active interference, and
all that could now be done was to wait, and to endeavour, as far as
possible, to hold the rabble in check, until some new sensation should
arise to divert their attention. To make matters worse, the country was
split up into factions; thus for every step gained in one place we lost
ground elsewhere, and, by propitiating one, we enraged another. Some
were for deposing my father outright, and inviting Prince Ferdinand to
mount the throne; while others went even so far as to contemplate doing
away with Royalty and nobles altogether, and establishing a Republic, in
which every man was to be the equal of his fellow, and caste should be
swept away entirely. They could not realise the fact that their present
ruler, if he had done nothing else, had at least permitted them to enjoy
the benefits of peace. He was not ambitious like his neighbour on the
north, nor aggressive like his fellow on the south, and in consequence
the country flourished as it could not otherwise have hoped to have
done. It has often struck me since that a nation is not unlike a
defective dam. So long as it holds together it is solid and watertight,
but let even the faintest trickle of moisture percolate through its
massive sides and more will surely follow; later, a gaping rent will
show itself, where first the dampness appeared; then, in one brief
instant, before man can prevent it, the mighty flood bursts its bonds,
dashes forth and sweeps all the old order away before it.

Being at this time only nine years old, I could not, of course,
appreciate the gravity of the situation. But I was quite aware that
those I loved were in trouble. It was brought home to me more
convincingly by one little incident than by anything else.

It was nine o'clock on a winter's night. Snow was falling, and the
palace courtyard was covered with a white mantle. According to custom,
Max and I had been to our mother's room to bid her good-night, and had
crossed the great hall on our way to our own apartments, when, at the
top of the grand staircase, we met the Prime Minister, Count von
Marquart, ascending. As a rule we were afraid of him; his manner was
harsh and overbearing, and it had been wittily observed that there were
only two persons in the world, the Count von Marquart and himself, with
whom he was on terms of anything approaching intimacy. To-night,
however, we noticed that he was disturbed about something. On seeing us,
he paused and bade us a