"We thought he had overcome his love of you, so careful was he to conceal his struggles and sufferings. One day, however, the correspondence of our adepts, which it was impossible to conceal, brought to our sanctuary a sad piece of information. In spite of the doubt surrounding the report, at Berlin you were looked upon as the king's mistress, and appearances did not contradict the supposition. Albert said nothing, and became pale.
"'My beloved mother,' said he, after being silent a few moments, 'on this occasion you will suffer me to leave you, without fear. My love calls me to Berlin: my place is by the side of her who has accepted my love, and whom I love. I pretend to no right over her. If she be intoxicated by the sad honor attributed to her, I will use no authority to make her renounce it; but if she be, as I suspect, surrounded by snares and dangers, I will save her.'
"'Pause, Albert,' said I, 'and dread the influence of that fatal passion which has already injured you so deeply. The evil which will result from it is beyond your influence. I see that now you exist merely in the power of your virtue and your love. If this love perish, will virtue suffice?'
"'And why should it perish?' said he, enthusiastically. 'Do you think she has ceased to be worthy of me?'
"'If she be, Albert, what would you do?'
"With a smile on his pale lips, and a proud glance, such as were always enkindled by his sad and enthusiastic ideas—
"'If so, I would continue to love her; for to me the past is not a dream that is effaced, and you know I have often so confounded it with the present as to be unable to distinguish it. So would I do again. I would love that angelic face, that poetic soul by which my life was so suddenly enlightened and warmed. I would not believe that the past is behind me, but would keep its burning light within my bosom. The fallen angel would yet inspire me with so much tenderness and love, that my life would be devoted to consoling her and sheltering her from the contempt of a cruel world.'
"Albert went to Berlin with many of his friends, and made a pretext to the Princess Amelia, his protector, of talking to her about Trenck, who was then a prisoner at Glatz, for a masonic business which he was engaged in. You saw him preside at a lodge at the Rose Cross; and he did not know that Cagliostro, in spite of our efforts, had learned his secrets and made use of them as a means of disturbing your reason. For the mere fact of having suffered any person uninitiated even to glance at a masonic mystery, Cagliostro deserved to be expelled as a trickster. It was not known, however, for a long time; and you must be aware yourself of the terror he displayed while conducting you to the temple. The penalty due to this kind of treason is severely administered by the adepts; and the magician, by making the mysteries of the order subject to his pretended miracles, perhaps risked his life, as he certainly did his necromantic reputation, for he would without doubt have been unmasked had he been discovered.
"During his short and mysterious stay at Berlin, Albert ascertained enough of your conduct and ideas to be at ease about you. Though you knew it not, he watched you closely, and returned apparently calm, but more in love with you than ever.
"During several months he travelled in foreign lands, and by his activity served our cause well. Having been informed that several plotters, perhaps spies of the King of Prussia, were attempting to set on foot at Berlin a conspiracy which endangered masonry, and perhaps would be fatal to Prince Henry and the Abbess of Quedlimburg, Albert hurried thither to warn the Prince and Princess of the absurdity of such an attempt, and to put them on their guard against the plot which seemed imminent. Then you saw him, and though terrified at his apparition, showed so much courage, and spoke to his friends with so much devotion and respect for his memory, that the hope of being loved by you revived. He then determined that you should be told the truth by means of a system of mysterious revelations. He has often been near you, concealed even in your room during your stormy conversations with the King, though you were not aware of it. In the meantime the conspirators became angry at the obstacles he put in the way of their mad or guilty design. Frederick II. had suspicions. The appearance of la balayeuse, the spectre all conspirators parade in the palace gallery, aroused his vigilance. The creation of a masonic lodge, at the head of which Prince Henry placed himself, and which professed views different from that over which the King presided, appeared a definite revolt. It may be added, that the creation of this new lodge was a maladroit mask of certain conspirators, or perhaps an attempt to compromise certain illustrious personages. Fortunately they rescued themselves; and the King, apparently enraged at the arrest of none but a few obscure criminals, yet really delighted at not having to punish his own family, resolved to make an example. My son, the most innocent of all, was arrested and sent to Spandau about the time that you, equally innocent, were. You both refused to save yourselves at the expense of others, and atoned for others' errors. You passed several months in prison not far from Albert's cell, and heard his violin, as he heard your voice. He had prompt and speedy means of escape, but he would not use them until he was sure of your safety. The key of gold is more powerful than all the bolts of a royal prison; and the Prussian jailers, the majority of whom are discontented soldiers, or officers in disgrace, are easily to be corrupted. Albert escaped when you did, but you did not see him; and for reasons you will hear at another time, Leverani was ordered to bring you hither. Now you know the rest. Albert loves you more than ever; he loves you far better than he loves himself, and would be yet more distressed if you were happy with another, than he would be if you should not return his love. The moral and philosophical laws under which you have placed yourselves, the religious authority you recognise, renders your decision perfectly voluntary. Choose then, my daughter, but remember that Albert's mother, on her knees, begs you not to injure the sublime candor of her son, by making a sacrifice which will embitter his life. Your desertion will make him suffer, but your pity, without your love, will kill him. The time is come for you to decide, and I cannot be ignorant of your decision. Go into your room, where you will find two different dresses: the one you select will determine his fate."