Chapter CXLVIII The Petitioners
As the door closed behind Horja, the emperor continued his rounds, but no more petitions were presented. Here and there, however, was heard a request for an audience, which Joseph granted, and then retired to his cabinet, leaving the door open.
“Have the goodness to walk in,” said he to the lady, who was in advance of the others. She obeyed, and the emperor, closing the door, took a seat at his escritoire.
“Now, madam, I am ready to hear you; but, as there are nine persons to follow, I must request you to be brief. What is your name?”
“I am the widow of the President von Kahlbaum.”
“He was a worthy man. Have you any children, madam?”
“Yes, your majesty; I have two daughters and a son.”
“Two daughters? I once had a little maiden of my own, but she is dead,” said the emperor, sadly. “How can I serve you and your children?”
“Oh, sire, the fearful ordinance by which the pensions from her late majesty’s privy-purse were withdrawn, has ruined me. I beseech of you, sire, restore to me my pension extraordinary.”
“Are you not aware that the pensions extraordinary are abolished?”
“Yes, sire; but through your majesty’s liberality, I hope to retain the pension I held from the empress. The loss of it heightens my grief for the death of my husband, and makes life unendurable. Without it I should have to part with my carriage, with a portion of my household, and live in complete retirement. I am sure that your majesty’s own sense of justice will plead for me.”
“Justice is the motive power of all my actions, madam,” replied the emperor, curtly, “and for that very reason you cannot retain your pension.”
“Sire, I am sorely stricken. The merits of my husband—my position—”
“Your husband’s merits have earned you the pension you already receive from the crown; and as for your position, that can in no way concern me. I grant that your loss is great; but your special pension will maintain three poor families, and I cannot allow you to receive it longer.”
“Alas!” cried the lady, “what are my daughters to do?”
“They can become good house-keepers or governesses, if they have received good educations.”
“Impossible, sire. My daughters are of noble birth, and they cannot descend to the humiliation of earning a living.”
“Why not? I am sure I earn my living, and earn it by hard work, too. No one is too good to work; and since the aristocracy cannot shield their children from want, it is clear that they cannot free them from the necessity of labor.”
“Then, your majesty, have mercy upon my son—the only son of a man of noble extraction.”
“What profession has he chosen?”
“He wishes to be an officer in the army; but he was so severely dealt with in his examination, that he has not been able to obtain a commission. Oh, your majesty, I beseech of you, grant him a command in the infantry!”
“Madam,” cried the emperor, impatiently, “a man may be the son of a distinguished father without having the slightest claim to serve as an officer. As your son was not able to stand his examination, he must content himself with being the ‘son of a man of noble extraction.’ Excuse me, but time is limited. I regret to refuse your requests, but justice compels me to do so.”
The lady burst into tears, and making her inclination to the emperor, left the room. The latter, following her, said, “Let the next petitioner advance.”
This was an old hussar, a captain of cavalry, with lofty bearing and snow-white beard. He came in, making a military salute.
“What can I do for you, my friend?” asked Joseph.
“I come to ask of your majesty not to deprive me of the pension extraordinary which the empress of blessed memory bestowed upon me from her privy purse,” said the old soldier, bluntly.
“Oh, another pension extraordinary!” said the emperor, with a laugh. “That cannot be, captain. The privy purse of the empress, which, in the goodness of her heart, was thrown indiscriminately to all who asked for alms, this purse exists no longer. It has a large hole in it, and its contents have all run out.”
The old hussar gave a grim look to the emperor, and raised his peruke. Pointing with his finger to three wide, purple scars upon his head, he said:
“Sire, my head is somewhat in the condition of your privy-purse, it has several holes in it. They were made by your majesty’s enemies.”
“To stop such holes as those is my sacred duty,” said Joseph, smiling, “and enough remains yet in the bottom of the privy-purse to satisfy the wants of a brave officer, who has served me to his own prejudice. Forgive my refusal. The petition which you wear on your head is more eloquent than words, and your pension shall be returned to you.”
“I thank your majesty,” said the captain, and with another stiff salute, he marched out.
The emperor looked after him, laughing heartily.
As he disappeared, a pale, delicate woman came forward, accompanied by several young children, two of which were hiding their heads in her skirt. The group filed up the door like a picture, and the children clung so to the pallid mother that she could not advance a step.
“As you cannot come to me, I will go to you,” said the emperor, contemplating them with a benevolent smile. “Give me your petition, madam.”
“These are my petitions, your majesty,” said the woman pointing to her children. “My husband served for many years in the twelfth regiment, and died of the wounds he received in the Bavarian war. He left me nothing but these orphans.”
The emperor looked kindly at the little golden heads that were peeping from among the folds of their mother’s dress, and a cloud came over his face. “You grieve for your poverty, poor woman,” said he, “and know not how I envy your riches. How many millions would I give if one of those children were mine! Children are a great blessing.”
“Yes, sire, when they have fathers to work for them.”
“I will be their father,” said Joseph, and at the sound of these loving words, the children raised their bashful heads, to steal a look at the speaker. “Come, boys,” continued he, offering his hand, “will any of you be soldiers?”
“Yes, yes,” replied the two eldest, standing erect and making the military salute.
“That is right. You are brave fellows, and if you behave well, you shall belong to my body-guard.—Come to-morrow,” continued he to the mother, “and the lord-chancellor will attend to the maintenance and education of your four eldest. Meanwhile, you shall have a pension for yourself and the youngest. In a few years I will do as much for the little one there. Be punctual in your visit to the chancery. You will be received at ten o’clock.”
“God reward your majesty!” faltered the happy mother. “Oh, my children, my dear children, the emperor is the father of the orphan! Reward your gracious sovereign by being good, and pray for him with all your hearts!”
With these words the woman courtesied and withdrew, and the audience for that day was at an end.
“And pray for him with all your hearts,” whispered the emperor. “May God hear the petitions of these innocents! Perchance they may weigh against the curses of others. They are the little roses which I sometimes find beneath my crown of thorns. But away with sentiment! I have no time to indulge in heart-reveries. My vocation is to work. Here is a portfolio filled with petitions. Gunther must help me to examine them.”
He rang the bell, and Gunther seated himself and went to work. Meanwhile, the emperor had taken up one of the papers and was reading it. Suddenly he put it down and began to laugh.
“Listen, Gunther,” said he, “listen to this touching appeal. One of the discharged counselors orders me to give him a larger pension that he may live in a manner befitting his position. Now hear the conclusion of the petition. ‘Our emperor is a poor callow mouse.’”1
“And your majesty can laugh at such insolence!” exclaimed Gunther, coloring with indignation.
“Yes, I do,” replied Joseph. “Nothing can be franker and more to the point.”
“And I, pardon me, sire, think that the writer of this insolent letter should be severely—”
“Nay,” interrupted the emperor. “You would not have me punish him for being man enough to say to my face what thousands say of me behind my back, would you? Now, I am so disinclined to punish him that I intend to increase his pension just because he is an honest, plain-spoken fellow. You need not make such a grimace, Gunther. If you feel badly, console yourself with your work.”
The emperor seated himself at the table and went on looking over his petitions, occasionally murmuring to himself, “Our emperor is a poor, callow mouse!”
Notes
1 Hubner, i., p. 199.