"Thank you for your kind interest," replied the prince, "we are all better at home, and my wife has quite recovered."
"And the d.u.c.h.ess of Ossuna?"
"I have excellent accounts of her."
"And you--how is your health?"
"My nerves plague me at times, otherwise I am well."
"So!" said the king, "and now sit down and tell me what brought you here. I heard a rumour through Count Ingelheim."
The prince seated himself near the king. "I wish I came in less serious times, on a less serious mission," he said sighing; "the emperor sends me to you. Here is his letter."
And he gave the king the note which he held in his hand. The king took it and pa.s.sed his fingers lightly over the seal, then he laid it on the table before him.
"Do you know the contents; is there anything important in it?" he asked.
"Nothing important; only my credentials. My mission is personal."
"Speak then. I am anxious to hear."
"The emperor has determined," said the prince, "to commence a war, and to carry it on with all his power for the future formation of Germany, since he is convinced that by such a war, and by a decided Austrian victory alone, can lasting peace be procured, and lasting safety and independence for the princes of Germany."
"Then I was not mistaken," said the king, "war is decreed."
"It is," replied the prince, "and the emperor ardently desires to be surrounded in this war by the German princes, as he was at the Furstentag at Frankfort."
"When they tried to catch me," said the king; "but go on."
"The emperor," added the prince, "prizes the alliance of Hanover above all things. He commanded me to say that he considered the interests of the Houses of Guelph and Hapsburg identical in Germany."
"The Guelphs have always fought against the imperial family," said the king.
"The emperor," proceeded the prince, "hopes that the old and intimate relations between Hanover and Austria may continue during the present crisis. He considers that at the congress of Vienna, Hanover did not receive her proper position in Germany, especially in North Germany.
Called upon to be a powerful and independent barrier against Prussia"s hegemonistic struggles, Hanover was yet left too weak through the diplomacy of the Vienna congress."
"Because Metternich"s efforts were not supported," interrupted the king, half to himself.
"The emperor," continued the prince, "is desirous of repairing the errors of the Vienna congress by a new formation and organization of Germany, and for this purpose he wishes to conclude an offensive and defensive treaty with Hanover."
"On what basis?" asked the king.
"The most important points of the alliance which the emperor has in his mind are these," said the prince. "Hanover shall immediately place her whole army on a war footing, and in common with Austria, and at the same time, shall declare war against Prussia. In return the emperor will place the Kalik Brigade now at Holstein at your disposal, and will offer you General von Gablenz for a time as its commander. He promises his utmost support to Hanover should the war be unfavourable, and in case of victory he guarantees that Holstein and Prussian Westphalia shall be incorporated with your kingdom."
"In case of victory?" said the king; "do you believe in victory?"
The prince was silent for a moment.
"I am an Austrian general," he then said.
"Lay aside the Austrian general for a moment, and answer me as my brother."
"If our forces are properly led, and actively employed," replied the prince, after a short hesitation; "and if Germany supports us strongly and energetically, we must be successful. Our artillery is excellent, and our cavalry very superior to the Prussian."
"Hum!" said the king; "yet let us put aside these considerations, or you will believe me to be swayed entirely by interested motives, and I a.s.sure you it is not so. In this crisis there is a higher principle than success, and by this principle alone will I be guided."
"I humbly beg you," said the prince, "to consider the future advantage and greatness to be gained for your country, and not to forget that Prussia, with her power and her present political tendencies, is a dangerous and threatening neighbour to Hanover."
The king remained for some little time silent and thoughtful.
"My dear Karl," he then said, "be a.s.sured that everything that comes from the emperor shall receive my gravest consideration and hearty respect, and that, by giving me the happiness of seeing you as his messenger, he has strengthened still more my feelings of regard. I am always ready to show my enduring friendship to Austria and to the house of Hapsburg. But here--I must say it at once--principles enter into the question, which as the ruler of my country and a member of the German confederacy stand higher than all. At this moment I will give you no definite answer. You can remain here a few days?"
"A few days certainly," replied the prince; "the emperor awaits my return with anxiety, and I cannot stay long."
"I will not detain you long, and your proposals shall at once be laid before my ministers."
The king rang, and said to the attendant who appeared,
"If the gentlemen have breakfasted, beg them to come here."
Shortly afterwards Count Platen, General Brandis, and Bacmeister entered the room.
Prince Karl greeted them separately with great heartiness, and they all seated themselves around the king"s writing-table.
George V. spoke:
"The situation we have just discussed is somewhat modified. My brother Karl is the bearer of a proposal from his imperial majesty of Austria of a distinct treaty of alliance under certain conditions. I beg you, my dear Karl, to recapitulate the conditions."
The prince repeated the points which he had previously named to the king.
Count Platen rubbed his hands together laughingly.
"Your majesty perceives," he said, in a low voice to the king, "we are wooed by both sides. What a favourable position our policy has secured!"
Bacmeister shook his head slowly, and twisted the thumbs of his folded hands, an expression of amused irony playing around his mouth.
"Your Highness," he said, "speaks of the important acquisitions of Hanover in case of victory. But what will happen--we must consider every side of the question--if Prussia should be the conqueror?"
"Under all circ.u.mstances the emperor guarantees to support Hanover,"
said the prince.
"How would his imperial majesty be able, if Austria were vanquished, to support Hanover against victorious Prussia?" asked Bacmeister.
"No discussion now, I beg, my dear minister," said the king.
"Gentlemen," he added, "you have heard the proposal. On this occasion I will depart from my usual custom, and at once tell you my views. I take up my position on the standing-point that a war between two members of the German confederacy is, according to the laws of that confederacy, impossible. Such a war, alas! can and may come upon us, like a convulsion of nature, or some scourge of G.o.d;--to contemplate it beforehand, to conclude treaties on the subject, I hold to be irreconcilable with my duty as a German prince. I should by such a treaty take part in the guilt of a rupture of the confederacy so blessed to Germany and the whole of Europe. Never, with my consent, shall Hanoverian troops fight against German soldiers, except from dire necessity.
"But there is another reason why I cannot subscribe to this treaty. I cannot consent to the eventual enlargement of Hanover; I cannot sign a treaty by which I stretch out my hand for my neighbour"s goods. It is my joy and my pride that throughout the country I rule, there is not a foot"s breadth of earth that has not descended to me by legitimate inheritance; shall I now sign a treaty for the acquisition of lands that do not belong to me? Westphalia belongs to the King of Prussia, with whom not only do I live in peace, but to whom, as a member of the confederacy, I regard my obligations as sacred. Holstein belongs by right I know not to whom--to the Grand Duke of Oldenburg, to the Duke of Augustenburg, to Prussia,--I cannot enter into the difficult subject,--certainly it does not belong to me. No, gentlemen, I cannot part with the happy knowledge that I hold my kingdom entirely from G.o.d"s justice, and by G.o.d"s grace: never," cried the king, striking his right hand upon the table, "will I stretch out this hand to take what is not mine. Hence, according to my views, the treaty proposed is inadmissible. A proposal, however, from his Imperial Majesty of Austria has an undoubted right to our gravest and most earnest consideration. I therefore beg each of you conscientiously to think through this subject, to weigh it deeply, and express all that can be said against my opinions. Not to-day, but to-morrow I will preside at a council of my a.s.sembled ministers, including your absent colleagues, in order to decide upon our answer. For to-day I thank you, I will let you know the hour of council for to-morrow."