Napoleon and the Queen of Prussia, Page 3

  CHAPTER III.

  THE OATH OF VENGEANCE.

  Speechless with surprise, the youth had listened to the song, and fixedhis large eyes steadfastly on the two officers, whose uniforms andwounds revealed to him the melancholy fate that had befallen them duringthe last few days.

  When the two were silent, he approached them with an air of profoundrespect.

  "Bravo, officers of Auerstadt or Jena," he said, with a voice tremblingwith emotion, "permit a poor young wanderer to present his respects toyou, and to thank you, in the name of the German fatherland, for thewounds on your foreheads. Such wounds are also an 'ornament of thebrave.'" [An allusion to the last line of the original song.]

  "And such words are an ornament of a noble heart," exclaimed Schill,offering his hand to the youth.

  He took it with a joyful gesture, and, quickly kneeling down, imprinteda glowing kiss on the feverish hand of the wounded officer.

  "My God!" exclaimed Schill, surprised, "what are you doing? How can aman kiss another's hand and kneel before him? Rise!"

  "I am no man," said the youth, deeply moved. "I am but a poor boy, whohas not yet done any thing for his country, and, perhaps, never will beable to do any thing for it, but who feels the most profound respect forthose who were more fortunate than he. I, therefore, kiss your hand asCatholics kiss the hands of their saints and martyrs. For are you not atthe present hour a martyr of German liberty? Hence, sir, give me yourhand, too. Let me press my poor lips on it, also. It is the only way forme to manifest my profound respect for you."

  "No," said Count Pueckler, feelingly, "you shall not kiss my hand, but mycheeks and my lips. Let me embrace you, young man, let me embrace youfor the boon you have conferred on us by your words. Come, sir!"

  The young man uttered a joyous cry, and, rising quickly, threw himselfwith youthful impetuosity into the count's arms.

  "I will and must have my share in the embrace," exclaimed Schill,smiling; "did not you before expressly request me, comrade, to lend youmy left arm for every embrace? Well, then, here it is."

  He quickly wound his left arm around the necks of the others, andpressed them firmly to his heart. When they withdrew their arms again,tears were glistening in the eyes of the officers as well as in those ofthe youth.

  "Grief and adversity cause men easily to fraternize," said Schill, "andtherefore we shall be brethren henceforward."

  "You will be my brethren?" exclaimed the young man, joyfully. "You willpermit the poor boy to call two heroes brethren?"

  "Heroes!" said Pueckler, sighing. "Then you do not know, my friends, thatwe were disgracefully defeated and trampled under foot in yesterday'sbattle?"

  "I know that, but know also that the _luck_ of battles is not the truestandard for the bravery of warriors. _You_ at least did not run, and,like true heroes, you bear your wounds on your foreheads; your mothers,therefore, will proudly bid you welcome; your betrothed or your wiveswill embrace you with rapturous tears, and your friends will be proud ofyour valor."

  "Does it not seem almost as though he had heard our mournful anddespondent words, and wished to comfort us?" asked Schill, turning tothe count. "His blue eyes apparently do not behold only our physicalwounds, but also those which cause our hearts to bleed, and he wishes toapply a balm to them by his sweet, flattering words."

  "He wishes to console the poor defeated, and reconcile them to theirfate," said Pueckler, nodding kindly to the youth.

  "You have a better and more generous opinion of me than I deserve," hesaid, sadly bowing his head so as to shake its exuberant mass of long,fair hair. "I simply told you what I thought, and what every one wholooks at both of you will and must think."

  "Would to God you spoke the truth, young man!" said Count Pueckler,mournfully. "Believe me, however, but few will think like yourself; agreat many will rejoice at seeing us defeated and humiliated."

  "Instead of bewailing us, they will deride us," exclaimed Schill;"instead of weeping with us, they will revile us!"

  "Who will dare to do so?" exclaimed the youth, in an outburst ofgenerous anger. "Do you forget, then, that you are in Germany, and thatyou have shed your blood for your country? Your German brethren will notderide you; they will not rejoice at your sufferings; they will hopewith you for a better and more fortunate day when you will get even withthat insolent and hateful enemy, for the battles of Jena and Auerstadt."

  "Pray to God, my young friend, that that day may speedily dawn!" saidCount Pueckler, heaving a sigh.

  "Pray!" ejaculated the young man, impetuously. "In times like ours it isnot sufficient to pray and to hope for divine assistance; we oughtrather to act and toil, and, instead of folding our hands, arm themeither with the sword or with the dagger."

  "With the dagger?" asked Schill. "The dagger is the weapon ofassassins."

  "Was Moeros an assassin because he wanted to stab Dionysius the tyrant?"asked the youth. "Was he not rather a generous and high-minded man, whomour great Schiller deemed worthy of becoming the hero of one of hisfinest poems? When the fatherland is in danger, every weapon is sacred,and every way lawful which a bold heart desires to pursue, to deliverthe country."

  "Well, I see already that your heart will choose the right, and notshrink back from dangers," said Pueckler, kindly. "But, in the firstplace, tell us which way you are now going to take, that we may knowwhether we shall be allowed to accompany you or not."

  "I come from Erfurt, where my parents are living," said the young man;"last night I was at Weimar, and now I am going to do what I have sworna solemn oath to my father to do. I am on my way to Leipsic."

  "And may I inquire what you are going to do in Leipsic?"

  The young man was silent, and a flaming blush mantled for a moment hisdelicate, innocent face. "According to my father's wishes, I shallbecome there a merchant's apprentice," he said, in a low and embarrassedvoice.

  "What! Feeling so generous an enthusiasm for the fatherland and itssoldiers, you want to become a merchant?" asked Schill, in surprise.

  The youth raised his blue eyes to him; they were filled with tears.

  "I am ordered to become a merchant," he said in a low voice. "My fatheris a pious preacher, and hates and detests warfare; he says it is sinfulfor men to raise their weapons against their brethren, as though theywere wild beasts, against which you cannot defend yourself but bykilling them. My mother, in former days, became familiar with thehorrors of war; she fears, therefore, lest her only son should fall preyto them, and wishes to protect him from such a fate. With bitter tears,with folded hands, nay, almost on her knees, she implored me to desistfrom my purpose of becoming a soldier, and not to break her heart withgrief and anguish. My mother begged and wept, my father scolded andthreatened, and thus I was obliged to yield and be a dutiful son. Threedays ago my father administered the sacrament to me, and I swore an oathto him at the altar to remain faithful to the avocation he had selectedfor me, and never to become a soldier!"

  He paused, and the tears which had filled his eyes rolled like pearlsover his cheeks.

  "Poor friend!" murmured Pueckler.

  "Poor brother!" said Schill, indignantly. "To be doomed to wield theyardstick in place of the sword! How can a father be so cruel as to makehis son take such a pledge at the present time?"

  "My father is not cruel," said the youth, gently; "his only aim is myhappiness, but he wishes to bring it about in his own way, and not inmine. It behooves a son to yield and obey. Accordingly, I shall notbecome a soldier, but God knows whether it will be conducive to myhappiness. Many a one has already been driven to commit a crime by hisdespair at having chosen an unsuitable avocation. But let us speak nomore of myself," he added, shaking his head indignantly, as if he wantedto drive the tears from his eyes; "let us speak no more of my petty,miserable grief, but of your great sorrow, which all Germany shares withyou. You know now every thing concerning my affairs, and it only remainsfor me to mention my name. It is Staps; 'Frederick Staps' will be myfirm one day, if I should live to see it." br />
  "Your name is Frederick, like that of Prussia's great king," saidSchill, comfortingly, "and who knows whether you will not one day becomea great soldier like him?"

  "But I have told you already that I have sworn at the altar never tobecome a soldier," said Frederick Staps, sighing. "I shall never breakthe oath I have sworn to my father, nor the one either which I havesworn to myself!"

  "The oath that you will become a good and honest man, I suppose?" askedPueckler.

  "It is unnecessary to take such an oath, because that is a matter ofcourse," said Frederick Staps, quickly. "I swore another oath, butnobody but God must know it. When the time has come, you shall beinformed of it. Do not forget my name, and when you hear from me oneday, remember this hour and the tears you saw me shed for beingcompelled to choose an avocation that is repugnant to me."

  "And in order to remember us, you must know who we are," exclaimed CountPueckler, stating his name.

  "And my name is Schill," said the lieutenant. "We fought at Auerstadtand Jena, and are now wandering about, and seeking for a place where wemay spend the coming night."

  "You will find it in the village in the rear of the wood," saidFrederick Staps. "Come, I will guide you back to the village and to thecountry parson, to whom I have on my way just presented my father'srespects. He is a good and generous man. You will be kindly received andnursed by him and his wife; and if French soldiers should come to hishouse, he would not betray, but conceal you."

  "Oh, what delightful words you have just uttered!" exclaimed Schill,joyously. "Blessed be your lips which have announced to us that we shallbe saved, for, let me tell you, we should prefer death to Frenchcaptivity!"

  "I understand that," said Frederick Staps, quietly. "Come, I will guideyou thither."

  "And we accept your offer, as friends ought to accept that of a friend,"said Count Pueckler. "We do not say: 'We cause you trouble and loss oftime; let us therefore try to find our way alone;' but we say: 'In thesedays of affliction we are all brethren, and we must rely on each other'sassistance.' Come, therefore, brother, and be our guide."

  They walked slowly toward the small wood from which Staps had issued.

  "You stated you had been in Weimar, and spent a night there," askedCount Pueckler. "How does the place look--what do people say, and who isthere?"

  "It looks like a pandemonium," replied Staps. "Nothing is to be heardbut curses, shouts, threats, and screams: nothing to be seen but facespale with terror, and fleeing from the pursuing soldiers. The streetsare crowded with men, wagons, and horses. The inhabitants want to leavethe city; they know not whither to escape, and are forced back at thegates by French soldiers making their entry, or by vehicles filled withwounded."

  "And how is it at the palace? The duchess has fled from the wrath of theconqueror, I suppose?"

  "No, the duchess has remained to beg Napoleon to have mercy on her stateand her husband."

  "But is Napoleon already in Weimar?"

  "Yes; he came over from Jena this morning. The duchess received him atthe foot of the palace staircase, and did not avert her eyes from hisangry and haughty glances, but looked at him with the proud calmness ofa noble German lady. 'You have not fled, then?' asked Napoleon, harshly.'Then you do not fear my anger at the senseless and hostile conduct ofyour husband?' The duchess looked quietly at him. 'You see, sire, I haveremained because I have confided in your generosity, and wished tointercede for my husband and my people.' Napoleon looked at her during along pause, and her quiet dignity seemed to impress him very favorably.'That was well done,' he said at last, 'and for your sake, and becauseyou have reposed confidence in me, I will forgive your husband.'[5] I donot know what occurred afterward, for I left the palace when Napoleonhad retired to the rooms reserved for his personal use. My cousin, whois lady's maid of the duchess, told me what I have just related to you."

  [Footnote 5: Napoleon's own words.--Vide "Memoires de Constant," vol.iv., and "History of Napoleon," by * * * r, vol. ii., p. 109.]

  "And you did not hear any thing about our king and his consort?"

  "Both are said to be on the way to Magdeburg, where they will remain, ifthe pursuing enemy will permit them. Napoleon's hatred and wrath are notyet satiated, and his latest bulletin is written in the same vulgarguard-room style as all the recent manifestoes in which he dares torevile the noble and beautiful queen."

  "Then another bulletin has appeared?"

  "It was just distributed among the troops when I left Weimar. A soldier,whom I asked for his copy, gave it to me. Do you wish to read it?"

  "Read it to us," said Count Pueckler. "Let us rest a little in the shadeof these trees, for I confess I feel greatly exhausted, and my feetrefuse to carry me any farther. And how do you feel, comrade?"

  "Do you believe," asked Schill, in a faint voice, "do you believe that Ishould not have given vent to my anger at the impudence of that Corsicanwho dares to revile our noble queen, if I had had sufficient strength tospeak? Let us sit down and rest. See, there is a splendid old oak. Letus take breath under its shade."

  They walked toward a large oak, which stood at the entrance of the wood,and the foot of which was overgrown with fragrant green moss. Assistedby Staps, the two officers seated themselves, and the roots, coveredwith soft turf, served as pillows to their wounded heads.

  "Oh, how delightful to rest on German soil under a German oak!" sighedSchill. "I should like to lie here all my lifetime, looking up to therustling leaves, and dreaming! Amid the stillness surrounding us, it isalmost impossible to believe that we witnessed yesterday such wildstrife and bloodshed. Is all this reality, or have we had merely anevil, feverish dream?"

  "Touch your forehead; try to raise your right arm, and you will see thatit is reality," said Pueckler, laughing bitterly, "and if you should haveany doubt, let our young friend read the latest bulletin issued by our_triumphator_. But will you promise not to interrupt him, nor to beangry at what we are going to hear?"

  "I promise you to be perfectly calm, for my weakness compels me to beso. Read, friend Staps. But, pray, let us have the German translation,for it would be a violation of the peaceful silence of the forest, andof the sacredness of the German oak, if we should use here the languageof our enemies."

  Frederick Staps sat down opposite the officers, on the trunk of a fallentree. Drawing a paper from his bosom, he unfolded it, and read asfollows:

  "The battle of Jena has effaced the disgrace of Rossbach, and decided acampaign in seven days. Since the ninth of October we have proceededfrom victory to victory, and the battles of Jena and Auerstadt havecrowned all. The Prussian army is dispersed--almost annihilated. Theking is wandering about without shelter, and the queen will now regretwith bitter tears that she instigated her husband to this senseless andunjust war. Admirable was the conduct of our whole army, soul-stirringthe enthusiasm of the brave soldiers for their chieftain and emperor.When there was any momentary difficulty to overcome, the shout of 'Longlive the emperor!' resounded, animating all souls, and carrying away allhearts. The emperor saw at the most critical moment of the battle thatthe enemy's cavalry threatened the flanks of the infantry. He gallopedup to order new manoeuvres, and the front to be transformed into asquare. At every step he was hailed by shouts of 'Long live theemperor!' The soldiers of the imperial guard were jealous of all theother corps who participated in the battle, while they alone wereinactive. Several voices were already heard to shout, 'Forward!' Theemperor turned and asked, 'What is that? He must assuredly be abeardless youth who wishes to anticipate me as to what I ought to do.Let him wait until he has commanded in twenty battles; then he may claimto be my adviser.' The whole guard replied to this rebuke by theunanimous shout of 'Long live the emperor!' and rushed toward the enemy,when, at length, the order was given to charge. The results of thisbattle are from thirty to forty thousand prisoners, three hundredfield-pieces, and thirty standards. Among the prisoners there are morethan twenty generals. The losses of the Prussian army are very heavy,amounting to more than twenty
thousand killed and wounded. Our lossesare estimated at about twelve hundred killed and three thousandwounded."[6]

  [Footnote 6: Fifth bulletin of the Grand Army.]

  "Profound silence ensued when Staps had read the bulletin. The twoofficers were still lying on the ground, and their dilated eyes gazingat the roof of foliage above them."

  "And we must quietly listen to that," said Schill, after a long pause;"and our hearts do not break with grief and rage! heaven does not growdark, and earth does not open to swallow up the degraded, in order tosave them compassionately from the sense of their humiliation! Thesewords will be read by the whole of Europe, and all will know that thisinsolent conqueror may dare with impunity to speak in insulting terms ofour queen, the purest and best of women!"

  "He is the master of the world, and will issue many more bulletins ofthis description, and speak in such terms of many more princes andprincesses," said Count Pueckler. "He has the power to do so. He needsonly stretch out his hand, and kingdoms fall to ruins--nations are athis feet, and cry imploringly: 'Let us be your slaves, and lay your handon us as our lord and master!' It is useless to resist him. Let us,therefore, submit."

  "No," exclaimed Schill, rising, "no, let us not submit. When a wholenation arouses itself, and shakes its lion's mane, there is no hand,even though it were an iron one, that could hold and subdue it."

  "But our nation will not rise again--it has been crushed," said Pueckler,mournfully. "It is sleeping the sleep of death."

  "No, it has not been crushed. No, it will not die!" exclaimed Schill, inan outburst of generous rage. "It is only necessary to instill genuinevitality into its veins, and to awaken it from its lethargy bysoul-stirring exhortations, as our young friend here encouraged andstrengthened us an hour ago by his noble song. Oh, sing again, friendStaps! Purify the air--which is still infected by the words of theimperial bulletin--purify it by another German song, and let the nativeoak, which has listened to our disgrace, now hear also manly words.Sing! and may your voice reach our poor soldiers who are closing theireyes on the battle-field; and may it breathe the consolation into theirears, 'You die for Germany, but Germany does not die--she lives, andwill rise again!'"

  "Yes, I will sing," said Frederick Staps, enthusiastically, "but I wishthat every note issuing from my breast would transform itself into asword, and strike around with the storm's resistless fury!"

  "In that case all of us, and yourself, too, would be the first victims,"said Pueckler, with a melancholy smile.

  "Of what consequence are our lives, if they are given up for thefatherland?" exclaimed Staps, fervently. "Oh, believe me, I could, likeMucius Scaevola, lay my hand on the red-hot iron, and not wince, butsing jubilant hymns, if I thought that my torture would be useful to mycountry. Now, I can only sing, only pray, only weep. But who knowswhether I shall not become one day a modern Mucius Scaevola, a modernMoeros, and deliver the world from its tyrant?"

  And suddenly raising his voice, with a radiant face, he began to sing:

  Frisch auf! Es ruft das Vaterland Die Maenner in die Schlacht. Frisch auf! Zu daempfen Trug und Schand! Heran mit Macht, mit Macht! Heran und braucht den Maennerleib, Wozu ihn Gott gebaut: Zum Schirm der Jungfrau und dem Weib, Dem Saeugling und der Braut!

  Denn ein Tyrann mit Luegenwort Und Strick und Henkerschwert, Uebt in dem Vaterlande Mord, Und schaendet Thron und Heerd, Und will, so weit die Sonne scheint Der einz'ge Koenig sein; Ein Menschenfeind, ein Freiheitsfeind, Spricht er: die Welt ist mein!

  Verhuet' es Gott und Hermann's Blut! Nie werde solches wahr! Erwache, alter deutscher Muth, Der Recht und Licht gebar! Erwache! sonder Rast und Ruh, Schlag' Jeden der dir droht, Und ruf' ihm deutsche Losung zu: "Sieg gelt' es, oder Tod!"[7]

  [Footnote 7: "Victory or death!" A very popular hymn of that period.]

  "Victory or death!" shouted the two officers, raising their hands andeyes toward heaven.

  "When will the Germans sing and act in this manner?" asked CountPueckler, sadly.

  "When we have awakened them!" exclaimed Schill, joyfully. "For that isnow our only task: to arouse the Germans, and to remind them of theirduty and honor. Every one ought to raise his voice for this purpose, andtoil for it. The time is past when the nation was separated from thearmy, and when the civilian hated the soldier. All these separateinterests we buried yesterday on the battle-fields of Jena andAuerstadt. Heaven permitted our army to be defeated for the purpose ofteaching us that its heart was demoralized and its vitality entirelygone. But Bonaparte, who believes his successes to be due solely to hisown energy and sagacity, is, after all, nothing but the scourge that Goduses to chastise us. And, after chastising us sufficiently, the scourgewill be cast aside, and lie on the ground, trampled under foot anddespised, while we shall rise and become again a glorious nation. But,in order to bring about this change, it is necessary to arouse thePrussians, and fan the flames of their patriotism. Every Prussian mustfeel and know that he is a soldier of the grand army which we shall oneday place in the field against the so-called grand army of Napoleon,and, when the call of 'Rally round the flag!' resounds, he must take upthe sword, and proudly feel that the holy vengeance of the fatherland isplaced in his hands."

  "But suppose there is no one to utter the cry of 'Rally round the flag!'how are the people to appear and take up arms?"

  "_We_ are there, and _we_ shall exhort the people to arms!" said Schill,energetically. "Henceforth, we must not wait until the generals call us;we ourselves must be generals, and organize armies--every one after hisown fashion--according to his influence. We must travel over thecountry, and enlist recruits. As we have no standing army, we must formindependent corps, and, by means of raids, harass and molest the enemy.The strongest lion succumbs when stung by many bees. Every Prussian mustturn conspirator, and prevail on his neighbor to join the greatconspiracy; secret leagues and clubs must be instituted everywhere, andwork and agitate until we are united like _one_ man, and, with theresistless power of our holy wrath, expel the tyrant who enslaves us!"

  "Yes, you are right; we must not give way to timid despondency, but hopeand dare every thing. Every one must become a general, and enlisttroops, to attack the enemy whenever and wherever he can!"

  "I shall also enlist my troops, and lead them against the enemy,"exclaimed Staps, with sparkling eyes. "But my troops will not be made offlesh and blood. They will be the songs I sing, and one day I shallmarch out with them, and challenge the tyrant to mortal combat! Yes, youare right in saying, 'Every one must fight after his own fashion, andaccording to his power and influence;' let me fight, too, after myfashion!"

  "Go and fight, and may the blessings of all the brave follow you!" saidSchill, placing his hand on the head of the youth. "Let us take here,under the German oak, a solemn oath that we will devote our fortunes,our lives, and our sacred honor, to the fatherland!"

  "Yes," exclaimed Pueckler and Staps, "we will take that oath!"

  "Let us," said Schill, "then swear to strive for nothing but to deliverGermany from the grasp of the tyrant."

  "We swear," continued Schill, "to regard ourselves from this hour assoldiers of the grand army one day to battle for our liberties--to leavenothing undone in enlisting fresh troops--that our life shall be nothingbut an inexorable and never-flagging struggle against the usurper--thatwe will rather die than submit. We vow vengeance against him, anddeliverance to the fatherland!"

  When all had repeated this oath, Schill said, solemnly, "The German oakhas heard our words, and they are registered on high; now, my friends,let us go and enter into a new life--a new future. Let us take care ofthe body, in order to impart strength to the mind to carry out itsschemes. Come, let us go!"

  They passed on, and soon reached the village, guided by Staps to theparsonage.

  The clergyman joyfully received the officers; his wife prepared her bestrooms for them, and pledged herself, like her husband, to protect
themat the risk of her life, if French soldiers should arrive, and searchthe house for wounded Prussians.

  "Now you are safe, and I can go," said Frederick Staps, when he wasagain alone with his friends, their host having withdrawn to prepareevery thing that was necessary for the comfort of his guests. "I cannotstay here any longer, for I have promised my father to proceed withoutdelay to Leipsic, and I must keep my pledge to him, as I shall keep itto you. Farewell, friends; may God protect you, and may your deeds fillthe world with your glory, so that the poor merchant's apprentice inLeipsic may also hear of it!"

  "The poor merchant's apprentice is also a soldier of our grand army ofthe future," said Schill; "we have enlisted him, and he will go andfulfil his duty to his fatherland."

  "Yes, you may depend on it he will do his duty," exclaimed Staps, "andyou will hear of him one day. Farewell, and, please God! we shall meetagain!"

  "Yes, we shall meet again," said the two officers, cordially shakinghands with the youth, and taking leave of him.

  Staps left the room hastily. When he turned round once more at the door,and greeted the friends with a nod, they saw that his eyes were filledwith tears.

  The clergyman's wife now entered to serve up the dinner she herself hadprepared, and there was added a bottle of old Hock from the wine-cellar.

  "In the first place, however," said the clergyman to Schill, "I must seeand dress your arm, sir; I am quite experienced in dressing wounds,having taken lessons in surgery in order to assist our poor peasants incase of injuries, and render it unnecessary for them to pay largedoctors' bills. Let me, therefore, be your surgeon, too."

  Schill gratefully accepted his kind offer, and after his wife hadbrought every thing necessary for dressing a wound, the clergymanexamined Schill's arm, and removed the coagulated blood from it.

  "It is a very deep flesh-wound," he said, "fortunately the bone isuninjured."

  "Then I shall soon be able to use my arm again?" asked Schill, joyfully.

  "Not for a few weeks yet, unless you wish to run the risk of losing itentirely. Mortification might set in after the wound has commencedulcerating. Hence, you must be very cautious, and live as quietly aspossible. Your hands are now already burning, and your fever will bevery severe. Unfortunately, I have brought up my wine in vain. Both ofyou, gentlemen, will not be able to drink it to-day, nor to-morrow, northe day after to-morrow either. For the first three days your fever, asI stated already, will be very serious."

  This prediction was fulfilled. For three days the officers were unableto rise from their couch. They were delirious, and unaware of the dangermenacing them. A French regiment had come to the village to spend thenight, and four of its officers established their headquarters at theparsonage.

  But as soon as the French troops had been descried in the neighborhoodof the village, the clergyman, assisted by his wife and servants, hadremoved the wounded, and prepared a safe refuge for them in the hay-loftof his barn, far from the dwelling-house. He himself remained with them,and, while his wife received the French officers, and informed them thather husband was not at home, the good old man was sitting in thehay-loft beside his guests, nursing them with the kindness of a fatherand the skill of an experienced physician. He had locked the door of hisasylum, and a loaded gun and unsheathed sword were within his reach, inorder forcibly to drive back the French, in case they should try topenetrate into this hiding-place.

  But the danger passed, and the fever abated. Four days afterward the twoPrussians were strong enough to continue their journey. The clergymanhimself drove them in his carriage to the neighboring town, where theybought two horses and departed--not together, however, but by differentroutes. Count Pueckler took the road to Breslau; Ferdinand von Schillturned toward Kolberg.

  Before parting, they cordially shook hands once more.

  "Let us remember the oath under the German oak," said Schill.

  "Yes," replied Pueckler. "We shall not desert the fatherland, but serveit with our whole strength, and after that is exhausted, we know how todie."