CHAPTER CIII

THEY descended a steep little slope, at the bottom of which they found a river in miniature, which had been formerly a pretty, limpid, and gurgling streamlet; but as it was necessary to make it navigable, its bed had been smoothed, its fall diminished, its banks pared and trimmed regularly, and its beautiful waters muddied by recent labors. The workmen were still busied in clearing away some rocks which obstructed its progess, and gave it some appearance of nature. A gondola was in waiting to receive the party, a real gondola which the count had brought from Venice, and which made Consuelo's heart beat with a thousand pleasant and painful reminiscences. The party embarked. The gondoliers were also real Venetians, speaking their native dialect; they had been brought along with the bark, as, in the present day, the negro-keepers are with the giraffe when they exhibit. Count Hoditz, who traveled a good deal, imagined that he could speak every language, but though he had a great deal of confidence, and gave his orders to the gondoliers in a loud voice and marked accent, the latter would have understood him with difficulty had not Consuelo served as interpreter. They were directed to sing some verses of Tasso, but these poor wretches, chilled by the icy coldness of the north, banished from their native clime, and bewildered by the strange scenes around them, gave the Prussians a very poor specimen of their style. Consuelo was obliged to prompt them at every stanza, and promise to hear them rehearse the portions they were to sing before the margravine the next day.

When they had rowed about a quarter of an hour in a space which might have been passed in three minutes, but in which the poor stream, thwarted in its course, had been tortured into a thousand intricate windings, they reached the open sea. This was a tolerably large basin which opened to their view from between clumps of cypresses and firs, and the unexpected coup d'œil of which was really pleasing. But they had no time to admire it. They were obliged to embark on board of a pocket man-of-war, in which every mast, sail, and rope was critically correct, and which presented a complete model of a ship with all her rigging. It was rather inconveniently crowded, however, with sailors and passengers, and ran the utmost risk of foundering. Porpora was shivering with cold, the carpets were quite damp, and I even believe that, in spite of the particular examination which the count, who had arrived the day before, had already made of every portion of her, the vessel leaked badly. No one was at ease excepting the count—who, thanks to his character of entertainer, never cared for the little discomforts connected with his pleasures—and Consuelo, who began to be much amused by the follies of her host. A fleet proportioned to the flag-ship came to place itself under her orders, and executed maneuvers which the count himself gravely directed, armed with a speaking-trumpet, and standing erect upon the poop, getting quite annoyed when matters did not go to his liking, and making them recommence the rehearsal. Afterward they advanced in squadron to the villainous music of a brass band, which completed Porpora's exasperation. "It is well enough to freeze us and make us catch cold," said he, between his teeth; "but to flay our ears in this style—it is too much!"

"Make all sail for the Peloponnesus!" roared the count through his trumpet, and the squadron floated toward a bank crowned with miniature buildings in imitation of Greek temples and antique tombs. They steered toward a little bay masked by rocks, from which, when about ten paces distant, they were received by a discharge of musketry. Two men fell dead upon the deck, and an active cabin-boy, who had his station in the rigging, uttered a loud cry, descended, or rather let himself slide down adroitly, and rolled into the very midst of the company, screaming that he was wounded and holding his head, which he said had been fractured by a ball.

"Come this way," said the count to Consuelo, "I want you for a little rehearsal I intend having on board my ship. Have the goodness to represent the margravine for a moment, and order this dying youth and these dead men, who, by the way, died very awkwardly, to rise, be cured, and defend her highness against the insolent pirates entrenched in yonder ambuscade." Consuelo hastened to assume her part, and filled it with far more natural grace and dignity than the countess would have done. The dead and dying rose on their knees and kissed her hand. The count however informed them that they were not really to touch her highness' fingers with their lips, but to kiss their own hands while they pretended to salute hers. Then dead and dying rose to arms with the utmost enthusiasm, while the little tumbler who acted the cabin-boy ran up the mast like a cat and discharged a light carbine at the pirates of the bay. The fleet ranged up close round this new Cleopatra and discharged their miniature broadsides with a fearful rattle.

Consuelo, warned by the count who did not wish to alarm her, was not taken by surprise at this rather strange comedy, but the Prussian officers, toward whom the same precaution had not been observed, seeing two men fall at the first fire, drew closer to each other and grew very pale. He who said least appeared terrified for his captain, and the visible uneasiness of the latter did not escape Consuelo's close and observing glance. It was not fear, however, that was depicted on his countenance so much as a sort of haughty indignation, as if his dignity as a Prussian soldier had been outraged. Hoditz paid no attention to him, and when the combat was at its height, the captain and his lieutenant laughed with the loudest, took the joke in good part, and soon waved their swords in the air, to add to the effect of the scene.

The pirates, who were embarked in light skiffs, and were dressed in Grecian costume, and armed with pistols and blunderbusses charged with powder, boarded the vessels, bold as lions. They were however repulsed with great slaughter, so as to give the good margravine an opportunity of bringing them to life. The only cruelty practiced was that of tumbling some of them into the sea. The water was very cold, and Consuelo felt very sorry for them, until she saw that they liked it, and took a pleasure in showing their companions how well they could swim.

When Cleopatra and her attendant fleet had thus borne off the victory and taken the pirate flotilla, they proceeded, to the sounds of triumphal strains—enough, according to Porpora, to raise the devil—to explore the isles of Greece. They soon approached an unknown island, on which were seen rude wigwams peeping forth from strange and exotic plants, real or imitated, one could not say which, so much was the real and the false everywhere confounded together. To the shores of this island were fastened canoes into which the natives of the country threw themselves, and with savage cries came out to meet the fleet, bringing with them fruits and flowers recently culled from the hot-houses of the establishment. The savages were frizzled, bristling, tattooed, and more like demons than men. The costumes were rather indifferently in keeping, some being crowned with feathers like Peruvians, others furred like Esquimaux, but they were not subjected to too close a scrutiny; provided they were ugly enough, they passed for cannibals at the very least. These creatures made abundant grimaces, and the giant who seemed their chief, and who had a false beard flowing down to his waist, delivered a discourse which Count Hoditz had composed in the supposed dialect of the country. This was a species of gibberish arranged at random to represent a language at once barbarous and grotesque. The man having finished his harangue to the count's satisfaction, the latter undertook to translate this fine speech to Consuelo, who still continued to play for the time the part of the absent countess.

"This discourse," said he, imitating the savage's gestures, "signifies, madam, that this cannibal people, whose wont it is to devour every stranger, suddenly touched and subdued by your charms, wish to lay at your feet their ferocity, and to offer you the sovereignty of these unknown lands. Deign to visit them, and although they now appear sterile and uncultivated the wonders of civilization will spring up under your feet."

They landed on the isle amid the dances and songs of the young female natives. Strange beasts and stuffed figures which knelt by means of a spring, saluted Consuelo on her approach. Then by means of ropes the freshly planted trees and shrubs fell down, the pasteboard rocks crumbled to pieces, and disclosed pretty cottages, decorated with leaves and flowers. Shepherdesses leading real flocks, village girls dressed after the latest fashion of the opera—although a little coarse it must be confessed when seen near at hand—even tame fawns and kids came to offer their homage to their new sovereign.

"It is here," said the count to Consuelo, "that you will have to play your part tomorrow before her highness. They will procure you the costume of a pagan divinity all covered with flowers and ribbons, you will be in this grotto, the margravine will enter, you will sing the cantata which I have in my pocket, and yield up your rights to her, seeing that there can be only one goddess where she deigns to appear."

"Permit me to see the cantata," said Consuelo, taking the manuscript from Hoditz. It required little trouble to read and sing this trifle at first sight; the music and words were each worthy of the other. It was only necessary to learn it off by heart. Two violins, a harp, and a flute, concealed from view in the depths of the cave, and observing neither time nor measure, constituted the accompaniment. Porpora made them begin again, and, at the end of a quarter of an hour all went well. It was not the only part Consuelo had to perform in the fête, nor the only cantata Hoditz had in his pocket; happily they were short, for it was not desirable to fatigue her highness with too much music.

Leaving the island, they set sail and landed on the shores of China. Porcelain towers, gaudy kiosks, stunted gardens and miniature bridges, bamboo thickets and tea plantations—nothing was wanting. Men of letters and mandarins in Chinese costume, uttered discourses in their native language; and Consuelo, who had taken an opportunity below to attire herself as a lady mandarin, had to try a few couplets to a Chinese air, arranged in Count Hoditz's usual style:

"Ping, pang, tiong,

  Hi, hang, hong."

Such was the chorus, which signified, thanks to the brevity of this wonderful language:

"Beautiful margravine, mighty princess, queen of hearts, reign forever over your happy husband, and your joyous empire of Roswald in Moravia.

Leaving China, they proceeded in rich palanquins, borne on the shoulders of poor Chinese serfs, to the summit of a little mountain, where they found the city of Lilliput, forests, lakes, mountains, houses with their furniture and utensils—all on the same miniature scale. Puppets danced in the market-place to the accompaniment of hurdy-gurdys and kettle-drums. The persons who moved the strings, and who produced this beautiful music, were hidden in caves constructed for the purpose.

Descending the mountains of Lilliput, they came to a desert some hundred paces in extent, filled with enormous rocks and vigorous trees in all the wild luxuriance of nature. It was the only spot which the count had not spoiled or mutilated; he had left it just as he found it.

"What to do with this steep defile long puzzled me," said he to his guests. "I did not know what use to make of these huge rocks, nor what shape to fashion these lofty trees, when the idea occurred to me to baptize this desert spot the 'Chaos.' The contrast I thought would not be unpleasing, especially when after leaving these frightful scenes, the visitor gains admission to scrupulously neat parterres and smoothly shaven lawns. You are about to see a happy invention I have introduced here."

Thus saying, the count turned round a huge rock which obstructed the path, for in the desert a smoothly graveled walk was indispensable, and Consuelo found herself at the entrance of a hermitage hollowed out of the rock, and surmounted by a rude wooden cross. The hermit of the Thebaid made his appearance; he was an honest peasant, whose long white beard contrasted happily with his ruddy and youthful countenance. He delivered a handsome address (of which his master corrected the errors), pronounced his benediction, and offered roots and a bowl of milk to Consuelo.

"Your hermit seems to me rather young," said Baron de Kreutz; you should have put a real old man here."

"That would not have pleased the margravine," observed Count Hoditz, ingenuously. "She thinks very reasonably that old age is not attractive, and that in a fête none but young actors are suitable."

I shall spare the reader the rest of the excursion. I should never have done if I were to describe the different countries, the Druidical altars, Indian pagodas, canals and covered passages, virgin forests, subterranean caverns, artificial mines, with ball rooms, elysian fields, tombs, cascades, naiads, serenades, and the six thousand fountains which Porpora afterwards alleged he had to swallow. There were innumerable other inventions which the memoirs of the day speak of with admiration, even to the minutest details, such as a dim grotto in the depths of which you were infallibly terrified by your own image in a looking-glass; a convent where, under pain of imprisonment for life, you were forced to pronounce vows of eternal submission and adoration to the margravine; a rainy tree, which by means of a pump concealed in the branches, deluged you with ink, blood, or rosewater, accordingly as it was intended to compliment or mystify you; in short, a thousand ingenious, novel, incomprehensible, and above all, expensive secrets, which Porpora was rude enough to find scandalous, stupid, and intolerable. Night alone put an end to this excursion round the world, in the course of which they had traveled sometimes on horseback, sometimes on donkeys, in litters, carriages, or open boats, fully three leagues.

Insensible to cold and fatigue, the two Prussian officers, although they laughed at such of the amusements as seemed rather too puerile, were not so much struck as Consuelo with the absurdity of this marvelous abode. She was a true child of nature, accustomed to the open air, and, from the time that she could see, to look at the works of God without screen or opera-glass. But Baron de Kreutz, although perhaps not altogether fascinated with this thoroughly artificial aristocracy, was influenced by the ideas and manners of the age. He by no means hated grottoes, hermitages, and symbols, and in short he was amused, showed much wit and humor in his remarks, and on entering the dining-hall said to his companion, who was respectfully expressing sympathy for his weariness:

"Weary? not at all. I have taken exercise, I have gained an appetite, seen a thousand follies, relieved my mind from dwelling on serious thoughts; I have neither lost my time nor trouble."

They were surprised to find in the dining-room only a circle of chairs set round an empty space. The count begged them to be seated, and ordered dinner.

"Alas! my lord," responded the major-domo, "we had nothing worthy of so honorable a company, and we did not even attempt to lay the table."

"This a pretty affair!" cried the host in a pretended fury. Then when the jest had lasted some seconds, "Well," said he, "since men refuse us some refreshments, I invoke the regions of Pluto to send something worthy of such guests." So saying, he struck the floor three times, which glided to one side, and odorous flames were visible from below. Then to the sound of wild and joyous music, a table magnificently decorated rose before the guests. 'That is not so bad," said the count, lifting the cloth, and speaking under the table. "Only I am surprised that Master Pluto, who knows that there is not even a drop of water in the house, has not favored us with a single goblet."

"Count Hoditz," replied a hoarse voice from the depths, "water is scarce in Tartarus; all our streams are dried up since the eyes of her Highness the Margravine have penetrated the entrails of the earth. Nevertheless, if you command it, we shall send a Danaide to the Styx, and see if she can procure some."

"Let her hasten, then," continued the count; "and see that you give her a vessel which will not leak."

At this instant a jet of rock water issued from a jasper tazza in the center of the table, and continued to play during the rest of the entertainment, sparkling like a sheaf of diamonds in the light of the numerous wax tapers. The whole was a masterpiece of extravagance and bad taste; and the waters of the Styx and the gifts of Pluto furnished the count with opportunities for a thousand stupid jests and plays upon words, which his childish eagerness and good nature caused to be readily forgiven. The rich repast, during which the guests were waited upon by youths and gay shepherdesses, put the Baron de Kreutz in excellent spirits. He paid little attention, however, to his amphitryon's handsome female slaves. These poor peasant-girls were at once the servants, singers, and actresses of the count, who was their professor of music, singing, dancing, and declamation. Consuelo had had a sample of his demeanor toward them at Passau, and when she thought of the glorious lot which this noble lord then offered her, she could not help admiring his present easy and respectful manner toward her, which betrayed neither surprise nor confusion. She knew that matters would assume an entirely different aspect on the arrival of the margravine the ensuing day, and that then she would have to dine with the maestro in her own apartment, and would no longer have the honor of being admitted to the table of her highness. This gave her no concern, although she was ignorant of one thing which would have infinitely amused her, and that was that she was then supping with a person far more illustrious, and who would not for any consideration have supped next day with the margravine.

Baron de Kreutz, who, as we have said, smiled somewhat coldly on these sylvan nymphs, paid more attention to Consuelo, especially when, after having succeeded in causing her to break silence, he induced her to speak upon music. He was an enlightened and passionate amateur of this divine art; at least he spoke of it in a manner which, together with the good cheer and warmth of the apartments, softened the rugged temper of Porpora.

"It is much to be wished," said he at last to the baron, who had just managed to praise his style indirectly without naming him, "that the sovereign whom we are going to serve, was as good a judge as you!"

"Oh!" replied the baron, "public report bespeaks him very enlightened on this subject, and asserts that he has a real love for the fine arts."

"Are you very sure of that, baron?" returned the maestro, who could not converse without contradicting every person on every subject. "For my part, I doubt it very much. Kings are always first in every thing, if you believe their courtiers; but it often happens that these courtiers know much more than they do themselves."

"In war, as in science and engineering, the King of Prussia knows much more than either of us," replied the lieutenant with zeal; "and as to music, it is very certain——"

"That you know nothing about it, nor I either," drily interrupted Captain de Kreutz; "Master Porpora is absolute authority on the latter subject."

"As for me," returned the maestro, "royal dignity has never imposed upon me in matters of music; and when I had the honor of giving lessons to the electoral princess of Saxony, I did not pass over her false notes any more than another's."

"What!" said the baron, looking at his companion with an ironical expression, "do crowned heads ever make false notes?"

"Just like simple mortals, sir!" replied Porpora. "Still I must confess that the electoral princess did not long continue to make them with me, and that she had a refined and cultivated intellect to second my efforts."

"So you would graciously pardon a few false notes to our Fritz, should he have the impertinence to make them in your presence?"

"On condition that he would correct them."

"But you would not wash your hands of him," said Count Hoditz, smiling.

"I would do it, were he to cut off my head," replied the old professor, elevated by the champagne he had drunk.

Consuelo had been duly informed by the canon that Prussia was one huge police-office, where every word, were it even spoken on the frontiers, was echoed to the very cabinet; and that no one should say to any Prussian—a soldier or official especially—even "How do you do?" without first weighing every word. She was not pleased therefore to see her master indulge his cynical humor, and she endeavored by a little stroke of policy to do away with the effect of his imprudence.

"Even were the King of Prussia not the first musician of his time," she said, "he might well be permitted to despise an art so trivial in comparison with his other acquirements."

She was ignorant, however, that Frederick attached as much importance to his flute as to his magazine or his philosophy. The Baron de Kreutz assured her that, if his majesty considered music worthy of notice, he would certainly give it his most serious study and attention.

"Pshaw!" said Porpora, becoming still more animated;—"time and labor do nothing for those who are not endowed with the sacred fire. Genius and fortune do not go hand in hand; and it is easier to gain battles and pension off men of letters, than to borrow the celestial fire of the muses. Baron Frederick Trenck informed us that when his Prussian majesty missed the time, he took it from his courtiers; but that plan would not go down with me!"

"Did Baron Frederick Trenck say that?" exclaimed Baron Kreutz, his eyes gleaming with sudden and uncontrollable anger. "Well, well!" continued he, assuming, by a violent effort, an air of forced tranquillity, "the poor devil has done with jesting by this time, for he is confined in the fortress of Glatz for the rest of his days."

"Indeed!" exclaimed Porpora; "and what has he done then?"

"It is a secret of state," replied the baron; "but there is every reason to believe that he has betrayed the confidence of his master."

"Yes," added the lieutenant, "in selling to Austria the plans of the fortifications of Prussia, his native country."

"Oh, it is impossible!" exclaimed Consuelo, turning pale; for, notwithstanding her increasing caution, she was not able to repress this exclamation of surprise and grief.

"It is impossible!—it is false!" exclaimed the indignant Porpora; "they who have thus imposed on the King of Prussia lie in their teeth!"

"I presume that you do not mean indirectly to charge us with falsehood?" said the lieutenant, growing pale in his turn.

"It would be indeed a diseased susceptibility which could interpret thus what has been said," replied Baron Kreutz, looking fixedly, and even sternly, at his companion. "What does it concern us that Master Porpora manifests some heat in his friendship for this young man?"

"Yes, I would do so, even in presence of the king himself!" exclaimed Porpora. "I would tell the king to his face that he had been deceived—that it was wrong of him to believe it—and that Frederick Trenck was a noble, an admirable young man, incapable of anything so infamous as——"

"I fancy, dear master," interrupted Consuelo, growing more and more uneasy at the expression of Baron de Kreutz's countenance, "that when you have the honor to approach the King of Prussia's presence, it will not be after dinner; and I am well assured that music is the only subject on which you will venture to address him."

"Mademoiselle appears singularly prudent," replied the baron. "It would seem, however, that she was not nnacquainted with Baron Frederick at Vienna?"

"I, sir?" said Consuelo, with assumed indifference; "I hardly know him."

"But," continued the baron, with a piercing look, "if the king in person were to inquire of you by chance what you thought of this alleged treason?"

"Sir," answered Consuelo, calmly though modestly meeting his inquisitorial gaze, "I should reply that I did not believe in treason, unable as I am to understand what it means."

"A noble sentiment, signora!" said the baron, whose face lighted up all at once, "and spoken from an upright soul!"

He turned the conversation on other subjects, and charmed the guests by his grace and talent. During the rest of the meal he displayed in addressing Consuelo a kindness and confidence of manner which he had not previously manifested toward her.

At the close of the dessert, a figure, entirely clothed in white and closely veiled, presented itself before the guests, saying: "Follow me!" Consuelo, still condemned to play the part of the margravine, rose first, and, followed by the other guests, mounted the great staircase of the castle, to which there was access from the door at the end of the saloon. The shadow, on reaching the top of the stairs, pushed open another door, and they found themselves almost in total darkness, in an ancient gallery at the extremity of which appeared a faint gleam. Toward this light they directed their steps to the sound of solemn music, which was supposed to be performed by inhabitants of another world.

"Per Bacco!" exclaimed Porpora with ironical enthusiasm; "his excellency the count denies us nothing. First we had nautical, then Turkish, then savage, then Chinese, then Lilliputian, and other extraordinary species of music; but this surpasses all the rest, and may be well termed the music of the other world."

"And you are not at the end yet!" replied the count, enchanted at this eulogium.

"We ought to be prepared for everything on the part of your excellency," said the Baron de Kreutz, with the same irony as the professor; "though after this I know not in truth what we can hope for better."

At the end of the gallery the ghost struck a blow upon a kind of tom-tom, which gave forth a sullen sound, and a vast curtain drawing aside disclosed to view the body of the theater decorated and illuminated as it was to be on the following day. I shall not give a description of it, though it were an inviting occasion for flowery verse or prose.

The curtain rose; the scene represented Olympus—neither more nor less. The goddesses were busy disputing the heart of the shepherd Paris, and the competition of the three principal divinities constituted the main subject of the piece. It was written in Italian, on hearing which Porpora whispered to Consuelo: "The Hottentot, the Chinese and the Lilliputian were nothing; here is the Iroquois at last." Verses and music—all were the count's manufacture. The actors and actresses were quite worthy of their parts. After half an hour of forced metaphors and trifling conceits upon the absence of a divinity more charming and more powerful than all the others, but who disdained to compete for the prize of beauty, Paris having decided in favor of Venus, the latter took the apple, and descending from the stage by a flight of steps, came to lay it at the feet of the margravine, declaring herself unworthy to keep it, and apologizing for having aspired to it before her. It was Consuelo who was to perform this character of Venus, and as it was the most important (including as it did a cavatina of great effect), Count Hoditz, not willing to intrust it to any of his coryphées, undertook to fill it himself, as well to carry on the rehearsal as to make Consuelo feel the spirit, the intention, the wit and the beauty of the part. He was so ridiculous while gravely personating Venus and singing with emphasis the insipid airs pilfered from all the bad operas then in fashion, and badly stitched together, out of which he pretended to have composed a score—that no one could keep his countenance. He was too much excited by the task of scolding his troop, and too much inflamed by the divine expression he gave to his acting and singing, to perceive the gaiety of the audience. They applauded him to the skies, and Porpora, who had placed himself at the head of the orchestra, and who was obliged to stop his ears secretly from time to time, declared that all was sublime—poem, score, voices, instruments, and the temporary Venus above all!

It was agreed that Consuelo and he should read this masterpiece attentively together that very evening and the next morning. It was neither very long nor very difficult to learn, and they flattered themselves that on the next evening they would have mastered it completely. They afterward visited the ball-room, which was not yet ready, because the dances were not to take place till the second day after, the fête being intended to last two days, and to offer an uninterrupted succession of diversified entertainments.

It was now ten o'clock. The weather was serene and the moon shone brilliantly. The two Prussian officers insisted on recrossing the frontier that very evening, alleging in excuse a superior order which forbade their passing the night in a foreign country. The count was therefore obliged to yield, and having given orders to get their horses ready, he insisted on their accompanying him to drink the stirrup-cup—that is to say, to partake of coffee and excellent liquors in an elegant boudoir, whither Consuelo thought it best not to follow them. She took leave of them, therefore, and after advising Porpora in a low voice to be more guarded than he had been during supper, proceeded toward her apartment, which was in another wing of the château.

But she soon lost her way in the windings of that vast labyrinth, and at last found herself in a sort of cloister, where, to complete her dismay, a current of air extinguished her taper. Fearful of losing her way still farther, and of falling through one of those surprise trapdoors, with which the mansion was filled, she endeavored to return, feeling her way until she could reach the lighted part of the building. In the confusion caused by the numerous preparations for committing absurdities, the comforts of that sumptuous dwelling were entirely neglected. There were savages, ghosts, gods, hermits, nymphs, laughter and plays, but not a domestic to provide a torch, nor a being in his senses to guide her.

Meantime she heard a person approach, who seemed to walk cautiously and purposely keep in the shade, which did not inspire her with sufficient confidence to call out and pronounce her name, more particularly as it was the heavy step and loud breathing of a man. A little agitated, she advanced, keeping close by the wall, when she heard a door open not far off, and the light of the moon gleaming through the aperture fell upon the lofty figure and brilliant costume of Karl.

She hastened to call him by his name.

"Is it you, signora?" said he, in an altered voice. "Ah! I have been endeavoring for some hours to speak to you, and perhaps it is now too late."

"What have you to say to me, my good Karl? and whence this emotion?"

"Let us leave this corridor, signora; I must speak to you in some place where no one can overhear us."

Consuelo followed Karl, and found herself in the open air on the summit of one of the turrets attached to an angle of the mansion.

"Signora," said the deserter, in a cautious tone, for he had only arrived that morning at Roswald, and was almost as ignorant of the localities as Consuelo herself—"have you said nothing today that could excite the anger of the King of Prussia, and which you might afterward have occasion to regret at Berlin, if the king were informed of it?"

"No, Karl, nothing of the kind. I was aware that every Prussian whom one does not know, is a dangerous companion, and I watched every word I uttered."

"Ah! I am so glad to hear you say so, for I was uneasy about you. Two or three times I endeavored to speak to you in the ship, when you were sailing on the lake. I was one of the pirates that pretended to board your vessel, but I was so disguised that you could not know me. I stared and signed at you, but you took no notice of me, and I could not slip in a single word. That officer never left you. During the whole time you continued on the water, he was not once from your side. One would have said he guessed you were a charmed buckler to him, and that he hid behind you, lest a ball should perchance have got into one of our harmless guns."

"What say you, Karl? I do not understand. What officer? I do not know what you mean."

"There is no need to tell you; you will know soon enough. Are you not going to Berlin?"

"And why make a secret of it in the meantime?"

"Because it is a terrible one, and I must keep it for another hour."

"You seem uneasy, Karl—what is passing in your mind?"

"Oh! great deeds! hell burns in my heart!"

"Hell?—one would say that you are meditating some dreadful crime."

"Perhaps so."

"In that case you must speak; you must not keep a secret from me, Karl. You have promised me unhesitating submission."

"Ah! signora, what is that you say? It is true I owe you more than life; you did what you could to save my wife and child—but they perished and they must be revenged!"

"Karl, in the name of your wife and child who pray for you in heaven, I implore you to speak. You are pondering on some mad and vengeful deed—the sight of these Prussians distracts you."

"Yes, they make me mad—furious. But no; I am calm as a saint. It is heaven, signora, not hell, which leads me on. Come! the hour is at hand; adieu, signora! most probably I shall never see you more. All I ask is when you pass through Prague to pay for a mass for me at the chapel of St. John Népomuck, one among the greatest of the patron saints of Bohemia."

"Karl, you must speak—you must confess the wicked thoughts which torment you, or I will never pray for you. On the contrary, I will invoke on your head the malediction of your wife and child, now angels in the bosom of the merciful Jesus. How do you expect to be forgiven in heaven if you do not forgive upon earth? You have a carbine under your cloak, Karl, and you watch to see these Prussians leave the castle."

"No, not here," said Karl, all trembling and agitated; "I would not shed blood in my master's dwelling, nor before you, my sweet young lady; but yonder, do you see, there is a mountain pass—I know it well, for I was there when they passed this morning—but I was there by chance—I was unarmed, and besides I did not at first know that it was he! By and by, however, he will pass, and I—I will be there! I can soon reach it by crossing the park, and shall get there before him though he be on horseback; and as you have said, signora, I have a carbine, a right good carbine, and in it a ball for his heart. It has been there for some time, for I was in earnest when I acted the pirate. I had a good chance, and leveled at him ten times, but you were always there, and I would not fire. By and by you will not be there, and he will not be able to skulk behind you like a coward as he is—for he is a coward, as I well know. I have seen him grow pale and turn his back on the field of battle. One day when he made us advance against my countrymen, against my brethren of Bohemia, oh, what horror I felt! for I am Bohemian in heart and soul, and that is a deed never to be forgiven. But if I be a poor peasant, having never learned to handle aught but the hatchet in my native forests, he has made me, thanks to his corporals, a Prussian soldier, and I know how to take an aim."

"Karl! Karl! be silent—you rave! You do not know this man, I am sure. He is called the Baron de Kreutz; I wager you did not know his name before. You must mistake him for some one else. He is no recruiter; he never did you any harm."

"It is not the Baron de Kreutz; no, signora, I knew him well. I have seen him a hundred times on parade; he is the grand master of men-stealers, and destroyers of families; he is the scourge of Bohemia; he is my enemy. He is the enemy of our church, our religion, and of all our saints. It is he who profaned by his impious laughter the statue of St. John Népomuck on the bridge of Prague. It is he who stole from the castle of Prague the drum covered with the skin of John Ziska, the greatest warrior of his time—that which was at once the safeguard, the honor, and the object of respect of the whole country! Oh! no, I am not mistaken, and I know him well! Besides St. Wenceslas just now appeared to me as I prayed in the chapel; I saw him as plainly as I see you, signora, and he said to me, 'It is he, strike him to the heart!' I have sworn before the Holy Virgin, on the tomb of my wife, and I must keep my oath. Ah! signora, look! there is his horse at the door! It was that I waited for. I go to my post—pray for me; sooner or later my life must pay the penalty; but it matters little so that God saves my soul!"

"Karl!" exclaimed Consuelo, inspired with superhuman strength, "I believed you generous, sensible, pious, but now I see that you are impious, base, and cowardly. Whoever this man may be whom you would assassinate, I forbid you to follow or to harm him. It is the enemy of man who has taken the form of a saint to pervert your reason; and Heaven permits you to fall into his snares for having sworn an impious oath. You are ungrateful and a coward, I tell you; for you no longer think about your master, who has loaded you with favors, who will be accused for your crime, and who, good and generous as he is, will suffer for it with his life. Go, hide yourself, Karl, you are not worthy of the light. Repent, for merely to harbor such a thought is a deadly crime. Stay, at this moment I see your wife, who weeps beside you, and who vainly tries to hold in her embrace your good angel, ready to abandon you to the wicked one forever."

"My wife! my wife!" exclaimed Karl wildly, now completely vanquished; "I see her not. My wife, if you be there, speak to me—let me see you once again ere I die!"

"You cannot see her, for crime is in your heart, and darkness seals your eyelids. Down on your knees! you may yet redeem your soul. Give me this carbine, which stains your hands, and offer up an humble and contrite prayer."

Thus saying, Consuelo took from his hands the carbine, which he did not seek to retain, and hastened from the deserter, who, as she disappeared, fell on his knees and burst into tears. She left the turret in order to hide the weapon instantly in some other spot. She felt exhausted with the efforts she had made to impress the imagination of the fanatic and influence his mind by means of the chimeras which governed him; for time pressed, and she had no leisure to address him with arguments more humane and enlightened. She uttered what first occurred to her mind, inspired perhaps with somewhat of sympathy for the unhappy man, whom she wished to serve at all risks from an act of insanity, and whom she loaded with feigned reproaches while she really deplored a madness which he was unable to control.

She hastened to lay aside the fatal piece, purposing to return and keep him on the turret till the Prussians were far away, when, just as she opened the door which communicated with the corridor, she met the Baron de Kreutz face to face. He was on his way to his apartment, in order to procure his pistols and his cloak. Consuelo had only time to let the weapon fall in the angle behind the door and to rush into the corridor, closing the door between herself and Karl, lest the sight of the enemy might light up all his fury afresh.

This hurried movement, and the agitation with which she supported herself against the door, as if she were on the point of fainting, did not escape the penetrating gaze of Baron de Kreutz. He carried a taper, and stopped before her, smiling. His countenance was perfectly calm, yet Consuelo thought she saw his hand tremble and the flame of the torch oscillate very sensibly. The lieutenant was behind him, pale as death, and with his sword drawn. These circumstances, as well as the certainty she acquired a little later that a window of the apartment which the baron had occupied opened upon the turret, convinced Consuelo afterward that the two Prussians had not lost a word of her conversation with Karl. Nevertheless the baron saluted her with a courteous and tranquil air, and as the agitation she felt at being placed in such a situation made her forget to return his salutation and deprived her of the power of saying a single word, Kreutz, after having examined her for an instant with a look that expressed rather interest than surprise, said to her in a gentle voice, taking her hand: "Come, my child, recover yourself. You seem very much agitated. We must have frightened you in passing suddenly before this door at the moment you opened it, but be assured we are your servants and your friends. I hope we shall see you again at Berlin, where perhaps we can be of some use to you."

The baron partly drew Consuelo's hand toward him, as if his first impulse had been to carry it to his lips; but he contented himself with pressing it gently, saluted her a second time, and withdrew, followed by his lieutenant, who did not seem even to see Consuelo, so much was he bewildered and agitated. His countenance confirmed the young girl in the opinion that he was aware of the danger which had threatened his master.

But who was this man, the responsibility for whose safety weighed so heavily upon another's shoulders, and whose destruction had seemed to Karl so complete and so intoxicating a revenge? Consuelo returned to the terrace to draw this secret from him, at the same time that she continued to watch him; but she found that he had fainted, and, not able to raise his huge frame, she descended the stairs and called the other domestics to come to his assistance. "Ah! it is nothing," said they as they hastened toward the place she pointed out; "he has merely drunk a little too much hydromel this evening and we will carry him to his bed." Consuelo longed to accompany them, as she feared Karl might betray his secret on returning to consciousness; but she was prevented by Count Hoditz, who was passing, and who took her arm, congratulating himself that she had not yet retired and that he could show her a new spectacle. She was obliged to follow him to the porch, and from thence she saw, relieved against the sky on a lofty hill, and precisely in the direction which Karl had pointed out as the one he intended to take, an immense arch blazing with light, in the midst of which some characters could be distinguished formed of colored lamps.

"Yes," said she, with an absent air, "that is a splendid illumination."

"It is a delicate attention, a respectful adieu, to the guest who has just left us," he replied; "he will pass in a quarter of an hour by the foot of the hill, through a deep gorge which we do not discern from this, where he will find as by enchantment this triumphal arch raised over his head."

"My lord," exclaimed Consuelo, rousing herself from her reverie, "who is this individual who has just now quitted us?"

"You shall know hereafter, my child."

"If it be not right to ask, I am silent; meantime I suspect his real name is not Baron de Kreutz."

"I was not deceived for an instant," replied Hoditz, who in this matter prided himself no little on his penetration. "However, I religiously respected his incognito; I know it is a fancy of his, and that he is offended if you do not take him for what he seems. You saw that I treated him merely as a simple officer and nevertheless——" The count was dying to speak, but etiquette forbade him to utter a name apparently so sacred. He adopted a middle course, and presenting a glass to Consuelo, "Look!" said he, "how well yonder arch has succeeded. It is upward of two miles off, and yet with this excellent glass you will be able to read the inscription on the summit. The letters are twenty feet high, although they are hardly perceptible to the naked eye. Now look attentively!"

Consuelo looked, and easily deciphered this inscription, which revealed the secret:

"Long live Frederick the Great!"

"Ah! my lord," she exclaimed, much agitated, "there is great danger in such an exalted personage traveling thus, and it is even more dangerous to receive him."

"I do not understand you," said the count; "we are now at peace; no one in all the empire would think of injuring him, and it could disparage no one's patriotism to treat with honor a guest such as he."

Consuelo remained plunged in thought. Hoditz roused her from her reverie by saying that he had an humble request to make; that he feared indeed to take advantage of her kindness, but the matter was so important that he was obliged to importune her. "The request I have to make," said he, with a grave and mysterious air, "is, that you will kindly perform the part of the Shade."

"What Shade?" asked Consuelo, whose thoughts were solely occupied with Frederick and the occurrences of the evening.

"The Shade which comes at the desert to seek the margravine and her guests, in order to lead them through Tartarus, where I have placed the music of the dead, and conduct them to the theater where Olympus is to receive them. Venus does not immediately appear, and you will have time to throw aside the drapery of woe and display the brilliant costume of the queen of love beneath, that is to say, rose-colored satin, with clasps and tinsels of silver mounted in gold looping up the dress, and powdered hair, with pearls, feathers, and roses. An elegant and most recherché toilet, as you shall see. Come! you consent; for the part requires a dignified carriage, and not one of my liltle actresses would have the courage to say to her highness, in a tone sufficiently respectful and imperious—'Follow me.' It a phrase not easy to say, and I think it requires genius to give it the desired effect. What think you?"

"Oh, it is admirable; and I shall perform the Shade with all my heart," replied Consuelo, smiling.

"Ah, you are an angel; an angel in truth!" exclaimed the count, kissing her hand.

But alas! the fête, this brilliant fête, this dream, which the count had cherished during the whole winter, and for which he had taken three journeys into Moravia to superintend the preparations, this fête so anxiously expected, was destined, like the stern and fatal vengeance of Karl, to vanish into thin air!

The following day every thing was in readiness. The retainers of Roswald were under arms. Nymphs, genii, savages, dwarfs, giants, mandarins, and shades, waited, shivering at their posts, for the signal to commence their evolutions. The roads leading to the castle were cleared of snow and strewn with moss and violets, numerous guests from the neighboring castles, and even distant towns, formed a respectable assemblage—when, alas! an unexpected calamity upset every thing. A courier dashing up at full gallop, brought the intelligence that the margravine's carriage had been overturned, that her highness had two ribs broken, and was forced to alight at Olmutz, where the count was to join her. The crowd dispersed. The count, followed by Karl, who had now regained his reason, mounted the best of his horses, and set off in haste, after having said a few words to his major-domo.

The Pleasures, the Brooks, the Hours, and the Rivers hastily put on their furred boots and woolen dresses; and together with the Chinese, the Pirates, the Druids, and the Anthropophagi returned pell-mell to their labor in the fields. The guests re-entered their carriages, and the same berlin which had brought Porpora and his pupil was again placed at their disposal. The major-domo, conformably to the orders he had received, handed them the sum agreed upon, and compelled them to accept it, although they had only half earned it. They set out the same day for Prague, the professor enchanted at being freed from the cosmopolitan music and the polyglot cantatas of his host, and Consuelo directing many a sorrowful look in the direction of Silesia, and grieved to the heart at being obliged to turn her back on the captive of Glatz without a hope of rescuing him from his unhappy fate.

That same day the Baron de Kreutz, who had passed the night in a village not far from the Moravian frontier, and who had departed again at dawn in a huge traveling coach, escorted by his pages on horseback and followed by a berlin which carried his secretary and his treasure chest, said to his lieutenant, or rather his aide-de-camp, the Baron of Buddenbrock, as they approached the city of Neïsse (and it must be remarked that, dissatisfied with his awkwardness the day before, this was the first time he had spoken to him since their departure from Roswald)—"What was that illumination which I perceived at a distance upon the hill we must have passed, if we had skirted the park of that Count Hoditz?"

"Sire," replied Buddenbrock, trembling, "I saw no illumination."

"You were in the wrong, then. A man who accompanies me ought to see everything."

"Your majesty must forgive me, but the frightful state of agitation into which I was thrown by that wretch's resolution——"

"You do not know what you are saying! That man was a fanatic, an unhappy Catholic devotee, exasperated by the sermons which the Bohemian clergy preached against me during the war, and driven moreover to extremity by some personal misfortune. He must be some peasant whom my recruiters have carried off; one of those deserters whom we sometimes recapture in spite of all their precautions——"

"Your majesty may rely upon it that tomorrow this man shall be retaken and brought before you."

"You have given orders then to have him carried off from Count Hoditz?"

"Not yet, sire; but as soon as I arrive at Neïsse, I will despatch four skillful and determined men——"

"I forbid you to do so; on the contrary, you will obtain information respecting the man, and if his family have fallen victims to the war, as he seemed to indicate in his incoherent talk, you will see that he be paid the sum of one thousand rix-dollars, and you will have him pointed out to the recruiters of Silesia that he be left forever undisturbed. You understand me? His name is Karl, he is very tall, he is a Bohemian, and in the service of Count Hoditz; that is enough to enable you to identify him and to procure information respecting his family and condition."

"Your majesty shall be obeyed."

"I hope so, indeed! What do you think of that professor of music?"

"Master Porpora? He seemed to me foolish, self-satisfied, and exceedingly ill-tempered."

"And I tell you that he is a man of superior acquirements, full of wit, and a most amusing irony. When he arrives with his pupil at the frontier of Prussia, you will send a comfortable carriage to meet him."

"Yes, sire."

"And you are to hand him into it alone; alone, you understand? but, at the same time, you will treat him with every respect."

"Yes, sire."

"And afterward?"

"Afterward your majesty means he shall be carried to Berlin?"

"You have not common sense today. I mean that he shall be carried back to Dresden, and from thence to Prague, if he desire it, or even to Vienna, if such be his wish; all at my expense. Since I have taken so worthy a man from his occupations, I ought to replace him in his former position without the change costing him any thing. But I do not wish him to place a foot in my kingdom. He has too much wit for us."

"What does your majesty command respecting the cantatrice?"

"That she be conducted under escort, whether willing or unwilling, to Sans Souci, and that an apartment be prepared for her in the château."

"In the château, sire?"

"Yes! are you deaf? the apartment of the Barberini."

"And the Barberini, sire—what shall we do with her?"

"The Barberini is no longer at Berlin. She has left that. Did you not know it?"

"No, sire."

"What do you know then? And as soon as the girl has arrived, I am to be notified of the fact, at whatever hour of the day or night it may happen. Do you understand what I have said? The following are the first orders you are to have inscribed upon register number 1 of the clerk of my treasury: the compensation to Karl, the sending back of Porpora, the succession of the Porporina to the honors and emoluments of the Barberini. Ha! here we are at the gates of the city. Resume your good humor, Buddenbrock, and endeavor to be a little less stupid the next time I take a fancy to travel incognito with you."