'You may remain here forever, if you please, sir lieutenant general,'

answered Hylten contemptuously. 'The crimes of this man are notorious, as his punishment will also be, and where justice is sustained by the general voice, there can be no necessity for avoiding publicity.'

'The royal commission,' read he, with a sharp and discordant voice, 'having heard and considered all the accusations brought by the attorney general, Fehmann, and also the replications of the baron von Goertz thereto....'

'Without consenting to receive my written defence!' interposed Goertz.

'And all the plots and devices of the said Goertz,' proceeded Hylten without noticing the interruption, since his coming into this kingdom, having for their object to bring by wicked means the subjects of the said kingdom into great discredit with the king ...'

'All?' asked Goertz. 'He who affirms too much, affirms nothing.'

'And how he,' proceeded Hylten, 'represented them as evil-minded and idle persons, who were unwilling to contribute towards the general welfare.'

'Could that have been a crime?' asked Goertz.

'And also,' read Hylten, 'endeavored to destroy the confidence of the king in the senators, counsellors and others of his true servants, removing the same from all important public employments, so that the whole patronage of the government should go through his own hands, contrary to the laws and statutes of this country....'

'I was the minister of an absolute sovereign,' interposed Goertz. 'How can I be made answerable for the decisions of his iron will?'

'And moreover,' proceeded Hylten, 'such schemes brought to light as could serve no other end than to rob the king's subjects of all their property....'

'The stamped tokens and notes of the mint had already been issued before the time of my administration,' cried Goertz indignantly.

'And finally,' read Hylten, 'according to letters of his, which have been discovered, he has not ceased to labor for the prolongation of the war, thereby placing the king and the country in a very embarra.s.sing and dangerous situation....'

'Who dares a.s.sert these lies?' cried Goertz with indignation. 'For fourteen years had Sweden carried on an uninterrupted, and for six years an unsuccessful war, when Charles confided the helm of state to me. Since that time, I have honestly labored to extinguish the fire which destroyed the prosperity of our country. A glorious peace with our most fearful enemy was brought by me near to a conclusion, when the king's sudden death changed....'

'You appear to forget,' said Hylten angrily, 'that you have here only to listen, and not to speak.'

'Then in G.o.d's name read to the end,' said Goertz, becoming calm. 'I wilt interrupt you no more.'

'Satisfied of the truth of these charges,' resumed Hylten, 'without examining further into the evil conduct of the said Goertz, a full investigation of which certain causes will not allow, it appears clear to us that he is the dishonest cause of all the misfortunes which this country has suffered, and also that through the above named employments he has become a citizen of this kingdom, and subject to its laws; upon which the royal commission, having weighed these and other crimes, have decided and adjudged, that the said Goertz, for the punishment of his evil deeds, and for an example to other false counsellors and disturbers of the peace of the kingdom, shall be beheaded and afterwards buried at the place of execution.'

'Ha! this sentence....' began Arwed with ungovernable rage, but Rank gently laid his hand upon his mouth.

Goertz had accompanied the close of the reading with only a sigh and shrug of the shoulders. At length he observed, 'that is, in every point of view, a monstrous sentence, informal, unjust, void, and repugnant to common sense. The grounds upon which it is supported are unimportant or untrue; the most unheard of circ.u.mstance, however, is, that they take away my life for transgressions which are not specified. From this fault, at least, the legal knowledge of the members of the commission should have preserved them.'

'I am not here to listen to your complaints,' answered Hylten, pettishly. 'The sentence of the commission is unalterable, and will be executed as soon as it is approved by the diet and royal council, and ratified by the queen.'

'So I supposed,' said Goertz; 'and submit to power, which, alas! is every where above right. I only wish to make one remark. They have pa.s.sed over my management of the national revenue in perfect silence. I beg to be allowed time to prepare my accounts and lay them before the diet, and thus at least inform the world that I have managed the finances like an honest man. Should this request be refused, however, I yet hope at least from the magnanimity of the diet, that they will demand of my heirs no settlement of my accounts, of which they can know nothing.'

'I doubt,' said Hylten with some apparent mortification, 'whether the diet will grant you this delay. I will, however, lay your request before them, and have only to advise you to prepare yourself in the meanwhile for your approaching death.'

'Wo to me,' cried Goertz, 'if my whole life has not been a preparation for death! Yet I thank you for your counsel. My blood be not upon your head!'

Hylten hastened away in confusion, and the weeping Rank threw himself upon the breast of his friend. Arwed fell upon his knee before him, and clasping his hand exclaimed, 'give me Georgina for my wife, my father.

She needs strong support in her trying situation, and I feel myself capable of affording it to her.'

'Even now?' cried Goertz, heartily embracing the youth, 'thou true heart! But I must still answer with a decided negative. The only sprout of one of the n.o.blest houses of Sweden must never, under any circ.u.mstances, connect himself with the daughter of a condemned and dishonored traitor, whose body must moulder under the gallows.'

His voice was broken by the excess of his feelings. Arwed, despairing, rose up. 'Can I then do nothing for you?' asked Rank, wringing his hands.

'I cannot be saved,' said Goertz, 'and have already been long prepared for death. Only the ignominy of a public execution, and the outrage which awaits my mortal remains, trouble me; not on my own account, but on that of my poor children and innocent connexions. If you are disposed to give me a last proof of your love, you will on my behalf, pet.i.tion the queen that I may die in my prison and have an honorable grave.'

'I will immediately speak with the prince,' said Rank. 'He was never your enemy. His wife loves him more tenderly than one would suppose her cold heart capable of loving. I hope to be able to render you this service.'--He departed.

'I will throw myself at my father's feet,' cried Arwed, 'and never cease my supplications until he shall promise me to aid in the accomplishment of your last wish.--Oh, my G.o.d! that I cannot save you!

It is only through this infamous sentence that your purity has become fully clear to me. Your blood be upon the heads of your unworthy murderers.'

He strode forth. Goertz, however, folded his hands, raised his eyes to heaven, and prayed with silent resignation.

CHAPTER XXIII.

Accompanied by the trusty Brodin, on the next day, Arwed stood trembling as with a paroxysm of ague, in the ante-chamber of the hall in which the royal council held its sittings. The chief clerk of the council approached them with a protecting air.

'This is the young man of whom I spoke to you, my worthy friend,' said Brodin to him, at the same time slipping a heavy purse into his hand; 'let me recommend him to your kindness.'

Brodin departed. The chief clerk led Arwed to the door which communicated with the grand saloon, and opened it. 'Between the door and the inner drapery,' said he, 'you can see and hear every thing that takes place, without being observed. But remember my stipulation. Keep yourself quiet, and if you are discovered, recollect that we have never known each other, and that you slipped in here behind my back.'

'How can I possibly involve you in my fate?' answered Arwed, proceeding to conceal himself in the designated lurking place.

'Not yet,' said the chief clerk, pulling him back: 'the lords of the council must first a.s.semble there, and might easily discover you as they pa.s.s.'

At that moment the outer folding doors opened, and in their solemn official dresses, in long, red velvet cloaks and red caps of the same material, the loyal counsellors pa.s.sed in couples through the ante-chamber into the saloon. They were the counts Gyllenstierna, Rhenskioeld, Stromberg, Horn, Cronhielm, Tessin, Meierfed and Moerner, and the barons Duecker, Taube, Sparre, and Banner.

'They are all here to-day for once,' said the chief clerk. 'Count Spens alone is absent. Indeed the business is of too much importance, and they cannot expedite the ex-minister too hastily!'

One of the queen's chamberlains again threw open the doors, and, in full dress, stiff and stately as the image of the virgin in some place of pilgrimage, with a countenance in which deep hatred vainly sought to conceal itself under a.s.sumed dignity, the queen pa.s.sed by them into the hall. Arwed then slipped into his hiding place, and the chief clerk shut the door after him.

After the ceremony of the queen's reception was over, and the members had taken their seats, the governor, baron Taube, took the floor.

'The special royal commission,' said he, 'has sentenced von Goertz to lose his head under the gallows, and there be buried. The diet has, by a majority of voices, concurred in this verdict, and by her majesty's command the royal council is now a.s.sembled to decide whether the sentence shall be carried into full effect, or whether Goertz shall have the benefit of some mitigation of its severity.'

'I consider it dangerous to deal so hardly with Goertz,' said count Cronhielm. 'The late king reposed great confidence in him, and I fear that it may injure the Swedish nation abroad, since Goertz has many adherents and a highly respected family.'

'A man who has endeavored to overthrow the whole kingdom,' cried the pa.s.sionate Horn, 'who has committed the crimes detailed in the report of the commissioners, is not too severely judged. Clemency towards him may seduce many others to enter upon a similar course, to the great injury of the realm. Besides, he has been tried and sentenced by conscientious men, who, if they have done him injustice, must answer it to their G.o.d.'

'It is not my wish that he should go unpunished,' answered Cronhielm.

'But it may be well to remember, that the commencement of our political career will be closely scrutinized, and that the manner of the execution may injure us with the nation, and particularly with our n.o.bility. He may be beheaded, but to bury under the gallows a man who has been employed in so many important affairs by our late king, appears to me to be bad policy.'

'Any Swede who may conduct himself as he has,' cried Horn, exasperated, 'may be punished in the same manner.'

'These altercations do not accomplish our object,' remarked Ulrika. 'I desire the lords counsellors to speak in their due order.'

'When I heard the sentence read,' said baron Banner, 'I expected a harder punishment. When, however, I view the question in relation to the general welfare, it appears to me that the end is attained when the criminal is deprived of life. It can in no way concern the public interests whether he be buried under the gallows or not, I consider it a matter of indifference where he lies.'