THE EMPEROR AND HIS BROTHERS.
A few minutes afterward the two archdukes entered the room of the
emperor, who slowly went some steps to meet them, and greeted them
with a grave, cold glance.
"Why, this is a rare spectacle," said Francis, sneeringly, "to see
my brothers side by side in such beautiful harmony. In truth, it was
only wanting to me that even you two should be of the same opinion,
and come to me for the purpose of inviting me, as Schiller says, to
be the third in your league."
"Your majesty would always be the first in this league," said the
Archduke John, in his clear, ringing voice; "my brother would be the
second, and I only the third."
"See, see, my brother is very modest and humble to-day," said
Francis, smiling. "This means doubtless that you have come to ask a
favor of me, and that, by your kindness and devotedness, you wish to
induce me to comply with your request, as a dog is decoyed with
cakes and sweets by the thief who intends to steal something from
the dog's master."
"Oh, your majesty, we do not intend to steal any thing from our
master!" exclaimed John, laughing. "But there is really an attack to
be made on our master's property; only he who intends to make it
does not decoy us with cakes and sweets, but assails us with the
sword and coarse invectives."
"It was very shrewd in you to mention at once the subject on which
you wished to speak with me," said the emperor, with a slight sneer.
"But permit me first to say a word to my brother Charles there, and
bid welcome to his imperial highness, the illustrious captain, the
generalissimo of our army, the hope and consolation of Austria."
"Your majesty wishes to mock me," said the Archduke Charles, in a
mournful voice.
"I repeat only what I read every day in the newspapers,, and what
the dear Viennese are singing and shouting in every street!"
exclaimed the emperor. "Yes, yes, my dear brother, you must consent
to be the hope and consolation of Austria, and to be praised as the
august and invincible hero of our immediate future."
So saying, the emperor gazed with a long and searching look at his
brother's form, and a scornful expression overspread his features.
Indeed, the epithets which the emperor had applied to his brother
corresponded but little to the appearance of the Archduke Charles.
His small, bent form, with its weak, shrivelled limbs, was not the
form of a hero; his pale, wan face, with the hollow cheeks; the dim
eyes deeply imbedded in their sockets, and the clouded brow, on
which thin tufts of hair hung down, was not the face of a bold
captain, confident of achieving brilliant triumphs by his heroic
deeds, and deserving of the name of the hope and consolation of
Austria. But the Austrians did call him by that name, and the glory
of his military achievements, which filled not only Austria but the
whole of Germany, caused them really to build their hopes on the
Archduke Charles, despite his very feeble health. The Emperor
Francis was aware of this; he knew that the Archdukes Charles and
John were by far more popular than he was; hence he was jealous of
and angry with them--nay, he almost hated them.
"You look very pale and sick to-day, my dear Archduke Charles," said
the emperor, after a pause, during which he had contemplated the
archduke with a searching expression.
"I am very feeble and unwell, your majesty," sighed Charles; "and
but for the special request of my brother, the Archduke John, I
should not have dared to come here this morning. However, I am
afraid that I can do but little to comply with his wishes, and that
my brother John will soon think it would have been better for him
not to ask me to accompany him to your majesty."
"Ah, then, you are after all not so harmonious as I thought when I
saw you entering here together!" exclaimed the emperor, laughing.
"There are still differences of opinion, then, between the two
pillars of my throne, and were I to lean on one, the other would
totter and give way. Well, what do you want? What brought you here?"
"Your majesty, only the intense desire to dedicate our services to
Austria and our emperor!" exclaimed John, enthusiastically. "We
wished to implore your majesty to utter at length the word that will
deliver Austria and all Germany. Your majesty, this hesitation and
silence rests like a nightmare on every heart and every bosom; all
eyes are fixed hopefully on your majesty: Oh, my lord and emperor;
one word from your lips, and this nightmare will disappear; all
hearts will rejoice in blissful ecstasy, and every bosom will expand
and breathe more freely when your majesty shall utter this word:
'War! war!' We hold the sword in our hands; let the will of my
august emperor give us the right now to draw the sword against him
who, for years past, has swept like a destructive hurricane through
all Germany, all Europe, and who tramples alike on princes and
peoples, on liberty and law. Your majesty, in the name of your
people, in the name of all German patriots, I bend my knees here
before my lord and emperor, and thus, kneeling and full of
reverence. I implore your majesty to let the hour of deliverance
strike at length; let us, with joyful courage, expel the enemy who
has already so long been threatening our frontiers with defiant
arrogance: let us take the field against the impudent usurper, and
wrest from him the laurels which he gained at Austerlitz, and of
which he is so proud. Your majesty, your people are filled with
warlike ardor; your faithful Tyrolese are waiting only for a signal
to break their chains and rise for their beloved emperor. Your
Italian provinces are longing for the day when war shall break out,
in order to avenge themselves on the tyrant who promised them
liberty and brought them only slavery. The hour of retribution has
come for Napoleon; may your majesty consult our best interests by
saying that we are to profit by this hour, and that war, a mortal
struggle, is to begin now against the Emperor of the French!"
And, still bending his knees before the emperor, John looked up to
him with longing, beseeching eyes.
Francis looked down on him with a gloomy air, and the noble and
enthusiastic face of his brother, who was ten years younger, and
much stronger and better-looking, made a disagreeable impression on
him.
"Rise, brother," he said, coldly; "your knees must ache, and I, for
my part, do not like such theatrical scenes at all, and such fine
phrases make but little impression on my cold and prosy heart. I am
accustomed to follow always my convictions, and when I advance a
step, I must be sure not to fall to an abyss which some poetical
hero may perhaps have merely covered for me with his flowery
phrases. That I am aware of the dangers threatening us on the part
of France I have proved by putting the army on the war footing, by
intrusting you, Archduke John, with organizing the militia and the
reserves in accordance with the plan you drew up for that purpose;
and by placing you, Archduke Charles, at the head of my army and
appointing you generalissimo."
"An honor, your majesty, which I accepted with reverent gratitude,
although it almost crushes me at the present time," said the
Archduke Charles, with a sigh. "Permit me now, your majesty, to open
my heart to you, and lay my innermost thoughts at your feet. To do
so, I accompanied my brother John to you. He said he would implore
your majesty once more to postpone the declaration of war no longer,
but utter at length the decisive word. I implored him not to do so,
and not to force us to engage prematurely in a war that could not
but bring the greatest calamities on Austria. But my dear brother
would not listen to my remonstrances and prayers; he called me a
secret friend and admirer of Napoleon; he demanded that I should at
least speak out, freely and openly in your majesty's presence, and
refute him if I could, or yield to him if my arguments should prove
untenable. Your majesty, I have therefore complied with the wishes
of my brother, the Archduke John; I have come to you, but only to
say to my lord and emperor: Your majesty, I implore you, in the name
of your people and your throne, do not yet unsheath the sword! Wait
until our army is ready for the contest, and until our armaments are
completed. Do not plunge rashly into war, lest victory escape us. A
great deal remains to be done yet before we can say that our
armaments are completed; and only after being fully prepared can we
dare to take the field against the Emperor Napoleon and his hitherto
victorious legions."
"Ah, do you hear our Fabius Cunctator, brother John, the Lion-
hearted!" exclaimed the emperor, sarcastically. "Which of you is
right, and whose wise advice shall I follow now--I, the poor
emperor, who is not strong and sagacious enough to be his own
adviser and advance a step without his brothers? John, the learned
soldier, beseeches me to declare war, and Charles, the intrepid
hero, implores me not to do so. What am I, the poor emperor, who
cannot advise himself, and who receives too much advice from others,
to do under such circumstances? Whose will must I submit to?"
"Your majesty," cried John, in dismay, "it is we that must submit;
it is your will on which depends the decision. I implore your
majesty to declare war, because I deem it necessary; but, if your
majesty should take a different resolution, I shall submit silently
and obediently."
"And I," said Charles, "requested you to postpone the declaration of
war, because I do not believe that we are sufficiently prepared for
the contest; but, like my brother, I shall submit silently if your
majesty should take a different resolution."
"Indeed, will you do so, archdukes?" asked the emperor, in a
scornful tone. "Will you be mindful of your duties as subjects, and,
instead of giving me unnecessary advice, obey me silently?"
The two archdukes bowed to indicate their submissiveness. The
emperor advanced a few steps, and proudly raising his head, he
looked at his two brothers with a stern and imperious expression.
"Let me tell you, then, archdukes, what I, your lord and emperor,
have resolved," said Francis, sternly. "I have resolved to declare
war!"
Two loud cries resounded with one accord; a cry of joy burst from
John's lips, a cry of dismay from those of Charles. Pale, reeling
like a drunken man, the generalissimo approached the emperor and
held out his hands to him with a beseeching expression.
"Your majesty," he said, "you have resolved to declare war, but you
do not mean to say that it is to commence immediately?"
"That is what I mean to say," replied the emperor, sarcastically.
The Archduke Charles turned still paler than before; a strange
tremor passed through his frame, his head dropped on his bosom, and
a deep groan issued from his breast.
The Archduke John, forgetful of his quarrel with his brother
Charles, at the sight of the latter's profound grief, hastened to
him, and tenderly grasped both his hands.
"Brother," he asked, anxiously, "what is the matter? Are you
unwell?"
"I am," said Charles, wiping from his forehead the large drops of
sweat standing on it. "I am unwell, but I must say a few additional
words to the emperor. I must disclose to him a melancholy secret of
which I heard only an hour ago.--Your majesty, I implore you once
more, postpone the war as long as possible; for--hear my terrible
secret--we have been infamously defrauded by Commissary-General von
Fassbender."
"Your intimate friend?" interposed the emperor, with a scornful
laugh.
"Yes, my intimate friend," exclaimed the archduke, in a loud, shrill
voice; "he deceived me most shamefully. All the army contracts had
been intrusted to him, and he assured me he had filled them in the
most conscientious manner. I believed him, and it is only now that I
find out that he has shamefully deceived me and his emperor. All his
bills for the supplies which he pretended to have furnished are in
my hands, but the troops did not get the supplies. The scoundrel
sent only sour flour, bad linen, and moth-eaten uniform cloth to the
regiments, and yet he drew enormous sums of money for the full
amount of his contracts."
"We shall compel the thief to disgorge his ill-gotten gains," cried
the emperor.
"No, your majesty," said Charles, with a groan; and leaning more
firmly on his brother's arm, in order not to sink to the floor, he
added: "no, your majesty, the criminal is beyond the reach of your
power. He escaped from human justice by committing suicide an hour
ago. The criminal has fled from his judges, but his crimes remain,
and our army suffers in consequence of them. Now your majesty knows
all, you will take back your word, and say no longer that you will
declare war. You will be gracious enough to give me time to repair
the injury resulting from the crimes of the commissary-general, and
to provide the army with all that is unfortunately wanting to it as
yet."
"No," cried the emperor vehemently, "I will not! I will not take
back my word, and I had already made up my mind before you, my
brothers, entered here to assist me so generously by your wisdom.
War will be declared immediately; my resolution is irrevocable. I
have already informed the French ambassador of it, and ordered him
to leave Vienna this very day. Your warnings come just as much too
late as did John's entreaties. I did what I myself deemed best; and
I deemed it best to declare war against Bonaparte, in reply to his
intolerable arrogance. Every thing is fixed and settled; war will
commence without delay: and you, Archduke Charles, are the
generalissimo of my army."
The Archduke Charles made no reply; he uttered a painful groan and
sank to the floor by John's side. All his limbs trembled and
quivered; his pale face became distorted, he clinched his fists, and
his eyes were glassy as though he were dying.
"He has one of his fits," said the emperor calmly, looking down on
his brother. "Call his servants and his doctor, Archduke John, that
they may remove the generalissimo to another room and administer
medicine to him."
John rushed to the door, and soon the servants and the physician,
who always accompanied the Archduke Charles, hastened into the room.
They lifted with practised hands the archduke, who was still
writhing in convulsions, and carried him tenderly out of the room.
John, who, with touching solicitude, had remained near the sufferer,
would have accompanied him; but a word from the emperor called him
back.
"Stay a moment, archduke," said Francis; "the Archduke Charles only
has his fits, and his servants will take care of him. I have yet to
speak a few words with you. This will be a formidable war, brother,
and we must see to it that it breaks out at the same time in all
quarters of our empire, and that the people rise with one accord and
take up arms. We have made our preparations everywhere, and our
emissaries have done their duty; they have everywhere enlisted
friends of our cause, and established committees which have made all
necessary dispositions for the defence of the country. You yourself
sent your emissary, Baron von Hormayr, to your beloved Tyrol; if I
am correctly informed, he has already returned to Vienna."
"Your majesty, he arrived here this morning," said John, looking at
his brother with an air of surprise and even terror.
This did not escape the emperor, and a smile of satisfaction lit up
his face.
"You see, my agents serve me very well, and I am aware of all that
is going on," said Francis, gravely. "I know, too, that Baron von
Hormayr has returned to Vienna not alone, but accompanied by some
good friends. I believe you did not come here to give me your
advice, but to beg permission to receive your Tyrolese friends at
your palace to-night."
"What?" asked John, surprised; "your majesty is aware of this, too?"
"I have told you already that my agents serve me very well. Let this
be a warning to you not to do or undertake any thing that you would
like to conceal from me. I know that Andreas Hofer is here, to
concert with you some sort of plan for the insurrection of the
Tyrol. Under the present circumstances I permit you to do so, for it
is really important that the German and Italian Tyrol should rise;
and as we are going to have war, we will strive to recover our
Tyrol. But we must proceed cautiously, and the world must not find
out that we instigated the Tyrolese to rise in arms. That would be
setting a bad example to the other nations of our empire. We may at
times profit by popular insurrections, but must beware of letting
the world know that we ourselves brought them about. Hence, I do not
want to know any thing of your Tyrolese, and shall not grant them an
audience. But I permit you to do so, and you may tell these brave
Tyrolese, too, that I should be glad if they would become again my
dear subjects."
"Your majesty," exclaimed John, joyously, "these words of their
emperor will be the signal for them to rise as one man, take their
rifles, and expel the Evil One, that is to say, the Bavarians."
"I shall be glad to see the Tyrolese do so, and, moreover, do it in
time," said the emperor, nodding his head. "Repeat my words to
Andreas Hofer, brother John, and pledge him my word that, if we
recover the Tyrol this time, we shall never give it up again. But
Andreas Hofer must behave with great prudence, and not show himself
to the public here, but keep in the background, that the police may
wink at his presence in Vienna, and act as though they did not see
him and his friends. And now, brother, farewell, and inquire if the
generalissimo has recovered from his fit. It would be bad, indeed,
if these fits should befall him once in the midst of a battle. Well,
let us hope for the best for us all, and especially for the Tyrol.
You have now a great task before you, John, for you will receive a
command; you shall assist the Tyrolese in shaking off the foreign
yoke."
"Oh, my lord and emperor," exclaimed John, with a radiant face and
fiery glance, "how kind and gracious you are to-day! It is the heart
of a brother that speaks out of your mouth--of a brother who wishes
to make me happy, and knows how to do so. Yes, send me with a corps
to the assistance of the Tyrolese; let me bring freedom and
salvation to my beloved mountaineers. That is a task which fills me
with boundless ecstasy, and for which I shall always be grateful and
devoted to you, brother."
"Be devoted to your emperor, archduke," said Francis, smiling; "the
brothers will get along well enough; they have nothing to do with
politics and public affairs. Farewell, John. But, remember, we shall
meet again to-day, for I shall summon the ministers and generals to
a consultation, and you will, of course, be present. Once more,
then, farewell!"
He nodded repeatedly to the archduke and left the room with unusual
quickness. The emperor walked hastily and with a gloomy face through
the adjoining room, and entered his cabinet, the door of which he
closed rather noisily. "I am to let him bring freedom and salvation
to his beloved mountaineers," murmured Francis to himself--"to HIS
mountaineers! I believe he would be glad if they really were his,
and if he could become King of the Tyrol. Well, we shall see. I have
lulled his suspicion by permitting him to hold intercourse with the
Tyrolese, and concert plans with them. We shall see how far my
brother will go, and what his gratitude and devotion will amount to.
It is a troublesome burden for me to have such dangerously ambitious
and renowned brothers, against whom I must be constantly on my
guard. I would I could pick them off as quickly as I remove the
flies from this wall."
So saying, he took from the table the fly flap which had always to
lie on it in readiness, and entered upon his favorite amusement, the
pursuit of the flies on the wall and furniture, which his servants
took good care not to drive from the emperor's cabinet, because
Francis would never have pardoned them for spoiling his sport.
Walking along the walls with a rapid step, the emperor commenced
killing the flies.
"Ha!" he exclaimed, striking a fly, "ha! brother Charles, this
stroke is intended for you. Really, there lies the fly writhing, as
the generalissimo did, on the floor. But he has a tougher life than
the fly; for the fly will writhe until it is dead, but the
generalissimo always revives; and when he has no fits, he is a very
brave and illustrious man, before whom his emperor must humbly stand
aside. I cannot take the fly-flap and strike his writhing limbs as I
do this miserable fly, the little Archduke Charles, that is writhing
on the floor there. So, now you are dead, confounded little brother
Charles, and we will hunt for your brother John. See, see, there he
sits on the wall, cleaning his wings and making himself tidy and
pretty. There! There is an affectionate blow from your imperial
brother, and you are done for. Now you will never fly to YOUR
mountaineers and BRING them freedom and salvation. You will, on the
contrary, stick to the wall of your emperor's room, and learn that
your brother is your master. Why, this is most amusing sport to day!
I shall not stop before killing a dozen Archdukes Charles and John!"
And Francis hunted eagerly on the walls and the furniture for other
flies, which he pursued and killed with his fly-flap, always
applying the name of Charles to one, and that of John to the next.
In the excitement of this strange sport he had not noticed that,
soon after he entered the cabinet, the door had opened, and
Counsellor von Hudelist had come in. Francis did not remember at
that moment that he had given express orders to Hudelist to re-enter
the cabinet as soon as he heard the emperor return to it; he had
fixed his thoughts exclusively on the cruel pleasure of killing the
flies Charles and John, and Hudelist took good care not to disturb
him in this pleasant pastime. He stood leaning against the wall
close to the door; his small, flashing eyes followed every motion of
the emperor with rapt attention, and whenever Francis, on killing a
fly, pronounced the name of either of his brothers in a triumphant
tone, a malicious smile overspread the pale and ugly face of the
counsellor.
Now, however, Francis, in hunting for flies, had arrived at the
extreme end of the room. Until then, his back had been turned to
Hudelist. If he should turn now and continue his sport on the other
side of the room, he would discover him, and be disagreeably
surprised at his presence. Therefore, before the emperor turned,
Hudelist opened once more the door near which he was standing, and
closed it rather noisily.
The emperor turned and asked gayly: "Well, what is it, Mr.
Counsellor?"
"Your Majesty ordered me to return to the cabinet as soon as you
should be back."
"But I returned some time ago," said Francis, casting a distrustful,
searching glance on Hudelist.
"Pardon me, your majesty, I believed I heard you only just now close
the door, and had until then vainly waited for some sound in the
cabinet," replied Hudelist, with a perfectly innocent expression of
countenance. "The second door separating the conference-room from
your majesty's cabinet is so heavily lined with cushions as to
render it almost impervious to sound, and I beg your pardon again
for not having heard despite the most eager attention."
The emperor's face had again entirely cleared up. "Never mind," he
said; "I am glad that those in the adjoining room cannot hear what
is going on here. I like to have ears for all, but do not like
anybody to have ears for me. Now let me hear what you have brought
for me from Paris."
"Above all things, your majesty, I succeeded in obtaining for a
considerable sum of money, the receipt for making Spanish sealing-
wax, from a Spanish refugee, who was formerly employed at the royal
sealing-wax factory of Madrid, and was perfectly familiar with the
formula for making it. Your majesty knows that this receipt is a
secret, and that the officers and workmen employed at the factory
must even swear an oath not to divulge it."
"And you obtained the receipt nevertheless, and brought it with
you?" inquired the emperor.
"Here it is, your majesty."
Francis hastily seized the paper which Hudelist handed to him with a
respectful bow.
"See, see, this is a very kind service which you have rendered me,
and I shall be grateful for it!" he exclaimed. "You shall test the
receipt with me alone; we will try it right away. But hold on; I
must first tell you some grave news. We shall declare war. I have
already told the French ambassador to leave Vienna to-day, and
Metternich can come home too. I will hold a council of the ministers
and generals to-day. Tell the functionaries at the chancery to
inform the ministers, archdukes, and generals that I wish to see
them in the conference-room at four. Make haste, and then come to my
laboratory. We will try the Spanish receipt."