"I shall recruit!" shouted Burgsdorf. "I shall go as commandant to
Küstrin, and enlist a regiment besides!"
"It is a matter of course that we all recruit," said General von Klitzing, "for such is the command and desire of the Elector, and him as our commander in chief we are bound to obey."
"By no means, general!" cried the count hastily. "Your commander in chief is the Emperor of Germany. The soldiers whom you shall enlist will of course be subject to the command of the Elector, but they must take an oath of allegiance to the Emperor and the empire, which runs thus, that they will be obedient to the Emperor, and in his stead to the Elector of Brandenburg, in order that the dukedom of Pomerania be recovered to the Elector, its natural sovereign.[11] According to the compact between the Emperor and the Elector, the official oath of military governors must also conform to this formula, and the commandants of fortresses be taken into the service of the Emperor and the empire. First and foremost is the obedience and fealty they owe to the Emperor."
"I do not understand that; it does not penetrate through my thick skull!" cried Burgsdorf impatiently. "How will it be if the Emperor's commands go counter to those of the Elector? If the Emperor orders us to do this, and the Elector that?"
"That will never happen," replied the count gravely.
"The Elector is much too loyal and faithful a vassal of the Emperor not to coincide always with the latter's gracious purposes and desires. I have now told you all that it is needful for you to know, have given you your commissions and announced your several ranks, and it only remains to administer to you the prescribed oath. In view of my absolute power as Stadtholder in the Mark, and as head of the electoral council of war, I will now receive your oath of fidelity to the Emperor and the Elector, and you must engage and swear to fulfill constantly and faithfully your duties to Emperor, empire, and Elector."
And just as the count dictated, without delay or contradiction, the four lords repeated the formula of the oath, and swore obedience, good faith, and service, first to the Emperor and the empire, and then to the Elector of Brandenburg. Thereupon the count dismissed them, exhorting them to repair instantly to their fortresses, and there to begin enlisting soldiers for the army of the Elector.
The count's countenance cleared up and assumed a triumphant expression when the four officers had left his cabinet, and he was now once more alone.
"I shall now be rid of that quarrelsome and dangerous man, Burgsdorf," he said complacently, as he sank apparently exhausted into an easy chair. "I have rendered him harmless and shoved him aside without his being really conscious of it. He does not suspect that we advanced and promoted the others only to remove him, Burgsdorf, to a distance, without exciting remark or scandal, and in order to be freed from his scurrilous tongue and insolent presence. I am truly glad and content that we have succeeded in this, and at the same time have taken these unreflecting and short-sighted gentlemen into service and allegiance to the Emperor and the empire." With a hurried "Who is there?" the count interrupted himself, starting from his seat. "Who dares to enter here unannounced?"
"I dare," said an earnest voice, and a tall, slender gentleman, wholly enveloped in a heavy traveling coat, his head covered with a great fur cap, strode through the apartment toward the count.