Chapter VI. - THE TEMPTER.

Princess Ulrica was earnestly occupied with considerations of her toilet. Amelia had returned to her room, musing and thoughtful.

There were difficulties in the way of the new role she had resolved to play, and by which she expected to deceive the world. She stood for a moment before the door of her dressing-room, and listened to the voices of her attendants, who were gayly laughing and talking. It was her custom to join them, and take a ready part in their merry sports and jests. She must now, however, deny herself, and put a guard over her heart and lips. Accordingly, with a dark frown on her brow and tightly-compressed lips, she entered the room in which her maids were at that moment arranging her ball toilet for the evening.

„It seems to me that your loud talking is most unseemly,“ said Amelia, in a tone so haughty, so passionate, that the smiles of the two young girls vanished in clouds. „I will be obliged to you if you will complete your work noiselessly, and reserve your folly till you have left my room! And what is that, Mademoiselle Felicien? for what purpose have you prepared these flowers, which I see lying upon your table?“

„Your royal highness, these flowers are for your coiffure, and these bouquets are intended to festoon your dress.“

„How dare you allow yourself to decide upon my toilet, mademoiselle?“

„I have not dared,“ said Felicien, tremblingly; „your royal highness ordered moss roses for your hair, and bouquets of the same for your bosom and your robe.“

„It appears to me,“ said Amelia, imperiously, „that to contradict me, and at the same time assert that which is false, is, to say the least, unbecoming your position. I am not inclined to appear in the toilet of a gardener's daughter. To prove this, I will throw these flowers, which you dare to assert I ordered, from the window; with their strong odor they poison the air.“

With a cruel hand, she gathered up the lovely roses, and hastened to the window. „Look, mademoiselle, these are the flowers which you undertook to prepare for my hair,“ said Amelia, with well-assumed scorn, as she threw the bouquet into the garden which surrounded the castle of Monbijou; „look, mademoiselle.“

Suddenly the princess uttered a low cry, and looked, blushing painfully, into the garden. In her haste, she had not remarked that two gentlemen, at that moment, crossed the great court which led to the principal door of the castle; and the flowers which she had so scornfully rejected, had struck the younger and taller of the gentlemen exactly in the face. He stood completely amazed, and looked questioningly at the window from which this curious bomb had fallen. His companion, however, laughed aloud, and made a profound bow to the princess, who still stood, blushing and embarrassed, at the window.

„From this hour I believe in the legend of the Fairy of the Roses,“ said the elder of the two gentlemen, who was indeed no other than Baron Pollnitz. „Yes, princess, I believe fully, and I would not be at all astonished if your highness should at this moment flutter from the window in a chariot drawn by doves, and cast another shower of blossoms in the face of my friend.“

The princess had found time to recover herself, and to remember the haughty part she was determined to play.

„I hope, baron,“ she said, sternly, „you will not allow yourself to suppose it was my purpose to throw those roses either to your companion or yourself? I wished only to get rid of them.“

She shut the window rudely and noisily, and commanded her attendants to complete her toilet at once. She seated herself sternly before the glass, and ordered her French maid to cover her head with jewels and ribbons.

The two gentlemen still stood in the garden, in earnest conversation.

„This is assuredly an auspicious omen, my friend,“ said Pollnitz to the young officer, who was gazing musingly at the roses he held in his hand. He had raised his eyes from the flowers to the window at which the lovely form of the princess had, for a few moments, appeared.

„Alas!“ said he, sighing, and gazing afar off; „she is so wonderfully beautiful--so lovely; and she is a princess!“

Pollnitz laughed heartily. „One might think that you regretted that fact! Listen to me, my young friend; stand no longer here, in a dream. Come, in place of entering the castle immediately, to pay our respects to the queen-mother, we will take a walk through the garden, that you may allay your raptures and recover your reason.“

He took the arm of the young man, and drew him into a shady, private pathway.

„Now, my dear friend, listen to me, and lay to heart all that I say to you. Accident, or, if you prefer it, Fate brought us together. After all, it seems indeed more than an accident. I had just returned to Berlin, and was about to pay my respects to the queen- mother, when I met you, who at the same time seek an audience, in order to commend yourself to her royal protection. You bear a letter of commendation from my old friend, Count Lottum. All this, of course, excites my curiosity. I ask your name, and learn, to my astonishment, that you are young Von Trenck, the son of the woman who was my first love, and who made me most unhappy by not returning my passion. I assure you, it produces a singular sensation to meet so unexpectedly the son of a first love, whose father, alas! you have not the happiness to be. I feel already that I am prepared to love you as foolishly as I once loved your fair mother.“

„I will not, like my mother, reject your vows,“ said the young officer, smiling, and extending his hand to Pollnitz.

„I hoped as much,“ said Pollnitz; „you shall find a fond father in me, and even to-day I will commence my parental duties. In the first place, what brings you here?“

„To make my fortune--to become a general, or field-marshal, if possible,“ said the young man, laughing.

„How old are you?“

„I am nineteen.“

„You wear the uniform of an officer of the life-guard; the king has, therefore, already promoted you?“

„I was a cadet but eight days,“ said Trenck, proudly. „My step- father, Count Lottum, came with me from Dantzic, and presented me to the king. His majesty received me graciously, and remembered well that I had received, at the examination at Konigsberg, the first prize from his hand.“

„Go on, go on,“ said Pollnitz; „you see I am all ear, and I must know your present position in order to be useful to you.“

„The king, as I have said, received me graciously, even kindly; he made me a cadet in his cavalry corps, and three weeks after, I was summoned before him; he had heard something of my wonderful memory, and he wished to prove me.“

„Well, how did you stand the proof?“

„I stood with the king at the window, and he called over to me quickly the names of fifty soldiers who were standing in the court below, pointing to each man as he called his name. I then repeated to him every name in the same succession, but backward.“

„A wonderful memory, indeed,“ said Pollnitz, taking a pinch of Spanish snuff; „a terrible memory, which would make me shudder if I were your sweetheart!“

„And why?“ said the young officer.

„Because you would hold ever in remembrance all her caprices and all her oaths, and one day, when she no longer loved you, she would be held to a strict account. Well, did the king subject you to further proof?“

„Yes; he gave me the material for two letters, which I dictated at the same time to his secretaries, one in French and one in Latin. He then commanded me to draw the plan of the Hare Meadow, and I did so.“

„Was he pleased?“

„He made me cornet of the guard,“ said Trenck, modestly avoiding a more direct answer.

„I see you are in high favor: in three weeks you are promoted from cadet to lieutenant! quick advancement, which the king, no doubt, signalized by some other act of grace?“

„He sent me two horses from his stable, and when I came to thank him, he gave me a purse containing two hundred 'Fredericks.'„

Pollnitz gave a spring backward. „Thunder! you are indeed in favor! the king gives you presents! Ah, my young friend, I would protect you, but it seems you can patronize me. The king has never made me a present. And what do you desire to-day of the queen-mother?“

„As I am now a lieutenant, I belong to the court circle, and must take part in the court festivals. So the king commanded me to pay my respects to the queen-mother.“

„Ah, the king ordered that?“ said Pollnitz; „truly, young man, the king must destine you for great things--he overloads you with favors. You will make a glittering career, provided you are wise enough to escape the shoals and quicksands in your way. I can tell you, there will be adroit and willing hands ready to cast you down; those who are in favor at court have always bitter enemies.“

„Yes, I am aware that I have enemies,“ said Trenck; „more than once I have already been charged with being a drunkard and a rioter; but the king, happily, only laughed at the accusations.“

„He is really in high favor, and I would do well to secure his friendship,“ thought Pollnitz; „the king will also be pleased with me if I am kind to him.“ He held out his hand to the young officer, and said, with fatherly tenderness: „From this time onward, when your enemies shall please to attack you, they shall not find you alone; they will find me a friend ever at your side. You are the son of the only woman I ever loved--I will cherish you in my heart as my first-born!“

„And I receive you as my father with my whole heart,“ said Trenck; „be my father, my friend, and my counsellor.“

„The court is a dangerous and slippery stage, upon which a young and inexperienced man may lightly slip, unless held up by a strong arm. Many will hate you because you are in favor, and the hate of many is like the sting of hornets: one sting is not fatal, but a general attack sometimes brings death. Make use, therefore, of your sunshine, and fix yourself strongly in an immovable position.“

„The great question is, what shall be my first step to secure it?“

„How! you ask that question, and you are nineteen years old, six feet high, have a handsome face, a splendid figure, an old, renowned name, and are graciously received at court! Ah! youngster, I have seen many arrive at the highest honors and distinctions, who did not possess half your glittering qualities. If you use the right means at the right time, you cannot fail of success.“

„What do you consider the best means?“

„The admiration and favor of women! You must gain the love of powerful and influential women. Oh, you are terrified, and your brow is clouded! perhaps, unhappily, you are already in love?“

„No!“ said Frederick von Trenck, violently. „I have never been in love. I dare say more than that: I have never kissed the lips of a woman.“

Pollnitz gazed at him with an expression of indescribable amazement. „How!“ said he; „you are nineteen, and assert that you have never embraced a woman?“ He gave a mocking and cynical laugh.

„Ordinary women have always excited my disgust,“ said the young officer, simply; „and until this day I have never seen a woman who resembled my ideal.“

„So, then, the woman with whom you will now become enamored will receive your first tender vows?“

„Yes, even so.“

„And you wear the uniform of the life-guard--you are a lieutenant!“ cried Pollnitz with tragical pathos, and extending his arms toward heaven. „But how?--what did you say?--that until to-day you had seen no woman who approached your ideal?“

„I said that.“

„And to-day--?“

„Well, it seems to me, we have both seen an angel to-day!--an angel, whom you have wronged, in giving her the common name of fairy.“

„Aha! the Princess Amelia,“ said Pollnitz. „You will love this young maiden, my friend.“

„Then, indeed, shall I be most unhappy! She is a royal princess, and my love must ever be unrequited.“

„Who told you that? who told you that this little Amelia was only a princess? I tell you she is a young girl with a heart of fire. Try to awake her--she only sleeps! A happy event has already greeted you. The princess has fixed your enraptured gaze upon her lovely form, by throwing or rather shooting roses at you. Perhaps the god of Love has hidden his arrow in a rose. You thought Amelia had only pelted your cheek with roses, but the arrow has entered your soul. Try your luck, young man; gain the love of the king's favorite sister, and you will be all-powerful.“

The young officer looked at him with confused and misty eyes.

„You do not dare to suggest,“ murmured he, „that--“

„I dare to say,“ cried Pollnitz, interrupting him, „that you are in favor with the brother; why may you not also gain the sister's good graces? I say further, that I will assist you, and I will ever be at your side, as a loving friend and a sagacious counsellor.“

„Do you know, baron, that your wild words open a future to my view before which my brain and heart are reeling? How shall I dare to love a princess, and seek her love in return?“

„As to the first point, I think you have already dared. As to the second, I think your rare beauty and wondrous accomplishments might justify such pretensions.“

„You know I never can become the husband of a princess.“

„You are right,“ said Pollnitz, laughing aloud; „you are as innocent as a girl of sixteen! you have this moment fallen headlong in love, and begin at once to think of the possibility of marriage, as if love had no other refuge than marriage, and yet I think I have read that the god of Love and the god of Hymen are rarely seen together, though brothers; in point of fact, they despise and flee from each other. But after all, young man, if your love is virtuous and requires the priest's blessing, I think that is possible. Only a few years since the widowed margravine, the aunt of the king, married the Count Hoditz. What the king's aunt accomplished, might be possible to the king's sister.“

„Silence, silence!“ murmured Frederick von Trenck; „your wild words cloud my understanding like the breath of opium; they make me mad, drunk. You stand near me like the tempter, showing to my bewildered eyes more than all the treasures of this world, and saying, 'All these things will I give thee'; but alas! I am not the Messiah. I have not the courage to cast down and trample under foot your devilish temptations. My whole soul springs out to meet them, and shouts for joy. Oh, sir, what have you done? You have aroused my youth, my ambition, my passion; you have filled my veins with fire, and I am drunk with the sweet but deadly poison you have poured into my ears.“

„I have assured you that I will be your father. I will lead you, and at the right moment I will point out the obstacles against which your inexperienced feet might stumble,“ said Pollnitz.

The stony-hearted and egotistical old courtier felt not the least pity for this poor young man into whose ear, as Trenck had well said, he was pouring this fatal poison. Frederick von Trenck, the favorite of the king, was nothing more to him than a ladder by which he hoped to mount. He took the arm of the young officer and endeavored to soothe him with cool and moderate words, exhorting him to be quiet and reasonable. They turned their steps toward the castle, in order to pay their respects to the queen-mother. The hour of audience was over, and the two gentlemen lounged arm in arm down the street.

„Let us go toward the palace,“ said Pollnitz. „I think we will behold a rare spectacle, a crowd of old wigs who have disguised themselves as savans. To-day, the first sitting of the Academy of Arts and Sciences takes place, and the celebrated President Maupertius will open the meeting in the name of the king. This is exactly the time for the renowned worthies to leave the castle. Let us go and witness this comical show.“

The two gentlemen found it impossible to carry out their plans. A mighty crowd of men advanced upon them at this moment, and compelled them to stand still. Every face in the vast assemblage was expectant. Certainly some rare exhibition was to be seen in the circle which the crowd had left open in their midst. There were merry laughing and jesting and questioning amongst each other, as to what all this could mean, and what proclamation that could be which the drummer had just read in the palace garden.

„It will be repeated here in a moment,“ said a voice from the crowd, which increased every moment, and in whose fierce waves Pollnitz and Trenck were forcibly swallowed up. Pressed, pushed onward by powerful arms, resistance utterly in vain, the two companions found themselves at the same moment in the open space just as the drummer broke into the circle, and, playing his drumsticks with powerful and zealous hands, he called the crowd to order.

The drum overpowered the wild outcries and rude laughter of the vast assemblage, and soon silenced them completely. Every man held his breath to hear what the public crier, who had spoken so much to the purpose by his drum, had now to declare by word of mouth. He drew from his pocket a large document sealed with the state seal, and took advantage of the general quiet to read the formal introductory to all such proclamations: „We, Frederick, King of Prussia,“ etc., etc.

On coming to the throne, Frederick had abolished all that long and absurd list of titles and dignities which had heretofore adorned the royal declarations. Even that highest of all titles, „King by the grace of God,“ had Frederick the Second set aside. He declared that, in saying King of Prussia, all was said. His father had called himself King of Prussia, by the grace of God; he, therefore, would call himself simply the King of Prussia, and if he did not boast of God's grace, it was because he would prove by deeds, not words, that he possessed it.

After this little digression we will return to our drummer, who now began to read, or rather to cry out the command of the king.

„We, Frederick, King of Prussia, order and command that no one of our subjects shall, under any circumstances, lend gold to our master of ceremonies, whom we have again taken into our service, or assist him in any way to borrow money. Whoever, therefore, shall, in despite of this proclamation, lend money to said Baron Pollnitz, must bear the consequences; they shall make no demand for repayment, and the case shall not be considered in court. Whosoever shall disobey this command, shall pay a fine of fifty thalers, or suffer fifteen days' imprisonment.“

A wild shout of laughter from the entire assembly was the reply to this proclamation, in which the worldly-wise Pollnitz joined heartily, while his young companion had not the courage to raise his eyes from the ground.

„The old courtier will burst with rage,“ said a gay voice from the crowd.

„He is a desperate borrower,“ cried another.

„He has richly deserved this public shame and humiliation from the king,“ said another.

„And you call this a humiliation, a merited punishment!“ cried Pollnitz. „Why, my good friends, can you not see that this is an honor which the king shows to his old and faithful servant? Do you not know that by this proclamation he places Baron Pollnitz exactly on the same footing with the princes of the blood, with the prince royal?“

„How is that? explain that to us,“ cried a hundred voices in a breath.

„Well, it is very simple. Has not the king recently renewed the law which forbids, under pain of heavy punishment, the princes of the blood to borrow money? Is not this law printed in our journals, and made public in our collections of laws?“

„Yes, yes! so it is,“ said many voices simultaneously.

„Well, certainly, our exalted sovereign, who loves his royal brothers so warmly, would not have cast shame upon their honor. Certainly he would not have wished to humiliate them, and has not done so. The king, as you must now plainly perceive, has acted toward Baron Pollnitz precisely as he has done to his brothers.“

„And that is, without doubt, a great honor for him,“ cried many voices. No one guessed the name of the speaker who was so fortunately at hand to defend the honor of the master of ceremonies. A general murmur of applause was heard, and even the public crier stood still and listened to the eloquent unknown speaker, and forgot for a while to hurry off to the next street-corner and proclaim the royal mandate.

„Besides, this law is 'sans consequence,' as we are accustomed to say,“ said Pollnitz. „Who would not, in spite of the law, lend our princes gold if they had need of it? And who has right to take offence if the state refuses to pay the debts which the princes make as private persons? The baron occupies precisely the same position. The king, who has honored the newly returned baron with two highly important trusts, master of ceremonies and master of the robes, will frighten his rather lavish old friend from making debts. He chooses, therefore, the same means by which he seeks to restrain his royal brothers, and forbids all persons to lend gold to Pollnitz: as he cannot well place this edict in the laws of the land, he is obliged to make it known by the drummer. And now,“ said the speaker, who saw plainly the favorable impression which his little oration had made-- „and now, best of friends, I pray you to make way and allow me to pass through the crowd; I must go at once to the palace to thank his majesty for the special grace and distinction which he has showered upon me to-day. I, myself, am Baron Pollnitz!“

An outcry of amazement burst from the lips of hundreds, and all who stood near Pollnitz stepped aside reverentially, in order to give place to the distinguished gentleman who was treated by the king exactly as if he were a prince of the blood. Pollnitz stepped with a friendly smile through the narrow way thus opened for him, and greeted, with his cool, impertinent manner those who respectfully stood back.

„I think I have given the king a Roland for his Oliver,“ he said to himself. „I have broken the point from the arrow which was aimed at me, and it glanced from my bosom without wounding me. Public opinion will be on my side from this time, and that which was intended for my shame has crowned me with honor. It was, nevertheless, a harsh and cruel act, for which I will one day hold a reckoning with Frederick. Ah, King Frederick! King Frederick! I shall not forget, and I will have my revenge; my cards are also well arranged, and I hold important trumps. I will wait yet a little while upon our lovelorn shepherd, this innocent and tender Trenck, who is in a dangerous way about the little princess.“

Pollnitz waited for Trenck, who had with difficulty forced his way through the crowd and hastened after him.