It was also forbidden, upon
pain of death, to force one of these animals intended for the royal
table, from their noble calling, and to satisfy therewith the hungry
soldiers. Count Bruhl could therefore wait patiently the arrival of
the Austrian army, which was already in motion, under the command of
General Brown.
While the King of Poland was living gay and joyous in the fortress
of Konigstein, the queen with the princes of the royal house had
remained in Dresden; and though she knew her husband's irresolute
character, and knew that the King of Prussia, counting upon this,
was corresponding with him, endeavoring to persuade him to
neutrality, still she had no fears of her husband succumbing to his
entreaties. For was not Count Bruhl, the bitter, irreconcilable
enemy of Prussia, at his side?--and had not the king said to her, in
a solemn manner, before leaving: "Better that every misfortune come
upon us than to take the part of our enemies!" The queen, therefore,
felt perfectly safe upon this point. She remained in Dresden for two
reasons: first, to watch the King of Prussia, and then to guard the
archives--those archives which contained the most precious treasures
of Saxon diplomacy--the most important secrets of their allies.
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