Late in the afternoon the
dismal news was spread in Berlin that the French ambassador at Ems
had insulted the king, who had retired to the capital, and that a
combat with the arrogant neighbors on the Rhine was inevitable.
Before night the street Unter den Linden, from the Brandenburger
Thor to the Schlossbrucke, was packed with men overflowing with
intense excitement. Without any preconceived arrangement, all the
inhabitants decorated their windows with banners and lights, and the
streets assumed the festal appearance of rejoicings over a victory.
The crowd looked upon this spectacle not as an undecided beginning,
but a glorious conclusion. There was no fear in any face, no
question as to the future in any eye, but the certainty of triumph
in all; as if they had seen the last page turned in the book of
fate, with victory and its glorious results written thereon.
Toward nine o'clock a thunderbolt broke over the Brandenburger Thor,
and rolled like the breaking of a wave to the other end of the
street. The king had left the Potsdam railway station a quarter of
an hour ago, and the crowd greeted him with a tremendous shout as
his carriage appeared. The people wished by this acclamation,
springing from the depths of their hearts, to show their ruler that
they were prepared to follow him even to death.
Pages:
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99