Molly Elliot Seawell

“ This natural abandon, which would have offended many sovereigns, touched and also amused the Empress Queen; and when Gavin recovered himself, and stood, blushing and appalled at his breach of etiquette, both Maria Theresa and the Emperor Francis were laughing heartily. The sight of Gavin’s face, flushed and sparkling, his mouth quivering, yet full of smiles, the boyish dimples in his cheek showing, and his lithe, strong body trembling with happiness, appealed to the exquisitely human heart of Maria Theresa. She saw in him a soul capable of the greatest devotion to her. ”

“ The ancient Germans represented their god of war as huge, blonde, and bearded; Gavin Hamilton [Pg 286] would have said that Frederick of Prussia, unhorsed, defeated, and almost captured, was the ideal of the lord of battles.
In another moment a regiment of Prussian hussars appeared as if they had sprung out of the ground, their horses plunging over every obstacle, their sabres flashing right and left; and encircling the King, he was swept out of sight like magic. It was over in the twinkling of an eye—one instant Gavin had Frederick by the arm, looking into his blue and blazing eyes ”

“ No man could long endure, and live, the hideous depression from which St. Arnaud had suffered since Rosbach; and when his soul made a final rally, it was to perch upon heights of hope and joy. He felt sure they would beat Frederick of Prussia, and one short month would see a revival of the fortunes of the Empress Queen. He so expressed himself to Gavin, who had never suffered any depression whatever. And each found a source of vivid interest in the other’s personality. ”

“ Madame Ziska and little Freda assisted Lady Hamilton with her toilet—the same severely simple black satin gown she had worn before. The two women understood and mutually comforted each other, and by tacit agreement there was no mention of the impending parting until just as Lady Hamilton was ready, and stood a picture of mature and womanly grace, Madame Ziska began to weep.
“I am a fool,” she cried. “They will come back—I know they will come back—but it is hard to let them go, for I, too, love them dearly.” ”

“ The night was falling, and it grew dark in the mountain fastnesses; but so much had Gavin and his men ridden over those tortuous and rocky roads in the last few weeks, that not only they, but their horses, knew the way perfectly. They rode on steadily, occasionally meeting with returning couriers; but by nine o’clock they seemed to be the only travellers on the road. They were passing through a dense woodland, hemmed in on each side of the road by rocky walls, when suddenly a small party of men appeared in their path, swiftly and silently, as shadows rising from the earth. ”

“ Arnaud’s and Gavin’s regiment was picking its way out of the woods, toward the village of Winschke, where it was to support the grenadiers. As they came into the open country the impenetrable mist lay over the whole earth; but it was lighted up at every moment, and in a vast circle, by the blaze of gunpowder. Across the valley, by the constant flashes they could see great masses of Austrian cavalry dashing themselves upon the Prussian infantry, which was completely surprised. The Prussians in the village were awake, too, and the Austrians were pouring in upon them. ”

“ Sir Gavin was distinctly unpopular; but that, which would have been a reason with most men for leaving Vienna at the earliest feasible moment, was reason enough to keep him there until the last possible hour. He had an unshakable self-possession, and it gave him a cynical amusement to show himself when the world expected him to take himself off; to smile and be at his ease when other men would have been miserably ill at ease; to calmly ignore the attitude of others when it did not coincide with his own attitude. ”

“ Arnaud and Gavin instantly recognized without glasses. Worn, thin, and wizened as he was, Frederick of Prussia was ever an imposing figure. All who saw that slight, pale man, shabbily dressed, but splendidly mounted, riding nonchalantly into the view of tens of thousands [Pg 277] of men, were thrilled at the sight of him. Here was one of the world’s masters and dictators. Beaten he might be, he was never conquered; less in force than his enemy, he was always dangerous; with but a thousand men behind him, he could yet keep his enemies awake at night. ”

“ Arnaud at once blew out the candle, hid it, and the two, sitting on Gavin’s bed, with the moonlight streaming through a narrow, barred window, realized that they were prisoners. And in the very first hour of their real captivity they began to plan for their escape. Gavin’s first words were: “You counted on Madame Ziska; what think you now?”
“I think,” responded St. Arnaud, with a smile, “that an honest woman like her is more to be trusted than the great ones of earth. ”

“ Lady [Pg 298] Hamilton’s life was in jeopardy every hour. Gavin slept not at all that night, and soon after sunrise was standing with a forlorn face under his mother’s window. He looked listlessly at the splendid façade, the marble steps, the tall, bronze lamps, all the evidences of wealth, and wondered stupidly at the good and evil in human nature, which made all desert Sir Gavin in his hour of direst need except the one human being he had most injured.
Not until nine o’clock did Lady Hamilton appear at the window. ”

“ Steiner disappeared, and Madame Ziska, St. Arnaud, and Gavin, as if realizing that they were [Pg 48] in the presence of the greatest king of his age, remained silent and standing.
“Pray be seated,” said Frederick, with the charming manner he possessed, but did not always use. “It is not often I have either leisure or pleasure—the business of being a king requires a man to work like a galley-slave—but to-night I will indulge myself. I will imagine myself as I was twenty years ago, when, so far from fighting the French, I loved all that was French. ”

“ Gavin, who had no regular beauty, but a fine figure and a frank, speaking face, looked his best in his white hussar jacket and glittering accoutrements. No mother admiring her young daughters dressed for their first ball could have shown more pride and pleasure than Madame Ziska. The children, who were allowed to stay up as a special privilege, were in raptures of delight, while even Kalenga, who was always patient, but seldom gay, smiled in sympathy with the pleasure of those around him. At last St. Arnaud and Gavin set off in a hired coach. ”

“ Arnaud seemed to exercise a charmed spell over Frederick, and when he laughingly owned up to a weakness for making verses, Frederick cried out with delight:
“Now have I found a man who can both fight and write. Nature had not made up her mind [Pg 201] whether I should be a soldier or a poet or a musician when she thrust me into this world. Fate decided the question for her, but Nature will still be heard. I have made bushels of verses this last autumn, in spite of Rosbach and Leuthen. And my flute is always in my pocket, though not often at my mouth.”
Gavin could remain silent no longer. ”

“ ADVENTURES OF GAVIN HAMILTON
CHAPTER I
In Silesia, the autumn of 1757 was one of frightful cold, of icy winds, of sunless days, and freezing nights. The land, made desolate by the contending armies of the Empress Queen, Maria Theresa, and Frederick the Great, of Prussia, suffered still more from this bitter and premature winter. The miserable inhabitants, many of them houseless, died by thousands, of cold and starvation. The wretched remnant of cattle left them perished; the fields lay untilled, the mills were only piles of charred ruins, and desolation brooded over the land. ”

“ There is a garden communicating with the one we have here, and in it is an observatory with a fine telescope. I have been troubled with sleeplessness this winter, and I have spent many hours, in consequence, studying the planets. I have found it singularly soothing. Nothing so reconciles one to the chances and changes of this life as looking through a telescope. There one sees the infinite smallness of triumphs; the utter nothingness of misfortunes.”
“True, your Majesty,” replied St. Arnaud, as composedly as if he had come all the way from Vienna to discuss astronomy. ”

“ The dawn came clear and beautiful, and bearing no trace of the fog of the night before. The Bohemian mountains, only ten English miles away, loomed darkly beautiful on the horizon. The snow lay deep upon the whole earth when the first golden shafts of light struck the mountain tops from the [Pg 83] east; as the sun rose in glory, they glowed milk white against a sky all blue and gold and rose-coloured. Gavin and St. Arnaud saw the exquisite sunrise with heavy hearts; a clear day made the chances of their eluding pursuit for ten miles still more hazardous. ”

“ Arnaud.
Gavin only pointed before them. “Yonder are the mountains. We cannot see them—so much the better—no one can see us. The frontier is twenty English miles away, and we should gain it before daylight.”
With the blood leaping in their veins at the thought of liberty, even for an hour, they plunged forward through the fog. The snow made walking difficult, but they felt as light of foot as the chamois among the hills. ”

“ Arnaud in every way; for besides being a perfect picture of physical well-being, the young soldier was in rags. In one the inner man had suffered, in the other the outer man. Having spoken, the young man awaited speech from his officer with as much coolness as if he were on parade at Versailles, instead of being alone with him at nightfall in a frozen desert. ”

“ Arnaud produced not only a sponge, but a small towel, a cake of scented soap, a silver comb, and a pearl-handled razor. Gavin’s eyes gleamed. “These will I have when I am an officer!” he cried.
They resumed their way. The joy that shone in Gavin’s face was contagious. St. Arnaud smiled at the thought that a suit of clothes and the hope of a sublieutenancy could give so much happiness to any one; but he did not know that it meant all which the young soldier coveted in life. ”

“ Arnaud, dressed in their court uniforms, awaited Lady Hamilton’s appearance from her room. With only little Freda to assist her, Lady Hamilton was making her toilet. Presently the door opened, and Freda, with a candle in each hand, came out, looking solemn beyond expression, and putting the candlesticks on the table, gazed with grave admiration at Lady Hamilton, who followed her.
Gavin caught his breath with admiration when his mother came full into the circle of light. He had never thought of her as a beautiful woman, only as the dearest woman in the world. ”

“ He dashed among the struggling Prussian infantry, and as if by magic a line of bayonets was formed around him, against which the Austrians threw themselves like an avalanche of fire and steel. Then came a Titanic struggle, men, guns, and horses inextricably mixed, no man having time to load and fire, but steel to steel, sabres and bayonets, and a fearful and hideous din drowning the roar of cannon and shriek of musketry. No man asked or gave quarter, but with powder-blackened faces and grim eyes and distorted features sought death or gave it. ”

“ The Prussians stood their ground, and as the Austrians had no infantry at hand, it took some time to dislodge them. Nor was it done without loss on the Austrian side. At last, however, the Prussians began a backward movement, in perfect order, and without losing a man. St. Arnaud, glad to have them go on almost any terms, was amazed and infuriated to hear Gavin shouting to his men, and to see them following him at a gallop, under the trees, toward the wall at the farther end of the orchard, where the Prussians could ask no better place to make a stand. ”

“ General Kollnitz received them with his usual kindness, and Gavin felt a qualm at the thought of the perplexity and chagrin in which they were about to plunge the old gentleman. Liberty, however, was too dear to be forsworn; and they both knew it to be their duty, as well as their right, to make every effort to restore their services to their own country. Thoughts of the same kind had passed through St. Arnaud’s brain, and he had said to Gavin the night before:
“Our oath obliges us to do all in our power to annoy the enemy. ”

“ Arnaud’s room. A harpsichord had been placed there, and often the sound of the harpsichord and flute would float out. There had been no visits for several nights to the observatory, as the wind and rain storms had been succeeded by heavy snows. St. Arnaud had completely fascinated Frederick, who was always singularly susceptible to the charm of conversation. It was impossible for any one to resist Frederick’s own powers to please when he exerted himself, and St. Arnaud found himself falling more and more under the spell of a great and comprehensive mind, like that of the King of Prussia. ”

“ Unlike Frederick, who valued men solely for their intellectual qualities, Maria Theresa trusted much to the excellence of their hearts, and, consequently, where one was feared, the other was loved.
The Emperor, who scrupulously observed the deference due his wife’s rank, rose and remained standing until the Empress Queen had seated herself. Then turning to St. Arnaud, as the eldest, she said:
“I and the Emperor have been much pleased to hear of the escape of you and your brother officer from Glatz. I shall need every man who can carry a sword in the next campaign. ”

“ Next rode the young archdukes, handsome lads, and superbly mounted. Last, appeared the Empress Queen, mounted upon a noble, iron-gray charger, with the Emperor Francis on her right and the Archduke Charles on her left.
Maria Theresa never looked more royal and imperial than when on horseback. She rode with exquisite grace, and her stately mien fitly indicated her brave spirit. Although then past her first youth and the mother of many children, she was still the most graceful princess in Europe; and maturity had not robbed her of her natural comeliness. ”