Prince Eugene | Page 4

OF BERLIN, BERLIN AND SANS-SOUCI, JOSEPH II.
AND HIS COURT, ETC.
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY ADELAIDE DeV.
CHAUDRON

CONTENTS.
BOOK I.
I. The Countess of Soissons II. The Laboratory III. Prince Eugene IV.
The Riot V. Barbesieur Louvois VI. The State Reception VII. Help in
Time of Need VIII. The Flight IX. The Parting
BOOK II.
I. Marianna Mancini II. The Trial III. A Skirmish IV. Louvois'
Daughter V. The Court-Ball VI. The Lady of the Bedchamber VII. The
Lady of the Bedchamber VIII. First Love IX. The Betrayal

BOOK III.
I. The Disappointment II. The Foes III. The Repulse IV. The Farewell
V. A Page from History VI. The Emperor Leopold I. VII. The Council
of War VIII. The Plains of Kitsee IX. The Baptism of Blood X. Vienna
XI. The Re-enforcements
BOOK IV.
I. The Fall of Buda II. The Friends III. The Marquis Strozzi IV. Laura
V. The Regatta VI. The Negotiator VII. The Lovers reunited VIII.
Antonio's Expiation IX. The Dungeon
BOOK V.
I. A Twofold Victory II. The Dumb Music III. The Retirement of the
Commander-in-Chief IV. The Fall of Belgrade V. The Marchioness VI.
The Flight VII. The Forester's Hut
BOOK VI.
I. Sister Angelica II. Louis the Fourteenth III. The King and the
Petitioners IV. The Window that was too large V. The Imperial Diet at
Regensburg VI. The Judith of Esslingen VII. Her Return
BOOK VII.
I. The Island of Bliss II. The French in Speier III. The Treasure IV.
Caspar's Vengeance V. The Duchess of Orleans VI. The Deliverance of
Trier VII. The Fire-tongs VIII. Brave Hearts
BOOK VIII.
I. The Advance into France II. The Ravens III. Sick and Well IV. The
Duke's Dangerous Illness V. The Marquis Strozzi VI. Insanity and
Revenge VII. The Ambrosia VIII. The Betrothal IX. Vengeance

PRINCE EUGENE AND HIS TIMES.

BOOK I.
PRINCE EUGENE, THE LITTLE ABBE
CHAPTER I.
THE COUNTESS OF SOISSONS.
"Is that your last word, madame?" said Louvois, in a tone so emphatic
as to be almost threatening.
"My last word," replied the countess, haughtily. "My daughter is too
young to marry, and were she older, I would not impose a husband
upon her who was not the man of her choice. She shall bestow her hand
and heart together."
"Do you mean that it is impossible for your daughter to love my son?"
asked Louvois, hastily.
The countess raised her shoulders and smiled superciliously, while
from her large black eyes there darted forth a glance that spoke
volumes to the mind of the irritated minister.
"It would appear," said she, "that there can be no sympathy between the
Mancinis and the Louvois, and that their antipathies are to be
perpetuated from generation to generation."
"You would remind me of the similarity which the fate of my son as a
wooer bears to that of his father?" asked Louvois. "I do not deny it; the
repulse which twenty-one years ago I received from Olympia Mancini,
she repeats to-day in the person of her daughter. But it may be that on
some other occasion the Mancinis shall be repulsed by the Louvois."
"A threat?" said the countess, angrily.

Now it was the shoulders of the minister that were raised. "I have
sowed love and reaped hate," said he, quietly.
The countess laughed. "Ah," said she, "I see that you have remodelled
your speech according to the pious formulary of Madame de Maintenon,
and that you seek for your troubadours among the prophets."
"Yes--the Scriptural prophets satisfy MY cravings for knowledge,"
replied Louvois, smiling. "Pity that everybody else is not as orthodox
as I!"
"What do you mean?" asked the countess, uneasily.
"I mean that it would be better for the Countess de Soissons if she
imitated the discretion of Madame de Maintenon, and eschewed
association with those unholy prophets who draw their inspiration from
the stars."
"Do you think so? And yet the book of the stars is inspired and contains
truth, for therein it stands written that our two families will never be
united by the bonds of love. What is the use of striving against destiny?
Fate has willed our enmity, and we must submit with resignation," said
the countess, with an affected drawl. "You see," added she, pathetically,
"how beautifully I fall into your new-fashioned dialect, and how
harmoniously my dulcet notes mingle with those of the court chorus."
"I remember the dulcet notes of a poem written years ago, which were
wont to edify the court with a strain that would sound inharmonious
there to-day. What would De Montespan and De Maintenon say to such
discordant lines as these?" And Louvois began to hum the following:
"La belle Olympe n'a point de seconde, Et l'Amour a bien reuni Dedans
l'infanta Mancini Par un avantage supreme Tout ce qui