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"And will your majesty cashier likewise all the officers who
received the announcement of the bold resolution of their general
with enthusiastic cheers?" asked Hardenberg. "Will your majesty
likewise put on trial the spirit of resistance pervading the whole
Prussian corps? I beseech you again, in the name of your army and
your people--in the name of the magnanimous queen whose inspiring
eyes are gazing upon us from yonder portrait--take a bold and
sublime stand! Risk every thing in order to win every thing! Approve
York's step, place yourself at the head of the army, call upon the
Prussians--the Germans--to rally round your flag! Oh, your majesty,
believe me, Germany is only waiting for your war-cry. Every thing is
prepared, all are armed--all weapons, all hands are ready--all eyes
are fixed upon your majesty! Oh, do not hesitate longer; make our
night end, and the new day commence. Declare war against France--
leave her to her destiny!"

The king walked with rapid steps and in visible agitation; and,
whenever he passed the queen's portrait, he raised his eyes toward
it with an anxious expression. Standing in front of Hardenberg, and
laying his hand on his shoulder, he looked gravely into his pale,
quivering face. "Hardenberg," he said at last, in an undertone, "I
cannot allow General York to remain unpunished; I am not at liberty
to approve his course, even--well, yes, even though I should wish to
do so. As commander-in-chief of my army it is above all incumbent on
me to maintain discipline. York acted without regard to his
instructions, and without having received any orders from me to
enter into so dangerous a course, and I ought not afterward to
approve what one of my generals has done in so reckless and
arbitrary a manner. That would be rendering obedience dependent on
the whims and inclinations of every officer of my army.
Unconditional obedience, entire subordination of the individual
will--that is the bond which keeps armies together, and I cannot
loosen it. Where sacred and necessary principles are at stake, I
must not listen to the voice of my heart!"

"But still you ought to listen to the voice of prudence, your
majesty," exclaimed Hardenberg, emphatically. "Now, prudence renders
it necessary for you to fight at this juncture against the
perfidious enemy, who never fulfilled his treaties, never kept his
word, and is even now plotting mischief."

"What do you mean?" asked the king, hastily.

"I mean that your majesty is every day in danger of being arrested
at the slightest symptom that may appear suspicious to the French
gentlemen, and of being secretly conveyed to France. I mean that the
French are anxious that you should give them such a pretext, so that
they might charge you with secret machinations, send you to France,
and appropriate the whole of Prussia. Little King Jerome is tired of
his improvised kingdom of Westphalia. He longs for a more exalted
throne, the existence of which has already been consecrated by
centuries, and for a crown which need not, like his present one, be
specially created for him. Napoleon has promised his brother the
crown and throne of Prussia in case your majesty should give him the
slightest ground for complaint. He has therefore here in Berlin a
host of spies charged with watching every word, movement, and step
of your majesty. Oh, believe me, you are at all hours in danger of
seizure and secret removal. I am familiar with the whole plot; by
means of bribery, dissimulation, and cunning, I have wormed myself
into the confidence of, and gained over to my side, some of these
spies. They have informed me that every day, shortly before
nightfall, a closed carriage drives up to the royal palace, and
waits there all the night long; that, at a short distance from it,
soldiers are posted in isolated groups behind the trees, on the
opera place, and the corners of the streets intersecting the Linden;
that the royal palace is surrounded constantly by a number of agents
of the French police, and that some of these men always find means
to slip into the palace, where they conceal themselves in dark
corners and in the garden, or the yard, in order to watch every
movement of your majesty. What should be the object of all these
proceedings, but, on the first occasion, at the slightest symptom of
your defection, to seize the sacred person of your majesty, to carry
into effect Jerome's ambitious schemes, and transform the theatre
king into a real king?"

Frederick William's face grew pale and gloomy; he compressed his
lips as he used to do when any thing displeasing was communicated to
him. "You have told me one of the absurd stories with which nurses
try to frighten their children," he said, harshly. "But I do not
believe it, nor shall I allow myself to be frightened and take
imprudent steps. No one will dare attack or arrest me. I am the
faithful ally of France, and have proved by my actions that I am
animated with honest intentions toward her, and stand sincerely by
the alliance which I have pledged my word to maintain."

"But suppose France should look upon this defection of General York
as brought about by the secret orders of your majesty? Suppose
Napoleon, in his incessant distrust, and Jerome, in his ardent
desire for the possession of Prussia, should, notwithstanding all
protestations of your majesty to the contrary, believe in an
understanding between York and his king, and therein find a welcome
pretext for carrying into effect their infamous schemes, seizing
your majesty, and annihilating Prussia?"

"I shall give them such convincing proofs of my sentiments that it
will be impossible for them to believe in an understanding between
myself and York," exclaimed the king. "Enough! I adhere to my
resolution. York must be removed from his command, and General
Kleist will be his successor. I shall, besides, address an autograph
letter to Murat, the emperor's lieutenant at the head of the army,
and express to him my profound indignation at what has occurred, and
inform him of the penalty which I am about to inflict on York."

"Very well," said Hardenberg, sighing, "if your majesty so resolves,
it must be done; but it should be done in haste--this very hour.
Count St. Marsan is waiting for me at his residence, to learn from
me the decisions of your majesty before sending off his couriers to
the Emperor Napoleon. It will be necessary for us to lay before him
the letter which your majesty intends to write to the King of
Naples, as well as the formal order in regard to the removal of
General York. You ought also at once to name the courier who is to
convey your majesty's orders and letters to the two camps in Old
Prussia."

"You are right; all this must be done immediately," said the king,
seizing his silver bell and ringing. The door opened, and Timm the
chamberlain entered. "Go to my aide-de-camp, Major Natzmer," said
the king to him. "Inform him that he is to set out immediately on a
journey, and should, therefore, quickly prepare. In four hours every
thing must be done, and Major Natzmer must then be in my anteroom.
Go yourself to him, Timm, and inform him of my orders. This one
courier will be sufficient," said the king, turning again to
Hardenberg, after Timm had left the room. "Natzmer will first repair
to the headquarters of the King of Naples, deliver my letter to him,
show him the orders intended for Kleist and York, and then go to the
Russian camp in order to deliver these orders to my generals."

"Will your majesty not write also a letter to the Emperor Alexander,
begging him to spare your troops, whom Wittgenstein henceforth will
consider enemies, and to address a word of consolation and
encouragement to the emperor, whose magnanimous heart will bitterly
feel this new disappointment?"

"Very well," said the king, after a brief reflection, "I will write
such a letter to Alexander, and Natzmer shall himself take it after
previously seeing Murat, Wittgenstein, and York."

An hour afterward the king wrote his letters, and Hardenberg drew up
the decree removing York from the command of the army. The
chancellor of state then left the king's cabinet to repair to the
residence of the French ambassador, and inform him of the
resolutions of his majesty. The king looked after him long and
musingly, and, folding his hands behind him, paced his room. A
profound silence reigned around him; the storm of the cold January
night swept dense masses of snow against the windows, making them
rattle as if spectral hands were tapping at the panes: the wax-
tapers on the silver candelabra, standing on the king's desk, had
burned low, and their flickering light flashed on the noble portrait
of the queen. The king noticed the fitfully illuminated face gazing
upon him, as it were, with a quick and repeated greeting; he could
not help gently nodding, as if to return the salutation, and then
approached the portrait with slow steps.

"Louisa," he said, in a loud, solemn voice, "God has counted your
tears, and taken upon Himself the revenge of your wrongs. It was at
Piktupobnen where you first met Napoleon, and where the overbearing
man bowed your noble head in the dust. At Piktupobnen the Queen of
Prussia implored the emperor of the French to spare her country, and
grant her lenient terms of peace. It was France now that was waiting
for Prussia at the same place, asking Prussia for assistance, and
Prussia refused it. Where the disgraceful alliance commenced has
been seen its bitter end. God is just; He has counted your tears,
and He is preparing your revenge. It began at Piktupobnen."

CHAPTER XVI.

THE DIPLOMATIST.

During an hour Chancellor von Hardenberg, in the cabinet of the
French ambassador, Count St. Marsan, conferred in an animated and
grave manner as to Prussia's new position, and the guaranties she
offered to France for the sincerity of her alliance. Count St.
Marsan felt entirely satisfied, after reading the letter which King
Frederick William had written to the King of Naples, and the decree
removing York from his command. He cordially shook hands with the
chancellor, and assured him that this disagreeable affair would not
leave the least vestige of distrust; that his august emperor would
also feel entirely satisfied of the sincerity of the king's
sentiments.

"And you may add that this will also satisfy the emperor of the
sincerity of my sentiments toward him," said Hardenberg, smiling. "I
know that Napoleon has unfortunately often distrusted me, and has
believed me to be animated with feelings hostile to his greatness.
Henceforth, however, his majesty will have to admit that I am one of
his most reliable and faithful adherents. It was I who prevailed
upon the king to stand by France so firmly and constantly. You are
aware of it, and I need not conceal it from you, that King Frederick
William loves the Emperor Alexander, and would be happy, if
circumstances enabled him, to renew his alliance with his friend
Alexander. The Emperor of Russia has already stretched out his hand
toward him, and is only waiting for Frederick William to grasp it.
York's defection was carefully prepared on the part of Russia; it
was to be the impulse which should cause the king to take
Alexander's hand. And let me tell you, confidentially, he was not
only greatly inclined to do so, but even the enthusiasm of those
gentlemen of his suite, who, heretofore, had always been ardent
adherents of the Emperor of the French, had cooled down since the
disasters of the grand army in Russia, and they believed it to be
incumbent on them to advise the king to join Russia. But I--I have
obtained a victory over them all, and, by my zeal and eloquence,
have succeeded in convincing Frederick William that just now a firm
maintenance of the alliance with France is most advantageous both to
the honor and welfare of Prussia. The king saw the force of my
arguments, and the consequence was that he rejected the proposals of
Russia, and declared in favor of a faithful continuance of the
alliance with France, as is proved by this letter to Murat, and this
decree, removing York, which I have drawn up, and which is already
signed. France may now confidently count on Prussia, for you see we
have passed through our ordeal, and have proved faithful."

"Yes, you have," exclaimed Count St. Marsan, "and the reward and
acknowledgment due to your fidelity will soon be conferred on you.
The emperor knows full well that the magnanimous and disinterested
character of your excellency will not permit him to bestow upon you
any other rewards and thanks than those of honor and of the heart.
As for the latter, please let me return them to you now in the name
of the emperor and of France, and perhaps you will authorize me to
inform him that your excellency will consider the grand cross of the
Legion of Honor as a sufficient acknowledgment."

"Great Heaven!" exclaimed Hardenberg, with a face radiant with joy,
"you have divined the object of my most secret wishes. You have read
my mind, and understood my ambition. There is but one order to wear
which is a proud honor, and this order has not as yet decorated my
breast."

Count St. Marsan bent closer to the ear of the chancellor. "My noble
friend," he said, smiling, and in a low voice, "we shall fasten this
order to the breast of the chancellor of state on the day when we
sign the marriage-contract of the crown prince and a princess of the
house of Napoleon."

"Yes," exclaimed Hardenberg, "let it be so. I accept this condition.
I shall not claim, nor deem myself worthy of receiving this longed-
for order before the day when the Prussian crown prince will be
betrothed to an imperial princess of France. To bring about this
joyful event will henceforth be for me an affair of the heart, and,
moreover, to such an extent that, if this honor should previously be
offered me, I would refuse it, because I first wish to deserve it."

"And does your excellency believe that you will have to wait long?"
asked Count St. Marsan. "Do you believe that the day when the
betrothal will take place is yet remote?"

"I hope not. The crown prince will be confirmed next month, and
after his confirmation it will be time to speak of his marriage. I
am satisfied that all will turn out well, and conformably to our
wishes, provided--"

"Well?" asked St. Marsau, when Hardenberg suddenly paused. "Pray,
your excellency, confide in me, and tell me the whole truth. You may
rest assured of my most heart-felt gratitude, my entire discretion,
and the most unreserved confidence on my part. I beseech you,
therefore, to speak out."

"Well, then," said Hardenberg, in a low voice, and with an air of
entire sincerity, "I was going to say that every thing would turn
out conformably to your wishes, provided the king do not listen to
the incessant secret entreaties and insinuations of Russia, and the
new Russian party at our court. So long as _I_ remain here, I am
afraid of nothing; but if those gentlemen should succeed in
persuading the king to leave Berlin, and repair to a city where he
would be closer to Russia, then I would really be afraid."

"And your excellency believes that the king might entertain such an
intention?" asked Count St. Marsan, in breathless suspense.

Hardenberg shrugged his shoulders. "I do not want to believe it," he
said, "but I am almost afraid of it. However, both you and I will be
vigilant. But listen, your excellency, the clock is striking two!
Two o'clock in the morning! Both of us have yet to send off
couriers, and then we may well be allowed to seek an hour's sleep
for our exhausted bodies. Good-night, then, my dear count and ally!-
-good-night! I hasten to the king to tell him that France will be
content with the satisfaction which we offer her, and thereby I
shall procure him a quiet and peaceful slumber for the present
night."

"Ah, you are in truth a magician, your excellency!" said St. Marsan,
gayly, "for you understand both how to take away and give sleep. So
long as I am near you, I forget all weariness; and after you have
left me I shall, thanks to your words and promises, be able to sleep
more quietly than I have done for a long time. You have quieted my
soul, and my body therefore will also find rest. Bid me good-night
again, for when you say so I will be sure to have it."

"Good-night, then, my dear count," said Hardenberg, shaking hands
with his friend, and withdrawing, with a smile, from the room.

This affectionate smile was still playing round the lips of the
chancellor when he entered his carriage. But no sooner had its door
closed and the carriage was moving, than an expression of gloomy
hatred overspread his features. "I hope I have quite succeeded in
misleading St. Marsan and arousing his suspicions in regard to the
king," he said to himself. "As the king refuses to listen to my
warnings and supplications, and does not believe it to be possible
that France should dare seize him, it is time to give him some
irrefutable proofs. Perhaps he may then make up his mind to leave
Berlin. I may sign this longed-for betrothal at some other place,
too, and then fasten on my breast the order for which I am longing.
In truth," he added, laughing, "it is no fault of mine that dear
Count St. Marsan interprets my desire in the way he does. I did not
name to him the order I wish to wear. It is no fault of mine that he
imagines I wish for the grand cross of the Legion of Honor. To be
sure, I wish to obtain an order of honor, but one of a German
patriot, and that I can only obtain from the gratitude of my
countrymen and impartial history."

The carriage stopped in front of the royal palace, and Hardenberg
hastened to the king. Silence reigned in the anteroom; a few sleepy
footmen were sitting on the cane chairs beside the door, and
scarcely took notice of the arrival of the chancellor, who passed
them with soft, hurried steps, and entered the small reception-room.
Here, too, all was still, and the two candles on the table, which
had burned low, shed but a dim light in the room. The chancellor
noticed two figures sitting on both sides of the door leading into
the adjoining room, and slowly swinging to and fro, like the
pendulum of a clock. He softly approached the two sleepers. "Ah," he
whispered, with a smile, "there sleeps Timm, the chamberlain, who is
to announce my arrival to the king; and here sleeps Major Natzmer,
to whom I want to say a word before he sets out." he laid his hand
gently on the major's shoulder. Natzmer jumped up at once and drew
himself up in a stiff, military attitude. "You are very prudent in
nodding a little now," said Hardenberg, kindly giving him his hand,
"for I am afraid you will not find much time for it during the
remainder of the night. You are ready to set out immediately, are
you not?"

"I am, your excellency."

"And your dispatches, I believe, are ready, too.--My dear Timm," he
then said to the chamberlain, "pray announce my arrival to his
majesty."

"I believe it is unnecessary," said Timm, with the familiarity of a
favorite servant. "His majesty is waiting for your excellency."

"You had better announce my arrival," said Hardenberg, smiling, "for
it might be possible that I surprise the king in the same manner as
I did these two gentlemen here, and that would be disagreeable."

"That is true," said Timm, hastily approaching the door. "I will
immediately announce your excellency."

No sooner had he left the room, than the chancellor laid his hand on
the major's arm, and bent over him. "My friend," he said, in a low,
hurried voice, "I know you share my views."

"Your excellency knows that I adore you as the statesman who holds
the future happiness of Prussia in his hands, and that I abhor the
French, who have brought Prussia to the brink of ruin."

"Will you do something to bring her back from this brink?"

"Yes, your excellency, though it cost my life."

"That would be a high price. No; we stand in need of your life and
your arm, for Prussia will soon need all her soldiers. What I ask of
you is not near so valuable. Listen to me. The king sends you as a
courier to Old Prussia. Repair, in the first place, to Murat's
headquarters, and deliver the king's letter to him. Go to the
Russian headquarters, and call upon Prince Wittgenstein. All I ask
of you is to inform Prince Wittgenstein that you are the bearer of
two dispatches. Tell him that one is an autograph letter from the
king to the Emperor Alexander, and the other a decree removing
General York from his command, and ordering him to be put on his
trial before a military commission."

"What!" exclaimed Natzmer, in dismay. "Our noble York is to be
removed from his command?"

"Yes; the king has resolved to remove and cashier him, because he
has gone over with his corps to the Russians."

"York gone over to the Russians!" exclaimed Natzmer, joyously. "And
for this wondrously bold step I am to bring him a decree superseding
and cashiering him?"

"That is what the king orders you to do, and, of course, you will
have to obey. But, I repeat to you, the only thing I ask of you is
to inform Prince Wittgenstein what dispatches are in your hands, and
what their contents are."

"But suppose the king should not tell me any thing about them?
Suppose their contents, therefore, should be unknown to me?"

"The king himself will communicate the contents to you, and even
order you to mention everywhere on the road that you are the bearer
of a decree cashiering York, the criminal general. It is of great
importance to his majesty that every one, and, above all, France,
should learn that he is highly incensed at York's defection, and
that--Hush! I hear Timm coming! You will comply with my request?"

"I shall inform Prince Wittgenstein of the contents of my
dispatches."

"In that case, I hope York will be safe! Hush!"

The door opened again, and the chamberlain entered. "Your excellency
was quite right," he said; "it was well that I announced your
arrival. His majesty, like ourselves, had fallen asleep. But now he
is awaiting you." He opened the folding-doors, and Hardenberg
hastened across the adjoining room to the king's cabinet, to
communicate to him the result of his interview with the French
ambassador.

An hour afterward Major Natzmer received three dispatches at the
hands of the king. The first was a letter to Napoleon's lieutenant
at the head of the French army, the King of Naples. In this
Frederick William informed Murat that he was filled with the most
intense indignation at the step York had taken, and that he had
commissioned Major Natzmer to deliver a royal decree to General
Kleist, authorizing him to take command of the troops and arrest
General York. He declared further in this letter that, as a matter
of course, he refused to ratify the convention, and that the
Prussian troops, commanded by General Kleist, should be, as they had
been heretofore, subject to the orders of the Emperor Napoleon, and
his lieutenant, the King of Naples. [Footnote: Droysen's "Life of
York," vol. ii., p. 37.] The second dispatch was confidential, to
the Emperor Alexander, the contents of which the king had not
communicated even to his chancellor of state. The third was, the
decree superseding York, and ordering Kleist to take command of the
troops. "I think," said the king, after Natzmer had withdrawn, "we
have now done every thing to appease Napoleon's wrath, and avert
from Prussia all evil consequences. Are you not also of this
opinion, M. Chancellor?"

"It only remains to send a special envoy to Napoleon himself and
assure him of your majesty's profound indignation," said Hardenberg,
gloomily. "The proud emperor, perhaps, expects such a proof of the
fidelity of your majesty."

The king cast a quick and searching glance on the gloomy countenance
of the chancellor, and then gazed for some time musingly. "You are
right," he said, after a pause; "I must send a special envoy to
Paris. When it is necessary to appease a bloodthirsty tiger, no
means should be left untried. I myself will write to Napoleon and
assure him that I will faithfully adhere to the alliance. Prince
Hatzfeld will depart with this letter for Paris early in the
morning."

"Your majesty will then have done every thing to satisfy the French
of the sincerity of your friendly intentions toward them, but I am
afraid they do not care to be satisfied."

"You believe, then, seriously that the French are menacing me?"
asked the king, with a contemptuous smile.

"I am convinced of it, your majesty."

"But what do you believe, then? What are you afraid of?"

"As I said before, I am afraid they will dare abduct the sacred
person of your majesty, and I beseech you to be on your guard; never
leave your palace alone and unarmed; never go into the street
without being attended by an armed escort."

"Ah," said the king, with a sad smile, "do not the French always see
to it that I am attended by an escort? Am I not always surrounded by
their spies and eavesdroppers?"

"If your majesty is aware of this, why do you not yield to my
entreaties? Why do you not leave Berlin?"