CHAPTER XXVII.
Many changes took place at the Court in Dresden. Cosel was avenged without putting her hand to it. Her foes disappeared one after another.
Amid the ruins King Augustus the Strong was always standing magnificent, throwing away gold, seeking pleasures, but not being able to find them.
The Countess Marie Denhoff, being afraid that she might meet the fate of Cosel, thought it would be wise to marry, and the King did not oppose it. The King enjoyed himself the best in Leipzig fairs, and preferred short amours to those which would fetter him for a long time. The beautiful and statuesque Sophie Dieskau claimed him for a while; but the King found her cold as an icicle, and he married her to Herr von Loss. After that he was in love for a while with Henriette Osterhausen. These temporary love intrigues were followed by the reign of Anna Orzelska, the daughter of Henriette Duval.
The King seemed to become younger at his beautiful daughter's side, who, clad in a uniform embroidered with gold, accompanied him to military reviews, man[oe]uvres, and hunting.
The King was always eager for distractions, and the arrival of Anna Orzelska furnished him with an opportunity for the display of still greater splendour.
Amid different pleasures furnished by the King's fancy, there were moments when Augustus thought that he was a military genius, and wanted military parades.
In 1727 the King was spending the spring in Pillnitz, where the troops were camping. They tried new cannons which were able to break the rock on which Königstein was built.
"I know some rocks," said Count Wackerbarth to the King, "which would resist those cannons."
"Where?" asked Augustus.
Wackerbarth looked at the King, and it seemed as if he were sorry for what he had said.
"Where?" repeated the King.
"At Stolpen; the basalt rocks would resist."
"In Stolpen!" exclaimed Augustus, and he was gloomy.
There was a moment of silence. The King walked to and fro impatiently; it was evident that he was tormented by some fancy which he did not want to satisfy.
"In Stolpen!" repeated he. "One could try the cannon on those rocks."
The general looked timidly at the King, who, as if he were pricked by that look, exclaimed,--
"Why should we not try the balls on the basalt rocks? We cannot destroy the castle, and a few shots--"
Wackerbarth was silent, and waited for orders, still not believing that Augustus wanted to show that he was superior to the childish consideration.
"Send two cannons to Stolpen," said he, "and give orders for them to be trained on the rock. To-morrow I will see the trial personally. Yes, to-morrow morning very early, for it is warm already towards noon."
He turned and went off.
Orders of the King were always executed, notwithstanding all difficulties. The cannons were sent to Stolpen during the night. Zaklika was sleeping in his solitary house, when, about midnight, he was awakened by a great noise and shouting of impertinent soldiers. He thought that Saxony was being invaded by the Prussians, but soon he recognized the Saxons by the exclamation, "Herr Jesus!" repeated continually. Then he went out and asked the officer what had happened--why such haste.
"The King," shouted the officer, "will be here this morning."
"The King! In Stolpen?"
"Yes, yes; he will try cannons against the basalt rocks."
"Where?" cried Zaklika, amazed.
"Here, at the rocks on which the castle stands," said the officer.
The conversation was interrupted. Zaklika could not believe his own ears. The King was going to fire at the castle in which he had imprisoned that unfortunate woman! The King in Stolpen! His hair stood on end to think what suffering it would cause the Countess. He wanted to rush and tell her, to give her courage to bear such a trial bravely.
"It cannot be!" repeated he to himself. "At the last moment the King will be ashamed, and will not come! It could not be!"
The dawn was breaking when Zaklika left his house and rushed to the castle, where everybody was awake. The news that the King was coming electrified the soldiers and officers. In the town and villages soldiers were urging the population to make the emplacements. Crying, shouting, and loud commands were heard all around.
One of the batteries they had already begun to build in the park near Röhrpforte, the other at Hanewald.
When Zaklika arrived at the castle he found the gates already open. They were sweeping and cleaning; the commandant was hoarse with shouting; the officers did not know what to do. Round the St. John's Tower the Countess's servants stood half-dressed, for they thought it was an alarm of fire. They asked each other questions as to what they should do. At the open window was Cosel. She was pale and trembling. Zaklika rushed up the stairs.
She met him at the door with the exclamation,--
"The King is coming to me!"
"Not to you," interrupted Zaklika, "he comes to try his cannon balls on the rocks."
Cosel laughed.
"You are a simpleton!" cried she. "I have dreamed of him for a week. My spirit hovered over him and attracted him. He was searching for a pretext; he wishes to see me. He knows that I love him, that I shall forgive him. He is free; he wishes to marry me as he promised. I wish to be beautiful! I want to remind him of that Anna before whom he used to kneel. The King!" exclaimed she in ecstasy, "my king! my lord!"
"Call the servants," added she. "Tell them to take out my dresses!"
Zaklika rushed out and called the servants, then sat on the stairs, silent, full of grief, half-dead, unable to move.
The day was bright. They counted minutes and seconds. Merciless soldiers slashed at the peasants, urging them to work; the batteries were rising before their eyes. It was a most charming May morning. The scented trees were sprinkled with dew; all nature, like a baby in the cradle, was awake smiling. Amid the quietude of nature, everything in the castle was noisy, moving, seething like a bee hive.
The soldiers dressed in their best uniforms; the officers in new armour. The commandant learned, to his great despair, that the King's provisions were not coming to Pillnitz, and it was necessary to receive the lord. What could they find worthy of His Majesty's palate? They killed a couple of deer in the park, they found a few bottles of wine; but how could the simplicity of the camp table agree with the King's accustomed luxury! In fact they had only one decent glass with the arms of Saxony worthy of lordly lips, but the plates and the other things were very poor. The priest lent a table cloth from the church; the innkeeper furnished a great many things.
The cannons were placed in the batteries. It was already four o'clock--at any moment they might expect the King, who said he would leave Pillnitz at daybreak. The commandant put a soldier on the tower, to let him know when he should perceive dust on the road. The artillerymen aimed the cannons so as to be sure the balls would strike the rock.
Everything was ready when the soldier on the tower gave the signal. At that moment the mayor of the town, with the councillors carrying a rusty key on a tray, went out on the road. In the church, ringers were ready to receive the lord with a peal of bells. The inhabitants of the town were dressed in their best clothes, and crowded the streets and market square.
The clouds of dust approached swiftly, and at last they perceived, galloping at the head on a magnificent steed, a good-looking, majestic man. He was followed by aides-de-camp and a small retinue of courtiers and guests.
At the gate the King hardly nodded; the mayor and his councillors bent to the ground; he went immediately in the direction of the castle. Here the garrison was drawn up at the gate; the drum was beaten and the commandant came out with a report. But the King seemed uneasy and in bad humour. He did not say a word to anybody. He turned his horse to the battery at Röhrpforts, looked for a while, and then hurried to Hannewalde. In front of that battery there rose a black mass of basalt rock. From here the St. John's tower and its windows, in one of which was a white figure, could be clearly distinguished. But the King did not raise his eyes.
At that moment General Wackerbarth arrived from Dresden, and stood behind the King in silence. Augustus was in a hurry: he nodded. The artillerymen put a light to the touch-hole of the cannon, and there was a loud report which was echoed in the surrounding mountains. A sharp ear could catch at the same moment a dreadful cry of despair and grief. The King, however, could neither see nor hear anything, his attention being absorbed by the cannon and the result of the firing.
The first shot directed at the wall built of basalt, made a hole in it, but the iron ball was broken into pieces. The commandant brought some pieces to the King, who deigned to look at them, and shrugged his shoulders. The other shot was directed at the rock itself; the ball was broken into pieces, but the rock withstood the blow.
The King, growing feverish, ordered a third and fourth shot to be fired; the result was the same--the rock could not be broken, except for a few splits where the ball struck.
From the first moment that Cosel heard of the King's coming, she was half-mad. At first she thought that Augustus was coming to see her; she dressed with feverish haste and the greatest care, looked long in the mirror and smiled to herself.
"I am sure," she whispered to herself, "he is coming to see me. It is the end of my captivity, and the beginning of my triumph."
She rushed from one window to another. From one of them she could see the road coming from Pillnitz. She noticed clouds of dust, and her heart throbbed--she cried. Then the pealing of bells and the beating of drums were heard--the King was entering the castle. Then silence. She pressed her heart with her hand, and waited. It seemed to her that she would hear him on the stairs--that she would see him at the door, full of pity and benevolence. The silence lasted too long, then the report of a gunshot resounded, shot and cry. Cosel fell on the floor. Suddenly she rose, mad, bewildered, and rushed to the wardrobe. Her hands trembled; she opened the drawer and took a pistol that was hidden among silk dresses. Then she went to the nearest window, looking round. From this side she could hear the noise of the broken rock and the bursting of the cannon balls on it. Cosel leaned out; her eyes were aflame; her bosom heaved. She waited.
At each shot she beat her head and pressed her heart. Wild laughter was on her lips and tears filled her eyes.
After the fourth shot, everything became quiet. Cosel did not move from her place, and held the pistol in her hand. Soon the sound of the tramp of horses resounded on the road. Cosel leaned out and looked.
It was he! Augustus, riding on a path near the walls!
She screamed. He raised his head, stopped his horse, and touched his hat with his hand; he was pale.
Cosel leaned out still more, as though she would jump through.
"Sire! my lord! Have pity on me!" cried she.
Augustus did not answer; and Cosel laughed bitterly.
"To expect pity from you, vile tyrant! From you who break your promises and then imprison those who ask you to fulfil them! What do you care for human life? What do you care for human heart? Cosel, a prisoner, despises you and curses you: yourself, your family and your country! Die, you villain!"
She aimed and fired at the King. The pistol shot resounded in the castle mingled with laughter. The King, hearing the whizz of the ball, came to his wits; he saluted smiling, and galloped off in the direction of Pillnitz. The commandant's efforts to offer the King a luncheon were wasted.