Page:The Reminiscences of Carl Schurz (Volume One).djvu/254

 I had an especially good view of a fresco on the ceiling which had a peculiar charm for me. It was an allegorical group, in which probably some ancestor of the grand ducal family of Baden was portrayed in the shape of Jupiter, or Mars, or Apollo. The subject of the picture did not attract me. But I found therein the face of some goddess which reminded me vividly of Betty, and when I looked up from my sofa the eyes of Betty looked kindly down upon me. No wonder, therefore, that I loved to rest upon this spot and that I indulged myself in all sorts of waking dreams, forgetting my dismal situation, until my eyes closed in sleep.

On the second morning after Corvin's departure, in the gray dawn I lay down upon the sofa for a short rest. Soon I was awakened by the noise of heavy steps, rattling sabers and a confusion of voices. From what I saw and heard I concluded that Corvin had returned from his mission and that the great council of war was reassembling. The governor entered, demanded silence and asked Corvin, who stood at his side, to make his report orally to the whole assembly. Corvin then told us that, accompanied by a Prussian officer, he had traveled down to the Swiss frontier and had convinced himself on the spot that no revolutionary force was left in Baden, the revolutionary army having crossed into Switzerland, surrendered its arms, and dissolved. He had also satisfied himself from the newspapers, that in the rest of Germany there was not the slightest vestige of a revolutionary movement. Everywhere submission and quiet. The Hungarians, too, had suffered decisive defeats in consequence of the Russian intervention and would undoubtedly soon succumb. In short, the garrison of Rastatt was entirely forsaken, and could not hope for any relief; and finally, Corvin added, he had been informed at Prussian headquarters that the