Napoleon and the Queen of Prussia

by L. Mühlbach

  CHAPTER XXX.

  QUEEN LOUISA AND NAPOLEON.

  The queen had finished her toilet. For the first time during manymonths, she had adorned herself, and appeared again in regal pomp. Awhite satin dress, embroidered with gold, surrounded her tall andbeautiful form, and fell behind her in a flowing train. A broad necklaceof pearls and diamonds set off her superb neck; bracelets of the samekind encircled her arms, that might have served as a model for Phidias.A diadem of costly gems was glittering on her expansive forehead. It wasa truly royal toilet, and in former days the queen herself would haverejoiced in it; but to-day no gladness was in her face--her cheeks werepallid, her lips quivering, and her eyes gloomy.

  She contemplated her figure in the mirror with a mournful, listless air,and, turning to Madame von Berg, who had accompanied her to Puktupoehnen,and who was to be her companion on her trip to Tilsit, she said:"Caroline, when I look at myself, I cannot help shuddering, and my heartfeels cold. I am adorned as the ancient Germans used to dress theirvictims, when they were about to throw them into the flames to pacifythe wrath of their gods. I shall suffer the same fate. I shall die ofthe fire burning in my heart, yet I shall not be able to propitiate theidol that the world is worshipping. It will be all in vain! With a soulso crushed as mine, I am incapable of accomplishing any thing. Butcomplaints are useless, I must finish what I have begun; I must--buthush! is not that the sound of wheels approaching this house?"

  "Yes," said Madame von Berg, hastening to the window; "it is acarriage--a brilliant court-carriage, drawn by eight horses, andescorted by French dragoons."

  Louisa pressed her hands against her heart, and a low cry burst from herlips. "Oh," she whispered, "the dagger is again piercing my heart. Oh,how it aches!"

  Owing to the noise with which the imperial coach had driven up Madamevon Berg did not hear the last words of the queen. "Oh," she exclaimedjoyfully, "the Emperor Napoleon really seems to be favorably disposedtoward us. He takes pains at least to receive your majesty with therespect due to a queen. The carriage is magnificent, and the eighthorses wear a harness of gold and purple. The French dragoons have ontheir gala-uniforms and are marching into line to present arms when yourmajesty appears. I begin to hope that I was mistaken in Napoleon; hewill not humble her whom he receives with the splendor lavished on themost powerful crowned heads."

  Louisa shook her head. "He has learned a lesson from the ancientCaesars," she said. "When Zenobia adorned the triumphal procession ofAurelian, she was clad in robes of purple and gold; she stood on agilded car, surrounded by servants, as it was due to a queen. Butmanacles were about her arms; she was, after all, but a prisoner, andthe contrast of the chain with the royal pomp rendered only morestriking the imperial triumph and her own humiliation. But, no matter!We must go through with it. Come, Caroline, give me my cloak." Shewrapped herself in a small cloak of violet velvet, and casting a lastimploring glance toward heaven, she left the room to drive to Tilsit.

  At the hotel, where the king was staying, he received his consort andconducted her up-stairs to the room prepared for her. They said little;the immense importance of this hour made them taciturn; they spoke toeach other only by glances, by pressing each other's hands, and by a fewwhispered words indicative of their profound anxiety and suspense.Scarcely fifteen minutes had elapsed when one of Napoleon's aidesappeared, to inform her that the emperor was already on his way to seeher. The king kissed his wife's hand. "Farewell, Louisa," he said, "andmay God give you strength to meet your adversary!"

  Louisa retained him. "You will not stay with me?" she asked,breathlessly. "You will leave me at this painful moment?"

  "Etiquette requires me to do so," said the king. "You know very wellthat I care nothing for these empty forms; but it seems that Napoleon,to whom they are still new, deems them necessary for upholding themajesty of the new-fangled empire. The emperor pays a visit to the queenalone; hence, you must receive him alone. Only your lady of honor isallowed to remain in the adjoining room, the door of which will be leftopen. Napoleon's companion--Talleyrand, I believe--will also remainthere. Farewell, Louisa; I shall come only when the emperor expresslyasks for me. Do you hear the horses in front of the house? Napoleon iscoming! I go." He nodded pleasantly, and left the room.

  "Oh, my children!" muttered the queen; "I am doing this for you--foryour sake I will speak and humble my heart!"

  She heard the sound of footsteps on the staircase, and Madame von Bergappeared in the adjoining room to announce that his majesty the EmperorNapoleon was approaching. Louisa nodded, and, quickly crossing theanteroom, she went out into the corridor. Napoleon was just ascendingthe stairs. His face was illuminated with a triumphant expression, and asinister fire was burning in his eyes, which he fixed on the queen witha strange mixture of curiosity and sympathy. Louisa looked at himcalmly; a touching smile played on her lips; her beautiful face beamedwith energy and courage, and an air of pious solemnity was visible inher whole appearance. Napoleon felt involuntarily moved in the presenceof a lady so queen-like and yet so gentle, and bowed more respectfullyto her than he had ever done to any other woman.

  "Sire," said Louisa, conducting him into the room, "I am sorry that yourmajesty had to ascend so miserable a staircase."

  "Oh," exclaimed Napoleon, "if the way leading to you was inconvenient,madame, the reward is so desirable that one would shrink from no troubleto obtain it."

  "It seems there is nothing too inconvenient for your majesty," said thequeen, gently. "Neither the sands of Egypt nor the snows of our northimpede the career of the hero. And yet I should think our cold climatean obstacle difficult to overcome. Did your majesty not have thisopinion sometimes last winter?"

  "It is true," said Napoleon. "Your Prussia is somewhat cold. She is tooclose to Russia, and allows herself to be fanned too much by its icybreezes!"

  Louisa feigned not to understand this allusion to the policy of Prussia,and, turning to the emperor, she requested him to take a seat on thesofa. Napoleon offered her his hand and conducted her to it. "Let us sitdown," he said, with a tinge of irony. Turning to her, he added: "Youhave hated me so long that you ought to give me now a slight token ofthe change in your sentiments, and permit me to sit at your side."Bending over, he looked her full in the face and seemed to wait for herto renew the conversation.

  The queen felt her heart tremble--that the critical moment had come, andshe concentrated her courage and determination that that moment mightnot pass unimproved. She raised her eyes slowly, and, with an affectingexpression, she said in a low, tremulous voice, "Will your majestypermit me to tell you why I have come hither?"

  Napoleon nodded, and continued looking steadily at her.

  "I have come," added the queen, "to beg your majesty to grant Prussia amore favorable peace. Sire, I use the word 'beg!' I will not speak ofour rights, of our claims, but only of our misfortunes; I will onlyappeal to the generosity of your majesty, imploring you to lessen ourcalamities, and have mercy on our people!"

  "The misfortunes we suffer are generally the consequences of our ownfaults," exclaimed Napoleon, harshly; "hence, we must endure what webring upon ourselves. How could you dare to wage war against me?"

  The queen raised her head, and her eyes flashed. "Sire," she said,quickly and proudly, "the glory of the great Frederick induced us tomistake our strength, if we were mistaken."

  "You were mistaken, at least in your hopes that you could vanquish me,"exclaimed Napoleon, sternly. But, as if struck by a sudden recollection,and meaning to apologize for his rudeness, he bowed, and added in apleasant tone: "I refer to Prussia and not to you, queen. Your majestyis sure to vanquish every one. I was told that you were beautiful, and Ifind that you are the most charming lady in the world!"

  "I am neither so vain as to believe that, nor so ambitious as to wishit," said the queen. "I have come hither as consort of the king, asmother of my children, and as representative of my people!"

  "Ah," exclaimed Napoleon, politely, "Prussia may well be proud of sonoble a r
epresentative."

  "Sire, Prussia cannot be proud," replied the queen, sighing. "She weepsover her sons fallen on the fields of battle that brought laurels toyou; to us nothing but defeat. She has lost her prosperity; her fieldsare devastated; her supplies consumed. She is looking despondinglytoward the future, and all that remains to her is hope. Sire, let notthis hope be in vain! Pardon us for not having feared your all-powerfulgenius and your victorious heroism! It was a terrible misfortune for usto have mistaken our strength; but we have been humbled for it. Let itbe enough! You have made us feel the conqueror's hand; let us now feeland acknowledge your magnanimity! Your majesty cannot intend to tramplein the dust those whom fortune has already so humbled. You will not takerevenge for our errors--you will not deride and revile our majesty--formajesty, sire, is still enthroned on our heads. It is the sacredinheritance which we must bequeath to our children."

  "Ah, your majesty will comprehend that I cannot feel much respect forsuch sacred inheritance," said Napoleon, sneeringly.

  "But your majesty will respect our misfortunes," exclaimed Louisa."Sire, adversity is a majesty, too, and consecrates its innocentchildren."

  "Prussia has to blame none but herself for her calamities!" saidNapoleon, vehemently.

  "Does your majesty say so because we defended our country when we wereattacked?" asked the queen, proudly. "Do you say so because, faithful tothe treaties which we had sworn to observe, we refused to desert ourally for the sake of our own profit, but courageously drew the sword toprotect his and our frontiers? Heaven decreed that we should not bevictorious in this struggle, and our defeats became a new laurel-wreathfor your brow. But now you will deem your triumphs sufficient, and willnot think of taking advantage of our distress. I am told that yourmajesty has asked of the king, as the price of peace, the largest andbest part of his states--that you intend taking from him his fortresses,cities, and provinces, leaving to him a crown without territory, a titlewithout meaning--that you wish to distribute his subjects and provinces,and form of them new nations. But your majesty knows well that we cannotwith impunity rob a people of their inalienable and noblest rights--oftheir nationality--give them arbitrary frontiers, and transform theminto new states. Nationality is a sentiment inherent in the human heart,and our Prussians have proud hearts. They love their king, theircountry--"

  "And above all their august queen," interrupted Napoleon, who wished toput an end to this appeal, and direct the conversation into lessimpetuous channels. "Oh, I know that all Prussia idolizes her beautifulqueen, and henceforth I shall not wonder at it. Happy those who arepermitted to bear your chains!"

  She cast on him a glance so contemptuous that Napoleon shrank, andlowered his eyes. "Sire," she said, "no one who bears chains is happy,and your majesty--who once said to the Italians, 'You need not fear me,for I have come to break your chains and to deliver you from degradingservitude!'--will not now reduce a state to servitude. For to wrest itfrom its legitimate sovereign, and to compel it to submit to anotherprince is chaining it--to distribute a people like merchandise, isreducing them to slavery. Sire, I dare beg your majesty to leave us ournationality and our honor! I dare beg you in the name of my children toleave them their inheritance and their rights."

  "Their rights?" asked Napoleon. "Only he has them who knows how tomaintain them. What do you call the rights of your children?"

  "Sire, I refer to their birth, their name, and history. By their birth,God conferred on them the right to rule over Prussia. And the Prussianmonarchy is rooted in the hearts of the people. Oh, your majesty, do notoverthrow it! Honor in us the crown adorning your own victorious head!Sovereigns ought to respect each other, that their people may never losethe respect due to them; sovereigns ought to support and strengthen eachother, to enable them to meet their enemies now carried away by theinsane ideas of a so-called new era--ideas that brought the heads ofLouis XVI. and Marie Antoinette to the scaffold. Sire, princes are notalways safe, and harmony among them is indispensable; but it is notstrengthening one's own power to weaken that of others--it is not addinglustre to one's own crown to tarnish another's. O sire; in the name ofall monarchies--nay, in the name of your own, now shedding so radiant alight over the whole world, I pray for our crown, our people, and ourfrontiers!"

  "The Prussians," said Napoleon, rising, "could not have found a morebeautiful and eloquent advocate than your majesty!"

  He paced the room several times, his hands folded behind him. The queenhad also risen, but she stood still, and looked in breathless suspenseat Napoleon, whose cold face seemed to warm a little with humaneemotion. He approached, and fixed his eyes in admiration on her sad butnoble countenance. "Your majesty," he said, "I believe you have told memany things which no one hitherto has ventured to tell me--many thingswhich might have provoked my anger--some bitter words, and propheticthreats have fallen from your lips. This proves that you at leastrespect my character, and that you believe I will not abuse the positionto which the fortune of war has elevated me. I will not disappoint you,madame. I will do all I can to mitigate your misfortunes, and to letPrussia remain as powerful as is compatible with my policy and with myobligations to my old and new friends. I regret that she refused toenter into an alliance with me, and that I vainly offered my friendshipto her more than once. It is no fault of mine that your majesty has tobear the consequences of this refusal, but I will try to ameliorate themas much as I can. I cannot restore your old frontiers; I cannot deliveryour country entirely from the burdens and calamities of war, andpreserve it from the tribute which the conqueror must impose upon thevanquished, in order to receive some compensation for the blood that wasshed. I will always remember that the Queen of Prussia is not only themost fascinating, but also the most high-minded, courageous, andgenerous lady in the world, and that one cannot do homage enough to hermagnanimity and intelligence. I promise your majesty that I am quitewilling to comply with all your wishes as far as I can. Inform me,therefore, of them; it will be best for you to be quite frank with me.We shall try to become good friends, and, as a token of this friendship,I take the liberty to offer you this flower, which bears so striking aresemblance to you." He took a full-blown moss-rose from the porcelainvase standing on the table, and presented it to her. "Will you acceptthis pledge of friendship at my hands?"

  The queen hesitated. It was repugnant to her noble and proud heart toreceive so sentimental a gift from him to whom her heart never couldgrant true friendship. She slowly raised her eyes and looked almosttimidly into his smiling face. "Sire," she said in a low voice, "add tothis pledge of your friendship still another, that I may accept therose."

  The smile faded from Napoleon's face, and anger darkened his forehead."Remember, madame," he said harshly, "that it is I who command, and thatyou have but the choice to decline or to accept. Will you accept thisrose?"

  "Sire," said the queen, with quivering lips and tearful eyes, "give itto me with another pledge of your friendship. Give me Magdeburg for mychildren."

  Napoleon threw the rose on the table. "Ah, madame," he said, vehemently,"Magdeburg is no toy for children!" He turned around and paced the roomrepeatedly, while Louisa hung her head, and looked resigned as a martyrready to suffer death. Napoleon glanced at her as he passed, and thespectacle exhibited by this aggrieved, and yet so dignified and gentle aqueen, touched him; for it reminded him of Josephine. He stood still infront of her. "Forgive my impulsiveness," he said; "I cannot give youMagdeburg, but you may rest assured that I will do all I can to lessenyour calamities, and to fulfil your request. The Emperor Alexander isaware of my wishes; he knows that I am desirous to serve the King ofPrussia. I should like to repeat this to your husband himself if he werehere."

  "He is here," said the queen, hastily; "and with your majesty'spermission he will be with us immediately."

  Napoleon bowed in silence. A sign made by Louisa brought the lady ofhonor. "Be so kind as to request the king to come to us," said thequeen, quickly.

  "And while we are awaiting the king," said Napol
eon, calling Talleyrandfrom the anteroom, "your majesty will permit me to introduce mycompanion. Madame, I have the honor to present my minister of foreignaffairs, M. de Talleyrand, Prince de Benevento."

  "And I deem myself happy to make the acquaintance of the greateststatesman of the age," said the queen, while Talleyrand's short figurebowed deeply. "Oh, your majesty is indeed to be envied. You have notonly gained great glory, but are also blessed with high-minded andsagacious advisers and executors of your will. If the king my husbandhad always been equally fortunate, a great many things would not havehappened."

  "Well, we have induced him to displace at least one bad adviser,"exclaimed Napoleon. "That man Hardenberg was the evil genius of theking; he is chiefly to blame for the misfortunes that have befallenPrussia, and it was necessary to remove him."

  "But he was an experienced statesman," said the queen, whose magnanimouscharacter found it difficult to listen to any charge against Hardenbergwithout saying something in his defence; "he is a very skilfulpolitician, and it will not be easy for the king to fill the place ofMinister von Hardenberg."

  "Ah!" said Napoleon, carelessly; "ministers are always to be found. Lethim appoint Baron von Stein; he seems to be a man of understanding."

  An expression of joyful surprise overspread the queen's face. The kingentered. Napoleon met him and offered him his hand. "I wished to giveyour majesty a proof of my kind disposition in the presence of yournoble and beautiful consort, and, if you have no objection, to assureyou of my friendship," he said. "I have complied as far as possible withall your wishes. The Emperor Alexander, in whom you have an ardent andeloquent friend, will confirm it to you. I also communicated to him mylast propositions, and trust that your majesty will acquiesce in them."

  "Sire," said the king, coldly, "the Emperor Alexander laid thisultimatum before me, but it would be very painful to me if I should beobliged to accept it. It would deprive me of the old hereditaryprovinces which form the largest portion of my states."

  "I will point out a way to get compensation for these losses," exclaimedNapoleon. "Apply to the Emperor Alexander; let him sacrifice to you hisrelatives, the Princes of Mecklenburg and Oldenburg. He can also give upto you the King of Sweden, from whom you may take Stralsund and thatportion of Pomerania of which he makes such bad use. Let him consentthat you should have these acquisitions, not indeed equal to theterritories taken from you, but better situated, and, for my part, Ishall make no objection."

  "Your majesty proposes to me a system of spoliation, to which I cannever agree," said the king, proudly. "I complain of the menaced loss ofmy provinces, not only because it would lessen the extent of myterritories, but because they are the hereditary states of my house, andare associated with my ancestors by indissoluble ties of love andfealty."

  "You see that these ties are not indissoluble after all," exclaimedNapoleon, "for we shall break them, and you will be consoled for theloss by obtaining compensation."

  "Possibly others may be more readily consoled for such losses," said theking: "those who are only anxious for the possession of states, and whodo not know what it is to part with hereditary provinces in which themost precious reminiscences of our youth have their root, and which wecan no more forget than our cradle."

  "Cradle!" exclaimed Napoleon, laughing scornfully. "When the child hasbecome a man, he has no time to think of his cradle."

  "Yes, he has," said the king, with an angry expression. "We cannotrepudiate our childhood, and a man who has a heart must remember theassociations of his youth."

  Napoleon, making no reply, looked grave, while Frederick William fixedhis eyes on him with a sullen and defiant expression. The queen feltthat it was time for her to prevent a more violent outburst ofindignation on the part of her husband. "The real cradle is the tenderheart of a mother," she said gently, "and all Europe knows that yourmajesty does not forget it; all are aware of the reverential love of thegreat conqueror for Madame Letitia, whom France hails as noble _MadameMere_."

  Napoleon raised his eyes toward her, and his forbidding expressiondisappeared. "It is true," he said, "your sons, madame, ought to beenvied such a mother. They will owe you many thanks, for it is you,madame, who have saved Prussia by your eloquence and noble bearing. Irepeat to you once more that I shall do what I can to fulfil yourwishes. We shall confer further about it. At present, I have the honorto take leave of your majesty."

  He offered his hand to the queen. "Sire," she said, profoundlyaffected, "I hope that, after making the acquaintance of the hero of thecentury, you will permit me to remember in you the generous conqueror aswell as the man of genius." Napoleon silently kissed her hand, and,bowing to the king, left the room.

  "Oh!" exclaimed the queen, when she was alone with her husband, "perhapsit was not in vain that I came hither; God may have imparted strength tomy words, and they may have moved the heart of this all-powerful man, sothat he will acknowledge our just demands, and shrink from becoming therobber of our property."

  In the mean time Napoleon returned to his quarters, accompanied byTalleyrand. But when the minister, on their arrival at the palace, wasabout to withdraw, the emperor detained him. "Follow me into mycabinet," he said, advancing quickly. Talleyrand limped after him, and asmile, half scornful, half malicious, played on his thin lips.

  "The hero who wants to rule over the world," said Talleyrand to himself,"is now seized with a very human passion, and I am sure we shall have ahighly sentimental scene." He entered the room softly, and lurkinglywatched every movement of Napoleon. The emperor threw his small hat onone chair, his gloves and sword on another, and then paced the roomrepeatedly. Suddenly he stood still in front of Talleyrand and lookedhim full in the face.

  "Were you able to overhear my conversation with the queen?" he asked.

  "I was, sire!" said Talleyrand, laconically, "I was able to overhearevery word."

  "You know, then, for what purpose she came hither," exclaimed Napoleon,and commenced again pacing the apartment.

  "Talleyrand," he said, after a pause, "I have wronged this lady. She isan angel of goodness and purity, she is a true woman and a true queen.It was a crime for me to persecute her. Yes, I confess that I was wrongin offending her. On merely hearing the sound of her voice I feltvanquished, and was as confused and embarrassed as the most timid ofmen. My hand trembled when I offered her the rose. I have slandered her,but I will make compensation!" He resumed his walk rapidly; a delicateblush mantled his cheeks, and all his features indicated profoundemotion. Talleyrand, looking as cold and calm as usual, still stood atthe door, and seemed to watch the emperor with the scrutinizing eye of aphysician observing the crisis of a disease.

  "Yes," added Napoleon, "I ought certainly to compensate her for what Ihave done. She shall weep no more on my account; she shall no more hateand detest me as a heartless conqueror. I will show her that I can bemagnanimous, and compel her to admit that she was mistaken in me. I willraise Prussia from the dust. I will render her more powerful than ever,and enlarge her frontiers instead of narrowing them. And then, when herenchanting eyes are filled with gladness, I will offer my hand to herhusband and say to him: 'You were wrong; you were insincere toward me,and I punished you for it. Now let us forget your defeats and myvictories; instead of weakening your power, I will increase it that youmay become my ally, and remain so forever!' Talleyrand, destroy theconditions I dictated to you; send for Count Goltz; confer with himagain, and grant his demands!"

  "Sire," exclaimed Talleyrand, apparently in dismay, "sire, shallposterity say that you failed to profit by your most splendid conquest,owing to the impression a beautiful woman made upon you?" The emperorstarted, and Talleyrand added: "Sire, has the blood of your soldiers whofell at Jena, at Eylau, and at Friedland, been shed in vain, and is itto be washed away by the tears of a lady who now appears to be asinoffensive as a lamb, but who is to blame for this whole war? Yourmajesty ought not to forget that the Queen of Prussia instigated herhusband to begin it--that, at the royal palace of Berlin, you took
asolemn oath to punish her, and to take revenge for her warlike spirit,and for the oath over the tomb of Frederick the Great! Ah, the queen,with Frederick William and the Emperor Alexander, would exult at yourtender-heartedness; the world would wonder at the weakness of the greatcaptain who allowed himself to be duped by the sighs and seeminghumility of the vanquished, and--"

  "Enough!" interrupted Napoleon, in a powerful voice--"enough, I say!" Hewalked several times up and down, and then stood still again in front ofTalleyrand. "Send immediately for Count Goltz," he said imperiously,"and inform him of our ultimatum! Tell him in plain words that all Isaid to the queen were but polite phrases, binding me in no manner, andthat I am as firmly determined as ever to fix the Elbe as the futurefrontier of Prussia--that there was no question of furthernegotiations--that I had already agreed with the Emperor Alexander as tothe various stipulations, and that the king owed his lenient treatmentsolely to the chivalrous attachment of this monarch, inasmuch as,without his interference, my brother Jerome would have become King ofPrussia, while the present dynasty would have been dethroned. You knowmy resolutions now; proceed in accordance with them, and hasten theconclusion of the whole affair, that I may be annoyed no more. I demandthat the treaty be signed to-morrow."

  Prussia's fate was therefore decided. The great sacrifice which thequeen had made, and with so much reluctance, had been in vain. On the9th of June, 1807, the treaty of Tilsit was signed by therepresentatives of France and Prussia.

  By virtue of it King Frederick William lost one-half of his territories,consisting of all his possessions beyond the Elbe: Old Prussia,Magdeburg, Hildesheim, Westphalia, Friesland, Erfurt, Eichsfeld, andBaireuth. The Polish provinces were taken from him, as well as a portionof West Prussia, the district of Kulm, including the city of Thorn, halfof the district of the Netze, and Dantzic, which was transformed into afree city. Besides, the king acknowledged the Confederation of theRhine, the Kings of Holland and Westphalia, Napoleon's brothers, andengaged to close his ports against England. And, as was expressly statedin the document, these terms were obtained only "_in consideration ofthe Emperor of Russia_, and owing to Napoleon's sincere desire to attachboth nations to each other by indissoluble bonds of confidence andfriendship."

  Russia, which had signed the treaty on the preceding day, gained a largeportion of Eastern Prussia, the frontier district of Bialystock, andthus enriched herself with the spoils taken from her own ally.

  Thus Frederick William concluded peace, losing his most importantterritories, and having his ten millions of subjects reduced to fivemillions. The genius of Prussia, Queen Louisa, veiled her head and wept!

  BOOK IV.