HAROUN AL RASCHID.
The emperor was alone in his dressing-cabinet. He stood before a mirror,
covering his rich blond curls with a large wig, which fell in long
ringlets over his shoulders, and completed the very singular costume in
which it had pleased is majesty to array himself.
The emperor surveyed himself with evident satisfaction, and broke out
into a hearty laugh. "I think," said he, "that in this dark-haired fop,
with his fashionable costume, no one will recognize the emperor. I
suppose that in this disguise I may go undetected in search of
adventures. If I am to be of use as a prince, I must see all things,
prove all things, and learn all things. It is written, 'Prove all
things, and hold fast to that which is good.' I am afraid that I shall
not hold fast to much that comes under my observation."
He drew back from the mirror, threw over his shoulders a little cloak,
bordered with fur, set a three-cornered hat upon the top of his wig,
took up a small gold-headed cane, and then returned to survey himself a
second time.
"A fop of the latest style--that is to say, a fool of the first water
--looks out upon himself from this looking-glass," said he, laughing.
"It would be an affront to my majesty if any one were to presume to
suspect the emperor under this absurd disguise. I hope I shall be as
successful in the way of adventures as was my predecessor Haroun al
Raschid."
He drew his cloak close around him, and stepped from a little private
door that opened from his dressing-room into the corridor which led to
the apartments of his wife. Retired and unobserved, the Empress Josepha
lived within these rooms, which from the first night of their marriage,
her husband had never reentered. The corridor was empty. Joseph could
therefore pass out unobserved, until he reached a private staircase
leading to the lower floor of the palace. Once there, he raised his
head, and stepped boldly out into the hall. The porters allowed him to
pass without suspicion, and, unrecognized, the young adventurer reached
the public thoroughfares.
"Now," thought he, with a sensation of childish delight, "now I am free,
a man just like other men. I defy any one to see my divine right upon my
brow, or to observe any difference between the 'imperial blue' of my
eyes, and the ordinary blue of those of my subjects."
"Halt, there!" cried a threatening voice to the careless pedestrian.
"Out of the way, young coxcomb; do you suppose that I must give way to
you?"
"Not at all, your worship," replied Joseph, smiling, as with an active
bound he cleared the way for a colossal carman, who, covered with sweat
and dust, was wheeling a load of bricks in a barrow.
The carman stopped, and surveying the emperor angrily, cried out in a
voice of thunder, "What do you mean by calling me 'your worship?' Do you
mean to insult me because you are wasting your father's money on your
pretty person, decked out like a flower-girl on a holiday?"
"Heaven forbid that I should seek to insult you!" replied the emperor.
"The size of your fists is enough to inspire any one with respect. For
all the world I would not offend their owner."
"Well, then, go your way, you whippersnapper," muttered the carman,
while the emperor congratulated himself upon having gotten out of the
scrape without detection.
"It would have been a pretty anecdote for the history of the Emperor
Joseph, had he been discovered in a street brawl with a carman," said he
to himself. "A little more, and my imperial face would have been pounded
into jelly by that Hercules of a fellow! It is not such an easy matter
as I had supposed, to mix on equal terms with other men! But I shall
learn by bitter experience how to behave."
At this moment Joseph heard the sounds of weeping. Turning, he beheld
coming toward him a young girl of about sixteen, whose slight figure, in
spite of the cool autumn day, was scarcely covered by a thin, patched
dress of dark stuff. An old, faded silk handkerchief was thrown over her
shoulders; her sweet, pale face was bedewed with tears, and her lips
were murmuring gentle complaints, though no one stopped to listen. On
her right arm she carried a bundle, which every now and then she
watched, as if afraid that some one might rob her of its treasures.
Suddenly a kind voice whispered, "Why do you weep, my child?"
The young girl started and met the gaze of a young man, whose blue eyes
were fixed upon her with an expression of tenderest sympathy.
"I weep," said she, "because I am unhappy," and she quickened her steps
that she might leave him behind. But the emperor kept pace with her.
"Why do you walk so fast? are you afraid of me?"
"I fear the committee of morals," said she, blushing. "If they should
see me with you, I might be mistaken for--"
"Have you ever been suspected by them?"
"Yes, sir, although I have always tried, when I was in the streets, to
avoid observation. Go, sir, go. Do not heed my tears. I am accustomed to
misfortune."
"But it is said that the emperor has suspended the office of that
committee."
"I am glad of it," replied the girl, "for good and evil are alike
exposed to suspicion; and I would like to walk the streets without fear
of being taken for what I am not."
"Where are you going, child?"
"I am going," replied she, with a fresh burst of tears, "to sell the
clothes I carry in this bundle."
"What clothes, child?"
"The last decent covering that my poor mother owns," sobbed the girl.
"You are, then, very poor?" asked the emperor, softly.
"Very poor. We are often hungry, and have no food but our own bitter
tears. These are the last clothes we have, but they must go for bread,
and then perhaps we shall perish of cold."
"Poor girl! have you no father?"
"My father died in defence of Austria and the empress, and as a reward
of his devotion to his sovereign, his wife and child have been left to
die of want."
"Your father was a soldier?" asked the emperor, much affected.
"He was an officer, who served with distinction in the Seven Years' War.
But he never was promoted. He died for Maria Theresa, and his widow and
child will soon follow him to the grave."
"Why have you never applied to the empress for relief? Her purse is
always open to the wants of the needy."
"To obtain any thing from royalty, sir, you know that one must have
influence," replied the girl, bitterly. "We have no influence, nor would
we know how to intrigue for favor."
"Why, then, do you not go to the emperor? He at least has no fancy for
intriguers and flatterers. You should have gone to him."
"To be haughtily repulsed?" said she. "Oh, sir, the new emperor is a man
whose only love is a love of power, and whose only pleasure is to make
that power felt by others. Has he not already refused to listen to any
petition whatever? Did he not forbid his people to come to him for
favors?"
"He did that," replied Joseph, "because he wished to do justice to all;
and for that reason he has done away with all presentation of petitions
through courtiers or other officers of his household. But he has
appointed an hour to receive all those who present their petitions in
person."
"So he has said," returned the girl, "but no one believes him. His
guards will turn away all who are not richly dressed, and so the emperor
will have promised to see the people, though the people will never be
allowed to come into his presence."
"Have the Austrians so little faith in the sincerity of the emperor?"
asked Joseph. "Do they think that his heart--"
"His heart!" exclaimed the girl. "The emperor is without a heart. Even
toward his mother he is said to be undutiful and obstinate. He hates his
wife, and she is as mild as an angel. He whose pleasure it is to see an
empress at his feet, do you suppose that he can sympathize with the
misfortunes of his subjects? No, no; he has already stopped all pensions
which the generous empress had given from her private purse."
"Because he intends to bestow them upon worthier objects."
"No, no; it is because he is a miser."
"He a miser!" cried Joseph. "Did he not some days ago burn up twenty-two
millions of coupons?"
"It was said so; but no one saw them; and it is whispered that the
twenty-two millions were nothing but pieces of waste paper."
The emperor was speechless. He looked at this young traducer with an
expression of real horror.
"How!" at length said he, in a voice choked by emotion, "the emperor is
suspected of such baseness!"
"He is known to be selfish and miserly," replied his tormentor.
Joseph's eyes flashed with anger; but conquering his bitterness, he
constrained himself to smile.
"My child," said he, "you have been deceived. If you knew the emperor,
you would find that he is generous and ready to do justice to all men.
Go home and write your petition; and come to-day at noon to the imperial
palace. The guards will allow you to pass, and a servant will be there
to conduct you to me. I, myself, will present your petition, and I know
that the emperor will not refuse a pension to the widow and child of a
brave Austrian officer."
The girl's eyes filled with tears as she attempted to thank her unknown
benefactor.
But the emperor, who had allowed her to abuse him without interruption,
would not listen to her praises.
"Your mother is sick, and needs care," said he. "Go home, and do not
sell your clothes, for you will need them to visit the emperor. How much
did you expect to get for them?"
"I expected seven ducats, for a portion of this clothing is my mother's
wedding-dress."
"Then, my child, let me beg you to accept twelve," said he, drawing out
his purse. "I hope they will suffice for your wants until the emperor
fills them all."
The young girl bent over and kissed Joseph's hand. "Oh, sir," said she,
"you save us from death, and we have nothing to offer in return but our
poor prayers."
"Pray for the emperor," said he, gently. "Pray God that he may win the
love of his people. Farewell! I shall wait for you today, at noon."
With these words, Joseph quickened his pace, and was soon lost to view.
"My second adventure," thought he. "I must confess that it is not very
flattering to walk incognito about the streets and hear the sentiments
of one's own subjects. How often do kings mistake the murmurings of
discontent for the outpourings of joy! It is so pleasant to believe in
the love of our subjects, and to shut our eyes to all doubts of their
loyalty! But I am resolved to see and judge of the people for myself. My
path will often be beset with thorns, but Fate has not made me a monarch
for my own good; I am an emperor for the good of others. That child has
revealed some painful truths to me; it would seem as if I were fated
forever to be misjudged."