THE TOILET OF THE EMPRESS.
SO dark and gloomy was the face of the empress, that poor Charlotte's
heart misgave her, as with a suppressed sigh she resumed her place, and
once more took down the rich masses of her sovereign lady's hair. Maria
Theresa looked sternly at the reflection of her little maid of honor's
face in the glass. She saw how Charlotte's hands trembled and this
increased her ill-humor. Again she raised her eyes to her own image, and
saw plainly that anger was unbecoming to her. The flush on her face was
not rosy, but purple; and the scowl upon her brow was fast deepening
into a wrinkle. Her bosom heaved with a heavy, heavy sigh.
"Ah," thought she, "if I am ever again to find favor in his eyes, I must
always smile; for smiles are the last glowing tints of beauty's sunset.
And yet, how can I smile, when my heart is breaking? He said that the
Riccardo was the loveliest woman he had ever seen. Alas! I remember the
day when he knelt at my feet, and spoke thus of me. Oh, my Franz! Am I
indeed old, and no longer lovable?"
In her anxiety to scrutinize her own features, the empress bent suddenly
forward, and the heavy mass of puffs and braids that formed the coiffure
she had selected for the day, gave way. She felt the sharp points of the
hair-pins in her head, and, miserable and nervous as she was, they
seemed to wound her cruelly. Starting from her chair, she poured forth a
torrent of reproaches upon Charlotte's head, who, pale and trembling
more than ever, repaired the damage, and placed among the braids a
bouquet of white roses. These white roses deepened the unbecoming
redness of the empress's face. She perceived this at once, and losing
all self-control, tore the flowers from her hair, and dashed them on the
floor.
"You are all leagued against me." cried she, indignantly. "You are
trying your best to disfigure me, and to make me look old before my
time. Who ever saw such a ridiculous structure as this headdress, that
makes me look like a perambulating castle on a chessboard? Come, another
coiffure, and let it not be such a ridiculous one as this."
Charlotte, of course, did not remind her mistress that the coiffure and
roses had been her own selection. She had nothing to do but to obey in
silence, and begin her work again.
At last the painful task was at an end. The empress looked keenly at
herself in the glass, and convinced that she really looked well, she
called imperatively for her tire-women. In came the procession, bearing
pooped-skirt rich-embroidered train, golden-flowered petticoat, and
bodice flashing with diamonds. But the empress, usually so affable at
her toilet, surveyed both maids and apparel with gloomy indifference. In
moody silence she reached out her feet, while her slippers were
exchanged for high-heeled shoes. Not a look had she to bestow upon the
magnificent dress which enhanced a thousandfold her mature beauty.
Without a word she dismissed the maids of honor, all except Charlotte,
whose crowning labor it was to give the last touch to the imperial head
when the rest of the toilet had been declared to be complete.
Again Maria Theresa stood before that high Venetian glass, and certainly
it did give back the image of a regal beauty. For a while she examined
her costume from head to foot; and at last---at last, her beautiful blue
eyes beamed bright with satisfaction, and a smile rippled the corners of
her mouth.
"No," said she, aloud. "No, it is not so. I am neither old nor ugly. The
light of youth has not yet fled from my brow. My beauty's sun has not
yet set forever. My Franz will love me still; and however charming
younger women may be, he will remember the beloved of his boyhood, and
we will yet be happy in reciprocal affection, come what may to us as
emperor and empress. I do not believe that he said he had never seen so
lovely a woman as Riccardo. Poor, dear Franz! He has a tedious life as
husband of the reigning sovereign. From sheer ennui he sometimes wanders
from his wife's heart, but oh! he must, he must return to me; for if I
were to lose him, earthly splendor would be valueless to me forever!"
Charlotte, who stood behind her mistress with the comb in her hand, was
dismayed at all that she heard; and the plaintive tones of this
magnificent empress, at whose feet lay a world of might, touched her
heart's core. But she sickened as she thought that her presence had been
unheeded, and that the empress had fancied herself alone, while the
secrets of her heart were thus struggling into words. The ample train
completely screened little Charlotte from view, and a deadly paleness
overspread her countenance as she awaited discovery.
Suddenly the empress turned, and putting her hand tenderly on
Charlotte's head, she said, in a voice of indescribable melancholy "Be
warned, Charlotte, and if you marry, never marry a man who has nothing
to do. Men will grow inconstant from sheer ennui." [Footnote: Maria
Theresa's words. See Caroline Pichler. "Memoirs of My Life."]
"I never expect to marry, beloved mistress," said the young girl, deeply
touched by this confidence. "I wish to live and die in your majesty's
service."
"Do you? And can you bear for a lifetime with my impatience, dear
child?" asked the empress, kissing the little devotee on the forehead.
"You know now, my little Charlotte, why I have been so unkind to-day;
you know that my heart was bleeding with such anguish, that had I not
broken out in anger, I must have stifled with agony. You have seen into
the depths of my heart, and why should I not confide in you, who know
every secret of my state-council? No one suspects what misery lies under
the regal mantle. And I care not to exhibit myself to the world's pity.
When Maria Theresa weeps, let her God and those who love her be the
witnesses of her sorrow. Go, now, good little Charlotte, and forget
every thing except your sovereign's love for you. Tell the governess of
the Archduke Ferdinand to bring him hither. Let the other imperial
children await me in my reception-room; and tell the page in the
anteroom to announce to his majesty that I request the honor of a visit
from him."
Charlotte, once more happy, left the room, her heart filled with joy for
herself, and gentle sorrow for her sovereign.
Meanwhile the empress thought over the coming interview. "I will try to
recall him to me by love," murmured she, softly. "I will not reproach
him, and although as his empress I have a double claim upon his loyalty,
I will not appeal to any thing but his own dear heart; and when he hears
how he has made his poor Theresa suffer, I know--"
Here her voice failed her, and tears filled her eyes. But she dashed
them quickly away, for steps approached, and the governess entered, with
the infant prince in her arms.