ANDREAS HOFER.
The streets of Vienna were silent and deserted; all houses were
dark; everywhere the note of life had died away, and only here and
there a hackney-coach was heard to drive slowly through the lonely
streets, or a belated wanderer was seen to return home with a weary
step.
Vienna slept and dreamed of the welcome news which, despite the late
hour, had spread like wild-fire from the concert-hall through the
city--of the joyful intelligence that war against France was
resolved on, and that the time was at length at hand when the wrongs
perpetrated by Napoleon were to be avenged.
Vienna slept and dreamed; only in the wing of the imperial palace
where lay the rooms occupied by the Archduke John, the lights had
not yet been extinguished, and at times dark figures were seen
moving to and fro behind the windows.
The Archduke John did not sleep yet, but he had already dismissed
Conrad, his valet de chambre; he had permitted the other footmen to
retire from the anteroom to their bedchambers, and had then himself
locked the door of the outer anteroom.
"I do not trust Conrad, my valet de chambre," he said to Count
Nugent, who was with him in his cabinet; "it is he, doubtless who
has been placed as a 'guardian angel' by my side, and is to report
regularly all I am doing."
"Your highness ought to discharge the fellow forthwith," exclaimed
Count Nugent, indignantly.
"I shall take good care not to do so," said John, smiling; "on the
contrary, I shall try to keep Conrad as long as possible in my
service, for I know him, and shall be able to mystify him. I shall
always have to suffer a spy by my side, for the love and solicitude
of my imperial brother will never leave me for a single moment
without close surveillance; and Conrad is less distasteful to me
than another spy probably would be. Still, I did not want him to
report any thing about the visitors who will be here to-night, and
therefore I dismissed him for the night."
"But he will probably stand in the street to watch his master's
windows," said Nugent, with a shrug; "and the shadows which he will
see he may distort into all sorts of spectres which will be
mentioned in the emperor's police report to-morrow morning."
"Oh, I am not afraid of that at this hour," exclaimed John. "The
emperor knows that I am to receive the delegates of the Tyrolese; I
myself told him so to-day, and he approves of it. But harm might
befall my Tyrolese at their homes, if their plans were discovered
previous to their deliverance from the Bavarian yoke. But hush, did
you not hear a rustling sound in the corridor?"
"Yes, I did; it is drawing near--it is at the door now, and--
somebody raps already."
"Our friends are there," exclaimed John, hastening to the door, and
drawing back the bolt.
The archduke was not mistaken; his friends were there, and entered
his cabinet now by the secret door. They were headed by Baron von
Hormayr in his brilliant gold-embroidered uniform, which rendered
doubly conspicuous the beauty of his slender yet firmly-knit form,
and the noble expression of his prepossessing, youthful face. He was
followed by three Tyrolese, clad in their national costume, and
holding their rifles in their arms.
The first of them was a man about forty years old. His frame was
Herculean, his shoulders broad, his strength immense; his head was
covered with dense black hair, his bronzed face was radiant with
kind-heartedness and good-humor. His dress was the common habit of
the country, with some trifling variations: a large black hat, with
a broad brim, black ribbons, and a dark curling feather; a green
jacket, red waistcoat, broad green braces crossed on the breast; a
black leathern girdle, adorned, according to the Tyrolese custom,
with all sorts of ivory and other ornaments; black breeches, red
stockings, and black shoes with buckles. About his neck was always
to be seen a silver crucifix fastened to a heavy gold chain, and
over it, down to the girdle, flowed his large black beard, which
imparted a strange, fantastic air to his whole appearance. This man
was Andreas Hofer, the innkeeper of Passeyr, to whom the Italian
Tyrolese, on account of his long beard, had given the name of
"Barbone."
The second of the Tyrolese who entered the archduke's cabinet was a
man of no less imposing appearance, dressed entirely like Andreas
Hofer; only the long beard was wanting to him, and, instead of a
black hat, he wore the pointed green Tyrolese hat, adorned with
hunting ornaments. His face, less good-natured and serene than that
of his friend, was expressive of energy and resolution; courage and
shrewdness beamed from his black eyes, and a peculiar expression of
defiance and scorn played around his full lips. This was Joseph
Speckbacher, known by every inhabitant of the northern Tyrol as "the
bold chamois-hunter."
He was followed by a third Tyrolese, as proud and strong, as robust
and fine-looking, as his two companions. It was Anthony Wallner, the
innkeeper of Windisch-Matrey, and, like Speckbacher, Hofer's
intimate friend.
The archduke advanced to meet the Tyrolese, and shook hands with
each of them.
"Welcome, my Tyrolese, welcome!" he said, in a deeply-moved voice;
"may God and the Holy Virgin grant that no harm result, from your
visit to me! You know that I have never ceased to love you, and that
when, in the year 1805,I had to bid farewell to Andreas Hofer and
the dear Tyrol, my heart almost broke with grief and despair."
"Look, look!" exclaimed Andreas Hofer, turning with a radiant smile
to his two friends; "he is indeed the same man who bade us farewell
at that time in Brunecken, and was not ashamed of embracing Andreas
Hofer and shedding tears on his shoulder for the poor sacrificed
Tyrol."
"And who is glad to-day to be able to embrace Andreas Hofer again,"
said the archduke, encircling the Herculean form of the Tyrolese
innkeeper with his arms. "But I will shed no tears to-day, Andreas,
for I hope the time of tears is over, and you have come to tell me
so, to bring me love-greetings from the Tyrolese, and the hope of
better times. Say, you three brave men from the Tyrol, Andreas
Hofer, Joseph Speckbacher, Anthony Wallner, is it not so? Have you
not come to tell me that the Tyrol is longing for her emperor and
desirous of getting rid of the Bavarians?"
"Yes, we have come to say this to our dear John," exclaimed Andreas
Hofer.
"We have come to ask if Austria does not intend to call upon her
Tyrol to rise and fight under her banners," said Joseph Speckbacher.
"We have come to ask our Archduke John if he will help us with his
troops and cannon in case we Tyrolese should rise now to expel the
Bavarians from the country," said Anthony Wallner, with flashing
eyes.
"We have come to ask our John, Is it time?" exclaimed Andreas Hofer.
The archduke held out his hand to him with a firm and resolute
glance. "Yes," he said, "yes, Andreas Hofer, it is time! Yes,
Anthony Wallner, Austria will assist the Tyrolese with her troops
and cannon in expelling the Bavarians and French from their country.
Yes, Joseph Speckbacher, Austria intends to call upon her faithful
Tyrol to rise and fight under her banners; she will engage in a
mortal contest for you and with you!"
"God grant success to our united efforts!" said Andreas Hofer,
folding his hands over the crucifix on his breast. "During all these
years I have prayed every day to the Holy Virgin to let me live and
see the day when the Austrian eagle shall once more adorn our
boundary-posts, and when we may again fondly and faithfully love our
Emperor Francis as our legitimate sovereign. The good God in heaven,
I hope, will forgive me for having been a very bad and obstinate
subject of the King of Bavaria. I would never submit to the new
laws, and could not discover in my old Austrian heart a bit of
loyalty or love for the ruler who was forced upon us."
"No, you were a stubborn disloyalist, Andy." said Hormayr, "and, as
spokesman of your whole district, you raised your voice against
every new law which the Bavarian government promulgated in your
country. But, it is true the Tyrolese love their Andy for this, and
say that he is the most honest, faithful, and reliable man in the
whole valley of the Adige."
"To be courageous is not so difficult if the cause which you fight
for is a good one," said Andreas Hofer, calmly. "God Himself
engraved on my heart the commandment to be loyal to my emperor, my
country, and its laws; and if you call me reliable, dear friend, you
merely say that I do my duty as a Christian, for the Bible says,
'Let your communication be Yea, yea; nay, nay; for whatsoever is
more than these cometh of sin.' Therefore, do not praise me for that
which is only my duty, and which Speckbacher and Wallner, and all
our dear friends in the valley of the Adige, do just as well as I.
For the rest, I must tell you, gentlemen, it is not so strange that
we should be attached to the emperor; for the Bavarians are
governing our country in such a manner as if they were intent only
on making us love our emperor every day more and more, and long for
him more intensely."
"It is true, Andy is right," exclaimed Anthony Wallner; "the
Bavarians oppress us fearfully, and we will not stand it any longer;
we will become Austrians again, as our fathers were, and will fight
for our liberty and our old privileges which Bavaria solemnly
guaranteed, and which her authorities basely intend to overthrow."
"Which they have already overthrown," cried Joseph Speckbacher, his
eyes flashing with anger. "The court of Munich seems intent only on
making the utmost of their new acquisition. Our old constitution has
been overthrown by a royal edict; the representative estates have
been suppressed, and the provincial funds seized. No less than eight
new and oppressive taxes have been imposed and are being levied with
the utmost rigor; the very name of our country has been abolished;
the royal property has all been brought into the market; new imports
are daily exacted without any consultation with the estates of the
people; specie has become scarce, from the quantity of it which is
being drawn off to the Bavarian treasury; the Austrian notes have
been reduced to half their value; and, to crown all these wrongs,
compulsory levies are held among our young men, who are to serve in
the ranks of our oppressors! No, we must break the yoke weighing us
down--we will become freemen again--as freemen we will live and die-
-as freemen we will belong again to our beloved Emperor Francis,
whose ancestors have ruled over us for so many centuries past."
"If all the Tyrolese think and feel as you three do," said the
Archduke John, with sparkling eyes, "you will recover your liberty
and your emperor, despite the Bavarians and French."
"All feel and think as we do," said Hofer, thoughtfully; "we have
all vowed to God and the Holy Virgin that we will deliver the Tyrol
from the enemy; and every man, every lad in our mountains and
valleys, is ready to take up his rifle and fight for his dear
Emperor Francis."
"We are here as delegates of the whole Tyrol," said Anthony Wallner,
"to ascertain the wishes and intentions of the emperor and his
government, prefer our bitter complaints, and declare the firm
resolution of the Tyrolese to shrink from no sacrifice in order to
be reunited with Austria and to reconquer our ancient rights and
liberties."
"But we need assistance for this purpose," added Joseph Speckbacher,
"speedy and vigorous assistance; above all, we need troops, money,
ammunition, and supplies. Will Austria give them to us?"
"She will," said the archduke. "She will send you a corps d'armee,
money, ammunition, and supplies. Only you must be ready and prepared
to rise as one man when we give you the signal of insurrection."
"We are ready!" exclaimed Andreas Hofer, nodding joyously. "But you
must not delay the signal very long, for delays are highly--
dangerous under the present circumstances. We and our friends have
prepared the insurrection, and it is as if a large torrent of fire
were flowing secretly under the surface of the Tyrol; if some shrewd
Bavarian should scratch away some of the earth, he would discover
the fire, fetch water, and extinguish the flames, before the
Austrians reach the country and prevent him from so doing. A secret
known to a great many is seldom well kept; it is, as it were, a ripe
fruit which must fall from the tree, even though it should hit and
crush the head of the owner of the tree."
"Yes, what is to be done must be done soon," said Anthony Wallner.
"The men of Passeyr, Meran, Mays, and Algund, are ready, and have
entered into a secret league with the whole valley of the Inn. The
district of the Adige, too, has joined us, and the German and
Italian Tyrolese, who formerly never liked each other, have now
agreed to stand shoulder to shoulder and rise on one day and as one
man, in order to drive the Bavarians and French from their
mountains."
"We are waiting only for Austria to give the signal; pray do not
keep us waiting too long, for we men of the Lower Innthal, too, are
all ready and armed. An enormous worm of insurrection, as it were,
is creeping through the Lower Inn valley, and the worm has four
heads, which look toward all quarters of the world. One head is
Rupert Wintersteller, of Kirchdorf; the second is Jacob Sieberer, of
Thiersen; the third is Antony Aschbacher, of Achenthal; and the
fourth is I, Joseph Speckbacher, of Kufstein."
"In the Puster valley, too, a storm is brewing, and all are ready
and impatient to rise in insurrection," said Hofer. "Therefore, dear
brother of our emperor, give us good news, that we may take it home
to the men of the Tyrol, for their hearts are longing and crying for
their sovereign the emperor."
"And the emperor, on his part, is longing for his Tyrolese," said
the archduke. "The time has come when that which belongs together is
to be reunited. Let us consult and deliberate, then, my friends,
what we should do in order to attain our great object, and reunite
the Tyrolese with their emperor."
"Yes, let us, consult," said Hofer, solemnly; "and let us pray God
and the Holy Virgin to enlighten our minds."
He raised the crucifix from his breast to his face and bent over it,
muttering a prayer.
"Now I am ready," he said, slowly dropping the crucifix; "let us
deliberate. But I tell you beforehand, I am no military hero, nor a
wise man in council. I am resolved to do all that is necessary to
deliver my dear Tyrol from the enemy, and to strike and fire at the
Bavarians and French until they run away terror-stricken, and
restore us to our dear Emperor Francis. But I am unversed in
negotiations and devising shrewd tricks and stratagems. I am only a
plain peasant, who has a great deal of love and fidelity in his
heart, but only few thoughts in his head. Baron von Hormayr and the
archduke may do the thinking for me. They shall be the head, and I
the arm and heart. Speckbacher and Wallner yonder have good heads
too, though I do not wish to say that their hearts are not also in
the right place; on the contrary, I know that they are. Let us
consult, then, and bear in mind that God hears us, and that the
Tyrolese are waiting for us."
"You are an excellent man, Andy," exclaimed John, holding out his
hand to Hofer with a tender glance--" a childlike soul, full of
love, fidelity, and tenderness; and, in gazing at you, it seems as
if the whole dear Tyrol, with its mountains and valleys, its Alpine
huts and chapels, its merry singers and pious prayers, were present
before me. Come, then, Andy, and you other dear friends, come, let
us be seated and hold a council of war."
They seated themselves around the table standing in the middle of
the room.
Day was already dawning, the candles had burned down very low, the
streets began to become lively, and still the Tyrolese remained in
the archduke's cabinet, their faces glowing with defiance and
resolution, and their eyes flashing with boldness and enthusiasm.
For every thing was settled and decided now; each of them had
received his instructions and been informed of the part which he was
to play in the struggle. War with the Bavarians and French, and
liberty for the Tyrol, was the battle-cry and goal.
"The plan is settled, then," said the Archduke John, nodding kindly
to the Tyrolese. "Eleven points, especially, have been agreed upon,
after mature deliberation; and it would be good for us to repeat
them briefly."
"Let us do so," said Andreas Hofer. "First, then: The Tyrolese will
rise against the Bavarians, in order to be reunited with Austria. We
shall enlist as many soldiers for the insurgent army as possible,
and try to make all Tyrolese our fellow-conspirators. They will meet
on Sundays at the taverns, and the innkeepers in the valleys and
mountains are the leaders of the conspiracy; they will call the
meetings and facilitate the intercourse of the conspirators with
each other. If it please God, the insurrection will break out on the
9th of April, when the Austrian troops will cross the frontier of
the Tyrol and hasten to our assistance. This is the best point, and
God grant that it may be well executed!"
"The second point," said Joseph Speckbacher, "is as follows: No
written communication whatever shall be permitted among the
conspirators, and those who violate this order shall be severely
punished. The secret messages will be carried by reliable and well-
tried messengers from court-house to court-house and village to
village. To this the third point adds the following: The oldest men
in the villages will establish secret tribunals to try and punish
those whom fear, self-interest, or bribes may induce to turn
traitors. The families of suspicious persons, and those who betray
our secrets from weakness or in a state of intoxication, must be
closely watched, and they themselves will be sent to distant Alpine
huts and into the mountain fastnesses, where they will be kept in
close confinement." "Fourth," said Anthony Wallner: "Every innkeeper
must strive to amass provisions, forage, wine, and ammunition; for
the inns in the mountains are, as it were, small fortresses for the
Tyrolese, and the enemy can reach them only slowly and after
surmounting a great many difficulties. Besides, the innkeepers must
arrange target-shootings every Sunday, that the men from the
neighborhood may assemble at their houses and join the great league
of the defenders of the country. The innkeepers at very important
places will receive for these purposes bills of exchange on
Salzburg, Klagenfurth, and Trieste; and each of us three, Hofer,
Speckbacher, and I, will take home with us one hundred and twenty
ducats to be distributed among the innkeepers. Fifth: The
intercourse between the mountain districts, on one side, and the
plains and towns, on the other, must henceforth become rarer and
rarer till the hour of the outbreak. But the mountaineers must send
out, at intervals of four days, spies to ascertain the state of
affairs in other parts of the country."
"Sixth," exclaimed the Archduke John, with beaming eyes: "On the day
when the insurrection is to break out, Field-Marshal Jellachich will
arrive in front of Innspruck, and the vanguard of Field-Marshal
Chasteler will march through the Puster valley to the heights of
Schwabs and Elbach toward Brixen, and advance the head of his column
beyond the Brenner as far as Botzen. Seventh: All the forces of the
enemy moving toward Germany must be chased between these two columns
of the Austrians and pursued and fired at incessantly by the
mountaineers; they must be prevented night and day from obtaining
rest and food; the best marksmen must pick off their officers and
blow up their ammunition-wagons. The Tyrolese should chase the
Bavarians and the French in this manner from Botzen to Brixen, up
the Brenner, and thence down to Trent. Now, friend Hormayr, repeat
the remaining four points."
"The eighth point is: The removal of the Bavarian treasure must be
prevented by all means. Ninth: The Tyrolese living on the rivers
must prevent the enemy by all means from destroying the bridges and
roads, so that the Austrians may be able to succor them more
rapidly; but they must also hold men and tools in readiness, that,
after the Austrians have arrived, they may destroy the bridges in
the rear of the enemy, and render the roads impassable, by
obstructing them with piles of wood and rocks. Tenth: The Tyrolese
will try cautiously to bring about an understanding with
Switzerland, and establish connections with the Lower and Upper
Engadine, Chur, Appenzell, and St. Gall; for thence will come the
English agents who will convey arms and money to the Tyrolese.
Eleventh--"
"Ah, let me state the eleventh point," exclaimed Joseph Speckbacher,
with flashing eyes. "I intend to take part in carrying out this
point of the programme. It is, to take the fortress of Kufstein on
the frontier by a nocturnal coup de main. Field-Marshal Jellachich
will move several companies of riflemen as close up to the fortress
as possible, and Jacob Sieberer and Joseph Speckbacher, who will
beforehand enlist assistants in the town and spy out every thing,
will join them. The capture of Kufstein is to commence the glorious
struggle; it is to be the first hymn of liberty which the Tyrolese
will send up to heaven like a lark in spring, and by which they will
bless and praise the good God. The eleventh and last point is
Kufstein. God protect us in carrying out these eleven points!"
[Footnote: These eleven points were settled in this manner at Vienna
by the delegates of the Tyrolese, the Archduke John, and Baron von
Hormayr, and noted down by the latter.--See Hormayr, "Geschichte
Andreas Hofer's," vol. i, p. 193 et seq.]
"Amen!" exclaimed Andreas Hofer, raising his crucifix and pressing
it to his lips. "We have, then, resolved here in council with our
Archduke John, and I hope also in council with the good God above,
that the Tyrol is to be restored to its beloved imperial house. The
work is to begin on the 9th of April, and we must be ready to rise
on that day. On the 9th of April the Austrians are to cross the
frontier, and on the previous evening they will inform us by firing
off three rockets that they are at hand. At the same time bale-fires
will be lighted on a hundred hills, and on the following morning we
shall throw large quantities of blood, flour, or charcoal, into our
mountain-torrents, that their blood-red, flour-white, or coal-black
waters, flowing into and out of the country, may proclaim to the
people that the time has come when all must rise, rifle in hand, to
conquer or die for the dear Tyrol and the good Emperor Francis."
"And I, too, am ready to conquer or die for the Tyrol and the
emperor, and so is the corps whose commander I am," exclaimed the
archduke enthusiastically. "The emperor, my gracious master, intends
to intrust me with the command of the army which is to fight with
and for the Tyrol, which will check the advance of the enemy
approaching the Tyrol from the Italian frontier, and will second and
strengthen the insurrection of the Tyrolese. Now, then, my friends
and comrades let us prepare the great work bravely, prudently, and
carefully. Collect your forces, as I shall collect mine; make all
your dispositions, and exhort all to behave as true sons of the
Tyrol. Above all things, be cautious. Keep in check not only your
tongues but your faces, especially here in Vienna. For if the
Bavarian spies here ferret out that Andreas Hofer, Speckbacher, and
Wallner are in Vienna, and that I have had an interview with them,
their keen noses will scent at once what is going on, and they will
send, even before we reach the Tyrol, so many Bavarian and French
soldiers into your country, that you will be tied hand and foot, and
cannot raise your arms on the 9th of April to seize your rifles.
Therefore, I repeat it, keep your faces in check, and do not allow
yourselves to be seen in the streets of Vienna in the daytime. Your
beard, Andy, especially is a treacherous thing, and it would really
be best for the Barbone to shave off his long mourning-flag."
Andreas Hofer seized his beard with both his hands, almost in
terror, and drew it caressingly through his fingers.
"No," he said, "my friends and countrymen know me by my beard, and
the Barbone is a welcome guest in the Italian Tyrol. They would not
recognize me if I should appear among them with a smooth chin; and
they would doubt if it was Andreas Hofer who talked with them about
the great conspiracy and insurrection in case they did not see his
black beard."
"No, archduke," said Speckbacher, smiling and winking, "you must not
object to our Andy's beard, for it is the flag round which the
Tyrolese will rally, and with which the Tyrol will adorn itself on
the day of insurrection, as they put on their best clothes on the
day of Assumption. Moreover, Andreas Hofer must not be ungrateful;
and he would be ungrateful if he should cut off his beard and throw
it away, for his beard gained him one day a couple of fat oxen."
"Is that true, Andy?" asked John, laughing.
"It is," said Andreas Hofer, gravely. "My beard did gain me two
oxen. It happened as follows; archduke: I was quite a young man yet,
and had married my wife, Anna Gertrude Ladurner, only a year before.
I was very fond of my little wife, and did not like to sit for hours
in the tavern, as I had done heretofore. I stayed at home often
enough instead of attending to my business, and going down to Italy
or Germany to carry on my traffic in corn, wine, horses, and oxen,
by which I had made a great deal of money. My friends sneered at my
staying so much at home, and said: 'Andy Hofer, the Sandwirth, is a
henpecked husband, and his wife is master of the house.' This was
very disagreeable to me, for, although I love my Anna Gertrude from
the bottom of my heart, I have always been the master; and she has
been obedient to me, as the Bible says it should be between husband
and wife. Well, one day I sat at home with a few friends; we were
drinking wine in the bar-room. Suddenly there entered the room an
old beggar with a tremendous beard reaching down to his girdle. I
laugh at the beard and rejoice over its enormous length. One of my
friends, Anthony Waidlinger, the rich Amselwirth, asks me: 'Well,
Andy, would you like to wear as long a beard as that?' 'Why not?' I
reply merrily. ' Ah,' exclaims Anthony, laughing, 'you must not talk
so saucily. You must not wear so long a beard. Your wife will not
permit it, Andy!' This makes me very angry; I start up, and hardly
know what I am doing. 'What!' I cry, ' my wife? She must obey me
whether she likes it or not. What will you bet I will not shave my
beard for a whole year?' 'I will bet you two oxen,' says Anthony;
'but let me warn you, Andy, you will lose the oxen; for I stick to
it, your wife will never permit you to become the laughing-stock of
the children by appearing in the streets with such a lion's mane.
Therefore consider the matter well, Andy, for there is time yet.
Admit that you will not win the bet, for two oxen are at stake!' 'I
have already considered everything,' I say: 'and as for the two
oxen, they will be just what I want. A year hence you will bring
them to me, Anthony Waidlinger.' And this prediction was fulfilled.
I did not shave my beard, and Anna Gertrude, my wife, rejoiced at
her Andy's beard instead of being angry at it, and thought it made
her husband look a great deal better. When the year was up, Anthony
Waidlinger drove his two oxen with a sullen air into my stable, and
said: 'Now you may cut off your fur and have a pillow made from it
for your wife.' 'I need not cut off my beard for that purpose,' I
replied; 'it may be my wife's pillow even while it hangs down on my
breast. For she is a good and dutiful wife, and I am fondly attached
to her.' That, archduke, is the story of my beard, which I have worn
ever since, and which has often been a pillow when my little boy and
three girls fell asleep on my lap, and under which they have often
concealed their little heads when their mother was looking for them.
You will ask me no more to cut off my beard--the pillow and
plaything of my children."
"No, Andreas," said the archduke, kindly, "I will not. Wear your
fine beard as you have done hitherto; may it be, notwithstanding its
black color, the victorious flag round which the royal Tyrolese
shall rally on rising for their lord and emperor! And now, farewell,
my friends; it is dawning, and it is time for us to repose a little.
Go home, therefore, and what remains to be settled you may talk over
to-morrow with Baron von Hormayr, who will give you money for
travelling expenses, and for distribution among the innkeepers. Day
after to-morrow you will set out for home, and bring to all loyal
Tyrolese the joyful news that war will break out."
"Yes, yes, war will break out!" exclaimed the three Tyrolese,
exultingly.
"Hush, for God's sake, hush!" said John, laughing. "You must keep
quiet, and, instead of doing so, you shout as jubilantly as though
you were standing on a crest of the Brenner, and had just discovered
the hiding-place of a chamois. Let me therefore tell you once more
it is necessary that the people of Vienna should not find out that
you are in the city. Pledge me your word, then, that you will not go
into the street tomorrow in the daytime, nor allow any one to see
you."
"We pledge you our word!" exclaimed the Tyrolese, with one accord;
"we will not appear in the street to-morrow in the daytime, and day
after to-morrow we shall set out."
"Yes, we shall set out then," repeated Andreas Hofer, "and return to
our mountains and friends, and wait patiently and faithfully until
the day when we shall see the rising to the sky the signal which is
to tell us that our dear Archduke John sends us his soldiers to
assist us in delivering our country from the enemy, and restoring
it, with our mountains, our love, and our loyalty, to our dear
Emperor Francis. God grant that we may succeed in so doing, and may
the Holy Virgin pray for us all, and restore the Tyrol to the
emperor!"