Napoleon and the Queen of Prussia

by L. Mühlbach

  CHAPTER XXXVII.

  THE GENIUS OF PRUSSIA.

  The queen was alone in her room. She sat on the sofa, and a dress ofheavy silk, interwoven with flowers, lay spread out on the table beforeher. She turned over the dress, as if carefully examining it. "Sureenough, there it is!" she suddenly exclaimed. "Now, quick to work!" Shehastened to her table, on which was to be seen a beautiful silkembroidery just finished by the queen. Among the threads she selectedone that was of the same color as the dress, and hastily threaded herneedle. "Now I will finish my work before any one surprises me,"whispered Louisa. She was so assiduously employed that she did notnotice that the opposite door, softly opening, had admitted the king. Hestood still for a moment and looked at the queen. Advancing, he asked,frowningly, "What are you doing, Louisa?"

  The queen uttered a cry, and a deep blush suffused her cheeks. Pushingaside the table and the dress, she rose from the sofa and went to saluteher husband. "Welcome, dearest!" she said, lovingly clinging to him;"you knew that it was cold and lonely here, and you come to gladden me.Thanks, my Frederick, thanks and welcome! I feel as though you weregiven to me anew, and I greet you every morning as with the young heartof a bride." She laid her beautiful head on his shoulder, and herdelicate hand played with his hair.

  But the king did not return her caresses, and his eyes, which usuallylooked so lovingly at his wife, were directed to the dress on the table."You have not yet replied to me, Louisa," he exclaimed.

  "Replied to what?" she asked, raising her head from his shoulder, andcalmly looking at him.

  "You know it," said the king--"to my question."

  "To your question? And what did you ask?" replied the queen. "You askedme whether I loved you and had already thought of you this morning. Yes,my king and husband, you are the object of all my thoughts, and I thinkof you with every pulsation of my heart. And do you know what justoccurred to me, and what I am going to propose to you? It is a finewinter-day, and the snow is sparkling in the sun. We have half an houruntil dinner. Let us improve it and take a walk. Let us go to our twoprinces, who are skating with their instructor. Tell me, my friend,shall we do so?"

  The king shook his head gloomily. "You wish to divert me from myquestion," he said, "which proves that you have heard it. I will repeatit. What were you doing with that dress when I entered?"

  The queen hung her head in evident embarrassment, and her face assumed amelancholy air. "You insist on a reply, my husband?" she asked. "I hopedyou would notice my confusion, and generously desist."

  "I must know every thing that happens to you," said the king; "I mustknow the full extent of our misfortunes, that I may not be deceived byany illusions. Tell me, therefore, what were you doing?"

  "Well, then, my husband, I will tell you," said the queen, resolutely."I like the dress, not because it is made of very costly and beautifulmaterials, but you yourself selected it for me. You know that we give aparty to-morrow to celebrate the birthday of the crown prince, and Iwished to wear that dress. Now, I knew what no one else knew, that thelast time I wore it I had torn it by a nail in the wall, on crossing thecorridor. If I had informed my maid of this mishap, I should have beenunable to wear it again, for custom, I believe, forbids queens to wearmended dresses. I was, however, bent on saving it. For this purpose Itook it stealthily from my wardrobe to mend the small hole as rapidly aspossible, while my lady of honor was taking a ride, and my maid was atdinner. I had just finished when you entered, and if you had come a fewminutes later the dress would have disappeared, and no one would suspectto-morrow that my rich attire had been mended. Now, you know my secret,and I entreat you to keep it and allude to it no more. But you must alsoreply to me: shall we take a walk?"

  The king made no answer, but gazed at her with melancholy tenderness."You do this, Louisa, because you shrink from the expense of buying anew dress," he said. "Oh, do not deny it; do not try to deceive me. Iknow it to be true."

  "And suppose it were true?" asked the queen, gently, drawing her headfrom his hands. "Will you be sad because I do in these times what allour subjects are obliged to do--because I try to be a littleeconomical?"

  "The Queen of Prussia, my consort," exclaimed the king, "is compelled tomend her own dresses! Is the cup of disgrace and humiliation not yetfull!"

  "And why do you speak of disgrace?" asked the queen, laying her hands onthe shoulders of her husband, and looking tenderly in his face. "Why doyou say I humble myself by mending my dress? I only followed the exampleof your noble ancestor, Frederick II. Did not the great king also mendand patch his clothes? Did he not repair with sealing-wax his scabbard,because he did not want to buy a new one? Well, I believe little Louisawill be allowed to do as the great Frederick did, and need not beashamed of it. On the contrary, my husband, when I sat there sewing, myheart was glad, for the memories of my early years revived in my mind: Isaw myself at the side of my venerable grandmother, the Landgravine ofHesse-Darmstadt, and I lived again in those sunny days that I spent withher in Hanover. My grandmother taught me how to mend, and I frequentlyprofited by the skill I had acquired with her. For you married thedaughter of a poor prince, who was not a sovereign at that time, butonly a younger brother, and the Queen of Prussia does not blush toconfess that when she was yet a princess of Mecklenburg, she not onlymended her dresses but even trimmed her shoes with her own hands. It isno jest, my king and husband, I really often did so, and I never felthumiliated. Never did I consider it a disgrace to do sometimes whatthousands of the most virtuous and amiable women are always doing. WhenI used to sew my shoes, I was poor, for I did not yet know you; but now,although I have repaired my dress, I am rich, for I have you--I have mychildren--I am the wife of a man who suffers because he values his honorhigher than worldly greatness--who would perish rather than break analliance he has sworn to, and refuses to give his neck to the tyrant'syoke. Oh, my husband, when I look at you, my soul is transported withgladness, and I thank God that I am allowed to love you. Since you aremine I feel happy, rich, and powerful."

  She placed her beautiful arms around the king, who pressed her againsthis breast. "Thanks, my Louisa! thanks for your joyful love. Your eyesgladden my life, and your voice is the only music that can lull mygrief. That is the reason I come to you now. I seek here consolation inmy affliction, for when you help me to bear the burden, it is lessoppressive. I have received two letters to-day which gave me pain, andwhich I desire to communicate to you."

  "I shall be grateful to you, my husband, for doing so," said the queen."Come, let us sit down together, and communicate the letters to me. Whowrote them? Whence did they come?"

  "One is from Koenigsberg, from our daughter Charlotte."

  "From Charlotte!" exclaimed the queen, starting. "Has any thing happenedto her? Has she been taken ill?"

  "No, she is well, and nothing has happened to her. She is, on thecontrary, in excellent spirits, and, like all young girls, wishes todress well. She writes to me, asking me to send her money that she mayrenew her winter wardrobe. Here is the letter."

  The queen quickly glanced over it. "Oh, the dear, good child," sheexclaimed, "how tenderly she loves us--how prettily and affectionatelyshe gives expression to her feelings! And yet she often appearsoutwardly cold and indifferent.--She resembles her noble father: shedoes not wear her heart on her tongue, but it throbs lovingly in herbosom. She is seemingly reserved and haughty, but she is affectionate.If God permits her to live I anticipate a brilliant future for her."[35]

  [Footnote 35: The very words of the queen.--Vide "Queen Louisa," p. 302.This prophecy was fulfilled, for the Princess Charlotte afterwardmarried the Emperor of Russia.]

  "A brilliant future!" echoed the king; "for _my_ daughter--for thedaughter of a king without a kingdom--of a man who is so poor as to beunable to gratify her just and modest wishes! She asks for money toreplenish her winter wardrobe. Now, do you know what I have written toher? I have sent her five dollars, and given her at the same time thewretched consolation to be content with that sum, for it was a
ll I couldspare."

  "Well," said the queen, with a gentle smile, "at all events, fivedollars will enable her to buy a warm winter dress, and by and by ourfinances will improve."

  "I do not see any such prospect," exclaimed the king, vehemently.

  "All our resources are exhausted; all the public funds are gone, andeven your generosity will be unable to create new ones. My noble queen,in generous self-denial, sacrifices her jewels in order to gladden andcomfort others, and to lay her own contribution on the altar of hercountry. She did not think of herself in doing so."

  "Yes, I did," said the queen, smiling, "I did think of myself. Ireserved five thousand dollars, and with that sum all the bills weowed--all our debts for the household, for the stable, and the servants,have been paid. But you intended communicating two letters to me. Whatabout the second?"

  "The second," said the king, mournfully, "is a farewell from my faithfulsubjects in the province of Mark, whom, alas! with a heavy heart, I haveabsolved from their oath of allegiance, and ordered to serve anothersovereign, and to obey the new King of Westphalia. I am not ashamed ofconfessing it, Louisa, I wept on writing to them, and on reading theirreply. There it is. Read it aloud. It will do me good to hear againthese touching words."

  The queen unfolded the large letter, to which several official sealswere attached, and read in a tremulous voice:

  "Our heart was rent when we read your farewell letter, good king. Wecannot believe even now that we, who always loved you so affectionately,are to cease being your subjects. As sure as we live, it was neitheryour fault, nor ours, that your generals and ministers were too confusedafter the defeat of Jena to march the dispersed divisions of the army tous, and to lead them, united with our whole people, into a strugglewhich, with the blessing of God, would have been successful. We wouldhave willingly risked our lives, for you must not doubt that the bloodof the ancient Cheruscians is still flowing in our veins; that we areproud of calling Hermann and Wittekind countrymen of ours, and ofknowing that on our soil was that field of battle where our ancestorsdefeated their enemies in so decisive a manner that they never foughtagain. We also would assuredly have saved the fatherland, for we have,we believe, marrow in our bones, and remain uncorrupted by modern luxuryand effeminacy. But no one can escape the decrees of Providence. Oh,farewell, then, our father and king! Heaven grant you more faithfulgenerals and more sagacious ministers for the remainder of your states!You are not omniscient, and you were sometimes obliged to follow theminto blind paths. Unfortunately, we must also submit to what cannot behelped. God help us! We trust our new sovereign will be a father to us,and honor and respect our language and customs, our faith and rights, asyou always did, dear and beloved king! Health, joy, and peace!"

  "And you call us poor and disgraced when such hearts are throbbing forus," exclaimed the queen, with radiant eyes. "No, we are rich, for oursubjects love us, and even when compelled to part with you, they sendyou their love-greetings!"

  "But I cannot reward their love; I have no means of showing how my heartappreciates it," exclaimed the king, mournfully. "Oh, Louisa, I am apoor, wretched man; my heart is desponding, and even your cheering wordsare unable to console it. Wherever I look, whatever plans I form, I seenowhere a prospect of change for the better. My country is occupied byhordes of foreign soldiers. My subjects, exposed to the overbearing andavarice of the French, who think they are sovereign rulers of my states,are vainly praying to their king to come to their assistance. Theircourage is exhausted; their strength gone; commerce is prostrated;manufacturers and mechanics are idle; the farmers have no seed-corn, norcourage to cultivate their fields, for they know that they will berobbed of the fruits of their labor. Our soldiers walk about with bowedheads, and scarcely dare to wear their uniforms, for they remind them ofJena and Auerstadt, of the capitulation of Prenzlau, of the surrender ofso many fortresses, and, like myself, they wish they had been buried onthe battle-field of Jena. Want, misery, and suffering are everywhere,and I am unable to help! I must still permit the enemy to inundate mystates, although it was expressly stipulated by the treaty of Tilsitthat the French army was to evacuate Prussia in the course of twomonths. I must also permit the Emperor Napoleon (though after theconclusion of peace, and contrary to the treaty) to take New Silesia,and add her to the kingdom of Warsaw; to transform the two leagues ofthe new territory of Dantzic into two German miles, and, without evenasking my consent, to deprive me of my property. But I am determined tosuffer this injustice and humiliation no longer, and to make the lastsacrifice."

  "What are you going to do, my husband?" exclaimed the queen, laying herhand with an anxious gesture on the arm of her husband. "Whatsacrifice?"

  "Myself!" said the king, gloomily, "for it is I alone who bringmisfortune on my people. A sinister fatality pursues me, and has pursuedme from my earliest youth. Only one star ever rose on my troubledfirmament, and that was you, Louisa. But it will not set, even though Icarry out my purpose. In solitude and sorrow it will still shinehopefully upon me. My childhood was wretched, and embittered bylong-continued sufferings; while I was crown prince, I had to submit tothe affliction of not possessing the heart of my father, and of beingunable to approve his actions. I was so unfortunate as to be compelledto begin the first day of my reign with a demonstration against hiscourse by having the woman arrested whom he had loved so long andardently, and to whom the final wishes and thoughts of the dyingsovereign had been devoted. It is his spirit, perhaps, that now bringsall these calamities upon me. But my people shall not suffer; I willdeliver them from the fatal influences attaching them to me, and inorder to conciliate my fate I will voluntarily lay down my crown."

  "Never! my husband, never shall you do so," exclaimed the queen in greatexcitement. "Never shall my noble and brave king declare that his spiritis crushed and vanquished. Majesty would thereby render itself guilty ofsuicide. For majesty, like life, is a boon sent by Providence, and youare no more allowed to divest yourself of it arbitrarily than to put avoluntary end to your life. And, least of all, are you permitted to doso in times of adversity and danger, for such a course would look likecowardice with which my king and husband assuredly cannot be charged.Charles V. and Christina of Sweden were at liberty to abdicate, for whenthey did so they were at the acme of their power, and yet they everrepented of it; they felt that all nations were scornfully exclaiming:'Behold the faithless, suicidal servant of God! Behold the stigma onthat anointed brow! The crown sanctifies the head that wears it. Butthat coward has dishonored himself, and the glory that God gave him.'Oh, my beloved husband, the nations must never speak in this manner ofyou; the annals of history must never report that you deserted yourpeople when they were oppressed, and that, in order to obtain peace andsafety for yourself, you gave up your country, and cast away your crown.It is true, fortune is imposing grievous burdens on us; but at such atime it behooves a true man to meet adversity with a bold front."

  "Ah, if I were possessed of your unwavering faith and cheerfulness!"said the king, profoundly sighing. "But my hope is gone; our misfortuneshave crushed out not my courage but my belief in a better future."

  "And yet they were necessary that we might one day obtain realhappiness," said Louisa. "Oh, I begin to perceive distinctly that theevents which have afflicted us will redound to our own welfare.Providence is evidently introducing a new era, because the old one hasoutlived itself. We fell asleep on the laurels of Frederick the Great,who was the master-spirit of another century; we did not progress withthe times, and they outstripped us."

  "There must be many changes, I am satisfied, in our administration,"said the king, thoughtfully. "The army must be reorganized, and thosewho in the hour of danger are cowards must be judged with inexorableseverity. Alas! all this will be in vain; I succeed in accomplishingnothing; all my measures turn out to my detriment, and to the advantageof our enemy."

  "It is true," said the queen, sighing, "he has much success. Even ourmost deliberate plans are fruitless. Though the Russians and Prussiansfight like
lions, and are not defeated, they are obliged to evacuate thefield of battle, and the French emperor claims a victory. Nevertheless,it would be blasphemous to say that God was on his side; he is aninstrument of Providence in order to bury that in which life is extinct,but which still clings to that destined to live. We may derive lessonsfrom him, and what he has accomplished ought not to be lost to us. Oh, Ifirmly believe in Providence, and a great moral system ruling the world.I cannot see it, however, in the brutal reign of force, and hence Ibelieve that these times will be succeeded by more prosperous ones. Allgood men hope for them, and the eulogists of the hero of this day mustnot mislead us. All that has happened is not the ultimate order ofthings; it is a severe yet salutary preparation for a new and betterdestiny. We must not delude ourselves, my beloved friend, with the ideathat this is remote; in spite of all obstacles, we must strive to reachit with strength, courage, and cheerfulness. With the mercifulassistance of Providence, we must continue to battle for our honor andour rights!"

  "Yes, be it so!" exclaimed the king, "God is with me, for He has placedyou at my side; He has given me an angel who fills my heart with thatcourage which is based on faith in Him. Oh, forgive my timidity anddespondency; I pledge you my word I will meet the future with a strongheart. Only remain with me, my dearest Louisa; look at me with yourcheering eyes, and inspire my heart with hope. Whenever I falter, remindme of this hour in which I vowed to you to struggle to the last."

  "Thanks, my king and husband!" exclaimed the queen; "whatever mayhappen, let us meet it, united in love, hope, and faith in God!"

  "Yes," said the king; "adversity itself is not devoid of exaltedmoments, and you, my Louisa, have become dearer to me in these days. Iknow now by experience what a treasure you are to me. Let the storm rageoutside, if all is calm within."

  "It is my pride and happiness to possess the love of the best of men,"said the queen; "and though we leave no inheritance to our children, weshall leave them at least the example of our wedded life; let them learnfrom it to be happy in themselves."

  "_Madame la Reine est servie_!" shouted a merry voice behind them; andwhen the queen turned, she saw her son, Crown-Prince Frederick William,who approached her with rosy cheeks and laughing eyes. "Pardon me,dearest parents, for venturing to enter the room without yourpermission, but I longed to salute you, and therefore assumed the dutyof the steward, who was about to announce that dinner is ready."

  "And I suppose my son found this announcement exceedingly interesting,and longed just as much for his dinner as for his parents," exclaimedthe queen, smiling and looking with beaming eyes at her favorite son.

  "Oh, no, no," said the crown prince, laughing, "I thought first of mybeloved parents, but then--yes, I confess the idea of getting my dinneris very agreeable, considering that I have been on the ice for severalhours."

  "Well, my husband," asked the queen, merrily, "shall we comply with thewishes of the young epicure? Shall we permit him to conduct us to thedining-room?"

  "Yes, certainly," said the king, offering his arm to his wife. "Lead theway, M. Steward!" The crown prince assumed a grave air, and, afterbowing to his parents in the reverential manner of a royal steward, hepreceded them with ludicrous strides, and commenced singing in a ringingvoice: "_Immer langsam voran, dass die oesterreichsche landwehrnachkommen kann_."[36]

  [Footnote 36: "Always slowly forward, that the Austrian landwehr may beable to follow,"--a well-known humorous song, ridiculing the slowness ofthe Austrian militia.]

  The king laughed more heartily than he had done for many weeks, whilethe queen looked lovingly at her son who had performed this miracle.