Rosenberg

“ The emperor, who had been walking fast, suddenly stopped, and gazed with rapture upon the scene.
"See, Rosenberg," said he, "see how beautiful Germany is to-day! As beautiful as a laughing youth upon whose brow is stamped the future hero."
"Your majesty will transform the boy into a hero," said Rosenberg.
The emperor frowned. "Let us forget for a moment the mummery of royalty," said he. "You know, moreover, that royalty has brought me nothing but misery. Instead of reigning over others, I am continually passing under the Caudine Forks of another's despotic will." ”

“ Hamilton is not so unbiassed an arbitrator as you suppose,” observed Hildegarde, looking up steadily while she leaned on the table.
Madame Rosenberg looked from one to the other with a puzzled air, until Hildegarde added: “He will find it difficult not to lean to your side, and take your part, even if he wished to be just, because he dislikes me personally.”
“Another argument against you, Hildegarde!” cried Madame Rosenberg, triumphantly. “Why should he dislike you more than another, if you were not less amiable? Your own words condemn you!” ”

“ I mean to be a blessing to the virtuous, and a terror to the vicious."
"Unhappily, there is more evil than good in this world," said Count Rosenberg, sighing, "and a man, though he can seldom count his friends, is never at a loss to count his enemies."
"I do not understand you," said Joseph, smiling. "I intend to draw out the fangs of the wicked, so that they shall have power to injure no one."
"Your majesty will do this if time be granted you," said the count.
"If—"
"What do you mean?" cried the emperor, impatiently, as Rosenberg hesitated. "Speak on. What do you fear?" ”

“ What France has accomplished, Germany, too, can compass."
The emperor placed his hand affectionately upon Rosenberg's shoulder. "You have read my heart, friend," said he, smiling. "Do you know what wild wishes are surging within me now? wishes which Frederick of Prussia would condemn as unlawful, although it was quite righteous for him to rob Austria of Silesia. I, too, have my Silesia, and, by the Lord above me! my title-deeds are not as mouldy as his!"
"Only that your Silesia is called Bavaria," said Rosenberg, with a significant smile. ”

“ What may I claim?” asked Hamilton, quickly.
No one seemed disposed to explain, until at length Madame Rosenberg replied, laughing, “Neither more nor less than a kiss, which is a sort of old privilege allowed a gentleman if he drive a lady in a sledge! Now I know that from me you will not claim it, because I am neither young nor pretty—nor from Hildegarde, because you don’t like her well enough—nor from Crescenz, because she is betrothed. ”

“ Have you observed, Rosenberg, how they have soiled its majesty? Have you noticed the pretensions of these manikins whose domains we can span with our hands? Is it not pitiable that each one in his principality is equal in power to the Emperor of Austria!"
"Yes, indeed," said Rosenberg with a sigh, "Germany swarms with little princes!"
"Too many little princes," echoed Joseph, "and therefore their lord and emperor is curtailed by so much of his own lawful rights, and Germany is an empty name among nations! If the Germans were capable of an enlightened patriotism ”

“ I feel that your friendship will be mine until the day of my death!"
"Your majesty is the youngest of us three," said Lacy, "and you speak as if we would outlive you."
"Age is not reckoned by years," replied the emperor, wearily, "but by wounds; and if I count the sears that disappointment has left upon my heart, you will find that I have lived longer than either of you. Promise, then, to be with me to the last, and to close my eyes for me."
"Your wife and children will do that for you, sire," said Rosenberg. ”

“ Thank Heaven, we are no longer under the necessity of parading our rank about the world! I cannot express to you the joy I feel at the prospect of going about unnoticed, like any other man."
"That joy will be denied your majesty," said Rosenberg, with a slight inclination. "The Emperor Joseph can never go unnoticed, like ordinary men."
"Do not hope it, your majesty!" cried Coronini. "Your majesty's rank is stamped upon your brow, and you cannot hide it." ”

“ A fine of six kreutzers for every time the word is said.”
“Oh, as to not saying the word ‘cholera,’” began his wife.
“A fine, a fine,” cried Mr. Rosenberg; “the money shall be put into a box and given to the poor.”
“Oh, dear,” exclaimed Crescenz, “I must take great care, or all my pocket-money will be spent on the cho——”
Hildegarde’s hand was on her mouth before the word was pronounced. The little boys clapped their hands, Hamilton laughed, and Mr. Rosenberg said he was sure that his wife and Crescenz would prove themselves the most charitable by their contributions. ”

“ Rosenberg’s room, Hamilton found Hildegarde standing beside his bed, while Madame Rosenberg was walking up and down the room, gesticulating like a person in a state of mental derangement.
“Oh, Mr. Hamilton,” she exclaimed, the moment she perceived him, “tell me, only tell me that Franz has not got the cholera, and I shall be grateful as long as I live! It would be too hard were he to have it now, when people say there is nothing more to fear. Last week, only one man—quite a decrepit old man, died of it? I am sure Franz has only eaten too much supper yesterday evening. ”

“ Rosenberg, turning to Raimund.
“Not at all,” he replied, carelessly glancing towards the house, “I am sure they are commonplace, for a more matter-of-fact person does not exist than Marie de Hoffmann.”
“So,” cried Zedwitz, “it is really true that you are going to be married! I am glad to hear it, and congratulate you with all my heart.”
“Thank you,” said Raimund musingly, while he turned from Zedwitz to Hamilton, and then to Hildegarde, as if they, and not Mademoiselle de Hoffmann, occupied his thoughts. ”

“ The emperor hastened in the direction of his carriage. "Quick, Gunther, hand me the camp-chest."
"But your majesty has not eaten a morsel to-day," urged Rosenberg, following him. "I cannot consent to see the food prepared for you, bestowed upon any one. You will lose your health if you fast for such a length of time. You owe it to your mother, the empress, and to your subjects, not to deprive yourself of food." ”

“ Could he prevent the life-long unhappiness of some unfortunate man, by exerting his own will, his own wealth to get the siren into his power?
He marked the arrival of Gerald Rosenberg. His faculties, sharpened to the point of brilliance by his own keen personal hatred, discerned the situation between the two young people. Upon the upshot of it depended all his own plans. If Gerald hesitated—if he took time for reflection—then Gaunt would have a chance to carry out a scheme of retribution more complete than anything of which he had yet dreamed. ”

“ Why is England so powerful? Because Scotland and Ireland have lost their identity in hers. Sweden and Norway, are they not, or rather ought they not to be, one? And Russia, how many different races own the sway of the mighty Czar? My empire, too, shall become strong through unity, and I shall be not only emperor of Austria, but, in very deed and truth, emperor of all Germany!"
Rosenberg shook his head, and sighed. "Ah, your majesty," said he, "you are so young that you believe in the realization of mortal dreams." ”

“ The Empress of Russia has consented to give him her adopted daughter in marriage, and I trust that Francis may be happier in wedlock than his unfortunate uncle. My heart is no longer susceptible of love."
"And yet it beats with such yearning love toward mankind!" exclaimed
Rosenberg.
"Yes—my heart belongs to my people, and there is nothing left of it for woman. For my subjects alone I shall live. Their souls shall be free from the shackles of the church, and they shall no longer be led like children by the hands of priests or prelates! ”

“ There was a joyous and noisy rush down the passage, while Madame Rosenberg, turning to Hamilton, observed: “A very good girl is Crescenz. She shall not be a loser for liking my boys, that is certain.”
Madame Rosenberg was herself always the last to appear; she generally dressed her children, and had a long consultation with her cook before she went out. Hamilton found the rest of the party, with the exception of Hildegarde, assembled in the drawing-room, and it was not long before he observed that Crescenz was making him the most unaccountable signs and grimaces. ”

“ And now that my reign begins, I exact of you both a proof of your loyalty."
"Speak, sire," said Lacy, with a bright and affectionate smile.
"Put me to the test," cried Rosenberg, "and I shall not flinch."
The emperor laid his hands upon the shoulders of his friends, and looked at them with unmistakable affection. "Happy is the man who possesses two such friends. But hear what I exact of you. I stand upon the threshold of a new order of things. I am at last an emperor, free to carry out the designs which for so many long years I have been forced to stifle in my sorrowing heart. ”

“ While the emperor flew from group to group, resuscitating his expiring subjects, Lacy and Rosenberg were carefully cutting up the fowl that had been roasted for his dinner. A deep silence reigned around, all nature seemed to be at peace, and over the reclining sufferers the evening sun threw long rays of rosy light, that illumined their pallid faces with the hue of hope and returning life. ”

“ Rosenberg, your sorely tried friend,
Virginia Mynors.
The dark colour deepened upon Gerald's face as he read this letter. He laid it down with a gesture of distaste, and made no audible comment.
His father, looking sympathetically at him, tapped the paper with his broad finger-tips. "Gerald," he said, "that woman is a humbug, through and through. It is the letter of a cadger. Look at it—written on paper that cost exactly ten times what her note-paper ought to cost. Little things like that tell one a lot. No doubt everything else is on the same scale. ”

“ Rosenberg, lifting to him the eyes that even he found a difficulty in resisting, and cried impulsively:
"Do you mean that Gerald is gone—that I shall not see him again before I leave?"
"Why, if you are leaving in course of the next few days, I fear not," said the hypocrite. "He was not pleased, as you may imagine. But business is sometimes urgent, you know. Had he not gone, I must have done so myself: and he thought a night journey to Liverpool rather much to expect from a man of my age who had a son to send. Eh?"
"Of course," murmured Virginia. "But it is a pity! ”

“ Monsieur de Sartines, doubtless, thinks that I need as much watching as a house-breaker, for it is presumed at court that I have come to steal the whole country, and carry it to Austria in my pocket."
"They know that to Count Falkenstein nothing is impossible." replied Rosenberg. "To carry away France would not be a very hard matter to a man who has robbed the French people of their hearts."
"Ah, bah! the French people have no hearts. They have nothing but imagination. ”

“ Madame Rosenberg had been occupied with little Peppy—she was arranging the broken harness of a wooden carthorse, which had been dragged somewhat roughly round the room. She now looked up, and observed in a low voice, and with a sort of expressive wink at Major Stultz, “Mr. Hamilton, being an Englishman, knows nothing about sledging rights. Keep your own counsel, and he will never think of claiming it.”
“He may claim it from whoever he pleases,” cried Major Stultz, bluntly; “but not from my Crescenz, that’s all.” ”

“ One cold fine morning, as he was leaving the house to keep an appointment with Zedwitz, he perceived her standing with Crescenz and her father at the passage-window looking into the court. They were dressed in deep mourning, and held in their hands large wreaths of ivy, interspersed with clusters of red berries; they contemplated them with evident satisfaction, while their father spoke so earnestly that Hamilton’s approach was at first unperceived, and he heard Mr. Rosenberg say, “You can easily imagine why I prefer going alone, and at some other time. ”

“ Suddenly a man with gold circlets in his ears and holding a soft felt hat in his hands stood up in the body of the court, and addressing himself directly to the magistrate, said in a voice which all there could hear "Pardonnez moi, s'il vous plaît, monsieur, but I--Jules Picot--and not the prisoner at the bar, am the man who killed Otto von Rosenberg." ”

“ Not for all the world would I take such a responsibility upon myself!” cried Madame Rosenberg, with a look of amazement; “Lina, too, so giddy and thoughtless, and the Doctor never at home! It would never do, I see. But who would have imagined that you would think of such a thing at your age!”
“I am just at the age to act more from impulse than reason, and I consider you too much my friend not to speak candidly to you. If Major Stultz were not so insufferably jealous, you could make me over to Crescenz—my regard for her is really of the most blameless description, and will never be otherwise.” ”

“ Like every generous and ambitious youth, Rosenberg wished his own generation to do glorious things, and wished to belong to it as a comrade. Whether he would have emerged and found himself as a painter is a doubtful conjecture. I think it possible that he would have abandoned painting. For his true vocation was poetry, and he thought of himself as a poet rather than as a painter. ”