'
'You are very adroit, Herr von Gondremark,' said Otto. 'You fill me
with admiration. I had not heretofore done justice to your
qualities.'
Seraphina looked up with joy, supposing Otto conquered; but
Gondremark still waited, armed at every point; he knew how very
stubborn is the revolt of a weak character.
'And the territorial army scheme, to which I was persuaded to
consent - was it secretly directed to the same end?' the Prince
asked.
'I still believe the effect to have been good,' replied the Baron;
'discipline and mounting guard are excellent sedatives. But I will
avow to your Highness, I was unaware, at the date of that decree, of
the magnitude of the revolutionary movement; nor did any of us, I
think, imagine that such a territorial army was a part of the
republican proposals.'
'It was?' asked Otto. 'Strange! Upon what fancied grounds?'
'The grounds were indeed fanciful,' returned the Baron. 'It was
conceived among the leaders that a territorial army, drawn from and
returning to the people, would, in the event of any popular
uprising, prove lukewarm or unfaithful to the throne.'
'I see,' said the Prince. 'I begin to understand.'
'His Highness begins to understand?' repeated Gondremark, with the
sweetest politeness. 'May I beg of him to complete the phrase?'
'The history of the revolution,' replied Otto dryly. 'And now,' he
added, 'what do you conclude?'
'I conclude, your Highness, with a simple reflection,' said the
Baron, accepting the stab without a quiver, 'the war is popular;
were the rumour contradicted to-morrow, a considerable
disappointment would be felt in many classes; and in the present
tension of spirits, the most lukewarm sentiment may be enough to
precipitate events.
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