The count slowly placed himself in an arm-chair and signed to the abbé to seat himself beside him.
"My young friend," he said in a grave mild voice, "you belong to the Holy League, you are a soldier of the Church militant, you have genius, courage, and faith; you are called to labour with me in the erection of God's kingdom upon earth, to build up the temple of promise, upon the rock of St. Peter; I tell you a great battle, a great work, is before you, a work upon a new foundation."
He was silent--lost in thought.
"What we have done hitherto has crumbled to pieces," he said after a time; "a new phase begins--Austria has denied the very ground-work of her existence, she has denied the Church, upon whose soil the empire has grown up; through which alone it could have been maintained, and guided safely through the future. The first step upon this path will swiftly be followed by others, according to the merciless law of logical consequences; we must strike Austria out of our reckoning. Whether we can rely upon France is not clear to me, it might appear so from the first glance, but the present government of France affords no guarantee, a hellish power prevails there, and this power has been the first to lay hands upon the ancient and holy rights of the Church. I see," he continued, as if lost in the contemplation of the picture presented to his mind, "the world forming itself anew. I see the German nation slowly arising to supreme eminence. Is it the will of Providence that the realm of Germany, once the foremost backslider, shall now be the firm foundation-stone of the kingdom of God? The future will show," he said after a pause, "but we must be upon the watch, we must regard these new times with a sharp glance, that we may lay the foundation of our power, and be able to guide events with a firm hand. What we may have to do does not yet appear,--here at least nothing can be done, here are only ruins tottering to their fall. I am going to Paris," he added, raising his head, "that is the centre of coming events, there we shall discover the threads which will bind the world. You will accompany me?" he asked, half as a question, half as a command.
The abbé bowed.
"I am prepared," he replied, "to follow your guidance, and it fills me with joy and pride to labour under such a master."
"I shall take this woman with me," said the count, "I shall free her from her present connexion, and place her in a position where her eminent talents may be developed: she will, now that she knows she is in my power, do us great service."
The abbé looked amazed.
"This woman?" he said; "ought we to defile our holy cause with such a tool?"
The count fixed his large expressive eyes firmly upon the young priest.