but not till after many years) be King of England, is visibly, as we count, Thirteenth in direct descent from that little boy Ernst whom Kunz von Kaufungen stole. Ernst's generation and Twelve others have blossomed-out and grown big, and have faded and been blown away; and in these 400 years, since Kunz did his feat, we have arrived so far. And that is the last pearl, or odd button,' I will string on that Transaction. Here is a Letter since received, which may be worth printing: Royal Society, Somerset House, 6th August 1856. 'DEAR SIR, I am a stranger to you, though not to your works; and would not intrude on your time and attention, were it not that the subject on which I write may perhaps procure me your indulgence. 'I have taken a walk into Bohemia, and visited, on the way, some of the places identified with the Prinzenraub. The old town of Altenburg is picturesque in situation, architecture and the costume of its Wendish population. In the castle, which stands on a hill resembling that at Edinburgh, are to be seen the dresses worn by the young Princes at the time of their kidnapping, ancient weapons, armour, &c., old chambers and modern halls, and a walled-up window marking the situation of the one through which Kunz carriedoff his princely booty. The estate which was given to the Driller is situate about halfan-hour's walk to the east of Zwickau; a town that recalls Luther to memory. He (Luther) often ascended the tall church-tower to enjoy the prospect around; and there remains on the top an old clumsy table said to have been his. 'The Driller family is not extinct. Three male representatives are living at Freyberg and other places in Saxony; but the estate has been out of their possession for many years. It lies pleasantly on one side of a narrow glen, and is now the site of a large brewery -Driller Bierbrauerei· - famed in all the country round for the excellence of its beer. By experience acceptably gathered on the spot on a hot afternoon, I can testify that the Driller beer is equal to its reputation. Hence there is something besides a patriotic sentiment to attract customers to the shady gardens and spacious guest-chambers of the brewery and to justify the writing over the entrance, cius ex ipso fonte hibuntur aquæ. In one of the rooms I saw a full-length painting of the Driller; a sturdy, resolute-looking fellow, with ample black beard, grasping his pole, and supporting the young Prince whom he has just rescued. Also two miniatures; one inscribed Georg Schmidt od. Triller; the other, a likeness of his Wife, a rustic dame of quiet expression, with gray eyes and arched eyebrows. Also a portrait of Kunz, very different from what I expected. He bears a striking resemblance to our portraits of Sir Philip Sidney; with crisp curly hair, ample forehead, well-opened eye, pointed beard, and wearing a gold chain. Also a thin quarto containing a history of the Prinzenraub, with portraits, and engravings of the incidents: The stealing of the princes from the castle - the rescue — the joyful return — the beheading of Kunz, &c. All these things help to keep-up a little enthusiasm among the Saxons, and perhaps encourage trade. On the 8th of July of last year (1855), a festival was held to celebrate the four-hundredth anniversary of the Prinzenraub. A long procession, headed by Herr Ebert, the chief proprietor (since deceased), walked from Zwickau to the brewery, passing under two triumphal-arches on the way. The leader was followed by a long file of coalers, by friends on foot and in carriages, and bands of music in wagons; altogether about eight-hundred persons. They kept-up the celebration with right good-will, and drank, so the Braumeister told me, a hundred eimers of beer. 'A similar festival was held on the same day at Altenburg, Hartenstein, Grünhain, attended by people from all the neighbouring villages, when not a few paid a visit to the Prinzenhöhle, — the cave in which Prince Ernst was hidden. 'I did not see the monastery of Ebersdorf; but I was informed by sundry persons that the Driller's coat is still to be seen there. 'I remain, yours with much respect, 'WALTER WHITE. THOMAS CARLYLE, Esq.' SUMMARY OF CONTENTS. THE DIAMOND NECKLACE. CHAP. I. The Age of Romance. THE Age of Romance can never cease: All Life romantic, and even CHAP. II. The Necklace is made. Last infirmity of M. Boehmer's mind: The King's Jeweller would fain CHAP. III. The Necklace cannot be sold. Miscalculating Boehmer! The Necklace intended for the neck of Du CHAP. IV. Affinities: the Two Fixed-ideas. A man's little Work lies not isolated, stranded; but is caught-up by the - struggle to clutch the favour he has lost. Give the wisest of us a 'fixedidea,' and what can his wisdom help him! (25).- Will not her Majesty buy poor Boehmer's Necklace? and oh, will she not smile once more on poor dissolute, distracted Rohan? The beautiful clear-hearted Queen, alas, beset by two Monomaniacs; whose 'fixed-ideas' may one day meet. (30). CHAP. V. The Artist. Jeanne de Saint-Remi, a brisk little nondescript Scion-of-Royalty: Her parentage and hungry prospects. Her singularly undecipherable character. Conscience not essential to every character named human. A Spark of vehement Life, not developed into Will of any kind, only into Desires of many kinds: Glibness, shiftiness and untamability. (p. 31). - Kittenness, not yet hardened into cathood. Marries M. de Lamotte, and dubs him Count. Hard shifts for a living. Visits his Eminence Prince Louis de Rohan; his monomaniac folly now under Cagliostro's management. The glance of hungry genius. (35). CHAP. VI. Will the Two Fixed-ideas meet? The poor Countess de Lamotte's watergruel rations; and desperate tackings and manoeuvrings within wind of Court. Eminence Rohan arrives thitherward, driven by his fixed-idea. Idle gossiping and tattling concerning Boehmer and his Necklace. In some moment of inspiration, a question rises on our brave Lamotte: If not a great Divine Idea, then a great Diabolic one. How Thought rules the world! (p. 38). — A Female Dramatist worth thinking of. Could Madame de Lamotte have written a Hamlet? Poor Eminence Rohan in a Prospero's-grotto of Cagliostro magic; led on by our sprightly Countess's soft-warbling deceitful blandishments. (40). CHAP. VII. Marie-Antoinette. The Countess plays upon the credulity of his Eminence: Strange messages for and from the innocent, unconscious Queen. Frankhearted Marie-Antoinette; beautiful Highborn, so foully hurled low! The Sanctuary of Sorrow' for all the wretched: That wild-yelling World, and all its madness, will one day lie dumb behind thee! (p. 42). CHAP. VIII. The Two Fixed-ideas will unite. Further dexterities of the glib-tongued Lamotte: How she managed with Cagliostro. Boehmer is made to hear (by accident) of her newfound favour with the Queen; and believes it. Drowning men catch at straws, and hungry blacklegs stick at nothing. (p. 46). — Can her Majesty be persuaded to buy the Necklace? Will her Majesty deign to accept a present so worthy of her? - Walk warily, Countess de Lamotte, with nerve of iron, but on shoes of felt! (48). CHAP. IX. Park of Versailles. Ineffable expectancy stirs-up his Eminence's soul: This night the Queen herself will meet thee!' Sleep rules this Hemisphere of the World; - rather curious to consider. Darkness and magical delusions: The Countess's successful dramaturgy. Ixion de Rohan, and the foul Centaurs he begat. (p. 50). CHAP. X. Behind the Scenes. The Lamotte all-conquering talent for intrigue. The Demoiselle d'Oliva; unfortunate Queen's Similitude, and unconscious tool of skilful knavery. (p. 53). CHAP. XI. The Necklace is sold. A pause: The two fixed-ideas have felt each other, and are rapidly coalescing. His Eminence will buy the Necklace, on her Majesty's account. O Dame de Lamotte!-'I? Who saw me in it?' (p. 56). — Rohan and Boehmer in earnest business conference: A forged Royal approval: Secrecy as of Death. (59). CHAP. XII. The Necklace vanishes. The bargain concluded; his Eminence the proud possessor of the Diamond Necklace. Again the scene changes; and he has forwarded it — whither he little dreams. (p. 61). Countess de LaThrough that long CHAP. XIII. Scene Third: by Dame de Lamotte. Cagliostro, with his greasy prophetic bulldog face. motte and his Eminence in the Versailles Gallery. Gallery, what Figures have passed, and vanished! The Queen now passes; and graciously looks this way, according to her habit: Dame de Lamotte looks on, and dextrously pilfers the royal glances. Eminence de Rohan's helpless, bottomless, beatific folly. (p. 63). CHAP. XIV. The Necklace cannot be paid. The Countess's Dramaturgic labours terminate. How strangely in life the Play goes on, even when the Mover has left it! No Act of man can ever die. His Eminence finds himself no nearer his expected goal: Unspeakable perturbations of soul and body. (p. 65). Blacklegs in full feather: Rascaldom has no strong-box. Dame de Lamotte gaily stands the brunt of the threatening Earthquake: The farthest in the world from a brave woman. (67). — Gloomy weather-symptoms for his Eminence: A thunder-clap (per Countess de Lamotte); and mud-explosion beyond parallel. (70). CHAP. XV. Scene Fourth: by Destiny. Assumption-day at Versailles; a thing they call worshipping God to enact: All Noble France, waiting only the signal to begin worshipping. Eminence de Rohan chief-actor in the imposing scene. Arrestment in the King's name: There will be no Assumption-service this day. The Bastille opens its iron bosom to all the actors in the Diamond-drama. (p. 71). |