Marquis de Sade

“ Anyway, my beloved is on the throne, at least he is in safety."
"Milady, why don't we go to Dresden to be near your father?"
"That would be dangerous and might hurt the Marquis of Thuringia and it might cost me my life, since the prince could easily send his henchmen to Dresden to murder me. Not that my life means much to me; Heaven is my witness that all I want is to live long enough to see the one I love once again. But in this moment, believe me, Bathilda, our surest plan is to leave Saxony until the storm is over. We will come back when things are more propitious." ”

“ Moreover, my friend," continued the prince, "I confess that what struck me most is that tower on which one read: 'She is here!' Ah, Count, it is of Adelaide that the mirror spoke. She has, without doubt, left one prison only to enter another. Let's hasten to look for her, and may Saxony not see us again until we bring her back."
"But what road should we take?" asked Mersburg. Besides, this tower which frightens you so much no longer has her since you have seen two people leave it, supposing that she was one of the two. It would seem that she is now free." ”

“ Frederick was not long in calling Mersburg to him.
"My friend," he said to him, "my resolutions are going to surprise you. I can no longer exist without my wife. I want to find her and see her again, no matter what it may cost me. Prepare yourself to follow me, my dear count. I am going to travel over my states, Germany, all of Europe if it is necessary. I don't want to reappear in my court until I have righted the wrong which I have done. Perhaps we will find her and I am sure that my love will help me in my search. You only have to want a thing very much to get it. ”

“ Mersburg then told Adelaide the contents of the will. "I reign if I lose my husband by the hands of Thuringia! Or I lose my lover by the hands of my husband! I couldn't do it!"
"Reasons of state force you to do it. The prince wishes, if he dies, that you marry the man whom you judge to be the most capable to govern his people and consequently the most worthy of you. If any consideration prevents you from choosing the marquis, Milady, you are free to choose any other man you wish." ”

“ Not a soul here in Frankfort really knows her. Her companion, Bathilda, seems to be in possession of her secret; it will be necessary to kidnap both of them. One will serve to tell me something about the other. Who could resist a man like me? What is the good of having authority if one doesn't use it to serve his passions?"
Full of these ideas in an age when the arts had not yet enlightened men, and not possessing the sense of justice which should influence those who govern, the margrave made his preparations to seize the princess and her companion. ”

“ Have you noticed the coolness which I show her and that Bathilda, the companion of her misconduct and whom she honors with her confidence?"
"We should not be so uneasy on the subject of your wife, Sire, perhaps we were mistaken in her conduct."
"No, Mersburg, no. Her coolness and impassiveness the day of our first interview have sufficiently enlightened me. She lowered her eyes and did not dare answer. She is guilty, I tell you, and I do not know if I am doing the right thing in keeping her beside me on the throne. She will finally dishonor me. ”

“ It was at this moment that Mersburg chose to paint to Adelaide the intoxication into which this superb act had plunged the Marquis of Thuringia.
"Your friend and relative, Milady, is very anxious to show you the gratitude he feels for the great service which you have rendered to the country. He said to me that when one knows how to reign with so much nobility, why doesn't one know whom to love? One should not make all hearts burst into flame when one does not wish to listen to any of them." ”

“ Mersburg opposed this project immediately.
"You have no idea whatsoever about whether this is your wife or not."
"No, I admit, I have only a suspicion."
"In that case, what can you accomplish with the margrave? You will only dishonor her and yourself by your suspicions."
"No, at least I will calm myself. Let's go to Baden and find out all we can. It may be that we can find the thread which will lead us to her."
"That is a possibility, but I think that it will be a useless trip."
Nothing could calm the jealousy of Frederick and all through the trip to Baden, he was raging in his heart. ”

“ Adelaide had a lot of pride, but the high station of Mersburg put her at ease, and she let him see that this happiness was not so real as he imagined.
"Frederick has his qualities," she said to the count, "but they are those of an ordinary individual. I don't see in him that elevation which should characterize the soul of a prince. There are virtues which are suitable to all stations in life; those of the throne are not those of the common man, and it might be said that those of the common man are the wrong kind for the man who must rule. ”

“ Everybody knew that the count had frequent interviews with his master, but as nothing happened, it was impossible to form any kind of conjecture. The delays of a second interview were beginning to make Thuringia uneasy when one day Mersburg came to reassure him.
"Tomorrow, in the same place where you have already seen each other," he said to the marquis, "the princess will wait for you at sunset. Be exactly on time and do not fear anything. ”

“ Frederick was greatly upset to lose sight of the woman he believed to be Adelaide and at the same time his jealousy was stimulated at the thought that all these men were so much impressed by her that they followed her around.
"My friend," he said to Mersburg, "do you believe there is a more curious situation in the world?"
"I don't see it as such," said Mersburg with the greatest sangfroid. "This woman is not Adelaide. Let's question these people and we will see if I am mistaken." ”

“ No, the scrolls of immortality are engraved with the names of laurel-crowned heroes."
"These sentiments are worthy of your soul," said Mersburg. "They stimulate all those to whom they are addressed; and if the illustrious sons of a blood as noble as yours are inflamed like you, Saxony would soon have no more oppressor to dread; such sons would throw off the shackles of slavery and would rule in place of the tyrants."
"If they have the apathy of Frederick, could the burning blood of Adelaide circulate in their veins? No, Mersburg, this was not the husband that I needed." ”

“ What would happen if Frederick found her? Would this angered husband forgive her or would he take his vengeance? But on the other hand, no matter what action he took, he ran the risk of never seeing Adelaide again. All of this was running through Thuringia's mind as he resisted the efforts of the prince to make him regent during his absence. He did not dare hold out too long, however, because the prince would begin to become suspicious about his motives. By the next day all the details had been settled, and the prince and Mersburg set out for Dresden. ”

“ Did he think I was without feeling, that I could help falling in love with so much beauty?"
"Certainly," interrupted the Count von Mersburg, "any misfortune which comes from this imprudence on his part should fall on him alone and you should be excused for any feelings which his acts have brought."
"No matter how much he is to blame, nothing will make me break the law of honor. That law is engraved in the soul of any true Saxon and he would never break it. Our ancestors defied Charlemagne when he wanted us to break that law, and as you know, we preferred his daggers to his promises. ”

“ Mersburg said when they had heard all that. "There would be no point in going to see the margrave since he does not know any more than you do. He knows that he has lost a woman whom he loved, but he does not know who that woman was, and he will certainly not reveal how much she meant to him nor how far he went with her."
"That is right," said Frederick, "but the trace is not as lost as you think. We know that Dourlach, arrested by the brigand Krimpser, has known the beautiful Saxon woman. We may be able to get some information from the bandit." ”

“ Who can assure me that the prince will not come suddenly to this chateau? If he wants to come, can Mersburg keep him from visiting his chateau? You cannot imagine how imperious Frederick is, his slightest wish is law, and if he decided to come here we are lost. I have made up my mind, Bathilda, I want to leave this chateau; I don't feel in safety. While I believe in Mersburg, I cannot stay in his chateau without terror, and I believe that the only delay we will give to our departure is that needed to make the necessary preparations. ”

“ That ferocious man, to whom a crime means nothing, proved to us that the most uncontrolled passions can be tempered by generosity."
"Ah," said Bathilda, "if he had only extended this feeling to Dourlach by giving him his freedom!"
"I am very sad over his refusal," said the princess, "but Krimpser, in promising me his life, leaves him the hope of coming to Thuringia where he can see me and where I will be able to reward him for the services which he has given me." ”

“ As they walked she was reviewing in her mind the chain of events leading to her present predicament. Suddenly she noticed a man who was looking at her with the greatest interest. She hesitated, then went forward joyfully to meet him.
"Ah, sir," she said eagerly, "is it really you? Aren't you Burdorf, the representative of my father, the Duke of Brunswick? Heaven has sent you to help me when I needed you most."
"Yes, Milady, it is I," answered Burdorf, "but permit me to ask you why I have the honor of seeing the illustrious Princess of Saxony dressed as a private citizen? ”

“ If you are not in a hurry to prepare a place for your mortal remains, I shall let them be devoured by the crows, or I will make of them the nourishment of the fish in the pond."
"This is of little importance for us," said Adelaide. "We don't care what becomes of our bodies when they are no longer animated with the principle which inspires them today. What is sure is that this principle will always be imprinted with the hatred which it owes to its tyrants."
"It is not the wife of Frederick who should reproach those who punish the tyrannies of her husband."
"Frederick was never a tyrant. ”

“ He knew that Frederick had undertaken his trip to find Adelaide and would make her extremely unhappy if he ever found her. In spite of all this, he devoted himself to the people in an effort to bring about happiness to others, even if he could not have it himself.
The prince, after having spent some time in Hamburg, made up his mind to visit Holland. In the company of Mersburg, he was beginning to know men as he had never known them before while he was on the throne. ”

“ If Sade had lived in modern times, he might have been as famous as André Gide, the Nobel Prize winner, or Oscar Wilde, the great English writer, who have both been as outspoken on the subject of perversion in our time as the marquis was in the eighteenth century. ”

“ “Is it true that when you were in Petersburg you belonged to a secret society for practising beastly sensuality? Is it true that you could give lessons to the Marquis de Sade? ”

“ In ways which Bluebeard had but outlined, the Marquis de Sade, lineal descendant of Petrarch’s Laura, mingled kisses with blood. Into [Pg 249] affection he put fright, into love he struck terror, he set the infernal in the divine. ”

“ They entered a small room in the middle of which was a large mirror. Next to it was a table which held three or four large books.
"Gentlemen," said the master of the apartment turning towards those whom he had brought there, "you are in the home of the greatest necromancer in Europe, and if this gentleman," he continued, pointing out Frederick, "wishes to know things, I can make him see in this mirror all the events which will come to him for the rest of his days."
"We are at the home of a crazy man," said Mersburg to the prince. ”

“ It seems to me that the facts show more than ever how innocent your wife is."
"I believe it as you do."
"How terrible your remorse must be at this moment."
"Yes, my friend," said Frederick sinking into a chair. "It is frightful. How I would like to bring the unfortunate Kaunitz back to life."
"There is no use devoting your wishes to something which cannot be changed," said Thuringia, "rather think of repairing the damage done to the best and the most innocent of women." "Mersburg is trying to remedy the situation." ”

“ Mersburg went to find Thuringia who was much less alarmed about the turn of events than the prince had been. He reasoned that at least this kept her from returning to her husband where he thought she was in great danger. He would have wished, however, that it was Mersburg who had arranged the escape in order that he might have sent her to a place which she could have chosen. On second thought, he was happy that the princess could choose the place of her hiding and that she would let him know later where she was. Love always finds reasons for consolation when it should be the most alarmed. ”

“ In the year 1774-1775, Sade, tiring of this continual state of worry, decided to have a little entertainment at the chateau. Madame de Sade was in Paris and the marquis engaged young women to be his servants. ”