CHAPTER TEN
We have left the Prince of Saxony as prisoner in the fortress of Altenburg, far from his friend Mersburg, who had escaped, as he said, to deliver his master from the imprisonment in which he languished.
The great deeds of arms of the Marquis of Thuringia had succeeded in pushing back the troops of the Emperor who were besieging his capital. As soon as Altenburg was recaptured, the Count of Mersburg and the Marquis of Thuringia rushed to the aid of their sovereign and placed a new garrison in the city which the enemy had abandoned. There was nothing more touching than the interview of these three lords. If, however, Thuringia, not satisfied with the way Frederick had conducted himself with Adelaide, was a little cool towards his master, and Mersburg a little false; there was no doubt about the genuineness of the feeling of Frederick when he embraced his two liberators. He was unstinted in his praise of Thuringia for his heroism and his leadership. The marquis, however, was using all his efforts to get the prince to take over again the reins of government. Mersburg, too, agreed with Thuringia; but the two of them were unable to convince him of his duty in this respect. He spoke of the regrets he had at the way he had treated Adelaide and that he was even more eager to find her in order to get her forgiveness which was so necessary for his tranquility of mind. Nothing could turn him aside in his wish to carry through this search for his wife. In consequence he asked the count to follow him, and the latter having accepted, less through real liking than through a wish to further his plans for the future, the two men left on their mission. Louis of Thuringia took up again the scepter which had been left to him, and our two knights took up their adventures again followed by the same squire who had been with them before. They headed toward Mainz and in a few weeks were settled in this town.
There were in Mainz during this time, many people who had just returned from the famous fair in Frankfort and in talking to these people, the two knights heard the story of the Margrave of Baden and of a beautiful Saxon woman whom he had taken off to his castle. The prince tried to get the people, who had told the story, to tell him the name of the Saxon woman; but they had never heard it. Jealousy immediately came to the heart of Frederick and he resolved to do all he could to find the true identity of this woman.
"My friend," he said to the count, "I have no doubt about this being my wife. She must have yielded to the margrave and has become his mistress. Let's go to Baden immediately and let's challenge this man who has made me unhappy."
Mersburg opposed this project immediately.
"You have no idea whatsoever about whether this is your wife or not."
"No, I admit, I have only a suspicion."
"In that case, what can you accomplish with the margrave? You will only dishonor her and yourself by your suspicions."
"No, at least I will calm myself. Let's go to Baden and find out all we can. It may be that we can find the thread which will lead us to her."
"That is a possibility, but I think that it will be a useless trip."
Nothing could calm the jealousy of Frederick and all through the trip to Baden, he was raging in his heart.
When they arrived, all they heard about was the adventure of the margrave and the beautiful Saxon woman and about her escape. A price had been put on the head of the Baron of Dourlach by the margrave and he had promised a handsome reward for the person who would bring back the two fugitives. This news had come to Krimpser, who was eager to get in the good graces of the margrave and having kept the young man with this in mind, he had sent him back to Baden to get the punishment which the margrave was holding for him. In committing this treacherous act, he had not, however, in any way betrayed the hiding place of Adelaide and he continued to say that he did not have the slightest idea about where the two women had gone. The violent margrave, not being able to get his vengeance on Adelaide concentrated on Dourlach and according to the people the baron had disappeared. Thus the thread was broken.
Such was the state of things when Frederick arrived in Baden.
"Didn't I tell you that the trip would be useless?" Mersburg said when they had heard all that. "There would be no point in going to see the margrave since he does not know any more than you do. He knows that he has lost a woman whom he loved, but he does not know who that woman was, and he will certainly not reveal how much she meant to him nor how far he went with her."
"That is right," said Frederick, "but the trace is not as lost as you think. We know that Dourlach, arrested by the brigand Krimpser, has known the beautiful Saxon woman. We may be able to get some information from the bandit."
"Prince," said Mersburg, "you have to be very jealous and very much in love to go as far as you suggest. I do not speak of the dangers which are very grave, but I do speak of the humiliation. Think about how you will be lowering yourself to ask that thief what has become of your wife. You who purge your states of bandits, is it to a man of his type that you are going to find out what has become of the woman who shares your throne? Oh, my Prince, people are right to say that passion has no shame. What will you do in the bandit's lair, if he receives you badly?"
"I shall be very careful not to tell him who I am, and as for the way he receives me, I shall reward him if he receives me well, and I shall have him exterminated if he receives me badly."
Mersburg wanted to answer, but realizing that it was useless, he said nothing and followed his master.
The two travelers were stopped at the foot of the mountain by the satellites of the bandit. They said they were Bavarians and that they had come to this neighborhood in order to discuss a matter of great importance with the illustrious Krimpser. They were obliged to spend the night under the trees where they were guarded by six men. The next morning a man was sent to Krimpser to tell him that three Bavarian gentlemen requested the honor of speaking with him. After a while the ambassador came back saying that they could not obtain this favor unless they were unarmed.
"You see how you are being humiliated," said Mersburg. "I warned you about this."
"And suppose we refuse to disarm?" said Frederick.
"Well, in that case, you will not see our general and we will be obliged to put you in our dungeons," said the man.
"If that is the type of adventures you promised me," said Mersburg to Frederick, "you will have to admit that it would have been better if I had never left home."
They were forced to make up their minds at once since the laws of Krimpser would not allow very long delays.
"Let's go to him," said Frederick laying aside his arms, an example which the other two followed. "What brings me here," said the prince, "is too important for my happiness not to sacrifice even honor."
"You will not lose your honor," said the one who was in charge of taking them to the bandit. "Your arms will be returned to you as soon as the interview is over. One is not dishonored by bowing before the man who makes half of Europe tremble."
They arrived in the reception room of Krimpser who was lying on a pile of arms. He did not get up and even insisted that his visitors remain standing with their heads bare. He first asked them many questions before he listened to what they had to say. Finally Frederick was able to ask him some questions. Here Krimpser although faithful to the laws of honor and gratitude, used a few ruses to carry out some orders which had been given him and for which he had certainly received much money.
"Sir," he said to Frederick whom he had recognized, "the one you are seeking is your wife, isn't she?"
"She is the woman who reigns over my heart and for the last two years in her name I have been fighting the traitors and the scoundrels of society."
"In that case, I would advise you to change the object of your affections. She is not worthy of them. If I had not had proofs of this weakness, I would not have kept her so long."
"You are a cad and you will pay for that lie."
"Don't question me if you do not want me to tell you the truth, and do not lack respect for me if you don't want me to take away from you the means of showing it. Believe me that I am not the only one who has had your Saxon beauty. When she arrived here she was already the mistress of Dourlach who had taken her away from the Margrave of Baden with whom she had lived in the greatest intimacy."
Frederick was in a furious mood and was going to throw himself on the pile of arms on which the bandit was sitting to grab a sword, but Mersburg held him and was able to calm him after a few moments.
"Was that all you wanted to find out from me?" asked Krimpser with insolence.
"No," said Frederick, "I would like to know what has become of this woman whose fate interests me so much. Does she still languish in your infamous den or have you given her her liberty?"
"She is no longer here and I believe she is in Dalmatia."
"Has she gone to Venice?"
"Perhaps," said Krimpser, "but all your questions tire me. Soldiers, take these people away. You will give them back their arms at the foot of the mountain, and what becomes of them then is of no importance."
There was nothing to answer to this and everything took place as the bandit had ordered. The three men went on their road to Brixen where they spent the night.
There as one can easily imagine, Frederick was upset by the revelations he had just heard and he could not rest. He was bored by the stupid consolations of Pitreman and he was irritated by the reproaches of the count. He decided to take a walk in the neighborhood of the inn where they were spending the night and which was located on the edge of the town.
The night was very black, and the prince, who like most people when they are occupied with their thoughts, did not notice where he was walking until he found himself in an uneven section of ground and he noticed that there were tombstones. His walk had taken him to the cemetery.
"Alas," he said to himself, "this is the place where I must stay. Chance has brought me here and does it not seem like an order? After all what do I have left in the world after having lost the heart and the person of the one I adore? Why should I leave this place in order to expose myself to new misfortunes? Adelaide, I must die here since I shall never see you again, and since if I did find you, I could only think of your infidelities. Ah, my suspicions did not deceive me when they fell on Kaunitz; but why should I have had assassinated the one she preferred? The blood of this young man is still on my conscience. I see his shadow still following me through this sinister habitation of the dead."
Suddenly a flash of lightning brightened the heavens and thunder grumbled on the tips of the mountains and more flashes lighted up the valleys. The clouds piled up in heavy masses and made the black obscurity even more frightful. The violent crashes of the lightning became more frequent and the streaks of fire crossed the heavens in all directions. At this moment the earth shook and the graves opened up. One might have said that they were like mouths cursing the sky for the death which it was sending down to the earth.
"Crush me," yelled Frederick to the lightning, "hasten to have me join the unfortunate ones who are resting here. Let my criminal remains be purified, if it is possible, but being close to the innocent bodies of those who have been buried here. If Heaven is just, in compensation for the troubles I have had, may it deign to pardon those I have caused."
Frederick, haggard, kept on with this soliloquy. He was the image of the sinner who was unable to stop the fury of God who shows his anger and his power at times to us mortals.
Suddenly, he stopped because he thought he saw a shadow in one of the graves which had been opened up by the earthquake. He tried to penetrate the darkness with his eyes, but was unable.
"Don't you know me?" asked a deep voice. "Have you forgotten the one at Amsterdam who was able to foretell such true things? I have come here to finish my days and I am going to speak to you again. Your misfortunes are not over, Frederick, undergo them with courage. Continue your search among the people of Padua, there you will find your wife again."
At these words, the shadow disappeared and soon the storm ceased and the prince, frightened at what he had just heard, left quickly to rejoin those who had been uneasy because of his absence. He did not say a word about his adventure.
"I am more anxious than ever to push on to Venice," he said to them. "I have a feeling that I will see the one I love there, and I want to succeed or die in the attempt."