Letter of Baron Sigismund von Austenberg to an Unnamed Correspondent
Dated the Seventeenth Day of March
My dear Friend,
The legislation soon to be enacted shall forbid all subjects of the Crown of Torches to devote pecuniary means to the King’s noble cause. My purple loyalty binds me to obedience; thus, alas, this must be the final occasion on which I may extend to you my assistance in this manner.
The entire atmosphere reigning now in Kelenburg, including within the Archroyal Diet itself, convinces me of this—above all the Ministry, wherein sit moderates such as Doctor Reber, men of the bourgeois estate, who abhor war for the discomfort it brings upon their ease, and who therefore strive with all their might to maintain the isolationist posture of the Archkingdom, even to the point of endangering her honour; and as they approach that boundary, they conduct themselves with the spirit of merchants at a market, haggling over the dignity of their nation.
Much is being spoken concerning this law, and the Vicomte von Ester-Klauzen, who is well informed, assures me that Her Majesty has already made her final decision in this direction.
I trust that this, the greatest sum I have yet sent, shall aid you in your noble undertakings in the interest of the King of Guntreland, of which we have previously spoken. The manner in which you shall employ the gold I leave entirely to your discretion. Knowing your abilities, I do not doubt that even without recourse to the gold you would be capable of achieving great things toward the fulfilment of our design; and in such case, I have no objection that all unexpended gold remain in your possession, as a recompense for your services rendered to the cause of legitimate order in the world. Nor can there be the slightest doubt that your own King will, in that event, further reward you; for upon the success of your mission, the Treasury of Guntreland and the favour of the most puissant Monarchs shall rightly be yours.
What we require at present is this: that, while continuing the activities which have already borne such excellent fruit and must be pursued, you strive to infiltrate as many of your agents as possible into the republican institutions, especially those which may play an active role upon the King’s return, so that the transfer of power into His Majesty’s hands may be accomplished with the greatest tranquillity and the least obstruction. I refer chiefly to that circle of your most trusted men who are acquainted with your enterprise on behalf of the Crown, and I remind you to see that each receives a sufficient portion of this gold to ensure his continued loyalty.
Beware the fanaticism of republicanism. In the years preceding the Armada, I fought as a volunteer in your King’s army; and before the first full moon of my service, I saw men who had enlisted of their own will in the royal forces merely to seize a musket, from which they then fired upon their noble officers—until they themselves were struck down. Republican propaganda renders common men ready to lay down their lives in some mad and desperate deed that might serve the Republic; and worse, it causes many who once held firm faith in the King’s right to alter their convictions in a moment.
Therefore, judge well which men may be won by gold, and for which others different means—often far less costly—are more suitable.
Sigismund
Baron von Austenberg
