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"You," cried Napoleon, in a thundering voice, "have taken upon
yourself the mission of insulting me, and you think I will quietly
submit?"

"Sire," said Metternich, with his imperturbable calmness, "I believe
you have already punished me for it!"

Now for the first time his eyes turned significantly toward his hat,
and then fixed themselves steadfastly on the emperor. They did not
dare to threaten, but they defied Napoleon. They said: "You have
insulted me by knocking my hat out of my hand. I will not pick it
up, but demand satisfaction."

Possibly Napoleon understood this language, for a smile, full of
sarcasm and contempt, played around his lips, and he slightly
shrugged his shoulders.

"I beg you to consider, besides," added Metternich, calmly, "that I
am here only because my sovereign has commissioned and ordered me to
repair to you, and that, as a faithful servant, I have repeated only
what the emperor commanded me."

"Ah," cried Napoleon, with a harsh laugh, "you wish to make me
believe that you are but the emperor's echo? Well, I will suppose it
to be true. Then go and tell your master that I henceforth decline
his mediation, and that nothing would exasperate me more than the
idea that Austria, in return for her crimes and her breach of faith,
should reap the best fruits and become the pacificator of Europe.
Ask the Emperor Francis in what position he intends to place me in
regard to my son? Tell him he is entirely mistaken if he believes a
disgraced throne can be a refuge in France for his daughter and
grandson. [Footnote: Napoleon's words.--Vide Fain, "Manuscrit de
1813," vol. i.] That is my reply to the Emperor Francis. Go!"

Metternich bowed; considering the emperor's words equivalent to his
dismissal, he turned and crossed the room. His way led him past his
hat; he took no notice of it, but quietly walked on toward the door.

"He does not wish to take his hat," thought Napoleon.

Metternich reached the door, turned again to the emperor, and made
him a last reverential bow.

"One word more, Count Metternich!" cried Napoleon. "Come, I have
still something to say to you."

Metternich blandly nodded assent and returned. Napoleon commenced
again pacing the room, with Metternich by his side. The emperor now
directed his steps in such a manner that he himself was near the
hat. "I wish to prove to you, Metternich," said Napoleon, "that I
have seen through you, and that the true reason of your coming is
well known to me. You did not for an instant believe that I could
accept these proposals, which would dishonor and annihilate me; you
know me too well for that; but they were only to be the pretext of
the real wish that brought you hither. To be able to ally yourself
in a seemingly loyal manner with my enemies, you want to get rid of
the alliance which is still connecting Austria with France. In
direct contradiction to all that Austria has hitherto said to me,
you wish to annul the treaty of Paris. Admit that this is the case."

The emperor, with his eyes fixed steadfastly upon Metternich,
crossed the apartment. Suddenly seeming to find an obstacle in his
way, he turned his eyes toward the floor. It was Metternich's hat,
which his foot had already touched. As if merely to remove the
obstruction, he stooped, took up the hat, and threw it with an
indifferent and careless motion on a chair near the door. He then
quietly passed on and fixed his eyes again upon Metternich.
[Footnote: Vide "Memoires de la Duchesse d'Abrantes," vol. xvi., p.
173. There is another version of this scene, according to which it
was not Metternich's, but the emperor's hat that fell to the floor.-
-Vide Hormayr, "Lebensbilder," vol. iii., p. 480.] "Well, reply to
me--deny it if you can!"

"Sire," said Metternich, in a bland, insinuating voice, "I had
already the honor of telling you that matters have come to that
point that we can no longer remain neutral, but that we can take up
arms for your majesty, only if you consent to grant us all that I
have laid before you, and--"

"No," interrupted Napoleon, proudly, "do not repeat the insult! The
interview is ended. I know what you desire, and I do not intend to
disappoint you! I will not be a dead weight upon my friends, nor
raise the slightest objection to the abandonment of the treaty that
allies me with Austria, if such be the wish of the Emperor Francis.
I shall tomorrow repeat this to you in writing and in due form. Now
we are through--farewell!" He turned his back on Count Metternich,
with a quick nod, and continued his way across the room.

Metternich cast a last smiling glance on him; went with rapid, soft
steps to the chair, took his hat which the emperor had picked up,
hastened across the room, and went out without a word or a bow.

When Napoleon heard him close the door, "He is gone," he murmured,
"the alliance is broken. I have now no ally but myself!" For a
moment he looked melancholy, and then starting glanced at the small
door leading into the cabinet of Baron Fain, his private secretary.
He remembered that his two dukes were there, and that they could not
only hear but see all. Composing his agitated face, he shouted in a
merry voice, "Caulaincourt and Maret, come in!"

The door opened immediately; the Dukes de Bassano and Vicenza
appeared on the threshold and reentered the room. "Well, have you
heard every thing?" asked Napoleon.

"Yes, sire."

"And Fain? has he taken notes?"

"Sire, he has written down every thing as far as it was possible,
considering the rapidity of the conversation." [Footnote: Fain,
"Memoires de 1813." Fain gives a full account of this interview, and
I have strictly followed his narrative.]

"Ah, I shall read it afterward," said the emperor; "it is always
good to know in what manner we shall be recognized by posterity.
Now, gentlemen, since you have heard all, you understand that war is
unavoidable, and that Austria will side with my enemies."

"Sire, we have heard it, and it has filled our souls with uneasiness
and anxiety," said Maret.

"Perhaps, nevertheless, a compromise may still be possible,"
exclaimed Caulaincourt. "The armistice has not yet expired, and, in
accordance with the orders of your majesty, I have already made the
necessary overtures for prolonging it to the 15th of August."

"It will be prolonged, you may depend upon it," said Napoleon, "for
the allies need time for completing their preparations. We shall
have an armistice to that time, but then war will break out anew,
and it will be terrible. I shall not indeed wage it as emperor, but
as General Bonaparte." [Footnote: Napoleon's words.]

"Oh, sire," sighed Maret, "the whole world is longing for peace, and
France, too, entertains no more ardent wish. I have received many
unmistakable intimations in regard to it. Paris is not only hoping
for peace, but expecting it confidently, after the two victories by
which your majesty has humiliated your enemies."

"Paris is very badly informed if she thinks peace to depend upon
me," replied Napoleon, indignantly. "You see how greedily Austria
augments the demands of my enemies, by placing herself at their
head. We were always obliged to conquer peace. Very well, we will
conquer it again. The armistice will be prolonged to the 15th of
August--time enough to complete, on our side, all necessary
preparations, and decree a new conscription. But then, after the
armistice, war--a decisive, bloody war--a war that will lead to an
honorable peace! Believe me, he who has always dictated peace cannot
submit to it with impunity. Courage, therefore! France wants peace,
and so do I, but my cannon shall dictate the terms, and my sword
write them!" [Footnote: Napoleon's words.--Vide "Memoires du Due de
Rovigo," vol. ii.]

DELIVERANCE OF GERMANY.

CHAPTER XXXV.

ON THE KATZBACH.

The armistice expired on the 15th of August, and hostilities were
resumed. The state of affairs, however, was essentially different
from what it was at the commencement of the armistice; for, at that
time, Napoleon had just obtained two victories. During the
armistice, the allies had won an important victory over him; they
had gained Austria over to their side, and now, at the renewal of
hostilities, Austria reenforced the allies with two hundred thousand
men. For nearly fourteen years Napoleon was invariably the more
powerful enemy, not only on account of his military genius, but of
the numerical strength and excellent organization of his forces.

For the first time the enemy opposed him with superior forces, and
this vast host struggled, moreover, with the utmost enthusiasm for
the deliverance of the fatherland--with the energy of hatred and
wrath against him who had so long enslaved and oppressed it. But
Napoleon still possessed his grand military genius. Soon after the
expiration of the armistice, he gained a new victory over the
allies, that of Dresden; [Footnote: The battle of Dresden lasted two
days, the 26th and 27th of August. Moreau died on the 2d of
September, and the battle of Culm was fought on the 29th and 30th of
August.] and in this battle Moreau, the French general, who was
fighting against his own countrymen, was struck by a French ball,
which caused his death in a few days. But the allies took their
revenge for the defeat of Dresden in the great victory of Culm,
where they, also after a two days' battle, achieved a brilliant
triumph over General Vandamme.

General Blucher and his Silesian army had not participated in these
battles. At the time when the Russians, the Austrians, and a part of
the Prussians, were fighting and yielding at Dresden, Blucher was at
length to attain his object, and. meet the enemy in a pitched
battle. Since the 20th of August he stood near Jauer with his army,
which was ninety thousand strong, composed of Russians and
Prussians, and awaited nothing more ardently than the approach of
the enemy, in order to fight a general battle. Fortune seemed to
favor his wishes, for Napoleon himself was advancing. On the 21st of
August the scouts reported the approach of the hostile columns, who
had crossed the Bober at Lowenberg. Blucher's eyes lit up with
delight; he stroked his white mustache, and said: "We shall have a
fight! To-morrow we meet the French!"

But the morning of the 23d of August dawned, and the eyes of the
general were still unable to descry the advancing enemy. Yet his
scouts reported that the French army was advancing, and that only a
detachment had set out for Dresden. "Then Bonaparte has left with
this detachment," grumbled Blucher; "for if he were still with them,
the French would not creep along like snails."

At length, on the 26th of August, the general's wishes seemed to be
near fulfilment. The French were advancing. They approached the
banks of the Katzbach, to the other side of which the Silesian army
was moving. "We shall have a fight!" shouted General Blucher,
exultingly; "the good God will have mercy on me after all, and treat
me to a good breakfast! I have been hungering for the French so
long, that I really thought I should die of starvation. I shall
furnish the roast; and, that there may be something to drink, the
rain is pouring down from heaven as though all the little angels on
high were weeping for joy because they are to have the pleasure of
seeing old Blucher at work!--Glorious hosts in heaven!" added
Blucher, casting a glance at the leaden sky, "now do me only the
favor to put an end to your weeping, and do not give us too much of
a good thing. Pray remember that you put under water not only the
enemy, but ourselves, your friends. Do not soften the soil too much,
else not only the French will stick in the mud, but ourselves, your
chosen lifeguard!"

But "the little angels on high" poured down their "tears of joy" in
incessant torrents from early dawn. It was one of those continuous
rains from a dull gray sky, giving little hope of fine weather for
many days. The soil was softened, the mountain-torrents swollen, and
vast masses of water foamed into the Katzbach, so that this peaceful
little stream seemed a furious river. A violent norther was blowing,
and driving the rain into the faces of the soldiers, drenching their
uniforms, penetrating the muskets, and moistening the powder.

"Well, if the boys cannot shoot to-day, they will have to club their
muskets," said Blucher, cheerfully, when he and his suite rode out
of Bollwitzhof, his headquarters, to reconnoitre the position of the
French.

But the wind and rain rendered a reconnoissance a matter of
impossibility. The enemy was nowhere to be seen, but still the dull
noise of rumbling cannon and trotting horses was heard at a
distance, and the patrols reported that they had seen the foe
approaching the Katzbach in heavy columns; not, however, on the
other bank, but on this side. At this moment General Gneisenau came
up at a full gallop. He had gone out toward the pickets to
reconnoitre, and came back to report that the French were forming in
line of battle at a short distance on the plateau near Eichholz, and
that they had crossed to the right side of the Katzbach.

"Right or left," said Blucher, "it is all the same to me, provided
we have them. If they have already crossed the river, well then they
know the road, and will be better able to find their way back. Let
us allow them to cross, until there are enough of them on this
side." Then, turning with noble dignity toward his officers, he
added, in an entirely changed, grave, and measured tone: "Gentlemen,
the battle will commence in a few hours. Promptness and good order
are of vital importance now.--The orderlies!"

The orderlies hastened to him. "You will ride to General York, who
is occupying the plateau of Eichholz, and tell him to allow as many
French as he thinks he can beat to march up the ascent, and then he
is to charge them!" shouted Blucher to the first orderly, and, while
he sped away at a furious gallop, the general turned to the second.
"You will hasten to General von Sacken and tell him that it is time
for attacking the French!--And we, gentlemen," he added, addressing
his staff, "will place ourselves at the head of our troops. The
soldiers must have their meals cooked by two o'clock; all the
columns will then commence moving. When the enemy falls back, I
expect, above all, the cavalry to do their duty, and to act with
great courage. The foe must find out, that on retreating he cannot
get out of our hands unhurt. And now, forward! The battle begins at
two o'clock!" He spurred his horse, and galloped again toward the
troops. With a serene face and joyful eyes he rode along the front.
"Boys," he shouted, "cook your dinners quickly, do not burn your
mouths, and do not eat your soup too hot; but when you have eaten
it, then it is time for cooking a whipping soup for the French."

"Yes, Father Blucher, we will cook it for them!" shouted the
soldiers.

"I am afraid that soup won't agree with the French," said Blucher,
with a humorous wink. "Blue-bean soup is hard to digest. But they
will have to swallow it, whether they like it or not, won't they?"

"Yes, they will!" laughed the soldiers; and Blucher galloped over to
the other regiments, to fire their hearts by similar greetings.

It was two o'clock! "Boys, the fun will commence now!" shouted
Blucher's powerful voice. "Now I have French soldiers enough on this
side of the river. Forward!"

Forward they went, at a double-quick, directly at the French. The
cannon boomed, the musketry rattled; but the rain soon silenced the
latter.

"Boys," shouted Major von Othegraven to his battalion of the
Brandenburg regiment, "if we cannot shoot them, we can club them!"
And amid loud cheers the soldiers turned their muskets, and struck
their enemies with the butts. A terrible hand-to-hand struggle
ensued--howls of pain, dreadful abuse and imprecations burst from
both sides; but at length they ceased on this part of the field: the
Brandenburg soldiers had killed a whole French battalion with the
stocks of their muskets! [Footnote: Beitzke, vol. ii., p. 204.]

The battle raged on amid the terrible storm beating on the
combatants. The wind blew violently, and the rain descended in
torrents. The men sank ankle-deep in the softened soil, but
"Forward!" sounded the battle-cry, and the soldiers left their shoes
in the mud, rushing in their socks or bare-footed on the enemy, who
fought with lion-hearted courage, here receding and there advancing.

"Father Blucher, we are doing well to-day!" shouted the soldiers to
their chieftain, galloping up to the infantry.

"Yes, we are doing well," cried Blucher; "but wait, boys--we shall
do still better!"

At this moment the artillery boomed from the other side. Two
officers galloped up to Blucher. One was the orderly he had sent to
General von Sacken.

"What reply did General von Sacken make?" shouted Blucher.

"'Reply to the general, "Hurrah!"' [Footnote: Beitzke, vol. ii., p.
201.] was all he said, your excellency."

"A splendid comrade!" cried Blucher, merrily.

"General," said the second officer, in an undertone, "I beg leave to
make a communication in private."

"In private? No communications will be made in private to-day,"
replied Blucher, shaking his head; "my staff-officers must hear
every thing." And he beckoned to his aides and officers to come
closer to him.

"Your excellency then commands me to utter aloud what I have to
say?"

"Well, speak directly, and, if you like, so loudly that the French
will hear, too!"

"Well, then, general, I have to tell you that no time is to be lost,
and that we must hasten to advance, for the Emperor Napoleon himself
is coming up at the head of his troops; he is already in the rear of
your excellency,"

"Ah," inquired Blucher, with perfect composure, "is the Emperor
Napoleon in my rear? Well, I am glad of it; then he is able to do me
a great favor." He turned his eyes again toward the battle array
with a defiant smile, as if confident of final victory.

The victory was not decided, although the murderous struggle had
lasted already an hour. Marshal Macdonald constantly moved up fresh
troops, and Blucher had sufficient reserves to meet them. Here the
Prussians gave way, and there the French. 'From the right wing of
the Prussian army orderlies informed General Blucher that General
York, with his troops, had repulsed the enemy, and was advancing
victoriously; messengers hastened to him from the left wing, and
told him that General Langeron was about to fall back, that the
Prussian cavalry were retreating, and the French cavalry approaching
in dense masses, and that the Prussian batteries were in imminent
danger of falling into the hands of the enemy.

Blucher uttered an oath--a single savage oath; then he turned his
head aside and shouted, "Hennemann! pipe-master!"

Christian Hennemann galloped up immediately. He was in full hussar-
uniform, but did not belong to the ranks; he was in the suite of his
general, and had to be constantly near him. On the pommel of his
saddle was a long iron box, and in his mouth a short clay pipe.
"General, here I am!"

"Give me a short pipe, for now we charge the enemy!"

Hennemann took the pipe from his mouth, handed it to the general,
and said, with the utmost equanimity: "Here it is! It has been
burning some time already, and I began to think the general had
entirely forgotten the pipe and myself."

Blucher put the pipe into his mouth. At this moment a Brandenburg
regiment of lancers galloped up, headed by Major von Katzeler,
Blucher's former adjutant. "We are going to assist our men!" shouted
Katzeler, saluting the general with his sword.

"We are moving to the relief of our comrades!" cried a captain of
hussars, thundering up at the head of his regiment.

"Very well!" said Blucher. "God bless me. I must go with them! I can
stand it no longer!" Drawing his sword, he galloped with the courage
and ardor of a youth to the head of the column of hussars, who
received him with deafening cheers. The bugles sounded, and forward
sped Blucher at an impetuous gallop.

Suddenly some one shouted by his side: "General! general!" It was
the pipe-master. Blucher, looking at him with eyes flashing with
anger, said: "Begone! Ride to the rear!"

"God forbid!" said Hennemann, composedly; "here is my place; did not
the general order me always to remain near him and hold a short pipe
in readiness? Well, I am near, and the pipe is ready."

"I do not want it now, Christian; we are about to charge the enemy.
To the rear, pipe-master!"

"I cannot think of it, general; no one is at liberty to desert his
post, as you told me yourself," cried Hennemann. "I am at my post,
and will not allow myself to be driven from it. You will soon enough
need me."

"Forward!" cried the general. And amid loud cheers the hussars
rushed upon the enemy, Blucher fighting at their head, brandishing
his sword with the utmost delight, forcing back the enemy, and
wresting from him the advantages he had already gained. The French
being driven back, Blucher suddenly commanded a halt.

"Boys!" he shouted, in a clarion voice, "this is a butchery to-day;
let us stop a moment, take a drink, and fill our pipes.--Pipe-
master, my pipe!"

"Did I not say that you would soon need me?" asked Hennemann, in a
triumphant voice. "Here is your pipe, general!"

When the horses had taken breath, and the bold hussars a drink, and
filled their pipes, the general's voice was again heard: "Forward in
God's name!--we shall soon be done with the French!"

Toward dusk the battle was decided. In wild disorder fled the enemy,
delayed by the softened soil, blinded by the rain, and obstructed by
the Katzbach and the Neisse, with their roaring waters swelling
every moment. In hot pursuit was the exultant victor, thundering
with his cannon, and hurling death into the ranks of the fugitives.
Field-pieces were planted on the banks of those streams, and when
the French approached, they were greeted with fearful volleys.
Turning in dismay, flashing swords and bayonets menaced them. Piles
of dead were lying on the banks of the Katzbach; thousands of
corpses were floating down the foaming waters, showing to Silesia
the bloody trophies of battle, and that Blucher had at length taken
revenge upon his adversary. At seven o'clock in the evening all was
still. On all sides the French had fled.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

BLUCHER AS A WRITER.

Darkness came, and the rain continued. The "dear little angels in
heaven," who, as Blucher said in the morning, wept for joy at the
prospect of a fight, were now perhaps shedding tears of grief at the
many thousands lying on the battle-field with gaping wounds, and
whose last sighs were borne away on the stormy wind of the night.

Blucher rode across the field toward his headquarters; no one was by
his side but his friend, General Gneisenau, and, at some distance
behind them, Christian Hennemann, holding a burning pipe in his
mouth. Absorbed in deep reflections, they were riding along the
dreadful road strewed with dead and wounded soldiers, and through
pools of blood. Even Blucher felt exhausted after the day's work;
his joy was suppressed by the incessant rain that had drenched his
clothes, and by the groans of the dying, which rent his ears and
filled his soul with compassion. But soon overcoming his sadness, he
turned toward Gneisenau. "Well," he said, "this battle we have
gained, and all the world will have to admit it; now let us think
what we may put into our bulletin to tell the people HOW we have
gained it. For ten years past Bonaparte has issued such high-
sounding accounts of his victories that I always felt in my anger as
though my heart were a bombshell ready to burst. Well, this time,
let us also draw up such a bulletin of victory, and show that we
have learned something. Let us proclaim that we have conquered, and
draw up the document as soon as we arrive at Brechtelshof."

"General, you will have to decide the name of the battle," said
Gneisenau. "How is it to be known in history?"

"Yes, that is true," said Blucher, thoughtfully, "it must have a
name. Well, propose one, Gneisenau!"

"We might call it the battle of Brechtelshof, because the
headquarters of our brave chieftain, our Father Blucher, are at that
place," said Gneisenau, in a mild tone.

"No, do not mix me up with the matter," said Blucher, hastily; "the
good God has vouchsafed us a victory, let us humbly thank Him for
it, and not grow overbearing.--Wait, I have it now! We shall call
it, in honor of General von Sacken, the battle of the Katzbach; for,
by Sacken's vigorous cannonade from Eichholz, on the Katzbach, and
with the assistance of his brave cavalry, that drove the enemy into
the river, we gained the victory, and the battle ought to have that
name. 'The battle of the Katzbach!'--Well, here are our quarters!"

"Now, general, you must rest," said Gneisenau, with the tenderness
of a son. "You must change your dress, take food, and repose on your
laurels, though there is but a straw mattress for you."

Blucher shook his head. "My clothes will dry quickest if I keep them
on my body," he said, "and I must do so, for we have still a great
many things to attend to; we must inform the king of our victory,
take care of our wounded, arrange for the pursuit of the enemy; and,
finally, write the bulletins of victory. We may take refreshment,
but I do not care for laurels with it--laurels are bitter. But let
us take a drink, and smoke a pipe.--Pipe-master!"