DEATH OF THE ELECTOR OF BAVARIA.
A large and brilliant assemblage thronged the state apartments of the
imperial palace at Vienna. The aristocracy not only of the capital, but
of all Austria, had gathered there to congratulate the emperor upon his
safe return.
It was the first of January, 1778, and as New Year's day was the only
festival which Joseph's new ordinance allowed, the court took occasion
to celebrate it with all the pomp of embroidery, orders, stars, and
blazing jewels.
The empress had never thrown off her mourning, so that her dark gray
dress with its long train was in striking contrast with the rich,
elegant costumes, the flowers and diamonds of the other ladies present.
Still, there was something in this tall, noble form which distinguished
it above the rest, and spoke to all beholders of the sovereign will that
resided there. Maria Theresa was still the majestic empress--but she was
now an old woman.
Time as well as disease had marred her beauty, and the cares, anxieties,
and afflictions of sixty years had written their inexorable record upon
the tablet of her once fair brow. Not only these, but accident also had
destroyed the last lingering traces of Maria Theresa's youthful
comeliness. Returning from Presburg, she had been thrown from her
carriage, and dashed with such force against the stones on the road,
that she had been taken up bloody, and, to all appearances, lifeless.
Her face had suffered severely, and to her death she bore the deep-red
scars which had been left by her wounds. Her figure, too, had lost its
grace, and was now so corpulent that she moved slowly and heavily
through the rooms, where, in former years, she had stood by the side of
her "Francis," the most beautiful woman of her own or of any European
court.
Her magnificent eyes, however, had defied time, they were large,
flashing, expressive as ever--as quick to interpret anger, enthusiasm,
or tenderness as in the days of her youth.
On the evening of which we speak, the empress was at the card-table. But
those great, glowing eyes were roving from one side of the room to the
other in restless anxiety. Sometimes, for a moment, they rested upon the
emperor who was standing near the table in conversation with some
provincial nobleman. The cheerful and unconcerned demeanor of her son
seemed to reassure the empress, who turned to her cards, and tried to
become interested in the game. Not far off, the archduchesses, too, were
at cards, and the hum of conversation subsided almost to a whisper, that
the imperial party might not be disturbed. Gradually the empress became
absorbed in her cards, so that she was unobservant of the entrance of
one of the emperor's lords in waiting who whispered something in
Joseph's ear, whereupon the latter left the room in haste.
Not very long after the emperor returned pale and excited, and
approached the card-tables. Maria Theresa, at that moment, had just
requested Count Dietrichstein to deal for her, and she was leaning back
in her chair, awaiting the end of the deal.
The emperor bent over and whispered something in her ear, when she
started, and the cards, which she was just gathering, fell from her
hands. With unusual agility she rose, and taking the emperor's arm,
turned away without a word of apology, and left the room.
The archduchesses had not yet perceived their mother's absence, when
Count Dietrichstein, on the part of the emperor, came forward, and
whispered a few words to each one of them. Precisely as their mother had
done the princesses rose, and without apology retired together.
The company started, and whispered and wondered what could have happened
to discompose the imperial family; but no one present was competent to
solve the mystery.
Meanwhile Maria Theresa had retired to her cabinet, where she met Prince
Kaunitz, furred like a polar bear, by way of protection from the
temperature of the palace, which was always many degrees below zero, as
indicated by the thermometer of his thin, bloodless veins. The minister
was shaking with cold, although he had buried his face in a muff large
enough to have been one of his own cubs. The empress returned his
greeting with an agitated wave of her hand, and seated herself in an
arm-chair at the large round table that always stood there.
Exhausted by the unusual haste with which she had walked as well as by
the excitement, which, in her old age, she was physically inadequate to
bear, she leaned back to recover her breath. Opposite stood the emperor,
who, with a wave of his hand, motioned to Kaunitz to enter also.
Maria Theresa's large eyes were fixed upon him at once.
"Is it true." said she. "that the Elector of Bavaria is dead?"
"Yes, your majesty," said Kaunitz. "Maximilian reigns no longer in
Bavaria. Here are the dispatches from our ambassador at Munich."
He held them out, but the empress put them back, saying:
"I am not sufficiently composed to read them. Give them to my son, and
have the goodness to communicate their contents to me verbally."
The face of Kaunitz grew pale, as he turned with the dispatches to the
emperor. The latter at once comprehended the prince's agitation, and
smiled.
"I beg of your majesty," said he, "to excuse the prince, and to allow me
to read to you the particulars of Maximilian's demise. His highness must
be fatigued, and, doubtless, your majesty will allow him to retire
within the embrasure of yonder window, until I have concluded the
perusal of the dispatches."
Kaunitz brightened at once as the empress gave her consent, and he
gladly withdrew to the window which was far enough from the table to be
out of reach of the emperor's voice.
Joseph could not restrain another smile as he watched the tall, stiff
form of the old prince, and saw how carefully he drew the window
curtains around him, lest a word of what was going on should reach his
ears.
"Pardon me, your majesty," said Joseph, in a low voice, "but you know
what a horror Kaunitz has of death and the small-pox. As both these
words form the subject of our dispatches, I was glad to relieve the
prince from the necessity of repeating their contents."
"That you should have remembered his weakness does honor to your heart,
my son," replied Maria Theresa. "In my agitation I had forgotten it.
Maximilian, then, must have died of small-pox."
"He did, your majesty, like his sister, my unhappy wife."
"Strange!" said Maria Theresa, thoughtfully. "Josepha has often spoken
to me of the presentiment which her brother had that he would die of the
small-pox."
"It proves to us that man cannot fly from his destiny. The elector
foresaw that he would die of small-pox, and took every precaution to
avert his fate. Nevertheless, it overtook him."
The empress sighed and slowly shook her head. "Where did he take the
infection'?" asked she.
"From the daughter of the marshal of his household, who lived at the
palace, and took the small-pox there. Every attempt was made to conceal
the fact from the elector, and indeed he remained in total ignorance of
it. One day while he was playing billiards, the marshal, who had just
left his daughter's bedside, entered the room. The elector, shuddering,
laid down his cue, and turning deathly pale, murmured these words: 'Some
one here has the small-pox. I feel it.' He then fell insensible on the
floor. He recovered his consciousness, but died a few days afterward.
[Footnote: Wraxall, "Memoirs of the Courts of Berlin, Vienna, etc.,"
vol. i., p. 306.] This is the substance of the dispatches. Shall I now
read them?"
"No, no, my son," said the empress, gloomily. "Enough that the son of my
enemy is dead, and his house without an heir."
"Yes; he is dead," replied Joseph, sternly. "The brother of my enemy--of
that wife with whom for two years I lived the martyrdom of an abhorred
union! He has gone to his sister, gone to his father, both our bitter,
bitter foes. I hated Josepha for the humiliation I endured as the
husband of such a repulsive woman; but to-day I forgive her, for 'tis
she who from the grave holds out to me the rich inheritance which is the
fruit of our marriage."
The empress raised her eyes with an expression of alarm.
"What!" exclaimed she, "another robbery! Lies not the weight of one
injustice upon my conscience, that you would seek to burden my soul with
another! Think you that I have forgotten Poland!--No! The remembrance
of our common crime will follow me to the bitter end, and it shall not
be aggravated by repetition. I am empress of Austria, and while I live,
Joseph, you must restrain your ambition within the bounds of justice and
princely honor."
The emperor bowed. "Your majesty must confess that I have never
struggled against your imperial will. I have bowed before it, sorely
though it has humiliated me. But as there is no longer any question of
death before us, allow me to recall Prince Kaunitz, that he may take
part in our discussion."
Maria Theresa bowed in silence, and the emperor drew the minister from
his retreat behind the curtains.
"Come, your highness," whispered Joseph. "Come and convince the empress
that Bavaria must be ours. We are about to have a struggle."
"But I shall come out victor," replied Kaunitz, as he rose and returned
to the table.
Maria Theresa surveyed them both with looks of disapprobation and
apprehension. "I see," said she, in a tremulous voice, "that you are two
against one. I do not think it honorable in Kaunitz to uphold my son
against his sovereign. Tell me, prince, do you come hither to break your
faith, and overthrow your empress?"
"There lives not man or woman in the world who can accuse Kaunitz of bad
faith," replied the prince. "I swore years ago to dedicate myself to
Austria, and I shall keep my word until your majesty releases me."
"I suppose that is one of your numerous threats to resign," said the
empress, with irritation. "If there is difference of opinion between us,
I must yield, or you will not remain my minister. But be sure that to
the last day of my life I shall retain my sovereignty, nor share it with
son or minister; and this conceded, we may confer together. Let the
emperor sit by my side, and you, prince, be opposite to us, for I wish
to look into your face that I may judge how far your tongue expresses
the convictions of your conscience. And now I desire the emperor to
explain his words, and tell me how it is that the succession of Bavaria
concerns the house of Hapsburg."
"Frankly, then," cried Joseph, with some asperity, "I mean that our
troops must be marched into Bavaria at once; for by the extinction of
the finale line of Wittelsbach, the electorate is open to us as an
imperial thief, and--"
"Austria, then, has pretensions to the electorate of Bavaria,"
interrupted Maria Theresa, with constrained calmness.
The emperor in his turn looked at his mother with astonishment. "Has
your majesty, then, not read the documents which were drawn up for your
inspection by the court historiographer?"
"I have seen them all," replied the empress, sadly. "I have read all the
documents by which you have sought to prove that Austria has claims upon
Lower Bavaria, because, in 1410, the Emperor Sigismund enfeoffed his
son-in-law, Albert of Austria, with this province. I have read further
that in 1614 the Emperor Matthias gave to the archducal house the
reversion of the Suabian estate of Mindelheim, which subsequently, in
1706, when the Elector of Bavaria fell under the ban of the empire, was
actually claimed by the Emperor of Austria. I have also learned that the
Upper Palatinate, with all its counties, by the extinction of the
Wittelsbach dynasty, becomes an open feoff, to which the Emperor of
Austria thinks that he may assert his claims."
"And your majesty is not convinced of the validity of my claims?"
exclaimed the emperor.
Maria Theresa shook her head. "I cannot believe that we are justifies in
annexing to Austria an electorate which, not being ours by indisputable
right of inheritance, may be the cause of involving us in a bloody war."
"But which, nevertheless, is the finest province in all Germany," cried
Joseph impatiently; "and its acquisition the first step toward
consolidation of all the German principalities into one great empire.
When the Palatinate, Suabia, and Lower Bavaria are ours, the Danube will
flow through Austrian territory alone; the trade of the Levant becomes
ours; our ships cover the Black Sea, and finally Constantinople will be
compelled to open its harbor to Austrian shipping and become a mart for
the disposal of Austrian merchandise. Once possessed of Bavaria, South
Germany, too, lies open to Austria, which like a magnet will draw toward
one centre all its petty provinces and counties. After that, we approach
Prussia, and ask whether she alone will stand apart from the great
federation, or whether she has patriotism and magnanimity enough to
merge her name and nationality in ours. Oh, your majesty, I implore you
do not hesitate to pluck the golden fruit, for it is ours! Think, too,
how anxiously the Bavarians look to us for protection against the
pretensions of Charles Theodore, the only heir of the deceased elector.
"The people of Bavaria well know what is to be their fate if they fall
into the hands of the elector palatine. Surrounded by mistresses with
swarms of natural children, his sole object in life will be to plunder
his subjects that he may enrich a progeny to whom he can lave neither
name nor crown. Oh, your majesty, be generous, and rescue the Bavarians
from a war of succession; for the elector palatine has no heir, and his
death will be the signal for new strife."
"Nay, it seems to me that the Duke of Zweibrucken [Footnote: Called in
English history, Duke of Deux-ponts.--Trans.] is the natural heir of
Charles Theodore, and I suppose he will be found as willing to possess
his inheritance as you or I, or any other pretender, replied Maria
Theresa. "But if, as you say, the Bavarians are sighing to become
Austrian subjects, it seems to me that they might have character enough
to give us some indication of their predilections; for I declare to you
both that I will not imitate the treachery of Frederick. I will not
bring up mouldy documents from our imperial archives to prove that I
have a right to lands which for hundreds of years have been the property
of another race; nor will I, for mad ambition's sake, spill one drop of
honest Austrian blood."
"And so will Austria lose her birthright," returned Joseph angrily. "And
so shall I be doomed to idle insignificance, while history ignores the
only man who really loves Germany, and who has spirit to defy the malice
of his contemporaries, and in the face of their disapproval, to do that
which is best for Germany's welfare. Is it possible that your majesty
will put upon me this new humiliation? Do you really bid me renounce the
brightest dream of my life?"
"My dear son," said the empress, "I cannot view this undertaking with
your eyes; I am old and timid, and I shudder with apprehension of the
demon that follows in the wake of ambition. I would not descend to my
grave amid the wails and curses of my people--I would not be depicted
in history as an ambitious and unscrupulous sovereign. Let me go to my
Franz blessed by the tears and regrets of my subjects--let me appear
before posterity as an upright and peace-loving empress. But I have said
that I am old--so old that I mistrust my own judgment. It may be that I
mistake pusillanimity for disinterestedness. Speak, Kaunitz--so far you
have been silent. What says your conscience to this claim? Is it
consistent with justice and honor?"
"Your majesty knows that I will speak my honest convictions even though
they might be unacceptable to the ear of my sovereign," replied Kaunitz.
"I understand," said the empress, disconsolately. "You are of one mind
with the emperor."
"Yes," replied Kaunitz, "I am. It is the duty of Austria to assert her
right to an inheritance which her ancestors foresaw, hundreds of years
ago, would be indispensable to her future stability. Not only your
majesty's forefathers, but the force of circumstances signify to us that
the acquisition is natural and easy. It would be a great political error
to overlook it; and believe me that in no science is an error so fatal
to him who commits it as in the science of government. Bavaria is
necessary to Austria, and your majesty may become its ruler without so
much as one stroke of the sword."
"Without a stroke of the sword!" exclaimed Maria Theresa, impetuously.
"Does your highness suppose that such a stupendous acquisition as that,
is not to provoke the opposition of our enemies?"
"Who is to oppose us?" asked Kaunitz. "Not France, certainly; she is too
closely our relative and ally."
"I do not rely much upon the friendship of France," interrupted the
empress. Marie Antoinette is mistress of the king's affections; but his
ministers guide his policy, and they would gladly see our friendly
relations ruptured."
"But France is not in a condition to oppose us," continued Kaunitz. "Her
finances are disordered, and at this very moment she is equipping an
army to aid the American rebellion. We have nothing to fear from Russia,
provided we overlook her doings in Turkey, and look away while she
absorbs the little that remains of Poland. England is too far away to be
interested in the matter, and Frederick knows by dear-bought experience
that her alliance, in case of war, is perfectly worthless. Besides,
George has quite enough on his hands with his troubles in North America.
Who, then, is to prevent us from marching to Bavaria and taking
peaceable possession of our lawful inheritance?"
"Who?" exclaimed the empress. "Our greatest and bitterest enemy--the
wicked and unprincipled parvenu who has cost me so many tears, my people
so many lives, and who has robbed me of one of the fairest jewels in my
imperial crown."
Kaunitz shrugged his shoulders. "Your majesty is very magnanimous to
speak of the Margrave of Brandenburg as a dangerous foe."
"And if he were a dangerous foe," cried Joseph vehemently, "so much the
more glory to me if I vanquish him in battle and pluck the laurels from
his bead!"
Kaunitz looked at the emperor and slightly raised his finger by way of
warning. "The King of Prussia," said he, "is no longer the hero that he
was in years gone by; he dare not risk his fame by giving battle to the
emperor. He rests upon his laurels, plays on the flute, writes bad
verses, and listens to the adulation of his fawning philosophical
friends. Then why should he molest us in Bavaria. We have documents to
prove that the heritage is ours, and if we recognize his right to
Bayreuth and Anspach, he will admit ours to whatever we choose to
claim."
Maria Theresa was unconvinced. "You make light of Frederick, prince; but
he is as dangerous as ever, and after all I think it much safer to fear
our enemies than to despise them."
"Frederick of Prussia is a hero, a philosopher, and a legislator," cried
Joseph. "Let me give him battle, your majesty, that I may win honor by
vanquishing the victor."
"Never will I give my consent to such measures, unless we are forced to
adopt them in defence of right."
"Our right here is indisputable," interposed Kaunitz. "Copies of our
documents have already been circulated throughout Germany; and I have
received from Herr von Ritter, the commissioner of Charles Theodore, the
assurance that the latter is ready to resign his pretensions in
consideration of the advantages we offer."
"What are these advantages?" asked Maria Theresa.
"We offer him our provinces in the Netherlands, and the privilege of
establishing a kingdom in Burgundy," replied Joseph. "We also bestow
upon his multitudinous children titles, orders, and a million of
florins."
"And shame all virtue and decency!" cried the empress, coloring
violently.
"The elector loves his progeny, and cares little or nothing for
Bavaria," continued Joseph. "We shall win him over, and Bavaria will
certainly be ours."
"Without the shedding of one drop of blood," added Kaunitz, drawing from
his coat-pocket a paper which he unfolded and laid upon the table.
"Here is a map of Bavaria, your majesty," said Kaunitz, "and here is
that portion of the electorate which we claim, through its cession to
Albert of Austria by the Emperor Sigismund."
"We must take possession of it at once," cried Joseph; "at once, before
any other claimant has time to interpose."
The empress heaved a sigh. "Yes," said she, as if communing with
herself, "it all looks smooth and fair on paper. It is very easy to draw
boundary lines with your finger, prince. You have traced out mountains
and rivers, but you have not won the hearts of the Bavarians; and
without their hearts it is worse than useless to occupy their country."
"We shall win their hearts by kindness," exclaimed the emperor. "True,
we take their insignificant fatherland, but we give them instead, the
rich inheritance of our own nationality; and future history will record
it to their honor that theirs was the initiatory step which subsequently
made one nation of all the little nationalities of Germany."
The empress answered with another sigh, and looked absently at the
outspread map, across which Kaunitz was drawing his finger in another
direction.
"Here," said he, "are the estates which the extinct house held in fief
from the German emperor."
"And which I, as Emperor of Germany, have a right to reannex to my
empire," cried Joseph.
"And here, finally," pursued Kaunitz, still tracing with his finger,
"here is the lordship of Mindelheim, of which the reversion was not only
ceded to Austria by the Emperor Matthias, but actually fell to us and
was relinquished to the Elector of Bavaria by the too great magnanimity
of an Austrian sovereign. Surely, your majesty is not willing to abandon
your inheritance to the first comer?"
Maria Theresa's head was bent so low that it rested upon the map whereon
her minister had been drawing lines of such significance to Austria.
Close by, stood the emperor in breathless anxiety; while opposite sat
Kaunitz, impassable as ever.
Again a deep sigh betokened the anguish that was rending the honest
heart of the empress; and she raised her head.
"Alas for me and my declining energies!" said she, bitterly. "Two
against one, and that one a woman advanced in years! I am not convinced,
but my spirit is unequal to strife. Should we fail, we will be made to
feel the odium of our proceedings; should we triumph, I suppose that the
justice of our pretensions will never be questioned. Perhaps, as the
world has never blamed Frederick for the robbery of Silesia, it may
forgive us the acquisition of Bavaria. In the name of God, then, do both
of you what you deem it right to do; but in mercy, take nothing that is
not ours. We shall be involved in war; I feel it, and I would so gladly
have ended my life in the calm, moon-like radiance of gentle peace."
[Footnote: The empress's own sentiments. Wraxall, i, p. 311.]
"Your majesty shall end your life in peace and prosperity; but far in
the future be the day of your departure!" cried Joseph, kissing the hand
of the empress. "May you live to see Austria expand into a great empire,
and Germany rescued from the misrule of its legions of feeble princes!
The first impulse has been given to-day. Bavaria is rescued from its
miserable fate, and becomes an integral portion of one of the most
powerful nations in Europe."
"May God be merciful, and bless the union!" sighed the empress. "I shall
be wretched until I know how it is to terminate, and day and night I
shall pray to the Lord that He preserve my people from the horrors of
war."
"Meanwhile Kaunitz and I will seek a blessing on our enterprise by
taking earthly precautions to secure its success. You, prince, will use
the quill of diplomacy, and I shall make ready to defend my right with a
hundred thousand trusty Austrians to back me. To-night I march a portion
of my men into Lower Bavaria."
"Oh," murmured the unhappy empress, "there will be war and bloodshed!"
"Before your majesty marches to Bavaria," said Kaunitz inclining his
bead, "her majesty, the empress, must sign the edict which shall apprise
her subjects and the world of the step we meditate. I haves drawn it up,
and it awaits her majesty's approbation and signature."
The prince then drew from his muff a paper, which he presented to the
empress. Maria Theresa perused it with sorrowful eyes.
"It is nothing but a resume of our just claims to Bavaria," said Joseph,
hastily.
"It is very easy to prove the justice of a thing on paper," replied
Maria Theresa; "may God grant that it prove to be so in deed as well as
in word. I will do your bidding, and sign your edict, but upon your head
be all the blood that follows my act!"
She wrote her name, and Joseph, in an outburst of triumph, shouted,
"Bavaria is ours!"