a heavy heart. I am reassured by our German Confederation."
"The army of the confederacy," said Count Mensdorff.
"It is not the military contingent alone that I throw into the
balance," continued Baron Gablenz, "but the fact that these separate
armies will absorb the Prussian troops, and compel the enemy to a
complicated campaign. Had I been able to remain in Hanover, this
advantage would have been still greater. However, even without that
combination Prussia must fight with very divided forces, whilst we
shall be able to concentrate our army. This, your majesty, is my
comfort; in this rests my hope of success, however severe may be the
conflict. This is my opinion as a general. As to the condition of the
army and its fitness for a battle, I cannot speak until I have seen it,
and know the reasons for the field-marshal's judgment. On the political
situation I need not hazard my ideas, neither would your majesty
probably care to possess them; this only would I say, if Austria's
honour is engaged I would refuse to yield; a lost battle even is less
hurtful than to retreat without having drawn the sword."
The general ceased speaking, and for a few moments silence prevailed in
the cabinet.
"Gentlemen," said the emperor, "the questions before me are of so
difficult a nature, that they require careful investigation and calm
reflection. In an hour I will decide; and I will give to you, Count
Crenneville, the answer to the field-marshal, and at the same time you,
Count Mensdorff, shall receive a reply to the question you have brought
before me."
The two gentlemen bowed.
"Shall the motion be made immediately to the Confederation for the
mobilization of the armies of the un-Prussianized States, as your
majesty has desired?" inquired Count Mensdorff.
"Certainly," cried the emperor, "it is necessary that the German States
should own to their colours, and that the armies of the Confederation
should be placed in the field. I am of the opinion of Baron Gablenz
that on this our safety greatly depends."
With a friendly nod he dismissed the gentlemen; then approaching
General von Gablenz he took his hand, and said, "God be with you! may
He bless your sword, and give me fresh cause to be grateful to you."
Gablenz bent over the emperor's hand, and said with emotion, "My blood,
my life, belong to you and Austria!"
The emperor remained alone. Several times he hastily paced his cabinet;
then he seated himself at his writing-table, and turned over some
papers quickly, without looking at their contents.
"What a frightful position!" he exclaimed; "every feeling of my heart
urges me to act against this German calamity, which like a wasting
sickness, like a gnawing worm, eats into the heart of Austria, and
devours her power and her greatness. My hereditary blood urges me to
pick up the glove, half scornfully, half threateningly thrown down so
long ago by the dangerous, deadly enemy of my race. The voice of the
German people calls me--and my minister counsels retreat, my general
hesitates at the moment of decision! Can the thought be true which like
a black mountain has oppressed my heart in my dark hours? Am I
predestined to bring misfortune on my beloved, beautiful Austria, the
glorious inheritance of my great ancestors? Will my name be linked in
history with the setting of the Hapsburg star, the fall of the empire?"
He gazed into space with troubled eyes.
"Oh! that thou couldst stand beside me, thou great Spirit, with thy
strong noble heart, with thy clear intellect, and unconquerable will,
to guide the rudder of the Austrian empire: thou whose calm proud
strength shattered the power of the hellish giant who had dismembered
the world! oh, that I had a Metternich! What would he counsel, that
mighty mind, whom none understood, whom none can understand, because
between his inner life and the world the proud words of Horace stand
inscribed: 'Odi profanum vulgus et arceo!'"
He suddenly seized his bell. "Let States-Chancellor Klindworth come
immediately," he commanded, as the gentleman-in-waiting entered; "seek
him in the office of state." The gentleman-in-waiting withdrew.
"He alone," said the emperor, "yet survives from the times of Austria's
greatness, when the threads of all European policy were gathered
together in our offices of state, when Metternich's ear was in every
cabinet, and his hand linked together the acts of every government. He,
it is true, was only the tool of the great statesman, not the confidant
of his thoughts--he was not Metternich, no, not Metternich, but he
laboured with him in working the wonderful machine--and his quick
penetrating mind seized the spirit of the whole, at least in some
degree. When he speaks to me, I seem to see that old, rich,
many-coloured period, and to know, as if by inspiration, what
Metternich would do if he still were the friend and adviser of the
house of Hapsburg. I have the will, the power to work,--the courage to
fight. Why is wisdom so hard?"
The emperor leant his head on his hand, and sat in deep thought. The
gentleman-in-waiting opened the door leading to the inner apartments,
and announced, "States-Chancellor Klindworth awaits your majesty's
commands." The emperor raised his head and made a sign that he should
enter at once.
Through the opened door advanced this extraordinary man, who began his
remarkable career as a schoolmaster in the neighbourhood of Hildesheim;
he then for a short time played a public part as state-chancellor at
the court of Duke Charles of Brunswick, and after the tragic fall of
that prince became one of the most skilful and zealous of Metternich's
agents. He was involved in all the most important political
transactions, and had had relations with every sovereign and minister
in Europe; yet he so skilfully enveloped himself in obscurity, that
only those most initiated in political circles had ever seen him, or
spoken to him.
Klindworth was now a man of about seventy years of age, broad
shouldered, and strongly built. His head, which was so pressed down
between his shoulders that it seemed to lurk there in concealment, was
covered with grey hair, fast turning white, and his face was of such
extraordinary ugliness, that it attracted and riveted attention more
than the highest order of beauty. His small eyes glittered quick and
piercing beneath thick grey eyebrows, and with their keen glances,
which they never directed straight at any other eyes, seized on
everything worthy of remark within their range of sight.
His wide mouth, with its thin bloodless lips, was firmly closed, and
quite concealed in the middle by his long thick nose, which spread out
to an enormous breadth towards the lower part. He wore a long brown
overcoat closely buttoned, and a white neck-cloth, and his manner was
completely that of a worthy old tradesman who had retired from
business. No one would have imagined him to be a most dexterous and
far-travelled political agent; the art so much practised in his
political life, never to appear, but always to remain in the darkest
background, he seemed to exercise in his appearance; it would have been
impossible better to have represented the image of a modest unimportant
person.
He entered, bowed deeply, and approached within two or three steps of
the emperor; he then stood still with a most respectful bearing, and
without uttering a word. His quick eyes examined the monarch, and were
instantly sunk again to the ground.
"I have sent for you, dear Klindworth," said Francis Joseph, with a
slight bend of the head, "because I am desirous of hearing your views
on my present position. You know how much I like to hear how things
mirror themselves in your mind, which has lived through the experiences
of a past great time."
"Your imperial majesty is too gracious," returned Herr Klindworth, in a
low, but distinct and penetrating voice. "The rich treasures of
experience obtained in a long political life are always at the command
of my gracious monarch; as my great master Prince Metternich
said--'The past is the best corrective and the truest barometer for the
present.' The faults of the past are seen with all their results and
consequences, and from them we may learn to avoid the blunders into
which present events are leading us."
"Quite right," said the emperor, "quite right, only in the past, in
_your_ past, few blunders were committed; but what do you consider
would be the most dangerous error which could now be made?"
Without hesitation, Klindworth replied, raising his eyes from the
ground for a moment, and fixing them on the emperor:--
"Indecision, your majesty!"
The emperor looked at him with embarrassment.
"And you fear this error may be committed?" he asked.
"I fear it _has already been committed_," returned Klindworth, quietly.
"By whom?"
"Wherefore has your majesty chosen me for this high honour?" asked
Klindworth, instead of replying to the question. "Your majesty shall
hear my plain humble opinion, though its weight be but as a grain of
sand in the balance. You have _yourself_ not decided," and he assumed a
more humble and modest manner than before.
The emperor smiled. "You know how to read the thoughts of others;
nothing is safe from your key. But granting that I have not decided,
this is no fault; the time for decision has only just arrived."
"Does your imperial majesty command me to speak without any reserve?"
asked Klindworth.
"Assuredly," said the emperor, adding with some haughtiness of manner,
"I certainly did not send for you to indulge in idle conversation."
The states-chancellor clasped his hands over his breast, and tapped the
back of his left hand lightly with the fingers of his right. Then he
spoke very slowly, and with long pauses, during which he watched the
impression made by his words through his half-closed eyelids:
"I cannot, according to my humble views, share your imperial majesty's
opinion that the moment for decision has only just come."
The emperor gazed at him with surprise.
"According to your views, when was that moment?" he asked.
"It was," returned Klindworth, "before Prussia and Italy had concluded
a treaty; before Italy was armed; and before Prussia had completed her
preparations. Your majesty wished to decide the great German quarrel;
your majesty wished to set up the imperial throne in Frankfort after
Count Rechberg had, somewhat prematurely, roasted the _b[oe]uf
historique_."
The emperor frowned, but without altering his tone Klindworth
continued,--
"Your majesty unveiled your designs too soon, and therefore the best
moment was lost; a blow should fall heavily, and the opponent be
unprepared. A long exchange of despatches reminds me of the Trojan
heroes, who made long speeches and related their genealogy before
hurling their spears. A dispute, an ultimatum, and your majesty's army
in Saxony at once! so should I have conceived the affair. Now the Saxon
army approaches Bohemia; it is impossible to fight except in Bohemia,
that is to say, the burden of war is brought into our own territory.
That, your imperial majesty, I call indecision; we feel its evil
consequences already, and they will increase every day."
"Do you not think," said the emperor, thoughtfully, "that Prussia
dreads war, and will give way rather than appeal to arms?"
"No, your majesty, that will not happen; Count Bismarck is incapable of
such a course."
"But the king," said the emperor, "he is against the war. They speak of
a difference with Bismarck quite recently."
"I do not believe it, your majesty," said Klindworth, "though I own my
personal judgment fails me where the King of Prussia is concerned. I
knew Frederick William IV.," he continued, "I knew the Emperor
Nicholas, and I know the Emperor Napoleon. Of the deceased monarchs I
could, of the Emperor Napoleon I can, foretell (through the knowledge
of human nature I possess) their probable course of action, but as to
King William," and a slight tone of injury and dissatisfaction was
heard in his voice, "I never could get any nearer to what he would do.
I have only the ground of conjecture to go upon where he is concerned."
"And what do you conjecture?" asked Francis Joseph.
"I conjecture that the king will not give way, but that he will fight.
He is no longer young, therefore he dreads war, with its misery and
distress: he is a Hohenzollern, and all Hohenzollerns have a certain
traditional deference for the house of Hapsburg, therefore he
especially dreads a war with Austria. But he is a man, a character, and
a soldier, therefore he will rather wage war than yield, and make his
military organization, which he has perfected after such a severe
struggle, the laughing-stock of the world. King William will fight your
majesty; threats will not alarm him, therefore to threaten was to
blunder, and indecision bears its evil fruit."
"Since, however, the fault of indecision is committed," asked the
emperor, "how can we make it good? No statesman can always avoid an
error, the great art is to amend it. What can help us now?"
"Quicker decision, and quickest action!" returned Klindworth.
"But you do not know," said the emperor, hesitatingly, "Count
Mensdorff----"
"I know all that," returned Klindworth, smiling; "Count Mensdorff is
ill, and to sick folks decision is hard."
"How would Metternich, the man of prudence, and of happy combinations,
have decided?" asked the emperor, softly, speaking half to himself,
half to his companion.
"Metternich would probably never have been in this position, but if he
now sat in the state council your majesty's troops would be in Dresden
and Hanover."
"But Benedek----" said the emperor.
"Benedek, your majesty, finds himself for the first time in a position
of great responsibility, without having yet acted; this depresses him."
"But he says the army is unfit to fight," said the emperor, most
unwillingly.
"It will certainly never improve by lying still in Bohemia; if your
majesty fights with it, it will become fit to fight," returned
Klindworth, positively.
The emperor paced up and down the room; the states-chancellor stood
perfectly still, but his grey eyes watched every movement of the
emperor, who stopped suddenly before him, and asked,--
"Are you aware of the French proposal?"
"An alliance, provided you yield Venetia," said Klindworth.
"What do you think of it?"
"I think it revolts every feeling of your majesty's heart--and with
justice."
"It is not a question of inclination, or disinclination, but of
policy," said the emperor.
"Policy is entirely against such an alliance," said Klindworth.
"Why? Count Mensdorff gave me reasons in its favour, which I must own
made a powerful impression upon me."
Klindworth's eyes sparkled, and he raised his bent figure somewhat,
whilst the movement of his fingers grew quicker, and his voice became
more animated, and louder than before.
"All political reasons, your majesty, speak against this alliance, and
on these grounds: perhaps, I grant it, opposed to this coalition,
Prussia may give way--_perhaps_, but how far? Will your majesty obtain
what you desire? No! the quarrel is but patched up, and under such
circumstances that Prussia must win. I do not even believe that they
will yield in Berlin. I believe that they will fight, though opposed to
the French alliance--and then what occurs? If your majesty conquers,
the reward of victory will not be yours. Do you believe the Emperor
Napoleon will permit the sole supremacy of Austria over a united
Germany? To obtain the fruits of victory you would be forced to
commence a fresh war against your former ally, who would join hands
with your conquered rival. The benefit of an alliance with France is
also doubtful, since France is not in a position for any military
undertaking."
"Is that certain?" asked the emperor, with surprise.
"Your majesty is aware that I am careful in making distinct assertions,
and that I possess means of information which may always be relied on.
At this moment France cannot place 100,000 men in the field."
The emperor was silent.
"If, however, the benefits of this alliance are doubtful and insecure,"
said Klindworth, "two great and certain evils must result from it."
The emperor looked at him expectantly.
"In the first place, your majesty, the position of the house of
Hapsburg and of Austria in Germany would be deeply compromised by a
French alliance. Should your majesty obtain success, half success at
the best, public opinion would always regard Prussia as a national
martyr, sacrificed to the hereditary enemy of the German nation. This
would give Prussia great additional strength, and it would be a fair
ground upon which to renew the struggle under more favourable
circumstances."
"Opinion in Germany is on my side," said the emperor.
"Partly," returned Klindworth, "but it is not on the side of France.
Your majesty, I do not belong to those politicians who are always
praising up a beloved nationality--for Austria it is highly
dangerous--and I belong to the time when the balance of power was
maintained by a skilful combination of great and small states; when a
bundle of wands cleverly bound together was considered stronger than a
clumsy cudgel; yet it is dangerous to slap national feeling in the
face, especially now, and henceforth, as it has been raised to
fever-heat by 'the great German union,' and similar demagogical
watchwords, to which governments always fall dupes. All the South
Germans and Bavarians, who are now so full of zeal that they speak,
write, and act against Prussia, would, I believe, straightway go over
to the enemy's camp, if they heard of an alliance with France. I know
what the 'furor Teutonicus' is, your majesty: we used to repress it;
now everything is done to kindle it, and if a French alliance is
concluded at the present moment, Germany will belong to Prussia."
The emperor listened attentively; his own views appeared to coincide
with those of his states-chancellor, and a slight smile played round
his lips. This did not escape the quick eyes of Herr Klindworth.
"Besides," he continued, "I consider this alliance prejudicial in the
highest degree, on account of the sacrifice which must purchase it."
"Do you consider the possession of Venice so important?" asked the
emperor with interest.
"The possession of Venice, in itself, I do not regard as important,"
said Klindworth, "but a great principle is involved, which I hold to be
of the highest importance. If of your own free will you barter Venice
for a treaty, your majesty solemnly recognizes all that has been done
in Italy against the house of Hapsburg, against legitimacy, and against
the church; and not this alone, but also what is about to be done
against those pillars on which the strength and power of Austria rest,
I mean the robbery of the Patrimony of St. Peter, and the secularizing
of the Holy Roman See. It would be the abdication of Austria."
"My own feeling tells me the same," exclaimed the emperor. "But do you
believe that if I conquer, I shall be able to check the course of
events in Italy; that I shall be able to win back what has been lost?"
"I do believe it," replied Klindworth, firmly.
The emperor was startled by this positive answer.
"If I were the victor in Germany, would Germany make a pilgrimage to
Rome?" asked he. "I doubt it."
"That would not be needful," returned Klindworth; "we have often heard
'Italia fara da se,' well, let us leave the Italians to act:" and he
rubbed his hands together with a low laugh.
"What can Italy do?" said the emperor urgently, "do you know anything?"
"It is a little _mon metier_ to know everything," returned Klindworth.
"Your majesty must permit me to make a few short remarks. Italy fell
under the house of Savoy and the demagogues, because Austria was beaten
at Solferino."
"Not by Italy!" cried the emperor.
"Not by Italy, it is true," continued Klindworth; "but it was beaten,
and the revolution was all powerful, the defenders of right lost heart,
and above all were disunited. Since that time much has occurred, much
has been learned from the foe; a strong, invisible bond now unites all
those who serve and are willing to fight for the right, and the
apostolic blessing rests upon this bond. What the Carbonari did for the
revolution, the Carbonari of right will again effect: but as the former
were assisted by victory from without, so do the latter wait until the
sword of Austria shall have effected the first breach in the fortress
of crime and wrong. Let there be one Austrian victory over the troops
of this crowned revolution, and Italy will be in flames, and the
crusade against Cavour's work will begin--and conquer."
The emperor listened with the greatest excitement: he stepped close up
to Klindworth, who maintained his calm demeanour.
"Do you speak from dreams of your own imagination," cried Francis
Joseph, "or from facts?"
"From facts, your majesty, which I can prove."
"When? where?" cried the emperor.
"In five minutes; here, in your majesty's cabinet."
"Then bring your proofs."
"I must then beg your majesty to admit a person, who, foreseeing to
what the present conversation would lead, I took the liberty of
bringing with me, and who waits below."
The emperor looked amazed.
"Who is this person?" he asked.
"The Count di Rivero, your majesty."
The emperor seemed to search through his memory for the name.
"Who is he?" said he, after a pause; "ah! I remember: was not a Roman
Count Rivero introduced at court, some years ago, by the Nuncio?"
"You are right, your majesty," said Klindworth, "he is a Roman, and the
Nuncio was his sponsor. But with the Count Rivero, known in the
brilliant salons of the court, I have nothing to do. My Count Rivero is
an unwearied champion of Right and of the Church, preparing in quiet
obscurity the great insurrection which will destroy the work of
Wrong--a mighty leader of all those elements, which, bound together by
unseen threads, are preparing for the common struggle."
"How does he prove his identity?" asked the emperor, in a voice in
which curiosity struggled with distrust. Klindworth drew from his
pocket a sealed letter, and handed it to the emperor:
"In case your majesty should incline to see him, he has entrusted me
with this."
The emperor seized the letter.
"From the Farnese Palace, from my sister-in-law," he cried, breaking
open the seal, and reading the short contents.
"Bring the count in at once," he then said.
Bowing deeply Klindworth withdrew.
"How fortunate that I sent for this man! what new views he opens out to
me!" cried the emperor. "Is it possible that the former greatness of my
house will again arise on every side?"
He walked thoughtfully to the window, and looked up at the sky, slowly
following with his eyes the movements of the clouds.
After a short time Herr Klindworth was announced, and at a sign from
the emperor, again admitted. He was followed by Count Rivero, whose
manner was as perfect and as calm as when he entered Madame Balzer's
boudoir, and as when he stood opposite Herr von Stielow's pistol.
His dress was black, of faultless simplicity and perfect cut. With the
firm light step, and complete self-possession, which proved him
acquainted with courts, he advanced towards the emperor, and, bowing
deeply, waited, with his eyes calmly fixed on the monarch, for him to
speak.
The emperor looked searchingly at him, and said:
"I remember you, count, at court in former years."
"It is very gracious of your majesty to recollect me," said the count,
in his soft, melodious voice.
"You come from Rome?"
"From the Farnese Palace, your majesty."
"And what brings you here?"
"The wish to offer your majesty my services in the great struggle now
before Austria."
"My sister-in-law of Naples commends you to me as a man worthy of my
fullest confidence."
"I believe I have deserved her confidence, and I hope to earn that of
your majesty," returned the count, bowing quietly, and speaking without
any presumption.
"And how do you think you can be of use to me?" asked the emperor.
The count returned his scrutinizing gaze openly and proudly, saying:
"I offer your majesty the support of a great and invisible power, the
Holy League of Right and of Religion!"
"Explain to me what this League is, and what it can do."
"I will tell your majesty how it arose; you will then understand what
it is, and what it can do. After those great battles in which the
Austrian armies in Italy were crushed, the flood of revolution, urged
on by the ambitious house of Savoy, spread all over Italy, placing
firmly on the head of Victor Emanuel the crown created by red
republicanism; whilst all who had in their hearts a love of right and
religion, and a desire to fight for Holy Church, were surprised and
dispersed--incapable of united and energetic resistance. The work of
wickedness was accomplished in hot haste, and even the Emperor
Napoleon, who had thought out a very different Italy, could not check
the evil spirits he had himself unchained. After fever came exhaustion.
Even in the Vatican there was no safety. But exhaustion was followed by
reaction. In Rome, in the palace of King Francis, that single-minded
but in his simplicity truly great and royal hero (who, with the cannon
of Gaeta, had made his protest against sinful Wrong resound through
Europe), the men first assembled, who said, 'Wrong conquered because a
few wicked men willed it so, and worked together with united strength;
why then should Right not again arise, for God is on our side, if men
of courage and decision combine in the common work, assembling weaker
spirits and filling them with zeal and activity?' This proposal was
followed by decision, and decision by action. King Francis drew up the
plan and the way to carry it out; and your majesty's heroic royal
sister-in-law fanned the pure flame of good and noble resolutions into
a bright blaze of burning enthusiasm. Throughout Italy committees were
formed, and men and women of well-known opinions joined the League,
whose numbers could soon be counted by thousands. Men devoted to the
king work at all the European courts; the talented, accomplished, and
prudent Canofari remains in Paris, Count Citto travels through Europe;
we are well informed of all that takes place; Golotti organizes Naples
and Sicily. The influence which the members of the League have over the
masses is great; arms and ammunition lie in places of safety, and we
stand at the head of a power, to which we have but to apply the
electric spark, and Italy will be in flames, from the Alps to the
further point of Sicily. Does your majesty desire further information
upon the extent, the organization, and the power of the League?"
"Not at this moment," said the emperor, with some excitement; "at a
future time I shall beg for these particulars, as they interest me
greatly. In what relation does the Holy See stand to your cause?" he
then asked.
"The Holy Father, your imperial majesty, is the high priest of the
church," replied Count Rivero. "His weapons are spiritual, and he can
take no direct part in a work carried on by secular means; but this
work can only be well-pleasing to him, and the apostolic blessing must
rest on those who labour to restore both spiritual and temporal right.
All faithful priests support the League in every way permitted by their
holy office."
"And how does this League intend to act; what does it hope to obtain?"
asked the emperor.
"Your majesty," returned the count, "we await the breaking out of the
great war for the re-establishment of Austria's former power and
greatness. Whatever may be the result on the northern side, success is
certain for Austria in Italy. We can undertake nothing alone, for we
are unable to oppose well-organized armies. As soon as these armies are
engaged, and held fast by the Austrian forces, we shall give the
signal; and behind the crumbling armies of Victor Emanuel, Italy will
arise; the free troops of Right and of the Church will appear
everywhere, to cast out the Sardinian rule, and to bring back to their
inheritance their lawful princes. Your majesty only desires to rule
Lombardy, and that will again belong to you."
"And Napoleon?" asked the emperor.
"I have reason to think he will not dislike to see the Sardinian
government overthrown by Italy; he trembles at his own work--besides
his intervention will come too late."
"And you believe," said the emperor, "that Italy herself will restore
Lombardy to my house?"
"Yes, your majesty," replied the count, "under conditions."
"Ah! conditions!" exclaimed the emperor.
"Your majesty," said the count, "all we who take part in this great
work are Italians, and we desire to see Italy free and happy. We wish
to regard the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom in the north of our peninsula
as blood of our blood, and flesh of our flesh; we are therefore willing
to restore Lombardy into the hands of your majesty and to the house of
Hapsburg, but not to Austria."
"How will you make the distinction?" asked the emperor, with a shade of
annoyance.
"I believe," replied the count, "this distinction is the greatest proof
we could give of the reverence in which we hold your imperial majesty.
It would not become me," he continued, "nor am I called upon, to give
your majesty any views upon the government of those states which form
the Austrian empire; I must, however, remark, that according to my
perceptions--and I think I have history on my side--throughout the
whole of Austria there is but one common bond of union, the emperor and
the army."
The emperor bowed a somewhat reluctant assent.
"The truth of this, so far as Italy is concerned, is incontestable,"
continued the count. "No one in Lombardy and Venice, nor indeed,
throughout the whole country, has the smallest objection to the rule of
the house of Hapsburg; but what hurt the national feeling, what
alienated the well disposed, was the German rule, which we were made to
feel in your majesty's Italian states: the rule was a foreign one, and
it felt to the people like a foreign occupation. If your majesty will
permit your Italian subjects to be Italian, all repugnance will
vanish."
The emperor was silent, appearing not entirely to understand.
"Allow me, your majesty," said the count, "to disclose to you the
picture, which stands in dazzling clearness before my mental gaze. When
my poor country fell under the hellish power which now oppresses it, I
thought out for it a united organization, somewhat similar to the great
confederation which unites Germany. In the south the kingdom of the two
Sicilies, in the heart the patrimony of St. Peter, and in the north, up
to its natural boundaries, rescued Sardinia, the smaller dukedoms and
the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom. At the head of this confederation, for
the developing of institutions for trade and commerce and for the
welfare and cultivation of these states, bound together by a common
spirit of nationality, stands the Holy Father, the head of Christendom,
your imperial majesty occupying the place of his powerful earthly
protector; and if the arms of Austria conquer in Germany, as I pray
they may, we shall behold the Roman emperor, from Sicily to the
northern sea, the honoured and beloved protector of right, and the
umpire of Europe."
The count bowed, and was silent. He had latterly spoken with more
excitement, and his sparkling eyes seemed to see, in dazzling
completeness, the picture he had just sketched out for the emperor.
Francis Joseph had listened with kindling eyes; and Klindworth had
stolen quick glances, now at the emperor now at the count, whilst he
stood perfectly still without appearing to-take any interest in the
conversation.
"What you have disclosed to me, my dear Count Rivero, interests me in
the highest degree," said the emperor, "and I rejoice that your
communications have been made at the present moment. Your plans
coincide with the wishes I must always bear in my heart, as the heir of
my ancestors and the head of my house."
"Your majesty graciously consents," asked the count, "to accept our
services, and to grant us your protection?"
"I do," said the emperor.
The count hesitated a moment, then fixed his clear eyes on the emperor.
"And the home government of your majesty's Italian states?"
"I pledge my word," said the emperor.
The count bowed.
"And you, my dear count, what _role_ shall you play in the great
drama?"
"I shall remain here for the present to watch the course of events, in
order to give the signal at the right moment. I am at your majesty's
disposal."
"Your information has been of great service to me," said the emperor,
"and," turning to Klindworth, "you have perhaps saved me from a
dangerous error. I believe, my dear states-chancellor, that indecision
is over. And now," he cried, with animation, "let us set to work with
all our might. I feel courage and strength, and I trust the old proverb
may again prove true: 'Austria est imperatura orbi universo!'"
"'Ad majorem Dei gloriam!'" added the count in a low voice.
The emperor bent his head, and called out to the count just as,
retiring with Klindworth, he had reached the door:
"Auf Wiedersehen!"[7]
He then seated himself at his writing-table and hastily wrote
two notes, sealing them with his ring; then summoning the
gentleman-in-waiting, he desired him to call his equerry.
Prince Liechtenstein entered.
"My dear prince," said the emperor cheerfully, "let these two notes be
given at once to Crenneville and Mensdorff."
The prince took the notes, and left the room in silence.
"Now," cried the emperor, as he stood up and raised his sparkling eyes,
"indecision is past. God protect Austria!"