The Daughter of an Empress

"The third is the ambassador of the wavering and shaking young Austrian

Empress Maria Theresa. He comes, he says, upon a secret mission, and

pretends to have discovered a sort of conspiracy that is hatching

against you."

"Let him go with his discovery to Golopkin, our minister of the

interior. That is his business!"

"Your grace is, above all things, regent, and should remember--"

"Nothing--I will remember nothing!" exclaimed Anna Leopoldowna,

interrupting her favorite. "I will not be annoyed, that is all."

"Well, thank God!" now cried Julia von Mengden, in her natural

tone--"thank God, that such is your determination, princess! you are,

then, in earnest, and I am to send these three amiable persons to the

devil, or, what is just the same, to your husband?"

"That is my meaning."

"And this is beautiful in you," continued Julia, cowering down before

her mistress. "These eternal, tiresome and intolerable state affairs

would make your face prematurely old and wrinkled, my dear princess. Ah,

there is nothing more tedious than governing. I am heartily sick of it!

At first I was amused when we two sat together and settled who should

be sent to prison and who should be pardoned; whom we should make counts

and princes, or degrade to the ranks as common soldiers. But all that

pleased only for a short time; now it is annoying, and why should we

take upon ourselves this trouble? Have we not the power to act and live

according to our own good pleasure? Bah! that is the least compensation

you should receive for allowing these horrid Russians the privilege of

calling you their regent and mistress!"

"But, my little chatterer, you forget the three envoys who are waiting

without," said Anna, with a smile.

"Ah, that is true! I must first send those wig-blocks away!" said Anna,

tenderly looking after her departing favorite. "She is, indeed, my good

genius, who drives away the cares from my poor brain."

"So, it is done!" cried Julia, quickly returning to the room. "I

have sent the gentlemen away. To the Persian envoy I said: 'Go to our

emperor, Ivan. He feeds upon brilliants, and, as he has had no breakfast

this morning, his appetite will be good. Go, therefore, and give him

your diamonds for breakfast. Anna Leopoldowna wants them not; she is

already satiated with them!'--To the second I said: 'Go and announce

your glorious victory to our sublime generalissimo. He is at his toilet,

and as he every morning touches his noble cheeks with rouge, your new

paint, prepared from the purple blood of the enemy, will doubtless be

very welcome to him!'--'And as to what concerns your secret mission and

your discovered conspiracy,' said I to the Austrian ambassador, 'I

am sorry that you cannot here give birth to the dear children of your

inventive head; go with them to our midwife, Minister Golopkin, and

hasten a little, for I see in your face that you are already in the

pangs of parturition!'"