THE PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE.
"Courage, my dear friend," said Madame von Brandt to Count Voss, who
stood before her with the most mournful expression, and seemed so lost
in grief as to be scarcely aware of the presence of his charming and
bewitching Armida.
"I do not understand how you can laugh and be gay, if you love me," he
said, sadly.
"I love you truly, and therefore I am gay. We have almost gained our
end; soon the suspicions of the world will be lulled, for who would
dream that the husband of the young and beautiful Laura von Pannewitz
could possibly love the old and ugly Madame von Brandt?"
"You old! you ugly!" cried the young count, indignantly. "It is well
that it is you who utter such a blasphemy; if any other did, I should
destroy him."
"You would do very wrong, dear count, for that would betray our love to
the world. No, no, if any one should speak so to you, you must shrug
your shoulders, and say, 'I am not acquainted with Madame von Brandt, I
am indifferent whether she is handsome or ugly. She may be as old as
Methuselah, it does not concern me."
"Never will I say that, never will I be induced to utter so miserable
and dishonorable a falsehood. No, dearest, you cannot demand that. You
see your power over me, and treat me most cruelly. You condemned me to
be married, and I have obeyed your commands, although my heart was
breaking as I made my proposal to the queen. Now I entreat that you
will not torture me by demanding that I shall revile and caluminate
you. No, no, I pray on my knees that you will be kind and merciful!"
He threw himself on his knees before her, leaning his head upon the
divan on which she was sitting.
She placed her hand upon his head and played with his fair hair. "I am
not cruel, I am only cautious," she whispered, almost tenderly. "Trust
me, Alexander, you must not doubt my boundless love."
"No, no, you do not love me," he sighed; "you are always hard and
cruel, you have never granted me the smallest favor, you have never
accepted one of my presents."
A slight but scornful smile played upon the lips of this beautiful
woman, while the enthusiastic and impassioned young man spake thus. She
turned aside her face, that he might not see its expression.
But he thought she was again angry with him. "Ah," he said,
despairingly, "you will not allow me even to behold your heavenly
countenance; do you wish to drive me to distraction? What have I done
to deserve this new torture? Are you so offended because I entreated
you to accept a gift from me? Oh, it is so sweet to compel the one we
love to think of us; to place a ring upon her finger, and bid her dream
of him who loves her when she looks upon it; to bind a chain upon her
neck, and whisper, 'You are fettered, my love enchains you, you are
mine!' A man can only believe in the affection of his beloved when she
condescends to accept something from him."
"And would that give you faith in my love?" she said, in a tender,
melting voice, as she turned smilingly toward him.
"Yes!" he exclaimed, "it would increase my faith."
"Well, then, give me some little thing that will remind me of you, that
I can wear, as the spaniel wears the collar which bears the name of its
master."
She offered him her hand, which he covered with fervent kisses, and
then drew from his bosom a large and heavy etui, which he placed in her
hands.
"But this contains not merely a ring," she said, reproachfully; "you
have deceived me, misused my kindness; instead of presenting me with a
small souvenir, with the pride of a king you wish to overwhelm me with
your rich gifts. Take back your case, count, I will not look at its
contents; I will not behold how far your extravagance and pride have
led you; take your treasures, and give me the simple ring that I
promised to accept." She stood up, and handed him the etui with the air
of an insulted queen, without once glancing at its contents, and only
divining their value by the size and weight of the case.
Her poor lover regarded her with a truly despairing expression. "If you
desire to destroy me, do it quickly and at once, not slowly, day by
day, and hour by hour," he said, almost weeping. "I fulfil your
smallest desire, I marry at your command, and you refuse to show me the
slightest kindness." He was now really weeping, and turned aside that
she might not behold his tears. Then suddenly recovering himself, he
said with the boldness of despair: "I will learn from you the use of
the word no. If you refuse to accept this case, then I will refuse to
marry Mademoiselle von Pannewitz. If you compel me to receive again
those miserable stones, I will go at once to the queen, and tell her
that I was mistaken, that I cannot and will not marry Mademoiselle von
Pannewitz; that I have given up my plan, and am determined to leave
Berlin immediately."
"No! no! you must not go! you shall not leave me!" she cried, with
every appearance of terror; "give me the case, I will accept it. You
must not leave Berlin!"
The young count uttered a cry of delight, and hurried to her side.
"I will accept this etui," she said smiling, "but will not open it
while we are together, for fear we might again disagree."
Count Voss was beside himself with joy and gratitude, and vowed he
would marry Mademoiselle von Pannewitz that very day, to obtain the
kiss which Madame von Brandt had promised him at his wedding.
"Love might perhaps remove mountains," she said, "but it cannot give
wings to the tongue of a queen. You have placed your proposals in the
hands of her majesty, you selected this lofty lady to sue for you, and
now you must wait until it pleases her to make your proposals known to
the lady."
"The queen promised to do that to-day. It was necessary for me to make
my proposals to her, for the family of Mademoiselle von Pannewitz
demanded that I should obtain the consent of the queen to my marriage
before I could hope for theirs."
"And Laura, have you obtained her consent?"
"Oh," said the vain count, shrugging his shoulders, "I am certain of
that; she is poor and entirely dependent on the proud dowager-queen; I
will make her a countess, and insure her freedom; she will live
independently upon her estates, and be surrounded with wealth and
luxury; she will have every thing but a husband."
"Poor Laura!" said Madame von Brandt, softly. "But you have been with
me already too long; it might be remarked, and give rise to suspicion;
go, now, I will work for you, and you must work for yourself. Let no
difficulties frighten you."
The count left her slowly, while Madame von Brandt was scarcely able to
conceal her impatience to be alone. She looked after him with a
contemptuous smile, and murmured to herself: "Vain fool, he deserves to
be deceived. But now at last I will see what this precious etui
contains." She flew to the table and hastily lifted the cover of the
case. A cry of astonishment arose to her lips, and her eyes beamed as
clearly and brightly as the diamonds resting upon the satin cushion
within. "Ah! this is really a royal present," she whispered,
breathlessly, "more than royal, for I am confident King Frederick would
never present any woman with such diamonds; but I deserve them for my
wonderful acting. This poor count is convinced that I am the noblest,
most unselfish, and most loving of women. How well conceived, how wise
it was to decline his first gift! I knew that he would replace it with
something more costly and elegant, hoping to move me to change my
resolution. How my heart bounded with delight when he drew forth this
great case! I could scarcely withhold my hands from grasping the costly
treasure. I concealed my impatience, and would not open the case in his
presence, fearful that he might read my delight in my eyes, and that
might have undeceived the poor fool as to my disinterestedness. Truly
it was very wise and very diplomatic in me; even Manteuffel could not
have acted more discreetly." She bent again over the flashing diamonds,
and pressed her burning lips to the cold stones. "Beautiful stones,"
she whispered tenderly, "your cold kiss animates my whole frame; I love
you more than any human being, and when you are upon my neck I will
desire no warmer embrace. Welcome, then, beloved, to my house and my
bosom. You shall be well cared for, I shall exert myself to provide you
with worthy companions; many of your family are lying loosely about in
the world, and you doubtless desire the company of your brothers and
sisters. I myself share that desire, and will seek to accomplish it by
bringing together more and more of your relations; I will invite your
cousins, the pearls, and you shall be united. My diamonds and pearls
shall have a gayer and more splendid wedding than Count Voss and
beautiful Laura von Pannewitz." She laughed aloud in the joy of her
heart, then closed the case and locked it carefully in her
writing-desk. "And now to the queen-mother," she said; "the train is
laid, it is only necessary to apply the match and await the explosion.
I must point out to the queen that this marriage of the lovely Laura
with Count Voss is necessary to prevent a difficulty in the royal
family, I must--EH BIEN! NOUS VERRONS. I hear the voice of the queen;
she is taking her promenade, and I must not fail to be present." She
took her hat and shawl, and hurried to the garden.