Then you--you are that irresistibly clever diplomat whom they are awaiting with open arms?
HOTHAM.
Does the King really look with favor upon this marriage with the Prince of Wales?
PRINCE.
Horrible! I picked this man for a genius from among a thousand others. I took him from Paris, and put him into English diplomacy and now I must suffer because he does honor to my judgment. Let me tell you, then, my friend, that the King and the Queen, quite ignorant of their mutual agreement, are both heartily desirous of this marriage and all of its implications. But you are to know also that Princess Wilhelmine, the unhappy sacrifice of your political ambitions, is loved by a prince who cannot compete in power or position with your Prince of Wales, but who in devotion, love, pa.s.sion so far outdistances all and any crowned suitors for the hand of this angel as heaven, nay, as paradise, outdistances earth--and that this prince is--myself.
HOTHAM.
This is indeed a discovery I did not dream of, and I must, unhappily, add not a pleasant one. But if you ask in due form, why should they not grant you the hand of the Princess?
PRINCE.
Grant it to me? A petty German sovereign When they have the choice of future Kings and Emperors? Speak of me to the Queen and you will discover that she invariably confuses Baireuth with Ansbach.
HOTHAM.
The discovery is all the less pleasing in that I, as envoy of my government, must do all I can to bring about the marriage.
PRINCE.
Of course, you must justify my recommendation.
HOTHAM.
And yet I take the liberty of suggesting that possibly--under certain conditions--this marriage with England might not come about. Of a truth, Prince, take courage! Circ.u.mstances might arise which would not only give me the right, but would even make it my duty to give up all thoughts of the match.
PRINCE.
You revive my very soul.
HOTHAM.
Your Highness, it is not the Prince of Wales whom I represent here. The English nation, the cabinet, the Houses of Parliament send me. You are aware, Prince, your sojourn in England must have made it plain to you that the house of Hanover was called to the throne of England under conditions which make it the duty of that house to subordinate its own personal desires to the general welfare of the nation. Whether or not the Prince of Wales feels any personal interest in his cousin is of little moment. Parliament takes no cognizance of whether they love each other or not. The Prince of Wales, as future King of England, will contract any matrimonial alliance that is suggested to him as necessary to the national welfare. An alliance with the dynasty of the rising young kingdom of Prussia seems, under the present political constellation, to be the most favorable.
PRINCE.
And this holds out some hope for me?
HOTHAM.
There lies no hope in this unfortunate mission of mine, but in one of its clauses which states that the marriage, if all else be favorable, may be concluded only on this condition [_looking about cautiously_]: that certain English manufacturers shut out by Prussia be readmitted into the country [_softly_] on acceptable terms.
PRINCE.
And into this--this mercantile scheming you would mingle a question of love--an affair of the heart?
HOTHAM.
I am here to speak for the hearts of our merchants, hearts that beat warmly for the throne, but still more warmly for their balance-sheets.
If our factories have nothing to hope for, then, Prince [_takes his hands_], my protector, my patron, then I am all yours. And you shall see that I have other talents besides those of diplomacy.
PRINCE.
Talents to awaken a hope on which the bitterest disappointment must follow.
HOTHAM.
Wait, Prince, wait and trust--
PRINCE.
To the counting-room?
HOTHAM.
Why not? And when, in case the King will not agree to the new treaties, I have devoted myself entirely to your cause, when you under stand that my heart beats high in grat.i.tude to a Prince whom I met by mere chance and who has been my benefactor--when you have finally won the heart and hand of the Princess, then all I shall ask of Your Highness, as a German sovereign at the Diet of Regensburg, in Germany"s very heart, is merely your a.s.sistance in obtaining from the German Empire some little concession for our harmless, innocent--manufactures.
KAMKE (_opens the door to the right_).
HOTHAM.
Everything else later. For the present--trust me. Over there are the Queen"s apartments. Farewell. [_He goes out_.]
SCENE VIII
PRINCE (_alone_).
Land! Land in sight! Something, surely, can be done now! With Hotham at my right hand, I need only some female reinforcement at my left. The moment seems favorable. I will try to draw little Sonnsfeld, the Princess" lady-in-waiting, into the plot. She is waiting in the anteroom. I"ll knock. [_He goes softly to the_ PRINCESS" _door and knocks_]. I hear a sound. [_He knocks again_.] The rustle of a gown--it is she. [_He draws back a step and turns_.] First one must take these little outposts and then--to the main battle.
[WILHELMINE _comes in_.]
PRINCE (_startled_).
Ah, it is you--yourself!
WILHELMINE.
Oh, then it was you, Prince? I have reason to be very angry with you.
PRINCE.
With me, Your Highness? Why with me?