THE LIBRARY THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES GIFT OF Peter Scott ANDREAS HOFER. ANDREAS HOFER Qln tjietorical N BY L. MUHLBACH AUTHOR OF JOSEPH II. AND HIS COURT, FREDERICK THE GREAT AND HIS COURT, BERLIN AND SANS-SOUCI, THE MERCHANT OF BERLl>., ETC. TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY F. JORDAN FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY NEW YORK AND LONDON 1907 COPYRIGHT, 1808, 1898, B* D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. CONTENTS. CHAPTER Flo* I.1809 1 II. The Emperor Francis 13 III. The Courier and the Ambassador .... 26 IV. The Emperor and his Brothers 89 V. The Performance of "The Creation". . . W VI. Andreas Hofer . 62 VII. Andreas Hofer at the Theacra . ... 76 VIII. Consecration of the Flags, and Farewell ... 83 IX. Tis Time ! 9C X. Anthony Wallner of Windisch-Matrey . . . 106 XL The Declaration of Love 117 XII. Farewell! 129 XIIL The Bridegroom 135 XIV. The Bridge of St. Lawrence 147 XV. The Bridge of Laditch 155 XVI. On the Sterzinger Moos 166 XVII. The Hay- Wagons 177 XVIII. Capture of Innspruck 185 XIX. The Capitulation of Wiltau 196 XX. Eliza Wallner's Return 215 XXL The Catastrophe 222 XXIL Eliza and Ulrich 232 XXIIL The Triumph of Death 252 XXIV. The Archduke John at Comoru. . 86P 2227643 iv CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAOE XXV. The Emperor Francis at Woliersdorf . . .278 XXVI. The Reply of the King of Prussia. . . .293 XXVII. The Battle of Wagram 304 XX VIII. The Armistice of Znaym 311 XXIX. Hofer and Speckbacher 322 XXX. The Capuchin's Oath 331 XXXI. The First Battle 344 XXXII. The Fifteenth of August at Innspruck . . .353 XXXIII. Andreas Hofer, the Emperor's Lieutenant . . 867 XXXIV. The Fifteenth of August at Comorn . . .375 XXXV. A Day of the Emperor's Lieutenant . . . 390 XXXVI. The Lovers 401 XXXVII. Elza's Return 413 XXXVIII. The Wedding . .... 421 XXXIX. The Treaty of Peace. . - 432 XL. Dreadful Tidings 447 XLI. Betrayal and Seizure of Hofer . 458 XLII. The Warning . . .... 472 XLIIL The Flight 479 XLIV. Andreas flofer's JDeatn 492 ILLUSTRATIONS. Muara PAGE Portrait of Andreas Hofer Frontispiece Hofer's Farewell to his Wiie 103 Eliza Wallner brining the Wine 162 J prising of the Tyrol esc ......... 844 ANDREAS HOFER CHAPTER I. 1809. THE year 1809 had come ; but the war against France, so intensely longed for by all Austria, had not yet broken out, and the people and the army were vainly waiting for the war- cry of their sovereign, the Emperor Francis. It is true, not a few great things had been accomplished in the course of the past year: Austria had armed, organized the militia, strength- ened her fortresses, and filled her magazines ; but the emperor still hesitated to take the last and most decisive step by crown- ing his military preparations with a formal declaration of war. No one looked for this declaration of war more intensely than the emperor's second brother, the Archduke John, a young man of scarcely twenty-seven. He had been the soul of all the preparations which, since the summer of 1808, had been made throughout Austria; he had conceived the plan of organizing the militia and the reserves; and had drawn up the proclamation of the 12th of May, 1808, by which all able- bodied Austrians were called upon to take up arms. But this exhausted his powers; he could organize the army, but could not say to it, " Take the field against the enemy ! " The em- peror alone could utter this word, and he was silent. "And he will be silent until the favorable moment has passed," sighed the Archduke John, when, on returning from a very long interview with the emperor, he was alone with his friend, General Nugent, in his cabinet. He had communicated to this confidant the full details of his interview with the emperor, and concluded his report by (l) 2 ANDREAS HOFER. saying, with a deep sigh, " The emperor will be silent until the favorable moment has passed ! " Count Nugent gazed with a look of heart-felt sympathy into the archduke's mournful face ; he saw the tears filling John's large blue eyes ; he saw that he firmly compressed his lips as if to stifle a cry of pain or rage, and that he clinched his hands in the agony of his despair. Animated by tender compassion, the general approached the archduke, who had sunk into a chair, and laid his hand gently on his shoulder. 4 ' Courage, courage !" he whispered; ''nothing is lost as yet, and your imperial highness " "Ah, why do you address me with 'imperial highness'? " cried the archduke, almost indignantly. "Do you not see, then, that this is a miserable title by which Fate seems to mock me, and which it thunders constantly, and, as it were, sneeringly into my ears, in order to remind me again and again of my deplorable powerlessness ? There is nothing ' im- perial ' about me but the yoke under which I am groaning ; and my ' highness ' is to be compared only with the crumbs of Lazarus which fell from the rich man's table. And yet there are persons, Nugent, who envy me these crumbs men who think it a brilliant and glorious lot to be an ' imperial high- ness,' the brother of a sovereign emperor ! Ah, they do not know that this title means only that I am doomed to everlast- ing dependence and silence, and that the emperor's valet de chambre and his private secretary are more influential men than the Archduke John, who cannot do anything but submit, be silent, and look on in idleness." "Now your imperial highness slanders yourself," exclaimed Count Nugent. "You have not been silent, you have not looked on in idleness, but have worked incessantly and cour- ageously for the salvation of your people and your country. Who drew up the original plan for the organization of the militia and the reserves ? Who elaborated its most minute details with admirable sagacity ? It was the Archduke John the archduke in whom all Austria hopes, and who is the last refuge and comfort of all patriots ! " " Ah, how much all of you are to be pitied, my friend, if you hope in me ! " sighed John. " What am I, then ? A poor THE YEAR 1809. 3 atom which is allowed to move in the glare of the imperial sun, but which would be annihilated so soon as it should pre- sume to be an independent luminary. Pray, Nugent, do not speak of such hopes ; for, if the emperor should hear of it, not only would my liberty be endangered, but also yours and that of all who are of your opinion. The empei-or does not like to see the eyes of his subjects fixed upon me ; every kind word uttered about me sours him and increases the ill-will with which he regards me." " That is impossible, your highness," exclaimed the count. '' How can our excellent emperor help loving his brother, who is so gifted, so high-minded and learned, and withal so modest and kind-hearted ? How can he help being happy to see that others love and appreciate him too ? " " Does the emperor love my brother Charles, who is much more gifted and high-minded than I am ? " asked John, shrug- ging his shoulders. " Did he not arrest his victorious career, and recall him from the army, although, or rather because, he knew that the army idolized him, and that all Austria loved him and hoped in him ? Ah, believe me, the emperor is dis- trustful of all his brothers, and all our protestations of love and devotedness do not touch him, but rebound powerlessly from the armor of jealousy with which he has steeled his heart against us. You see, I tell you all this with perfect composure, but I confess it cost me once many tears and in- ward struggles, and it was long before my heart became calm and resigned. My heart long yearned for love, confidence, and friendship. I have got over these yearnings now, and resigned myself to be lonely, and remain so all my life long. That is to say," added the archduke, with a gentle smile, holding out his hand to the count, " lonely, without a sister, without a brother lonely in my family. However, I have found a most delightful compensation for this loneliness, for I call you and Hormayr friends ; I have my books, which always com- fort, divert, and amuse me ; and last, I have my great and glorious hopes regarding the future of the fatherland. Ah, how could I say that I was poor and lonely when I am so rich in hopes, and have two noble and faithful friends ? I am sure, Nugent, you will never desert me, but stand by me to the end 4- ANDREAS HOFER. to the great day of victory, or to the end of our humiliation and disgrace ? " " Your imperial highness knows full well that my heart will never turn from you ; that I love and revere you ; that you are to me the embodiment of all that is noble, great, and beautiful ; that I would be joyfully ready at any hour to suf- fer death for you ; and that neither prosperity nor adversity could induce me to forsake you. You are the hope of my heart, you are the hope of my country nay, the hope of all Germany. We all need your assistance, your heart, your arm ; for we expect that you will place yourself at the head of Germany, and lead us to glorious victories ! " " God grant that the hour when we shall take the field may soon come ! Then, my friend, I shall prove that I am ready, like all of you, to shed my heart's blood for the father- land, and conquer or die for the liberty of Austria, the liberty of Germany. For in the present state of affairs the fate of Germany, too, depends on the success of our arms. If we suc- cumb and have to submit to the same humiliations as Prussia, the whole of Germany will be but a French province, and the freedom and independence of our fatherland will be destroyed for long years to come. I am too weak to survive such a disgrace. If Austria falls, I shall fall too ; if German liberty dies, I shall die too.''* " German liberty will not die ! " exclaimed Count Nugent, enthusiastically ; " it will take the field one day against all the powerful and petty tyrants of the fatherland. Then it will choose the Archduke John its general-in-chief, and he will lead it to victory ! " " No, no, my friend,'' said John, mournfully ; " Fate re- fuses to let me play a decisive part in the history of the world. My role will always be but a secondary one ; my will will al- ways be impeded, my arm will be paralyzed forever. You know it. You know that I am constantly surrounded by secret spies and eavesdroppers, who watch me with lynx-eyed vigilance, and misrepresent every step I take. It was always so, and will remain so until I die or become a decrepit old * The Archduke John's own words.- See "Forty-eight Letters from Archduke John of Austria to Johannes von Miiller," p. 90. THE YEAR 1809. 5 man, whose arm is no longer able to wield the sword or even the pen. That I am young, that I have a heart for the suffer- ings of my country, a heart not only for the honor of Austria, but for that of Germany that is what gives umbrage to them, what renders me suspicious in their eyes, and causes them to regard me as a revolutionist. I had to suffer a good deal for my convictions ; a great many obstacles were raised against all my plans ; and yet I desired only to contribute to the wel- fare of the whole ; I demanded nothing for myself, but every thing for the fatherland. To the fatherland I wished to de- vote my blood and my life ; for the fatherland I wished to conquer in the disastrous campaign of 1805. However, such were not the plans of my adversaries ; they did not wish to carry on the war with sufficient energy and perseverance ; they would not give my brother Charles and me an oppor- tunity to distinguish ourselves and gain a popular name. Whenever I planned a vigorous attack, I was not permitted to carry it into effect. Whenever, with my corps, I might have exerted a decisive influence upon the fortunes of the war, I was ordered to retreat with my troops to some distant position of no importance whatever ; and when I remonstrated, they charged me with rebelling against the emperor's authority. Ah, I suffered a great deal in those days, and the wounds which my heart received at that juncture are bleeding yet. I had to succumb, when the men who had commenced the war at a highly unfavorable time, conducted it at an equally un- favorable moment, and made peace. And by that peace Aus- tria lost her most loyal province, the beautiful Tyrol, one of the oldest states of the Hapsburgs ; and her most 'fertile prov- ince, the territory of Venetia and Dalmatia, for which I did not grieve so much, because it always was a source of political dissensions and quarrels for the hereditary provinces of Aus- tria. What afflicted me most sorely was the loss of the Tyrol, and even now I cannot think of it without the most profound emotion. It seemed as though Fate were bent on blotting out from our memory all that might remind us of our ancestors, their virtues, their patriotism, and their perseverance in the days of universal adversity ; and as though, in consequence of this, the spirit of the Hapsburgs had almost become extinct, 6 ANDREAS HOFER. and we were to lose all that they had gained in the days of their greatness.* But now Fate is willing to give us another opportunity to repair our faults and show that we are worthy of our ancestors. If we allow this to pass too, all is lost, not only the throne of the Hapsbargs, but also their honor ! " "This opportunity will not pass!" exclaimed the count. " The throne of the Hapsburgs will be preserved, for it is pro- tected by the Archdukes John and Charles, a brave army that is eager for a war with France, and a faithful, intrepid people, which is sincerely devoted to its imperial dynasty, which never will acknowledge another ruler, and which never will desert its Hapsburgs." "Yes, the people will not desert us," said John, "but worse things may happen ; we may desert ourselves. Just look around, Nugent, and see how lame we have suddenly become again ; how we have all at once stopped half way, unable to decide whether it might not be better for us to lay down our arms again and surrender at discretion to the Emperor of the French." " Fortunately, it is too late now to take such a resolution ; for Austria has already gone so far that a hesitating policy at this juncture will no longer succeed in pacifying the Emperor of the French. And it is owing to the efforts of your imperial highness that it is so ; we are indebted for it to your zeal, your energy, and your enthusiasm for the good cause, which is now no longer the cause of Austria, but that of Germany. And this cause will not succumb ; God will not allow a great and noble people to be trampled under foot by a foreign tyrant, who bids defiance to the most sacred treaties and the law of nations, and who would like to overthrow all thrones to con- vert the foreign kingdoms and empires into provinces of his empire, blot out the history of the nations and dynasties, and have all engulfed by his universal monarchy." " God may not decree this, but He may perhaps allow it if the will of the nations and the princes should not be strong enough to set bounds to such mischief. When the feeling of liberty and independence does not incite the nations to rise * John's own words. See " Forty-eight Letters from Archduke John to Johannes von Milller," p. 103. THE YEAR 1809. 7 enthusiastically and defend their rights, God sends them a tyrant as a scourge to chastise them. And such, I am afraid, is our case. Germany has lost faith in herself, in her honor ; she lies exhausted at the feet of the tyrant, and is ready to be trampled in the dust by him. Just look around in our Ger- man fatherland. What do you see there ? All the sovereign princes have renounced their independence, and become Na- poleon's vassals ; they obey his will, they submit to his orders, and send their armies not against the enemy of Germany, but against the enemies of France, no matter whether those ene- mies are their German brethren or not. The German princes have formed the Confederation of the Rhine, and the object of this confederation is not to preserve the frontier of the Rhine to Germany, but to secure the Rhine to France. The German princes are begging for honors and territories at the court of Napoleon ; they do not shrink from manifesting their fealty to their master, the Emperor of the French, by betraying the interests of Germany ; they are playing here at Vienna the part of the meanest spies ; they are watching all our steps, and are shameless enough to have the Emperor Napoleon reward their infamy by conferring royal titles on them, and to accept at his hands German territories which he took from German princes. Bavaria did not disdain to aggrandize her territories at our expense ; Wurtemberg accepts without blushing the territories of other German princes at the hands of Napoleon, who thus rewards her for the incessant warnings by which the King of Wurtemberg urges the Emperor of the French to be on his guard against Austria, and always distrust the inten- tions of the Emperor Francis * In the middle of the German empire we see a new French kingdom, Westphalia, established by Napoleon's orders ; it is formed of the spoils taken from Prussia and Hanover ; and the German princes suffer it, and the German people bow their heads, silently to the disgraceful foreign yoke ! Ah, Nugent, my heart is full of grief and anger, full of the bitterness of despair ; for I have lost faith in Germany, and see shudderingly that she will decay and die, as Poland died, of her own weakness. Ah, it would be dreadful, dreadful, if we too, had to fall, as the unfortunate * Schlosscr, " History of the Eighteenth Century," vol. vii., p. 488. g ANDREAS HOFER. Kosciusko did, with the despairing cry of 'Finis Germa- nice ! ' " " No, that will never happen ! " cried Nugent. " No, Ger< many will never endure the disgrace and debasement of Pa- land ; she will never sink to ruin and perish like Poland. It is true, a majority of the German princes bow to Napoleon's power, and we may charge them with infidelity and treason against Germany ; but we can not prefer the same charge against the German people and the subjects of the traitorous German princes. They have remained faithful, and have not yet lost faith in their fatherland. They are indignantly champing the bit with which their despots have shut their mouth ; and. in silence, harmony, and confidence in God, they are preparing for the great hour when they will rise, for the sacred day when they will break their shackles with the divine strength of a united and high-minded people. Everywhere the embers are smouldering under the ashes ; everywhere secret societies and leagues have been formed ; everywhere there are conspirators, depots of arms, and passwords ; everywhere the people of Germany are waiting only for the moment when they are to strike the first blow, and for the signal to rise. And they are in hopes now that Austria will give the signal. Our preparations for war have been hailed with exultation through- out Germany : everywhere the people are ready to take up arms so soon as Austria draws the sword. The example of Spain and Portugal has taught the Germans how the arrogant conqueror must be met; the example of Austria will fill them with bound- less enthusiasm, and lead them to the most glorious victories ! " "And we are still temporizing and hesitating," exclaimed John, mournfully ; " we are not courageous enough to strike the first blow ! All is ready ; the emperor has only to utter the decisive word, but he refuses to do so ! " " The enthusiasm of his people will soon compel him and his advisers to utter that word," said Nugent. "Austria can no longer retrace her steps ; she must advance. Austria must lead Germany in the sacred struggle for liberty ; she can no longer retrace her steps." " God grant that your words may be verified ! " cried John, lifting his tearful eyes to heaven ; " God grant that " THE YEAR 1809. 9 A low rapping at the door leading to the small secret corri- dor caused the archduke to pause and turn his eyes with a searching expression to this door. The rapping was repeated, more rapidly than before. " It is Hormayr," exclaimed the archduke, joyfully ; and he hastened to the secret door and opened it quickly. A tall young man, in the uniform of an Austrian superior officer, appeared in the open door. The archduke grasped both his hands and drew him hastily into the cabinet. "Hormayr, my friend," he said, breathlessly, "you have returned from the Tyrol ? You have succeeded in fulfilling the mission with which I intrusted you ? You have carried my greetings to the Tyrolese ? Oh, speak, speak, my friend ! What do my poor, deserted Tyrolese say ? " Baron von Hormayr fixed his flashing dark eyes with an expression of joyful tenderness on the excited face of the archduke. "The Tyrolese send greeting to the Archduke John," he said ; " the Tyrolese hope that the Archduke John will de- liver them from the hateful yoke of the Bavarians ; the Tyro- lese believe that the hour has arrived, when they may recover their liberty ; and to prove this " " To prove this ? " asked the archduke, breathlessly, when Hormayr paused a moment. " To prove this," said Hormayr, in a lower voice, stepping up closer to the prince, "some of the most influential and respectable citizens of the Tyrol have accompanied me to Vienna ; they desire to assure your imperial highness of their loyal devotedness, and receive instructions from you." " Is Andreas Hofer, the landwirth, among them ? " asked the archduke, eagerly. " He is, and so are Wallner and Speckhacher. I bring to your imperial highness the leading men of the Tyrolese peas- ants, and would like to know when I may introduce them to you, and at what hour you will grant a private audience to my Tyrolese friends ? " " Oh, I will see them at once ! " exclaimed John, impa- tiently. " My heart longs to gaze into the faithful, beautiful eyes of the Tyrolese, and read in their honest faces if they 2 10 ANDREAS HOFER. really are still devoted and attached to me. Bring them to me, Hormayr ; make haste but no, I forgot that it is broad daylight, and that the spies watching me have eyes to see, ears to hear, and tongues to report to the emperor as dreadful crimes all that they have seen and heard here. We must wait, therefore, until the spies have closed their eyes, until dark and reticent night has descended on earth, and . Well, Conrad, what is it ? " the archduke interrupted himself, look- ing at his valet de chambre, who had just entered hastily by the door of the anteroom. "Pardon me. your imperial highness," said Conrad ; "a messenger of her majesty the empress is in the anteroom. Her majesty has ordered him to deliver his message only to the archduke himself." " Let him come in," said the archduke. Conrad opened the door, and the imperial messenger ap- peared on the threshold. " Her majesty the Empress Ludovica sends her respects to the archduke," said the messenger, approaching the archduke respectfully. "Her majesty thanks your imperial highness for the book which you lent her ; and she returns it with sin- cere thanks." An expression of astonishment overspread John's face, but it soon disappeared, and the archduke received with a calm smile the small sealed package which the messenger handed to him. " All right," he said ; " tell her majesty to accept my thanks." The messenger returned to the anteroom, and Conrad closed the door behind him. " Place yourself before the door, Nugent, that nobody may be able to look through the key-hole," whispered John, " for you know that I do not trust Conrad. And you, Hormayr, watch the secret door." The two gentlemen hastened noiselessly to obey. The archduke cast a searching glance around the walls, as if afraid that even the silken hangings might contain somewhere an opening for the eyes of a spy, or serve as a cover to an ear oi Dionysius. THE YEAR 1809. H " Something of importance must have occurred," whispered John ; " otherwise the empress would not have ventured to send me a direct message. I did not lend her a book, and you know we agreed with the ladies of our party to communicate direct news to each other only in cases of pressing necessity. Let us see now what it is." He hastily tore open the sealed package and drew from it a small prayer-book bound in black velvet. While he was turning over the leaves with a smile, a small piece of paper fluttered from between the gilt-edged leaves and dropped to the floor. " That is it," said John, smiling, picking up the paper, and fixing his eyes on it. " There is nothing on it," he then ex- claimed, contemplating both sides of the paper. "There is not a word on it. It is only a book-mark, that is all. But, perhaps, something is written in the book, or there may be another paper." " No, your imperial highness," whispered Nugent, stepping back a few paces from the door. "The Princess Lichtenstein whispered to me yesterday, at the court concert, that she had obtained an excellent way of sending a written message to her friends and allies, and that, if we received a piece of white paper from the ladies of our party, we had better preserve it and read it afterward near the fireplace. " " Ah, sympathetic ink," exclaimed John ; " well, we will see." He hastily approached the fireplace, where a bright fire was burning, and held the piece of paper close to the flames. Immediately a number of black dots and lines appeared on the paper ; these dots and lines assumed gradually the shape of finely-written words. The archduke followed with rapt attention every line, every letter that appeared on the white paper, and now he read as follows : "The French ambassador has requested the emperor to grant him an audience at eleven o'clock this morning. A courier from Metternich in Paris has arrived, and, I believe, brought important news. The decisive hour is at hand. Hasten to the emperor ; leave nothing undone to prevail on 12 ANDREAS HOFER. him to take a bold stand. Send somebody to the Archduke Charles ; request him to repair likewise to the emperor and influence him in the same direction. I have paved the way for you. I hope the French ambassador will, in spite of him- self, be our ally, and by his defiant and arrogant bearing, at- tain for us the object which we have hitherto been unable to accomplish by our persuasion and our arguments. Make haste ! Bum this paper." The archduke signed to his two confidants to come to him, and pointed to the paper. When they had hastily read the lines, he threw the paper into the flames, and turned to the two gentlemen who stood behind him. " Well, what do you think of it ? " he inquired. " Shall I do what these mysterious lines ask of me ? Shall I go to the emperor without being summoned to him ? " " The empress requests you to do so, and she is as prudent as she is energetic," said Count Nugent. " I say, like the empress, the decisive hour is at hand," ex- claimed Baron von Hormayr. " Hasten to the emperor ; try once more to force the sword into his hand, and to wrest at length the much-wished-for words, ' War against France ! ' from his lips. The Tyrolese are only waiting for these words, to rise for their emperor and become again his loving and de voted subjects. All Austria, nay, all Germany, is longing for these words, which will be the signal of the deliverance of the fatherland from the French yoke. Oh, my lord and prince, hasten to the emperor ; speak to him with the impassioned eloquence of the cherubim, break the fatal charm that holds Austria and the Tyrol enthralled I " At this moment the large clock standing on the mantel- piece commenced striking. "Eleven o'clock,' 1 said the archduke "the hour when the emperor is to give an audience to the French ambassador. It is high time, therefore. Nugent, hasten to my brother ; im- plore him to repair forthwith to the emperor, and to act this time at least in unison with me. Tell him that everything is at stake, and that we must risk all to win all. But you, Hormayr, go to my dear Tyrolese ; tell them that I will re- ceive them here at twelve o'clock to-night, and conduct them THE EMPEROR FRANCIS. 13 to me at that hour, my friend. We will hold a council of war at midnight." "And your imperial highness does not forget that you promised to go to the concert to-night?" asked Nugent. " Your highness is aware that our friends not only intend to- night to give an ovation to the veteran master of German art, Joseph Haydn, but wish also to profit by the German music to make a political demonstration ; and they long for the pres- ence of the imperial court, that the emperor and his brothers may witness the patriotic enthusiasm of Vienna." '' I shall certainly be present," said the archduke, earnestly, " and I hope the empress will succeed in prevailing on the emperor to go to the concert. Well, then, my friends, let us go to work, and may God grant success to our efforts ! " CHAPTER H. THE EMPEROR FRANCIS. THE Emperor Francis had to-day entered his study at an earlier hour than usual, and was industriously engaged there in finishing a miniature cup which he had commenced cutting from a peach-stone yesterday. On the table before him lay the drawing of the model after which he was shaping the cup ; and Francis lifted his eyes only from time to time to fix them on the drawing, and compare it with his own work. These comparisons, however, apparently did not lead to a cheering result, for the emperor frowned and put the cup rather im- petuously close to the drawing on the table. '* I believe, forsooth, the cup is not straight," murmured the emperor to himself, contemplating from all sides the diminu- tive object which had cost him so much labor. "Sure enough, it 'is not straight, it has a hump on one side. Yes, yes, nothing is straight, nowadays ; and even God in heaven creates His things no longer straight, and does not shrink from letting the peach-stones grow crooked. But no matter what God does is well done," added the emperor, crossing 14 ANDREAS HOFER. himself devoutly ; " even an emperor must not censure it, and must not grumble when his cup is not straight because God gave the peach-stone a hump. Well, perhaps, I may change it yet, and make the cup straight. 1 ' He again took up the little cup, and commenced industri- ously working at it with his sharp files, pointed knives, and gimlets. It was hard work : large drops of sweat stood on the emperor's forehead ; his arms ached, and his fingers became sore under the pressure of the knives and files ; but the em- peror did not mind it, only from time to time wiping the sweat from his brow, and then continuing his labor with renewed zeal. Close to the small table containing the tools stood the em- peror's large writing-table. Large piles of documents and papers lay on this table, and among them were scattered also many letters and dispatches with broad official seals. But the emperor had not yet thought of opening these dispatches or nnsealing these letters. The peach-stone had engrossed his attention this morning, and he had unsealed only one of the papers ; the emperor had read only the report of the secret police on the events of the previous day. These reports of the secret police and the Chiffre-CoJbinet were the favorite reading matter of the Emperor Francis, and he would have flown into a towering passion if he had not found them on his writing- table early every morning. Thanks to these reports, the emperor knew every morning all that had occurred in Vienna during the previous day ; what the foreign ambassadors had done, and, above all things, what his brothers, the Archdukes Charles, Ferdinand, Joseph, and John, had said, done, and perhaps only thought. To-day's report had not communicated ma_iy important things to the emperor ; it had only informed him that, at daybreak, a courier from Paris had arrived at the house of the French ambassa- dor, Count Andreossi, and that there were good reasons to believe that he had brought highly important news. It was exactly for the purpose of dispelling the anxiety with which this unpleasant intelligence had filled him, that Francis had laid aside the report and recommenced his work on the cup ; and by this occupation he had succeeded in for- getting the burdensome duties of his imperial office. THE EMPEROR FRANCIS. 15 He was just trying very hard to plane one side of his cup, when a low rap at the small door leading to the narrow corri- dor, and thence to the apartments of the empress, interrupted him. The emperor gave a start and looked toward the door, listening and hoping, perhaps, that his ear might have de- ceived him. But no, the rapping was heard once more : there could no longer be a doubt of it somebody sought admittance, and intended to disturb the peaceful solitude of the emperor. "What does the empress want?" murmured Francis. " What does she come here for ? I am afraid something un- pleasant has happened again." He rose with a shrug from his chair, put his miniature cup hastily into the drawer of his table, and hurried to open the door. Francis had not been mistaken. It really was the Empress Ludovica, the third consort of tLe emperor, who had married her only a few months ago. She wore a handsome dishabille of embroidered while muslin, closely surrounding her delicate and slender form, and trimmed with beautiful laces. The white dress reached up to the neck, where a rose-colored tie fastened it. Her beautiful black hair, which fell down in heavy ringlets on both sides of her face, was adorned with a costly lace cap, from which wide ribbons of rose-colored satin flowed down on her shoulders. But the countenance of the empress did not correspond to this coquettish and youthful dress. She was young and beautiful, but an expression of pro- found melancholy overspread her features. Her cheeks were transparently white, and a sad, touching smile quivered round her finely chiselled, narrow lips ; her high, expansive fore- head was shaded, as it were, by a cloud of sadness ; and her large black eyes shot, from time to time, gloomy flashes which seemed to issue from a gulf of fiery torture. But whatever passions might animate her delicate, ethereal form, the em- press had learned to cover her heart with a veil, and her lips never gave utterance to the sufferings of her soul. Only her confidantes were allowed to divine them ; they alone knew that twofold tortures were racking Ludovica's fiery soul, those of hatred and wounded pride. Napoleon ! it was he whom the empress hated with indescribable bitterness ; and the neg- 16 ANDREAS HOFER. lect with which her consort, the Emperor Francis, treated her cut her proud heart to the quick. Thanks to the intrigues and immense riches of her mother, Beatrix of Este, Duchess of Mo- dena, she had become the wife of an emperor, and herself an empress ; but she had thereby obtained only an august posi- tion, not a husband and partner. She was an empress in name only, but not in. reality. Francis had given her his hand, but not his heart and his love. He disdained his beautiful, lovely wife ; he avoided any familiar intercourse with her with anxious timidity ; only in the presence of the court and the public did he treat the empress as his consort, and tolerate her near his person. At first Ludovica had submitted to this strange conduct on the part of her husband with proud indif- ference, and not the slightest murmur, not the mildest re- proach, had escaped her lips. For it was not from love that she had chosen this husband, but from ambition and pride. She had told herself that it would be better for her to be Em- press of Austria than Princess of Modena and Este ; and even the prospect of being the third wife of Francis of Austria, and the stepmother of the ten children whom his second wife had borne to him, had not deterred her. She meant to marry the emperor, and not the man ; she wished to play a prominent part, and exert a powerful influence on the destinies of the world. But these hopes were soon to prove utterly futile. The emperor granted her publicly all the privileges of her ex- alted position by his side ; but in the privacy of her apartments he never made her his confidante ; he refused to let her have any influence over his decisions ; he never consulted her as to the measures of his administration ; nay, he avoided alluding to such topics in her presence. Such was the grief that was gnawing at the heart of the young empress the woiind from which her proud and lofty soul was bleeding. But for a few weeks past she had over- come her silent grief, and the presence of her mother, the shrewd and intriguing Duchess of Modena, seemed to have im- parted fresh strength to the empress, and confirmed her in her determination to conquer the heart and confidence of her hus- band. [Whereas she had hitherto met his indifference by proud reticence, and feigned not to notice it, she was now THE EMPEROR FRANCIS. 17 kind and even affectionate toward him ; and it often happened that, availing herself of the privilege of her position, she trav- ersed the private corridor separating her rooms from those of her husband, and. without being summoned to him, entered his cabinet to talk politics with him in spite of his undisguised aversion to doing so. The emperor hated these interviews from the bottom of his heart ; a shudder pervaded his soul, and a cloud covered his brow, whenever he heard the low rap of the empress at his private door. To-day, too, the dark cloud covered his fore- head even after the empress had entered his cabinet. Ludo- vica noticed it, and a mournful smile overspread her pale face for a moment. "As your majesty did not come to me to bid me good- morning, I have come to you," she said, in a gentle, kind voice, holding out her beautiful white hand to the emperor. Francis took it and pressed it to his lips. ' It is true," he said, evidently embarrassed, " I did not come this morning to pay my respects to you, but time was wanting to me. I had to go at once to my cabinet and work; I am very busy." "I see," said Ludovica; "your majesty's dress still bears the traces of your occupation." The emperor hastened to brush away with his hands the small particles of the peach-stone that had remained on his shirt-bosom and his sleeve ; but while he was doing this his brow darkened still more, and he cast a gloomy and defiant glance on the empress. " Look, empress," he said ; " perhaps you belong to the secret police, and have been employed to watch me in order to find out what I am doing when I am alone in my cabinet. Why, if I found out that that was so, I should be obliged to be on my guard and have this door walled up, so that my esteemed consort might no longer be able to surprise and watch me." "Your majesty will assuredly not do that," said Ludovica, whose voice was tremulous, and whose cheeks had turned even paler than before. " No, your majesty will not make me undergo the humiliation of making known to the world the deplorable secret with which we alone have hitherto been acquainted. Your majesty will not deprive me of the only 18 ANDREAS HOFER. privilege which I enjoy in common with your former con- sorts, and thereby proclaim to the world that I am in this palace a stranger who has not even access to the rooms of her husband." " I do not say that I intend to do it," said Francis, shrug- ging his shoulders ; " I say only that it is highly repugnant to me to have my steps dogged and watched in any manner. It is true, my former consort had also the keys of this private corridor, but pardon me for this remark, your majesty the empress never used these keys, but always waited for me to open the door." "And she did not wait in vain," said the empress, quickly; " your majesty never failed to come, for you loved your con- sort, and I have been told you never suffered even a few hours to pass by without leaving your cabinet and crossing the secret corridor to repair to the rooms of the empress." " But the good Empress Theresa," exclaimed the emperor, "when I was with her, never endeavored to talk to me about politics and state affairs." u I understand that," said Ludovica ; " you had both so many mutual interests to converse about. You had your mutual love, your children, to talk about. I, who am so unhappy as not to be able to talk with you about such matters, how intensely so- ever my heart longs for it, must content myself with coversing with my husband on different subjects; and I desire to share at least his cares when I cannot share his love. My husband, I beseech you, do not disdain my friendship ; accept a friend's hand, which I offer to you honestly and devotedly." "My God, that is precisely what I long for !" exclaimed the emperor fervently, again pressing to his lips the hand which the empress held out to him. " My fondest wish is ful- filled when your majesty will give me your friendship, and confide in me as your best, most devoted, and faithful friend ! " "But this confidence must be reciprocated, my dearest friend," said Ludovica, putting her hand on the emperor's shoulder, and gazing long and ardently into his eyes. " Your majesty must confide in me too, and count implicitly on my fidelity." " That is what I do," said Francis, hastily ; " never should THE EMPEROR FRANCIS. 19 I dare to doubt the fidelity of the purest, chastest, and most virtuous empress and lady the fidelity of my wife." " I did not refer to the wife's fidelity," said Ludovica, sigh- ing, " but to the fidelity of my friendship, which is joyously ready to share all your cares and afflictions." " Well, then," said the emperor, nodding to her smilingly, " I will give you a proof of my faith in your friendship. Yes, you shall share my cares and afflictions." " Oh, my husband, how happy you make me by these words ! " exclaimed Ludovica, and a faint blush beautified her noble face. "I will let you participate in my work to-day, and you shall give me your advice," said the emperor, nodding to the empress, and stepping to the writing-table, from whose drawer he took the little cup. "Look, my dear friend," added the emperor, handing the cup to his consort, " I wished to make a little cup from this peach-stone and give it to Maria Louisa, who delights in such things; but when I had nearly fin- ished it, I discovered suddenly that the peach-stone was crooked and not equally round on both sides. Now give me your advice, my fair friend ; tell me what I am to do in order to straighten the cup. Look at it, and tell me how to fix it. It would be an everlasting disgrace for an emperor to be unable to straighten a thing which he himself made crooked." The empress had turned pale again ; her dark eyes shot fire for a moment, and she compressed her lips as if to stifle a cry of indignation. But she overcame her agitation quickly, and hastily took the little cup which the emperor still held out to her. "Your majesty is right," she said; the "cup is really crooked, and will not stand erect when you put it on the table. As your majesty has asked me what ought to be done about it, I advise you to get rid of the thing, declare war against the little cup, and remove it forever by touching it in this manner with your little finger." She upset the miniature cup with her slender little finger, so that it rolled to the other end of the table. " That is very energetic advice, indeed," said Francis, smil- 20 ANDREAS HOFER. ing, " but I do not like it. To upset a thing that is not well done is no way of improving it." " Yes, your majesty, to destroy what is not well done is paving the- way for something better," exclaimed Ludovica. " You yourself said just now it would be an everlasting dis- grace for an emperor to be unable to straighten anything which he himself made crooked. It seems to me, now, an emperor should extricate himself from any position imposing on him the necessity of doing anything crooked and unworthy of his imperial dignity. If su,ch is his duty in regard to a thing so insignificant as a peach-stone, how much more ur- gent is this duty, when there is at stake something so great and sacred as the independence and honor of your empire and policy ! " " See, see ! " said the emperor, scratching his head with an expression of ludicrous surprise ; "then we have really got back from the peach-stone to political affairs and the war-question. Now, this war-question is a hard peach- stone to crack, and the mere thought of it sets my teeth on edge." " Ah," said Ludovica, " your teeth are firm and strong, for they are composed of three hundred thousand swords, and thousands of cannon and muskets. If the lion is determined to use his teeth, he will easily succeed in destroying the were- wolf ; for this rapacious and bloodthirsty were- wolf is brave and invincible only when he has to deal with lambs ; only the feeble and disarmed have reason to fear him." "In speaking of a were-wolf, I suppose you refer to the Emperor Napoleon ? " asked the emperor, smiling. " I must tell you, however, that, in your warlike enthusiasm, you do him injustice. It seems to me he is brave not alone when he has to deal with lambs, and not alone the feeble and disarmed have reason to fear him. I think I did not march lambs against him at Austerlitz, but brave men, who were not feeble and disarmed, but strong and well-armed. Nevertheless, Bonaparte overpowered them ; he gained the battle of Auster- litz over us, and we had to submit to him, and accept the terms of peace wnich he imposed on us." "Yes, your majesty had to submit to him," cried the em- THE EMPEROR FRANCIS. 21 press, ardently ; " you were obliged to repair to the proud usurper's camp and beseech him to grant you peace ! " " I was not obliged to go to him, but I did so in order to restore peace to my people, and prevent all Austria from sinking into ruin. It is true, it was a dreadful walk for me, and when I saw the Emperor of the French at his camp-fire, he became utterly distasteful to me.* Nevertheless, the truth cannot be gainsaid, and the truth is that the Emperor Na- poleon is more than a were- wolf killing only lambs ; he is a lion whose furious roar causes all thrones to tremble, and who, when he shakes his mane, shakes all Europe to its foundations." " The more is it incumbent on us then to put an end to this unnatural state of affairs," exclaimed the empress, ve- hemently ; " to strengthen the thrones, and restore at length tranquillity to Europe. And there is only one way of doing this, my lord and emperor, and that is war ! We must de- stroy the lion in order to restore tranquillity to the peaceable nations." " But what if, instead of destroying the lion, we should be destroyed by him ? " asked the emperor, with a shrug. " What if the lion should a second time place his foot on our neck, trample us in the dust, and dictate to us again a disgraceful and humiliating peace ? Do you think that the present posi- tion of the King of Prussia is a pleasant and honorable one, and that I am anxious to incur a similar fate ? No, madame ! I am by no means eager to wear a martyr's crown instead of my imperial crown, and I will rather strive to keep my crown on my head, regardless of the clamor of the German war-party. These German shriekers are nice fellows. They refuse to do any thing, but think it is enough for them to cry, ' War ! war 1 ' and that that will be sufficient to conquer Bonaparte. But, empress, a great deal more is required for that purpose than the fanatical war-clamor of the aristocratic saloons, and the scribblings of the journalists and patriotic poets ; in order to attain so grand an object, it is indispensable that all Ger- many should rise, take up arms, and attack the enemy with united forces." * The emperor's own words. See "Lebensbilder aus dem Befreiunga- kriege," vol. L 22 ANDREAS IIOFER. " It is as your majesty says/' exclaimed Ludovica, enthusi- astically ; " all Germany is ready for the struggle against the enemy. The nation is only waiting for Austria to give the signal, draw the sword, and advance upon France, when all Germany will follow her." " I know these fine phrases," said Francis, shrugging his shoulders ; " I hear them every day from my brothers, who are eager for war, and who manage to gain a great deal of popularity in so comfortable a manner. But after all, they are phrases with very little sense in them. For just tell me, empress, where is the Germany which, you say, is only wait- ing for Austria to give the signal ? Where are the German armies which, you say, are only waiting for Austria to ad- vance, when they will follow her ? I have good sound eyes, but I cannot see such armies anywhere. I am quite familiar with the geography of Germany, I know all the states that belong to it, but among them I vainly look for those which are waiting for us to give such a signal. Prussia is utterly powerless, and cannot do any thing. The princes of the Ehenish Confederacy, it is true, are waiting for the signal, but Bonaparte will give it to them, and when they march, they will march against Austria and strive to fight us bravely in order to obtain from the French Emperor praise, honors, titles, and grants of additional territories. No, no, I cannot be blind- ed by brave words and bombastic phrases ; I know that Austria, in case a war should break out, would stand all alone, and that she must either conquer or be ruined. In 1805, when, in consequence of the disastrous battle of Austerlitz, I lost half my states, I was not alone, Russia was my ally. But Russia has recently declared that, in case a war should break out, she would not assist us against Napoleon, but observe a strict neu- trality as long as possible ; if she should, however, be obliged to take a decided stand, she would be on the side of France and against us. Consequently, I am entirely isolated, and Napoleon has numerous allies." " But your majesty has a powerful ally in the universal enthusiasm of the Austrians and Germans, in the universal indignation of the nations against Napoleon. You have pub- lic opinion on your side, and that is the most powerful ally." THE EMPEROR FRANCIS. 23 " Ah, let me alone with that abominable ally," cried the emperor, vehemently : "I do not want to hear of it nor to have anything to do with it. Public opinion is the hobby which my brother, the popular Archduke John, is riding all the time ; but it will throw him one day into the mire, and then he will find out what it really amounts to. Pray, never speak to me again of public opinion, for I detest it. It smells of revolution and insurrection, and, like a patient donkey, suffers itself to be led by whosoever offers it a thistle as a bait. I renounce once for all the alliance of public opinion, and I do not care whether it blesses or crucifies me, whether it calls me emperor or blockhead. You see now, empress, that I am entirely isolated, for the ally which you offer to me will do me no good ; I do not want it, and I have no other allies. I thought it necessary to arm, in view of the formidable arma- ments of France, and show our adversary that I am not afraid of him, but am prepared for every thing. I therefore put my army on the war footing, and showed Bonaparte that Austria is able to cope with him, and that money and well-disciplined armies are not wanting to her. But just now I shall not pro- ceed any further, and, unless something important should occur, all this war-clamor and all importunities will make no impression on me. The important event to which I alluded would be Napoleon's defeat in Spain, whereby he would be compelled to keep his armies there. In that event, I should no longer be isolated, but Spain would be my ally, and I should probably declare war. But if matters should turn out otherwise, if fortune should favor Napoleon there as every- where else, necessity alone will determine my course. I shall not attack, and thereby challenge fate of my own accord ; but I shall wait, sword in hand, for Napoleon to attack me. If he does, God and my good right will be on my side, and what- ever may be the result of the struggle, people will be unable to say that I rashly plunged into war and broke the peace. If we succumb, it is the will of God and the Holy Virgin, and not, our fault. And now, empress," said the emperor, drawing a deep breath, " I have complied with your wishes and talked poli- tics with you. I think it will be enough once for all, and you and you political friends will perceive that you cannot do any 24: ANDREAS HOFER. thing with me, and that it will be best for you to let me en- tirely alone ; for I am so stubborn as not to allow others to lead me, but pursue my own course. You have promised me, empress, to be a faithful friend to me. I ask you now to give me a proof of your friendship. Let us speak of something else than politics ; that is all that I ask of your friendship." " Well, then, let us drop the subject," said the empress, with a deep sigh. " Your majesty will be kind enough to permit me now to ask a favor of you ? " "Ah, you speak as if there were anything that I could refuse you," exclaimed the emperor, smiling. Ludovica bowed slightly. " I pray you, therefore," she said, "to be kind enough to accompany me to the concert which is to be given at the university hall. Haydn's k Cre- ation' will be performed there, and I believe the old maestro himself will be present to receive the homage of his ad- mirers." " H'm, h'm ! I am afraid there is something else behind it," said the emperor, thoughtfully, " and the audience will not content itself with merely offering homage to old Haydn. But no matter, your majesty wishes to go to the concert, and it will afford me pleasure to accompany my empress." At this moment they heard a low rap at the door leading from the emperor's cabinet into the conference-room, where the officers of the private imperial chancery were working. "Well, what is it?" exclaimed the emperor. "Come in!" The emperor's private chamberlain slipped softly through the half-opened door, and, on beholding the empress, he stood still without uttering a word. "Never mind, the empress will excuse you," said Francis. "Just tell me what you have come in for." " Your majesty," said the chamberlain, " the French am- bassador, Count Andreossi, has just arrived; and requests your majesty to grant him an audience. He says he wishes to communicate information of great importance to you." " Why did he not apply to my minister of foreign affairs ? " asked the emperor, indignantly. " Your majesty, the ambassador begs your pardon, but he THE EMPEROR FRANCIS. 25 says the Emperor Napoleon gave him express orders to en- deavor if possible to speak with your majesty." " And he is already in the anteroom, and waits for an im- mediate audience ? " " Yes, your majesty." " Well, then, I will receive him," said the emperor, rising. " Conduct the ambassador to the small audience-room. Well ? " asked the emperor, wonderingly, when the chamber- lain did not withdraw. " You do not go ? Do you wish to tell me any thing else ? " "I do, your majesty. A courier has just arrived from Paris with pressing dispatches from Count Metternich to your majesty." "Ah, that changes the matter !" exclaimed the emperor. " Tell the ambassador that I can not receive him now, but that he is to come back in an hour, at eleven precisely, when I shall be ready to receive him. Tell the courier to come to me at once." The chamberlain slipped noiselessly out of the door, and the emperor turned again to the empress " Empress," he said, " do me the honor of permitting me to offer you my arm, and conduct you back to your rooms. You see I am a poor, tormented man, who is so overwhelmed with business that he cannot even chat an hour with his wife without being disturbed. Pity me a little, and prove it to me by permitting me henceforth to rest in your presence from the cares of business, and not talk politics." " The wish of my lord and emperor shall be fulfilled," said the empress, mournfully, taking the arm which the emperor offered to her to conduct her back to her rooms. Just as she crossed the threshold of the imperial cabinet, and stepped into the corridor, she heard the voice of the chamberlain, who announced : u The courier from Paris, Counsellor von Hudelist." " All right, I shall be back directly ! " exclaimed the em- poror, and he conducted the empress with a somewhat accel- erated step through the corridor. In front of the door at its end he stood still and bowed to the empress with a pleas- ant smile. 3 26 ANDREAS HOFER. " I have conducted you now to the frontier of your realm,' 5 said Francis ; " permit me, therefore, to return to mine. Farewell ! We shall go to the concert to-night. Fare- well ! " Without waiting for the reply of the empress, he turned and hastily re-entered his cabinet. Ludovica entered her room and locked the door behind her. "Closed forever!" she said, with a sigh. "At least I shall not try again to avail myself of this door, and shall not expose myself again to the sneers of the emperor. I must, then, bear this disgrace ; I must submit to being disdained and repudiated by my husband ; I But hush ! " the empress interrupted herself, " this is no time for bewailing my per- sonal fate, for the fate of all Austria is at stake at this junc- ture Highly important events must have occurred at Paris, else Metteruich would not have sent his confidant and assist- ant Hudelist, nor would Andreossi demand an audience in so impetuous a manner. Perhaps this intelligence may at length lead to a decision to-day, or we may at least contribute to such a result. I will write to the Archduke John, and ask him to see the emperor. Perhaps he will succeed better than I did in persuading my husband to take a determined stand." She hastened to her writing-desk, and penned that mys- terious little note which she sent to the Archduke John in the book which she pretended he had lent to her. CHAPTER in. THE COURIER AND THE AMBASSADOR. THE emperor, in returning to his cabinet, like the empress, carefully locked the door behind him He then turned hastily to the courier, who was standing near the opposite door, and was just bowing most ceremoniously to his maj- esty. "Hudelist, it is really you, then?'' asked the emperor. " You left your post by the side of Metternich without obtain- THE COURIER AND THE AMBASSADOR. 27 ing my permission to come to Vienna ? Could you not find any other man to bring your dispatches ? I had commis- sioned you to remain always hy the side of Metternich, watch him carefully, and inform me of what he was doing and thinking." " Your majesty, I have brought my report with me," said Hudelist ; " and as for your majesty's order that I should always remain by the side of Count Metternich, I have hard- ly violated it by coming to Vienna, for I believe the Count will follow me in the course of a few days. Unless your maj- esty recalls him to Vienna, the Emperor Napoleon, I think, will expel him from Paris." " You do not say so ! " exclaimed Francis, shrugging his shoulders. " You think he will issue a manifesto against Metternich, as he did against the Prussian minister Von Stein ? Well, let me hear the news. What have you to tell me?" u So many important things, your majesty, that the count and myself deemed it expedient to report to your majesty verbally, rather than send a dispatch which might give you only an unsatisfactory idea of what has occurred. Hence I came post-haste to Vienna, and arrived here only a quarter of an hour since ; I pray your majesty therefore to pardon me for appearing before you in my travelling- dress." "Sit down, you must be tired," said the emperor, good-na- turedly, seating himself in an arm-chair, and pointing to the opposite chair. " Now tell me all ! " "Your majesty," said Hudelist, mysteriously, while a strange expression of mischievous joy overspread his ugly, pale face, " the Emperor Napoleon has returned from Spain to France." The Emperor Francis gave a start and frowned . " Why ? " he asked. " Because he intends to declare war against Austria," said Hudelist, whose face brightened more and more. " Because Napoleon is distrustful of us, and convinced that Austria is intent on attacking him. Besides, he felt no longer at ease in Spain, and all sorts of conspiracies had been entered into in 28 ANDREAS HOFER. Paris, whereby his return might have been rendered impossi ble if he had hesitated any longer." " Who were the conspirators ? " "Talleyrand and Fouche, the dear friends and obedient servants of the Emperor Napoleon. He knows full well what their friendship and devotedness amount to. Hence he had the two gentlemen well watched, and it seems his spies sent him cowect reports, for, after returning from Spain, he re- buked them unmercifully ; he told them, with the rage of a true Corsican, and regardless of etiquette, what miserable fellows they were, and how high he stood above them." " And yet he would like so much to be an emperor in strict accordance with court etiquette," said the emperor, laughing. " He is anxious to have such a court about him as Louis XIV. had. But the lawyer's son always reappears in the emperor, and, if it please God, He will one day deprive him of all his power and splendor." "And, if it please God, your majesty will be His in- strument in putting an end to Napoleon's power and splen- dor," cried Hudelist, with a smile which distorted his face strangely, and caused two rows of large yellow teeth to appear between the pale lips of his enormous mouth. "It is true he stands firm as yet, and rebukes his ministers as Nero did his freedmen. Talleyrand was still thunderstruck at what the emperor had told him, when he had an interview with Count Metternich and myself in Fouche's green-house. To be sure, the phrases which he repeated to us were well calculated to make even the blood of a patient minister boil. Napoleon sent for the two ministers immediately after his arrival ; when they came to him, he let them stand at the door of his cabinet like humble suppliants, and, running up and down before them, and casting fiery glances of anger upon them, he up^ braided them with their conduct, and told them he was aware .of all their intrigues, and knew that they were conspiring with Austria, Spain, and, through Spain, with England. Then he suddenly stood still in front of them, his hands folded on his back, and his glances would have crushed the two minis- ters if they had not had such a thick skin ' You are impudent enough to conspire against me ! ' he shouted, in a thundering THE COURIER AND THE AMBASSADOR. 29 voice. ' To whom are you indebted for every thing for your honors, rank, and wealth ? To me alone ! How can you pre- serve them ? By me alone ! Look backward, examine your past. If the Bourbons had reascended the throne, both of you would have been hanged as regicides and traitors. And you plot against me ? You must be as stupid as you are ungrate- ful, if you believe that anybody else could promote your in- terest as well as I have done. Had another revolution broken out, on whatever side you might have placed your- selves, you would certainly have been the first to be crushed by it.'"* " That is very plain talk, indeed," said Francis, laughing. 14 But Talleyrand and Fouche bave sound stomachs ; they will digest it, and not get congestions in consequence of it pro- vided the emperor does not punish them in a different man- ner." " For the time being, he only punished Talleyrand, whom he deprived of the position and salary of lord chamberlain. Fouche remained police minister, but both are closely watched by Napoleon's secret police. Nevertheless, they succeeded in holding a few unobserved interviews with us. Count Metter- nich learned also from another very -well-informed quarter, many accurate details regarding the plans and intentions of the Emperor Napoleon." '' What do you mean ? What well-informed quarter do you refer to ? " asked the emperor. "Your majesty," said Hudelist, with a significant grin, " Count Metternich is a very fine-looking man ; now, Queen Caroline of Naples, Murat's wife, and Napoleon's favorite sis- ter, is by no means insensible to manly beauty, and she ac- cepted with evident satisfaction the homage which the count offered to her. For the rest, Napoleon winked at and encour- aged this flirtation ; for, previous to his departure for Spain, he said to his sister loud enough to be overheard by some of our friends, ' Amusez-nous ce niais, Monsieur de Metternich. Nous en avons besoin & present ! '" f Madame Caroline * Napoleon's own words. See Schlosser, " History of the Eighteenth Cen- tury," vol. viii., p. 488. t Hormayr, " The Emperor Francis and Metternich, a Fragment, p. 56. 30 ANDREAS HOFEB. Murat told Count Metternich, for instance, that it is the Kings of Bavaria and Wiirtemburg that keep their spies for Napo- leon here in Vienna, and that they urged Napoleon vehemently to return from Spain in order to declare war against Austria. And Napoleon is determined to comply with their wishes. He travelled with extraordinary expedition from Madrid to Paris, stopping only at Valladolid, where he shut himself up for two days with Maret, his minister of foreign affairs, and dispatched eighty-four messages in different directions, with orders to concentrate his forces in Germany, and call out the full contingents of the Rhenish Confederacy. His own troops and these German Contingents are to form an army to which he intends to give the name of ' the German Army of the Em- peror Napoleon.' Although Count Metternich was aware of all this, he hastened to attend the great reception which took place at the Tuileries after Napoleon's return, in order to as- sure him again of the friendly dispositions of the imperial court of Austria. But Napoleon gave him no time for that. He came to meet him with a furious gesture, and shouted to him in a thundering voice : ' Well, M. de Metternich ! here is fine news from Vienna. What does all this mean ? Have they "been stung by scorpions ? Who threatens you ? What would you be at ? Do you intend again to disturb the peace of the world and plunge Europe into numberless calamities ? As long as I had my army in Germany, you conceived no disquie- tude for your existence ; but the moment it is transferred to Spain, you consider yourselves endangered ! What can be the end, of these things ? What, but that I must arm as you arm, for at length I am seriously menaced ; I am rightly punished for my former caution." * " What an impudent fellow ! " murmured the Emperor Francis to himself. " And Metternich ? What did he re- ply?" "Nothing at all, your majesty. He withdrew, returned immediately to the legation, and I set out that very night to convey this intelligence to your majesty. Your majesty, we can no longer doubt that Napoleon has made up his mind to wage war against Austria. His exasperation has risen to the * Napoleon's own words. See Schlosser, vol. vii., p. 490. THE COURIER AXD THE AMBASSADOR. 31 highest pitch, and the events in Spain have still more in- flamed his rage and vindictiveness." " Then he is unsuccessful in Spain ? " asked the emperor, whose eyes brightened. " Spain is still bidding him defiance, and fighting with the enthusiasm of an heroic people who will suffer death rather than be subjugated by a tyrant. She will never accept King Joseph, whom Napoleon forced upon her ; and as they see themselves deserted and given up by their royal family, the Spanish patriots turn their eyes toward Austria, and are ready to proclaim one of your majesty's brothers king of Spain, if your majesty would send him to them with an auxiliary army." " That would be a nice thing! " cried the emperor, angrily. " Not another word about it ! If my brothers should hear it, their heads would be immediately on fire, for they are veryam- bitious; hence, it is much better that they should not learn anything of these chdteaux en Espagne. Tell me rather how it looks in France. Are the French still satisfied with their emperor by the grace of the people I " *' They are not, your majesty. Let me tell you that not only Napoleon's own officers, his marshals and ministers, are dissat- isfied with him; but the whole people, those who possess money as well as those who own no other property than their lives, are murmuring against the emperor. He robs the mon- eyed men of their property by heavy taxes and duties, and those who have nothing but their lives he threatens with death by forcing muskets into their hands, and compelling them to do military service. Another conscription has been ordered, and as the population of France is decreasing, youths from sixteen to eighteen years old have to be enrolled. France is tired of these everlasting wars, and she curses Napoleon's insatiable bloodthirstiness no longer in secret only, but loud enough to be heard by the emperor from time to time." " And the army ? " " The army is a part 01 France, and feels like the rest of the French people. The marshals are quarrelling among them- selves, and some of them hate Napoleon, who never gives them time to repose on their laurels and enjoy the riches which they 32 ANDREAS HOFER. have obtained during their campaigns. The army is a perfect hotbed of conspiracies and secret societies, some of which are in favor of the restoration of the republic, while others advocate the restoration of the Bourbons. Napoleon, who is served well enough at least by his spies, is aware of all these things. He is afraid of the discontent and disobedience of his marshals and generals, conspiracies in the army, the treachery of his ministers, and the murmurs of his people ; and he fears, be- sides, that the fanaticism of the Spaniards may dim his mili- tary glory; hence, he feels the necessity of arousing the enthusiasm of his people by fresh battles, of silencing the malcontents by new victories, and of reviving the heroic spirit of his army. He hopes to gain these victories in a war be- tween his German army and the Austrian forces. He is, there- fore, firmly resolved to wage war, and the only question now is, whether your majesty will anticipate him, or await a decla- ration of war on his part. This is about all I have to com- municate to your majesty; the vouchers and other papers I shall have the honor to deposit at the imperial chancery." The emperor made no reply, but gazed into vacancy, deeply absorbed in his reflections. Hudelist fixed his small sparkling eyes on the bent form of the emperor; and as he contemplated his care-worn, gloomy face, his flabby features, his protruding under-lip, his narrow forehead, and his whole emaciated and fragile form, an expression of scorn overspread the face of the counsellor; and his large mouth and flashing eyes seemed to say, " You are the emperor, but I do not envy you, for I am more than you are; I am a man who knows what he wants." At this moment the clock commenced striking slowly, and its shrill notes aroused the emperor from his contemplation. " Eleven o'clock," he said, rising from his chair, " the hour when I am to give an audience to the French ambassador. Hudelist, go to the chancery and wait there until I call you. You will not return to Paris anyhow, but resume your former position in the chancery of state. I am glad that you have returned, for I consider you a faithful, able, and reliable man, with whom I have good reason to be content, and who, I hope, will not betray my confidence. I know, Hudelist, you are ambitious, and would like to obtain a distinguished position. THE COURIER AND THE AMBASSADOR. 33 Well, serve me do you hear ? serve none but me honestly and faithfully ; watch everything and watch closely ; never think of obtaining the friendship and good graces of others, nor seeking for any other protectors, save me ; and I shall always be favorably disposed toward you, and see to it that the cravings of your ambition are satisfied. Go then, as I said before, to the chancery of state ; and on hearing me re- enter the room, step in again. There are many other things which I wish to tell you." " I see through him," said Hudelist, looking with a smile after the emperor, who closed the door of the cabinet behind him, to repair to the small reception-room ; " yes, I see through the emperor. He is glad of my return, for I am a good spy for him in regard to the doings of his brothers, of whom he is jealous, and whom he hates with all his heart. If I succeed one day in communicating to him things capable of rendering the archdukes suspicious to him, or even convicting them of a wrong committed against him, the emperor will reward and promote me, and, as he says, satisfy the cravings of my ambi- tion. Well, well, we shall see. If you watch a man very closely and are really intent on spying out something sus- picious in his conduct, you will in the end surely find some little hook or other by which you may hold him, and which you may gradually hammer out and extend until it becomes large enough to hang the whole man on it. In the first place, I shall pay particular attention to the Archduke John, for his brother is particularly jealous of and angry with him. Ah, if I could discovery such a little hook by which to hold him, the emperor would reward my zeal with money, honors, and orders, and he would henceforward repose the most implicit confidence in my fidelity. Well, I shall think of it ; the idea is a good one, and worthy of being matured. I shall form a scheme to make the good and munificent Archduke John the ladder by which I shall rise. I must conquer, and if I can do it only by pulling down others, it is the duty of self-preserva- tion for me not to shrink from the task. I will now go to the chancery and wait there for the emperor's return. Ah, how his old limbs trembled when he heard of Napoleon's return. How hard and unpleasant it was for him to swallow the bad 34 ANDREAS HOFER. news which I communicated to him ! There is no more inter- esting spectacle than that presented by a human face passing through all the various stages of excitement, and involuntarily performing in its features the five acts of a tragedy. And all the better when this human face is that of an emperor. Dur- ing my whole journey from Paris to Vienna I was enjoying, by anticipation, the moment when I should deliver this Pan- dora's box to the emperor. He is opposed to war, and must nevertheless wage it ; that is the best part of the joke. Aha ! it is a fine sight to behold the gods of this earth a prey to such human embarrassments ! I felt like bursting into loud laugh- ter at the woe-begone appearance of the emperor. But hush, hush! I will go to the chancery until he returns." In the meantime the emperor had repaired to the small reception-room, where Count Andreossi, the French ambassa- dor, was already waiting for him. Francis responded to the respectful greeting of the am- bassador by a scarcely perceptible nod, and strode, with head erect, into the middle of the room. There he stood still, and casting a stern and almost defiant glance on the ambassador, he said in a cold, dignified tone: "You requested an audience of me in a very unusual manner. I granted it to prove to you my desire to remain at peace with France. Now speak ; What has the ambassador of the Emperor of the French to say to the Emperor of Austria ? " " Your majesty, I have to present to you, in the first place, the respects of my master, who has returned from Spain to Paris." Francis nodded his head slowly. " What next ? " he asked. " Next, my sovereign has charged me with a very difficult commission, for the execution of which I must first, and above all things, beg your majesty's pardon." " You are your master's servant, and it is your duty to obey him," said the emperor, dryly. "Say, therefore, what he ordered you to tell me." "Well, then, as your majesty has granted me permission, I will say that my master, the Emperor of the French, has taken deep umbrage at the hostile course which Austria has of late pursued toward him." THE COURIER AND THE AMBASSADOR. 35 '* And what is it that your emperor complains of ? " asked the emperor, -with perfect composure. " In the first place, the Emperor Napoleon has taken deep umbrage at Austria's still hesitating to recognize King Joseph as King of Spain, and to send a minister plenipotentiary to his court." I did not know where to send my ambassador, and where he would find M. Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain, for the time being whether at Madrid or at Saragossa ; in the camp, on the field of battle, or in flight. Hence I did not send an ambassador to his court. So soon as the Spanish nation is able to inform me where I may look for the king it has elected and recognized, I shall immediately dispatch a minister pleni- potentiary to this court. State that to your monarch." " Next, his majesty the Emperor Napoleon complains bit- terly that Austria, instead of being intent on maintaining friendly relations with France, has left nothing undone to reconcile the enemies of France who were at war with each other, and to restore peace between them ; and that Austria, by her incessant efforts, has really succeeded now in bringing about a treaty of peace between Turkey and England. Now, my master the emperor must look upon this as a hostile act on the part of Austria against France; for to reconcile Eng- land with Turkey is equivalent to setting France at variance with Turkey, or at least neutralizing entirely her influence over the Sublime Porte." *' Turkey is my immediate neighbor, and it is highly impor- tant to Austria that there should be no war-troubles and dis- turbances on all her frontiers. Every independent state should be at liberty to pursue its own policy; and while this policy does not assume a hostile attitude toward other independent states, no one can take umbrage at it. Are you through with your grievances ? " "No, your majesty," said Andreossi, almost mournfully. " The worst and most unpleasant part remains to be told ; but, as your majesty was gracious enough to say, I must obey the orders of my master, and it is his will that I shall now com- municate to your majesty the emperor's views in his own words. It has given great offence to the Emperor Napoleon 36 ANDREAS HOFER. that Austria should place herself in a posture of open hostility against France, when France has given her so many proofs of her forbearance, and has hitherto always spared Austria, not- withstanding the numerous acts of duplicity and evident hos- tility of the Austrian court. The Emperor Napoleon informs your majesty that he is well aware of the ambitious schemes of Austria, but that he thinks your majesty is not strong enough to carry them into effect. He requests your majesty never to forget the magnanimity which the Emperor Napo- leon manifested toward you after the battle of Austerlitz. The Emperor Napoleon has instructed me to remind you of the fact, well known to you, that you can confide in his gen- erosity, and that he is firmly resolved to observe the treaties. Naples, Prussia, and Spain, would stand erect, yet, if their rulers had relied on their own sagacity, and not listened to the fatal advice of their ministers, or even of courtiers, women, and ambitious young princes. His majesty beseeches the Em- peror of Austria not to listen to such insidious advice, nor to yield to the wishes of the war-party, which is intent only on gratifying its passionate ambition, and whose eyes refuse to see that it is driving Austria toward the brink of an abyss where she must perish, as did Prussia, Naples, and Spain."* " It is very kind in his majesty the Emperor Napoleon to give me such friendly advice," said the Emperor Francis, smiling. " But I beg his majesty to believe that, in accord- ance with his wishes, I rely only on my own individual saga- city; that I am influenced by no party, no person, but am accustomed to direct myself the affairs of my country and the administration of my empire, and not to listen to any insinua- tions, from whatever quarter they may come. I request you to repeat these words to his majesty the Emperor Napoleon, with the same accuracy with which you communicated his message to me. And now, Count Andreossi, I believe you have communicated to me all that your master instructed you to say to me." " Pardon me, your majesty, I am instructed last to demand in the emperor's name an explanation as to the meaning of the formidable armaments of Austria, the organization of the * Hormayr, " Allgemeine Geschichte," vol. iii., p. 205. THE COURIER AND THE AMBASSADOR. 37 militia, and the arming of the fortresses on the frontiers, and to inquire against whom these measures are directed. The emperor implores your majesty to put a stop to these useless and hurtful demonstrations, and orders me expressly to state that, if Austria does not stop her armaments and adopt meas- ures of an opposite character, war will be inevitable." * " In that case, Mr. Ambassador of the Emperor Napoleon, war is inevitable," cried Francis, who now dropped the mask of cold indifference, and allowed his face to betray the agita- tion and rage filling his bosom, by his quivering features, flashing eyes, and clouded brow. " I have calmly listened to you," he added, raising his voice; "I have received with silent composure all the arrogant phrases which you have ventured to utter here in the name of your emperor. I look on them as one of the famous proud bulletins for which your emperor is noted, and to whose overbearing and grandiloquent language all Europe is accustomed. But it is well known too that these bulletins are not exactly models of veracity, but sometimes the very reverse of it. An instance of the latter is your emperor's assertion that he observes the treaties, and that he gave me proofs of his magnanimity after the battle of Austerlitz. No, the emperor did no such thing; he made me, on the contrary, feel the full weight of his momentary superiority. He was my enemy, and treated me as an enemy, without magnanimity, which, for the rest, I did not claim at the time. But he has proved to me, too, that he does not observe the most sacred treaties. He violated every section of the peace of Presburg ; he did not respect the frontiers as stipulated in that treaty ; he forced me, in direct violation of the treaties, to allow him the permanent use of certain military roads within the boundaries of my empire; he hurled from ttieir thrones dynasties which were related to me, and whose existence I had guaranteed ; he deprived, in violation of the law of nations, the beloved and universally respected head of Christendom of his throne, and subjected him to a most disgraceful imprisonment; he exerted on all seas the most arbitrary pressure on the Austrian flag. And now, after all this has happened, after Austria has endured * Napoleon's own words. See " Lebensbilder," vol. ii., and Hormayr, " All- gemeine Geschichte," vol. iiL 38 ANDREAS HOFER. all these wrongs so long and silently, the Emperor Napoleon undertakes even to meddle with the internal administration of my empire, and forbids me what he, ever since his accession, has incessantly done, to wit : to mobilize my army, levy con- scripts for the troops of the line and the reserves, and arm the fortresses. He asks me to put a stop to my armaments ; else, he says, war will be inevitable. Well, Mr. Ambassador, I do not care if the Emperor Napoleon looks at the matter in that light, and I shall not endeavor to prevent him from so doing, for I shall not stop, but continue my preparations. I called out the militia, just as the Emperor of the French constantly calls new levies of conscripts into immediate activity ; and if war should be inevitable in consequence thereof, I shall bear what is inevitable with firmness and composure." " Your majesty, is this your irrevocable resolution ? " asked Andreossi. " Is this the answer that I am to send to my mas- ter, the Emperor Napoleon ? " " I think it will be better for you to convey this answer in person to your emperor," said Francis, calmly. u As no one has witnessed our interview, only you yourself can repeat my words with perfect accuracy ; and it is therefore best for you to set out this very day for Paris." " That is to say, your majesty gives me my passports, and war will immediately break out between France and Aus- tria!" sighed Andreossi. "Your majesty should graciously consider " " I have considered every thing," interrupted Francis, vehe- mently, " and I request you not to speak to me again in the style of your French bulletins. I will hear the bulletins of the Emperor Napoleon on the field of battle rather than in my cabinet. Set out, therefore, for Paris, Mr. Ambassador, and repeat to the emperor what I have said to you." " I will comply with your majesty's orders," said An- dreossi, with a sigh ; " I will set out, but I shall leave the members of my legation here as yet, for I do not yet give up the hope that it may be possible for the two courts to avoid a declaration of war, and to spare such a calamity to two coun- tries that have such good reasons to love each other." "Let us quietly await the course of events," replied the THE EMPEROR AND HIS BROTHERS. 39 emperor. "Farewell, Count Andreossi. If you will accept my advice, you will set out this very day; for so soon as my dear Viennese learn that war is to break out in earnest, they will probably give vent to their enthusiasm in the most tu- multuous and rapturous demonstrations, and I suppose it would be disagreeable to you to witness them. Farewell, sir!" He waved his hand toward the ambassador, bent his head slowly and haughtily, and left the reception-room without vouchsafing another glance to Count Andreossi. 44 Now my brothers will be in ecstasies," said the emperor to himself, slowly walking up and down, his hands folded on his back, in the sitting-room adjoining the reception-room. " They will be angry, though, because I did not consult them, and decided the whole affair without listening to their wis- dom." "Your majesty," said a footman, who entered the room at this moment, "their imperial highnesses, the Archdukes Charles and John, request an audience of your majesty." 41 They are welcome," said the emperor, whose features were lit up by a faint smile. u Show my brothers in." CHAPTER IV. THE EMPEROR AND HIS BROTHERS. A FEW minutes afterward the two archdukes entered the room of the emperor, who slowly went some steps to meet them, and greeted them with a grave, cold glance. 44 Why, this is a rare spectacle," said Francis, sneeringly, " to see my brothers side by side in such beautiful harmony. In truth, it was only wanting to me that even you two should be of the same opinion, and come to me for the purpose of inviting me, as Schiller says, to be the third in your league." " Your majesty would always be the first in this league," said the Archduke John, in his clear, ringing voice ; 4k my brother would be the second, and I only the third." 40 ANDREAS HOFER. " See, see, my brother is very modest and humble to-day," said Francis, smiling. " This means doubtless that you have come to ask a favor of me, and that, by your kindness and devotedness, you wish to induce me to comply with your re- quest, as a dog is decoyed with cakes and sweets by the thief who intends to steal something from the dog's master." " Oh, your majesty, we do not intend to steal any thing from our master! " exclaimed John, laughing. " But there is really an attack to be made on our master's property ; only he who intends to make it does not decoy us with cakes and sweets, but assails us with the sword and coarse invectives." " It was very shrewd in you to mention at once the subject on which you wished to speak with me," said the emperor, with a slight sneer. " But permit me first to say a word to my brother Charles there, and bid welcome to his imperial high- ness, the illustrious captain, the generalissimo of our army, the hope and consolation of Austria. " "Your majesty wishes to mock me," said the Archduke Charles, in a mournful voice. " I repeat only what I read every day in the newspapers, and what the dear Viennese are singing and shouting in every street! " exclaimed the emperor. "Yes, yes, my dear brother, you must consent to be the hope and consolation of Austria, and to be praised as the august and invincible hero of our im- mediate future." So saying, the emperor gazed with a long and searching look at his brother's form, and a scornful expression over- spread his features. Indeed, the epithets which the emperor had applied to his brother corresponded but little to the appearance of the Arch- duke Charles. His small, bent form, with its weak, shrivelled limbs, was not the form of a hero ; his pale, wan face, with the hollow cheeks ; the dim eyes deeply imbedded in their sockets, and the clouded brow, on which thin tufts of hair hung down, was hot the face of a bold captain, confident of achieving brilliant triumphs by his heroic deeds, and deserv- ing of the name of the hope and consolation of Austria. But the Austrians did call him by that name, and the glory of his military achievements, which filled not only Austria but the THE EMPEROR AND HIS BROTHERS. 41 whole of Germany, caused them really to build their hopes on the Archduke Charles, despite his very feeble health. The Emperor Francis was aware of this ; he knew that the Arch- dukes Charles and John were by far more popular than he was ; hence he was jealous of and angry with them nay, he almost hated them. " You look very pale and sick to-day, my dear Archduke Charles," said the emperor, after a pause, during which he had contemplated the archduke with a searching expression. "I am very feeble and unwell, your majesty," sighed Charles ; " and but for the special request of my brother, the Archduke John, I should not have dared to come here this morning. However, I am afraid that I can do but little to comply with his wishes, and that my brother John will soon think it would have been better for him not to ask me to ac- company him to your majesty." "Ah, then, you are after all not so harmonious as I thought when I saw you entering here together ! '' exclaimed the emperor, laughing. " There are still differences of opin- ion, then, between the two pillars of my throne, and were I to lean on one, the other would totter and give way. Well, what do you want ? What brought you here ? " " Your majesty, only the intense desire to dedicate our services to Austria and our emperor!" exclaimed John, en- thusiastically. " We wished to implore your majesty to utter at length the word that will deliver Austria and all Germany. Your majesty, this hesitation and silence rests like a night- mare on every heart and every bosom ; all eyes are fixed hopefully on your majesty. Oh, my lord and emperor, one word from your lips, and this nightmare will disappear ; all hearts will rejoice in blissful ecstasy, and every bosom will expand and breathe more freely when your majesty shall utter this word : 'War! war!' We hold the sword in our hands ; let the will of my august emperor give us the right now to draw the sword against him who, for years past, has swept like a destructive hurricane through all Germany, all Europe, and who tramples alike on princes and peoples, on liberty and law. Your majesty, in the name of your people, in the name of all German patriots, I bend my knees here be- 42 ANDREAS HOFES. fore my lord and emperor, and thus, kneeling and full of rev- erence, I implore your majesty to let the hour of deliverance strike at length ; let us, with joyful courage, expel the enemy who has already so long been threatening our frontiers with defiant arrogance : let us take the field against the impudent usurper, and wrest from him the laurels which he gained at Austerlitz, and of which he is so proud. Your majesty, your people are filled with warlike ardor ; your faithful Tyrolese are waiting only for a signal to break their chains and rise for their beloved emperor. Your Italian provinces are long- ing for the day when war shall break out, in order to avenge themselves on the tyrant who promised them liberty and brought them only slavery. The hour of retribution has come for Napoleon ; may your majesty consult our best inter- ests by saying that we are to profit by this hour, and that war, a mortal struggle, is to begin now against the Emperor of the French!" And, still bending his knees before the emperor, John looked up to him with longing, beseeching eyes. Francis looked down on him with a gloomy air, and the noble and enthusiastic face of his brother, who was ten years younger, and much stronger and better-looking, made a dis- agreeable impression on him. " Rise, brother," he said, coldly ; '' your knees must ache, and I, for my part, do not like such theatrical scenes at all, and such fine phrases make but little impression on my cold and prosy heart. I am accustomed to follow always my con- victions, and when I advance a step, I must be sure not to fall into an abyss which some poetical hero may perhaps have merely covered for me with his flowery phrases. That I am aware of the dangers threatening us on the part of France I have proved by putting the army on the war footing, by in- trusting you, Archduke John, with organizing the militia and the reserves in accordance with the plan you drew up for that purpose ; and by placing you, Archduke Charles, at the head of my army and appointing you generalissimo." " An honor, your majesty, which I accepted with reverent gratitude, although it almost crushes me at the present time," said the Archduke Charles, with a sigh. " Permit me now. THE EMPEROR AND HIS BROTHERS. 43 your majesty, to open my heart to you, and lay my innermost thoughts at your feet. To do so, I accompanied my brother John to you. He said he would implore your majesty once more to postpone the declaration of war no longer, but utter at length the decisive word. I implored him not to do so, and not to force us to engage prematurely in a war that could not but bring the greatest calamities on Austria. But my dear brother would not listen to my remonstrances and prayers ; he called me a secret friend and admirer of Napoleon ; he de- manded that I should at least speak out freely and openly in your majesty's presence, and refute him if I could, or yield to him if my arguments should prove untenable. Your majesty, I have therefore complied with the wishes of my brother, the Archduke John ; I have come to you, but only to say to my lord and emperor : Your majesty, I implore you, in the name of your people and your throne, do not yet unsheath the sword ! Wait until our army is ready for the contest, and until our armaments are completed. Do not plunge rash- ly into war, lest victory escape us. A great deal remains to be done yet before we can say that our armaments are completed ; and only after being fully prepared can we dare to take the field against the Emperor Napoleon and his hither- to victorious legions." "Ah, do you hear our Fabius Cunctator, brother John, the Lion-hearted ! " exclaimed the emperor, sarcastically. " Which of you is right, and whose wise advice shall I follow now I, the poor emperor, who is not strong and sagacious enough to be his own adviser and advance a step without his brothers ? John, the learned soldier, beseeches me to declare war, and Charles, the intrepid hero, implores me not to do so. What am I, the poor emperor, who cannot advise himself, and who receives too much advice from others, to do under such circumstances ? Whose will must I submit to ? " " Your majesty," cried John, in dismay, " it is we that must submit ; it is your will on which depends the decision. I im- plore your majesty to declare war, because I deem it necessary ; but, if your majesty should take a different resolution, I shall submit silently and obediently." "And I," said Charles, "requested you to postpone the 44 ANDREAS HOFER. declaration of war, because I do not believe that we are suffi- ciently prepared for the contest : but, like my brother, I shall submit silently if your majesty should take a different resolu- tion." " Indeed, will you do so, archdukes ? " asked the emperor, in a scornful tone. " Will you be mindful of your duties as subjects, and, instead of giving me unnecessary advice, obey me silently ? " The two archdukes bowed to indicate their submissiveness. The emperor advanced a few steps, and proudly raising his head, he looked at his two brothers with a stern and imperious expression. " Let me tell you, then, archdukes, what I, your lord and emperor, have resolved,'' said Francis, sternly. " I have re- solved to declare war ! r Two loud cries resounded with one accord ; a cry of joy burst from John's lips, a cry of dismay from tbose of Charles. Pale, reeling like a drunken man, the generalissimo ap- proached the emperor and held out his hands to him with a beseeching expression. '' Your majesty," he said, " you have resolved to declare war, but you do not mean to say that it is to commence im- mediately ? " " That is what I mean to say," replied the emperor, sarcas- tically. The Archduke Charles turned still paler than before ; a strange tremor passed through his frame, his head dropped on his bosom, and a deep groan issued from his breast. The Archduke John, forgetful of his quarrel with his brother Charles, at the sight of the latter's profound grief, hastened to him, and tenderly grasped both his hands. " Brother," he asked, anxiously, " what is the matter ? Are you unwell ? " " I am," said Charles, wiping from his forehead the large drops of sweat standing on it. " I am unwell, but I must say a few additional words to the emperor. I must disclose to him a melancholy secret of which I heard only an hour ago. Your majesty, I implore you once more, postpone the war as long as possible ; for hear my terrible secret we have THE EMPEROR AND HIS BROTHERS. 45 been infamously defrauded by Commissary-General von Fass- bender." " Your intimate friend ? " interposed the emperor, with a scornful laugh. "Yes, my intimate friend," exclaimed the archduke, in a loud, shrill voice ; " he deceived me most shamefully. All the army contracts had been intrusted to him, and he assured me he had filled them in the most conscientious manner. I believed him, and it is only now that I find out that he has shamefully deceived me and his emperor. All his bills for the supplies which he pretended to have furnished are in my hands, but the troops did not get the supplies. The scoundrel sent only sour flour, bad linen, and moth-eaten uniform cloth to the regiments, and yet he drew enormous sums of money for the full amount of his contracts." "We shall compel the thief to disgorge his ill-gotten gains," cried the emperor. " No, your majesty," said Charles, with a groan ; and lean- ing more firmly on his brother's arm, in order not to sink to the floor, he added : " no, your majesty, the criminal is be- yond the reach of your power. He escaped from human justice by committing suicide an hour ago. The criminal has fled from his judges, but his crimes remain, and our army suffers in consequence of them. Now your majesty knows all, you will take back your word, and say no longer that you will declare war. You will be gracious enough to give me time to repair the injury resulting from the crimes of the commissary-general, and to provide the army with all that is unfortunately wanting to it as yet." "No," cried the emperor vehemently, " I will not ! I will not take back my word, and I had already made up my mind before you, my brothers, entered here to assist me so generous- ly by your wisdom. War will be declared immediately ; my resolution is irrevocable. I have already informed the French ambassador of it, and ordered him to leave Vienna this very day. Your warnings come just as much too late as did John's entreaties. I did what I myself deemed best ; and I deemed it best to declare war against Bonaparte, in reply to his in- tolerable arrogance. Every thing is fixed and settled ; war 46 ANDREAS HOFER. will commence without delay : and you, Archduke Charles, are the generalissimo of my army." The Archduke Charles made no reply ; he uttered a pain- ful groan and sank to the floor by John's side. All his limbs trembled and quivered ; his pale face became distorted, he clinched his fists, and his eyes were glassy as though he were dying. " He has one of his fits," said the emperor calmly, looking down on his brother. " Call his servants and his doctor, Archduke John, that they may remove the generalissimo to another room and administer medicine to him.'' John rushed to the door, and soon the servants and the physician, who always accompanied the Archduke Charles, hastened into the room. They lifted with practised hands the archduke, who was still writhing in convulsions, and carried him tenderly out of the room. John, who, with touching solicitude, had remained near the sufferer, would have accompanied him ; but a word from the emperor called him back. " Stay a moment, archduke," said Francis ; " the Archduke Charles only has his fits, and his servants will take care of him. I have yet to speak a few words with you. This will be a formidable war, brother, and we must see to it that it breaks out at the same time in all quarters of our empire, and that the people rise with one accord and take up arms. We have made our preparations everywhere, and our emissaries have done their duty ; they have everywhere enlisted friends of our cause, and established committees which have made all necessary dispositions for the defence of the country. You yourself sent your emissary, Baron von Hormayr, to your beloved Tyrol ; if I am correctly informed, he has already returned to Vienna." "Your majesty, he arrived here this morning," said John, looking at his brother with an air of surprise and even ter- ror. This did not escape the emperor, and a smile of satisfaction lit up his face. " You see, my agents serve me very well, and I am aware of all that is going on," said Francis, gravely. " I know, too. THE EMPEROR AND HIS BROTHERS. 47 that Baron von Hormayr has returned to Vienna not alone, but accompanied by some good friends. I believe you did not come here to give me your advice, but to beg permission to re- ceive your Tyrolese friends at your palace to-night." " What ! " asked John, surprised ; " your majesty is aware of this, too?" " I have told you already that my agents serve me very well. Let this be a warning to you not to do or undertake any thing that you would like to conceal from me. I know that Andreas Hofer is here, to concert with you some sort of plan for the insurrection of the Tyrol. Under the present circumstances I permit you to do so, for it is really important that the German and Italian Tyrol should rise ; and as we are going to have war, we will strive to recover our Tyrol. But we must proceed cautiously, and the world must not find out that we instigated the Tyrolese to rise in arms. That would be setting a bad example to the other nations of our empire. We may at times profit by popular insurrections, but must be- ware of letting the world know that we ourselves brought them about. Hence, I do not want to know any thing of your Tyrolese, and shall not grant them an audience. But I permit you to do so, and you may tell these brave Tyrolese, too, that I should be glad if they would become again my dear subjects." " Your majesty," exclaimed John, joyously, "these words of their emperor will be the signal for them to rise as one man, take their rifles, and expel the Evil One, that is to say, the Bavarians." " I shall be glad to see the Tyrolese do so, and, moreover, do it in time," said the emperor, nodding his head. " Repeat my words to Andreas Hofer, brother John, and pledge him my word that, if we recover the Tyrol this time, we shall never give it up again. But Andreas Hofer must behave with great prudence, and not show himself to the public here, but keep in the background, that the police may wink at his presence in Vienna, and act as though they did not see him and his friends. And now, brother, farewell, and inquire if the gen- eralissimo has recovered from his fit. It would be bad, in- deed, if these fits should befall him once in the midst of a bat- 48 ANDREAS HOFER. tie. Well, let us hope for the best for us all, and especially for the Tyrol. You have now a great task before you, John, for you will receive a command ; you shall assist the Tyrolese in shaking off the foreign yoke." " Oh, my lord and emperor," exclaimed John, with a radi- ant face and fiery glance, " how kind and gracious you are to-day ! It is the heart of a brother that speaks out of your mouth of a brother who wishes to make me happy, and knows how to do so. Yes, send me with a corps to the assist- ance of the Tyrolese ; let me bring freedom and salvation to my beloved mountaineers. That is a task which fills me with boundless ecstasy, and for which I shall always be grateful and devoted to you, brother." u Be devoted to your emperor, archduke," said Francis, smiling ; " the brothers will get along well enough ; they have nothing to do with politics and public affairs. Fare- well, John. But, remember, we shall meet again to-day, for I shall summon the ministers and generals to a consultation, and you will, of course, be present. Once more, then, fare- well !" He nodded repeatedly to the archduke and left the room with unusual quickness. The emperor walked hastily and with a gloomy face through the adjoining room, and entered his cabinet, the door of which he closed rather noisily. " I am to let him bring freedom and salvation to his be- loved mountaineers," murmured Francis to himself " to his mountaineers ! I believe he would be glad if they really were his, and if he could become King of the Tyrol. Well, we shall see. I have lulled his suspicion by permitting him to hold intercourse with the Tyrolese, and concert plans with them. We shall see how far my brother will go, and what his gratitude and devotion will amount to. It is a troublesome burden for me to have such dangerously ambitious and re- nowned brothers, against whom I must be constantly on my guard. I would I could pick them off as quickly as I remove the flies from this wall." So saying, he took from the table the fly -flap which had al- ways to lie on it in readiness, and entered upon his favorite amusement, the pursuit of the flies on the wall and furniture, THE EMPEROR AJ Archduke John. The emperor's face became even more mo- rose. He cast the fly-flap aside, and murmured to himself, "My brothers never leave me any rest." He then said in a loud voice, " Let him come in." A minute afterward the archduke entered the cabinet. His face was still joyously lit up by the soul-stirring solemnity in which he had participated in the morning ; his eye was yet radiant with noble enthusiasm and exultation, and a serene smile played around his lips. Thus he appeared before his brother, whose face seemed doubly gloomy in the presence of his own. u I come to take leave of your majesty and bid farewell to my brother Francis," he said, in a mild, tender voice. " I in- tend to set out to-night for Gratz, and organize my staff there." " God bless you, commander of the Southern army ! " said CONSECRATION OF THE FLAGS, AND FAREWELL. 91 the emperor, dryly ; " God bless you, brother. You were all eager for war ; now you have it ! " "And your majesty has witnessed the enthusiasm with which the Austrian people hailed the declaration of war. And not only the people of Austria, but all Germany, looks now with joy, hope, and pride toward Austria, and participates most cordially in our warlike enthusiasm." " I do not care for that," said the emperor, dryly. " Thank God, I cast off the crown of Germany three years ago, and am no longer Emperor of Germany." " But one day, when your armies have conquered France and delivered the world from the insatiable usurper, Germany will gratefully lie down at your majesty's feet and beseech you to accept the imperial crown again at her hands." " Much obliged, sir, but I would not take it," exclaimed the emperor, with a shrug. " But say, brother, are you really con- vinced that we can and shall conquer Bonaparte ? " " I am. We shall conquer, if " Well, if " asked the emperor, when the archduke hesi- tated. "If we are really determined to do so," said John, looking the emperor full in the face ; " if we act harmoniously, if we do not impede each other, if no petty jealousies favor the ef- forts of one and frustrate those of the other. Oh, brother, permit me at this farewell hour to utter a few frank and truth- ful words, and I beg your majesty to forgive me if my heart opens to you in unreserved confidence. Brother, I confess frankly all is not as it should be here. Where concord should reign, there is discord ; where all should have their eyes fixed only on the great goal, and avail themselves of all means and forces, they are split up into factions bitterly hostile to each other. Oh, my gracious emperor, I beseech you, do not listen to these factions, do not confide in those who would like to arouse your suspicion against your brothers. Believe me, you have no more loyal, devoted, and obedient subject than I am ; therefore, confide in me, who wish only to contribute to the greatness, honor, and glory of my country and my emperor, to the best of my power, however insignificant it may be. My brother, there has long been a gulf between us ; God knows 92 ANDREAS HOFER. that I did not dig it. But let us fill it up forever at this fare- well hour. I implore you, believe in my love, my devoted loyalty ; take me by the hand and say, ' John, I trust you ! I believe in you ! ' See, I am waiting for these words as for the blessing which is to accompany me into battle, and rest on my heart like a talisman. Brother, speak these words of love and confidenee ! Give me your hand open your arms to your brother ! " " Why should we enact here a sentimental scene ? " asked the emperor, harshly. " I do not like such things, and want to see family dramas only performed on the stage. Thank God, I am not a theatrical emperor, but a real one, and will have nothing to do with scenes from plays. Nor do I know of any gulfs existing between you and me. I never perceived them, and was never disturbed thereby. But why do you pro- test your love and loyalty in so passionate a manner to me ? Who tells you, then, that I suspect them ? That would be equivalent to considering my brother a traitor, and it would be very unfortunate for him ; for toward traitors I shall al- ways be inexorable, whosover they may be, and whether they be persons of high or low rank. Let us speak no longer of it. But, besides, you have again advised me, without being re- quested to do so, and demand that I should not listen to any factions. I never do, brother. I never listen to any factions, neither to yours, nor to that of the others. I listen only to myself, and require submissiveness and obedience of my serv- ants. You are one of the latter ; go, then, and obey me. I have resolved on war ; go, then, to your corps and fight, as you are in duty bound, for your emperor and for Austria. Defeat Napoleon if you can. You are playing a game which may easily become dangerous to ourselves. You have stirred up an insurrection in the Tyrol ; you will have to bear the re- sponsibility if this insurrection shall be unsuccessful." " I will bear it, and God will forgive what I have done ! " said John, solemnly. '' Your majesty, you would not listen to the brother who offered you his love frankly and honestly. I have nothing to add to what I have said, nor shall I ever make another attempt to gain your confidence." " Is that intended as a threat ? " asked the emperor, angrily. CONSECRATION OF THE FLAGS, AND FAREWELL. 93 " No," said John, mournfully, " I do not threaten you. I shall always bear in mind that I loved you, and that you are not only my lord and emperor, but also the son of my mother." " And I," cried the emperor, vehemently, " shall always bear in mind that you were the head of the faction which, by its insensate clamor for war, first aroused Napoleon's anger, brought about demonstrations and armaments on our part, and finally obliged me to resolve on war, although I know full well that this resolution will inevitably involve Austria in great disaster. Let me likewise speak a farewell word to you, brother. We shall succumb again, although my wise and learned brothers are at the head of the army. I consulted the most experienced and sagacious men. I myself paid a visit to Count Cobenzl, who is lying at the point of death, and asked his opinion. He hates Napoleon as ardently as any one, and yet he is in favor of peace. I consulted the Prince de Ligne and Minister Thugut ; one is an ambitious captain, the other a vindictive diplomatist, who would like to overthrow Napo- leon ; and yet both were for peace with France, and I will tell you the reason why : because they know that among all my captains and generals there is not one determined and able enough to cope with Napoleon and his marshals : because they knew that even my brother Charles, the generalissimo, is vacillating and irresolute ; and because they do not know what an eminent captain the Archduke John would be, if he only had a chance to show his military talents. If, despite all this, I resolved on war, it was because circumstances, and not my convictions, obliged me to do it circumstances which were mostly brought about by you and your friends." " Your majesty," said John, in a grave and dignified man- ner, "permit me to say a few words in reply to what you have just said. You allude to my military talents, which you say I have not had a chance to show. Well, give me such a chance ; deliver me from the surveillance tying my hands ; let me pursue my path as your general freely and without restrictions, and I pledge you my word that I will reconquer the Tyrol and your Italian provinces." " See, see, what a nice plan ! " exclaimed the emperor, 94: ANDREAS HOFER. laughing. " You wish to be another generalissimo, and inde- pendent of any other commander's will ? " *' No, your majesty ; I wish to obtain only equal rights and authority to deliberate and decide jointly with my brother Charles." " It is very bold in you, sir, thus to oppose your generalis- simo," said the emperor, sternly. " To-day you will no longer obey the generalissimo to-morrow you will perhaps refuse to obey the emperor. Not another word about it! Go and do your duty. The Archduke Charles is generalissimo, and you will submit to his orders and instructions. Farewell, brother ; may God and the Holy Virgin bless you and your army ! " " Farewell, your majesty," said the archduke, bowing cere- moniously to the emperor. He then turned hastily and left the room. The emperor looked after him with an angry air. " I be- lieve the two archdukes will thwart each other on all occa- sions," he said, in a low voice. " There will not only be war with France, but also war between the factions in Austria, and the consequence will be, that my brothers will gain but very few laurels." The Archduke John returned slowly to his rooms. After entering his cabinet, he sank on the divan, as if crushed and heart-broken. He sat a long time in silence, his head bent on his breast, and uttering from time to time heart-rending groans. After a long pause, he slowly lifted his tearful eyes to heaven. " Thou knowest, my God," he said, in a low voice, u that my intentions are good and pure, and that I desire nothing but to serve my country and deliver it from the disgrace which it has had to submit to for so many years past. Thou knowest that I wish nothing for myself, but all for the father- land. Help me. my God, help our poor, unfortunate Austria! Let us not succumb and perish ! Grant victory to our arms ! O Austria, O Germany, why can I not purchase liberty and independence for you with my blood ? But I can at least fight and die for you ! I shall welcome death, if my dying yes can behold liberty dawning upon Germany ! " TIS TIME! 95 CHAPTER IX. 'TIS TIME ! IT was late in the afternoon of the 8th of April. The set- ting sun was shedding his last red rays on the distant moun- tain-crests of the Janfen and the Timbler Toch, whose blood- red summits contrasted wonderfully with the deep azure of the clear sky. On the lower slopes of the mountains twilight had set in ; the pines, the daring chamois of the vegetable kingdom, which had climbed up to the highest parts of the mountains, cast the gray veil of dusk over these lower slopes. Below, in the Passeyr valley, however, night already pre- vailed, for the mountains looming up on both sides of the valley filled it with darkness even before sundown ; and only the wild, roaring Passeyr, which rushes from the mountain through the valley, glistened like a silver belt in the gloom. The church- bells of the villages of St. Leonard and St. Martin, lying on both sides of the valley, tolled a solemn curfew, awakening here and there a low, sleepy echo ; and from time to time was heard from a mountain-peak a loud, joyous Jodler, by which a Tyrolese hunter, perhaps, announced his speedy return to his family in the valley. The gloom in the narrow Passeyrthal became deeper and deeper, and, like bright glow- worms, the lights in the houses of St. Leonard and St. Martin glistened now in the darkness. Lights appeared not only in the valley below, but also here and there on the mountain-slopes ; and especially in the soli- tary house on the knoll situated half-way between the two villages, was seen the bright glare of many candles, and the persons passing on the road in the valley looked up and whis- pered to each other : " Andreas Hofer is at home, and, it seems, has a great many guests at his house, for all the windows of his handsome inn are illuminated." The solitary house on the knoll, then, belonged to Andreas Hofer. It was the Gasthaus zum Sand, far famed through- out the Tyrol. And the passers-by were not mistaken. An- dreas Hofer WAS at home, and had a great many guests at his 96 ANDREAS HOFER. house. On the benches of the large bar-room sat his guests, handsome Tyrolese, with flashing eyes and animated faces, which were all turned toward the Sandwirth,* who was sit- ting on the small table yonder, and conversing in a low tone with his friends Eisenstecken and Sieberer. All the guests seemed excited and anxious ; no one opened his mouth to utter merry jests ; none of the gay songs so popular among the Tyrolese resounded : and the guests did not even venture to address playful remarks to Hofer's pretty daughters, who were gliding noiselessly through the room to fill the empty beer-glasses. " It seems," murmured Anthony Sieberer, " that the Aus- trian government has again postponed the matter, and we shall vainly look for the arrival of the message. This new delay puts an end to the whole movement." " I do not think so," said Hofer, gravely, and loud enough to be heard by all. " Do not despond, my dear friends ! The Austrian government will assuredly keep its word, for the dear brave Archduke John promised me in the emperor's name that Austria would succor the Tyrolese, and send troops into our country, if we would be in readiness on the 9th of April to rise against the Bavarians. My dear friends, do you put no confidence, then, in the word of our excellent emperoi and the good archduke, who has always loved us so dearly ?" " No, no, we put implicit confidence in their word ! " shouted the Tyrolese, with one accord. " The messenger will surely come, just have a little pa- tience," added Hofer, with a pleasant nod ; " the day is not yet at an end, and until midnight we may smoke yet many a pipe and drink many a glass of beer. Anna Gertrude, see to it that the glasses of the guests are always well filled." Anna Gertrude, a fine-looking matron of thirty-six, with florid cheeks and flashing hazel eyes, had just placed before her husband another jug, filled with foaming beer, and she nodded now to her Andy with a smile, showing two rows of faultless white teeth. " I and the girls will attend to the guests," she said, " but * The name usually given to Hofer Sandwirth, landlord of the inn " Zum Sand." TIS TIME! 97 the men do not drink any thing. The glasses and jugs are all filled, but they do not empty them, and Look ! who comes there ? " Andreas Hofer turned his head toward the door ; then suddenly he uttered a cry of surprise and jumped up. " Halloo ! " he exclaimed, " I believe this is the messenger whom we are looking for." And he pointed his outstretched arm at the small, dark form entering the room at this moment. "It is Major Teimer," he continued, joyfully ; "I suppose you know yet our dear major of 1805 ? " "Hurrah! Martin Teimer is there," shouted the Tyrolese, rising from their seats, and hastening to the new-comer to shake hands with him and bid him heartily welcome. Martin Teimer thanked them warmly for this kind recep- tion, and a flash of sincere gratification burst from his shrewd blue eyes. " I thought I should meet all the brave men of the Passeyr valley at Andy's house to-night," he said, "and I therefore greet you all at once, my dear comrades of 1805. That year was disastrous to us, but I think the year 1809 will be a better one, and we shall regain to-day what we lost at that time." " Yes, we shall, as sure as there is a God," shouted the Tyrolese ; and Andreas Hofer laid his arm on Teimer's shoulder and gazed deeply into his eyes. " Say, Martin Teimer, are all things in readiness, and do you bring us word to rise ? " " I do, all things are in readiness," said Teimer, solemnly. " Our countryman, Baron von Hormayr, whom the Austrian government appointed governor and intendant of the Austrian forces which are to co-operate with us, sends me to Andreas Hofer, whom I am to inform that the Austrian troops, com- manded by Marquis von Chasteler and General Hiller, will cross the Tyrolese frontier to-night." " Hurrah, hurrah ! the Austrians are coming ! " shouted the Tyrolese, jubilantly, swinging their pointed hats in the air. "The war has broken out, the Austrians are coming, and we will expel the Bavarians from the country ! " Andreas Hofer's face, too, was radiant with joy ; but, in- 98 ANDREAS HOFER. stead of singing and shouting, he was silent, lifted his eyes slowly to heaven, and seized with both his hands the crucifix resting on his breast. " Let us pray, my friends," he said in a loud and solemn voice ; " let us thank our Lord God and our patron saint in the stillness of our hearts. 1 ' The men paused ; like Andreas Hofer, they clasped their hands, bent their heads, and muttered fervent prayers. After a long pause Hofer raised his head again. " And now, men, listen to what I have to say to you," he exclaimed, cheerfully. " I have invited you all because you are the most influential and respectable men in this part of the country, and because the fatherland has need of you and counts upon you and me. The sharpshooters of the Passeyrthal told me, if war should break out, I must be their captain ; and I ac- cepted the position because I think that every one is in duty bound to risk his limbs and life for the sake of the fatherland, and place himself just where he can serve it best. But if I am to be your captain, you must all assist me to the best of your power. We must act harmoniously, and strain every nerve to deliver the fatherland and restore the Tyrol to our beloved emperor." " We are resolved to do so," shouted the men, with one accord. ' I know it full well," said Andreas Hofer, joyously. " Let us go to work, then, and circulate throughout the Tyrol the message that the Austrians are coming, and that it is time. Say, Teimer, did you not bring a written message with you?" "Here is a letter from Hormayr," said Martin Teimer, drawing a large sealed paper from his bosom. Andreas took it and opened it quickly. But while he was reading it, a slight cloud overspread his countenance, and for a moment he cast a rapid, searching glance on Martin Teim- er 's bright, keen face ; however, no sooner had he met Teim- er's stealthy, inquiring glance, than he quickly turned his eyes again to the paper. " Well," he said then, striking the paper with his right hand, " the statements contained in this letter are entirely in accord- 'TIS TIME! 99 ance with our wishes. We are to rise at once, for already to- morrow the Austrians will have crossed our frontiers. Marquis von Chasteler will march from Carinthia into the Puster val- ley ; General Hiller is moving from Salzburg toward the Lower Inn valley ; the former thinks he will reach Brixen in the course of four days ; the latter says he will be at Innspruck within the same time. I and Martin Teimer here, who no longer keeps a tobacco-shop at Klagenfurth, but is again Major Teimer as he was four years ago we are to direct and man- age every thing in the Tyrol, and are intrusted with the duty of seeing to it that the flames of the insurrection burst forth now as speedily as possible from one end of the Tyrol to the other, and that it shall become a conflagration that will burn up all Frenchmen and Bavarians, or compel them to escape from the country. Assist us, then, my men, in spread- ing the news over the mountains and through the valleys, that all may rise and participate in the great work of deliver- ance. Every able-bodied man is to shoulder his rifle, and the women and children are to carry, from house to house, little balls of paper on which are written the words : ' 'Tis time ! ' as we have agreed at our meetings. And now, in compliance with the promise I gave Hormayr in Vienna, I will issue a circular to all our friends that they may know what to do under these circumstances. Is there among you any one who can write well and correctly, and to whom I may dictate ? for my own handwriting is none of the best, and although what I write may be thought correctly, it is not spelled as learned men tell us it should be. If there is among you one who can write nicely and correctly what I wish to dictate, let him come forward." " I can do it," said a young man, stepping forward. "It is Joseph Ennemoser, son of John Ennemoser, the Seewirth," said Andreas Hofer, smiling. " Yes, I believe you are a good scribe ; you have become quite a scholar and an aristocratic gentleman, and are studying medicine at the Uni- versity of Innspruck." " For all that, I have remained an honest mountaineer ; and as for my studies, I will not think of them until we have delivered the Tyrol from the Bavarian yoke. I shall keep 100 ANDREAS HOFER. only my pen, and act as Andreas Hofer's obedient secre- tary."* " Sit down, then, my boy, and write. You will find pen and ink in the drawer of yonder table. Take them, and I will dictate to you." And amidst the respectful silence of the men, walking up and down slowly, and stroking his long beard with his right hand, Andreas Hofer commenced dictating his " open order," which was as follows : " Early in the morning of the 9th of April General Hiller will march from Salzburg to the Lower Inn valley, and General von Chasteler from Carinthia to the Puster valley. On the llth or 12th of April the former will arrive at Inns- pruck, and the latter at Brixen. The Archduke John orders that the Muhlbach pass be occupied by peasants from the Puster valley, and the Kuntersweg by mounted men. They are to allow all forces of the enemy marching from Botzen to Brixen to pass, and will cut off all communications only so soon as they discover that the Bavarian civilians and soldiers are trying to escape from Brixen to Botzen. Not a man must be allowed to pass then." While Andreas Hofer was dictating his " open order " with a firm and thoughtful air, the peasants stood dum- founded with admiration, staring at him with a feeling of awe, and delighted with his sagacity and understanding. That Hofer cast from time to time a searching glance at Hor- mayr's letter did not disturb the admiration they felt for their chosen leader, and they were silent and stared at him long after he was through. " So," said Andreas when the writing was finished, " now Martin Teimer and I will affix our names to this open order ; Ennemoser will then copy it half a dozen times, and six of you will carry the copies to the other leaders who are already waiting for them, and who will give the signal to their friends * Joseph Ennemoser, son of John Ennemoser, the tailor and Seewirth of the Passeyrthal, was a shepherd in his boyhood. His father sent him to the gymnasium of Innspruck, and afterward to the university of the same city, where he studied medicine. In 1809 he was Hofer's secretary. After- ward he became a celebrated professor of medicine at the University of Bonn. 'TIS TIME! 101 in the lower valley. You, George Lanthaler, will carry the order to Joseph Speckhacher at Kufstein ; you, Joseph Gufler, will take it to the farmer at the Schildhof ; you, George Stein- hauferle, will go to Anthony Wallner, the Aichberger at Win- disch-Matrey. Quick, quick, my friends, we have no time to lose ; you must walk night and day ; you cannot rest on the road, for we must strike the hlow with lightning speed, and it must be done at the same time all over the country." *' And I will likewise set out again to spread the news throughout the country," said Martin Teimer. " For two weeks past I have heen in all parts of the Tyrol, and have worked everywhere for our cause, and know now that we may count upon all our countrymen. They are waiting for the signal, and we must give it to them. Here, take this package ; it contains a large number of those little paper balls upon which are written the words ' 'Tis time ! ' Each of you can take a handful of them and give them to your wives and chil- dren, that they may carry them to the neighbors and distrib- ute them everywhere. Speckbacher and Wallner, too, have packages of such paper balls, and so soon as our faithful mes- sengers bring them our ' open order,' they will likewise send around their wives and children through the neighborhood ; and everywhere the cry will be, ' 'Tis time ! ' We must expel the Bavarians ! I will go now, for I must concentrate my men in order to prevent the Bavarians from crossing the bridge of Laditch. Farewell, then, and God grant that we may all meet again before long as free and happy men at our good city of Innspruck ! " " We must go too," exclaimed the Tyrolese when Martin Teimer had left the house as quickly as he had entered it. " We must go into the mountains and inform our friends that it is time." "But go through the kitchen, my dear messengers," said Andreas Hofer ; " there is a bag of flour for each of you ; take it on your back, and on passing during your march a rivulet or a mountain torrent, throw some of the flour into it ; and wherever you find dry brushwood on the road, pile it up and kindle it, that the bale-fires may proclaim to the country, ' 'Tis time 1 ' " 102 ANDBEAS HOFER. Half an hour afterward the large bar-room was deserted, and profound silence reigned in the inn Zum Sand. The serv- ants and children of the Sandwirth had gone to bed ; only he himself and his faithful wife, Anna Gertrude, were yet up. Both had retired into the small sitting-room adjoining the bar- room. Andreas Hofer was walking up and down there silently and thoughtfully, his hands folded on his back ; Ger- trude sat in the leather-covered arm-chair at the stove, and looked at her husband. Every thing was still around them ; only the slow, regular ticking of the clock broke the profound silence, and outside was to be heard the wild roaring of the Passeyr, which hurled its furious foaming waters not far from the inn over pebbles and fragments of rocks. Finally, after a long pause, Andreas stood still in front of his wife, and gazed at her with a long, searching, and tender look. Gertrude, as if lifted up by this glance, rose, encircled his neck quickly with her arms, and looked with an expression of terror and anxiety into his face. " Andy," she exclaimed, mournfully, " my own, dearest Andy, I am afraid harm will befall you ! " '' That is what I expect," he said, sighing, " and I am sorry for you, my dearest wife. I was just speaking with God and my conscience, and asking them so fervently if it was not wrong in me not to think above all things of my dear wife and my be- loved children, and if I ought not to live and die only for them. For I tell you, and I know, what I am going to do is dangerous, and may easily cost my life. I do not blind my eyes to it ; I may lose my life in either of two ways. A bullet may strike me in battle ; or, if my life should be spared in the struggle, and if we should be defeated, the Bavarians would treat me as a traitor ; and then a bullet would strike me also, for they would shoot me." " Oh, Jesus Maria ! my Andy," cried Gertrude, taking Hofer's head in her hands, as if to protect it from the murder- ous bullets. *' I do not say that this will occur ; I say only that it may occur," said Andreas, with a gentle smile. " I wish to tell you only that I am fully alive to the dangers threatening me when I step to-morrow morning out of my street-door, and enter HOFER'S FAREWELL TO HIS WIFE. 'TIS TIME! 103 upon the duties of the position which they have conferred on me ; for I am to command the peasants of the Passeyr valley and direct the insurrection in all this part of the country. Therefore, I asked God and my conscience whether or not I did right in taking upon myself so responsible a task, and plunging inv family, perhaps, into grief and distress. But do you know what both of them replied to me ? They said : ' It is your duty to love your wife and your children ; but you must also love your emperor and your country ; and when the latter call you and say, " Come, we need your arm and assistance." you must, as an honest man, obey the call, go to them, and leave your family ; for to love the fatherland is every man's highest honor, and to be loyal and devoted to the emperor is the first duty of every Tyrolese.' God and my conscience spoke to me thus in my breast, and now I ask you too, dear wife I ask you before God and your conscience would you like your husband not to obey the emperor's call, but stay at home, while his brave brethren and friends are taking the field to defend the country and expel the Bavarians ? " "No, indeed, Andy, I would not," cried Gertrude, in dis- may ; " I should never dare again to lift my eyes before any- body ; I should not even venture to pray to the Holy Virgin and to God, for, as both gave up their divine Son, so an honest woman must give up her husband for the sake of the father- land." Andreas laid his hand on his wife's head as if to bless her. " It is as you say, Gertrude,'' he said, solemnly. " For the sake of the fatherland and the emperor you must give up your hus- band, and your children their father ; and we are not allowed to shut our ears in order not to hear that the dear Tyrol and the good Emperor Francis have called me. I have heard the call, and must obey it. I shall do so joyously and readily, and yet my heart grieves, and there is in my breast here something telling me that our happiness is at an end, that our sun has set, and Gertrude, I am not ashamed of it I weep ! " He leaned his head against his wife's shoulder, and, folding her to his heart, sobbed aloud. But this lasted only a short time ; then he raised himself again, and drew his hand quickly across his eyes. 104 ANDREAS HOFER. "There," he said, "it is all over now. I wept as a good Christian is surely allowed to do when he takes leave of his wife and his children, and gives them up for the sake of his country. Did not Abraham weep too, and beg God for mercy, when he was to sacrifice his son to the Almighty ? But he nevertheless was ready to make the sacrifice. And, like Abra- ham, I have wept and lamented now, but I shall make the sacrifice. Here I am, my God," he added, lifting his eyes and hands to Heaven ; " here I am, for Thou hast called me. Do with me as thou deemest best. I am nothing but Thy faith- ful servant ; but if Thou wishest to use me for Thy great pur- poses, do so ! I offer Thee my arms, my body, and my life ! Take them ! " " But thou, Holy Virgin," murmured Gertrude, " and thou Saint George, our patron saint, stretch out your arms over him graciously and protect my Andy. Bear in mind that he is my most precious treasure on earth ! Preserve my dear husband to me, and to my children the father whom they love so ardently ! " " Amen ! " exclaimed Andreas. " And now, dearest wife, come and give me a kiss, a parting kiss ! '' " You do not intend to set out this very night ? " asked Gertrude, anxiously. " No, Gertrude, but still it is a parting kiss. For hence- forth I must become another man a hard man, who will no longer think of his family, but only of the fatherland and the emperor. I wept a few minutes ago as a good father and husband, but now I must become as hard as a good soldier ought to be. Until the Bavarians have been expelled from the country, I shall no longer think of you and the children, but shall be only a brave and intrepid soldier of my lord and emperor, and the commander of the Passeyr militia. Kiss me, therefore, a last time, Anna Gertrude ! There ! Give me another kiss ! Who knows but it may be the last time you will ever kiss me, dear Gertrude ? And here is still another kiss for our girls. Now it is enough. Go to bed now, Ger- trude, and pray for me." " You will not go to bed, Andy ? " asked Gertrude, anx- iously. 'TIS TIME! 105 " No, I will not, Anna Gertrude. I have business to attend to in the yard with Joe, our laborer. We will kill the brin- dled cow." " What ? This very night ? " "This very night. We need the blood and meat. We shall pour the blood into the Passeyr, and you will see to-mor- row that we need the meat, for I believe we shall have a great many guests in the morning." Andreas Hofer's prophecy was fulfilled. Already early in the morning a great many men assembled in front of the inn Zum Sand. They were the sharpshooters of the Passeyr val- ley, who were nocking from all parts of the district to Hofer's house to report to the beloved commander of Passeyr. They came down from the mountains and up from the valleys. They wore their holiday dresses, and their yellow Sunday hats were decorated with bouquets of rosemary and handsome rib- bons. They were merry and in the best of spirits, as if they were going to the dance ; only instead of their rosy-cheeked girls, they held their trusty rifles in their arms. Nevertheless, they smacked their lips, uttered loud exclamations of joy, and shouted as merrily as larks " 'Tis time ! The Bavarians must leave the country ! Long live the emperor ! Long live the Archduke John ! " And echo seemed to answer, "The Bavarians must leave the country ! " But it was not echo that had repeated these words. They proceeded from the throats of merry men, and a gay procession descended now from the mountain-path. It consisted of the sharpshooters and peasants of Meran and Algund, who were marching up in the beautiful costumes of the Adige valley. Oh, how their eyes flashed, and the rifles in their arms also. And with what jubilant Jodlers the men of Passeyr received their dear friends from Algund and Meran. All at once every sound was hushed, for in the door of the inn appeared Andreas Hofer, looking like a king in his hand- some holiday attire ; his good-natured, honest face gleamed with joy, and his glance was mild and clear, and yet so firm and commanding. His whole bearing breathed calm dignity, and it seemed to the men of Passeyr as though the morning sun which illuminated his face surrounded his head with a 106 ANDREAS HOFER golden halo. They stood aside with timid reverence and awe. Hofer advanced into the middle of the circle which the men of Passeyr, Meran, and Algund formed around him. He then looked around and greeted the men on all sides with a smile, a pleasant nod, and a wave of his hand. "My friends," he exclaimed in a loud voice, "the day has come when we must expel the Bavarians from the country and restore the Tyrol to the Austrians. 'Tis time ! The Bava- rians have amply deserved such treatment at our hands, for they hare sorely oppressed us. When you had finished a wooden image, could you carry it to Vienna and sell it ? No, you could not ! Is that freedom ? You are Tyrol ese ; at least your fathers called themselves so ; now you are to call your- selves Bavarians. And, moreover, our ancient castle of Tyrol in the Passeyr valley was not spared ! Are you satisfied with this ? If you harvest three blades of corn, the government claims two of them; is that happiness and prosperity? But there is a Providence and there are angels ; and it was re- vealed to me that if we resolved to avenge our wrongs, God and St. George, our patron saint, would help us. Up, then, against the Bavarians ! Tear the villains with your teeth while they stand ; but when they kneel down and pray, give them quarter. Up against the Bavarians ! 'Tis time!" " Up against the Bavarians ! 'tis time ! '' shouted all the brave men, enthusiastically; and the mountain echoes an- swered : " Up against the Bavarians ! 'tis time ! " And the blood-red waters of the Passeyr carried down into ihe valley the message : " Up against the Bavarians ! 'tis time ! " CHAPTER X. ANTHONY WALLNER OF WINDISCH-MATREY. AN unusual commotion reigned in the market-place of Windisch-Matrey on the afternoon of the 9th of April. The men and youths of Windisch-Matrey and its environs were assembled there in dense groups, and thronged in constantly- ANTHONY WALLNER OF WINDISCH-MATREY. increasing masses round the house of the innkeeper Anthony Aichberger, called Wallner. The women, too, had left their houses and huts, and hastened to the market-place. Their faces were as threatening as those of the men ; their eyes shot fire, and their whole bearing betokened unusual excitement. Everywhere loud and vehement words were uttered, clinched fists were raised menacingly, and glances of secret understand- ing were exchanged. The liveliest scene, however, took place in the large bar- room of the inn. The foremost men of the whole district, strong, well-built forms, with defiant faces and courageous bearing, had assembled there around Anthony Wallner-Aich- berger. They spoke but little, but sat on the benches against the walls of the room, and stared into their glasses, which Eliza, Wallner's eldest daughter, filled again and again with beer. Even the young girl, who was usually so gay and spirited, seemed to-day sad and dejected. Formerly her merry laughter and clear, ringing voice were heard everywhere; to- day she was moody and taciturn. Formerly her cheeks glowed like purple roses, a charming arch expression played around her beautiful small mouth, and the fire and spirit of youth beamed from her large black eyes ; to-day, only a faint crim- son tinged Eliza's cheeks, her lips were firmly compressed, and her eyes were dim and lustreless. From time to time, while waiting on the guests, she cast an anxious, searching glance through the windows over the market-place, and seemed to listen to the hum of voices, which often became as deafening as the wild roar of the storm, and shook the window-panes. Anthony Wallner, her father, was likewise grave and anxious, and in walking to the groups of guests seated on the benches here and there, he glanced uneasily toward the win- dows. " It may be that they will not come, after all, Tony, and that the Viennese have fooled you," whispered old Thurn- walden from Meran to him. " I cannot comprehend it," sighed Anthony Wallner. '' The insurrection was to break out on the 9th of April, and the Aus- trian troops were to cross the frontier on that day ; and this was the reason why we have hitherto resisted the conscription 108 ANDREAS HOFER. and refused to pay the new taxes. But the 9th of April has come now, and we have received no message from Hofer or the Austrians." "And to-day the time which the Bavarians have given us is up," growled George Hinnthal; "if our young lads do not report voluntarily to the enrolling officers by this evening, they will be arrested to-morrow." " They shall not be arrested," exclaimed one of the Tyrolese, striking the table with his powerful fist. " No, they shall not be arrested," echoed all, in loud, defiant tones. " But you will not be able to prevent them," said old Thurn- walden, when all were silent again and had drunk a long draught from their glasses as if to confirm their words. " You know there is a whole company of soldiers at Castle Weissen- stein, and Ulrich von Hohenberg, the castellan's nephew, is their captain. He is a Bavarian, body and soul, and, if we resist the authorities, he will lead his men with muskets and field- pieces against us." " Why, you have become greatly discouraged, Caspar Thurn- walden," said Anthony Wallner, sneeringly, " and one would almost think you had turned a friend of the Bavarians. We have got as good muskets as the Bavarians, and if they shoot we shall shoot back. And as for the field-pieces, why, we have got wheels and may roll down cannon from Castle Weissen- stein to Windisch-Matrey. But come, my dear friends, I see the Bavarian tax-collectors walking across the market-place yonder. They look very grim and stern, as if they meant to devour us all. Let us go out and see what is going on." The men rose as if obeying a military order, and followed Anthony Wallner from the room to the market-place. Eliza Wallner was for a moment alone in the room ; and now that she had no longer to fear the eyes of the guests, she sank quite exhausted on a chair and buried her face in her trembling hands. " What am I to do ? " she murmured in a low voice. " Oh, God in heaven, would I could die this very hour ! " " Why do you weep, Lizzie ? " asked a gentle voice by her side, and, on looking up, Eliza beheld the grave, sympathetic ANTHONY WALLNER OF WINDISCH-MATREY. 109 face of her mother, who had just entered the room without be- ing heard by her. Eliza sprang up and embraced her mother with passionate tenderness. "Dearest mamma," she whis- pered, " I am afraid. " " Afraid of what ? " asked her mother, in a low voice. " Are you afraid the Austrians may not come, and the Bavarians may then imprison your dear father, because they have found out that he has instigated the people to disobey their behests ? " "No," said Eliza, blushing with shame, "no, that is not what I am afraid of. They will not dare to arrest my dear father, for they know full well that the people of the whole district are greatly attached to him, and that the men of the whole Puster valley would rise to deliver Anthony Wallner. It is something else, dearest mother ; come with me into the chamber ; there I will tell you all/' She drew her mother hastily into the chamber adjoining the bar-room and closed the door after her. " Mother." she said, tremblingly and breathlessly, " listen to me now. I am sure the Austrians are coming, and if the men outside hear of it, they will kill all the Bavarians." " Let them do it," said her mother composedly ; " the mean, sneaking Bavarians have certainly deserved to be killed after the infamous treatment we have endured at their hands." " But, mother, there are also good men among them," ex- claimed Eliza. " You know very well I am a loyal Tyrolese girl, and love my emperor dearly, for you have taught me from my earliest youth that it was incumbent on me to do so. But, mother, there are also good men among the Bavarians. There is, for instance, Ulrich von Hohenberg up at Castle Weissenstein. You know his cousin has always treated me as a sister ; we have grown up together, and I was allowed to participate in her lessons and learn what she learned. We were always together, and even now I have not ceased going to Castle Weissenstein, although it is garrisoned by a detach- ment of Bavarian soldiers. Father himself wished me to go to the young lady as heretofore, for he said it would look sus- picious if I should stay away all of a sudden. Therefore I went to see my dear friend .Eliza von Hohenberg every day, 110 ANDREAS HOFER. and I always met there her cousin, the captain of the Bavarian soldiers. He is a very kind-hearted and merry gentleman, mother, and it is no fault of his that he is a Bavarian. His father, our castellan's brother, has lived for thirty years past down at Munich, and his son entered the Bavarian service long before he knew that we people of Windisch-Matrey de- sire to become Austrian subjects again. Now his general sent him hither with his soldiers for the purpose of helping the officers to collect the taxes and enroll the names of our young men. Is he to blame for the necessity he is under of obeying the orders of his general ? " " No, he is not.'' said her mother, gravely. " But when the Austrians come now, and my father and the other men rise, and expel and kill the Bavarians, they will kill Ulrich von Hohenberg too, although it is not his fault that he is a Bavarian. Oh, dearest mamma, he is such a good, kind-hearted young man ! he is my dear Eliza's cousin and our castellan's nephew, and you know how well Eliza and her father have treated me, and that they take care of me, when- ever I am at the castle, as though I were the castellan's own child. Dearest mamma, shall we permit our men to kill the nephew of our excellent castellan ? " "No, we will not, Lizzie," said her mother, resolutely. " Quick, run up the footpath leading to the castle. Tell the young officer that the Tyrolese are going to deliver themselves from the Bavarian yoke, and that he had better effect his es- cape while there is time." " Mother, he will not do it, for he is a brave young man ! " sighed Eliza; "and then I cannot betray father's secret to him. If the Austrians did not come after all, and I had told Ulrich von Hohenberg what father and the other Tyrolese intend to do, would I not be a traitress, and would not father curse me ? " " True, true, that will not do," said her mother musingly ; " your father would never forgive you. But I know what you must do. Just run up to the castle and act as though you wished only to pay a visit to your friend Eliza ; no one knows as yet what is going to occur. None of your friends have dis- closed the secret ; and the castellan too, though I think he is ANTHONY WALLNER OF W1NDISCH-MATREY. HI a good Austrian at heart, does not yet know any thing about it. Your father told me so this very morning. You will remain at the castle, and so soon as you hear the report of a ritte on the market-place here, you will know that the insur- rection is breaking out. There is father's rifle ; when it is time. 1 will step out of the back gate with it and shoot. You will hear the report, and tell the young officer that the Tyro- lese are going to rise, and that he had better conceal himself until the first rage of the insurgents has blown over." " Yes, I will do so," exclaimed Eliza ; " I will run up to the castle now. Good-by, dearest mamma." She imprinted a kiss on the hand of her mother, and then sped away as gracefully as a young roe. "She is a very good girl," said her mothe? 1 , looking after her smilingly, "and has a soft and compassionate heart. She wishes to save the castellan's nephew merely because she pities the young man who is exposed to such imminent dan- ger. It is very kind of her ! It But, Holy Virgin ! what is the matter outside ? Is the outbreak to commence already ? I believe it is my Tony who is talking outside in so loud a voice. I must go and hear what is the matter." She hastened through the bar-roora to the street-door open- ing upon the market place. Yes, it was Anthony Wallner-Aichberger who was gesticu- lating so violently yonder. Round him stood the men of Windisch-Matrey, looking with gloomy faces at the three Bavarian revenue officers who were standing in front of Wall- ner. " I repeat it, sir,'' exclaimed Anthony Wallner at this mo- ment with an air of mock gravity, " that we are all very loyal and obedient subjects, and that it is wrong in you, Mr. Tax- collector, to call us stubborn, seditious fellows. If we were such, would we not, being so numerous here, punish you and your two officers for speaking of us so contemptuously and disrespectfully ? " " You know full well that, at a wave of my hand, the com- pany of soldiers will rush down from Castle Weissenstein and shoot you all as traitors and rebels," said the tax-collector haughtily. 112 ANDREAS HOFER. " Well, Mr. Tax-collector," exclaimed Wallner, smilingly, " as for the shooting, we are likewise well versed in that. We are first-rate marksmen, we Tyrolese ! " " What ! " cried the tax-collector, furiously, " do you speak again of Tyrolese ? Did I not forbid you to call yourselves so ? You are no Tyrolese, hut inhabitants of South-Bavaria, do you hear ? His majesty the King of Bavaria does not want any Tyrolese as subjects, but only Southern Bavarians, as I have told you twice already." * " Very well ; if his majesty does not want any Tyrolese as subjects, you need not tell us so more than once," exclaimed Anthony Wallner. "He prefers Southern Bavarians, does he ? Bear that in mind, Tyrolese ; the King of Bavaria wants only Southern Bavarians." " We will bear that in mind," shouted the Tyrolese ; and loud, scornful laughter rolled like threatening thunder across the market-place. " You laugh," exclaimed the tax-collector, endeavoring to stifle his rage ; " I am glad you are so merry. To-morrow, perhaps, you will laugh no longer ; for I tell you, if you do not pay to day the fine imposed on you, I shall have it forci- bly collected by the soldiers at daybreak to-morrow morning." " We must really pay the fine, then ? " asked Anthony Wallner, with feigned timidity. " You will not relent, then, Mr. Tax-collector ? We really must pay the heavy fine, be- cause we had a little fun the other day ? For you must say yourself, sir, we really did no wrong." u You did no wrong ? You were in open insurrection. On the birthday of your gracious master the king, instead of hang- ing out Bavarian flags, as you had been ordered, you hung out Austrian flags everywhere." " No, Mr. Tax-collector, you did not see right ; we hung out none but Bavarian flags." " That is false ! I myself walked through the whole place, and saw every thing with my own eyes. Your flags did not contain the Bavarian colors, blue and white, but black and yellow, the Austrian colors." " Possibly they may have looked so," exclaimed Anthony * See " Gallery of Heroes : Life of Andreas Hofer," p. 15. ANTHONY WALLNER OF WINDISCH-MATREY. H3 Wallner, " but that was not our fault. The flags were our old Bavarian flags : but they were already somewhat old, the blue was faded and looked like yellow, and the white had become quite dirty and looked like black." " Thunder and lightning ! Wallner is right," exclaimed the Tyrolese, bursting into loud laughter. " The flags were our old Bavarian flags, but they were faded and dirty." The young lads, who had hitherto stood in groups around the outer edge of the market-place, now mingled with the crowd to listen to the speakers ; and a young Tyrolese, with his rifle on his arm, and bis pointed hat over his dark curly hair, approached with such impetuous curiosity that he sud- denly stood close to the tax-collector. However, he took no notice of the officer, but looked with eager attention at Wall- ner, and listened to his words. But the grim eyes of one of the two bailiffs noticed with dismay that this impudent fellow dared to place himself close by the side of the tax-collector without taking off his hat. Striking with his fist on the young fellow's hat, he drove it deep over his forehead. u Villain ! " he shouted, in a threatening voice, " do you not see the tax-collector ? " The young fellow drew the hat with an air of embarrass- ment from his forehead, and crimsoning with rage, but in silence, stepped back into the circle of the murmuring men. " That is just what you deserve, Joe," said Anthony Wall- ner. "Why did a smart Tyrolese boy like you come near us Southern Bavarians when we were talking about public affairs?" At this moment a lad elbowed himself hastily through tht crowd. His dress was dusty, his face was flushed and heated, and it seemed as though he had travelled many miles on foot. To those who stood in his way he said in a breathless, panting voice : " Please stand aside. I have to deliver something to Anthony Wallner- Aichberger ; I must speak with him." The men willingly stood aside. Now he was close behind Wallner, and. interrupting him in his speech, he whispered to him : " I come from Andreas Hofer ; he sends you his greet- ings and this paper. I have run all night to bring it to you." AITDREAS HOFEK. He handed a folded paper to Wallner, who opened it with hands trembling with impatience. It was Andreas Hofer's " open order." Wallner's face brightened up, he cast a fiery glance around the place filled with his friends, and fixed his flashing eyes then on the hat of the bailiff who had rebuked the young Tyrolese in so overbearing a manner. At a bound he was by his side, drove the bailiff's round official hat with one blow of his fist over his head, so that his whole face disappeared in the crown, and exclaimed in a loud, ringing voice : " Villain ! do you not see the Tyrolese ? " A loud outburst of exultation greeted Wallner's bold deed, and all the men crowded around him, ready to protect An- thony Wallner, and looking at the tax-collector with flashing, threatening eyes. The latter seemed as if stunned by the sudden change in Wallner's demeanor, and he looked in dismay at the audacious innkeeper who was standing close in front of him and staring at him with a laughing face. " What does this mean ? " he asked at length, in a tremu- lous voice. . u It means that we want to be Tyrolese again," shouted Antbony Wallner. exultingly. '' It means that we will no longer submit to brutal treatment at the hands of your Bava- rian bailiffs, and that we will treat you now as you Boafoks * have treated us for five years past." "For God's sake, how have we treated you, then ?" asked the tax-collector, drawing back from the threatening face of Anthony Wallner toward his bailiffs. u Listen to me, Tyrolese," shouted Anthony Wallner, scorn- fully, " he asks me how the Bavarians have treated us ! Shall I tell it to him once more ? " " Yes, yes, Tony, do so," replied the Tyrolese on all sides. u Tell it to him, and if he refuses to listen, we will tie him hand and foot, and compel him to hear what you say." " Well, Mr. Tax-collector." said Wallner, with mock polite- ness, " I will tell you, then, how you Bavarians have treated * Boafoks, the nickname which the Tyrolese gave to the Bavarians at that time. It signifies " Bavarian pigs." ANTHONY WALLNER OF WINDISCH-MATREY. H5 us for four years past, and only when you know all our griev- ances will we settle our accounts. Listen, then, to what you have done to us, and what we complain of. You have be- haved toward us as perjured liars and scoundrels, and I will prove it to you. In the first place, then, in 1805, when, to our intense grief and regret, our emperor was obliged to cede the Tyrol to Bavaria, the King of Bavaria, in a letter which he wrote to us, solemnly guaranteed our constitution and our ancient privileges and liberties. That is what your king prom- ised in 1805. To be sure, we did not put much confidence in what he said, for we well knew that when the hig cat wants to devour the little mouse, it treats the victim at first with great kindness and throws a small bit of bacon to it ; but no sooner does the mouse take it than the cat pounces upon its unsuspecting victim and devours it. And such was our fate too ; the cat Bavaria wanted to swallow the little mouse Tyrol ; not even our name was to be left to us, and we were to be called Southern Bavarians instead of Tyrolese. Besides, our ancient Castle of Tyrol, the sacred symbol of our country, was dismantled and destroyed. You thought probably we would forget the past and the history of the Tyrol, and all that we are, if we no longer saw the Castle of Tyrol, where the dear Margaret Maultasch solemnly guaranteed to her Tyrolese their liberties, great privileges, and independence, for all time to come. But all was written in our hearts, and your infamous conduct engraved it only the more lastingly thereon. You took from us not only our name, but also our constitution, which all Tyrolese love as their most precious treasure. The representative estates were suppressed, and the provincial funds seized. No less than eight new and oppressive taxes were imposed, and levied with the utmost rigor ; the very name of the country, as I said before, was abolished ; and, after the model of revolutionary France, the Tyrol was divided into the departments of the Inn, the Adige, and the Eisach ; the passion plays, which formed so large a part of the amuse- ments of our people, were prohibited ; all pilgrimages to chap- els or places of extraordinary sanctity were forbidden. The convents and monasteries were confiscated, and their estates sold ; the church plate and holy vessels were melted down and 116 ANDREAS HOFER. disposed of ; the royal property was all brought into the mar- ket. New imposts were daily exacted without any consulta- tion with the estates of our people ; specie became scarce from the quantity of it which was drawn off to the royal treasury ; the Austrian notes were reduced to half their value, and the feelings of our people irritated almost to madness by the com- pulsory levy of our young men to serve in the ranks of your army. In this manner you tried to crush us to earth. But I tell you, we shall rise again, the whole Tyrol will rise and no longer allow itself to be trampled under foot. You say the king does not want any Tyrolese as subjects. He shall not have any, for the Tyrolese want to become again subjects of their dear Emperor Francis of Austria. Men of the Tyrol, from Pusterthal, Teffereck, and Virgenthal, you wish to be- come again subjects of the Emperor Francis, do you not ? " "We do, we do !" shouted the men, uttering deafening cheers. " Our dear Francis is to become again our lord and emperor ! Long live the Emperor Francis ! " " Silence ! " cried the tax-collector, pale with rage and dis- may ; " silence, or I shall send for the soldiers and have every one of you arrested, and " " Be silent yourself ! " said Anthony Wallner, seizing him violently by the arm. " Sir, you are our prisoner, and so are the two bailiffs yonder. Seize them, my friends, and if they shout or resist, shoot them down. And if you utter a cry or a word, Mr. Tax-collector, so help me God if I do not kill you for a Boafok, as you are ! Keep quiet, therefore, be a sensible man, and deliver your funds to us. Come, men, we will accompany this gentleman to the tax-collector's office ; and now let us sing a good Tyrolese song : " D'Schorgen und d'Schreiber und d'Richter allsanimt, Sind'n Teufel auskomma, druck'n tiberall auf's Land, Und schinden Bauern, es is karn zum sog'n, Es war ja koan Wunder, wir thaten's allsammt erschlog n." * * Song of the Tyrolese in 1809. See Mayr, " Joseph Speckbacher," p. 2& " The pushing the writers, and magistrates all, Possessed by the devil, our country enthrall, ^ And grind the poor peasants ; alas, 'tis a shame ! No wonder if we too share ruin the same." THE DECLARATION OF LOVE. 117 He concluded with a long and joyous Jodler, and shouted triumphantly : " Dear brethren, Andreas Hofer sends you his greetings, and informs you that the Austrians have invaded the Tyrol. Hurrah, 'tis time ! " " Yes, 'tis time," murmured Anna Maria, Anthony Wall- ner's wife, to herself ; u 'tis time for me to give Lizzie the sig- nal, for the insurrection has broken out." She hastened into the house, took her husband's old rifle from the chamber, ran with it out of the back-door of the house, and fired the signal for her daughter. " There," she said, returning quietly into the house, " she will have heard the report, and there is time yet to save him. I will do now what Tony asked me to do. When he sings the song, I shall take the paper-balls from the table-drawer in the back-room, give a package to each of the two boys and two servant-girls, and tell them to go with it into the mountains and circulate the paper-balls everywhere, that the inhabitants of the whole Pusterthal, from one end to the other, from the Gross-Glockner to the Venediger and Krimler Tauern, may learn this very day that it is time, and that the Boafoks are to be expelled from the country. Halloo, boys, come here ! Hal loo, girls, your mistress wants to speak to you 1 " CHAPTER XI. THE DECLARATION OP LOVE. ELIZA WALLNER, after leaving her mother, had sped with the utmost rapidity through the back-door, across the yard, through the garden, out of the small gate leading to the meadow, down the foot-path, up the mountain-road, jumping from stone to stone, courageous and intrepid as a true daughter of the Tyrol. Now she stood at the portal of the castle, in front of which some of the Bavarian soldiers were lying in idle repose on a bench, while others in the side-wing of the castle allotted to them were looking out of the windows, and dreamily humming a Bavarian song, frequently interrupted by loud yawns. 118 ANDREAS HOFER. Eliza walked past them with a slight greeting and entered the house. The old footman sitting in the hall received her kindly, and told her, in reply to her inquiry, that the castellan, old Baron von Hohenberg, had set out early in the morning- for Salzburg to attend court, but that his daughter and her cousin, Captain Ulnch von Hohenberg, were lunching in the small dining-room up-stairs. This was all the information Eliza needed ; she nodded to the footman, and ascended the staircase quickly. The old footman did not follow her ; he knew that it was unnecessary for him to announce beautiful Lizzie to his mistress, but that she always was welcome to her. He therefore sat down again quietly, and took up the wood-work with which he had been occupied before. Eliza reached the dining-room and threw open the door with a hasty hand ; a blissful smile then overspread her flushed face, for on the balcony yonder, behind the open glass door, she beheld the tall slender form of Captain Ulrich von Hohenberg. She heard him chatting and laughing gayly ; and through the door she also saw her friend Elza von Ho- henberg, who was listening to her cousin's words in smiling repose. Scarcely touching the floor with her feet, she hast ened through the room. " I assure you, cousin," said Elza at this moment, in her clear, distinct voice, " I believe at times that she is the re- suscitated Maid of Orleans, and that she will perform heroic deeds one day. Oh, 1 know my dear beautiful Eliza Wallner, and" " Do not speak of me, for I am listening to you," exclaimed Eliza, entering the balcony. " Ah, my Lizzie," exclaimed Elza, rising and tenderly em- bracing her friend. '" Have you come at length, my merry, beautiful lark ? " " Yes, I have, and I am glad that I am here," said Eliza ; and her large hazel eyes turned for a moment smilingly to the young officer, who, like his cousin, had risen on beholding Eliza Wallner. He did not utter a word of salutation ; never- theless, Eliza blushed on meeting his glance, and averted her eyes timidly from him, turning them toward the distant sum- THE DECLARATION OF LOVE. 119 mils of the glaciers which were glittering around the horizon yonder in wonderful majesty. " You are glad that you are here, my sweet child ? Why did you not come at an earlier hour ? " asked Elza. " You are always expected. My dear silent cousin, she is always ex- pected, is she not ? " "Most assuredly she is," said the young captain, with a smile ; '' and she is as welcome as the first rose of May." ' How impudent you are ! " exclaimed Miss Elza, laugh- ing ; " you bid my Lizzie welcome as the first rose of May, and yet I was here before her ! " "He means only the wild hedge-rose, Elza," said Eliza, smiling archly, " for you know very well that the beautiful and aristocratic roses do not yet bloom in May." '* Well, tell me, cousin, did you really intend to compare my darling here with a wild hedge-rose ? " asked Elza. " Do not answer, sir," exclaimed Eliza, eagerly. u You have blundered in trying to flatter me, and that is good. You will see at length that fine phrases amount to nothing, and that they are colors that fade in the sunshine. You had better speak frankly and honestly to me, for I have often told you I am a stupid daughter of the Tyrol, and do not know what to reply to such fine city phrases." " But for all that you are not stupid, my beautiful Eliza," said Ulrich von Hohenberg. " In truth, I who compare you with a rose am not a liar, but he would be who should charge you with stupidity." "But if I should, nevertheless, assert that I am stupid, whom would it concern ? " asked Eliza, defiantly. u Ah, there they are quarrelling again," exclaimed Elza, laughing. " Come to me, sweet Lizzie ; sit down by my side on this bench and give me your hand. I am so glad that you are here, for it always seems to me as though I were a lonely orphan when my dearest Lizzie, with her pretty face and her merry laughter, is absent from me. But here, Lizzie, yon must look upon me with due awe to day, for to-day I am not only your friend and sister, but I am the castellan ! My father will be absent four days, and I represent him here. He delegated his whole power to me, and intrusted me with 120 ANDREAS HOFER. all the keys. Treat me, therefore, with great respect, Liz- zie." "That is what I always do, Elza," said Lizzie, tenderly, pressing the slender white hand of her friend to her lips. " You are always my better self, and I ohey you because I love you, and I love you because I obey you so gladly ! " " Well, then, I command you, Lizzie, to be our guest all day and stay with us until nightfall. Oh, no objections, Liz- zie ; if you love me, you must obey ! " " And I obey you willingly, Elza ; only when my father sends for me, I must go, for you know we must not violate the fourth commandment ; our worthy priest would never forgive us." " When your father sends for you, Eliza, I shall myself go down to him and beg him to leave you here. Well, then, you belong to us for the whole day, and we will consider now how we shall spend this day. Cousin, do not stand there in silence all the time, staring at the glaciers, but look at us and propose quickly some excursion for us to make to-day." " What could I propose ? " asked the young officer, shrug- ging his shoulders. " I submit rather silently and obediently to your proposals, for Miss Eliza would certainly reject all my proposals merely because I make them." Eliza burst into merry laughter. " Elza, dearest Elza," she exclaimed, " he calls me ' Miss Eliza ! ' No, sir, let me tell you, a poor Tyrolese girl like me is no ' miss,' no aristocratic lady ; people call me Lizzie, only Lizzie ; do not forget that ! " "People here call her ' beautiful Lizzie,' " said the officer, in a low voice, casting an admiring glance on the young girl. " That does not concern you, sir," she replied, blushing like a crimson rose ; "you do not belong to the people here, and you must not call me anything but Lizzie, do you hear ? I think the notions which city folks entertain about beauty are different from those of peasants like us. We consider the daisy and the Alpine rose beautiful ; though they are but small flowers, yet they suit us. However, the city folks laugh at our taste, and step recklessly on our flowers. They con- sider only the proud white lilies and the large gorgeous roses THE DECLARATION OF LOVE. beautiful flowers. I do not belong to them, I am only a daisy ; but my Elza likes this daisy and fastens me to her bosom, and I rest there so soft and sweetly." She encircled Elza's neck with her arms, leaned her head against her breast, and looked tenderly up to her with her hazel gazelle eyes. Elza bent over her and kissed her eyes and white forehead. Ulrich von Hohenberg looked at them both with a tender, ardent glance ; then he averted his head to conceal the crim- son glow suffusing his cheeks. At this moment the door opened, and the castellan's over- seer entered with an air of hurry and self-importance. " Miss Elza," he said, " the wood-cutters have brought wood and are waiting for a receipt. Besides, the head dairy-woman wishes to see you about the butter which she is to send to town ; and the cattle-dealer has arrived, and " " I am coming, I am coming,'" exclaimed the young lady, laughing. " Do you see, Lizzie, what an important person I am ? But for me the whole machine would stand still and sink in ruins. Fortunately, I am equal to the occasion ; and set the wheels in motion, and the machine can go on. You may stay here and consider how we are to amuse ourselves to- day. In the mean time I shall regulate our domestic affairs a little, and when I come back, you will inform me what pleas- ure you have devised for us to-day." 41 No, Elza, let me go with you," begged Eliza, almost anx- iously, " I shall assist you " " You cannot help me outside, Lizzie," said Elza, laughing ; " but here you can take my place and be my cousin Ulrich 's companion. Be merry, my dear children, until I come back ! " She nodded pleasantly to them, took the large bunch of keys from the table, and swinging it noisily in her hand, skipped through the room and out of the door. Lizzie had followed her a few steps ; then, as if arrested by a sudden thought, she paused and returned slowly to the bal- cony. She cast a quick glance on the officer, who was leaning against the wall on one side of the balcony, and, with his arms folded on his breast, did not avert his eyes from her. 9 ANDREAS HOFER. Eliza gave a start and withdrew to the other side of the balcony. There she sat down on the bench like a timid little bird, and allowed her eyes to wander dreamily and thought- fully over the landscape. And, indeed, the view which they enjoyed from the balcony was wondrously beautiful. On one side extended the splendid valley, with its meadows clad in the freshest verdure of spring, its foaming white mountain- torrents, its houses and huts, which disappeared gradually in the violet mists bordering the horizon. On both sides of the valley rose the green wooded heights, interspersed here and there with small verdant pastures and clearings, on which handsome red cows were grazing or lying in majestic repose. Behind the clearings black pines and firs dotted the slopes, which, however, in their more elevated portions became more and more bare ; where the trees ceased, appeared here and there again green pastures, and on them, gray and small, like birds' nests, the huts of the mountain cow-keepers, who, the most advanced sentinels, as it were, were guarding the fron- tiers where the war between nature and man commences, the frontiers of the snowy region and the world of glaciers. Be- hind the cow-keepers' huts flashed already masses of snow from several mountain-gorges ; farther above, the snow had spread its white silver veils far and wide over all the moun- tain-peaks, so that they glittered and sparkled with indescrib- able beauty in the bright morning sun, and loomed like swans' necks up to the azure sky. Below, in the foreground of the vallev, at the foot of Castle Weissenstein, lay the village of Windisch-Matrey, with its scattering groups of handsome houses, from whose midst arose the church, with its tall, pointed steeple. From the standpoint which she occupied, Eliza was able to distinctly survey the market-place and its crowds of men, which, in the distance, resembled busy black ant-hills. She gazed upon them fixedly, and the small specks seemed to her practised eye like human forms : she thought she could distinguish several of them, and, among others, the tall and powerful form of her father ; she thought " Eliza," said all at once a low voice by her side " Eliza, you do not want to see me, then ? You are still angry with me ? " THE DECLARATION OF LOVE. 123 She gave a start, and crimsoned, when, on looking up, she saw young Ulrich von Hohenberg standing close in front of her, and gazing at her with ardent and beseeching eyes. "No, sir," she said, "I really did not see you." "That is to say, Eliza, you are still angry with me ?" he asked, eagerly. "You are silent, you avert your head. My God f Eliza, what did I do, then, to incur your anger ? " " Not much, perhaps, for city folks, but by far too much for a poor peasant-girl," she said, with eyes flashing proudly. " You told me you loved me, you tried forcibly to embrace and kiss me, and begged me to go up early in the morning to the yellow grotto, where you would wait for me. You told me further not to say a word about it to anybody ; it should remain a secret between you and me, and I should not even mention it to the priest at the confessional. That was not honest of you, sir ; nay, it was bad of you to try and persuade me to such mean things. It showed me that you cannot be a good man, and that your friendship for me is prompted by evil intentions." " I do not feel any friendship for you, none whatever," said the young man ardently, seating himself by her side, seizing her hand in spite of her resistance, and pressing it to his heart. u I do not want to be your friend, my sweet, beautiful, wild Alpine rose ; no, not your friend, but your lover. And I com- mence by loving you with intense ardor, by desiring and long- ing for nothing, and thinking of nothing but you alone. Oh, Eliza, believe me, I love you intensely by far more than Elza, more than your parents, more than all your friends to- gether." " More, perhaps, but not better," she said, shaking her head, and gently withdrawing her hand from him. "No, let me keep your hand !" he exclaimed hastily, seiz- ing it again ; " let me keep it, Eliza, for I tell you I love you better too than all the others ; I love you with my soul, with my heart, with my blood, with my life ! Oh, believe me, sweet, lovely child ; believe me and give me your heart ; fol- low me, and be mine mine forevermore ! I will give you a happy, brilliant, and beautiful existence ; I will lay at your feet all the pleasures, enjoyments, and charms of this world " 124: ANDREAS HOFER. " Sir," interrupted Eliza, hastily, jumping up, and fixing her eyes upon him with a strange, ardent expression, " I hope I understand you right, and my ears do not deceive me ? You offer me your hand ? You want to marry me and make me your wife ? " The young man gave a slight start and dropped his eyes. Eliza saw it, and a sarcastic smile played round her lips. " Why do you not speak ? " she said. " Reply to me. Did I understand you ? Did you make serious proposals of marriage to me ? Will you go down to my father this very day and say to him : " Listen, sir. I, the aristocratic gentleman, I, Cap- tain Ulrich von Hohenberg, want to marry your daughter Lizzie. I think this country girl, with her manners, her lan- guage, and bearing, is well fitted to associate with my aris- tocratic and distinguished family, and my parents in Munich would be overjoyed if I should bring to them this Tyrolese girl as their daughter-in-law, and a brown cow and a white goat as her dower.' Tell me, sir, will you go down to my dear father, the innkeeper of Windisch-Matrey, and say that to him?" " But, Eliza," sighed the young man, mournfully, " if you loved me only a little, you would not immediately think of marriage, but would forget every thing else, allow your whole past to sink -into oblivion behind you, and think of nothing but the fact that I love you intensely, and that you return my love." " But I do not admit at all that I love you," said Eliza, proudly ; " on the contrary, you alone say and swear that you love me, and I reply that I do not believe you." " And why do you not believe me, cruel, beautiful girl ? " "Because you utter so many fine phrases which amount to nothing at all. You tell me that you are very fond of me, but I think if you love any body with all your heart, you must be anxious to preserve him from misfortune, and do all you can to make him happy, even though it were at the ex- pense of your own happiness. But you, sir, do not intend to make me happy ; on the contrary, you are bent on plunging me into misery and disgrace, and that is the reason why I contend that you do not love me." THE DECLARATION OF LOVE. 125 " Then you have a heart of stone," cried Ulrich von Ho- henberg, despairingly ; " you will not see what I am suffer- ing, nor how intensely I love you." " Sir," said she, smiling, " if I cannot comprehend it, pray explain to me how you love me." 44 1 love you as the most beautiful, lovely, and charming creature I have ever known and admired. I love you as a girl whose innocence, naturalness, and goodness, fill my heart with ecstasy and profound emotion ; by whose side I should like to spend my whole life, and united with whom I should wish to seek for a lonely island of happiness to dream there remote from the world, its prejudices and follies a sweet, blissful love-life, from which only death would arouse us." " Sir, if you really love me in this manner, you need not run away with me to seek elsewhere in foreign lands the ' lonely island of happiness,' as you call it. for in that case you would have it round you wherever we might be, and, above all things, here in our mountains. But, look, it is just as I said ; you are desirous to find a ' lonely island of happiness' that is to say, nobody is to find out that the aristocratic gentleman loves the poor Tyrolese girl, and that is the reason why you want us to hide in the mountains or elsewhere, and see if we can be happy without the blessing of the priett, our dear parents, and all other good men." " Oh, Eliza, have mercy on me. I swear to you that I love you intensely ; that I would be the happiest of men if I could marry you publicly and make you my wife in the face of the whole world, that " Eliza interrupted him by singing with a smiling air, and in a merry, ringing voice : " Und a Bisserle Lieb' und a Bisserle Treu' Und a Bisserle Falschheit ist all'zeit dabei ! " * "No, no falsehood," cried TJlrich, "only the irksome, ter- rible necessity, the " The loud crash of a rifle, finding an oft-repeated echo in * " And a bit of love, and a bit of truth, And a bit of falsehood, make life, forsooth 1 " 126 ANDREAS HOFER. the mountains, interrupted him. Eliza uttered a cry of dis- may and jumped up. " Jesus Maria ! " she murmured in a low voice, " it is the signal. It has commenced ! " " What ! What has commenced ? " asked the young man, in surprise. Eliza looked at him with confused and anxious eyes. " Nothing, oh, nothing at all," she said, in a tremulous voice. u Only I mean " she paused and looked with fixed attention down on the large place. She distinctly saw the groups mov- ing rapidly to and fro, and then pouring with furious haste through the streets. "They are coming up here." she murmured ; and her eyes turned toward the wing of the castle on the side of the bal- cony, where the Bavarian soldiers had their quarters. The latter, however, apparently did not suspect the imminent danger. They were sitting at the windows and smoking or cleaning their muskets and uniforms. Eliza could hear them chatting and laughing in perfect tranquillity. " Well, Eliza, beautiful, cruel girl," asked Ulrich von Ho- henberg, " will you tell me what has suddenly excited you so strangely ? " " Nothing, sir, oh, nothing," she said ; but then she leaned far over the railing of the balcony and stared down ; she be- held four young Tyrolese sharpshooters running up the castle- hill at a furious rate, and the host of their comrades following them. The four who led the way now entered the court-yard, and reached with wild bounds the large door forming the en- trance of the wing of the building occupied by the soldiers. With thundering noise they shut it, turned the large key which was in the lock, and drew it immediately out. Two sharpshooters now ran up from the opposite side. " We have locked the back-gate," they shouted exultingly. "That door is locked too," replied the others, jubilantly. '* They are all prisoners in the castle ! " "Sir," cried Eliza, drawing Ulrich von Hohenberg back from the balcony, "you may come with me into the dining- room ; I must tell you something." " No," he said, " I shall stay here and see what is the mat- THE DECLARATION OF LOVE. 127 ter. What does this mean ? More than fifty Tyrolese are entering the court-yard ; and why did those mad young fel- lows lock the door upon my soldiers ? '' " I suppose it is some mad freak of theirs, that is all, "said Eliza, trembling. " Come, dear sir, leave the balcony and follow me into the room. I wish to tell you. something quite secretly, sir, oh, come ! I do not want heaven and God and the snow-clad mountains yonder to hear a word of it." "Eliza," he exclaimed, transported, " how you smile, how you blush ! Oh, my God, what do you wish to say to me ? " She encircled his arm with her hands and drew him into the room. " Listen,'' she said, looking at him with imploring eyes, "if it is true that you lo\ie me give me, a proof of it and swear that you will do what I shall request of you ! " " I love you, Eliza, and will prove it to you. I swear, therefore, to do what you shall request of me." " Thank you, thank you," she exclaimed, joyfully. " Now come with me ; I will conduct you under the roof ; I know of a hiding-place there where no one will find you, and you will swear to me to stay there until I come to you with a suit of clothes which you will put on. Thereupon I shall conduct you in the dead of night into the mountains, and thus you will escape." " Escape ? Never ! And why, then ? '' " Sir, because the peasants will assassinate you if you re- main. " The young officer burst into loud laughter. " They will assassinate me ? Ah, I have my soldiers and my own arms, and am not afraid of the peasants. My soldiers would soon put down the insurgents if they should really rebel to-mor- row." " Sir, they will not wait until to-morrow ; they have al- ready risen ; the insurrection has commenced this very hour. Oh, thank God, you did not find out what was going on ; you felt so secure in your pride and despised the Tyrolese so much that you did not fear them.* But I tell you now, the * The Tyrolese kept the secret of their intended insurrection so well, and the Bavarians were so overbearing and careless, that they did not know any 128 ANDREAS HOFER. insurrection has broken out ; the whole Tyrol is rising ; all our people are in commotion from Innspruck down to Salz- burg. You can no longer prevent or stifle it. You must submit. Save yourself, then, sir ; you have sworn to grant my request, and you must keep your word." " No, I cannot and will not ! I must do my duty. Let me go, Eliza ! I must go ! I must go to my soldiers ! " " You can no longer reach them, for they have locked them up. Come, you must save yourself ! " She seized his arm with superhuman strength, and tried to draw him away, but he disengaged himself and rushed toward the door. But Eliza was quicker than he ; she bounded for- ward like an angry lioness, and just as Ulrich was about to seize the knob, she stood before the door and pushed him back. "I shall not permit you to leave the room," she cried. "You must kill me first; then you may go." " Eliza, I cannot stay. I implore you, let me go out. My honor, my good name, are at stake. You say the peasants have risen in insurrection, my soldiers are locked up, and you think I could be cowardly and miserable enough to conceal myself and surrender my name to well-deserved disgrace ? Let me go out, Eliza; have mercy upon me ! Do not compel me to remove you forcibly from the door ! " "Ah," cried Eliza, with scornful laughter, "you think I will step back from the door and let you go to kill my father and my brothers ? Listen, sir ; you said you loved me. G ive me a proof of it. Let me go out first, let me speak with my father only three words ! Perhaps I may persuade him to release your soldiers and go home with his friends." " Very well, I will prove to you that I love you. Go down, Eliza, speak with your father. I give you ten minutes' time ; that is to say, I sacrifice to you ten minutes of my honor." Eliza uttered a cry of joy; she encircled Ulrich's neck im- petuously with her arms and imprinted a glowing kiss on his forehead. thing about the plans of the insurgents until the day of the rising, and on that day they tried to levy contributions by force of arms. See " Gallery of Heroes : Andreas Hofer," p. 50. FAREWELL ! 1 29 " Farewell, sir," she whispered, " farewell, and God bless you ! " Then she pushed him back, hastened to the door, threw it open, and sprang out. She closed the door carefully behind her, locked it with a firm and quick hand, drew the key from the lock, and concealed it in her bosom. "Holy Virgin, I thank Thee!" she exclaimed, joyfully. " He is saved, for the room has no other outlet, and the bal- cony is too high for him to jump down." CHAPTER XII. FAREWELL ! SHE sped as gracefully and quickly as a gazelle down the corridor. In the large hall into which it led stood Elza, sur- rounded by more than twenty Tyrolese sharpshooters, with whom she was talking in a loud, animated voice. Her cheeks were very pale, her lips were quivering, but her eyes flashed courageously, and, notwithstanding the paleness of her face, it did not betray the least anxiety or terror. " Have you considered well what you are going to do, men of the Puster valley ? " she asked, in a clear, full voice. " Do you know that you are about to rebel against your govern- ment and your king, and that the rebels will be judged and punished with the full rigor of the law ?" u But the Bavarians will not judge us, for we shall drive them from the country," shouted the Tyrolese. " We do not want a king nor a Bavarian government; we want to get back our Emperor Francis and our old constitution." " But you will not succeed," said Elza ; " you are too weak against them. There are too many of them and too few of you ; they have cannon, and you have nothing but your rifles, and there are many of you who have not even a rifle." '' But we have our God and our emperor, and those two will help us. The Austrians, as Andreas Hofer has written to 130 ANDREAS HOFER. us, are already in the country, and all the people are rising to drive the French and Bavarians from the country." " It is so, Elza," said Eliza, encircling her friend's neck with her arm. " I know you I know that you are a loyal daughter of the Tyrol, and you will be glad to see our dear country de- livered from the foreign yoke and restored to the good Em- peror Francis." " But, Lizzie, think of ray poor cousin TJlrich," whispered Elza to her. '' He will defend himself to the last drop of his blood." " He is unable to do so," whispered Lizzie, with a cheerful smile. " I have locked him up in the dining-room, and the key is here in my bosom. Ulrich cannot get out, therefore, and though he is furious and grim, he must remain in the room like a mouse in a trap." " That reassures me," said Elza, smiling, " and I understand now, too, why my father acted in the manner he did. He doubtless suspected what would occur here, and got rid of all responsibility, leaving me entirely free to choose between my Bavarian relative and my Tyrolese countrymen. Here is my hand, Anthony Wallner ; I am a loyal daughter of the Tyrol, and shout with you, ' Long live our Emperor Fran- cis!'" " Hurrah, long live our Emperor Francis ! " shouted the Tyrolese. " Long live Miss Elza, the loyal daughter of the Tyrol ! " " Thank you," said Elza, smiling. " I think I shall prove my loyalty when dangers and war beset us. I shall establish here in the castle a hospital for our wounded, and the women of Windisch-Matrey will assist me, scrape lint, and help me to nurse the wounded. For without wounds and bloodshed we shall not recover our independence, and the Bavarians will not suffer themselves to be driven from the country without offering the most obstinate resistance. Have you considered that well, my friends ? " " We have ; we are prepared for every thing," said An- thony, joyously. " We will suffer death rather than give up our emperor and our dear Tyrol. We do not want to become Southern Bavarians, but we will remain Tyrolese, and defend FAREWELL ! 131 our constitution and our liberty to the last drop of our blood. Will we not, my friends ? " " Yes, we will," shouted the Tyrolese. "And as for the Bavarians, we are not afraid of them," said "Wallner, firmly. " All the functionaries have already humbly submitted to the freemen of the Tyrol. They have surrendered with their wives and children, delivered their funds at our demand, and are now guarded in their official dwellings by our men. And as for the Bavarian soldiers at the castle here, we need not be afraid of them either, for we have locked them up, like badgers in their holes, and they cannot get out of the door." " But if they cannot get out of the door, they will jump out of the windows," said Elza, " and offer the most determined resistance." " We shall see if they can," exclaimed Wallner, energet- ically. " We must get through with them right away. Come, men, we must see to the Boafoks." And Anthony Wallner, followed by his sharpshooters, hastened out into the court-yard. Large numbers of armed men had assembled there in the mean time ; even married women and young girls, carried away by the universal enthu- siaoin, had armed themselves and came to take an active part in the struggle for the fatherland and the emperor. All shouted and cheered in wild confusion, all swore to remain true to the fatherland and the emperor to their last breath. The soldiers looked on wonderingly, and watched in breath- less irresolution for their captain from the windows. At this moment, Anthony Wallner and a number of cour- ageous sharpshooters took position in front of the windows. " Soldiers," he shouted, in a thundering voice, " surrender ! you are our prisoners ! Surrender, throw your muskets and fire-arms out of the windows, and we will open the door of your prison and allow you to return to Bavaria." The soldiers made no reply, but leaned far out of the win- dows and shouted : u Captain I Where is our captain ? " " Here I am ! " shouted a powerful voice above the heads of the Tyrolese ; and, looking up in great surprise, they beheld on the balcony young Captain Ulrich von Hohenberg. with a 132 ANDREAS HOFER. pale face, his features distorted with rage and grief, and stretching out his right arm, with his flashing sword menac- ingly toward the Tyrolese. " Great God ! " murmured Eliza, clinging anxiously to El- za's arm, " if he resists, he is lost." "Here I am, my brave soldiers !" shouted Ulrich von Ho- henberg a second time. " Come to me, my brave lads ! I have been locked up here ; hence, I cannot come to you. Come up to me, then. Knock the doors in, and deliver your captain." " First, let them deliver themselves, sir," shouted Wallner up to him. He then turned once more to the soldiers. "Lis- ten to what I am going to say to you in the name of my coun- trymen, in the name of the whole Tyrol," he shouted. " For four long years you have oppressed and maltreated us : you have insulted, humiliated, and mortified us every day. But we are Christians, and will not revenge ourselves ; we want only our rights, our liberty, and our emperor. Therefore, if you submit willingly and with good grace to what cannot be helped, we will let you depart without punishing or injuring you in any way, and allow you to return to your accursed Bavaria. But first you will have to do two things, to wit : throw all your muskets out of the windows, and swear a sol- emn oath that you will no longer bear arms against the Tyr- olese." " You will never swear that oath, soldiers," shouted Ulrich von Hohenberg from his balcony. " You will keep the oath which you swore to your king and commander-in-chief. You will not incur the disgrace of surrendering to a crowd of rebel- lious peasants ! " " No, no, we will not," shouted the soldiers to him ; and thereupon they disappeared from the upper floor, and soon re- appeared in dense groups at the windows of the lower story. These windows were only five feet above the ground, and they were therefore able to jump out of them. " Shoot down the first soldier who jumps out of the win- dow ! " cried Anthony Wallner to his sharpshooters. The soldiers took no notice of his threats ; a soldier ap- peared in each of the windows ready to risk the leap. One of FAREWELL ! 133 them, more agile and intrepid than the others, was the first to jump down. Scarcely had his feet touched the ground, when a rifle crashed and a cloud of white smoke enveloped every- thing for a moment. When it disappeared, the Bavarian sol- dier was seen to writhe on the ground in the agony of death, while one of the Tyrolese sharpshooters was quietly reloading his rifle. But now crashed another shot, and the Tyrolese rifleman, pierced through the heart, reeled back into the arms of his friends with the last groan of death. "Soldiers," cried Ulrich von Hohenberg, raising his dis- charged gun triumphantly, " I have avenged the death of your comrade. Now forward, jump down ! Forward for your honor and your king ! '" " Yes, forward for our honor and our king ! " shouted the soldiers, and one of them jumped out of each of the windows. Another shot was fired from the balcony, and wounded one of the Tyrolese sharpshooters. Wild cries of rage filled the court-yard, all eyes turned menacingly to the balcony. But Ulrich von Hohenberg had stepped back into the room, and nobody saw that he was re- loading his fowling-piece, which, with his hunting-pouch and powder-horn, had hung in the dining-room. " I shall defend myself until my soldiers come to deliver me," he said courageously to himself. Thereupon he moved the large table from the room to the balcony, placed it on its side, and leaned it against the railing ; on the other side of the balcony he placed the bench in the same manner, and, protected behind this three-cornered barricade from the bullets of the Tyrolese, he pushed his gun into the aperture between the bench and the table, and fired again. Furious cries again filled the court-yard, for the captain's shot had disabled another Tyrolese. The women wailed and lamented loudly, the men uttered fierce imprecations, and lifted their clinched fists menacingly toward the balcony. The soldiers had withdrawn from the windows, and were de- liberating with their officers as to the course which they were to adopt. A defence was almost impossible, for, although they had their side-arms and carbines, they could not do any thing 134 ANDREAS HOFER. with the former before reaching the ground and engaging in a hand-to-hand fight with the peasants ; and the carbines were utterly useless, as no ammunition had been distributed among them, the cartridges being in the captain's room in the main part of the castle. " Ten of you will enter the castle," commanded Anthony Wallner now. " You will take the captain prisoner, and if he refuses to surrender, shoot him down as he has shot three of our brethren." Ten of the most courageous sharpshooters stepped from the ranks and rushed into the castle. " He is lost ! " murmured Eliza Wallner, with pale lips, and she sank on her knees by the side of her friend Elza. Now were heard resounding in the castle the thundering blows which the Tyrolese struck with the butt-ends of their rifles against the door of the room where Ulrich von Hohen- berg was locked up. " The door is old and worm-eaten, it will give way," sighed Elza, and she hastened resolutely toward Anthony Wallner, who was just calling again on the soldiers with cool intrepid- ity to surrender to him. " Anthony Wallner," she said, in a soft, suppliant voice, " you will not stain your great and sacred cause by cowardly murder. You will never think of killing in my father's own house his relative and guest ? " " Let him surrender : no harm will befall him then," cried Anthony Wallner, in a harsh, stern voice. " He has shed the blood of our men, and if he is killed, it will be done in a fair fight. Leave us now, miss : the struggle between the Tyrolese and the Boafoks has commenced ; look at the corpses yonder, and say for yourself whether we can retrace our steps, and A loud, thundering crash, followed by triumphant cheers, resounded in the castle. '* They have opened the door," murmured Eliza, still on her knees. " Holy Virgin, protect him, or he is lost ! " A shot crashed in the dining-room, a cloud of white smoke issued from the open balcony doors, and a loud cry, accom- panied by wild imprecations, was heard. " He has shot another Tyrolese, you will see that he has ! " THE BRIDEGROOM. 135 shouted Wallner, raising his clinched fists menacingly toward the balcony. The cries drew nearer and nearer, and now Captain TJlrich von Hohenberg, his features pale and distorted with rage, rushed out on the balcony. " Surrender ! " shouted the Tyrolese, pursuing him.