Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1895-07-26

suffering in store for her at Tilsit.
One date of peculiarly American sig
niticance Is July /, l776. Queen Luise
was born in the same year as the
United States. and ii was on the day of
independence" that she drove from
Memel to Tilslt for the purpose of
pleading with Napoleon on behalf of
her wretched country.
Luise hated the Corslcan conqueror
with the instructive impulse of high
bred, pure and truthful nature. She
knew him TO be both false aud british.
He had shown no generosity in the
moment Of victory, bat had stopped to
the publishing Of lies about her private
character.
When Queen Luise heard that she
must come to tins man. beg of him,
touch his hand-it was more than she
could bear. She burst out crying, and
said she could not so dishonor herself.
But. after all, it was the King, her hus-
band, who should have felt thus, and
spared her this browning modification.
Up 10 this moment he might have said
that all was lost save honor; but when
the moment came for dragging a beau
tiful young wife upon the scene, in the
hope of accomplishing 10y her physical
charms what gunpowder and diplom-
acy had failed of attaining, then should
the hand of every decent man have
been raised in protest.
70 the credit of human nature be it
said that in each of the three camps
were men who did find this episode
dsgracefu. And so on this beautiful
18th Of July Luise and old Countess
Noss took their seats in state ear
riage, and were driven the tifty.odd
miles to a little viii ge about six miles
northeast of TilSit. called Piktupoenen,
where room had been made ready for
her in the parsonage, Her carriage
had been drawn by relays of black
horses from the famous stud farm Of
Trakehnen, where even today all the
horses for the German Emperor are
raised That any Trakehnen horses
escaped the raids of the enemy during
this campaign is in itself remarkable,
tor the estate is only about forty miles
southeast Of Illsit.
Napoleon did not pay Luise the COM
phment of taking the short half-hOur's
drive to Piktupoenen, but waited until
she came into TIlsit Then, after she
haze been an hour in her rooms, he rode
up in state, surrounded by staff of
high officers, and climed the narrow
stairs leading to her room.
Napoleon was not Indifferent to the
beauty of Queen Louise, as he admitted
afterward, but he was not successful in
his efforts to extract amusement from
her at such a time. Her heart heavy
with grief at the state of her country,
she had sacrificed even her self-respect
to come and beg at his feet, and was il
fair to expect that in this hour she
could play the coqHette?
Napoleon, with tact bordering on
brutality, opened the conversation by
asking her If her dress was made of
Grape or Indian gauZe. LuiSe begged
that he would not bring such tribes up
for discussion at such a time. Then
there was dull pause. broken at last
by Louise inquiring how he found the
climate.
TO this Napoleon made the rather
ominous answer, The French soldier
is seasoned to every climate
Then, quick as a flash, falling back
into the role of soldIer-diplomat, he
said to her, How could you conceive
the idea of making war against me?"
But Luise pretended not to note the in
suit intended, and answered without
hesitation, I'VE may be pardoned for
having built too much upon the fame
of Frederick the Great" Even Napo-
leon could not fail to feel the superior
ity of her repartee-for Rossbach hap
pened not many years before Jena, and
there Frederick the Great thrashed the
French more gloriously than Napoleon
ever thrashed a Prussian army. SO
the Emperor tried to change the con-
yersation-to pay her compliments.
But she always came back to tho sub
iect near her heart; she had come to
beg him for an honorable peace. She
Dc8Otu lot ncI nuSDdnu anu neE pros
trate kingdom; she admitted his power
in war; he had secured all the glory
that war could give him-now let him
put the eliminating crown to his head
by showing the world that he was gen
erous to to the fallen; she spoke of
Justice, of mercy, of God, of conscience.
Her voice choked; tears came to her
eyes. She forgot all that Hardenberg
had told her; she was no longer the
Queen; she was a mother pleading for
her children. 1t seemed as though he
felt for a moment touched by the sight
of this pure and beautiful woman pour
ing out 70 him such noble thoughts as
no woman had ever before ventured to
present 10 his sensual and calculating
mind. She pleaded hard for Magde-
burg the strongest fortress on the Elbe
"a town as dear to Prussia as Dover
to an EnglishmaB, as West Point to an
American, as Quebec TO Canadian.
Magdeburg was to Luise the key to
Prussia, and she begged for it with a
fervor that would have gained king