Napoleon and Blücher: An Historical Novel

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Chapter II. Thb Whits Ladt

Great commotion reigned at the palace of Baireuth. Servants hurried through the brilliantlydecorated rooms, spreading out here and there an additional carpet, placing everywhere vases filled with fragrant flowers, or dustmg the finelypolished furniture. It was a great and important day for Baireuth. All felt it, and excitement and curio»ty drove the inhabitants into the streets. No one cared to stay at home, or be absent at that historic hour which was to shed upon Baireuth a ray of her ancient glory.

The nuin at whose feet the world was prostrate, t(f whom kings and princes were bowing, before whom empires trembled and thrones passed away, who had only to stretch out his hand to establish new dynasties, and whom the world admired while it hated — ^Napoleon — ^was to arrive at Bureuth. The quartermasters had arrived already early in the morning, and ordered in the name of the emperor that the rooms at the palace should be put in readiness, because he intended to reach Baireuth in the afternoon of the 14th of May, and stop overnight

The whole population seemed to be in the streets. The windows of the houses along the route of the emperor were open, crowded with the most distinguished ladies of the city ; they were dressed in thdr most beautiful toilets, and held in their hands bouquets, with which they intended to salute Napoleon. But the greatest commotion, as we have remarked, r^gned at the new palace, for tlie emperor had given express ordeitt that apartments should be prepared for him there, and not at the old palace of the Margraves of Brandenburg. Count Munster, iotend- •nt of the palaces, had, of course, compHed with these orders, and four brilliant rooms were ready for the reception of Napoleon. All the arrango* ments were completed, and the intendant, followed by the castellan, walked for the last time through the imperial rooms to satisfy himself that every thing was in good order.

*' No, nothing has been left undone," said the count, when he stepped into the bedchamber destined for'tfie emperor. "Every thing is as comfortable as it is splendid; the arrangement reflects a great deal of credit upon you, my dear Schluter, and will, doubtless, procure you a liberal reward from the emperor, who is said to be very munificent."

** I do not wish to accept any presents at the tyrant^s hands," growled the castellan, with a gloomy face ; " I do not want to stain my hands with the plunder which he brings from fordgn lands, and which is accompanied with a cursei rather than a blessing."

" You are a fool, my dear Schluter," exclaimed the count, laughing. **You see at least that curses do not incommode the emperor, for his power and authority are constantly on the in* crease. He is now going to Dresden, to see at his feet all the princes of Germany ; and he will then hasten northward, to gain new victories and humiliate the only man in the world who still dares to defy him, the Emperor Alexander of Russia."

**I know some one else who will not bow to him, and whom he will not humiliate," said the castellan, contemptuously shrug^ng his shoulders.

"Well, and who is that?" asked Count Munster, quickly.

*' It is the White Lady 1 '] exclaimed the castellan, solemnly and loudly.

Coimt Munster shuddered and glanced around in evident terror. ** For Heaven's sake, hush I " he said, hastily. '* Pray forget these foolish hallucinations, and, above all, do not venture to talk about them at the present time."

The castellan shook his head slowly. "Too ought not to talk of hallucinations, count," he sidd, solemnly. ** The White Lady is awake aitd walkiDcc, and she knows that the enemy of her

THE WHITE LADY.

AOiifle, the house of Brandenburg, will spend the comiDg night at this palace. I repeat it to your excellency, she is walking, and her eyes are filled with wrath, and there is a curse on her lips against the enemy of the Hohenzollems. I would not be surprised if she should shout to-night into the ears of the tyrant, and, by her words, awaken him from his slumber.*'

*' Gracious Heayen, Schluter, do not talk so audadouslyl" exclaimed the count, anxiously. *4f one of the attendants of the emperor overhear your words, you would perish. Napoleon is said to be somewhat superstitious ; he, who otherwise is afraid of nothing in the world, is said to be easily terrified by ghosts, and to believe in all 9orts of omens and prophecies. Ho has already heard of the White Lady of Baureuth, and therefore given express orders that apartments should be prepared for him at the new palace, and not at the old one, and rooms selected in which she was not in the habit of walking.* I hope that you have punctually carried out this order, and that these rooms are exempt £rom the visits of the apparition?'*

" Who has the power to give orders to spirits, and command them, ' So far and no farther ? ' " asked the castellan, almost scornfully. *'She goes whither she deenres, and the doors closed against her she opens by a breath. The walls disappear before her, and where you expect her least of all, there you suddenly meet her tall, majestic form in the white dress, her head covered •with a black veil, under which her large angry eyes are flashing."

*' Hush, Schluter ! " exclaimed the count, anxiously, ** I know the portrait of the White Lady, which hangs in the cabinet ac|joining the audlence^all, and it is, therefore, unnecessary for you to describe her appearance to me."

"Your excellency knows that we have two portraits of the White Lady," said the castellan, laconically.

** Yes, the one with the white dress is at the hermitage; the other, representing her in a dark

• Historioal.— Vide MinntoU, •« The White Lady," p. IT.

dress, is here at the palace. Thank Heaven I there is but one portrait of her here, and I hojie it is in the other wing of the bailding."

'* That is to say, I saw the portrait there thift afternoon, but who knows whether it is still there?"

** How so ? Who knows f " asked the count impatiently. " What do you mean ? "

** I mean, coant, that it is in fact no portrait, but only the bed in which the White Lady sleeps until it pleases her to walk, and that, while she is walking, it will certainly not be found at its place. Bid I not report to your excellency six months since that the portnut had aguo broken the nsdl and fallen ? It was an entirely new nail, count, so firm and strong, that half a regiment of French soldiers might have been hung upon it at the same time ; I had had the nail made by the blacksmith, and the mason fixed it I myself hung up the portrait, and it seemed as firm as though it had grown in the wall. But that very night a noise like a thunder-clap roUing over ifij head awakened me, and when I opened my eyes, the White Lady stood at my bedside; her right hand raised menacingly, her black veil thrown back, she stared at me with a face fiashing with anger. I uttered a cry, and shut my eyes. When I opened them again, she had disappeared. In the morning I went into the hall to look after the portrait It was gone. Where the niul had been fixed nothing but a blood-red stain was to be seen ; the nail itself; broken into small pieces, lay on the floor. The portrait had walked to the small cabinet adjoining the hall, and was quietly leaning there against the wall as though nothing had happened."

" And I told you ti) let it stand there, and nol try again to hang it up. The large painting i^ too heavy."

*^ If the large painting wanted to hang on the wall it would allow the smallest nail to hold it," said Schluter, shaking his head. *' But the Whit« Lady wishes to stand on her own feet, and no human power is able to prevent her."

** Schluter, I repeat to you, you are a dreamer," exclaimed the count, impatientiy. ** Let us speak

NAPOLEON AND BLUOHER.

DO more of the apparition. It makes one feel quite curious. Tell me now whether you ha^e really removed the portrait &r enough that it cannot be seen by the emperor ? "

** When I was an hour ago at the cabinet adr Joining the audience-hall, the portrait was still there. But who knows what may haye happened aince then ? *'

^ Well, it is a fixed idea of yours," said the count, shruggmg his shoulders. " I do not wish to hear any more of it. These rooms are finely arranged, and I have no fault to find with them. Now lock the entrance-door, and let us go out through the Gallery of Palms, by which the emperor will have to enter.*'

"Pray, your excellency, lead the way; I shall lock the door and immediately follow you," said the castellan, walking hastily throng the opened rooms.

Count Hunster slowly walked on,, thoughtfully looking down, and shuddering inwardly at the immovable superstition of the castellan, whom his reason vainly endeavored to deride.

" And still it is folly, nothing but folly," he muttered to himself, whHe opening the high halldoor, and stuping into the anteroom, to which, on account of its length and narrowness, and the fresco paintings of tropical plants on the walls, the name of the ** Gallery of Palms" bad been given.

All was silent in this gallery ; the setting sun shed its beams through the windows, covered with dark curtains, and drew trembling shining lines across the high room. The footsteps of the count resounded so loudly that he himself was firightened, and glanced anxiously around. Suddenly he started in dismay, and quickly advanced several steps. He had seen something moving at the lower end of the gallery, and it seemed to him as though he had heard approaching footsteps. Yes, he was not mistaken ; now he saw it quite distinctly t A lady approached. The sun illuminated her tall form, and shed a golden light over the white dress falling down in ample folds over her feet. She approached with slow steps, quite regardless of the count, who at first looked at her in surprise, and then tiimed with an angry face toward the castellan, wLo just then entered.

**You did not complyj then, with my orders, Schluter ? " exclaimed the count, vehemently. " I (old you expressly to keep the rooms shut until the emperor's arrival, and not to admit any one. How could you dare disobey my instructions ? "

"But, your excellency, I did obey them," answered Schluter. " Not a human being besides the footmen has been permitted to enter here, and even those I drove out two hours ago, and shut the doors."

" If that be true, how does it happen that there is a lady here in the gallery," asked Count Hunster, stretching out his arm toward the lower end of the apartment.

"A lady?" asked Sehluter, greatly amazed. ** Where is she, your excellency ? "

The count fixed bis eyes searchingly on the large arched window, in the bright light of which he had distinctly seen the lady. She was gone — ^the gallery was empty. " You forgot to shut the lower door, and while I tamed and scolded you, the lady escaped 1 " he exclaimed. He hastily rushed forward, and tried to open the door leading into the corridor: but this was locked. The count vainly shook the lock. " That is strange," he muttered, dropping his hand. " I know I paw her distinctly ; it is impossible that I could have been mistaken. Where can she be ? What has become of her ? Where has she concealed herself?"

"What becomes of the hist sigh of a dying person, your excellency," asked Schluter, solenmly. "Where does the soul conceal itself after' escaping from the body ? "

"Ah, nonsense 1" ejaculated Count Munster. " It could not have been a spectre. Why, it Is not a spectre's hour, and, besides, I certiunly saw the lady plainly ; it was a decidedly earthly figure. Her face was pale and grave, but there was nothing spectral about it She wore a black vdl thrown back from her face ; the upper part of her body was covered with—"

"A dark pelisse trimmed with fur," inter* rupted Schluter, composedly. " Below this dark

THE WHITE LADY.

peUsse protruded a white silk dress, falling to the ground in full folds.'*

**Ye8, yes, that was the costume," exclaimed the count " But how do you' know it without haying seen her ? "

^ It is the costume of the White Lady, your excellency," said Schluter, **and it was she who just walked through the gallery. Pray, count, go with me to the other wing of the palace and look at her portrait ; your excellency will then be couTinced that I tell the truth."

'*No, no, I do not wish to see it," replied Count Munster, whose cheeks turned pale, and who felt his heart frozen with terror. '* Unlock the door, Schluter I The air here is sultry and very oppressive I Quick I quick ! open the door I " The castellan obeyed, and the count rushed out into the corridor, where he opened a window and inhaled the fresh air in eager draughts.

At this moment shouts were heard at a distance, and at the same time the count's footman rughed breathlessly down the corridor. **Tour excellency, the emperor is coming. He has already passed through the gate, and the people are loudly cheering him. I have run as fast as I could, in order to inform your excellency."

**I am coming," said the count, advancing rapidly. But, having proceeded a few steps, he turned again and beckoned the castellan to his side. *' Schluter," he whispered to him, ** if you love your life, do not say a word about what has just happened here. It must remain a secret"

'^A secret!" muttered Schluter to himself gazing after the count, who hurried away. ** The White Lady will manage the affkir in such a manner that he at least will hear of the secret, and the bloodthirsty tyrant will not sleep well in the palace of the Margraves of Brandenburg." He violently closed the door and stepped out into the large staircase-hall, the doors of which opened upon the street. Uttering incoherent words of indignation in an undertone, the castelian pushed open one of the windows and looked gloomily down on the street An immense crowd were in front of the palace ; all eyes were turned to the side from which the emperor wai to approach.

Breathless with curiosity, the people waited for the arrival of the hero who had conquered nearly all the world.

'* How those fools are gapmg 1 " growled Schluter. "Idle and lazy as usual ; they like to complain and lament, but they never think of doing any thing. If only each one would take up a single stone fh>m the pavement and throw it as a greeting at the tyrant's iron head, all this distress and wretchedness would be at an end. But no one thinks of that, and I should not wonder If those fellows, instead of cursing him, should enthusiastically cheer him."

The shouts drew nearer at this moment, as the crowd rushed from the lower part of the street, their acclamations growing constantly more deafening. French lancers galloped up to keep the people back, and several carriages, preceded by a plain calash, came in view. A negro, dressed in a richly-embroidered livery, sat on the box by the side of the coachman ; two plainly-dressed gentle* men occupied the inside of the carriage.

<' That is he I " growled Schluter. *< The Evfl One brings him hither — he is his best friend Tes, that is he, and he looks pale, grave, and incensed, as though he would like to wither by a single glance the whole miserable rabble staring at him."

** That is he ! " shouted the people. " Long live Napoleon 1 Long live the emperor ! "

Napoleon gazed coldly and impassively upon the crowd, whose cheers came to him as a sound to which he had long been accustomed, and which was by no means agreeable. It was not worth while for him to smile on these inhabitants of a small dty ; a cold, quick nod was a sufficient acknowledgment " Long live Napoleon I " shouted the crowd again, when the emperor, having left the carriage, now turned again in front of the palac&gate, and gazed long and indifferently upon the spectators.

The castellan closed his window. " Ah ! '* he said, " he dares to enter this palace. The White Lady will bid him welcome, and know how to hasten the flight of this arrogant tyrant Napoleon is coming 1 Do you hear that. White Lady t

NAPOLEON AND BLUCHER.

NapQleon ia coining ! ** He burst into laughter, and, opening the door of tlie corridor, took a position at the one leading into the Gallery of Palms.

Footsteps resounded on the staircase, and vari> ous persons appeared. Generals, adjutants, and lackeys hurried in and formed on both sides, as it were, in line of battle. The emperor then entered the lower eud of the corridor; Count Kunster walked by his side in the most respectful and ■nbmisslYe manner. AH bowed their heads rererentially, but the emperor tool^ no notice of them, and slowly passed the saluting ofScers and ser^ rants.

" I hope you have punctually fulfilled my orders, count ? ^' he asked, in his sonorous Yoioe. ** This IB the new palace, is it not? "

** It is, sire. And this man will testify that no one has set foot into the imperial rooms," said Count Munster, pointing with a smile to the casteUan, who, holding his bunch of keys in his up- Biled arm, stood at the entrance of the Gallery of Palms.

**Who is it?" asked Napoleon, whose eagle eye was fixed upon Schluter.

** Sire, it is the castelUin of this pabce, a faith- All, reliable ifian, who has been on service here for more than thirty years. He has guarded and locked the rorans, and they open now only to your nugesty's orders."

"Open," ordered the emperor, with a quick wave of his hand. The castellan obeyed, and Napoleon entered. Count Hunster followed, aud the attendants crowded in after them. Advancing quickly into the middle of the gallery, the emperor stood directly in front of the arched win> dow in which Couut Munster had before seen the strange apparition.

" Tlie White Lady, then, never appears in this wing of' the palace ? " asked Napoleon, abruptly.

"No, sire — ^never," said Count Munster, solemnly. "On the whole, sire, no one here believes in the absurd old story, and I am sure no one knows of the White Lady otherwise than from hearsay."

The emperor nodded, and passed on. ^' Let us soon have supper ; you will be my guest," he said, turning on the threshold to Count Munster and dismissing the gentlemen of his suit.

The door closed. He was now a guest at the palace of the ancestors of the royal family of Prus sia, the Margraves of Brandenburg.

CHAPTER in.

NAPOLEON AND THE WHITS LADT.

The emperor had long risen from the supper-table. The imperial suite had been allowed to withdraw. Alone he sat in a comfortable night-dress on the high, antiquated easy-chair, in front of the fireplace, in which, at his express order, notwithstanding the warm weather, a large fire had been kindled. He liked heat; the sun of Egypt and the desert had never been too warm for him ; in the hottest summer days in France he frequently felt chilly, and called for a fire. It seemed as though tlie inflamed blood in his veinf made the world appear cold to him ; he saw the light of the sunbeams, but did not feel thdr warmth. He now sat close to the fire, his fiice bent over the large map that lay on the table. It was a map of Russia. He ra^ndly drew several lines across it, marking positions with the colored pins, taj^en from the small boxes beside him. ** Yes, this is my plan," he said to himself, after a long pause. "Three of my corps must be placed on the Niemen; Davoust, Oudinot, and Ney, will command them. There, farther to the left, the cavaby reserves, under Nansouty and Montbrun, will take position. Here the old guard, under Lef^bore; there the young guard, under Mortier and Bessidres, with the cavalry of the guard. At this point, farther to the south, the fourth corps, composed of the Italians and Bavarians, will operate, and the Viceroy of Italy, Eugene, will be its generaHn-chief. Farther down, here at Grodno and Bialystock, I will place the Poles, Westphalians, and Saxons ; the fifth, seventh, and eighth corps to be commanded bf

NAPOLSiON AND THE WHITS ^ADY.

my brother Jerome. The PrussiaiiB wiU halt at | Tilsit, and form the extreme left wing; Macdooald will be th^ leader; and below there, at Drochiczyn Schwartzenberg with his Austrians will form the extreme right wing. The pr^[)aratien8 are complete, and the thunder-doud is ready to burst over Russia if Alexander should persist in bis obstinacy. Like the wayes of the tempestuous ocean, my armies are rolling towfurd the shores of Russia. They can still be stopped by a suppliant word fcom Alexander. If he refiises, let his destiny be fulfilled, and let the roar of my cannon inform him that his hour has strudc, and that the ^nd of his imperial power draws nigh. It was his own will He himself has brought destruction npon his head I He — ^^

A loud noise above his head, making the walls tremble and the windows rattle, suddenly interrui^ied the stillness. The emperor rose from his seat and shouted ** Roustan ! " The door of the adjoining room opened, and the Mameluke appeared on the threshold.

"What was it? " asked Napoleon, hastily*

"Sire, it was as if a wall fell in above us; the noise was as loud as though a cannon were fired in the palace. I rushed immediately into ihe corridor, but every thing there was quiet Only the castellan of the palace appeared in the utmost haste in his night-gown, and asked whether an acddent had happened in the rooms of the emperor."

" Where is the castellaii now ? "

" Sire, when I told him that the noise was on the upper floor, he immediately went thither in order bo see what had occurred."

" Go and bring him to me^*' ordered Napoleon ; and when Roustan had withdravrn, the emperor fixed bis eyes steadfastly on the door, and his compressed lips quivered with impatienee.

Finally, the door opened again; Roustan apl^eared, followed by the castellan^ pale and trembling, behind the Mameluke, and clinging with bis hands to the door to support himfielfl

Napoleon cast upon him one of his quick g^ancea,. "What was this noise, and why do you tremble so violently f "

^* Pardon me, your majesty/' faltered Schluter, "but my terror-^the surprise-^I am afraid I have lost my senses. I have just seen something so. unheard of, so incredible, that I-^"

"What have you se^i?" asked Napoleon. " Speak 1 Whal was this noise ? "

The castellan slowly raised his head, and stared with terrified eyes at the emperor. " Your majesty," he said, solemnly, "the White Lady made the noise I "

Napoleon started,«and his brow grew doudedv " But did they not tell me that the miserable spectre never haimted this part of the palace ? 'V he asked. "Did I not issue orders that rooms should be given me where I should not be disr turbed by this apparition ? "

"Tour majesty, i^e haa hitherto never entered these rooms," exclaimed Schluter. "Never be* fore has the White Lady directed her steps hither, and this afternoon her portrait stood quietly in a cabinet of the other wing of the palace. I can take an oath that this is true."

" What portrait do yon refer to ? " asked Napoleon,, impatientiy.

"The portrait of the White Lady," s^d Schluter. *^ I saw it this very day in the cabinet on the other side; all the doors were looke<^ and now I suddenly find this large pamting in the room above you ; it was lying on the floor as if in walking it had stumbled over something and fallen. It. is the first time that the White Lady appears in this wing of the palace ; her portrait has come from the other side, and Heaven alone knows how it has happened. Whenever we wished to convey the painting, with its enormous wooden firame, from one room to another, no less than six men were required to carry it, and now ft is here as though it had flitted through the air : and it is lying on the floor as if struck down by lightning.**

" And you think the fall of the painting prod;iced the noise ? "

" I feel convinced of it. If your m%jesty wishes me to do so, I will get a few men, go up-stairs to raide the painting, and let it fall again, that youv majesty may judge whetiier it is the same neise or not."

NAPOLEON AND BLTIOHER.

** Ab, you do not feel much respect for your walking portrait,*' exclaimed the emperor, smil* ing. '* You want to abuse it, and make experiments with it. We will suppose that the fall of the painting was the sole cause of the noise. Now, that it is on the floor, I believe it will lie still and disturb us no longer, unless it be that your portrait should fall asleep and snore. What do you know about that ? ''

"Tour mtgesty," said Schluter, gravely, "the White Lady never sleeps I " •

The emperor cast a searching glance upon him, and then turned away, folded his hands, and slowly paced the room. Suddenly he stood in front of the castellan.

"What about this White Lady?*' he asked, haslJly. "Who was she, and what is her history?"

" Ah, sire, it is a long and melancholy history concerning the ancestors of the Margraves of Brandenburg," said Schluter, sighing.

" You know the history ? "

" Yes, your majesty, I know it well."

" Tell it to me, but very briefly," said Napoleon, throwing himself on the easy-chair in front of the flreplace, and ordering Roustan, by a wave of his hand and the word "Fire!" to add fresh fiieL

" Now, tell me all about it"

" Your majesty," replied Schluter, hesitatingly, " I do not know how to narrate a story in fine words, and you must pardon me if I do not acquit myself very satisfactorily."

" Who was this White Lady ? "

" Sire, her name was Cunigunda, Countess von Plassenburg. Her parents bad compelled her to marry the old Count von Plassenburg, aud when her husband died, after two years of unhappy wedded life, the Countess Cunigunda of Orlamunde and Plassenburg was a young widow, twenty-four years of age, heiress of the splendid Plassenburg, and mother of two children. She was a gay-spirited lady, and looked around for another husband. Her eyes fell on the Burgrave of Nuremberg, the distinguished nobleman Albert the Handsome. The whole German people called him so ; and all the girls, far and near, daughters of the nobility, as well as those of the citizens of Nuremberg, loved the fine-looking Burgrave of Nuremberg, who was the ancestor of the House of HohenzoUem. But the noble Count Albert loved only one young lady, beautiful Beatrice of Hainault, and would marry none but her. The Countess Cunigunda of Orlamunde, however, was not aware of this, and sent him a message, asking him whether he would not like to marry her. She would give him, besides her hand, the splendid Plassenburg and all her other property. Burgrave Albert the Handsome smiled when he heard the message ; shrugging his shoulders, he said : * Tell your countess I regard her as very amiable, and should like to marry her, provided four eyes were not in existence. But as it is, I cannot do so.' The burgrave referred to the eyes of his parents, who did not like the Countess of Orlamunde, and he wished to make them responsible for his refusal, so as not to offend the beautiful widow. But Cunigunda interpreted the words differently, and thought the four eyes, which the Burgrave said were in the way of their marriage, were those of her two children. She loved the handsome Burgrave so intensely, that she henceforth hated the children, because she believed them to be the sole obstacles to her marriage. The Evil One and her passion whispered into her ear, * Qo and kill your children.' So Cunigunda rose from her couch; in a long white night-dress, her head covered with a black veil, she crept to the bed of her children, and, drawing from her. raven hair a long golden pin, set with precious stones (a gift which she had once received at the hands of Burgrave Albert), she pierced the heads of her children, penetrating the brain to the vertebra."