Part 26 (2/2)

”Who?” inquired the King.

”Your best friends; that drunkard, Flemming, and that perverse hypocrite, Furstenberg, have made me a laughing-stock. My lord! deliver me from them.”

After long separation, Cosel had regained her power over the King, who had begun to cool towards her.

”I will scold Furstenberg and Flemming severely,” said he.

By the time he left the palace, he was once more under the influence of her charms, and when Furstenberg and Flemming came to him with an accusation against her, he told them both to go the next day and beg the Countess's pardon.

”You are both wrong. I dislike quarrels, and you must make it up with the Countess.”

”Your Majesty, it would be too humiliating for me,” said Flemming.

”It must be done, otherwise you would be obliged to leave the Court.”

The next day the King sent for them to come to the Palace of the Four Seasons. Cosel was crimson with anger, and proud as a Queen.

”I suppose,” said the King, ”that a mutual misunderstanding was the cause of the quarrel. The Countess will forget the past, and you, gentlemen, ever indulgent to the fair s.e.x, you will overlook it if she has ever said any bitter words about you.”

All the while the King was speaking, Cosel's look was full of anger, Furstenberg's of hatred, and Flemming's of irony. Yet when he had finished, they bowed politely, and their indistinct mutterings might have been taken as begging pardon.

Neither side was deluded with the idea that the reconciliation was sincere.

Soon after this her cunning enemies again tried to make the King quarrel with the beautiful Cosel, who seemed to be one of those wonderful creatures who are always young. Pa.s.sing through Brussels on his way from Flanders, the King met a beautiful dancing girl, called Duparc, and invited her to come to Dresden. Cosel's enemies knew how jealous she was, and they employed the Baroness Glasenapp to carry out an intrigue. When inviting Duparc to Dresden, Augustus did not tell her that he was the King; he was travelling then under the name of Count Torgau. On her arrival in Dresden, she failed to find a Count of that name. However, she had an aunt in Dresden, who was in the theatre, and this aunt took her to Chamberlain Murdachs, who was at that time director of the royal entertainments. He knew all about Duparc, and to her great surprise received her very well, expressing a wish that she would appear in the ballet, called ”The Princess Elida,” that had just been prepared to celebrate the King's return. All this was the work of Count Torgau, and both the women guessed that he must be the King, and their suppositions were rendered more certain by the anonymous presents received by the dancer.

During the ballet the King sat in the box with Cosel; when Duparc noticed him she fainted from emotion. The King ordered his doctor to go and attend to her, and this seriously displeased his jealous favourite.

”It seems to me,” said she, ”that your Majesty is too good in taking such interest in an unknown dancer, who probably does not deserve such a favour.”

Augustus was offended, and replied drily,--

”It is true that I should often be accused of showing too much favour to persons who only abuse it! I hope that Duparc will be less exacting.”

Cosel, unable to control either her voice or her movements, withdrew to the further end of the box, exclaiming,--

”Your Majesty has a peculiar taste for the street women.”

Fearing a further outburst of pa.s.sion from her, the King left the box.

Cosel was thus exposed to the ironical glances of the whole Court; she remained for a short time longer, then making believe that she was unwell, ordered her litter, and returned home.

The Countess's enemies thought that by exciting her jealousy, they would succeed in making her quarrel with the King; and with this end in view they sent the Baroness Glasenapp to call on her. She found Cosel in tears and at once began to prattle.

”You cannot think how I pity you. I know everything, and I am indignant at it. You do not perhaps know that the King has taken supper with Duparc?”

Cosel listened quietly to her gossip, then she said,--

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