At this moment the door opened and a servant announced:
"Her Highness Anna Bornemissa, wife of Apafi, wishes to be admitted to the presence of the Prince."
Apafi looked at Teleki.
"This is your work."
Teleki answered calmly: "At your service, Highness."
"Did you bring the amba.s.sador to the Princess?"
"Even so, Highness."
"Then it was you who advised him to appear in this masquerade that he might the more readily draw me out."
"That too was my work, your Highness."
"A very foolish plan on your part, Michael Teleki."
"That remains to be proved, your Highness," thought his minister, in proud consciousness of his clever superiority.
Madame Apafi entered the room. Her bearing was princely as was her dress. The gentlemen present vied with each other in greeting her.
Apafi stepped quickly toward her, drew her arm within his and endeavored with marked consideration to take her to his private room.
"Let us stay here," said the Princess. "It is time enough to look at your Dutch clocks later; at present there are more serious affairs before us; the gentlemen from Hungary are waiting for a hearing."
"I know already what they wish, and have said that I will not hear anything more on the subject."
"Then you will listen to me. Yes, to me. I too am a Hungarian and make supplication to the Prince of Transylvania for help in the name of my Fatherland. That it may not be said that I influenced the Prince"s will in secret, I have come here publicly before his throne and beseech him for protection for Hungary, whose sons are called strangers here in Transylvania where her daughter is the princess."
It was evident to all that Apafi would have much preferred to listen to men rather than to his wife, but he was caught this time. She stood before him as a suppliant, and there was no way of escape. Teleki ordered the pages outside not to give admittance to any one else.
Apafi sat in an armchair in feverish excitement, and listened to the words of his wife. But before Anna could begin her speech the rattling of a coach was heard in the courtyard, and shortly after came the sound of decided footsteps through the corridor, and an imperious voice familiar to all inquired if the Prince was within.
When the page attempted to stand in his way a still more authoritative voice called, "Out of the way, boy." At the same time Dionysius Banfy pushed his way into the room. He was just as he had alighted from his carriage. His cheeks were redder than usual and his eyes blazed; he went directly to the Prince and said without preliminaries:
"Do not listen to these men, your Highness, do not listen to a word they say."
The Prince greeted Banfy with a smile and the words, "Welcome, kinsman."
"Pardon, your Highness, that in my haste I forgot to greet you; but when I heard that these Hungarians had gained audience here I was beside myself. What do you want?" he went on, turning to the Hungarian n.o.bleman. "It is not enough for them that they have brought their own country to ruin by their restlessness; they would like to drag ours down too."
"You speak of us," said Teleki, with cold scorn, "as if we belonged to some Tartar race and had been driven here from G.o.d knows what strange, savage country."
"On the contrary, I have spoken of you, my lords, as people who from the very first have by your restlessness involved Transylvania in a course leading to destruction. The Hungarians are, to a man, stupid."
"I beg you not to forget that I too"--said Madame Apafi.
"It is with no pleasure that I see the will of your Highness is authority here."
Madame Apafi turned to her brother-in-law in injured pride:
"I shall not for that reason cease to remain your well-wishing relative," and with these words she left the room.
"You might have spoken to the Prince more becomingly," said Teleki, sharply, to the great lord.
"What have I said to the Prince, as yet?" asked Banfy, shrugging his shoulders. "I cannot get anywhere near him with you in the way. So far, I have only spoken against those, and shall continue to speak against those who have absolutely no right to stand at the foot of the throne. I mean you too, Michael Teleki. I know very well why you have this Hungarian campaign so much at heart. It is not enough for you to stand first after the Prince in Transylvania, you would like to be Palatine of Hungary as well. What a delusion you are cherishing! The French promise help to Hungary. Hungary promises Teleki the Palatinate. Teleki promises Apafi a crown; and all are lying, and all are going to deceive one another."
"My lord," replied Teleki, bitterly, "is it allowed to speak so to guests, to kinsmen who are unfortunate and in exile?"
"n.o.body need instruct me in magnanimity," replied Banfy, proudly.
"Guest and fugitive have always found refuge with me; and if these fugitives wish us to share our home, our fatherland with them, here is my hand; I receive them to a share. But in the same way in which I should have the sense to forbid my guests to set fire to the house over my head, so do I protest against setting fire to the country. And if they do not stop trying to disturb the peace once more prospering in our country I will use every means to have them driven out."
"These words need not surprise us," said Teleki in bitter satire, turning to the n.o.blemen, "My gracious lord has been of late years pardoned by the Prince. Before that time he was in arms against us."
Apafi sat uneasily. "Have done with this quarreling. You are dismissed. As you see my counsellors are in opposition and without them I can do nothing."
"We will bring it before the Diet," said Teleki, solemnly.
The Prince withdrew, greatly annoyed, to his private room, and the lords went out the other door.
Banfy looked at him proudly as he went away and then straightened his fur cap.
"My good standing is at an end," he said mockingly as he went away.
Teleki looked after him coldly. When all had gone Teleki whispered a few words to a page, who went away and soon came back with a curly-haired blonde youth.
It seems as if we had already seen this young man at some time, but for so short a time that we cannot at once recall him. Over his warm dress hung a beggar"s pouch, and in his hand was a knotted stick.
"So at last you allow me to come into the presence of the Prince," he said in a somewhat imperious tone to Teleki.
"Take your place here at the door," replied the minister. "The Prince will soon pa.s.s on his way to dinner; you may then speak with him."
The young man with the beggar"s pouch sat for a long time at the Prince"s door, until Apafi finally appeared and the beggar placed himself at once in his way.
"Who are you?" asked the Prince astonished.
"I am the ransomed knight Emerich Bala.s.sa, who was once named among Hungary"s most influential men, and who now stands before your Highness with a beggar"s staff."
"You were concerned in that conspiracy, I believe," said Apafi, who appeared unpleasantly affected by the scene.
"I was not, your Highness. If you will deign to listen to my story"--
"Tell it."
"As you well know there was once in Hungary a notorious Turkish robber-knight, by name Corsar Bey, who for a long time laid waste the upper country and whom the united powers of the counties could not succeed in bringing under control, in his rocky fortress. This man I caught by stratagem and in such a manner as to win over to my side his favorite. Under pretext of an apparition she enticed him alone outside the castle. I was duly informed, fell upon him with my men who had been concealed in the forest, and took him captive with his favorite, one of the most beautiful and unprincipled of women."
"I have already heard the story, Bala.s.sa. That was a worthy deed."