Chapter VI. - THE WHITE SALOON.
The queen had no suspicion of all that had happened in the chambers of the king; she had not observed the absence of the Tobacco Club, and after having made the grand tour of the saloons, she seated herself at the card-table.
Her majesty had no idea that her husband was free from pain, and had left his arm-chair; she was, therefore, gay and careless, filled with a sense of freedom and power. The cruel eye of Frederick William was not bent upon her to look her down, and cast a veil of humility over the sparkling diamonds which adorned her brow; no, she was to-night entirely herself--every inch a queen! proud and happy, smiling and majestic. Rejoicing in her own greatness and glory, she was still amiable and obliging to this great crowd of devoted, submissive, flattering, smiling men, who surrounded her; never had she been so gracious, never so queenly. As we have said, she had seated herself at the card-table, and the margrafin Maria Dorothea and the English and French ambassadors were her partners; behind her chair stood her two maids of honor, to whom she now and then addressed a word, or sent them to look after the young princesses, who were dancing in the adjoining room, and giving themselves up merrily to the pleasures of the evening. Suddenly the music ceased, and a strange, unaccustomed silence reigned throughout the rooms.
The queen was arranging the cards, and turned smilingly to one of her maids of honor, commanding her as soon as the dance was ended to lead the princesses to her side; she then gave her attention to the game, when suddenly the Princess Amelia, pale and terrified, rushed hastily to her mother, and whispered a few words in her ear.
Sophia Dorothea uttered a low cry of terror, and exclaimed: „The king! my God, the king! he seems very angry!“ said the princess; „do not let him see your diamonds.“ The partners of the queen sat in respectful silence, waiting for her to play; she dashed her cards upon the table, removed her necklace and bracelets hastily, and thrust the glittering heap into her dress pocket.[2]
[2] See Thiebault.
„Remove my long ear-rings,“ she whispered to Amelia, and while the princess obeyed the command, the queen took her cards from the table. The glory was departed; the diamonds were hiding timidly in her pocket, and the fire of her eye was quenched.
The king was there; Sophia Dorothea was no longer a royal queen, but a trembling, dependent woman, cowering before the rage of her husband. The partners of the queen sat quietly with downcast eyes, and did not appear to see the rash change in the toilet of her majesty, still seemingly waiting for the play of the queen. Sophia played a queen, Lord Hastings played the king.
„Lost!“ said her majesty, „so must the queen ever lose when the king comes; but it is always a comfort,“ she said, with a bitter smile, „to be overcome only by a king.“ She played on quietly, though she knew that the king was already in the door of the room and watching her closely.
As the king stepped forward and called her name, she rose and advanced toward him with an expression of joyful surprise.
„Ah, my husband, what a great pleasure you have prepared for us!“ she said smiling; „it is most amiable of your majesty to glorify this feast with your presence.“
„I come, however,“ said the king, in a rude, harsh voice, and thrusting the queen's arm in his own, „to cast gloom upon this fete; it is good and necessary in the midst of tumultuous earthly pleasures to be reminded of the fleeting vanity of all sublunary things; and to still the voluptuous music with prayer, I am come to administer this medicine to your vain and sin-sick soul. Come with me, you there!“ said the king, turning his head backward to the courtiers, who were gathered in silent and frightened groups. „You there, follow us!“ He dragged the queen forward; silently the procession of richly-adorned guests followed the royal pair, no one knew where.
The queen had in vain implored the king to make known his purpose. This long procession, adorned with flowers, diamonds, uniforms, and orders, had a gay and festal appearance; you might well suppose them wedding guests on their way to church. The principal actors on this occasion, however, did not promise to be a happy pair.
The king looked steadily, with a frowning brow and tightly-compressed lips, right before him; the queen, wan and trembling, turned her eyes anxiously from side to side, seeking everywhere some new danger, some new terror prepared for her. The procession stepped silently and earnestly through the dressing-rooms, odorous with flowers; through the illuminated antechamber; further on through the corridors and up the wide stair steps; onward still through long passages till they reached the great doors of the White Saloon, which Frederick had built and adorned.
„We have arrived,“ said the king, opening the door, and leading in the queen. Suddenly Sophia Dorothea uttered a cry of horror, and fell backwards; behind her stood the curious, astonished, and shocked courtiers, pressing themselves hastily through the door of the saloon.
„Two coffins!“ murmured the queen, with horror; her timid glance rested first upon the solemn coffins, then wandered anxiously to the lofty, imposing marble statues of the prince electors, who, in solemn rest, in this chamber of the dead, seemed to hold a watch over the coffins of the living.
„Yes, two coffins,“ said the king--“our coffins, Sophia; and I resolved in this hour to show them to you and the assembled court, that this solemn warning might arouse you all from your unholy and sinful lusts. Death must strike at your heart to awaken it from voluptuous sleep and cause you to look within. In these coffins we will soon rest, and all earthly vanity and glory will be at an end. No one will fear my glance or my crutch; no one will compliment the beautiful toilet of the queen, or admire her diamonds; dust will return to dust, and the king and the queen be nothing more than food for worms!“
„Not so,“ said Sophia, whose noble and proud heart felt humbled by this pious grovelling of her husband; „not so, we will be more than dust and food for worms. The dust of common mortals will be scattered in every direction by the hand of Time, and over their graves will History walk with destroying feet; but she will remain with us and will gather our dust, and build therewith a monument to our memory; when our bodies of flesh and blood are placed in the vault of our ancestors, our forms will arise again with limbs of marble and bosoms without hearts. Look, my husband, at these statues of your exalted ancestors; they have also gone down into the vaults, but their marble forms have the best places in our splendid rooms; perhaps they listen to our words and behold our deeds.“
Whilst the queen spoke, her countenance was illuminated with royal energy and beauty; she was now, indeed, truly imperial, without the aid of diamond coronets. The queen was herself again; she had conquered her womanish fears; she felt herself not only the wife of Frederick, but the sister of the king of England, the mother of the future king.
But Frederick, in what he considered his holy penitential mood, was made angry by her self-possession, her proudly-erected head; he felt that this soul had made itself free from his heavy yoke, and claimed and enjoyed a separate existence; but she should acknowledge him again as her lord, and he bowed down with humble penitence. The queen should become the woman, the obedient wife; had not the Bible said, and „he shall rule over thee“?
„So, then, let our ancestors behold how we try our coffins before them,“ said the king, placing his hand heavily on the shoulder of the queen; „the world knows that diamonds become you, and that I, in my uniform, am a fine-looking fellow; let us see now how our coffins will clothe us!?
„What do you mean, my king?“ said Sophia, fixing her trembling glance upon her husband.
„I mean that we will see if we can take our places with dignity and worthily in our coffins; that we will do to-day in sport what we must hereafter do in solemn earnest.“
„This is indeed a cruel jest,“ said the queen.
„Oh, yes, to the children of this world every thing seems cruel which reminds them of death and the fleeting nature of all earthly joys,“ said the king, „but such a warning is good and healthy to the soul, and if we would accustom ourselves from time to time to leave the ballroom and rest awhile in our coffins, we would, without doubt, lead more holy and earnest lives. Lay yourself, therefore, in your coffin, Sophia; it will be to your soul's advantage, and my eyes will see a picture which, praised be God, you can never behold. I shall see you in your coffin.“
„Oh, you are younger than I, my husband; you will surely see me buried; it is not therefore necessary to put me to this trial.“
„Conquer thy soul, and make it quiet and humble,“ said the king; „we have come hither to try our coffins, and we will try them!“
„The king had a feverish attack of piety to-day. I would not have come if I had known the intentions of your majesty,“ said the queen.
„You would have come as I willed it,“ murmured the king, while his cheeks glowed with anger and his eye flashed fire.
Sophia saw these symptoms of a rising storm, and she knew that all restraints would be removed if she resisted longer. She called with a commanding tone to one of her maids of honor, and said proudly:
„Reach me your hand, duchess; I am weary, and will for awhile rest upon this bed, of a new and uncommon form.“
With the appearance and nobility of a truly royal soul, she raised her robe a little, lifted her foot over the edge of the coffin, and placed it firmly in the bottom. She stood in the coffin proudly erect, commanding and majestic to behold; then, with inimitable grace, she stooped and lay down slowly. The coffin creaked and groaned, and amongst the crowd of courtiers a murmur of horror and disgust was heard. The king stood near the coffin, and Sophia Dorothea looked at him so steadily, so piercingly, that he had not the courage to meet her glance, and fixed his eyes upon the ground. The queen stood up quietly. The Countess Hacke held out her hand to assist her, but she waved her proudly back.
„No,“ she said, „kings and queens leave their coffins by their own strength and greatness, and sustained by the hand of History alone.“ Sophia then stepped over the edge of the coffin, and, bowing profoundly to the king, she said--
„Your majesty, it is now your turn.“
The king was confused. He cast a dark, distrustful glance upon the queen. Her simple words had for him a prophetic meaning, and he shuddered as he drew near the coffin. With a powerful effort he overcame himself, stepped into the coffin, and nodded to some of his courtiers to assist him in lying down.
„Ah, I rest well upon this couch,“ said Frederick. „Here will I soon sleep till it shall please God to wake me at the resurrection!“
„May that time be far removed, my king!“ said Sophia earnestly. „Allow me to assist you.“
She reached her hand to the king; he seized it with alacrity, and was in the act of rising, when a wild and unaccustomed sound was heard without--a loud, piercing cry, which was many times repeated, then the sound of hasty steps approaching the room! The pallid and awe-struck courtiers whispered to each other.
„What is it?“ cried the king, who was still sitting in his coffin.
No one answered. The courtiers whispered confused and wild words, but no one dared to answer.
„I demand to know what has happened,“ said the king, as with much difficulty he sought to raise himself up.
The major domo stepped forward. „Your majesty, two soldiers are without who held watch in the corridor; they declare that a long, white figure, with a veiled face and black gloves, passed slowly by them the whole length of the corridor, and entered this room; they, believing that some unseemly mask wished to approach your majesty, followed the figure and saw it enter this room. They ran hither to seize the masker, but your majesty knows no such person is here.“
„The white lady!“ cried the king, and sank powerless and as if broken to pieces in the coffin. „The white lady! veiled and with black gloves! That signifies my death!“
„The white lady!“ murmured the courtiers, withdrawing involuntarily from the door through which the evil-omened white lady should enter.
The queen alone was silent. She looked around with a searching glance upon the marble statues of the prince electors, and her soul was far away with her beloved son Frederick.
Her majesty had no idea that her husband was free from pain, and had left his arm-chair; she was, therefore, gay and careless, filled with a sense of freedom and power. The cruel eye of Frederick William was not bent upon her to look her down, and cast a veil of humility over the sparkling diamonds which adorned her brow; no, she was to-night entirely herself--every inch a queen! proud and happy, smiling and majestic. Rejoicing in her own greatness and glory, she was still amiable and obliging to this great crowd of devoted, submissive, flattering, smiling men, who surrounded her; never had she been so gracious, never so queenly. As we have said, she had seated herself at the card-table, and the margrafin Maria Dorothea and the English and French ambassadors were her partners; behind her chair stood her two maids of honor, to whom she now and then addressed a word, or sent them to look after the young princesses, who were dancing in the adjoining room, and giving themselves up merrily to the pleasures of the evening. Suddenly the music ceased, and a strange, unaccustomed silence reigned throughout the rooms.
The queen was arranging the cards, and turned smilingly to one of her maids of honor, commanding her as soon as the dance was ended to lead the princesses to her side; she then gave her attention to the game, when suddenly the Princess Amelia, pale and terrified, rushed hastily to her mother, and whispered a few words in her ear.
Sophia Dorothea uttered a low cry of terror, and exclaimed: „The king! my God, the king! he seems very angry!“ said the princess; „do not let him see your diamonds.“ The partners of the queen sat in respectful silence, waiting for her to play; she dashed her cards upon the table, removed her necklace and bracelets hastily, and thrust the glittering heap into her dress pocket.[2]
[2] See Thiebault.
„Remove my long ear-rings,“ she whispered to Amelia, and while the princess obeyed the command, the queen took her cards from the table. The glory was departed; the diamonds were hiding timidly in her pocket, and the fire of her eye was quenched.
The king was there; Sophia Dorothea was no longer a royal queen, but a trembling, dependent woman, cowering before the rage of her husband. The partners of the queen sat quietly with downcast eyes, and did not appear to see the rash change in the toilet of her majesty, still seemingly waiting for the play of the queen. Sophia played a queen, Lord Hastings played the king.
„Lost!“ said her majesty, „so must the queen ever lose when the king comes; but it is always a comfort,“ she said, with a bitter smile, „to be overcome only by a king.“ She played on quietly, though she knew that the king was already in the door of the room and watching her closely.
As the king stepped forward and called her name, she rose and advanced toward him with an expression of joyful surprise.
„Ah, my husband, what a great pleasure you have prepared for us!“ she said smiling; „it is most amiable of your majesty to glorify this feast with your presence.“
„I come, however,“ said the king, in a rude, harsh voice, and thrusting the queen's arm in his own, „to cast gloom upon this fete; it is good and necessary in the midst of tumultuous earthly pleasures to be reminded of the fleeting vanity of all sublunary things; and to still the voluptuous music with prayer, I am come to administer this medicine to your vain and sin-sick soul. Come with me, you there!“ said the king, turning his head backward to the courtiers, who were gathered in silent and frightened groups. „You there, follow us!“ He dragged the queen forward; silently the procession of richly-adorned guests followed the royal pair, no one knew where.
The queen had in vain implored the king to make known his purpose. This long procession, adorned with flowers, diamonds, uniforms, and orders, had a gay and festal appearance; you might well suppose them wedding guests on their way to church. The principal actors on this occasion, however, did not promise to be a happy pair.
The king looked steadily, with a frowning brow and tightly-compressed lips, right before him; the queen, wan and trembling, turned her eyes anxiously from side to side, seeking everywhere some new danger, some new terror prepared for her. The procession stepped silently and earnestly through the dressing-rooms, odorous with flowers; through the illuminated antechamber; further on through the corridors and up the wide stair steps; onward still through long passages till they reached the great doors of the White Saloon, which Frederick had built and adorned.
„We have arrived,“ said the king, opening the door, and leading in the queen. Suddenly Sophia Dorothea uttered a cry of horror, and fell backwards; behind her stood the curious, astonished, and shocked courtiers, pressing themselves hastily through the door of the saloon.
„Two coffins!“ murmured the queen, with horror; her timid glance rested first upon the solemn coffins, then wandered anxiously to the lofty, imposing marble statues of the prince electors, who, in solemn rest, in this chamber of the dead, seemed to hold a watch over the coffins of the living.
„Yes, two coffins,“ said the king--“our coffins, Sophia; and I resolved in this hour to show them to you and the assembled court, that this solemn warning might arouse you all from your unholy and sinful lusts. Death must strike at your heart to awaken it from voluptuous sleep and cause you to look within. In these coffins we will soon rest, and all earthly vanity and glory will be at an end. No one will fear my glance or my crutch; no one will compliment the beautiful toilet of the queen, or admire her diamonds; dust will return to dust, and the king and the queen be nothing more than food for worms!“
„Not so,“ said Sophia, whose noble and proud heart felt humbled by this pious grovelling of her husband; „not so, we will be more than dust and food for worms. The dust of common mortals will be scattered in every direction by the hand of Time, and over their graves will History walk with destroying feet; but she will remain with us and will gather our dust, and build therewith a monument to our memory; when our bodies of flesh and blood are placed in the vault of our ancestors, our forms will arise again with limbs of marble and bosoms without hearts. Look, my husband, at these statues of your exalted ancestors; they have also gone down into the vaults, but their marble forms have the best places in our splendid rooms; perhaps they listen to our words and behold our deeds.“
Whilst the queen spoke, her countenance was illuminated with royal energy and beauty; she was now, indeed, truly imperial, without the aid of diamond coronets. The queen was herself again; she had conquered her womanish fears; she felt herself not only the wife of Frederick, but the sister of the king of England, the mother of the future king.
But Frederick, in what he considered his holy penitential mood, was made angry by her self-possession, her proudly-erected head; he felt that this soul had made itself free from his heavy yoke, and claimed and enjoyed a separate existence; but she should acknowledge him again as her lord, and he bowed down with humble penitence. The queen should become the woman, the obedient wife; had not the Bible said, and „he shall rule over thee“?
„So, then, let our ancestors behold how we try our coffins before them,“ said the king, placing his hand heavily on the shoulder of the queen; „the world knows that diamonds become you, and that I, in my uniform, am a fine-looking fellow; let us see now how our coffins will clothe us!?
„What do you mean, my king?“ said Sophia, fixing her trembling glance upon her husband.
„I mean that we will see if we can take our places with dignity and worthily in our coffins; that we will do to-day in sport what we must hereafter do in solemn earnest.“
„This is indeed a cruel jest,“ said the queen.
„Oh, yes, to the children of this world every thing seems cruel which reminds them of death and the fleeting nature of all earthly joys,“ said the king, „but such a warning is good and healthy to the soul, and if we would accustom ourselves from time to time to leave the ballroom and rest awhile in our coffins, we would, without doubt, lead more holy and earnest lives. Lay yourself, therefore, in your coffin, Sophia; it will be to your soul's advantage, and my eyes will see a picture which, praised be God, you can never behold. I shall see you in your coffin.“
„Oh, you are younger than I, my husband; you will surely see me buried; it is not therefore necessary to put me to this trial.“
„Conquer thy soul, and make it quiet and humble,“ said the king; „we have come hither to try our coffins, and we will try them!“
„The king had a feverish attack of piety to-day. I would not have come if I had known the intentions of your majesty,“ said the queen.
„You would have come as I willed it,“ murmured the king, while his cheeks glowed with anger and his eye flashed fire.
Sophia saw these symptoms of a rising storm, and she knew that all restraints would be removed if she resisted longer. She called with a commanding tone to one of her maids of honor, and said proudly:
„Reach me your hand, duchess; I am weary, and will for awhile rest upon this bed, of a new and uncommon form.“
With the appearance and nobility of a truly royal soul, she raised her robe a little, lifted her foot over the edge of the coffin, and placed it firmly in the bottom. She stood in the coffin proudly erect, commanding and majestic to behold; then, with inimitable grace, she stooped and lay down slowly. The coffin creaked and groaned, and amongst the crowd of courtiers a murmur of horror and disgust was heard. The king stood near the coffin, and Sophia Dorothea looked at him so steadily, so piercingly, that he had not the courage to meet her glance, and fixed his eyes upon the ground. The queen stood up quietly. The Countess Hacke held out her hand to assist her, but she waved her proudly back.
„No,“ she said, „kings and queens leave their coffins by their own strength and greatness, and sustained by the hand of History alone.“ Sophia then stepped over the edge of the coffin, and, bowing profoundly to the king, she said--
„Your majesty, it is now your turn.“
The king was confused. He cast a dark, distrustful glance upon the queen. Her simple words had for him a prophetic meaning, and he shuddered as he drew near the coffin. With a powerful effort he overcame himself, stepped into the coffin, and nodded to some of his courtiers to assist him in lying down.
„Ah, I rest well upon this couch,“ said Frederick. „Here will I soon sleep till it shall please God to wake me at the resurrection!“
„May that time be far removed, my king!“ said Sophia earnestly. „Allow me to assist you.“
She reached her hand to the king; he seized it with alacrity, and was in the act of rising, when a wild and unaccustomed sound was heard without--a loud, piercing cry, which was many times repeated, then the sound of hasty steps approaching the room! The pallid and awe-struck courtiers whispered to each other.
„What is it?“ cried the king, who was still sitting in his coffin.
No one answered. The courtiers whispered confused and wild words, but no one dared to answer.
„I demand to know what has happened,“ said the king, as with much difficulty he sought to raise himself up.
The major domo stepped forward. „Your majesty, two soldiers are without who held watch in the corridor; they declare that a long, white figure, with a veiled face and black gloves, passed slowly by them the whole length of the corridor, and entered this room; they, believing that some unseemly mask wished to approach your majesty, followed the figure and saw it enter this room. They ran hither to seize the masker, but your majesty knows no such person is here.“
„The white lady!“ cried the king, and sank powerless and as if broken to pieces in the coffin. „The white lady! veiled and with black gloves! That signifies my death!“
„The white lady!“ murmured the courtiers, withdrawing involuntarily from the door through which the evil-omened white lady should enter.
The queen alone was silent. She looked around with a searching glance upon the marble statues of the prince electors, and her soul was far away with her beloved son Frederick.
Dieses Kapitel ist Teil des Buches FREDERICK THE GREAT AND HIS COURT. Book I.