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 GAME GRAPHICS
PROGRAMMING
ALLEN SHERROD

Charles River Media

A part of Course Technology, Cengage Learning

Australia, Brazil, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, United States
Game Graphics Programming © 2008 Course Technology, a part of Cengage Learning.

Allen Sherrod ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright
herein may be reproduced, transmitted, stored, or used in any form or by
any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including but not limited to
Publisher and General Manager, photocopying, recording, scanning, digitizing, taping, Web distribution,
Course Technology PTR: information networks, or information storage and retrieval systems, except
Stacy L. Hiquet as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright
Act, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Associate Director of Marketing:
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For product information and technology assistance, contact us at
Cengage Learning Customer & Sales Support, 1-800-354-9706
Manager of Editorial Services:
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submit all requests online at cengage.com/permissions
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Senior Acquisitions Editor: Emi Smith All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Project Editor: Kate Shoup

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007935957

Technical Reviewer: Michael Duggan ISBN-13: 978-1-58450-516-7

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Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 11 10 09 08
 DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my friends and family, who have always believed
in me and wished me well. This is also dedicated to you, the reader, for
honoring me by showing your support.
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my friends and family for supporting me in my ef-

forts to get into the field of game development and to make something
out of my life that I can enjoy and be proud of. The path I’ve taken has
not been an easy one, but it is one that I believe in and one that I will
succeed in.
I would like to give thanks to Jenifer Niles, who was the first to give
me a chance after receiving the proposal for my first book, Ultimate Game
Programming with DirectX and for also being the first one to bring up and
initiate the opportunity for me to write this book on game graphics. I also
want to give many thanks to Heather Hurley, Emi Smith, Jennifer
Blaney, Lance Morganelli, Kate Shoup, and the rest of the men and
women of Charles River Media/Course Technology PTR/Cengage Learn-
ing for working so hard to make all of this possible.
Also, I would like to thank you, the reader, for purchasing this book.
I hope you have as much fun reading it as I had writing it.
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Allen Sherrod, a DeVry University graduate in the Computer Information

Systems program, has authored games and graphics-related books includ-
ing Ultimate Game Programming with DirectX (first and second editions), Ulti-
mate 3D Game Engine Design and Architecture, and Data Structures for Game
Developers. Allen is also the host of www.UltimateGameProgramming.com.
He has written for Game Developer magazine and Gamasutra.com, and is the
founder of Re-Inventing Games & Graphics, Inc.
 CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION xvii

PART 1 I N T R O D U C T I O N T O G AME G R A P H I C S 1

CHAPTER 1 I N T R O D U C T I O N T O G AME G R A P H I C S 3
Computer Graphics in the Media 4
Graphics in Print 5
Graphics in Movies and TV 5
Computer Graphics in Video Games 6
2D Graphics 6
3D Graphics 8
Rasterization and the Rendering Pipeline 9
XNA 12
About This Book 13
Purpose of This Book 14
Prerequisites and Prior Knowledge 14
Tools Used in This Book 16
Summary 20
Chapter Questions 21

CHAPTER 2 2D A N D 3D G R A P H I C S 23
Bits and Bytes 24
Memory Bits 25
Memory Bytes 26
Hexadecimal Values 27
Color Ranges 29
Low-Dynamic-Range Colors 29
High-Dynamic-Range Colors 29
Additional Color Information 31
 Contents vii

2D Graphics 31
Sprites 32
Tiled Images and Backgrounds 33
3D Graphics 33
The Z Buffer 34
Shading Surfaces 35
Geometry and Primitives 35
Lines 36
Polygons 36
Triangles 37
Convex and Concave Polygons 39
Spheres and Boxes 40
Additional Geometric Objects 44
Loading Geometry 44
Mathematics Used in Computer Graphics 45
Vectors, Vertices, and Points 45
Transformations 48
Matrices 50
Rays 54
Planes 57
Frustums 61
Occlusions 63
Quaternion Rotations 64
Summary 66
Chapter Questions 66
Chapter Exercises 68

CHAPTER 3 RAY TRACING 69

Ray Tracing in Computer Graphics 70
Forward Ray Tracing 71
Backward Ray Tracing 75
Tracing Primitives 78
Tracing Spheres 79
Tracing Planes 81
Tracing Triangles 83
Tracing Additional Primitives 85
Implementing Ray Tracing 85
Mathematics for Ray Tracing 86
Data Structures for Ray Tracing 91
The Ray Tracer 96
viii Game Graphics Programming

Tracing Rays 99
Storing Rendering Results to External Files 101
The Ray Tracer’s Main Source File 103
Real-Time Ray Tracing 106
Ray Tracing on Multi-Core Processors 106
Rendering Farms 107
Ray Tracing on the GPU 108
Ray Tracing Hardware 109
Additional Ray Tracing Topics 109
Summary 110
Chapter Questions 110
Chapter Exercises 111

CHAPTER 4 RASTERIZATION 113

Software Rendering 115
CPU Software Rendering 116
Rasterizing Primitives 117
Clipping 117
Scan-Line Conversion 118
Creating, Clearing, and Displaying the Canvas 120
Drawing Pixels 128
Drawing Lines 129
Drawing Polygons 135
Rendering Buffers 139
Secondary Buffers 140
The Depth Buffer 146
Tertiary Buffers 147
Stencil Buffers 147
Additional Rasterization Topics 150
Transformation and Spaces 150
Back-Face Culling 151
OpenGL 151
Direct3D 9 and 10 156
Direct3D 9 Demo 156
Direct3D 10 162
Summary 168
Chapter Questions 169
Chapter Exercises 170
 Contents ix

CHAPTER 5 PROGRAMMABLE SHADERS 171

Shaders in Computer Graphics 172
Types of Shaders 173
Low-Level Shaders 174
Working with Low-Level Shaders 177
High-Level Shaders 183
OpenGL’s GLSL 184
Overview to GLSL 185
Setting Up and Using GLSL 188
GLSL Example Shader 191
Direct3D’s HLSL 198
Semantics 199
Shaders, Techniques, and Passes 200
Setting Up and Using HLSL 200
HLSL Example Shader 203
Additional Shader Technologies and Tools 211
NVIDIA’s Cg 211
Pixar’s RenderMan 212
Summary 212
Chapter Questions 213

PART 2 SHADING AND SURFACES 215

CHAPTER 6 M APPING S U R F A C E S 217

Texture Mapping in Games 218
Color Formats 219
Images 221
Image Compression 221
Working with TGA Images 222
Working with DDS Images 226
Texture Mapping in Graphics APIs 233
Texture Coordinates 233
Texture Filtering and Mipmaps 234
OpenGL Texture Mapping in Shaders 236
Direct3D 9 Texture Mapping in Shaders 241
Direct3D 10 Texture Mapping in Shaders 248
Texture Compression 257
Color Map Compression 257
DXTC Normal Map Compression 259
3Dc Compression 261
x Game Graphics Programming

A8L8 Format 262

Using DDS Compressed Textures in Shaders 263
Summary 267
Chapter Questions 267
Chapter Exercises 268

CHAPTER 7 A D D I T I O N A L S URFACE M A P P I N G 269

Alpha Mapping 270
Implementing Alpha Maps in OpenGL 272
Implementing Alpha Maps in Direct3D 275
Cube Mapping 281
Implementing Cube Mapping in OpenGL 283
Implementing Cube Mapping in Direct3D 288
Reflections 296
Implementing Reflection Mapping in OpenGL 298
Implementing Reflection Mapping in Direct3D 302
Refractions 308
Implementing Refraction Mapping in OpenGL 308
Render Targets 311
OpenGL Frame Buffer Objects 311
Direct3D 9 Render Targets 319
Direct3D 10 Render Targets 321
Image Filters 322
Luminance Filter 323
Sepia Filter 328
Additional Texture Mapping Techniques 333
Billboards 334
Super-Sampling 334
Dynamic Cube Mapping 337
Summary 337
Chapter Questions 338
Chapter Exercises 339

PART 3 D I R E C T A N D G LOBAL I LLUMINATION 341

CHAPTER 8 LIGHTING AND MATERIALS 343

Lighting Overview 344
Lighting in Computer Graphics 345
Types of Light Sources 345
 Contents xi

Per-Vertex and Per-Pixel Lighting 347

Light Models 348
Lighting Terms 348
Materials 352
Implementing Lighting 353
Lambert Diffuse 353
Phong 358
Blinn-Phong 363
Extensions to Per-Pixel Lighting 366
Bump Mapping 366
Creating Bump Map Textures 367
Implementing Bump Mapping 369
Normal Mapping 375
Parallax Mapping 377
Additional Lighting Techniques 383
Point Lights 383
Bloom 386
Lens Flare 388
Light Shafts 389
Summary 390
Chapter Questions 391
Chapter Exercises 392

CHAPTER 9 ADVANCED LIGHTING AND SHADOWS 393

Shadows in Games 394
Real-Time Versus Preprocessed Shadows 396
Popular Types of Shadows 397
Shadow Imposters 398
Projection Shadows 399
Rendering Projected Shadows 400
The Shadow Matrix 401
Shadow Volumes 402
Finding the Silhouette Edges 404
Rendering the Shadow Volume 406
Shadow Mapping 407
Rendering with the Shadow Map 408
Soft Shadows 410
Light Mapping 411
Calculating Light Map Coordinates 411
Calculating Lumels of a Light Map 413
xii Game Graphics Programming

Deferred Shading 416

Creating the G-Buffer for Deferred Shading 416
Rendering with the G-Buffer 417
Summary 418
Chapter Questions 419
Chapter Exercises 420

C H A P T E R 10 G LOBAL I LLUMINATION T E C H N I Q U E S 421

Overview of Global Illumination 422
Direct Lighting versus Indirect Lighting 422
Ambient Occlusion 424
Alternative Method for Calculating Ambient Occlusion 425
Bent Normal 426
Implementing Ambient Occlusion 428
SSAO 428
Path Tracing 429
Extending the Ray Tracing Algorithm 430
Radiosity 432
Calculating Radiosity 432
Form Factors 434
Implementing Radiosity 435
Photon Mapping 437
The kd-Tree 437
Calculating Photon Maps 438
Applying Photon Maps to a Ray-Traced Scene 438
Precomputed Radiance Transfer 439
Overview of Spherical Harmonics 439
Calculating Spherical Harmonics Data 440
Spherical Harmonics Un-Shadowed 441
Spherical Harmonics Shadowed 443
Spherical Harmonics Inter-Reflected 443
Summary 444
Chapter Questions 444
Chapter Exercises 445
 Contents xiii

PART 4 SPECIAL EFFECTS 447

C H A P T E R 11 S P E C I A L E F F E C T S : H IGH D YNAMIC R A N G E 449

Overview of HDR 450
What Is HDR? 451
Implementing HDR 452
Creating Floating-Point Buffers and Rendering HDR Data 452
Tone Mapping 453
HDR Special Effects and Additional Topics 456
Bloom 456
Streaks 459
Dynamic Tone Mapping 460
Summary 461
Chapter Questions 462
Chapter Exercises 463

C H A P T E R 12 SPECIAL EFFECTS: ADDITIONAL EFFECTS 465

Blurring 466
Depth of Field 467
Depth-Based Blurring 468
Motion Blur 470
Fast Motion Blur 470
Geometry-Based Motion Blur 471
Pixel-Based Motion Blur 471
Particle Systems 473
Point Masses 475
Billboards and Point Sprites 477
Sparks 477
Fire 478
Smoke 479
Additional Particle Effects 479
Particle System Demo 480
Additional Effects 480
Weapon Effects 481
Dynamic Decals on Surfaces 482
Summary 484
Chapter Questions 484
Chapter Exercises 485
xiv Game Graphics Programming

PART 5 RENDERING NATURE 487

C H A P T E R 13 S KY AND T E R R A I N R E N D E R I N G 489
Sky Rendering 490
Sky Planes 490
Sky Boxes 492
Sky Domes 493
Clouds 495
Terrains 496
Brute Force Rendering Terrains 496
Height Map Terrains 497
Terrain Generation 498
Terrain Box Filtering 500
Texturing Terrains 503
Terrain Patches 505
Additional Topics 506
Terrain Demo 507
Summary 508
Chapter Questions 508
Chapter Exercises 509

C H A P T E R 14 WATER RENDERING 511

Examining Water in Modern Games 512
Goldeneye 007: Nintendo 64 512
Perfect Dark: Nintendo 64 513
Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2: Nintendo Wii 514
Half-Life 2 Lost Coast: PC 515
Crysis: PC 517
BioShock: PC and Xbox 360 518
Additional Water Effects 519
Optimizations 519
Underwater Rendering 519
Audio Underwater 519
Water Splashes and Interaction 520
Water Particle Systems 520
Water Physics 521
Shorelines 521
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In spite of the many agreeable features of the castle 36
and the town on the Havel, the young pair did not feel
quite at home there. It was too magnificent for them,
and the surroundings were too noisy. They longed for a
quieter, more retired summer residence, where they
could live with fewer restraints, although they often
went driving in the forest in an ordinary farm wagon
and without any servants, in spite of the protests of the
Mistress of Ceremonies, who could never be induced to
accompany them. Therefore, when the Prince learned
that the estate of Paretz, pleasantly situated among the
fields two miles from Potsdam, was for sale, he
purchased it together with the village which belonged to
it, for thirty thousand thalers, which the King paid for
him. The old residence was torn down and a new one
built in plain country style. “Keep in mind that you are
building for an ordinary country gentleman,” he
instructed the architect. It was to be merely comfortable
and homelike, without any costly furnishings,
embroidered carpets and tapestries, silken covers, or
velvet hangings; and afterwards when King, he said that
while there he wished to be regarded only as “the
squire of Paretz.” His wife, too, on being questioned by
a visiting princess as to whether Her Majesty was not
bored to death by being immured for weeks at a time in
this hermitage, answered: “No, indeed, I am perfectly
happy as the mistress of Paretz.”

The happy pair now enjoyed all the pleasures of country 37

life—hunting and boating, the forests and gardens,
harvest festival and country dance. Even as Queen, the
lovely, high-born dame often forgot her exalted station
and joined the ranks of the peasants and their girls and
gayly danced among them. Even “her excellency”
Madame von Voss, the Mistress of Ceremonies, led out
by the “master of Paretz,” was obliged to take part in a
dance. Another of the Queen’s pleasures was to buy a
basketful of cakes at the annual fair of Paretz and to
distribute them among young and old. The children who
joyfully cried out, “Madame Queen, Madame Queen,
give me some too!” she led to the toy booths, where
honey cakes and peppermints were raffled off, bought
them tickets, and rejoiced with them over their sweet
winnings. In the year 1802 she clothed all the children
in the village in new garments for the harvest-home;
and when the girls and boys leading the procession
entered the castle to tender their thanks to the royal
giver, she was as happy as any of them. Turning to the
King, she quoted: “Ye shall become as little children.”

This love and appreciation of nature and child-life 38

always remained characteristic of her. With so many
duties and demands upon her, she was obliged to take a
few hours’ rest daily to refresh her spirit and renew her
strength. This repose she found most readily in the
solitude and beauty of nature. “If I neglect this hour for
collecting my forces,” she once remarked, “I am out of
sorts and cannot endure the confusion of the world. Oh,
what a blessing it is to be able to commune with our
souls!” It is evident that one of such deep emotional
nature, at such times did not merely lose herself in
dreams or ponder idly on her own affairs. She had been
accustomed from childhood to collect and assimilate the
best that human art and science have to offer. In proof
of this, we have her essays, journals, and letters. The
works of the great poets, Herder, Schiller, Goethe, and
others, were her companions and the springs of her
spiritual and mental refreshment, next to music, which
she loved to cultivate. She interpreted the songs of her
country with a voice full of feeling. But alas! there were
hours in store for her, when all that genius has to offer
could not still the suffering of her heart!
The first hour of trial came when her brother-in-law, 39
Prince Louis, died of typhoid fever, December 28, 1796,
leaving her sister Frederika an eighteen-year-old widow.
She was married a second time, in 1798, to Prince
Frederick William of Braunfels; and after he died, in
1814, she became the bride of the English Prince Ernst
August, Duke of Cumberland, and as such, Queen of
Hanover, in 1837. A fortnight after Prince Louis’s death
(January 13, 1797) the widow of Frederick the Great,
the unhappy Queen Elizabeth Christine, whom Louise
had regarded with tender and filial reverence, passed
away in her eighty-second year. “It will be my turn
next,” said the King, on receiving the news of her death.
Two months after this, on the twenty-second of March,
1797, Louise bore her second son, Prince William, and
on the sixteenth of November of the same year, the
King’s prophecy was fulfilled. Frederick William the
Second died; his eldest son ascended the throne, and
Louise was Queen of Prussia. What a change in so short
a time!

40
 Chapter III
Louise as Queen

The new King took the throne of Frederick the Great,

not as his successor, “Frederick the Third,” as he was
acclaimed, but more modestly, with the title of Frederick
William the Third. His wife assured the delegation of
citizens who waited upon her to offer the
congratulations of Berlin, that she was most grateful for
every proof of their love, and that she and the King
would both endeavor to deserve it; for, said she: “The
love of his subjects is the softest pillow for a royal
head.” The residence and mode of life of the royal pair
remained unchanged. The King still refrained, as before,
from all stiff formalities and vain and ostentatious
display. His father, who had had extravagant tastes, left
him nothing but debts, and now they were obliged to
retrench. But even had it been otherwise, Frederick
William the Third and his Louise were happiest in living
a simple life. On a serving-man’s opening both the
folding doors for His Majesty to pass through, he asked:
“Have I grown suddenly so stout that one door is not
wide enough for me?” And when the chef put two more
courses on the King’s bill-of-fare than he had served to
the Crown-prince, the King struck them off, with the
words: “Does he think my stomach has grown larger
since yesterday?”
It was an old court custom that two generals should 41
serve standing during meals, and that the chamberlain
should be obliged to attend the ruler until he had tasted
his first glass of wine. At his first state dinner, when
Frederick William the Third saw the Master of
Ceremonies standing behind his chair, he said to him:
“You may sit down.”

“I am not allowed to,” was the answer, “until Your

Majesty has taken the first drink.”

“Is any particular beverage mentioned?” asked the King.

“Not so far as I know,” replied the Master of

Ceremonies.

“Wait,” said the King. He reached for the nearest glass

of water, drank, and said: “Now I have had my drink,
and you may be seated!”

Queen Louise in the same manner retained her simple 42

habits. She appeared in robes of state only when the
dignity of her station demanded it. Her usual dress at
balls and festivals was a dainty muslin gown, her
beautiful hair decked only with a diadem, and about her
neck a long string of pearls. In the course of time, by
setting a new example, she also brought about the
disappearance of trains yards in length, of the great
hooped skirts, and towers of artificial hair. With her fine
tact she knew how to banish all stiff formality from
social life, and to secure natural and unaffected
intercourse.

The royal pair were often seen, as of old, walking arm in 43

arm “under the Lindens” and in the zoölogical gardens,
without any attendants and mingling with citizens in the
market-place. In the Winter of 1797, Louise went with
her royal consort to the Christmas street-fair in Berlin.
They had made purchases at several booths and
approached another, where a woman was bargaining for
some wares. She broke off immediately and was going
to step aside as she saw the royal pair approaching. “Do
not go, my dear woman,” said the Queen. “What will the
merchants say if we drive away their customers?” Then
she inquired about her family and on learning that the
woman had a son about the same age as the Crown-
prince, she bought several toys and gave them to her
with the words: “Take these trifles, my dear, and give
them to your crown-prince from mine.” When out
walking she often took up children who were playing by
the roadside, and embraced them in motherly fashion.
Even the old dame cowering by the wayside was not
unnoticed, and if she did not need an alms, received at
least a friendly word. One day a little boy playing horse
in the castle garden ran into the Queen. Her lady-in-
waiting was about to scold him roundly, but Louise
interfered with: “A boy must be wild.” Tapping the little
fellow on his red cheek, she said in sweetest tones:
“Run and play, my son, but take care not to fall; and
you may give your parents greetings from me.”

A great many little episodes of this kind made her day 44

by day more beloved among the people. Once while she
was Crown-princess, when a Count and a court
shoemaker were announced at the same moment, she
caused the craftsman, whose time no doubt was the
more valuable, to be admitted first, with the words: “Let
the shoemaker come; the Count can wait.” To an elderly
man, who was invited for an evening, she wrote on the
invitation card sent out by the Mistress of Ceremonies
the words: “I beg that you will come in boots. Silk
stockings are dangerous for your health, and as I am
fond of my friends, I must take care of them,” Old
General Köckeritz, who was a daily guest at table during
their country sojourn, had a habit of disappearing after
the meal, no one knew whither. When Louise learned
that he hurried away to his room to smoke his
indispensable pipe, she appeared beside him the next
day as soon as dinner was over, with a filled pipe, a
lighted taper, and a spill in her hand, and said to him:
“To-day, my dear Köckeritz, you shall not desert us; you
shall smoke your customary pipe in our company.” After
she became Queen, she and the King were once invited
by one of their ministers to a ball. On their arrival there
were several carriages already before the door yard.
The gate was about to be opened that the royal carriage
might pass through, when the King forbade it and
waited until his turn came to alight. The Queen
remarked to the minister’s wife who was waiting to
receive them: “You must forgive us for being late, but
my husband was detained by business.”

At this same ball, when she noticed that a pretty woman 45

had not been asked to dance by the titled gentlemen,
because she was a “commoner,” she begged the King,
who was nothing loath, to dance with her himself. At a
function in Magdeburg the Queen greatly embarrassed a
young officer’s wife by asking from what family she
came. As the young woman was the daughter of a rich
merchant of Magdeburg she did not know what to reply,
and stammered: “I am of no family, Your Majesty.” The
bystanders giggled, but the Queen rebuked their levity
with a severe glance, and, turning graciously to the
young woman, she said in a loud voice so that all might
hear: “Ah, I see that you have answered in jest and I
must admit that I used a false expression. Certainly all
men are born equal, though indeed it is very gratifying
and inspiring to be of a good family. Who would not
rejoice to come of distinguished parents and ancestors?
But thank God, they are to be found in all classes!
Indeed, the greatest benefactors of the human race
often spring from the humblest homes. One may inherit
high station and its privileges, but inner personal worth
everybody must cultivate for himself. I thank you, my
dear lady, that you have given me an opportunity to
express these thoughts, which are worth while
pondering, and I wish you in your married life that
happiness which springs only from the heart.” She had
emphasized these significant words with her little fan
and with a significant gesture she dismissed the
distinguished ladies who had been presented to her.
How consoled and elated she, who felt that she was “of
no family,” must have been!

The following is a similar incident: At Potsdam, at a 46

church service for the soldiers, a woman strayed by
mistake into the place that had been reserved for the
Queen, and was taken very harshly to task by the
Master of Ceremonies. When Louise heard of this, she
was very much distressed, sent for the preacher at
once, and as he entered the door, met him with the
words: “In Heaven’s name, what has happened in your
church? I have just learned with great displeasure that a
worthy lady of your congregation has been humiliated
by Mr. von N. And right in the church, too! I am
inconsolable, although it was not my fault I beg of you
to apologize for me and to bring me at dinner the
assurance that she accepts the apology. And to-morrow
you may bring her with you—I shall take pleasure in
making her acquaintance.”

Louise accompanied her husband to Koenigsberg, where 47

the Prussians did homage to their new King on the fifth
of June. On the way thither, at Stargard, nineteen little
girls in white dresses, with baskets of flowers, were
drawn up before the house where the Queen was
lodged. Louise talked with them like a mother and they
became very confidential and told her that there had
been twenty of them, but that one of their number had
been sent home because she was so homely. “Poor
child!” cried the Queen, “no doubt she had been
anticipating my coming with delight and is now at home
crying bitterly.” Immediately she had her fetched and
distinguished the homely little one beyond all the
others, with her attentions. The next day there was a
review, and the populace crowded close round the royal
pair. The Queen, noticing an old countryman trying in
vain to get nearer, sent a servant to bring him to her. At
a village near Köslin the burgomaster begged her to
alight, as the peasants as well as the citizens were
anxious to entertain her. She gladly consented and
entered a peasant house which had been decorated for
the reception, and enjoyed the omelettes which were
served her as much as, in the old days, she had enjoyed
the one in Madame Goethe’s house. It was regarded at
that time as an unprecedented condescension, at a
banquet at Oliva, that on the Queen’s invitation a
number of Danzig women were allowed to sit down with
the guests of honor. In Koenigsberg and also in Breslau
and along the route of her travels, the amiable and
gracious lady won all hearts, and it was not a Prussian,
nor a flatterer, who wrote after her death: “Few Queens
have been beloved as she was during her lifetime, and
very few have been thus mourned after their death.”

On July 6, 1798, the deputies of Brandenburg paid their 48

homage to the King in Berlin. Eight days after this,
Louise’s first daughter was born—she who became the
wife of Czar Nicholas of Russia.
During the gala days of the accession Louise wrote to
her grandmother: “I am Queen; and what pleases me
most about it, is that now I shall not have to limit my
charities so carefully.” But indeed, for the nonce the
King was obliged “to live on the Crown-prince’s income”
and to contrive means to pay his father’s debts.
Therefore the Queen had no larger income than the
Crown-princess, or about one thousand thalers a month.
How could this suffice for one who had calls and
solicitations from every side? Indeed, after a few years,
she was involved in three times as much debt as her
income amounted to, so that the cabinet councillor was
obliged to represent to the King that she could not
possibly make two ends meet on this income.

The King paid her debts, but ordered that in future she 49
must keep an account of her expenses and that they
should be paid out of his purse and the bills be laid
before him.

But it was not enough, and Louise was obliged to ask a

loan from the treasurer. He applied to the King, but the
loan was refused, and he returned to the Queen with
the words: “Really, Your Majesty, this can go on no
longer; you will pauperize yourself with your charities.”

Louise answered: “I love my children; to be the mother

of my subjects is as sweet to me as to know that my
best of husbands is their father. I must help wherever
there is need.”

“Very well, then, I will speak to the King,” answered the

official.

“But in such a manner that he will not be angry!”

begged the Queen.
Soon afterwards she found the empty drawer of her 50
writing-desk newly filled, and she asked the King: “What
angel has done this?”

Smiling, the King answered: “His name is legion; at

least I know no other name, and I know but one angel
[at which his eye rested on her]. But you know the
beautiful saying—‘to his friends he gives even in his
sleep.’”

Thus loving and beloved throughout the broad expanse

of her country and among its people, as well as in her
home circle, she was the happiest of wives, mothers,
and princesses. But all too soon the sun of her
happiness began to decline.

51
 Chapter IV
Louise in Misfortune

From the abyss of the French Revolution Napoleon

Bonaparte arose, to be emperor of the French, the rod
of princes, and the scourge of God for the people of
Europe. Austria had been conquered, southern Germany
lay at the feet of its “Protector,” and Prussia too must be
crushed. In 1805 Austria and Russia had allied
themselves with England and Sweden to bring the
conqueror to terms. All the countries were preparing for
war. Prussia alone remained quiet and refused every call
to arms. Napoleon offered Hanover as the price of an
alliance; Austrian and Russian envoys were endeavoring
to gain the King over to their side. He, however, could
not decide for either, and clung to his neutrality. Czar
Alexander sent word that he should march 100,000 men
through southern Prussia and Silesia to join the
Austrians. If the King permitted this, it would mean war
with France.

He had scarcely taken steps to avert this danger when 52

Napoleon made another decisive move. Without either
giving notice or asking permission he sent a division
under General Bernadotte, October 7, 1805, through the
Prussian territory of Ansbach, to avoid a detour and to
fall on the rear of the Austrians. The consequence of
this violent measure was the penning up of the Austrian
General Mack in Ulm and the downfall of Austria. This
disregard of territorial rights in thus entering Prussian
domain, called forth a storm of indignation in Berlin, and
with reason. The King declared that without ample
reparation, war with France was no longer to be
avoided. And what did Napoleon do? In a message to
the King he treated the whole matter as trifling. Perhaps
no one was more deeply affected by this indignity and
by the misfortunes of Austria than the tender, pure-
hearted Queen. She had never been accustomed to
concern herself with political affairs; but when her
eldest son, on his tenth birthday, October 15, 1805,
appeared for the first time in the new uniform which his
father had given him, she expressed the deepest
feelings of her heart in the words: “I hope, my son, that
on the day when you shall make use of this coat, your
first object will be to revenge your brothers.”

Russia and Austria wished to take quick advantage of 53

the indignation against Napoleon in order to bring
Prussia over to their side. The Czar and Grand Duke
Anton, brother of Emperor Franz, both came to Berlin.
The result of this conference was the treaty of
November 3. According to this, Prussia was to mediate
between Napoleon and the Allies. In case Napoleon did
not accept the peace proposals, then Prussia promised
to join the Allies with 180,000 men. Before the Czar left
Potsdam he expressed a desire to visit the tomb of
Frederick the Great. After midnight, together with the
King and Queen, he visited the Garrison Church of
Potsdam and the illuminated crypt. He kissed the coffin,
offered the King his hand across it, and swore eternal
friendship. On leaving the church he entered his
travelling carriage and drove away to join the army.
Unfortunately the man entrusted with the Prussian 54
negotiations was the entirely incompetent Minister
Haugwitz. He was completely in the hands of the French
party at court and, like it, was without love of country,
sincerity, or real devotion, but on the contrary was bent
on neutrality. Unfortunately the King, distrustful of
himself by too severe education, did not possess
enough independence of character and strength of will
to see through and to break up the powerful clique
which surrounded him and was leading the State to
destruction. By nature he was more inclined to
consideration and procrastination than to quick decision
and prompt execution. The most capable statesmen,
like Stein and Hadenberg, who alone could have saved
the State, could do nothing against the so-called neutral
party. Had the King only had some of the decision of the
gifted Prince Louis Ferdinand, a son of the youngest
brother of Frederick the Great, it might have been
otherwise. This Prince, full of burning enthusiasm for
the honor of the Prussian State and the army of
Frederick the Great, was at the head of the patriotic
party which Napoleon called the war party. He criticised
that so-called highest statesmanship, which wished
Prussia to be friendly with all its neighbors, and in
consequence of which it was regarded with suspicion by
all the States. “By love of peace,” said Prince Louis, with
clear insight, “Prussia maintains a peaceful attitude
toward all the powers, and some day when they are
ready for war, it will be mercilessly crushed. Then we
shall fall without hope, and perhaps even without
honor.”

Louise would have nothing to do with Prince Louis 55

Ferdinand, who wasted his powers recklessly in a round
of pleasures. Soon after Louise had come to Berlin, he
became enamoured of the beautiful Crown-princess and
attempted, with the help of her inexperienced sister
Frederika, to ingratiate himself with her and thus
destroy the happiness of the princely pair. But the virtue
of this pure woman spared herself and her family this
tragedy.

On which side the Queen stood in this burning question

of the day need hardly be asked. Inspired by the glory
of Frederick the Great, completely devoted to her
Prussia and its people, she was concerned only with
Prussia’s honor. With all the strength of her soul she
held to Schiller’s motto: “The nation is unworthy which
will not sacrifice all to its honor.” It is true that, entirely
unfitted by nature and by calling for politics, she had
lived in the sweet belief that her country, guided by its
peace-loving King, would be able to maintain peace. But
now she realized, quoting Schiller once more, that “even
the most pious cannot keep the peace, when it does not
please his quarrelsome neighbor.” She took Napoleon’s
deed of violence in Ansbach as a personal insult to her
beloved husband, and saw visions of a still darker
future. Therefore she preferred war or even annihilation
to such humiliation. In the Fall of 1805 the celebrated
Field-marshal Gneisenau wrote: “The Queen is very
much in favor of war. She has told the French
ambassador that the King would himself take command
of the troops, and that the nation would sacrifice its
blood and treasure to preserve its independence.”

When Napoleon heard of the alliance with Russia and 56

Austria he is said to have exclaimed: “The King of
Prussia shall suffer for this!” While he was rapidly
preparing to take the field against the Russian and
Austrian armies in Moravia, Count Haugwitz was not at
all in a hurry. He did not reach Brünn until November
28, then found no time during an audience of four hours
to accomplish his mission in the spirit of the Potsdam
agreement, but allowed himself to be despatched next
day, out of this dangerous neighborhood, to Vienna.
Here he waited until, on December 2, the battle of the
three Emperors, at Austerlitz, was fought, an armistice
concluded between Napoleon and the Austrians, and the
Russian army forced to retreat.

When at last, on December 13, Haugwitz obtained 57

another interview with Napoleon he was greeted with
the angry words: “It would have been far more
honorable if your master had openly declared war on
me; then at least he might have been of some service
to his new allies. But you wish to be everybody’s friend,
and that is impossible; you must choose between me
and my enemies. I want sincerity, or I withdraw. Open
enemies are preferable to false friends. My enemies I
can attack wherever I find them.” Then he laid before
the Prussian Minister an agreement whereby Prussia
was to enter into an alliance, offensive and defensive,
with France to give up Ansbach to Bavaria and
Neuenburg to France in exchange for Hanover. On
December 15 Haugwitz signed this treaty by means of
which Prussia was to become the first vassal of France.
What astonishment it caused in Berlin when Haugwitz
presented the Schönbrunn treaty, on December 25! The
King did not wish to accept it, but could not refuse, for
that would virtually mean a declaration of war against
the conqueror of Russia and Austria. Hanover was
indeed occupied, but the army was placed on a peace
footing, and Haugwitz was to transform the offensive
and defensive alliance into a purely friendly
understanding. But Napoleon well knew what he could
offer the good, undecided, badly counselled King. “No
power in the world shall make me uphold the treaty. If
Prussia now wants Hanover, she shall pay dearly for it.
Your King does not know what he wants; some reckless
spirits are urging him toward war. I tell you it cannot
end well.” On February 15, Haugwitz was forced to sign
a still more distasteful treaty, which was likely to cost
the friendship of England. The King, who was
unprepared for war, was obliged to sign this Paris treaty,
March 3. After this first humiliation of Prussia, Napoleon
proceeded to exhaust the patience of the most patient,
until Prussia was obliged, as Napoleon had desired, to
declare war, but now without allies.

Queen Louise was sorely troubled by all this. Her health 58

had suffered during the Winter and in April she was still
more shaken by the death of her sixteen-months-old
son. With this death her saddest days began,—for one
who had looked upon the world so gayly and been
accustomed to dispense happiness to others. She first
sought and found strength at the baths of Pyrmont,
where she met her beloved father, who had become
Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Not until her six weeks’ stay at the sanatorium was 59

ended did she learn, on returning to Berlin, that war
had been determined upon. Concessions had become
useless, for Napoleon already treated Prussia as a
vassal. On August 9 the King had given orders for the
mobilization of the entire army. Negotiations were under
way with Austria, Russia, and England in order to effect
an understanding. But Austria was too much weakened,
Russia too far away, and even England could not give
immediate assistance. So Prussia remained isolated, and
its shortsightedness and slothfulness during the
previous year brought forth sad fruit. One more attempt
was made to conciliate Napoleon. He declared that he
would attack Prussia with all his forces before Russia
could come to its assistance, but that all might still be
well, if Prussia would immediately disarm. What
Napoleon expected of the King when he was disarmed
was clear to everybody, and to no one more so than to
the Queen. When, on her return, she learned what had
been determined upon as consistent with the honor and
well-being of the fatherland, she advocated the war,
highly as she valued peace. The arch-enemy of Prussia
learned this and made use of it by charging that she
instigated the war. The newspapers which he controlled
began rude attacks upon this splendid woman in order
to lower her in the eyes of her people.

Had she suspected the real condition of the army, a 60

state of affairs which the King only began to realize
when war was at hand, she might have counselled
otherwise. But her high opinion of the army of Frederick
the Great was confirmed by the confidence of its
officers. General Rüchel, who had retaken Frankfort
from the French, was so fatuous as to declare that the
Prussian army had plenty of field-marshals equal to
General Bonaparte. A colonel deplored the fact that the
heroic army of the great Frederick should be furnished
with cannon, rifles, and swords for the battle with the
French, instead of clubs with which “to beat back these
dogs.” “Why do we need fortifications?” asked another.
“Our fortress is the army, behind whose invincible ranks
we can defy the enemy.” Even a few days before the
battle, when the Prussian army was virtually
surrounded, a Prussian general staff officer declared
that the enemy was already cut off by their clever
strategy and Napoleon “as certainly ours as if we
already had him in this hat.” But what was the real state
of affairs?

The fortresses were in bad condition, the commanders 61

were weak dotards, the strategetical points unoccupied,
so that in case of retreat the road to the capital was
open to the enemy. The superior officers were old and
graduates of Frederick’s antiquated school of war, and
the younger ones full of patrician insolence. The army
itself was not in training, and consisted principally of
recruited foreigners. The commander-in-chief was
superannuated.

In the conduct of the war, as in the King’s cabinet, there

was discord and indecision. The King at length became
sadly conscious of this. “It cannot end well,” said he.
“There is indescribable confusion; the gentlemen will
not believe this, and say that I am too young and do
not understand. I hope that I may be wrong.”

But the clear-sighted Prince Louis Ferdinand uttered

these sad words three days before the engagement at
Saalfeld, in which he fell: “Alas! we are in a bad way,
and so is our whole Prussian army; I consider it already
lost, but I shall not outlive its fall.”

The Prussian troops were to concentrate in Thuringia 62

under the leadership of the old Duke of Brunswick for a
decisive battle against the thus far unconquered one.
The previous year, when war seemed imminent, Louise,
with her children, had bidden the departing troops a
hearty and enthusiastic farewell on the Wilhelmsplatz.
Napoleon reproached her with this as though she had
been the demon of war. When, in September, 1806, the
Queen’s dragoon regiment left Berlin to take the field in
Thuringia she received it at the Brandenburg Gate clad
in the colors of the regiment, and rode at its head
through the streets which it traversed. This also gave
her enemies food for comment. But when, on
September 21, she even accompanied the King, who
was lost without her, by way of Magdeburg and Halle to
join the army at Naumburg, Napoleon found even more
fault with her. The celebrated politician Gentz, who was
Austrian court-councillor at the time, had an interview
with the Queen in Erfurt. This temperate statesman had
heard so many praises of the high-born lady that he
was quite prepared to find them only false flatteries. But
in a conversation lasting three-quarters of an hour, she
charmed him completely. He could not say enough
about the decision and independence which she
displayed, the fire and at the same time the wisdom of
her language. “And yet, in all that she said she showed
such deep feeling that one could not forget for a
moment that it was a feminine intellect which attracted
one’s admiration.” This man of the world and of courts
declared that he had never seen such a combination of
dignity, benevolence, and charm as in this wonderful
woman.

Louise was most anxious to be assured that public 63

opinion was in favor of the campaign. “I do not ask to
give myself courage—for, thank God! that is not
necessary!” said she, during the conversation, in which
she showed an astonishing knowledge of even the most
unimportant events and minute affairs. Her womanly
nature manifested itself most touchingly when her eyes
would fill with tears at the mention of Austria’s
misfortunes. Commenting on the public criticisms of her
political conduct, she cried: “God knows that I have
never been consulted in public affairs and have never
wished to be. Had I ever been asked, I should—I will
admit it—have declared for war, as I believed it was
necessary. Our condition had become so critical that we
were in duty bound, and at all costs, to extricate
ourselves; it was most necessary to put an end to the
suspicion and reproaches which were heaped upon us,
as though the King had not been in earnest in regard to
the war all the time. By every principle of honor and
therefore of duty, as I understand it, we were compelled
to follow that road, apart from any selfish
considerations.” The accusation of any partiality for the
Russians she denied, and although she did justice to the
personal virtues of the Czar Alexander, she did not look
upon Russia as the saviour of Europe from the usurper.
She sought the principal means of help solely in the
close union of all those who bore the German name.

Among those surrounding the King, opinions were 64

divided as to whether or not the Queen should be
allowed to go farther. She herself preferred to be at
headquarters rather than to hear disquieting rumors at
a distance. Since the King had allowed her to
accompany him beyond Erfurt, she was resolved not to
leave him until he desired it. Headquarters were
established in Weimar, October 11, and there the King
and Queen received the first bad news. The vanguard
had been defeated by the French and their leader, the
brave Prince Louis, had fallen at Saalfeld, October 10.
Three days later the Queen left Weimar to follow her
husband to Auerstädt. On the way she learned that the
road was beset by the enemy, and she was obliged to
return to Weimar amid the cheers of thousands of eager
soldiers, whose valiant spirit she had imbued with fresh
life. Here she was urged by General Rüchel no longer to
expose herself needlessly to the dangers of war, and to
return to Berlin. This was possible only by means of a
great detour, in order to be safe from the enemy’s
scouting parties. Rüchel designated the road and the
stations. The route, which would take four days to
traverse, was to be by way of Mühlhausen, Brunswick,
Magdeburg, and Brandenburg.
On the morning of October 14 the Queen left Weimar 65
with the Countess Tauentzien. A company of cuirassiers
formed their escort for several miles; thick mist
enveloped the landscape and the travellers’ hearts were
heavy with forebodings. As Louise listened to the distant
thunder of cannon she trembled for the husband of her
heart and the father of her children. She knew that he
would shun no danger in this battle and it deeply
affected her that she could not share it with him.

The double battle at Jena and Auerstädt raged all day 66

long. On the road the Queen received only uncertain
news, sometimes good and sometimes bad. “I have
suffered unutterably,” she declared, “between mountains
of hope and abysses of despair, and have learned the
meaning of ‘we know not what we should pray for as
we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered.’”

Not until the fourth day did a messenger sent by

Colonel von Kleist, adjutant of the King, overtake her in
the neighborhood of Brandenburg. The rider
approached the carriage door and handed the Queen a
letter. She opened it quickly, glanced at it, and appeared
crushed. The letter contained only the words: “The King
is alive; the battle is lost.” Tears streamed from her eyes
at this terrible news. The handkerchief, wet with her
tears in this hour of distress, which she gave as a
remembrance to the Prince of Anhalt, her protector, at
his request, is still preserved among the treasures of the
royal family, and is certainly not one of the least
valuable.

“The King is alive”—but where and how? Truly the King 67

considered himself fortunate to have barely escaped
being taken prisoner. Napoleon wrote triumphantly to
his consort, the Empress Josephine, that he had very
nearly taken the King. Although Louise did not know
this, she knew that the battle was lost. Dark pictures of
the present and future haunted her. She knew what it
meant to be vanquished by Napoleon; knew with what
boundless arrogance the heartless conqueror treated
princes and people, and what terms of peace he was
likely to dictate.

The carriage passed rapidly through Potsdam on its way

to Berlin, where the Queen arrived late on the evening
of October 17. Her children were not there. That
morning, Lieutenant von Dorville, adjutant of Field-
marshal von Möllendorf, whom the King had despatched
to Berlin with the bad news from the battlefield, had
arrived, and the Governor, Count Von der Schulenburg,
had at once ordered the removal of the royal children to
Schwedt-on-the-Oder. Scarcely had the Queen entered
her home, when, hearing of the arrival of the
Lieutenant, she had him summoned to her presence.

“Where is the King?” she asked.

“I do not know, Your Majesty,” answered Dorville.

“But is the King not with the army?” she asked again.

“With the army!” answered Dorville. “The army no

longer exists!”

So great had been the confidence of victory that the 68

news of the defeat was all the more crushing.
Consternation and despair reigned in Berlin. The
Governor sought to quiet the inhabitants by the
proclamation: “The King has lost a battle: the first duty
of the citizens is to be calm. I require this of all our
citizens. The King and his brothers are alive.” Such were
the men in power at a time when all the available
strength of the people should have been called forth to
enduring devotion and determined resistance.

After a terrible night, at six o’clock in the morning of 69

October 18 the Queen summoned the court physician,
Dr. Hufeland. He found her in despair, with eyes swollen
with weeping and hair in disorder. “All is lost. I must fly
to my children, and you must go with us,” she said as
he entered. At ten o’clock the carriage was ready and
the Queen drove to Schwedt, where her children were.
The sight of them renewed and accentuated the
mother’s distress. They ran tenderly to meet her at the
great staircase of the castle, but she whom they were
accustomed to see gay and smiling now embraced and
greeted them with the words “You see me in tears. I am
weeping for the cruel fate which has befallen us. The
King has been deceived in the ability of his army and its
leaders, and we have been defeated and must fly!” To
the tutor of the two elder children, Delbrück, she said:
“I see a structure destroyed in one day, upon whose
erection great men have labored through two centuries.
The Prussian State, Prussian army, and Prussian glory
exist no longer.” “Ah, my sons,” she cried to the eleven-
year-old Fritz and nine-year-old William, “you are
already old enough to understand these trials. In the
future, when your mother no longer lives, recall this
unhappy hour and let a tear fall in remembrance of it,
as I now weep for the destruction of my country. But do
not be satisfied with tears. Act, develop your powers!
Perchance the guardian angel of Prussia will protect
you. Then free your people from the shame, the
reproach, and the humiliation into which it has fallen!
Try, like your great-grandfather, the Great Elector, to
reconquer from the French the darkened fame of your
ancestors, as he revenged the defeat and shame of his
father, against the Swedes at Fehrbellin. Do not be
corrupted by the degeneracy of the times. Become men
and heroes, worthy of the name of princes and
grandsons of the great Frederick. But if you cannot with
all your efforts uplift the down-trodden State, then seek
death as did Prince Louis Ferdinand!”

From Schwedt, the sorrowing but heroic Queen travelled 70

to Stettin. There, on her own responsibility, she caused
the arrest of the cabinet councillor Lombard, who had
originally been a wig-maker and was now universally
considered a traitor, and who had fled from Berlin to
escape the threatening anger of the populace.
Subsequently the King released Lombard, but deposed
him and never saw him again. The King had gone from
the battlefield to Sömmerda, where he collected a few
scattered detachments of troops about him. Learning
that the enemy had already passed round his left flank,
he went on to Magdeburg, accompanied by a squadron
of dragoons, reached Berlin on the eve of October 20,
but did not enter the city, and arrived, on the morning
of the same day at the fortress of Cüstrin, where his
wife also arrived in the evening at ten o’clock. What a
meeting after only a week!
 QUEEN LOUISE and her two sons
71
On the road she had not even been able to get fresh
horses at Bärwalde. Rather than furnish them the
steward had turned them loose. So far had some of
their subjects already fallen from their allegiance. Bad
feeling, cowardice, treachery, and incompetence had
spread since the misfortune at Jena, through military,
official, and citizens’ circles. One fortress and one
division of troops after another were needlessly
surrendered to the enemy. It became evident that since
the last years of Frederick the Great social decay had
spread, not only in the army, which was insolently
resting on its former laurels, but in official circles and
even in the life of the people. Of this few had had any
inkling, least of all the thoroughly upright King and the
noble Louise. “Disaster had to come, or we should have
burst with pride,” acknowledged a Prussian years
afterwards.

The whole country between the Weser and the Oder 72

became a prey to the enemy after the reserves under
the Prince of Württemberg had been defeated and
destroyed near Halle. Napoleon arrived in Potsdam
October 24 and made his entry into Berlin on the
twenty-seventh. Here he gave free vent to his ill-humor.
According to him, Queen Louise and the Prussian nobles
were to blame for everything. “I will bring these
patricians down to beg their bread on the streets.” He
pursued the Queen with the most violent abuse. He
called her the “cause of all the troubles which had
befallen Prussia.” He brought contempt upon her by
pictures and writings. Even when, three years later,
Major Schill marched from Berlin with six hundred
hussars, called on the people of Germany to rise for
their liberties, and fell fighting at Stralsund, this also
was attributed to Louise, and Napoleon caused an
engraving to appear in Paris, which represented her in
the uniform of the Schill hussars. The attempt made by
Frederick Staps in Schönbrunn at that time to
assassinate the tyrant, Napoleon declared was planned
in Berlin and Weimar. When a general doubted this, he
exclaimed, “Women are capable of anything.”

These unworthy attacks and slanders of course did not

injure her in the eyes of her subjects, as Napoleon
wished. On the contrary, the Queen grew dearer to
every good Prussian because of this abuse, and many
heroic hearts were burning to avenge her wrongs.
These attacks of her ignoble opponent could not always
be kept from the Queen, and cost her much agitation
and many tears. “Can this wicked creature not be
content to rob the King of his State? Must the honor of
his wife be sacrificed also, by this contemptible wretch
who spreads the most shameful lies abroad concerning
me?”

As prospects for a favorable turn of affairs were very 73

slight, the King thought it advisable to open peace
negotiations. Napoleon already demanded (October 22),
at Wittenberg, that the Elbe should be the western
boundary of Prussia, and that the King should pay one
hundred million francs as war indemnity; but he was
willing to permit him to keep Magdeburg. These
demands appeared too harsh after but one defeat, and
ambassadors were sent to Napoleon at Berlin to secure
more favorable terms. In the meantime, however, Prince
Hohenlohe had been obliged to lay down his arms, with
twelve thousand men, at Prenzlau. The fortresses of
Erfurt, Spandau, Magdeburg, and others were
surrendered to the enemy by their cowardly
commanders with incredible quickness, and Napoleon
would no longer consider the Wittenberg conditions. He
determined to keep as much territory as possible, so
that he could force the English, as allies of Prussia, to
hand over as many of the conquered French colonies as
possible. He offered an armistice on condition that the
principal fortresses in Silesia and on the Weichsel should
be turned over to him, that the Prussian army should
withdraw to the northeast corner of the dominion, and
the assistance of Russia be declined. By means of this
treaty, which the plenipotentiaries of the King accepted
November 16 in Charlottenburg, Napoleon would have
had Prussia completely in his power. The King who had
gone with his consort from Cüstrin by way of Graudenz
to Osterode, held counsel with his generals and
ministers, most of whom were in favor of confirming the
treaty. Stein, however, persuaded him to reject it, as it
gave no guarantee of lasting peace and threatened the
very existence of Prussia. At this, Napoleon declared: “If
the King will not separate his affairs from Russia, he
must take the consequences of the war. Should we
conquer the Czar, there will no longer be a Prussian
King.”

Louise took fresh courage from her devotion to Prussia’s 74

honor and favored rejection of the treaty, in accord with
the Minister Stein. She had always recognized in him
one of the bulwarks of Prussia, and she placed in the
King’s hands his memorial on the changes in systems of
government. However, the two men did not understand
one another, and the King, considering him an
obstinate, pig-headed person, gave him permission to
resign.

In political affairs Louise held to the faith which “is the 75

substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen.” Her motto was: “Only enduring resistance
can save us.” But on receiving news of one disaster
after another; seeing nothing but good fortune
attending Napoleon and nothing but misfortune the
Prussians; seeing nothing but misery, the strong woman
had her weak moments, when doubts tortured her as to
whether she had been right in preaching resistance to
the conqueror, or whether it was not presumptuous
rebellion against the cruel fate which seemed to have
overtaken her house and her country. On the way from
Koenigsberg, at Ortelsburg, December 5, 1806, she
wrote in her journal these verses from Goethe’s
“Wilhelm Meister”:

“Who never ate his bread in sorrow,

Who never spent the darksome hours
Weeping and watching for the morrow,
He knows ye not, ye gloomy powers!

“To earth, this weary earth, ye bring us,

To guilt ye let us heedless go,
Then leave repentance fierce to wring us:
A moment’s guilt, an age of woe!”

This was indeed a depth of despair in which the stars of 76

faith and hope seem to have been extinguished. But by
God’s providence she found just at this time a guide and
consoler. This was the pious Madame von Krüdener, who
at that period exercised such a mighty awakening
influence, especially among the higher classes, and also
upon the Czar. Five years before, as wife of the Russian
ambassador, she had seen the Queen in undimmed
splendor at the court of Berlin. Now she no longer found
a gay young princess, but a downcast, unhappy woman,
who gladly accompanied her through the hospitals of
Koenigsberg bringing comfort to the suffering victims of
war. It was under her tutelage that the Queen devoted
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