Another Victory
Blücher was a great lover of music. His favorite pieces electrified him as often as he heard them, but of them all Mozart’s “Magic Flute” took first place. While the allies were at Aachen, Angelica Catalani, the famous singer, aroused everybody’s enthusiasm. The Emperor Alexander of Russia stood at the head of her admirers, but her acknowledged favorite was the aged Marshal Vorwärts.
One evening Catalani sang at a large reception and one of her songs was Papageno’s “Ring, Little Bell, Ring.” Blücher was delighted, and asked her to sing another of Papageno’s songs, but the singer, greatly embarrassed, had to confess that she knew no other.
“I can teach you,” said Blücher; “I know every aria in the ‘Magic Flute.’”
“What,” cried Emperor Alexander, “Blücher can sing too? You must give us a song then!”
The old soldier stood up and began in his rough voice, dreadfully out of tune, but still recognizable: “The Bird Catcher I Am.”
Emperor Francis listened with visible emotion, the dignified King of Prussia smiled quietly to himself, while Emperor Alexander laughed as hard as he could and started a vigorous applause. Blücher, encouraged, sang again, and wound up with “Bacchus is a Brave Man.” The last number created such a storm of applause that Catalani said jokingly:
“I can’t compete with old Blücher; he has beaten me, too; he received more applause than I did.”