Berlin and Sans-Souci Part 4

"Folly, folly, sheer folly, Fredersdorf! When a man loves, he does not weigh himself in the scales and find out how many pounds of worth he has; he only loves, and forgets all other earthly things.

Now, for myself, I dare not forget that I am a king, and that my time and strength belong to my people. My heart is too tender, and for this reason I fly from love. So should you also flee, you also dare not forget that your life is consecrated to your king. The Signora Barbarina shall not forget that she is in my service; dancing, and not loving, must now occupy her thoughts and actions. I will allow her flirtations and amours, but a true love I absolutely forbid. How can she go through with her ballets, her pirouettes, and entrechats gayly and gracefully if a pa.s.sionate love sits enthroned within her heart? I have promised the English amba.s.sador, who is the cousin of this Lord Stuart McKenzie, that I will separate these lovers. At this moment the friends.h.i.+p of England is of much importance to me, and I shall certainly keep my promise. Write immediately to the director of police that I command him not only to banish Lord McKenzie from Berlin, but to send him under guard to Hamburg, and there place him upon an English s.h.i.+p bound for England.

In twelve hours he must leave Berlin. [Footnote: This order was obeyed. Lord McKenzie, the tender lover of the beautiful Barbarina, who had followed her from Venice to Berlin, was, immediately on his arrival, banished from Prussia by the special command of the king, and taken to Hamburg; from thence he addressed some pa.s.sionate letters to his beautiful beloved, which she, of course, never received, and which are preserved in the royal archives at Berlin.

(See Schneider's "History of Operas.")] Is that your only news, Fredersdorf?"

"No, sire," said he, stealing a glance toward the door, which at this moment was lightly opened. "I have another novelty to announce, but I do not know whether it will be acceptable to your majesty.

Baron von Pollnitz--"

"Has sent us the announcement of his marriage?"

"No, sire, he is not married."

At this moment, the Signora b.i.+.c.he began to bay light notes of welcome, and raised herself up from her comfortable position on the sofa. The king did not remark her, however; he was wholly occupied with Fredersdorf.

"How! do you say he is not married?"

"No, he has not married," said a plaintive voice from behind the door, "and he prays your majesty, of your great grace, to allow him to dedicate his whole life to his royal master, forgetting all other men and women." The king turned and saw his former master of ceremonies kneeling before the door, and his clasped hands stretched out imploringly before him.

Frederick gave a hearty peal of laughter, while b.i.+.c.he, raising herself with a joyful bark, sprang toward the kneeling penitent, and capered playfully about him; she appeared indeed to be licking the hand in which the sagacious baron held loosely a large piece of her favorite chocolate. At first, the king laughed heartily; then, as he remarked how tenderly b.i.+.c.he licked the hand of the baron, he shook his head thoughtfully. "I have had a false confidence in the true instinct of my little b.i.+.c.he; she seems, indeed, to welcome Pollnitz joyfully; while a sharp bite in his calf is the only reception which his wicked and faithless heart deserves."

"Happily, sire, my heart is not lodged in my calves," said Pollnitz.

"The wise b.i.+.c.he knows that the heart of Pollnitz is always in the same place, and that love to my king and master has alone brought me back to Berlin."

"Nonsense! A Pollnitz can feel no other love than that which he cherishes for his own worthy person, and the purses of all others.

Let him explain now, quickly and without circ.u.mlocution, if he really wishes my pardon, why, after going to Nurnberg to marry a bag of gold, containing a few millions, he has now returned to Berlin."

"Sire, without circ.u.mlocution, the bag of gold would not open for me, and would not scatter its treasures according to my necessities and desires."

"Ah! I comprehend. The beautiful Nurnberger had heard of your rare talent for scattering gold, and thought it wiser to lose a baron of the realm than to lose her millions."

"Yes, that's about it, sire."

"I begin to have a great respect for the wisdom of this woman," said Frederick, laughing. "I think she has a more reliable instinct than my poor b.i.+.c.he, who, I see, still licks your hands."

"Oh, b.i.+.c.he knows me better than any man," said Pollnitz, tenderly patting the greyhound. "b.i.+.c.he knows that my heart is filled with but one love--love to my king and master. She knows that I have returned to lay myself as she does, in all humility and self-abandonment, at the feet of my royal Frederick, to receive either kicks or favors, as he may see fit to bestow them; to be equally grateful for the bones he may throw to me in his pity, as for the costly viands he may grant in the magnanimity of his great soul."

"You are an absolute and unqualified fool," said the king, laughing, "and if it was not against my conscience, and unworthy of human nature, to engage a man as a perpetual buffoon, I would promote you to the office of court fool. You might, at least, serve as an example to my cavaliers, by teaching them what they ought to avoid."

"I have merited this cruel contempt, this painful punishment from my royal master," said Pollnitz. "I submit silently. I will not, for a moment, seek to justify myself."

"You do well in that. You can make no defence. You left my service faithlessly and heartlessly, with the hope of marrying a fortune.

The marriage failed, and you come back with falsehood in your heart and on your lips, chattering about your love for my royal house. You are not ashamed to liken yourself to a hound, and to howl even as they do, in order that I may take you back into favor. Do not suppose, for one moment, that I am deceived by these professions--if you could have done better for yourself elsewhere, you would not have returned to Berlin; that not being the case, you creep back, and vow that love alone has constrained you. Look you, Pollnitz, I know you, I know you fully. You can never deceive me; and, most a.s.suredly, I would not receive you again into my service, if I did not look upon you as an old inventory of my house, an inheritance from my grandfather Frederick. I receive you, therefore, out of consideration for the dead kings in whose service you were, and who amused themselves with your follies; for their sakes I cannot allow you to hunger. Think not that I will prepare you a bed of down, and give you gold to waste in idleness. You must work for your living, even as we all do. I grant you a pension, but you will perform your old duty, as grand master of ceremonies. You understand such nonsense better than I do. You were educated in a good school, and studied etiquette from the foundation stone, under Prussia's first king; and that you may not say we have overlooked your great worth, I will lay yet another burden upon your shoulders, and make you 'master of the wardrobe.' It shall not be said of us, that nonsense and folly are neglected at our court; even these shall have their tribute. You shall therefore be called 'Master of the Robes,' but I counsel you, yes, I warn you, never to interfere with my coats and s.h.i.+rts. You shall have no opportunity to make a gold-embroidered monkey of me. Etiquette requires that I must have a master of the robes, but I warn you to interest yourself in all other things rather than in my toilet."

"All that your majesty condescends to say, is written in letters of flame upon my heart."

"I would rather suppose upon your knees; they must indeed burn from this long penance. I have read you a lecture, a la facon of a village schoolmaster. You can rise, the lecture is over."

Pollnitz rose from his knees, and, straightening himself, advanced before the king, and made one of those low, artistic bows, which he understood to perfection. "When does your majesty wish that I should enter upon my duties?"

"To-day--at this moment. Count Tessin, a special amba.s.sador from Sweden, has just arrived. I wish to give him a courtly reception.

You will make the necessary arrangements. Enter at once upon the discharge of your functions."

"I suppose, sire, that my salary also commences so soon as I begin the discharge of my duties?"

"I said nothing about a salary. I promised you a pension; and, not wis.h.i.+ng to maintain you in absolute idleness, I lay upon you these absurd and trifling duties."

"Shall I not, then, receive two pensions, if I discharge the two functions?" said Pollnitz, in a low voice.

"You are an out-and-out scoundrel," said Frederick, "but I know all your tricks. I shall not follow my father's example, who once asked you how much it required to maintain worthily a cavalier of rank, and you a.s.sured him that a hundred thousand thalers was not sufficient. I grant you a pension of two thousand thalers, and I tell you it must suffice to support you creditably. Woe to you, when you commence again your former most contemptible and miserable life!

woe to you, when you again forget to distinguish between your own money and the money of others! I a.s.sure you that I will never again pay one of your debts. And in order that credulous men may not be so silly as to lend you money, I will make my wishes known by a printed order, and impose a tax of fifty thalers upon every man silly and bold enough to lend you money. Are you content with this, and will you enter my service upon these terms?"

"Yes, on any conditions which your majesty shall please to lay upon me. But when, in spite of this open declaration of your majesty, crazy people will still insist upon lending me money, you will admit, sire, in short, that it is not my debt, and I cannot be called upon for payment."

"I will take such precautions that no one will be foolish enough to lend you money. I will have it publicly announced that he who lends you money shall have no claim upon you, so that to lend you gold is to give you gold, and truly in such a way as to spare you even the trouble of thanks. I will have this trumpted through every street.

Are you still content?"

"Oh, sire, you show me in this the greatest earthly kindness; you make me completely irresponsible. Woe to the fools and lunatics who are mad enough to lend me money! From this time onward, I shall never know a weary or listless moment. I shall have always the cheering and inspiring occupation of winning the hearts of trusting and weak-minded dunces, and, by adroit sleight-of-hand, transferring the gold from their pockets to my own."

"You are incorrigible," said the king. "I doubt if all mankind are made after the image of G.o.d. I think many of the race resemble the devil, and I look upon you, Pollnitz, as a tolerably successful portrait of his satanic majesty. I don't suppose you will be much discomposed by this opinion. I imagine you look upon G.o.d and the devil in very much the same light."

"Oh, not so, your majesty; I am far too religious to fall into such errors."

"Yes, you are too religious; or, rather you have to many religions.

To which, for example, do you now profess to belong?"

"Sire, I have become a Protestant."

"From conviction?"

"So long as I believed in the possibility of marrying several millions--yes, from conviction. These millions would have made me happy, and surely I might allow myself to become a Protestant in order to be happy."

"Once for all, how many times have you changed your religion?" said the king, thoughtfully.

"Oh, not very often, sire! I am forever zealously seeking after the true faith, and so long as I do not find that religion which makes me content with such things as I have, I am forced to change in justice to myself. In my childhood I was baptized and brought up a Lutheran, and I had nothing against it, and remained in that communion till I went to Rome; there I saw the Holy Father, the Pope, perform ma.s.s, and the solemn ceremony roused my devotional feelings to such a height that I became a Catholic immediately. This was, however, no change of religion. Up to this time I had not acted for myself; so the Catholic may be justly called my first faith."

"Yes, yes! that was about the time you stole your dying bride's diamonds and fled from France."

"Oh, your majesty, that is a wicked invention of my enemies, and utterly unfounded. If I had really stolen and sold those magnificent brilliants--worth half a million--from my dying love, it would have been sufficient to a.s.sure me a luxurious life, and I should not have found it imperative to become a Catholic."

"Ah, you confess, then, that you did not become a Catholic from conviction, but in order to obtain the favor of the cardinals and the Pope?"

"Nothing escapes the quick eye of your majesty, so I will not dare to defend myself. I came back to Berlin then, a Catholic, and the ever-blessed king received me graciously. He was a n.o.ble and a pious man, and my soul was seized with a glowing desire to imitate him. I saw, indeed, how little I had advanced on the path to glory by becoming a Catholic! I made a bold resolve and entered the Reformed Church."

"And by this adroit move you obtained your object: you became the favorite of my father the king. As he, unhappily, can show you no further favor, it is no longer prudent to be a reformer, so you are again a Lutheran--from conviction!"

"Oh, all the world knows the great, exalted, and unprejudiced mind of our young king," said Pollnitz. "It is to him a matter of supreme indifference what religious sect a man belongs to, so he adopts that faith which makes him a brave, reliable, and serviceable subject of his king and his fatherland."

Frederick cast a dark and contemptuous glance at him. "You are a miserable mocker and despiser of all holy things; you belong to that large cla.s.s who, not from convictions of reason, but from worldly- mindedness and licentiousness, do not believe in the Christian religion. Such men can never be honest; they have, perhaps, from their childhood been preached to, not to do evil from fear of h.e.l.l- fire; and so soon as they cease to believe in h.e.l.l-fire, they give themselves up to vice without remorse. You are one of these most miserable wretches; and I say to you, that you will at last suffer the torments of the d.a.m.ned. I know there is a h.e.l.l-fire, but it can only be found in a man's conscience! Now go and enter at once upon your duties; in two hours I will receive Count Tessin in the palace at Berlin."