Allen Upward

“ As for Dorothea, she was completely carried away by all she saw. Shaking off the sense of her strange position, with the elastic spirit of youth, she seemed to regain in the air of Seidlingen the gayety and lightness of the old days when Maximilian first came seeking her in the forest lodge. The King gave every moment he could spare to her society, and when he was elsewhere, she roamed about the gardens under the protection of her cousin, whose harsh nature softened insensibly under the influence of the girl’s sweet temper. ”

“ Remember that you are but the first of servants after all. Try to make your people happier; do not be content with mere submission, do not wait till discontent grows dangerous. Study their problems, find out their needs beforehand. Above all, love them, Ernest, and they will love you, and no traitors will ever dare to conspire against your throne, and tear your crown from you like this.”
He wrenched the diadem roughly from his head and made as if to cast it on the floor. But a new impulse suddenly coming to sway his mind, he strode up to where his young cousin stood trembling and speechless. ”

“ As the Count folded up his parchment, a strange, baffled, hunted look spread over the King’s features. He gazed at the array of countenances before him with a sickly smile for one moment, and then, bursting into a vacant laugh, leant back in his chair, and exclaimed—
“Wolf! Wolf! Won’t some one bring Wolf to me?”
The dog, which had been left behind by Prince Ernest, crept forward at the sound of its name, and licked the King’s hand.
While these events were passing in the Castle of Seidlingen, Johann was approaching the capital as fast as the train could carry him. ”

“ But when you are King, Ernest, do not forget your people. That is a crime for which you will deserve to be punished as I am. Rule them, Ernest, but rule them yourself; let no Ministers come between you and them, and usurp your power from you. Govern them justly but kindly; if they make complaints, listen to them; if they have just grievances, redress them. Let no wrong be done with impunity in any corner of the land. Trust no reports from others; see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears. ”

“ During this harangue a slightly contemptuous look came on Maximilian’s face. He answered with spirit.
“I do not believe that any one need starve in Franconia. You are speaking unfairly. If I spend money in the ways you talk of, does it not all come back into the pockets of the people? I never heard that it was considered a crime to encourage art, or that a king was forbidden to have his private friends. And when you accuse me of not valuing the lives of men, you forget that during my reign Franconia has been kept from war. None of my subjects have been made to shed one drop of blood for me. ”

“ When the time came, the physician unclosed his lips and pronounced the fatal word. Then the king disappeared silently from view, and a new ruler took his place.
This was the new Vehmgericht.
Like the ancient Venetian doges, the kings of Franconia walked everywhere, surrounded by an atmosphere of mysterious dread. Secret eyes were upon them always. Oubliettes were prepared under their feet, into which they never knew the moment when they might not be cast. And from these oubliettes there was no chance of escape.
The dooms of science are more relentless than the dooms of superstition. ”

“ You call yourselves the friends of freedom, you extol the name of liberty, and all the time you are coercing others, using the hasty words extorted from a boy to bind the grown man and compel him to commit crimes at your dictation. I tell you that you are worse tyrants yourselves than any of those you conspire against. Look at me. I am happy here; King Maximilian has done me no harm, he has shown me every favour ”

“ In mere size it was inferior to the state palace in Mannhausen, far inferior to such huge piles as Versailles and the Roman Vatican. A poet does not build like a conqueror. Maximilian’s object had not been to stupefy mankind, but to delight himself. Almost more wealth had been lavished on the wonderful accessories than on the main edifice—that is to say, on the aviaries, the hothouses, and above all on the unique and gorgeous theatre destined for the production of the grandest works of Mozart and Beethoven and Bernal. ”

“ Johann had listened perfectly unmoved to the other’s passionate protests. He hardly deigned to answer them.
“It is a case of tyranny against tyranny. There is no such thing as free will in this world, Karl. Kings use their weapons, and we use ours. They have their troops, their judges, their spies. We have our oaths and our daggers. If we are dealing with men of ignoble minds that can only be swayed by selfish considerations we have to employ the arguments that appeal to them. If kings use bribes, we must use threats.” ”

“ It was not long before these caprices began to take an extravagant turn, which gave an opening for the public discontent. Once a fancy seized Maximilian, he never stopped to count the cost, and his Ministers found that the best way to preserve their power was to furnish him ungrudgingly with the funds required to satisfy his whims. It was natural that the revolutionary party should seize on this ground of attack, and hold up the thoughtless young King as a vampire, draining the life-blood of the people to supply his selfish luxuries. ”

“ Auguste, he was right. My people have a right to demand that I shall govern them like a king, or give up my crown. What have I ever done for Franconia? What return have I ever made to the millions who work and toil and serve me, and supply me with the sums I have lavished on my own pleasures? This talk of revolution may be idle; I fear it is. I may not be able to reorganise society, to divide the wealth [133] of the few among the many, to change the conditions of labour, to alter the great channels in which human life has run for thousands upon thousands of years. ”

“ The railway ended at a distance of eight miles from the Castle itself. From there the royal party were driven in carriages up the new road which Maximilian’s engineers had constructed, past the fountains and waterfalls which had been artfully scattered along the route, and under the archway, guarded by cannon, which gave access to the hidden valley.
Exclamations of wonder and delight burst from the lips of the courtiers as they rolled through the rocky gateway, and the full beauty of the fairyland within burst upon their sight. ”

“ Johann made a quick movement as if to pick up his fallen weapon, when Maximilian bent forward and whispered to him—
“I give you my parole.”
The next instant a dozen eager hands were clutching at the conspirator on all sides, and Von Sigismark’s voice rang out—
“Take him away, and chain him in the strongest room in the Castle.”
Before the soldiers had time to do anything, a counter-order came sternly and proudly from the lips of the King.
[96] “Stop! Release your prisoner. He has our pardon.”
The Chancellor made a step forward, dismay and incredulity written on his face. ”

“ The gardens, the strange trees, the flower-beds, the canals and aqueducts, the kiosks and gondolas, all combined to produce the illusion of a scene upon the stage, rather than a sober reality of waking life. The season of the year—it was early June—helped to show off all the natural features at their best. And the culminating point was reached when the Castle itself came into view, built of dazzling marble, with every turret and pinnacle flashing in the sunshine, like a palace of silver built by genii at the command of the prince in some eastern tale. ”

“ Dorothea received his intimation with strange calmness, and did not even interrupt her labours for more than an instant.
He felt driven to remonstrate with her.
“Come, you take it very coolly. Do you mean to say that you anticipated this?”
“I hardly know. But it makes no difference. I shall not marry the King.”
“What! What do you say?” His astonishment passed into rebuke. “Be serious. Put down that miserable thing, and consider what you are saying. You do not seem to understand. He will make you Queen of Franconia.” ”

“ He has asked me to stay with him and assist in reforming his government. And think what it would be to have you, a daughter of the people, on the throne, always by the King’s side to persuade him to the right course! No woman ever had a more glorious opportunity. We should work together like one family. Do not let any girlish folly hold you back, when your marriage with the King is the one thing I rely on, the foundation stone on which everything rests. What is there to prevent you, really? You do not dislike the King? ”

“ Although Gertrude had been aware that some serious intrigue was on foot between the Princess Hermengarde and her father, she had never dreamt of the real issues involved, and was thunderstruck at learning that the King was to be declared mad. The first exclamation which rose to her lips disconcerted her father—
“But he is no more mad than I am!”
“Hush! He may not be mad in the sense that an ordinary person is said to be mad when he believes that he is the Archangel Gabriel, or that his bones are made of glass. But the King’s madness is far more dangerous. ”

“ As she relaxed her embrace Maximilian hastily withdrew himself from it, and silently strode away.
Hardly had he gone a dozen paces, when he was encountered by Johann, moodily wandering apart, after a vain attempt to find his cousin. The King gave him a look of the deepest dejection.
“What is it?” exclaimed Johann, impulsively. “Is anything wrong?”
“I may tell it to you,” answered Maximilian, halting for a moment; “you are in the secret already. My dream is over; I have learnt that Dorothea does not love me.”
“But she will!” cried Johann, much disturbed. “She is too young to know her own mind. ”

“ The deadliest war is that which goes on from day to day between rich and poor; and that war you have never lifted a finger to check. The millions [89] you have wasted on palaces—which are of no use to any one but yourself—might have been used for great public works for the benefit of mankind—hospitals, almshouses, bridges, aqueducts to bring the pure water of the hills into the Mannhausen slums. A king has higher duties than encouraging art. It is his duty to be the shepherd of the nation he rules.”
Maximilian listened, this time with an air of interest. ”

“ The bitter feelings of jealousy towards Dorothea which had been nursed in the breast of Gertrude von Sigismark for so long, had at last found utterance. Emboldened by the disclosure made to her by the Chancellor on the day before, to expect the momentary downfall of the King, to be followed by the dismissal from Court of her young rival, she no longer thought it worth while to place any restraint on her feelings, nor could she resist the pleasure of being the first to crush Dorothea with the news of her royal lover’s fate. ”

“ Not to do good is in itself a crime on the part of the ruler. How many men in Maximilian’s position, with his power to bless mankind, would make a paradise of Franconia! It is not only the active ill-doer that we have to war against; we must cut down the barren fig-tree as well. No; let a king be kingly, let him be a father to his people, let him comfort them in their sorrows, teach them in their ignorance ”

“ Hermengarde leant back in her chair and fixed a long and searching gaze upon the Chancellor. This time it was she who failed to penetrate beneath the impassive mask of the courtier.
“And how are we to ascertain it?” she said at length, putting the question apparently with reluctance. “We can show the public that he is contemplating marriage with a peasant girl; that he has made an assassin his bosom friend; that he has urged his Ministers to start a revolution, and has gone off secretly to the slums of Mannhausen to fraternise with the enemies of society and of his throne.” ”

“ As soon as he saw Maximilian, however, he forgot the dog and ran forward to welcome him.
“Cousin Max! Where have you been? I have not seen you all day.”
“Where have you been?” retorted Maximilian, taking the boy’s head in his hands, and playfully wrestling with him.
Ernest pretended to be angry.
“Leave me alone, will you? I wouldn’t go out riding to-day, for fear my mother would make me take Gertrude von Sigismark with me again. I hate women, don’t you?”
“Certainly. Every well-regulated mind hates women,” responded Maximilian, gravely. ”

“ Maximilian was the first to speak. Turning to his friend, he said mournfully—
“You see, Auguste, my foreboding was true. Now she will know I am the King, and perhaps she will never learn to love me after all.”
Johann hung his head, and let the pistol drop from his passive fingers on to the floor.
Then all at once there was a loud noise, the door of the gallery was thrown open, and a great throng of guards and attendants and members of the Court flocked in, with the Chancellor and Princess Hermengarde among them, and rushed towards the group.
“That must be the man! Seize him!” ”

“ At one time it had actually been in contemplation to connect these canals with a larger one extending the whole way to the river Rhine, but another kingdom had to be crossed, and the compensation demanded by its government was so enormous that even Maximilian stopped short, and the dream of making a seaport in the heart of the German highlands was abandoned.
All that art could desire or science execute had been done to render the palace itself one of the wonders of the world. ”

“ Go to my aunt, the Princess Regent; she will take you into her favour like the rest.”
“No, no, Sire, do not speak to me like that. Do not think me a traitor. I have been away trying to organise a rising in your favour, but now I have come back to rescue you.”
[310] “Fool, fool, I say,” answered Maximilian. “I have no rewards to give you. Why should you be more stupid than the others? They were wise enough to leave me—Von Sigismark, Auguste, Karl, all of them have gone. Why should you stay here?”
Johann struggled to maintain his composure. ”