Books: NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER

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"And who is the gentleman?"

"Sire, it is Major Natzmer, whom your majesty sent recently as a
courier to Old Prussia."

"Natzmer?" exclaimed the king, joyously, "admit him at once!--Ah, M.
Chancellor, we shall hear now how affairs are looking in my province
of Prussia, and how my troops have received York's removal from his
command."

"I hope Major Natzmer will bring your majesty good and joyful news,"
said Hardenberg, with perfect outward calmness, while his heart was
throbbing with impatience for Major Natzmer, who now entered; and,
while he saluted the king, Hardenberg fixed his eyes, with an
anxious expression, on the countenance of the new-comer. For a
moment their eyes met. There was an inquiry in those of Hardenberg;
Natzmer replied by a slight motion of his eyelids, and an almost
imperceptible smile.

"In the first place, report to me briefly and succinctly," said the
king. "Reply to all my questions as pointedly and clearly as
possible. Afterward we will expatiate on the most important points.
Well, then, you saw Murat and Macdonald?"

"I did, your majesty. I met the King of Naples at Elbing, and had
the honor of delivering your majesty's letter to him. He received me
very kindly, and was delighted at being thus assured of your
friendly feelings toward France. Marshal Macdonald, to whose
headquarters I then repaired, was less kind and polite. He was still
exceedingly indignant at the course of General York, which he openly
stigmatized as traitorous; but he was pacified when I informed him
that I was the bearer of an order depriving York of his command, and
was about to convey it to the camp of the Russians and Prussians."

"He raised no obstacles, then, but allowed you to pass over without
hinderance to the Russian camp?"

"Yes, your majesty. While Macdonald continued his march, I rode to
the Russian pickets, and was conducted by an officer, detailed by
General Choplitz for this purpose, to the commander-in-chief, Prince
Wittgenstein, who had established his headquarters at Heilsberg."

"What business had you at Wittgenstein's headquarters?"

"I wanted, in accordance with your orders, to ask his permission to
pass through to General York; and, besides, I wished to ascertain
where the Emperor Alexander had established his headquarters, that I
might repair to them."

"Prince Wittgenstein, of course, gave you immediate permission to
pass through his camp, did he not?"

"No, your majesty; he refused my request."

"How so? What reasons could he adduce? Did you tell him what you
intended to do at York's headquarters?"

"Your majesty ordered me to tell every one what I was to do at
General York's headquarters, and what punishment you intended to
inflict upon him. I was therefore authorized and obliged to inform
General Wittgenstein of the object of my mission."

"And he dared to resist you?"

"He did, your majesty. He declared that he would not permit me by
any means to go to York, and that so long as he lived no one should
bring to the general a dispatch by which the most generous,
magnanimous, and valiant general of the Prussian army was to be
deprived of his command."

"Then he really prevented you from going to York?"

"Yes, your majesty; he told me I was his prisoner, and did not
permit me to leave him."

"So that, at this moment, General York has not, as I desire,
transferred his command to General Kleist?"

"Precisely, your majesty. General York is still in command."

"And he did not receive the order removing him from his position?"

"I was unable to deliver it, and your majesty required me to give it
to none but the general himself. I was, however, a prisoner at
General Wittgenstein's. He asked me whether I had received other
commissions; and when he heard that I was to deliver a letter to his
majesty the emperor, he immediately had a sleigh brought to the
door, detailed an officer to escort me, and we set out for the
imperial headquarters."

"Let us speak of that hereafter," said the king, quickly. "Tell me
first whether you have heard further news about my corps. General
York, then, is still in command?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"But even though he has not received the dispatches, he must have
seen the news in the newspapers. For the Berlin journals contained a
copy of the order superseding him, and he must have noticed it."

"I was told by General Wittgenstein, on returning from the
headquarters of the Emperor of Russia, that York had been informed
by the newspapers of the severe punishment which your majesty
intended to inflict upon him, and that you disavowed him and the
course he had taken. Accordingly, he requested General Kleist to
take command of the troops. But Kleist refused to do so, alleging
that he had received no direct orders from your majesty, and that
the dispatches of your majesty, addressed to him personally, would
determine his course, and induce him to take command of the troops."

"General Kleist was right in making this declaration," said the
king. "So long as York had not received the dispatches, he remained
commander-in-chief."

"He is still at the head of the army," exclaimed Natzmer, "for I
bring back the dispatches addressed to Generals York and Kleist. As
I was unable to deliver them, I return them to your majesty."

The king took the papers which the major presented to him,
contemplating them for a moment. He turned toward Hardenberg, and
saw that heart-felt joy was beaming from his face. "Are you glad
that my orders have not been carried into effect, M. Chancellor of
State?" asked the king.

"Yes, your majesty," said Hardenberg, in a voice tremulous with
emotion, "I am glad of it, for now it seems to me as if our night is
drawing to a close, and a new morning is about to dawn upon Prussia.
York took the first step for this purpose, and it will be necessary
for your majesty to pursue the same course. For, as York has not
been deprived of his command, the French will no longer believe that
you disavow the action of your brave general, and your people and
all Germany will take heart, for they will see that the era of
disgrace is past, and that a German king dares at length to resist
the French tyrant."

"Well, we shall see," said the king. "Now, Major Natzmer, tell me
about your mission to his majesty the Emperor Alexander. I told you
that it was a state secret. Did you keep it?"

"I did, your majesty."

"Well, tell me the result."

"Will your majesty permit me to withdraw?" said the chancellor,
approaching the door. "As you intrusted Major Natzmer with a secret
mission--"

"Oh, no, your excellency, pray remain; I wish you to hear the
message I sent to the emperor, and what he replied to it.--Answer my
questions now, major. Did you carry out the commission I gave you?
Did you verbally lay before the emperor the message which I dared
not confide to pen and paper? Did you tell the emperor that I would
offer him a defensive and offensive alliance if Alexander would
engage to carry on the war against Napoleon to the best of his
power, and cross the Vistula and the Oder without delay? Did you
make this offer to Alexander in my name?"

"I did, your majesty."

The king glanced quickly at Hardenberg, and the surprised face of
his chancellor of state made him smile.

"And what did the emperor reply?" asked Frederick William, turning
again to the major.

"The emperor was overjoyed at the offer, and declared his readiness
to grant all which you would stipulate now and hereafter. The
Emperor Alexander imposed only a single condition."

"What was it?"

"He demanded that the fortress of Graudenz should be garrisoned by
Russian troops, and insisted most obstinately on this point."

"Did you not tell him that I had made up my mind in regard to this
point, and would renounce the proposed alliance if Graudenz, the
most remote fortress of my kingdom, should be garrisoned by other
than Prussian troops?"

"I stated this to the emperor."

"And then?"

"The emperor resolved to yield even this point, and to leave
Graudenz to the Prussian troops."

A sunbeam seemed to light up the grave, calm face of the king, and
the cloud that generally darkened his brow disappeared. "M.
Chancellor," he said, turning to Hardenberg with a mild and kind
smile, "are you now reconciled with your Fabius Cunctator? Will you
forgive me for having hesitated until Natzmer would bring me
Alexander's reply?"

"Oh, sire," exclaimed Hardenberg, "my soul bows in joyous
admiration, and your greatness and mildness make me blush."

At this moment the door opened, and Kockeritz and Kalkreuth entered
the cabinet.

"Ah," exclaimed the king, meeting them, "my two generals whom I sent
out on a reconnoissance! Well, gentlemen, speak! Did you find my
carriage?"

"We did, your majesty," said Field-Marshal Kalkreuth, sighing. "The
report was but too true. A vile plot had been formed; we have the
proofs, for we really found the carriage of your majesty in the
avenue leading to Sans-Souci; the horses had been partially
unhitched--"

"And my poor coachman?" asked the king. "Kockeritz, tell me what has
become of my faithful Thomas?"

"We found him exactly in the condition stated in the spy's report,"
said General Kockeritz, hastily. "He lay in the interior of the
carriage; his hands and feet firmly tied; his head covered with a
cape, which had been closely fastened round his neck to prevent him
from crying; it had, moreover, almost choked him when we arrived."

"But he has recovered from his fright?" asked the king, in a tone of
sympathy.

"Yes, your majesty," said Kockeritz, "and he would not permit Timm
to accompany him to Sans-Souci. He felt strong enough to return to
Potsdam, and arrived here at the same time as we did."

"I suppose you have ordered him to say nothing about the whole
affair?"

"Yes, your majesty, and he swore he would not mention it."

"And now, gentlemen, give me your opinion. Field-Marshal Kalkreuth,
you have satisfied yourself now that the French really intended to
seize and abduct me to-night?"

"I have unfortunately satisfied myself that they made such an
attempt," said the field-marshal.

"And you, Kockeritz, believe so, too?"

"I do, your majesty; I am fully convinced that such an outrage was
in contemplation."

"And you, M. Chancellor of State?"

"I was confident of the existence of this plot before coming hither,
and every thing has confirmed it; yes, such an outrage was surely
intended. The French meant to seize your sacred person."

"Will your majesty permit me also to reply to this question?" said
Major Natzmer.

"What do you mean?" asked the king, surprised. "Have you not just
arrived? How can you pass an opinion on what occurred before your
arrival?"

"Your majesty, it is true I have just now come; but still I knew
what was to occur here, and what an infamous transaction was
planned," said Major Natzmer. "The Emperor Alexander gave me this
information; he had just received from a perfectly reliable source
the news that Marshal Augereau had been instructed to seize the
person of your majesty. The emperor was greatly alarmed, and told me
he would be unable to find any rest until he had heard that you were
safe, and had left Berlin and Potsdam. [Footnote: Droysen's "Life of
York," vol. ii., p. 120.] I myself set out at once in the greatest
consternation, and as I left the emperor on the 13th of January, I
would have arrived here much earlier if I had not heard at Landshut
that Murat had issued an order to all the authorities to have me
arrested and conveyed to the French headquarters, [Footnote: Ibid.]
This compelled me to take a roundabout course, and now I rejoice the
more heartily as I have arrived at the very time to caution your
majesty, in the name of the Emperor Alexander, against the insidious
designs of the French."

The king made no reply. He paced the room slowly and with his head
bent down; the four gentlemen stood in silence on both sides of the
cabinet. Suddenly standing in the middle of the room, with his
countenance full of determination, he said: "Gentlemen, I will tell
you a state secret. Will you pledge me your word of honor, all four
of you, that you will keep it?"

"We will!" they all shouted at the same moment.

"Listen to me, then," added the king. "I shall leave Potsdam and
repair to Breslau, whither the seat of government will be
temporarily transferred. All the necessary preparations must be made
from this hour with the utmost dispatch and prudence. To-morrow
night I shall set out with the crown prince; the rest of the royal
family will follow me on the next day. Troops will be stationed
along the route; the hussars forming my escort, and the lifeguards
following to Breslau. It is my duty to place myself beyond the reach
of insidious attacks, and to render it impossible for the French to
seize me. I will, therefore, go to Breslau!" While uttering these
words, the king glanced successively at the faces of the four
gentlemen. He saw that Field-Marshal Kalkreuth looked gloomy and
abstracted, and opposite him the chancellor of state, with burning
cheeks and radiant eyes.

"Well, Hardenberg," said the king, mildly, "have you nothing to say
to me?"

"I am unable to say any thing," whispered Hardenberg, in a tremulous
voice, "but I do what I have not done for many years past--I weep
tears of joy! Our night is at an end; a new morning is dawning upon
Prussia, and the sun of a new era will shed his beams upon all of
us!"

CHAPTER XXII.

THE MANIFESTO.

The people were moving in dense crowds through Berlin. The long and
splendid street "Unter den Linden" was filled with a vast multitude,
whoso greeting cheers resembled the noise of the ocean's billows.

"The king has safely arrived at Breslau!" cried one of the men to
another, and immediately the enthusiastic cry of "Long live the
king!" burst from all those who heard it, and, like a jubilant echo,
the people along the whole street repeated, "Long live the king!"

"The king has reappointed General Scharnhorst quartermaster-general,
and General Blucher is with him at Breslau!" exclaimed a stentorian
voice. "Long live Scharnhorst! Long live Blucher!" shouted the
crowd. "Long live our heroes!" "Down with the French!" and thousands
answered in tones of intense hatred, "Down with the French!"

"They so long trampled us under foot!" cried another citizen. "Now,
let us pay them for it! Come, let us go to the French ambassador and
give him a few groans! We will no longer be silent!"

"Yes, we are determined to speak!" yelled the multitude, who hurried
toward the gate in front of which the residence of the ambassador
was situated. But suddenly they were stopped by a procession
approaching from the Brandenburg gate. It was headed by three men--
one of short and feeble frame, his face pale and emaciated, but lit
up by large flashing blue eyes; the second was tall and broad-
shouldered, his eye looking frank and bold, and his hair falling on
his shoulders like a lion's mane; the third was not tall, but of a
firmly-knit frame, and, with his proud head and intrepid air, looked
like the embodiment of chivalry. Behind them was a line of more than
two hundred youths, in light, simple attire, their cheeks glowing
with excitement or exercise, and their eyes flashing with
enthusiasm.

"Hurrah!" shouted the people. "Here are the Turners! Here is Father
Jahn with his Turners! Long live Jahn!"

The Turners, at a beck from "Father Jahn," had taken position across
the street, and thus, like a chain, prevented the citizens from
passing on. The three leaders stood in front, and gazed gravely upon
the approaching multitude.

"Clear the track!" cried the crowd. "We have business to attend to
on the square in front of the gate!"

"Believe me, it is as I said," whispered the smallest of the three
men to his neighbor. "It is a riot directed against the French
ambassador!"

"Where are you going?" shouted the man with the lion's mane, pushing
back those at the head of the crowd with his herculean arms.

"We are going to the French ambassador, to sing him a new German
song, and accompany it with stones for his windows."

"And why do you wish to do so?" asked the tall man. "What do you
care for the Frenchman on this beautiful and joyous day? Men like
you have something else to do than to break the windows of the
French ambassador. There will be other battles before long. I hope
you have heard or read what great events have occurred; I hope you
know the message which the king has sent to us from Breslau?"

"No, we know nothing about them!" replied a few voices. "Yes, we
do," said others. "But we would like to hear the news again," cried
another. "Pray, repeat it to us, Father Jahn!"

"I am not very well able to do so; our gymnastic performances to-day
have exhausted me," replied Jahn. "I went out of the gate with my
pupils at an early hour in the morning. These two gentlemen came to
us and told us the news, and that is the reason why we have come
back. My friend will tell you what he told me, and he knows better
how to speak than I do, for he has an eloquent tongue. This is well
known to all of you, for who among you is not acquainted with
Frederick Schleiermacher, the great preacher?"

"Schleiermacher! Long live Schleiermacher! Let Schleiermacher repeat
to us what the king said! Let him tell us what is on the large
placards on the street corners. Hearing it read, we understand it
better than on reading it ourselves."

And many arms were stretched out toward the feeble little man who
stood by the side of Jahn, lifting him up and placing him gently on
the balcony fixed above the door of a neighboring house.

"That is a good pulpit," shouted the people; "Schleiermacher,
address us from it!"

The little man with bright eyes and a genial countenance gazed for a
moment in silence upon his auditors, who thronged around him in
suspense and curiosity. He then raised his arms, commanding silence.
The laughter, shouts, and yells, died away; all eyes were fixed upon
Schleiermacher, and the noise of the multitude seemed arrested as by
a magician's wand, as the voice of the preacher resounded through
the street clear and distinct. "You want me to read what has been
addressed to us all," he said, "the manifesto which Minister von
Hardenberg has issued to the people in the king's name. Listen,
then!" He took a large folded paper from his breast-pocket, and,
opening it, read as follows: "'The dangerous position in which the
state has been placed by recent events requires a rapid augmentation
of the troops now in arms, while our finances admit of no lavish
expenditures. In consideration of the patriotism and faithful
attachment to the king which have always animated the people of
Prussia, and manifested themselves most strikingly in times of
danger, there is but an opportunity required to give a definite
direction to these sentiments, and to the desire for activity which
distinguishes so many young men, that they may swell by their
accession to the army the ranks of the older defenders of the
country, whom they would emulate in nobly fulfilling the first of
all duties incumbent upon us. For this reason his majesty has
designed to order the organization of companies of volunteers, to be
embodied with the regiments of infantry and cavalry already in the
service, that an opportunity to enter the army in a manner suitable
to their education, and their position in life, may be given to all
those classes who, under the existing conscription laws, are exempt
from service, and are rich enough to pay for their own outfit and
horse, and that a prospect of distinguishing themselves may be held
out to men who, owing to their education and intellect, might
immediately do good service, and soon be appointed line and field
officers.' [Footnote: Hardenberg issued this manifesto at Breslau,
on the 3d of February; it was published at Berlin on the 5th.] It is
unnecessary for me to read the conclusion of the proclamation," said
Schleiermacher. "You know enough, for you know now that the king
calls his people; that he calls upon all the youths and men of his
kingdom to rally round him, and that he requests, and does not order
them to do so. The country is in danger; and not the king's order,
but your own voluntary action, is to make you soldiers of the
fatherland and put arms into your hands. Remember that your free
will is your most precious and sacred possession, and that he is
twice a hero whom it actuates, and is not forced into duty. No
greater honor can be conferred on you than that your country calls
you, trusts in your strong arm, and hopes in your free will to save
it from destruction. Take that into consideration, and decide then
whether you will stay at home or obey the call."

The two men who had been by his side at the head of the procession,
Jahn, the brave Turner, and the chivalrous La Motte Fouque, now
ascended the balcony.

"I do not care to stay at home when my country calls me to her aid!"
exclaimed M. de la Motte Fouque, in a loud, sonorous voice. "I
joyfully offer my services as a soldier. I have a wife and children,
but my country is to me more precious than they are, and I enroll
here my name as the first volunteer who responds to the call of his
king and country."

"And I enroll my name as the second volunteer!" exclaimed Jahn, the
Turners' father. "I swear here to my country that I will joyously
fight for it. Henceforth, my blood and life belong to the
fatherland.--And where are you, my boys, my Turners? Shall I march
out all alone, or will you accompany me?"

"We will go with you!" cried a hundred youthful voices, and their
enthusiastic shouts rent the sky. "We will march with you! We will
fight for the fatherland!" And the crowd, carried away by what they
saw and heard--the men with tearful eyes, the youths with flashing
glances--all shouted: "We will march with you! We will fight for the
fatherland!" Neighbor gave his hand to neighbor, and friend embraced
friend; those who had never before seen each other understood the
common feeling, and those who had never exchanged a word conversed
now like old acquaintances. One grand impulse seemed to move the
multitude--one patriotic feeling beamed from all eyes--one vow
burned in all hearts: to be faithful soldiers to their country. It
was no mere transitory enthusiasm, soon to disappear, and to be
succeeded by a corresponding reaction--it was no momentary ardor
kindled by the manifesto issued at Breslau, but the sacred fire of
patriotism burning in the heart of the whole people of Prussia, and
increased from day to day. Every one felt himself a soldier, and
would have considered it a disgrace to remain at home while others
marched to the war of liberation.

The pupils of the lyceums closed their books, and the teachers did
not prevent them; they only appeared in the school-rooms, to say to
the half-grown youths: "Farewell! The country has called us! Let us
march to the field! Those of you who have reached their seventeenth
year, and are willing to fight, follow us!" And, with shouts of
exultation, the older youths rallied round their teachers, while the
younger ones retired with tearful eyes, as if ashamed of their age.
What occurred in the lyceum was repeated in the offices, the courts,
the counting-houses of the bankers and merchants. No one would stay
at home, or refuse the country his arm and his strength. All selfish
calculations, all distinctions of rank had ceased. Princes and
counts were seen in the ranks of the volunteers by the side of the
humblest youths; and poor men, who had sold every thing they had to
buy arms and a uniform, did not think of their future, or what was
to become of them after their return from the war. The fatherland
had called them, and they voluntarily took up arms in its defence.
Death had lost its terrors, life had lost its value. With exulting
hearts, mothers saw their sons preparing for the struggle. The
affianced bride uncomplainingly clasped her departing lover for the
last time in her arms; without fear for the fate of his wife and
children, the husband and father embraced his dear ones, and his
wife did not attempt to dissuade him. She would have despised him if
he desired to remain, and loved his wife and his children more
devotedly than his country, calling to him in the hour of her peril.

Four days had not yet elapsed since the publication of the manifesto
of the king, when there stood on the Gendarmes market at Berlin one
hundred and fifty young volunteers, who, within a few days, had
fully armed and equipped themselves, either from their own means, or
with the assistance of friends, and who were now about to march to
Potsdam in order to set out with a company of ninety volunteers,
which had been recruited in that city for the king's headquarters at
Breslau. [Footnote: Nine thousand young men volunteered at Berlin in
the first three days after the manifesto was issued, and active
preparations were made to uniform and equip them at the earliest
moment.] All Berlin wished to participate in the farewell of this
first company of volunteers which were sent to its king. Every one
desired once more to shake hands with the courageous defenders of
the country--to shout a love-greeting, a last wish to them, and
bless the soldiers of the fatherland. The windows of the houses on
the Gendarmes market were therefore filled with ladies and children,
who greeted the departing volunteers with their handkerchiefs, with
wreaths and flowers; the church bells were ringing in their honor,
and the fathers of the city, the burgomasters, and other members of
the municipality, adorned with their golden chains, were assembled
on the market-place to conduct the young soldiers, in the name of
the city, to the gate, and behind them a dense multitude filled the
square. Those remaining looked gloomy, and envied their brethren,
because they were to take the field at so early a day; wishing thorn
joy, they shouted: "Prepare quarters for us; we shall soon follow
you!"