CHAPTER II.
When I opened my eyes, Ludwig stood at my bedside and said, "You have slept well, father, and it is well that you did. You will need all your strength to-day; for to-day it will be--Good-morning, Germany."
I cannot describe how my son's presence helped to strengthen me. I felt that, with his power added to mine, I was doubly prepared for all that might happen.
There is nothing more encouraging, in troubled times, than to have a faithful friend at one's side,--a truth which was proved to me on that day and many a time since.
I could not help recounting my strange dream, and when I added that it gave me incomparable joy to think that the day had at last arrived in which one might say the hearts of all Germans throbbed in unison, Ludwig begged me not to talk so much. He said that he could sympathize with me, and feel what a satisfaction it must be to me, after having fought and suffered for fifty years, at last to witness the fruition of my hopes, even though the price paid be war and bloodshed.
He was indeed right. He responded to all my feelings; I may indeed say that he anticipated them.
When I reached the street, the throng was such that it seemed as if all the houses had been emptied of their inhabitants. Here and there, were groups talking aloud, and before the printing-office of the principal newspaper, it was almost impossible to work one's way through the crowd.
It was there that I met an old friend, the incorruptible Mölder. In 1866 he had resigned a high position under the state, in order, thenceforth, to devote himself to his Fatherland, and, above all, to the cause of German unity.
"It is well that I meet you," he said; "we have war now, and have stolen a march on the French. Here, in the capital, the majority of the citizens are on our side, but in the country, as you well know, the so-called popular party is to a certain extent in the majority. The common people are not so willing to follow our advice, for they are in the hands of the clergy and the demagogues, who, for a little while longer, will travel together on the same road. For this reason, we have issued the call for a mass meeting at the Turners' Hall for this evening."
"Would it not be best for us delegates to hold aloof from it?" I inquired.
"No; it is too late for that. You will have to speak there, and so will your son from America. We did not care to arouse you so late last night, and I have, therefore, on my own responsibility, signed your name to the call. But look!"
I saw crowds standing at the street corners, and reading a large placard, calling on all whose hearts beat with love of Germany to meet together--and I really found my name at the foot of it.
I could not object; our actions were no longer at our own disposal.
Excited crowds filled the streets during the whole day. The whole population seemed like one restless being in anxious suspense. It was said that the telegraph wires had been connected with the palace, and as the people knew nothing of this before, the information caused great surprise. The afternoon paper brought the official news that they had wanted the King of Prussia to address the French Emperor in an humble letter, in which he was particularly forbidden to refer to the relationship existing between the French Emperor and the Prince of Hohenzollern, who had been elected King of Spain--a pleasant preparation for what was to ensue in the evening.
I did not see the Colonel during the whole day, but his friend, Professor Rolunt, hunted me up; and, from the manner in which he spoke of our project, it seemed to me that my son-in-law approved of it, and that the popular movement about to be set on foot, was not looked upon with disfavor by the government. Moreover, the Professor had become very cautious, and was known to stand well with government circles. He was believed to be an anonymous contributor to the official organ.
In the evening, we repaired to the place of meeting.
Mölder arrived, and with pale and trembling lips, told us:
"It is rumored that the friends of the French will attempt to break up the meeting. But I have called on the Turners. They are all on our side, and your son stands as well with them as he once did."
The proceedings began.
Mölder was the first speaker. I have never seen any one more excited than he was. His lips trembled, and he held fast to the rail with a convulsive grasp, while he began:
"We do not desire to become Prussians; but we wish to be Germans, as we must and shall be. Is there one among you who would dare to utter the accursed words, 'Rather French than Prussian!' If there be one who dares to think it, let him dare to say it."
He paused for a while, and then exclaimed:
"Is there such a one among you? Answer me! Yes or no!"
"No!" resounded from a thousand throats, and he responded with joyous voice, "Then we are all friends." He then concluded his address, eloquently maintaining that to attempt to remain neutral were both treachery and folly.
A young advocate who had been defeated in the recent elections, by one of the clerical party, followed. He spoke with that studied eloquence which talks glibly and in nicely rounded phrases. He concluded by demanding that the whole meeting should proceed to the palace and request the Prince to discharge his hesitating ministry; or, at all events, the one minister who seemed to be unpatriotically inclined.
Enthusiastic and joyous shouts of approval were showered upon him.
I saw the danger that threatened, and asked for the floor.
"There has been enough talking; it is time now for deeds!" cried a voice in the assembly, and it seemed as if the crowd were already on the move.
My heart stood still. We were no longer masters of our own actions.
Then Ludwig cried out, in a voice so powerful that the very walls seemed to tremble, "If you are men, listen! My father wishes to speak."
"Hurrah for the King of the Turners! Let old Waldfried speak! Silence! Order! Let old Waldfried speak!"
It was a long while before the shouting and the cheering ceased, and I think I spoke the right word at the right time.
I had a right to refer to my past, and to explain to them that it would only create disturbance and confusion to adopt such violent measures before anything had really been decided upon. If I were the Prince, I would not yield to their wishes until the voice of the representatives of the people had been heard.
The temper of the meeting changed, and I received many signs of approval.
When I had finished, there were shouts of, "We want to hear the King of the Turners speak!"
Ludwig mounted the rostrum; but so great was the applause, that it was several minutes before he could speak.
At last he began, in a cheerful tone, saying that we Germans were still full of the haughty arrogance of youth, and that this very meeting was a proof of it.
Then, with words that carried conviction to all who listened, he told them how the events of the last year had been a blessing to the emigrants in America; a blessing, indeed, which could not thoroughly be appreciated by those who were yet at home. The German had been respected, if he could call himself a Prussian; but now the time had come when the word German must be an honored name. And if, as some maintained, the South Germans are the real Germans, let them prove it.
If the Prussians are not yet Germans, they shall, and must, and will become so. They delivered us from the real Napoleon; they will also be able to free us from the counterfeit one. The first was not made of gold, but this one is mere pinchbeck.
"I have fought against negro slavery; now the battle is against the slavery that French ambition would submit us to."
While Ludwig was speaking, the chairman handed me a little slip of paper, on which were written the words, "Your son knows how to allow the heated steed to cool off before tying him."
Ludwig could, indeed, direct the mood of the meeting at will.
To the great amusement of his audience, he said that he had the rare good fortune of having been born near the boundary line, and that, consequently, the first object he had become sensible of, were the two brightly painted posts which stood side by side on the road; and that, while yet a child, he had often looked up to the trees in the woods, to see whether they knew to which of the posts they belonged.
"And when I returned, the abject life that we had been leading was again brought to my mind. On the one side marked by the bright post, all is Catholic, and on the other side all is Protestant, because in those times the people were obliged to accept their so-called religion from their masters.
"Allow me to take a comparison from my own trade. It requires many strong posts to make the scaffolding of a building. The departed martyrs for German unity were the scaffolding. It has been torn down, and now we behold the building, pure and simple, firmly and regularly built, and appropriately adorned.
"Or another simile: Have you ever observed a raft in the valley stream? It floats along slowly and lazily, but when it reaches the weir it hurries; and then is the time to find out whether the withes are strong and hold the planks firmly together.
"The German logs must now pass through the weir. There is a cracking and a straining, but they hold fast to each other, and right merrily do they float down into the Rhine and out into the ocean.
"The bells in the neighboring state have a different tone from ours; but if the two are in accord, the effect is so much the more beautiful. And from this moment let all bells chime in harmony."
Ludwig had the rare faculty of introducing apt illustrations while his audience was all aglow with enthusiasm, and thus kept the meeting in the best of humor and ready to agree with him when he concluded by saying: "We have been patient so long--for more than half a century: indeed, ever since the battle of Leipzig--that we can well afford to be patient for a few days, perhaps only a few hours longer."
The meeting which had been so excited closed with singing. It was on that evening that I heard "Die Wacht am Rhein," for the first time. It must, before that, have been slumbering on every lip, and had now at last awakened.
The young advocate who had proposed the immediate removal of the minister, whispered to me, "I thank you for having defeated my motion."
I looked at him with surprise, and he continued: "I do, indeed, thank you. The only object was to show the friends of the French that even though it might require extreme measures, no demand that liberalism could make would surprise us."
That sort of worldly wisdom was not to my taste.
The chairman then put the following resolution to a vote:
That we would remain true to the articles of confederation and to the German cause, with all our means and at every sacrifice.
They shouted their approval with one voice; and now he closed the meeting with a few cheerful remarks, announcing that we would adjourn to the garden, where the beer was very good, and where there would be no more speeches except the clinking of the mugs.