Part 7 (2/2)
”Hus.h.!.+” whispered Francis, ”not a word against him! He is my son-in- law, Ludovica. And, besides, he has an appet.i.te strong enough yet to swallow another ox.”
”He will get it in Russia, I suppose?” said Ludovica, quickly.
”Yes,” said Francis. ”He explained his whole plan to me and Metternich for over an hour to-day, and proved to us that four weeks hence there would be no Russian emperor; that Russia would fall to ruins and decay. He dwelt on a great many other things, and told us of gigantic schemes, which, to tell the truth, I did not comprehend very well. Let me confess to you,” he whispered, standing near the door of the reception-room, ”that his words almost frightened me.
His heart may be all right, but as to his head, I am afraid there is something wrong about it.” [Footnote: The emperor's own words,--Vide Hormayer's ”Lebensbilder,” vol. iii.]
Ludovica smiled. ”Do you believe, then, my husband, that he has really a heart?” she asked. ”But as to his head, the princes and nations of Europe, I hope, will soon find an opportunity to set it right.”
”Hus.h.!.+” said Francis again; ”he is my son-in-law.”
”And because he is your son-in-law, your majesty should hesitate no longer to deliver to him, or rather to his consort, the precious gift which you ordered for her, and which arrived to-day.”
”It is true,” exclaimed Francis. ”Let us at once present the gift to Maria Louisa.”
He entered the saloon and hastily approached his daughter, who stood with Napoleon in the centre of the room, and was just handing him a cup of coffee, to which she herself had added sugar and cream.
[Footnote: The Empress Josephine, in her tender care for Napoleon, who frequently forgot to take his coffee, was in the habit of preparing a cup for him after dinner, and presenting it to him, Maria Louisa had adopted Josephine's habit.]
”Louisa,” said Francis, kindly nodding as he approached her, ”I have a little gift for you, which I hope will be acceptable. I ordered it several months since, but when we set out from Vienna it was not ready. To-day, however, it has arrived, and, as we are now in a family circle, I may as well present it to you. That is to say,”
added the emperor, bowing to Napoleon, ”if your majesty permits me to do so.”
”Your majesty was right in saying that we are here a family circle,”
said Napoleon, smiling; ”and as the father is always the head and master, I have nothing to permit, but only to pray that your majesty may make what present your love has chosen for her.”
”And I a.s.sure you, father,” exclaimed Maria Louisa, smiling, ”I am as anxious to know what you have for me as I was at the time when I was a little archd.u.c.h.ess, and when your majesty promised me a surprise. Let me, therefore, see your gift.”
Francis smiled, and, walking to the open door of the adjoining room (where the dukes, who did not belong to the imperial family, the princes, the marshals, and courtiers, were a.s.sembled), made a sign to one of the gentlemen, who stood near the door. The latter immediately left the room, and returned after a few minutes with an oblong, narrow something, carefully wrapped in a piece of gold brocatel, which he presented to the emperor with a respectful bow.
Francis took it hastily, and approached Maria Louisa with a solemn air. ”Here, Louisa,” he said, kindly, ”here is my present. It will show you what, it is true, every day proves to admiring Europe, namely, that genuine royal blood is flowing in the veins of your husband.”
Maria Louisa opened the covering with inquisitive impatience, and there appeared under it a golden box, ornamented with diamonds and pearls. ”What magnificent diamonds!” she exclaimed. ”What skilful work!” said Napoleon, smiling.
”The box was made by Benvenuto Cellini,” said Francis; ”it was highly prized by my lamented father, the Emperor Leopold, who brought it from Florence to Vienna. But that is not the princ.i.p.al thing--the contents are more important. Here is the key, Louisa; open the box!” He handed her a golden key, and Maria Louisa applied it to the key-hole, adorned with large oriental turquoises. Around her stood the Emperor and Empress of Austria, the King and Queen of Saxony, the King of Prussia, and the Grand-duke of Wurzburg; Napoleon was close beside her. All eyes were expressive of curiosity and suspense. Nothing was there but a roll of parchment. Maria Louisa unfolded it. ”A pedigree!” she exclaimed, wonderingly.
”Yes, a pedigree,” said the Emperor Francis, merrily, ”but a very precious and beautiful one, which you may put into the cradle of the little King of Rome, and from which he may learn his letters. Sire,”
he then added, turning to Napoleon, ”your majesty must allow me to add another jewel to your imperial crown. I mean, this pedigree. It proves irrefutably that your majesty is the descendant of a glorious old sovereign family, which ruled over Treviso during the middle ages. Signor Giacamonte, the most renowned genealogist in all Italy, devoted himself, at my request, for a whole year to this study, and succeeded in proving that the Bonaparte family is of ancient and sovereign origin.”
”That is a splendid discovery,” exclaimed Maria Louisa, with delight; ”my little King of Rome, consequently, has a very respectable number of distinguished ancestors?”
”More than fifty!” exclaimed her father, proudly. ”Look here; this is the founder of the whole family, the Duca di Buon et Malaparte; he lived in the twelfth century.”
He pointed to the genealogical trunk of the beautifully painted and ornamented pedigree, of which Maria Louisa held the lower end, while the King and Queen of Saxony obligingly took hold of the upper end.
The King of Prussia stood beside them and witnessed this strange scene with a scarcely perceptible smile, while the Empress Ludovica looked with undisguised scorn into the joy-excited countenance of her step-daughter. Napoleon surveyed the faces of all present with a rapid glance, and an expression of sublime pride overspread his countenance.
”Look,” exclaimed the Emperor Francis, bending over the pedigree, ”there is his name! There is the founder of Napoleon's family.”
At this moment Napoleon laid his hand gently on his shoulder. ”Oh, no,” he said, ”the founder of that family stands here.”
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