IT may well be asked (IT WAS THUS THE ENGLISH TRAVELLER BEGAN HIS NINETEENTH CHAPTER) why I should have chosen Grunewald out of so many other states equally petty, formal, dull, and corrupt1. Accident, indeed, decided2, and not I; but I have seen no reason to regret my visit. The spectacle of this small society macerating in its own abuses was not perhaps instructive, but I have found it exceedingly diverting.
The reigning3 Prince, Otto Johann Friedrich, a young man of imperfect education, questionable4 valour, and no scintilla5 of capacity, has fallen into entire public contempt. It was with difficulty that I obtained an interview, for he is frequently absent from a court where his presence is unheeded, and where his only role is to be a cloak for the amours of his wife. At last, however, on the third occasion when I visited the palace, I found this sovereign in the exercise of his inglorious function, with the wife on one hand, and the lover on the other. He is not ill-looking; he has hair of a ruddy gold, which naturally curls, and his eyes are dark, a combination which I always regard as the mark of some congenital deficiency, physical or moral; his features are irregular, but pleasing; the nose perhaps a little short, and the mouth a little womanish; his address is excellent, and he can express himself with point. But to pierce below these externals is to come on a vacuity6 of any sterling7 quality, a deliquescence of the moral nature, a frivolity8 and inconsequence of purpose that mark the nearly perfect fruit of a decadent9 age. He has a worthless smattering of many subjects, but a grasp of none. ‘I soon weary of a pursuit,’ he said to me, laughing; it would almost appear as if he took a pride in his incapacity and lack of moral courage. The results of his dilettanteism are to be seen in every field; he is a bad fencer, a second-rate horseman, dancer, shot; he sings — I have heard him — and he sings like a child; he writes intolerable verses in more than doubtful French; he acts like the common amateur; and in short there is no end to the number of the things that he does, and does badly. His one manly10 taste is for the chase. In sum, he is but a plexus of weaknesses; the singing chambermaid of the stage, tricked out in man’s apparel, and mounted on a circus horse. I have seen this poor phantom11 of a prince riding out alone or with a few huntsmen, disregarded by all, and I have been even grieved for the bearer of so futile12 and melancholy13 an existence. The last Merovingians may have looked not otherwise.
The Princess Amalia Seraphina, a daughter of the Grand-Ducal house of Toggenburg-Tannhauser, would be equally inconsiderable if she were not a cutting instrument in the hands of an ambitious man. She is much younger than the Prince, a girl of two-and-twenty, sick with vanity, superficially clever, and fundamentally a fool. She has a red-brown rolling eye, too large for her face, and with sparks of both levity14 and ferocity; her forehead is high and narrow, her figure thin and a little stooping. Her manners, her conversation, which she interlards with French, her very tastes and ambitions, are alike assumed; and the assumption is ungracefully apparent: Hoyden15 playing Cleopatra. I should judge her to be incapable16 of truth. In private life a girl of this description embroils17 the peace of families, walks attended by a troop of scowling18 swains, and passes, once at least, through the divorce court; it is a common and, except to the cynic, an uninteresting type. On the throne, however, and in the hands of a man like Gondremark, she may become the authoress of serious public evils.
Gondremark, the true ruler of this unfortunate country, is a more complex study. His position in Grunewald, to which he is a foreigner, is eminently19 false; and that he should maintain it as he does, a very miracle of impudence20 and dexterity21. His speech, his face, his policy, are all double: heads and tails. Which of the two extremes may be his actual design he were a bold man who should offer to decide. Yet I will hazard the guess that he follows both experimentally, and awaits, at the hand of destiny, one of those directing hints of which she is so lavish22 to the wise.
On the one hand, as MAIRE DU PALAIS to the incompetent23 Otto, and using the love-sick Princess for a tool and mouthpiece, he pursues a policy of arbitrary power and territorial24 aggrandisement. He has called out the whole capable male population of the state to military service; he has bought cannon26; he has tempted27 away promising28 officers from foreign armies; and he now begins, in his international relations, to assume the swaggering port and the vague, threatful language of a bully29. The idea of extending Grunewald may appear absurd, but the little state is advantageously placed, its neighbours are all defenceless; and if at any moment the jealousies30 of the greater courts should neutralise each other, an active policy might double the principality both in population and extent. Certainly at least the scheme is entertained in the court of Mittwalden; nor do I myself regard it as entirely31 desperate. The margravate of Brandenburg has grown from as small beginnings to a formidable power; and though it is late in the day to try adventurous32 policies, and the age of war seems ended, Fortune, we must not forget, still blindly turns her wheel for men and nations. Concurrently33 with, and tributary34 to, these warlike preparations, crushing taxes have been levied35, journals have been suppressed, and the country, which three years ago was prosperous and happy, now stagnates36 in a forced inaction, gold has become a curiosity, and the mills stand idle on the mountain streams.
On the other hand, in his second capacity of popular tribune, Gondremark-is the incarnation of the free lodges37, and sits at the centre of an organised conspiracy38 against the state. To any such movement my sympathies were early acquired, and I would not willingly let fall a word that might embarrass or retard39 the revolution. But to show that I speak of knowledge, and not as the reporter of mere40 gossip, I may mention that I have myself been present at a meeting where the details of a republican Constitution were minutely debated and arranged; and I may add that Gondremark was throughout referred to by the speakers as their captain in action and the arbiter41 of their disputes. He has taught his dupes (for so I must regard them) that his power of resistance to the Princess is limited, and at each fresh stretch of authority persuades them, with specious42 reasons, to postpone43 the hour of insurrection. Thus (to give some instances of his astute44 diplomacy) he salved over the decree enforcing military service, under the plea that to be well drilled and exercised in arms was even a necessary preparation for revolt. And the other day, when it began to be rumoured45 abroad that a war was being forced on a reluctant neighbour, the Grand Duke of Gerolstein, and I made sure it would be the signal for an instant rising, I was struck dumb with wonder to find that even this had been prepared and was to be accepted. I went from one to another in the Liberal camp, and all were in the same story, all had been drilled and schooled and fitted out with vacuous46 argument. ‘The lads had better see some real fighting,’ they said; ‘and besides, it will be as well to capture Gerolstein: we can then extend to our neighbours the blessing47 of liberty on the same day that we snatch it for ourselves; and the republic will be all the stronger to resist, if the kings of Europe should band themselves together to reduce it.’ I know not which of the two I should admire the more: the simplicity48 of the multitude or the audacity49 of the adventurer. But such are the subtleties50, such the quibbling reasons, with which he blinds and leads this people. How long a course so tortuous51 can be pursued with safety I am incapable of guessing; not long, one would suppose; and yet this singular man has been treading the mazes52 for five years, and his favour at court and his popularity among the lodges still endure unbroken.
I have the privilege of slightly knowing him. Heavily and somewhat clumsily built, of a vast, disjointed, rambling53 frame, he can still pull himself together, and figure, not without admiration54, in the saloon or the ball-room. His hue55 and temperament56 are plentifully57 bilious58; he has a saturnine59 eye; his cheek is of a dark blue where he has been shaven. Essentially60 he is to be numbered among the man-haters, a convinced contemner61 of his fellows. Yet he is himself of a commonplace ambition and greedy of applause. In talk, he is remarkable62 for a thirst of information, loving rather to hear than to communicate; for sound and studious views; and, judging by the extreme short-sightedness of common politicians, for a remarkable provision of events. All this, however, without grace, pleasantry, or charm, heavily set forth63, with a dull countenance64. In our numerous conversations, although he has always heard me with deference65, I have been conscious throughout of a sort of ponderous66 finessing67 hard to tolerate. He produces none of the effect of a gentleman; devoid68 not merely of pleasantry, but of all attention or communicative warmth of bearing. No gentleman, besides, would so parade his amours with the Princess; still less repay the Prince for his long-suffering with a studied insolence69 of demeanour and the fabrication of insulting nicknames, such as Prince Featherhead, which run from ear to ear and create a laugh throughout the country. Gondremark has thus some of the clumsier characters of the self-made man, combined with an inordinate70, almost a besotted, pride of intellect and birth. Heavy, bilious, selfish, inornate, he sits upon this court and country like an incubus71.
But it is probable that he preserves softer gifts for necessary purposes. Indeed, it is certain, although he vouchsafed72 none of it to me, that this cold and stolid73 politician possesses to a great degree the art of ingratiation, and can be all things to all men. Hence there has probably sprung up the idle legend that in private life he is a gross romping74 voluptuary. Nothing, at least, can well be more surprising than the terms of his connection with the Princess. Older than her husband, certainly uglier, and, according to the feeble ideas common among women, in every particular less pleasing, he has not only seized the complete command of all her thought and action, but has imposed on her in public a humiliating part. I do not here refer to the complete sacrifice of every rag of her reputation; for to many women these extremities75 are in themselves attractive. But there is about the court a certain lady of a dishevelled reputation, a Countess von Rosen, wife or widow of a cloudy count, no longer in her second youth, and already bereft76 of some of her attractions, who unequivocally occupies the station of the Baron’s mistress. I had thought, at first, that she was but a hired accomplice77, a mere blind or buffer78 for the more important sinner. A few hours’ acquaintance with Madame von Rosen for ever dispelled79 the illusion. She is one rather to make than to prevent a scandal, and she values none of those bribes80 — money, honours, or employment — with which the situation might be gilded81. Indeed, as a person frankly82 bad, she pleased me, in the court of Grunewald, like a piece of nature.
The power of this man over the Princess is, therefore, without bounds. She has sacrificed to the adoration83 with which he has inspired her not only her marriage vow84 and every shred85 of public decency86, but that vice25 of jealousy87 which is so much dearer to the female sex than either intrinsic honour or outward consideration. Nay88, more: a young, although not a very attractive woman, and a princess both by birth and fact, she submits to the triumphant89 rivalry90 of one who might be her mother as to years, and who is so manifestly her inferior in station. This is one of the mysteries of the human heart. But the rage of illicit91 love, when it is once indulged, appears to grow by feeding; and to a person of the character and temperament of this unfortunate young lady, almost any depth of degradation92 is within the reach of possibility.
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1
corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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reigning
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| adj.统治的，起支配作用的 | |
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questionable
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| adj.可疑的，有问题的 | |
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scintilla
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| n.极少，微粒 | |
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vacuity
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| n.(想象力等)贫乏，无聊，空白 | |
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sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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frivolity
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| n.轻松的乐事，兴高采烈；轻浮的举止 | |
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decadent
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| adj.颓废的，衰落的，堕落的 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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levity
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| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
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hoyden
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| n.野丫头，淘气姑娘 | |
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16
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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embroils
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| v.使（自己或他人）卷入纠纷( embroil的第三人称单数 ) | |
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scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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eminently
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| adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地 | |
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impudence
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| n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼 | |
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dexterity
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| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
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lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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incompetent
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| adj.无能力的，不能胜任的 | |
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territorial
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| adj.领土的，领地的 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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bully
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| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
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jealousies
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| n.妒忌( jealousy的名词复数 )；妒羡 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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concurrently
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| adv.同时地 | |
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tributary
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| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
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levied
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| 征（兵）( levy的过去式和过去分词 )； 索取； 发动（战争）； 征税 | |
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stagnates
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| v.停滞，不流动，不发展( stagnate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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lodges
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| v.存放( lodge的第三人称单数 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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retard
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| n.阻止，延迟；vt.妨碍，延迟，使减速 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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arbiter
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| n.仲裁人，公断人 | |
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42
specious
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| adj.似是而非的；adv.似是而非地 | |
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43
postpone
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| v.延期，推迟 | |
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astute
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| adj.机敏的，精明的 | |
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45
rumoured
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| adj.谣传的；传说的；风 | |
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46
vacuous
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| adj.空的，漫散的，无聊的，愚蠢的 | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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48
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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49
audacity
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| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
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50
subtleties
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| 细微( subtlety的名词复数 )； 精细； 巧妙； 细微的差别等 | |
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51
tortuous
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| adj.弯弯曲曲的，蜿蜒的 | |
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52
mazes
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| 迷宫( maze的名词复数 )； 纷繁复杂的规则； 复杂难懂的细节； 迷宫图 | |
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53
rambling
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| adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的 | |
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54
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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55
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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57
plentifully
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| adv. 许多地，丰饶地 | |
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58
bilious
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| adj.胆汁过多的；易怒的 | |
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59
saturnine
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| adj.忧郁的，沉默寡言的，阴沉的，感染铅毒的 | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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contemner
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| n.谴责者，宣判者，定罪者 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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finessing
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| v.手腕，手段，技巧( finesse的现在分词 ) | |
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devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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inordinate
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| adj.无节制的；过度的 | |
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incubus
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| n.负担；恶梦 | |
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72
vouchsafed
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| v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺 | |
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stolid
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| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
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romping
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| adj.嬉戏喧闹的，乱蹦乱闹的v.嬉笑玩闹( romp的现在分词 )；（尤指在赛跑或竞选等中）轻易获胜 | |
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75
extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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bereft
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| adj.被剥夺的 | |
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accomplice
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| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
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buffer
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| n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲 | |
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dispelled
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| v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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bribes
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| n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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81
gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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82
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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83
adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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84
vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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85
shred
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| v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少 | |
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86
decency
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| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
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87
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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88
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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89
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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90
rivalry
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| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
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91
illicit
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| adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的 | |
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92
degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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