Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von Hardenberg

“ Word by word, the following conversation was afterwards repeated to Harry by Fernando.
"You know!" cried von Hardenberg. "What do you know?"
"I know that you are he who bears the Sunstone on your person. I order you to deliver it up!"
Von Hardenberg drew back a pace. The Black Dog was crouching like a tiger behind one of the pillars, unseen by either of the speakers.
"Who told you?" cried von Hardenberg. "Who told you I have the Sunstone?"
"These things," said the old man in a great, solemn voice, "these things I know because I am one who holds converse with the gods. Me you cannot deceive. ”

“ Full length upon his face, upon this brilliant, jewel-bespangled carpet, was the man who had stolen the Sunstone, who had betrayed his country, and who, in his own turn, had been betrayed by the very ruffian he employed. A revolver, still smoking, was in his hand. Carl von Hardenberg had placed himself at last beyond the reach of human law.
It is easy to imagine the torment the man had suffered during the last days of his ill-spent life. The lamp which he had carried with him from the altar in the cave had long since burned out, and now stood upon the coffin of Zoroaster. ”

“ The glorification of the old Meistersinger is, of course, intended as a glorification of poetry in general, but his story, as told in the novel, is really the story of Hardenberg's own life and endeavour. Heinrich von Ofterdingen's home and quiet childhood remind us of Hardenberg's. A dream, which seems doubly rich in omen because his father as a youth had dreamed one like it, gives him a fore-feeling of the mysterious happiness of the poet's life, and shows him, in the form of a wonderful blue flower, the object of the poet's longing and endeavour. ”

“ Von Hardenberg, raising his eyebrows, flicked some cigarette-ash from his trousers.
"Himmel!" he observed. "You don't suppose I take the least interest in what you do against Harrow. The whole of your nation appears to think of nothing but play. As for us Germans, we have something better to think of!" ”

“ A few minutes afterward Hardenberg entered the room. The serene expression of his fine, manly features had not disappeared; calm, and kindly as usual, he approached their majesties, and bowed to them respectfully, yet with the pride of a man conscious of his own dignity. ”

“ If Paa was to be fought for, Hardenberg, backed by Strokher and Ally Bazan, was the man of all men for the job, for it looked as though Ryder would not get the Island of Paa without a fight after all, and nitrate beds were worth fighting for. ”

“ He expected to be back that night with news of great importance.
Accordingly they halted for the afternoon, and, giving the villagers a wide berth, camped upon the sand, lighting a fire, upon which they cooked a meal.
"And all this time," said Harry, "von Hardenberg lies buried alive, starving to death in the Caves of Zoroaster."
Fernando shook his head.
"He cannot starve," said he. "I noticed he wore a haversack well filled with provisions. And I have heard it said that inside the vault is water; a small spring bubbles up in a great basin, forming a little fountain." ”

“ Those allies of Hardenberg and Prussia were now not only the queen, Prince Louis Ferdinand, and public opinion, but they were joined by the Emperor Alexander, who had arrived from Poland, and the Archduke Anthony, whom the Emperor of Austria had sent to Berlin at the same time for the purpose of winning the friendship of the king. But still another ally suddenly and unexpectedly entered the lists for Hardenberg’s policy and for the coalition, and this ally was the good fortune and genius of Napoleon. ”

“ From you we hope for consolation, and for forgetfulness of the wrongs which have removed you from us, and which you will be too generous to remember at a time when he who insulted you only deserves your sympathy and assistance. Can you withstand our solicitations? Can you see this country deserted, and refuse to it the co-operation of those talents that alone are able to raise us from our prostration? Hardenberg sees no other hope for his master than in you, and if you are not restored to us—if you do not yield to the wishes of those yearning for you, what is to become of our future? ”

“ CHAPTER XXI. THE COURIER'S RETURN. On reaching his cabinet, the king slowly paced his room, seemingly without noticing the presence of the chancellor. Hardenberg, who waited in silent patience, withdrew softly into a window-niche, and listened to the noise of the carriage rolling away at this moment. "The spies the king has sent out are driving to the avenue," said Hardenberg to himself. "They will, no doubt, find every thing as stated in the report, and yet all will be in vain. He will not make up his mind to enter a bold course, and while he is hesitating all of us and Prussia will perish." ”

“ After a long stay at Basle, during which time he was in habits of the greatest intimacy with the ministers of the French republic, Baron Hardenberg returned to Berlin, where the king conferred upon him the order of the Black Eagle of the first class, as a mark of his perfect concurrence in the politics of the treaty just concluded. ”

“ Minister von Hardenberg, who now, after a long struggle, had succeeded in overcoming the influence of Minister von Haugwitz, and, with him, that of the French party, was one of those rare and extraordinary statesmen who have made diplomacy not a business, but the task of their whole life, and who have devoted to it all the strength, all the thoughts and feelings of their soul. ”

“ The gent is five foot eleven high, three feet thick, is the only son of my mother, an' has yeller mustaches and a buck tooth.'
"'He don't qualify,' puts in Hardenberg. 'First, because he's a Englisher, and second, because he's up again a American—and besides, he has a tooth that's bucked.'
"'Buck or no buck,' flares out Strokher, 'wot might be the meanin' o' that remark consernin' being a Englisher?'
"'The fact o' his bein' English,' says Hardenberg, 'is only half the hoe-handle. 'Tother half being the fact that the first-named gent is all American. ”

“ In this long struggle of every-day labour, the life of Prince Hardenberg was worn out; and at Aix-la-Chapelle and Troppau it was evident that his strength was beginning to give way. Old age had come upon him, and one is astonished a war with parties should have been carried on so vigorously by a man who had reached the advanced age of threescore and ten. One [286] can imagine the peaceful government of an aged man over a peaceful state ”

“ We can sometimes use the poles again,
But they get split by the nails, and 'tis quicker work than mending
To knock together new; though the uprights now and then
Serve twice when they're let stand. But if a feast's impending,
As lately, you've to tidy up for the comers' ken.
"Though only three were impaled, you may know it didn't pass off
So quietly as was wont? That Galilee carpenter's son
Who boasted he was king, incensed the rabble to scoff:
I heard the noise from my garden. This piece is the one he was on. . . .
Yes, it blazes up well if lit with a few dry chips and shroff ”

“ The spies do not venture to penetrate here—this retreat is not desecrated by their inquisitive and lurking glances."
"Well," said Hardenberg, almost joyously, "if we need not be afraid of the eyes and ears of spies, your majesty will permit me to speak freely to you. My king, great events are maturing; while impenetrable darkness still seems to surround us, morning is gradually dawning, and the day of retribution is not distant. Europe is utterly tired of war, and this incessant bloodshed; she has practised forbearance until it is exhausted and converted into an intense indignation. ”

“ Otherwise he would not have gone."
"It's von Hardenberg, perhaps!" said Harry, turning to Braid, the wish being father to the thought.
Both looked at their guide.
"It is either the man you want," said the guide, "or else it is the Germans."
The wounded animal was now forgotten. They were face to face with the reality of their situation. They had either overtaken von Hardenberg and Peter Klein or else the Germans had received news of their having reached the frontier.
"We'll have to cross the valley," said Harry, "to get back to camp."
"That is the worst of it," said Cortes ”

“ This was a recreation to the diplomatist, who was glad to seek repose from political theories in the executive government of a principality, which he may be said to have added to Prussia. In Germany statesmen like to be men of business, and even in retirement their life is one of labour and study.
Baron Hardenberg took no part in active business during the life of Frederic William II. ”

“ Hardinge's activity during the embarkation next morning attracted the attention of General William Carr Beresford, who commanded the rear-guard, and probably led to his appointment to the Portuguese staff soon after. On 13 April 1809 he was promoted to major on particular service in Portugal, and became lieutenant-colonel on 30 May 1811. As deputy quartermaster-general of the Portuguese army of which Benjamin d'Urban [q. v.] was quartermaster-general Hardinge was present at the operations on the Douro, at Busaco, and at Albuera (22 May 1811) . ”

“ She'll be where she is the noo, only wi' twa or three plates blawed oot—jist sufficient for to delay her launch for anither month or so. That's what ye wanted—that's what ye're payin' me to bring aboot, eh? Answer, wall ye?”
Hardenberg blew a ring.
“What matters to you if you get your money?”
Carson staggered slightly, and blinked.
Perhaps the two whiskies, after long abstinence, had affected him more than they would have done in the old days. He recovered himself quickly enough.
“The drink has set me thinkin',” he began.
“Not had enough. Thinking is bad for you.” ”

“ Finally, Haugwitz, unable to persuade the cabinet to a more vigorous policy, resigned, and on the 14th of April 1804 Hardenberg succeeded him as foreign minister.
If there was to be war, Hardenberg would have preferred the French alliance, which was the price Napoleon demanded for the cession of Hanover to Prussia; for the Eastern powers would scarcely have conceded, of their free will, so great an augmentation of Prussian power. But he still hoped to gain the coveted prize by diplomacy, backed by the veiled threat of an armed neutrality. ”

“ Under his administration, the Rhine has been passed to seize the Duc d'Enghien, and the Elbe to capture Sir George Rumbold; the Hanse Towns have been pillaged, and even Emden blockaded; and the representations against, all these outrages have neither been followed by public reparation nor a becoming resentment; and was it not also Baron von Hardenberg, who, on the 5th of April, 1795, concluded at Basle that treaty to which we owe all our conquests and Germany and Italy all their disasters? ”

“ Her son and she wait upon the folks."
"I see," said Eustacia.
"'Tis the last strain, I think," said Saint George, with his ear to the panel. "A young man and woman have just swung into this corner, and he's saying to her, 'Ah, the pity; 'tis over for us this time, my own.'"
"Thank God," said the Turkish Knight, stamping, and taking from the wall the conventional lance that each of the mummers carried. Her boots being thinner than those of the young men, the hoar had damped her feet and made them cold. ”

“ He saw that Field-Marshal Kalkreuth looked gloomy and abstracted, and opposite him the chancellor of state, with burning cheeks and radiant eyes.
"Well, Hardenberg," said the king, mildly, "have you nothing to say to me?"
"I am unable to say any thing," whispered Hardenberg, in a tremulous voice, "but I do what I have not done for many years past—I weep tears of joy! Our night is at an end; a new morning is dawning upon Prussia, and the sun of a new era will shed his beams upon all of us!"
CHAPTER XXII. THE MANIFESTO. The people were moving in dense crowds through Berlin. ”

“ For Hardenow, as he grew older and able to regard mankind more largely, came out from many of the narrow ways, which (like the lanes of Beckley) satisfy their final cause by leading into one another. With the growth of his learning, his candour grew ”

“ The Emperor Alexander stood with folded arms at the side of the king, and glanced with a smile now at the minister, now at the royal couple.
"Sire," repeated Hardenberg, since the king was still silent, "I request your majesty to be so gracious as to accept my resignation."
Frederick William started. "You know very well," he said, hastily, and almost in a harsh voice, "that it gives me pain to do so. I have to submit to necessity. I have no power to resist the most arrogant demands—no army to continue the war. ”

“ The administration is careful, economical, and often dishonest; the political branch watchful and military, carefully restricting the [285] developement of liberty within the most exact limits. After the termination of the great transactions of 1816, Hardenberg occupied himself only in applying his system of repression to the press, to the convocation and to the limited constitution of the States. At Troppau and Laybach he supported Prince Metternich's designs, and all the measures against the schools were taken in concert with Austria. ”

“ Will your majesty permit me to read to you what my spy (who, as I stated already, is a very reliable man) writes me about it?"
"Read!" exclaimed the king.
Hardenberg bowed, and, taking a paper from his memorandum-book, read as follows: "'They intend to seize the king to-night. A courier has been dispatched to the troops of Grenier's division, which, since yesterday, is encamped at a short distance from Potsdam; he conveys to the troops the order to march to the outskirts of the city, and to wait there at a carefully designated point for the arrival of a carriage. ”