by L. Mühlbach
CHAPTER XIII.
THE SUPPLIANT PRINCES.
The hour when Napoleon was to give audience had come, and the ministersof the petty German princes, who had hitherto vainly implored Talleyrandto procure them admission to the emperor, were at length to accomplishtheir purpose, and to receive from the mouth of the conqueror himselfthe decision of their fate. He was in his cabinet pacing with rapidsteps, while Talleyrand was standing at the desk, and with a pencilentering a few notes in his memorandum-book.
"No," said the emperor, sullenly, "I shall have no mercy on these pettyGerman princes, and their miserable whining shall not shake myresolution. Frederick II., who uttered the most cutting sarcasms againstthese petty sovereigns, would have done much better if he had destroyedthese grubs in the tree of royalty--if he had made a new crown fromtheir small coronets. As he failed to do so, I shall not imitate theexample set by him, and my brother Jerome shall wear the crown whichshall make him a German king."
"Your majesty, then, will adopt the plan of a new kingdom in NorthernGermany, which I had the honor to draw up?"
"Yes, but I shall somewhat extend the boundaries, which are too narrowas proposed by you. How much of Hesse, for instance, did you incorporatewith the new kingdom?"
"Sire, the entire northern part of Hesse, so that the cities of Marburgand Hersfeld would form the southern boundary of the new kingdom, andthat Cassel would be a good capital for the new king."
"And you would leave Hanau and Fulda to that perfidious elector?" askedNapoleon. "No, no, you are too generous. The Elector of Hesse and hiswhole family deserve to be annihilated, and I am not willing to havemercy on him or on the other petty tyrants. Brunswick, Nassau, Cassel,are all friends of England; they never will be faithful allies of ours;it is best, therefore, to depose them."
"The elector has already sent hither two ambassadors, whom he hasauthorized to give us the most fervent assurances of unwavering fealty,"said Talleyrand, smiling.
"I know the promises of these legitimate princes!" exclaimed Napoleon,shrugging his shoulders. "I know what they are worth. So long as theyare in prosperous circumstances, their heart is full of haughtiness andmalice. There are, in their eyes, no rights of man--only rights ofprinces; no subjects--only slaves. But no sooner are calamitiesapproaching than they grow discouraged, and in their cowardice theydegrade themselves before their people so far as to flatter them in themost fulsome and abject manner, making promises to them which they areneither able nor willing to fulfil. I have been told that theseloquacious Germans, in their impotent wrath, have called me the 'Scourgeof God!' Well, then, they shall be right. To these petty princes who areplaying the part of great sovereigns, and perverting the _role_ ofroyalty and of the throne into a miserable farce--to these caricaturesof sovereignty--I will be a 'scourge of God!' I will scourge them todeath! Who are now waiting in the anteroom?"
"Sire, there are the two ambassadors of the Elector of Hesse, M. deMalsburg and M. de Lepel; Chancellor von Mueller, ambassador of theDuchess of Weimar; M. de Muenchhausen, ambassador of the Duke ofBrunswick; and, finally, a deputation of Poles, who have come to dohomage to your majesty."
"I shall bid the Polish ambassadors welcome," exclaimed Napoleon,emphatically, "and make to these gentlemen many promises representingthe most brilliant prospects. An insurrection in Poland just now wouldbe highly conducive to the success of my plans. I will try to bring itabout by all the means at my disposal, and accomplish my purpose. Hence,I will even go in person to Warsaw to fan the enthusiasm of the Poles."
"Sire," said Talleyrand, "that will be throwing down the gauntlet to theAustrian government, and if it intends to preserve its Polish provinces,it will have to take it up."
"We must take care that Austria does not regard as a gauntlet the bonethat I mean to throw to the Poles," said Napoleon. "You will instruct myambassador at Vienna to dispel carefully all such suppositions andapprehensions, by repairing to the Emperor of Austria and assuring himthat I do not intend to fulfil the promises which I am making to thePoles; that, on the contrary, in case a rising should take place inPoland, I will take care not to let it reach Galicia, but to confine itto the Polish provinces of Russia and Prussia, provided the EmperorFrancis maintain his present neutrality. Send instructions to-day tothis effect to my minister in Vienna. And now I will receive theambassadors."
"Whom will your majesty admit first?"
"Introduce in the first place the gentlemen from Hesse," said Napoleon,entering the small reception-room contiguous to his cabinet. Talleyrandcrossed this room and entered the adjoining audience-hall, in which theplenipotentiaries had already waited for an hour. He beckoned the twoambassadors of Hesse to approach, and introduced them, by virtue of hisposition as minister of foreign affairs, into the reception-room, wherethe emperor was waiting for them.
"Sire," he said, "the ambassadors of the Elector of Hesse." Napoleonreturned only a careless nod to their deep obeisances, and went to meetthem.
"I admire the Elector of Hesse, because he dares to remind me ofhimself," said the emperor, sternly. "He has been intriguing against metoo long to suppose that I would deal leniently with him. I formerlymade friendly offers to him, and requested him to join the Confederationof the Rhine. Then it was time for him to prove his friendship andattachment to me, and to stand by me as a faithful ally. But at thattime he still hoped that I would succumb in the struggle with Prussia;the tirades of the officers of the Prussian guard resounded in his earslike the music of a triumph already obtained over me, and drowned thevoice of France. But he would not side openly with Prussia either; hewould remain neutral until he could distinctly see which side would bevictorious. Equivocal in his words and actions, he thought only of thesafety of his person and his riches, and not of his country, his people,and his honor! Let him now receive the punishment due to his duplicity.I shall take possession of his states and appropriate his crown. TheElector of Hesse has ceased to reign."
"Sire," said M. de Lepel, in a timid, suppliant voice, "the electordares to appeal to the generosity of your majesty. Marshal Mortier, withhis forces, occupies Cassel and the Hessian states, and declares them tobe French possessions. The elector and his crown-prince only escapedimprisonment by flight."
"They have been but too lucky to be allowed to escape," exclaimedNapoleon, angrily. "It is really time to make a rigorous example foronce, and to prove to the sovereigns, who regard war as a game ofhazard, that it may become very serious, and that they may lose theircrown and life by it. That would induce them to weigh well theconsequences of war in their councils of state before taking up arms."
"Sire, the elector, our master, repents of what he has done, andacknowledges that he was wrong," said M. de Malsburg, humbly. "Hishighness is ready to bow to every thing, and to submit to any conditionsyour majesty may be pleased to impose on him."
"What does that mean?" asked Napoleon. "What does your elector mean byconditions? I do not remember having imposed any conditions on him, forthose which I offered six months ago were annulled by the events thathave since taken place."
"But the elector hopes that your majesty, nevertheless, will rememberthem, and show favor instead of deserved punishment. Your majesty, by sosublime an act of generosity, would forever attach our master and hiswhole house to the French empire. You would have no more faithful anddevoted servant in Germany than the Elector of Hesse."
"Sire," said Talleyrand, approaching suddenly, "I am free to intercedefor the Elector of Hesse, who is so humbly imploring your majesty tohave mercy on him!"
"Sire, have mercy on our unfortunate master, who is wandering about inforeign lands, solitary and deserted!" exclaimed M. de Malsburg, in atremulous voice.
"Have mercy on our state, and on our people, who are devoted to theirlegitimate sovereign," said M. de Lepel. "Sire, our soldiers have beendisarmed and disbanded; our treasury seized, and a Frenchgovernor-general is carrying on the administration of our country in thename of your majesty; and still the sovereign and the people hope th
atNapoleon will have mercy on them--Napoleon, who is called the Great, notonly because he knows how to conquer states, but to be generous. Sire,the sword of the conqueror builds only visible thrones that may perish;but the magnanimity of the conqueror builds in the hearts of men thronesthat are imperishable."
"Ah, I should not like to count too much on the throne erected in theheart of the Elector of Hesse," said Napoleon, shrugging his shoulders.
"Sire, will not your majesty listen at least to the promises which thesegentlemen are authorized to make in the name of the elector?" askedTalleyrand.
"Well, what are they?" asked Napoleon. "What else have you to say to mein the name of your sovereign?"
"Sire, the elector is ready to submit at discretion to your majesty,"said M. de Lepel. "Above all, he will hasten to join the Confederationof the Rhine. Besides, he is ready to pay a contribution--to surrenderthe fortresses in his states to the French, and to incorporate twelvethousand men with the French army. He only implores your majesty, inconsideration of all these sacrifices, to leave him his sovereignty, andthe possession of his titles, honors, and hereditary states."
"No," ejaculated the emperor. "No; he has forfeited his sovereignty; heis unworthy of being a prince. There is no dynasty in Germany which hasbeen a more persistent enemy to France than that of Hesse-Cassel. Yourmaster disdained to grasp the hand which I offered to him; the swordhas decided now between him and me. Fate urges me to inflict upon himthe punishment he has deserved by his misdeeds. Do not tell me theHessian people sympathize with the fate of the elector, and that theyare fondly attached to their legitimate sovereign. It is not true! Thepeople of Hesse are nursing the elector, and they are right in doing so.He sold the blood of his subjects to England for many years, so that shemight wage war against us in both hemispheres. To this trade in humanbeings he is indebted for the riches which he has amassed, and withwhich he has now fled from his country. Can you deny this, gentlemen?Can you deny, further, that the elector bitterly reproached one of hisgenerals, who commanded the troops sold to England in America, withhaving held back his men, and with not having led them mercilesslyenough into the fire? Do not the Hessians know that the electorupbraided him in this manner only because he received twenty-five ducatsfor every soldier who was killed in battle? Well, why do you not speak?Tell me that this is untrue--tell me that thousands of mothers are notweeping for their sons who have fallen in America, and whose graves theywill never behold--that able-bodied men were not compelled by thousandsto leave their country as sold slaves, and that the imprecations ofthose leaving did not unite with the curses of those remaining, in orderone day to become at the throne of God a terrible accusation against himwho ruined his states and his people, and enriched himself with theblood and tears of his subjects. Why do you not speak? Dare to say againthe Hessian people love their sovereign, and long for his return?Speak!"
His voice rolled like thunder; his eyes darted fiery glances at the twogentlemen, who were standing before him, pale and dismayed, and whodared not look in the face of the emperor. Even Talleyrand, by aninvoluntary instinct of fear, had withdrawn several steps to the door,and his face, usually so calm and imperturbable, was betraying someapprehensions lest this terrible storm might be discharged on him, too,and some of its bolts hurled at his head.
The two envoys endeavored to utter a few words, but they spoke in so lowa voice that no one understood them. They felt that the eyes of Napoleonwere still fixed on them, rendering them confused and incapable ofmaking any reply.
A smile, as a sunbeam, flashed through the clouds on the emperor's face,and his glance became milder. "I see at least that you are unable todeny the truth," he said. "Go home, gentlemen! Tell your master hiscareer is finished, and that he has ceased to reign. Tell the people ofHesse, however, that they shall be happy and prosperous henceforward.Delivered from those cruel and infamous compulsory services which theelector was in the habit of imposing upon his subjects, the people willnow be able to devote their exclusive attention to the culture of theirfields; their taxes shall be diminished, and they shall be ruled inaccordance with generous and liberal principles. Tell the people ofHesse what I have said to you! Go!"
He waved his hand imperiously toward the door and turned his back tothem. With drooping heads, pale and trembling, MM. de Lepel and deMalsburg left the room. Napoleon stepped to the window, and wasvigorously drumming a march on the rattling panes.
"Sire," said the feeble voice of Talleyrand behind him, "sire, theambassador of the Duke of Brunswick."
"The Duke of Brunswick?" asked Napoleon, quickly turning to thegentleman who was standing by the side of Talleyrand, and who boweddeeply as soon as the emperor fixed his eyes upon him. "The Duke ofBrunswick?" repeated Napoleon. "I do not know any Duke of Brunswick. Itmay be that I shall remember him after, a while. Let the dear duke waituntil then. I have to attend to more important matters than to quarrelabout antiquated and lost titles. Who else desires an audience?"
"Sire, the ambassador of the Duchess of Weimar," said Talleyrand.
"Introduce him," commanded Napoleon, "and in the mean time, sir, explainto me," he said to M. de Muenchhausen, "--to me who is the Duke ofBrunswick."
"Sire, he is a mortally wounded, a blind old man, who implores yourmajesty to permit him to die quietly in his capital, and sleep in thetomb of his ancestors," said the ambassador, deeply affected. "But inorder to die calmly, he implores your majesty to give him the assurancethat you will not deprive his son of the inheritance of his ancestors,and that you will not avenge upon the son the misfortunes of the father.Sire, the dying Duke of Brunswick sends me to recommend his family andhis state to your majesty."
"The ambassador of the Duchess of Weimar," said Talleyrand, enteringwith M. de Mueller.
The emperor greeted with a rapid nod the envoy of Weimar, and thenturned once more to that of the unhappy Duke of Brunswick.
"I know of no Duke of Brunswick," said Napoleon, sternly. "His name andtitles have been buried on the battle-field of Auerstadt. What would hewho sent you have to say if I were to inflict on the city of Brunswickthat subversion with which, fifteen years ago, he threatened the capitalof the great nation which I command?[22] The Duke of Brunswick hasdisavowed the insensate manifesto of 1792; one would have thought thatwith age reason had begun to get the better of his passions, and yet hehas again lent the authority of his name to the follies of hot-headedyouth, which have brought ruin upon Prussia. To him it belonged to putwomen, courtiers, and young officers, into their proper places, and tomake all feel the authority of his age, of his understanding, andposition. But he had not the strength to do so, and the Prussianmonarchy is demolished, and the states of Brunswick are in my power.Tell him that I shall show him that consideration which is due to anunfortunate general, justly celebrated, struck by that fate which mayreach us all; but that I cannot recognize a sovereign prince in ageneral of the Prussian army. After his conduct toward France he cannotexpect me to exercise toward him a ridiculous and undeservedgenerosity."
[Footnote 22: When the Duke of Brunswick, at the head of the army of theKing of Prussia, took the field against the French, he said, in amanifesto to his troops, "We will conquer and burn the rapacious city ofParis."]
The ambassador of Brunswick withdrew, sighing, and with tearfuleyes.[23] The emperor looked gloomily at him till he had disappeared.
[Footnote 23: As soon as M. de Muenchhausen returned to Brunswick andcommunicated to the unfortunate duke the utter failure of his missionand Napoleon's threatening reply, the mortally wounded old man left hiscapital and state, in order not to run the additional risk of beingtaken prisoner by the French. On leaving his palace, carried on a litterby his faithful servants, he was heard to wail in a low voice, "_Quellehonte! quelle honte!_" and the tears burst from the sockets of hisruined eyes. The Duke of Brunswick had gone by way of Celle, Hamburg,and Altona, to Ottensen, a village on Danish soil. But since the day onwhich he had been compelled to leave the palace of his ancestors and hisstate as a fugi
tive, he would take no food; he would not support theburden of life any more--death by starvation was to deliver him from hissufferings. It was in vain that his servants and his faithful physicianimplored him to desist from this fatal purpose; he remained immovable.Only once the supplications of his physician succeeded in persuading himto eat an oyster. Formerly oysters had been a favorite dish of the duke,and they excited his appetite even now. But scarcely had he tasted itwhen he repented of his weakness, and his fixed purpose to die of hungerreturned as intensely as ever. He spit out the oyster and cried, "Man,what are you doing? You give me my eyes to eat!" Henceforward it wasimpossible to shake his determination. He died after long, excruciatingsufferings, on the 10th of November, 1806, at Ottensen. His remainswere brought back to Brunswick on the 10th of November, 1810, by his sonand successor, Duke Frederick William, so famous as commander of theCorps of Vengeance.]
"And now, Talleyrand, I will go to greet the envoys of Poland," he said,taking his hat, and advancing a few steps. But at that moment his eyes,as if accidentally, seemed to behold M. de Mueller, who was standing bythe side of Talleyrand. "Ah, I forgot the ambassador of the Duchess ofWeimar. Well, perhaps it would have been fortunate for you if I hadforgotten you. For when remembering you, I must remember the arroganceand obstinacy of that little duke who dared to oppose me and endeavoredto frustrate my will."
"Sire," said M. de Mueller, "the duke believed that his honor, his duty,and his rank required him not to act contrary to military fealty. He wasconnected with Prussia by virtue of military treaties of long years'standing; hence, he believed it incumbent on him to adhere to them evenwhen the King of Prussia, to the profound personal regret of the duke,entered into open hostilities against France."
"Ah, bah! treaties!" ejaculated Napoleon. "I tell you, your duke had nothis senses about him when he dared to oppose me. This is a good time forany prince to lose his states in a moment. You have just seen how I haveacted in the case of the Duke of Brunswick. I shall have no mercy onthose who oppose me and dare to bid me defiance! I will drive thesewolves back into the swamps of Italy, whence they came!" Throwing hishat with an angry gesture on the floor, the emperor added in a loudvoice, "Like this hat, I will crush them, so that no one in Germany willever think of them. I feel really tempted to treat your prince in thesame manner!"
"Sire, your majesty, however, condescended to lend a favorable ear tothe prayers of the Duchess of Weimar," said the ambassador, in a timidvoice.
"It is true," said Napoleon, "the duchess is a noble lady; if I pardonher husband, it is only for her sake, and because she is a sister of aprincess closely related to me. But you ought not to rely too much on myforbearance and generosity. If the duke persists any longer in hisresistance--if it be true that he has not yet left the Prussianservice--I take back the promise I gave the duchess, and your duke shalllearn what it is to oppose me!"
"Sire," said M. de Mueller, "the duchess sent me hither in order toinform your majesty that her husband has left the Prussian service, andwill return to Weimar to occupy himself only with the welfare of his ownstate. She ventures now to remind your majesty of your promise toforgive the duke and leave him in possession of his inheritance."
"Well, if that be so, I shall fulfil my promise," said Napoleon, in amilder voice. "I shall not deprive your master of his sovereignty; but,as a matter of course, he will have to submit to some sacrifices. Ishall communicate my wishes concerning this point to my minister, M. deTalleyrand, and he will inform you of them. Do not fail to give the dukedistinctly to understand that he is indebted for his state and politicalexistence solely to the respect I feel for his wife and her sister, theMargravine of Baden." The conqueror nodded to the envoy and walkedtoward the door leading into the audience-hall. Talleyrand quicklypicked up the emperor's hat from the floor, and carrying it to him,said, "Sire, you have lost your hat."
Napoleon smiled. "Well," he said, "now-a-days, when so many lose theirheads and their crowns, a man may be pardoned for once losing his hat.Come, accompany me to the good, enthusiastic Poles!"
