But all other projects had to yield for the present to the great business in hand. For some time the Chancellor hesitated whether to let his daughter into the secret; but finally, concluding that her ignorance of what was going forward might lead to greater dangers than her knowledge, he decided to take her into his confidence.
As soon as Herr Moritz had left them together, therefore, he proceeded to enlighten her. Although Gertrude had been aware that some serious intrigue was on foot between the Princess Hermengarde and her father, she had never dreamt of the real issues involved, and was thunderstruck at learning that the King was to be declared mad. The first exclamation which rose to her lips disconcerted her father—
“But he is no more mad than I am!”
“Hush! He may not be mad in the sense that an ordinary person is said to be mad when he believes that he is the Archangel Gabriel, or that his bones are made of glass. But the King’s madness is far more dangerous. He believes that it is his duty to promote a bloody revolution in his own kingdom. The welfare of five millions of people is at stake, and for their sakes he must be deprived of his tremendous power for harm.”
Gertrude did not require much convincing, and she listened greedily while her father repeated to her the offer of the Prince’s hand.
“Do not build upon it overmuch,” he warned her, in conclusion. “The Princess is a dangerous and deceitful woman, and I do not trust her to the extent that she supposes. This offer is very probably a mere decoy, intended to secure my support in the matter of the Regency. Of course it is necessary that we should affect to believe in her good faith, but at the same time there is no need to alienate old friends whom we may be glad to fall back upon afterwards.”
He glanced at the chair which had just been occupied by Herr Moritz, and Gertrude understood.
That night a telegram arrived at Seidlingen directed to King Maximilian and marked “Private.”
It was delivered unopened into the King’s hands. He removed the envelope, and read the following message—
“Allow me to respectfully urge your Majesty to prohibit the Socialist demonstrations at once, or consequences will follow which it will be too late to avert. Your loving subject and kinsman,