This file-firing, or rather this kind of slaughter, only ceased when the number of animals killed amounted to several thousands. Once more the forest rang with the barking of the dogs, the cries of the spectators, mingled with the sound of hunting-horns. The ground literally disappeared under the heaped-up game, its blood still trickling. Truly, after the noble struggle we had just witnessed, it became difficult not to admit that the amusements of our fathers were superior to ours.
Ypsilanti seemed surprised at the remarkable skill of the Empress of Austria, and at the steadiness of her aim. Without for a moment wishing to detract from either, I told him what I had seen in the arsenal at Stockholm, namely, a long carabine which was loaded with a single pellet of the smallest shot, and with which, it is said, Queen Christina amused herself by bringing down the flies on the walls of her rooms without ever missing one.
Soon after the termination of the sport, night set in rapidly. Suddenly, as if at the touch of a magic wand, the lawn and the avenues of the park were lighted up by enormous ‘pitch-pots,’ known in Turkey as machala, the blaze of which carries very far. At the same moment, the inside of the ‘Ritterburg’ was illuminated from roof to basement for the reception of the illustrious guests who were going to assemble there. When Emperor Francis constructed the castle as an exact illustration of the ideas prevailing during the feudal era, he certainly did not foresee the forgathering under its roof in one day of such a number of illustrious personages, from emperors to knights. Though only those provided with invitations had been admitted to Laxemburg, their number was so great as to make perambulation in the various halls and reception rooms exceedingly difficult. The animated crowd, and the profusion of light constituted the strangest and most striking contrast to the sombre arches, the panoplies, the dresses and the ornaments of mediæval times.
The lovely imperial hostess did the honours of the feudal manor with her usual grace. A magnificent collation was served, to which succeeded a concert of a peculiar kind. In a corner of the principal hall there was an enormous organ; its construction, sound, and ornaments faithfully recalling the machines with brass pipes and bellows with which the piety of our forefathers provided the cathedrals of the Middle Ages. The deep tones of the organ were accompanied by a band of wind instruments, played by musicians expressly brought from Bohemia, where instrumental music appears to have reached perfection. To complete the illusion, they had selected some of the old national melodies, the traditions of which have been preserved for centuries. In the intervals, huntsmen, placed on a tower overlooking the castle, played hunting tunes that sounded like an echo coming from the skies.
On several occasions during previous concerts, I had noticed a young man whose eyes were covered with a black bandage, and who was guided through the crowd by a young lady with an elegant figure, but whose face was hidden by a thick veil. This time they were close to the organ, and they evidently enjoyed the music greatly. I asked the Comte François de Palfi who were these young people, imparting an air of sadness to a fête rather than partaking of its joys.
‘That young man,’ he answered, ‘is the Comte Hadick, the young woman is his wife, and their story is most interesting.
‘Bound by a very close friendship, additionally cemented by long and important services to each other, the Comtes Hadick and Amady made up their minds to tighten these bonds still further by uniting in marriage their children, who were about the same age. Théodore Hadick, the only offspring of the illustrious family, was in consequence brought up with young Constance, who from her infancy bade fair to be as kind in disposition as she was beautiful in face and figure. At fifteen the feelings of these two young people were already what they would continue to be all their lives. The castles of the two magnates were practically adjacent to each other. Constance, by being present at the lessons of her young friend, easily learned all those exercises calculated to impart both bodily and mental gracefulness without being hurtful to beauty. What united them still more was their passionate fondness for music, which passion appears innate with the Hungarians. They were held up everywhere as models of perfection and virtue, and their fathers were already discussing the time of their wedding, when the war broke out.
‘As you are aware, the laws of Hungary compel every noble personally to fight for his country; and in the periods of great danger, when the whole of the nation rushes to arms, the magnates march with their banners at the head of their vassals. The Comte Hadick, jealous for the honour of his house, was very anxious for his son to share the forthcoming campaign. Constance, hiding her grief, and solely occupied with the future and the glory of her betrothed, watched with great courage the preparations for a parting which the chances of war might prolong and render eternal.
‘Theodore, impatient to devote himself to his country, hurried the moment that was to afford him the chance of showing himself still more worthy of the girl whom he loved, and the day of his departure was finally fixed upon. The previous evening, though, the betrothal took place at the castle, and it was with the certainty of Constance’s hand that the young count at the head of his vassals went to join the Hungarian army at Pesth. You know the result of the campaign. The Hungarians kept up their reputation for brilliant valour. Théodore, in virtue of several signal actions, deserved the cross conferred upon him by the chapter of the Order of Maria-Theresa, a distinction considered one of the foremost in the annals of chivalry.
‘But while the young man supped full with glory, Constance had been carried to the brink of the grave by a cruel illness. Stricken down by an attack of most virulent smallpox, she hovered for a long time between life and death. The doctors, while saving her, could not prevent the face which had been one of the most beautiful from becoming almost hideous. She was only allowed to look at herself when she was on the high road to recovery.