"Another powerful friend of Prussia has been recalled from his estates, and summoned to Petersburg."
Potemkin sprang from the sofa with a howl of rage.
"What! Orloff summoned by Von Gortz; he who—"
"Who was enticing your highness with vain promises, had suggested to the czarina the imperative necessity of recalling Orloff, with the express intention of holding you in check."
"What an infernal plot! But it bears the stamp of Panin's treachery upon its face," muttered Potemkin, while with hasty strides he walked up and down the room.
Cobenzl watched him with a half smile, and taking up the ribbon of the
Black Eagle, he passed it through his hands by way of pastime.
After much going to and fro, Potemkin stopped, and his countenance was expressive of courage and resolve.
"Count Cobenzl, I know what are the plans of Austria, and they shall be sustained. Your interests are mine, for it is no longer a question of Austria or Prussia, but of Potemkin or Orloff! You see, therefore, that I am sincere; but Austria must sustain me, and we must tread our political path together."
"Austria will go hand and heart with your highness."
"Austria must sustain me, I say, and our password shall be, `The Conquest of Turkey.' That is the spell by which I rule the czarina. My enemies often fill her mind with distrust of me, but that great project shields me from their weapons. Still I am in danger; for here in Russia, we look neither to the past nor to the future; the excitement of the hour reigns absolute. A good subject never knows how to regulate his conduct. If I were sure of blame for doing evil, or of approbation for doing good. I might know what to expect from the czarina. But when a sovereign is the slave of her passions, all ordinary modes of deducing effect from cause fall to the ground. [Footnote: Potemkin's own words. Raumer, vol. v., p. 573.] I live in a whirlpool, from which I can devise no means of escape; but, by the grave of my mother, this life shall cease! I shall resume my power over the empress, and I shall trample my enemies underfoot, were they to take shelter under the throne itself!"