Frederick the Great and His Family [280]
possessor of my present palace. It may be that he will not recognize me as the visible representative of God--as king by the grace of God. We must therefore come to his assistance, and show ourselves in all the dazzling glitter of royalty. We must improvise a throne, and, it appears to me, that leathern arm-chair, which certainly belonged to a grandfather, is well suited to the occasion. It will be a worthy representation of my throne, which was my grandfather's throne; he erected it, and I inherited it from him. Shove it, then, into the middle of the room, and fasten some of the Russian flags, which we took at Zorndorf, on the wall behind it; spread my tent-carpet on the floor, and my throne saloon is ready. Quick, Le Catt, make your preparations; call the servants, and show them what they have to do. In the mean time, I will make my toilet; I must not appear before the worthy ambassador in such unworthy guise." The king rang hastily, and his valet, Deesen, entered. "Deesen," said he, gayly, "we will imagine ourselves to be again in Sans-Souci, and about to hold a great court. I must do then, what I have not done for a long time--make grande toilette. I will wear my general's uniform, and adorn myself with the order of the Black Eagle. I will have my hair frizzed, and screw up an imposing cue. Well, Deesen, why do you gaze at me so wildly?"
"Sire, the general's coat is here, but--"
"Well, but what?" cried the king, impatiently.
"But the breeches! the breeches!" stammered Deesen, turning pale; "they are torn; and those your majesty now wears, are your last and only ones."
"Well, then," said the king, laughing, "I will continue to wear my last and only breeches; I will put on my general's coat, voila tout."
"That is wholly impossible," cried Deesen, wringing his hands. "If your majesty proposes to hold a great court, you cannot possibly wear these breeches!"
"Why not? why not?" said the king, fiercely.
"Sire," murmured Deesen, "sire, that has happened to them which happened to your majesty at Torgau."
"That is to say--" said the king, questioningly.
"That is to say, they are wounded."
Frederick looked surprised, and following the glance of his valet, he found his eyes fixed upon his knees.
"You are right, Deesen," said he, laughing; "that disaster has befallen my breeches which befell me at Torgau: they are wounded, and need a surgeon."
"Your majesty must therefore graciously postpone your great court till to-morrow. Perhaps I may find a tailor in one of the neighboring villages; he will work during the night, and early tomorrow every thing will be in order."
"It must be done to-day--done immediately," cried the king. "In a few hours the injury must be healed, and my apparel fully restored to health."
"But, sire," whispered Deesen, "how can that be possible? Your majesty has but one pair, and you must take them off, in order that they may be mended."
"Well, I will take them off," said the king; "go and seek the tailor. I will undress and go to bed till this important operation is performed. Go at once!"
While the king was undressing, he heard Deesen's stentorian voice, calling out lustily through the streets--"A tailor! a tailor! is there a tailor amongst the soldiers?"
The king was scarcely covered up in bed before Deesen entered, with a joyous face.
"Sire, I have found a soldier who can do the work; he is not a tailor, but he swears he can sew and patch, and he undertakes to dress the wounds."
"And yet, it is said that a higher power rules the world," murmured the king, when he was again alone; "accident--accident decides all questions. If there had been no tailor amongst the soldiers, the King of Prussia could not have received the ambassador of Tartary to-day, and the negotiations might have been broken off."
At this moment the door opened, and Le Catt entered, followed by a servant with the Russian flags and the carpet. When he saw the king in bed, he started back, and asked anxiously "if his majesty had been taken suddenly unwell?"
"No," said Frederick,
"Sire, the general's coat is here, but--"
"Well, but what?" cried the king, impatiently.
"But the breeches! the breeches!" stammered Deesen, turning pale; "they are torn; and those your majesty now wears, are your last and only ones."
"Well, then," said the king, laughing, "I will continue to wear my last and only breeches; I will put on my general's coat, voila tout."
"That is wholly impossible," cried Deesen, wringing his hands. "If your majesty proposes to hold a great court, you cannot possibly wear these breeches!"
"Why not? why not?" said the king, fiercely.
"Sire," murmured Deesen, "sire, that has happened to them which happened to your majesty at Torgau."
"That is to say--" said the king, questioningly.
"That is to say, they are wounded."
Frederick looked surprised, and following the glance of his valet, he found his eyes fixed upon his knees.
"You are right, Deesen," said he, laughing; "that disaster has befallen my breeches which befell me at Torgau: they are wounded, and need a surgeon."
"Your majesty must therefore graciously postpone your great court till to-morrow. Perhaps I may find a tailor in one of the neighboring villages; he will work during the night, and early tomorrow every thing will be in order."
"It must be done to-day--done immediately," cried the king. "In a few hours the injury must be healed, and my apparel fully restored to health."
"But, sire," whispered Deesen, "how can that be possible? Your majesty has but one pair, and you must take them off, in order that they may be mended."
"Well, I will take them off," said the king; "go and seek the tailor. I will undress and go to bed till this important operation is performed. Go at once!"
While the king was undressing, he heard Deesen's stentorian voice, calling out lustily through the streets--"A tailor! a tailor! is there a tailor amongst the soldiers?"
The king was scarcely covered up in bed before Deesen entered, with a joyous face.
"Sire, I have found a soldier who can do the work; he is not a tailor, but he swears he can sew and patch, and he undertakes to dress the wounds."
"And yet, it is said that a higher power rules the world," murmured the king, when he was again alone; "accident--accident decides all questions. If there had been no tailor amongst the soldiers, the King of Prussia could not have received the ambassador of Tartary to-day, and the negotiations might have been broken off."
At this moment the door opened, and Le Catt entered, followed by a servant with the Russian flags and the carpet. When he saw the king in bed, he started back, and asked anxiously "if his majesty had been taken suddenly unwell?"
"No," said Frederick,