"How did your Majesty sustain the first shock?" he inquired.
"Pretty well. We will recognize Alexander as soon as the council acknowledge his claims."
"Excellent," said Dassel; "but we will take care that the council do not acknowledge him. The presence of one as holy as Eberhard has already begun to bear its fruits! He enjoys so vast a reputation of sanctity among the people, that his visit suffices to make of the schismatic Barbarossa the most faithful of the faithful. You must acknowledge, Sire, that you really owe me a debt of gratitude for my discovery. But let us not forget what is equally material: the wind has completely shifted at the French Court. The Count of Champagne has shown me a letter from the royal Chancellor, giving him full powers to conclude an arrangement with you. This excellent Count is beside himself with joy, for if he had been in his senses, he would most certainly not have been quite so communicative."
"There is no reason to be astonished if the noble Count should have lost his wits. Did we not promise him castles, and bailiwicks, and fortresses along the Lorraine frontier?" replied the Emperor.
"It needed a tempting bait to catch the Count of Champagne; but a diplomatist should never hesitate to make promises. The French ambassador is yours, body and soul; ask him what you please, there is no fear of a refusal."
"What can have caused this fortunate change?"
"Oh! little enough. Alexander received Louis' envoy quite roughly; he preached a long sermon to the Abbot Theobald of St. Germains, and threatened the Archbishop of Orleans, the royal Chancellor, with canonical censure. The courtiers complain; the king is hurt, and proposes to abandon Alexander."
"Very well!--What do you advise me to do now?"
"Let the Count, in the name of his sovereign, notify the French ecclesiastics, and announce Alexander's coming. If, in the meanwhile, Louis should change his mind, which, with the French character, is not at all unlikely, either the Count will oblige the King to keep his word, or he must be himself disavowed. In which latter case, Troyes, Champagne, and the rich provinces which belong to them, will be happily annexed to the Empire, and the French kingdom necessarily weakened."
"Your advice is good," said Frederic; "send in the Count, and have the contract ready."