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diff --git a/20892.txt b/20892.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e5c6568 --- /dev/null +++ b/20892.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8686 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Manasseh, by Maurus Jokai + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Manasseh + A Romance of Transylvania + +Author: Maurus Jokai + +Translator: Percy Favor Bicknell + +Release Date: March 24, 2007 [EBook #20892] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MANASSEH *** + + + + +Produced by Todd Fine, Janet Blenkinship and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + + + + + + + + + Manasseh + + A Romance of Transylvania + + + Retold from the Hungarian of + Dr. Maurus Jokai + Author of + "Black Diamonds," "Pretty Michal," "The + Baron's Sons," etc. + + + By + Percy Favor Bicknell + Translator of "The Baron's Sons" + + + + + Boston + L. C. Page & Company + 1901 + + _Copyright, 1901_ + BY L. C. PAGE & COMPANY + (INCORPORATED) + + _All rights reserved_ + + Colonial Press + Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds &. Co. + Boston, Mass., U. S. A. + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE vii + + I. FELLOW-TRAVELLERS 1 + + II. A LIFE'S HAPPINESS AT STAKE 13 + + III. AN INTRUDER EXPELLED 19 + + IV. A BIT OF STRATEGY 24 + + V. HOLY WEEK IN ROME 34 + + VI. THE CONSECRATED PALM-LEAF 52 + + VII. AN AUDIENCE WITH THE POPE 60 + + VIII. AN UNWELCOME VISITOR 65 + + IX. THE ANONYMOUS LETTER 79 + + X. THE FOURTEENTH PARAGRAPH 90 + + XI. THE DECISION 103 + + XII. A GHOSTLY VISITANT 109 + + XIII. A SUDDEN FLIGHT 127 + + XIV. WALLACHIAN HOSPITALITY 137 + + XV. BALYIKA CAVE 158 + + XVI. A DESPERATE HAZARD 179 + + XVII. IN PORLIK GROTTO 188 + + XVIII. TOROCZKO 198 + + XIX. A MIDNIGHT COUNCIL 213 + + XX. MIRTH AND MOURNING 231 + + XXI. THE SPY 245 + + XXII. THE HAND OF FATE 256 + + XXIII. OLD SCORES 266 + + XXIV. A CRUEL PARTING 292 + + XXV. SECRETS OF THE COMMISSARIAT 302 + + XXVI. SOLFERINO 307 + + XXVII. AN HOUR OF TRIAL 314 + + XXVIII. A DAY OF RECKONING 318 + + + + +TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. + + +A few words of introduction to this striking story of life in +Szeklerland may not be out of place. + +The events narrated are supposed to take place half a century ago, in +the stirring days of '48, when the spirit of resistance to arbitrary +rule swept over Europe, and nowhere called forth deeds of higher heroism +than in Hungary. To understand the hostility between the Magyars and +Szeklers on the one hand, and the Wallachians on the other,--a state of +feud on which the plot of the story largely hinges,--let it be +remembered that the non-Hungarian elements of the kingdom were +exceedingly jealous of their Hungarian neighbours, and apprehensive lest +the new liberal constitution of 1848 should chiefly benefit those whom +they thus chose to regard as enemies. Therefore, secretly encouraged by +the government at Vienna, they took up arms against the Hungarians. The +Croatians and Serbs, under the lead of Ban Jellachich and other imperial +officers, joined in the revolt. The most frightful atrocities were +committed by the insurgents. Hundreds of families were butchered in cold +blood, and whole villages sacked and burned. These acts of massacre and +rapine were especially numerous on the eastern borders of Transylvania, +among the so-called Szeklers, or "Frontiersmen," in whose country the +scene of the present narrative is chiefly laid. + +The Szeklers, who also call themselves Attilans, claim descent from a +portion of that vast invading horde of Attila the Hun, which fell back +in defeat from the battle of Chalons, in the year 451, and has occupied +the eastern portion of Transylvania ever since. The Magyars are of the +same or a nearly kindred race, and speak the same language; but their +ancestry is traced back to a later band of invaders who forced their way +in from the East early in the tenth century. The Wallachians, or +"Strangers," form another considerable group in the population of +Hungary. "Rumans" they prefer to call themselves, and they claim descent +from the ancient Dacians, and from the conquering army led against the +latter by Trajan. Besides these, Germans, Croatians, Serbs, Ruthenians, +Slovaks, and other races, contribute in varying proportions to the +heterogeneous population of the country. + +The Hungarian title of the book is "Egy az Isten,"--"One is the +Lord,"--the watchword of the Unitarians of Transylvania. The want of an +adequate English equivalent of this motto has led to the adoption of +another title. In this, as in all the author's romances, love, war, and +adventure furnish the plot and incident and vital interest of the +narrative. + +As early as 1568, three years after the introduction of Unitarianism +into Poland, John Sigismund Szapolyai, the liberal and enlightened +voivode of Transylvania, issued a decree, granting his people religious +toleration in the broadest sense. The establishment of the Unitarian +Church in Hungary, on an equal footing with the Roman Catholic, the +Lutheran, and the Calvinist, dates from that time. Through many trials +and persecutions, through periods of alternate prosperity and adversity, +it has bravely maintained its existence up to the present day, and now +numbers nearly sixty-eight thousand members. Though a comparatively +small body, the Unitarians of Hungary "hold together well," as our +author says, and exert an influence in education and in all that makes +for the higher life, quite out of proportion to their numbers. + +As in so many of Dr. Jokai's novels that have appeared in English, it +has been found necessary to abridge the present work in translation. Not +until we have endowed publishing houses which can afford to disregard +the question of sales, shall we see this author's books issued in all +their pitiless prolixity, in any country or language but his own. It is +to be noted, in conclusion, that the excessive wealth of incident with +which the following story abounds is characteristic of the author's +style. Broken threads and occasional inconsistencies are found in all +his works, and if they are met with here, it is not because of, but in +spite of, the abridgment which the book has undergone. + + + + +MANASSEH + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +FELLOW-TRAVELLERS. + + +Our story opens in an Italian railway station, in the spring of 1848. +From a train that had just arrived, the passengers were hastening to +secure their places in another that stood waiting for them. A guard had +succeeded in crowding a party of two ladies and a gentleman into one of +these itinerant prison-cells, which already contained seven occupants, +before the newcomers perceived that they were being imposed upon. A +vigorous protest followed. The elder of the two ladies, seizing the +guard by the arm, addressed him in an angry tone, first in German, then +in French. + +With the calm indifference of an automaton, the uniformed official +pointed to a placard against the wall. _Per dieci persone_ was the +inscription it bore. Ten persons, it seemed, were expected to find +places here. + +"But we have first-class tickets," protested the lady, producing a bit +of yellow pasteboard in proof of her assertion. + +The guard glanced at it with as little interest as he would have +bestowed on a scarab from the tomb of the Pharaohs. Shrugging his +shoulders, he merely indicated, with a wave of his hand, places where +the three passengers might, perhaps, find seats,--one in this corner, a +second yonder, and, if its owner would kindly transfer a greasy bundle +to his lap, a third over there. + +This arrangement, however, was not at all to the liking of either the +ladies or their escort. The latter was altogether disinclined to accept +a seat between two fat cattle-dealers, being of no meagre dimensions +himself. + +"We'll see about this!" he exclaimed, and left the compartment in quest +of the station-master. + +That dignitary was promenading the platform in military uniform, his +hands behind his back. The complainant began to explain the situation to +him and to demand that consideration to which his first-class ticket +entitled him. But the _illustrissimo_ merely opened his eyes and +surveyed the gentleman in silence, much as a cuttlefish might have done +if similarly addressed. + +"_Partenza-a-a!_" shouted the guards, in warning. + +The indignant gentleman hurried back to his compartment, only to find +that, in his absence, three additional passengers had been squeezed into +the crowded quarters, so that he himself now raised the total to +thirteen,--a decidedly unlucky number. The ladies were in despair, and +their attendant had begun to express his mind vigorously in his native +Hungarian, when he felt himself touched on the elbow from behind, and +heard a voice accosting him, in the same tongue. + +"My fellow-countryman, don't heat yourself. Not eloquence, but +backsheesh, is needed here. While you were wasting your breath I had a +guard open for me a reserved first-class compartment. It cost me but a +trifle, and if you and your ladies choose to share it with me, it is at +your service." + +"Thank you," was the reply, "but we shall not have time to change; we +had only two minutes here in all." + +"Never fear," rejoined the stranger, reassuringly. "The _due minute_ is +a mere form with which to frighten the inexperienced. The train won't +start for half an hour yet." + +The two ladies were no less grateful to their deliverer than was +Andromeda of old to the gallant Perseus. They gladly accepted the +comfortable seats offered them, while their escort took a third, leaving +the fourth for their benefactor, who lingered outside to finish his +cigar. At the second ringing of the bell, he gave his half-smoked +Havana to a passing porter, mounted the running-board of the moving +train, and entered his compartment. + +Seating himself, the young man removed his travelling-cap and revealed a +broad, arched forehead, surmounted by a luxuriant growth of hair. Thick +eyebrows, bright blue eyes, and a Greek nose were the striking +characteristics of his face, which seemed to combine the peculiarities +of so many types and races, that an observer would have been at a loss +to classify it. + +The other gentleman of the party was of genuine Hungarian stock, stout +in figure and ruddy of countenance, with a pointed moustache, which he +constantly twirled. The younger of the two ladies was veiled, so that +only the graceful outlines of a face, evidently classic in its +modelling, were revealed to the eye. But the elder had thrown back her +veil, exposing to full view an honest, round face, blond hair, lively +eyes, and lips that manifestly found it irksome to maintain that silence +which good breeding imposes in the presence of a stranger. + +The ladies' escort was a very uneasy travelling companion. First he +complained that he could not sit with his back toward the engine, as he +was sure to be car-sick. The young stranger accordingly changed places +with him. Then he found fault with his new seat, because it was exposed +to a draught which blew the cinders into his eyes. Thereupon the young +man promptly volunteered to close the window for him; but this only made +matters worse, for fresh air was indispensable. At this, the blond lady +gave up her place to the gentleman, and he, at last, appeared satisfied. +Not so, however, the lady herself; she was now seated opposite the +stranger, to whom she and her companions were so greatly indebted, and +the feeling of indebtedness is always somewhat irksome. + +Women on a journey are inclined to regard a stranger's approach with +some suspicion, and to be ever on the alert against adventurers. A vague +mistrust of this sort concerning the young stranger may have been +aroused by the mere fact that, Hungarian though his language indicated +him to be, he and the ladies' escort indulged in no interchange of +courtesies so natural among fellow-countrymen meeting by chance in a +foreign land. Nevertheless the blond lady strove to assume an air that, +on her part, should signify an entire absence of interest in all things +relating to her _vis-a-vis_. Even when the sun shone in her face and +annoyed her, she seemed determined to adjust the window-shade without +any help from the stranger, until he courteously prevailed on her to +accept his aid. + +"Oh, what helpless creatures we women are!" she exclaimed as she sank +back into her seat. + +"You have yourselves to blame for it," was the other's rejoinder. + +If he had simply offered some vapid compliment, protesting, for example, +that women were by no means helpless creatures, but, on the contrary, +the rulers of the stronger sex, and so of the world,--then she would +have merely smiled sarcastically and relapsed into silence; but there +was something like a challenge in his unexpected retort. + +"_Par exemple?_" she rejoined, with an involuntary show of interest. + +"For example," he continued, "a lady voluntarily surrenders the +comfortable seat assigned to her, and exchanges with a man who occupies +an uncomfortable one." + +The lady coloured slightly. "A free initiative," said she, "is seldom +possible with a woman. She is ever subject to a stronger will." + +"Yet she need not be," was the reply; "with the fascination which she +exerts over men she is in reality the stronger." + +"Ah, yes; but suppose that fascination is employed over a man by women +that have no right thus to use their power?" + +"Then the legitimate possessor of that right is still at fault. If +fascination is the bond by which the man can be held, why does she not +make use of it herself? A face of statuesque beauty that knows not how +to smile has often been the cause of untold unhappiness." + +At these words the younger of the two ladies threw back her veil, +perhaps to gain a better view of the speaker, and thus revealed just +such a face as the young man had referred to,--a face with large blue +eyes and silent lips. + +"Would you, then," the elder lady continued the discussion with some +warmth, "have a wife employ the wiles of a coquette toward her own +husband, in order to retain his love?" + +"I see no reason why she should not if circumstances demand it." + +"Very good. But you must admit that a wife is something more than a +sweetheart; maternal duties and cares also enter into her life, and +when, by reason of her exalted mission as a mother, anxieties and fears +will, in spite of her, depict themselves on her face, what then becomes +of your pretty theory?" + +The attack was becoming too warm for the young stranger, and he hastened +to capitulate with a good grace. "In that case, madam," he admitted, +"the husband is bound to show his wife nothing but the purest devotion +and affection. The Roman lictors were, by the consul's orders, required +to lower their fasces before a Roman matron; she was undisputed mistress +in her sphere. The man who refuses to render the humblest of homage to +the mother of his children deserves to have a millstone hung about his +neck and to be cast into the sea." + +The blond lady seemed softened by this unconditional surrender. "Are you +on your way to Rome, may I ask?" she presently inquired, her question +being apparently suggested by the other's reference to ancient Roman +customs. + +"Yes, that is my destination," he replied. + +"You go to witness the splendid ceremonies of Holy Week, I infer." + +"No; they do not interest me." + +"What!" exclaimed the lady; "the sublimest of our Church observances, +that which symbolises the very divinity of our Saviour, does not +interest you?" + +"No; because I do not believe in his divinity," was the calm reply. + +The lady raised her eyebrows in involuntary token of surprise at this +most unexpected answer. She suddenly felt a strong desire to fathom the +mysterious stranger. "I believe the Vatican is seeking an unusually +large loan just now," she remarked, half-interrogatively. + +The stranger could not suppress a smile. He read the other's surmise +that he might be of Hebrew birth and faith. "It is not the papal loan, +madam," he returned, "that takes me to Rome; it is a divorce case." + +"A divorce case?" The blond lady could not disguise her interest at +these words, while even the statuesque beauty at the other end of the +compartment turned her face fully upon the speaker, and her lips parted +slightly, like the petals of an opening rosebud. + +"Yes," resumed the young man, "a separation from one who has denied and +rejected me for the sake of another; one whom I must for ever shun in +the future, and yet cannot cease to love; one whose loss can never be +made good to me. I am going to Rome because it is a dead city and +belongs equally to all and to none." + +The train halted at a station, and the young man alighted. After a few +words to the guard he disappeared from sight. + +"Do you know that gentleman?" asked the blond lady of her escort. + +"Very well," was the reply. + +"And yet you two hardly exchanged a word." + +"Because we were neither of us so disposed." + +"Are you enemies?" + +"Not enemies, and yet in a certain sense opponents." + +"Is he a Jew or an atheist?" + +"Neither; he is a Unitarian." + +"And what is a Unitarian, pray tell me?" + +"The Unitarians form one of the recognised religious sects of Hungary," +explained the man. "They are Christians who believe in the unity of +God." + +"It is strange I never heard of them before," said the lady. + +"They live chiefly in Transylvania," added the other; "but the great +body of them, taken the world over, are found in England and America, +where they possess considerable influence. Their numbers are not large, +but they hold together well; and, though they are not increasing +rapidly, they are not losing ground." + +The younger lady lowered her veil again and crossed herself beneath its +folds; but her companion turned and looked out of the window with a +curious desire to scrutinise the wicked heretic more closely. Both the +ladies, as the reader will have conjectured, were strictly orthodox in +their faith. + +The train soon started again, after the customary ringing and whistling +and the guards' repeated warning of "_partenza!_" But the young heretic +seemed to put as little faith in bells and whistles and verbal warnings +as in the dogma of the Trinity; for he failed to appear as the train +moved away from the station. The ladies who owed so much to his kindness +could not deny a certain feeling of relief at being freed from the +company of one who cherished such heterodox religious convictions. + +"You say you are well acquainted with the young man?" the blond lady +resumed. + +"Yes, I know him well enough," was the answer. "His name is Manasseh +Adorjan, he is of good old Szekler descent, and he has seven brothers +and a twin sister. They all live at home in their ancestral castle. Some +of the brothers have married, but all live together peacefully under one +roof and form one household. Manasseh seems to have been recognised by +the family as the gifted one,--his brothers are nothing more than honest +and intelligent Szeklers,--and for his education and advancement in the +world all worked in unison. When he was only twenty years old this young +genius became a candidate for the council. In Transylvania it is the +custom to make the higher government appointments from all four of the +recognised religious sects,--Roman Catholic, Calvinist, Lutheran, and +Unitarian. From that time dates our mutual hostility." + +"Then you are enemies, after all." + +"In politics, yes. However, I must not bore you ladies with political +questions. Suffice it to say, then, in regard to Manasseh Adorjan, that +a sudden change of government policy, and the defeat of his party, gave +the young man a fall from his proud eminence and led him to turn his +back, for a time at least, on his native land; for he scorned to seek +the preferment that was so easily within his reach by renouncing his +principles and joining the opposite party." + +"Now I understand," interposed the blond lady, "what he meant by his +'divorce case,' and his parting with one who had denied and rejected +him, but whom he could never cease to love. Those were his words, and +they referred to his country." + +"Yes, probably," assented the other; "for the young man is unmarried." + +At the next station the subject of this conversation suddenly +reappeared. + +"Ah, we thought you were lost," exclaimed the elder of the two ladies, +with a not unfriendly smile. + +"Oh, no, not lost," returned Manasseh; "what belongs nowhere and to no +one cannot be lost. I merely took a seat on the imperial. Come, friend +Gabriel,"--turning to the ladies' escort,--"will you not join me there? +The view is really fine, and we can smoke also." + +The one thus familiarly addressed, and whose name was Gabriel Zimandy, +accepted the invitation after a moment's demur. The ladies were left to +themselves. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +A LIFE'S HAPPINESS AT STAKE. + + +"A splendid country this!" exclaimed Gabriel Zimandy, when he had +lighted his meerschaum and found himself at leisure to survey the +landscape. "Too bad the Austrians have their grip on it!" + +"Look here," interposed Manasseh, "suppose we steer clear of politics. +Do you agree?" + +"Did I say anything about politics?" retorted Gabriel. "I merely alluded +to the beautiful view. Well, then, we'll talk about beautiful women if +you prefer. You little know what a tender spot you touched upon with the +ladies. I refer to the brunette--not to the blond, with whom you were +talking." + +"Ah, is the other a brunette? I did not get a good look at her." + +"But she got a good look at you, while you were discussing the duties of +women toward their husbands, the subject of divorce, and Heaven knows +what else besides." + +"And did I awaken any unpleasant reminiscences?" asked the young man. + +"Not in the bosom of your fair antagonist,--she is already a widow,--but +in that of her companion, who sat silent and listened to all you said. +She is on her way to Rome to petition the Pope to annul her marriage." + +"Is that so!" exclaimed Manasseh, in surprise. "I should have said she +was just out of a convent where she had been placed to be educated." + +"What eyes you have! Even without looking at her you have guessed her +age to a month, I'll warrant! She is my client, the unfortunate Princess +Cagliari, _nee_ Countess Blanka Zboroy. You know the family: their +estates are entailed, so that all but the eldest son have to shift for +themselves as best they can. The younger sons go into the army or the +Church, and the daughters are wedded to rich husbands, or else they take +the veil. But it so happened that once upon a time a rich bishop +belonging to this family made a will directing that his property be +allowed to accumulate until it became large enough to provide a snug +fortune of a million florins for each of his relatives; and this end was +recently realised. But by the terms of the will, the heirs are allowed +only the usufruct of this legacy, and, furthermore, even that is to be +forfeited under certain circumstances, as for example, if allegiance be +refused to the reigning dynasty, or if the legatee renounce the Roman +Catholic faith, or, in the case of a woman, lead an unchaste life. Any +part of the estate thus forfeited goes to the remaining legatees in an +equal division, and so you can imagine what a sharp watch the several +beneficiaries under this will keep over one another. A million is no +bagatelle; the game is worth the candle. But to come back to our +starting-point, Countess Blanka was joined in marriage with Prince +Cagliari as soon as she left the convent. You must know the prince, at +least by reputation; he plays no small part in the political world." + +"I have met him several times," replied Manasseh. + +"At court balls in Vienna, doubtless," said the advocate; "for, old as +Cagliari is, he still turns night into day and burns the candle at both +ends. When he married Countess Blanka he was very intimate with the +Marchioness Caldariva, formerly known to lovers of the ballet as 'the +beautiful Cyrene.' She practised the terpsichorean art with such success +that one day she danced into favour with an Italian marquis who honoured +her with the gift of his name and rank, after which he shot himself. The +marchioness now owns a splendid palace in Vienna, a present from Prince +Cagliari, who, they say, forgot to deliver up the key to her when he +married Countess Blanka. It is even whispered that the marchioness +herself tied the bridegroom's cravat for him on his wedding-day. Well, +however that may be, the prince took the young lady to wife, much as a +rich man buys a horse of rare breed, or a costly statue, or any other +high-priced curiosity. But the poor bride could not endure her husband's +presence. She was only a child, and, up to the day of her marriage, had +no conception of the real meaning of matrimony. The prince has never +enjoyed a moment's happiness with his young wife. His very first attempt +to offer her a husband's caresses caused her to turn deadly pale and go +into convulsions; and this occurred as often as the two were left alone. +The prince complained of his hard lot, and sought medical advice. It was +reported that the young wife was subject to epileptic attacks. A man of +any delicacy would have accepted the situation and held his peace; but +the prince took counsel of his factotum, a certain Benjamin Vajdar----" + +An involuntary movement, and a half-suppressed exclamation on Manasseh's +part, made the speaker turn to him inquiringly; then, as the other said +nothing, he resumed: + +"This factotum is the evil genius of the family, and the two together +make a pair hard to match. The prince has obstinacy, sensuality, +arrogance, and vindictiveness; and his tool has brains, cunning, and +inventiveness, for the effective exercise of the other's evil +tendencies. Cagliari finally went back to the beautiful Cyrene for +consolation; but she was bent on proving her power over him, and at her +bidding he heaped all sorts of indignities upon his innocent and +helpless wife. At last, to crown all, he instituted divorce proceedings +against her. This was the price he paid to regain the fair Cyrene's +favour, but I am convinced that Benjamin Vajdar is at the bottom of it +all. The prince bases his suit for a separation on his wife's alleged +epileptic attacks and consequent unfitness for the wedded state. Of +course that is all nonsense. I am not an epileptic, nor wont to bite or +scratch people; but I can't approach this Cagliari without experiencing +a sort of foaming at the mouth and a twitching of the muscles, as if I +must pitch into the man, tooth and nail. My view of the case is that my +client finds her husband's attentions so abhorrent that she even swoons +when he offers to kiss her; and so I am going to apply for a total +dissolution of the marriage, for if the other side win their case the +papal edict will forbid a second marriage on the wife's part. And just +imagine a young girl like her, in the first bloom of youth, scarcely +twenty years old, compelled to renounce all hope of wedded happiness. We +are now on our way to Rome to see whether my fair client's personal +appeal may not avail somewhat with her judges. They cannot but take pity +on her if their hearts are human. Prince Cagliari has of late lost +favour at the Vatican, and all the conditions are in our favour; but +there is one man whom I fear,--that cool and crafty Vajdar. I fell in +with him in Venice, and asked him whither he was going. 'To Milan,' said +he, but I knew he lied. He, too, is bound for Rome, and he will be there +ahead of us, or at least overtake us. If we could only reach Rome first, +I am confident we should win the game. But I fear he may be on this very +train. Why, how warm you look! The perspiration stands in drops on your +forehead. Does my pipe annoy you? No? Well, as I was saying, I suspect +the fellow is on this train with us, and if he falls into my hands I'll +wring his miserable neck! He thinks he's going to ruin the young life of +my client and bury her alive, does he? We'll see about that." + +"He shall not do it!" exclaimed the other, with emphasis. + +"Good for you, my friend! And if you can propose some scheme for balking +him, I'll take my hat off to you. Tell me, now, how can the princess +make sure of outwitting her foes, and so escape the horrible fate of +being buried alive?" + +"She can turn Protestant, and then the Church of Rome will have no claim +whatever on her." + +"Very good, but how about the million florins left her as a good +Catholic by the bishop?" + +Manasseh Adorjan crumbled his cigar in his fingers. "If the princess has +a woman's heart in her bosom," he declared, "she will throw her million +away in return for the love of a true man." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +AN INTRUDER EXPELLED. + + +Meanwhile the train had reached another station, a junction where a halt +was made for refreshments, pending the arrival of a connecting train. +The advocate was hungry, and accordingly made his way to the +dining-room, being first warned by his companion to use despatch, as +otherwise, on returning to the ladies, he might find his compartment +filled. + +"And what will you do meantime?" asked Gabriel. + +"I have my sketch-book with me," replied Manasseh, "and I am going to +draw the view from my perch up here." + +"Ah, I did not know you were an artist." + +"Yes, I am an artist, and nothing more." + +Upon the arrival of the connecting train and the ensuing scramble for +seats, the ladies of our little party felt some anxiety lest their +privacy should be rudely broken in upon by unwelcome strangers. Princess +Cagliari bent forward and looked down the platform, but immediately drew +back again. Too late, however; she had been seen; and a moment +afterward a young man, of sleek and comely appearance, immaculately +dressed, and carrying in one hand a small cane whose peculiar head +betrayed the fact that it concealed a rapier, sprang lightly on the +foot-board and entered the compartment. + +"Ah, what an unexpected pleasure, Princess!" he exclaimed by way of +greeting, lifting his hat and appropriating the corner seat opposite +her. + +"Pardon me," said Blanka, "but that seat is engaged. The gentleman who +is with us--" + +"Why, then, didn't he leave something--coat, or umbrella, or +hand-bag--in proof of his claim to the seat?" interrupted the intruder. +"The seat is now mine by railway usage, and I cannot deny myself the +pleasure of sitting opposite you, my dear princess." + +Blanka controlled her indignation as best she could, but her companion +felt called upon to come to her aid with an energetic remonstrance. + +"Mr. Vajdar," said she, severely, "you should know what is expected of a +gentleman in his conduct toward a lady. You are well aware that the +princess cannot endure your presence, nor are you ignorant of the +reason." + +The handsome young man drew a gilt pasteboard box from his side pocket, +removed the cover, and offered the contents to the last speaker. "Madam +Dormandy, you are fond of sweets. Permit me to solicit your acceptance +of these caramels. They are freshly made, and are really excellent." + +But Madam Dormandy turned her back disdainfully on the peace-offering +and looked anxiously out of the window. "Where can Mr. Zimandy be all +this time?" she murmured, impatiently. + +"How long will you continue to dog my steps?" asked the princess, +addressing the intruder in a voice that trembled with passion. + +"Only to the grave," was the smiling reply; "there we shall +separate--you to enter the gates of paradise, where I despair of gaining +admission." + +"But what reason have you for wishing my ruin?" + +"Because you yourself will have it so. Have I ever made any secret of my +designs or of my motives?" + +"Are you determined to make me leave this compartment?" + +"You would gain nothing by so doing," was Vajdar's cool retort. "I could +not possibly forego the pleasure of your company, in whatever way you +might choose to continue your journey." + +"What is your purpose in all this?" demanded Blanka. + +"To make you either as happy as a man can make a woman, or as wretched +as only the devil himself can render a human being." + +"I defy you to do either." + +"Futile defiance! The game is in my hands, and I can make you as one +buried alive." + +"God will never allow such an iniquity!" cried the princess. + +"Ah, my dear madam, you forget that we are on our way to Rome, where +there are churches by the score, but no God." + +Blanka shuddered in spite of herself, and drew her shawl more closely +about her, while her foe crossed one leg over the other and smiled +self-complacently. + +The warning cry "_partenza!_" sounded along the platform, and the +ladies' escort came running in alarm from the dining-room and sought his +compartment. + +"Have I your seat, sir?" coolly inquired Benjamin Vajdar of the man who +had so lately promised to wring his neck. + +"Oh, no, certainly not," mumbled the doughty advocate, in considerable +surprise and confusion, as he caught his breath and meekly looked around +for a vacant place. + +A lightning-flash from the blond beauty's eyes and a mocking smile from +the dandy rewarded this courteous forbearance. But the mocking smile +changed the next instant to a sudden expression of disquiet, if not of +actual fear. Manasseh Adorjan stood in the doorway, and Blanka noted a +swift interchange of glances between the young men, like the flashing +of two drawn swords. + +"That place is already engaged, sir," said Manasseh, quietly. + +Benjamin Vajdar's face flushed quickly, and then as suddenly paled. In +his eyes one could have read rage, hate, and fear, and his right hand +clutched the head of his cane convulsively, as if about to draw the +weapon therein concealed. But Manasseh still stood regarding him +fixedly, and the intruder yielded without a word. Taking up his satchel, +he left the compartment. The whole scene had occupied but a moment. What +was it that gave one of these men such power over the other, like that +of a lion-tamer over his charge? + +Manasseh himself took the vacated seat, without offering it to the +advocate, and sat looking out of the window as long as Vajdar was in +sight. At length the train started, and as it soon entered on a stretch +of monotonous, waste territory, Blanka yielded to the drowsy lullaby of +the smoothly rolling wheels, and fell asleep. Once or twice she half +opened her eyes and was vaguely conscious that the young stranger +opposite her was drawing something in the sketch-book that lay open on +his knee. She pushed her veil still farther back from face and brow, +hardly aware what she was doing, and again fell asleep. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +A BIT OF STRATEGY. + + +A sharp whistle from the locomotive awakened the sleepers. + +"Where are we now?" asked Blanka. + +"Near Bologna," answered the artist, who alone had remained awake; "and +there I have to leave the train, which continues on, via Imola, to +Ancona." + +"You leave the train? But I thought you, too, were going to Rome," said +the princess, in surprise. + +"So I am," was the reply, "but by another route. My luggage will go +through to Ancona, and thence by diligence to Rome, while I push on over +the Apennines to Pistoja and Florence. It is a harder road, but its +splendid views amply repay one for an occasional climb on foot by the +_vetturino's_ side; and then, too, I shall reach Rome one day ahead of +you, who go by way of Ancona." + +Blanka listened with interest. "Couldn't we take that route also?" she +asked. "What do you say to it, Maria? We could quietly leave the train +at Bologna and let our trunks go on to Rome without us." + +"But are the mountain passes safe?" queried Madam Dormandy, turning to +Manasseh. "Is there no danger of highwaymen?" + +"Bad men are to be feared everywhere," replied the young man; "but as +for highway robbers, they are much more to be apprehended by those +travelling with valises and trunks than by the tourist that simply +carries a satchel slung over his shoulder, as I intend to do. In my +student days I used to tramp over these mountains in every direction, +and the brigands never molested me. Whenever I fell in with a band I +used to group the men together and sketch them. Artists have nothing to +fear from gentlemen of the road." + +"And besides, we are two able-bodied men, and I always carry a brace of +pistols--don't you?" spoke up the advocate, his professional zeal +kindling at the prospect of stealing a march on the enemy. + +"I carry no weapons of any kind," calmly replied the artist. + +"Oh, I fear no harm from bad men," exclaimed the princess; "there is but +one bad man whom we need to dread." + +The others easily guessed to whom she referred; but Gabriel Zimandy was +bent on making her meaning still plainer. + +"He'd better not follow us into the mountains!" he cried, "for if the +young rogue falls into my hands he'll wish he'd never been born. Lucky +for him he took our friend's gentle hint; had he kept his seat a moment +longer there would have been serious trouble." + +"Ha, ha!" laughed Madam Dormandy; "how surprised he will be when he +fails to find us at Ancona and is obliged to journey on by diligence +with our baggage, but without us!" + +"We shall be hurrying on ahead of him over these grand old mountains," +added the princess, with enthusiasm, her cheeks glowing in pleased +anticipation. "And we have to thank you, Mr. Adorjan, for the +suggestion." With an impulsive movement she extended her hand to the +young artist, who scarcely ventured to touch her finger-tips in return. + +"Very well, then," said he, "we will try the mountain road; and let us +take no luggage but what we can carry in our hands. When we come to a +beautiful waterfall we will sketch it, and when we chance upon a fine +view we will celebrate its beauties in song." + +"Yes, and people will take us for strolling minstrels," interposed the +princess; "and we must drop our real names and titles. Mr. Zimandy shall +be the impresario, and Madam Dormandy the prima-donna; they can pass for +husband and wife. We two can be brother and sister. What is your +sister's name?" + +"Anna." + +"Lend me her name for a little while, will you? You don't object?" + +Manasseh turned strangely sober. "It would be only for your sake that I +should object," he replied. "The bearer of that name is a very +unfortunate girl." + +So they agreed to leave the train at Bologna and take the mountain pass. +It only remained to hoodwink Benjamin Vajdar, and Manasseh Adorjan +promised to effect this. He alighted before the train had fairly +stopped, having first directed the others to go into the waiting-room. +"That young man will not stir from his seat, nor will he even look out +of the window," added Manasseh, with as much confidence as if he had +acquired a talisman which enabled him to control the other's actions. + +As the train rolled out of the station the artist rejoined his party, +with the welcome assurance that their enemy was now out of their way. + +"Is there a mysterious relation of some sort between you two?" asked +Blanka. + +"Yes--one of fear: I tremble every time I see the man." + +"You tremble?" + +"Yes; I am afraid I shall kill him some day." + +With that, and as if regretting that he had said so much, he hurried +away to engage a carriage to take them to Vergato. During his absence +the advocate explained to his client that the Unitarians have an +especial horror of bloodshed. He declared that some of them shrank from +taking even an animal's life and abstained entirely from the use of +meat. + +Blanka shook her head incredulously. She could not conceive of a +gentleman's being forbidden by his scruples to use arms when the +occasion demanded. How else, she asked, could he defend his honour, his +loved ones, the women entrusted to his charge? + +When the four were seated in their carriage, the gentlemen facing the +ladies, Blanka led the conversation back to the point at which Manasseh +had dropped it. + +"You said you feared you should kill that young man some day," she +began. "Does your religion forbid you to kill a man--under any +circumstances?" + +"With a single exception," he replied; "but that exception is out of the +question in this instance." + +Blanka wondered what the single exception could be, but refrained from +asking. "Are you well acquainted with Mr. Vajdar?" she inquired +presently. + +"We have known each other from childhood," was the reply. "Whatever I +possessed was shared with him. His father was my father's steward; and +when the steward proved false to his trust and gambled away a large sum +of money committed to his care, and then shot himself, my father adopted +the little orphan, and always treated him exactly as he did his own +children. He grew up to be a bright and promising young man, and never +failed to win a stranger's favour and confidence. But woe to those that +thus confided in him! My poor sister, my dear, good little Anna, trusted +him, and all was ready for their wedding when he disappeared, deserting +her at the very altar." + +Even the shades of approaching nightfall could not hide the expression +of pain on the speaker's face. + +"When did this occur?" asked Blanka, gently. + +"Last year--in February." + +"The date of my marriage, and of my first seeing that man," was Blanka's +silent comment. She pondered the possible connection between the two +circumstances. Benjamin Vajdar had left his affianced bride soon after +seeing Princess Cagliari; he had then entered Cagliari's service as +private secretary, and, a little later, divorce proceedings had been +begun by the prince against his young wife. + +"Was it Mr. Vajdar's troubled conscience that made him leave us the +moment you appeared?" she asked, after a pause. + +"No," said Manasseh; "he has no conscience. When he has an object in +view, all means are legitimate with him. He knows neither consideration +for others nor shame for his own misdeeds." + +"And yet he certainly played the coward before you." + +"Because he knows that I possess certain information, certain +documentary evidence, by which, if I chose, I could hurl him down in +confusion and disgrace from any height, however lofty, which he might +succeed in attaining." + +"And you refrain from using this evidence against him?" + +"To use it would be revenge," replied the young man, calmly. + +"Is revenge forbidden where you live?" + +"Yes." + +"Has your sister never found a balm for her wounded affections?" + +"Never. My people are of the kind that loves but once." + +"Pray tell me where it is that your people have their home," urged the +princess. "Is it on an island in the moon?" + +"Indeed, princess, it is not unlike those glimpses of the moon that we +get through a large telescope when we examine, for instance, the rocky +island known to astronomers as 'Plutarch,' or that named 'Copernicus.' +Everything where I live would seem to you to savour of another planet. +On the maps the place is put down as 'Toroczko.' It is in a mountain +gorge, entered by a narrow path along the riverside and through a cleft +in the rocks. The northern side of this narrow ravine, being in some +measure exposed to the southern sun, is clothed with woods; the +southern is a great wall of bare rock rising in terraces, or giant +steps, that might well suggest the dreariness and desolation of a +landscape in the moon. This barren expanse of naked rock is called the +Szekler Stone, and was formerly surmounted by the castle of a Hungarian +vice-voivode. Its ruins are still to be seen there. The lower slopes of +this mountainside are cultivated now, and the ploughshare is gradually +forcing one terrace after another to yield sustenance to the farmer. +Thus it is that by these cultivated terraces the centuries of the town's +history can be numbered. For there is a village there, deep down in the +rocky ravine, as if on the floor of a volcano's crater, and in that +village live the happiest people in all the world. Do not think me +unduly prejudiced by the fact that I am one of them. No, I am not +prejudiced. Strangers also find no terms of praise too high for those +happy and industrious people. Noted English and German travellers have +visited my native valley and afterward written books about it, as other +travellers have about Japan or Circassia. Indeed, those two countries +have something in common with my own. My people have developed and +perfected industries peculiar to themselves, as have the Japanese, and +they also are proud of their handsome women, as are the +Circassians--except that the girls of Toroczko are not for sale, nor, +for that matter, are they to be had by foreigners, even for love. Their +charms bloom only for their own countrymen, and by them they are +jealously guarded. They never work in the fields, and so their fair +faces are never tanned or freckled. The young maidens keep their rooms, +and spin, weave, and embroider for their own adornment. When Sunday +comes and they all go to church, they fill six benches and form a +veritable 'book of beauties,' of various types, both blond and brunette, +which, however, one cannot so easily distinguish, owing to the richly +worked kerchiefs under which their hair is hidden. Their entire costume +is snow-white, even to the fine sheepskin bodice worn by each." + +"Ah, your young women think of nothing but dress, I fear," remarked +Blanka. + +"By no means," protested Manasseh; "on the contrary, their childhood and +youth are largely devoted to education. The people of our little valley +maintain a high school for boys and a seminary for girls, as well as a +charity school for the poor." + +"Then your people must be rich." + +"No, not rich. There are no lords or ladies among them, and they have +suffered more from the ravages of war than any other community in +Hungary." + +"But how," asked Blanka, "can they afford to dress their young women in +silks and laces, and give both boys and girls an education? They must +have some fairy talisman for conjuring wealth out of the rocks on which +their houses stand." + +"And so they have. Their talisman is industry, and out of their rocky +soil they conjure riches in the shape of iron,--the best that can be +found in all Transylvania. The same men that fill the church every +Sunday, in holiday attire, dig and delve under ground the remaining six +days of the week. Another secret of their modest wealth is their +abstinence from strong drink. There is not a single grog-shop in +Toroczko. But I fear I am wearying you." + +Blanka begged him to continue, and took occasion to ask him why he did +not go back to the beautiful valley which he seemed to love so warmly. + +"Because," was the answer, "my people are now enjoying a period of +happiness in which I have no part. If misfortune should ever overtake +them, I should go back and strive to lighten it, or at least I would +bear it with them." + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +HOLY WEEK IN ROME. + + +It was evening when the travellers reached Rome. They had accomplished +the journey in the time promised by Manasseh, and now the query was +raised, could their enemy, by any possibility, have outstripped them? + +Upon the coachman's inquiring to what hotel he should take his +passengers, Gabriel Zimandy drew out his memorandum-book and read the +name of a house recommended to him by his landlord at Vienna. European +innkeepers, be it observed, join together in a sort of fraternity for +mutual aid in a business way, passing their guests along from city to +city and from hand to hand, sometimes even providing them with letters +of introduction. + +The cards of the hotel in question bore the important announcement, +"German is spoken here;" and this was an advantage not to be despised. + +"You will come with us, won't you?" said the advocate, turning with a +courteous bow to Manasseh. + +"Where German is spoken? No, I thank you. If I announce myself as a +Hungarian, they will kiss my hand and then charge the kiss on the bill; +if I say I am a German, I shall get a drubbing and be charged for that, +too. I prefer to hunt up a modest little inn where, when I register from +Transylvania, the good people will think it is somewhere in America, +perhaps in the neighbourhood of Pennsylvania. The Yankees, you know, are +highly respected in Italy." + +"I regret exceedingly--" began the advocate. "Among so many strangers it +would have been very pleasant to have----" + +"At least one enemy within call," interrupted the young man, with a +smile. "Well, you see, I am likely to be in Rome some time; so I shall +look up a quiet room for myself near the Colosseum, where the sun shines +and I can carry out certain plans of my own." + +The carriage turned into a brilliantly lighted street and passed a +stately palace before which a richly sculptured fountain was sending its +streams of sparkling water into the air. + +"The Palazzo Cagliari," remarked Manasseh, but without any significant +emphasis. + +A natural impulse of curiosity moved Blanka to turn and look at the +ancestral mansion of her husband's family. A moment later Manasseh +signalled the driver to stop, and alighted from the carriage after +shaking hands with his fellow travellers. Gabriel Zimandy said they +should be sure to meet again soon; Madam Dormandy hoped they might all +go sightseeing together in a few days; but Blanka said nothing as she +bowed her farewell. + +Reaching their hotel, our three travellers were greeted by the landlord +with unmistakable tokens of surprise. + +"And have your excellencies met with no mishap on the way?" he took +early occasion to inquire. + +"Certainly not. Why?" + +"Your coming was announced in advance by our Vienna agent, and +accordingly we reserved rooms for you. But at the same time another +guest was also announced, a gentleman of high station from Hungary; and +this afternoon word came that this gentleman and all his party had been +captured by bandits in the ravine at the foot of Monte Rosso, and +carried off into the mountains, where they will have to stay until their +ransom is forthcoming. We feared your excellencies were of the party." + +"No," said Gabriel; "we came by way of Orvieto." + +"Lucky for you!" exclaimed the landlord. + +"What is the name of the gentleman you refer to?" asked the princess, in +a tone that betrayed the keenness of her interest. + +"It's a queer name," answered the landlord, "and I can't remember it. +But I'll find it for you in my letters of advice and send it up to your +room." + +Blanka had hardly laid aside her wraps when a waiter knocked at her door +and presented a card on a silver salver. "Conte Benjamino de Vajdar" was +the name she read in the landlord's handwriting. + + * * * * * + +On the following morning, Blanka sent for the hotel-keeper and desired +him to procure for herself and her two companions admission tickets to +all the sacred ceremonies of the coming week. The worthy man fairly +gasped at the coolness of this request. Tickets to the Sistine Chapel, +to the Tenebrae, to the Benediction, and to the Glorification--and for +three persons? Why, money couldn't buy them at that late hour, he +declared. Admission tickets to paradise would be more easily obtainable. +At the very utmost, places might still be procured on some balcony +overlooking the Piazza di San Pietro, but only at extremely high prices. +Yet the view from such a position would be a fine one; and mine host, +without waiting to listen to any objections, hastened away to secure +tickets, if they were still to be had. + +The princess made her lament to Gabriel Zimandy over her poor success in +obtaining what she so ardently desired, and that gentleman sought to +console her with the assurance that it was highly venturesome for +ladies to trust themselves in the crowd that always attended the church +ceremonies of Holy Week, and that she could read all about them much +more comfortably in the newspapers. Blanka, however, took so much to +heart the disappointment of her pious wishes, and came so near the point +of tear-letting, that the advocate felt obliged to sally forth in person +to see what he could do to console her. In less than an hour he was back +again, breathless and exultant. He ran up-stairs with the agility of a +much younger and less corpulent man, and hastened to the princess's +room, regardless of the fact that she was at the moment under her +hair-dresser's hands. + +"Victory!" he cried, panting for breath. "The impossible is achieved, +and here are tickets for all three of us--to everything--to the Tenebrae, +the washing of feet, the Last Supper, the Resurrection, the relics, the +Benediction--" + +"But how did you get them?" interrupted the ladies, overcome with +curiosity. Madam Dormandy had come hurrying out of her room at the first +sound of his voice, and she and the princess now proceeded to pelt their +victorious envoy with a volley of questions. + +"Well, you see," replied the lawyer, gradually recovering his breath, +"it is a curious story. As I was tearing across the Corso, intent on my +errand, I felt some one catch me by the coat-tail and heard a voice +call to me in Hungarian, 'Haste makes waste!' I wheeled about, and there +stood our Arian friend." + +"Manasseh Adorjan?" + +"Yes. He asked me if we had our affairs all in order, and I told him, by +no means. I complained to him of our ill luck in securing tickets to the +sacred ceremonies, and that it seemed impossible to get even anywhere +near the Vatican. 'Well,' said he, with that confoundedly serious +expression of his that you don't know whether to take as a sign of jest +or earnest, 'let me see if I can't make it possible for you.' 'But,' +said I, 'you don't imagine that you, a fallen statesman and an Arian +heretic, can gain what is denied to Spanish princesses of the strictest +orthodoxy?' 'You shall soon see,' he answered, and proceeded to lead me +through one crooked street after another, until we found ourselves in +front of a palace, at whose door a military watch was posted. He handed +his card to the doorkeeper, and presently we were ushered into an +anteroom, where Adorjan left me while he himself went with a man who +seemed to be a private secretary, or something of the sort, into the +next room. It wasn't long before he came out again and put three cards +into my hand. 'There they are,' said he. 'Why, you are a regular +magician!' I couldn't but exclaim. 'Oh, no,' he replied, 'I am no +Cagliostro; the explanation is simple enough. This is the French +embassy, and Monsieur Rossi is an old friend of mine. I have visited his +family often. So when I asked him for tickets to all the ceremonies of +Holy Week for two Hungarian ladies and their escort, he gave them to me +at once. But now you must look sharp, for cards enough have been given +out to fill the Sistine Chapel six times over, and there will be a +scramble to get in.'" + +The princess was as pleased as a child. Her dearest wish was gratified; +but, singularly enough, she owed this gratification to the very man whom +she felt the necessity of avoiding and forgetting. It was, however, to +the mysterious charm of the approaching ceremonies that she looked for +an effective means of diverting her thoughts from forbidden channels. +Yet the fact remained that he himself had opened the way for her to this +earnestly desired distraction, and to Blanka it seemed as if his +influence over her was only increased and strengthened by his absence. + +"What return, pray, did you make for all this kindness?" she asked. + +"A very ungracious one, I fear," replied Gabriel. "After receiving these +tickets, which are worth many times their weight in gold, I told our +benefactor that I feared they would profit us little, unless he procured +one for himself, also, and acted as our guide." + +"You asked him to escort us?" exclaimed the princess, consternation in +her tone. + +"I know it was a strange request," admitted the advocate, "to ask a +heretic to witness the Passion, and the Resurrection, and the +Glorification. It is like burning incense before his Satanic Majesty. +Naturally enough, he refused at first point-blank, alleging that he had +no right to thrust himself as attendant on two ladies without their +invitation. 'Well, then,' said I, 'don't go as the ladies' escort, but +just show me, your fellow countryman, the way about, else I shall +certainly get lost, and find myself in the Catacombs instead of the +Vatican.' Finally, I forced him to yield, and so he is to accompany us." + +In the afternoon of the same day Manasseh Adorjan called on the +princess, and brought her a piece of good news of the utmost importance. +Her trunks, and those of her friends, had arrived safely and promptly, +and were at the custom-house. She had concluded that they had fallen +into the bandits' hands, but it seemed that it was not the diligence, +after all, that the robbers had waylaid; it was a post-carriage engaged +by one of the travellers in the hope of reaching Rome a few hours +earlier than the public conveyance. This one traveller only had been +carried off into the mountains by the bandits, who had despatched a +letter from their captive to Rome, addressed to Prince Cagliari, and +presumably relating to the ransom. But as the prince was at present in +Vienna, and postal communication between the two cities was at that time +slow and uncertain, the ransom stood a good chance of being considerably +delayed. This was a hint to the princess to make the most of the +interim, and plead her cause at the Vatican, before her enemy could put +in an appearance and damage her case. Manasseh, however, betrayed no +sign of possessing any knowledge of the pending divorce suit, but +continued to bear himself with the courteous reserve of a new +acquaintance. Two things he sought thenceforth to avoid,--paying court +to the beautiful young princess, and speaking lightly of things held +sacred by her. + +Complying with the expressed wish of the two ladies, in the evening he +made with them the round of the principal churches, which now all wore +gala attire. He took his seat on the box by the coachman's side, and +pointed out, in passing, the buildings and scenes of special interest. +In one of the churches he showed the ladies facsimiles of the four nails +used in the Crucifixion; of the originals, one, he explained, was +preserved in St. Peter's, and another had been used to make the circle +of the Iron Crown. He even bought as a souvenir one of these facsimiles, +which a Cistercian monk was offering for sale. He obtained also +consecrated palm-branches with gilded leaves, and bribed the custodian +of the three sacred orange-trees planted by the Apostles to give his +party each a tiny leaflet. He schooled his face to betray no incredulity +when the keepers of the various holy relics recited their virtues, and +related the miracles wrought by them. And when Blanka knelt in prayer +before a statue of the Madonna, he withdrew respectfully to a distance. +It was an earnest petition she offered before the blessed Virgin, a +prayer for rescue from her enemies, and for strength to resist every +temptation. And she knew not that her rescuer and her tempter were one +and the same person, and that he stood there behind her at that very +moment. + +Of a highly impressionable temperament, and fresh from her convent life, +the princess was so moved by the sacred emblems about her, and by their +holy associations, that she could not conceive of any one's viewing +these objects with less of awe and reverence than herself. And when her +conductor recounted the legend of the sacred lance in the chapel of St. +Veronica,--how the Roman lictor Longinus had pierced the Saviour's side +with this lance, and been himself struck blind the same instant, but had +immediately recovered his sight when he rubbed his eyes with the hand on +which four drops of the Redeemer's blood had fallen,--Blanka could not +but ask herself whether another such miracle might not be wrought, and +another blind man be restored to sight. She dreamed of this miracle that +night, and made a vow to the Virgin that in case of her deliverance from +her present difficulties, she would show her gratitude by presenting the +Madonna with a jewel more precious than any that adorned her crown: she +would offer this young man himself, who now refused to worship at her +shrine. The princess felt herself rich enough to buy this jewel for her +offering. Her heart held inexhaustible treasures, of which no man as yet +could claim any share. She ceased to fear him against whom she had +hitherto felt obliged to be on her guard; so much strength had she +gained from the sacred relics that she now thought herself strong enough +to make conquests of her own. + +In the morning Manasseh came early to escort the ladies and Gabriel +Zimandy to the Sistine Chapel. Upon gaining the Piazza di San Pietro +they found a vast throng already assembled, through which the young man +was forced to pilot his charges. Blanka was compelled to cling fast to +his arm, while Madam Dormandy took the advocate's, and so they made the +best of their way forward. As if by instinct, Manasseh knew where a +courteous request would open a path before them, where to resort to more +energetic measures, and where a couple of _lire_ would prove most +effectual. At length he was successful in gaining the very best +position in the chapel, and here, unfolding a camp-stool which he had +brought with him under his overcoat, he offered Blanka a seat, whence +she could view the ceremonies in comfort, and without annoyance from the +pushing and crowding multitude. + +Alas, poor Blanka! She only learned later from her father confessor what +a sin she had committed in thus yielding to the weakness of the flesh, +instead of standing through all the weary hours of that morning. A good +Christian should not think of bodily comfort while his Saviour hangs +bleeding on the cross. But she did not know this at the time, and +therefore her escort's kind attention was most grateful to her. + +The Tenebrae is one of the most impressive of all the ceremonies of Holy +Week in Rome. The Sistine Chapel is draped entirely in black, and only +the soft rays of thirteen wax candles serve to lessen the darkness, out +of whose depths, as out of the blackness of the tomb, sounds the +antiphony of mourning and lamentation. The human forms moving to and fro +before the cross are hardly distinguishable, but have the appearance of +vague shadows. Then the candles are, one by one, extinguished, until +only a single taper is left burning on the altar--that is Jesus. And in +this darkness, symbolic of grief and mourning, an invisible choir sings +the _Miserere_, Allegri's world-renowned composition, whose mystic +notes bring so vividly before us that last scene on Golgotha,--the agony +of the dying Saviour, the taunts of the lictors, the wailing of the holy +women, the shrieks of the dead whose graves are opened, and who cry +aloud for mercy, and finally the rending of the Temple curtain, and the +chorus of angels in heaven. All this affects even the most hardened of +skeptics with a power that cannot be withstood. For the time being the +imagination is mistress of the reason. + +As the crowd poured out of the chapel after the ceremony was over, +Blanka shot a glance of scrutiny from beneath her veil at the young man +by her side. His face wore its wonted look of seriousness, the utter +opposite of careless indifference, but at the same time wholly unlike +the devout rapture of a believer. In fact, his expression betrayed but +too clearly that his thoughts were little occupied with what he had just +witnessed. + +"Have you heard the _Miserere_ many times before?" asked Blanka. + +"Twice only,--once in the Sistine Chapel, and again in St. Stephen's at +Vienna." + +"But I thought its production was forbidden elsewhere than in Rome," +said the princess. + +"Formerly that was the case," replied Manasseh, "the publication of +Allegri's work being strictly prohibited; but after Mozart had heard it +once and written it down from memory, its reproduction could not be +prevented. So I had a chance to hear it in Vienna, where, however, it +was but ill received, some of the audience even being moved to +laughter." + +"For what reason, pray?" + +"Oh, not from any frivolity or irreverence, but because the music, which +sounds so grandly impressive here in the Sistine Chapel, strikes one as +a mere confusion of discordant notes amid other surroundings." + +On the following day came the washing of the Apostles' feet. Chosen +priests from thirteen nations of the earth gathered in the Pauline +Chapel to receive this humble service at the hands of the Pope himself. +The thirteenth of these chosen ones represented the angel that is said +to have appeared with the appointed twelve in St. Gregory's time. Then +followed the Last Supper, at which also the holy father ministered to +the Apostles in person. + +The next day was Saturday, and Gabriel Zimandy declared himself +surfeited with holy ceremonies. Madam Dormandy agreed with him and began +to complain of a fearful headache. Then the two united in maintaining +that the princess looked utterly worn out and in need of rest. But +Manasseh, who, by appointment, just then came upon the scene to offer +his escort for the day, laughed them all three to shame. + +"That is always the way," said he; "people tire themselves out so before +Saturday that on that day five-sixths of the crowd stay at home to save +up their strength for Easter, and thus miss one of the most impressive +spectacles of the week,--the adoration of the true cross." + +Poor Gabriel was now given no rest: he was forced to accompany the +others once more to the Sistine Chapel, though he declared himself +already quite stiff and sore with so much standing. + +The chapel was at its best; the black hangings had been removed, the +light from the windows was softened, candles burned on the altar, and, +as Manasseh had predicted, so many of the sightseers had stayed at home +that ample room was left for those who were present. The general +multitude could find little pleasure in the ceremony of the day,--the +worship of a piece of wood about three yards in length, and unadorned +with gold or silver. The Pope and the cardinals, gowned with no pretence +to magnificence or pomp, knelt before the relic as it lay on the altar. +It was but a fragment of the original cross, broken in the strife that +attended its rescue. This piece is said to have been saved and carried +off by an emperor, making his way barefoot from Jerusalem to Alexandria, +where another emperor concealed the precious relic in a statue, and +finally the Templars bore it in triumph through pagan hordes from +Constantinople to Rome. And now, when the head of the Church, the pastor +of a flock of two hundred million human beings, the keeper of the keys +of heaven, approaches this bit of wood, he strips himself of his +splendid robes, removes the crown from his head, the shoes from his +feet, and goes, simply clad and barefoot, with humble mien, to kneel and +kiss the sacred emblem. The cardinals follow his example, and meanwhile +the choir sings Palestrina's famous composition, the "Mass of Pope +Marcellinus," a wonderful piece that must have been first sung to the +composer by the angels themselves. + +When the last notes of the music had died away, the bells of St. Peter's +began to ring, the hangings before the windows were drawn aside, and +Michael Angelo's marvellous frescoes were fully revealed to the admiring +gaze of all present. The swords and halberds of the guards were once +more raised erect, and the choir, the prelates, and the pilgrims joined +in a common "Hallelujah!" + +"Hallelujah!" cried Gabriel Zimandy also, rejoicing that the ceremony +was finally ended. "Never before in all my life have I been so +completely tired out." + +On his return to the hotel, he stoutly protested against attending any +more Church functions, and argued at length the inadvisability of the +ladies exposing themselves to the heat and fatigue of the Easter +service. Finally, and most important of all, he added that he had been +granted an audience with the Pope and must prepare his address, which +was to be in Latin. + +"We are infinitely indebted to you, friend Manasseh," he concluded, "for +all your kindness; but you see for yourself how the case stands with +me." + +"Yes, yes, I understand," replied the young man. "The audience is fixed +for day after to-morrow, and of course you wish to prepare for it. Let +me suggest, too, that you pay the French ambassador, to whose house I +took you the other day, the courtesy of a call; he knows a little Latin, +although, to be sure, it can't equal your own." + +This suggestion, casual though it was meant to appear, made it evident +to the advocate that he owed the early granting of his request to the +powerful influence of the French minister. And Manasseh, on his part, +was not slow to perceive that the advocate's chief concern was lest his +fair client, at this critical time, should be seen in public in the +company of a strange young man. It might hurt her case irremediably. + +With a full understanding of the situation, Manasseh took leave of the +princess, who indeed was looking very down-hearted at the prospect of +missing what she had so ardently desired. But she was schooled to the +denial of her own pleasure, and so quietly shook hands with her +caller--then went to the window to watch his retreating form. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE CONSECRATED PALM-LEAF. + + +Early the next morning the cannon began to boom from the Castle of St. +Angelo. Gabriel Zimandy sprang out of bed and dressed himself quickly. +His first care was to tap at Madam Dormandy's door and inquire for her +health. The patient answered in a pitiful voice that the guns were +fairly splitting her poor head, and that she did not expect to live the +day through. This reply seemed to be quite to the advocate's liking: of +the lady's succumbing to her ailment he had not the slightest fear, +while he now felt assured that it would be impossible for his client to +go out that day. What conception had he, heartless man, of the longing +that filled the young woman's soul for the papal blessing, to which she +ascribed such miraculous power, but which to him was nothing more than a +Latin phrase? + +Soon the bells began to ring from all the church-towers of the city, and +a stream of people in gala attire poured toward St. Peter's. Poor Blanka +sat at her window with eyes fixed on a certain corner, around which she +had the day before seen Manasseh Adorjan's form disappear. The clocks +struck twelve, thirteen, fourteen--by Italian reckoning of time; the +crowds began to thin, and at last every one seemed to have betaken +himself to St. Peter's. An open carriage halted in the now deserted +street in front of the hotel, and Blanka recognised in its occupant the +very person whose image had been so persistently before her mind's eye. + +"Pardon me, princess, for intruding," began Manasseh in greeting, as he +entered the young lady's presence; "but yesterday I saw that you were +disappointed at not being able to attend the Easter service at St. +Peter's. I have found means to remove that disappointment, I hope." + +The princess felt her pulse quicken with eager delight, while at the +same time she shrank back in nameless apprehension of what the young man +might be going to propose. + +"I fear it is too late," she replied, quietly. "I am not even dressed +for the occasion." + +"You have time enough," returned the other, reassuringly. "The French +minister's wife has kindly offered to take you with her. Seats for the +ladies of the embassy have been reserved and can be easily reached by a +special entrance. They are very near the _loggia_ where the papal +blessing will be pronounced. In an hour Madame Rossi will be here; that +will give you time to get ready." + +"And are you going with us?" + +"No, that will be impossible, as the reserved seats are for ladies only; +but I will escort Madame Rossi and her daughter to your door, and you +will, I am sure, find them very pleasant company. For myself, I shall +hunt up some sort of a perch where I can get a view of the day's +festivities." + +So saying, the young man hurried away. + +Against this plan Gabriel Zimandy could raise no objections. Indeed, he +saw the policy of making friends with the French embassy, and as long as +Manasseh was not to accompany the party his professional schemes were in +no wise endangered. + +When Manasseh returned with the French ladies he sought the lawyer. +"Come, my friend," he urged, "if your legs have nothing to say against +it, if your religious belief permits, and if you have studied your Latin +speech enough for one day, I will find you a good shady spot where you +can witness what no mortal eye has seen in all these eighteen Christian +centuries, and is little likely to see again in eighteen centuries to +come." + +"What may that be?" + +"A Pope of the Romish Church, pronouncing his blessing from the _loggia_ +of St. Peter's on the Roman army, preparatory to its marching forth to +fight for freedom. Durando's troops are now marshalled in St. Peter's +Square, awaiting the papal blessing on the swords drawn for liberty and +country. It has, I know, been your dream to witness a sight like that, +and now I come to invite you to its realisation." + +"Well, well, that is something worth while," admitted the advocate. "The +whole Roman army, and Durando himself! Surely, I can't afford to miss +it." The invitation had driven quite out of his head all the objections +so strenuously urged the day before. + +The ladies had no difficulty in reaching the places reserved for them; +for the gentlemen, however, it was not so easy to find even +standing-room. But at length Manasseh guided his companion to one end of +the scaffolding which supported the ladies' platform, and there found +for him a V-shaped seat in the angle of two beams, while he himself +stood on a projecting timber which afforded him room for one foot, and +clung to the woodwork of the platform with both hands. The discomfort of +his position was lightened for him by the fact that, only a few feet +above, he could see Blanka's face as she sat with eyes directed toward +the _loggia_ where the Pope was soon to appear. + +It was a grand spectacle. The whole army--infantry, cavalry, +artillery--was drawn up in the immense _piazza_, each regiment carrying +two flags--the banner of the Church, on which were depicted the keys of +heaven, and the red, white, and green flag of Italian freedom. The +background to this scene was furnished by the cathedral itself, a vast +throng of spectators crowded the foreground, and the whole united to +produce an effect of pomp and grandeur that fairly beggars description. + +The clocks struck eighteen--midday. The great bell sounded in the +western turret of the cathedral, and the booming of cannon was once more +heard from the Castle of St. Angelo. The service within the cathedral +was at an end, the leather curtains that hung before the great bronze +doors parted, and out poured the procession of pilgrims, until the whole +wide expanse of the portico was filled. Mysterious music fell on the ear +from somewhere above: a military band stationed aloft in the cupola had +struck up a psalm of praise, and it seemed to the listeners to come from +heaven itself. Silver trumpets--so the faithful believe--are used in +rendering this piece. + +All faces were now turned toward the _loggia_, a sort of projecting +balcony high up on the front of the cathedral. A sound like the murmur +of the sea rose from the multitude: each spectator was shifting his +position, and seeking a clearer view. Then the _loggia_ became suddenly +filled with moving forms,--cardinals in their splendid robes, knights in +mediaeval armour, pages in costly livery. The crown-bearers advanced with +two triple tiaras, one the gift of Napoleon I., the other presented by +the queen of Spain, and both sparkling with diamonds. A third +crown,--the oldest of all, originally simple in form, then a double +diadem, and finally a threefold tiara,--encircled the head of the Pope +himself, who, seated on a golden throne, was borne forward to the stone +breastwork, on which two crowns had been placed by their bearers. The +pontiff rose from his seat and the sun shone full upon his venerable +form. He wore a white robe embroidered with gold, and his appearance was +radiant with light. The benignant smile that illumined his countenance +outshone all the diamonds in his triple crown. + +How happy was Princess Blanka at that moment! and hers were the fairest +gems in all that costly array,--two tears that glistened in her large +dark eyes as she gazed intently on the scene before her. + +The two youngest cardinals took their stand on either side of the Pope, +each holding a palm-leaf in his hand. Then, over the awed and silent +throng before him, in a voice still strong, sonorous, and vibrant with +feeling, the aged pontiff pronounced his blessing in words at once +simple, sincere, and gracious. + +Blanka and Manasseh exchanged glances, and the young man felt a +tear-drop fall upon his cheek. From that moment an indissoluble bond +united the two. + +When the benediction was over, a stentorian voice from the multitude +cried, "_Evviva Pio Nono!_" The shout was caught up by all the vast +throng, and sent heavenward in a united cry of ever-swelling volume. Not +merely Pius IX., but St. Peter himself seemed to stand before the +jubilant multitude, opening heaven's gates with one key, and the portals +of an earthly paradise of freedom with another. The two cardinals cast +their palm-leaves down to the people, and as they fell, fluttering +uncertainly, now this way, now that, all eyes followed them to see who +should be the happy ones to secure the precious emblems of benediction +and absolution. One leaf, after hovering in the air a moment, sank in +ever narrowing circles until it lodged on the flag of a volunteer +regiment, whereupon a mighty cheer burst from thousands of throats. The +other, borne hither and thither by shifting breezes, was finally wafted +toward the raised platform where sat the ladies of the French embassy. A +hundred hands reached eagerly for it as it sank lower and lower; but one +arm, extending higher than the others, secured the prize. It was +Manasseh who from his elevated position, intercepted the coveted token +as it fell, and he immediately turned and presented it to Princess +Cagliari, amid a storm of applause from the onlookers. + +The princess was a beautiful woman, but at the moment of receiving this +symbol of forgiveness and blessing, her face gained such a look of +radiant happiness as can only be imagined on the countenance of an angel +in his flight to heaven; and to her that precious leaf meant heaven +indeed. But when she turned to thank the giver he had disappeared. + +"That was really grand," admitted Gabriel Zimandy, as his friend piloted +him through the surging throng to the nearest cab. "To think of the +Pope's giving his blessing to an army mustered in the cause of liberty! +Such a sight was never seen before." + +"No," returned Manasseh; "and you must make haste to push your client's +cause while he is in his present good humour, which may not last." + +"But, surely, you don't mean that his Holiness is in any way trifling +with the people, do you?" asked the advocate. + +"I am fully convinced," replied the other, "that Pio Nono is a gentle, +good-hearted, upright man, and a gracious pontiff; but I also believe +that, at the very first engagement, the Austrians will give the pious +Durando a most unmerciful whipping. What direction the wind will take in +Rome after that, no mortal can tell. You will do well, however, to make +the most of your time while that palm-leaf is still green." + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +AN AUDIENCE WITH THE POPE. + + +On the following day came the audience with his Holiness, Pius the +Ninth. + +The Very Reverend Dean Szerenyi was first sent by the master of +ceremonies to instruct the lawyer and his client in the details of their +approaching interview. This envoy even took pains to indicate in what +sort of toilet ladies were expected to appear. The gown must come up +high about the neck and might be of any colour desired, or of black silk +if the wearer was in mourning. Jewelry was not forbidden. A lackey in +red livery would usher the strangers into the audience-chamber. Their +petition must be carried in the hand. In the throne-room--where ladies +were permitted to gaze to their hearts' content on the splendid display +of Japanese porcelain--the major-domo would marshal the company in a +double file, and there they would wait until his Holiness appeared. + +"But look here," interposed Zimandy, with a troubled look, "does the +Pope know I am a Calvinist?" + +"He never asks about the religious belief of those who seek an audience +with him. On all alike he bestows his blessing, assuming that all who +court his favour have an equal need of his benediction." + +"Are there very many asking an audience at this time?" + +"Only eight hundred." + +"E-e-e! Eight hundred! How am I ever going to get a chance to deliver my +Latin speech that I have been working on all night?" + +"You will not be called upon for it at all. It is not customary in a +general audience with the Pope to make set speeches. His Holiness +addresses whom he chooses, and they answer him. All petitions are taken +in charge by the secretary." + +"Then it is lucky I put into mine everything that I intended to say. +Well, give my respects to his Holiness, and tell him I was the one who +made the motion in the Pest Radical Club to have his portrait hung on +the wall in a gilt frame; and if he is a smoker, I should be happy to +send him some superfine--" + +But the dean had urgent matters to attend to, and begged to take his +leave without further delay. + +Our travellers, with the eager promptness characteristic of Hungarians +on such occasions, were the first to be ushered into the antechamber at +the Vatican. Consequently they had an opportunity to hear the names of +all the other petitioners announced by the footman as they came in by +ones and twos and in little parties. They seemed to be all foreign +prelates, princes, ambassadors, and other high dignitaries; and, in +drawing them up in line, the major-domo gave them all precedence over +our party, much to the latter's humiliation and disgust. It is not +pleasant to stand waiting for a whole hour, only to find at its end that +one is no farther forward than at first. + +But when the antechamber was nearly full, a uniformed official entered +by a side door and made his way to the very foot of the line where the +Hungarians were standing. + +"Serenissima principessa de Cagliari! Nobilis domina vidua de Dormand! +Egregius dominus de Zimand!" + +This ceremonious apostrophe was followed by a wave of the hand, which +indicated that the persons addressed were to follow the speaker, and +that they were granted the special favour of a private hearing before +his Holiness. Through the long hall, past lines of waiting men and +women, they made their way; and as they went, inquiring looks and +suppressed whispers followed them. The princess was recognised by many +as the fortunate recipient of the consecrated palm-leaf on the day +before, and they whispered one to another, "Ah, _la beata!_" + +This sudden turn of affairs drove Gabriel Zimandy's Latin speech +completely out of his head, so that he could not have given even the +first word. As he hastened forward in all his court toggery, as he +called it, he could have sworn that there were at least fifty swords +dangling between his legs and doing their best to trip him up. After +passing through a seemingly endless succession of splendid halls and +stately corridors, the party was ushered into an apartment opening on +the magnificent gardens of the Vatican. Here it was that Pio Nono was +wont to receive the ladies whom he favoured with a private audience. + +The princess and her companions stood before the august head of the +Church, the sovereign who acknowledges no earthly boundaries to his +dominions. Blanka felt a deep joy in her heart as she looked on that +benignant countenance, her eyes filled with tears, and she sank on her +knees. The Pope bent and graciously raised her to her feet. He laid his +hand on her head, and spoke to her words of comfort which she enshrined +in the inmost sanctuary of her heart. + +When the audience was over and our friends had retired, Gabriel Zimandy +could not have given any coherent account of what had passed, nor, +indeed, was he in the least certain whether he had unburdened himself of +his Latin speech, or stuck fast at the _beatissime pater_. Madam +Dormandy, however, was sure to enlighten him as soon as they regained +their hotel. He knew at least that the written petition which he had +carried in his hand was no longer on his person; hence he must have +accomplished his main object. + +Madam Dormandy alone seemed to have kept her wits about her through it +all. She was able to tell how the Pope, while Zimandy was stammering +some sort of gibberish,--Hebrew or Greek, for aught she knew,--had taken +his snuff-box from a pocket behind, and smilingly helped himself to a +pinch of snuff. Further, the snuff-box had looked like a common +tortoise-shell affair with an enamelled cover; and after he had taken +his pinch, he had put his hand into the pocket of his gold-embroidered +silk gown and drawn out a coarse cotton handkerchief such as the +Franciscans use. + +But these little details had entirely escaped the princess and her +lawyer. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +AN UNWELCOME VISITOR. + + +One day, when Blanka announced her intention of visiting the Colosseum +for the purpose of sketching it, Gabriel Zimandy declared that he could +not be one of the party, and the two ladies must get along without his +escort. He said he was going to the Lateran, in his client's interest, +and added that he had just received unwelcome news from Manasseh. + +"Then you have told him what brought us to Rome," said the princess. + +"Are you angry with me for doing so?" asked the advocate. + +"No, no; you were quite right. What word does he send you?" + +"I'll read you what he says--if I can; he writes an abominable hand. +'While you are seeing the sights of Rome with the ladies,' he begins, +'important events are taking place elsewhere. General Durando has had a +taste of the Austrians at Ferrara, and found them hard nuts to crack. In +his wrath he now proclaims a crusade against them, fastens red crosses +on his soldiers' breasts, and is pushing forward to cross the Po. But +this action of his is very displeasing to the Pope, who does not look +kindly on a crusade by a Roman army against a Christian nation. +Accordingly he has forbidden Durando to cross the Po. If now the general +disobeys, all those whose powerful favour your client at present enjoys +will lose their influence; and should he suffer defeat beyond the Po, as +he well may, your client's enemies could hardly fail to gain the upper +hand. You will do wisely, therefore, to press an issue before it is too +late.'" + +"But is it possible that I should be made to suffer for a defeat on the +battle-field?" asked Blanka. + +"H'm! _Quidquid delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi_," returned the +advocate, sententiously; and he hurried away without explaining that the +quotation meant,--Whenever kings fall to quarrelling, the common people +suffer for it. Such was the old Greek usage. + +Blanka was thus left to find her way to the Colosseum with Madam +Dormandy, under the guidance of an abbot, whom they had secured as +cicerone; and, while the reverend father entertained the young widow +with a historical lecture, the princess seated herself at the foot of +the cross that stands in the middle of the arena, and sought to sketch +the view before her. But her success was poor; she was conscious of +failure with every fresh attempt. Three times she began, and as often +was forced to discard her work and start over again. The Colosseum will +not suffer its likeness to be taken by every one; it is a favour that +must be fought for. + +High up on the dizzy height of the third gallery sat a wee speck of a +man with an easel before him. Even through an opera-glass the painter +looked like an ant on a house-top. He wore a broad-brimmed straw hat, +and behind him a large umbrella was opened against the fierce rays of +the Italian sun. Thus protected, he sat there busily at work. Blanka +envied him: he had mastered the mighty Colosseum and caught its +likeness. How had he set about it? Why, naturally enough, he had climbed +the giddy height and conquered the giant from above. She resolved to +come again, early the next morning, and follow his example. With that +she tore the spoiled leaves impatiently from her sketch-book, and threw +them down among the thistles that sprang up everywhere between the +stones of the ruin. It was getting late, and she was forced to return to +her hotel and dress for the theatre. + +The way back led past the Cagliari palace, and Blanka noted with +surprise that its iron shutters were open and the first story +brilliantly lighted. The gate, too, was thrown back, giving a view of +the courtyard, which wore rather the aspect of a garden. Who could have +wrought this sudden transformation in the deserted old mansion? + +A still greater surprise awaited the princess when she reached her +hotel. The proprietor himself came down the steps to open her carriage +door, assist her to alight, and escort her to her rooms. + +"Thank you, sir, but pray don't trouble yourself," began Blanka. "I can +find my way very well alone." + +The innkeeper persisted, however, although the double doors to which he +led her, and which he threw open before her, were not those of her own +apartment. The ladies found themselves in a sumptuously furnished +anteroom, from which, through a half-opened door, they looked into a +spacious drawing-room yet more luxuriously fitted up, with oil paintings +on its walls and potted plants in its four corners. Leading out of this +apartment, to right and left, were still other elaborately furnished +rooms, which a footman in gold-braided red livery obsequiously threw +open. + +"While the princess was out," explained the hotel keeper, with a bow and +a smile, "I had this suite of rooms put in order for her reception, and +hope they will give entire satisfaction." + +"No, no, my dear sir," protested Blanka, "they appear far too +magnificent for my needs, and I prefer to remain where I was. And how +about this footman?" + +"A servant of the house, but now dressed in the princess's livery," was +the reply. "Henceforth he is to be at your sole disposal, and a liveried +coachman in a white wig, with a closed carriage, is also ordered to +serve you. All this is in compliance with directions from high quarters. +A gentleman was here in your absence and expressed great displeasure +that Princess Cagliari and her party were lodged in a suite of only four +rooms. Where is his card, Beppo? Go and fetch it." + +Blanka had no need to look at the card: she knew well enough whose name +it bore. Controlling her agitation, she turned calmly to the hotel +proprietor. "I must beg you," said she, "not to receive orders from any +one but my attorney. Otherwise I shall feel obliged to leave your hotel +at once. Let my old rooms be opened for me again, and engage no special +servants on my account." So saying, she returned to her former quarters. + +With no little impatience she awaited the advocate's return, and as soon +as he appeared questioned him eagerly for news. + +"None at all," he answered, wearily. "I've been running around all day, +and have accomplished absolutely nothing; couldn't find the people I +wished to see, and those I did find pretended not to understand a word +I said. If I only knew where that fellow Manasseh had hidden himself!" + +"I could tell you," thought Blanka, but did not offer to do so. "Well," +said she, aloud, "if you have no news, I have. Look at this card." + +The lawyer put on his eyeglasses and read the name,--"Benjamin Vajdar." + +"Prince Cagliari is in Rome also," added Blanka. + +The advocate looked at her. "So Vajdar has been here, has he? Did you +see him?" + +"No; but he is sure to come again. I have given orders that he is to be +referred to you. I have nothing to say to him." + +"Just let me get hold of him!" cried Gabriel, with menace in his looks, +and then added: "I only wish I knew where to find Manasseh." + +"I know," said the princess to herself. She had learned his address by a +curious accident. When she and the young painter went to see the Sistine +Chapel together they were called upon, as are all visitors, to give +their names and addresses. Thus she could not avoid hearing the street +and number of Manasseh's temporary abode, and this street and number she +had afterward written down in her sketch-book--foreign names are so hard +to remember. + +When her lawyer had withdrawn she sought her book and turned its leaves +in search of the address. But though she hunted through all the pages +again and again, she could not find the memorandum which she felt sure +she had made. Suddenly she remembered having torn out and thrown away +two or three leaves,--those containing her futile attempts to sketch the +Colosseum. + +At this point a letter was delivered to the princess. It was from Prince +Cagliari, and asked Blanka to assign an hour at which to receive him. +She answered the note at once, naming ten o'clock of the following +morning. + +Promptly on the hour appointed the prince's equipage appeared at the +hotel door, and he himself came up the stairs, leaning on his +gold-headed cane. He enjoyed the full use of only one foot, although his +gouty condition was not very apparent except when he climbed a flight of +stairs. Ordinarily he showed admirable skill in disguising his defect. +He was still a fine-looking man, and only the whiteness of his hair +betrayed his age. Clean-shaven and of florid complexion, he wore a +constant smile on his finely chiselled lips, and bore himself with a +graceful air of self-assertion that seldom failed of its effect on the +women whom he chose to honour with his attentions. + +The head waiter hurried on before him to announce his coming. Blanka met +the prince in her antechamber. He took her offered hand and at the same +time barred the waiter's exit with his cane. + +"Is the princess still lodged in these rooms?" he demanded. + +The servant could not find a word to say in apology, but the princess +came to his aid. + +"I wished to remain here," said she, calmly. + +The domestic was then dismissed and the visitor ushered into the next +room. + +"I greatly regret," he began, "that you chose to put aside my friendly +intercession on your behalf. These quarters do not befit your rank. +Furthermore, by retaining a Protestant lawyer you appear to challenge me +to the bitterest of conflicts." + +"Do you so interpret my action?" asked Blanka, proud reproach in her +tone. + +"No, Blanka, assuredly not. Your own noble heart moved you rather to use +mild measures--in spite of your attorney. You generously refrained from +pushing your advantage against me while I was detained elsewhere and +while my secretary was also unavoidably delayed. In return for this +generosity, Prince Cagliari comes to you now, not as your opponent in a +suit at law, not as a husband to claim his wife, but as a father seeking +his daughter. What say you? Will you accept me as a father?" + +Blanka was almost inclined to believe in the speaker's sincerity; yet he +had caused her far too much pain in the past to admit of any sudden +reconciliation in this theatrical fashion. She remained unmoved. + +"Bear in mind, my dear Blanka," proceeded the prince, "that the key to +the situation is now in my hands. Recent important events have made me a +_persona grata_ at the Vatican, and now the first of the conditions +which I feel justified in imposing on you is that you acquiesce in the +arrangements which, with all a father's forethought, I have made for +your comfort during your sojourn in Rome. If the case between us is to +reach a peaceful settlement, we must, above all things, avoid the +appearance of mutual hostility; and it is a hostile demonstration on the +part of Princess Cagliari to be seen driving about the city in a hired +cab, and occupying, with her party, a suite of only four rooms. My duty +demanded that I should at least offer you the use of the Cagliari +palace, which consists of two entirely distinct wings, with separate +entrances, stairs, and gardens; but I knew only too well that you would +have rejected the offer." + +"Most certainly." + +"Therefore nothing was left me but to order the apartments in this hotel +commonly occupied by visiting foreign princes to be placed at your +disposal. No burdensome obligation, however, will be incurred by you in +acceding to this arrangement, as I shall, in the event of our +separation, see that the expense is deducted from the allowance which I +shall be required to make you." + +Blanka, who was naturally of a confiding disposition, not infrequently +reposed her confidence where it was undeserved,--a failing not to be +wondered at in one so young. Her husband was one of those in whom she +thus sometimes placed too large a measure of trust, although she had +early learned that no word from his mouth was to be accepted in its +obvious meaning. Yet this matter of her apartments in the hotel seemed +to her of such trifling moment that she let him have his way and +consented to make the change which he desired, albeit at the same time +strongly suspecting a hidden motive on his part. + +"I am very glad, my dear Blanka," said Cagliari, when the princess had +indicated her willingness to comply with his request, "to find you +disposed to meet me half-way in this matter. We will, then, leave +further details to the hotel keeper. He will provide you with servants +in the livery of our house. How many do you wish--two?" + +"One will suffice." + +"And if he does not suit you, dismiss him and demand another. You shall +have no ground for suspecting me of placing a spy upon you in the guise +of a servant." + +"Even if you should, it would trouble me little. A spy would find +nothing to report to you." + +"My dear Blanka, no one sees his own face except in a mirror; others can +see it at all times." + +"Have you anything to criticise in my conduct?" + +"Nothing, I assure you. I know your firmness of principle. I look at you +now, not through the yellow glass used by a jealous husband in +scrutinising his wife, but through the rose-coloured glass that a fond +father holds before his eyes in regarding a beloved daughter. If you +travelled in a stranger's company on your journey to Rome, that may very +well have been a mere matter of chance. If you left the accustomed route +under his escort, you may have done so to avoid suspected dangers. If +you are seen again in Rome at this stranger's side, I see nothing in +that but his recognition of his duty toward you,--the courtesy of a +fellow countryman acquainted with Rome toward a lady visiting that city +for the first time. And if you walked together arm in arm, it was +undoubtedly because of the pressure of the crowd, which always justifies +a lady in seeking the protection of the first man available." + +This speech filled Blanka with indignation and dismay. Weapons were +being forged against her, she perceived; but she could do nothing. Had +she offered a denial, her glowing cheeks would have testified against +her. She held her peace, accordingly, and preserved such outward +composure as she was able. + +"_N'en parlons plus!_" concluded the prince, fully aware of his triumph. +"No one shall boast of outdoing Prince Cagliari in magnanimity,--not +even his wife. Where you have knelt and sued for mercy, I too will +kneel; what you have written in your petition I will subscribe to, and +add still further: 'We are not husband and wife, we are father and +daughter.' And you shall learn that this is no empty phrase. I do not +seek to sever the bond between us; I exchange it for another." + +All this was uttered in so friendly a tone, and with such seeming warmth +of feeling, that no one unacquainted with the speaker, and not knowing +him for the most consummate of hypocrites and the cleverest of actors, +could have listened to him without being moved almost to tears. But his +hearer in this instance knew him only too well. She knew that Jerome +Cagliari was most to be feared when he professed the noblest sentiments. + +Rising from his chair, he added, as if it were a matter of the most +trifling importance: + +"This afternoon I will send my secretary to you." + +"Your secretary?" repeated Blanka, with a start. "Pray send me anybody +but him,--a notary, a strange lawyer, an attorney's clerk, a servant. I +will receive your instructions from any of these, but not from your +secretary." + +"And why not from him?" + +"Because I hate him." + +"Then you hate the man who is your best friend in all the world,--yes, +even a better friend than I myself. If I were to ask heaven for a son I +could pray for no more excellent young man than he. He has my full +confidence and esteem." + +"But if you knew why I hate him!" interjected Blanka, in a voice that +trembled. + +"Before you bring your accusation against him," rejoined the other, +"remember you are speaking, not to your husband, but to your father, who +wishes not only to set you free, but also to make you happy. +Accordingly, I will send Mr. Benjamin Vajdar to call on you to-morrow +afternoon, to open the way for a harmonious settlement of the affair +between us. I beg you to receive him as my confidant and +plenipotentiary, and not to let your attorney know of his coming. For +myself, I shall, with your permission, allow myself the pleasure of +calling on you again." + +With this the prince kissed Blanka's hand, and withdrew. + +Scarcely had he gone, when Gabriel Zimandy presented himself to learn +the object of Cagliari's visit. But Blanka obeyed orders, and kept back +the chief motive of his coming, saying simply that he had asked +permission to order a larger and finer suite of rooms for her use, and +that in this matter she had thought best to humour him. The advocate +acquiesced, recognising the importance of securing the prince's +good-will under present conditions. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE ANONYMOUS LETTER. + + +No sooner had her lawyer left her than a letter was delivered to Blanka +by one of the hotel servants. It was unsigned, and to the following +effect: + + "PRINCESS CAGLIARI:--Be cautious. Prince Cagliari is + carrying out a fiendish scheme against you. Like yourself, he is + bent on securing a divorce, but only that he may marry you to his + protege and favourite. He is even capable of selling his own wife. + Hitherto you have been Cagliari's wife, and the Marchioness + Caldariva his mistress; now he wishes to reverse these relations, + and make the marchioness his wife, and you his mistress. Be on your + guard. You are in the country of the Borgias." + +The princess was not a little disturbed by this communication. Monstrous +as was the plot which it purported to disclose, she could not disbelieve +it when ascribed to the two men in question. Certain fearful +remembrances of the past confirmed her suspicions, and even inspired her +in her distress with thoughts of suicide. + +But what if this letter were merely a trap? Who could have written it? +Who, in that city, where so few knew even of her existence, was +sufficiently familiar with her private affairs to be able to write it? +Whom could she now consult, with whom share her anxious forebodings? +Involuntarily she took up her sketch-book, and turned its leaves once +more. In vain; the address was gone--gone with the leaves she had torn +out and thrown away in the Colosseum. + +Having no further engagements for that morning, she proposed to her +companion a second visit to the Colosseum, that she might once more +essay the sketch which had baffled her the day before. Both Madam +Dormandy and the advocate signified their readiness to accompany her, +the more so as a party of German visitors was planning an inspection of +the Colosseum's subterranean chambers and passages, and Zimandy proposed +to join them. + +Blanka made it her first care, on arriving at the Colosseum, to search +for the lost sketch-book leaves; but though she remembered exactly where +she had dropped them, neither she nor her friend could discover the +least trace of them. Who could have appropriated them? The artist in the +gallery had been the only stranger present at the time of her previous +visit. + +While the advocate and Madam Dormandy went with the German party to +inspect the lower regions, Blanka remained above, on the plea that such +subterranean excursions made her unwell. There were no robbers or wild +beasts to molest her in the arena during the others' absence, and, +besides, the entrances were all guarded. + +She sat down at the foot of the cross, but not to draw, for her mind was +not now on her sketch. Plucking the dandelions that grew in profusion +about her, she fashioned them into a chain and hung it around her neck. +The thought came to her, as she was thus engaged, that of all the +Christian martyrs torn to pieces by wild beasts in that arena, not one +of them, when the tigers and hyenas leaped upon their prey, felt such a +terror as hers at sight of the monsters that seemed to be closing in +about her to rend her limb from limb. + +How happy the artist must be up there in the lofty gallery! For there he +was, still at work on his picture. The artist is the only really happy +man. He need fear no exile; every land is his home. No foreign tongue +can confuse him; his thoughts find a medium of expression intelligible +to all. Wars have no terror for him; he paints them, but takes no part +in them. Storms and tempests, by land or sea, speak to him not of +danger, but are merely the symbols of nature's ever-varying moods. +Popular insurrections furnish his canvas with picturesque groupings of +animated humanity. Though all Rome surge with uproar about him, he sits +under his sun-umbrella and paints. The artist is a cold-blooded man. He +paints a madonna, but his piety is none the greater for it. He draws a +Venus, but his heart is still whole. He pictures God and Satan, but +prostrates himself before neither. How independent, too, he must feel as +he wanders through the world! He asks no help in the production of his +creations. The priest need not pray for rain or sunshine on his account. +He seeks no office or title from prince or potentate. He desires no +favour, no privilege, nor does he even require the advantage of a +recognised religious belief. With his genius he can conquer the world. + +Art it is, moreover, that makes woman the equal of man. The woman artist +is something more than man's other half; she is complete in herself. She +does not ask the world for a living, she does not beg any man to give +her his name, she kneels before no marriage-altar for the priest's +blessing; she goes forth and wins for herself all that she desires. + +An irresistible impulse drove Blanka to ascend to the painter's lofty +perch in order to see how he was succeeding in the task which she +herself knew not even how to begin. + +An artist engrossed in his work heeds not what is going on around him. +The painter in this instance wore a simple canvas jacket, spotted with +oil and colours here and there, and a straw hat, broad of brim and +ventilated with abundant holes. The princess, looking over his +shoulder, was far less interested in the painter than in his work. +Indeed, the artist himself was so absorbed in his task that, to save +time, he held one of his brushes crosswise between his teeth while he +worked with the other. Yet the instinct of politeness impelled him, as +soon as he heard the rustle of a lady's skirt behind him, to remove his +broad-brimmed hat and place it on the floor at his side. + +"Manasseh!" + +Startled surprise and gladness spoke in that word, which slipped out ere +the speaker's discretion could prevent it. The young man turned quickly. + +"Princess!" he exclaimed, "where did you drop from?" + +"I was not looking for you," she stammered, thus betraying that she had +been seeking him and was rejoiced, heart and soul, at the chance that +had led her to him. + +Manasseh smiled. "No, not for me, but for the painter wrestling with the +Colosseum from this lofty roost. I saw you yesterday attempting the same +task from below." + +"And you recognised me--so far off?" + +"I have very good eyes. I also saw that you were dissatisfied with your +attempts, for you tore out one leaf after another from your sketch-book +and threw them away." + +"Did you find them again?" asked Blanka, breathlessly. + +"I made it a point to do so, Princess," was the reply. + +"Oh, then give them back to me, please!" + +"Here they are." + +No creditor ever did his distressed debtor a greater favour in +surrendering to him an overdue note than did Manasseh in restoring the +lost leaves to their owner. She replaced them carefully in her +sketch-book, assuring herself, as she did so, that the missing address +was on the blank side of one of them. What if it had caught the young +man's eye? How would he have explained its presence there? + +She sat down to rest a moment on the stone railing of the gallery, her +back to the arena and her face toward Manasseh,--an arrangement that +very much interfered with the artist's view of what he was painting. The +sun shone directly in her eyes, and she had no sunshade, having left +hers in the carriage. The arena was so shaded that she had needed none +there. Manasseh adjusted his umbrella so as to shield the princess, and +the rosy hue which its red fabric cast on her face reminded him of the +_Horae_ that precede the sun-god's chariot at dawn, their forms glowing +with purple and rose-coloured tints in the morning light. + +"I am very glad I happened to meet you," said Blanka, speaking more +sedately this time. "The party I came with is down below listening to +an archaeological lecture on the _cunei_, the _podium_, the _vomitorium_, +and heaven knows what all, in which I am not interested. So I have time +to discuss with you, if you will let me, a point which you raised the +other day and which I have been puzzling over ever since. You said that +where you used to live revenge is unknown; and that, though you were +suffering under a grievous injury and had the means to exact full +satisfaction, yet you would not take your revenge. I too am suffering in +the same manner, and that is why I am now in Rome. I have pondered your +words and have imitated your example. Possessing the means of revenge, I +refused to use them. I loosed my enemy's hands when they were bound. Did +I do well?" + +"Yes." + +"No, I did not. I should have taken my revenge. Revenge is man's right." + +"Revenge is the brute's right," Manasseh corrected her. "It never +repairs an injury that has once been done. In this I and the handful of +my fellow-believers differ from mankind in general. In our eyes war is +revenge, the duel is revenge, capital punishment is revenge, revolution +is revenge. Those who profess themselves followers of Jesus too often +forget that when he was dying on the cross he said, 'Father, forgive +them, for they know not what they do.'" + +"That was said by Jesus the man; but Jesus the God has ascended into +heaven, whence he will come to judge the quick and the dead. And that is +revenge." + +"That conception of the Judgment is one that I cannot entertain," +returned Manasseh. "Man has made a god of the noblest of men, and has +made him like those earlier divinities who slew Niobe's innocent +children with their arrows." + +Blanka was sitting so far back on the stone railing that the artist felt +obliged to warn her of her danger. + +"Oh, I am protected by guardian angels," she replied, lightly. She +wished to learn whether one of those angels was then before her. "I +received this morning an anonymous letter," she continued, "and as it +contains certain facts which only you could know, my first thought was +that you had written it." + +"I assure you, I have never written you a letter," declared Manasseh. + +"Please read it." She handed him the letter. + +How quickly the young man's calm face flushed and glowed with passion as +he read! The martyrs of old could forgive their enemies for the tortures +inflicted on them; but could they also pardon the inhumanity shown to +their loved ones? Manasseh crumpled the paper in his hand with +vindictive energy, as if he had held in his grasp the authors of that +detestable plot. Yet what right had he now to take vengeance on a man +whom he had refrained from punishing on Anna's behalf? Anna was his own +sister, and as such a beloved being. Her life had been spoiled by this +man, yet her brother had been able to declare, "We do not seek +revenge"--although this revenge was easily in his power. And what was +Blanka to him? A dream. And did this dream weigh more with him than the +sorrow that had invaded his own family? + +He returned the letter to its owner. "Just like them!" he muttered +between his teeth. + +"Prince Cagliari is in Rome," remarked Blanka. + +"I know it. I met him, and he spoke to me and thanked me for the +attentions I had shown his wife during Holy Week." + +It was fortunate for the princess that she sat in the rosy light of the +red umbrella, so that her heightened colour passed unnoticed. + +"He called on me this morning," said she, "and showed himself very +gracious. His position is now stronger than it was, affairs at the +Vatican being guided at present by those who look upon him with favour." + +"Yes, I know that," said Manasseh. + +"How do you know it, may I ask?" + +"Oh, I have wide-reaching connections. My landlord is a cobbler. +'Messere Scalcagnato' lounges about the _piazza_ by the hour, is +therefore well instructed in political matters, and keeps me duly +informed of all that takes place at the Vatican." + +The princess gave a merry laugh at the thought of Manasseh's taking +lessons in politics from the professor of shoemaking. A little feeling +of satisfaction contributed also to her display of good humour: she was +assured by Manasseh's words that his address was still the same that she +had noted in her sketch-book. But her laugh was immediately followed by +a sigh, and she folded her hands in her lap. + +"I wage war with nobody, Heaven knows!" she exclaimed, sadly. "I have +merely sued for mercy, and it has been promised me." + +"Princess," interposed the young man, gently, "I cannot intervene +between you and your enemies, but I can arm you with a weapon of defence +against their assaults. If you wish to repulse the man whom you fear and +who pursues you,--to give him such a rebuff that he will never again +dare to approach you,--then wait until he makes the proposal which you +dread, and give him this answer: 'Between you and me there is a +canonical interdict which renders our union impossible; it is contained +in the fourteenth paragraph of the Secret Instructions.' As soon as you +say that he will vanish so completely from your presence that you will +never set eyes on him again." + +"Wonderful!" cried Blanka. "That will surely be a miracle." + +"Such it may always remain to you," returned Manasseh, "and you may +never know how deep a wound you have inflicted. But you must thenceforth +look for no mercy. Sue urgently for a decision, and be prepared for a +harsh one." + +"Thank you," said Blanka, simply. "_N'en parlons plus_"--repeating +Prince Cagliari's phrase. + +With that she stepped lightly to the stone block which the artist had +been using for a chair, and, seating herself on it, began to copy in +outline his painting of the Colosseum, as if that had been the sole +purpose of her coming. Nor did she so much as ask permission thus to +violate the rules of professional courtesy. This sketching from a +finished picture she found vastly easier than drawing from the object +itself, a task which always proves elusive and baffling to the beginner. +Manasseh took his stand behind her as she worked, but his eyes were not +wholly occupied in following her pencil. + +Meanwhile the archaeological explorers had abundant time to inspect all +the subterranean passages and chambers of the Colosseum, and it was only +when they emerged into the arena and began to seek their lost companion, +with loud outcries, that she started up in some alarm and made haste to +retrace her steps. + +Manasseh picked up the dandelion chain that had fallen from her neck and +put it in his bosom. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE FOURTEENTH PARAGRAPH. + + +Blanka was now like a boy who fears to stay at home alone, and to whom +his father has therefore given a loaded gun as a security. The lad has a +shuddering eagerness to encounter a burglar, that he may try his weapon +on him, never doubting but that he can kill a giant if need be. Let the +robbers come if they wish; he is armed and ready for them. + +In this confidence Blanka's entire mood underwent a change: she became +light-hearted almost to the point of unrestrained gaiety. At the very +door of her hotel she began to exchange pleasantries with the landlord, +who came forward to greet her with the announcement that a gentleman, a +count, had called upon her in her absence. + +"Count who?" asked the princess, whereupon she was presented with a card +bearing the name of Benjamin Vajdar. But she read it without losing a +particle of her serenity, and then ordered an elaborate lunch. + +While her dishes were preparing, she sent for a hair-dresser and for a +maid to assist at her toilet. She wished to make herself +beautiful--even more beautiful than usual--and, indeed, she accomplished +her object. Her slender form, its height accentuated by a long bodice, +looked still taller from the imposing manner in which her hair was +dressed. Her features, until then somewhat drawn by the strain of +constant anxiety, gained now a vivacity that was matched by the added +colour that glowed in her cheeks. A single morning in the Italian sun +had, it would have seemed to an observer, worked wonders in her +appearance. But what she herself marvelled at most of all was the new +light that shone in her eyes. What could have caused this +transformation? The weapon which she held in her hands,--"the fourteenth +paragraph of the Secret Instructions." What cared she that to her these +words were utterly meaningless? It sufficed her to know that there was +such a paragraph; _he_ had told her so. + +A waiter announced that her lunch was served. Ordinarily Blanka ate no +more than a sick child; now she was conscious of an appetite like that +of a convalescent making up for a long series of lost meals. The +dainties which she had ordered tasted uncommonly appetising. While she +was busy with her oysters, the head waiter informed her that the "count" +had come a second time and begged leave to wait upon her. + +"Show him up," promptly replied the princess, without allowing her +lunch to be interrupted in the least. + +The handsome young man already introduced to the reader was ushered in. +The situation in which he found the princess seemed scarcely to +harmonise with his plans. It rendered exceedingly difficult any approach +to the sentimental. + +"Set a chair for the gentleman," Blanka commanded her attendant, +speaking, as if from forgetfulness, in Hungarian, and then correcting +herself with a great show of surprise at her own carelessness. +"_Grazie!_ And now, sir, pray be seated. You will pardon me if I go on +with my lunch. We can converse just the same. This man will not +understand a word we say. We may consider our interview entirely +private." + +Vajdar misinterpreted the situation: he thought the princess feared him, +as of old, and that therefore she kept her servant in the room. This +belief only added fuel to his evil passions. He who sees himself feared +gains an increased sense of power. + +"I come bearing the olive-branch, Princess," he began, in smooth +accents. + +At this Blanka turned suddenly to her attendant. "That reminds me," she +exclaimed; "Beppo, the waiter forgot my olives." + +Vajdar had taken a chair and drawn up to the table. "The prince wishes," +he continued, "to keep his promise and to show you all the affectionate +concern of a father toward his daughter." He produced a roll of +manuscript from his pocket. "There are certain points in your marriage +contract which must be discussed. Prince Cagliari made over to you, at +the time of your union, one million silver florins. If you should gain +your suit you would retain this sum in full; otherwise you would lose it +all. He now offers you the following compromise. The principal is not to +be paid into your hands, but you are to receive the interest on it, at +six per cent., during your lifetime. And, more than that, one-half of +the Palazzo Cagliari is placed at your disposal as a dwelling." + +The princess bowed, as if in assent, but expressed the hope that she +should not be obliged to stay long in Rome. + +"I think you will find it advisable to remain some time, at any rate," +said the young man. + +"But I wish to return home, to Hungary, where, as you know, I have an +estate of my own." + +"That will be impossible, because the Serbs have burnt your castle to +the ground." + +"Burnt it to the ground? But my steward has not informed me of this." + +"And for a very good reason: the insurgents chopped off his head on his +own threshold." + +Even this intelligence could not destroy Blanka's appetite. She ate her +sardines with unusual relish, and Vajdar could see that she gave little +credence to his words. + +"Stormy times are ahead of us," he went on, "and I assure you this is +the only safe retreat for you,--the holy city, the home of peace." + +"As is proved by the iron shutters on the windows of the Cagliari +palace," remarked Blanka. "But tell me, if I should wish to choose my +own household and my own intimates, would that liberty be allowed me?" + +"Undoubtedly. Nevertheless, it would be greatly to your advantage to +surround yourself with persons speaking the language of the country and +familiar with its ways." + +"And if I should win my cause, and should take a fancy to marry again, +could I select a husband to suit myself?" + +This was too much. It was like throwing raw meat to a caged tiger. + +"Without doubt," murmured Benjamin Vajdar between his teeth, at the same +time casting furious glances at the servant behind his mistress's chair. + +Suddenly the princess changed her tactics. She wished to show her enemy +that she dared leave her entrenchments and offer battle in the open +field. + +"Caro Beppo," said she, turning to the servant, "clear the table, +please, and then stay outside until I call you. Meantime, admit no +one." + +The two were left alone, and Vajdar was free to say what he wished. +Blanka made bold to rise and survey herself coquettishly in the mirror, +as if to make sure of her own beauty. She was the first to speak. + +"All these favourable turns in my affairs are due to your kind +intervention, I infer," she began. + +"Without wishing to be boastful, I must admit that they are. You know +the prince: he has more whims and freaks than Caligula. He has moments +when he is capable of throttling an angel from heaven, and gentle moods +in which he is ready to do his most deadly enemy a secret kindness. +These latter phases of his humour it was my task to lie in wait for and +turn to your account. Whether this was a difficult task or not, you who +know the prince can judge." + +"You will find me not ungrateful," said the princess. "In case the +unpleasant affair which has called me to Rome is settled satisfactorily, +I shall make over to you, as the one chiefly instrumental in effecting +this settlement, the yearly allowance intended for me by the prince. For +myself I retain nothing further, and wish nothing further, than my +golden freedom." + +Vajdar's face glowed with feeling. He was a good actor and could summon +the colour to his cheeks at will. + +"But even if you should give me your all, and the whole world besides," +he returned, "I should count it as dross in comparison with one kind +word from your lips. I know it is the height of boldness on my part to +strive for the object of my longing; but an ardent passion justifies +even the rashest presumption. You remember the fable of the giants' +piling Pelion upon Ossa in order to scale Olympus. I am capable of +following their example. You would cease to look down on me were I of +like rank with yourself; and this equality of station I shall yet +attain." + +"I am sure I shall be the first to congratulate you." + +"The prince has promised to be a father to you if, as the result of a +peaceful separation, he ceases to be your husband. A somewhat similar +promise he has made to me also." + +"Does he intend to adopt you as his son?" asked Blanka. + +"Such is his purpose," replied Vajdar. + +"And what, pray, is his motive in this?" + +Benjamin Vajdar averted his face, as if contending with feelings of +shame. "Do not ask me," he begged, "to betray the weakness of my poor +mother. Hers was an unhappy lot, and I am the child of her misfortune. +He whose duty it is to make that misfortune good is--Prince Cagliari." + +Blanka could hardly suppress an exclamation. "Oh, you scoundrel!" she +was on the point of crying, "how can you dishonour your mother in her +grave, and deny your own honest birth, merely to pass yourself off as a +prince's bastard son?" Instead of this she clapped her hands and +exclaimed: "How interesting! It is just like a play at the theatre. 'Is +not the little toe of your left foot broken?' 'Yes.' 'Then you are my +son.' Or thus: 'Haven't you a birthmark on the back of your neck?' 'I +have.' 'Let me see it. Aha! you are my long-lost boy.' Or, again: 'Who +gave you that half of a coin which you wear on a string around your +neck?' 'My mother, on her death-bed.' 'Come to my arms. You have found +your father.'" + +Her listener was convinced that he had to do with a credulous child +whose ears were open to the flimsiest of fairy tales. He proceeded to +entertain her with further interesting details of his story, after which +the princess produced the anonymous letter she had that morning +received. First smoothing it out on her knee,--for it had been sadly +crumpled by a certain hand, and, indeed, even bore the impression of a +man's thumb in oil,--she presented it to her visitor. + +"Please read that," said she, "and then explain it to me." + +Vajdar had no sooner glanced at the letter than he perceived that the +enemy, by a feigned retreat, had been decoying him over a mine which +threatened presently to explode. Yet his assurance did not desert him. + +"A stupid bit of play-acting!" he exclaimed, throwing the letter down on +the table. + +"But whose interest could it have been to indulge in play-acting at my +expense?" asked Blanka. + +"I can tell you, for I recognise the handwriting. The Marchioness +Caldariva wrote you that letter." + +"The Marchioness Caldariva? Is she here?" + +"To be sure. The prince never travels without her." + +"But what motive had she thus to injure herself and, perhaps, prevent +her marriage with the prince?" + +"Motive enough for a woman," replied Vajdar,--"jealousy." + +"Jealousy!" repeated Blanka, in astonishment. + +But one glance at the face confronting her was a sufficient explanation. +That handsome face, smiling with triumph and self-confidence, made her +tingle with wrath and scorn from head to foot. This man, it appeared, +was impudent enough to play the role of suitor to his patron's wife, and +also, at the same time, to pose as the object of a sentimental +attachment on the part of that patron's mistress. And he smiled +complacently the while. + +"Sir," resumed the princess, whom that smile so irritated that she +resolved to use her deadly weapon without further delay, "I appreciate +your devotion to my cause, but I cannot deceive you. I must not +encourage hopes that would end only in disappointment. Let this matter +not be referred to again between us." + +"But how if it were imposed by the prince as the indispensable condition +of a peaceful settlement of your relations with him?" + +"I cannot believe that such is the case," replied Blanka, calmly. "But +however that may be, I cannot bind myself by any promise to you, knowing +as I do that the question of matrimony between us is one that the canons +of the Romish Church forbid us to consider." + +"Ah, you have been studying ecclesiastical law, I see,--an error like +that of the sick man that reads medical works. You undoubtedly have in +mind the tenth paragraph, which forbids a son to marry his father's +divorced wife; but you should have read farther, where it is declared +that a marriage pronounced null and void by the clemency of the Pope is +as if it never had been, and thus offers no hindrance to a subsequent +union." + +"No," rejoined the princess, "I did not refer to the tenth paragraph. +The paragraph which renders our union impossible is the fourteenth." + +The shot was fired, the mark was hit. Like a tiger mortally wounded the +man sprang up and stood leaning on the back of his chair, glaring at +his assailant with a fury that made her draw back in alarm. With what +sort of ammunition had the gun been loaded, that it should inflict so +deadly a wound,--that it should cause such a sudden and complete +transformation of that complacently smiling face? + +"Who told you that?" demanded Vajdar so furiously that Blanka recoiled +involuntarily. "Only one person could have been your informant, and I +know who that person is. I shall have my revenge on both of you for +this!" + +With that he was gone, hurrying out of the room and out of the hotel as +if pursued by a legion of devils. Beppo came running to his mistress, +and seemed surprised not to find her lying in her blood on the floor +with half a dozen dagger-thrusts in her bosom. + +"Well," he exclaimed, "whoever that man may be, I shouldn't like to meet +him on a dark night in a narrow street." + +Blanka told her servant that if the gentleman who had just left ever +called again, she should not be at home to him. Then she sent her +obedient Beppo away, as she wished to be alone. First of all, she must +ponder the meaning of those mysterious words that had proved so potent +in routing her enemy. She could hardly wait for her lawyer to return, so +eager was she to question him in the matter. + +"Well," began the advocate on entering, "what have you accomplished?" + +"I have not made peace." + +"Why not?" + +"Because it would have cost more than war. All negotiations are broken +off. Read this letter." + +"A devilish plot!" cried the lawyer wrathfully. "But they are fully +capable of carrying it out, all three of them. Did you show this to +Vajdar?" + +"Yes." + +"And was that why he ran out of the hotel in such an extraordinary +manner that the very waiters felt tempted to seize him at the door?" + +"They had no such thought, I'll warrant," returned Blanka. "They are all +in his pay. To-morrow I leave this place. You must find me a private +dwelling." + +"I have one for you already. The Rossis are moving out of the embassy, +and have engaged a private house. They invite you to share their new +quarters with them. There is ample room." + +"Oh, how fortunate for me!" + +"And yet the affair is not so altogether fortunate, after all. Rossi has +fallen from favour, and with his fall the whole liberal party loses its +influence at the Vatican." + +But what did the princess care for the liberal party at that moment? She +was thinking of the lucky chance that had made it possible for her to +meet Manasseh again--at the house of their common friends. + +"Now I must beg you," said she, changing the subject, "to press my suit +as diligently as possible. But first let me ask you a question. You are +thoroughly familiar with the marriage laws of the Romish Church, aren't +you?" + +"I know them as I do the Lord's Prayer." + +"Do you remember the fourteenth paragraph?" + +"The fourteenth paragraph? Thank God we have nothing to do with that." + +"Why 'thank God'?" + +"Because the fourteenth paragraph has to do with state's prison +offences; it declares null and void any marriage, if either of the +contracting parties has committed such an offence." + +The mystery was clear to Blanka now. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE DECISION. + + +Gabriel Zimandy came to the princess one day with a very downcast mien. + +"Our case makes no headway," he lamented, "and the reason is that your +advocate is a Protestant. Now there are two ways to remedy this: either +you must dismiss me and engage a Roman Catholic lawyer, or I must turn +Roman Catholic myself. The latter is the shorter and simpler expedient." + +Blanka thought him in fun, and began to laugh. But Zimandy maintained +his solemnity of manner. + +"You see, Princess," he went on, "I am ready to renounce the faith of my +fathers and incur the world's ridicule, all to serve you. I am going +this morning to the cardinal on whom the whole issue depends, to ask him +to be my sponsor at the baptism." + +The princess pressed his hand warmly in sign of her appreciation of his +devotion. + +In a few days the lawyer carried out his purpose and was received into +the Church of Rome. The newspapers gave the matter considerable +prominence, and it was generally expected that the godfather's present +to the new convert would be a favourable decision in the pending divorce +suit. And, in fact, a week later the decision was rendered. It was to +the following effect: + +The husband and wife were declared divorced, but with the proviso that +the latter should never marry again, and the former not during his +divorced wife's lifetime. Thus the coffin-lid was closed on the young +wife, who was, as it were, buried alive; but in falling it had caught +and held fast the bridal veil of the Marchioness Caldariva, who could +not now hope to be led to the altar so long as the princess remained +alive. Had there been in this some malevolent design to wreak vengeance +on the two women at one stroke, the purpose could not have been better +accomplished. + +The further provisions of the decree of the Roman Curia were of +secondary importance. Prince Cagliari was required to pay to Princess +Zboroy--for Blanka retained her rank and title--an annuity of twelve +thousand ducats, to give over for her use as a dwelling one wing of the +Cagliari palace, and to restore her dowry and jewels. These latter terms +were evidently to be credited to Gabriel Zimandy's generalship; for his +client might have found herself left with neither home nor annuity. So +the lawyer's conversion had met with its reward even in this world. + +But Blanka's enjoyment of house and home and yearly income was made +dependent on a certain condition: she was never to leave Rome. The +nature of the decree rendered this provision necessary. As she was +forbidden to contract a second marriage, her judge found himself obliged +to keep her under his eye, to make sure that his mandate was obeyed; and +no more delicate and at the same time effective way to do this could +have been devised than to offer her a palace in Rome and bid her enjoy +its possession for the rest of her life. This was surely kinder than +shutting her up in a convent. + +After the rendering of this decree Blanka lost no time in taking +possession of that half of the Cagliari palace assigned to her, and in +engaging a retinue of servants befitting her changed surroundings. Her +own property yielded her an income equal to that which she received from +the prince, and thus she was enabled to allow herself every comfort and +even luxury that she could desire. Of the two wings of the palace, +Blanka's faced the Tiber, while the other fronted upon the public +square. Each wing had a separate garden, divided from its neighbour by a +high wall of masonry, and the only connection between the two parts of +the house was a long corridor, all passage through which was closed. +What had once been a door, leading from the room which Blanka now chose +for her bedchamber into the corridor, was filled in with a fireplace, +whose back was formed by a damascened iron plate. This apartment the +princess selected for her asylum, her hermitage, where she could be +utterly shut out from the world. + +The next day after the decision was rendered, Blanka was greeted by her +bosom friend, the fair widow Dormandy, with the announcement of her +engagement to Gabriel Zimandy. They intended to be married in Rome, she +said, and then return to Hungary, whither the bridegroom's business +called him. It was clear to Blanka now why her lawyer had been so ready +to renounce "the faith of his fathers." It was more for the sake of +winning the hand of Madam Dormandy, who was a devout Catholic, and of +marrying her then and there, in Rome, than on account of his client's +interests. Here let us take leave of the worthy man and let him depart +with God's blessing, his newly married wife by his side, and his +honorarium from Princess Blanka in his pocket. + +Thus the divorced wife, who was yet hardly more than a girl, found +herself left alone in Rome. She shut herself off entirely from the +world, never venturing into society lest people should whisper to one +another as she passed,--"_la condannata!_" She received no one but her +father confessor, who came to her once a week. The sins which she had to +confess to him were,--the doubting of providence, rebellion against +human justice, forbidden dreams in waking hours, envy of others' +happiness, aversion to prayer, and hatred of life--all sins for which +she had to do penance. + +Meanwhile quite a different sort of life was being led in the other wing +of the palace. She could not but hear, from time to time, sounds of +mirth and gaiety in the adjoining garden, or even through the solid +partition-wall of the house. Voices that she knew only too well, and +some that she hated, penetrated to her ears and drove her from one room +to another. + +In due time, however, the malarial fever of the Italian summer came to +her as another distraction. It was an intermittent fever, and for six +weeks she was subject to its periodical attacks, which returned every +third day with the constancy of a devoted lover. When at length she +began to mend, her physician prescribed a change of air. Knowing that +his patient could not absent herself from Rome and its vicinity, he did +not send her to Switzerland, but to Tivoli and Monte Mario; and even +before venturing on these brief excursions she was obliged to ask +permission at the Vatican. The convalescent was allowed to spend her +days on Monte Mario, but required to return to Rome at nightfall. Good +morals and good laws demanded this. + +Nevertheless, even this slight change--the drives to and from Monte +Mario, and the mountain air during the fine autumn days--did the +princess good, and eventually restored her health. + +Meanwhile there was more than one momentous change in the political +world, but Blanka heeded them not. What signified to her the watchword +of the period,--"Liberty?" What liberty had she? Even were all the world +beside free, she was not free to love. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +A GHOSTLY VISITANT. + + +It was the irony of fate that the mansion which had been assigned as a +permanent dwelling-place to the woman condemned to a life of asceticism, +had been originally fitted up as a fairy love-palace for a beautiful +creature, possessed of an unquenchable thirst for the fleeting joys of +this earthly existence. Over the richly carved mantelpiece in Blanka's +sleeping-room was what looked like a splendid bas-relief in marble. It +was in reality no bas-relief at all, but a wonderfully skilful bit of +painting, so cleverly imitating the sculptor's chisel that even a closer +inspection failed to detect the deception. It represented a recumbent +Sappho playing on a nine-stringed lyre. The opening in the +sounding-board of the instrument appeared to be a veritable hole over +which real strings were stretched. + +This painting Blanka had before her eyes when she lay down to sleep at +night, and it was the first to greet her when she awoke in the morning. +Nor was it simply that she was forced to see it: Sappho seemed able to +make her presence known by other means than by addressing the sight +alone. Mysterious sounds came at times from the lyre,--sometimes simple +chords, and again snatches of love-songs which the princess could have +played over afterward from memory, so plainly did she seem to hear them. +Occasionally, too, the notes of a human voice were heard; and though the +words were muffled and indistinct, as if coming from a distance, the air +was easily followed. These weird melodies came to Blanka's ears nearly +every evening, but she did not venture to tell any one about them. She +tried to persuade herself it was all imagination on her part, and feared +to relate her experience, lest she should incur suspicion of insanity +and be consigned to a less desirable prison than the Cagliari palace. + +One evening, as she was preparing to retire, and was standing for a +moment before her mirror, the Sappho seemed to give vent to a ripple of +laughter. The princess was so startled that she dropped the candle she +held in her hand. Once more she heard that mysterious laugh, and then +she beat a hasty retreat to her bed and buried herself in the pillows +and blankets. But, peeping out at length and throwing one more glance at +the picture, which was faintly illumined by her night-lamp, she heard +still another repetition of the mysterious laughter, coming apparently +from a great distance. Was this, too, an illusion, a dream, a trick of +her imagination? If the painted Sappho was alive, why did she give these +signs only at night, and not in the daytime as well? + +November came, and with it rainy days, so that Blanka was constrained to +suspend her drives to Monte Mario and remain in the house. Every evening +she sat before her open fire with her eyes fixed on the glowing +phoenix with which the back of the fireplace was adorned. It was the +work of Finiguerra, the first of his craft to discard the chisel for the +hammer. The many-hued feathers of the flaming bird were of steel, +copper, brass, Corinthian bronze, silver, and gold. Especially +resplendent was the bird's head, with its gleaming red circle around the +brightly shining eye. This eye glowed and sparkled in the flickering +light of the crackling wood fire until it seemed fairly endowed with +life and vision. + +One evening, as the princess was watching this glowing eye, it suddenly +vanished from the bird's head and left a dark hole in its place. Then, +as if not content with this marvellous demonstration, the phoenix next +took flight bodily and disappeared, apparently up the chimney, with a +rattling, rasping sound, as of the creaking of cogged wheels, leaving a +wide opening where it had been. The coals which still glowed on the +hearth presently died with a hissing noise, and only the soft light of +the shaded lamp diffused itself through the room. Out of the mysterious +depths of the fireplace stepped the white-clad form of a woman. + +"I am the Marchioness Caldariva," announced the unbidden guest. + +The suddenness and the mystery of it all, as well as the name that +greeted her ears, might well have startled the Princess Blanka. The +strange visitor was of tall and slender form, and suggested, in her +closely fitting gown of soft material, a statue of one of the pagan +goddesses. Her thick blond hair was carelessly gathered into a knot +behind; her complexion was pale, her blue eyes were bright and +vivacious, and her coral lips were parted in a coquettish smile. Every +movement was fraught with grace and charm, every pose commanded +admiration. She followed up her self-introduction with a laugh--a laugh +that sounded familiar to her listener. It was the Sappho's tones that +she heard. Blanka gazed in wonder at the mysterious apparition. She +thought she must be dreaming, and that this was but another creation of +her own fancy. + +"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the visitor, "an original way to pay a call, isn't +it?--without warning, right through the back wall of your fireplace, and +in _neglige_, too! But as you wouldn't visit me, I had to come to you, +and this is the readiest communication between our apartments. You +didn't know anything about it, did you? The back of your fireplace is a +secret door. If you press on the green tile here at the left, the +phoenix flies up the chimney, and then if you bear down hard on this +one at the right, it returns to its place again. Do you see?" + +As she spoke the white lady stepped on the tile last designated, and +straightway the phoenix descended and filled the opening through which +she had just made her entrance. + +"On the other side," she continued, "is a piece of mechanism which will +only work when a secret lock has been opened, and to effect this the +bird's eye must first be pushed aside to make room for the key. Your +ignorance of all this became apparent to me when I found both of the two +keys in my room. One of them belongs to you, and I have brought it to +give you. Without it you might be broken in upon most unpleasantly by +some unwelcome intruder. But with the key in your possession, you can +insert it in the lock whenever you wish to guard against any such +intrusion." + +With that the speaker handed over the key, and then went on: + +"Now you will be able to visit me, just as I do you. One thing more, +however, is necessary. You generally have a fire in your fireplace, and +not every woman is a Saint Euphrosyne, able to walk barefoot over +glowing coals. Here is a little bottle of liquid with which you can +quench the flames at pleasure. It is a chemical mixture expressly +prepared for this purpose. And in this other bottle is another liquid +for rekindling the fire,--no secret of chemistry, this time, but only +naphtha. Let us try it at once, for your room is cold and I have nothing +on but this dressing-gown." + +The flames were soon crackling merrily again in the fireplace. Blanka, +much bewildered and still doubting the evidence of her senses, sank down +on a sofa, while her unbidden guest seated herself opposite. The +princess raised her eyes involuntarily to the Sappho over the +mantelpiece. Again the familiar laugh fell on her ears. + +"You look up at the Sappho," said the marchioness. "You have heard her +play and sing and laugh more than once, haven't you? Well, you shall +learn the secret of it all. A jealous husband once had the passage +constructed which connects our two apartments. You know the story of +Dionysius's Ear. Here you see it in real life. A hollow tube runs from +the opening in the lyre directly to my room, and through this the +jealous husband was able to hear every sound in his wife's chamber. +Through it, too, you have heard me sing and play and laugh, and I have +heard tones of sadness from your room, and exclamations in an unknown +tongue, with no cheering word to comfort you and drive away your +sorrow. Three days ago, about midnight, you began to sing, and that time +I could follow the words,--'_De profundis ad te clamavi, Domine.'_ Don't +look so surprised. You are not dreaming all this, and I am really the +Marchioness Caldariva, better known as 'the beautiful Cyrene.' I have +intruded on you this evening, but to-morrow you will admit me of your +own free will, and the day after you shall be my guest. We will signal +to each other through the tube when we are alone and disengaged, and we +shall soon be great friends." + +Blanka started slightly at the bare thought of friendship with this +woman. + +"I am in love with you already," continued the Marchioness Caldariva. +"For the past week we have been meeting every day. We kneel side by side +in the same church, for I go to church regularly; but you have not +noticed me, because you never raise your eyes from your prayer-book to +look at your neighbours' bonnets and gowns. As for me, now, I watch you +all the time I am praying. Daily prayers are a necessity with me. In the +morning I pray for the sins I have committed the day before, and in the +evening for those to be committed on the morrow. Another bond of +sympathy between us is the similar lot to which we are both +condemned,--a life unblessed by domestic happiness,--and we cherish +therefore a common hatred of the world. You, however, show yours by +leading a solitary life of mourning, I mine by amusing myself the best +way I can. If I were strong enough to follow your example, I should do +so, but I can't live without distraction. You are strong; I am weak. I +admire in you your power to humble your enemies before you. You were +told, weren't you, that I wrote that anonymous letter?" + +Blanka looked at the speaker with wide eyes of inquiry and wonder. She +began at length to place confidence in her words. + +"And you were told the truth, too," continued the other. "Oh, those two +men are intriguers of the deepest dye. I was accused of upsetting their +plan. I was told how mercilessly you had repulsed one of them. Really, +that was a master stroke on your part. The fourteenth paragraph! He +himself confessed the secret to me,--how he forged a note, some years +ago, in the name of a good friend of his, who now holds the +incriminating document in his possession. With it he can at any time +crush his false friend and deliver him over to a long imprisonment. The +trembling culprit wished to free himself at any cost from this sword of +Damocles suspended over his head, and he proposed to me two ways to +effect the desired end. One was for me to seduce the young artist and +then, as the price of my smiles, cajole him into surrendering the fatal +note." + +The beautiful Cyrene threw at her listener a look full of the proud +consciousness of her own dangerous charms. Blanka drew back in nameless +fear under her gaze. + +"The other way," proceeded the marchioness, "was to have him +assassinated if he refused to give up the forged paper." + +Blanka pressed her hands to her bosom to keep from crying out. + +"Between these two plans I was asked to choose, and I rejected them +both,--the first because I knew the young man adored you, the second +because I knew you reciprocated his feeling." + +The princess rose hastily and walked across the room, seeking to hide +her tell-tale blushes. + +"Come," said the marchioness, lightly, "sit down again and let us laugh +over the whole affair together. You see, I would have nothing to do with +either tragedy. I prefer comedy. Both of our arch-schemers have now +taken flight from Rome; they were seized with terror at a street riot +the other day, and they won't come back again, you may be sure, unless +it be in the rear of a besieging army. So now we have the Cagliari +palace quite to ourselves, and can sit and chat together all we please. +But I must say good night; I've gossiped enough for one while, and I'm +sleepy, too." + +Once more the fire was extinguished and the phoenix made to yield a +passage, after which Blanka found herself alone again. She shuddered at +the thought of having lived for months with an open door leading to her +bedroom. She debated with herself whether to stick her key in that door +and leave it there permanently, while she herself sought another +sleeping-room, or to yield to the charm of her unbidden guest and +acquiesce in her plan of exchanging confidential visits. The strangeness +and mystery of it all, and still more the hope that her neighbour might +let fall an occasional word concerning Manasseh, at length prevailed +over her fears and scruples, and determined her to receive the other's +advances. + +On the following evening she gave her servants permission to go to the +theatre,--the play representing the defeat of the Austrian army by the +Italians,--while she herself, after having her samovar and other +tea-things brought to her room, took up her mandolin and struck a few +chords on its strings. The reclining Sappho answered her, and a few +minutes later there came a knock on the back of the fireplace. + +"Come in!" + +The phoenix rose, and the fair Cyrene appeared, this time in full +toilet, as for a fashionable call, her hair dressed in the English mode, +a lace shawl falling over her pink silk gown, from beneath which one got +an occasional glimpse of the richly embroidered underskirt and a pair +of little feet encased in high-heeled shoes. + +"You were going out?" asked the princess. + +"I was coming to see you." + +"Did you know I was waiting for you?" + +"I told you yesterday I should come, and I knew you were expecting me +from your sending your servants away to the theatre." + +"And you knew that too?" + +"Yes, because they took mine along with them. So here we are all alone +by ourselves." + +The consciousness of being the only living creatures in a whole house +has a delicious charm, fraught with mystery and awe, for two young +women. Blanka took her guest's hat and shawl, and then proceeded to +start a fire on the hearth. The fair Cyrene meanwhile caught up her +mandolin and began to sing one of Alfred de Musset's songs, full of the +warmth and glow of the sunny South. Presently the hostess invited her +guest to take tea with her, and asked her at the same time her baptismal +name. + +The marchioness laughed. "Haven't you heard it often enough? They call +me 'Cyrene.'" + +"But that isn't your real name," objected Blanka. "You were not +christened 'Cyrene.'" + +"I use it for my name, however, and no one but my father confessor calls +me by my real name, so that now I never hear it without thinking that I +must fall on my knees and repeat a dozen paternosters in penance. +Besides, my name doesn't suit me at all. It is Rozina, and I am as pale +as moonshine. You might far better be called Rozina, for you have such +beautiful rosy cheeks, and I should have been named Blanka. I'll tell +you, suppose we exchange names: you call me Blanka, and I'll call you +Rozina." + +The suggestion seemed so funny to Blanka that she burst out laughing, +and a woman who laughs is already more than half won over. + +"Now, then," continued the other, "we can chat away to our heart's +content. There's no one to listen to us or play the spy--a good thing +for you to know, Rozina, because all your servants are hired spies. Your +doorkeeper and his wife keep a regular journal of who comes in and who +goes out, what visiting-cards are left, whom you receive, where you +drive,--which they learn from your coachman,--whom you visit, and even +with whom you exchange a passing word. Your maid reads all your letters +and searches all your pockets. Even your gardener keeps an account of +all the flowers you order; for flowers, you know, have a language of +their own. Be sure you don't buy a parrot, else it will turn spy on you, +too." + +"Who can it be that is so suspicious of me?" asked the princess, in +surprise. + +"Have you forgotten the strict terms of your uncle's legacy, and are you +unaware how slight an indiscretion on your part might furnish your +relatives with a pretext for contesting your right to a share of the +property? Do you forget, too, how trifling an error might result in the +cutting off of your allowance from Prince Cagliari?" + +"Well, let them watch me, if they wish," returned Blanka, composedly. "I +have no secrets to hide from anybody." + +"A rash assertion for a woman to make," commented the other, as she +poured herself a glass of water. "How warm this water is!" she +exclaimed, after taking a sip. + +Blanka sprang up and offered to bring some ice from the dining-room. + +"Aren't you afraid to go for it alone?" + +"Certainly not; the lamps are all lighted." + +While the hostess was out of the room, her guest turned over Blanka's +portfolio of drawings, and among them found her outline sketch of the +Colosseum. + +"You sketch beautifully," commented the marchioness, upon the other's +return. + +"It is my only diversion," replied the princess. + +"This view of the Colosseum reminds me of one I saw at the Rossis'." + +"The artist may have chosen the same point of view," returned Blanka +with admirable composure. + +"I called on him at his studio lately," proceeded the marchioness. "I +had heard one of his pictures very highly praised. It represents a young +woman sitting on the gallery railing in the Colosseum, with the sunlight +streaming on her through a red umbrella. The warm glow of the sunbeams +is in striking contrast with the deep melancholy on the girl's face. I +offered the artist two hundred scudi for the piece, but he said it was +not for sale at any price." + +Blanka felt as powerless in the hands of this woman as a rabbit in the +clutches of a lion. The beautiful Cyrene closed the portfolio and +exclaimed: + +"Rozina, these men are terrible creatures! They make us women their +slaves. But the woman's first and dominant thought must ever be to find +some escape from her bondage." + +With that she jumped up and ran out of the room, as if taken suddenly +ill. Her hostess followed to see what was the matter, and found her +sitting in a corner of the adjoining apartment. + +"You are weeping?" + +"Not at all; never merrier in my life!" + +Nevertheless, two tears were shining in the fair Cyrene's eyes. + +Next she ran to the piano and began to rattle off "La Gitana," which +Cerito had just made so popular throughout Europe. + +"Have you the score?" asked the marchioness, turning to Blanka. + +"No, but I can play it from memory." + +"Then play it to me, please." + +Blanka complied, and the other began to dance "La Gitana" to her +playing. The spirit and feeling, the coquettish grace and seductive +charm, which the dancer put into the movements of her lithe form, +challenge description. If only a man could have seen her then! From +sheer amazement Blanka found herself unable to control her fingers, +which struck more than one false note. + +"Faster! Put more fire into it!" cried the dancer. But Blanka could not +go on. + +"Ah, you don't remember it, after all." + +"I can't play when I look at you," was the reply; and the Marchioness +Caldariva believed her. "You could drive a man fairly insane." + +"As long as the men will torment us, we must be able to pay them back." +She took Blanka's arm and returned with her to the other room. "Woe to +him who invades my kingdom!" she continued. "He is bound to lose his +reason. Do you wish to wager that I can't drive all Rome crazy over me? +If I took a notion to dance the 'Gitana' on the opera-house stage for +the benefit of the wounded soldiers, all Rome would go wild with +enthusiasm, and the people would half smother me with flowers." + +"I will make no such wager with you," returned Blanka, "because I know I +should lose." + +The beautiful Cyrene changed the subject and invited the princess to +attend one of her masked balls,--"a masquerade party," she explained, +"of only forty guests at the most, and those the chief personages of +Roman society. I ferret out all their secrets and can see through their +masks; but I use no witchery about it. My guests are admitted by ticket +only, and my major-domo, who receives these cards, writes on the back of +each a short description of the bearer's costume. So I have only to go +to him and consult his notes to learn my guest's identity." + +"But cannot your guests also procure information from the same +source--for a consideration?" + +"Undoubtedly. My domestics are none of them incorruptible." + +Blanka laughed, and Rozina hastened to take advantage of her good +humour. + +"And now just imagine among these forty masks one guest who comes +neither through the door, nor through the major-domo's anteroom, so that +no card, no personal description, no cab-number, no information of any +kind, is to be had concerning her from my servants. She is acquainted +with all the secrets of those around her, but no one can guess her +secret, or fathom her mystery. Meanwhile a young painter has taken his +seat in one corner behind a screen of foliage, and sketches the lively +scene before him. He is the only one who, with beating heart, guesses +the name of the mysterious unknown. What do you say,--will this +bewitching guest from fairyland deign to figure as the chief personage +on my young artist's canvas?" + +"Before deciding, may I see a list of those whom you have invited?" + +"Certainly--a very proper request." The marchioness handed over her fan, +the ribs of which were of ivory, and served the owner as tablets. They +were covered with a miscellaneous list of well-known names from all +classes, and the last among them was Manasseh Adorjan's. "You can order +a costume of black lace, spangled with silver stars," the fair Cyrene +went on; "then, with a black velvet mask, you will be ready to appear as +the Queen of Night." + +Blanka offered no objection to this plan. + +"I will admit you upon signal, through our secret passageway, into my +boudoir, and from there you will pass, when the way is clear, into the +ladies' dressing-room, and thence into the ballroom. With this fan of +mine in your hand, you will, after some instructions from me, be able to +puzzle and mystify all whom you address, while no one will be in a +position even to hazard a surmise as to your identity. When you tire of +the sport, come to me, pretend to tease me, and then turn and run away. +I will give chase, and under cover of this diversion you will slip out +of the room, and return to your own apartments by the same way you came, +while I continue the hunt and summon all present to aid me in finding my +mysterious guest." + +Such was the speaker's influence over Blanka, that the latter could not +give her a refusal. Accordingly, when the two parted, it was with the +understanding that they were soon to see each other again at the +marchioness's masquerade. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +A SUDDEN FLIGHT. + + +Blanka sat in her room, with closed doors, preparing her costume for the +masked ball. Affairs in the world outside had moved rapidly during the +past few days. In the feverish excitement of that revolutionary period, +mob violence was threatening to gain the upper hand. Shouts of +boisterous merriment reached the princess from the street. From the +adjoining wing of the palace, too, other sounds, almost equally +boisterous, fell on her ear at intervals. The fair Cyrene was +entertaining a company of congenial spirits. + +Gradually the noise in the street grew louder, until it seemed as if a +cage of wild animals had been let loose before the Cagliari palace. +Suddenly, as Blanka stood before her fire, all her senses alert, she saw +the glowing phoenix rise from its position, and her fair neighbour +stood in the opening. + +"Put out your fire, and let me in," bade the marchioness. "I have +emptied my extinguisher. Don't you hear the mob storming my palace +gates? The soldiery who were summoned to restore order have made common +cause with the rioters, and we are in frightful peril. Quick! Out with +your fire, and let me and my guests through. We can make our escape by +your rear door, and so gain the riverside in safety." + +Blanka could not refuse this appeal. She opened the way for the +marchioness and her motley company to pass out; then she herself, first +closing the secret passage between the two wings of the palace, followed +the other fugitives and, gaining the street by a wide detour, engaged a +cab to take her to the Vatican. + +"His Holiness receives no one this afternoon," was the announcement made +to her at the door. + +Almost in despair, and bewildered by the sudden turn of events which had +thus cast her homeless on the streets, the princess returned to her +carriage. + +"Do you know where Signor Scalcagnato lives?" she asked the driver. + +"Scalcagnato the shoemaker, the champion of the people? To be sure I do: +in the Piazza di Colosseo. But if the lady wishes to buy shoes of him +she should not address him as _Signor_ Scalcagnato." + +"Why not?" + +"Because he will ask half as much more for them than if he were called +plain _Citizen_ Scalcagnato." + +After this gratuitous bit of information the coachman whipped up his +horse and rattled away toward the Colosseum with his passenger. + +Arriving at the shoemaker's shop, Blanka was received by a little man of +lively bearing and a quick, intelligent expression. + +"Pst! No words needed," was his greeting. "I know all about it. I am +Citizen Scalcagnato, _il calzolajo_. Take my arm, citizeness. Cittadino +Adorjano lives on the top floor, and the stairs are a trifle steep. He +is out at present, but his studio is open to you." + +The young lady was reassured. The honest cobbler evidently did not +suspect her of coming to meet his tenant by appointment, but took her +for an artist friend on a professional visit, or perhaps a customer come +to buy a picture. The shoemaker took the artist's place, in the latter's +absence, and sold his paintings for him. Perhaps, too, the artist sold +his landlord's shoes when that worthy was abroad. + +Thus it was that Blanka took the offered arm without a misgiving, and +suffered the cobbler to lead her up the steep stairway to the little +attic chamber that served her friend for both sleeping-room and studio. +It was as neat as wax, and as light and airy as any painter could +desire. A large bow-window admitted the free light of heaven and at the +same time afforded a fine view of the Palatine Hill. Leaning for a +moment against the window-sill, in mute admiration of the prospect +before her, the princess thought how happy a woman might be with this +view to greet her eyes every day, while a husband who worshipped her and +was worshipped by her worked at her side--or, rather, not _worked_, but +_created_. It was a picture far more alluring than any that the Cagliari +palace had to offer. + +"Pst!" the cobbler interrupted her musing; "come and let me show you the +portrait." + +So saying, he conducted her to an easel on which rested a veiled +picture, which he uncovered with an air of pride and satisfaction. + +The feeling of rapture that took possession of Blanka at sight of her +own portrait was owing, not to the fact that it was her +likeness,--radiant though that likeness was with youth and beauty and +all the charm of an ideal creation,--but to the thought that _he_ had +painted it. + +"The price is thirty-three million, three hundred and thirty-three +thousand, three hundred and thirty-three _scudi_, and not a _soldo_ +less!" announced the shoemaker, with a broad smile. Then he laid his +fingers on his lips. "Pst! Not a word! I know all. It will be all +right." + +Blanka saw now that he had recognised her the moment she entered his +shop. + +"The citizen painter is not at home," continued the other, "but he will +turn up at the proper time where he is wanted. Sun, moon, and stars may +fall from heaven, but he will not fail you. No more words! What I have +said, I have said. You can now return home, signorina, and need give +yourself no further uneasiness. Whatever occurs in the streets, you need +not worry. And finally"--they had by this time reached the ground floor +again--"it will be well for you to take a pair of shoes with you, to +make the coachman think you came on purpose for them. Here's a good +stout pair, serviceable for walking or for mountain-climbing. You can +rely on them. So take them along; you may need them sometime." + +"But how do you know they will fit me?" asked Blanka. + +"Citizeness, don't you remember the stone footprint of our Lord in the +church of _Domine quo vadis_? And may not the footprint of an angel have +been left in the sand of the Colosseum for a devout artist to copy in +his sketch-book? Such a sketch is enough for the Cittadino Scalcagnato +to make a pair of shoes from, so that they cannot fail to fit." + +The princess turned rosy red. "I have no money with me to pay for them," +she objected. "A footman usually accompanies me and pays for all my +purchases; but to-day I left him at home, and I neglected to take my +purse with me." + +"No matter; I understand. I'll charge the amount. Here, take this purse +and pay your cab-fare out of it when you reach the square. Don't go home +in a carriage, but on foot. You needn't fear to do so, with a pair of +shoes in your hand. If your gold-laced lackey were with you, you might +meet with insult and abuse; but walking alone with the shoes in your +hand, you will not be molested, and you will find all quiet at home by +this time. Now enough said. I know all. You can pay me back later." + +With that the little shoemaker escorted his guest to her carriage and +took leave of her with a polite request--intended for the cabman's +ear--for her further patronage. + +Following the mysterious little man's directions, Blanka reached home +unharmed, and found everything there as she had left it. Whatever +violence the rioters may have allowed themselves in storming the +marchioness's quarters, her own wing of the palace, for some reason that +she could only vaguely conjecture, had been spared. After assuring +herself of this, the princess tried on her new shoes, and found that +Citizen Scalcagnato was no less skilful as a shoemaker than eminent as a +politician and a party-leader. + +The house was now still and deserted, although the sounds of riotous +excess were faintly audible in the distance. The servants had evidently +fled at the same time that Blanka and the marchioness left the palace. +Looking out of her rear window, the princess noticed that her garden +gate was open; it must have been left swinging by her domestics in their +flight. She was hastening down-stairs to close it, when a man's form +appeared before her in the gathering gloom, and she cried out in sudden +terror. + +"Do not be alarmed, Princess." The words came in a firm, manly voice +that thrilled the hearer; she recognised the tones. Manasseh Adorjan +stood before her. "I could not gain admittance by the front door," he +explained, "so I went around to the garden gate." + +"And how is it," asked Blanka, "that you have come to me at the very +moment that I was seeking you?" + +"I wished, first, to bid you farewell. I am going home, to Transylvania, +for my people are in trouble and I must go and help them. As long as +they are happy I avoid them, but when misfortune comes I cannot stay +away. War threatens to invade our peaceful valley, and I hasten +thither." + +"Has the hour come, then, when you feel it right to kill your +fellow-men?" + +"No, Princess; my part is to restore peace, not to foment strife." + +Blanka's hands were clasped in her lap. She raised them to her bosom and +begged her fellow-countryman to take her with him. + +The colour mounted to his face, his breast heaved, he passed his hand +across his brow, whereon the perspiration had started, and stammered, in +agitated accents: + +"No, no, Princess, I cannot take you with me." + +"Why not?" asked Blanka, tremulously. + +"Because I am a man and but human. I could shield you against all the +world, but not against myself. I love you! And if you came with me, how +could you expect me to help you keep your vows? I am neither saint nor +angel, but a mortal, and a sinful one." + +The poor girl sank speechless into a chair and hid her face in her +hands. + +"Hear me further, Princess," continued the other, with forced calmness. +"I have told you but one reason why I sought you here to-day. The other +was to show you a means of escape from this place, where you cannot +remain in safety another day. You must leave Rome this very night, and +that will be no easy thing to accomplish now that all the gates are +guarded. But I have a plan. Above all things, you must find a lady to +take you under her protection, and that, I think, can be effected. +Citizen Scalcagnato issues all the passports for those that leave the +city by the Colosseum gate. From him I have learned that the Countess +X---- is to leave for the south to-night. I have obtained a pass for +you, and you have only to make yourself ready and go with me to +the Colosseum gate, where we will wait for her carriage. She is +a good friend of yours and cannot refuse to take you as her +travelling-companion. Do you approve my plan?" + +"Yes, and I thank you." + +"Then a few hours hence will see you on your journey southward. I shall +set out for the north, and soon the length of Italy will separate us. Is +it not best so?" + +Blanka gave him her hand in mute assent. + + * * * * * + +An hour later Manasseh and Blanka stood in the shelter of the gateway by +which the countess was expected to leave Rome. They had not long to +wait: the sound of an approaching carriage was soon heard, and when it +halted under the gas-lamp Blanka recognised her friend's equipage. The +gate-keeper advanced to examine the traveller's passport, and as the +carriage door was thrown open Blanka hastened forward and made herself +known. + +"What do you wish?" demanded the liveried footman. + +The princess turned and looked at him. Surely she had seen that face and +form before in a different setting, but she could not recall when or +where. So much was evident, however, that the speaker was more wont to +give than to receive orders. Blanka turned again to the open carriage +door and plucked at the cloak of the person sitting within. + +"You are fleeing from Rome, too, Countess," said she. "I beg you to take +me with you." + +But the carriage door was closed in her face. + +"Countess, hear me!" she cried, in distress. "Have pity on me! Don't +leave me to perish in the streets!" + +Her petition was unheeded. The footman drew her away and, as he turned +to remount the vehicle, whispered three words in her ear: + +"_E il papa!_" + +It was the Pope, and he was fleeing! The spiritual ruler of the world, +the king of kings, Heaven's viceroy upon earth, was flying for his life. +The judge fled and left the prisoner to her fate. Blanka felt herself +absolved from all her vows. She plucked from her bosom the consecrated +palm-leaf, tore it to pieces, and threw the fragments scornfully after +the retreating carriage. Then she turned once more to Manasseh. + +"Now take me with you whithersoever you will!" she cried, and she sank +on his bosom and suffered him to clasp her in a warm embrace. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +WALLACHIAN HOSPITALITY. + + +Manasseh had not much choice of routes in making his way, with his +companion, to Transylvania. After leaving Italy, he bent his course +first to Dees, as the road thither seemed to offer no obstacles to +peaceful travellers. Troops were, indeed, encountered here and there on +the way; but they suffered Manasseh and Blanka to pass unmolested. +Manasseh had fortunately provided a generous hamper of supplies, so that +his companion was not once made aware that they were passing through a +district lately overrun by a defeated army, which had so exhausted the +resources of all the wayside inns that hardly a bite or a sup was to be +had for love or money. + +The weather was unusually fine, as the sunny autumn had that year +extended into the winter. The Transylvanian was perfectly familiar with +the region, and entertained his fellow-traveller with legends and +stories of the places through which they passed. In the splendid +chestnut forests that crowned the heights of Nagy-Banya he told her the +adventures of the bandit chief, Dionysius Tolvaj, who kept the whole +countryside in terror, until at last the men of Nagy-Banya hunted him +down and slew him. In his mountain cave are still to be seen his stone +table, his fireplace, and the spring from which he drank. Manasseh also +related the adventures of bear-hunters in these woods, and told about +the search for gold that had long been carried on in the mountains, and +often with success, so that many of them were now honeycombed with +shafts and tunnels. + +Up from yonder valley rose the spirit of the mountains, a white and +vapoury form, with which the sturdy mountaineers fought for the +possession of the hidden treasure. In reality, however, it was no genie, +but simply the fumes of sulphur and arsenic from the smelting works of +the miners, who never drew breath without inhaling poison. And yet they +lived and throve and were a healthy and happy people, the men strong, +the women fair, and one and all fondly attached to their mountain home. + +One evening Manasseh pointed to a town in the distance, and told his +companion that it was Kolozsvar. As they drew nearer they saw that it +was garrisoned with a division of the national guard. Manasseh was now +among people who knew him well, and he did not expect to be asked to +show his passport. But he was mistaken. Suddenly a hand was laid on his +arm and a firm voice saluted his ears. + +"So you thought you'd slip by me without once showing your papers, did +you? A pretty way to act, I must say!" + +Manasseh turned to the speaker, who proved to be a short, +broad-shouldered, thick-set man, in a coarse coat such as the Szeklers +wear, high boots, and a large hat. His arms were disproportionately long +for his short body, his beard was either very closely cut or sadly in +need of the razor, and his legs were planted widely apart as he +confronted the travellers in a challenging attitude. Perhaps he wished +to invite Manasseh to a wrestling bout. + +Blanka looked on in surprise as she saw the two men fling their arms +around each other. But it was not the embrace of wrestlers. They +exchanged a hearty kiss, and then Manasseh cried, joyfully: + +"Aaron, my dear brother!" + +"Yes, it is Aaron, my good Manasseh," returned the stocky little man, +with a laugh; and, throwing aside the jacket that hung from his neck, he +extended his right hand to his brother. Then he turned to Blanka. "And +this pretty lady is our future sister-in-law, isn't she? God bless you! +Pray bend down a bit and let me give your rosy cheek a little smack of a +kiss." + +Blanka complied, and brother Aaron gave her blushing cheek much more +than "a little smack." + +"There," declared the honest fellow, with great apparent satisfaction, +"I'm delighted that you didn't scream and make a fuss over my bristly +beard. You see, I haven't had a chance to shave for four days. Three +days and nights I've been here on the watch for my brother and his +bride." + +"And what about our two brothers, Simon and David?" asked Manasseh, +anxiously. "Are they alive and well?" + +"Certainly, they are alive," was the answer. "Have you forgotten our +creed? Our life is from everlasting to everlasting. But they are really +alive and in the flesh, and, what is more"--turning to Blanka--"they are +sure to come to meet us and will expect to receive each a nosegay from +their brother's sweetheart." + +Blanka smiled and promised not to disappoint them, for there were still +plenty of autumn flowers in the woods and fields. + +"Yes," said Aaron, "you'll find posies enough on the road. We are going +by a way that is covered with them. If you don't believe it, look at +this bouquet in my hat; it is still quite fresh, and I picked it in the +Torda Gap. Have you ever heard of the Torda Gap? There is nothing like +it in all the world; you'll remember it as long as you live. It is a +splendid garden of wild flowers, and there you will see the cave of the +famous Balyika,--he was Francis Rakoczy's general. Thence it is only a +step to the Szekler Stone, and we are at home. Do you like to walk in +the woods?" + +"Nothing better!" + +Here Manasseh pulled his brother's sleeve. "Do you really mean to take +us by the way of Torda Gap?" he whispered. + +"Yes," returned the other, likewise in an undertone; "there is no other +way." + +A blare of trumpets interrupted this conversation, and presently a squad +of hussars came riding down the street, every man of them a raw recruit. + +"Look, see how proud he is on his high horse!" interjected Aaron. "He +never even looks at a poor foot-passenger like me. Halloa there, +brother! What kind of a cavalryman do you call yourself, with no eyes +for a pretty girl? Oh, you toad!" + +With this salutation Aaron called to his side the young lieutenant who +rode at the head of the hussars. He bore a striking resemblance to +Manasseh,--the same face, the same form, the same eyes. Indeed, the two +had often been mistaken for each other. There was only a year's +difference in their ages. The young hussar gave his hand to Manasseh, +and while they exchanged cordial greetings they looked each other +steadfastly in the eye. + +"Whither away, brother?" asked the elder. + +"I am going to avenge my two brothers," was the reply. + +"And I am going to rescue them," declared Manasseh. + +"I am going forth to fight for my country," was the other's rejoinder. + +Then the rider bent low over his horse's neck, and the two brothers +kissed each other. + +"But aren't you going to ask your new sister for a kiss, you young +scapegrace?" cried Aaron. + +The youthful soldier blushed like a bashful girl. "When I come +back--when I have earned a kiss--then I will ask for it. And you will +give me one, won't you, dear sister-in-law, even if they bring me back +dead?" + +Blanka gave him her hand, while a nameless dread showed itself in her +face. + +"Never fear!" cried the young man. As he gave Blanka a radiant look he +saw tears glistening in her eyes. "I shall not die. _Egy az Isten!_"[1] + +[Footnote 1: See preface.] + +"_Egy az Isten!_" repeated the elder brother. + +Then the young hussar put spurs to his horse and galloped to the head of +his little company. + +"Come, let us be going," said Aaron, and he led the way toward the +farther end of the town, where the family owned a villa which they used +whenever occasion called them from Toroczko to Kolozsvar. Adjoining the +house lay a garden which was now rented to a market-woman, who made +haste to prepare supper for the travellers. Blanka went into the +kitchen and helped her, but not before the woman had been instructed in +what was going on and warned not to breathe a word to the young mistress +of the dangers that encompassed them all in those troublous times. It +was Manasseh's desire to lead his bride home without giving her cause +for one moment of disquiet on the way. + +"Can you sleep in a carriage?" the market-woman asked her, without +pausing in her baking and boiling. "Now as for me, many's the time I've +slept every night for two weeks in my cart when I was taking apples to +market. One gets used to that sort of thing. The gentlemen propose to +set out for Torda this very night, because to-morrow is the great +market-day in Kolozsvar, and there'll be troops of peddlers and dealers +of all sorts coming into town, and farmers driving their cattle and +sheep and swine, so that you couldn't possibly make head against them if +you should wait till morning." + +Blanka readily gave her consent to any plan that seemed best to her +conductors. + +Aaron meanwhile had brought out three good horses from the stable and +harnessed them to a travelling carriage. "Water behind us, fire before +us," he remarked to Manasseh as he buckled the last strap. + +Wallachian troops were holding the mountain passes about Torda, and had +even threatened Toroczko; but thus far the inhabitants had not allowed +themselves to be frightened. Now, however, there was a report that +General Kalliani was approaching from Hermannstadt with a brigade of +imperial soldiery. Consequently it was to be feared that a general +flight from Torda to Kolozsvar would soon follow; and, when once the +stream of fugitives began, it would be impossible to make one's way in +an opposite direction. Therefore our travellers had not a moment to +lose. + +Blanka was by this time well used to travelling by night, and she +entered cheerfully and without question into the proposed plan. A +longing to reach "home," and perhaps a vague suspicion of the perils +that threatened her party, made her the more willing to push forward. +When danger braces to action, a high-bred woman's power of endurance is +almost without limit. + +Aaron drove, Manasseh sat beside him, and thus the entire rear seat was +left to Blanka, who was so swathed and muffled in wraps and furs that +she was well-nigh hidden from view. Despite all the plausible +explanations, she came very near guessing the well-meant deceit that was +practised upon her. + +"Why, your horses are saddled!" she exclaimed to Aaron. + +"Yes, to be sure," calmly replied the mountaineer. "That's the custom +in Transylvania; we put saddles on our carriage-horses just as in Styria +they buckle a block of wood over the horse's neck." + +Blanka appeared satisfied with this explanation of Transylvanian usage. +Aaron gave his good Szekler steeds a free rein. They were raised in the +mountains and could, if need were, trot for twenty-four hours on a +stretch without food or water; then, if they were unharnessed and +allowed to graze a little, they were able to resume the journey with +unslackened pace. The driver had no occasion to use reins or whip: they +knew their duty,--to pull lustily when the road led up-hill, to hold +back in going down-hill, to trot on a level, to overtake and pass any +carriage in front of them, to quicken their pace when they heard one +behind, and to halt before every inn. + +Aaron, turning half around on his seat, beguiled the time by telling +stories to his fair passenger, to whom his fund of amusing anecdotes +seemed inexhaustible. When at length, as they were ascending a long +hill, he noticed that she ceased to laugh at his tales, but sat inert +and with head sunk on her bosom, he put his hand into his waistcoat +pocket and, drawing out an enamelled gold watch, pressed the stem and +held it to his ear. + +"Half-past twelve," he murmured. + +The man himself was a gold watch encased in a rough exterior, a noble +heart in a rude setting. His horny hands were hardened by toil, but he +had a clever head on his shoulders; he was well endowed with mother-wit, +quick at repartee, merciless in his satire toward the haughty and +overbearing, cool and good-humoured in the presence of danger,--in +short, a genuine Szekler, heart and soul. + +When, then, his repeater had told him the hour, Aaron turned and +addressed his brother. "The young lady is asleep," said he, "and now you +and I can have a little talk together. You asked me how our two brothers +came to be captured. Let me begin at the beginning, and you shall hear +all about it. You know when freedom is first born she is a puny infant +and has to be suckled. That she cries for blood instead of milk is +something we can't help. So all the young men of Toroczko enlisted in +the militia,--every mother's son of them,--and they are now serving in +the eleventh, the thirty-second, and the seventy-third battalions. You +ask me, perhaps, why we mountain folk must needs take the field when +already we are fighting for our country all our life long in the bowels +of the earth. You say it is enough for us to dig the iron in our +mountains without wielding it on the battle-field; else what do the +privileges mean that were granted us by Andreas II. and Bela IV., by +which we are exempted from military service? It's no use your talking, +Manasseh; you've been away from home. But had you been here and seen +and heard your brother David when he stood up in the middle of the +marketplace, made a speech to the young men around him, and then buckled +on his sword and mounted his horse, you would certainly have mounted and +followed him. How can you quench the flames when every house is ablaze? +All the young men were on fire and it was out of the question to dampen +their ardour. Besides, this is no ordinary war; freedom itself is at +stake, and that is a matter that concerns Toroczko. All the Wallachians +around us, stirred up by imperial officers sent from Vienna, took up +arms against us, and nothing was left us but to defend ourselves. The +people took such a fancy to our brothers that there was no other way but +to make them officers. You cry out against the good folk for letting +their commanders be taken prisoners. But don't make such a noise about +it." (Manasseh had thus far not once opened his mouth.) "You shall soon +see that your brothers were no fools, and did not rush into danger +recklessly. You know that soon after the Wallachian mass-meeting at +Balazsfalva came the Szekler muster at Agyagfalva, and presently we +found ourselves like an island in the midst of the sea. A Wallachian +army ten thousand strong, under Moga's command, beset us on all sides, +while we had but three hundred armed men all told,--just the number that +Leonidas had at Thermopylae. Our eldest brother, Berthold, who, since he +turned vegetarian, can't bear to see a chicken killed for dinner, and is +dead set against all bloodshed, advised us to make peaceful terms with +the enemy. So we drew lots to see who should go out and parley with +them, and it fell to our brother Simon. He took a white flag and went +into the enemy's camp; but they held him prisoner and refused to let him +go. Then David started up and went after him, with an offer of ransom +for his release. But they seized him, too, and so now they have them +both. Meanwhile the Wallachs are threatening, if we don't surrender to +them and admit them into Toroczko, to hang our two brothers before our +eyes. We on our part, however, turn a deaf ear to the rascally knaves, +and would perish to the last man before we would think of yielding. It's +no use your screaming in my ears, you won't make me change my mind. I'm +ready to treat with people that are reasonable, but when they bite me I +bite back. I agree with you it's a hateful thing to have two of our +brothers hanged; noblemen are not to be insulted with the halter; their +honour should be spared and their heads taken off decently. But what can +we do? Can we hesitate a moment between two noblemen's deaths and the +destruction of all the peasantry? One man is as good as another now. So +you may make as much rumpus as you please, it won't do any good. I am +taking you to Toroczko, and as our two brothers are as good as lost to +us, you must take the command of the Toroczko forces. You have seen the +barricade fighting in Vienna and Rome, and you understand such things. +So, then, not another word! I won't hear it." + +Manasseh had not uttered a syllable, but had permitted his brother to +argue out the matter with himself. + +"I don't gainsay you, brother Aaron," he calmly rejoined, "not in the +least. Take me to Toroczko, the sooner the better; but we shall not get +there by this road. Do you see that great cloud of dust yonder moving +toward us?" + +"Aha! What sharp eyes you have to see it, by moonlight too! I hadn't +noticed it before. All Torda and Nagy-Enyed are coming to meet us. They +must have set out about the same time we did, to make the most of the +night. We can't get through this way, that's sure. But don't you worry. +It's a sorry kind of a fox that has only one hole to hide in. Do you see +that gorge there on our right? It leads to Olah-Fenes. The people there +are Wallachs, it is true, but they side with us; to prove it, they have +cut their hair short. Next we shall come to Szent-Laszlo, where Magyars +live. So far we can drive, though it's a frightful road and one of us +must walk beside the carriage and keep it from tipping over. We must +wake up the young lady, too, and tell her to hold on tight, or she'll +be thrown out. But never fear. The horses can be depended on, and the +carriage is Toroczko work and good for the jaunt." + +There was a halt, and Blanka awoke of her own accord. Manasseh turned to +her, chatted with her a moment on the brightness of the stars and the +clearness of the sky, then kissed her hand and bade her draw it back +again under her furs, else it would get frost-bitten. Thereupon Aaron +reined his horses toward the mountain gorge he had pointed out, and they +began their dangerous journey over a rough wood-road that led through +the ravine. At one point it ran along the brink of a precipice, and as +they paused to breathe their horses the rumble of wagons on the highway +from Torda fell on their ears, sounding like distant thunder in the +still night. Then, to the north and south, red lights began to glimmer +on the mountain peaks. + +"How beautiful!" exclaimed Blanka, as she gazed at them. Little did she +suspect that they were beacon-fires calling to deeds of blood and +rapine. + +A turn in the road at length conducted the travellers through a gap in +the mountain range, and they had a view of the moonlit landscape before +them. A noisy brook went tumbling and foaming down the ravine, and over +it led a wooden bridge, at the farther end of which could be seen a rude +one-story house surrounded by a palisade. Five smaller houses of +similar architecture were grouped about it. The barking of dogs greeted +the travellers while they were still some distance off, and the crowing +of cocks soon followed. + +"Do you hear Ciprianu's roosters?" Aaron asked his brother. + +"So you are acquainted with Ciprianu and his poultry?" returned +Manasseh. + +"Yes, I know them well. Ciprianu is a Wallach, but a nobleman of Hungary +for all that, and his poultry unique of its sort. The cocks are white, +but in head and neck they bear a strong resemblance to turkeys, and they +gobble like turkeys, too. They are a special breed and Ciprianu wouldn't +part with one of them for a fortune. He guards them jealously from +thieves, and that explains why he has so many dogs. As soon as he hears +our carriage-wheels he'll come out on his veranda and fire off his +gun--not at us, but into the air, to let us know he's awake and ready to +meet friend or foe." + +The barking increased, the dogs sticking their noses out from between +the stakes of the palisade and joining in a full chorus. Presently a +shot was heard from the front porch of the house. + +"Oh, they are firing at us!" cried Blanka, startled. + +"Don't be afraid, sister-in-law," Aaron reassured her; "that shot wasn't +aimed at us." Then he shouted, in stentorian tones: "Don't shoot, +Ciprianu, don't shoot! There's a lady with us, and she can't bear the +noise." + +At this there was heard a great commotion among the dogs, as of some one +quieting the unruly beasts with a whip. Then the gate opened and a +six-foot giant in a sheepskin coat, wool outward, and bearing a club, +appeared. He exchanged greetings in Rumanian with Aaron, and the +conversation that followed was likewise in that language, so that Blanka +could not understand a word of it. The Wallach pointed to the +signal-fires on the mountains, and his face assumed an expression of +alarm. Finally he took one of the horses by the bridle, and conducted +the carriage through the gate and into his stronghold. + +"Why are we stopped here?" asked Blanka. + +Aaron gave her a reassuring reply. "Ciprianu says it is not best for us +to go any farther to-night, as the rains have washed out the road in +some places, and we might get into trouble in the dark. So we must +accept his invitation and spend the rest of the night under his roof." + +Aaron had explained the situation only in part. The Wallachian's +argument for detaining them had much less to do with water than with the +fires on the mountain tops. + +The dogs were kicked aside to make room for the strangers, and sundry +villagers appeared out of the gloom to reconnoitre the new arrivals. +The country peasantry never give themselves a regular night's sleep, but +lie down half-dressed in order to get up occasionally and look around in +house and stable, to make sure all is as it should be. + +Ciprianu had a handsome daughter, as tall as himself and with regular +features of the old Roman cast. At her father's call she came out, +lifted Blanka like a child from the carriage, and carried her into the +house. It was a pleasant little abode, built of smoothly planed oak +beams and planks. The kitchen, which served also as entrance hall, was +as neat as wax and cheerfully adorned with brightly polished tinware. +The fire on the hearth was still smouldering, and it needed only a +handful of shavings to make it blaze up and crackle merrily. The wall +which separated the great fireplace from the next room was of glazed +tiles, and thus the adjoining apartment was heated by the same fire that +warmed the kitchen. Both the master of the house and his daughter were +most cordial toward their guests. The father spread the table, while the +girl put on the kettle and brought out the best that the house had to +offer of food and drink, pressing the refreshments upon Blanka in words +that sounded to her not unlike Italian, but were nevertheless quite +unintelligible. + +"They can both speak Hungarian," whispered Aaron, when father and +daughter were out of the room for a moment, "but these are times when +they choose to forget all tongues except their own." + +Blanka soon learned that her hostess's name was Zenobia. When they sat +down to the table, Zenobia made as if to kiss her fair guest's hand; +Blanka, however, would not allow it, but embraced the young woman and +kissed her on the cheek. + +This act was noted by the father with no little pride and satisfaction. +Blanka could not understand his words; she could only guess his meaning +by the gestures and the play of countenance with which a Wallachian +knows so well how to convey his thoughts. Thus, when Ciprianu put his +hand first to his head, then tapped Aaron on the shoulder, kissed his +own fingers and then stretched them heavenward, made a motion with his +head and raised his eyebrows, bowed low, stood erect again, thumped his +bosom, and finally extended his great, muscular hands toward Blanka as +if to caress her, she could not but infer that the Wallachian-Hungarian +nobleman was proud of the courtesy shown to his daughter. + +After this bit of eloquent pantomime, Ciprianu turned and hastened out +of the room and into the courtyard, whence he soon reappeared amid a +great cackling of poultry. He brought with him, tied together by the +feet, a cock and a hen of that splendid breed that so strangely +resembles, in head and neck, the proudest of Calcutta turkeys. This +pair of fowls he presented to Blanka. She smiled her pleasure, and +gladly accepted the gift, mindful of the new duties soon to be imposed +upon her as a young housewife, and thinking that this present would be a +welcome addition to her establishment. The generous host did not wait +for his guest's thanks, but disappeared again from the room. + +"Sister-in-law," said Aaron, "you little suspect the value of the +present you have received. Even to his bishop Ciprianu has never given a +cock and a hen of this breed at one time. So now we can sleep soundly in +this house, for we have a sure proof that you have won its master's +heart. With Ciprianu's cock and hen we can make our way unchallenged +through the whole Wallachian army. They are as good as a passport for +us." + +Blanka laughed, unaware of the full significance of his words. She was +like a saint walking over red-hot coals without once singeing the hem of +her robe. + +Ciprianu's house was, as is usual among the Wallachian nobility, well +fitted for the reception of guests. Everything savoured of the +householder's nationality, but comfort and abundance were everywhere +manifest. Canopied beds were provided for all, only the master of the +house, according to established custom, lay down before the kitchen +door, wrapped in his sheepskin, and with his double-barrelled musket by +his side. In an adjoining room stood two beds for Blanka and Zenobia. +Aaron and Manasseh were likewise given a chamber in common. + +Curiously enough, one is often most wakeful when most in need of sleep. +All her surroundings were so strange to Blanka that she found herself +wide awake and listening to the barking of the dogs, the occasional +crowing of the cocks, the snoring of the master of the house, and his +frequent mutterings as he dreamed of fighting with thieves and +housebreakers. Then her companion began to moan and sob in her sleep, +and to utter disjointed sentences in Hungarian, of which she had so +studiously feigned ignorance a few hours before. "Oh, dear Jonathan," +she whispered, passionately, "do not leave me! Kiss me!" Then she moaned +as if in anguish. + +Blanka could not compose herself to sleep. Only a wooden partition +separated her from the room in which the two brothers slept. She could +hear Manasseh turning restlessly on his couch and muttering in his sleep +as if in dispute with some one. + +"No, I will not let you go!" she heard him exclaim. "You may plunge my +whole country in blood, you may baptise my countrymen with a baptism of +fire, but I will never despair of my dear fatherland. Your hand has girt +it round about with cliffs and peopled it with a peaceful race. It is my +last refuge, and thither I am carrying my bride. With your strong arm +restore me to my beloved home. I will wrestle with you, fight with you; +you cannot shake me off. I will not let you go until you have blessed +me." + +The fisticuffs and elbow-thrusts that followed must have all spent +themselves on poor Aaron's unoffending person. At length the elder +brother wearied of this diversion and aroused his bedfellow. + +"With whom are you wrestling, brother?" he cried in the sleeper's ear. + +"With God," returned Manasseh. + +"Like Jacob at Peniel?" + +"Yes, and I will not let him go until he blesses me--like Jacob at +Peniel." + +"Take care, or he will put your thigh out of joint, as he did Jacob's." + +"Let him, if it is his will." + +With that Manasseh turned his face to the wall, on the other side of +which lay Blanka, who likewise turned her face to the wall, and so they +both fell asleep. + +And the Lord blessed them and spake to them: "I am Jehovah, almighty. +Increase and be fruitful. From your seed shall spring peoples and races; +for you have prevailed with God, and shall prevail also with men." + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +BALYIKA CAVE. + + +The sun rises late in November. When Blanka awoke, every one else in the +house was already up. Manasseh met her with the announcement that their +journey was thenceforth to be on horseback, at which she was as pleased +as a child. So that explained why their carriage-horses had been +saddled. + +In the kitchen a plentiful breakfast stood ready,--hot milk, bacon +spiced with paprika, snow-white mountain honey, long-necked bottles of +spirits distilled from various fruits, cheeses rolled up in the fragrant +bark of the fir-tree,--all of which was new to Blanka and partaken of by +her with the keenest relish, to the great satisfaction of her host. What +was left on the table by his guests he packed up and made them carry +away with them, assuring them it would not come amiss. + +Zenobia was to guide the travellers on their way. Blanka laughed with +delight as she mounted her horse. At first she found it strange enough +to sit astride like a man, but when she saw the stately Wallachian +maiden thus mounted, she overcame her scruples and even thought it great +fun. The little mountain horses were so steady and sure-footed that it +was like being rocked in a cradle to ride one of them. + +The two young women rode ahead, while the men lingered behind a moment +to drink a stirrup-cup with their host, who would not let them go +without observing this ceremony. Entering the forest, Blanka accosted +her companion. + +"Zenobia, call me 'Blanka,' and speak Hungarian with me. You spoke it +well enough in your sleep last night." + +The Wallachian girl drew rein abruptly and crossed herself. "Holy +Virgin!" she whispered, "don't lisp a word of what you heard me say, and +don't ask me about it, either." + +They rode on side by side up the slope of the mountain. Blanka was in +high spirits. The turf was silvered with hoar frost, except here and +there where the direct rays of the sun had melted it and exposed the +grass beneath, which looked all the greener by contrast. A stately grove +received the travellers. A silence as of some high-arched cathedral +reigned, broken occasionally by the antiphony of feathered songsters in +the trees overhead. A pair of wild peacocks started up at the riders' +approach and alighted again at a little distance. The ascent became +steeper. Horses bred in the lowlands must have long since succumbed to +the strain put upon them, but Aaron's good mountain ponies showed not +even a drop of sweat on their sleek coats. + +Gaining the mountain top at length, the travellers saw before them a +wild moor threaded by a narrow path, which they were obliged to follow +in single file, Zenobia taking the lead. The sun was high in the heavens +when they reached the end of this tortuous path and found themselves at +a point where their road led downward into the valley below. A venerable +beech-tree, perhaps centuries old, marked this spot. It was the sole +survivor of the primeval forest that had once crowned the height on +which it stood. Held firm by its great, wide-reaching roots, which +fastened themselves in the crannies of the rock, it had thus far defied +the elements. Its trunk half hid a cavernous opening in the +mountainside, before which lay a large stone basin partly filled with +water. + +"Here we will rest awhile, beside the Wonder Spring," said Zenobia, +leaping from her horse and loosening her saddle-girth. "We'll take a +bite of lunch and let our animals graze; then later we will water them." + +"How can we?" asked Blanka. "There is scarcely any water here." + +"There will be enough before long," was the reply. "That is why we call +it the Wonder Spring: every two hours it gushes out, and then subsides +again." + +Blanka shook her head doubtfully, and, as if to make the most of the +water still remaining in the basin, she used her hand as a ladle and +dipped up enough to quench the thirst of her pair of fowls--for her +valuable present had not been left behind. + +Meanwhile Aaron had spread the lunch on the green table-cloth provided +by good dame Nature, and had begun to cut, with his silver-mounted +clasp-knife, a generous portion for each traveller. But Blanka declared +herself less hungry than thirsty. + +"The saints have but to wish, and their desires are fulfilled," was +Zenobia's laughing rejoinder. "Even the barren rocks yield nectar. Hear +that! The spring is going to flow in a moment." + +A gurgling sound was heard from the cavernous opening behind the +beech-tree, and presently an abundant stream of crystal-clear water +burst forth, flooded the basin, and then went leaping and foaming over +the rocks and down the mountainside into the ravine below. Blanka +clapped her hands with delight at this beautiful appearance, and +declared that if she were rich, she would build a house there and ask +for no other amusement than to watch the spring when it flowed. She +laughed like a happy child, and perhaps in all Transylvania, that day, +hers was the only happy laugh that was heard. + +Aaron gathered a heap of dry twigs and made a fire, at which he taught +Blanka to toast bread and broil bacon,--accomplishments not to be +despised on occasions like this. + +In half an hour the spring ceased to flow. It stopped with a succession +of muffled, gurgling sounds from the depths of its subterranean channel, +ending finally with gulping down the greater part of the water that had +filled the basin. Then all was still once more. + +Meanwhile something had occurred to trouble Blanka's happiness. Two or +three wasps, of that venomous kind of which half a dozen suffice to kill +a horse, lured from their winter quarters by the smell of food, were +buzzing about her ears in a manner that spoiled all her pleasure. Aaron +hastened to her assistance, and suspecting that the intruders had their +nest in the hollow beech, he made preparations to smoke them out. +Setting fire to a bunch of dry grass, he inserted it in the hollow of +the tree and confidently awaited results. A sound like the snort of a +steam-engine followed, and presently flames were seen bursting from the +top of the chimney-like trunk. The dry mould and dust of ages that had +collected inside this shaft had now caught fire, like so much tinder, +turning the whole tree in a twinkling into a mighty torch. + +"Oh, what have you done?" cried Zenobia, starting up. "Do you know that +you have killed my father and set fire to the house that sheltered you +last night?" + +Blanka at first thought the girl was joking, but when she saw Aaron's +vexed expression and Manasseh's ruffled brow, she knew that the words +must have a meaning that the others understood, though she did not. + +"Quick!" exclaimed the Wallachian maiden. "Mount and away! You have not +a moment to lose. I hasten back to my father. You can find your way down +the mountain by following the bed of the brook. Night must not overtake +you in this neighbourhood. Oh, Aaron, may God forgive you for what you +have done this day!" + +Out of the burning tree a pair of owls fluttered, blinded and +panic-stricken, a family of squirrels scampered off to a place of +safety, and a nest of serpents squirmed and wriggled away from that +blazing horror. Yet neither owls nor squirrels nor serpents fled with +more headlong haste than did our travellers. Zenobia galloped back the +way she had come, while the two men took Blanka between them and +clattered down the rocky bed of the now nearly dry mountain torrent. + +Of all this Blanka could understand nothing. What great harm, she +wondered, could come from the burning of an old beech-tree? + +Toward evening the travellers found themselves on a height commanding a +wide view of the surrounding country. To the north rose the cliff where +they had lunched at noon, and where they could still see black smoke +ascending in a column from the smouldering beech as from a factory +chimney. To the southeast another column of smoke was visible, and +toward the same quarter Torda Gap opened before them in the distance. + +Aaron said they must halt here and rest their horses, whereupon all +three dismounted and Manasseh spread a sheepskin for Blanka to sit on; +but she chose rather to go in quest of wild flowers. + +"Your Blanka is a jewel of a woman!" exclaimed Aaron to his brother. +"From early dawn she sits in the saddle, bears all the hardships of the +journey, and utters not a sigh of weariness or complaint. With that +filigree body of hers, she endures fatigues that might well make a +strong man's bones ache, and keeps up her good cheer through them all. +Nothing daunted by danger ahead, she makes merry over it when it is +passed. Yet once or twice I thought she was going to lose heart, but she +looked into your face and immediately regained her courage. But the +hardest part of the journey is still to come. Turn your field-glass +toward Monastery Heights, yonder, where you see the smoke. Do you find +any tents there?" + +"Yes, and on the edge of the woods I see the gleam of bayonets." + +"That is the camp of Moga's insurgents, and it lies between us and the +Szekler Stone. Every road leading thither is now unsafe for us. But hear +my plan. The insurgents hold Monastery Heights, and we must ride past +them, through the Torda Gap. The millers of the two mills that stand one +at each end of the Gap are my friends. The Hungarian miller at Peterd +has shut off Hesdad Brook to-day, to clear out the mill-race. He does it +once in so often, and I know he is about it now. So we shall have no +trouble making our way up the dry bed of the stream to the farther end +of the Gap. The miller there has promised to give a signal if the road +through the Torda woods is clear, and unless it is blocked by the +insurgents we can push on at once to the saw-mill on the Aranyos, where +a four-horse team is waiting for us with twelve mounted young men from +Bagyon as escort. But don't wrinkle your brow, we sha'n't come to +bloodshed yet awhile. A dozen Bagyon horsemen make nothing of dashing +through the whole Wallachian army, and not a hair of their heads will be +touched. We shall be shot at, but from such a distance that we shall +never know it. We will tell the young lady it is the custom in our +country to receive bridal parties with a volley of musketry. When we +reach the Borev Bridge we are as good as at home, and we shall be there +before any one can overtake us, I'll warrant." + +"But what if the Torda woods are held by the enemy?" queried Manasseh. + +"Then we will take up our quarters for the present in Balyika Cave. +Everything is provided there for our comfort, and we shall not suffer. +We'll wait until the danger passes. Near the Balyika Gate we shall find +a signal: a cord will be stretched from one rock to another, and a red +rag hung on it if danger threatens, but a green twig if all is well." + +"And when you first proposed in Kolozsvar that we should go home by way +of Torda Gap, did you know the perils we should have to face?" + +"Certainly," replied Aaron. "You can read my heart, brother, like an +open book, and I need not try to conceal anything from you. Do you +suppose we should ever have taken up arms unless we had been forced to +do so, even as you will exchange the olive-branch for the sword as soon +as you find what is dearest to you in danger? You cannot do otherwise; +the iron hand of destiny constrains you. You have brought your +sweetheart with you from Rome; your honour as a man obliges you to make +her your lawful wife. Our law, our canon, compels you to make your way +home with her, for nowhere else can your wedding be duly solemnised. +Suppose the enemy block your way: you are given a good horse, a trusty +sword and a brace of pistols, and then, with thirteen loyal comrades, +including myself, you clear a path, through blood if need be, to the +altar whither it is your duty to lead your betrothed." + +While the two men thus discoursed on war and bloodshed, Blanka was +enjoying the late autumn flowers that the frost had spared. Indigo-blue +bell-flowers and red and white tormentils were still in bloom, while in +the clefts of the rocks she came upon the red wall-pepper and a kind of +yellow ragwort. She had gathered a great bunch of these blossoms when +she had the good fortune to find a clump of bear-berry vines, full of +the ripened fruit hanging in red clusters and set off by the leathery, +dark green leaves, which never fall. The bear-berry is the pride of the +mountain flora, and Blanka was delighted to meet with it. + +"Are these berries poisonous?" she asked Aaron, with childish curiosity, +as soon as she rejoined her companions. + +He put one of them into his mouth to reassure her; then she had to +follow his example, but immediately made a wry face and declared the +fruit to be very bitter. + +"But the berries will do to put in my bouquets for your two brothers who +are coming to meet us," she said, as she seated herself on the sheepskin +to rest a few minutes and to tie up her flowers. + +At these words Aaron's eyes filled, but he hastened to reply, with +assumed cheerfulness: + +"In Balyika Glen we shall find a still more beautiful species of +bear-berry. It, too, is a kind of arbutus, but of great rarity, and +found nowhere else except in Italy and Ireland. We call it here the +'autumn-spring flower.' The stems are coral-red, the leaves evergreen, +and the blossoms grow in terminal umbels, white and fragrant, late in +the fall, while the berries do not ripen until the following autumn, so +that the beautiful plant bears flowers and fruit at one and the same +time, and thus wears our national colours, the tricolour of Hungary." + +"Oh, where does it grow? Is it far from here?" exclaimed Blanka, +eagerly, starting up from her seat. She had lost all feeling of fatigue. + +"It is a good distance, dear sister-in-law," replied Aaron. "To the +Torda Gap is a full hour's ride, and thence to Balyika Glen about as +far; and I'm afraid somebody is tired enough already, so that we had +best stay overnight in the mill and not push on until to-morrow +morning." + +"No, I am not tired," Blanka asserted. "Let us go on this evening," and +she was ready to remount at once. + +"But the horses ought to graze a little longer," objected Aaron, "and +even then we shall fare much better if we walk down the mountain; it +will be easier for us than riding." + +With that he went off into the bushes and picked his hat full of +huckleberries, returning with which he drew a clean linen handkerchief +from his knapsack, used it as a strainer for extracting the juice of the +fruit, and then presented the drink in a wooden goblet to Blanka. She +left some for Manasseh, who drank after her and declared he had never +tasted a more delightful draught. She seemed now fully rested and +refreshed, and eager to resume their journey. Aaron put two fingers into +his mouth and whistled, whereupon the three horses came trotting up to +him. He called them by name, and they followed him as a dog follows his +master, while Manasseh and Blanka brought up the rear. Thus the party +descended the steep mountainside. + +The Torda Gap is one of the most marvellous volcanic formations in +existence. It is as if a mighty mountain chain had been rent asunder +from ridge to base, leaving the opposing sides of the gorge rugged and +precipitous, but matching each other with a rude harmony of detail most +curious to behold. The zigzags and windings of the giant corridor, three +thousand feet in length, have a wonderful regularity and symmetry in +their bounding walls. The whole forms an entrance-way or passage of +solid rock, the most imposing gateway in the world, and a marvel to all +geologists. + +The wonders of this mountain gorge, and the stories and legends that +Aaron narrated as the travellers proceeded, made Blanka entirely +unconscious of the difficulties of the way. After leaving the Peterd +mill behind them, they were forced to use the bed of the stream for a +road. Its waters were for the time being restrained, although numerous +pools were still standing, in which numbers of small fishes darted +hither and thither and crabs were seen in abundance. As the riders +advanced through the rocky passageway, its walls came nearer and nearer +together and left only a narrow strip of blue sky visible overhead, with +a few slanting rays of the evening sunlight playing high up on one side +of the gorge. At length the passage became so straitened that only three +fathoms' space was left between the confining walls. When Hesdad Brook +is at all full one can make his way through only with great difficulty +and by boldly breasting its waters. Therefore it is that very few people +have ever seen the gate of Torda Gap. Just above this narrow gateway is +situated the natural excavation in the mountainside, called from its +last defender, Balyika Cave. + +As the travellers approached this spot, Aaron rode on ahead, ostensibly +to ascertain whether the water was still shallow enough to wade through, +but in reality to look for the preconcerted signal and remove it before +Blanka should come up. He had agreed with Manasseh, if the signal was +favourable, to offer to show her the flower garden of Balyika Glen and +to discourage all desire on her part to visit Balyika Cave, by alleging +that it was the haunt of serpents; but if the signal should be +unfavourable, he was to employ all his arts to make the young lady eager +to inspect the cavern and pass the night there. + +He soon returned, and reported that it would be easy to wade their +horses through the gateway, after which they could go and view the +wonders of Balyika Cave. + +"But aren't there any snakes in the cave?" was Blanka's first and most +natural inquiry. Every woman in her place would have put the same +question. Ever since Mother Eve's misadventure with the serpent in +Paradise, women have cherished a deadly enmity toward the whole reptile +family. + +"Yes," was Aaron's reply, "there are snakes there." + +Manasseh drew a breath of relief, but this time he had mistaken his +brother's meaning. + +"We need not fear them, however," the elder made haste to add. "We will +build a fire and drive them out. Our fowls, too, will be a still better +protection for us; with their naked necks they will be taken for +vultures by the snakes, and we shall have no trouble whatever." + +Manasseh now knew that dangers surrounded them, and that they must pass +the night in the cave. Aaron, however, put forth all his eloquence to +depict the charms of the place, likening its cavernous depths to the +groined arches of a cathedral, and telling how his ancestors had +maintained themselves there for months at a time in the face of a +besieging force. He assured Blanka that she would find it most +delightful to camp there by a blazing fire; he and Manasseh would take +turns watching while she slept, her head pillowed on a fragrant bundle +of hay. + +They passed through the giant gateway, and clambered up to Balyika Cave, +a spacious chamber in the side of the cliff, rudely but strongly +fortified by a stone rampart that had been built to guard the entrance. +A wild rosebush grew in the narrow doorway and seemed at first to refuse +all admittance. Manasseh and Blanka waited without, while Aaron fought +his way through the brambles, which tore at his leather coat without +injuring it, and presently returned with three broad planks. He and +Manasseh held the briers aside with two of them and laid the third as a +bridge for Blanka to pass over unharmed. In a corner of the stone wall +lay a pile of hay, and behind it a supply of pitch-pine torches, one of +which Aaron now lighted. Then, like a lord in his own castle, he issued +his orders to his companions. Manasseh was to lead the horses up, one at +a time, and stable them in the rude courtyard, while Blanka was +instructed to sit on a stone and arrange her flowers and feed her +poultry. Meantime the master of ceremonies made everything ready for the +other two within the cave. + +The cock and hen were soon picking the barley from their mistress's lap, +while she busied her fingers with the manufacture of a red necklace of +the hips that grew on the wild rosebush. That other necklace, the +dandelion chain, was treasured by Manasseh among his most precious +possessions. Soon the horses were led up, stalled and fed, and then +their groom drew in the wooden planks, according to his brother's +instructions, and carried them into the cave, leaving the wild rosebush +to resume its guardianship of the doorway. After this Aaron came out and +offered his arm, like a courteous host, to escort Blanka into the +cavern. She was no little surprised, on entering, to find herself in a +stately hall, clean and comfortable, and lighted and warmed by a +cheerful fire of fagots in its centre. Near the fire stood a table, +neatly spread with a white cloth, on which were placed glasses and a +pitcher of fresh spring-water. Beside the table a couch, rude but +comfortable, had been prepared for her repose. + +"Aaron, you are a magician!" cried the young girl. "Where did you get +all these things?" + +At this question the good man nearly let the cat out of the bag by +explaining that everything had long since been in readiness for their +coming. But he checked himself and considered his answer a moment. To +say that he had brought all this outfit in his knapsack would have been +too obviously a falsehood, so he sought another way out of the +difficulty. + +"I told the miller," he replied, with a jerk of his thumb over one +shoulder, "that we should stay the night here, and he sent these things +forward by a short cut over the mountain." + +Thus it was only the speaker's thumb, and not his tongue, that lied, by +pointing backward to the mill just passed, instead of forward to the +other mill at the upper end of Torda Gap. + +Aaron now offered to show the wonders of this rock palace, which, like +the Palazzo Cagliari, consisted of two wings, from the second of which a +low and narrow passage led upward to the mountain spring whence the +thoughtful host had procured fresh water for their table. The previous +occupants of this abode seemed to have been provided with not a few +conveniences. + +Returning to the fireside, Blanka was easily persuaded to try the couch +that had been spread for her. The three planks, laid on some flat stones +and heaped with sheepskins and rugs, made a very comfortable +resting-place even for a lady. Blanka demanded nothing further, except a +glass of water, and then begged Aaron to tell her some more stories, to +which she listened with her chin resting in her hand and her eyelids now +and then drooping with drowsiness, despite the interest she took in the +narrator's ingenious farrago of fact and fiction, of romance and +reality. + +He told her how Balyika, the last lord of this castle, had held it for +years against the imperial troops; even after Francis Rakoczy's +surrender he had refused to lay down his arms, but had maintained his +position with a sturdy band of a hundred mountaineers. With this little +company he waged bitter warfare against his foes, losing his followers +one after another in the unequal contest, until he alone was left. Even +then he refused to yield himself, but outwitted all who strove to kill +or capture him. Finally he met the fate of many another brave man,--he +was betrayed by the woman he loved. He had been smitten with a passion +for the daughter of the Torda baker, the beautiful Rosalie; but her +affections were already bespoken by the butcher's apprentice, Marczi by +name, a youth of courage and activity. However, she deigned to receive +the outlawed chieftain's attentions, her sole purpose being to entrap +him and deliver him up to his foes. One evening, when she went to keep +an appointment with Balyika, she notified the village magistrate and the +captain of the yeomen. These two took an armed force and surrounded the +lovers' rendezvous, thinking thus at last to capture their man. But he +cut his way through the soldiery, and, fleeing over the mountain, made +straight for his cave in the Torda Gap, outstripping the pursuit of both +horse and foot--with the single exception of the injured lover, Marczi, +whom he could not shake off. The young man clung to his heels and chased +him to the very entrance of his retreat, where, just as the robber chief +was slipping through the opening of his cave, his pursuer hurled his +hatchet with such deadly aim that it cleft the fugitive's skull, and he +sank dead on the spot. + +"And that was how the last lord of the cave came to his end," concluded +Aaron. + +"But what about Marczi and Rosalie?" asked Blanka. + +The narrator proceeded to gratify her curiosity by making the young man +fall into the hands of the Mongols, after which he was captured by a +troop of Cossacks; and then, when Aaron was putting him through a +similar experience with the dog-faced Tartars, his listener succumbed at +last to the drowsiness against which she had been struggling, and the +story was abruptly discontinued. + +"I never heard that tale before, brother," said Manasseh, after assuring +himself that Blanka was really asleep. + +"Nor I, either," was Aaron's candid reply; "but in a tight pinch a man +turns romancer sometimes. I don't know, though, what fables we can +invent to keep the young lady here over to-morrow. You think up +something, brother; don't let me go to perdition all alone for the lot +of yarns I've been reeling off to your sweetheart." + +"Very well," assented the other; "I'll set my wits to work. Now you lie +down and rest a bit, while I stay up and tend the fire. At midnight I +will wake you and lie down myself while you watch." + +Aaron lay down with a bundle of twigs under his head for a pillow, and, +muttering a snatch of a prayer, was fast asleep in a twinkling. Manasseh +was now left undisturbed to devise something new and surprising against +his brother's awakening. Tearing a leaf from his sketch-book, he wrote +as follows: + + "DEAR BROTHER AARON:--I cannot close my eyes in sleep + while death threatens our brothers Simon and David. Nor can I + endure the thought of my birthplace being turned into a bloody + battle-field, and of the horrors of war invading the peaceful + valley whither I am bringing my bride, and which has ever looked + upon bloodshed with disapproval. It was my fond hope to give my + wife a glimpse of mankind in something like its original sinless + state, and to let her learn to know and worship the God of our + fathers as a God of love and gentleness. I am seeking a way by + which this cherished hope of mine may yet be realised. While the + Lord watches over your slumbers, I go in quest of the insurgent + leader. That which force and threats cannot effect may yet be + accomplished by peaceful means. I go to rescue our brothers from + imprisonment and death. No fears can hold me back, as no + inducements could prevail on me to slip stealthily by their place + of confinement and push forward to celebrate my wedding while they + perhaps were being led out to execution. I go forth alone and + unarmed, and I am hopeful of success. Meanwhile do you guard and + cherish my beloved. Above all, take her away from this place early + to-morrow morning. Our presence here is known to one man, and he + may betray us. You know the way to Porlik Grotto; few people are + even aware of its existence, so well is it hidden from the view of + travellers. Thither you must conduct our companion, and I will join + you there with our two brothers from Monastery Heights. I may + perhaps be there before you. But if it should please God not to + prosper my undertaking, take Blanka home with you, and, if the Lord + preserves our family, treat her as a sister. She is worthy of your + adoption. Break to her gently the news of my fate. In the + accompanying pocketbook is all her worldly wealth, as well as my + own savings. Take charge of it. My brother Jonathan resembles me in + appearance, and is a much better man than I. To him I leave _all_ + that I now call mine. + + "Do not betray to Blanka any anxiety on my account. If God be with + me, who shall prevail against me? + + "Your brother, + "MANASSEH." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +A DESPERATE HAZARD. + + +After finishing his letter, Manasseh took a number of banknotes out of +his pocketbook and put them into his waistcoat pocket, and then softly +slipped the pocketbook itself, with his letter, under Aaron's pillow. On +Blanka's pure brow, as she lay asleep, he gently pressed a parting kiss, +after which he heaped fresh fuel on the fire, stole out of the cave, +saddled his horse, and rode away into the darkness. + +The signal-fire on Monastery Heights showed him where to find the +Wallachian camp. No outposts challenged his progress, and he made his +way unmolested to the ruined monastery which sheltered the insurgents. +Fastening his horse to a tree, he turned his steps toward the belfry +tower that marked the position of the cloister and the chapel, which, as +the only building on the mountain with a whole roof, served the +Wallachian leader and his staff as headquarters. + +Softly opening the door, Manasseh found himself in a low but spacious +apartment. Twelve men were seated around a table on which stood a +single tallow candle, whose feeble rays could hardly pierce the +enveloping clouds of tobacco smoke. The company was engaged in that +engrossing pursuit which, as is well known, claimed so much of the +officers' time during the campaigns of the period,--they were playing +cards. + +One chair in the circle was empty. Perhaps its former occupant had +gambled away his last kreutzer and left the room. At any rate, the +newcomer advanced without hesitation and took the vacant seat. It may be +that the players were too absorbed in their game to notice him; or +possibly they had so recently come together that they were not yet +sufficiently acquainted to detect a stranger's presence; or, again, the +feeble light and the clouds of tobacco smoke may have rendered it +impossible to distinguish one's neighbours very clearly. Whatever the +reason, the stranger's advent elicited no comment. A pocketful of money +furnished him all the language he needed to speak, and the cards were +dealt to him as a matter of course. Opposite him sat the Wallachian +leader. + +The game proceeded and the stakes rose higher and higher. One after +another the losers dropped out, until at last Manasseh and the +Wallachian commander were left pitted against each other, a heap of +coins and banknotes between them. Fortune declared for Manasseh, and he +swept the accumulated stakes into his pocket. At this the others looked +him more sharply in the face. "Who is he?" was asked by one and another. + +"Why, you are Manasseh Adorjan!" exclaimed the leader at length, in +astonishment. "What do you mean by this rashness?" + +The faces around him assumed threatening looks, and more than one +muttered menace fell on his ear; but the hardy intruder betrayed no sign +of uneasiness. + +"I trust I am among gentlemen," he remarked, quietly, "who will not seek +a base revenge on a player that has won their money from them." + +The words failed not of their effect. Honour forbade that a hand should +be raised against the fortunate winner. + +"But, Adorjan," interposed the leader, in a tone of mingled wonder and +vexation, "how did you come here and what is your purpose?" + +"Time enough to talk about that when we have finished playing," was the +careless rejoinder. "First I must win the rest of your money. So have +the goodness to resume your seats." + +The company began to laugh. Clenched fists relaxed, and the men clapped +the intruder jovially on the shoulder, as they again took their places +around the table. + +"Haven't you a spare pipe to lend me?" Manasseh asked his right-hand +neighbour. + +"Yes, yes, to be sure," was the ready reply. + +Manasseh filled the proffered pipe, drew from his pocket a banknote +which he rolled into a lighter, thrust it into the candle-flame, and so +kindled his pipe, after which he took up his cards and began to play. + +A faint-hearted man, on finding his own and his brothers' lives thus at +stake, would have sought to curry favour by allowing his opponents to +win. But not so Manasseh. He plundered the company without mercy, as +before, and as before he and his _vis-a-vis_ were at last left sole +antagonists, while the others rose from their places and gathered in +groups about these two. Manasseh still continued to win, and his +opponent's supply of money ebbed lower and lower. The loser grew +furious, and drank deeply to keep himself in countenance. + +"Give me a swallow of your brandy," said Manasseh, but he had no sooner +tasted it than he pushed the bottle disdainfully away. "Fusel-oil!" he +exclaimed, making a wry face. "To-morrow I will send you a cask of my +plum brandy." + +"No, you won't," returned his antagonist. + +"Why not, pray?" + +"Because to-morrow you shall hang." + +"Oh, no," replied Manasseh, lightly, "for that would require my personal +presence, and I am needed elsewhere." + +The Wallachian continued to lose. Finally, in his fury, he staked his +last penny--"and your brothers' heads into the bargain!" he added, in +desperation. + +The other took him up and staked his own head in addition to the bundle +of notes which he threw down nonchalantly before him. + +They played, and again Manasseh won. A man less bold of temperament +might have thought to gain his enemies' good-will by leaving his +winnings on the table. But Manasseh knew better. His opponents, angered +by their losses, called him a robber, but still respected him. Had he, +however, been so timid as to leave the money lying there, they would +have regarded his action as such an insult that he would have been +compelled to fight the entire company, one after another, in single +combat. + +"Now, then," said the leader, "we have time to talk. Why are you +here--to persuade us to release your two brothers and leave Toroczko in +peace?" + +"A man of your discernment can fathom my motives without asking any +questions," replied Manasseh, with a courteous bow. + +"Well, let us see how you are going to work to bring this about. Your +brother David, like the simple rustic he is, thought to talk me over +with Bible quotations. He preached me a sermon on the love of one's +neighbour, Christ's commandments, the almighty power of Jehovah, and a +lot more of the same sort, until at last I grew tired of it and had him +locked up to keep him quiet. Your brother Simon is a shrewder man; he +has been to school at Kolozsvar. He came to me with threats in his +mouth, delivered a long harangue on the constitution, the powers of the +government, our past history, and kept up such a din in my ears that +finally I had to shut him up, too. But you are the cleverest of the +three; you have been trained as a diplomat, and have taken lessons in +Vienna from Metternich himself. Let us hear what you have to say." + +"Set my brothers free," returned Manasseh, boldly, "and promise me not +to attack Toroczko; then I will give you sixteen fat oxen and twenty +casks of plum brandy." + +The Wallachian sprang to his feet and clapped his hand to his sword. "If +you were only armed," he exclaimed wrathfully, "you should pay for your +insolence by fighting me. Do you take me for an Armenian peddler to be +chaffered with in that fashion?" + +Manasseh kept his seat on the edge of the table, swinging one foot +carelessly to and fro. "If you were an Armenian peddler," was his cool +retort, "you would be far more sensibly employed than at present. But +why so angry? I offer you what you most need, food and drink; and I ask +in return what we most desire, peace." + +"But what you offer us we can come and take in spite of you. You three +brothers are now in our hands, and we have only to send word to the +people of Toroczko that, unless they lay down their arms and surrender +the town, we shall hang you from the turret of St. George Castle." + +"There are five more of us brothers at home, and, furthermore, in order +to reach St. George Castle you must push through the Gap or make your +way over the Szekler Stone, and you know well enough that the men of +Toroczko have held this valley in times past against the whole invading +army of the Tartars." + +"You forget that there is still another way to reach Toroczko." + +"No, I do not forget it. You mean the bridge over the Aranyos. But our +iron cannon guard that bridge, and your bushrangers are hardly the +troops to take it." + +"Well, then, look out of yonder window toward the west. Do you see that +signal-fire, and do you know its meaning? It means that a division of +regular troops, with artillery and cavalry, is on the way hither from +Szent-Laszlo." + +Manasseh burst into a laugh. "It means that a merry company of +picnickers took their lunch this noon at the Wonder Spring, at the foot +of the great beech-tree. The wasps came out and plagued them, so they +stuck burning grass into the hollow trunk, and consequently the whole +tree was soon in flames. That is what you see burning now." + +"Manasseh, if you are lying to me!" + +"You know me. You know I never lie. What I say is true. When I choose +not to tell the truth, I hold my tongue. Last night I slept at +Ciprianu's. There are no imperial troops to be seen for miles around. +What is more, the Hungarian forces have left Kolozsvar. Whither have +they gone? I do not know; but it might befall you, while counting on +meeting with help, to stumble upon an enemy. After the first three +Adorjans, you will encounter a fourth, Jonathan, and he will give you +something beside Bible quotations and Metternichian diplomacy." + +The Wallachian was visibly affected by this speech, but he sought to +hide his concern, and cried out, in a harsh tone: "If you are trifling +with me, Adorjan, you'll find you have trifled with your own life. If +you have told me a lie, God in heaven shall not save you." + +"But as I have not told you a lie, God in heaven will save me, and I beg +you to tell me where I may lie down and sleep, for I am very tired." + +"Shut him up in the bell-tower," commanded the Wallachian. + +"Good!" cried Manasseh, with a laugh. "At least I shall be able to ring +you up early in the morning." + +"Inasmuch as you have offered us a supply of brandy and eighteen oxen," +were the leader's parting words, "we will have another interview in the +morning." + +"Sixteen was the number," Manasseh corrected him. + +A bed of hay under the bell was furnished the captive, and he was locked +up for the night, after which the company he had left held a council of +war. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +IN PORLIK GROTTO. + + +Complying with his brother's instructions, Aaron broke up his quarters +at Balyika Cave early the next morning, and, descending with Blanka to +the bed of the stream, led her up the valley to Porlik Grotto, one of +nature's wonders known to few and seldom visited. From the top of its +high-arched entrance hung cornel-bushes with brown leaves and red +berries, while luxuriant wild grape-vines, with pendant clusters of ripe +fruit, climbed upward from below to meet them, the whole thus forming an +almost perfect screen before the opening. Through the screen, however, +an observant eye caught the gleam of the stalactites within; the sun's +rays, piercing the foliage, lighted them up like so many sparkling +chandeliers. But our two travellers' thoughts were not on the beauties +of the place. + +"If Manasseh should only come out now to meet us!" they both exclaimed +at once. + +"There!" cried Aaron, "we both wished the same thing, and we have a sort +of superstition here that a wish so uttered by two at the same time is +bound to be fulfilled." + +But Manasseh did not appear. + +"Look there," said Aaron, with forced cheerfulness, pointing out the +wonders of the grotto; "see how the limestone pillars grow together from +above and below, till they meet and make one solid column." And all the +while he was thinking: "What if Manasseh should come back, not alone, +but with our two brothers! Yet is it right to ask so much of fate? Will +not Heaven be angry with me for cherishing such a wish? Ah, let Manasseh +himself come, even if he must come alone and with evil tidings!" + +"See there, my dove," he continued aloud to his companion, "how the +arches extend back, one behind another, with balconies along the sides, +just like a theatre, and high up yonder a perch for the gallery gods." +Meanwhile he was saying to himself: "Oh, that brother of mine ought to +have been here long ago if he was coming at all." Then, aloud to Blanka: +"Hear me play on the organ up there,--for theatres have organs +sometimes. You notice the pipes, side by side, some longer and some +shorter, each for a different note. But you stay here,--the rocks are +wet and slippery,--while I go up and play you a pretty tune." + +With that he clambered up the side of the cavern to a series of +stalactites that presented somewhat the appearance of organ-pipes, and +drew the handle of his hatchet across them, assuring his listener the +while that he was playing a beautiful melody. Blanka was expected to +laugh at this, and had Manasseh only been there, she could have done so +with a light heart. + +"Don't you think this back wall looks like a stage curtain?" Aaron went +on. "With a little stretch of the imagination you might take it for the +curtain in the Kolozsvar theatre, with Apollo and the muses painted on +it. One feels almost like stamping one's feet, to make it go up and the +play begin." But the undercurrent of the speaker's thoughts was quite +different. "What if Manasseh shouldn't come by noon--by nightfall?" he +was asking himself. "Then what is to become of this poor girl?" Aloud +once more: "That lad Manasseh must have made a little mistake--just like +these young men! He probably took the longer way, instead of following +my advice. But just look out toward the entrance, and see how the sun +shines in through the leaves and lights up the whole grotto like a fairy +palace." + +Blanka, however, was feeling so heavy of heart and, in a vague way, so +fearful of impending misfortune, that she was in no mood to enjoy the +splendours around her. She crossed her hands on her bosom and, in the +half-light of this mysterious subterranean cathedral, yielded to the +awe-inspiring influence of the place and gave utterance, in a subdued +chant, to these words of the psalmist: + + "Hear me, O God, nor hide thy face, + But answer, lest I die." + +Aaron could control his feelings no longer. Throwing himself down on his +face, he began to sob as only a strong man can when he is at last moved +to tears, not by any selfish grief, but by the very burden of his love +and anxiety for others. + +But at that moment the psalm was broken off, and Aaron heard himself +called three times by name. He rose to his knees and looked toward the +opening of the grotto, where a glad and unexpected sight met his eyes. +Glorified by the flood of light that poured in from without, appeared +the forms of three men, the middle one being the tallest and stateliest. +They were Manasseh and his two brothers, David and Simon. + +Aaron sprang up and threw himself on them with an inarticulate cry like +that of a lioness recovering her lost cubs. Embraces and kisses were not +enough: he bore them to the ground and thumped them soundly on the back +in the excess of his emotion. + +"You rascal, you good-for-nothing, you shameless rogue, to worry me like +that!" he exclaimed, accosting now one, now the other of his two lost +brothers, after which he embraced them both once more. + +"And am I of no account?" asked Manasseh. "Have I no share in all this?" + +"You are your brothers' father," Aaron made answer, "before whom they +prostrate themselves, even as the sheaves of Joseph's brethren bowed +before his sheaf. We are all your humble slaves." So saying, he threw +himself at Manasseh's feet and embraced his knees. "Torda Gap is, +indeed, a place of wonders, but the greatest wonder of all you have +wrought in rescuing your brothers." + +This unrestrained outburst of joy opened Blanka's eyes and made her see +that there was far more behind the meeting of these brothers than she +had at first suspected. She knew now that the vague dread which had +oppressed her, and from which she had sought relief in sacred song, had +not been unfounded. Thus it was that she felt all the more impelled to +take up the psalm where she had broken off, and to pour out her gladness +in the concluding lines: + + "He hears his saints, he knows their cry, + And by mysterious ways + Redeems the prisoners doomed to die, + And fills their tongues with praise." + +Much rejoicing then followed, and the two brothers, whom Manasseh now +presented to Blanka, told her all about the preparations made for +receiving the bridal party at the Borev Bridge. Then all five sat down +and emptied the lunch-basket with which Ciprianu had provided his +guests; for thenceforth they would not need to carry their supplies with +them. Toward noon they mounted their horses, David and Simon taking +Blanka between them, and the other two bringing up the rear. + +"Now tell me all about it," began the elder brother, as he rode a little +behind with Manasseh. "You must have had the eloquence of Aaron and the +magician's power of Moses, to prevail on Pharaoh to let your people go." + +"I have wrought no miracle and used no eloquence," was the reply. "But I +showed our foes neither fear nor haughtiness. I joined their circle, but +did not spoil their entertainment. They questioned me, and I told them +the truth. I asked them for peace, and offered them a price that I +thought we were able to pay." + +"How high a price?" asked Aaron. + +"Sixteen oxen and twenty casks of plum brandy," was the matter-of-fact +reply. + +"If my arm were only long enough, wouldn't I box your ears!" exclaimed +Aaron, by way of giving vent to his admiration. + +"They wished to do something of the sort to me up yonder, too, when they +heard my offer," returned the other. "But then they reconsidered the +matter, and at last came to see that it was a very fair proposal, and +one that needed no lawyer or interpreter to make clear to them. They all +understood it, and finally declared themselves satisfied." + +"But where did you get the two horses for our brothers?" + +"I bought them, and I gave a price, too, such as is paid only for the +best English thoroughbreds; but half of the money was what I won from +the sellers themselves last night." + +"So you have been playing cards with the Amorites, you godless man!" + +"They held me prisoner till morning, while they took counsel together +what to do with me and my two brothers. Some of them were for sending +our heads, minus our bodies, to Toroczko, with a demand to surrender the +town, else they would storm it and not leave one stone on another. But +the upshot was that they led me out in the morning and told me my terms +of peace were accepted. They abandon their plans against Toroczko, +disperse to their homes, and promise henceforth to be our good +neighbours, as heretofore." + +"Did they swear to this?" + +"Before the altar, and a priest administered the oath." + +"With two candles on the altar?" + +"Yes." + +"Then they will keep their word." + +"And I, as plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinary, gave them a written +and sealed pledge to restrain my people from all acts of hostility +against them." + +"That will cost you a hard fight when you get home." + +"But I shall win. The Wallachians will respect the peace, and we shall +avoid all contention with them. Their leader, when he handed me our +passport, said to me: 'You now have no further cause for uneasiness so +far as we are concerned. My comrades and I will do your countrymen no +further harm. As to the supplies offered by you, we accept them as a +gift, not as a ransom. One parting word I have to add, however, and I +bid you mark it well: we cannot promise you that some day a renegade +from your own midst may not plunge your town into war and bloodshed.' +With that we shook hands and kissed each other; and I can assure you +positively that from here to the Aranyos our way will be clear." + +"But how did you win them over so easily, I should like to know? Surely, +the sixteen oxen and a few casks of brandy could not have done it." + +"I gained my end simply by telling the truth. I told them about our +setting the beech-tree on fire. They had taken it for a signal, and the +mistake might have cost them dear." + +"And did they believe you?" + +"No, they doubted my word and discussed the matter a long time in their +council, one party being strongly opposed to any change in their +preconcerted arrangements; and this faction pressed urgently for my +immediate execution." + +"What, then, was it that saved you?" + +"A mere chance--no, it was Providence, rather. It was a heart that beat +with warm human feeling and a will that was prompt to act. In the midst +of their discussion a messenger came from Ciprianu and confirmed the +truth of my words." + +"From Ciprianu? Then the messenger must have ridden all night." + +"Yes, through a trackless wilderness and over rugged mountains." + +"I do not see how mortal man could have accomplished it!" exclaimed +Aaron, shaking his head. + +"It was not a man; it was a woman that effected the impossible. She came +to Monastery Heights to attest the truth of my statement by assuring the +insurgents that what they took for a signal-fire was merely the result +of an accident. The woman who saved us three from death was Zenobia." + +At this point Blanka interrupted the conversation of the two brothers. +She laughingly demanded to know what they were so earnestly discussing +together. + +"We can't agree on what guests to invite to our wedding," was Manasseh's +ready reply. "Aaron would have only the immediate family, but I am in +favour of inviting all our friends. What are your wishes in the matter, +my angel?" + +"I have no relatives or friends that I can invite to my wedding," +answered Blanka, gently, "but I shall feel very happy if all your family +can be present, even to your youngest brother, whom we met in Kolozsvar. +You must send for him to come home." + +"He will be there, dear heart," Aaron assured her. + +"And stay! I have a friend, after all,--a friend that I have made since +coming into this country, and should much like to see at my wedding. It +is Zenobia, Ciprianu's daughter." + + * * * * * + +At sunset they reached the Aranyos River, beyond which lay the +longed-for home, the happy valley which, from Manasseh's description, +had so often been the subject of Blanka's dreams. At last she was to see +Toroczko. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +TOROCZKO. + + +It was a new world to Blanka,--that busy mining community, where clouds +of black smoke from the tall chimneys of the smelting works and iron +foundries met the eye in every direction, and the cheerful hum of toil +constantly saluted the ear. + +The Adorjan family gave the newcomer a most hearty welcome. With Anna, +Manasseh's twin sister, the girl whom Benjamin Vajdar had so cruelly +wronged, Blanka felt already acquainted. They embraced without waiting +for an introduction, and when they drew back to scan each other's faces, +they could hardly see for the tears that filled their eyes. Blanka was +surprised, and agreeably so. She had prepared herself to see a face +stamped with the melancholy of early disappointment, whereas she now +beheld a fresh, rosy-cheeked countenance, golden locks, and blue eyes in +which no tears had been able to dim the dancing light of a lively and +cheerful temperament. Other women there were also in the +family,--Rebecca, Berthold's wife, and Susanna, the helpmate of +Barnabas, with a little circle of children around each. + +The home-coming of the long-absent brother with his betrothed was +celebrated, in accordance with time-honoured custom, with a great dinner +that filled the spacious family dining-room to its utmost. Blanka could +not sufficiently admire the skill and patience with which Susanna +directed the feast and ministered to the varied wants and the individual +tastes of so many guests. The eldest brother and his family were +vegetarians and would touch no meat, but indulged freely in milk and +eggs, butter and cheese. With them sat Doctor Vernezs, who was even +stricter in his vegetarianism; the sole contribution from the animal +kingdom that he allowed in his diet was honey. Brother Aaron sat beside +Blanka, and partook freely of a dish of garlic that had been provided +especially for him. He offered some to Blanka. + +"I can eat this all my life," said he, with a roguish twinkle in his +eyes, "but you only eleven weeks longer." + +She understood the allusion. In Szeklerland a lover and his sweetheart +bear themselves with much decorum and mutual respect throughout the +entire period of their engagement. Only after the wedding do they +exchange the first kiss. + +Anna wished to come to her new friend's aid at this embarrassing +juncture. "It won't be so long as that, Aaron!" she exclaimed. + +"Let us reckon it up, my little turtledove," returned the brother. +"To-morrow we will tell the parson that our sister Blanka wishes to join +our communion. The law requires her to wait two weeks after this first +announcement and then to go and declare her purpose a second time. After +that follow six weeks for the divorce proceedings. That makes eight +weeks. Then the banns have to be published three successive Sundays, and +so we make out the eleven weeks, as I said. For seventy-seven days and +nights, then, our peach-blossom will be your companion, sister Anna." + +Anna and Blanka embraced each other with much affection. The latter +showed no embarrassment at Aaron's plain speech. + +"I will add five days to the seventy-seven," said she, with a smile. + +"How so?" asked the brother and sister. + +"Because I shall not go to the parson to-morrow, but shall wait until +after Sunday. I am going to your church on that day, and till then I +can't tell whether I wish to belong to it or not." + +This prudent resolve met with Aaron's hearty approbation. + + * * * * * + +It was not long before Anna and Blanka became the warmest of friends. +They shared the same room together, and the newcomer was allowed to look +over all her companion's books, drawings,--for she, like her twin +brother, was an artist,--keepsakes, and treasures of every sort. One day +she came upon something that made her start back as if stung by an +adder. It was a little portrait in an oval frame, a man's face, highly +idealised by the artist, and yet strikingly true to life. Evidently the +hand of love had depicted those lineaments. The eyes were bright, the +lips wore a proud smile, the whole expression was one to charm the +beholder. It was Benjamin Vajdar's likeness, and no ghost could have +given Blanka a greater start. It was as if her most hated foe had +pursued her into paradise itself, to spoil her pleasure there. + +Anna noticed her friend's involuntary movement, and she sighed deeply. +"Did Manasseh tell you about him?" she asked. + +"I know him well," replied Blanka, and she could not control an accent +of abhorrence in her voice as she spoke. + +Anna clasped her companion's hand in both her own. "I beg you," she +entreated, in tones at once sad and tender, "if you know aught ill of +him, do not tell it me." + +"You still love him?" asked the other, in compassion. + +The young girl sank down on the edge of her bed and hid her face in her +hands. "He has killed me," she sobbed; "he has done much that a man, an +honourable man, ought not to do; and yet I cannot hate him. We may say, +'I loved you yesterday, to-morrow I shall hate you,' and we may act as +if we meant it; but we cannot really _feel_ it." + +"My poor Anna!" was all Blanka could say. + +"I know he is dishonourable," admitted the girl; "there are women here +that report everything to me, thinking thus to cure me. But what does it +avail? A sick person is not to be made well with words. How many a woman +has waited for the return of an absent lover who may perhaps have gone +around the world, or to the north pole, and who yet cannot get beyond +the reach of her love and yearning!" + +"If it were only the earth's diameter that lay between you!" murmured +Blanka. + +"True," replied Anna, resting her head on her hand; "the wide world is +not so effective a barrier as a bewitching face that has once thrust +itself between two loving hearts. That is harder to circumnavigate than +the earth itself." + +"If a pretty face were all that stood between you----" began the other +once more, sitting down beside her friend and putting her arms about +her. + +"Yes, yes, I know," the poor girl interrupted; "the whole world and +heaven and hell stand between us. All the laws of honour, of faith, and +of patriotism, tear us asunder. I cannot go to him where he is, but yet +it may be that he will come back to me--some day." + +"Do you think so?" + +"I believe it as I believe in one God above us. Not that I think we +could now ever be happy together; but I am convinced that the road which +he took on going away from here will some day bring him back again to +our door. Broken and humbled, scorned and repulsed by all the world, he +will then seek the one remaining asylum that stands open to him, and he +will find one heart that still beats for him from whom all others have +turned away." + +The speaker rose from her seat and stood erect, her face all aglow with +noble emotion. Was it an angel in love with a devil? + +"See!" she continued, pointing to the little portrait, which was +encircled by a wreath of immortelles, "this picture here in my room +gives daily proof how lasting a thing love is in our family. My brothers +all hate him with a deadly hatred, and yet they spare his likeness +because they know that I still love him; they leave the little picture +hanging in my room, nor offer to offend me by proposing another marriage +for me. They know how deep is my love, and they respect my feelings. Oh, +I beg you, if you have reason to hate this man, yet suffer his portrait +to keep its place, and turn your eyes away from it if it causes you +offence." + +But Blanka hated the man no longer. + +"Now I must not let you see me in tears," said Anna, briskly. "I must +not make myself a killjoy in the family. I am naturally of a happy, +cheerful temperament, and interested in all that goes on around me. My +face shall never frighten people by being pale and wobegone. Just look +in the glass! I am as rosy-cheeked as you." + +With that she drew Blanka to the mirror, and began to dispute with her +as to which could boast the more colour. + +"You are happy," she continued, "and will be still happier. Manasseh +will turn the earth itself into a paradise for you; just wait till you +know him as I do, to the very bottom of his heart." + +Blanka could not but smile at the sister's proud claim. Yet Anna was in +earnest. + +"Perhaps you don't believe me," said she. "Have you ever seen him in +anger, with an enemy before him?" + +"Yes." + +"How did he look?" + +"On his forehead were two red spots." + +"Yes, and further?" + +"His eyes glowed, his face seemed turned to stone, his bosom heaved, and +he strove with himself until gradually he recovered his self-control; +then his features relaxed, he smiled, and presently he spoke as coolly +and collectedly as possible." + +"Then you have never seen him really aroused," affirmed the sister, "as +I saw him once, when with one hand he seized a strong man who had +wronged him, and threw him down with such force that all his family had +to hasten to help him up. When he speaks in wrath he can strike terror +into a multitude, and he is such a master of all weapons of warfare that +no one can vie with him. Now, then, have you ever really learned to know +him?" + +"Indeed, I think not," returned Blanka, in surprise. + +"And hear me further," Anna went on. "When our house witnessed the sad +event that spread a widow's veil over my bridal wreath, our whole family +was terribly wrought up. My brothers swore to kill the man wherever they +found him,--all but Manasseh. Nor did I seek to allay their wrath, +knowing but too well that it was justified. But I also knew that they +would never go forth into the world to hunt him down. To the people of +Toroczko it is an immense undertaking to go even beyond the borders of +Transylvania, and, as a general rule, no power on earth could drag one +of them to Vienna or Rome. But Manasseh, I knew, must meet with the +fugitive, as the two were to be dwellers in the same city and members of +the same social circle. Manasseh, however, said not a word, and it was +on him that I used all my influence. Still wearing my wedding-dress, I +went to his room, where he was preparing for his journey. It happened +that he was just putting a brace of pistols into their case; one of them +he still held in his hand. I went up to him, threw myself on his bosom, +and appealed to him. 'Manasseh,' I pleaded, 'my heart's treasure, unless +you wish to kill me too, promise not to kill that man,--not to send his +wretched soul out of this world.' Manasseh looked at me: his eyes +glowed, as you have described, and two red spots burned on his forehead; +his face turned hard, like that of a statue, and while he panted and +struggled with the demon in his bosom, the pistol-barrel bent in his +clenched hands like a wax taper, and so remained. I was wonder-struck. +'See!' I cried, 'you cannot shoot now any more with that pistol. So let +him go; don't lay a finger on him.' Then my brother embraced and kissed +me, and, lifting his hand to heaven, said, 'I promise you, sister Anna, +that for your sake I will not kill the man, but will let him live.'" + +How her lover's image grew in Blanka's heart and assumed larger +proportions as she listened to this recital! The twin sister was the +brother's complement. It was necessary to know the nature of the one in +order to understand that of the other. Hitherto Manasseh's self-control +in foregoing all revenge had excited Blanka's wonder only; she had +thought that the secret of this self-mastery was to be found in a rigid +dogma only, but now she perceived that what really shielded the +wretched culprit was the magic influence of a woman's faithful heart +that could cease to love only when it ceased to beat. The pledge won +from him by his sister Manasseh had come to regard as no less sacred +than the articles of his faith. Thenceforth he commanded not merely the +love of his betrothed, but her adoration. + + * * * * * + +Blanka soon found herself leading a life that differed in every respect +from that which she had so recently quitted. In the Cagliari palace she +had been left entirely to herself, and when she went abroad it had been +only to witness scenes of intrigue and envy, dissipation and frivolity, +hypocrisy and deceit, on every side. But in her new home she found a +large family of honest souls living in loving harmony under one roof, +all its members engaged in active work for the common good, and sharing +at a common table the bread that they earned. Every joy, every sorrow +was common to all, and so the newcomer was at once claimed as a sister +by all alike, and immediately became a universal favourite. Work was +found for her, too, every one assuming that she would far rather work +than be idle; and, indeed, she would gladly have engaged in any toil, +however severe, but the others would not let her overtax her strength in +labours for which they were much better fitted than she. A task was +found for her, however, exactly suited to her capacity,--the keeping of +the family accounts. She received a big book, in which she entered the +current expenses and receipts, with all the details of the family +housekeeping that called for preservation. + +After the working days of the week came Sunday, the Lord's day. How +Blanka had looked forward to that first Sunday, how often pictured to +herself the Toroczko church and its Sabbath service! It was a simple +structure, with four blank white walls, and a plain white ceiling +overhead. A gallery ran across each end of the room, and in the middle +stood the pulpit, with the communion table before it. Men and women, +youths and maidens, entered the sacred house through special doors. +First came the young men and took their places in the galleries, the +students all gathering in a body on the same side as the organ. Next +entered the married men in the order of their age, the wardens--or, as +they were popularly known, the "big-heads"--taking their seats in the +first pew facing the pulpit. On the left of the pulpit were seated the +foremost families of the place, with the Adorjans at their head. + +For the first time Blanka now saw the people assembled in their holiday +attire, a costume peculiar to the place, and showing a mixture of +Hungarian and German dress. The men wore black dolmans faced with lamb's +fleece, and further decorated with rows of carnelian and amethyst +buttons, the setting of the stones being silver. Under the dolman was +worn a waistcoat of fine leather embroidered with threads of silk and +gold, and around the waist was girt a belt, as broad as one's hand, of +red leather handsomely trimmed with strips of many-coloured skins. To +complete this imposing outfit, there was thrown over one shoulder a +handsome cloak richly embroidered with piping-cord, and furnished with a +high collar made from the fur of the fox. A large silver brooch held the +mantle together at the breast, while six rows of silver clasps adorned +it on each side. The whole costume was luxurious in its appointments, +and yet no one would presume to find fault with it on that score. The +wearer had earned his adornment with the work of his hands. + +As soon as the men were seated, the women entered. A Parisian modiste +would have been put to the blush by the ingenuity of design displayed by +these countrywomen's costumes. The dazzlingly white linen, the tasteful +combination of lace, embroidery, and furbelows, the handsome bodice and +woven belt, the richly trimmed cloaks, the skirts hanging in many folds, +the silk pinafores, the black lace caps set off by white veils disposed +in picturesque puffs and creases,--all betrayed a wealth of fancy and +nicety of taste on the wearer's part that would be hard to match. + +After the matrons were seated, the maidens came in through the fourth +and last door, entering now in pairs, now singly, and sat down on the +two sides of the house, behind the married women. Finally the children +were admitted,--a splendid phalanx, a company of angels of the Murillo +and Bernini type. + +The pride of the Toroczko church is its people. The churches of Rome +boast many a masterpiece of early Italian art on their walls, but their +worshippers are ragged and dirty. The walls of the Toroczko temple are +bare, but the faces of its congregation beam with happiness. No works of +sculpture, resplendent with gold and silver and precious stones, are to +be seen there. The people themselves are arrayed in costly stuffs and +furnish the adornment of the house. + +After a simple opening prayer, the pastor ascended the pulpit and +addressed his flock, in words intelligible to all, on such themes as +patriotism, man's duty to his fellow-man, the blessings of toil, the +recompense of good deeds in the doer's own bosom, and God's infinite +mercy toward his children. In his prayer the preacher referred to Jesus +as the beloved Son of God, the model for mankind to follow, but he did +not deny salvation and paradise to those that chose other leaders for +their guidance. + +After the service Blanka asked Aaron and Berthold to go with her to the +preacher as witnesses while she announced her purpose to join the +church. After making this declaration in due form, she was reminded that +she had two weeks in which to consider the matter carefully, at the end +of which, if she was still of the same mind, she was to come back again +and renew her declaration. + +"Two weeks longer," sighed Blanka, "and then six weeks more for the +divorce!" + +Aaron heard her sigh, and hastened to say: "If we make a special effort +we can shorten this period. Our law directs that an applicant for a +divorce must either be a resident of, or own an estate in, Transylvania. +Therefore, if you could acquire a piece of land here, we should only +have to wait for the consistory to assemble and ratify the divorce +already granted by the Roman Curia, with the added permission to marry +again. That done, nothing further remains to hinder the marriage. So you +must manage to buy a house-lot or something of the sort in Toroczko." + +"Have I money enough, do you think, to purchase an iron mine?" + +"What, do you really propose to buy one?" + +"Yes,--as my dowry to bring to Manasseh. He said he wished to begin a +new career and turn miner." + +"Very well, then, we'll buy a mine and call it by your name, and it +can't fail to turn out a diamond mine." + +The purchase was made on that very day, and in the evening the transfer +of the property was solemnised with a banquet. It will be noted here +that there is a great difference between the Hungarian Unitarians and +the English Puritans. The strict observance of Sunday by the latter +presents a marked contrast to the joy and freedom with which the day is +celebrated by the former. The people of Toroczko gather in the evening +for social intercourse, and even join in the pleasures of the dance, to +the music of a gipsy orchestra, until the ringing of the vesper bell. +Taverns and pot-houses are unknown in the village. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +A MIDNIGHT COUNCIL. + + +While blood was being shed on the banks of the Theiss, on the slopes of +the Carpathians, and in the mountains of Transylvania, life at the +Austrian capital went on much as usual. A grand ball given by the +Marchioness Caldariva made its due claim on the attention of the +fashionable world. After the last note of the orchestra had died away +and the last guest had departed, Prince Cagliari led the fair hostess to +her boudoir. + +"How did it please you?" asked the prince, referring to the evening's +entertainment. + +"Not at all," replied the other, throwing her bracelets and fan down on +the table. "Didn't you notice that not one member of the court circle +was present? They all sent regrets." + +"But the court is in mourning now, you know," was Cagliari's soothing +reminder. + +"And I am in mourning, too," returned Rozina, in a passion. "How long +must I submit to this humiliation?" she demanded, compressing her lips +and darting a wrathful look at her devoted slave. + +"I swear to you," replied the latter, vehemently, "as soon as I get word +of my divorced wife's death, our engagement shall be announced." + +"And how long is that woman to live?" demanded the angry beauty, in a +tone that startled the listener. + +"As long as God wills," was all he could say in reply. + +The fair Cyrene drew nearer and laid her cheek caressingly against his +shoulder. "Do you know where your wife is now?" she asked softly, and +when the other shook his head, she went on: "You see, I don't lose sight +of her so easily. As for you, you could only shut her up in Rome and +leave her there; but I knew how to go to work to rid ourselves of this +obstruction. The dogs of Jezebel were howling under her very windows, +when there came a man blundering on to the scene and spoiled +everything,--a man who is a man, who is more than a prince, a man from +top to toe, in short, who carried off the woman from Rome. I hoped they +would take flight to some foreign land, whence we might have obtained an +official announcement of her death. Of course it might not have been +true, but the fugitives would have changed their names, in all +probability, and an official certificate would have answered our +purpose. Did you receive Blanka's letter,--the one she wrote you from +Trieste in November?" + +"No," replied the prince, much astonished at what he had just heard; +"and I recently sent to her, by Vajdar, her allowance of fifteen +thousand scudi for the current quarter." + +"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the marchioness, "a most affectionate and devoted +foster-son you have there! Your letters pass through his hands and are, +according to your directions, opened by him. As to this last letter of +Blanka's, however, he must have forgotten to deliver it, and he counts +himself blameless if a remittance of fifteen thousand scudi, directed to +a person whose address cannot be found, goes astray. Really he has a +genius for roguery. But you needn't get angry with him. The money has +not gone out of the family: he spent it on diamonds for me. I learned +all about that letter, too, a month ago." + +"And may I inquire what the princess wrote me?" + +"She begs leave to discontinue the enjoyment of your bounty, and +announces her intention of marrying again; and to that end she declares +her purpose of embracing the religion of her betrothed." + +"The most pleasing result of which will be the saving to me of sixty +thousand scudi a year, which I will henceforth bestow on you." The +speaker laid a caressing hand on the woman's shoulder. + +"Don't touch me, sir!" cried the marchioness, drawing back. "If one +woman has had the spirit to say to you, 'There is your coronet and your +gold; pick them up. I need them no longer, for I am going to marry a +_man_, who shall be my lord and king,'--why, you may find that another +woman can do the same." + +"But what would you have me do?" asked the other, helplessly; "follow +Blanka Zboroy's example and turn Protestant with you, so that we might +marry each other?" + +"Really, I have a good mind to say yes. What you propose in jest, sinful +as it is, may be more to your liking than what I have to suggest." + +"You have a plan, Rozina?" + +"Yes. Before our loving couple can gain their end they must first reach +Toroczko. There, high up in the mountains, lies the dove-cote where they +hope to do their billing and cooing. But the surrounding woods are at +present full of birds of prey, and--" + +"Do you dare to think of such a thing?" interrupted the prince, with a +start. The old _roue_ had a dread of ghosts by night; he was full of all +sorts of superstitions; he disliked to have a beautiful woman allude to +certain unpleasant themes in his presence. + +"I am only letting my fancy play a little," replied the marchioness, +"but perhaps what I have in mind may come to pass. If not, then will be +the time for action." + +She fetched from her bookcase a military map of Transylvania. It gave in +minute detail the mountains, hills, valleys, rivers, towns, and villages +of the country. + +"Here in this valley," she resumed, pointing with her finger, "lies +Toroczko, and these positions that I have marked are held by the +Wallachian insurgents. Have you heard about their doings?" + +"Yes, frightful accounts." + +"Well, then, what if our runaway couple should stumble upon the scene of +some of these horrid deeds? Possibly your wife is even now lying in the +bed of one of these mountain streams." + +"Horrible!" + +"Horrible only if it were really so and we had no proof of it. But I +have guarded against that. The war office receives detailed reports of +all that is going on in Transylvania, and a transcript of those reports +is furnished me." + +She produced a roll of manuscript and read a line or two, laughing as +she did so. She might have been reading Sanskrit, for all the prince +could understand of it. Then she nestled softly at her listener's side +and began to stroke his chin with one velvet finger. + +"If you wish to make me very happy--to make us both very happy," she +murmured, "bring me from the war office the key to this mysterious +manuscript. Then we will sit down and decipher it together; and if it +contains the name I am so anxious to hear, you shall see how a lioness +can kiss her tamer's feet." + +The prince listened in silence. What effect her words were producing in +his bosom, she could only conjecture. She threw herself back on her sofa +with a smile on her face. + +"What do you say?" she asked. "It is not yet too late to find some one +at the war office to do your bidding. Indeed, the hour is well suited +for a confidential mission of that sort. And when you come back, if you +find me asleep, just whisper in my ear, 'News from Transylvania!'--and I +will wake up at once. So good-bye for the present. I shall expect you +back again soon." + +Prince Cagliari took leave of the enchantress and made his way to the +carriage that awaited him below. Entering it, he gave a direction to his +coachman, and the carriage rolled rapidly down the street. + +Soon after the fair Cyrene--or Rozina, to call her by her real +name--found herself alone, the tall clock in her boudoir struck ten, +although the hour was nearer two. She rose at once, and taking a little +key from her bosom, unlocked and opened the door of the old-fashioned +timepiece. But instead of hanging weights and a swinging pendulum, the +opening revealed another open door beyond, through which stepped a +young man,--Benjamin Vajdar. + +"So you've come at last?" the marchioness exclaimed. + +"Yes, and I have the key to the cipher despatches, too!" + +All smiles and caresses, the siren led her visitor to the table on which +lay the mysterious correspondence. But before the two begin their +clandestine work, let us say a few words concerning the relations +between them. + +Months before, at a court ball to which Prince Cagliari's influence had +procured the Marchioness Caldariva a much-coveted invitation, Benjamin +Vajdar, who then occupied a subordinate government position, was also +present. Struck with the beauty of the marchioness, he sought an +introduction, and, to make a long story short, was soon enrolled among +her willing slaves. Not long after this first meeting he threw up his +modest position and became Prince Cagliari's private secretary. A day +had already been set for his marriage with Anna Adorjan, but he had the +hardihood to write and beg to be released from the engagement. He did +not, however, think it necessary to announce in his letter that he had +changed his religion and turned Roman Catholic. + +A desire to shine in society, meanwhile, and the difficulty of doing so +on a small salary, had led him to employ dishonest and criminal means +for replenishing his purse. He had raised money on his friend Manasseh's +forged signature. After entering the prince's service and finding +himself amply supplied with means, he went to his broker to redeem the +false note, but, to his consternation, was informed by the money-lender +that, in a moment of financial embarrassment, although the note was not +yet due he had presented it to Manasseh, who had promptly discounted it. +Benjamin Vajdar felt capable of murdering the broker. A noose now seemed +placed around his neck, and the end of the rope was held by the man +whose sister he had just wronged so shamefully. + +The new secretary's appearance in the prince's household served to +hasten the impending outbreak between the recently married couple. One +afternoon Blanka left the house and fled to a friend of hers in Hungary, +whence her petition for a divorce soon led her, her friend, and her +lawyer, as we have already seen, to Rome. The decree which was in due +time issued from the Vatican, that, so long as his divorced wife lived, +the prince might not marry again, was a serious check upon certain pet +schemes cherished by the Marchioness Caldariva. + + * * * * * + +To return to the latter's boudoir, where she and her willing tool were +bending over the cipher despatches, after long and fruitless search they +came upon a name familiar to them both,--Adorjan. It appeared that a +certain Adorjan of Toroczko had gone out to parley with the insurgent +forces then besieging the town, and they had seized him and held him +prisoner. A second Adorjan had followed to ransom his brother, but he +too was detained. Finally there came a third brother,--Manasseh. + +"Ah, at last!" cried the marchioness, eagerly. + +It appeared that this third Adorjan was on his way home from Italy, and +was accompanied by his fiancee, whom he left in care of his brother +Aaron while he himself sought the insurgents' camp. He too was seized +and imprisoned, and preparations were made for the execution of the +three brothers; but in the morning, by some means or other, he succeeded +in persuading his captors to release all three of their prisoners and to +give the whole party, including the young lady, Princess Blanka Zboroy, +a safe-conduct to Toroczko, while the insurgents themselves dispersed to +their homes. + +"But go on!" urged Rozina; "what occurred after that in Toroczko?" + +"Nothing further is said about Toroczko," answered the other. + +"Have you no spies there?" demanded the marchioness. + +"No, there are no informers in Toroczko. There was one, but you have +made him your slave." + +"And you can sit there so calm and cool!" cried the woman, in a passion. +"Just think, there is a man in that town in whose hand your good name +and your freedom lie. If he but takes a fancy, he can drag you in the +mud. You can count on no happiness, no security, without his consent. +Remember, too, there is a woman with him who has smitten you in the face +and made you recoil, who is perhaps even now laughing at you, who is the +object of my deadly hatred, and during whose lifetime the door is closed +to me into the world I wish to enter. So long as that woman lives the +sun does not shine for me: I can show my face only at night. And can you +sit there while those two are happy in each other's embraces? Oh, +coward! How long are you going to let them live?" + +Benjamin Vajdar did not venture to open his mouth. The marchioness drew +a key from her bosom and held it before him. "Do you see that?" she +whispered, while for an instant a smile lighted up her face. "This key +belongs to the man who first brings me word of that woman's death." So +saying, she kissed the little key and held it to the other's lips to +kiss also. "What do you say?" + +"I am wont only to think and to act, not to promise," was his reply. + +"Very well. _Au revoir!_" + +The marchioness pulled her bell-cord three times for her maid,--a signal +for her visitor to retire. He hastened to the secret door, accordingly, +and disappeared. Calling a cab, he ordered the driver to take him to the +Cafe de l'Europe. The head waiter told him, in answer to his inquiries, +that Prince Cagliari was there also,--was, in fact, taking supper with +two ladies in a private room. The secretary asked to be shown thither. + +"I knew you would turn up here before the night was over," cried the +prince, with a laugh, as the young man entered. "I had a cover laid for +you." + +The two young women were costumed as _fleurs animees_,--the one as a +violet, the other as a tulip. The remains of a generous meal were on the +table. The newcomer held out his glass to the tulip and begged her to +pour him some champagne. + +"One moment!" interrupted the prince. "First let me ask a question. How +much have you left of my wife's quarterly allowance that I sent her by +you?" + +"That is exactly what I was going to speak to you about," returned the +young man. "I have to ask you for the next quarter's allowance also." + +"Indeed! And must you have it immediately?" + +"If you please." + +"But haven't you already learned, from her letter which she wrote me in +November, that she is about to change her religion and marry again, and +that consequently she declines all further assistance from me? Didn't +this letter come into your hands?" + +Benjamin Vajdar shrugged his shoulders and calmly proceeded to squeeze +lemon-juice on his oysters. "I assumed without question," he rejoined, +"that a man of Prince Cagliari's chivalrous nature would merely reply to +this letter: 'It is a matter of indifference to me how the princess +orders her life; but so long as she bears my name she must not be forced +to go on foot and soil her shoes.'" + +"Bravo!" cried the prince. "And you would have me give her a dower for +her second marriage, would you, and a quarter's allowance into the +bargain?" + +"Let us not discuss that at present," returned the other, "it would only +spoil our evening. Time enough for serious matters to-morrow." + +"But I wish to discuss it now." + +"Very well. The truth of the matter is, the beautiful Princess Blanka is +at this moment lying dead in the mountains of Transylvania." + +The prince recoiled. "Young man, I forbid you to indulge in such +ill-chosen jests." + +Benjamin rose and made a low bow. "Such a lack of respect as a jest of +that sort to my master and benefactor is an utter impossibility." + +"Well, then, sit down, and let us have no play-acting. Where do you say +this thing occurred?" + +"Somewhere on the highway between Nagy-Enyed and Felvincz. She is lying +there in the snow, transfixed with an insurgent's lance." The speaker +therewith proceeded to relate several episodes in the bloody drama then +enacting in Transylvania. + +"But why are you so sure that the princess is one of the victims?" asked +the listener. + +"The names are all recorded," was the answer. "The first thing, +therefore, for Prince Cagliari to do is to order the recovery of his +wife's body, that it may receive proper interment in his family vault. +If you wish to convince yourself of the truth of my statements, I will +give you the key to the cipher despatches. The despatches themselves you +will find in a place that is always open to you. Go and read for +yourself." + +"No, no," cried the prince, "I will not look at the papers. What you +have said is enough for me." + +"Very well," rejoined the secretary, quietly. "Then I will go and make +ready to start at once for Transylvania. I am determined to find and +bring back to you the remains of the Princess Blanka. It is a grim task, +and calls for a heart of iron." + +"And a purse of gold," added the other. "Here is my pocketbook to begin +with, and I will open an account for you with a Czernovicz banker." + +What was most important of all, the smooth-tongued secretary had +entirely omitted,--namely, that the subject of his ingenious story was +at that moment alive and well, and waiting to see the sun rise over the +Toroczko hills. + +After the prince had somewhat recovered from the effect produced upon +him by Benjamin Vajdar's announcement, he gave himself up to the +rapturous thought that now at last he could carry word to Rozina of his +wife's death. He sought her presence without delay. + +The marchioness, cosily ensconced on her sofa, was either asleep, or +feigned to be, when Cagliari entered and whispered in her ear: + +"Rozina, my wife is dead!" + +Her eyes opened and a quick flush of pleasure overspread her face. "How? +When? Where?" she asked eagerly. + +"At Nagy-Enyed--killed by the insurgents." + +"Nonsense!" cried the marchioness. "Who told you so?" + +"My private secretary, your favourite, Benjamin Vajdar. He has just read +it in the despatches received at the war office." + +The listener's eyes flashed with scorn. + +"I am telling you the truth," asserted the other, vehemently. "I give +you my word of honour, it is as I say. I have this moment given Vajdar +my purse and despatched him to Transylvania to bring the poor woman's +body back to Vienna." The prince seated himself in an armchair opposite +the marchioness, and continued: "I am even more eager than you to see +her laid to rest in my family vault. My motives are deeper and stronger +than yours. You have been longing for Blanka Zboroy's death because her +existence meant humiliation to you. This thought has brought unrest to +your pillow, but a legion of demons chases sleep from mine. Shall a +Cagliari suffer any living woman to drag his name in the mire before all +the world--to laugh to scorn the decree of the Roman Curia--to scratch +out his name after her own and replace it with that of a Szekler +peasant? That may be allowed to pass among common people, but the +descendants of the Ferraras will find a way, or make one, to prevent +such a scandal. It has become a necessity in my eyes that _she_ should +not walk the same planet with me." + +The marchioness was listening by this time with wide eyes, flushed +cheeks, and parted lips. + +"Of late I have suffered heavy losses," the speaker continued. "Formerly +my income amounted to a million and a half; now it is barely half a +million. My estates in the Romagna have been confiscated, my serfs in +Hungary freed, and I have lost frightful sums by my investments. I know +many a poor devil has been forced to wont himself to rags and poverty, +but for one who has been a leader among men to debase himself and drag +out a miserable existence in obscurity--never! Shall I, forsooth, +suspend the erection of the votive church which I began at the seat of +my ancestors twelve years ago? Or shall I, discarding the masterpieces +of a Thorwaldsen, embellish the sacred edifice with the rude productions +of a stone-cutter? Would you have me say to the woman I adore, 'My dear, +hitherto we have lived in two palaces; henceforth we must be content +with one'? But most impossible of all would it be to confess my +pecuniary embarrassments to my banker and my major-domo, and to direct +them to cut down my future expenditures by a third, to sell my +picture-gallery, my museum, and two-thirds of my collection of diamonds. +No, no! What I am now telling you has never passed my lips before, nor +ever will again; for I know how to apply the remedy, and I will not +submit to humiliation, even though it should cost human blood to prevent +it." + +The speaker bent forward and went on in a more guarded tone: + +"Now as to the woman of whom we were speaking. When her brothers gave +her to me in marriage, we entered into a contract which stipulated that +the property of the one who died first should go to the survivor. She +was young, I was old; the advantage was all on her side. Our divorce has +not annulled this contract. If Blanka Zboroy dies, her brothers must +deliver her property over to me." + +"But her fortune is only a million." + +"Don't you believe it. To be sure, her brothers paid her the interest on +only a million, but her property really amounts to five times that sum. +My part thus far has been simply to await the turn of events. In Rome, +as it appears, this woman's fate hung by a thread; but all at once she +took the insane notion of marrying again. However, that does not +invalidate the contract between us, as the Roman Curia, though it +granted her a divorce, did so on terms that will make it impossible to +recognise her marriage with a Protestant. When death overtakes her, it +will be as the Princess Cagliari that she leaves this world. One thing +we must remember, however: the Protestant Church will require her to +renounce her former faith in order to render her separation from her +first husband valid. Yet, if she does this she will forfeit all claim to +her property, which, by the testator's will, can descend only to Roman +Catholic heirs." + +With both hands Rozina drew the prince's head down and whispered in his +ear: + +"She must die before this second marriage takes place." + +"I shall not meddle with destiny," returned the prince, straightening up +again. "I shall be satisfied and ask no questions if Vajdar brings back +a leaden casket containing the unhappy woman's remains. I shall render +her the last honours with princely pomp, and shall then give orders to +pursue and punish the insurgents who were responsible for her death." + +Rozina burst out laughing. It is always too irresistibly funny to see +the devil trying to wash himself clean. Even Cagliari himself was forced +to smile. + +"Yes," said he, "that is a joke we may laugh at, if you like. But now +hear what I have to say further. If Blanka Zboroy renounces the faith of +her fathers and marries again, it will not suffice for her only to die. +The man she marries must die also, the parson who joined their hands at +the altar, the witnesses of the ceremony, the whole family that received +her in its midst, the schoolchildren that sang the bridal hymn, the +guests who sat around the wedding-table, the people who looked out of +their windows and saw the bridal procession pass,--yes, the whole town +where this marriage took place must be destroyed, and I have it in my +power to accomplish this. Now are you satisfied?" + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +MIRTH AND MOURNING. + + +Meanwhile preparations were going forward in Toroczko for the +approaching nuptials. All preliminaries had been duly attended to, +Blanka had joined the Unitarian Church, and nothing now stood in the way +of her marriage to Manasseh. + +In the courtyard to the rear of the Adorjan family mansion stood a +little house, containing two rooms and a kitchen, which Aaron secretly +fitted up in genuine Toroczko style, with carved hard-wood furniture, a +row of pegs running around the wall and hung with a fine array of glazed +earthenware mugs, and an old-fashioned dresser filled with pottery and a +dazzling display of bright new tinware. In the sleeping-room bedclothes, +canopy, and curtain were embroidered by peasant maidens. This little +house was not to be shown to Blanka until her wedding day. + +During these preparations Aaron climbed the Szekler Stone every evening +and surveyed the horizon in search of any beacons blazing on the +surrounding hills. "If only no mishap befalls, to spoil everything!" he +would murmur to himself as he came down again. + +On the Sunday when the banns are published for the last time it is +customary for all the friends of the young couple--and there is sure to +be a whole army of them--to assemble at the bridegroom's house, which in +the present instance was also the bride's. The banquet on this occasion +is not furnished by the bridal pair: it is a farewell supper given by +the guests of the bride and groom, each of the company contributing a +roasted fowl and a cake. The groom merely supplies the wine, but not +gratis, as all pay for what they drink, and the sum thus collected goes +into the village school fund. + +On Monday morning the wedding festivities begin in earnest. At an early +hour people are awakened by the firing of cannon, after which young men +mount their horses and gallop hither and thither, and two others, +accompanied by trumpeters, go forth to invite the village folk to the +wedding and to bear the bridal gifts through the street. Then the +nuptial procession moves, amid the glad ringing of bells, from the house +of the bride to the church. The old men head the line, the young men +come next, and the women follow, while the bridegroom with his escort, +and the bride with her bridesmaids, are given a place in the middle of +the procession. On coming out of the church, the newly married pair +receive a shower of flowers from the hands of the maidens gathered at +the door. But the ceremonies at the church by no means end the wedding +festival. What follows is peculiarly characteristic and important. First +the young men bearing the bridal cake run a race from the church to the +bridegroom's house, the victor winning a silk neckerchief embroidered by +the bride. Then comes the rhymed dialogue, in which the representatives +of the bride and of the groom chaffer with each other over the bride, +but always with the result that the bridegroom's deputy gets the better +of his opponent--yet only after the bridegroom himself has promised to +be father and brother to his young wife, and to cherish her as the apple +of his eye. Thereupon the maidens form a ring around the bride, sing +songs to her to conquer her bashfulness, and so induce her to yield her +hand to the bridegroom. After this the bridesmaids escort her to her new +home--which in this case was represented by the little house that Aaron +had secretly furnished for her. Neither Blanka nor Manasseh had even +suspected what he was about. + +Blanka found herself in the paradise of her dreams, and when her +attendants had placed a gold-embroidered cap on her head, and she came +forth again into the courtyard,--which was now crowded with eager +friends,--her hand in that of the man whose wife and queen she was +thenceforth to be, it seemed to her that the happiness of heaven itself +was her portion. + +Five hundred guests partook of the wedding feast. Food and drink were +provided in plenty, and every heart was filled to overflowing with the +joy of the occasion. And yet, to Blanka herself, something was still +lacking. "If Jonathan and Zenobia were only here!" she could not but say +to herself, and her happiness was not quite complete without them. + +Toward evening Aaron himself began to feel uneasy at their +non-appearance. He had nearly exhausted his ingenuity in quieting +Blanka's anxiety. Finally he played his last card. + +"Now, my angel," said he, "you remember I promised you I would dance the +Szekler dance at your wedding. Have the goodness to pay attention, and +you will see something that is not to be seen every day." + +The Szekler dance resembles no other terpsichorean exercise, nor is it +by any means easy of execution. It calls for sinews of steel and great +suppleness of limb. To make it still more difficult, the performer is +obliged to provide his own music by singing a merry popular ballad while +he dances. He throws himself first on one leg, then on the other, +bending his knee and sinking nearly to the floor, while he extends the +other leg straight before him, raises one hand above his head, and rests +the other on his hip. His heels must never touch the floor, nor may he, +while bobbing thus comically up and down and trolling his lively ditty, +suffer his face to relax from that expression of sober and dignified +earnestness which marks the true Szekler. It is a dance and a display of +great physical strength and endurance at the same time. + +While Aaron's performance was still in progress, his brother Alexander +broke through the circle of spectators and whispered something in his +ear, whereupon the dancer immediately ceased his exhibition with the +cry, "They have come!" + +With an exclamation of joy Blanka sprang up from her seat. She wished to +be the first to welcome the long-awaited pair. + +"Sister-in-law," cried Alexander, "don't go out! Don't let her go out!" + +But it was too late. Two horses stood before the door, and on one of +them sat Zenobia. Blanka ran to her and took her hand. + +"Have you come at last?" she exclaimed. "Oh, how long we've been looking +for you! Let me help you down." + +Zenobia, however, sat silent and made no move to dismount. + +"Where is Jonathan?" asked Blanka. + +"There he is." Zenobia pointed to the other horse, on whose back was +bound a swathed form--a corpse. + +"Jonathan!" cried Blanka, wildly. + +"Your brother killed my father," Zenobia continued in a monotone, "and +my brothers killed your brother; and so it will go on now for nobody +knows how long." + +Blanka was stricken speechless with horror, but Anna, who followed her, +broke out in lamentations, until a strong hand was laid on her from +behind and Aaron's voice was heard saying: + +"Don't cry, don't make a noise! If the people inside hear you, they'll +come out and tear Ciprianu's daughter to pieces; and she is now our +guest." + +Anna buried her face in Blanka's bosom. + +"Alexander," said Aaron, softly, turning to his brother, "go in and tell +the gipsy band to play a lively reel. The company must be kept amused." + +Meanwhile Manasseh had appeared. + +"Manasseh," whispered Aaron, "come and help me lift our brother down +from the horse." + +These words were to Manasseh like a dagger-thrust in his heart. His +knees trembled under him. But presently he manned himself and hastened +to untie the ropes that held the inanimate form on the horse's back. + +Zenobia meanwhile went on talking in a low tone to Blanka. "In the +skirmish at Felvincz, the Hungarians had one man killed, and he was the +man. His horse carried him until I found him. You invited us to your +wedding, and here we are. Now you may, if you wish, take me in and say +to your guests, 'This is the daughter of that Ciprianu whose sons laid +waste Sasd and Felvincz and killed Jonathan Adorjan.'" + +"Away, away!" stammered Blanka, waving her hand. She was terrified at +the thought of Zenobia's being found there by the people of Toroczko, +and perhaps suffering violence at their hands. + +"Go in peace," said Aaron. "My people will not pursue you. Let bygones +be bygones between us. We owe each other nothing now." + +"I owe you nothing, Aaron, but I owe something to your sister and your +sister-in-law for the very kind invitation they sent me; and that is a +debt which I will yet repay. To you, Manasseh, I have to say, remember +those parting words on Monastery Heights: 'We make peace with you and +swear to keep it; but if a traitor from your own number stirs up +dissension between us, then tremble!' Think of those words often. And +now farewell, and God bless you!" + +With that she turned her horse about and rode away, breasting the wind, +which blew the snow into her face. + +"Where shall we lay the body?" asked Aaron. "The house is full of +guests." + +"Here, in our little cabin," said Blanka. + +"What, in your bridal chamber?" gasped Aaron. "Oh, Father in heaven!" + +But there was no other way. The two brothers bore Jonathan into the +little house, unswathed his cold limbs, and laid him in the bridal bed +until his coffin should be ready for him. So death entered the little +abode and was the first guest. + +Blanka sat down on the edge of the bed and gazed at the dead face. The +resemblance between Jonathan and Manasseh was striking. This lifeless +image of her husband suddenly revealed to her all that had hitherto been +so carefully kept from her knowledge. When she met Jonathan in Kolozsvar +she had conceived of the war, to which so many stately cavaliers were +turning their horses' heads, as a kind of splendid tournament. She +remembered now the promise she had made to give the young soldier a kiss +on his return home, and recalled how he had begged her to keep her word +even though he came back dead. And he had come back dead, and now +claimed the fulfilment of her promise. She bent down over him, and as +she did so the illusion that it was Manasseh himself lying lifeless +before her, grew stronger still. She trembled as she touched her lips to +the dead man's marble brow, and with an outburst of sobs and tears she +called aloud, "Manasseh!" + +He was at her side in a moment, bending over her and pressing her to his +heart. So he was not dead, after all. She recovered her self-control, +but she murmured in his ear: + +"Oh, do not die! Never let me see you lying like that before me!" + +Then she gave place to the three brothers, who likewise embraced the +dead man. One by one the other brothers came out of the house of +rejoicing and entered the chamber of mourning. Alexander had summoned +them. The guests, however, found nothing strange in their disappearance, +but merely gave themselves up the more unrestrainedly to the gaiety of +the occasion. That the bride and groom should have vanished so suddenly +was entirely in accord with established usage: the loving pair had, it +was taken for granted, sought the spot where all the delights of +paradise awaited them. How different was the reality from these +conjectures! + +Blanka watched through the long hours by the dead man's couch. So passed +her wedding night. + +At early dawn the tolling of bells announced to the people of Toroczko +that death had laid his cold hand on one of their number. Those who had +been wedding guests the day before now came as mourners to the house of +the Adorjans. + +The brothers were out on the mountainside. Graves for the dead in +Toroczko are hewn out of the solid rock, and the side of some bare cliff +serves the people for a cemetery. Here each family has a vault, which, +as years pass, penetrates more and more deeply into the mountainside, +until in many cases it becomes a veritable tunnel. No name is carved +over these vaults, and only the memory of the survivors serves to +distinguish one tomb from another. When a man dies, his relatives take +it on themselves to hollow out his grave in the cliff. This is an old +and pious custom. If, however, there is no man in the family to render +this last service, the neighbours gladly offer their help. It would be a +grievous thing in Toroczko to have one's grave dug by a hired +grave-digger. + +In the afternoon the catafalque was erected in the church, and the +entire population assembled to pay the last honours to the deceased. The +people sang, and the pastor delivered a funeral discourse. Then all +accompanied the remains to the rock-hewn cemetery. Men bore the coffin +on their shoulders, and on the coffin lay the dead man's sword, crowned +with garlands, and his shako pierced with a bullet-hole. Leading the +procession marched a student chorus singing a dirge, while weeping women +brought up the rear. When the family vault was reached, the seven +brothers of the deceased took the coffin and laid it in the niche +prepared to receive it; then they rolled a great stone before the +opening, came out of the vault, and kissed one another. + +After that a plain villager, an old and gray-haired man, mounted a stone +pulpit and addressed the assembly, telling them who it was they were +burying, how he had lived, how he had been loved, and in what manner he +had come to his end. The speaker closed with the hope that the memory of +the departed might last as long as there were dwellers in the valley to +speak his name. The pastor then blessed the grave and pronounced a +benediction on the company before him. Finally the student choir +rendered a closing selection, while the women and children left the +place in groups, and only the men remained behind. + +Aaron now ascended the stone pulpit and spoke. "Brothers and friends," +he began, "we have done our duty to the dead; now let us discharge our +obligations to the living. Enough of funeral dirges for the present! Let +us now to arms!" + +Three hundred men echoed his words. "To arms!" they cried, "to arms!" +They were ready and eager to go in quest of the foemen at whose hands +their fellow-townsman had met his death. "Come, let us go home and arm +ourselves!" said they, one to another. + +"We will meet in the marketplace!" called out Aaron from the stone +pulpit, when suddenly he felt a strong hand on his belt behind, and he +was lifted down bodily from his place. He did not need to ask who dealt +thus summarily with him; he knew that only his brother Manasseh was +capable of such a feat of strength. + +"What are you thinking of?" cried Manasseh, in a voice that all could +hear. "Have I not made peace with our neighbours and sworn in the name +of the one living God to maintain it, and would you put me to shame?" + +"Have they not murdered our brother Jonathan?" demanded Aaron. + +"No; our brother fell in battle like a brave soldier, with his sword in +his hand. And others of our land are fighting now for their country and +will die for her. We shall mourn them and honour their memory, but we +are not wild Indians to exact a bloody vengeance for those fallen on the +battle-field." + +"Very well, brother Manasseh, but you need not charge us with being wild +Indians. I do not ask that we should fall upon our neighbours and burn +their houses over their heads, but that we should be on our guard and +defend ourselves and our families the best we know how. Believe me, +brother, I am as good a Christian as the next man; I go to church every +holy day, even when I am ill; but I feel easier, when I pray for my +soul's salvation, if I know my gun is loaded and primed." + +"Then you are no true believer in God," returned Manasseh, in a tone of +reproof. "You worship that Jesus in whose name the massacre of St. +Bartholomew was perpetrated, the burning of heretics sanctioned, and the +crusades undertaken; but you are no true follower of that Jesus who came +with a message of peace and good-will to mankind, and who said to Peter, +'They that take the sword shall perish with the sword.'" + +"I am not so sure that he really said that," rejoined Aaron, shrewdly. +"Matthew has it that he did, but Mark and Luke make no mention of it, +and, according to John, Jesus simply said to Peter, after the latter had +cut off the ear of Malchus, the high priest's servant, 'Put up thy sword +into the sheath.' At any rate, I am not clear what I should have done +had he said it to me; but I know one thing, if I had been there when the +Saviour handed the sop to Judas, I should have dealt Iscariot such a +blow on the head that he wouldn't have had wit enough left to betray his +master. And just so I will strike down the traitor who leads a foe +against Toroczko, if he once comes within my reach." + +"What traitor do you mean?" + +"The one that the girl spoke of yesterday when she said, 'If a traitor +rises up from amidst your own people, then tremble!' I know whom she +meant now: with the insurgents is a man, lately come into notice, who +surpasses all his fellows in cruelty. He is our Iscariot." + +"What makes you think so?" + +"Because he calls himself Diurbanu. No genuine Wallachian would have +taken the nickname of his king, Decebalus. It is as if one of us should +call himself Attila. Now, then, Manasseh, I love you and am ready to +follow your lead. I shall never forget how you went up to Monastery +Heights and came back with our two brothers. You knew how to serve them +better than I. I would have avenged their death merely, but you saved +their lives. So, as you made peace with Moga and his people, you have a +right to ask us to keep it. Therefore we will demand no atonement from +them for Jonathan's death. But when we hear that Diurbanu and his men, +who know nothing about that peace and are no parties to it, are +advancing on Toroczko, then will be the time for us to act." + +"And I will take a hand with you," declared Manasseh. + +Therewith the two brothers clasped hands and embraced each other, after +which the men all returned to their homes. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +THE SPY. + + +Albeit the earth reeked with blood in those days, yet the spring of 1849 +saw the flowers blooming in as great profusion as ever, as if God's +blessing had been vying with man's curse to see which should outdo the +other. + +On a beautiful afternoon in May, Blanka and Anna, with Manasseh and +Aaron, were climbing a steep and tortuous mountain path. Manasseh had +his portfolio and some few other implements of his craft, while Aaron +carried the ladies' wraps and lunch-basket. With the exception of +iron-shod alpenstocks, none of the party were armed. The two men walked +on ahead, side by side, leaving the young women to loiter behind and +pick mayflowers. Rhododendrons, orchids, and epigonitis rewarded their +search in abundance. From the valley below came up the bleating of goats +and the flute-like notes of the blackbird. + +"Are you really in earnest, Aaron, about defending the town from this +position in case of an attack?" asked Manasseh. + +"Wasn't it from the Szekler Stone that our fathers repulsed the whole +Mongolian horde?" was the rejoinder. + +"But that was in the old days, in old-fashioned warfare." + +"Well, the Wallachians are now no further advanced in military science +than were the Tartars then." + +"Yes, but at that time the Szekler Stone was in a condition for +defence," objected Manasseh. + +"And how do you know I haven't put it in such a condition again?" asked +the other. + +"I should like to see how you have accomplished it." + +"I shall not show you, for you are not a soldier, and no civilian shall +see my fortifications. I will show them to the two young ladies; they +count as combatants. The other day they coaxed Alexander to lend them +his pistols, and since then they have been practising shooting at a mark +in the garden behind the house." + +"What, does my wife know how to handle a pistol?" + +"To be sure; and it's no elderberry popgun, either. You may depend upon +it, she'll sell her life dear. You needn't laugh." + +The rocky height known as the Szekler Stone commands a view of vast +extent. Nestled among the hills, twenty-two villages may be counted +from its summit, with the Aranyos River winding this way and that among +them, like a ribbon of silver, until it empties into another tortuous +stream which carries its waters to the Maros. But on the opposite side, +toward the northwest, in striking contrast with this picture of happy +human industry, a boundless waste of rugged, forest-clad mountain peaks +meets the eye, with no sign of house or hamlet. + +From the side toward Toroczko, which lay smiling in the valley, its +fruit-trees in full bloom, its fields looking like so many squares of +green carpet, and its church-spire rising conspicuous above the foliage, +one could hear, like the throbbing of a giant's heart, the heavy beating +of steam hammers. There the scythe and the ploughshare were being +fashioned, and all the implements wherewith the hand of man subdued to +his use those rugged hillsides. + +"If I could only paint that picture!" sighed Manasseh. + +"You succeeded with the Colosseum," was Blanka's encouraging rejoinder. + +"That was Rome, this is Toroczko. I could hit my sweetheart's likeness; +my mother's is beyond me." + +Nevertheless he was determined to try his hand; so the others left him +at work and went on to view the curiosities of the Szekler Stone. + +"Take good care of my wife," Manasseh called to his brother, "and don't +let her fall over any precipice." + +"Never fear," Aaron shouted back. "The whole Szekler Stone shall fall +first." + +"Promise not to take Blanka and Anna up Hidas Peak." + +"I promise." + +"On your honour as a Szekler and a Unitarian?" + +"On my honour as a Szekler and a Unitarian." + +With that Manasseh let them go their way. But in the midst of his +sketching it occurred to him that Aaron had only promised not to "take" +the ladies up Hidas Peak, which might mean that he would not carry them +up, but was at liberty to lead them; for Aaron was full of all such +quips and quibbles as that. Manasseh closed his portfolio, picked up his +things, and followed the path taken by the others. + +Yet there was no mischievous intent in Aaron's mind. He conducted Anna +and Blanka to the verge of the gorge that separates the so-called Hidas +Peak of the Szekler Stone from the Louis Peak. This ravine is a deep +cutting, down which a steep, breakneck path leads directly to Toroczko, +but is very seldom used. On the farther side of the gorge may be seen a +cave in the rocks, popularly known as Csegez Cave. A rude stone rampart +guards its mouth, and, as only a very narrow path along the brink of +the precipice leads to this cavern, it could be easily held against an +assault. + +On the summit of Hidas Peak was planted a bundle of straw, which was +visible from a considerable distance, and served as a warning not to +ascend. Was it meant as a protection to the single fir-tree left +standing there in lonely majesty, or to deter hay-thieves from cutting +the grass that grew there? Perhaps it was a friendly caution to +sightseers not to hazard the ascent, as it might cost them their lives. + +The two young women recognised at once the inadvisability of their +attempting this dangerous climb, but to Aaron the ascent was mere sport. +He had often been up there before. Promising his companions that, if +they would be on their good behaviour, and not stir from the spot, he +would climb the rocky height, blow a blast on his horn that should awake +the echoes, and bring them back a twig from the solitary fir-tree, he +left them seated on the grass and busy arranging the flowers they had +gathered. + +It seemed a long time before he gained the summit, and the young women +grew tired of sitting still in one place. Anna, true miner's daughter +that she was, spied some scattered bits of carnelian in the rubble near +by, and pointed them out to Blanka. Agate and chalcedony were also to be +found among the loose stones, and often the three occurred together. +Both Anna and her companion were soon busy gathering these treasures and +pocketing the rarest specimens. Indeed, so intent were they on their +work that they failed to note the approach of a strange man, until he +stood within fifty paces of them. Whence could he have come? Had he been +concealed behind some rock? What was his purpose in thus stealing on the +two unprotected women? He wore the Wallachian peasant costume,--a high +cap of white lamb's wool, from beneath which his long, black hair hung +down over his shoulders, a leather dolman, without sleeves, a broad belt +with buckles, under which his shirt extended half-way to his knees, and +laced shoes. He carried a scythe over one shoulder, and stood with his +back to the sun, so that his features could not be clearly +distinguished. + +The young women seized each other by the hand, and uttered a cry of +alarm. The sight of the strange figure seemed to work on them like a +nightmare, or like the ghost of some one known in life, but long since +laid to rest in the grave. At first the man appeared to be as badly +frightened as the young ladies. He halted, gave a start as of surprise, +opened his mouth to speak, and then stood dumb, with staring eyes. For +several seconds he seemed undecided what to do next. Then he put himself +in motion and advanced toward the ladies, his face at the same time +assuming a wild, demoniac expression. He lowered his scythe from his +shoulder, and grasped it in his right hand. + +At that moment there sounded from the height above the trumpet-like peal +of Aaron's horn. + +"Aaron! Aaron!" cried both young women in concert and with all their +strength. + +The intruder, taking fright at sound of the horn and at the name, stood +still and threw a look behind. + +"Run, _frate_!"[1] shouted Aaron from above, already descrying the man. + +[Footnote 1: Rumanian for "brother."] + +But the latter, counting with safety on a considerable interval before +Aaron could descend, started once more toward Anna and Blanka. Only +twenty paces now intervened between him and them. His eyes glowed and +his face was distorted with a horrid expression, more brutal than human. +His appearance might well have made the boldest recoil. Anna planted +herself before her companion, as if to shelter her, while Blanka felt +only a mad desire to run and throw herself over the precipice. But +suddenly, when the man was only a few steps from them, he halted and +drew back as if some one had smitten him in the face, his knees +trembled, and an inarticulate cry escaped his lips. He seemed to have +encountered something from which he drew back in dismay, as the leopard, +when pursuing a deer, turns tail at sight of a lion. Blanka and Anna +gave a backward glance and then started to run. Fear now left them, and +as they ran they called aloud, in the glad assurance of help near at +hand, "Manasseh! Manasseh!"--until they reached him and threw themselves +into his arms. + +Meanwhile the strange man, looking over his shoulder and seeing Aaron +descending upon him with bold leaps and bounds, did not pause long to +consider, but dropped his scythe and ran for his life, down the steep +side of the gorge, over rubble-stones and slippery boulders. + +"What are you so frightened at?" asked Manasseh, taking the matter +lightly and kissing back the roses into the ladies' pale cheeks. + +Panting and gasping for breath, they could hardly stammer out the cause +of their alarm, but managed to explain that a "terrible man" had +suddenly come upon them and chased them. Yet neither Blanka nor Anna +went on to say of whom this strange figure had reminded her. + +"You little geese!" cried Manasseh, laughing, "it was only a hay-thief. +Grass grows on Hidas Peak, and ever since the days of King Matthias the +Szeklers on the Aranyos have quarrelled with their neighbours over the +cutting of it. The man who is on hand first with his scythe carries it +off. So that bugaboo of yours was merely a harmless peasant in quest of +fodder for his cow, and he took fright at sight of us and ran away. +Look there, will you, he has dropped his scythe in his eagerness to +escape." + +The two young women, still clinging to Manasseh, went with him to +examine the Wallachian's scythe. + +"A tool of our own make!" he cried, lifting it up and inspecting it. "It +has our trade-mark. The snath is full of notches--probably the owner's +record of work done and of his share in the harvest." + +The said owner was by this time far down the steep path. Aaron now +joined his companions, much out of breath, red in the face, and without +his hat, which he had thrown away in order to run the faster. He shouted +to the fugitive to stop, and, going to the edge of the ravine, snatched +up a great stone and hurled it after him. + +"Oh, heavens!" cried Anna, "what have you done? What if it should hit +him?" + +"If it hits him it will help him along the faster," was Aaron's reply as +he caught up a second stone, smaller than the first, and sent it to +overtake its fellow. But the fleeing form was too far down the hill to +serve as a good target, and Aaron's stones bounded harmlessly by. + +"You might have killed him!" said Anna, reproachfully. + +"And that would have been the best thing for all concerned," answered +Aaron, giving his moustache a fierce pull. + +"But it would have been a piece of needless cruelty," remarked +Manasseh,--"and merely on account of a little hay that has not been +touched, after all." + +"He didn't come up here to steal hay; he is one of Diurbanu's spies." + +"But what, pray, could he spy out here?" + +"What could he spy out? Oh, just see how sharp my brother Manasseh is! +My fortifications and armament are on the Szekler Stone. Yes, you may +laugh now, but you won't laugh when you come to learn their value. I +will show the ladies my cannon, but I won't let you see them, Manasseh." + +"Cannon, brother?" repeated Manasseh, laughing. "How in the world did +you ever get them up here?" + +"My business is with the ladies now," was all Aaron would say. "You sit +down on a stone and paint the beautiful view. My battery is not for you +to see. Yes, I have a battery, all complete. If Aaron Gabor could fit +out his Szeklers with artillery, why should not his namesake be able to +do the same? You young women may see my big guns; I'll show them to you. +But first promise me solemnly not to tell any mortal soul what you +see--not even Manasseh." + +Blanka and Anna both pledged themselves most solemnly to secrecy, +whereupon Aaron led them up to a height on which stood the ruins of +Szekler-Stone Castle, one of the oldest monuments to be found in all +Hungary. + +After a short interval the three rejoined Manasseh, the two ladies +laughing and in the merriest of moods, scarcely heeding their +conductor's solemnly raised forefinger and sober mien, which were meant +to remind them of their promise. But they betrayed no secrets; they only +laughed. Yet Aaron thought it betrayal enough for them even to laugh. + +"That's always the way," he muttered, "when you let a woman into a +secret!" + +They soothed and caressed him, but only laughed the more as they did so. + +"I wish you to understand that this is no trifling matter," he declared, +"and that I had good reason to send those stones after that prying spy." + +This allusion checked the young women's merriment at once, and a shudder +ran over them at the remembrance of what had passed. "Did we both have +the same thought?" whispered Blanka to Anna. + +"Yes," returned the latter, with a sigh. + +That night, before she lay down to sleep, Anna veiled the little +portrait that hung in her room, as if to prevent her seeing it in her +dreams. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +THE HAND OF FATE. + + +Through the main street of Abrudbanya rode two men, one of them wearing +an overcoat with silver buttons over his Wallachian dress, and a tuft of +heron's feathers in his cap, while at his side hung a curved sword, +pistols protruded from his holsters, and a rifle lay across his +saddle-bow. His face had nothing of the Wallachian peasant in its +features or expression. The other horseman, however, who rode at some +paces' distance in the rear, was manifestly of the peasant class. + +The horses' hoofs awoke the echoes of the vacant street. Silence and +desolation reigned supreme. Half-burned houses and smoke-blackened walls +greeted the riders on every side. High up on the door-post of a church +appeared the bloody imprint of a child's hand. How had it come there? +Grass and weeds were growing in the marketplace, and a millstone covered +the village well. Here and there a lean and hungry dog crept forth at +the horsemen's approach, howled dismally, and then retreated among the +ruins. + +After this scene of devastation was passed, the highway led the riders +along the bank of a stream, on both sides of which smelting works had +been erected, as this region is rich in gold-producing ore; but nothing +except charred ruins was now left of the buildings. At intervals a +deserted mill was passed, its wheel still turning idly under the impulse +of the tireless stream. Leaving this mining district behind, the two +riders came to a settlement of a different sort, which had not been +given over entirely to destruction. Only occasionally a house showed +windows or doors lacking, while many were wholly unharmed. Among the +latter was one building in whose front wall a well-preserved Roman +gravestone was set, its carving in high relief being still clearly +outlined. Here had once been entombed the ashes of Caius Longinis, a +centurion of the third legion. _Sit sibi terra levis!_ One of the +door-posts had in ancient times served as a milestone, and the broad +bench before the house was made from the lid of a sarcophagus, bearing +an inscription which informed the archaeologist what saffron-haired Roman +beauty had, centuries before, been laid to rest beneath it. + +The riders drew rein before this house, and straightway an old woman of +extraordinary ugliness stuck her head out of the little door. Among the +Wallachians one meets with the comeliest young women and the ugliest old +hags. Knock at any door, and it is sure to be opened by one of these +ancient dames. + +"He isn't at home," called out the old woman, without waiting to be +addressed. "He has gone to the 'Priest's Tree.' You'll find him there." + +"Well, then, if you know where this 'Priest's Tree' is, go ahead and +show us the way," commanded he of the silver buttons, unwilling even to +halt long enough to water his horse, so pressing was his errand. + +The way led through a vast forest, and when the riders reached their +destination it was late evening, the darkness being further increased by +gathering thunder-clouds. The so-called "Priest's Tree" is a giant beech +standing in a broad open space and fenced around with a hedge planted by +pious hands. Under this tree have been sworn the most solemn of oaths, +and the ground shaded by it is hallowed. Near by stands a wooden church, +exactly like the churches to be seen in all Wallachian villages, its +steep roof and sides covered with shingles, and a pointed turret +surmounting the whole. The belfry has no bell, and the windows are +unglazed, so that the breezes blow at will through the deserted +building. + +Our riders found a dozen or more horses tethered at the foot of the tree +and watched by a few Wallachian lads, who were muffled in fur coats +against the approach of the storm. The beech furnished a good shelter: +lightning could not strike it, as it was the "Priest's Tree." + +Leaving his horse in charge of his attendant, he of the silver buttons +hastened on to the church door, where an armed sentry demanded his name. + +"Diurbanu," was the reply, whereupon he was admitted. + +The interior of the church was very dark. Two wax tapers, indeed, burned +on the altar, but they flickered and flared so in the wind as to furnish +a very insufficient light. The thunder-clouds without, however, were now +rent with frequent flashes of lightning, which served to illumine the +scene within. About a dozen men were assembled there, sitting on the +benches that had once been occupied by worshippers, some wearing the +costume of the country, while others were dressed in military uniform. +Before them, with his back to the altar, sat a man of commanding +appearance, attired in a clerical gown with long, flowing sleeves. In +his lap he held a little fair-haired boy, covering the child with one of +his wide sleeves, and giving it the golden crucifix that hung from his +neck to play with. At times his long black beard completely concealed +the child's face. The little one was playing and prattling, giving no +heed to the talk of the men about him and betraying no alarm at the +tumultuous approach of the storm. + +The newcomer advanced and addressed the group: + +"Gentleman and friends, glorious descendants of Decebalus and Trajan!" + +"Never mind ceremony now, Diurbanu," interrupted the wearer of the gown, +in a deep, commanding voice. "What news? Let us hear your errand." + +"I am the bearer of instructions." + +"Out with them, then!" + +"We must prosecute the war with might and main. There is no time to +lose. Bem regards the Transylvanian campaign as ended, and has set out +with his whole army for the Banat, leaving only a few regulars to guard +the passes and to prosecute the siege of Karlsburg. Our part is to check +him in his march on Croatia." + +"Or, in other words," interrupted the man in the gown, "to prevent him +from dealing Jellachich a fatal blow, we are to throw ourselves in Bem's +way." + +"The victors of Abrudbanya and Brad will not shrink from the +undertaking, I should hope," was Diurbanu's response. + +"Let us understand each other," said the other, setting the little boy +on his knee and trotting him up and down as he spoke. "Is it reasonable +to suppose that we could, without cavalry, artillery, or experienced +commanders, attack a fully equipped force with any hope of success, +especially after that force has driven an Austrian army corps out of +the country and shown itself able to repulse the Russian auxiliaries?" + +"No one expects that of us. Our operations are to be confined to raids +in the mountains." + +"But no enemy is to be found now in the mountains. Don't you know that? +You have just come over the mountains. Did you see any sign of the +enemy?" + +"We have foes enough there still. There is Toroczko." Diurbanu's face, +as he said this, was suddenly illumined by a blinding flash of +lightning. + +"And Torda!" cried a voice from the benches. + +"No, we have nothing against Torda," declared Diurbanu, almost angrily. + +"But what have we against Toroczko?" asked another voice. "The men of +Toroczko have never done us any harm. So far we have received their iron +only in the form of ploughs and shovels, scythes and wheel-tires." + +"Their sons are serving under Bem," was the rejoinder, "and it is from +them that we have received their iron in other shapes. Yet that is not +the main reason. Toroczko is a breeding-place of Magyar ideas and Magyar +civilisation, an asylum open to Protestant reformers, the pride of a +handful of people who hope to conquer the world by dint of their science +and industry. The fall of Toroczko would spread a wholesome fear far and +wide; it would be almost as if one should report the overthrow of Pest +itself. Bem's men would halt on the march, panic-stricken at the news, +and Bem himself would be forced to yield to their desires and return to +Transylvania. And the more terrible our work of devastation, the more +brilliant will be the military success that must follow as its result." + +The thunder-claps came at such frequent intervals that the speaker could +with difficulty make himself heard. When he had ended, the deep voice of +him who wore the clerical gown began in reply: + +"Listen to me, Diurbanu. You are deceived on one point. Those on whom +you count in this bloody work are sated with slaughter. So long as they +thirsted for revenge they were eager to shed human blood; but now they +have slaked their thirst and are beginning to rue their deeds. I saw a +family being cut down in the open street, and I rushed forward and +snatched this little flaxen-haired boy from the murderers' hands and hid +him under my cloak. At that a young man, the most furious one of the +party, aimed such a stroke at my head with his scythe that he would +certainly have split my skull had not my cap deadened the blow. But +three days later this same young man came to see the child whose rescue +had filled him with such fury that he had lifted his hand with murderous +intent against me, his anointed priest; and because the little boy cried +for his lost blackbird, the young man went into the woods and caught +another for him. More than that, he would now gladly restore the boy's +parents to him if he could. Ever since I saved the little one's life he +has clung to me and refused to be parted from me." + +The priest spoke in a tongue strange to the little boy, who consequently +understood not a word of what was said, but went on with his innocent +prattle and laughter. + +"Comrades," resumed Diurbanu, addressing the group before him, "all this +is wide of the mark. We are in the midst of war, and in war-times the +soldier must go whither he is sent." + +"Very well, Diurbanu," was the reply, "our soldiers will go whither they +are sent. The wind can direct the storm-cloud whither it shall go, but +cannot compel it to flash lightning and hurl thunderbolts at command." + +"But I know one storm-cloud," rejoined Diurbanu, "that has not withheld +its thunderbolts." + +"You mean Ciprianu and his men?" + +"Yes." + +"But Ciprianu and both his sons are now fallen." + +"So much the better. He left a daughter who thirsts for revenge." + +"Do you know her?" + +"She is my sweetheart." + +"And have you picked out the village whose destruction is to be her +bridal gift? Which one is it?" + +"I have told you already,--Toroczko." + +"But I say it shall be Torda!" cried a determined voice. + +"I protest." + +"Let us draw lots to decide it." + +"Very well," assented Diurbanu, and, going to the altar on which stood +the flickering candles, he wrote a name on each of two cards and threw +the bits of pasteboard into his cap. "Now who will draw?" he asked; but +no one volunteered. "It must be an innocent hand that decides the fate +of these two towns," continued Diurbanu. "This little chap shall draw +for us." + +"What, this innocent child decide which town shall be given over to fire +and blood and pillage!" exclaimed the priest. "An infernal contrivance +of yours, Diurbanu!" + +But meantime the child had reached out a tiny hand and clutched at one +of the cards, which it handed to the priest. + +"Bring me one of the candles," bade the latter. + +But no candle was necessary, for even as he spoke a flash of lightning +penetrated to the remotest corner of the little church. The group of men +whose heads were bent over the bit of cardboard started and cried out +in concert: + +"Toroczko!" + +In the peal of thunder that followed the very ground shook under their +feet and the building rocked over their heads. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +OLD SCORES. + + +The inhabitants of the doomed town were warned beforehand by a friendly +informer what was in store for them. For two months they knew that they +were standing over a mine which awaited only the proper moment to be +touched off. Nevertheless, during this time they went about their usual +tasks, digging iron out of the bowels of the earth, sowing their grain, +planting and weeding their gardens, spinning their flax, tanning their +hides, sending their children to school, and all betaking themselves to +church on Sunday morning. The Sunday afternoon diversions, however, were +suspended, and in their stead the entire male population practised +military drill. Even the twelve-year-old boy cried if he was not allowed +to take part. All were determined to shed their last drop of blood +rather than let the enemy set foot inside their town. Even the women +busied themselves sharpening axes and scythes, resolute in their purpose +to defend their little ones or, if need were, to put them to death with +their own hands and then slay themselves. No woman, no child, should +fall into the enemy's clutches alive. + +It was the very last day of July. The fields were dotted with sheaves of +grain, and the farmers were hastening to gather them in. They had been +surprised by countless numbers of crows and ravens which invaded the +valley and filled the air with their hoarse, discordant cries. Those +experienced in war knew that these birds were the usual attendants and +heralds of armies. + +More definite tidings were not long in coming. Messengers from St. +George arrived breathless with the report that Diurbanu's troops were +rapidly approaching. But no one was disconcerted by the news; all were +ready for the enemy. Throwing scythes and pitchforks aside, they +snatched up their firearms. Each battalion of the national guard had its +assigned position. The streets were barricaded with wagons, and the road +toward Borev was laid under water by damming the brook, to prevent a +surprise from that direction. Aaron, with forty other men, clambered up +the steep slope of the Szekler Stone to repulse the enemy from this +commanding height,--forty men against as many hundred. They would have +laughed at their own folly had they but stopped to think. + +Toward noon the sturdy little band of defenders was increased by the +coming of fugitives from St. George. For these, too, there were arms +enough in Toroczko. The effective force now in the village amounted to +nearly four hundred. + +Manasseh was at home with the women of the family. They had declined +Aaron's offer to conceal them in Csegez Cave, preferring to remain under +the family roof and there await what God had appointed them. Manasseh +now embraced Blanka and Anna and bade them farewell. + +"Where are you going?" asked Blanka, in alarm. Jonathan's pale face +seemed at that moment to float before her vision, and she feared to part +with her husband, lest he should not return. + +"I am going to the enemy's camp." + +"Alone?" + +"No, not alone. I am well attended: Uriel goes before me, Raphael is on +my right hand, Gabriel on my left, behind me Michael, and over my head +Israel." + +"But you are going unarmed." + +"No, I am armed with the peace treaty which our foes concluded with me, +swearing not to attack Toroczko. That is my weapon, and with it I will +win a bloodless victory." + +Blanka looked sorrowfully into her husband's face, and in that look was +expressed all that her tongue was powerless to utter,--her infinite love +for the man and her deep despair at the thought of perhaps never again +meeting those eyes so full of love and tenderness for her. + +"I tried it once before, you know," he reminded her, "and you know how +well I succeeded then. The leader of the Wallachians is an old +acquaintance of mine." But this last was true in a sense that the +speaker little dreamed--as he was to learn later. + +Blanka pressed her husband's hand. "Very well," said she, with a brave +effort at cheerful confidence, "do as seems best to you, and Heaven will +care for us." + +Manasseh could not suppress a sigh as he kissed his wife on the +forehead. Anna, who could read her brother's face, knew what that sigh +meant. + +"You need not be anxious about us, dear brother," she said. "We are +under God's protection, and are prepared for the worst. We decided long +ago what we should do if we were forced to it. When all is lost that is +dearest to us,--our loved ones, our home, our country,--we shall not +wait tamely for the enemy to break into the house. Here are two pistols: +each of us will take one of them and point it at the other's heart, each +will utter the name that is last in her thoughts, and that will be the +last word that will ever pass her lips. Now you may go on your errand +and need not fear for us." + +Manasseh's feelings were too deep for utterance. Without a word he +kissed the dear ones before him and then left the house and hastened +away. He turned his face toward St. George. He was alone and had not +even a stick in his hand. + +It was about four o'clock in the afternoon. To a good pedestrian St. +George is only half an hour's walk from Toroczko. On the outskirts of +the village Manasseh met scattered bodies of soldiery who surveyed him +in much surprise; but, as he was unarmed, they offered him no injury. +His calmness of bearing and the cool, collected look with which he met +their scrutiny completely disarmed them. Besides, they were busy cutting +up slaughtered cattle and cooking their supper in the open fields. As +was usual among such irregular troops, no outposts had been set to +challenge the approach of strangers. + +Manasseh accosted the first man whose face impressed him favourably, and +asked for guidance to the commander's quarters. The man willingly gave +him his escort. On the way he went so far as to unbosom himself to +Manasseh, complaining that, at this busy season of the year, when all +ought to be at home, men were forced to make so long a march. After +showing the way to the house where the commander was to be found, he +received a cigar from Manasseh, and acknowledged himself amply repaid +for his trouble. + +Manasseh advanced to the door and announced to a group of armed men +lounging about it that he wished to see Diurbanu. + +"The general is not to be seen just now," was the reply; "he is at +dinner, and will not leave the table for some time yet." + +Manasseh drew a visiting-card from his pocket, and, first bending down +one corner, sent it in to the general. The bearer of it soon returned +with the announcement that Diurbanu bade the visitor wait awhile, and +meantime he was to be bound and confined in the cellar. Manasseh +assented to this peculiar reception. "Many men, many manners," said he +to himself. It would have been easy enough for him to leap the railing +of the porch and flee to the woods before the others could lay hands on +him, but he had not come hither merely to run away again the next +moment. + +"Very well, go ahead and bind me," said he, good-humouredly, to the +guards. But they looked at one another in helpless inquiry who should +undertake to manacle this large, strong man. When at length two had +volunteered to essay the task, it appeared that there was no rope in +readiness. "Go and get one," commanded the prisoner; and when a stout +cord had been procured, he went on with his directions: "Now take my +pocketbook out; you'll find some loose change in it which you may divide +among you. There is also a folded paper in the pocketbook; deliver it +to the general and ask him to read it. Then take a cigar out of my +waistcoat pocket, light it and stick it in my mouth." + +These commands having been duly executed, two of the guards led their +prisoner down into the cellar, which appeared to be Diurbanu's +antechamber for such visitors as came to him with troublesome petitions. +Not satisfied with conducting him to the main or outer cellar, +Manasseh's escort opened the iron door leading into an inner +compartment, pushed him through it, and closed the portal upon him, +after bidding him take a seat and make himself comfortable. + +Manasseh found himself in almost total darkness. Only an air-hole over +his door admitted a very feeble light from the dimly illumined outer +cellar. He began to consider his situation, comforting himself with the +reflection that at Monastery Heights he had been treated in much the +same fashion, except that there his hands had not been bound. He had +been kept in confinement all night, and in the morning his terms of +peace had been accepted. This time, too, he hoped for a like issue. + +When a cigar is smoked in the dark it lights up the smoker's face at +each puff. Suddenly a voice from out of the gloom called, "Manasseh!" + +"Who is there?" + +"I." + +It was a gipsy, whose voice Manasseh recognised. "How came you here, +Lanyi?" he asked. + +"Diurbanu had me locked up--the devil take him!" + +"What grudge had he against you?" + +"He ordered me to play to him while he sat at dinner," explained the +gipsy; "but I told him I wouldn't do it." + +"Why not?" + +"Because I won't make music for my country's enemies." + +His country, poor fellow! What share had he in that country beyond the +right to tramp the public highway, and make himself a mud hut for +shelter? + +"Then he gave me a cuff," continued the gipsy, "had me shut up here, and +promised to hang me. Well, he may break me on the wheel, for aught I +care, but I won't play for him even if he smashes my fiddle for +refusing." + +"Well, don't be down-hearted, my little man," said Manasseh, cheerily. + +"I'm not a bit down-hearted," declared the other. "I only thought I'd +ask you not to throw away your cigar-stump when you've finished smoking. +You can walk, your feet are free; come here when you are through with +your cigar, and let it fall into my mouth, so that I can chew it." + +"But you'll find it a hot mouthful." + +"So much the better." + +This cynical gipsy phlegm exactly suited Manasseh's mood, and he exerted +himself to cheer the poor fellow up, promising to secure his release as +soon as he himself should gain an audience with Diurbanu. + +"But you won't get out of here yourself in a hurry," returned the gipsy. +"Once in Diurbanu's hands, you might as well be in the hangman's. +Already he has put to death seven envoys who came to treat for peace, +and they were only St. George peasants. So what will he do to you who +are an Adorjan and wear a seal ring? But you've a breathing-spell yet. +The others served him as a little relish before dinner; you are to be +kept for dessert. One drinks a glass of spirits at a gulp, but black +coffee is to be sipped and enjoyed. I know this Diurbanu well, and +you'll know him, too, before he's through with you. I'll bet you my +fiddle, Manasseh, you won't live to see another day; but it serves you +right! You could handle three such men as Diurbanu in a fair fight; yet, +instead of meeting him on the battle-field, you walk right into his +clutches and let him bind you fast--like Christ on the cross." + +"Take not that name in vain, you rogue!" commanded Manasseh, sternly, +"or I'll let you feel the weight of my foot." + +"Kick me if you wish to," returned the vagrant, imperturbably; "but, +all the same, if I had been Christ I wouldn't have chosen a miserable +donkey to ride on, but would have sent for the best horse out of Baron +Wesselenyi's stud; and as soon as I had the nag between my legs, I would +have snapped my fingers at old Pontius Pilate." + +The gipsy's eloquence was here interrupted by the sound of a key turning +in the outer door of the cellar. + +"They're coming!" cried the fiddler; "and I sha'n't get your +cigar-stump, Manasseh. They'll take me out first." + +Through the hole above the iron door a reddish light could now be seen. +Presently the iron door itself was opened, and two men, bearing +pitch-pine torches, entered, and then stood one on each side of the +door. Diurbanu came last, dressed in the costume of a Wallachian +military commander, his face flushed with wine and evil passions, and +his long hair falling over his shoulders. Despite his disguise, Manasseh +recognised him at once. He saw that the gipsy's words had conveyed no +idle warning. The man before him was none other than Benjamin Vajdar. +Yet the prisoner lost nothing of his composure, but with head erect and +unflinching gaze faced his deadly enemy. + +"Well, Manasseh Adorjan," began the other, "you asked to see me, and +here I am. Do you know me now?" + +"You are called Diurbanu," replied Manasseh, coldly. + +"And don't you know another name for me? Don't I remind you of an old +acquaintance?" + +"To him whom you resemble, I have nothing to say. I have come to you as +to Diurbanu, I have placed in your hands the peace-treaty which your +people made with my people, and I demand its observance." + +"To convince you that I am not merely Diurbanu, but also another, look +here." With that he called one of the torch-bearers and held to the +flame the paper he had received from Manasseh. + +The latter shrugged his shoulders and blew a cloud of cigar-smoke. + +"Do you understand now," continued Diurbanu, "that there is one man in +the world who has sworn to march against Toroczko, treaty or no treaty, +to leave not one stone on another in that town, and not one of its +people alive to tell the story of its destruction? My day has come at +last--and Toroczko's night." The speaker's features took on at these +words an expression more like that of a hyena than of a human being. + +"Idle threats!" muttered Manasseh, scornfully, between his teeth. + +"Idle threats, are they?" retorted the other, striking the hilt of his +sword and raising his head haughtily. "You think, do you, that I am +joking, and that I will take pity on you?" + +"Oh, as for me, you may do what you please with me--torture me, kill me, +if you choose. I am ready. But that will not help you to take Toroczko. +All are in arms there and waiting for you. Go ahead with your plan. +You'll find many an old acquaintance to receive you there. Our defences +are abundantly able to withstand your soldiers, who, you know well +enough, are tired of fighting and have no love for storming ramparts. +Kill me, if you wish, but there will be only one man the less against +you; and all the satisfaction you and your men will get from Toroczko +will be broken heads. Not one stone will you disturb in all the town." + +"We'll soon make you sing another tune," returned Diurbanu, and he began +to roll up his sleeves, like an executioner preparing to torture his +victim. "You shall hear our plan. I will be perfectly honest with you. +While a part of my forces conduct a feigned assault in the valley, and +so engage the attention of your men, my main body will descend on the +town from the direction of the Szekler Stone, and will assail it in the +rear, where none but women and children are left to receive the attack. +What the fate of these women and children is likely to be, you may +conjecture from the fact that the assaulting party is led by a woman,--a +woman whose heart is full of bitter hatred, a maiden whose father and +two brothers have been killed before her eyes, a proud girl whom your +brothers have driven from their door with insulting words. This woman is +Zenobia, Ciprianu's daughter, once your brother Jonathan's sweetheart, +but now betrothed to me--or, at least, she fancies she is. While I keep +your armed forces busy, she will knock at the door of your house. At her +signal the work of carnage and destruction will begin. Your whole family +will fall into her hands." + +Manasseh shuddered with horror, and drew a deep breath. His head was no +longer proudly erect, his self-confidence was gone. "God's will be +done!" he murmured. + +"So I've found your tender spot, have I?" cried the other, with an +exultant laugh. "Just think what is in store for your wife (but what am +I saying? She is not your wife)--your mistress." + +At this insult to his adored Blanka, Manasseh's wrath blazed up and +mastered him. He spit his burning cigar stump into the speaker's face. +It was the utmost he could do. The other swallowed his rage at the +indignity and wiped the ashes from his face, which presently broke into +a smile--a hideous smile. + +"Very good, Manasseh! One more score to charge up against you. I don't +attempt to even the account on your unfeeling body, but on your soul, +which I know how to torture. For this last insult, as well as for a +hundred former injuries, I shall wreak ample revenge on Blanka Zboroy, +before your own turn comes." + +"Do not count too confidently on that," rejoined Manasseh. "The moment +your ruffian crew break into our house, two women will put their pistols +to each other's hearts, and your men will find only a couple of dead +bodies." + +"Ha, ha! To deprive you of even this last consolation, I beg to assure +you that the two women will not lay a finger on their pistols, because +Zenobia is to gain entrance to them before the men appear. She will come +to them in the guise of a friend and deliverer, promising to rescue them +for Jonathan's sake. She will furnish them Wallachian peasant clothes, +help them about their disguise, and, amidst the general confusion, bring +them away with her, alive and unharmed, to St. George, so that you will +have the pleasure of seeing Blanka Zboroy in my power. Further details I +will leave to your own imagination; and to enable you to pursue these +pleasant fancies undisturbed I will now say good night." + +"Manasseh!" called a voice from the darkness, when Diurbanu had gone. + +"Who calls? Or is it only a rat?" Manasseh had forgotten that his +dungeon contained another prisoner beside himself. + +"Yes, it's a rat," answered the voice. "I heard my schoolmaster tell a +story once about a lion that fell into a snare, and a mouse came and +gnawed the ropes so as to set him free. If you will bend down here I'll +untie your knots with my teeth." + +Manasseh complied. The gipsy had splendid teeth, and he bit and tugged +at the knots until the prisoner's hands were free, and he felt himself +another man altogether. + +"Now pull this stake out from under my knees," directed the fiddler, +whose hands were tied together and passed over his bent knees, where +they were held fast by a stick of wood. His legs being freed, he slipped +the cords from his hands like a pair of gloves. He was no little elated +over his achievements. "And now we will sell our lives dear!" he cried, +with a glad leap into the air. + +The rattle of small arms in the distance began to be heard, and through +the little opening over the iron door a ruddy light as from a fire +became visible. At first Manasseh thought some one was coming again with +a torch; but as the iron door did not open, and the red light grew +constantly brighter, he finally guessed the cause of the illumination. +Those who were now assaulting Toroczko must have set fire to St. George +first, to furnish the people of the former place an example of what they +were themselves to expect, and perhaps also to supply a light for the +attacking party. The whole village was in flames. So it appeared that +Diurbanu's words had conveyed no empty threat. The work of revenge had +begun with St. George, and now came Toroczko's turn. That the latter +place was offering a spirited resistance could be inferred from the +lively firing that was to be plainly heard. But how would it be when the +attack in the rear should begin, from the direction of the Szekler +Stone? Could Aaron and his forty men offer any effectual opposition to +the invaders? + +Night must have fallen ere this. Manasseh paced his prison cell in +almost unbearable impatience, as he listened to the distant firing, and +watched the red glow over the door growing gradually brighter. A heavy +booming as of cannon was heard from the Szekler Stone. So the attack in +that quarter had begun, and Aaron's battery was at work. Zenobia must be +leading the enemy into the town, for surely no means at Aaron's command +could repulse the assaulting party. + +Manasseh was fast losing all self-control. "I will find a way out of +this!" he cried, in a frenzy. + +Running to the door, he seized its iron ring and shook the heavy portal +in impotent fury. Then he turned back and surveyed his place of +confinement with searching eyes. It was now fairly well lighted by the +ruddy glare that came through the air-hole. The place had formerly been +a wine cellar, but every cask and barrel was now gone. The support on +which they had rested, however, remained behind. This was a massive oak +beam which had served to keep the wine casks from the damp earthen floor +of the cellar. + +"Lanyi," commanded Manasseh, in quick, energetic tones, "take hold of +one end of this beam, and we will batter the door down." + +"I'm your man!" responded the gipsy, with alacrity. He was small of +person, but every sinew in his wiry frame was of steel. He grasped the +beam behind while Manasseh carried the forward end, and so they +converted it into a Roman battering-ram. + +The booming of cannon was drowned now by the pounding on the iron door. +The two prisoners wondered that no one in the house seemed to hear them. +But those who might before have heard were engaged elsewhere, while to +those outside the noises in the street drowned all tumult in the cellar. + +At length the lock gave way under the tremendous battering to which it +was subjected, and soon the door flew open. The outer door was of wood, +and yielded readily. + +"Hold on, stand back!" cried the gipsy, as Manasseh was about to run up +the stairs. "Wait until I take a peep and see if the coast is clear. +I'll mayhap find a gun that some one has thrown down." + +"But I can't wait," returned the other, brushing him aside. "I need no +gun. The first man that dares get in my way shall furnish me with arms. +I am going to seek my wife! Let him who values his life run from before +me!" + +He burst through the door, and sprang up the steps. No sooner was he in +the open air than an armed figure confronted him. But Manasseh did not +strike down this person, for it was a woman,--Zenobia. A dirk and a +brace of pistols were stuck in her belt. + +"Take care!" she cried to Manasseh, and she made as if to shield him +from view with her cloak. "Stay where you are!" + +But Manasseh seized her by the wrist and shouted hoarsely in her ear: + +"Where are my wife and sister?" + +Zenobia understood his tone and the frenzy with which he grasped her +arm. With a sad smile she made answer: + +"Calm yourself. They are well cared for. They are at home in their own +house, where no one can harm them." + +He looked at her, in doubt as to her meaning. Zenobia handed him her +weapons. + +"Here, take these," she commanded. "You may need them. I have no further +use for them." Thus, disarmed and in Manasseh's power, she stood calmly +before him. "Now be quiet and listen to me," she went on. + +The cannon thundered on the Szekler Stone in one continuous roar, while +fiery rockets shot from Hidas Peak in a wide curve and fell into the +valley below, hastening the mad flight of routed and panic-stricken men, +who fled as if for their lives to Gyertyamos, Kapolna, and Bedelloe, to +the woods, and into the mountain defiles. The burning village of St. +George no longer offered them an asylum, and its streets were by this +time nearly deserted. + +"That is over," said the Wallachian girl, calmly, and she led Manasseh +into the empty house. "Aaron might as well stop now," she murmured to +herself; "for there are no more to frighten." Then to Manasseh: "You +know it takes two to get up a scare,--one to do the frightening and the +other to be frightened. If I had but said to our men, 'Stop running +away! Those are not the brass cannon of the national guard, but only +Aaron Adorjan's holes in the side of the rock, where he is harmlessly +exploding gunpowder; and that roll of drums that you hear on the Csegez +road does not mean an approaching brigade of Hungarians, but is only the +idle rub-a-dub of a band of school children,'--if I had said that, +Toroczko would now lie in ashes. But I held my tongue and let the panic +do its work. With this day's rout all is ended, and in an hour's time +you can safely return home. When you meet your wife and sister, tell +them you saw me this evening, and let them know that the Wallachian girl +has forgotten nothing--do you hear me?--nothing. They wrote me a +beautiful letter, both of them on one sheet of paper, a letter full of +love and kindness. They called me sister and invited me to your wedding, +promising me that Jonathan should be there, too, and making me promise +to come. And when they had written the letter they even coaxed the +stiff-necked Aaron, who hates us Wallachians like poison, to add his +signature to it, though I could see in the very way he wrote his name +how he disliked to do it. I promised to come, and I kept my word. And +Jonathan came with me--I brought him. That night I told your wife and +your sister that I should come to Toroczko once more, and not with empty +hands, but should bring them something. I have come, and I bring +them--you, Manasseh, alive and unharmed. That is how a Wallachian girl +remembers a kindness." + +She turned to go, but then, as if remembering something, came back and +drew a ring from her finger. + +"Here," said she, "I will give you this ring. Do you remember it?" + +"It belonged to my sister," answered Manasseh, in a tone of sadness. "I +bought it for her to give to her lover as an engagement ring. Soon +afterward he deserted her." + +"I know it. Her name is engraved inside the ring. The pretty fellow who +gave it me told me all about it. He said to me: 'My pearl, my +turtledove, my diamond, see here, I place this ring on your finger and +swear to be true to you. But I can't marry you as long as that other +woman lives who wears my betrothal ring, for our laws forbid it. That +woman dwells in the big house at Toroczko. You know her name and know +what to do to enable me to marry you.'" + +Manasseh trembled with suppressed passion as he listened. The girl +handed him the ring and proceeded: + +"Give her back her ring; it belongs to her. And tell me, did not this +man come to you and tell you how a shameless creature in woman's form +was to steal into your house, and, under the pretext of rescuing your +wife and sister, lead them away to misery and dishonour? Speak, did he +not tell you some such story?" + +"Yes, he did." + +Zenobia laughed in hot anger and scorn. "Well, then," said she, in +conclusion, "I have another present for you. The proverb says, 'Little +kindnesses strengthen the bonds of friendship.' And this will be the +smallest of gifts I could possibly make you. The handsome young man who +gave me this ring, and is betrothed to me--or thinks he is--lies +somewhere yonder in a ditch. His horse took fright at the tumult, and +threw him so that he broke his ankle. His fleeing troops left him lying +there; they stumbled over him and ran on; no one offered to help him up. +They all hate him, and they see in his fall a punishment from Heaven. +The Wallachian fears to lend aid to him that is thought to lie under +God's displeasure. The fallen man's horse you will find in the church. +Mount it and hasten back to Toroczko. As for the rider, you will do well +to hang him to the nearest tree. You have a gipsy here to help you. And +now farewell." + +She blew a little whistle that hung at her neck, and a lad appeared +leading two mountain ponies. Zenobia mounted one, waved a final adieu to +Manasseh, and rode away with her attendant toward Bedelloe. + +"Come, sir," said the gipsy, touching Manasseh's elbow, "let us set +about what she told us to do. You go into the church and get Diurbanu's +horse while I go and find the rider. You have two pistols and a dagger. +What, don't you want them? Then give them to me." + +The fiddler was proud to find himself so well armed. He made a belt of +the cords he had brought with him from the cellar, and stuck the weapons +into it. + +"Now we must hurry," he urged, "or the people will be coming back." + +While Manasseh made his way to the church, his companion hastened in +search of Diurbanu. The little man had sharp eyes and keen wits. He +conjectured that the fallen rider, with his broken leg, would avoid the +dry harvest-fields, over which the fire was rapidly spreading, and would +be found in the moist ditch beside the road. Nor was he wrong in this +surmise. He was soon saluted in a voice that he recognised. + +"Gipsy, come here!" + +"Not so fast," the fiddler replied. "How do I know you won't shoot me?" + +"I have nothing to shoot with. I am lying in the water, so that even if +I had my pistols the powder would be soaked through." + +"But what do you want of me?" + +"I wish you to save my life." + +"And won't you have me locked up afterward?" + +"If you will help me get away from here I'll make you a rich man. You +shall have a thousand florins." + +"If you had promised me less I should have believed you sooner." + +"But I will pay you the money now. Come, take me on your back and carry +me away." + +"Where to?" + +"Into the church yonder." + +The gipsy laughed aloud. "First do your swearing out here, then," said +he, "for no one may curse God in his house. But what will you do in the +church?" + +"I will wait while you run to Gyertyamos and hire a carriage for me. You +shall have a thousand florins, the driver the same, and for every hour +before sunrise that you accomplish your errand you shall receive an +extra hundred." + +"You won't see the sun rise," muttered the fiddler to himself as he +obeyed the other's directions. + +The burden proved not too heavy for the little man's back; he could have +carried him all the way to Gyertyamos, but the horse must obey his +rider, so into the church he went with him. + +"There, Manasseh," he cried, in triumph, "there's our man!" And he +dropped his burden on the stone floor. + +Diurbanu cried out with pain as he fell, then raised himself on one +elbow and met Manasseh's gaze. + +"Kill me and be done with it," he muttered, in sullen despair. + +But Manasseh remained standing with folded arms before him. "No, +Benjamin Vajdar," said he, "you shall not die by my hand. He who kills +Cain is seven times cursed. My promise to an angel whom you would have +destroyed is your safeguard. I shall neither kill you myself nor let any +one else lay hands on you. You are to live many days yet and continue +in the way you have begun, obeying the sinful impulses of your wicked +nature, and doing evil to those that have done nothing but good to you. +You weigh upon our house like a curse, but it is God's will thus to +prove and try our hearts. Fulfil your destiny, plot your wicked scheme's +against us, and then at last, broken, humbled, scorned of all the world +beside, come back to us and sue for pity at the door of those to whom +you have shown no pity. God's will be done!" + +Manasseh allowed himself to use no reproach, no word of withering scorn, +in thus addressing his enemy. He even spoke in German, to spare the +fallen man's shame in the gipsy's presence. He had the horse in +readiness for its master, and bade the fiddler help him lift the injured +rider into the saddle and tie him there with ropes to ensure him against +a second fall, especially as one foot was now unfit for the stirrup. + +"Aha!" cried the little gipsy, "a good idea! We'll take him alive and +show him off in Toroczko." + +The fires in the village made the spirited horse restive and hard to +manage. Manasseh took him by the bridle and led him out of the church, +the gipsy following at the animal's heels. + +"Turn to the right and begone!" whispered Manasseh to the rider, and he +caused the horse to make a sudden spring to one side. + +"Oh, he's got away!" cried the gipsy, in great chagrin. "Why didn't you +let me take the bridle? Catch me bringing you another thousand-florin +prize, to be thrown away like that!" + +"Never mind, my lad. From this day on you shall find a full trencher +always ready for you at our house. But now let us start for home." + + * * * * * + +Six weeks later Benjamin Vajdar made his reappearance in Vienna, the net +result of his expedition to Transylvania being, first, a heavy draft on +the bank-account of his chief, and, second, a limping gait for himself, +which proved a sad affliction to him on the dancing-floor. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +A CRUEL PARTING. + + +At the close of the war the young men of Toroczko who had served in the +national guard returned home and resumed their work in the mines and +iron foundries. The mining classes had always been exempt from military +service in the imperial army, and so the Toroczko young men had no fear +of being soon called away again from their peaceful industry. + +Out of these young artisans Manasseh set about forming a guild for the +better working of the Toroczko mines. He wished to make intelligent and +skilful mining engineers of them, and so enable them to avail +themselves, more fully than they had yet done, of the mineral resources +of their native hills. And having now had some experience of military +discipline, these young men offered him material of no mean order for +his experiment. They seconded his efforts with a will, reposing the +utmost confidence in their leader, and perceiving that he knew +thoroughly what he was undertaking. + +It was a great piece of good fortune for Manasseh that he had a partner +in his enterprise who was in fullest sympathy with him, and in whom he +could place the utmost trust. This partner kept the accounts of the +business in which the two had invested their all, and showed the keenest +intelligence and the most watchful vigilance in guarding their joint +interests. This expert accountant and able manager was none other than +Manasseh's wife. In the third year of her marriage, however, she had +something else to engage her attention beside iron-mining: in that year +the house of Adorjan was increased by the birth of twins,--Bela and +Ilonka, the former a likeness in miniature of his father, and the latter +a second Blanka. But their aunt Anna insisted on sharing the mother's +cares, and soon she assumed almost entire charge of the little ones, +thus enabling Blanka to resume her business duties. + +In this way everything was running smoothly, when one evening there came +a government order requiring all men between certain ages to report +within three days at Karlsburg for military service; any who refused +would be treated as deserters. Three quarters of Manasseh's workmen came +under the terms of this order; but they promptly obeyed and went to +Karlsburg, where, after being found physically qualified, they were +enrolled for six years' service,--three extra years being added to the +usual term because they had neglected to report voluntarily. + +This was a hard blow to Manasseh's enterprise. He resolved to go to +Vienna and petition for the exemption of his employees from military +duty, claiming for them the miners' privileges which they had enjoyed +hitherto. + +Well acquainted though he had been in government circles in the past, +Manasseh now found everything changed and scarcely a familiar face left. +Like the veriest stranger, he was forced to wait with the crowd of other +petitioners in the war minister's anteroom until his turn should come. +Much to his surprise, however, the great man's door suddenly opened and +Prince Cagliari advanced to meet him with a face all smiles and words of +honey on his lips. + +"Ah, my dear friend, how glad I am to see you!" began the prince. "All +well at home? That's good. And what brings you hither, may I ask? You +come on behalf of your countrymen who were recently drafted? Ah, yes." +(Then in a whispered aside: "We'll soon arrange that; a word from me +will suffice.") Again aloud: "A very difficult matter, sir, very +difficult indeed! These recent complications in the Orient compel us to +raise our army to its highest effective strength." (Once more in a +whisper, with a stealthy pressure of the hand: "Pray give yourself not +the slightest concern. I'll speak to his Excellency about it this very +minute.") + +Manasseh was by no means pleased at finding himself placed under +obligations to Prince Cagliari, but he could not well refuse such a +gracious offer of assistance. Accordingly, when the prince returned and +smilingly informed him that he had put the petition in the minister's +hands, and obtained a promise that it should be speedily taken under +favourable consideration, Manasseh forced himself to smile in return and +to express his acknowledgments to his intercessor as he took leave of +him. + +The petition was, in fact, taken under early advisement, and three days +after Manasseh's return to Toroczko he was summoned to Karlsburg to +learn the issue. + +"Your memorial has reached us from Vienna with a refusal," was the +chilling announcement that greeted him. + +"Impossible!" cried Manasseh, in astonishment. "I was promised a +favourable answer." + +The government official only shrugged his shoulders and laughed. + +"On what ground is the petition rejected?" asked Manasseh. + +"On the ground that those for whom you petition forfeited their +privileges as miners by taking up arms in '48. Having taken them up +once, they cannot refuse to do so a second time." + +Manasseh's bitter reflections were somewhat sweetened by the thought +that, after all, he was not in any way indebted to Prince Cagliari. But +he owed him more than he suspected. As he was turning to go, the +government official detained him a moment longer. + +"I hope," said he, as if by way of a casual remark, "that your own +exemption from service is a matter of no uncertainty." + +"My own exemption!" repeated Manasseh, in amazement. It had not once +occurred to him that he, a former government councillor, might be +drafted into the army. But he controlled his indignation at what seemed +an ill-timed jest, and added, calmly: "At any rate, I cannot be charged +with having forfeited my rights as a miner by taking up arms in 1848." + +"That remains to be seen," was the cool reply. Then, after some search +among his papers, the official produced a document from which he read as +follows: "'Mr. Manasseh Adorjan is alleged, on unquestionable authority, +to have participated in the fight at St. George and Toroczko. In fact, +he with his own hands took General Diurbanu prisoner and bound him with +a rope to his horse. Only the animal's impatience of control saved the +rider and secured him his freedom.'" + +After listening to this astounding accusation against him, Manasseh +recognised that he was far more deeply in Cagliari's debt than he had +supposed. + + * * * * * + +"I have accomplished my mission in brilliant style," was his report when +he reached home. "Not only my workmen are drafted, but I also along with +them." + +The women were struck with consternation, but Aaron burst out laughing. + +"Oh, you poor innocent!" he cried, "how can you be a soldier with one +shoulder six inches higher than the other?" + +"What, am I really so misshapen as that?" asked Manasseh, in surprise. + +"To be sure, or at least you can make yourself so for the nonce. Don't +you remember how our neighbour Methuselah's grandson went limping about +with one leg longer than the other, when the recruiting officer was +here?" + +"Methuselah's grandson may do that kind of thing," answered Manasseh, +"but not an Adorjan. I can't practise any deceit of that sort." + +"Deceit!" cried Aaron; "we are deceiving no one--only the government." + +"And is the government no one?" asked his brother. + +"Well, it's all right to outwit the Austrians," muttered Aaron. + +"I don't agree with you," was all Manasseh could say. "If I am ordered +to march I shall obey. My poor lads are obliged to exchange the pick for +the rifle, and shall I, their master, shirk my duty?" + +"Manasseh is right," declared Anna. "What will do for a grandson of +Methuselah will not do for an Adorjan. When an Adorjan's name is called +he must answer to it like a man. Our brother will be the pride of his +regiment, and will soon rise to be an officer; then he can obtain his +discharge and come home." + +Manasseh pressed his sister's hand in gratitude for these words of +courage and good cheer. + +"Yes, but suppose he has to go to war?" objected Blanka. + +"Never fear," returned her husband. "Even if Austria becomes involved in +the present dispute, the Hungarian regiments are not likely to be sent +to the front. They will be stationed in Lombardy, where all is as quiet +as possible." + +"Then I will go with you," said Blanka, brightening up. + +"No, you must stay with us," Anna interposed. "You and the children are +best cared for here, and, besides, if Manasseh goes away you will have +to look after the iron works. New hands are to be engaged, and ever so +much is to be done all over again. How can you think of leaving us in +the lurch? There will be no one but you to manage things; you alone can +direct the works and put bread into our poor people's mouths." + +"Ah, me!" sighed the distressed wife; "and must I live perhaps a whole +year without seeing Manasseh--a whole autumn, winter, spring, and +summer?" + +Anna's eyes filled with tears and a sigh escaped her lips. How many a +season had she seen pass, without hope and without complaint! Blanka +knew the meaning of those tears, and she hastened to kiss them away. + +And so it came about that the Toroczko young men, and Manasseh with +them, were sent off to Lombardy. Thence every month came a letter to +Toroczko, to Blanka Adorjan, from her devoted husband. The very first +one told her how he had risen from private to corporal and then from +corporal to sergeant. But there he stuck. On parting with his wife, he +had consoled her with the confident assurance that in a year, at most, +she would see him return; but the year lengthened into five. Little Bela +no longer sent meaningless scrawls to his father, but wrote short +letters in a round, clear hand, and even added verses on his father's +birthday. But not a single furlough could that father obtain to go home +and see his dear ones. Nor did he gain his long-expected promotion to a +lieutenancy. The colonel of the regiment wrote letters with his own +hand to Blanka, praising her husband and telling her how he was looked +up to by all his comrades and esteemed by his officers; and yet he could +not secure his promotion. Even the commandant at Verona had interceded +for him in vain. He must have a powerful enemy who pursued him with +relentless persistence. + +Blanka well knew who that enemy was, but she took no steps--for she felt +that they would have been useless--to try to soften him. Her family were +united in opposing any suggestion on her part of undertaking a journey. +She did not even venture to visit her husband in Verona. An instinct, a +foreboding, and also certain timely warnings, kept her safe at home. + +This long period of trial and suspense was not without its chastening +effect on the young wife's character. It developed her as only stern +experience can. On her shoulders alone rested the cares which her +husband had formerly shared with her. The iron works were now under her +sole management. Foresight, vigilance, and technical knowledge were +called for, and nobly did she meet the demand. + +Those five years brought her many a difficult problem to solve and many +an anxious hour. Once a hail-storm destroyed all her crops two days +before the harvest, and she was forced to buy grain from her own purse. +Again it happened that the crop of iron itself was ruined by something +far worse than hail. Some one at Vienna dealt a mortal blow to all the +iron mines in the land with a single drop of ink. He lowered the tariff, +and native iron production thenceforth could go on only at a loss. But +Blanka was determined not to close her mines and her foundries. She +recognised the hand that had dealt her this severe blow, but she knew +the harsh decree would have to be repealed before long, such an outcry +was sure to go up against it. So she pawned her jewels, kept all her men +at work,--they seconded her efforts nobly by volunteering to take less +than full pay,--and wrote nothing at all about her troubles to +Manasseh. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +SECRETS OF THE COMMISSARIAT. + + +The mysterious workings of the commissary department are beyond the +understanding of ordinary mortals. Therefore let it suffice us to take +only a passing glance at those mysteries. + +Benjamin Vajdar was enjoying a tete-a-tete with the Marchioness +Caldariva after the theatre. + +"Well, what has my cripple to report of his day's doings?" asked Rozina. +"Is all going well in Italy?" + +"We signed a contract to-day for supplying our army there with forty +thousand cattle," was Vajdar's reply. + +"Ah, that will make about two hundredweight of beef to a man," returned +the other, reckoning on her fingers. + +"Not an ounce of which will ever reach them," said the secretary, with a +smile; "but we shall make a couple of millions out of the +transaction,--a mere bagatelle for Papa Cagliari, however; not enough to +keep him in champagne." + +"A very clever stroke of yours," commented the marchioness, with +approval; "and I can tell you of another little operation the prince has +in hand just now. Bring me the morocco pocketbook out of my +writing-desk, please." + +Vajdar limped across the room and brought the pocketbook. Rozina opened +it and drew forth an official-looking document. + +"Here is a contract for so and so many bushels of grain to be furnished +to the army. You see it foots up a large sum, but the profits won't be +so very great, after all, owing to the recent rise in prices on the corn +exchange." + +"Oh, don't worry about that," interposed Benjamin, with a knowing smile. +"Who will ever know the difference if a quarter part of the total weight +is chaff and clay? It will all grind up into excellent flour, and when +the soldier eats his barley bread or his rye loaf it will taste all the +better to him. There is nearly half a million florins' clear profit in +the transaction, at a moderate estimate." + +"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the beautiful Cyrene. "So the soldiers must eat +half a million florins' worth of chaff and clay to enable Papa Cagliari +to take his morning bath in champagne." + +"Well, what of that? It makes, at most, only two florins' worth to a +man, and the soldier who loves his country ought to be glad to eat two +florins' worth of her soil. Has the prince any other contract under +consideration?" + +"Yes, a very important one. He has procured an order that the troops in +Italy shall wear for their summer uniform cotton blouses instead of +linen, and he has the contract for furnishing the material." + +"But the prices named here are very low," objected Vajdar, reading from +the paper Rozina had handed him. + +"Ah, but let me explain. The cotton is to be thirty inches wide, with so +and so many threads to the warp--according to the specifications. But +what soldier will ever think of counting the threads in his blouse, or +know whether it was cut from goods thirty inches wide or twenty-eight? +So, you see, with a little trimming here and a little paring there we +can make a good hundred thousand florins out of the job." + +"But are our tracks well covered? Is there no risk in all this?" + +"Fear nothing. There are eyeglasses that blind the sharpest of eyes." + +"How if there are some eyes that will not be fitted with these glasses?" + +"Again I say, never fear. A victorious campaign covers a multitude of +sins." + +"And a lost one brings everything to light." + +"Not at all. A slaughtered army tells no tales. But, by the way, is not +our Toroczko friend among those who are likely enough to fall some day +before the French and Italians?" + +"He is still in Lombardy," said Vajdar, with a significant nod of the +head. "We have our eyes on him." + +"I am curious to know what this apostle of peace will do when he is +ordered into battle. You know, he and his comrades are Unitarians and +entertain scruples against shedding blood, except in defence of home and +country. Will Manasseh Adorjan fight when he is ordered to, or throw +down his arms?" + +"In either case, he will die," declared Benjamin Vajdar. + +"I should prefer to have him only wounded," said the marchioness. "Then +his mate would leave her nest in the mountains and hasten to nurse him +in the hospital; and contagious diseases are not uncommon in military +hospitals, where both patients and nurses are often swept off by +them--so quickly, too, that no one thinks of inquiring very closely into +the matter." + +"You are impatient, marchioness," commented the secretary. + +"And you choose to remark upon it because I would have the prince a +widower and a free man?" + +With that the fair Cyrene nestled close at her fellow-conspirator's +side, and proceeded to caress him and to murmur soft words in his ear. + +And so the night sped, and the first peep of dawn overtook the two +before they separated. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +SOLFERINO. + + +One of the most momentous battles in history was in progress, and the +battalion in which Manasseh Adorjan still served as a sergeant stood +from early morning until afternoon among the reserves, watching the +fight. + +Leaning on his gun, Manasseh thoughtfully observed the transformation of +that earthly paradise into a scene of slaughter. He thought how, in +times of peace, the cry of a single human being in distress would call +ready succour and excite the warmest sympathy; but now, when men were +dying by thousands, their fellows looked on in the coldest indifference. +He asked himself whether this fearful state of things, this deplorable +sacrifice of a country's best and bravest sons, was a necessity, and +must still go on for ages to come. And while he thus communed with +himself he, too, held in his hands a weapon calculated to carry not only +death to a valiant foe, but also sorrow and anguish to that foeman's +wife and mother, and perhaps destitution to his family. + +To the north of the fortress of Solferino rose a wooded height, since +known to the historians of that battle as Cypress Hill, and +distinguished as the point around which the conflict raged most +fiercely. Occupied alternately by each side, the opposing batteries +stormed it in succession, and the squadrons, now of one army, now of the +other, marched up to assault it. But though they marched up, Manasseh +saw none of them return. Austrians, French, and Italians, all seemed to +be swallowed up alike in that maelstrom of blood and fire. + +At four o'clock in the afternoon the battle was at its height. In the +heat of the conflict one could see uniforms of all three armies mingled +in inextricable confusion. The Austrian forces were at last becoming +exhausted with toil and hunger. Whole regiments were there that had not +tasted meat for a week--where were those forty thousand cattle?--and the +bread dealt out to them was ill-baked, mouldy, gritty, and altogether +unfit to eat. + +A final and concentrated effort was determined upon. Reserves to the +front! Cypress Hill was to be stormed once more. A battalion of yagers, +the pride of the Austrian army, charged up the fatal hill and succeeded +in taking it, after which the rattle of musketry beyond announced that +the fight was being continued on the farther side. + +At this point Manasseh's battalion was ordered to hold the hill while +the yagers were pushed farther forward. The order was obeyed, and then +Manasseh learned what the cypress-crowned height really was: it was a +cemetery, the burial-ground of the surrounding district, and each +cypress marked a grave. But the dead under the sod lay not more closely +packed than the fallen soldiers with whose bodies the place was covered. +Cypress Hill was a double graveyard, heaped with dead and dying +Frenchmen, Italians, Austrians, Hungarians, Poles, and Croatians, their +bodies disfigured and bleeding and heaped in chaotic confusion over the +mounds beneath which slept the regular occupants of the place. + +In the soldier's march to glory each step is a human corpse. Manasseh +took care to step over and between the prostrate forms before him. +Gaining the summit of the hill, he had an open view of the prospect +beyond. A large farm, since known to history as the _Madonna della +Scoperta_, lay before him. A high terrace facing the hill had been +converted by the enemy into a fortress, which commanded the cemetery, +and which the yagers were now pressing forward to take. The charge was +gallantly led, but after a fierce struggle, in which the assailants +exhausted their ammunition, and the engagement became a hand-to-hand +fight, the Austrians were driven back in confusion. + +Manasseh's battalion was then commanded to charge the terrace, from +which the enemy's battery was dealing such deadly destruction, and to +capture and hold the _Madonna della Scoperta_. The major gave the +necessary orders, but it was to Manasseh that every eye was turned at +this critical moment. Had he but shaken his head the whole battalion +would have stood still and refused to advance a step. If he said the +word, however, his comrades would follow him, and attempt the +impossible. + +Manasseh looked up at the clouded heavens above, and breathed a sigh. +The hour had come when he must bow before the iron will of destiny. He, +the apostle of peace, must plunge into the midst of bloody strife. "Thy +will be done!" he murmured, then advanced to the front of the battalion, +and turned to address his comrades. + +"Forward!" + +They obeyed him with alacrity, singing as they advanced, "A mighty +fortress is our God," and so began the assault. + +Not a shot was fired as they pushed forward at double-quick in the face +of a murderous artillery discharge from the terrace above. Gaining the +foot of the scarp, they planted their bayonets in the earthern wall, and +so mounted the rampart, those behind helping up those in front. As they +sang the last stanza of their hymn, the _Madonna della Scoperta_ was +taken--without the firing of a single shot. The major of the battalion +was beside himself with pride and exultation. He embraced Manasseh, and +kissed him on both cheeks. + +"To-morrow will see you an officer with a medal of honour on your +breast," was his confident prediction. + +Manasseh smiled sadly. He knew better than the other what to expect. + +Meanwhile the enemy had not given up the fight. The terrace, they +perceived, must be retaken, and a detachment of French troops was +advancing to storm it. + +"Let them come on!" cried the major, confidently. "We can handle them, +ten to one. Give them a volley, my lads!" + +But this time Manasseh shook his head, whereupon the whole battalion +grounded arms. + +"What do you mean?" exclaimed the major, astounded. + +Manasseh raised his hand to heaven. "_Egy az Isten!_" he cried, and all +his comrades followed his example. + +"What do you say?" asked the bewildered officer. + +"We swear by the God who has said 'Thou shalt not kill!'" was Manasseh's +reply. + +"But you are soldiers, and on the battle-field." + +"We do our duty, we go whither we are ordered, and we can die if we +must; but we will not take human life except in defence of our homes +and our fatherland." + +"But, man, the enemy will kill you." + +"So be it." + +The commander threatened, begged, wept--all in vain. The only reply was, +"_Egy az Isten!_" The men were willing to discharge their pieces if +necessary, but it would only be a waste of ammunition: they would fire +into the air. + +Troops were now rapidly moving on the threatened position from two +directions, one party to assault, the other to defend. Fearful slaughter +seemed imminent, and nothing was left for those who had so gallantly +carried the terrace but to die where they stood. Suddenly, however, a +third power took a hand in the fray, and smote both assailants and +defenders with equal fury. The black clouds that had been gathering over +the battle-field opened and began such a cannonade as neither side could +withstand. Wind, hail, lightning, and thunder, accompanied by an ominous +darkness in which friend was indistinguishable from foe, played such +havoc with the puny combatants and their mimic artillery, that all were +forced to seek shelter and safety from the angry elements. Thus neither +side was left in possession of the field, but a third and a mightier +power than either claimed the victory in that day's fight. + +Manasseh and his comrades fled with the rest before the fury of the +storm. They succeeded in gaining a sheltered position where they found +campfires burning, and thought themselves among friends. But they were +mistaken. They had stumbled in the darkness upon the enemy's camp. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +AN HOUR OF TRIAL. + + +Manasseh and those with him were taken prisoners and sent to Bresci. +What befell them there is matter of history. Adorjan was surprised one +morning by the receipt of the following: a coffee-coloured uniform, +trimmed with red cord and its collar adorned with gold lace; a handsome +sword in a gold-mounted scabbard; and an official document from the +Italian war office, appointing him major of the battalion with which he +had been taken prisoner. + +The sight of these most unexpected presents could not but thrill +Manasseh with pride and exultation. Now at last it was in his power to +wreak vengeance on those who had so grievously wronged him,--to cut his +way, sword in hand, back to his downtrodden fatherland, perhaps even to +exact a rich retribution at the oppressor's hands, and to restore his +country once more to a position of proud independence. Added to all +this, the seductive picture of future fame, of undying renown as a +patriot and liberator, rose before his vision. Already, as hero of the +_Madonna della Scoperta_, he had tasted the intoxication of martial +glory. A strength and self-denial more than human seemed necessary if he +would turn his back coldly on the splendid prospect that opened before +him as his country's avenger and deliverer. What words can do justice to +the conflicting emotions which Manasseh experienced in that hour of +trial? His comrades in arms and many of his dearest friends, he felt +convinced, would turn upon him with mockery and reviling if he should +now still cling to his principles and refuse to disobey the commandment +of his God,--"Thou shalt not kill." + +In Italy every house has its image of the crucified Saviour. Manasseh +stood now before one of these crucifixes, lost in troubled thought. To +Jesus, too, the people had cried: "Be our general, lead us against the +Romans, free your nation!" And he had answered them: "I will lead you to +a heavenly kingdom, and will free all mankind." Then he was heaped with +scorn and abuse, was scourged by the Roman lictors, and was finally +dragged before Pontius Pilate and crucified. But not the scourging, not +the crown of thorns, or the cruel nails, or the spear of Longinus,--none +of these was the really hard thing to bear. A man may suffer the +severest physical torture and still utter no cry. The cruelest of all +was the scornful laughter of those to whom he had brought salvation and +eternal life, the blame of his fellow-citizens for whom he so freely +shed his life's blood. That was what only a man of divine nobility and +courage could endure. + +"I am but mortal!" cried the tempted man, in anguish. "I cannot attain +unto such heights." And he buckled on his gold-mounted sword. + +The crucified form, however, seemed to turn its eyes upon him in mild +reproof and gentle encouragement. "I will lend you my aid," it seemed to +say to him. + +But Manasseh hastened from the room and turned his steps toward the +commandant's quarters. Perturbed in mind and hardly master of himself, +he started at the rattle of his own sword; and when some of his comrades +saw him pass and cheered him with loud hurrahs, he hurried by and barely +returned their salute. + +The general received him in his breakfast-room, where he was engaged +with his morning mail. Acknowledging Manasseh's greeting, he handed him +an open letter. The Hungarian took it and read as follows: + + "Villafranca. Peace has been concluded. The Hungarian battalion is + to be disbanded, and its members allowed to return home." + +This room, too, had its crucifix. It seemed to look down on Manasseh +with the same gentle reproof, and to say, "Have I failed you in your +hour of trial?" + +With the first ripening of the fruit in the Toroczko orchards, Manasseh +and his comrades were at home. Blanka came to meet her husband as far as +Kolozsvar, bringing her little daughter Ilonka with her. Bela could not +come, as he had just then a school examination. At the Borev bridge a +splendid reception awaited the home-comers. A handsome little lad headed +the receiving party, waving a flag. + +"Who is that pretty boy?" Manasseh asked his wife. + +She laughed merrily, and rebuked him for not knowing his own son. But he +had not seen the child for six years. + +His brother Aaron, too, he hardly recognised, so gray had his hair +turned under the anxieties of the past few years. The speech of welcome +which the elder brother was to have delivered proved a total failure, +owing to the emotion aroused in the orator's breast at sight of the +returned wanderer. But the most affecting part of it all to Manasseh was +the appearance of his sister Anna. The poor girl, he could not fail to +see, was sinking into an early grave. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +A DAY OF RECKONING. + + +Victory had neither glossed over nor defeat buried from sight those +dishonest army contracts. Louder and louder grew the murmurs against the +fraud that had contributed so disastrously to the unhappy issue of the +war, until at last a high military officer opened his mouth and +declared, emphatically, "The parties responsible for such an outrage +deserve to be hanged!" + +Soon after this bold utterance a decree went forth for an investigation +of the scandal and the condign punishment of the guilty ones. Confusion +and panic followed in more than one family of exalted station. A +nobleman of proud lineage burnt all his papers and then opened the veins +of his wrists with a penknife, and so escaped the ignominy of a trial in +court. Another submitted to arrest, but no sooner saw his prison door +closed upon him than he despatched himself by piercing his heart with a +breast-pin. Two others vanished completely from sight and hearing the +very day the edict was published, and never showed themselves afterward. + +Benjamin Vajdar, black with guilt as he knew himself to be, chose the +shrewder course of remaining in Vienna and calmly going about his +business, with all the outward confidence of spotless innocence. +Suspicion is much like a watch-dog; it leaps upon the man who quails. +Prince Cagliari and the Marchioness Caldariva also remained quietly in +the city, and even went so far as to forego their wonted sojourn at the +seashore when summer came. They seemed to have acquired a sudden +extraordinary fondness for the Austrian capital. + +But one day the expected happened to Benjamin Vajdar. He was called to +the police bureau. The official who received him was an old friend of +his who now gave signal proof of his friendliness. + +"Benjamin Vajdar," said he, "you are ordered by the government to leave +Vienna within twenty-four hours and go back to your native town, beyond +which you are forbidden to stir." + +This mandate was a surprise to Vajdar, who had expected to be arrested +and tried, and had made his preparations accordingly. However, there was +nothing to do but submit to the inevitable. Further particulars or +explanations were denied him, except that he would find a special police +officer placed at his service from that moment until he reached his +destination,--which was a polite intimation that he was thenceforth +under government surveillance, and that any attempt at flight would be +frustrated. + +He returned at once to his house, which adjoined that of the Marchioness +Caldariva. Indeed, from his bedroom a secret passage, already referred +to, led into Rozina's boudoir; but the clock-door had seldom opened to +the secretary of late. Toward seven o'clock in the evening he saw a +closed carriage drive away from the next door. + +"She is going to the opera," said he to himself as he watched the +vehicle turn a corner and disappear. He donned hat and coat and +sauntered after it, the emissary of the police always ten steps in the +rear. Arrived at the opera-house, he purchased tickets for himself and +his faithful attendant, and then made his way to the box of the +marchioness. + +Rozina received him with apparent cordiality and listened to his +whispered account of what had befallen him. + +"Have you talked this over with Prince Cagliari?" she asked. + +"No, and I shall not," replied Vajdar, with significant emphasis. "This +is his doing." + +"What makes you think so, pray?" asked the marchioness, with an air of +surprise. "Why should he plot the ruin of his own secretary and +confidant?" + +"You yourself are the cause," was the retort. + +The beautiful woman bent her head still nearer to him. Even her cruel +heart felt the compliment conveyed in this acknowledgment of her power. +"And what do you wish of me, my poor boy?" she murmured softly in his +ear. + +"I wish an interview with you after the opera--a strictly confidential +interview." + +"Very well. Come to me as soon as I get home, and I will admit you." + +"No; you shall not turn me away so easily, with an empty promise." + +"What, must I swear to you, then?" + +"No, give me the little key, and I shall be sure of gaining admittance." + +"I am almost afraid to trust you with it," objected the marchioness, +with an arch look; "but still you shall have it--there! And now guard it +well, and be discreet." + +Vajdar kissed the hand extended to him and retired. The fair Cyrene +turned again toward the stage and joined in the applause. One might have +thought she was applauding the prima-donna; but no, she was applauding +herself. + +Benjamin Vajdar returned home, left the police officer quartered in his +antechamber, and, with his servant's aid, began packing his trunks. +After that task was accomplished he waited impatiently for the close of +the opera and Rozina's return. When his watch told him that he must +have waited long enough, he passed noiselessly through the secret +passage and opened the mysterious door in the tall clock at its farther +end. The marchioness was not there. One hour, two hours, he waited in +her boudoir, and still she failed to appear. + +"Very well; so be it," said Vajdar to himself. "You thought to outwit +me; we shall see which will outwit the other." + +With that he opened the little writing-desk and took out the +morocco-bound pocketbook which he seemed to know so well where to find. +A single glance at its contents satisfied him that the papers he desired +were still there. He quickly pocketed his prize and then paused to look +around for the last time at the dainty appointments of the luxurious +apartment. + +"Adieu, beautiful Cyrene, adieu, for ever!" he murmured, a smile of +irony on his lips. + +Stealthily he had come, stealthily he withdrew. He did not take the +trouble to close the writing-desk, but he was careful to leave the +little key sticking in the clock door, where its rightful owner would be +sure to see it. + +He found the police officer still awake and waiting for him. A cab was +quickly summoned, and the two started on their journey to Transylvania. + +When the Marchioness Caldariva entered her boudoir a little later, her +eyes fell at once on her open writing-desk, and she perceived that the +morocco pocketbook was gone. She laughed, but it was not a pleasant +laugh to hear. + +"Very good," said she, half aloud; "you would have it so, and I am not +to blame." + + * * * * * + +Anna Adorjan hovered on the brink of the grave. She had heard that +Benjamin Vajdar was charged with a penal offence, and she felt only too +well convinced that if such a charge had been brought against him he +must be guilty. If guilty, he would be sentenced to a term of +imprisonment, and she would never see him return to his old home as she +had once so confidently expected. She had nothing now to live for. Her +dear brother Manasseh was restored to his family, and she was ready to +die. + +"Brother," she gently entreated, as she lay on her bed of pain, "if he +should by any chance ever come back to us, promise me to treat him as +you would if I were still here. You will promise me that, won't you?" + +A silent nod of Manasseh's bowed head was her sufficient assurance that +her slightest wish would be respected. + +"And even though he may never come back, I wish you to make my +resting-place in the rocks large enough for two. Perhaps he will return +sometime, when he sees his life drawing to a close, and he may be glad +to find a place ready for him by my side. You will do as I wish in this +matter, brother Manasseh, will you not?" + +Another nod of the bowed head. + + * * * * * + +The prediction uttered by Manasseh, when his enemy lay in his power in +the desolate church at St. George, was completely fulfilled. Though he +would have infinitely preferred banishment to Siberia, Benjamin Vajdar +was forced to return to Toroczko, to the very house where he had been +reared, and there take up his abode as a state prisoner. The government +made him a pitiful allowance of three hundred florins a year, to keep +him from starving. + +Thus it was, too, that Anna's words came true, and the man despised and +rejected of all the world sought refuge in the house where he had been +tenderly nurtured as a child. Thus did he return, vanquished in life's +battle, to have his wounds bound by the hands of those he had so +grievously wronged, and to beg a place in that family circle into which +he had done his utmost to bring sorrow and despair. + +Manasseh met the police officer at the door, and heard his announcement +with perfect composure. + +"We have no objection to raise," said he, "against the decree of the +government. Benjamin Vajdar was formerly a member of our family, and so +we must provide for him. The state allowance of twenty-five florins a +month we beg leave to refuse. In our iron works there is a bookkeeper's +position open to this man, and we shall ask him to assume its duties. +Indeed, we shall ourselves probably be the gainers by this arrangement, +as the keeping of our books has become too heavy a burden for my wife, +and she will be glad to be relieved. But enough of this at present; +to-morrow we will discuss the matter more at length. Meanwhile Mr. +Vajdar is welcome to our house." + +Benjamin Vajdar's emotions can better be imagined than described. To +find himself called upon to lighten Blanka Zboroy's duties and to live +in constant sight of her happy home life, after all he had done in the +vain attempt to spoil that life, was more than he had counted on. He bit +his compressed lips till the blood ran. Opening the door of the chamber +into which he had been ushered, he hurried out to seek the freedom of +the open air and to set his confused thoughts in order. On his way his +attention was caught by an unexpected sight. Through an open door he had +a full view of a bier, on which rested a coffin, and in the latter, with +hands folded on her bosom, lay the woman he had most cruelly wronged. In +those clasped hands he saw a little picture wreathed in evergreen,--his +own likeness, which the dead girl had begged her family to bury with +her. Now, if never before, the unhappy man saw what a wealth of love he +had cast aside, a love that, even in death caused by his base desertion, +could forgive him his perfidy and carry his picture in a fond embrace +down to the grave. As his guardian angel, she would bear it with her up +to God's throne, and there plead his cause. Overcome at last by a flood +of anguish and remorse, the guilty man cried aloud in his despair and +fell prostrate beside the coffin, striking his head on its corner as he +sank unconscious to the floor. + +Manasseh found him there and bore him back to his room. After putting +him to bed and ministering to his wants, he went out with Aaron to +prepare Anna's grave. + +"We must make it wide enough for two," said he; "it was her wish." + +When, after several hours of hard work, the two brothers returned home, +Manasseh went at once to his guest's room. Before his marriage this +chamber had been occupied by him, and he still used it occasionally for +writing. In his absence Vajdar had risen and seated himself at the desk. +Searching the drawer for writing-materials, he had come upon a sheet of +paper yellow with age, and written upon in ink now much faded. The +document proved to be a promissory note, but the signature was so +heavily scored through and through as to be hardly legible. Benjamin +Vajdar started violently as he took up the faded sheet and saw that the +man whom he had so feared and hated had, by his own voluntary act, +disarmed himself and put it out of his power to punish the fraud +practised upon him by his false friend. As if distrusting his own +constancy and the binding force of his promise to his sister, Manasseh +had, with a few strokes of his pen, rendered harmless what could +otherwise have been used as incriminating evidence against the forger. + +On entering the room, Manasseh detected a peculiar odour in the air. +Benjamin Vajdar sat at the writing-desk, a morocco pocketbook open +before him. A half-finished letter lay under the writer's hand, but his +pen had ceased to move. His eyes met those of his host with a dull +stare. + +"Don't come near me!" he cried, in warning. "Death is in this room!" + +But Manasseh hurried to the window, threw it open, and then, snatching +up the pocketbook and the papers scattered over the desk, cast them all +into the fire that was burning on the hearth. Thus all the tell-tale +documents relating to certain fraudulent army contracts went up in +smoke, but not before they had done their deadly work on one, at least, +of the guilty men involved. Those papers had passed through the hands of +a second Lucretia Borgia, and not without reason had she applauded +herself that night at the opera when she permitted her dupe to extort +from her the little key which she wore in her bosom. + + * * * * * + +Many years of untroubled peace and happiness for the Adorjan family +followed these events. The children and grandchildren born to Manasseh +and Blanka grew up to call them blessed, the labours of the Toroczko +miners and iron-workers were prospered, and Heaven still smiles on the +humble homes of that happy valley. + +THE END. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Manasseh, by Maurus Jokai + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MANASSEH *** + +***** This file should be named 20892.txt or 20892.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/0/8/9/20892/ + +Produced by Todd Fine, Janet Blenkinship and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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