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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction -
+German, by J. W. von Goethe and Gottfried Keller and Theodor Fontane and Theodor Storm
+
+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: The Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction - German
+       German Fiction Selected by Charles W. Eliot, LL.D.
+
+Author: J. W. von Goethe
+        Gottfried Keller
+        Theodor Fontane
+        Theodor Storm
+
+Editor: William Allan Neilson
+
+Release Date: November 30, 2010 [EBook #34506]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HARVARD CLASSICS FICTION--GERMAN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by Google Books
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+    1. Page scan source:
+       http://books.google.com/books?id=8FIGAQAAIAAJ&dq
+    2. The diphthong oe is represented by [oe].
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF POTSDAM, WHERE STORM LIVED]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                          THE HARVARD CLASSICS
+                            SHELF OF FICTION
+                   SELECTED BY CHARLES W. ELIOT LLD.
+
+
+                             GERMAN FICTION
+
+      J. W. VON GOETHE                           GOTTFRIED KELLER
+
+            THEODOR FONTANE                    THEODOR STORM
+
+
+
+
+
+                  EDITED WITH NOTES AND INTRODUCTIONS
+                      BY WILLIAM ALLAN NEILSON Ph D
+
+
+
+
+                       P F COLLIER & SON COMPANY
+                                NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                            Copyright, 1917
+                         By P. F. Collier & Son
+
+                        MANUFACTURED IN U. S. A.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                                CONTENTS
+
+
+      The Novel in Germany
+
+
+                            J. W. VON GOETHE
+
+      Criticism And Interpretation:
+         By Thomas Carlyle
+
+      The Sorrows Of Werther
+         Book I
+         Book II
+
+      The Editor To The Reader
+
+
+                            GOTTFRIED KELLER
+
+      Biographical Note
+
+      Criticisms And Interpretations:
+          I. By John Firman Coar
+         II. By Calvin Thomas
+
+      The Banner Of The Upright Seven
+
+
+                             THEODOR STORM
+
+      Biographical Note
+
+      Criticism And Interpretation:
+         By Adolf Stern
+
+      The Rider On The White Horse
+
+
+                            THEODOR FONTANE
+
+      Biographical Note
+
+      Criticisms And Interpretations:
+          I. By Richard M. Meyer
+         II. By S. C. De Soissons
+
+      Trials And Tribulations
+         Chapter I
+         Chapter II
+         Chapter III
+         Chapter IV
+         Chapter V
+         Chapter VI
+         Chapter VII
+         Chapter VIII
+         Chapter IX
+         Chapter X
+         Chapter XI
+         Chapter XII
+         Chapter XIII
+         Chapter XIV
+         Chapter XV
+         Chapter XVI
+         Chapter XVII
+         Chapter XVIII
+         Chapter XIX
+         Chapter XX
+         Chapter XXI
+         Chapter XXII
+         Chapter XXIII
+         Chapter XXIV
+         Chapter XXV
+         Chapter XXVI
+
+
+
+
+
+                          THE NOVEL IN GERMANY
+
+
+The fact that newspaper reporters commonly call their articles
+"stories" points to a certain analogy between the novel and the
+newspaper. Even when prose fiction aims to be a fine art, it readily
+takes on a journalistic character; it is usually designed for immediate
+effect--at the concomitant risk of producing no other--and it easily
+passes from hand to hand or from country to country. In our day prose
+fiction is almost an international phenomenon: novels of a high degree
+of popularity are immediately translated and promptly imitated in the
+most distant quarters of the globe.
+
+In the universal give and take of literary commodities Germany has
+played her part and, from time to time at least, has been in no wise a
+debtor nation; but she has more often followed than led along new
+paths, making up in thoroughness what she lacked in originality, and a
+superficial history of the German novel would be little more than a
+record of how successive foreign influences were turned to account in
+domestic production. Thus, in the eighteenth century such sorrows as
+those of Werther would doubtless have found some form of expression,
+but Goethe could not have expressed them as he did without the example
+of Rousseau and Richardson. Wieland and Jean Paul Richter are
+inconceivable without Fielding and Sterne. In the nineteenth century
+the epochs of German novel-writing are marked by the times when Scott,
+Dickens, Balzac, Dumas, Sue, George Sand, Tolstoy, Ibsen, Björnson,
+Turgenev, Zola, or some other foreigner, happened for the moment to be
+most conspicuous on the literary horizon. During the century that lies
+between Goethe and Hauptmann there is hardly a German novelist who has
+invited imitation abroad. It is in the lyric poem that the Germans have
+excelled, and in the drama and the opera that they have scored their
+international successes.
+
+The history of the German novel would have, however, also to record
+that those writers have secured the most permanent distinction who have
+most significantly modified in their own way the suggestions which
+foreign examples gave them, and that the greatest distinction of all
+belongs to writers whom we can, if we will, associate with one or
+another of the main currents, but who are by no means carried away by
+it. In the work of these men the national character of the German
+novel, if it has a national character, ought to be discoverable.
+
+For two reasons it is a fair question whether the German novel has a
+national character. In the first place, modern Germany has been a
+nation only since 1871; and in the second place, only in times of some
+great crisis does there appear to be in Germany a national life, as we
+understand the term. At other times life in Germany is urban,
+provincial, or private, in those aspects of existence which the Germans
+most prize. The imperial capital affects to represent Germany as London
+represents England and Paris represents France; but such ascendancy is
+stoutly denied Berlin in the capitals of the other states, and Saxons
+or Bavarians refuse to submit to Prussian hegemony in any other than
+political and military affairs. In literature Prussia is not the
+nation; the empire itself is a federation of states, and Berlin is less
+specifically a German city than any other in the realm. Germany is
+emphatically _e pluribus_. Still, there may be some bond of union
+stronger than political alliance, some fundamental quality common to
+Prussian, Saxon, and Bavarian. In this we should seek the national
+character. We should find the national character depicted in the
+historical novel, which has had a great vogue in Germany; but we may
+discern it also in the fiction devoted to the problems of contemporary
+life.
+
+It was Goethe's opinion that the hero of a novel should be passive, and
+so eminently dramatic a genius as Hebbel declared that the important
+thing for us to observe in any individual is not how he makes his mark
+in the world, but how the world makes its marks upon him. These views,
+synonymous in meaning, but uttered by men as different, one from the
+other, as two Germans could very well be, may suffice as an indication
+of the common quality for which we are seeking: it is the metaphysical
+cast of the German mind. When Goethe contemplated the transitoriness of
+conditions, and in all his work endeavored to catch and preserve these
+fleeting phenomena, or when Hebbel defined man as the resultant of
+conflicting forces rather than as an effective force in himself, both
+evidently thought of life as a product, not as a producer, and sought
+the meaning of life in personal reaction rather than in personal
+action. The life of which the German desires abundance is the inner
+life. Character is to him a greater good than conduct.
+
+Accordingly, German literature is not rich in tales of adventurous
+activity--indeed, it affords few examples of pure narrative, that is,
+of stories told chiefly for the sake of chronicling events. When such a
+master narrator as Heinrich von Kleist tells a tale, he presents the
+facts objectively--no judicial referee could be more circumstantial;
+but in the case on which he reports the author sees the impersonation
+of a problem, and the data which really concern him are the perturbed
+emotions of a man or woman. The same is true of Kleist's contemporary,
+Ludwig Tieck, of the amiable Theodor Storm, and of the prolific Paul
+Heyse. The character, in its peculiar makeup and its peculiar
+circumstances, presents a problem, and the most significant evidence
+that its experiences furnish is its reaction upon the outside world. An
+author who treats this character will, then, dwell fondly upon
+psychological analysis and upon the atmosphere in which the character
+lives and moves and has its being.
+
+These facts account for certain peculiarities of form in German fiction
+which to us seem like defects. It generally takes a German novelist a
+long while to get under way, and he generally appears to move in
+spirals. He invites us to tarry and survey the scenery--to which his
+hero is wont to be more sensitive than we are--and he tends to
+elaborate episodes, which serve indeed to bring out qualities in his
+persons, but which, an impatient reader would say, delay the action.
+Evidently, it is not the action about which the author primarily cares.
+But the German novelist has the merits of his defects: if he does not
+touch lightly, he does probe deeply, and if his characters cannot
+manage to get things done and over, their impediment is an excess of
+those personal endowments which have after all to be reckoned among the
+positive values of life. It is better to be sentimental or even
+whimsical than to have neither sentiments nor ideas.
+
+Sentimentality and whimsicality are apt to strike one as the most
+prominent traits of any art that aims at what is characteristic and
+individual, rather than at what is typical and broadly representative.
+The Germans are individualists. They can cooperate efficiently with
+their fellow Germans, but each insists upon being himself. The German
+novelist will surely treat by preference a character of notable
+peculiarity, and if he writes many novels, he will try to give a
+conspectus of the qualities of the stock to which he belongs. Thus
+Reuter presents many characteristic figures taken from Mecklenburg;
+Ludwig from Thuringia; Auerbach from the Black Forest; Gotthelf,
+Keller, and Zahn from Switzerland; Fontane from Brandenburg; Storm and
+Frenssen from Schleswig-Holstein. So strong is this tendency that the
+Germans have a special name for this kind of art; they call it
+_Heimatkunst_, a word which may be translated "art of the native
+heath." If the author is a humorist, like Reuter or Keller, he will
+successfully recommend his whimsical creations to our indulgent esteem;
+or if he is a discriminating lover of mankind, like Ludwig, he will
+reconcile us even to the supersensitiveness of a narrow-minded but
+noble-hearted slater. The danger incurred by writers without humor and
+without discrimination is that their creations shall seem boorish or
+lachrymose.
+
+Probably the most pitiful failures in German fiction have attended
+those imitators of foreign models who mistook for "modern" what is
+simply shallow and frivolous, and, trying to be smart, proved
+themselves merely clumsy. Freytag, call him a Philistine if you will,
+is preferable, with his gospel of toil for one's daily bread, to those
+who would hold the dissolute idlers of the great cities to be typical
+representatives of modern life. Fontane, on the other hand, as "modern"
+as any, shows how an intelligent and cultivated man can assimilate
+foreign suggestions, remain himself, and treat the actualities of life
+with a matter-of-factness as far from cynicism as it is from prudery.
+
+At the beginning of the nineteenth century the German Romanticists
+proclaimed the novel (in German _der Roman_) the supremely appropriate
+form for Romantic literature, and they regarded this truth as
+especially illustrated by Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister." The novel, they
+said, is not merely the most elastic, the most inclusive, the freest of
+the literary forms, it is the form in which a writer can most perfectly
+convey by suggestion and implication the infinitude of relations in
+which persons and objects stand to their environment, but which the
+necessarily sharper contours of the other forms--notably the drama--do
+not permit. By contrast to the drama, which in a certain sense is
+similar to statuary, the novel is picturesque; that is, it presents
+figures in relation to their background; and it is quite conceivable
+that in some compositions the whole, with what corresponds to
+perspective and to light and shade--in other words "atmosphere"--is
+more significant than the individual figures that are given their
+setting in this whole. This, at any rate, is the case with "Wilhelm
+Meister." A story first conceived as the fulfilment of a theatrical
+mission by a young man whose experience was an education, became the
+picture of a world full of influences, many of them mysterious, that
+operate to develop personality.
+
+The German novel after Goethe followed his lead. The idea of education
+by experience, and the idea of the symbolical presentation of the
+inexplicable background of life, give to some of the greatest examples
+of prose fiction of the nineteenth century--such as Mörike's "Maler
+Nolten," Keller's "Grüner Heinrich," and Spielhagen's "Problematische
+Naturen"--this Goethean, Romantic picturesqueness. If the heroes are
+seldom great public characters and the background of their lives does
+not always suggest relations with illimitable space, these facts find
+their explanation in the German proneness to particularism.
+
+To this particularism the short story would seem to be especially
+adapted. In fact, the Germans--again following Goethe's lead--have
+probably attained to a higher excellence in the short story than in the
+novel. It is to their advantage that in the narrow limits of this form
+they have no opportunity to philosophize; they must relate how
+something happened of which their auditors have not heard, or must
+depict a situation as it discloses itself to a passing glance. The
+Swiss Keller and Meyer and many Germans, Austrians, and Swiss of our
+own time have attained considerable virtuosity in this form; but many
+of their products would have to be called little novels rather than
+short stories in the technical sense.
+
+There are, then, some national traits in German prose fiction taken by
+and large. The Germans cannot vie with the English as writers of
+stories long or short. They have, however, much more to offer than has
+yet been widely circulated. During the past forty years the world has
+marveled at their achievements is the multifarious departments of
+active life. Nevertheless, their highest ideal is not doing, but being;
+and this being is faithfully reflected in their novels and tales.
+
+                                                    W. G. H.
+
+
+
+
+                        THE SORROWS OF WERTHER
+
+
+                                   BY
+                            J. W. VON GOETHE
+
+
+                             TRANSLATED BY
+                             BAYARD TAYLOR
+
+
+
+
+                      CRITICISM AND INTERPRETATION
+
+                           By Thomas Carlyle
+
+
+By degrees, however, after not a little suffering in many hard contests
+with himself and his circumstances, Goethe began to emerge from these
+troubles: light dawned on his course; and his true destination, a life
+of literature, became more and more plain to him. His first efforts
+were crowned with a success well calculated to confirm him in such
+purposes. "Götz von Berlichingen," an historical drama of the Feudal
+Ages, appeared in 1773; by the originality both of its subject and its
+execution, attracting the public eye to the young author: and next year
+his "Sorrows of Werther" rose like a literary meteor on the world; and
+carried his name on its blazing wings, not only over Germany, but into
+the remotest corners of Europe. The chief incident of this work had
+been suggested by a tragical catastrophe, which had occurred in his
+neighbourhood, during a residence at Wetzlar: the emotions and
+delineations which give life to it; the vague impassioned longing, the
+moody melancholy, the wayward love and indignation, the soft feeling
+and the stern philosophy, which characterize the hero, he had drawn
+from his own past or actual experience.
+
+The works just mentioned, though noble specimens of youthful talent,
+are still not so much distinguished by their intrinsic merits, as by
+their splendid fortune. It would be difficult to name two books which
+have exercised a deeper influence on the subsequent literature of
+Europe than these two performances of a young author; his first fruits,
+the produce of his twenty-fourth year. "Werther" appeared to seize the
+hearts of men in all quarters of the world, and to utter for them the
+word which they had long been waiting to hear. As usually happens, too,
+this same word once uttered was soon abundantly repeated; spoken in all
+dialects, and chanted through all the notes of the gamut, till at
+length the sound of it had grown a weariness rather than a pleasure.
+Sceptical sentimentality, view-hunting, love, friendship, suicide, and
+desperation, became the staple of literary ware; and though the
+epidemic, after a long course of years, subsided in Germany, it
+reappeared with t various modifications in other countries; and
+everywhere abundant traces of its good and bad effects are still to be
+discerned....
+
+But overlooking these spiritual genealogies, which bring little
+certainty and little profit, it may be sufficient to observe of
+"Berlichingen" and "Werther," that they stand prominent among the
+causes, or, at the very least, among the signals, of a great change in
+modern Literature. The former directed men's attention with a new force
+to the picturesque effects of the Past; and the latter, for the first
+time, attempted the more accurate delineation of a class of feelings,
+deeply important to modern minds; but for which our elder poetry
+offered no exponent, and perhaps could offer none, because they are
+feelings that arise from passion incapable of being converted into
+action, and belong chiefly to an age as indolent, cultivated, and
+unbelieving, as our own. This, notwithstanding the dash of falsehood
+which may exist in "Werter" itself, and the boundless delirium of
+extravagance which it called forth in others, is a high praise which
+cannot justly be denied it.--From "German Romance" (1827).
+
+
+
+
+                         THE SORROWS OF WERTHER
+
+
+
+                                 BOOK I
+
+
+                                                      May 4.
+
+How happy I am that I am gone! My dear friend, what a thing is the
+heart of man! To leave you, from whom I have been inseparable, whom I
+love so dearly, and yet to feel happy! I know you will forgive me. Have
+not other attachments been specially appointed by fate to torment a
+head like mine? Poor Leonora! and yet I was not to blame. Was it my
+fault, that, whilst the peculiar charms of her sister afforded me an
+agreeable entertainment, a passion for me was engendered in her feeble
+heart? And yet am I wholly blameless? Did I not encourage her emotions?
+Did I not feel charmed at those truly genuine expressions of nature,
+which, though but little mirthful in reality, so often amused us? Did I
+not--but oh! what is man, that he dares so to accuse himself? My dear
+friend, I promise you I will improve; I will no longer, as has ever
+been my habit, continue to ruminate on every petty vexation which
+fortune may dispense; I will enjoy the present, and the past shall be
+for me the past. No doubt you are right, my best of friends, there
+would be far less suffering amongst mankind, if men--and God knows why
+they are so fashioned--did not employ their imaginations so assiduously
+in recalling the memory of past sorrow, instead of bearing their
+present lot with equanimity.
+
+Be kind enough to inform my mother that I shall attend to her business
+to the best of my ability, and shall give her the earliest information
+about it. I have seen my aunt, and find that she is very far from being
+the disagreeable person our friends allege her to be. She is a lively,
+cheerful woman, with the best of hearts. I explained to her my mother's
+wrongs with regard to that part of her portion which has been withheld
+from her. She told me the motives and reasons of her own conduct, and
+the terms on which she is willing to give up the whole, and to do more
+than we have asked. In short, I cannot write further upon this subject
+at present; only assure my mother that all will go on well. And I have
+again observed, my dear friend, in this trifling affair, that
+misunderstandings and neglect occasion more mischief in the world than
+even malice and wickedness. At all events, the two latter are of less
+frequent occurrence.
+
+In other respects I am very well off here. Solitude in this terrestrial
+paradise is a genial balm to my mind, and the young spring cheers with
+its bounteous promises my oftentimes misgiving heart. Every tree, every
+bush, is full of flowers; and one might wish himself transformed into a
+butterfly, to float about in this ocean of perfume, and find his whole
+existence in it.
+
+The town itself is disagreeable; but then, all around, you find an
+inexpressible beauty of Nature. This induced the late Count M---- to
+lay out a garden on one of the sloping hills which here intersect each
+other with the most charming variety, and form the most lovely valleys.
+The garden is simple; and it is easy to perceive, even upon your first
+entrance, that the plan was not designed by a scientific gardener, but
+by a man who wished to give himself up here to the enjoyment of his own
+sensitive heart. Many a tear have I already shed to the memory of its
+departed master in a summer-house which is now reduced to ruins, but
+was his favourite resort, and now is mine. I shall soon be master of
+the place. The gardener has become attached to me within the last few
+days, and he will lose nothing thereby.
+
+
+                                                     May 10.
+
+A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these
+sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. I am alone,
+and feel the charm of existence in this spot, which was created for the
+bliss of souls like mine. I am so happy, my dear friend, so absorbed in
+the exquisite sense of mere tranquil existence, that I neglect my
+talents. I should be incapable of drawing a single stroke at the
+present moment; and yet I feel that I never was a greater artist than
+now. When, while the lovely valley teems with vapour around me, and the
+meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of
+my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I
+throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and as
+I lie close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me:
+when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow
+familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects and
+flies, then I feel the presence of the Almighty, who formed us in his
+own image, and the breath of that universal love which bears and
+sustains us, as it floats around us in an eternity of bliss; and then,
+my friend, when darkness overspreads my eyes, and heaven and earth seem
+to dwell in my soul and absorb its power, like the form of a beloved
+mistress,--then I often think with longing, Oh, would I could describe
+these conceptions, could impress upon paper all that is living so full
+and warm within me, that it might be the mirror of my soul, as my soul
+is the mirror of the infinite God! O my friend--but it is too much for
+my strength--I sink under the weight of the splendour of these visions!
+
+
+                                                     May 12.
+
+I know not whether some deceitful spirits haunt this spot, or whether
+it be the warm, celestial fancy in my own heart which makes everything
+around me seem like paradise. In front of the house is a fountain,--a
+fountain to which I am bound by a charm like Melusina and her sisters.
+Descending a gentle slope, you come to an arch, where, some twenty
+steps lower down, water of the clearest crystal gushes from the marble
+rock. The narrow wall which encloses it above, the tall trees which
+encircle the spot, and the coolness of the place itself,--everything
+imparts a pleasant but sublime impression. Not a day passes on which I
+do not spend an hour there. The young maidens come from the town to
+fetch water,--innocent and necessary employment, and formerly the
+occupation of the daughters of kings. As I take my rest there, the idea
+of the old patriarchal life is awakened around me. I see them, our old
+ancestors, how they formed their friendships and contracted alliances
+at the fountain-side; and I feel how fountains and streams were guarded
+by beneficent spirits. He who is a stranger to these sensations has
+never really enjoyed cool repose at the side of a fountain after the
+fatigue of a weary summer day.
+
+
+                                                     May 13.
+
+You ask if you shall send me books. My dear friend, I beseech you, for
+the love of God, relieve me from such a yoke! I need no more to be
+guided, agitated, heated. My heart ferments sufficiently of itself. I
+want strains to lull me, and I find them to perfection in my Homer.
+Often do I strive to allay the burning fever of my blood; and you have
+never witnessed anything so unsteady, so uncertain, as my heart. But
+need I confess this to you, my dear friend, who have so often endured
+the anguish of witnessing my sudden transitions from sorrow to
+immoderate joy, and from sweet melancholy to violent passions? I treat
+my poor heart like a sick child, and gratify its every fancy. Do not
+mention this again: there are people who would censure me for it.
+
+
+                                                     May 15.
+
+The common people of the place know me already, and love me,
+particularly the children. When at first I associated with them, and
+inquired in a friendly tone about their various trifles, some fancied
+that I wished to ridicule them, and turned from me in exceeding
+ill-humour. I did not allow that circumstance to grieve me: I only felt
+most keenly what I have often before observed. Persons who can claim a
+certain rank keep themselves coldly aloof from the common people, as
+though they feared to lose their importance by the contact; whilst
+wanton idlers, and such as arc prone to bad joking, affect to descend
+to their level, only to make the poor people feel their impertinence
+all the more keenly.
+
+I know very well that we are not all equal, nor can be so; but it is my
+opinion that he who avoids the common people, in order not to lose
+their respect, is as much to blame as a coward who hides himself from
+his enemy because he fears defeat.
+
+The other day I went to the fountain, and found a young servant-girl,
+who had set her pitcher on the lowest step, and looked round to see if
+one of her companions was approaching to place it on her head. I ran
+down, and looked at her. "Shall I help you, pretty lass?" said I. She
+blushed deeply. "Oh, sir!" she exclaimed. "No ceremony!" I replied. She
+adjusted her head-gear, and I helped her. She thanked me, and ascended
+the steps.
+
+
+                                                     May 17.
+
+I have made all sorts of acquaintances, but have as yet found no
+society. I know not what attraction I possess for the people, so many
+of them like me, and attach themselves to me; and then I feel sorry
+when the road we pursue together goes only a short distance. If you
+inquire what the people are like here, I must answer, "The same as
+everywhere." The human race is but a monotonous affair. Most of them
+labour the greater part of their time for mere subsistence; and the
+scanty portion of freedom which remains to them so troubles them that
+they use every exertion to get rid of it. Oh, the destiny of man!
+
+But they are a right good sort of people. If I occasionally forget
+myself, and take part in the innocent pleasures which are not yet
+forbidden to the peasantry, and enjoy myself, for instance, with
+genuine freedom and sincerity, round a well-covered table, or arrange
+an excursion or a dance opportunely, and so forth, all this produces a
+good effect upon my disposition; only I must forget that there lie
+dormant within me so many other qualities which moulder uselessly, and
+which I am obliged to keep carefully concealed. Ah! this thought
+affects my spirits fearfully. And yet to be misunderstood is the fate
+of the like of us.
+
+Alas, that the friend of my youth is gone! Alas, that I ever knew her!
+I might say to myself, "You are a dreamer to seek what is not to be
+found here below." But she has been mine. I have possessed that heart,
+that noble soul, in whose presence I seemed to be more than I really
+was, because I was all that I could be. Good heavens! did then a single
+power of my soul remain unexercised? In her presence could I not
+display, to its full extent, that mysterious feeling with which my
+heart embraces Nature? Was not our intercourse a perpetual web of the
+finest emotions, of the keenest wit, the varieties of which, even in
+their very eccentricity, bore the stamp of genius? Alas! the few years
+by which she was my senior brought her to the grave before me. Never
+can I forget her firm mind or her heavenly patience.
+
+A few days ago I met a certain young V----, a frank, open fellow, with
+a most pleasing countenance. He has just left the university, does not
+deem himself over-wise, but believes he knows more than other people.
+He has worked hard, as I can perceive from many circumstances, and, in
+short, possesses a large stock of information. When he heard that I am
+drawing a good deal, and that I know Greek (two wonderful things for
+this part of the country), he came to see me, and displayed his whole
+store of learning, from Batteaux to Wood, from De Piles to Winkelmann:
+he assured me he had read through the first part of Sultzer's theory,
+and also possessed a manuscript of Heyne's work on the study of the
+antique. I allowed it all to pass.
+
+I have become acquainted, also, with a very worthy person, the district
+judge, a frank and open-hearted man. I am told it is a most delightful
+thing to see him in the midst of his children, of whom he has nine. His
+eldest daughter especially is highly spoken of. He has invited me to go
+and see him, and I intend to do so on the first opportunity. He lives
+at one of the royal hunting-lodges, which can be reached from here in
+an hour and a half by walking, and which he obtained leave to inhabit
+after the loss of his wife, as it is so painful to him to reside in
+town and at the court.
+
+There have also come in my way a few other originals of a questionable
+sort, who are in all respects undesirable, and most intolerable in
+their demonstrations of friendship. Good-by. This letter will please
+you; it is quite historical.
+
+
+                                                     May 22.
+
+That the life of man is but a dream, many a man has surmised
+heretofore; and I, too, am everywhere pursued by this feeling. When I
+consider the narrow limits within which our active and inquiring
+faculties are confined; when I see how all our energies are wasted in
+providing for mere necessities, which again have no further end than to
+prolong a wretched existence; and then that all our satisfaction
+concerning certain subjects of investigation ends in nothing better
+than a passive resignation, whilst we amuse ourselves painting our
+prison-walls with bright figures and brilliant landscapes,--when I
+consider all this, Wilhelm, I am silent. I examine my own being and
+find there a world, but a world rather of imagination and dim desires,
+than of distinctness and living power. Then everything swims before my
+senses, and I smile and dream while pursuing my way through the world.
+
+All learned professors and doctors are agreed that children do not
+comprehend the cause of their desires; but that the grown-up should
+wander about this earth like children, without knowing whence they
+come, or whither they go, influenced as little by fixed motives, but
+guided like them by biscuits, sugar-plums, and the rod,--this is what
+nobody is willing to acknowledge; and yet I think it is palpable.
+
+I know what you say in reply; for I am ready to admit that they are
+happiest, who, like children, amuse themselves with their play-things,
+dress and undress their dolls, and attentively watch the cupboard,
+where mamma has locked up her sweet things, and, when at last they get
+a delicious morsel, eat it greedily, and exclaim, "More!" These are
+certainly happy beings; but others also are objects of envy, who
+dignify their paltry employments, and sometimes even their passions,
+with pompous titles, representing them to mankind as gigantic
+achievements performed for their welfare and glory. But the man who
+humbly acknowledges the vanity of all this, who observes with what
+pleasure the thriving citizen converts his little garden into a
+paradise, and how patiently even the poor man pursues his weary way
+under his burden, and how all wish equally to behold the light of the
+sun a little longer,--yes, such a man is at peace, and creates his own
+world within himself; and he is also happy, because he is a man. And
+then, however limited his sphere, he still preserves in his bosom the
+sweet feeling of liberty, and knows that he can quit his prison
+whenever he likes.
+
+
+                                                     May 26.
+
+You know of old my ways of settling anywhere, of selecting a little
+cottage in some cosey spot, and of putting up in it with every
+inconvenience. Here, too, I have discovered such a snug, comfortable
+place, which possesses peculiar charms for me.
+
+About a league from the town is a place called Walheim.[1] It is
+delightfully situated on the side of a hill; and by proceeding along
+one of the footpaths which lead out of the village, you can have a view
+of the whole valley. A good old woman lives there, who keeps a small
+inn. She sells wine, beer, and coffee, and is cheerful and pleasant
+notwithstanding her age. The chief charm of this spot consists in two
+linden-trees, spreading their enormous branches over the little green
+before the church, which is entirely surrounded by peasants' cottages,
+barns, and homesteads. I have seldom seen a place so retired and
+peaceable; and there often have my table and chair brought out from the
+little inn, and drink my coffee there, and read my Homer. Accident
+brought me to the spot one fine afternoon, and I found it perfectly
+deserted. Everybody was in the fields except a little boy about four
+years of age, who was sitting on the ground, and held between his knees
+a child about six months old; he pressed it to his bosom with both
+arms, which thus formed a sort of armchair; and notwithstanding the
+liveliness which sparkled in its black eyes, it remained perfectly
+still. The sight charmed me. I sat down upon a plough opposite, and
+sketched with great delight this little picture of brotherly
+tenderness. I added the neighbouring hedge, the barn-door, and some
+broken cart-wheels, just as they happened to lie; and I found in about
+an hour that I had made a very correct and interesting drawing, without
+putting in the slightest thing of my own. This confirmed me in my
+resolution of adhering, for the future, entirely to Nature, She alone
+is inexhaustible, and capable of forming the greatest masters. Much may
+be alleged in favour of rules; as much may be likewise advanced in
+favour of the laws of society: an artist formed upon them will never
+produce anything absolutely bad or disgusting; as a man who observes
+the laws and obeys decorum can never be an absolutely intolerable
+neighbour nor a decided villain: but yet, say what you will of rules,
+they destroy the genuine feeling of Nature, as well as its true
+expression. Do not tell me "that this is too hard, that they only
+restrain and prune superfluous branches, etc." My good friend, I will
+illustrate this by an analogy. These things resemble love. A
+warmhearted youth becomes strongly attached to a maiden: he spends
+every hour of the day in her company, wears out his health, and
+lavishes his fortune, to afford continual proof that he is wholly
+devoted to her. Then comes a man of the world, a man of place and
+respectability, and addresses him thus: "My good young friend, love is
+natural; but you must love within bounds. Divide your time: devote a
+portion to business, and give the hours of recreation to your mistress.
+Calculate your fortune; and out of the superfluity you may make her a
+present, only not too often,--on her birthday, and such occasions."
+Pursuing this advice, he may become a useful member of society, and I
+should advise every prince to give him an appointment; but it is all up
+with his love, and with his genius if he be an artist. O my friend! why
+is it that the torrent of genius so seldom bursts forth, so seldom
+rolls in full-flowing stream, overwhelming your astounded soul?
+Because, on either side of this stream, cold and respectable persons
+have taken up their abodes, and, forsooth, their summer-houses and
+tulip-beds would suffer from the torrent; wherefore they dig trenches,
+and raise embankments betimes, in order to avert the impending danger.
+
+
+                                                     May 27.
+
+I find I have fallen into raptures, declamation, and similes, and have
+forgotten, in consequence, to tell you what became of the children.
+Absorbed in my artistic contemplations, which I briefly described in my
+letter of yesterday, I continued sitting on the plough for two hours.
+Towards evening a young woman, with a basket on her arm, came running
+towards the children, who had not moved all that time. She exclaimed
+from a distance, "You are a good boy, Philip!" She gave me greeting: I
+returned it, rose, and approached her. I inquired if she were the
+mother of those pretty children. "Yes," she said; and, giving the
+eldest a piece of bread, she took the little one in her arms and kissed
+it with a mother's tenderness. "I left my child in Philip's care," she
+said, "whilst I went into the town with my eldest boy to buy some
+wheaten bread, some sugar, and an earthen pot." I saw the various
+articles in the basket, from which the cover had fallen. "I shall make
+some broth to-night for my little Hans (which was the name of the
+youngest): that wild fellow, the big one, broke my pot yesterday,
+whilst he was scrambling with Philip for what remained of the
+contents." I inquired for the eldest; and she had scarcely time to tell
+me that he was driving a couple of geese home from the meadow, when he
+ran up, and handed Philip an osier-twig. I talked a little longer with
+the woman, and found that she was the daughter of the schoolmaster, and
+that her husband was gone on a journey into Switzerland for some money
+a relation had left him. "They wanted to cheat him," she said, "and
+would not answer his letters; so he is gone there himself. I hope he
+has met with no accident, as I have heard nothing of him since his
+departure." I left the woman with regret, giving each of the children a
+kreutzer, with an additional one for the youngest, to buy some wheaten
+bread for his broth when she went to town next; and so we parted.
+
+I assure you, my dear friend, when my thoughts are all in tumult, the
+sight of such a creature as this tranquillises my disturbed mind. She
+moves in a happy thoughtlessness within the confined circle of her
+existence; she supplies her wants from day to day; and when she sees
+the leaves fall, they raise no other idea in her mind than that winter
+is approaching.
+
+Since that time I have gone out there frequently. The children have
+become quite familiar with me; and each gets a lump of sugar when I
+drink my coffee, and they share my milk and bread and butter in the
+evening. They always receive their kreutzer on Sundays, for the good
+woman has orders to give it to them when I do not go there after
+evening service.
+
+They are quite at home with me, tell me everything; and I am
+particularly amused with observing their tempers, and the simplicity of
+their behaviour, when some of the other village children are assembled
+with them.
+
+It has given me a deal of trouble to satisfy the anxiety of the mother,
+lest (as she says) "they should inconvenience the gentleman."
+
+
+                                                     May 30.
+
+What I have lately said of painting is equally true with respect to
+poetry. It is only necessary for us to know what is really excellent,
+and venture to give it expression; and that is saying much in few
+words. To-day I have had a scene which, if literally related, would
+make the most beautiful idyl in the world. But why should I talk of
+poetry and scenes and idyls? Can we never take pleasure in Nature
+without having recourse to art?
+
+If you expect anything grand or magnificent from this introduction, you
+will be sadly mistaken. It relates merely to a peasant-lad, who has
+excited in me the warmest interest. As usual, I shall tell my story
+badly; and you, as usual, will think me extravagant. It is Walheim once
+more--always Walheim--which produces these wonderful phenomena.
+
+A party had assembled outside the house under the linden-trees, to
+drink coffee. The company did not exactly please me; and, under one
+pretext or another, I lingered behind.
+
+A peasant came from an adjoining house, and set to work arranging some
+part of the same plough which I had lately sketched. His appearance
+pleased me; and I spoke to him, inquired about his circumstances, made
+his acquaintance, and, as is my wont with persons of that class, was
+soon admitted into his confidence. He said he was in the service of a
+young widow, who set great store by him. He spoke so much of his
+mistress, and praised her so extravagantly, that I could soon see he
+was desperately in love with her. "She is no longer young," he said;
+"and she was treated so badly by her former husband that she does not
+mean to marry again." From his account it was so evident what
+incomparable charms she possessed for him, and how ardently he wished
+she would select him to extinguish the recollection of her first
+husband's misconduct, that I should have to repeat his own words in
+order to describe the depth of the poor fellow's attachment, truth, and
+devotion. It would, in fact, require the gifts of a great poet to
+convey the expression of his features, the harmony of his voice, and
+the heavenly fire of his eye. No words can portray the tenderness of
+his every movement and of every feature; no effort of mine could do
+justice to the scene. His alarm lest I should misconceive his position
+with regard to his mistress, or question the propriety of her conduct,
+touched me particularly. The charming manner with which he described
+her form and person, which, without possessing the graces of youth, won
+and attached him to her, is inexpressible, and must be left to the
+imagination. I have never in my life witnessed or fancied or conceived
+the possibility of such intense devotion, such ardent affections,
+united with so much purity. Do not blame me if I say that the
+recollection of this innocence and truth is deeply impressed upon my
+very soul; that this picture of fidelity and tenderness haunts me
+everywhere: and that my own heart, as though enkindled by the flame,
+glows and burns within me.
+
+I mean now to try and see her as soon as I can: or perhaps, on second
+thoughts, I had better not; it is better I should behold her through
+the eyes of her lover. To my sight, perhaps, she would not appear as
+she now stands before me; and why should I destroy so sweet a picture?
+
+
+                                                    June 16.
+
+"Why do I not write to you?" You lay claim to learning, and ask such a
+question. You should have guessed that I am well--that is to say--in a
+word, I have made an acquaintance who has won my heart: I have--I know
+not.
+
+To give you a regular account of the manner in which I have become
+acquainted with the most amiable of women would be a difficult task. I
+am a happy and contented mortal, but a poor historian.
+
+An angel! Nonsense! Everybody so describes his mistress; and yet I find
+it impossible to tell you how perfect she is, or why she is so perfect:
+suffice it to say she has captivated all my senses.
+
+So much simplicity with so much understanding--so mild, and yet so
+resolute--a mind so placid, and a life so active.
+
+But all this is ugly balderdash, which expresses not a single character
+nor feature. Some other time--but no, not some other time, now, this
+very instant, will I tell you all about it. Now or never. Well, between
+ourselves, since I commenced my letter, I have been three times on the
+point of throwing down my pen, of ordering my horse, and riding out.
+And yet I vowed this morning that I would not ride to-day, and yet
+every moment I am rushing to the window to see how high the sun is.
+
+                           *   *   *   *   *
+
+I could not restrain myself--go to her I must. I have just returned,
+Wilhelm; and whilst I am taking supper, I will write to you. What a
+delight it was for my soul to see her in the midst of her dear,
+beautiful children,--eight brothers and sisters!
+
+But if I proceed thus, you will be no wiser at the end of my letter
+than you were at the beginning. Attend, then, and I will compel myself
+to give you the details.
+
+I mentioned to you the other day that I had become acquainted with
+S----, the district judge, and that he had invited me to go and visit
+him in his retirement, or rather in his little kingdom. But I neglected
+going, and perhaps should never have gone, if chance had not discovered
+to me the treasure which lay concealed in that retired spot. Some of
+our young people had proposed giving a ball in the country, at which I
+consented to be present. I offered my hand for the evening to a pretty
+and agreeable, but rather commonplace, sort of girl from the immediate
+neighbourhood; and it was agreed that I should engage a carriage, and
+call upon Charlotte, with my partner and her aunt, to convey them to
+the ball. My companion informed me, as we drove along through the park
+to the hunting-lodge, that I should make the acquaintance of a very
+charming young lady. "Take care," added the aunt, "that you do not lose
+your heart." "Why?" said I. "Because she is already engaged to a very
+worthy man," she replied, "who is gone to settle his affairs upon the
+death of his father, and will succeed to a very considerable
+inheritance." This information possessed no interest for me. When we
+arrived at the gate, the sun was setting behind the tops of the
+mountains. The atmosphere was heavy; and the ladies expressed their
+fears of an approaching storm, as masses of low black clouds were
+gathering in the horizon. I relieved their anxieties by pretending to
+be weather-wise, although I myself had some apprehensions lest our
+pleasure should be interrupted.
+
+I alighted; and a maid came to the door, and requested us to wait a
+moment for her mistress. I walked across the court to a well-built
+house, and, ascending the flight of steps in front, opened the door,
+and saw before me the most charming spectacle I had ever witnessed. Six
+children, from eleven to two years old, were running about the hall,
+and surrounding a lady of middle height, with a lovely figure, dressed
+in a robe of simple white, trimmed with pink ribbons. She was holding a
+rye loaf in her hand, and was cutting slices for the little ones all
+round, in proportion to their age and appetite. She performed her task
+in a graceful and affectionate manner; each claimant awaiting his turn
+with outstretched hands, and boisterously shouting his thanks. Some of
+them ran away at once, to enjoy their evening meal; whilst others, of a
+gentler disposition, retired to the courtyard to see the strangers, and
+to survey the carriage in which their Charlotte was to drive away.
+"Pray forgive me for giving you the trouble to come for me, and for
+keeping the ladies waiting: but dressing, and arranging some household
+duties before I leave, had made me forget my children's supper; and
+they do not like to take it from any one but me." I uttered some
+indifferent compliment: but my whole soul was absorbed by her air, her
+voice, her manner; and I had scarcely recovered myself when she ran
+into her room to fetch her gloves and fan. The young ones threw
+inquiring glances at me from a distance; whilst I approached the
+youngest, a most delicious little creature. He drew back; and
+Charlotte, entering at the very moment, said, "Louis, shake hands with
+your cousin." The little fellow obeyed willingly; and I could not
+resist giving him a hearty kiss, notwithstanding his rather dirty face.
+"Cousin," said I to Charlotte, as I handed her down, "do you think I
+deserve the happiness of being related to you?" She replied, with a
+ready smile, "Oh! I have such a number of cousins that I should be
+sorry if you were the most undeserving of them." In taking leave, she
+desired her next sister, Sophy, a girl about eleven years old, to take
+great care of the children, and to say good-by to papa for her when he
+came home from his ride. She enjoined to the little ones to obey their
+sister Sophy as they would herself, upon which some promised that they
+would; but a little fair-haired girl, about six years old, looked
+discontented, and said, "But Sophy is not you, Charlotte; and we like
+you best." The two eldest boys had clambered up the carriage; and, at
+my request, she permitted them to accompany us a little way through the
+forest, upon their promising to sit very still, and hold fast.
+
+We were hardly seated, and the ladies had scarcely exchanged
+compliments, making the usual remarks upon each other's dress, and upon
+the company they expected to meet, when Charlotte stopped the carriage,
+and made her brothers get down. They insisted upon kissing her hands
+once more; which the eldest did with all the tenderness of a youth of
+fifteen, but the other in a lighter and more careless manner. She
+desired them again to give her love to the children, and we drove off.
+
+The aunt inquired of Charlotte whether she had finished the book she
+had last sent her. "No," said Charlotte; "I did not like it: you can
+have it again. And the one before was not much better." I was
+surprised, upon asking the title, to hear that it was ----.[2] I found
+penetration and character in everything she said: every expression
+seemed to brighten her features with new charms, with new rays of
+genius, which unfolded by degrees, as she felt herself understood.
+
+"When I was younger," she observed, "I loved nothing so much as
+romances. Nothing could equal my delight when, on some holiday, I could
+settle down quietly in a corner, and enter with my whole heart and soul
+into the joys or sorrows of some fictitious Leonora. I do not deny that
+they even possess some charms for me yet. But I read so seldom that I
+prefer books suited exactly to my taste. And I like those authors best
+whose scenes describe my own situation in life,--and the friends who
+are about me whose stories touch me with interest, from resembling my
+own homely existence,--which, without being absolutely paradise, is, on
+the whole, a source of indescribable happiness."
+
+I endeavoured to conceal the emotion which these words occasioned, but
+it was of slight avail; for when she had expressed so truly her opinion
+of "The Vicar of Wakefield," and of other works, the names of which I
+omit,[3] I could no longer contain myself, but gave full utterance to
+what I thought of it; and it was not until Charlotte had addressed
+herself to the two other ladies, that I remembered their presence, and
+observed them sitting mute with astonishment. The aunt looked at me
+several times with an air of raillery, which, however, I did not at all
+mind.
+
+We talked of the pleasures of dancing. "If it is a fault to love it,"
+said Charlotte, "I am ready to confess that I prize it above all other
+amusements. If anything disturbs me, I go to the piano, play an air to
+which I have danced, and all goes right again directly."
+
+You, who know me, can fancy how steadfastly I gazed upon her rich dark
+eyes during these remarks, how my very soul gloated over her warm lips
+and fresh, glowing cheeks, how I became quite lost in the delightful
+meaning of her words,--so much so, that I scarcely heard the actual
+expressions. In short, I alighted from the carriage like a person in a
+dream, and was so lost to the dim world around me that I scarcely heard
+the music which resounded from the illuminated ball-room.
+
+The two Messrs. Andran and a certain N. N. (I cannot trouble myself
+with the names), who were the aunt's and Charlotte's partners, received
+us at the carriage-door, and took possession of their ladies, whilst I
+followed with mine.
+
+We commenced with a minuet. I led out one lady after another, and
+precisely those who were the most disagreeable could not bring
+themselves to leave off. Charlotte and her partner began an English
+country dance, and you must imagine my delight when it was their turn
+to dance the figure with us.
+
+You should see Charlotte dance. She dances with her whole heart and
+soul: her figure is all harmony, elegance, and grace, as if she were
+conscious of nothing else, and had no other thought or feeling; and,
+doubtless, for the moment every other sensation is extinct.
+
+She was engaged for the second country dance, but promised me the
+third, and assured me, with the most agreeable freedom, that she was
+very fond of waltzing. "It is the custom here," she said, "for the
+previous partners to waltz together; but my partner is an indifferent
+waltzer, and will feel delighted if I save him the trouble. Your
+partner is not allowed to waltz, and, indeed, is equally incapable: but
+I observed during the country dance that you waltz well; so, if you
+will waltz with me, I beg you would propose it to my partner, and I
+will propose it to yours." We agreed, and it was arranged that our
+partners should mutually entertain each other.
+
+We set off, and at first delighted ourselves with the usual graceful
+motions of the arms. With what grace, with what ease, she moved! When
+the waltz commenced, and the dancers whirled round each other in the
+giddy maze, there was some confusion, owing to the incapacity of some
+of the dancers. We judiciously remained still, allowing the others to
+weary themselves; and when the awkward dancers had withdrawn, we joined
+in, and kept it up famously together with one other couple,--Andran and
+his partner. Never did I dance more lightly. I felt myself more than
+mortal, holding this loveliest of creatures in my arms, flying with her
+as rapidly as the wind, till I lost sight of every other object; and
+oh, Wilhelm, I vowed at that moment, that a maiden whom I loved, or for
+whom I felt the slightest attachment, never, never should waltz with
+any one else but with me, if I went to perdition for it!--you will
+understand this.
+
+We took a few turns in the room to recover our breath. Charlotte sat
+down, and felt refreshed by partaking of some oranges which I had had
+secured,--the only ones that had been left; but at every slice which
+from politeness she offered to her neighbours, I felt as though a
+dagger went through my heart.
+
+We were the second couple in the third country dance. As we were going
+down (and Heaven knows with what ecstasy I gazed at her arms and eyes,
+beaming with the sweetest feeling of pure and genuine enjoyment), we
+passed a lady whom I had noticed for her charming expression of
+countenance, although she was no longer young. She looked at Charlotte
+with a smile, then holding up her finger in a threatening attitude,
+repeated twice in a very significant tone of voice the name of
+"Albert."
+
+"Who is Albert," said I to Charlotte, "if it is not impertinent to
+ask?" She was about to answer, when we were obliged to separate, in
+order to execute a figure in the dance; and as we crossed over again in
+front of each other, I perceived she looked somewhat pensive. "Why need
+I conceal it from you?" she said, as she gave me her hand for the
+promenade. "Albert is a worthy man, to whom I am engaged." Now, there
+was nothing new to me in this (for the girls had told me of it on the
+way); but it was so far new that I had not thought of it in connection
+with her whom in so short a time I had learned to prize so highly.
+Enough. I became confused, got out in the figure, and occasioned
+general confusion; so that it required all Charlotte's presence of mind
+to set me right by pulling and pushing me into my proper place.
+
+The dance was not yet finished when the lightning which had for some
+time been seen in the horizon, and which I had asserted to proceed
+entirely from heat, grew more violent; and the thunder was heard above
+the music. When any distress or terror surprises us in the midst of our
+amusements, it naturally makes a deeper impression than at other times,
+either because the contrast makes us more keenly susceptible, or rather
+perhaps because our senses are then more open to impressions, and the
+shock is consequently stronger. To this cause I must ascribe the fright
+and shrieks of the ladies. One sagaciously sat down in a corner with
+her back to the window, and held her fingers to her ears; a second
+knelt down before her, and hid her face in her lap; a third threw
+herself between them, and embraced her sister with a thousand tears;
+some insisted on going home; others, unconscious of their actions,
+wanted sufficient presence of mind to repress the impertinence of their
+young partners, who sought to direct to themselves those sighs which
+the lips of our agitated beauties intended for heaven. Some of the
+gentlemen had gone downstairs to smoke a quiet cigar, and the rest of
+the company gladly embraced a happy suggestion of the hostess to retire
+into another room which was provided with shutters and curtains. We had
+hardly got there, when Charlotte placed the chairs in a circle; and
+when the company had sat down in compliance with her request, she
+forthwith proposed a round game.
+
+I noticed some of the company prepare their mouths and draw themselves
+up at the prospect of some agreeable forfeit. "Let us play at
+counting," said Charlotte. "Now, pay attention: I shall go round the
+circle from right to left; and each person is to count, one after the
+other, the number that comes to him, and must count fast; whoever stops
+or mistakes is to have a box on the ear, and so on, till we have
+counted a thousand." It was delightful to see the fun. She went round
+the circle with upraised arm. "One," said the first; "two," the second;
+"three," the third; and so, till Charlotte went faster and faster. One
+made a mistake, instantly a box on the ear; and amid the laughter that
+ensued, came another box; and so on, faster and faster. I myself came
+in for two. I fancied they were harder than the rest, and felt quite
+delighted. A general laughter and confusion put an end to the game long
+before we had counted as far as a thousand. The party broke up into
+little separate knots; the storm had ceased, and I followed Charlotte
+into the ballroom. On the way she said, "The game banished their fears
+of the storm." I could make no reply. "I myself," she continued, "was
+as much frightened as any of them; but by affecting courage, to keep up
+the spirits of the others, I forgot my apprehensions." We went to the
+window. It was still thundering at a distance; a soft rain was pouring
+down over the country, and filled the air around us with delicious
+odours. Charlotte leaned forward on her arm; her eyes wandered over the
+scene; she raised them to the sky, and then turned them upon me: they
+were moistened with tears; she placed her hand on mine and said,
+"Klopstock!" At once I remembered the magnificent ode which was in her
+thoughts; I felt oppressed with the weight of my sensations, and sank
+under them. It was more than I could bear. I bent over her hand, kissed
+it in a stream of delicious tears, and again looked up to her eyes.
+Divine Klopstock! why didst thou not see thy apotheosis in those eyes?
+And thy name, so often profaned, would that I never heard it repeated!
+
+
+                                                    June 19.
+
+I no longer remember where I stopped in my narrative; I only know it
+was two in the morning when I went to bed; and if you had been with me,
+that I might have talked instead of writing to you, I should, in all
+probability, have kept you up till daylight.
+
+I think I have not yet related what happened as we rode home from the
+ball, nor have I time to tell you now. It was a most magnificent
+sunrise; the whole country was refreshed, and the rain fell drop by
+drop from the trees in the forest. Our companions were asleep.
+Charlotte asked me if I did not wish to sleep also, and begged of me
+not to make any ceremony on her account. Looking steadfastly at her, I
+answered, "As long as I see those eyes open, there is no fear of my
+falling asleep." We both continued awake till we reached her door. The
+maid opened it softly, and assured her, in answer to her inquiries,
+that her father and the children were well, and still sleeping. I left
+her, asking permission to visit her in the course of the day. She
+consented, and I went; and since that time sun, moon, and stars may
+pursue their course: I know not whether it is day or night; the whole
+world is nothing to me.
+
+
+                                                    June 21.
+
+My days are as happy as those reserved by God for his elect; and
+whatever be my fate hereafter, I can never say that I have not tasted
+joy,--the purest joy of life. You know Walheim. I am now completely
+settled there. In that spot I am only half a league from Charlotte; and
+there I enjoy myself, and taste all the pleasure which can fall to the
+lot of man.
+
+Little did I imagine, when I selected Walheim for my pedestrian
+excursions, that all heaven lay so near it. How often, in my wanderings
+from the hillside or from the meadows across the river, have I beheld
+this hunting-lodge, which now contains within it all the joy of my
+heart!
+
+I have often, my dear Wilhelm, reflected on the eagerness men feel to
+wander and make new discoveries, and upon that secret impulse which
+afterwards inclines them to return to their narrow circle, conform to
+the laws of custom, and embarrass themselves no longer with what passes
+around them.
+
+It is so strange how, when I came here first, and gazed upon that
+lovely valley from the hillside, I felt charmed with the entire scene
+surrounding me. The little wood opposite,--how delightful to sit under
+its shade! How fine the view from that point of rock! Then that
+delightful chain of hills, and the exquisite valleys at their feet!
+Could I but wander and lose myself amongst them! I went, and returned
+without finding what I wished. Distance, my friend, is like futurity. A
+dim vastness is spread before our souls; the perceptions of our mind
+are as obscure as those of our vision; and we desire earnestly to
+surrender up our whole being, that it may be filled with the complete
+and perfect bliss of one glorious emotion. But alas! when we have
+attained our object, when the distant _there_ becomes the present
+_here_, all is changed; we are as poor and circumscribed as ever, and
+our souls still languish for unattainable happiness.
+
+So does the restless traveller pant for his native soil, and find in
+his own cottage, in the arms of his wife, in the affections of his
+children, and in the labour necessary for their support, that happiness
+which he had sought in vain through the wide, world.
+
+When in the morning at sunrise I go out to Walheim and with my own
+hands gather in the garden the pease which are to serve for my dinner;
+when I sit down to shell them, and read my Homer during the intervals,
+and then, selecting a saucepan from the kitchen, fetch my own butter,
+put my mess on the fire, cover it up, and sit down to stir it as
+occasion requires,--I figure to myself the illustrious suitors of
+Penelope, killing, dressing, and preparing their own oxen and swine.
+Nothing fills me with a more pure and genuine sense of happiness than
+those traits of patriarchal life which, thank Heaven! I can imitate
+without affectation. Happy is it, indeed, for me that my heart is
+capable of feeling the same simple and innocent pleasure as the peasant
+whose table is covered with food of his own rearing, and who not only
+enjoys his meal, but remembers with delight the happy days and sunny
+mornings when he planted it, the soft evenings when he watered it, and
+the pleasure he experienced in watching its daily growth.
+
+
+                                                    June 29.
+
+The day before yesterday the physician came from the town to pay a
+visit to the judge. He found me on the floor playing with Charlotte's
+children. Some of them were scrambling over me, and others romped with
+me; and as I caught and tickled them, they made a great noise. The
+doctor is a formal sort of personage; he adjusts the plaits of his
+ruffles and continually settles his frill whilst he is talking to you;
+and he thought my conduct beneath the dignity of a sensible man. I
+could perceive this by his countenance; but I did not suffer myself to
+be disturbed. I allowed him to continue his wise conversation, whilst I
+rebuilt the children's card-houses for them as fast as they threw them
+down. He went about the town afterwards, complaining that the judge's
+children were spoiled enough before, but that now Werther was
+completely ruining them.
+
+Yes, my dear Wilhelm, nothing on this earth affects my heart so much as
+children. When I look on at their doings; when I mark in the little
+creatures the seeds of all those virtues and qualities which they will
+one day find so indispensable; when I behold in the obstinate all the
+future firmness and constancy of a noble character, in the capricious
+that levity and gayety of temper which will carry them lightly over the
+dangers and troubles of life, their whole nature simple and
+unpolluted,--then I call to mind the golden words of the Great Teacher
+of mankind, "Unless ye become like one of these." And now, my friend,
+these children, who are our equals, whom we ought to consider as our
+models,--we treat them as though they were our subjects. They are
+allowed no will of their own. And have we, then, none ourselves? Whence
+comes our exclusive right? Is it because we are older and more
+experienced? Great God! from the height of thy heaven thou beholdest
+great children and little children, and no others; and thy Son has long
+since declared which afford thee greatest pleasure. But they believe in
+him and hear him not,--that, too, is an old story; and they train their
+children after their own image, etc.
+
+Adieu, Wilhelm. I will not further bewilder myself with this subject.
+
+
+                                                     July 1.
+
+The consolation Charlotte can bring to an invalid I experience from my
+own heart, which suffers more from her absence than many a poor
+creature lingering on a bed of sickness. She is gone to spend a few
+days in the town with a very worthy woman, who is given over by the
+physicians, and wishes to have Charlotte near her in her last moments.
+I accompanied her last week on a visit to the vicar of S----, a small
+village in the mountains, about a league hence. We arrived about four
+o'clock. Charlotte had taken her little sister with her. When we
+entered the vicarage court, we found the good old man sitting on a
+bench before the door, under the shade of two large walnut-trees. At
+the sight of Charlotte he seemed to gain new life, rose, forgot his
+stick, and ventured to walk towards her. She ran to him, and made him
+sit down again; then placing herself by his side, she gave him a number
+of messages from her father, and then caught up his youngest child,--a
+dirty, ugly little thing, the joy of his old age,--and kissed it. I
+wish you could have witnessed her attention to this old man,--how she
+raised her voice on account of his deafness; how she told him of
+healthy young people who had been carried off when it was least
+expected; praised the virtues of Carlsbad, and commended his
+determination to spend the ensuing summer there; and assured him that
+he looked better and stronger than he did when she saw him last. I, in
+the mean time, paid attention to his good lady. The old man seemed
+quite in spirits; and as I could not help admiring the beauty of the
+walnut-trees, which formed such an agreeable shade over our heads, he
+began, though with some little difficulty, to tell us their history.
+"As to the oldest," said he, "we do not know who planted it,--some say
+one clergyman, and some another; but the younger one, there behind us,
+is exactly the age of my wife,--fifty years old next October. Her
+father planted it in the morning, and in the evening she came into the
+world. My wife's father was my predecessor here, and I cannot tell you
+how fond he was of that tree; and it is fully as dear to me. Under the
+shade of that very tree, upon a log of wood, my wife was seated
+knitting when I, a poor student, came into this court for the first
+time, just seven and twenty years ago." Charlotte inquired for his
+daughter. He said she was gone with Herr Schmidt to the meadows, and
+was with the haymakers. The old man then resumed his story, and told us
+how his predecessor had taken a fancy to him, as had his daughter
+likewise; and how he had become first his curate, and subsequently his
+successor. He had scarcely finished his story when his daughter
+returned through the garden, accompanied by the above-mentioned Herr
+Schmidt. She welcomed Charlotte affectionately, and I confess I was
+much taken with her appearance. She was a lively-looking, good-humoured
+brunette, quite competent to amuse one for a short time in the country.
+Her lover (for such Herr Schmidt evidently appeared to be) was a
+polite, reserved personage, and would not join our conversation,
+notwithstanding all Charlotte's endeavours to draw him out. I was much
+annoyed at observing, by his countenance, that his silence did not
+arise from want of talent, but from caprice and ill-humour. This
+subsequently became very evident, when we set out to take a walk, and
+Frederica joining Charlotte, with whom I was talking, the worthy
+gentleman's face, which was naturally rather sombre, became so dark and
+angry that Charlotte was obliged to touch my arm and remind me that I
+was talking too much to Frederica. Nothing distresses me more than to
+see men torment each other; particularly when in the flower of their
+age, in the very season of pleasure, they waste their few short days of
+sunshine in quarrels and disputes, and only perceive their error when
+it is too late to repair it. This thought dwelt upon my mind; and in
+the evening, when we returned to the vicar's, and were sitting round
+the table with our bread and milk, the conversation turned on the joys
+and sorrows of the world, I could not resist the temptation to inveigh
+bitterly against ill-humour. "We are apt," said I, "to complain, but
+with very little cause, that our happy days are few and our evil days
+many. If our hearts were always disposed to receive the benefits Heaven
+sends us, we should acquire strength to support evil when it comes."
+"But," observed the vicar's wife, "we cannot always command our
+tempers, so much depends upon the constitution; when the body suffers,
+the mind is ill at ease." "I acknowledge that," I continued; "but we
+must consider such a disposition in the light of a disease, and inquire
+whether there is no remedy for it." "I should be glad to hear one,"
+said Charlotte. "At least, I think very much depends upon ourselves; I
+know it is so with me. When anything annoys me, and disturbs my temper,
+I hasten into the garden, hum a couple of country dances, and it is all
+right with me directly." "That is what I meant," I replied. "Ill-humour
+resembles indolence: it is natural to us; but if once we have courage
+to exert ourselves, we find our work run fresh from our hands, and we
+experience in the activity from which we shrank a real enjoyment."
+Frederica listened very attentively; and the young man objected that we
+were not masters of ourselves, and still less so of our feelings. "The
+question is about a disagreeable feeling," I added, "from which every
+one would willingly escape, but none know their own power without
+trial. Invalids are glad to consult physicians, and submit to the most
+scrupulous regimen, the most nauseous medicines, in order to recover
+their health." I observed that the good old man inclined his head, and
+exerted himself to hear our discourse; so I raised my voice, and
+addressed myself directly to him. "We preach against a great many
+crimes," I observed, "but I never remember a sermon delivered against
+ill-humour." "That may do very well for your town clergymen," said he;
+"country people are never ill-humoured, though, indeed, it might be
+useful occasionally,--to my wife, for instance, and the judge." We all
+laughed, as did he likewise very cordially, till he fell into a fit of
+coughing, which interrupted our conversation for a time. Herr Schmidt
+resumed the subject. "You call ill-humour a crime," he remarked, "but I
+think you use too strong a term." "Not at all," I replied, "if that
+deserves the name which is so pernicious to ourselves and our
+neighbours. Is it not enough that we want the power to make one another
+happy,--must we deprive each other of the pleasure which we can all
+make for ourselves? Show me the man who has the courage to hide his
+ill-humour, who bears the whole burden himself without disturbing the
+peace of those around him. No; ill-humour arises from an inward
+consciousness of our own want of merit,--from a discontent which ever
+accompanies that envy which foolish vanity engenders. We see people
+happy whom we have not made so, and cannot endure the sight." Charlotte
+looked at me with a smile; she observed the emotion with which I spoke;
+and a tear in the eyes of Frederica stimulated me to proceed. "Woe unto
+those," I said, "who use their power over a human heart to destroy the
+simple pleasures it would naturally enjoy! All the favours, all the
+attentions, in the world cannot compensate for the loss of that
+happiness which a cruel tyranny has destroyed." My heart was full as I
+spoke. A recollection of many things which had happened pressed upon my
+mind, and filled my eyes with tears. "We should daily repeat to
+ourselves," I exclaimed, "that we should not interfere with our
+friends, unless to leave them in possession of their own joys, and
+increase their happiness by sharing it with them! But when their souls
+are tormented by a violent passion, or their hearts rent with grief, is
+it in your power to afford them the slightest consolation?
+
+"And when the last fatal malady seizes the being whose untimely grave
+you have prepared, when she lies languid and exhausted before you, her
+dim eyes raised to heaven, and the damp of death upon her pallid
+brow,--then you stand at her bedside like a condemned criminal, with
+the bitter feeling that your whole fortune could not save her; and the
+agonizing thought wrings you that all your efforts are powerless to
+impart even a moment's strength to the departing soul, or quicken her
+with a transitory consolation."
+
+At these words the remembrance of a similar scene at which I had been
+once present fell with full force upon my heart. I buried my face in my
+handkerchief, and hastened from the room, and was only recalled to my
+recollection by Charlotte's voice, who reminded me that it was time to
+return home. With what tenderness she chid me on the way for the too
+eager interest I took in everything! She declared it would do me
+injury, and that I ought to spare myself. Yes, my angel! I will do so
+for your sake.
+
+
+                                                     July 6.
+
+She is still with her dying friend, and is still the same bright,
+beautiful creature whose presence softens pain, and sheds happiness
+around whichever way she turns. She went out yesterday with her little
+sisters: I knew it, and went to meet them; and we walked together. In
+about an hour and a half we returned to the town. We stopped at the
+spring I am so fond of, and which is now a thousand times dearer to me
+than ever. Charlotte seated herself upon the low wall, and we gathered
+about her. I looked round, and recalled the time when my heart was
+unoccupied and free. "Dear fountain," I said, "since that time I have
+no more come to enjoy cool repose by thy fresh stream; I have passed
+thee with careless steps, and scarcely bestowed a glance upon thee." I
+looked down, and observed Charlotte's little sister, Jane, coming up
+the steps with a glass of water. I turned towards Charlotte, and I felt
+her influence over me. Jane at the moment approached with the glass.
+Her sister, Marianne, wished to take it from her. "No!" cried the
+child, with the sweetest expression of face, "Charlotte must drink
+first."
+
+The affection and simplicity with which this was uttered so charmed me
+that I sought to express my feelings by catching up the child and
+kissing her heartily. She was frightened, and began to cry. "You should
+not do that," said Charlotte. I felt perplexed. "Come, Jane," she
+continued, taking her hand and leading her down the steps again, "it is
+no matter; wash yourself quickly in the fresh water."
+
+I stood and watched them; and when I saw the little dear rubbing her
+cheeks with her wet hands, in full belief that all the impurities
+contracted from my ugly beard would be washed off by the miraculous
+water, and how, though Charlotte said it would do, she continued still
+to wash with all her might, as though she thought too much were better
+than too little, I assure you, Wilhelm, I never attended a baptism with
+greater reverence; and when Charlotte came up from the well, I could
+have prostrated myself as before the prophet of an Eastern nation.
+
+In the evening I could not resist telling the story to a person who, I
+thought, possessed some natural feeling, because he was a man of
+understanding. But what a mistake I made! He maintained it was very
+wrong of Charlotte,--that we should not deceive children,--that such
+things occasioned countless mistakes and superstitions, from which we
+were bound to protect the young. It occurred to me, then, that this
+very man had been baptized only a week before; so I said nothing
+further, but maintained the justice of my own convictions. We should
+deal with children as God deals with us,--we are happiest under the
+influence of innocent delusions.
+
+
+                                                     July 8.
+
+What a child is man that he should be so solicitous about a look! What
+a child is man! We had been to Walheim: the ladies went in a carriage;
+but during our walk I thought I saw in Charlotte's dark eyes--I am a
+fool--but forgive me! you should see them,--those eyes. However, to be
+brief (for my own eyes are weighed down with sleep), you must know,
+when the ladies stepped into their carriage again, young W. Seldstadt,
+Andran, and I were standing about the door. They are a merry set of
+fellows, and they were all laughing and joking together. I watched
+Charlotte's eyes. They wandered from one to the other; but they did not
+light on me,--on me, who stood there motionless, and who saw nothing
+but her! My heart bade her a thousand times adieu, but she noticed me
+not. The carriage drove off, and my eyes filled with tears. I looked
+after her: suddenly I saw Charlotte's bonnet leaning out of the window,
+and she turned to look back,--was it at me? My dear friend, I know not;
+and in this uncertainty I find consolation. Perhaps she turned to look
+at me. Perhaps! Good-night--what a child I am!
+
+
+                                                    July 10.
+
+You should see how foolish I look in company when her name is
+mentioned, particularly when I am asked plainly how I like her. How I
+like her!--I detest the phrase. What sort of creature must he be who
+merely liked Charlotte, whose whole heart and senses were not entirely
+absorbed by her? Like her! Some one asked me lately how I liked Ossian.
+
+
+                                                    July 11.
+
+Madame M---- is very ill. I pray for her recovery, because Charlotte
+shares my sufferings. I see her occasionally at my friend's house, and
+to-day she has told me the strangest circumstance. Old M---- is a
+covetous, miserly fellow, who has long worried and annoyed the poor
+lady sadly; but she has borne her afflictions patiently. A few days
+ago, when the physician informed us that her recovery was hopeless, she
+sent for her husband (Charlotte was present), and addressed him thus:
+"I have something to confess which after my decease may occasion
+trouble and confusion. I have hitherto conducted your household as
+frugally and economically as possible, but you must pardon me for
+having defrauded you for thirty years. At the commencement of our
+married life you allowed a small sum for the wants of the kitchen and
+the other household expenses. When our establishment increased and our
+property grew larger, I could not persuade you to increase the weekly
+allowance in proportion; in short, you know that when our wants were
+greatest, you required me to supply everything with seven florins a
+week. I took the money from you without an observation, but made up the
+weekly deficiency from the money-chest,--as nobody would suspect your
+wife of robbing the household bank. But I wasted nothing, and should
+have been content to meet my eternal Judge without this confession, if
+she, upon whom the management of your establishment will devolve after
+my decease, would be free from embarrassment upon your insisting that
+the allowance made to me, your former wife, was sufficient."
+
+I talked with Charlotte of the inconceivable manner in which men allow
+themselves to be blinded; how any one could avoid suspecting some
+deception, when seven florins only were allowed to defray expenses
+twice as great. But I have myself known people who believed, without
+any visible astonishment, that their house possessed the prophet's
+never-failing cruse of oil.
+
+
+                                                    July 13.
+
+No, I am not deceived. In her dark eyes I read a genuine interest
+in me and in my fortunes. Yes, I feel it; and I may believe my own
+heart which tells me--dare I say it?--dare I pronounce the divine
+words?--that she loves me!
+
+That she loves me! How the idea exalts me in my own eyes! And as you
+can understand my feelings, I may say to you, how I honour myself since
+she loves me!
+
+Is this presumption, or is it a consciousness of the truth? I do not
+know a man able to supplant me in the heart of Charlotte; and yet when
+she speaks of her betrothed with so much warmth and affection, I feel
+like the soldier who has been stripped of his honours and titles, and
+deprived of his sword.
+
+
+                                                    July 16.
+
+How my heart beats when by accident I touch her finger, or my feet meet
+hers under the table! I draw back as if from a furnace; but a secret
+force impels me forward again, and my senses become disordered. Her
+innocent, unconscious heart never knows what agony these little
+familiarities inflict upon me. Sometimes when we are talking she lays
+her hand upon mine, and in the eagerness of conversation comes closer
+to me, and her balmy breath reaches my lips,--when I feel as if
+lightning had struck me, and that I could sink into the earth. And yet,
+Wilhelm, with all this heavenly confidence,--if I know myself, and
+should ever dare--you understand me. No, no! my heart is not so
+corrupt,--it is weak, weak enough--but is not that a degree of
+corruption?
+
+She is to me a sacred being. All passion is still in her presence; I
+cannot express my sensations when I am near her. I feel as if my soul
+beat in every nerve of my body. There is a melody which she plays on
+the piano with angelic skill,--so simple is it, and yet so spiritual!
+It is her favourite air; and when she plays the first note, all pain,
+care, and sorrow disappear from me in a moment.
+
+I believe every word that is said of the magic of ancient music. How
+her simple song enchants me! Sometimes, when I am ready to commit
+suicide, she sings that air; and instantly the gloom and madness which
+hung over me are dispersed, and I breathe freely again.
+
+
+                                                    July 18.
+
+Wilhelm, what is the world to our hearts without love? What is a
+magic-lantern without light? You have but to kindle the flame within,
+and the brightest figures shine on the white wall; and if love only
+show us fleeting shadows, we are yet happy, when, like mere children,
+we behold them, and are transported with the splendid phantoms. I have
+not been able to see Charlotte to-day. I was prevented by company from
+which I could not disengage myself. What was to be done? I sent my
+servant to her house, that I might at least see somebody to-day who had
+been near her. Oh, the impatience with which I waited for his return,
+the joy with which I welcomed him! I should certainly have caught him
+in my arms, and kissed him, if I had not been ashamed.
+
+It is said that the Bonona stone, when placed in the sun, attracts the
+rays, and for a time appears luminous in the dark. So was it with me
+and this servant The idea that Charlotte's eyes had dwelt on his
+countenance, his cheek, his very apparel, endeared them all inestimably
+to me, so that at the moment I would not have parted from him for a
+thousand crowns. His presence made me so happy! Beware of laughing at
+me, Wilhelm. Can that be a delusion which makes us happy?
+
+
+                                                    July 19.
+
+"I shall see her to-day!" I exclaim with delight, when I rise in the
+morning, and look out with gladness of heart at the bright, beautiful
+sun. "I shall see her to-day!" and then I have no further wish to form;
+all, all is included in that one thought.
+
+
+                                                    July 20.
+
+I cannot assent to your proposal that I should accompany the ambassador
+to ----. I do not love subordination; and we all know that he is a
+rough, disagreeable person to be connected with. You say my mother
+wishes me to be employed. I could not help laughing at that. Am I not
+sufficiently employed? And is it not in reality the same, whether I
+shell pease or count lentils? The world runs on from one folly to
+another; and the man who, solely from regard to the opinion of others,
+and without any wish or necessity of his own, toils after gold, honour,
+or any other phantom, is no better than a fool.
+
+
+                                                    July 24.
+
+You insist so much on my not neglecting my drawing, that it would be as
+well for me to say nothing as to confess how little I have lately done.
+
+I never felt happier, I never understood Nature better, even down to
+the veriest stem or smallest blade of grass; and yet I am unable to
+express myself: my powers of execution are so weak, everything seems to
+swim and float before me, so that I cannot make a clear, bold outline.
+But I fancy I should succeed better if I had some clay or wax to model.
+I shall try, if this state of mind continues much longer, and will take
+to modelling, if I only knead dough.
+
+I have commenced Charlotte's portrait three times, and have as often
+disgraced myself. This is the more annoying, as I was formerly very
+happy in taking likenesses. I have since sketched her profile, and must
+content myself with that.
+
+
+                                                    July 25.
+
+Yes, dear Charlotte! I will order and arrange everything. Only give me
+more commissions, the more the better. One thing, however, I must
+request: use no more writing-sand with the dear notes you send me.
+To-day I raised your letter hastily to my lips, and it set my teeth on
+edge.
+
+
+                                                    July 26.
+
+I have often determined not to see her so frequently. But who could
+keep such a resolution? Every day I am exposed to the temptation, and
+promise faithfully that to-morrow I will really stay away; but when
+to-morrow comes, I find some irresistible reason for seeing her; and
+before I can account for it, I am with her again. Either she has said
+on the previous evening, "You will be sure to call to-morrow,"--and who
+could stay away then?--or she gives me some commission, and I find it
+essential to take her the answer in person; or the day is fine, and I
+walk to Walheim; and when I am there, it is only half a league farther
+to her. I am within the charmed atmosphere, and soon find myself at her
+side. My grandmother used to tell us a story of a mountain of
+loadstone. When any vessels came near it, they were instantly deprived
+of their ironwork; the nails flew to the mountain, and the unhappy crew
+perished amidst the disjointed planks.
+
+
+                                                    July 30.
+
+Albert is arrived, and I must take my departure. Were he the best and
+noblest of men, and I in every respect his inferior, I could not endure
+to see him in possession of such a perfect being. Possession!--enough,
+Wilhelm; her betrothed is here,--a fine, worthy fellow, whom one cannot
+help liking. Fortunately I was not present at their meeting. It would
+have broken my heart! And he is so considerate: he has not given
+Charlotte one kiss in my presence. Heaven reward him for it! I must
+love him for the respect with which he treats her. He shows a regard
+for me; but for this I suspect I am more indebted to Charlotte than to
+his own fancy for me. Women have a delicate tact in such matters, and
+it should be so. They cannot always succeed in keeping two rivals on
+terms with each other; but when they do, they are the only gainers.
+
+I cannot help esteeming Albert. The coolness of his temper contrasts
+strongly with the impetuosity of mine, which I cannot conceal. He has a
+great deal of feeling, and is fully sensible of the treasure he
+possesses in Charlotte. He is free from ill-humour, which you know is
+the fault I detest most.
+
+He regards me as a man of sense; and my attachment to Charlotte, and
+the interest I take in all that concerns her, augment his triumph and
+his love. I shall not inquire whether he may not at times tease her
+with some little jealousies; as I know that, were I in his place, I
+should not be entirely free from such sensations.
+
+But, be that as it may, my pleasure with Charlotte is over. Call it
+folly or infatuation, what signifies a name? The thing speaks for
+itself. Before Albert came, I knew all that I know now. I knew I could
+make no pretensions to her, nor did I offer any,--that is, as far as it
+was possible, in the presence of so much loveliness, not to pant for
+its enjoyment. And now behold me, like a silly fellow, staring with
+astonishment when another comes in, and deprives me of my love.
+
+I bite my lips, and feel infinite scorn for those who tell me to be
+resigned, because there is no help for it. Let me escape from the yoke
+of such silly subterfuges! I ramble through the woods; and when I
+return to Charlotte, and find Albert sitting by her side in the
+summer-house in the garden, I am unable to bear it, behave like a fool,
+and commit a thousand extravagances. "For Heaven's sake," said
+Charlotte to-day, "let us have no more scenes like those of last night!
+You terrify me when you are so violent." Between ourselves, I am always
+away now when he visits her; and I feel delighted when I find her
+alone.
+
+
+                                                     Aug. 8.
+
+Believe me, dear Wilhelm, I did not allude to you when I spoke so
+severely of those who advise resignation to inevitable fate. I did not
+think it possible for you to indulge such a sentiment. But in fact you
+are right. I only suggest one objection. In this world one is seldom
+reduced to make a selection between two alternatives. There are as many
+varieties of conduct and opinion as there are turns of feature between
+an aquiline nose and a flat one.
+
+You will, therefore, permit me to concede your entire argument, and yet
+contrive means to escape your dilemma.
+
+Your position is this, I hear you say: "Either you have hopes of
+obtaining Charlotte, or you have none. Well, in the first case, pursue
+your course, and press on to the fulfilment of your wishes. In the
+second, be a man, and shake off a miserable passion, which will
+enervate and destroy you." My dear friend, this is well and easily
+said.
+
+But would you require a wretched being, whose life is slowly wasting
+under a lingering disease, to despatch himself at once by the stroke of
+a dagger? Does not the very disorder which consumes his strength
+deprive him of the courage to effect his deliverance?
+
+You may answer me, if you please, with a similar analogy: "Who would
+not prefer the amputation of an arm to the perilling of life by doubt
+and procrastination?" But I know not if I am right, and let us leave
+these comparisons.
+
+Enough! There are moments, Wilhelm, when I could rise up and shake it
+all off, and when, if I only knew where to go, I could fly from this
+place.
+
+
+                                           The Same Evening.
+
+My diary, which I have for some time neglected, came before me to-day;
+and I am amazed to see how deliberately I have entangled myself step by
+step. To have seen my position so clearly, and yet to have acted so
+like a child! Even still I behold the result plainly, and yet have no
+thought of acting with greater prudence.
+
+
+                                                    Aug. 10.
+
+If I were not a fool, I could spend the happiest and most delightful
+life here. So many agreeable circumstances, and of a kind to insure a
+worthy man's happiness, are seldom united. Alas! I feel it too
+sensibly,--the heart alone makes our happiness! To be admitted into
+this most charming family, to be loved by the father as a son, by the
+children as a father, and by Charlotte!--then the noble Albert, who
+never disturbs my happiness by any appearance of ill-humour, receiving
+me with the heartiest affection, and loving me, next to Charlotte,
+better than all the world! Wilhelm, you would be delighted to hear us
+in our rambles, and conversations about Charlotte. Nothing in the world
+can be more absurd than our connection, and yet the thought of it often
+moves me to tears.
+
+He tells me sometimes of her excellent mother; how, upon her death-bed,
+she had committed her house and children to Charlotte, and had given
+Charlotte herself in charge to him; how, since that time, a new spirit
+had taken possession of her; how, in care and anxiety for their
+welfare, she became a real mother to them; how every moment of her time
+was devoted to some labour of love in their behalf,--and yet her mirth
+and cheerfulness had never forsaken her. I walk by his side, pluck
+flowers by the way, arrange them carefully into a nosegay, then fling
+them into the first stream I pass, and watch them as they float gently
+away. I forgot whether I told you that Albert is to remain here. He has
+received a government appointment, with a very good salary; and I
+understand he is in high favour at court. I have met few persons so
+punctual and methodical in business.
+
+
+                                                    Aug. 12.
+
+Certainly Albert is the best fellow in the world. I had a strange scene
+with him yesterday. I went to take leave of him; for I took it into my
+head to spend a few days in these mountains, from where I now write to
+you. As I was walking up and down his room, my eye fell upon his
+pistols. "Lend me those pistols," said I, "for my journey." "By all
+means," he replied, "if you will take the trouble to load them; for
+they only hang there for form." I took down one of them; and he
+continued: "Ever since I was near suffering from my extreme caution, I
+will have nothing to do with such things." I was curious to hear the
+story. "I was staying," said he, "some three months ago, at a friend's
+house in the country. I had a brace of pistols with me, unloaded; and I
+slept without any anxiety. One rainy afternoon I was sitting by myself,
+doing nothing, when it occurred to me--I do not know how--that the
+house might be attacked, that we might require the pistols, that we
+might--in short, you know how we go on fancying, when we have nothing
+better to do. I gave the pistols to the servant, to clean and load. He
+was playing with the maid, and trying to frighten her, when the pistol
+went off--God knows how!--the ramrod was in the barrel; and it went
+straight through her right hand, and shattered the thumb. I had to
+endure all the lamentation, and to pay the surgeon's bill; so, since
+that time, I have kept all my weapons unloaded. But, my dear friend,
+what is the use of prudence? We can never be on our guard against all
+possible dangers. However,"--now, you must know I can tolerate all men
+till they come to "however;" for it is self-evident that every
+universal rule must have its exceptions. But he is so exceedingly
+accurate that if he only fancies he has said a word too precipitate or
+too general or only half true, he never ceases to qualify, to modify,
+and extenuate, till at last he appears to have said nothing at all.
+Upon this occasion Albert was deeply immersed in his subject: I ceased
+to listen to him, and became lost in reverie. With a sudden motion I
+pointed the mouth of the pistol to my forehead, over the right eye.
+"What do you mean?" cried Albert, turning back the pistol. "It is not
+loaded," said I. "And even if not," he answered with impatience, "what
+can you mean? I cannot comprehend how a man can be so mad as to shoot
+himself; and the bare idea of it shocks me."
+
+"But why should any one," said I, "in speaking of an action, venture to
+pronounce it mad or wise, or good or bad? What is the meaning of all
+this? Have you carefully studied the secret motives of our actions? Do
+you understand? can you explain the causes which occasion them, and
+make them inevitable? If you can, you will be less hasty with your
+decision."
+
+"But you will allow," said Albert, "that some actions are criminal, let
+them spring from whatever motives they may." I granted it, and shrugged
+my shoulders.
+
+"But still, my good friend," I continued, "there are some exceptions
+here too. Theft is a crime; but the man who commits it from extreme
+poverty, with no design but to save his family from perishing, is he an
+object of pity or of punishment? Who shall throw the first stone at a
+husband who in the heat of just resentment sacrifices his faithless
+wife and her perfidious seducer; or at the young maiden who in her weak
+hour of rapture forgets herself in the impetuous joys of love? Even our
+laws, cold and cruel as they are, relent in such cases, and withhold
+their punishment."
+
+"That is quite another thing," said Albert; "because a man under the
+influence of violent passion loses all power of reflection, and is
+regarded as intoxicated or insane."
+
+"Oh, you people of sound understandings," I replied, smiling, "are ever
+ready to exclaim, 'Extravagance, and madness, and intoxication!' You
+moral men are so calm and so subdued! You abhor the drunken man, and
+detest the extravagant; you pass by, like the Levite, and thank God,
+like the Pharisee, that you are not like one of them. I have been more
+than once intoxicated, my passions have always bordered on
+extravagance: I am not ashamed to confess it; for I have learned, by my
+own experience, that all extraordinary men, who have accomplished great
+and astonishing actions, have ever been decried by the world as drunken
+or insane. And in private life, too, is it not intolerable that no one
+can undertake the execution of a noble or generous deed, without giving
+rise to the exclamation that the doer is intoxicated or mad? Shame upon
+you, ye sages!"
+
+"This is another of your extravagant humours," said Albert: "you always
+exaggerate a case, and in this matter you are undoubtedly wrong; for we
+were speaking of suicide, which you compare with great actions, when it
+is impossible to regard it as anything but a weakness. It is much
+easier to die than to bear a life of misery with fortitude."
+
+I was on the point of breaking off the conversation, for nothing puts
+me so completely out of patience as the utterance of a wretched
+commonplace when I am talking from my inmost heart. However, I composed
+myself, for I had often heard the same observation with sufficient
+vexation; and I answered him, therefore, with a little warmth, "You
+call this a weakness,--beware of being led astray by appearances.
+
+"When a nation which has long groaned under the intolerable yoke of a
+tyrant rises at last and throws off its chains, do you call that
+weakness? The man who, to rescue his house from the flames, finds his
+physical strength redoubled, so that he lifts burdens with ease which
+in the absence of excitement he could scarcely move; he who under the
+rage of an insult attacks and puts to flight half a score of his
+enemies,--are such persons to be called weak? My good friend, if
+resistance be strength, how can the highest degree of resistance be a
+weakness?"
+
+Albert looked steadfastly at me, and said, "Pray forgive me, but I do
+not see that the examples you have adduced bear any relation to the
+question." "Very likely," I answered; "for I have often been told that
+my style of illustration borders a little on the absurd. But let us see
+if we cannot place the matter in another point of view, by inquiring
+what can be a man's state of mind who resolves to free himself from the
+burden of life,--a burden often so pleasant to bear,--for we cannot
+otherwise reason fairly upon the subject.
+
+"Human nature," I continued, "has its limits. It is able to endure a
+certain degree of joy, sorrow, and pain, but becomes annihilated as
+soon as this measure is exceeded. The question, therefore, is, not
+whether a man is strong or weak, but whether he is able to endure the
+measure of his sufferings. The suffering may be moral or physical; and
+in my opinion it is just as absurd to call a man a coward who destroys
+himself, as to call a man a coward who dies of a malignant fever."
+
+"Paradox, all paradox!" exclaimed Albert. "Not so paradoxical as you
+imagine," I replied. "You allow that we designate a disease as mortal
+when Nature is so severely attacked, and her strength so far exhausted,
+that she cannot possibly recover her former condition under any change
+that may take place.
+
+"Now, my good friend, apply this to the mind; observe a man in his
+natural, isolated condition; consider how ideas work, and how
+impressions fasten on him, till at length a violent passion seizes him,
+destroying all his powers of calm reflection, and utterly ruining him.
+
+"It is in vain that a man of sound mind and cool temper understands the
+condition of such a wretched being, in vain he counsels him. He can no
+more communicate his own wisdom to him than a healthy man can instil
+his strength into the invalid by whose bedside he is seated."
+
+Albert thought this too general. I reminded him of a girl who had
+drowned herself a short time previously, and I related her history.
+
+She was a good creature, who had grown up in the narrow sphere of
+household industry and weekly-appointed labour; one who knew no
+pleasure beyond indulging in a walk on Sundays, arrayed in her best
+attire, accompanied by her friends, or perhaps joining in the dance
+now and then at some festival, and chatting away her spare hours
+with a neighbour, discussing the scandal or the quarrels of the
+village,--trifles sufficient to occupy her heart. At length the warmth
+of her nature is influenced by certain new and unknown wishes. Inflamed
+by the flatteries of men, her former pleasures become by degrees
+insipid, till at length she meets with a youth to whom she is attracted
+by an indescribable feeling; upon him she now rests all her hopes; she
+forgets the world around her; she sees, hears, desires nothing but him,
+and him only. He alone occupies all her thoughts. Uncorrupted by the
+idle indulgence of an enervating vanity, her affection moving steadily
+towards its object, she hopes to become his, and to realise, in an
+everlasting union with him, all that happiness which she sought, all
+that bliss for which she longed. His repeated promises confirm her
+hopes: embraces and endearments, which increase the ardour of her
+desires, overmaster her soul. She floats in a dim, delusive
+anticipation of her happiness; and her feelings become excited to their
+utmost tension. She stretches out her arms finally to embrace the
+object of all her wishes--and her lover forsakes her. Stunned and
+bewildered, she stands upon a precipice. All is darkness around her.
+
+No prospect, no hope, no consolation,--forsaken by him in whom her
+existence was centred! She sees nothing of the wide world before her,
+thinks nothing of the many individuals who might supply the void in her
+heart; she feels herself deserted, forsaken by the world; and, blinded
+and impelled by the agony which wrings her soul, she plunges into the
+deep, to end her sufferings in the broad embrace of death. See here,
+Albert, the history of thousands; and tell me, is not this a case of
+physical infirmity? Nature has no way to escape from the labyrinth: her
+powers are exhausted; she can contend no longer, and the poor soul must
+die.
+
+"Shame upon him who can look on calmly, and exclaim, The foolish girl!
+she should have waited; she should have allowed time to wear off the
+impression; her despair would have been softened, and she would have
+found another lover to comfort her.' One might as well say, 'The fool,
+to die of a fever! why did he not wait till his strength was restored,
+till his blood became calm? All would then have gone well, and he would
+have been alive now.'"
+
+Albert, who could not see the justice of the comparison, offered some
+further objections, and, amongst others, urged that I had taken the
+case of a mere ignorant girl. But how any man of sense, of more
+enlarged views and experience, could be excused, he was unable to
+comprehend. "My friend!" I exclaimed, "man is but man; and, whatever be
+the extent of his reasoning powers, they are of little avail when
+passion rages within, and he feels himself confined by the narrow
+limits of Nature. It were better, then--But we will talk of this some
+other time," I said, and caught up my hat. Alas! my heart was full; and
+we parted without conviction on either side. How rarely in this world
+do men understand each other!
+
+
+                                                    Aug. 15.
+
+There can be no doubt that in this world nothing is so indispensable as
+love. I observe that Charlotte could not lose me without a pang, and
+the very children have but one wish; that is, that I should visit them
+again to-morrow. I went this afternoon to tune Charlotte's piano. But I
+could not do it, for the little ones insisted on my telling them a
+story; and Charlotte herself urged me to satisfy them. I waited upon
+them at tea, and they are now as fully contented with me as with
+Charlotte; and I told them my very best tale of the princess who was
+waited upon by dwarfs. I improve myself by this exercise, and am quite
+surprised at the impression my stories create. If I sometimes invent an
+incident which I forget upon the next narration, they remind me
+directly that the story was different before; so that I now endeavour
+to relate with exactness the same anecdote in the same monotonous tone
+which never changes. I find by this, how much an author injures his
+works by altering them, even though they be improved in a poetical
+point of view. The first impression is readily received. We are so
+constituted that we believe the most incredible things; and, once they
+are engraved upon the memory, woe to him who would endeavour to efface
+them.
+
+
+                                                    Aug. 18.
+
+Must it ever be thus,--that the source of our happiness must also be
+the fountain of our misery? The full and ardent sentiment which
+animated my heart with the love of Nature, overwhelming me with a
+torrent of delight, and which brought all paradise before me, has now
+become an insupportable torment,--a demon which perpetually pursues and
+harasses me. When in by-gone days I gazed from these rocks upon yonder
+mountains across the river, and upon the green, flowery valley before
+me, and saw all Nature budding and bursting around; the hills clothed
+from foot to peak with tall, thick forest trees; the valleys in all
+their varied windings, shaded with the loveliest woods; and the soft
+river gliding along amongst the lisping reeds, mirroring the beautiful
+clouds which the soft evening breeze wafted across the sky,--when I
+heard the groves about me melodious with the music of birds, and saw
+the million swarms of insects dancing in the last golden beams of the
+sun, whose setting rays awoke the humming beetles from their grassy
+beds, whilst the subdued tumult around directed my attention to the
+ground, and I there observed the arid rock compelled to yield nutriment
+to the dry moss, whilst the heath flourished upon the barren sands
+below me,--all this displayed to me the inner warmth which animates all
+nature, and filled and glowed within my heart. I felt myself exalted by
+this overflowing fulness to the perception of the Godhead, and the
+glorious forms of an infinite universe became visible to my soul!
+Stupendous mountains encompassed me, abysses yawned at my feet, and
+cataracts fell headlong down before me; impetuous rivers rolled through
+the plain, and rocks and mountains resounded from afar. In the depths
+of the earth I saw innumerable powers in motion, and multiplying to
+infinity; whilst upon its surface, and beneath the heavens, there
+teemed ten thousand varieties of living creatures. Everything around is
+alive with an infinite number of forms; while mankind fly for security
+to their petty houses, from the shelter of which they rule in their
+imaginations over the wide-extended universe. Poor fool! in whose petty
+estimation all things are little. From the inaccessible mountains,
+across the desert which no mortal foot has trod, far as the confines of
+the unknown ocean, breathes the spirit of the eternal Creator; and
+every atom to which he has given existence finds favour in his sight.
+Ah, how often at that time has the flight of a bird, soaring above my
+head, inspired me with the desire of being transported to the shores of
+the immeasurable waters, there to quaff the pleasures of life from the
+foaming goblet of the Infinite, and to partake, if but for a moment
+even, with the confined powers of my soul, the beatitude of that
+Creator who accomplishes all things in himself, and through himself!
+
+My dear friend, the bare recollection of those hours still consoles me.
+Even this effort to recall those ineffable sensations, and give them
+utterance, exalts my soul above itself, and makes me doubly feel the
+intensity of my present anguish.
+
+It is as if a curtain had been drawn from before my eyes, and,
+instead of prospects of eternal life, the abyss of an ever-open grave
+yawned before me. Can we say of anything that it exists when all passes
+away,--when time, with the speed of a storm, carries all things
+onward,--and our transitory existence, hurried along by the torrent, is
+either swallowed up by the waves or dashed against the rocks? There is
+not a moment but preys upon you, and upon all around you,--not a moment
+in which you do not yourself become a destroyer. The most innocent walk
+deprives of life thousands of poor insects: one step destroys the
+fabric of the industrious ant, and converts a little world into chaos.
+No: it is not the great and rare calamities of the world, the floods
+which sweep away whole villages, the earthquakes which swallow up our
+towns, that affect me. My heart is wasted by the thought of that
+destructive power which lies concealed in every part of universal
+Nature. Nature has formed nothing that does not consume itself, and
+every object near it: so that, surrounded by earth and air and all the
+active powers, I wander on my way with aching heart; and the universe
+is to me a fearful monster, forever devouring its own offspring.
+
+
+                                                    Aug. 21.
+
+In vain do I stretch out my arms towards her when I awaken in the
+morning from my weary slumbers. In vain do I seek for her at night in
+my bed, when some innocent dream has happily deceived me, and placed
+her near me in the fields, when I have seized her hand and covered it
+with countless kisses. And when I feel for her in the half confusion of
+sleep, with the happy sense that she is near me, tears flow from my
+oppressed heart; and, bereft of all comfort, I weep over my future
+woes.
+
+
+                                                    Aug. 22.
+
+What a misfortune, Wilhelm! My active spirits have degenerated into
+contented indolence. I cannot be idle, and yet I am unable to set to
+work. I cannot think: I have no longer any feeling for the beauties of
+nature, and books are distasteful to me. Once we give ourselves up, we
+are totally lost. Many a time and oft I wished I were a common
+labourer; that awakening in the morning, I might have but one prospect,
+one pursuit, one hope, for the day which has dawned. I often envy
+Albert when I see him buried in a heap of papers and parchments, and I
+fancy I should be happy were I in his place. Often impressed with this
+feeling, I have been on the point of writing to you and to the
+minister, for the appointment at the embassy, which you think T might
+obtain. I believe I might procure it. The minister has long shown a
+regard for me, and has frequently urged me to seek employment. It is
+the business of an hour only.
+
+Now and then the fable of the horse recurs to me. Weary of liberty, he
+suffered himself to be saddled and bridled, and was ridden to death for
+his pains. I know not what to determine upon. For is not this anxiety
+for change the consequence of that restless spirit which would pursue
+me equally in every situation of life?
+
+
+                                                    Aug. 28.
+
+If my ills would admit of any cure, they would certainly be cured here.
+This is my birthday, and early in the morning I received a packet from
+Albert. Upon opening it, I found one of the pink ribbons which
+Charlotte wore in her dress the first time I saw her, and which I had
+several times asked her to give me. With it were two volumes in
+duodecimo of Wetstein's Homer,--a book I had often wished for, to save
+me the inconvenience of carrying the large Ernestine edition with me
+upon my walks. You see how they anticipate my wishes, how well they
+understand all those little attentions of friendship, so superior to
+the costly presents of the great, which are humiliating. I kissed the
+ribbon a thousand times, and in every breath inhaled the remembrance of
+those happy and irrevocable days, which filled me with the keenest joy.
+Such, Wilhelm, is our fate. T do not murmur at it: the flowers of life
+are but visionary. How many pass away and leave no trace behind; how
+few yield any fruit; and the fruit itself, how rarely does it ripen!
+And yet there are flowers enough; and is it not strange, my friend,
+that we should suffer the little that does really ripen to rot, decay,
+and perish unenjoyed? Farewell! This is a glorious summer. I often
+climb into the trees in Charlotte's orchard, and shake down the pears
+that hang on the highest branches; she stands below, and catches them
+as they fall.
+
+
+                                                    Aug. 30.
+
+Unhappy being that I am! Why do I thus deceive myself? What is to come
+of all this wild, aimless, endless passion? I cannot pray except to
+her. My imagination sees nothing but her; all surrounding objects are
+of no account except as they relate to her. In this dreamy state I
+enjoy many happy hours, till at length I feel compelled to tear myself
+away from her. Ah, Wilhelm, to what does not my heart often compel me!
+When I have spent several hours in her company, till I feel completely
+absorbed by her figure, her grace, the divine expression of her
+thoughts, my mind becomes gradually excited to the highest excess, my
+sight grows dim, my hearing confused, my breathing oppressed as if by
+the hand of a murderer, and my beating heart seeks to obtain relief for
+my aching senses. I am sometimes unconscious whether I really exist. If
+in such moments I find no sympathy, and Charlotte does not allow me to
+enjoy the melancholy consolation of bathing her hand with my tears, I
+feel compelled to tear myself from her, when I either wander through
+the country, climb some precipitous cliff, or force a path through the
+trackless thicket, where I am lacerated and torn by thorns and briers;
+and thence I find relief.
+
+Sometimes I lie stretched on the ground, overcome with fatigue and
+dying with thirst; sometimes, late in the night, when the moon shines
+above me, I recline against an aged tree in some sequestered forest to
+rest my weary limbs, when, exhausted and worn, I sleep till break of
+day. O Wilhelm! the hermit's cell, his sackcloth, and girdle of thorns
+would be luxury and indulgence compared with what I suffer. Adieu! I
+see no end to this wretchedness except the grave.
+
+
+                                                    Sept. 3.
+
+I must away. Thank you, Wilhelm, for determining my wavering purpose.
+For a whole fortnight I have thought of leaving her. I must away. She
+has returned to town, and is at the house of a friend. And then,
+Albert--yes, I must go.
+
+
+                                                   Sept. 10.
+
+Oh, what a night, Wilhelm! I can henceforth bear anything. I shall
+never see her again. Oh, why cannot I fall on your neck, and with
+floods of tears and raptures give utterance to all the passions which
+distract my heart! Here I sit gasping for breath, and struggling to
+compose myself. I wait for day, and at sunrise the horses are to be at
+the door.
+
+And she is sleeping calmly, little suspecting that she has seen me for
+the last time. I am free. I have had the courage, in an interview of
+two hours' duration, not to betray my intention. And oh, Wilhelm, what
+a conversation it was!
+
+Albert had promised to come to Charlotte in the garden immediately
+after supper. I was upon the terrace under the tall chestnut-trees, and
+watched the setting sun. I saw him sink for the last time beneath this
+delightful valley and silent stream. I had often visited the same spot
+with Charlotte, and witnessed that glorious sight; and now--I was
+walking up and down the very avenue which was so dear to me. A secret
+sympathy had frequently drawn me thither before I knew Charlotte; and
+we were delighted when, in our early acquaintance, we discovered that
+we each loved the same spot, which is indeed as romantic as any that
+ever captivated the fancy of an artist.
+
+From beneath the chestnut-trees there is an extensive view. But I
+remember that I have mentioned all this in a former letter, and have
+described the tall mass of beech-trees at the end, and how the avenue
+grows darker and darker as it winds its way among them, till it ends in
+a gloomy recess, which has all the charm of a mysterious solitude. I
+still remember the strange feeling of melancholy which came over me the
+first time I entered that dark retreat, at bright midday. I felt some
+secret foreboding that it would one day be to me the scene of some
+happiness or misery.
+
+I had spent half an hour struggling between the contending thoughts of
+going and returning, when I heard them coming up the terrace. I ran to
+meet them. I trembled as I took her hand, and kissed it. As we reached
+the top of the terrace, the moon rose from behind the wooded hill. We
+conversed on many subjects, and without perceiving it approached the
+gloomy recess. Charlotte entered, and sat down. Albert seated himself
+beside her. I did the same, but my agitation did not suffer me to
+remain long seated. I got up and stood before her, then walked
+backwards and forwards, and sat down again. I was restless and
+miserable. Charlotte drew our attention to the beautiful effect of the
+moonlight, which threw a silver hue over the terrace in front of us
+beyond the beech-trees. It was a glorious sight, and was rendered more
+striking by the darkness which surrounded the spot where we were. We
+remained for some time silent, when Charlotte observed, "Whenever I
+walk by moonlight, it brings to my remembrance all my beloved and
+departed friends, and I am filled with thoughts of death and futurity.
+We shall live again, Werther," she continued, with a firm but feeling
+voice; "but shall we know one another again? What do you think? What do
+you say?"
+
+"Charlotte," I said, as I took her hand in mine, and my eyes filled
+with tears, "we shall see each other again,--here and hereafter we
+shall meet again." I could say no more. Why, Wilhelm, should she put
+this question to me just at the moment when the fear of our cruel
+separation filled my heart?
+
+"And oh, do those departed ones know how we are employed here? Do they
+know when we are well and happy? Do they know when we recall their
+memories with the fondest love? In the silent hour of evening the shade
+of my mother hovers round me; when seated in the midst of my children,
+I see them assembled near me as they used to assemble near her; and
+then I raise my anxious eyes to heaven, and wish she could look down
+upon us, and witness how I fulfil the promise I made to her in her last
+moments to be a mother to her children. With what emotion do I then
+exclaim: 'Pardon, dearest of mothers, pardon me, if I do not adequately
+supply your place! Alas! I do my utmost. They are clothed and fed; and,
+still better, they are loved and educated. Could you but see, sweet
+saint, the peace and harmony that dwells amongst us, you would glorify
+God with the warmest feelings of gratitude, to whom, in your last hour,
+you addressed such fervent prayers for our happiness.'" Thus did she
+express herself; but, oh, Wilhelm, who can do justice to her language?
+How can cold and passionless words convey the heavenly expressions of
+the spirit? Albert interrupted her gently: "This affects you too
+deeply, my dear Charlotte. I know your soul dwells on such
+recollections with intense delight; but I implore--" "Oh, Albert!"
+she continued, "I am sure you do not forget the evenings when we three
+used to sit at the little round table, when papa was absent, and the
+little ones had retired. You often had a good book with you, but seldom
+read it; the conversation of that noble being was preferable to
+everything,--that beautiful, bright, gentle, and yet ever-toiling
+woman. God alone knows how I have supplicated with tears on my nightly
+couch that I might be like her!"
+
+I threw myself at her feet, and seizing her hand, bedewed it with a
+thousand tears. "Charlotte," I exclaimed, "God's blessing and your
+mother's spirit are upon you!" "Oh that you had known her!" she said,
+with a warm pressure of the hand. "She was worthy of being known to
+you." I thought I should have fainted. Never had I received praise so
+flattering. She continued: "And yet she was doomed to die in the flower
+of her youth, when her youngest child was scarcely six months old. Her
+illness was but short, but she was calm and resigned; and it was only
+for her children, especially the youngest, that she felt unhappy. When
+her end drew nigh, she bade me bring them to her. I obeyed. The younger
+ones knew nothing of their approaching loss, while the elder ones were
+quite overcome with grief. They stood around the bed; and she raised
+her feeble hands to heaven, and prayed over them; then kissing them in
+turn, she dismissed them, and said to me, 'Be you a mother to them.' I
+gave her my hand. 'You are promising much, my child,' she said,--'a
+mother's fondness and a mother's care! I have often witnessed, by your
+tears of gratitude, that you know what is a mother's tenderness; show
+it to your brothers and sisters. And be dutiful and faithful to your
+father as a wife; you will be his comfort.' She inquired for him. He
+had retired to conceal his intolerable anguish,--he was heart-broken.
+
+"Albert, you were in the room. She heard some one moving; she inquired
+who it was, and desired you to approach. She surveyed us both with a
+look of composure and satisfaction, expressive of her conviction that
+we should be happy,--happy with one another." Albert fell upon her
+neck, and kissed her, and exclaimed, "We are so, and we shall be so!"
+Even Albert, generally so tranquil, had quite lost his composure; and I
+was excited beyond expression.
+
+"And such a being," she continued, "was to leave us, Werther! Great
+God, must we thus part with everything we hold dear in this world?
+Nobody felt this more acutely than the children; they cried and
+lamented for a long time afterwards, complaining that black men had
+carried away their dear mamma."
+
+Charlotte rose. It aroused me; but I continued sitting, and held her
+hand. "Let us go," she said; "it grows late." She attempted to withdraw
+her hand; I held it still. "We shall see each other again," I
+exclaimed; "we shall recognise each other under every possible change!
+I am going," I continued, "going willingly; but, should I say forever,
+perhaps I may not keep my word. Adieu, Charlotte; adieu, Albert. We
+shall meet again." "Yes; to-morrow, I think," she answered with a
+smile. To-morrow! how I felt the word! Ah! she little thought, when she
+drew her hand away from mine. They walked down the avenue. I stood
+gazing after them in the moonlight. I threw myself upon the ground, and
+wept; I then sprang up, and ran out upon the terrace, and saw, under
+the shade of the linden-trees, her white dress disappearing near the
+garden-gate. I stretched out my arms, and she vanished.
+
+
+
+                                BOOK II
+
+
+                                                    Oct. 20.
+
+We arrived here yesterday. The ambassador is indisposed, and will not
+go out for some days. If he were less peevish and morose, all would be
+well. I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe
+trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything. A light heart!
+I smile to find such a word proceeding from my pen. A little more
+light-heartedness would render me the happiest being under the sun. But
+must I despair of my talents and faculties, whilst others of far
+inferior abilities parade before me with the utmost self-satisfaction?
+Gracious Providence, to whom I owe all my powers, why didst thou not
+withhold some of those blessings I possess, and substitute in their
+place a feeling of self-confidence and contentment?
+
+But patience! all will yet be well; for I assure you, my dear friend,
+you were right: since I have been obliged to associate continually with
+other people, and observe what they do, and how they employ themselves,
+I have become far better satisfied with myself. For we are so
+constituted by nature, that we are ever prone to compare ourselves with
+others; and our happiness or misery depends very much on the objects
+and persons around us. On this account nothing is more dangerous than
+solitude; there our imagination, always disposed to rise, taking a new
+flight on the wings of fancy, pictures to us a chain of beings of whom
+we seem the most inferior. All things appear greater than they really
+are, and all seem superior to us. This operation of the mind is quite
+natural; we so continually feel our own imperfections, and fancy we
+perceive in others the qualities we do not possess, attributing to them
+also all that we enjoy ourselves, that by this process we form the idea
+of a perfect, happy man,--a man, however, who only exists in our own
+imagination.
+
+But when, in spite of weakness and disappointments, we set to work in
+earnest, and persevere steadily, we often find that, though obliged
+continually to tack, we make more way than others who have the
+assistance of wind and tide; and, in truth, there can be no greater
+satisfaction than to keep pace with others or outstrip them in the
+race.
+
+
+                                                    Nov. 26.
+
+I begin to find my situation here more tolerable, considering all
+circumstances. I find a great advantage in being much occupied; and the
+number of persons I meet, and their different pursuits, create a varied
+entertainment for me. I have formed the acquaintance of the Count
+C----, and I esteem him more and more every day. He is a man of strong
+understanding and great discernment; but though he sees farther than
+other people, he is not on that account cold in his manner, but capable
+of inspiring and returning the warmest affection. He appeared
+interested in me on one occasion, when I had to transact some business
+with him. He perceived, at the first word, that we understood each
+other, and that he could converse with me in a different tone from what
+he used with others. I cannot sufficiently esteem his frank and open
+kindness to me. It is the greatest and most genuine of pleasures to
+observe a great mind in sympathy with our own.
+
+
+                                                    Dec. 24.
+
+As I anticipated, the ambassador occasions me infinite annoyance. He is
+the most punctilious blockhead under heaven. He does everything step by
+step, with the trifling minuteness of an old woman; and he is a man
+whom it is impossible to please, because he is never pleased with
+himself. I like to do business regularly and cheerfully, and, when it
+is finished, to leave it. But he constantly returns my papers to me,
+saying, "They will do," but recommending me to look over them again, as
+"one may always improve by using a better word or a more appropriate
+particle." I then lose all patience, and wish myself at the Devil's.
+Not a conjunction, not an adverb, must be omitted; he has a deadly
+antipathy to all those transpositions of which I am so fond; and if the
+music of our periods is not tuned to the established official key, he
+cannot comprehend our meaning. It is deplorable to be connected with
+such a fellow.
+
+My acquaintance with the Count C---- is the only compensation for such
+an evil. He told me frankly, the other day, that he was much displeased
+with the difficulties and delays of the ambassador; that people like
+him are obstacles, both to themselves and to others. "But," added he,
+"one must submit, like a traveller who has to ascend a mountain; if the
+mountain was not there, the road would be both shorter and pleasanter;
+but there it is, and he must get over it."
+
+The old man perceives the count's partiality for me; this annoys him,
+and he seizes every opportunity to depreciate the count in my hearing.
+I naturally defend him, and that only makes matters worse. Yesterday he
+made me indignant, for he also alluded to me. "The count," he said, "is
+a man of the world, and a good man of business; his style is good, and
+he writes with facility; but, like other geniuses, he has no solid
+learning." He looked at me with an expression that seemed to ask if I
+felt the blow. But it did not produce the desired effect; I despise a
+man who can think and act in such a manner. However, I made a stand,
+and answered with not a little warmth. The count, I said, was a man
+entitled to respect, alike for his character and his acquirements. I
+had never met a person whose mind was stored with more useful and
+extensive knowledge,--who had, in fact, mastered such an infinite
+variety of subjects, and who yet retained all his activity for the
+details of ordinary business. This was altogether beyond his
+comprehension; and I took my leave, lest my anger should be too highly
+excited by some new absurdity of his.
+
+And you are to blame for all this,--you who persuaded me to bend my
+neck to this yoke by preaching a life of activity to me. If the man who
+plants vegetables, and carries his corn to town on market-days, is not
+more usefully employed than I am, then let me work ten years longer at
+the galleys to which I am now chained.
+
+Oh the brilliant wretchedness, the weariness, that one is doomed to
+witness among the silly people whom we meet in society here! The
+ambition of rank! How they watch, how they toil, to gain precedence!
+What poor and contemptible passions are displayed in their utter
+nakedness! We have a woman here, for example, who never ceases to
+entertain the company with accounts of her family and her estates. Any
+stranger would consider her a silly being, whose head was turned by her
+pretensions to rank and property; but she is in reality even more
+ridiculous,--the daughter of a mere magistrate's clerk from this
+neighbourhood. I cannot understand how human beings can so debase
+themselves.
+
+Every day I observe more and more the folly of judging of others by
+ourselves; and I have so much trouble with myself, and my own heart is
+in such constant agitation, that I am well content to let others pursue
+their own course, if they only allow me the same privilege.
+
+What provokes me most is the unhappy extent to which distinctions of
+rank are carried. I know perfectly well how necessary are inequalities
+of condition, and I am sensible of the advantages I myself derive
+therefrom; but I would not have these institutions prove a barrier to
+the small chance of happiness which I may enjoy on this earth.
+
+I have lately become acquainted with a Miss B----, a very agreeable
+girl, who has retained her natural manners in the midst of artificial
+life. Our first conversation pleased us both equally; and, at taking
+leave, I requested permission to visit her. She consented in so
+obliging a manner, that I waited with impatience for the arrival of the
+happy moment. She is not a native of this place, but resides here with
+her aunt. The countenance of the old lady is not prepossessing. I paid
+her much attention, addressing the greater part of my conversation to
+her; and, in less than half an hour, I discovered what her niece
+subsequently acknowledged to me, that her aged aunt, having but a small
+fortune and a still smaller share of understanding, enjoys no
+satisfaction except in the pedigree of her ancestors, no protection
+save in her noble birth, and no enjoyment but in looking from her
+castle over the heads of the humble citizens. She was, no doubt,
+handsome in her youth, and in her early years probably trifled away her
+time in rendering many a poor youth the sport of her caprice: in her
+riper years she has submitted to the yoke of a veteran officer, who, in
+return for her person and her small independence, has spent with her
+what we may designate her age of brass. He is dead; and she is now a
+widow, and deserted. She spends her iron age alone, and would not be
+approached, except for the loveliness of her niece.
+
+
+                                               Jan. 8, 1772.
+
+What beings are men, whose whole thoughts are occupied with form and
+ceremony, who for years together devote their mental and physical
+exertions to the task of advancing themselves but one step, and
+endeavouring to occupy a higher place at the table! Not that such
+persons would otherwise want employment: on the contrary, they give
+themselves much trouble by neglecting important business for such petty
+trifles. Last week a question of precedence arose at a sledging-party,
+and all our amusement was spoiled.
+
+The silly creatures cannot see that it is not place which constitutes
+real greatness, since the man who occupies the first place but seldom
+plays the principal part. How many kings are governed by their
+ministers, how many ministers by their secretaries? Who, in such cases,
+is really the chief? He, as it seems to me, who can see through the
+others, and possesses strength or skill enough to make their power or
+passions subservient to the execution of his own designs.
+
+
+                                                    Jan. 20.
+
+I must write to you from this place, my dear Charlotte, from a small
+room in a country inn, where I have taken shelter from a severe storm.
+During my whole residence in that wretched place, D----, where I lived
+amongst strangers,--strangers, indeed, to this heart,--I never at any
+time felt the smallest inclination to correspond with you; but in this
+cottage, in this retirement, in this solitude, with the snow and hail
+beating against my lattice-pane, you are my first thought. The instant
+I entered, your figure rose up before me, and the remembrance,--O my
+Charlotte, the sacred, tender remembrance! Gracious Heaven, restore to
+me the happy moment of our first acquaintance!
+
+Could you but see me, my dear Charlotte, in the whirl of
+dissipation,--how my senses are dried up, but my heart is at no time
+full. I enjoy no single moment of happiness: all is vain,--nothing
+touches me. I stand, as it were, before the raree-show: I see the
+little puppets move, and I ask whether it is not an optical illusion. I
+am amused with these puppets, or rather, I am myself one of them; but
+when I sometimes grasp my neighbour's hand, I feel that it is not
+natural, and I withdraw mine with a shudder. In the evening I say I
+will enjoy the next morning's sunrise, and yet I remain in bed: in the
+day I promise to ramble by moonlight; and I, nevertheless, remain at
+home. I know not why I rise, nor why I go to sleep.
+
+The leaven which animated my existence is gone: the charm which cheered
+me in the gloom of night, and aroused me from my morning slumbers, is
+forever fled.
+
+I have found but one being here to interest me, a Miss B----. She
+resembles you, my dear Charlotte, if any one can possibly resemble you.
+"Ah!" you will say, "he has learned how to pay fine compliments." And
+this is partly true. I have been very agreeable lately, as it was not
+in my power to be otherwise. I have, moreover, a deal of wit: and the
+ladies say that no one understands flattery better, or falsehoods you
+will add; since the one accomplishment invariably accompanies the
+other. But I must tell you of Miss B----. She has abundance of soul,
+which flashes from her deep blue eyes. Her rank is a torment to her,
+and satisfies no one desire of her heart. She would gladly retire from
+this whirl of fashion, and we often picture to ourselves a life of
+undisturbed happiness in distant scenes of rural retirement: and
+then we speak of you, my dear Charlotte; for she knows you, and
+renders homage to your merits; but her homage is not exacted, but
+voluntary,--she loves you, and delights to hear you made the subject
+of conversation.
+
+Oh that I were sitting at your feet in your favourite little room, with
+the dear children playing around us! If they became troublesome to you,
+I would tell them some appalling goblin story; and they would crowd
+round me with silent attention. The sun is setting in glory; his last
+rays are shining on the snow, which covers the face of the country: the
+storm is over, and I must return to my dungeon. Adieu! Is Albert with
+you? and what is he to you? God forgive the question.
+
+
+                                                     Feb. 8.
+
+For a week past we have had the most wretched weather: but this to me
+is a blessing; for, during my residence here, not a single fine day has
+beamed from the heavens but has been lost to me by the intrusion of
+somebody. During the severity of rain, sleet, frost, and storm, I
+congratulate myself that it cannot be worse in-doors than abroad, nor
+worse abroad than it is within doors; and so I become reconciled.
+When the sun rises bright in the morning, and promises a glorious
+day, I never omit to exclaim, "There, now, they have another blessing
+from Heaven, which they will be sure to destroy: they spoil
+everything,--health, fame, happiness, amusement; and they do this
+generally through folly, ignorance, or imbecility, and always,
+according to their own account, with the best intentions!" I could
+often beseech them, on my bended knees, to be less resolved upon their
+own destruction.
+
+
+                                                    Feb. 17.
+
+I fear that my ambassador and I shall not continue much longer
+together. He is really growing past endurance. He transacts his
+business in so ridiculous a manner that I am often compelled to
+contradict him, and do things my own way; and then, of course, he
+thinks them very ill done. He complained of me lately on this account
+at court; and the minister gave me a reprimand,--a gentle one, it is
+true, but still a reprimand. In consequence of this I was about to
+tender my resignation, when I received a letter, to which I submitted
+with great respect, on account of the high, noble, and generous spirit
+which dictated it. He endeavoured to soothe my excessive sensibility,
+paid a tribute to my extreme ideas of duty, of good example, and of
+perseverance in business, as the fruit of my youthful ardour,--an
+impulse which he did not seek to destroy, but only to moderate, that it
+might have proper play and be productive of good. So now I am at rest
+for another week, and no longer at variance with myself. Content and
+peace of mind are valuable things: I could wish, my dear friend, that
+these precious jewels were less transitory.
+
+
+                                                    Feb. 20.
+
+God bless you, my dear friends, and may he grant you that happiness
+which he denies to me!
+
+I thank you, Albert, for having deceived me. I waited for the news that
+your wedding-day was fixed; and I intended on that day, with solemnity,
+to take down Charlotte's profile from the walls, and to bury it with
+some other papers I possess. You are now united, and her picture still
+remains here. Well, let it remain! Why should it not? I know that
+I am still one of your society, that I still occupy a place uninjured
+in Charlotte's heart, that I hold the second place therein; and I
+intend to keep it. Oh, I should become mad if she could forget!
+Albert, that thought is hell! Farewell, Albert,--farewell, angel of
+heaven,--farewell, Charlotte!
+
+
+                                                   March 15.
+
+I have just had a sad adventure, which will drive me away from here. I
+lose all patience! Death! It is not to be remedied; and you alone are
+to blame, for you urged and impelled me to fill a post for which I was
+by no means suited. I have now reason to be satisfied, and so have you!
+But, that you may not again attribute this fatality to my impetuous
+temper, I send you, my dear sir, a plain and simple narration of the
+affair, as a mere chronicler of facts would describe it.
+
+The Count of O---- likes and distinguishes me. It is well known, and I
+have mentioned this to you a hundred times. Yesterday I dined with him.
+It is the day on which the nobility are accustomed to assemble at his
+house in the evening. I never once thought of the assembly, nor that we
+subalterns did not belong to such society. Well, I dined with the
+count; and after dinner we adjourned to the large hall. We walked up
+and down together; and I conversed with him, and with Colonel B----,
+who joined us; and in this manner the hour for the assembly approached.
+God knows, I was thinking of nothing, when who should enter but the
+honourable Lady S----, accompanied by her noble husband and their
+silly, scheming daughter, with her small waist and flat neck; and, with
+disdainful looks and a haughty air, they passed me by. As I heartily
+detest the whole race, I determined upon going away; and only waited
+till the count had disengaged himself from their impertinent prattle,
+to take leave, when the agreeable Miss B---- came in. As I never meet
+her without experiencing a heartfelt pleasure, I stayed and talked to
+her, leaning over the back of her chair, and did not perceive, till
+after some time, that she seemed a little confused, and ceased to
+answer me with her usual ease of manner. I was struck with it.
+"Heavens!" I said to myself, "can she, too, be like the rest?" I felt
+annoyed, and was about to withdraw; but I remained, notwithstanding,
+forming excuses for her conduct fancying she did not mean it, and still
+hoping to receive some friendly recognition. The rest of the company
+now arrived. There was the Baron F----, in an entire suit that dated
+from the coronation of Francis I.; the Chancellor N----, with his deaf
+wife; the shabbily dressed I----, whose old-fashioned coat bore
+evidence of modern repairs: this crowned the whole. I conversed with
+some of my acquaintances, but they answered me laconically. I was
+engaged in observing Miss B----, and did not notice that the women were
+whispering at the end of the room, that the murmur extended by degrees
+to the men, that Madame S---- addressed the count with much warmth
+(this was all related to me subsequently by Miss B----); till at length
+the count came up to me, and took me to the window. "You know our
+ridiculous customs," he said. "I perceive the company is rather
+displeased at your being here. I would not on any account"--"I beg your
+excellency's pardon!" I exclaimed. "I ought to have thought of this
+before, but I know you will forgive this little inattention. I was
+going," I added, "some time ago, but my evil genius detained me." And I
+smiled and bowed to take my leave. He shook me by the hand, in a manner
+which expressed everything. I hastened at once from the illustrious
+assembly, sprang into a carriage, and drove to M----. I contemplated
+the setting sun from the top of the hill, and read that beautiful
+passage in Homer where Ulysses is entertained by the hospitable
+herdsmen. This was indeed delightful.
+
+I returned home to supper in the evening. But few persons were
+assembled in the room. They had turned up a corner of the tablecloth,
+and were playing at dice. The good-natured A---- came in. He laid down
+his hat when he saw me, approached me, and said in a low tone, "You
+have met with a disagreeable adventure." "I!" I exclaimed. "The count
+obliged you to withdraw from the assembly." "Deuce take the assembly!"
+said I. "I was very glad to be gone." "I am delighted," he added, "that
+you take it so lightly. I am only sorry that it is already so much
+spoken of." The circumstance then began to pain me. I fancied that
+every one who sat down, and even looked at me, was thinking of this
+incident; and my heart became embittered.
+
+And now I could plunge a dagger into my bosom when I hear myself
+everywhere pitied, and observe the triumph of my enemies, who say that
+this is always the case with vain persons, whose heads are turned with
+conceit, who affect to despise forms and such petty, idle nonsense.
+
+Say what you will of fortitude, but show me the man who can patiently
+endure the laughter of fools, when they have obtained an advantage over
+him. 'Tis only when their nonsense is without foundation that one can
+suffer it without complaint.
+
+
+                                                   March 16.
+
+Everything conspires against me. I met Miss B---- walking to-day. I
+could not help joining her; and when we were at a little distance from
+her companions, I expressed my sense of her altered manner towards me.
+"O Werther!" she said, in a tone of emotion, "you, who know my heart,
+how could you so ill interpret my distress? What did I not suffer for
+you from the moment you entered the room! I foresaw it all; a hundred
+times was I on the point of mentioning it to you. I knew that the
+S----s and T----s, with their husbands, would quit the room rather than
+remain in your company. I knew that the count would not break with
+them: and now so much is said about it." "How!" I exclaimed, and
+endeavoured to conceal my emotion; for all that Adelin had mentioned to
+me yesterday recurred to me painfully at that moment. "Oh, how much it
+has already cost me!" said this amiable girl, while her eyes filled
+with tears. I could scarcely contain myself, and was ready to throw
+myself at her feet. "Explain yourself!" I cried. Tears flowed down her
+cheeks. I became quite frantic. She wiped them away, without attempting
+to conceal them. "You know my aunt," she continued; "she was present:
+and in what light does she consider the affair! Last night, and this
+morning, Werther, I was compelled to listen to a lecture upon my
+acquaintance with you. I have been obliged to hear you condemned and
+depreciated; and I could not--I dared not--say much in your defence."
+
+Every word she uttered was a dagger to my heart. She did not feel what
+a mercy it would have been to conceal everything from me. She told me,
+in addition, all the impertinence that would be further circulated, and
+how the malicious would triumph; how they would rejoice over the
+punishment of my pride, over my humiliation for that want of esteem for
+others with which I had often been reproached. To hear all this,
+Wilhelm, uttered by her in a voice of the most sincere sympathy,
+awakened all my passions; and I am still in a state of extreme
+excitement. I wish I could find a man to jeer me about this event. I
+would sacrifice him to my resentment. The sight of his blood might
+possibly be a relief to my fury. A hundred times have I seized a
+dagger, to give ease to this oppressed heart. Naturalists tell of a
+noble race of horses that instinctively open a vein with their teeth,
+when heated and exhausted by a long course, in order to breathe more
+freely, I am often tempted to open a vein, to procure for myself
+everlasting liberty.
+
+
+                                                   March 24.
+
+I have tendered my resignation to the court. I hope it will be
+accepted, and you will forgive me for not having previously consulted
+you. It is necessary I should leave this place. I know you all will
+urge me to stay, and therefore--I beg you will soften this news to my
+mother. I am unable to do anything for myself: how, then, should I be
+competent to assist others? It will afflict her that I should have
+interrupted that career which would have made me first privy
+councillor, and then minister, and that I should look behind me, in
+place of advancing. Argue as you will, combine all the reasons which
+should have induced me to remain,--I am going: that is sufficient. But,
+that you may not be ignorant of my destination, I may mention that the
+Prince of ---- is here. He is much pleased with my company; and, having
+heard of my intention to resign, he has invited me to his country
+house, to pass the spring months with him. I shall be left completely
+my own master; and as we agree on all subjects but one, I shall try my
+fortune, and accompany him.
+
+
+                                                   April 19.
+
+Thanks for both your letters. I delayed my reply, and withheld this
+letter, till I should obtain an answer from the court. I feared my
+mother might apply to the minister to defeat my purpose. But my request
+is granted, my resignation is accepted. I shall not recount with what
+reluctance it was accorded, nor relate what the minister has written:
+you would only renew your lamentations. The Crown Prince has sent me a
+present of five and twenty ducats; and, indeed, such goodness has
+affected me to tears. For this reason I shall not require from my
+mother the money for which I lately applied.
+
+
+                                                      May 5.
+
+I leave this place to-morrow; and as my native place is only six miles
+from the high-road, I intend to visit it once more, and recall the
+happy dreams of my childhood. I shall enter at the same gate through
+which I came with my mother, when, after my father's death, she left
+that delightful retreat to immure herself in your melancholy town.
+Adieu, my dear friend: you shall hear of my future career.
+
+
+                                                      May 9.
+
+I have paid my visit to my native place with all the devotion of a
+pilgrim, and have experienced many unexpected emotions. Near the great
+elm-tree, which is a quarter of a league from the village, I got out of
+the carriage, and sent it on before, that alone and on foot I might
+enjoy vividly and heartily all the pleasure of my recollections. I
+stood there under that same elm which was formerly the term and object
+of my walks. How things have since changed! Then, in happy ignorance, I
+sighed for a world I did not know, where I hoped to find every pleasure
+and enjoyment which my heart could desire; and now, on my return from
+that wide world, O my friend, how many disappointed hopes and
+unsuccessful plans have I brought back!
+
+As I contemplated the mountains which lay stretched out before me, I
+thought how often they had been the object of my dearest desires. Here
+used I to sit for hours together with my eyes bent upon them, ardently
+longing to wander in the shade of those woods, to lose myself in those
+valleys, which form so delightful an object in the distance. With what
+reluctance did I leave this charming spot, when my hour of recreation
+was over, and my leave of absence expired! I drew near to the village:
+all the well-known old summer-houses and gardens were recognized again;
+I disliked the new ones, and all other alterations which had taken
+place. I entered the village, and all my former feelings returned. I
+cannot, my dear friend, enter into details, charming as were my
+sensations; they would be dull in the narration. I had intended to
+lodge in the market-place, near our old house. As soon as I entered, I
+perceived that the schoolroom, where our childhood had been taught by
+that good old woman, was converted into a shop, I called to mind the
+sorrow, the heaviness, the tears, and oppression of heart which I
+experienced in that confinement. Every step produced some particular
+impression. A pilgrim in the Holy Land does not meet so many spots
+pregnant with tender recollections, and his soul is hardly moved with
+greater devotion. One incident will serve for illustration. I followed
+the course of a stream to a farm, formerly a delightful walk of mine,
+and paused at the spot where, when boys we used to amuse ourselves
+making ducks and drakes upon the water. I recollected so well how I
+used formerly to watch the course of that same stream, following it
+with inquiring eagerness, forming romantic ideas of the countries it
+was to pass through; but my imagination was soon exhausted; while the
+water continued flowing farther and farther on, till my fancy became
+bewildered by the contemplation of an invisible distance. Exactly such,
+my dear friend, so happy and so confined, were the thoughts of our good
+ancestors. Their feelings and their poetry were fresh as childhood. And
+when Ulysses talks of the immeasurable sea and boundless earth, his
+epithets are true, natural, deeply felt, and mysterious. Of what
+importance is it that I have learned, with every schoolboy, that the
+world is round? Man needs but little earth for enjoyment, and still
+less for his final repose.
+
+I am at present with the prince at his hunting-lodge. He is a man with
+whom one can live happily. He is honest and unaffected. There are,
+however, some strange characters about him, whom I cannot at all
+understand. They do not seem vicious, and yet they do not carry the
+appearance of thoroughly honest men. Sometimes I am disposed to believe
+them honest, and yet I cannot persuade myself to confide in them. It
+grieves me to hear the prince occasionally talk of things which he has
+only read or heard of, and always with the same view in which they have
+been represented by others.
+
+He values my understanding and talents more highly than my heart, but I
+am proud of the latter only. It is the sole source of everything,--of
+our strength, happiness, and misery. All the knowledge I possess every
+one else can acquire, but my heart is exclusively my own.
+
+
+                                                     May 25.
+
+I have had a plan in my head of which I did not intend to speak to you
+until it was accomplished: now that it has failed, I may as well
+mention it. I wished to enter the army, and had long been desirous of
+taking the step. This, indeed, was the chief reason for my coming here
+with the prince, as he is a general ---- in the service. I communicated
+my design to him during one of our walks together. He disapproved of
+it, and it would have been actual madness not to have listened to his
+reasons.
+
+
+                                                    June 11.
+
+Say what you will, I can remain here no longer. Why should I remain?
+Time hangs heavy upon my hands. The prince is as gracious to me as any
+one could be, and yet I am not at my ease. There is, indeed, nothing in
+common between us. He is a man of understanding, but quite of the
+ordinary kind. His conversation affords me no more amusement than I
+should derive from the perusal of a well-written book. I shall remain
+here a week longer, and then start again on my travels. My drawings are
+the best things I have done since I came here. The prince has a taste
+for the arts, and would improve if his mind were not fettered by cold
+rules and mere technical ideas. I often lose patience, when, with a
+glowing imagination, I am giving expression to art and nature, he
+interferes with learned suggestions, and uses at random the technical
+phraseology of artists.
+
+
+                                                    July 16.
+
+Once more I am a wanderer, a pilgrim, through the world. But what else
+are you!
+
+
+                                                    July 18.
+
+Whither am I going? I will tell you in confidence. I am obliged to
+continue a fortnight longer here, and then I think it would be better
+for me to visit the mines in ----. But I am only deluding myself thus.
+The fact is, I wish to be near Charlotte again,--that is all. I smile
+at the suggestions of my heart, and obey its dictates.
+
+
+                                                    July 29.
+
+No, no! it is yet well--all is well! I her husband! O God, who gave
+me being, if thou hadst destined this happiness for me, my whole
+life would have been one continual thanksgiving! But I will not
+murmur,--forgive these tears, forgive these fruitless wishes. She--my
+wife! Oh, the very thought of folding that dearest of Heaven's
+creatures in my arms! Dear Wilhelm, my whole frame feels convulsed when
+I see Albert put his arms round her slender waist!
+
+And shall I avow it? Why should I not, Wilhelm? She would have been
+happier with me than with him. Albert is not the man to satisfy the
+wishes of such a heart. He wants a certain sensibility; he wants--in
+short, their hearts do not beat in unison. How often, my dear friend,
+in reading a passage from some interesting book, when my heart and
+Charlotte's seemed to meet, and in a hundred other instances when our
+sentiments were unfolded by the story of some fictitious character,
+have I felt that we were made for each other! But, dear Wilhelm, he
+loves her with his whole soul; and what does not such a love deserve?
+
+I have been interrupted by an insufferable visit. I have dried my
+tears, and composed my thoughts. Adieu, my best friend!
+
+
+                                                     Aug. 4.
+
+I am not alone unfortunate. All men are disappointed in their hopes,
+and deceived in their expectations. I have paid a visit to my good old
+woman under the lime-trees. The eldest boy ran out to meet me: his
+exclamation of joy brought out his mother, but she had a very
+melancholy look. Her first word was: "Alas! dear sir, my little John is
+dead." He was the youngest of her children. I was silent. "And my
+husband has returned from Switzerland without any money; and if some
+kind people had not assisted him, he must have begged his way home. He
+was taken ill with fever on his journey." I could answer nothing, but
+made the little one a present. She invited me to take some fruit. I
+complied, and left the place with a sorrowful heart.
+
+
+                                                    Aug. 21.
+
+My sensations are constantly changing. Sometimes a happy prospect
+opens before me; but alas! it is only for a moment; and then, when
+I am lost in reverie, I cannot help saying to myself, "If Albert were
+to die?--Yes, she would become--and I should be"--and so I pursue a
+chimera, till it leads me to the edge of a precipice at which I
+shudder.
+
+When I pass through the same gate, and walk along the same road which
+first conducted me to Charlotte, my heart sinks within me at the change
+that has since taken place. All, all is altered! No sentiment, no
+pulsation of my heart, is the same. My sensations are such as would
+occur to some departed prince whose spirit should return to visit the
+superb palace which he had built in happy times, adorned with costly
+magnificence, and left to a beloved son, but whose glory he should find
+departed, and its halls deserted and in ruins.
+
+
+                                                    Sept. 3.
+
+I sometimes cannot understand how she can love another, how she dares
+love another, when I love nothing in this world so completely, so
+devotedly, as I love her, when I know only her, and have no other
+possession than her in the world.
+
+
+                                                    Sept. 4.
+
+It is even so! As Nature puts on her autumn tints, it becomes autumn
+with me and around me. My leaves are sear and yellow, and the
+neighbouring trees are divested of their foliage. Do you remember my
+writing to you about a peasant-boy shortly after my arrival here? I
+have just made inquiries about him in Walheim. They say he has been
+dismissed from his service, and is now avoided by every one. I met him
+yesterday on the road, going to a neighbouring village. I spoke to him,
+and he told me his story. It interested me exceedingly, as you will
+easily understand when I repeat it to you. But why should I trouble
+you? Why should I not reserve all my sorrow for myself? Why should I
+continue to give you occasion to pity and blame me? But no matter: this
+also is part of my destiny.
+
+At first the peasant-lad answered my inquiries with a sort of subdued
+melancholy, which seemed to me the mark of a timid disposition; but as
+we grew to understand each other, he spoke with less reserve, and
+openly confessed his faults, and lamented his misfortune. I wish, my
+dear friend, I could give proper expression to his language. He told
+me, with a sort of pleasurable recollection, that after my departure
+his passion for his mistress increased daily, until at last he neither
+knew what he did nor what he said, nor what was to become of him. He
+could neither eat nor drink nor sleep: he felt a sense of suffocation;
+he disobeyed all orders, and forgot all commands involuntarily; he
+seemed as if pursued by an evil spirit, till one day, knowing that his
+mistress had gone to an upper chamber, he had followed, or rather, been
+drawn after her. As she proved deaf to his entreaties, he had recourse
+to violence. He knows not what happened; but he called God to witness
+that his intentions to her were honourable, and that he desired nothing
+more sincerely than that they should marry, and pass their lives
+together. When he had come to this point, he began to hesitate, as if
+there was something which he had not courage to utter, till at length
+he acknowledged with some confusion certain little confidences she had
+encouraged, and liberties she had allowed.
+
+He broke off two or three times in his narration, and assured me most
+earnestly that he had no wish to make her bad, as he termed it, for he
+loved her still as sincerely as ever; that the tale had never before
+escaped his lips, and was only now told to convince me that he was not
+utterly lost and abandoned. And here, my dear friend, I must commence
+the old song which you know I utter eternally. If I could only
+represent the man as he stood, and stands now before me,--could I only
+give his true expressions, you would feel compelled to sympathise in
+his fate. But enough: you, who know my misfortune and my disposition,
+can easily comprehend the attraction which draws me towards every
+unfortunate being, but particularly towards him whose story I have
+recounted.
+
+On perusing this letter a second time, I find I have omitted the
+conclusion of my tale; but it is easily supplied. She became reserved
+towards him, at the instigation of her brother who had long hated him,
+and desired his expulsion from the house, fearing that his sister's
+second marriage might deprive his children of the handsome fortune they
+expected from her; as she is childless. He was dismissed at length; and
+the whole affair occasioned so much scandal that the mistress dared not
+take him back, even if she had wished it. She has since hired another
+servant, with whom, they say, her brother is equally displeased, and
+whom she is likely to marry; but my informant assures me that he
+himself is determined not to survive such a catastrophe.
+
+This story is neither exaggerated nor embellished; indeed, I have
+weakened and impaired it in the narration, by the necessity of using
+the more refined expressions of society.
+
+This love, then, this constancy, this passion, is no poetical fiction.
+It is actual, and dwells in its greatest purity amongst that class of
+mankind whom we term rude, uneducated. We are the educated, not the
+perverted! But read this story with attention, I implore you. I am
+tranquil to-day, for I have been employed upon this narration: you see
+by my writing that I am not so agitated as usual. Read and reread this
+tale, Wilhelm: it is the history of your friend! My fortune has been
+and will be similar; and I am neither half so brave nor half so
+determined as the poor wretch with whom I hesitate to compare myself.
+
+
+                                                    Sept. 5.
+
+Charlotte had written a letter to her husband in the country, where he
+was detained by business. It commenced, "My dearest love, return as
+soon as possible: I await you with a thousand raptures." A friend who
+arrived, brought word that, for certain reasons, he could not return
+immediately. Charlotte's letter was not forwarded, and the same evening
+it fell into my hands. I read it, and smiled. She asked the reason.
+"What a heavenly treasure is imagination!" I exclaimed; "I fancied for
+a moment that this was written to me."
+
+She paused, and seemed displeased. I was silent.
+
+
+                                                    Sept. 6.
+
+It cost me much to part with the blue coat which I wore the first time
+I danced with Charlotte. But I could not possibly wear it any longer.
+But I have ordered a new one, precisely similar, even to the collar and
+sleeves, as well as a new waistcoat and pantaloons.
+
+But it does not produce the same effect upon me. I know not how it is,
+but I hope in time I shall like it better.
+
+
+                                                   Sept. 12.
+
+She has been absent for some days. She went to meet Albert. To-day I
+visited her: she rose to receive me, and I kissed her hand most
+tenderly.
+
+A canary at the moment flew from a mirror, and settled upon her
+shoulder. "Here is a new friend," she observed, while she made him
+perch upon her hand: "he is a present for the children. What a dear he
+is! Look at him! When I feed him, he flutters with his wings, and pecks
+so nicely. He kisses me, too,--only look!"
+
+She held the bird to her mouth; and he pressed her sweet lips with so
+much fervour that he seemed to feel the excess of bliss which he
+enjoyed.
+
+"He shall kiss you too," she added; and then she held the bird towards
+me. His little beak moved from her mouth to mine, and the delightful
+sensation seemed like the forerunner of the sweetest bliss.
+
+"A kiss," I observed, "does not seem to satisfy him: he wishes for
+food, and seems disappointed by these unsatisfactory endearments."
+
+"But he eats out of my mouth," she continued, and extended her lips to
+him containing seed; and she smiled with all the charm of a being who
+has allowed an innocent participation of her love.
+
+I turned my face away. She should not act thus. She ought not to excite
+my imagination with such displays of heavenly innocence and happiness,
+nor awaken my heart from its slumbers, in which it dreams of the
+worthlessness of life! And why not? Because she knows how much I love
+her.
+
+
+                                                   Sept. 15.
+
+It makes me wretched, Wilhelm, to think that there should be men
+incapable of appreciating the few things which possess a real value in
+life. You remember the walnut-trees at S----, under which I used to sit
+with Charlotte, during my visits to the worthy old vicar. Those
+glorious trees, the very sight of which has so often filled my heart
+with joy, how they adorned and refreshed the parsonage-yard, with their
+wide-extended branches! and how pleasing was our remembrance of the
+good old pastor, by whose hands they were planted so many years ago!
+The schoolmaster has frequently mentioned his name. He had it from his
+grandfather. He must have been a most excellent man; and, under the
+shade of those old trees, his memory was ever venerated by me.
+
+The schoolmaster informed us yesterday, with tears in his eyes, that
+those trees had been felled. Yes, cut to the ground! I could, in my
+wrath, have slain the monster who struck the first stroke. And I must
+endure this!--I, who, if I had had two such trees in my own court, and
+one had died from old age, should have wept with real affliction. But
+there is some comfort left,--such a thing is sentiment,--the whole
+village murmurs at the misfortune; and I hope the vicar's wife will
+soon find, by the cessation of the villagers' presents, how much she
+has wounded the feelings of the neighbourhood. It was she who did
+it,--the wife of the present incumbent (our good old man is dead),--a
+tall, sickly creature, who is so far right to disregard the world as
+the world totally disregards her. The silly being affects to be
+learned, pretends to examine the canonical books, lends her aid towards
+the new-fashioned reformation of Christendom, moral and critical, and
+shrugs up her shoulders at the mention of Lavater's enthusiasm. Her
+health is destroyed, on account of which she is prevented from having
+any enjoyment here below. Only such a creature could have cut down my
+walnut-trees! I can never pardon it. Hear her reasons. The falling
+leaves made the court wet and dirty; the branches obstructed the light;
+boys threw stones at the nuts when they were ripe, and the noise
+affected her nerves, and disturbed her profound meditations, when she
+was weighing the difficulties of Kennicot, Semler, and Michaels.
+Finding that all the parish, particularly the old people, were
+displeased, I asked why they allowed it. "Ah, sir!" they replied, "when
+the steward orders, what can we poor peasants do?" But one thing has
+happened well. The steward and the vicar (who for once thought to reap
+some advantage from the caprices of his wife) intended to divide the
+trees between them. The revenue-office, being informed of it, revived
+an old claim to the ground where the trees had stood, and sold them to
+the best bidder. There they still lie on the ground. If I were the
+sovereign, I should know how to deal with them all,--vicar, steward,
+and revenue-office. Sovereign, did I say? I should in that case care
+little about the trees that grew in the country.
+
+
+                                                    Oct. 10.
+
+Only to gaze upon her dark eyes is to me a source of happiness! And
+what grieves me is that Albert does not seem so happy as he--hoped to
+be--as I should have been--if-- I am no friend to these pauses, but
+here I cannot express it otherwise; and probably I am explicit enough.
+
+
+                                                    Oct. 12.
+
+Ossian has superseded Homer in my heart. To what a world does the
+illustrious bard carry me! To wander over pathless wilds, surrounded by
+impetuous whirlwinds, where, by the feeble light of the moon, we see
+the spirits of our ancestors; to hear from the mountain-tops, mid the
+roar of torrents, their plaintive sounds issuing from deep caverns, and
+the sorrowful lamentations of a maiden who sighs and expires on the
+mossy tomb of the warrior by whom she was adored. I meet this bard with
+silver hair; he wanders in the valley; he seeks the footsteps of his
+fathers, and, alas! he finds only their tombs. Then, contemplating the
+pale moon, as she sinks beneath the waves of the rolling sea, the
+memory of bygone days strikes the mind of the hero,--days when
+approaching danger invigorated the brave, and the moon shone upon his
+bark laden with spoils, and returning in triumph. When I read in his
+countenance deep sorrow, when I see his dying glory sink exhausted into
+the grave, as he inhales new and heart-thrilling delight from his
+approaching union with his beloved, and he casts a look on the cold
+earth and the tall grass which is so soon to cover him, and then
+exclaims, "The traveller will come,--he will come who has seen my
+beauty, and he will ask, 'Where is the bard,--where is the illustrious
+son of Fingal?' He will walk over my tomb, and will seek me in vain!"
+Then, O my friend, I could instantly, like a true and noble knight,
+draw my sword, and deliver my prince from the long and painful languor
+of a living death, and dismiss my own soul to follow the demigod whom
+my hand had set free!
+
+
+                                                    Oct. 19.
+
+Alas! the void--the fearful void, which I feel in my bosom! Sometimes I
+think, if I could only once--but once, press her to my heart, this
+dreadful void would be filled.
+
+
+                                                    Oct. 26.
+
+Yes, I feel certain, Wilhelm, and every day I become more certain, that
+the existence of any being whatever is of very little consequence. A
+friend of Charlotte's called to see her just now. I withdrew into a
+neighbouring apartment, and took up a book; but, finding I could not
+read, I sat down to write. I heard them converse in an undertone: they
+spoke upon indifferent topics, and retailed the news of the town. One
+was going to be married; another was ill, very ill,--she had a dry
+cough, her face was growing thinner daily, and she had occasional fits.
+"N---- is very unwell, too," said Charlotte. "His limbs begin to swell
+already," answered the other; and my lively imagination carried me at
+once to the beds of the infirm. There I see them struggling against
+death, with all the agonies of pain and horror; and these women,
+Wilhelm, talk of all this with as much indifference as one would
+mention the death of a stranger. And when I look around the apartment
+where I now am,--when I see Charlotte's apparel lying before me, and
+Albert's writings, and all those articles of furniture which are so
+familiar to me, even to the very inkstand which I am using,--when I
+think what I am to this family--everything. My friends esteem me; I
+often contribute to their happiness, and my heart seems as if it could
+not beat without them; and yet--if I were to die, if I were to be
+summoned from the midst of this circle, would they feel--or how long
+would they feel--the void which my loss would make in their existence?
+How long! Yes, such is the frailty of man, that even there, where he
+has the greatest consciousness of his own being, where he makes the
+strongest and most forcible impression, even in the memory, in the
+heart of his beloved, there also he must perish,--vanish,--and that
+quickly.
+
+
+                                                    Oct. 27.
+
+I could tear open my bosom with vexation to think how little we are
+capable of influencing the feelings of each other. No one can
+communicate to me those sensations of love, joy, rapture, and delight
+which I do not naturally possess; and though my heart may glow with the
+most lively affection, I cannot make the happiness of one in whom the
+same warmth is not inherent.
+
+
+                                           Oct. 27: Evening.
+
+I possess so much, but my love for her absorbs it all. I possess so
+much, but without her I have nothing.
+
+
+                                                    Oct. 30.
+
+One hundred times have I been on the point of embracing her. Heavens!
+what a torment it is to see so much loveliness passing and repassing
+before us, and yet not dare to lay hold of it! And laying hold is the
+most natural of human instincts, Do not children touch everything they
+see? And I!
+
+
+                                                     Nov. 3.
+
+Witness, Heaven, how often I lie down in my bed with a wish, and even a
+hope, that I may never awaken again' And in the morning, when I open my
+eyes, I behold the sun once more, and am wretched. If I were whimsical,
+I might blame the weather, or an acquaintance, or some personal
+disappointment, for my discontented mind; and then this insupportable
+load of trouble would not rest entirely upon myself. But, alas! I feel
+it too sadly; I am alone the cause of my own woe, am I not? Truly, my
+own bosom contains the source of all my sorrow, as it previously
+contained the source of all my pleasure. Am I not the same being who
+once enjoyed an excess of happiness, who at every step saw paradise
+open before him, and whose heart was ever expanded towards the whole
+world? And this heart is now dead; no sentiment can revive it. My eyes
+are dry; and my senses, no more refreshed by the influence of soft
+tears, wither and consume my brain. I suffer much, for I have lost the
+only charm of life: that active, sacred power which created worlds
+around me,--it is no more. When I look from my window at the distant
+hills, and behold the morning sun breaking through the mists, and
+illuminating the country around, which is still wrapped in silence,
+whilst the soft stream winds gently through the willows, which have
+shed their leaves; when glorious Nature displays all her beauties
+before me, and her wondrous prospects are ineffectual to extract one
+tear of joy from my withered heart,--I feel that in such a moment I
+stand like a reprobate before heaven, hardened, insensible, and
+unmoved. Oftentimes do I then bend my knee to the earth, and implore
+God for the blessing of tears, as the desponding labourer in some
+scorching climate prays for the dews of heaven to moisten his parched
+corn.
+
+But I feel that God does not grant sunshine or rain to our importunate
+entreaties. And oh, those bygone days, whose memory now torments me!
+why were they so fortunate? Because I then waited with patience for the
+blessings of the Eternal, and received his gifts with the grateful
+feelings of a thankful heart.
+
+
+                                                     Nov. 8.
+
+Charlotte has reproved me for my excesses, with so much tenderness and
+goodness! I have lately been in the habit of drinking more wine than
+heretofore. "Don't do it," she said; "think of Charlotte!" "Think of
+you!" I answered; "need you bid me do so? Think of you--I do not think
+of you: you are ever before my soul! This very morning I sat on the
+spot where, a few days ago, you descended from the carriage, and--" She
+immediately changed the subject to prevent me from pursuing it farther.
+My dear friend, my energies are all prostrated; she can do with me what
+she pleases.
+
+
+                                                    Nov. 15.
+
+I thank you, Wilhelm, for your cordial sympathy, for your excellent
+advice; and I implore you to be quiet. Leave me to my sufferings. In
+spite of my wretchedness, I have still strength enough for endurance. I
+revere religion,--you know I do. I feel that it can impart strength to
+the feeble and comfort to the afflicted; but does it affect all men
+equally? Consider this vast universe: you will see thousands for whom
+it has never existed, thousands for whom it will never exist, whether
+it be preached to them or not; and must it, then, necessarily exist for
+me? Does not the Son of God himself say that they are his whom the
+Father has given to him? Have I been given to Him? What if the Father
+will retain me for himself, as my heart sometimes suggests? I pray you,
+do not misinterpret this. Do not extract derision from my harmless
+words. I pour out my whole soul before you. Silence were otherwise
+preferable to me, but I need not shrink from a subject of which few
+know more than I do myself. What is the destiny of man, but to fill up
+the measure of his sufferings, and to drink his allotted cup of
+bitterness? And if that same cup proved bitter to the God of heaven,
+under a human form, why should I affect a foolish pride, and call it
+sweet? Why should I be ashamed of shrinking at that fearful moment when
+my whole being will tremble between existence and annihilation; when a
+remembrance of the past, like a flash of lightning, will illuminate the
+dark gulf of futurity; when everything shall dissolve around me, and
+the whole world vanish away? Is not this the voice of a creature
+oppressed beyond all resource, self-deficient, about to plunge into
+inevitable destruction, and groaning deeply at its inadequate strength:
+"My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me?" And should I feel ashamed
+to utter the same expression? Should I not shudder at a prospect which
+had its fears even for him who folds up the heavens like a garment?
+
+
+                                                    Nov. 21.
+
+She does not feel, she does not know that she is preparing a poison
+which will destroy us both; and I drink deeply of the draught which is
+to prove my destruction. What mean those looks of kindness with which
+she often--often? no, not often, but sometimes--regards me, that
+complacency with which she hears the involuntary sentiments which
+frequently escape me, and the tender pity for my sufferings which
+appears in her countenance?
+
+Yesterday, when I took leave, she seized me by the hand, and said,
+"Adieu, dear Werther." Dear Werther! It was the first time she ever
+called me "dear:" the sound sunk deep into my heart. I have repeated it
+a hundred times; and last night, on going to bed, and talking to myself
+of various things, I suddenly said, "Good night, dear Werther!" and
+then could not but laugh at myself.
+
+
+                                                    Nov. 22.
+
+I cannot pray, "Leave her to me!" and yet she often seems to belong to
+me. I cannot pray, "Give her to me!" for she is another's. In this way
+I affect mirth over my troubles; and if I had time, I could compose a
+whole litany of antitheses.
+
+
+                                                    Nov. 24.
+
+She is sensible of my sufferings. This morning her look pierced my very
+soul. I found her alone, and she was silent; she steadfastly surveyed
+me. I no longer saw in her face the charms of beauty or the fire of
+genius; these had disappeared. But I was affected by an expression much
+more touching,--a look of the deepest sympathy and of the softest pity.
+Why was I afraid to throw myself at her feet? Why did I not dare to
+take her in my arms, and answer her by a thousand kisses? She had
+recourse to her piano for relief, and in a low and sweet voice
+accompanied the music with delicious sounds. Her lips never appeared so
+lovely: they seemed but just to open, that they might imbibe the sweet
+tones which issued from the instrument, and return the heavenly
+vibration from her lovely mouth. Oh, who can express my sensations! I
+was quite overcome, and bending down, pronounced this vow: "Beautiful
+lips, which the angels guard, never will I seek to profane your purity
+with a kiss." And yet, my friend, oh, I wish--but my heart is darkened
+by doubt and indecision--could I but taste felicity, and then die to
+expiate the sin! What sin?
+
+
+                                                    Nov. 26.
+
+Oftentimes I say to myself, "Thou alone art wretched: all other mortals
+are happy; none are distressed like thee." Then I read a passage in an
+ancient poet, and I seem to understand my own heart! I have so much to
+endure! Have men before me ever been so wretched?
+
+
+                                                    Nov. 30.
+
+I shall never be myself again! Wherever I go, some fatality occurs to
+distract me. Even to-day--alas, for our destiny! alas, for human
+nature!
+
+About dinner-time I went to walk by the river-side, for I had no
+appetite. Everything around seemed gloomy; a cold and damp easterly
+wind blew from the mountains, and black, heavy clouds spread over the
+plain. I observed at a distance a man in a tattered coat; he was
+wandering among the rocks, and seemed to be looking for plants. When I
+approached, he turned round at the noise; and I saw that he had an
+interesting countenance, in which a settled melancholy, strongly marked
+by benevolence, formed the principal feature. His long black hair was
+divided, and flowed over his shoulders. As his garb betokened a person
+of the lower order, I thought he would not take it ill if I inquired
+about his business; and I therefore asked what he was seeking. He
+replied, with a deep sigh, that he was looking for flowers, and could
+find none. "But it is not the season," I observed, with a smile. "Oh,
+there are so many flowers!" he answered, as he came nearer to me. "In
+my garden there are roses and honeysuckles of two sorts: one sort was
+given to me by my father; they grow as plentifully as weeds. I have
+been looking for them these two days, and cannot find them. There are
+flowers out there, yellow, blue, and red; and that centaury has a very
+pretty blossom: but I can find none of them." I observed his
+peculiarity, and therefore asked him, with an air of indifference, what
+he intended to do with his flowers. A strange smile overspread his
+countenance. Holding his finger to his mouth, he expressed a hope that
+I would not betray him; and he then informed me that he had promised to
+gather a nosegay for his mistress. "That is right," said I. "Oh!" he
+replied, "she possesses many other things as well; she is very rich."
+"And yet," I continued, "she likes your nosegays." "Oh, she has jewels
+and crowns!" he exclaimed. I asked who she was. "If the states-general
+would but pay me," he added, "I should be quite another man. Alas!
+there was a time when I was so happy; but that is past, and I am now--"
+He raised his swimming eyes to heaven. "And you were happy once?" I
+observed. "Ah, would I were so still!" was his reply. "I was then as
+gay and contented as a man can be." An old woman, who was coming
+towards us, now called out: "Henry, Henry! where are you? We have been
+looking for you everywhere. Come to dinner." "Is he your son?" I
+inquired, as I went towards her. "Yes," she said; "he is my poor,
+unfortunate son. The Lord has sent me a heavy affliction." I asked
+whether he had been long in this state. She answered: "He has been as
+calm as he is at present for about six months. I thank Heaven that he
+has so far recovered. He was for one whole year quite raving, and
+chained down in a madhouse. Now he injures no one, but talks of nothing
+else than kings and queens. He used to be a very good, quiet youth, and
+helped to maintain me; he wrote a very fine hand. But all at once he
+became melancholy, was seized with a violent fever, grew distracted,
+and is now as you see. If I were only to tell you, sir--" I interrupted
+her by asking what period it was in which he boasted of having been so
+happy. "Poor boy!" she exclaimed, with a smile of compassion, "he means
+the time when he was completely deranged,--a time he never ceases to
+regret,--when he was in the madhouse, and unconscious of everything." I
+was thunderstruck. I placed a piece of money in her hand, and hastened
+away.
+
+"You were happy!" I exclaimed, as I returned quickly to the town, "'as
+gay and contented as a man can be!'" God of heaven! and is this the
+destiny of man? Is he only happy before he has acquired his reason or
+after he has lost it? Unfortunate being! And yet I envy your fate; I
+envy the delusion to which you are a victim. You go forth with joy to
+gather flowers for your princess in winter, and grieve when you can
+find none, and cannot understand why they do not grow. But I wander
+forth without joy, without hope, without design; and I return as I
+came. You fancy what a man you would be if the states-general paid you.
+Happy mortal, who can ascribe your wretchedness to an earthly cause!
+You do not know, you do not feel, that in your own distracted heart and
+disordered brain dwells the source of that unhappiness which all the
+potentates on earth cannot relieve.
+
+Let that man die unconsoled who can deride the invalid for undertaking
+a journey to distant, healthful springs,--where he often finds only a
+heavier disease and a more painful death,--or who can exult over the
+despairing mind of a sinner who, to obtain peace of conscience and an
+alleviation of misery, makes a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre. Each
+laborious step which galls his wounded feet in rough and untrodden
+paths pours a drop of balm into his troubled soul, and the journey of
+many a weary day brings a nightly relief to his anguished heart.
+
+Will you dare call this enthusiasm, ye crowd of pompous declaimers?
+Enthusiasm? O God! thou seest my tears. Thou hast allotted us our
+portion of misery; must we also have brethren to persecute us, to
+deprive us of our consolation, of our trust in thee and in thy love and
+mercy? For our trust in the virtue of the healing root or in the
+strength of the vine,--what is it else than a belief in thee, from whom
+all that surrounds us derives its healing and restoring powers. Father,
+whom I know not,--who wert once wont to fill my soul, but who now
+hidest thy face from me,--call me back to thee; be silent no longer!
+Thy silence shall not delay a soul which thirsts after thee. What man,
+what father, could be angry with a son for returning to him suddenly,
+for falling on his neck, and exclaiming, "I am here again, my father!
+Forgive me if I have anticipated my journey, and returned before the
+appointed time! The world is everywhere the same,--a scene of labour
+and pain, of pleasure and reward; but what does it all avail? I am
+happy only where thou art, and in thy presence am I content to suffer
+or enjoy." And wouldst thou, Heavenly Father, banish such a child from
+thy presence?
+
+
+                                                     Dec. 1.
+
+Wilhelm, the man about whom I wrote to you,--that man so enviable in
+his misfortunes,--was secretary to Charlotte's father; and an unhappy
+passion for her, which he cherished, concealed, and at length
+discovered, caused him to be dismissed from his situation. This made
+him mad. Think, whilst you peruse this plain narration, what an
+impression the circumstance has made upon me! But it was related to me
+by Albert with as much calmness as you will probably peruse it.
+
+
+                                                     Dec. 4.
+
+I implore your attention. It is all over with me. I can support this
+state no longer. To-day I was sitting by Charlotte. She was playing
+upon her piano a succession of delightful melodies, with such intense
+expression! Her little sister was dressing her doll upon my lap. The
+tears came into my eyes. I leaned down, and looked intently at her
+wedding-ring; my tears fell--immediately she began to play that
+favourite, that divine air which has so often enchanted me. I felt
+comfort from a recollection of the past, of those bygone days when that
+air was familiar to me; and then I recalled all the sorrows and the
+disappointments which I had since endured. I paced with hasty strides
+through the room, my heart became convulsed with painful emotions. At
+length I went up to her, and exclaimed with eagerness, "For Heaven's
+sake, play that air no longer!" She stopped, and looked steadfastly at
+me. She then said, with a smile which sunk deep into my heart:
+"Werther, you are ill; your dearest food is distasteful to you. But go,
+I entreat you, and endeavour to compose yourself." I tore myself away.
+God, thou seest my torments, and wilt end them!
+
+
+                                                     Dec. 6.
+
+How her image haunts me! Waking or asleep, she fills my entire soul!
+Soon as I close my eyes, here, in my brain, where all the nerves of
+vision are concentrated, her dark eyes are imprinted. Here--I do not
+know how to describe it; but if I shut my eyes, hers are immediately
+before me: dark as an abyss they open upon me, and absorb my senses.
+
+And what is man,--that boasted demigod? Do not his powers fail when he
+most requires their use? And whether he soar in joy or sink in sorrow,
+is not his career in both inevitably arrested? And whilst he fondly
+dreams that he is grasping at infinity, does he not feel compelled to
+return to a consciousness of his cold, monotonous existence?
+
+
+
+                        THE EDITOR TO THE READER
+
+
+It is a matter of extreme regret that we want original evidence of the
+last remarkable days of our friend; and we are, therefore, obliged to
+interrupt the progress of his correspondence, and to supply the
+deficiency by a connected narration.
+
+I have felt it my duty to collect accurate information from the mouths
+of persons well acquainted with his history. The story is simple; and
+all the accounts agree, except in some unimportant particulars. It is
+true that, with respect to the characters of the persons spoken of,
+opinions and judgments vary.
+
+We have only, then, to relate conscientiously the facts which our
+diligent labour has enabled us to collect, to give the letters of the
+deceased, and to pay particular attention to the slightest fragment
+from his pen, more especially as it is so difficult to discover the
+real and correct motives of men who are not of the common order.
+
+Sorrow and discontent had taken deep root in Werther's soul, and
+gradually imparted their character to his whole being. The harmony of
+his mind became completely disturbed; a perpetual excitement and mental
+irritation, which weakened his natural powers, produced the saddest
+effects upon him, and rendered him at length the victim of an
+exhaustion against which he struggled with still more painful efforts
+than he had displayed, even in contending with his other misfortunes.
+His mental anxiety weakened his various good qualities; and he was soon
+converted into a gloomy companion,--always unhappy and unjust in his
+ideas, the more wretched he became. This was, at least, the opinion of
+Albert's friends. They assert, moreover, that the character of Albert
+himself had undergone no change in the meantime; he was still the same
+being whom Werther had loved, honoured, and respected from the
+commencement. His love for Charlotte was unbounded; he was proud of
+her, and desired that she should be recognised by every one as the
+noblest of created beings. Was he, however, to blame for wishing to
+avert from her every appearance of suspicion? or for his unwillingness
+to share his rich prize with another, even for a moment, and in the
+most innocent manner? It is asserted that Albert frequently retired
+from his wife's apartment during Werther's visits; but this did not
+arise from hatred or aversion to his friend, but only from a feeling
+that his presence was oppressive to Werther.
+
+Charlotte's father, who was confined to the house by indisposition, was
+accustomed to send his carriage for her, that she might make excursions
+in the neighbourhood. One day the weather had been unusually severe,
+and the whole country was covered with snow.
+
+Werther went for Charlotte the following morning, in order that, if
+Albert were absent, he might conduct her home.
+
+The beautiful weather produced but little impression on his troubled
+spirit. A heavy weight lay upon his soul, deep melancholy had taken
+possession of him, and his mind knew no change save from one painful
+thought to another.
+
+As he now never enjoyed internal peace, the condition of his
+fellow-creatures was to him a perpetual source of trouble and distress.
+He believed he had disturbed the happiness of Albert and his wife; and
+whilst he censured himself strongly for this, he began to entertain a
+secret dislike to Albert.
+
+His thoughts were occasionally directed to this point. "Yes," he would
+repeat to himself, with ill-concealed dissatisfaction,--"yes, this is,
+after all, the extent of that confiding, dear, tender, and sympathetic
+love, that calm and eternal fidelity! What do I behold but satiety and
+indifference? Does not every frivolous engagement attract him more than
+his charming and lovely wife? Does he know how to prize his happiness?
+Can he value her as she deserves? He possesses her, it is true,--I know
+that, as I know much more,--and I have become accustomed to the thought
+that he will drive me mad, or, perhaps, murder me. Is his friendship
+towards me unimpaired? Does he not view my attachment to Charlotte as
+an infringement upon his rights, and consider my attention to her as a
+silent rebuke to himself? I know, and indeed feel, that he dislikes
+me,--that he wishes for my absence,--that my presence is hateful to
+him."
+
+He would often pause when on his way to visit Charlotte, stand still as
+though in doubt, and seem desirous of returning, but would nevertheless
+proceed; and, engaged in such thoughts and soliloquies as we have
+described, he finally reached the hunting-lodge, with a sort of
+involuntary consent.
+
+Upon one occasion he entered the house; and, inquiring for Charlotte,
+he observed that the inmates were in a state of unusual confusion. The
+eldest boy informed him that a dreadful misfortune had occurred at
+Walheim,--that a peasant had been murdered! But this made little
+impression upon him. Entering the apartment, he found Charlotte engaged
+reasoning with her father, who, in spite of his infirmity, insisted on
+going to the scene of the crime, in order to institute an inquiry. The
+criminal was unknown; the victim had been found dead at his own door
+that morning. Suspicions were excited; the murdered man had been in the
+service of a widow, and the person who had previously filled the
+situation had been dismissed from her employment.
+
+As soon as Werther heard this, he exclaimed with great excitement, "Is
+it possible! I must go to the spot,--I cannot delay a moment!" He
+hastened to Walheim. Every incident returned vividly to his
+remembrance; and he entertained not the slightest doubt that that man
+was the murderer to whom he had so often spoken, and for whom he
+entertained so much regard. His way took him past the well-known
+lime-trees, to the house where the body had been carried; and his
+feelings were greatly excited at the sight of the fondly recollected
+spot. That threshold where the neighbours' children had so often played
+together was stained with blood; love and attachment, the noblest
+feelings of human nature, had been converted into violence and murder.
+The huge trees stood there leafless and covered with hoar-frost; the
+beautiful hedgerows which surrounded the old churchyard wall were
+withered; and the gravestones, half covered with snow, were visible
+through the openings.
+
+As he approached the inn, in front of which the whole village was
+assembled, screams were suddenly heard. A troop of armed peasants was
+seen approaching, and every one exclaimed that the criminal had been
+apprehended. Werther looked, and was not long in doubt. The prisoner
+was no other than the servant, who had been formerly so attached to the
+widow, and whom he had met prowling about, with that suppressed anger
+and ill-concealed despair which we have before described.
+
+"What have you done, unfortunate man?" inquired Werther, as he advanced
+towards the prisoner. The latter turned his eyes upon him in silence,
+and then replied with perfect composure, "No one will now marry her,
+and she will marry no one." The prisoner was taken in the inn, and
+Werther left the place.
+
+The mind of Werther was fearfully excited by this shocking occurrence.
+He ceased, however, to be oppressed by his usual feeling of melancholy,
+moroseness, and indifference to everything that passed around him. He
+entertained a strong degree of pity for the prisoner, and was seized
+with an indescribable anxiety to save him from his impending fate. He
+considered him so unfortunate, he deemed his crime so excusable, and
+thought his own condition so nearly similar, that he felt convinced he
+could make every one else view the matter in the light in which he saw
+it himself. He now became anxious to undertake his defence, and
+commenced composing an eloquent speech for the occasion; and, on his
+way to the hunting-lodge, he could not refrain from speaking aloud the
+statement which he resolved to make to the judge.
+
+Upon his arrival, he found Albert had been before him: and he was a
+little perplexed by this meeting; but he soon recovered himself, and
+expressed his opinion with much warmth to the judge. The latter shook
+his head doubtingly; and although Werther urged his case with the
+utmost zeal, feeling, and determination in defence of his client, yet,
+as we may easily suppose, the judge was not much influenced by his
+appeal. On the contrary, he interrupted him in his address, reasoned
+with him seriously, and even administered a rebuke to him for becoming
+the advocate of a murderer. He demonstrated that, according to this
+precedent, every law might be violated, and the public security utterly
+destroyed. He added, moreover, that in such a case he could himself do
+nothing, without incurring the greatest responsibility; that everything
+must follow in the usual course, and pursue the ordinary channel.
+
+Werther, however, did not abandon his enterprise, and even besought the
+judge to connive at the flight of the prisoner. But this proposal was
+peremptorily rejected. Albert, who had taken some part in the
+discussion, coincided in opinion with the judge. At this Werther became
+enraged, and took his leave in great anger, after the judge had more
+than once assured him that the prisoner could not be saved.
+
+The excess of his grief at this assurance may be inferred from a note
+we have found amongst his papers, and which was doubtless written upon
+this very occasion.
+
+
+"You cannot be saved, unfortunate man! I see clearly that we cannot be
+saved!"
+
+
+Werther was highly incensed at the observations which Albert had made
+to the judge in this matter of the prisoner. He thought he could detect
+therein a little bitterness towards himself personally; and although,
+upon reflection, it could not escape his sound judgment that their view
+of the matter was correct, he felt the greatest possible reluctance to
+make such an admission.
+
+A memorandum of Werther's upon this point, expressive of his general
+feelings towards Albert, has been found amongst his papers.
+
+
+"What is the use of my continually repeating that he is a good and
+estimable man? He is an inward torment to me, and I am incapable of
+being just towards him."
+
+
+One fine evening in winter, when the weather seemed inclined to thaw,
+Charlotte and Albert were returning home together. The former looked
+from time to time about her, as if she missed Werther's company. Albert
+began to speak of him, and censured him for his prejudices. He alluded
+to his unfortunate attachment, and wished it were possible to
+discontinue his acquaintance. "I desire it on our own account," he
+added; "and I request you will compel him to alter his deportment
+towards you, and to visit you less frequently. The world is censorious,
+and I know that here and there we are spoken of." Charlotte made no
+reply, and Albert seemed to feel her silence. At least, from that time,
+he never again spoke of Werther; and when she introduced the subject,
+he allowed the conversation to die away, or else he directed the
+discourse into another channel.
+
+The vain attempt Werther had made to save the unhappy murderer was the
+last feeble glimmering of a flame about to be extinguished. He sank
+almost immediately afterwards into a state of gloom and inactivity,
+until he was at length brought to perfect distraction by learning that
+he was to be summoned as a witness against the prisoner, who asserted
+his complete innocence.
+
+His mind now became oppressed by the recollection of every misfortune
+of his past life. The mortification he had suffered at the
+ambassador's, and his subsequent troubles, were revived in his memory.
+He became utterly inactive. Destitute of energy, he was cut off from
+every pursuit and occupation which compose the business of common life;
+and he became a victim to his own susceptibility, and to his restless
+passion for the most amiable and beloved of women, whose peace he
+destroyed. In this unvarying monotony of existence his days were
+consumed; and his powers became exhausted without aim or design, until
+they brought him to a sorrowful end.
+
+A few letters which he left behind, and which we here subjoin, afford
+the best proofs of his anxiety of mind and of the depth of his passion,
+as well as of his doubts and struggles, and of his weariness of life.
+
+
+                                                    Dec. 12.
+
+Dear Wilhelm, I am reduced to the condition of those unfortunate
+wretches who believe they are pursued by an evil spirit. Sometimes I am
+oppressed, not by apprehension or fear, but by an inexpressible
+internal sensation, which weighs upon my heart, and impedes my breath!
+Then I wander forth at night, even in this tempestuous season, and feel
+pleasure in surveying the dreadful scenes around me.
+
+Yesterday evening I went forth. A rapid thaw had suddenly set in: I had
+been informed that the river had risen, that the brooks had all
+overflowed their banks, and that the whole vale of Walheim was under
+water! Upon the stroke of twelve I hastened forth. I beheld a fearful
+sight. The foaming torrents rolled from the mountains in the
+moonlight,--fields and meadows, trees and hedges, were confounded
+together; and the entire valley was converted into a deep lake, which
+was agitated by the roaring wind! And when the moon shone forth, and
+tinged the black clouds with silver, and the impetuous torrent at my
+feet foamed and resounded with awful and grand impetuosity, I was
+overcome by a mingled sensation of apprehension and delight. With
+extended arms I looked down into the yawning abyss, and cried,
+"Plunge!" For a moment my senses forsook me, in the intense delight of
+ending my sorrows and my sufferings by a plunge into that gulf! And
+then I felt as if I were rooted to the earth, and incapable of seeking
+an end to my woes! But my hour is not yet come; I feel it is not. Oh,
+Wilhelm, how willingly could I abandon my existence to ride the
+whirlwind, or to embrace the torrent! and then might not rapture
+perchance be the portion of this liberated soul?
+
+I turned my sorrowful eyes towards a favourite spot, where I was
+accustomed to sit with Charlotte beneath a willow after a fatiguing
+walk. Alas! it was covered with water, and with difficulty I found even
+the meadow. And the fields around the hunting-lodge, thought I. Has our
+dear bower been destroyed by this unpitying storm? And a beam of past
+happiness streamed upon me, as the mind of a captive is illumined by
+dreams of flocks and herds and bygone joys of home! But I am free from
+blame. I have courage to die! Perhaps I have,--but I still sit here,
+like a wretched pauper, who collects fagots, and begs her bread from
+door to door, that she may prolong for a few days a miserable existence
+which she is unwilling to resign.
+
+
+                                                    Dec. 15.
+
+What is the matter with me, dear Wilhelm? I am afraid of myself!
+Is not my love for her of the purest, most holy, and most brotherly
+nature? Has my soul ever been sullied by a single sensual desire?
+But I will make no protestations. And now, ye nightly visions, how
+truly have those mortals understood you, who ascribe your various
+contradictory effects to some invincible power! This night--I tremble
+at the avowal--I held her in my arms, locked in a close embrace: I
+pressed her to my bosom, and covered with countless kisses those dear
+lips which murmured in reply soft protestations of love. My sight
+became confused by the delicious intoxication of her eyes. Heavens! is
+it sinful to revel again in such happiness, to recall once more those
+rapturous moments with intense delight? Charlotte! Charlotte! I am
+lost! My senses are bewildered, my recollection is confused, mine
+eyes are bathed in tears--I am ill; and yet I am well--I wish for
+nothing--I have no desires--it were better I were gone.
+
+
+Under the circumstances narrated above, a determination to quit this
+world had now taken fixed possession of Werther's soul. Since
+Charlotte's return, this thought had been the final object of all his
+hopes and wishes; but he had resolved that such a step should not be
+taken with precipitation, but with calmness and tranquillity, and with
+the most perfect deliberation.
+
+His troubles and internal struggles may be understood from the
+following fragment, which was found, without any date, amongst his
+papers, and appears to have formed the beginning of a letter to
+Wilhelm:
+
+
+"Her presence, her fate, her sympathy for me, have power still to
+extract tears from my withered brain.
+
+"One lifts up the curtain, and passes to the other side,--that is all!
+And why all these doubts and delays? Because we know not what is
+behind,--because there is no returning,--and because our mind infers
+that all is darkness and confusion, where we have nothing but
+uncertainty."
+
+
+His appearance at length became quite altered by the effect of his
+melancholy thoughts; and his resolution was now finally and irrevocably
+taken, of which the following ambiguous letter which he addressed to
+his friend, may appear to afford some proof:--
+
+
+                                                    Dec. 20.
+
+I am grateful to your love, Wilhelm, for having repeated your advice so
+seasonably. Yes, you are right: it is undoubtedly better that I should
+depart. But I do not entirely approve your scheme of returning at once
+to your neighbourhood; at least, I should like to make a little
+excursion on the way, particularly as we may now expect a continued
+frost, and consequently good roads. I am much pleased with your
+intention of coming to fetch me; only delay your journey for a
+fortnight, and wait for another letter from me. One should gather
+nothing before it is ripe, and a fortnight sooner or later makes a
+great difference. Entreat my mother to pray for her son, and tell her I
+beg her pardon for all the unhappiness I have occasioned her. It has
+ever been my fate to give pain to those whose happiness I should have
+promoted. Adieu, my dearest friend. May every blessing of heaven attend
+you! Farewell.
+
+
+We find it difficult to express the emotions with which Charlotte's
+soul was agitated during the whole of this time, whether in relation to
+her husband or to her unfortunate friend; although we are enabled, by
+our knowledge of her character, to understand their nature.
+
+It is certain that she had formed a determination by every means in her
+power to keep Werther at a distance; and if she hesitated in her
+decision, it was from a sincere feeling of friendly pity, knowing how
+much it would cost him,--indeed, that he would find it almost
+impossible to comply with her wishes. But various causes now urged her
+to be firm. Her husband preserved a strict silence about the whole
+matter; and she never made it a subject of conversation, feeling bound
+to prove to him by her conduct that her sentiments agreed with his.
+
+The same day, which was the Sunday before Christmas, after Werther had
+written the last-mentioned letter to his friend, he came in the evening
+to Charlotte's house, and found her alone. She was busy preparing some
+little gifts for her brothers and sisters, which were to be distributed
+to them on Christmas Day. He began talking of the delight of the
+children, and of that age when the sudden appearance of the
+Christmas-tree, decorated with fruit and sweetmeats, and lighted up
+with
+wax candles, causes such transports of joy. "You shall have a gift,
+too,
+if you behave well," said Charlotte, hiding her embarrassment under a
+sweet smile. "And what do you call behaving well? What should I do,
+what can I do, my dear Charlotte?" said he. "Thursday night," she
+answered, "is Christmas Eve. The children are all to be here, and my
+father too: there is a present for each; do you come likewise, but do
+not come before that time." Werther started. "I desire you will not: it
+must be so," she continued. "I ask it of you as a favour, for my own
+peace and tranquillity. We cannot go on in this manner any longer." He
+turned away his face, walked hastily up and down the room, muttering
+indistinctly, "We cannot go on in this manner any longer!" Charlotte,
+seeing the violent agitation into which these words had thrown him,
+endeavoured to divert his thoughts by different questions, but in vain.
+"No, Charlotte!" he exclaimed; "I will never see you anymore!" "And why
+so?" she answered. "We may--we must see each other again; only let it
+be with more discretion. Oh! why were you born with that excessive,
+that ungovernable passion for everything that is dear to you?" Then,
+taking his hand, she said: "I entreat of you to be more calm: your
+talents, your understanding, your genius, will furnish you with a
+thousand resources. Be a man, and conquer an unhappy attachment towards
+a creature who can do nothing but pity you." He bit his lips, and
+looked at her with a gloomy countenance. She continued to hold his
+hand. "Grant me but a moment's patience, Werther," she said. "Do you
+not see that you are deceiving yourself, that you are seeking your own
+destruction? Why must you love me, me only, who belong to another? I
+fear, I much fear, that it is only the impossibility of possessing me
+which makes your desire for me so strong." He drew back his hand,
+whilst he surveyed her with a wild and angry look. "Tis well!" he
+exclaimed, "'tis very well! Did not Albert furnish you with this
+reflection? It is profound, a very profound remark." "A reflection that
+any one might easily make," she answered; "and is there not a woman in
+the whole world who is at liberty, and has the power to make you happy?
+Conquer yourself: look for such a being, and believe me when I say that
+you will certainly find her. I have long felt for you, and for us all:
+you have confined yourself too long within the limits of too narrow a
+circle. Conquer yourself; make an effort: a short journey will be of
+service to you. Seek and find an object worthy of your love; then
+return hither and let us enjoy together all the happiness of the most
+perfect friendship."
+
+"This speech," replied Werther, with a cold smile,--"this speech should
+be printed, for the benefit of all teachers. My dear Charlotte, allow
+me but a short time longer, and all will be well." "But, however,
+Werther," she added, "do not come again before Christmas." He was about
+to make some answer, when Albert came in. They saluted each other
+coldly, and with mutual embarrassment paced up and down the room.
+Werther made some common remarks; Albert did the same, and their
+conversation soon dropped. Albert asked his wife about some household
+matters; and, finding that his commissions were not executed, he used
+some expressions which, to Werther's ear, savoured of extreme
+harshness. He wished to go, but had not power to move; and in this
+situation he remained till eight o'clock, his uneasiness and discontent
+continually increasing. At length the cloth was laid for supper, and he
+took up his hat and stick. Albert invited him to remain; but Werther,
+fancying that he was merely paying a formal compliment, thanked him
+coldly and left the house.
+
+Werther returned home, took the candle from his servant, and retired to
+his room alone. He talked for some time with great earnestness to
+himself, wept aloud, walked in a state of great excitement through his
+chamber; till at length, without undressing, he threw himself on the
+bed, where he was found by his servant at eleven o'clock, when the
+latter ventured to enter the room and take off his boots. Werther did
+not prevent him, but forbade him to come in the morning till he should
+ring.
+
+On Monday morning, the 21st of December, he wrote to Charlotte the
+following letter, which was found, sealed, on his bureau after his
+death, and was given to her. I shall insert it in fragments; as it
+appears, from several circumstances, to have been written in that
+manner.
+
+
+"It is all over, Charlotte: I am resolved to die! I make this
+declaration deliberately and coolly, without any romantic passion, on
+this morning of the day when I am to see you for the last time. At the
+moment you read these lines, O best of women, the cold grave will hold
+the inanimate remains of that restless and unhappy being who in the
+last moments of his existence knew no pleasure so great as that of
+conversing with you! I have passed a dreadful night,--or rather, let me
+say, a propitious one; for it has given me resolution, it has fixed my
+purpose. I am resolved to die. When I tore myself from you yesterday,
+my senses were in tumult and disorder; my heart was oppressed, hope and
+pleasure had fled from me forever, and a petrifying cold had seized my
+wretched being. I could scarcely reach my room. I threw myself on my
+knees, and Heaven, for the last time, granted me the consolation of
+shedding tears. A thousand ideas, a thousand schemes, arose within my
+soul; till at length one last, fixed, final thought took possession of
+my heart. It was to die. I lay down to rest; and in the morning, in the
+quiet hour of awakening, the same determination was upon me. To die! It
+is not despair: it is conviction that I have filled up the measure of
+my sufferings, that I have reached my appointed term, and must
+sacrifice myself for thee. Yes, Charlotte, why should I not avow it?
+One of us three must die: it shall be Werther. O beloved Charlotte!
+this heart, excited by rage and fury, has often conceived the horrid
+idea of murdering your husband--you--myself! The lot is cast at length.
+And in the bright, quiet evenings of summer, when you sometimes wander
+towards the mountains, let your thoughts then turn to me: recollect how
+often you have watched me coming to meet you from the valley; then bend
+your eyes upon the churchyard which contains my grave, and, by the
+light of the setting sun, mark how the evening breeze waves the tall
+grass which grows above my tomb. I was calm when I began this letter,
+but the recollection of these scenes makes me weep like a child."
+
+
+About ten in the morning, Werther called his servant, and, whilst he
+was dressing told him that in a few days he intended to set out upon a
+journey, and bade him therefore lay his clothes in order, and prepare
+them for packing up, call in all his accounts, fetch home the books he
+had lent, and give two months' pay to the poor dependants who were
+accustomed to receive from him a weekly allowance.
+
+He breakfasted in his room, and then mounted his horse, and went to
+visit the steward, who, however, was not at home. He walked pensively
+in the garden, and seemed anxious to renew all the ideas that were most
+painful to him.
+
+The children did not suffer him to remain alone long. They followed
+him, skipping and dancing before him, and told him that after
+to-morrow--and to-morrow--and one day more, they were to receive
+their Christmas gift from Charlotte; and they then recounted all the
+wonders of which they had formed ideas in their child imaginations.
+"Tomorrow--and to-morrow," said he, "and one day more!" And he kissed
+them tenderly. He was going; but the younger boy stopped him, to
+whisper something in his ear. He told him that his elder brothers had
+written splendid New Year's wishes--so large!--one for papa, and
+another for Albert and Charlotte, and one for Werther; and they were to
+be presented early in the morning, on New-Year's Day. This quite
+overcame him. He made each of the children a present, mounted his
+horse, left his compliments for papa and mama, and, with tears in his
+eyes, rode away from the place.
+
+He returned home about five o'clock, ordered his servant to keep up his
+fire, desired him to pack his books and linen at the bottom of the
+trunk, and to place his coats at the top. He then appears to have made
+the following addition to the letter addressed to Charlotte.--
+
+
+"You do not expect me. You think I will obey you, and not visit you
+again till Christmas Eve. Oh, Charlotte, to-day or never! On Christmas
+Eve you will hold this paper in your hand; you will tremble, and
+moisten it with your tears. I will--I must! Oh, how happy I feel to be
+determined!"
+
+
+In the mean time Charlotte was in a pitiable state of mind. After her
+last conversation with Werther, she found how painful to herself it
+would be to decline his visits, and knew how severely he would suffer
+from their separation.
+
+She had, in conversation with Albert, mentioned casually that Werther
+would not return before Christmas Eve; and soon afterwards Albert went
+on horseback to see a person in the neighbourhood, with whom he had to
+transact some business which would detain him all night.
+
+Charlotte was sitting alone. None of her family were near, and she gave
+herself up to the reflections that silently took possession of her
+mind. She was forever united to a husband whose love and fidelity she
+had proved, to whom she was heartily devoted, and who seemed to be a
+special gift from Heaven to insure her happiness. On the other hand,
+Werther had become dear to her. There was a cordial unanimity of
+sentiment between them from the very first hour of their acquaintance,
+and their long association and repeated interviews had made an
+indelible impression upon her heart. She had been accustomed to
+communicate to him every thought and feeling which interested her, and
+his absence threatened to open a void in her existence which it might
+be impossible to fill. How heartily she wished that she might change
+him into her brother,--that she could induce him to marry one of her
+own friends, or could reestablish his intimacy with Albert.
+
+She passed all her intimate friends in review before her mind, but
+found something objectionable in each, and could decide upon none to
+whom she would consent to give him.
+
+Amid all these considerations she felt deeply but indistinctly that her
+own real but unexpressed wish was to retain him for herself, and her
+pure and amiable heart felt from this thought a sense of oppression
+which seemed to forbid a prospect of happiness. She was wretched: a
+dark cloud obscured her mental vision.
+
+It was now half-past six o'clock, and she heard Werther's step on the
+stairs. She at once recognised his voice, as he inquired if she were
+at home. Her heart beat audibly--we could almost say for the first
+time--at his arrival. It was too late to deny herself; and as he
+entered, she exclaimed, with a sort of ill-concealed confusion, "You
+have not kept your word!" "I promised nothing," he answered. "But you
+should have complied, at least for my sake," she continued. "I implore
+you, for both our sakes."
+
+She scarcely knew what she said or did, and sent for some friends, who
+by their presence might prevent her being left alone with Werther. He
+put down some books he had brought with him, then made inquiries about
+some others, until she began to hope that her friends might arrive
+shortly, entertaining at the same time a desire that they might stay
+away.
+
+At one moment she felt anxious that the servant should remain in the
+adjoining room, then she changed her mind. Werther, meanwhile, walked
+impatiently up and down. She went to the piano, and determined not to
+retire. She then collected her thoughts, and sat down quietly at
+Werther's side, who had taken his usual place on the sofa.
+
+"Have you brought nothing to read?" she inquired. He had nothing.
+"There in my drawer," she continued, "you will find your own
+translation of some of the songs of Ossian. I have not yet read them,
+as I have still hoped to hear you recite them; but, for some time past,
+I have not been able to accomplish such a wish." He smiled, and went
+for the manuscript, which he took with a shudder. He sat down: and,
+with eyes full of tears, he began to read.
+
+
+"Star of descending night! fair is thy light in the west! thou liftest
+thy unshorn head from thy cloud; thy steps are stately on thy hill.
+What dost thou behold in the plain? The stormy winds are laid. The
+murmur of the torrent comes from afar. Roaring waves climb the distant
+rock. The flies of evening are on their feeble wings: the hum of their
+course is on the field. What dost thou behold, fair light? But thou
+dost smile and depart. The waves come with joy around thee: they bathe
+thy lovely hair. Farewell, thou silent beam! Let the light of Ossian's
+soul arise!
+
+"And it does arise in its strength? I behold my departed friends. Their
+gathering is on Lora, as in the days of other years. Fingal comes like
+a watery column of mist! his heroes are around; and see the bards of
+song,--gray-haired Ullin! stately Ryno! Alpin with the tuneful voice!
+the soft complaint of Minona! How are ye changed, my friends, since the
+days of Selma's feast, when we contended, like gales of spring as they
+fly along the hill, and bend by turns the feebly whistling grass!
+
+"Minona came forth in her beauty, with downcast look and tearful eye.
+Her hair was flying slowly with the blast that rushed unfrequent from
+the hill. The souls of the heroes were sad when she raised the tuneful
+voice. Oft had they seen the grave of Salgar, the dark dwelling of
+white-bosomed Colma. Colma left alone on the hill with all her voice of
+song! Salgar promised to come; but the night descended around. Hear the
+voice of Colma, when she sat alone on the hill!
+
+"_Colma_. It is night: I am alone, forlorn on the hill of storms. The
+wind is heard on the mountain. The torrent is howling down the rock. No
+hut receives me from the rain: forlorn on the hill of winds!
+
+"Rise, moon, from behind thy clouds! Stars of the night, arise I Lead
+me, some light, to the place where my love rests from the chase alone!
+His bow near him unstrung, his dogs panting around him! But here I must
+sit alone by the rock of the mossy stream. The stream and the wind roar
+aloud. I hear not the voice of my love! Why delays my Salgar; why the
+chief of the hill his promise? Here is the rock, and here the tree;
+here is the roaring stream! Thou didst promise with night to be here.
+Ah! whither is my Salgar gone? With thee I would fly from my father,
+with thee from my brother of pride. Our race have long been foes: we
+are not foes, O Salgar!
+
+"Cease a little while, O winds! stream, be thou silent awhile! Let my
+voice be heard around; let my wanderer hear me! Salgar! it is Colma who
+calls. Here is the tree and the rock. Salgar, my love, I am here! Why
+delayest thou thy coming? Lo! the calm moon comes forth. The flood is
+bright in the vale; the rocks are gray on the steep. I see him not on
+the brow. His dogs come not before him with tidings of his near
+approach. Here I must sit alone!
+
+"Who lie on the heath beside me? Are they my love and my brother? Speak
+to me, O my friends! To Colma they give no reply. Speak to me: I am
+alone! My soul is tormented with fears. Ah, they are dead! Their swords
+are red from the fight. Oh, my brother! my brother! why hast thou slain
+my Salgar? Why, O Salgar! hast thou slain my brother? Dear were ye both
+to me! what shall I say in your praise? Thou wert fair on the hill
+among thousands! he was terrible in fight! Speak to me! hear my voice!
+hear me, sons of my love! They are silent, silent forever! Cold, cold,
+are their breasts of clay! Oh, from the rock on the hill, from the top
+of the windy steep, speak, ye ghosts of the dead! Speak, I will not be
+afraid! Whither are ye gone to rest? In what cave of the hill shall I
+find the departed? No feeble voice is on the gale: no answer half
+drowned in the storm!
+
+"I sit in my grief: I wait for morning in my tears! Rear the tomb, ye
+friends of the dead. Close it not till Colma come. My life flies away
+like a dream. Why should I stay behind? Here shall I rest with my
+friends, by the stream of the sounding rock. When night comes on the
+hill,--when the loud winds arise, my ghost shall stand in the blast,
+and mourn the death of my friends. The hunter shall hear from his
+booth; he shall fear, but love my voice! For sweet shall my voice be
+for my friends: pleasant were her friends to Colma.
+
+"Such was thy song, Minona, softly blushing daughter of Torman. Our
+tears descended for Colma, and our souls were sad! Ullin came with his
+harp; he gave the song of Alpin. The voice of Alpin was pleasant; the
+soul of Ryno was a beam of fire! But they had rested in the narrow
+house: their voice had ceased in Selma! Ullin had returned one day from
+the chase before the heroes fell. He heard their strife on the hill:
+their song was soft, but sad! They mourned the fall of Morar, first of
+mortal men! His soul was like the soul of Fingal; his sword like the
+sword of Oscar. But he fell, and his father mourned; his sister's eyes
+were full of tears. Minona's eyes were full of tears, the sister of
+car-borne Morar. She retired from the song of Ullin, like the moon in
+the west, when she foresees the shower, and hides her fair head in a
+cloud. I touched the harp with Ullin: the song of mourning rose!
+
+"_Ryno_. The wind and the rain are past; calm is the noon of day. The
+clouds are divided in heaven. Over the green hills flies the inconstant
+sun. Red through the stony vale comes down the stream of the hill.
+Sweet are thy murmurs, O stream! but more sweet is the voice I hear. It
+is the voice of Alpin, the son of song, mourning for the dead! Bent is
+his head of age; red his tearful eye. Alpin, thou son of song, why
+alone on the silent hill? why complainest thou, as a blast in the
+wood,--as a wave on the lonely shore?
+
+"_Alpin_. My tears, O Ryno! are for the dead,--my voice for those that
+have passed away. Tall thou art on the hill; fair among the sons of the
+vale. But thou shall fall like Morar; the mourner shall sit on thy
+tomb. The hills shall know thee no more; thy bow shall lie in thy hall
+unstrung!
+
+"Thou wert swift, O Morar! as a roe on the desert; terrible as a meteor
+of fire. Thy wrath was as the storm; thy sword in battle as lightning
+in the field. Thy voice was a stream after rain, like thunder on
+distant bills. Many fell by thy arm: they were consumed in the flames
+of thy wrath. But when thou didst return from war, how peaceful was thy
+brow! Thy face was like the sun after rain, like the moon in the
+silence of night; calm as the breast of the lake when the loud wind is
+laid.
+
+"Narrow is thy dwelling now! dark the place of thine abode! With three
+steps I compass thy grave, O thou who wast so great before! Four
+stones, with their heads of moss, are the only memorial of thee. A tree
+with scarce a leaf, long grass which whistles in the wind, mark to the
+hunter's eye the grave of the mighty Morar. Morar! thou art low indeed.
+Thou hast no mother to mourn thee, no maid with her tears of love. Dead
+is she that brought thee forth. Fallen is the daughter of Morglan.
+
+"Who on his staff is this? Who is this whose head is white with age,
+whose eyes are red with tears, who quakes at every step? It is thy
+father, O Morar! the father of no son but thee. He heard of thy fame in
+war, he heard of foes dispersed. He heard of Morar's renown; why did he
+not hear of his wound? Weep, thou father of Morar! Weep, but thy son
+heareth thee not. Deep is the sleep of the dead,--low their pillow of
+dust. No more shall he hear thy voice,--no more awake at thy call. When
+shall it be morn in the grave, to bid the slumberer awake? Farewell,
+thou bravest of men! thou conqueror in the field! but the field shall
+see thee no more, nor the dark wood be lightened with the splendour of
+thy steel. Thou hast left no son. The song shall preserve thy name.
+Future times shall hear of thee,--they shall hear of the fallen Morar!
+
+"The grief of all arose, but most the bursting sigh of Armin. He
+remembers the death of his son, who fell in the days of his youth.
+Carmor was near the hero, the chief of the echoing Galmal. Why burst
+the sigh of Armin? he said. Is there a cause to mourn? The song comes
+with its music to melt and please the soul. It is like soft mist that,
+rising from a lake, pours on the silent vale; the green flowers are
+filled with dew, but the sun returns in his strength, and the mist is
+gone. Why art thou sad, O Armin, chief of sea-surrounded Gorma?
+
+"Sad I am! nor small is my cause of woe! Carmor, thou hast lost no son;
+thou hast lost no daughter of beauty. Colgar the valiant lives, and
+Annira, fairest maid. The boughs of thy house ascend, O Carmor! but
+Armin is the last of his race. Dark is thy bed, O Daura! deep thy sleep
+in the tomb! When shalt thou wake with thy songs,--with all thy voice
+of music?
+
+"Arise, winds of autumn, arise; blow along the heath! Streams of the
+mountains, roar; roar, tempests in the groves of my oaks! Walk through
+broken clouds, O moon! show thy pale face at intervals; bring to my
+mind the night when all my children fell.--when Arindal the mighty
+fell, when Daura the lovely failed. Daura, my daughter, thou wert
+fair,--fair as the moon on Fura, white as the driven snow, sweet as the
+breathing gale. Arindal, thy bow was strong, thy spear was swift on the
+field, thy look was like mist on the wave, thy shield a red cloud in a
+storm! Armar, renowned in war, came and sought Daura's love. He was not
+long refused: fair was the hope of their friends.
+
+"Erath, son of Odgal, repined: his brother had been slain by Armar. He
+came disguised like a son of the sea: fair was his cliff on the wave,
+white his locks of age, calm his serious brow. Fairest of women, he
+said, lovely daughter of Armin! a rock not distant in the sea bears a
+tree on its side: red shines the fruit afar. There Armar waits for
+Daura. I come to carry his love! She went,--she called on Armar. Naught
+answered, but the son of the rock. Armar, my love, my love! why
+tormentest thou me with fear? Hear, son of Arnart, hear! it is Daura
+who calleth thee. Erath, the traitor, fled laughing to the land. She
+lifted up her voice,--she called for her brother and her father.
+Arindal! Armin! none to relieve you, Daura.
+
+"Her voice came over the sea. Arindal, my son, descended from the hill,
+rough in the spoils of the chase. His arrows rattled by his side: his
+bow was in his hand, five dark-gray dogs attended his steps. He saw
+fierce Erath on the shore; he seized and bound him to an oak. Thick
+wind the thongs of the hide around his limbs; he loads the winds with
+his groans. Arindal ascends the deep in his boat to bring Daura to
+land. Armar came in his wrath, and let fly the gray-feathered shaft. It
+sung, it sunk in thy heart, O Arindal, my son! for Erath the traitor
+thou diest. The oar is stopped at once: he panted on the rock and
+expired. What is thy grief, O Daura, when round thy feet is poured thy
+brother's blood? The boat is broken in twain. Armar plunges into the
+sea to rescue his Daura, or die. Sudden a blast from a hill came over
+the waves; he sank, and he rose no more.
+
+"Alone, on the sea-beat rock, my daughter was heard to complain;
+frequent and loud were her cries. What could her father do? All night I
+stood on the shore: I saw her by the faint beam of the moon. All night
+I heard her cries. Loud was the wind; the rain beat hard on the hill.
+Before morning appeared, her voice was weak; it died away like the
+evening breeze among the grass of the rocks. Spent with grief, she
+expired, and left thee, Armin, alone. Gone is my strength in war,
+fallen my pride among women. When the storms aloft arise, when the
+north lifts the wave on high, I sit by the sounding shore, and look on
+the fatal rock.
+
+"Often by the setting moon I see the ghosts of my children; half
+viewless they walk in mournful conference together."
+
+
+A torrent of tears which streamed from Charlotte's eyes, and gave
+relief to her bursting heart, stopped Werther's recitation. He threw
+down the book, seized her hand, and wept bitterly Charlotte leaned upon
+her hand, and buried her face in her handkerchief: the agitation of
+both was excessive. They felt that their own fate was pictured in the
+misfortunes of Ossian's heroes,--they felt this together, and their
+tears redoubled. Werther supported his forehead on Charlotte's arm: she
+trembled, she wished to be gone; but sorrow and sympathy lay like a
+leaden weight upon her soul. She recovered herself shortly, and begged
+Werther, with broken sobs, to leave her,--implored him with the utmost
+earnestness to comply with her request. He trembled; his heart was
+ready to burst: then taking up the book again, he recommenced reading,
+in a voice broken by sobs.
+
+
+"Why dost thou waken me, O Spring. Thy voice woos me, exclaiming, I
+refresh thee with heavenly dews; but the time of my decay is
+approaching, the storm is nigh that shall wither my leaves. To-morrow
+the traveller shall come,--he shall come, who beheld me in beauty: his
+eye shall seek me in the field around, but he shall not find me."
+
+
+The whole force of these words fell upon the unfortunate Werther. Full
+of despair, he threw himself at Charlotte's feet, seized her hands, and
+pressed them to his eyes and to his forehead. An apprehension of his
+fatal project now struck her for the first time. Her senses were
+bewildered: she held his hands, pressed them to her bosom; and, leaning
+towards him with emotions of the tenderest pity, her warm cheek touched
+his. They lost sight of everything. The world disappeared from their
+eyes. He clasped her in his arms, strained her to his bosom, and
+covered her trembling lips with passionate kisses. "Werther!" she cried
+with a faint voice, turning herself away; "Werther!" and, with a feeble
+hand, she pushed him from her. At length, with the firm voice of
+virtue, she exclaimed, "Werther!" He resisted not, but, tearing himself
+from her arms, fell on his knees before her. Charlotte rose, and with
+disordered grief, in mingled tones of love and resentment, she
+exclaimed, "It is the last time, Werther! You shall never see me any
+more!" Then, casting one last, tender look upon her unfortunate lover,
+she rushed into the adjoining room, and locked the door. Werther held
+out his arms, but did not dare to detain her. He continued on the
+ground, with his head resting on the sofa, for half an hour, till he
+heard a noise which brought him to his senses. The servant entered. He
+then walked up and down the room; and when he was again left alone, he
+went to Charlotte's door, and, in a low voice, said, "Charlotte,
+Charlotte! but one word more, one last adieu!" She returned no answer.
+He stopped, and listened and entreated; but all was silent. At length
+he tore himself from the place, crying, "Adieu, Charlotte, adieu
+forever!"
+
+Werther ran to the gate of the town. The guards, who knew him, let him
+pass in silence. The night was dark and stormy,--it rained and snowed.
+He reached his own door about eleven. His servant, although seeing him
+enter the house without his hat, did not venture to say anything; and
+as he undressed his master, he found that his clothes were wet. His hat
+was afterwards found on the point of a rock overhanging the valley; and
+it is inconceivable how he could have climbed to the summit on such a
+dark, tempestuous night without losing his life.
+
+He retired to bed, and slept to a late hour. The next morning his
+servant, upon being called to bring his coffee, found him writing. He
+was adding, to Charlotte, what we here annex.
+
+
+"For the last, last time, I open these eyes. Alas! they will behold the
+sun no more. It is covered by a thick, impenetrable cloud. Yes, Nature!
+put on mourning; your child, your friend, your lover, draws near his
+end! This thought, Charlotte, is without parallel: and yet it seems
+like a mysterious dream when I repeat--This is my last day! The last!
+Charlotte, no word can adequately express this thought. The last!
+To-day I stand erect in all my strength,--to-morrow, cold and stark, I
+shall lie extended upon the ground. To die! What is death? We do but
+dream in our discourse upon it. I have seen many human beings die; but,
+so straitened is our feeble nature, we have no clear conception of the
+beginning or the end of our existence. At this moment I am my own,--or
+rather I am thine, thine, my adored!--and the next we are parted,
+severed--perhaps forever! No, Charlotte, no! How can I, how can you, be
+annihilated? We exist. What is annihilation? A mere word, an unmeaning
+sound, that fixes no impression on the mind. Dead, Charlotte! laid in
+the cold earth, in the dark and narrow grave! I had a friend once who
+was everything to me in early youth. She died. I followed her hearse; I
+stood by her grave when the coffin was lowered; and when I heard the
+creaking of the cords as they were loosened and drawn up, when the
+first shovelful of earth was thrown in, and the coffin returned a
+hollow sound, which grew fainter and fainter till all was completely
+covered over, I threw myself on the ground; my heart was smitten,
+grieved, shattered, rent--but I neither knew what had happened nor what
+was to happen to me. Death! the grave! I understand not the words.
+Forgive, oh, forgive me! Yesterday--ah, that day should have been the
+last of my life! Thou angel!--for the first--first time in my
+existence, I felt rapture glow within my inmost soul. She loves, she
+loves me! Still burns upon my lips the sacred fire they received from
+thine. New torrents of delight overwhelm my soul. Forgive me, oh,
+forgive!
+
+"I knew that I was dear to you; I saw it in your first entrancing look,
+knew it by the first pressure of your hand; but when I was absent from
+you, when I saw Albert at your side, my doubts and fears returned.
+
+"Do you remember the flowers you sent me, when at that crowded assembly
+you could neither speak nor extend your hand to me? Half the night I
+was on my knees before those flowers, and I regarded them as the
+pledges of your love; but those impressions grew fainter, and were at
+length effaced.
+
+"Everything passes away; but a whole eternity could not extinguish the
+living flame which was yesterday kindled by your lips, and which now
+burns within me. She loves me! These arms have encircled her waist,
+these lips have trembled upon hers. She is mine! Yes, Charlotte, you
+are mine forever!
+
+"And what do they mean by saying Albert is your husband? He may be so
+for this world; and in this world it is a sin to love you, to wish to
+tear you from his embrace. Yes, it is a crime; and I suffer the
+punishment, but I have enjoyed the full delight of my sin. I have
+inhaled a balm that has revived my soul. From this hour you are mine;
+yes, Charlotte, you are mine! I go before you. I go to my Father and to
+your Father. I will pour out my sorrows before him, and he will give me
+comfort till you arrive. Then will I fly to meet you. I will claim you,
+and remain in your eternal embrace, in the presence of the Almighty.
+
+"I do not dream, I do not rave. Drawing nearer to the grave, my
+perceptions become clearer. We shall exist; we shall see each other
+again; we shall behold your mother; I shall behold her, and expose to
+her my inmost heart. Your mother--your image!"
+
+
+About eleven o'clock Werther asked his servant if Albert had returned.
+He answered, "Yes;" for he had seen him pass on horseback: upon which
+Werther sent him the following note, unsealed:--
+
+
+"Be so good as to lend me your pistols for a journey. Adieu."
+
+
+Charlotte had slept little during the past night. All her apprehensions
+were realised in a way that she could neither foresee nor avoid. Her
+blood was boiling in her veins, and a thousand painful sensations rent
+her pure heart. Was it the ardour of Werther's passionate embraces that
+she felt within her bosom? Was it anger at his daring? Was it the sad
+comparison of her present condition with former days of innocence,
+tranquillity, and self-confidence? How could she approach her husband,
+and confess a scene which she had no reason to conceal, and which she
+yet felt, nevertheless, unwilling to avow? They had preserved so long a
+silence towards each other--and should she be the first to break it by
+so unexpected a discovery? She feared that the mere statement of
+Werther's visit would trouble him, and his distress would be heightened
+by her perfect candour. She wished that he could see her in her true
+light, and judge her without prejudice; but was she anxious that he
+should read her inmost soul? On the other hand, could she deceive a
+being to whom all her thoughts had ever been exposed as clearly as
+crystal, and from whom no sentiment had ever been concealed? These
+reflections made her anxious and thoughtful. Her mind still dwelt on
+Werther, who was now lost to her, but whom she could not bring herself
+to resign, and for whom she knew nothing was left but despair if she
+should be lost to him forever.
+
+A recollection of that mysterious estrangement which had lately
+subsisted between herself and Albert, and which she could never
+thoroughly understand, was now beyond measure painful to her. Even the
+prudent and the good have, before now, hesitated to explain their
+mutual differences, and have dwelt in silence upon their imaginary
+grievances, until circumstances have become so entangled that in that
+critical juncture, when a calm explanation would have saved all
+parties, an understanding was impossible. And thus if domestic
+confidence had been earlier established between them, if love and kind
+forbearance had mutually animated and expanded their hearts, it might
+not, perhaps, even yet have been too late to save our friend.
+
+But we must not forget one remarkable circumstance. We may observe,
+from the character of Werther's correspondence, that he had never
+affected to conceal his anxious desire to quit this world. He had often
+discussed the subject with Albert; and between the latter and Charlotte
+it had not unfrequently formed a topic of conversation. Albert was so
+opposed to the very idea of such an action, that, with a degree of
+irritation unusual in him, he had more than once given Werther to
+understand that he doubted the seriousness of his threats, and not only
+turned them into ridicule, but caused Charlotte to share his feelings
+of incredulity. Her heart was thus tranquillised when she felt disposed
+to view the melancholy subject in a serious point of view, though she
+never communicated to her husband the apprehensions she sometimes
+experienced.
+
+Albert, upon his return, was received by Charlotte with ill-concealed
+embarrassment. He was himself out of humour: his business was
+unfinished; and he had just discovered that the neighbouring official,
+with whom he had to deal, was an obstinate and narrow-minded personage.
+Many things had occurred to irritate him.
+
+He inquired whether anything had happened during his absence, and
+Charlotte hastily answered that Werther had been there on the evening
+previously. He then inquired for his letters, and was answered that
+several packages had been left in his study. He thereon retired,
+leaving Charlotte alone.
+
+The presence of the being she loved and honoured produced a new
+impression on her heart. The recollection of his generosity, kindness,
+and affection had calmed her agitation: a secret impulse prompted her
+to follow him; she took her work and went to his study, as was often
+her custom. He was busily employed opening and reading his letters. It
+seemed as if the contents of some were disagreeable. She asked some
+questions: he gave short answers, and sat down to write.
+
+Several hours passed in this manner, and Charlotte's feelings became
+more and more melancholy. She felt the extreme difficulty of explaining
+to her husband, under any circumstances, the weight that lay upon her
+heart; and her depression became every moment greater, in proportion as
+she endeavoured to hide her grief and to conceal her tears.
+
+The arrival of Werther's servant occasioned her the greatest
+embarrassment. He gave Albert a note, which the latter coldly handed to
+his wife, saying, at the same time, "Give him the pistols. I wish
+him a pleasant journey," he added, turning to the servant. These
+words fell upon Charlotte like a thunder-stroke: she rose from her seat
+half-fainting, and unconscious of what she did. She walked mechanically
+towards the wall, took down the pistols with a trembling hand, slowly
+wiped the dust from them, and would have delayed longer, had not Albert
+hastened her movements by an impatient look. She then delivered the
+fatal weapons to the servant, without being able to utter a word. As
+soon as he had departed, she folded up her work, and retired at once to
+her room, her heart overcome with the most fearful forebodings. She
+anticipated some dreadful calamity. She was at one moment on the point
+of going to her husband, throwing herself at his feet, and acquainting
+him with all that had happened on the previous evening, that she might
+acknowledge her fault, and explain her apprehension; then she saw that
+such a step would be useless, as she would certainly be unable to
+induce Albert to visit Werther. Dinner was served; and a kind friend
+whom she had persuaded to remain assisted to sustain the conversation,
+which was carried on by a sort of compulsion, till the events of the
+morning were forgotten.
+
+When the servant brought the pistols to Werther, the latter received
+them with transports of delight upon hearing that Charlotte had given
+them to him with her own hand. He ate some bread, drank some wine, sent
+his servant to dinner, and then sat down to write as follows:
+
+
+"They have been in your hands--you wiped the dust from them. I kiss
+them a thousand times--you have touched them. Yes, Heaven favours my
+design--and you, Charlotte, provide me with the fatal instruments. It
+was my desire to receive my death from your hands, and my wish is
+gratified. I have made inquiries of my servant. You trembled when you
+gave him the pistols, but you bade me no adieu. Wretched, wretched that
+I am,--not one farewell! How could you shut your heart against me in
+that hour which makes you mine forever? Oh, Charlotte, ages cannot
+efface the impression,--I feel you cannot hate the man who so
+passionately loves you!"
+
+
+After dinner he called his servant, desired him to finish the packing
+up, destroyed many papers, and then went out to pay some trifling
+debts. He soon returned home, then went out again notwithstanding the
+rain, walked for some time in the count's garden, and afterwards
+proceeded farther into the country. Towards evening he came back once
+more, and resumed his writing.
+
+
+"Wilhelm, I have for the last time beheld the mountains, the forests,
+and the sky. Farewell! And you, my dearest mother, forgive me! Console
+her, Wilhelm. God bless you! I have settled all my affairs! Farewell!
+We shall meet again, and be happier than ever."
+
+"I have requited you badly, Albeit; but you will forgive me. I have
+disturbed the peace of your home. I have sowed distrust between you.
+Farewell! I will end all this wretchedness. And oh that my death may
+render you happy! Albert, Albert! make that angel happy, and the
+blessing of Heaven be upon you!"
+
+
+He spent the rest of the evening in arranging his papers; he tore and
+burned a great many; others he sealed up, and directed to Wilhelm. They
+contained some detached thoughts and maxims, some of which I have
+perused. At ten o'clock he ordered his fire to be made up, and a bottle
+of wine to be brought to him. He then dismissed his servant, whose
+room, as well as the apartments of the rest of the family, was situated
+in another part of the house. The servant lay down without undressing,
+that he might be the sooner ready for his journey in the morning, his
+master having informed him that the post-horses would be at the door
+before six o'clock.
+
+
+"Past eleven o'clock! All is silent around me, and my soul is calm. I
+thank thee, O God, that thou bestowest strength and courage upon me in
+these last moments! I approach the window, my dearest of friends; and
+through the clouds, which are at this moment driven rapidly along by
+the impetuous winds, I behold the stars which illumine the eternal
+heavens. No, you will not fall, celestial bodies: the hand of the
+Almighty supports both you and me! I have looked for the last time upon
+the constellation of the Greater Bear: it is my favourite star; for
+when I bade you farewell at night, Charlotte, and turned my steps from
+your door, it always shone upon me. With what rapture have I at times
+beheld it! How often have I implored it with uplifted hands to witness
+my felicity! and even still--But what object is there, Charlotte, which
+fails to summon up your image before me? Do you not surround me on all
+sides? and have I not, like a child, treasured up every trifle which
+you have consecrated by your touch?
+
+"Your profile, which was so dear to me, I return to you; and I pray you
+to preserve it. Thousands of kisses have I imprinted upon it, and a
+thousand times has it gladdened my heart on departing from and
+returning to my home.
+
+"I have implored your father to protect my remains. At the corner
+of the churchyard, looking towards the fields, there are two
+lime-trees,--there I wish to lie. Your father can, and doubtless will,
+do thus much for his friend. Implore it of him. But perhaps pious
+Christians will not choose that their bodies should be buried near the
+corpse of a poor, unhappy wretch like me. Then let me be laid in some
+remote valley, or near the highway, where the priest and Levite may
+bless themselves as they pass by my tomb, whilst the Samaritan will
+shed a tear for my fate.
+
+"See, Charlotte, I do not shudder to take the cold and fatal cup, from
+which I shall drink the draught of death. Your hand presents it to me,
+and I do not tremble. All, all is now concluded: the wishes and the
+hopes of my existence are fulfilled. With cold, unflinching hand I
+knock at the brazen portals of Death.
+
+"Oh that I had enjoyed the bliss of dying for you! how gladly would I
+have sacrificed myself for you, Charlotte! And could I but restore
+peace and joy to your bosom, with what resolution, with what joy, would
+I not meet my fate! But it is the lot of only a chosen few to shed
+their blood for their friends, and by their death to augment a thousand
+times the happiness of those by whom they are beloved.
+
+"I wish, Charlotte, to be buried in the dress I wear at present: it has
+been rendered sacred by your touch. I have begged this favour of your
+father. My spirit soars above my sepulchre. I do not wish my pockets to
+be searched. The knot of pink ribbon which you wore on your bosom the
+first time I saw you, surrounded by the children--Oh, kiss them a
+thousand times for me, and tell them the fate of their unhappy friend!
+I think I see them playing around me. The dear children! How warmly
+have I been attached to you, Charlotte! Since the first hour I saw you,
+how impossible have I found it to leave you! This ribbon must be buried
+with me: it was a present from you on my birthday. How confused it all
+appears! Little did I then think that I should journey this road! But
+peace! I pray you, peace!
+
+"They are loaded--the clock strikes twelve. I say amen. Charlotte,
+Charlotte! farewell, farewell!"
+
+
+A neighbor saw the flash, and heard the report of the pistol; but as
+everything remained quiet, he thought no more of it.
+
+In the morning, at six o'clock, the servant went into Werther's room
+with a candle. He found his master stretched upon the floor, weltering
+in his blood, and the pistols at his side. He called, he took him in
+his arms, but received no answer. Life was not yet quite extinct. The
+servant ran for a surgeon, and then went to fetch Albert. Charlotte
+heard the ringing of the bell; a cold shudder seized her. She wakened
+her husband and they both rose. The servant, bathed in tears, faltered
+forth the dreadful news. Charlotte fell senseless at Albert's feet.
+
+When the surgeon came to the unfortunate Werther, he was still lying on
+the floor; and his pulse beat, but his limbs were cold. The bullet,
+entering the forehead over the right eye, had penetrated the skull. A
+vein was opened in his right arm; the blood came, and he still
+continued to breathe.
+
+From the blood which flowed from the chair, it could be inferred that
+he had committed the rash act sitting at his bureau, and that he
+afterwards fell upon the floor. He was found lying on his back near the
+window. He was in full-dress costume.
+
+The house, the neighbourhood, and the whole town were immediately in
+commotion. Albert arrived. They had laid Werther on the bed. His head
+was bound up, and the paleness of death was upon his face. His limbs
+were motionless; but he still breathed, at one time strongly, then
+weaker,--his death was momently expected.
+
+He had drunk only one glass of the wine. "Emilia Galotti" lay open upon
+his bureau.
+
+I shall say nothing of Albert's distress or of Charlotte's grief.
+
+The old steward hastened to the house immediately upon hearing the
+news; he embraced his dying friend amid a flood of tears. His eldest
+boys soon followed him on foot. In speechless sorrow they threw
+themselves on their knees by the bedside, and kissed his hands and
+face. The eldest, who was his favourite, hung over him till he expired;
+and even then he was removed by force. At twelve o'clock Werther
+breathed his last. The presence of the steward, and the precautions he
+had adopted, prevented a disturbance; and that night, at the hour of
+eleven, he caused the body to be interred in the place which Werther
+had selected for himself.
+
+The steward and his sons followed the corpse to the grave. Albert was
+unable to accompany them. Charlotte's life was despaired of. The body
+was carried by labourers. No priest attended.
+
+
+
+
+
+                       THE BANNER OF THE UPRIGHT
+                                 SEVEN
+
+
+                                   BY
+                            GOTTFRIED KELLER
+
+
+                             TRANSLATED BY
+                              MURIEL ALMON
+
+
+
+
+                           BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
+
+
+Gottfried Keller was born in Zurich on July 19, 1819. His father, who
+was a turner, died when his son was only five; but his energetic and
+devoted mother contrived to provide Gottfried with a good elementary
+education. When he was fifteen he was expelled from school for taking
+part in a boyish conspiracy against a teacher, and he at once set about
+becoming a painter. Finding it difficult to obtain proper instruction
+in Zurich, he went in 1840 to Munich; but though the opportunities of
+the Bavarian capital were important for his general development, he
+returned home in 1842 without assurance of making a success in his art.
+The next six years, spent at home with his mother and sister, saw his
+gradual turning from painting to literature; and in 1846 he issued a
+volume of poems to which little attention was paid. When he was
+twenty-nine, the government of the canton gave him a scholarship of
+eight hundred francs for foreign study, and with this he went to
+Heidelberg, where, in spite of the confusion of the revolution of 1848,
+he made friends of men like Henle the pathologist, Hettner the literary
+historian, and Feuerbach the philosopher, all of whom had a profound
+effect upon his thinking. From Heidelberg he went to Berlin, where he
+hoped to equip himself as a dramatist; and there in 1854-5 he published
+his great autobiographical novel, "Green Henry." This work was
+appreciated by his friends and brought him some money, though at the
+time no very wide reputation, and after six years of semi-starvation in
+the Prussian capital he again went home to his mother's house. "The
+People of Seldwyla," a collection of admirable short stories, was
+issued in 1856, but still he made no great popular success.
+
+But at last fortune favored him when, in 1861, he was appointed Clerk
+of the Canton of Zurich, a position he filled efficiently for fifteen
+years. In 1872 appeared his "Seven Legends," the whimsical humor and
+mock realism of which brought general recognition. Five years later
+came the historical stories called "Zurich Novels"; in 1881 "The
+Epigram"; in 1883 "Collected Poems," establishing his place as a lyric
+poet of high rank; and in 1886 "Martin Salander," a novel of
+contemporary Switzerland. His genius was now generally recognized both
+at home and abroad; and when he died on July 15, 1890, he stood at the
+head of German letters. He was never married.
+
+Keller was a writer of great independence, and cannot be classed with
+any of the schools. The closeness of his observation and his fidelity
+in rendering both the good and the bad sides of life ally him with the
+realists; but his imagination was too much alive to allow of his being
+properly described by their label. He knew the Swiss of his own time
+intimately, and he has portrayed them in their homely provincialism as
+well as in their sturdy self-respect and love of freedom.
+
+"The Banner of the Upright Seven," one of the stories from "The People
+of Seldwyla," is an excellent example of the faculty which made him the
+greatest of German humorists. The story has genuine sentiment, but
+sentiment restrained as always in his books; it has sympathy for
+youthful ambition and youthful love, as well as for the political
+enthusiasm of the delightful old fellows whose name it bears; but both
+sentiment and sympathy are overshadowed by the rich humor which
+pervades the whole. Pure Swiss it no doubt is, but its appeal is to all
+hearts open to wholesome human affection and aspirations.
+
+                                                    W. A. N.
+
+
+
+
+                     CRITICISMS AND INTERPRETATIONS
+
+
+
+                                   I
+                          By John Firman Coar
+
+
+Schiller has been criticised for letting the Swiss peasants in "William
+Tell" speak as they do. What peasants, it is asked, would utter such
+thoughts? The peasants and simple burghers of the life that Keller
+studied and depicted is the reply. To a German these peasants seem
+curiously unreal. But Keller was no idealist when he depicted peasant
+and burgher life. His people speak as they think and they think as they
+speak, and they do both as Keller knew them to do it in everyday life.
+Theirs was the inestimable benefit of democratic government and
+democratic culture. A compact nationality, self-educated to the duties
+and privileges of citizenship, leaders in the widest possible
+dissemination of knowledge as the best guaranty of civic progress and
+justice--could Keller, a Swiss, depict the life of this people as
+anything else than a civic and intellectual democracy?
+
+This perspective gives to situations, characters, and actions their
+true proportions. They are supremely real. His individuals are not
+equal in civic worth and intellectual capacity, but shade off in
+wonderfully fine lines, thereby enhancing the effect. Paragons and
+deep-dyed villains do not challenge our credulity, nor are we wearied
+by the persistent greetings of familiar faces in new garments. One of
+the triumphs of Keller's art is the ever new form in which humanity
+presents itself. And this is the glory of his social democracy, that it
+recognizes the inviolable right of individuality, since it founds state
+and society upon the achievement of individual worth. Ethic manhood is
+something that neither state nor society can impart. It lies in the
+power of the individual to make or unmake his life, and he alone can
+solve the secret of his personality. Easier it is for him to do so amid
+surroundings that open his heart to the great glory of life, but still
+he alone can do so. That is Keller's doctrine.
+
+Keller grew to manhood in surroundings which were as nearly identical
+with Schiller's philosophic ideal of freedom as human conditions can
+well be. The Switzerland of his manhood days was the best possible
+justification of the ideal picture that Schiller drew in "William
+Tell." Therefore the optimism of Keller is so sturdy, so free from
+sentimentality, and so thoroughly human. His poetry is the noblest
+consummation of Heine's gospel of the divine beauty of life.
+
+Keller believed with all his soul in the self-redemption of society,
+and used the word society in its broadest signification. And his belief
+was vitalized by that which he saw in Swiss life. The germs of the past
+were bearing fruit in the present, and in the present the germs of a
+future harvest were swelling. He was not one of those complacent
+optimists who cannot discern with critical eye and whose complacency
+deadens the best impulses and stands in the way of energetic striving.
+Swiss life in his stories is by no means a paradise. His words to B.
+Auerbach (June 25, 1860) betoken the attitude he took toward this life,
+as they also reveal the genuine democracy of his artistic striving:
+"Here in Switzerland we have, to be sure, many good qualities, and in
+respect to public character, evidently at present an honest purpose to
+acquire respectable and inspiriting forms of living, and the people is
+proving itself plastic (mobile), happy, and buoyant; but all is not
+gold that glitters by any means. However, I consider it the duty of a
+poet not merely to glorify the past, but to strengthen the present, the
+germs of the future, and beautify it in such a manner that people may
+still be able to believe: yes, we are like that, and that is the course
+of our life. If poets do this with a certain measure of kindly irony
+which deprives their productions of false pathos, then I am convinced
+that the people will come to be in fact and in appearance what it
+good-naturedly imagines itself to be and what even now it really is in
+its inmost disposition."--From "Studies in German Literature" (1903).
+
+
+
+                                   II
+                            By Calvin Thomas
+
+Up to a dozen years before his death Keller had received little
+attention in Germany; to-day there is a library of books about him, and
+he is universally considered a fixed star of high magnitude. While he
+was an ardent Swiss republican, and while the life that he depicts is
+almost exclusively Swiss, the Germans of the empire have pretty
+generally accepted him as their greatest master of prose fiction since
+Goethe.
+
+Keller was a romantic realist with the soul of a poet, the eye of a man
+of science, and the temperament of an artist who loves life in all its
+manifestations. But this leaves his humour out of the account, and his
+humour is precisely the best part of him. In a broad sense he is
+didactic--like Goethe; that is, he felt that it was his mission to
+comprehend and describe the character of his Swiss countrymen, to the
+end of furthering them toward higher ideals of communal life. But this
+attitude never clouds his vision for the facts. He sees at every pore,
+as Emerson said of Goethe. He does not select ugliness for special or
+angry scrutiny, any more than he avoids it through excess of
+daintiness, but takes all things as they come. What he offers is not
+medicine but food--the nourishment of sane and delightful art. But no
+one should go to him for an exciting narrative. His spell is not in his
+plot. In "Green Henry," particularly, his pace is so very leisurely
+that one sometimes wishes there were not so many little things to be
+taken note of by the way.--From "A History of German Literature"
+(1909).
+
+
+
+
+                           THE BANNER OF THE
+                             UPRIGHT SEVEN
+
+
+Kaspar Hediger, master tailor of Zurich, had reached the age at which
+an industrious craftsman begins to allow himself a brief hour of rest
+after dinner. So it happened that one beautiful March day he was
+sitting not in his manual but in his mental workshop, a small, separate
+room which for years he had reserved for himself. He was glad that the
+weather was warm enough for him to occupy it again. In winter neither
+the old customs of his class nor his income permitted him to have an
+extra room heated simply that he might sit there to read. And this was
+at a time when there were already tailors who went shooting and rode
+their horses daily, so closely do the gradations of culture dovetail
+into one another.
+
+Master Hediger, however, might have been proud of the appearance he
+presented in his neatly kept little back room. He looked almost more
+like an American settler than a tailor. A strong and intelligent face
+with heavy whiskers, surmounted by a powerful, bald dome was bending
+over "The Swiss Republican," while he read the leading article with a
+critical expression. There were at least twenty-five well-bound folio
+volumes of this "Republican" in a little walnut bookcase with a
+glass door, and they contained scarcely anything that Hediger, for
+twenty-five years, had not lived and fought through. The case also held
+Rotteck's "Universal History," a Swiss history by Johannes Müller, and
+a handful of political brochures and such like; a geographical atlas
+and a portfolio full of caricatures and pamphlets--mementoes of
+bitterly passionate days--lay on the lowest shelf. The wall of the
+little room was adorned with the portraits of Columbus, Zwingli,
+Hutten, Washington, and Robespierre; for Hediger was not to be trifled
+with and sanctioned the Reign of Terror, after it was over. Besides
+these world-famous heroes, there were portraits of several progressive
+Swiss to which were affixed in their own handwriting highly edifying
+and discursive inscriptions, regular little essays. Leaning against the
+bookcase was a well-kept, shining musket with a short side-arm hanging
+on it and a cartridge-pouch in which, at all times, there were thirty
+cartridges. That was his fowling-piece with which he went out, not for
+hares and partridges, but for aristocrats and Jesuits, for breakers of
+the constitution and traitors to the people. Until now his lucky star
+had kept him from shedding any blood, owing to lack of opportunity;
+nevertheless more than once he had seized his musket and hurried to the
+square. That was at the time of the riots, when he kept the gun
+standing between the bed and the wardrobe and would not allow it to be
+moved, "for," he used to say, "no government and no battalions can
+protect justice and liberty where a citizen is not able to step out of
+doors and see what is going on."
+
+While the stout-hearted master was absorbed in his article, now nodding
+approvingly, now shaking his head, his youngest son Karl, a fledgling
+clerk in a government office, came in.
+
+"What do you want?" asked Master Hediger harshly, for he did not like
+to be disturbed in his little den.
+
+Karl, somewhat uncertain as to the success of his request, asked
+whether he might have his father's gun and cartridge-pouch for the
+afternoon as he had to go to the drill-ground.
+
+"No use to ask, I won't hear of it!" said Hediger shortly.
+
+"But why not? I won't hurt it," his son continued humbly and still
+insistently, because he simply had to have a gun if he did not want to
+be marched off to the detention room. But the old man only repeated in
+a louder tone:
+
+"Won't hear of it! I can only wonder at the persistence of these
+gentlemen sons of mine who show so little persistence in other things
+that not one of them has stuck to the occupation which I allowed him to
+learn of his own free choice. You know that your three older brothers,
+one after another, as soon as they had to begin to drill, wanted my gun
+and that they none of them got it. And yet now here you come slinking
+along after it. You have your own fair pay, no one to support--get your
+own weapons, as becomes a man of honor. This gun doesn't leave its
+place except when I need it myself."
+
+"But it's only for a few times. You surely don't expect me to buy an
+infantry rifle when I'm going to join the sharpshooters later and shall
+have to get myself a carbine."
+
+"Sharpshooters! That's good too! I should only like to know why you
+feel it to be so necessary to join the sharpshooters when you've never
+yet fired a single shot. In my day a man had to have burnt a good deal
+of powder before he might make such an application. Nowadays a man
+turns sharpshooter haphazard, and there are fellows wearing the green
+coat who couldn't bring down a cat off the roof, but who, to be sure,
+can smoke cigars and act the gentleman. It's no concern of mine."
+
+"Oh," said the boy almost whimpering, "give it to me just this once.
+I'll see about getting another to-morrow, but it's impossible for me to
+do anything today, it's too late."
+
+"I will not give my gun to anyone," replied Master Hediger, "who does
+not know how to handle it. If you can take the lock off this gun and
+take it apart properly you can have it, otherwise it stays here."
+
+With that he hunted in a drawer for a screwdriver, handed it to his son
+and pointed to the gun. In desperation Karl tried his luck and began to
+loosen the screws in the lock. His father watched him scornfully and it
+was not long before he cried:
+
+"Don't let the screwdriver slip so; you'll spoil the whole thing.
+Partly loosen all the screws and then take them out, it's easier that
+way. There, at last!"
+
+Karl now held the lock in his hand but didn't know what next to do with
+it, so he laid it down with a sigh, already, in imagination, seeing
+himself in the detention room. But old Hediger, once interested, now
+picked up the lock to give his son a lesson, explaining it as he took
+it apart.
+
+"You see," he said, "first you remove the plunger-spring with this
+spring-hook--like this; then comes the screw of the sear-spring, you
+only unscrew that half way, then knock the sear-spring like this so
+that the pin here comes out of the hole; now you take the screw out
+entirely. Now the sear-spring, then the sear-pin, the sear; now then,
+the bridle-screw and here the bridle-hammer; next the tumbler-pin, the
+trigger, and finally the tumbler; this is the tumbler. Hand me the
+neat's-foot oil out of the little cupboard there; I'll oil the screws a
+bit while I have them here."
+
+He had laid all the parts on the newspaper. Karl watched him eagerly
+and handed him the little bottle, thinking that the atmosphere had
+cleared. But after his father had wiped off the parts of the lock and
+oiled them afresh, instead of putting them together again he threw them
+promiscuously into the cover of a little box and said,
+
+"We'll put the thing together again this evening; now I will finish
+reading my paper."
+
+Disappointed and savage, Karl went out to complain to his mother. He
+stood in intense awe of the state authority whose school he was now to
+enter as a recruit. He had never been punished since he had outgrown
+school and not during his last years there either, and now the thing
+was to begin again on a higher plane, merely because he had depended
+upon his father's gun.
+
+His mother said: "Your father is really quite right. All you four boys
+earn more than he does, and that thanks to the education he gave you;
+but not only do you spend all your money on yourselves, you keep on
+coming all the time to annoy your father by borrowing all sorts of
+things: his dress-coat, field-glass, drawing instruments, razor, hat,
+gun, and sabre. The things that he takes such good care of you borrow
+and bring back ruined. It seems as if the whole year round you are busy
+thinking up something else to borrow from him; but he, on his part,
+never asks anything of you, although you owe him your life and
+everything else. Just this once more I will help you."
+
+Hereupon she went in to Master Hediger and said: "I forgot to tell you
+that Frymann the carpenter sent a message to say that the Band of Seven
+would meet this evening to discuss certain matters, something
+political, I think." He was at once pleasantly affected.
+
+"Is that so?" he said, rose, and began to walk up and down; "I am
+surprised that Frymann didn't come himself to speak with me first about
+it, to consult me." After a few minutes he dressed quickly, put on his
+hat, and left with the words,
+
+"Wife, I am going out now at once, I must find out what it's about. I
+haven't been out of the house this spring anyway, and it's such a
+beautiful day to-day. Good-bye!"
+
+"There! Now he won't be home before ten o'clock tonight," said Mrs.
+Hediger laughing, and she bade Karl take the gun, be careful of it and
+bring it home early.
+
+"Take it!" lamented her son, "why he's got the lock all apart and I
+can't put it together again."
+
+"Well, I can," answered his mother and went into the little room with
+her son. She turned the parts of the lock out of the cover, sorted out
+the springs and screws and very skilfully began to put them together.
+
+"Where the devil did you learn that, mother?" cried Karl, amazed.
+
+"I learnt it in my father's house," she replied. "My father and my
+seven brothers used to make me clean all their guns and rifles when
+they had been shooting. I often cried as I did it, but I was finally
+able to handle them like a gunsmith's apprentice. The whole village
+called me 'Gunsmithy,' and I nearly always had dirty hands and a black
+smudge on the tip of my nose. My brothers shot and drank us out of
+house and home, so that I, poor child, was glad enough that your
+father, the tailor, married me."
+
+While she talked her dexterous fingers had really put the lock together
+and fastened it to the stock. Karl hung the shining cartridge-pouch
+over his shoulder, took the gun and hurried off as fast as he could go
+to the drill-ground, where he arrived only just in time. Soon after six
+o'clock he brought the things back again, succeeded to taking the lock
+apart himself, and mixed the parts together in the box-cover.
+
+By the time he had finished supper it had grown dark. He went to the
+boat-landing, hired a boat and rowed along the shore till he came to
+that part of the lake where carpenters and stone-cutters had their
+yards. It was a glorious evening; a mild south wind gently rippled the
+water, the full moon shone on the distant stretches of the lake and
+sparkled brightly on the little waves near by, and the stars burned
+brilliantly in the sky. The snow mountains, their presence felt rather
+than seen, looked down on the lake like pale spectres. All industrial
+litter, the petty and restless outline of the buildings, disappeared in
+the darkness and were transformed by the moonlight into great calm
+masses--in short, the landscape was appropriately set for the coming
+scene.
+
+Karl Hediger rowed rapidly on until he was close to a large
+lumber-yard; there he softly sang the first verse of a little song a
+couple of times, and then rowed slowly and easily out from the shore. A
+slender girl rose from where she had been sitting among the piles of
+lumber, untied a skiff, stepped into it and rowed deliberately, making
+a few turns as she went, after the soft-voiced boatman. When she caught
+up with him the young people greeted each other and rowed on without
+stopping, gunwale to gunwale, far out into the liquid silver of the
+lake. With youthful vigor they described a wide curve with several
+spirals, the girl leading and the boy following with gentle strokes of
+his oar, without leaving her side, and one could see that the couple
+were not unpractised in rowing together. When they found themselves in
+absolute silence and solitude, the young woman pulled in her oars and
+stopped. That is, she shipped only one oar and continued to hold the
+other over the gunwale as if playing with it, but not without a
+purpose, for when Karl, who had also stopped, tried to approach quite
+close to her, to board her skiff in fact, she was most skilful in
+keeping his boat off by giving it a single push with her oar every now
+and then. Nor did this man[oe]uvre seem to be new, for the young man
+soon resigned himself and sat still in his little boat.
+
+Now they began to chat, and Karl said:
+
+"Dear Hermine! Now I can really turn the proverb about and say: what I
+had in abundance in my youth I wish for in old age, but in vain. How
+often we used to kiss when I was ten and you were seven, and now that I
+am twenty I mayn't even kiss your finger-tips."
+
+"Once for all, I never want to hear another word of those impudent
+lies!" cried the girl half angrily, half laughing. "You've made it all
+up and it's false, I certainly don't remember any such familiarity."
+
+"Unfortunately!" cried Karl; "but I remember it so much the better. And
+I remember too that it was you who began it and were the temptress."
+
+"Karl, how horrid of you!" interrupted Hermine, but he went on
+unrelentingly:
+
+"You must remember how often, when we were tired helping the poor
+children fill their broken baskets with shavings--and how cross it
+always made your carpenters--I used to have to build a little hut out
+of ends of boards, hidden away in among the big piles of lumber, a
+little hut with a roof and a door and a bench in it. And then when we
+sat on the little bench, with the door shut, and I might at last sit
+idle a minute, who was it that used to throw her arms around my neck
+and kiss me more times than I could count?"
+
+At these words he nearly pitched into the water, for as he had tried
+again to approach unnoticed as he talked, she suddenly gave his little
+boat such a violent push that it almost upset. Her clear laugh rang out
+as his left arm slipped into the water to the elbow and he swore.
+
+"Just you wait," he said; "I'll pay you out for this some day!"
+
+"There's time enough ahead," she replied, "you needn't be in too much
+of a hurry, my dear sir." Then she continued somewhat more seriously,
+"Father has found out about our intentions; I didn't deny them, in the
+main; he won't hear of such a thing, and forbids us ever to think of it
+again. So that is how we stand now."
+
+"And do you intend to bow to your father's decree as dutifully and
+unresistingly as you seem to?"
+
+"At least I shall never do the exact opposite of his wishes, and still
+less would I dare to stand in open hostility to him, for you know that
+he bears a grudge a long time, and is capable of a deep, slow-consuming
+anger. You know too, that, although he has been a widower for five
+years, he has not married again on my account; that is something that a
+daughter ought certainly to consider. And, now that we are on this
+subject, I must tell you too, that, under these circumstances, I don't
+think it proper for us to see each other so often. It's bad enough for
+a child to be disobedient in her heart; but there would be something
+hateful in our actually doing things every day that would displease our
+parents if they knew about them, and so I don't want to meet you alone
+oftener than once a month at the most, instead of nearly every day as
+we have been doing. And for the rest just let time go on."
+
+"Let time go on! And you really can and will let things go like this?"
+
+"Why not? Are they so important? It is possible that we may have each
+other after all, it is also possible that we may not. But the world
+will go on just the same, perhaps we will forget each other of our own
+accord, for we are still young; in any case, it doesn't seem to me that
+we've any reason to make a great to-do."
+
+The seventeen-year-old beauty delivered this speech in an apparently
+cold and matter-of-fact tone, at the same time picking up her oars and
+heading for the shore. Karl rowed beside her full of anxiety and
+apprehension, and no less full of vexation at Hermine's words. She was
+half glad to know that the hot-headed fellow had something to worry
+about, but at the same time, the conversation had made her, too,
+pensive, and particularly the separation of four weeks which she had
+imposed on herself.
+
+Thus Karl finally succeeded in taking her by surprise and bringing his
+boat up against hers with a sudden pull. In an instant he held her
+slender body in his arms, and drew her part way towards him, so that
+they both leaned over the deep water, their boats tipped away over
+threatening to overturn at the slightest movement. Hence the girl was
+helpless and had to submit when Karl pressed seven or eight passionate
+kisses on her lips. Then gently and carefully he righted her and her
+boat. She stroked her hair back out of her face, seized her oars,
+panted, and, with tears in her eyes, cried angrily and threateningly:
+
+"Just wait, you scamp, till I hold the reins! Heaven knows, I'll make
+you feel that you've got a wife!"
+
+With that she rowed rapidly, without looking round at him again,
+towards her father's yard and home.
+
+Karl, however, filled with triumph and bliss, called after her, "Good
+night, Miss Hermine Frymann; that tasted good."
+
+Mrs. Hediger had told her husband nothing but the truth when she caused
+him to go out. She had merely saved up the message to use when she
+thought best, and then had done so at the right moment. A meeting
+really was held, a meeting of the Band of Seven, or of the Staunch, or
+of the Upright, or of the Lovers of Liberty, as they interchangeably
+called themselves. They were simply a circle of seven old and tried
+friends, all master-craftsmen, patriots, arch-politicians and stern
+domestic tyrants after the pattern of Master Hediger. Born, one and
+all, in the previous century, they, as children, had seen the downfall
+of the old regime, and then for many years had lived through the storms
+and birth-pangs of the new period, until, with the clearing of the
+political atmosphere in the late forties, Switzerland once more came
+into power and unity. Several of them came from the common domains, the
+former subject-land of the Swiss Confederates, and they remembered how,
+as peasant children, they had been obliged to kneel by the roadside
+when a coach with Confederate barons and the court-usher came driving
+by. Others were distant relatives or connections of captive or executed
+revolutionaries; in short, they were all filled with an unquenchable
+hatred of all aristocracy, which, since the downfall of the latter, had
+merely turned to bitter scorn. But when later the same thing reappeared
+in democratic garb, and, combined with the old usurpers of power, the
+priests, stirred up a struggle that lasted for several years, there was
+added to their hatred of the aristocracy a hatred of the "blackcoats";
+indeed their belligerent temper now turned not only against lords and
+priests, but even against their own kind, against entire masses of the
+excited populace. This demanded of them in their old age an unexpected,
+composite expenditure of power, which test, however, they stood
+bravely.
+
+These seven men were anything but insignificant. In all popular
+assemblies, meetings and such like, they helped to form a solid centre,
+stuck to their posts indefatigably, and were ready day and night to do
+for their party errands and business which could not be trusted to paid
+workers, but only to those who were absolutely reliable. The party
+leaders often consulted them and took them into their confidence, and
+if a sacrifice was required, the seven men were always the first to
+contribute their mite. For all this they desired no other reward but
+the triumph of their cause, and their clear conscience; never did one
+of them put himself forward, or strive for his own advantage or aspire
+to an office, and their greatest honor was, on occasion, to shake the
+hand of this or that "famous Confederate"; but he must be the right
+sort and "clean above the loins" as they put it.
+
+These stout-hearted citizens had grown accustomed to one another
+through decades of intimacy, called one another by their Christian
+names, and finally came to form a strong private society, but without
+any other statutes than those they bore in their hearts. They met twice
+a week, and as, even in this small band, there were two inn-keepers,
+the meetings were held alternately at their houses. Those were very
+pleasant and informal times; quiet and grave as the Seven were in
+larger assemblies, they were equally noisy and merry among themselves;
+none of them made any pretences, and none beat round the bush;
+sometimes they all talked at once, sometimes they listened attentively
+to one of their number, according to their humor and mood. Not only
+politics was the subject of their conversations, but also their
+domestic life. If one of them was in trouble and anxiety, he laid
+before the others whatever oppressed him; the cause was discussed, and
+its remedy was made a common matter; if one of them felt himself
+injured by another, he would bring his complaint to the Seven, who
+would sit in judgment and admonish the offender. During these
+proceedings they were alternately very passionate, or very quiet and
+dignified, or even ironical. Twice, traitors, crooked fellows, had
+sneaked in among them, been recognized and in solemn assembly condemned
+and turned out, that is, beaten black and blue by the fists of the
+doughty greybeards. If a real misfortune overtook the party to which
+they were attached that entirely eclipsed any domestic misfortune, they
+would hide singly in the darkness and shed bitter tears.
+
+The most eloquent and prosperous among them was Frymann, the carpenter,
+a veritable Croesus with an imposing establishment. The most
+impecunious was Hediger, the tailor; but his opinion was only second in
+importance to Frymann's. His political fanaticism had long since lost
+him his best customers; nevertheless he had educated his sons well, and
+so had no means left. The other five men were well situated; they
+listened more than they talked when important matters were under
+discussion by the Band of Seven, but made up for that by the
+weightiness of their words at home, and among their neighbors.
+
+To-day there were really important transactions on hand, which Frymann
+and Hediger had already discussed. The period of unrest, of struggle
+and of political effort, was past for these stout-hearted citizens, and
+their long experiences seemed for once to have come to an end with the
+conditions that they had attained. "All's well that ends well," they
+might say, and they felt themselves to be victorious and content. And
+so, as the shades of evening were falling on their political life, they
+felt that they might indulge in a crowning festivity, and, as the Band
+of Seven, attend in a body the first national shooting match to be held
+since the adoption of the new constitution of 1848, which was to take
+place at Aarau the following summer.
+
+Now most of them had long since become members of the Swiss Shooting
+Association, and they all, except Hediger, who contented himself with
+his musket, possessed good rifles, with which in former years they had
+sometimes gone shooting on Sunday. Singly, they had also already
+attended other festivals, so that there seemed to be nothing so very
+unusual in their present purpose. But a spirit of outward pomp had
+taken possession of some of them, and the proposal made was really
+nothing less than that they should appear in Aarau with their own
+banner, bringing a handsome trophy as a gift.
+
+When the little company had drunk a few glasses of wine and were in
+good spirits, Frymann and Hediger came out with the proposal, which
+somewhat surprised their modest fellow-members nevertheless, so that
+they wavered irresolutely for some minutes. For the idea of attracting
+so much attention and marching out with a banner did not quite appeal
+to them. But as they had long since forgotten how to refuse their
+support to any bold stroke or undertaking with a real meaning, they
+resisted only long enough for the speakers to paint to them in glowing
+colors the banner as a symbol, and their procession as a triumph of
+true and tried friendship, and to show them that the appearance of
+seven old greybeards such as they, with a banner of friendship, would
+certainly make good sport. Only a little banner should be made, of
+green silk, with the Swiss coat of arms and a fitting inscription.
+
+Once the question of the banner was settled, the trophy was taken up;
+its value was fixed fairly easily at about two hundred francs, old
+style. But the choice of the object itself caused a lengthier and
+almost heated discussion. Frymann opened the general inquiry and
+invited Kuser, the silversmith, as a man of taste, to give his opinion.
+Kuser gravely drank a good draught, coughed, thought a while, and said
+it was fortunate that he just happened to have a beautiful silver cup
+in his shop, which, if that were agreeable to the others, he could
+thoroughly recommend, and would let them have at the very lowest price.
+Hereupon followed a general silence broken only by brief remarks such
+as "That might do!" or "Why not?" Then Hediger asked whether anyone
+else wished to propose anything. Whereupon Syfrig, the skilful smith,
+took a swallow, plucked up courage, and said:
+
+"If it is agreeable to you all, I will also express an idea now. I have
+forged a very practical plough of solid iron, which, as you know, won
+praise at the agricultural exhibition. I am prepared to part with this
+fine piece of work for two hundred francs, although that would not pay
+for the labor of making it; but it is my opinion that this tool and
+symbol of agriculture would be the kind of prize that would most
+suitably represent the common people. Not that I wish to reflect on
+other proposals."
+
+During this speech Bürgi, the crafty cabinet-maker, had also been
+thinking the matter over, and when again a short silence ensued and the
+silversmith began to pull a long face, the cabinet-maker unburdened
+himself thus:
+
+"An idea has occurred to me too, dear friends, which would probably
+give rise to a great deal of fun. Years ago I had an order from a
+couple from out of town who were about to be married, for a double
+canopy bed of the finest walnut, with bird's-eye maple veneer; the
+young couple hung round my workshop every day measuring the length and
+the breadth, and billing and cooing before the journeymen and
+apprentices, minding neither their jokes nor their insinuations. But
+when the time came for the wedding they suddenly parted, hating each
+other as a cat hates a dog, not a soul knew why; one went this way, one
+went that, and the bedstead was left standing as immovable as a rock.
+At cost price it's worth a hundred and eighty francs, but I'll gladly
+lose eighty and let it go for a hundred. Then we can have a mattress
+made for it and set it up in the trophy hall, fully made up, with the
+inscription: 'For a single Confederate, as an encouragement!' How's
+that?"
+
+Merry laughter rewarded this idea; only the smiles of the silversmith
+and the blacksmith were faint and wry; but Pfister, the inn-keeper,
+immediately raised his hearty voice and said with his accustomed
+frankness:
+
+"Well gentlemen, if it's the programme for each of us to bring his own
+pig to market, then I know of something better than anything yet
+proposed. I have in my cellar a well-sealed cask of '34 claret,
+so-called Swiss blood, which I bought myself in Basle more than twelve
+years ago. You are all so temperate and modest in your demands, that I
+have never ventured to tap the wine, and yet I have two hundred francs
+tied up in it, for there are just a hundred measures. I will give you
+the wine for what it cost, and reckon the cask as cheaply as possible,
+glad if I can only make room for something that will sell better, and
+may I never leave this place if such a gift wouldn't do us honor."
+
+This speech, during which the three who had made their suggestions had
+already began to murmur, was scarcely ended, when Erismann, the other
+inn-keeper, took the floor and said:
+
+"If this is the way it's going, I won't be left behind either, but am
+ready to declare that I think I have the best thing for our purpose,
+and that is my young milch cow, a thoroughbred Oberland, that I am just
+ready to sell if I can find a good purchaser. If we tie a bell round
+the neck of this handsome animal, a milking stool between her horns,
+adorn her with flowers--"
+
+"And put her under a glass globe in the trophy hall!" interrupted
+Pfister, irritated; and with that, one of those thunderstorms broke
+that sometimes made the meetings of the Seven tempestuous, but only to
+be succeeded by sunshine that was all the brighter for what had passed.
+They all talked at once, defended their own proposals, attacked those
+of the others and accused one another of selfish motives. For they
+always came right out with what they thought, and settled matters by
+means of the plain truth, not by dissimulation and covering up, as a
+kind of false culture often leads men to do.
+
+When the noise had become almost deafening Hediger tapped his glass
+loudly, and, raising his voice, said:
+
+"Men! Don't get excited but let us proceed calmly to our goal. As
+trophies there have been suggested a cup, a plough, a complete canopy
+bed, a cask of wine and a cow. Permit me to examine your proposals more
+closely. Your cup, my dear Ruedi, I know well; it is a fixture in your
+shop, has been there in your show window for years and years; in fact,
+I believe it was once your masterpiece. Nevertheless, its antiquated
+form would forbid our choosing it and presenting it as new. Your
+plough, Chueri Syfrig, seems to be not absolutely practical after all,
+otherwise you would certainly have sold it three years ago. But we must
+bear in mind that our prize ought to give real pleasure to whoever wins
+it. Your canopy bed, on the contrary, Henry, is a novel and certainly a
+delightful idea, and it would undoubtedly occasion remarks of a very
+popular character. But to carry it out properly, would require plenty
+of fine bedding and that would exceed the sum we have fixed by too much
+for only seven people. Your 'Swiss blood' Lienert Pfister is good, and
+it will be still better if you will give us a cheaper price, and
+finally tap the cask for us so that we can have it to drink on our
+anniversaries. Finally, against your cow, Felix Erismann, there is
+nothing to be said except that she kicks over the pail regularly
+whenever she is milked. That is why you want to sell her; for, to be
+sure, that is not a pleasing habit. But what do you think? Would it be
+right if some honest young peasant won the animal, took it joyfully
+home to his wife, who would joyfully start to milk it, and then would
+see the sweet, frothy milk upset on the ground? Think of the poor
+woman's disgust, vexation, and disappointment, and of the embarrassment
+of the good marksman after this scene had been repeated two or three
+times. Yes, my dear friends, don't take it amiss, but it must be said:
+all our proposals have the common fault of thoughtlessly and hastily
+seeking to make the honor of the fatherland a source of profit and
+calculation. What if the same thing has been done thousands of times by
+high and low, we, in our circle, have not done it, and we wish so to
+continue. So let every man bear the cost of the gift without ulterior
+motive, so that it may really be a trophy of honor!"
+
+The five profit-seekers who had hung their heads in shame, now cried in
+one voice, "Well said! Kaspar has spoken well," and they demanded that
+he himself should propose something. But Frymann took the floor and
+said:
+
+"It seems to me that a silver cup is more suitable than anything else
+to be given as a trophy. It retains its value, cannot be used up, and
+is a handsome reminder of happy days and of the valiant men of the
+house. The house in which a silver cup is preserved can never quite
+decay, and who can say whether much else is not also preserved for the
+sake of such a memorial. And is not art given the opportunity by
+fashioning ever new and pleasing forms, to increase the variety of
+these vessels, and thus to exercise its creative power and to bear a
+ray of beauty into the most distant valley, so that gradually a vast
+treasure of precious prize-cups will accumulate in our fatherland,
+precious alike in form and metal? And how fitting it is that these
+treasures, scattered over the whole country, cannot be made to serve
+the common uses of every-day life, but in their pure brilliance, in
+their chaste forms, continue to keep the higher things before our eyes,
+and thus seem to hold fast the idea of unity and the sunlight of days
+ideally spent. Away then with the trash that is beginning to pile up in
+our trophy-halls, a prey to moths and to the most ordinary uses, and
+let us hold fast to the venerable old drinking-cup! Truly, if I were
+living in the days when all that is Swiss was drawing to its end, I
+could not imagine a more uplifting crowning festivity than to gather
+together the thousands and tens of thousands of cups of all sorts and
+shapes belonging to all the clubs, societies and individuals, in all
+their radiance of by-gone days, with all their memories, and to drink a
+last toast to the declining fatherland--"
+
+"Hush, churlish guest! What unworthy thoughts!" cried the Upright and
+Staunch, and shuddered. But Frymann continued:
+
+"As it becomes a man in the vigor of his prime sometimes to think of
+death, so, too, in a meditative hour he may turn his gaze on the
+certain end of his fatherland, that he may love its present all the
+more fervently, for everything is transitory and subject to change on
+this earth. Have not much greater nations than we perished? Or would
+you linger on like the Wandering Jew who cannot die, serving in turn
+all the new nations as they arise, he who buried the Egyptians, the
+Greeks, and the Romans? No, a nation that knows that a time will come
+when it will no longer be makes all the more intense use of its days,
+lives so much the longer, and leaves a glorious memory; for it will not
+rest until it has brought to light and exercised the capabilities that
+lie within it, like a man who knows no rest until he has set his house
+in order before he leaves this life. That, in my opinion, is the chief
+thing. Once a nation has performed its task, what do a few longer or
+shorter days of existence matter? New figures are already waiting at
+the portals of their time. And so I must confess that once a year,
+during some sleepless night, or on quiet paths, I fall a prey to such
+thoughts, and try to imagine what the nation will be like that will
+some day hold sway in these mountains after we are gone. And each time
+I return to my work with greater energy, as if I could thus hasten the
+work of my nation so that that people of the future will walk over our
+graves with respect.
+
+"But away with these thoughts and back to our joyful prospects! I would
+suggest that we order a new cup from our master silversmith, on which
+he promises to make no profit, but to give as much value as possible.
+For this purpose let us have an artist make a good design which shall
+depart from the ordinary meaningless pattern, but because of our
+limited means let him pay more attention to the proportions, to the
+form and simple grace of the whole, than to rich ornamentation and,
+after this design, Master Kuser will furnish us with a pleasing and
+substantial piece of work."
+
+This proposal was accepted and the business disposed of. Frymann,
+however, immediately took the floor again and began:
+
+"Now that we have settled these matters of general interest, my
+friends, permit me to bring up another special question, and to make a
+complaint that we may adjust it together in friendly fashion according
+to our old custom. You know that our good friend, Kaspar Hediger, is
+the father of four lively boys whose desire to marry as youngsters
+makes the whole-neighborhood unsafe. In fact, three of them already
+have wives and children, although the eldest is not yet twenty-seven.
+There remains the youngest, just turned twenty, and what is he doing?
+Running after my only daughter and turning her head. Thus these
+diabolical marriage-fiends have penetrated into the circle of intimate
+friendship, and now threaten to cloud it. Apart from the fact that the
+children are much too young, I frankly confess here that such a
+marriage would be contrary, to my wishes and intentions. I have a large
+business and a considerable fortune; therefore, when the time comes, I
+shall seek a son-in-law who is a business man with a capital
+corresponding to mine, and thus able to carry on the building
+enterprises that I have in mind; for you know that I have bought up
+extensive building lots, and am convinced that Zurich will grow
+considerably larger. But your son, my good Kaspar, is a government
+clerk, and has nothing but his scanty salary, and even if he rises it
+will never be much bigger, and his income is fixed once for all with no
+way of augmenting it. Let him stick to his position, he is provided for
+for life, if he is economical; but he doesn't need a rich wife. A rich
+official is an absurdity, taking the bread out of other people's
+mouths, and I certainly would not give my money for a fellow to loaf
+on, or, in his inexperience, to use for all sorts of experiments. In
+addition to all this, it would go against the grain with me to have
+the true and tried friendship that exists between Kaspar and me
+transformed into a relationship. What, are we to burden ourselves with
+family trials and mutual dependence? No, my friends, let us remain
+closely united until death, but independent of each other, free and
+answerable to none for our actions, and let us hear nothing of 'son's
+father-in-law' and 'daughter's father-in-law' and all such titles. And
+so I call upon you, Kaspar, to declare in this intimate circle of
+friends that you will support me in my purpose and will oppose your
+son's course. And no offense, we all know one another."
+
+"We know one another, that is well said," said Hediger solemnly after
+slowly taking a pinch of snuff. "You all know what bad luck I have had
+with my sons, although they are smart and lively lads. I had them
+taught everything that I wish I myself had learnt. They all knew
+something of languages, could write a good composition, were splendid
+at figures and had sufficient grounding in other branches of knowledge
+to keep, with a little effort, from ever relapsing into complete
+ignorance. Thank God, I used to think, that we are at last able to
+educate our boys to be citizens who can't be made to believe that black
+is white. And then I allowed each one to learn the trade he chose. But
+what happened? Scarcely did they have their indentures in their pockets
+and had looked about them a little, when the hammer got too heavy for
+them, they thought themselves too clever for artisans and began to look
+for clerical jobs. The devil knows how they did it, but the young
+scamps went like hot cakes. Well, apparently they do their work
+satisfactorily. One's in the post office, two are employed by railroad
+companies and the fourth sits in an office and maintains that he's a
+government official. After all, it's none of my business. He who
+doesn't want to be a master must remain a journeyman and work under
+others all his life. But, as money passes through their hands, all
+these young gentlemen clerks had to give security; I have no property
+myself, and so you all, in turn, furnished security for my boys,
+amounting to forty thousand francs; the old tradesmen, their father's
+friends, were good enough for that! And now, how do you suppose I feel?
+How would I stand in your eyes if only one out of the four should take
+a false step, be guilty of some indiscretion or piece of carelessness?"
+
+"Fiddlesticks!" cried the old men, "put all such nonsense out of your
+head. If they hadn't been good boys we wouldn't have done it, you can
+be sure."
+
+"I know all that," replied Hediger, "but a year is a long time, and
+when it's gone there's another to come. I can assure you that it
+frightens me every time one of them comes into the house with a better
+cigar than usual. Will he not fall a victim to habits of luxury and
+self-indulgence? If I see one of their young wives coming along in a
+new dress, I fear that she is plunging her husband into difficulties
+and debt. If I see one of them talking in the street to a man who lives
+beyond his means, a voice within me cries, 'Will he not lead him into
+some piece of folly?' In short, you see that I feel myself humble and
+dependent enough, and am far from wishing to add a feeling of
+obligation towards a rich kinsman, and from turning a friend into a
+master and patron. And why should I want my cocky young son to feel
+rich and safe, and to run round under my eyes with the arrogance that
+such a fellow assumes when he has never had the slightest experience of
+life? Shall I help to close the school of life to him so that he shall
+early become hard-hearted, an unmannerly and insolent duffer, who
+doesn't know how to earn his bread, and still has a tremendous opinion
+of himself? No, rest easy, my friend, here is my hand on it. No kith
+and kin for us!"
+
+The two old men shook hands, the others laughed, and Bürgi said,
+
+"Who would believe that you two who have just spoken such wise words in
+the cause of the fatherland, and have rapped us so hard on the
+knuckles, would turn round and do anything so foolish. Thank Heaven,
+I've still a chance to dispose of my double bed and I propose that we
+give it to the young couple for a wedding present."
+
+"Voted!" cried the other four, and Pfister, the innkeeper, added,
+
+"And I demand that my cask of Swiss blood be drunk at the wedding,
+which we shall all attend."
+
+"And I'll pay for it if there is a wedding," shouted Frymann angrily,
+"but if not, as I know for certain will be the case, you pay for the
+cask, and we'll drink it at our meetings until it's gone."
+
+"We'll take the wager," they agreed; but Frymann and Hediger pounded
+the table with their fists and continued to repeat:
+
+"No kith and kinship for us! We don't want to be kinsmen, but
+independent, good friends!"
+
+This declaration brought the eventful meeting at last to an end, and
+staunch and upright the Lovers of Liberty wandered to their homes.
+
+
+The next day at dinner, after the journeymen had gone, Hediger informed
+his son and his wife of the solemn decision of the day before, that
+from now on no romance between Karl and the carpenter's daughter would
+be tolerated. Mrs. Hediger, the "Gunsmithy," was so tempted to laugh by
+this decree that the last drop of wine in her glass, which she was just
+about to swallow, got into her windpipe and caused a terrible fit of
+coughing.
+
+"What is there to laugh at about that?" said Master Hediger
+irritatedly.
+
+His wife answered: "Oh, I can't help laughing because the adage 'a
+cobbler should stick to his last' fits your club so well. Why don't you
+stick to politics instead of meddling with love affairs?"
+
+"You laugh like a woman and talk like a woman," replied Hediger, very
+much in earnest, "it is just in the family that true politics begin; we
+are political friends, it is true, but in order to remain so it is
+necessary that we should not mix our families up, and treat the wealth
+of one as common property. I am poor and Frymann is rich, and so it
+shall remain; we enjoy our inward equality so much the more. And now,
+shall a marriage be the means of my sticking my finger into his house
+and his affairs, and arousing jealousy and embarrassment? Far be it
+from me!"
+
+"Oh my, my, what wonderful principles!" answered Mrs. Hediger; "that's
+a fine friendship when one friend won't give his daughter to the son of
+the other! And since when has it meant treating wealth as common
+property when prosperity is brought into a family through marriage? Is
+it a reprehensible policy when a fortunate son succeeds in winning a
+rich and beautiful girl, because he thus attains to property and
+prominence, and is able to assist his aged parents and brothers, and
+help them to a place in the sun? For where once good fortune has
+entered it easily spreads, and without doing any damage to the one, the
+others can skilfully throw out their hooks in his shade. Not that I am
+looking for a life of luxury! But there are very many cases in which it
+is right and proper that a man who has become rich should be consulted
+by his poor relatives. We old people shall need nothing more; on the
+other hand, the time might come perhaps, when one or another of Karl's
+brothers might venture on a promising enterprise, or make a fortunate
+change if someone would lend him the means. And one or another of them
+will have a talented son who would rise to great things, if there was
+money enough to send him to the university. One might perhaps become a
+popular physician, another a prominent lawyer or even a judge, another
+an engineer or an artist, and all of them, once they had got so far,
+would find it easy to marry well, and so at last would form a
+respected, numerous, and happy family. What could be more natural than
+to have a prosperous uncle who, without harming himself, could throw
+open the doors of the world to his industrious but poor relatives? For
+how often does it happen that, owing to the presence in a family of one
+fortunate member, all the others get a taste of the world and grow
+wise? And will you drive in the bung on all these things and seal good
+fortune at its source?"
+
+Hediger gave a laugh, full of annoyance, and cried,
+
+"Castles in the air! You talk like the peasant woman with her milk
+pail! I see a different picture of the man who has become rich among
+his poor relatives. He, it is true, denies himself nothing and has
+always thousands of ideas and desires which he gratifies, and which
+lead him to spend money on thousands of occasions. But let his parents
+and his brothers come to him, down he sits at his account book, looking
+important and vexed, sighs, and says, with his pen between his teeth:
+'Thank God that you haven't the trouble and burden of administering
+such a fortune. I'd rather herd goats than watch a pack of spiteful and
+procrastinating debtors! No money coming in from any of them, and all
+of them trying to get out of paying and slip through my fingers. Day
+and night you have to be on the lookout that you are not cheated right
+and left. And if ever you do get a scoundrel by the collar, he sets up
+such a howl that you have to let him go in a hurry, or be decried as a
+usurer and a monster. Every official paper, every notice of days of
+expiration, every announcement, every advertisement has to be read over
+and over, or you will miss some petition or overlook some term. And
+there's never any money on hand. If someone repays a loan, he lays his
+money bag on the table in all the taverns in town and announces with a
+swagger that he's paid, and before he's out of the house there are
+three others waiting to borrow the money, one of whom even wants it
+without giving security! And then the demands made on you by the
+community, the charitable institutions, public enterprises,
+subscription lists of all kinds--they can't be avoided, your position
+demands it; but I can tell you, you often don't know whether you are
+standing on your head or your heels. This year I'm harder pressed even
+than usual; I've had my garden improved and a balcony built on to the
+house, my wife has been wanting to have it done for a long time, and
+now here are the bills. My physician has advised me a hundred times to
+keep a saddle horse--I can't even think of it, for new expenses keep
+coming up to prevent. Look there, see the little winepress, of the most
+modern construction, that I had built so that I could press out the
+Muscatel grapes that I grow on trellises--God knows, I can't pay for it
+this year. Well, my credit is still good, thank Heaven.'
+
+"That is the way he talks with a cruel boast underlying all his words
+and thus so intimidates his poor brothers and his old father that they
+say nothing about their request, and take themselves off again after
+admiring his garden and his balcony and his ingenious wine-press. And
+they go to strangers for help and gladly pay higher interest simply to
+avoid listening to so much chatter. His children are handsomely and
+expensively dressed, and tread the streets daintily; they bring their
+poor cousins little presents and come twice a year to invite them to
+dinner, and that is a great lark for the rich children; but when the
+guests lose their shyness and even begin to be noisy, their pockets are
+filled with apples and they are sent home. There they tell all that
+they have seen and what they had to eat and everything is criticized;
+for rancor and envy fill the hearts of the poor sisters-in-law who
+flatter the prosperous member of the family notwithstanding, and are
+eloquent in their praise of her fine clothes. Finally some misfortune
+overtakes the father or the brothers and, whether he will or not, the
+rich man has to step into the breach for the sake of the family
+reputation. And he does so without much persuasion; but now the bond of
+brotherly equality and love is completely severed. The poorer brothers
+and their children are now the servants and slave-children of the
+master; year in, year out they are nagged at and corrected, they have
+to wear coarse clothing and eat black bread in order to make up a small
+part of the damage. The children are sent to orphan asylums and schools
+for the poor, and if they are strong enough they have to work in the
+master's house and sit at the lower end of the table in silence."
+
+"Phew!" cried Mrs. Hediger, "what a tale! And do you really think that
+your own son here would be such a scoundrel? And has Fate ordained that
+just his brothers should meet with misfortunes that would make them his
+servants? They, who have always managed to take care of themselves till
+now? No, for the honor of our own blood I believe that a rich marriage
+would not turn all our heads like that, but that, on the contrary, my
+view would prove to be right."
+
+"I don't mean to assert," replied Hediger, "that it would be just that
+way with us; but in our family too we should introduce outward
+differences and in time they would be followed by inward inequality; he
+who aspires to wealth, aspires to rise above his equals--"
+
+"Bosh!" interrupted his wife, taking up the table cloth and shaking it
+out the window; "has Frymann, who actually owns the property that we
+are quarrelling about, grown any different from the rest of you? Aren't
+you of one mind and one heart and always putting your heads together?"
+
+"That's different," cried her husband, "entirely different. He didn't
+get his property by scheming, nor win it in the lottery, but acquired
+it slowly franc by franc through the toil of forty years. And then we
+are not brothers, he and I, and are not concerned in each other's
+affairs, and that's the way we want it to continue, that's the point.
+And finally, he is not like other people, he is still one of the
+Staunch and Upright. But don't let us keep on considering only these
+petty personal affairs. Fortunately there are no tremendously rich
+people among us, prosperity is fairly well distributed; but let men
+with many millions spring up, men with political ambition, and you'll
+see how much mischief they do. There is the well-known spinner-king; he
+really has millions and is often accused of being an indifferent
+citizen and a miser, because he doesn't concern himself with public
+matters. On the contrary, he is a good citizen who consistently lets
+everyone go his own way, governs himself, and lives like any other man.
+But let this goldbug be a politically ambitious genius, give him some
+amiability, pleasure in ostentation and love of all sorts of theatrical
+pomp, let him build palaces and institutions and then see what harm he
+would do in the community, and how he would ruin the character of the
+people. There will come a time when, in our country, as elsewhere,
+large masses of money will accumulate without having been honestly
+earned and saved; then it will be for us to show our teeth to the
+devil; then it will be seen whether the bunting of our flag is made of
+fast colors and strong thread. To put it briefly, I don't see why a son
+of mine should stretch out his hand for another's goods, without having
+done a stroke to earn them. That's a fraud as much as anything is!"
+
+"It's a fraud that's as old as the world," said his wife, laughing,
+"for two people who love each other to want to marry. All your long and
+high-sounding words won't change that. Moreover, you are the only one
+to be made a fool of; for Master Frymann is wisely trying to prevent
+your children from becoming equal to his. But the children will have a
+policy of their own and will carry it out if there's anything in the
+affair, and that I don't know."
+
+"Let them," said Master Hediger; "that's their business; mine is, not
+to favor anything of the sort, and in any case to refuse my consent as
+long as Karl is a minor."
+
+With this diplomatic declaration and the latest number of the
+"Republican" he withdrew to his study. Mrs. Hediger, on the contrary,
+now wanted to get hold of her son and satisfy her curiosity by calling
+him to account; but she suddenly discovered that he had made off, as
+the whole discussion seemed to him to be absolutely superfluous and
+useless, and he did not care, in any case, to talk over his love
+affairs with his parents.
+
+So much the earlier did he get into his little boat that evening and
+row out to where he had been on many previous evenings. But he sang his
+little song once and twice, and even through to the last verse without
+anyone showing herself, and after rowing up and down in front of the
+lumber yard for more than an hour in vain, he went back puzzled and
+depressed, and thought his affair was really in a bad way. On the
+following four or five evenings he had the same experience, and then
+gave up trying to meet the faithless girl, as he took her to be; for
+although he remembered her resolution only to see him once in four
+weeks, he thought that to be merely the preparation for a final
+rupture, and fell into indignant sadness. Hence the practice period for
+the sharpshooter recruits, which was just about to begin, came at a
+very welcome time. On several afternoons beforehand he went out to the
+range with an acquaintance who was a marksman to get at least a little
+practice, and be able to show the number of hits necessary for his
+application. His father looked on at this rather scornfully, and
+unexpectedly came to the range himself to dissuade his son in time from
+carrying out his foolish purpose, if, as he supposed, Karl knew nothing
+about shooting.
+
+But he happened to get there just as Karl, with half a dozen misses
+behind him, was making a number of rather good shots.
+
+"You needn't tell me," said Hediger astonished, "that you've never shot
+before; you've secretly spent many a franc on it, that's sure."
+
+"I have shot secretly, that's true, but at no cost. Do you know where,
+father?"
+
+"I thought as much!"
+
+"Even as a boy I often watched the shooting, listened to what the men
+said about it, and for years have so longed to do it that I used to
+dream about it, and after I had gone to bed I used to spend hours
+aiming at a target, and in that way I've fired hundreds of good shots."
+
+"That's capital! At that rate, they'll order whole companies of
+riflemen into bed in the future, and put them through such a mental
+drill; that'll save powder and shoe leather."
+
+"It's not so ridiculous as it sounds," said the experienced marksman
+who was teaching Karl, "it is certain that, of two riflemen who are
+equally gifted as regards eye and hand, the one who is accustomed to
+reflection will outstrip the other. Pulling the trigger requires an
+inborn knack and there are very peculiar things about it as there are
+about all exercises."
+
+The oftener and the better Karl shot, the more did old Hediger shake
+his head; the world seemed to him to be turned upside down, for he
+himself had only attained to what he was and knew how to do by industry
+and strenuous practice; even his principles, which people often pack
+into their minds as easily and numerously as herrings, had only been
+acquired by persevering study in his little back room. Now, however, he
+no longer ventured to interfere, and departed, not without inward
+satisfaction at numbering among his sons one of his country's
+sharpshooters; and by the time he had reached home he was resolved to
+make Karl a well-fitting uniform of good cloth. "Of course, he will
+have to pay for it," he said to himself, but he knew in his heart that
+he never asked his sons to repay anything, and that they never offered
+to do so. That is wholesome for parents, and enables them to reach a
+good old age when they can see how their children in turn are merrily
+fleeced by their grandchildren, and so it goes down from father to son,
+and all survive and enjoy good appetites.
+
+Karl now had to go into barracks for several weeks, and developed into
+a good-looking and trained soldier who, although he was in love and
+neither saw nor heard anything of his sweetheart, nevertheless
+attentively and cheerfully performed his duties as long as the daylight
+lasted; and at night the conversation and jokes of his comrades gave
+him no chance to brood. There were a dozen of them, young fellows from
+different districts, who exchanged the tricks and jokes of their homes
+and continued to make the most of them long after the lights were out
+and until midnight came on. There was only one from the city besides
+Karl, and the latter knew him by name. He was a few years older than
+Karl and had already served as a fusileer. A bookbinder by trade, he
+had not done a stroke of work for a long time, but lived on the
+inflated rents of old houses which he cleverly managed to buy without
+capital. Sometimes he would sell one again to some simpleton at an
+exorbitant price, then if the purchaser could not hold it he would
+pocket the forfeit and the paid instalments and again take possession
+of the house, at the same time raising the rents once more. He was also
+skilful in making slight changes in the construction of the dwellings,
+thus enlarging them by the addition of a tiny chamber or little room,
+so that he might again raise the rent. These alterations were by no
+means practical or planned for convenience, but quite arbitrary and
+stupid; he knew, too, all the bunglers among the artisans, who did the
+worst and cheapest work and with whom he could do as he liked. When he
+could think of absolutely nothing else to do, he would have the outside
+of one of his old buildings whitewashed and ask a still higher rent. By
+these methods he enjoyed a good annual income without doing an hour's
+actual work. His errands and appointments did not take long, and he
+would spend as much time in front of other people's buildings as before
+his own reconstructed shanties, play the expert and give advice about
+everything. In all other matters he was the stupidest fellow in the
+world. Hence he was considered a shrewd and prosperous young man who
+would make an early success in life, and he denied himself nothing. He
+considered himself too good for an infantry private and had wanted to
+become an officer. But there he had failed owing to his laziness and
+ignorance, and now by obstinate and importunate persistence he had got
+into the sharpshooters.
+
+Here he sought to force himself into a position of respect, without
+exerting himself, solely with the aid of his money. He was forever
+inviting the non-commissioned officers and his comrades to eat and
+drink with him, and thought that by clumsy liberality he could obtain
+privileges and freedom. But he only succeeded in making himself a
+laughing-stock, though, to be sure, he did enjoy a sort of indulgence,
+in that the others soon gave up trying to make anything out of him and
+let him go his own way as long as he did not bother the rest.
+
+A single recruit attached himself to him and acted as his servant,
+cleaned his arms and clothes and spoke in his defence. This was the
+tight-fisted son of a rich peasant, who had always a frightful appetite
+for food and drink whenever he could satisfy it at another's expense.
+He thought heaven would be his reward if he could carry back home all
+his shining silver and still be able to say he had lived merrily during
+his service and caroused like a true sharpshooter; at the same time he
+was jolly and good-natured and entertained his patron, who had much
+less voice than he, with his thin falsetto in which, from behind his
+bottle, he sang all sorts of popular country songs very oddly indeed;
+for he was a merry miser. And so Ruckstuhl, the young extortioner, and
+Spörri, the young skinflint, lived on in glorious friendship. The
+former always had meat and wine before him and did as he chose, and the
+latter left him as little as possible, sang and cleaned his boots and
+did not even scorn the tips that the other gave.
+
+Meanwhile the others made fun of them and agreed among themselves that
+they would not tolerate Ruckstuhl in any company. This did not apply to
+his factotum, however, for, strangely enough, he was a good shot, and
+anyone who knows his business is welcome in the army whether he be a
+Philistine or a scamp.
+
+Karl was foremost in making fun of the pair; but one night he lost his
+desire to joke, when the wine-gladdened Ruckstuhl boasted to his
+follower, after the room had grown quiet, of what a fine gentleman he
+was and of how he soon expected to marry a rich wife, the daughter of
+the carpenter Frymann, whom, if he read the signs aright, he could not
+fail to get.
+
+Karl's peace of mind was now gone, and the next day, as soon as he had
+a free hour, he went to his parents to find out, by listening, what was
+going on. But as he did not care to introduce the subject himself, he
+heard nothing of Hermine until just before he went, when his mother
+told him she had wanted to be remembered to him.
+
+"Why, where did you see her?" he asked as indifferently as he could.
+
+"Oh, she comes to the market every day now with the maid to learn how
+to buy supplies. She always asks me for advice when we meet and then we
+make the rounds of the market and find a lot to laugh at; for she's
+always in good spirits."
+
+"Oh, ho!" said Hediger, "so that's why you stay out so long sometimes!
+And it's match-making that you are up to? Do you think it's fitting for
+a mother to behave like that, running around with people who are
+forbidden to her son, and carrying messages?"
+
+"Forbidden people! Nonsense! Haven't I known the dear child since she
+was a baby and I carried her in my arms? And now I'm not to associate
+with her! And why shouldn't she ask to be remembered to the people in
+our house? And why shouldn't a mother take such a message? And may not
+a mother be allowed to make a match for her child? It seems to me that
+she's the very person to do it! But we never talk about such things, we
+women are not half so keen about you ill-mannered men, and if Hermine
+takes my advice she won't marry anyone."
+
+Karl did not wait for the end of the conversation, but went his way;
+for she had sent him a message and there had been no mention of any
+suspicious news. Only he did tap his forehead, puzzled by Hermine's
+good spirits, for it was not like her to laugh so much. He finally
+decided it was a sign in his favor and she had been merry because she
+had met his mother. So he resolved to keep quiet, have faith in the
+girl, and let things take their course.
+
+A few days later Hermine came to visit Mrs. Hediger, bringing her
+knitting with her, and there was so much cordiality, talking, and
+laughing that Hediger, cutting out a frock coat in his workshop, was
+almost disturbed and wondered what old gossip could be there. Still, he
+did not pay much attention to it till finally he heard his wife go to a
+cupboard and begin to rattle the blue coffee set. For the "Gunsmithy"
+was making as good a pot of coffee as she had ever brewed; she also
+took a good handful of sage leaves, dipped them in an egg-batter and
+fried them in butter, thus making so-called little mice, since the
+stems of the leaves looked like mouse-tails. They rose beautifully and
+made a heaping dish full, the fragrance of which, together with that of
+the fresh coffee ascended to Master Hediger above. When, finally, he
+heard her pounding sugar he became highly impatient to be called to the
+table; but he would not have gone one moment earlier, for he belonged
+to the Staunch and Upright. As he now entered the room he saw his wife
+and the graceful "forbidden person" sitting in close friendship behind
+the coffee-pot and, moreover, it was the blue-flowered coffee-pot;
+and besides the little mice there was butter on the table and the
+blue-flowered pot full of honey; it was not real honey, to be sure, but
+only cherry-jam, about the color of Herrnine's eyes; and it was
+Saturday too, a day on which all respectable middle-class women scrub
+and scour, clean and polish, and never cook a bite that's fit to eat.
+
+Hediger looked very critically at the whole scene and his greeting was
+rather stern; but Hermine was so charming and at the same time so
+resolute that he sat there as if muzzled and ended by going himself to
+get a "glass of wine" out of the cellar and even drawing it from the
+small keg. Hermine responded to this mark of favor by declaring that
+she must have a plate of mice kept for Karl, as he probably didn't get
+very good things to eat in the barracks. She took her plate and pulled
+out the finest mice by their tails with her own dainty fingers and kept
+on piling them up till at last Karl's mother herself cried that it was
+enough. Hermine then put the plate beside her, looked at it with
+satisfaction from time to time, and occasionally picked out a piece and
+ate it, saying that she was Karl's guest now; after which she would
+conscientiously replace the plunder from the dish.
+
+Finally it got to be too much for the worthy Hediger; he scratched his
+head and, urgent though his work was, hastily put on his coat and
+hurried forth to seek the father of the little sinner.
+
+"We must look out," he said to him; "your daughter and my old woman are
+sitting at home in all their glory, hand in glove, and it all looks
+mighty suspicious to me; you know women are the very devil."
+
+"Why don't you chase the young scallywag off?" said Frymann, annoyed.
+
+"I chase her off? Not I; she's a regular witch! Just come along
+yourself and attend to her."
+
+"Good, I'll come along with you and make the girl thoroughly understand
+how she's to behave."
+
+When they got there, however, instead of Miss Hermine they found Karl,
+the sharpshooter, who had unbuttoned his green waistcoat and was
+enjoying his mice and what wine there was left all the more because his
+mother had just happened to mention that Hermine was going rowing on
+the lake again that evening as it would be bright moonlight and she
+hadn't been on the lake for a month.
+
+Karl started out on the lake all the earlier because he had to be back
+in barracks at the sound of "taps," blown in heavenly harmonies by the
+Zurich buglers on beautiful spring and summer evenings. It was not yet
+quite dark when he reached the lumber yard; but alas, Master Frymann's
+skiff was not floating in the water as usual; it lay bottom up, on two
+blocks, about ten yards from the shore.
+
+Was that a hoax, or a trick of the old man's, he wondered and,
+disappointed and angry, he was just about to row off when the great,
+golden moon rose out of the woods on Mt. Zurich and at the same time
+Hermine stepped out from behind a blossoming willow that hung full of
+yellow cattails.
+
+"I didn't know that our boat was being freshly painted," she whispered,
+"so I'll have to come into yours, row fast!" And she sprang lightly in,
+and sat down at the other end of the skiff which was scarcely seven
+feet long. They rowed out till they were beyond the range of any spying
+eye and Karl began at once to call Hermine to account as regarded
+Ruckstuhl, telling her of the latter's words and acts.
+
+"I know," she said, "that this cavalier wants to marry me and that, in
+fact, my father is not disinclined to consent; he has already spoken of
+it."
+
+"Is he possessed of the devil to want to give you to such a vagabond
+and loafer? What's become of his weighty principles?"
+
+Hermine shrugged her shoulders and said: "Father is full of the idea of
+building a number of houses and speculating with them; for that reason,
+he wants a son-in-law who can be of assistance to him in such matters,
+particularly in speculating, and who will know that he is working for
+his own advantage in furthering the whole enterprise. He has in mind
+that he wants someone with whom he can take pleasure in working and
+scheming, as he would have done with a son of his own, and now this
+fellow appears to him to have just that kind of talent. All he needs,
+father says, to make him a practical expert, is a thorough business
+life. Father knows nothing of the foolish way he lives because he
+doesn't watch other people's doings and never goes anywhere except to
+his old friends. In short, as to-morrow is Sunday, Ruckstuhl has been
+invited to dine with us, to strengthen the acquaintance, and I'm afraid
+that he will plunge right into a proposal. Besides, I've heard that
+he's a wretched flatterer and an impudent fellow when he's trying to
+grab something that he wants."
+
+"Oh well," said Karl, "you'll easily out-trump him."
+
+"And I'll do it too; but it would be better if he didn't come at all
+and left my papa in the lurch."
+
+"Of course that would be better; but it's a pious wish, he'll take good
+care not to stay away."
+
+"I've thought of a plan, though it's rather a queer one to be sure.
+Couldn't you lead him into doing something foolish to-day or early
+to-morrow morning so that you'd both be sent to the guard-room for
+twenty-four or forty-eight hours?"
+
+"You're very kind to want to send me to the lock-up for a couple of
+days just to spare you a refusal. Won't you do it cheaper?"
+
+"It's necessary that you should share his suffering so that we may not
+have too much on our consciences. As for my refusal, I don't want it to
+come to the point where I shall have to say yes or no to the fellow;
+it's bad enough that he should talk about me in the barracks. I don't
+want him to get a step beyond that."
+
+"You're right, sweetheart! Nevertheless I think the rascal will have to
+be locked up alone; a scheme is beginning to dawn on me. But enough of
+that, it's a pity to waste our precious time and the golden moonlight.
+Doesn't it remind you of anything?"
+
+"What should it remind me of?"
+
+"Of the fact that we haven't seen each other for four weeks and that
+you can hardly expect to set foot ashore again to-night unkissed."
+
+"Oh, so you would like to kiss me?"
+
+"Yes, even I; but there's no hurry, I know you can't escape. I want to
+enjoy the anticipation a few minutes longer, perhaps five, or six at
+the most."
+
+"Oh, indeed! Is that the way you repay my confidence in you, and do you
+really care much about it? Wouldn't you consider a bargain?"
+
+"Not though you spoke with the eloquence of an angel, not for a minute!
+There's no way out of it for you to-night, my lady."
+
+"Then I will also make a declaration, my dear sir. If you so much as
+touch me with the tips of your fingers to-night against my will, it's
+all over between us and I will never see you again; I swear it by
+Heaven and my own honor. For I am in earnest."
+
+Her eyes sparkled as she spoke. "That will take care of itself,"
+replied Karl, "I'm coming soon now, so keep still."
+
+"Do as you like," said Hermine curtly and was silent.
+
+But whether it was that he thought her capable of keeping her word, or
+whether he himself did not want her to break her vow, he stayed
+obediently in his seat and gazed at her with shining eyes, peering to
+see by the moonlight if the corners of her mouth were not twitching and
+she were not laughing at him.
+
+"Then I shall have to console myself with the past again and let my
+memories compensate me," he began after a brief silence; "who would
+believe that those stern and firmly closed lips knew how to kiss so
+sweetly years ago!"
+
+"You mean to begin on your shameless inventions again, do you? But let
+me tell you that I won't listen to such irritating nonsense any
+longer."
+
+"Be calm! Just this once more we will direct our gaze back to those
+golden hours and more particularly to the last kiss that you gave me; I
+remember the circumstances as clearly and distinctly as if it were
+to-day, and I am sure that you do too. I was thirteen and you about ten
+and it was several years since we had kissed each other, for we felt
+very old and grown-up. But there was to be a pleasant ending after
+all--or was it the lark, the herald of the morn? It was a beautiful
+Whitmonday--"
+
+"No, Ascension--" interrupted Hermine, but broke off in the middle of
+the word.
+
+"You are right, it was a glorious Ascension Day in the month of May and
+we were on an excursion with a party of young people, we two being the
+only children among them; you stuck close to the big girls and I to the
+older boys and we disdained to play with each other or even to talk.
+After we had walked hither and yon we sat down in a bright grove of
+tall trees and began to play forfeits; for evening was coming on and
+the party did not want to go home without a few kisses. Two of them
+were condemned to kiss each other with flowers in their mouths without
+dropping them. After they, and the couple that tried it after them, had
+failed, you suddenly came running up to me without a trace of
+embarrassment, with a lily-of-the-valley in your mouth, stuck another
+between my lips and said, 'Try it!' Sure enough, both blossoms fell to
+join their sisters on the ground, but, in your eagerness, you kissed me
+all the same. It felt as if a beautiful, light-winged butterfly had
+alighted, and involuntarily I put up two finger-tips to catch it. The
+others thought I wanted to wipe my lips and laughed at me."
+
+"Here we are at the shore," said Hermine and jumped out. Then she
+turned round again pleasantly to Karl.
+
+"Because you sat so still and treated my word with the respect due to
+it," she said, "I will, if necessary, go out with you again before four
+weeks have passed and will write you a note to say when. That will be
+the first writing I have ever confided to you."
+
+With that she hurried to the house. Karl rowed rapidly to the public
+landing so as not to miss the blast of the worthy buglers that pierced
+the mild air like a jagged razor.
+
+On his way through the street he encountered Ruckstuhl and Spörri who
+were slightly tipsy; greeting them pleasantly and familiarly, he
+grasped the former by the arm and began to praise and flatter him.
+
+"What the devil have you been up to again? What new trick have you been
+planning, you schemer? You're certainly the grandest sharpshooter in
+the whole canton, in all Switzerland, I _should_ say."
+
+"Thundering guns!" cried Ruckstuhl, highly flattered that someone else
+besides Spörri should make up to him and compliment him, "it's a shame
+that we have to turn in so soon. Haven't we time to drink a bottle of
+good wine together?"
+
+"Sst! We can do that in our room. It's the custom among the
+sharpshooters anyway to take in the officers, at least once during
+their service and secretly carouse in their room all night. We're only
+recruits, but we'll show them that we're worthy of the carbine."
+
+"That would be a great lark! I'll pay for the wine as sure as my name
+is Ruckstuhl! But we must be sly and crafty as serpents, or we'll do
+for ourselves."
+
+"Don't worry, we're just the boys for this sort of thing. We'll turn in
+quite quietly and innocently and make no noise."
+
+When they reached the barracks their room-mates were all in the canteen
+drinking a night-cap. Karl confided in a few of them, who passed the
+tidings on, and so each of them provided himself with a few bottles
+which, one after the other, they carried out unnoticed and hid under
+their cots. In their room they quietly went to bed at ten o'clock to
+wait till the rounds had been made to see if the lights were out. They
+then all got up again, hung coats over the windows, lighted the lights,
+brought out the wine and began a regular drinking bout. Ruckstuhl felt
+as if he were in paradise, for they all drank to him and toasted him as
+a great man. His ardent desire to be considered somebody in military as
+well as in civil life without doing anything to deserve it made him
+stupider than he naturally was. When he and his henchman seemed to have
+been put completely out of business, various drinking feats were
+carried out. One of the men, while standing on his head, had to drink a
+ladle of wine which someone else held to his lips; another, seated in a
+chair, with a bullet suspended from the ceiling swinging round his
+head, had to drink three glasses before the bullet touched his head; a
+third had some other trick to perform, and on all who failed some droll
+penalty was imposed. All this was done in perfect silence; whoever made
+a noise also did penance, and they were all in their nightshirts so
+that, if surprised, they could crawl quickly into bed. Now as the time
+approached when the officer would make his rounds through the
+corridors, the two friends were also assigned a drinking-feat. Each was
+to balance a full glass on the flat of his sword and hold it to the
+other's mouth and each had to drain the glass so held without spilling
+a drop. They drew their short-swords with a swagger and crossed the
+blades with the glasses on them; but they trembled so that both glasses
+fell off and they did not get a drop. They were, therefore, sentenced
+to stand guard outside the door, in "undress uniform," for fifteen
+minutes, and this prank was admiringly said to be the boldest ever
+carried out in those barracks within the memory of man. Their
+haversacks and short-swords were hung crosswise over their shirts, they
+were made to put on their shakoes and blue leggings, but no shoes, and
+thus, their rifles in their hands, they were led out and posted one on
+either side of the door. They were scarcely there before the others
+bolted the door, removed all traces of the carousal, uncovered the
+windows, put out the lights and slipped into bed as if they had been
+asleep for hours. In the meantime the two sentries marched up and down
+in the gleam of the corridor-lamp, their rifles on their shoulders, and
+looked about them with bold glances. Spörri, filled with bliss because
+he had been able to get drunk at no expense, grew quite reckless and
+suddenly began to sing, and that hastened the steps of the officer on
+duty who was already on the way. As he approached they tried to slip
+quickly into the room; but they couldn't open the door and before they
+could think of anything else to do the enemy was upon them. Now
+everything whirled through their heads in a mad dance. In their
+confusion each placed himself at his post, presented arms and cried,
+"Who goes there?"
+
+"In the name of all that's holy, what does this mean? What are you
+doing there?" cried the officer on duty, but without receiving a
+sufficient answer, for the two clowns could not get out a sensible
+word. The officer quickly opened the door and looked into the room, for
+Karl who had been straining his ears, had hopped hastily out of bed,
+pushed back the bolt and as hastily hopped in again. When the officer
+saw that everything was dark and quiet and heard nothing but puffing
+and snoring, he cried, "Hallo there, men!"
+
+"Go to the devil!" cried Karl, "and get to bed, you drunkards!" The
+others also pretended that they had been wakened and cried,
+
+"Aren't those beasts in bed yet? Turn them out, call the guard!"
+
+"He's here, I'm he," said the officer, "one of you light a light,
+quick."
+
+This was done, and when the light fell on the two buffoons peals of
+laughter came from under all the bedclothes as if the entire company
+were taken utterly by surprise. Ruckstuhl and Spörri joined crazily in
+the laughter and marched up and down holding their sides, for their
+minds had now taken a tack in a different direction. Ruckstuhl
+repeatedly snapped his fingers in the officer's face and Spörri stuck
+out his tongue at him. When the derided officer saw that there was
+nothing to be done with the joyful pair, he took out his pad and wrote
+down their names. Now, as ill-luck would have it, he happened to live
+in one of Ruckstuhl's houses and had not yet paid the rent--due at
+Easter which was just over--it might be because he was not in funds or
+because he had been too busy while on military duty to attend to it. In
+any case, Ruckstuhl's evil genius suddenly hit on this fact and,
+reeling towards the officer, he laughed foolishly and stuttered,
+
+"P-pay your d-debts fir-firsht, m-mister, before you t-ta-take down
+peo-people's namesh. You know!"
+
+Spörri laughed still louder, lurched and staggered back like a crab
+and, shaking his head, piped shrilly,
+
+"P-p-pay your d-debts, mister, that-tha-that is well s-said."
+
+"Four of you get up," said the officer quietly, "and take these men to
+the guard-house, see that they're well locked up at once. In about
+three days we'll see if they have slept this off yet. Throw their
+cloaks over their shoulders and let them take their trousers on their
+arms. March!"
+
+"T-t-t-trousers," shouted Ruckstuhl, "th-that's what we need; there's
+sh-sh-shtill s-something left to fa-fall out--if-you-shake-them."
+
+"If you sh-sh-shake them, mister," repeated Spörri and both of them
+swung their trousers about till the coins jingled in the pockets. So
+they marched off with their escort, laughing and shouting, through the
+corridors and down the stairs and soon disappeared in a cellar-like
+room in the basement, whereupon it grew quiet.
+
+
+The following day at noon. Master Frymann's table was more elaborately
+set than usual. Hermine filled the cut-glass decanters with the vintage
+of '46, put a shining glass at every place, laid a handsome napkin on
+every plate, and cut up a fresh loaf from the bakery at the sign of the
+Hen where they baked an old-fashioned kind of bread for high days and
+holidays, the delight of all the children in Zurich and of the women
+who sat gossiping over their afternoon coffee-cups. She also sent an
+apprentice, dressed in his Sunday best, to the pastry-cook's to fetch
+the macaroni pie and the coffee cake, and finally she arranged the
+dessert on a small side table: little curled cookies, and wafers, the
+pound cake, the little "cocked hats," and the conical raisin loaf.
+Frymann, pleasantly affected by the beautiful Sunday weather,
+interpreted his daughter's zeal to mean that she did not intend
+seriously to resist his plans, and he said to himself with amusement,
+"They're all like that! As soon as an acceptable and definite
+opportunity offers itself they make haste to seize it by the forelock!"
+
+According to ancient custom Mr. Ruckstuhl was invited for twelve
+o'clock sharp. When, at a quarter past, he was not yet there, Frymann
+said,
+
+"We will begin; we must accustom this cavalier to punctuality from the
+start."
+
+And when the soup was finished and Ruckstuhl had still not arrived the
+master called in the apprentices and the maidservant who were eating by
+themselves that day and had already half done, and said to them:
+
+"Sit down and eat with us, we don't want to sit staring at all this
+food. Pitch in and enjoy yourselves,
+
+
+           'Whoever late to dinner comes
+            Must eat what's left or suck his thumbs.'"
+
+
+There was no need to ask them a second time, and they were jolly and in
+good spirits, and Hermine was the merriest of all, and her appetite
+grew better and better the more annoyed and displeased her father
+became.
+
+"The fellow seems to be a boor!" he growled to himself, but she heard
+it and said:
+
+"He probably couldn't get leave; we mustn't judge him too hastily."
+
+"Not get leave! Are you ready to defend him already? Why shouldn't he
+get leave if he cares anything about it?"
+
+He finished his meal in the worst of humors and, contrary to his habit,
+went at once to a coffee-house simply that he should not be at home if
+the negligent suitor should finally come. Towards four o'clock, instead
+of joining the Seven as usual, he came home again, curious to see
+whether Ruckstuhl had put in an appearance. As he came through the
+garden, there sat Mrs. Hediger with Hermine in the summer-house, as it
+was a warm spring day, and they were drinking coffee and eating the
+"cocked hats" and the raisin loaf and seemed to be in high spirits. He
+said good afternoon to Mrs. Hediger, and although it annoyed him to see
+her there, he asked her at once whether she had no news from the
+barracks, and if all the sharpshooters had not perhaps gone on an
+excursion.
+
+"I think not," said Mrs. Hediger, "they were at church this morning and
+afterwards Karl came home to dinner; we had roast mutton and that is a
+dish he never deserts."
+
+"Did he say nothing about Mr. Ruckstuhl or mention where he had gone?"
+
+"Mr. Ruckstuhl? Yes, he and another recruit are in close confinement
+for getting dreadfully intoxicated and insulting their superiors; they
+say it was a most laughable scene."
+
+"The devil take him!" said Frymann and straightway departed. Half an
+hour later he was saying to Hediger:
+
+"Now it's your wife who is sitting with my daughter in the garden and
+rejoicing with her that my plan for a marriage has been wrecked."
+
+"Why don't you drive her away? Why didn't you growl at her?"
+
+"How can I, in view of our old friendship? You see, how these
+confounded affairs are already confusing our relations with one
+another. Therefore let us stand firm! No kinship for us!"
+
+"No kinship indeed!" corroborated Hediger, and shook his friend by the
+hand.
+
+
+July, and with it the National Shooting Match of 1849, was now scarcely
+a fortnight distant. The Seven held another meeting; for the cup and
+banner were finished and had to be inspected and approved. The banner
+was raised aloft and set up in the room, and in its shadow there now
+took place the stormiest session that had ever stirred the Upright
+Seven. For the fact suddenly became apparent that a banner carried in a
+presentation procession involves a speaker, and it was the choice of
+the latter that nearly wrecked the little boat with its crew of seven,
+Each in turn was chosen thrice, and thrice did each in turn most
+decisively decline. They were all indignant that none would consent,
+and it made each of them angry to think that just he should be picked
+out to bear this burden and do this unheard-of thing. As eagerly as
+other men come forward when it's a question of taking the floor and
+airing their view's, just so timidly did these men avoid speaking in
+public, and each plead his unfitness, and declared that he had never in
+his life done anything of the kind and never would. For they still
+believed speechmaking to be an honorable art requiring both talent and
+study, and they cherished an unreserved and honest respect for good
+orators who could touch them, and accepted everything that such a man
+said as true and sacred. They distinguished these orators sharply from
+themselves and imposed upon themselves the meritorious duty of
+attentive listeners, to consider conscientiously, to agree or to
+reject, and this seemed to them a sufficiently honorable task.
+
+So when it appeared that no speaker was procurable by vote, a tumult
+and general uproar arose, in which each tried to convince another that
+he was the man who should sacrifice himself. They picked out Hediger
+and Frymann in particular and vigorously assaulted them. They, however,
+resisted forcibly, and each tried to shift it to the other till Frymann
+called for silence and said:
+
+"My friends! We have made a thoughtless mistake and now we cannot fail
+to see that, after all, we had better leave our banner-at home; so let
+us quickly decide to do that and attend the festival without any fuss."
+
+Heavy gloom settled down on them at these words.
+
+"He's right!" said Kuser, the silversmith.
+
+"There's nothing else for us to do," added Syfrig, the ploughmaker.
+
+But Bürgi cried: "We can't do that; people know what we intend to do
+and that the banner is made. If we give it up the story will go down to
+history."
+
+"That's true, too," said Erismann, the innkeeper, "and our old
+adversaries, the reactionaries, will know how to make the most of the
+joke."
+
+Their old bones thrilled with terror at such an idea, and once again
+the company attacked the two most gifted members; they resisted anew
+and finally threatened to withdraw.
+
+"I am a simple carpenter and will never make a laughing stock of
+myself," cried Frymann, to which Hediger rejoined:
+
+"Then how can you expect me, a poor tailor, to do it? I should bring
+ridicule on you all and harm myself, all to no purpose. I propose that
+one of the innkeepers should be urged to undertake it; they are most
+accustomed to crowds than any of the rest of us."
+
+But the innkeepers protested vehemently, and Pfister suggested the
+cabinet-maker because he was a wit and a joker.
+
+"Joker! Not much!" cried Bürgi, "do you call it a joke to address the
+president of a national festival in the presence of a thousand people?"
+
+A general sigh was the answer to this remark which made them realize
+the difficulties of the task more vividly than ever.
+
+After this several members rose one by one from the table, and there
+was a running in and out and a whispering together in the corners.
+Frymann and Hediger alone remained seated, with gloomy countenances,
+for they divined that a fresh and deadly assault on them was being
+planned. Finally, when they were all assembled again, Bürgi stood up
+before these two and said:
+
+"Kaspar and Daniel! You have both so often spoken to our satisfaction
+here, in this circle, that either of you, if he only will, can
+perfectly well make a short, public address. It is the decision of the
+society that you shall draw lots between you and that the result shall
+be final. You must yield to a majority of five to two."
+
+Renewed clamor supported these words; the two addressed, looked at each
+other and finally bowed humbly to the decision, each in the hope that
+the bitter lot might fall to the other. It fell to Frymann who, for the
+first time, left a meeting of the Lovers of Liberty with a heavy heart,
+while Hediger rubbed his hands with delight--so inconsiderate does
+selfishness make the oldest of friends.
+
+Frymann's pleasure in the approaching festival was now at an end and
+his days were darkened. He thought constantly of his speech without
+being able to find a single idea, because he kept seeking for something
+remote instead of seizing upon what lay near at hand and using it as he
+would have among his friends. The phrases in which he was accustomed to
+address them seemed homely to him, and he hunted about in his mind for
+something out of the ordinary and high-sounding, for a political
+manifesto, and he did so not from vanity but from a bitter sense of
+duty. Finally he began to cover a sheet of paper with writing, not
+without many interruptions, sighs, and curses. With infinite pains he
+wrote two pages, although he had intended to compose only a few lines;
+for he could not find a conclusion, and the tortured phrases clung to
+one another like sticky burrs and held the writer fast in a confused
+tangle.
+
+With the folded paper in his waistcoat pocket he went worriedly about
+his business, occasionally stepping behind some shed to read it again
+and shake his head. At last he confided in his daughter and read the
+draft to her to see what effect it made. The speech was an accumulation
+of words that thundered against Jesuits and aristocrats, richly larded
+with such expressions as "freedom," "human rights," "servitude," and
+"degradation"; in short it was a bitter and labored declaration of war,
+in which there was no mention of the Seven and their little banner, and
+moreover, the composition was clumsy and confused, whereas he usually
+spoke easily and correctly.
+
+Hermine said it was a very strong speech, but it seemed to her somewhat
+belated, as the Jesuits and aristocrats had been conquered at last, and
+she thought a bright and pleasant declaration would be more appropriate
+since the people were contented and happy.
+
+Frymann was somewhat taken aback and although, even as an old man, the
+fire of passion was still strong within him, he rubbed his nose and
+said:
+
+"You may be right, but still you don't quite understand it. A man
+must use forcible language in public and spread it on thick, like a
+scene-painter, so to speak, whose work, seen close to, is a crude daub.
+Still, perhaps I can soften an expression here and there."
+
+"That will be better," continued Hermine, "for there are so many
+'therefores' in it. Let me look at it a minute. See, 'therefore' occurs
+in nearly every other line."
+
+"It's the very devil," he cried, took the paper from her hand and tore
+it into a hundred pieces. "That's the end of it! I can't do it and I
+won't make a fool of myself."
+
+But Hermine advised him not to try to write anything, to wait until
+just about an hour before the presentation and then to settle on some
+idea and make a brief speech about it on the spur of the moment, as if
+he were at home.
+
+"That will be best," he replied, "then if it's a failure, at least I
+have made no false pretenses."
+
+Nevertheless he could not help beginning at once to turn over and
+torture the idea in his mind without succeeding in giving it form; he
+went about preoccupied and worried, and Hermine watched him with great
+satisfaction.
+
+The festival week had come before they knew it, and one morning in the
+middle of it, the Seven started for Aarau before daybreak in a special
+omnibus drawn by four horses. The new banner fluttered brightly from
+the box; on its green silk shone the words, "Friendship in Freedom!"
+and all the old men were joyful and gay, serious and merry by turns,
+and Frymann alone appeared to be depressed and dubious.
+
+Hermine was already staying with friends in Aarau, for her father
+rewarded her perfect housekeeping by taking her with him on all his
+jaunts; and more than once she had adorned the joyful circle of
+greybeards like a rosy hyacinth. Karl, too, was already there; although
+his military service had made demands enough on his time and his money,
+yet at Hermine's invitation he had gone to the festival on foot, and
+oddly enough had found quarters near where she was staying; for they
+had their affair to attend to, and no one could say whether they might
+not be able to make favorable use of the festival. Incidentally, he
+also wanted to shoot and, in accordance with his means, carried
+twenty-five cartridges with him; these he intended to use, no more and
+no fewer.
+
+He had soon scented the arrival of the Upright Seven and followed them
+at a distance as, with their little banner, they marched in close order
+to the festival grounds. The attendance was larger on that day than on
+any other in the week, the streets were full of people in their best
+clothes, going and coming; large and small rifle clubs came along with
+and without bands; but none was as small as that of the Seven. They
+were obliged to wind their way through the crowd but, taking short
+paces, they kept in step nevertheless; their fists were closed and
+their arms hung straight at their sides in military fashion. Frymann
+marched ahead with the banner, looking as if he were being led to
+execution. Occasionally he looked from side to side to see if no escape
+were possible; but his companions, glad that they were not in his
+shoes, encouraged him and called out to him bracing and pithy words.
+They were already nearing the festival grounds; the crackling
+rifle-fire already sounded close by, and high in the air the national
+marksmen's flag flew in sunny solitude and its silk now stretched out
+quiveringly to all four corners, now snapped gracefully above the
+people's heads, now hung down sanctimoniously, close to the staff, for
+a moment--in short, it indulged in all the sport that a flag can think
+of in a whole long week, and yet the sight of it stabbed the bearer of
+the little green banner to the heart.
+
+Karl, seeing the merry flag and stopping to watch it a moment, suddenly
+lost sight of the little group and when he looked all round for it he
+could not discover it anywhere; it seemed as if the earth had swallowed
+it. Quickly he pressed through to the spot and then back to the
+entrance of the grounds and looked there; no little green banner rose
+from the throng. He turned to go back again, and in order to get ahead
+faster he took a side way along the street. There stood a little
+tavern, the proprietor of which had planted a few lean evergreens in
+front of the door, put up a few tables and benches and spread a piece
+of canvas above the whole, like a spider that spins her web close to a
+large pot of honey, so as to catch a fly now and then. Through the
+dirty window of this little house Karl happened to see the shining gilt
+tip of a flag-pole; in he went at once and behold, there, in the
+low-ceilinged room, sat his precious old men as if blown there by a
+thunderstorm. They lay and lounged this way and that on chairs and
+benches and hung their heads, and in the centre stood Frymann with the
+banner and said:
+
+"That's enough! I won't do it! I'm an old man and don't want to bear
+the stigma of folly and a nickname for the rest of my days."
+
+And with that he stood the banner in a corner with a bang. No answer
+followed until the pleased innkeeper came and placed a huge bottle of
+wine in front of the unexpected guests, although they had been too
+upset to order anything. Hediger filled a glass, stepped up to Frymann
+and said:
+
+"Come, old friend and comrade, take a swallow of wine and brace up."
+
+But Frymann shook his head and spoke not another word. They sat in
+great distress, greater than they had ever known; all the riots,
+counter-revolutions, and reactions that they had experienced were
+child's play compared to this defeat at the gates of paradise.
+
+"Then in God's name, let us turn round and drive home again," said
+Hediger who feared that even now fate might turn against him. At that
+Karl, who until now had stood on the threshold, stepped forward and
+said gaily:
+
+"Gentlemen, give me the banner! I will carry it and speak for you, I
+don't mind doing it."
+
+They all looked up in astonishment and a ray of relief and joy flashed
+across their faces; but old Hediger said sternly:
+
+"You! How did you come here? And how can an inexperienced young shaver
+like you speak for us old fellows?"
+
+But from all sides came cries of "Well done! Forward unfalteringly!
+Forward with the lad!" And Frymann himself gave him the banner, for a
+heavy weight had fallen from his heart and he was glad to see his old
+friends saved from the distress into which he had led them. And forward
+they went with renewed zest; Karl led, bearing the banner grandly
+aloft, and in the rear the innkeeper looked sadly after the vanishing
+mirage that had for a moment deceived him. Hediger alone was now gloomy
+and unhappy, for he did not doubt that his son would lead them deeper
+into the mire than ever. But they had already entered the grounds; the
+Grisons were just marching off, a long brown procession, and, passing
+them and in time to their music, the old men marched through the crowd,
+keeping step as perfectly as they had ever done. Again they had to mark
+time when three fortunate shots who had won cups crossed their path
+with buglers and followers; but all that, together with the loud noise
+of the shooting, only increased their festive intoxication and finally
+they uncovered their heads at the sight of the trophy-temple which
+blazed with treasures, and from the turrets of which a host of flags
+fluttered showing the colors of all the cantons, towns, districts and
+parishes. In their shade stood several gentlemen in black and one of
+them held a brimming silver goblet in his hand ready to receive the
+arrivals.
+
+The seven venerable heads floated like a sunlit cake of ice in the dark
+sea of the crowd, their scanty white hair fluttered in the gentle east
+wind and streamed in the same direction as the red and white flag high
+above them. By reason of their small number and their advanced age they
+attracted general attention, people smiled not without respect, and
+everyone was listening as the youthful standard-bearer stepped forward
+and in a fresh clear voice delivered this address:
+
+"Beloved Countrymen! Here we come with our little banner, eight of us
+all told, seven greybeards with a young standard-bearer. As you see,
+each carries his rifle, without claiming to be a remarkably good shot;
+to be sure, none of us would miss the target and sometimes one of us
+hits the bull's eye, but if that should occur you can swear that he
+didn't mean to. So, as far as the silver is concerned that we shall
+carry away from your trophy-hall, we might just as well have stayed at
+home.
+
+"Nevertheless, although we are not eminent marksmen, we couldn't keep
+away; we have come not to win trophies, but to present a modest little
+cup, an almost immodestly joyful heart, and a new banner that trembles
+in my hand with eagerness to fly from your fortress of flags. But we
+shall take our little banner home with us again, it is only here to
+receive its consecration. See, what it bears in golden letters:
+'Friendship in Freedom'! Yes, it is friendship personified so to speak,
+that we bring to this festival, friendship based on patriotism,
+friendship rooted in the love of liberty. Friendship it was that
+brought together these seven hoary heads that glisten here in the
+sunlight, thirty, no forty years ago, and it has held them together
+through every storm, in good and evil days. It is a society that has no
+name, no president and no statutes; its members neither bear titles nor
+hold offices, it is unmarked timber from the forest depths of the
+nation, and it now steps forth for a moment into the sunlight of the
+national holiday only to return presently to its place, to rustle and
+roar with thousands of other tree-tops in the hidden forest-dusk of the
+people, where only a few can know and call each other by name, and yet
+all are familiar and acquainted.
+
+"Look at them, these old sinners! None of them stands in the odor of
+particular sanctity! Rarely is one of them seen at church! They do not
+speak well of ecclesiastical matters. But here, beneath the open sky, I
+can confide something strange to you, my countrymen: as soon as their
+fatherland is in danger they begin quite gradually to believe in God;
+first each one cautiously in his own heart, then ever more boldly, till
+one betrays his secret to another and they then, all together,
+cultivate a remarkable theology, the first and only doctrine of which
+is: 'God helps him who helps himself! On days of rejoicing too, like
+this, when crowds of people are assembled and a clear blue sky smiles
+above them, they again fall a prey to these religious thoughts and then
+they imagine that God has hung the Swiss standard aloft and made the
+beautiful weather especially for us. In both cases, in the hour of
+danger and in the hour of joy, they are suddenly satisfied with the
+words that begin our constitution: 'In the name of God Almighty'! And
+such a gentle tolerance pervades them then--cross-grained though they
+are at other times--that they do not even ask whether it is the Roman
+Catholic or the Protestant God of Hosts that is meant.
+
+"In short, a child who has been given a little Noah's ark filled with
+painted animals and tiny men and women, cannot be more pleased with it
+than they are with their beloved little fatherland and all the
+thousands of good things that are in it, from the moss-covered old pike
+lying at the bottom of its lakes to the wild bird that flutters round
+its icy peaks. Oh, what different kinds of people swarm here in this
+little space, manifold in their occupations, in manners and customs, in
+costume and language! What sly rascals and what moonstruck fools we see
+running around, what noble growth and what weeds thrive here merrily
+side by side, and it is all good and fine and dear to our hearts, for
+it is in our fatherland.
+
+"So, considering and weighing the value of earthly things, they grow to
+be philosophers; but they can never get beyond the wonderful fact of
+the fatherland. True, they traveled in their youth and have seen many
+countries, not with arrogance, but honoring every land in which they
+found people of worth; but their motto remained ever the same: respect
+every man's mother country, but love your own!
+
+"And how graceful and rich it is! The closer one looks at it the finer
+does its warp and woof appear, beautiful and durable, a model piece of
+handiwork!
+
+"How diverting it is that there is not just one monotonous type of
+Swiss, but that there are various stamps of people from Zurich and
+Bern, Unterwalden and Neuenburg, the Orisons and Basle, and even two
+kinds of Baslers; and that Appenzell has a history of its own and
+Geneva another! This variety in unity--which God preserve--is the
+proper school in which to learn friendship, and it is only where
+political homogeneousness is transformed into the personal friendship
+of a whole people that the highest plane has been attained; for where
+the sense of citizenship fails, friendship will be successful and both
+will combine to form a single virtue.
+
+"These old men have spent their years in toil and labor; they are
+beginning to feel the frailty of all flesh, it pinches one in one
+place, one in another. Yet, when summer comes, they go, not to the
+baths, but to the national festival. The wine of the Swiss festival is
+the healing spring that refreshes their hearts, the outdoor summer life
+of the nation is the air that strengthens their old nerves, surging
+waves of happy fellow-countrymen are the sea that bathes their stiff
+limbs and makes them active again. You will presently see their white
+heads disappear in this sea. So now, fellow Helvetians, give us the cup
+of welcome! Long live friendship in the fatherland! Long live
+friendship in freedom!"
+
+"Long may it live! Bravo!" rang out from all sides, and the welcoming
+speaker replied to the address and saluted the old men, who made an odd
+and touching appearance as they stood before him.
+
+"Yes," he concluded, "may our festivals never become anything worse
+than a school of manners for the young, and, for the old, the reward of
+a clear public conscience, of faithful civic loyalty, and a fountain of
+pleasure! May they ever celebrate inviolable and vigorous friendship in
+our country, between district and district and between man and man! May
+your nameless and statuteless society, my venerable friends, live
+long!"
+
+Again the toast was echoed all around and amid general applause the
+little banner was added to the others. Hereupon the little troop of the
+Seven wheeled about and made straight for the great festival hall to
+refresh themselves with a good luncheon and they were scarcely there
+before they all shook hands with their speaker and cried:
+
+"Spoken from our hearts! Hediger, Kaspar! your boy is made of good
+stuff, he'll turn out well, let him go his own way. Just like us, but
+cleverer, we are a lot of old donkeys; but steadfast and unflinching,
+stand firm, Karl!" and so on.
+
+But Frymann was quite dumbfounded; the boy had said just what he ought
+to have thought of, instead of banging away at the Jesuits. He too gave
+Karl his hand in friendship and thanked him for his help in time of
+need. Last of all, old Hediger came up to his son, took his hand also,
+fixed his eye keenly and firmly upon him and said:
+
+"Son, you have revealed a fine but dangerous gift. Nurse it, cultivate
+it with loyalty, with a sense of duty, with modesty. Never lend it to
+the false and the unjust, to the vain and the trivial; for it may
+become as a sword in your hand that turns against you yourself, or
+against the good as well as the evil. Or it may become a mere fool's
+bauble. Therefore, look straight ahead, be modest, studious, but firm
+and unswerving. As you have done us honor to-day, remember always to do
+honor to your fellow-citizens, to your country, to give them joy; think
+of this and so you will be best preserved from false ambition!
+Unswerving! Don't think that you must always speak, let some
+opportunities pass, and never speak for your own sake, but always for
+some worthy cause. Study men, not in order to outwit and plunder them,
+but in order to awaken and set in motion the good in them, and, believe
+me, many who listen to you will often be better and wiser than you who
+speak. Never use sophisms and petty hair-splitting which only move the
+chaff; the heart of the people can only be stirred by the full force of
+truth. Do not, therefore, court the applause of the noisy and restless,
+but fix your eye unswervingly on the cool-headed and the firm."
+
+Scarcely had he finished this speech and released Karl's hand when
+Frymann seized it and said:
+
+"Try to acquire an equal knowledge of all branches and enrich your
+store of principles that you may not sink into the use of empty
+phrases. After this first dash allow considerable time to pass without
+thinking of such things again. If you have a good idea, never speak
+just in order to air it but rather lay it aside; the opportunity will
+come more than once later for you to use it in a more developed and
+better form. But should someone else forestall you in uttering it, be
+glad instead of annoyed, for that is a proof that you have felt and
+thought something universal. Train and develop your mind and watch over
+your nature and study in other speakers the difference between a mere
+tongue-warrior and a man of truthfulness and feeling. Do not travel
+about the country nor rush through all the streets, but accustom
+yourself to understand the course of the world from your own hearth, in
+the midst of tried friends; then, when it is time for action, you will
+come forward with more wisdom than the hounds and tramps. When you
+speak, speak neither like a facetious hostler nor like a tragic actor,
+but keep your own natural character unspoilt and then speak as it
+dictates. Avoid affectation, don't strike attitudes, do not look about
+you like a field marshal before you begin, or, worse, as if you were
+lying in wait to spring upon the audience. Never say that you are not
+prepared when you are, for people will know your style and will
+perceive it at once. When you have done, do not walk about collecting
+compliments, or beam with self-satisfaction, but sit quietly down in
+your seat and listen attentively to the next speaker. Save your harsh
+phrases as you would gold, so that when, on occasion, you use them in
+just indignation, it will be an event, and they will strike your
+opponent like a bolt from the blue. But if you think you may ever
+associate with an opponent again and work with him, beware of letting
+your anger carry you into the use of extreme expressions, that the
+people may not say,
+
+
+           'Rascals fight, and when the fight is o'er,
+            They're greater friends than e'er before'."
+
+
+Thus spake Frymann, and poor Karl sat astonished and bewildered by all
+these speeches and did not know whether to laugh or to be puffed up.
+But Syfrig, the smith, cried:
+
+"Now look at these two who didn't want to speak for us and can talk
+like books, as you see."
+
+"Just so," said Bürgi, "but that has been the means of our gaining new
+growth; we have put forth a vigorous young shoot. I move that the lad
+be taken into the circle of us old fellows and from now on attend our
+meetings."
+
+"So be it!" they all cried and clinked glasses with Karl, who somewhat
+unthinkingly drained his to the bottom, which lapse however the old men
+let pass without a murmur in view of the excitement of the moment.
+
+When, thanks to a good lunch, the party felt sufficiently recovered
+from its adventure, the members scattered. Some went to try a few
+shots, some to see the trophy-hall and other arrangements, and Frymann
+went to fetch his daughter and the women whose guest she was; for they
+were all to meet again for dinner at the same table which stood nearly
+in the centre of the hall and not far from the platform. They took note
+of its number and separated in the best of spirits and free from all
+care.
+
+Exactly at twelve o'clock the dinner guests, who were different ones
+every day and numbered several thousand people, sat down at the table.
+Country and city people, men and women, old and young, scholars and the
+unlearned--they all sat joyfully side by side and waited for the soup,
+opening bottles and cutting bread meanwhile. Not a single malicious
+face, not a scream or shrill laugh was seen or heard among them,
+nothing but the steady hum of a glad wedding feast magnified a
+hundredfold, the tempered wave-beat of a happy and self-contained
+ocean. Here a long table filled with marksmen, there a double row of
+blooming country girls, at a third table a meeting of so-called "old
+fellows" from all parts of the country, who had finally passed their
+examinations, and at a fourth a whole "immigrated" hamlet, men and
+women together. Yet these seated hosts formed only half of the
+assemblage; an equally numerous crowd of spectators streamed
+uninterruptedly through the aisles and spaces and circled ceaselessly
+about the diners. They--praise and thanks be to God!--were the careful
+and economical ones who had counted the cost and satisfied their
+hunger elsewhere for even less money, that half of the nation that
+always manages things so much more cheaply and frugally, while the
+other half flings away money right and left; then there were also the
+over-fastidious ones who did not trust the cooking and thought the
+forks were too cheap; and finally there were the poor and the children,
+who were involuntary spectators. But the former made no unkind remarks
+and the latter displayed neither torn clothes nor jealous looks; on the
+contrary, the thrifty ones took pleasure in the spendthrifts, and the
+super-refined who thought the dishes of green peas in July ridiculous,
+walked about as good-humoredly as the poor who found their fragrance
+most tempting. Here and there, to be sure, a piece of culpable
+selfishness appeared as, for instance, when some tight-fisted young
+peasant succeeded in slipping unseen into a vacated place and eating
+away with the rest without having paid; and, what was still worse in
+the eyes of those who love order and discipline, this reprehensible act
+did not even result in an altercation and forcible ejection.
+
+The head festival-host stood in front of the broad kitchen door and
+blew on a hunting horn the signal for a course to be served, whereupon
+a company of waiters rushed forward and dispersed to the right, to the
+left and straight ahead, executing a well practised man[oe]uvre. One of
+them found his way to the table at which sat the Upright and Staunch,
+among them Karl, Hermine, and her friends, cousins or whatever they
+were. The old men were just listening eagerly to one of the principal
+speakers who had mounted the platform after a loud roll on the drum.
+There they sat, grave and composed, with forks laid down, stiff and
+upright, all their seven heads turned towards the platform. But they
+blushed like young girls and looked at each other when the speaker
+began with a phrase from Karl's speech, told of the coming of the seven
+greybeards, and made that the starting-point for his own speech. Karl
+alone heard nothing, for he was joking quietly with the women, until
+his father nudged him and expressed his disapproval. As the orator
+finished amid great applause, the old men looked at one another again;
+they had been present at many assemblies, but for the first time they
+themselves had been the subject of a speech and they dared not look
+around, so embarrassed were they, though at the same time more than
+happy. But, as the way of the world is, their neighbors all around did
+not know them, nor suspect what prophets were in their midst, and so
+their modesty was not offended. With all the greater satisfaction did
+they press one another's hands after each of them had gently rubbed his
+own to himself, and their eyes said: Forward unswervingly! That is the
+sweet reward of virtue and enduring excellence!
+
+After this Kuser cried: "Well, we have to thank our young Master Karl
+for this pleasure. I think we shall have to promise him Bürgi's canopy
+bed after all and lay a certain doll in it for him. What do you think,
+Daniel Frymann?"
+
+"And I am afraid," said Pfister, "that he is going to lose his bet and
+will have to buy my Swiss blood."
+
+But Frymann suddenly frowned and said:
+
+"A clever tongue alone isn't always rewarded with a wife! At least in
+my house a skilful hand has to go with it. Come, my friends, don't let
+us try to include in our jokes things that don't rightly belong there."
+
+Karl and Hermine were blushing and looking away into the crowd with
+embarrassment. Just then came the boom of the cannon-shot that
+announced the recommencement of the shooting and for which a long line
+of marksmen were waiting, rifle in hand. Immediately their rifle-fire
+crackled all down the line; Karl rose from the table saying that he too
+now wanted to try his luck, and betook himself to the range.
+
+"And at least I want to watch him even if I can't have him," cried
+Hermine jestingly, and followed him, accompanied by her friends.
+
+But it happened that the women lost sight of one another in the crowd
+and at last Hermine was left alone with Karl and went with him
+faithfully from target to target. He began at the extreme end where
+there was no crowd and, although he shot with no particular
+earnestness, made two or three hits in succession. Turning round to
+Hermine who stood behind him he said laughing:
+
+"That's doing pretty well!" She laughed too, but only with her eyes,
+while her lips said earnestly:
+
+"You must win a cup."
+
+"I can't do that," answered Karl, "to get twenty-five numbers I should
+have to use at least fifty cartridges and I only have twenty-five with
+me."
+
+"Oh," she said, "there's powder and lead enough for sale here."
+
+"But I don't want to buy any more; that would make the cup a pretty
+expensive prize! Some fellows, to be sure, do spend more money on
+powder than the trophy is worth, but I'm not such a fool."
+
+"You're very high-principled and economical," she said almost tenderly,
+"I like that. But it's the best fun of all to accomplish with a little
+just as much as the others with their elaborate preparations and
+terrible exertions. So pull yourself together and win with your
+twenty-five cartridges. If I were a marksman I'd make myself succeed."
+
+"Never! Such a thing never occurs, you little goose!"
+
+"That's because you are all only Sunday marksmen. Go ahead, begin and
+try it."
+
+He shot again and got a number and then a second. Again he looked at
+Hermine and she laughed still more with her eyes and said still more
+earnestly:
+
+"There, you see! It can be done, now go ahead."
+
+He looked at her steadily, and could scarcely withdraw his gaze, for he
+had never seen her eyes look as they did now; there was a stern and
+tyrannical gleam in the smiling sweetness of her glance, two spirits
+spoke eloquently out of its radiance: one was her commanding will, but
+with that was fused the promise of reward and out of that fusion arose
+a new mysterious being. "Do my will, I have more to give than you
+suspect," said those eyes, and Karl gazed into them searchingly and
+eagerly until he and the girl understood each other, there, surrounded
+by the tumult and surge of the festival. When he had satisfied his eyes
+with this radiance, he turned again, aimed calmly and scored once more.
+Now he himself began to feel that it was possible; but as people were
+beginning to gather about him, he went away and sought a quieter and
+emptier range, and Hermine followed him. There he again made several
+hits without wasting a shot; and so he began to handle his cartridges
+as carefully as gold coins, and Hermine accompanied every one with
+avaricious, shining eyes as it disappeared into the barrel; but each
+time, before Karl took his aim without haste or agitation, he looked
+into the beautiful face beside him. As soon as people began to notice
+his luck and collect round him, he went on to another range; nor did he
+stick the checks he received in his hatband, but gave them to his
+companion to keep; she held the whole little pack and never did a
+marksman have a more beautiful number-bearer. Thus he actually did
+fulfill her wish and made such fortunate use of his twenty-five
+cartridges that not one of them struck outside the prescribed circle.
+
+They counted over the checks and found this rare good fortune
+confirmed.
+
+"I've done it once, but I'll never be able to again as long as I live,"
+said Karl, "and it's you who are responsible, with your eyes. I am only
+wondering what all else you intend to accomplish with them!"
+
+"Wait and see," she answered, and now her lips laughed too.
+
+"Now go back to the party," he said, "and ask them to come and fetch me
+from the trophy-hall, so that I may have an escort, as there is no one
+else with me, or do you want to march with me?"
+
+"I'd almost like to," said she, but hurried away nevertheless.
+
+The old men were sitting deep in pleasant conversation; most of the
+crowd in the hall had changed but they stuck fast to their table and
+let life surge about them. Hermine went up to them laughing and cried:
+
+"Karl wants you to come and get him; he's won a cup!"
+
+"What! How's that?" they cried and rejoiced loudly; "so that's what
+he's up to?"
+
+"Yes," said an acquaintance who had just come up, "and, moreover, he
+won the cup with twenty-five shots, that doesn't happen every day! I
+was watching the young couple and saw how they did it."
+
+Master Frymann looked at his daughter in astonishment. "You didn't
+shoot too, did you? I hope not. Women sharpshooters are all right in
+general, but not in particular."
+
+"Don't be alarmed," said Hermine, "I didn't shoot, I only ordered him
+to shoot straight."
+
+Hediger, however, paled with wonder and satisfaction to think that he
+should have a son gifted with eloquence, and famous in the use of arms,
+who would go forth with deeds and actions from his obscure tailor-shop
+into the world. Inwardly he began to sing small, and decided that he
+would no longer try to act the guardian. But now they all started for
+the trophy-temple where they really found the young hero, standing
+beside the buglers, the shining cup already in his hand, waiting for
+them. And so to the tune of a merry march off they went with him to the
+festival hall to christen the cup, as the saying goes, and again their
+steps were short and firm, their fists were clenched and they looked
+triumphantly about them. Arrived again at their headquarters, Karl
+filled the cup, set it in the middle of the table and said,
+
+"I herewith dedicate this cup to the Band of Seven, that it may never
+leave their banner."
+
+"Accepted!" they shouted. The cup began to go the round and new
+merriment rejuvenated the old men, who had now been in good spirits
+since dawn. The evening sun streamed in under the countless beams of
+the hall and gilded thousands of faces already transfigured with
+pleasure, while the resounding tones of the orchestra filled the room.
+Hermine sat in the shadow of her father's broad shoulders, as modest
+and quiet, as if she couldn't count three. But golden lights from the
+sun, falling across the cup before her and flashing on its golden
+lining and the wine, played about her rosy and glowing face and danced
+with every movement of the wine when the old men in the heat of
+discussion pounded on the table; and then one could not tell whether
+she herself was smiling or only the playing lights. She was now so
+beautiful that young men, looking about the hall, soon discovered her.
+Merry groups settled themselves near her in order to keep her in sight
+and people asked one another: "Where is she from? Who is the old man?
+Doesn't anyone know him?" "She's from St. Gallen; they say she's a
+Thurgovian," answered one. "No, all the people at that table are from
+Zurich," said another. Wherever she looked, merry young fellows raised
+their hats in respectful admiration and she smiled modestly and without
+affectation. But when a long procession of young men passed the table
+and all took off their hats she had to cast down her eyes, and still
+more when a handsome student from Berne suddenly appeared beside her,
+cap in hand, and with courteous audacity said that he had been sent by
+thirty friends who were sitting at the fourth table from there, to
+inform her, with her father's permission, that she was the most
+charming girl in the hall. In short, everyone did regular homage to
+her, the sails of the old men swelled with new triumph, and Karl's fame
+was almost obscured by Hermine's. But he too was to come to the front
+once more.
+
+For a stir and a crush arose in the middle aisle caused by two cowherds
+from Entlibuch who were pushing their way through the throng. They were
+regular bumpkins with short pipes in their mouths, their Sunday jackets
+under their brawny arms, little straw hats on their big heads and
+shirts fastened together across their chests with silver buckles in the
+shape of hearts. The one who went ahead was a clodhopper of fifty and
+rather tipsy and unruly; for he wanted to try feats of strength with
+every man he saw and kept trying to hook his clumsy fingers into
+everything, at the same time blinking pleasantly, or at times
+challenging, with his little eyes. So his advance was everywhere marked
+by offense and confusion. Directly behind him, however, came the
+second, a still more uncouth customer of eighty, with a shock of short
+yellow curls, and he was the father of the fifty-year-old. He guided
+his precious son with an iron hand, without ever letting his pipe go
+out, by saying from time to time:
+
+"Laddie, keep quiet! Orderly, laddie, orderly!" and at the same time
+pushing and pulling him in accordance with his words. So he steered him
+with able hand through the angry sea until, just as they reached the
+table of the Seven, a dangerous stoppage occurred, as a group of
+peasants came up who wanted to call the quarrelsome fellow to account
+and attack him from both sides. Fearing that his laddie might do some
+fiendish damage, the father looked about for a place of refuge and saw
+the old men. "He'll be quiet among these old baldpates," he growled to
+himself, grasped his son with one fist in the small of his back and
+steered him in between the benches, while with the other he fanned the
+air behind him to keep off the irritated pursuers, for several of them
+had already been properly pinched, in all haste.
+
+"With your permission, gentlemen," said the octogenarian to the younger
+old men, "let me sit down here a minute so that I can give my laddie
+another glass of wine. Then he will grow sleepy and be as quiet as a
+little lamb."
+
+So he wedged himself into the party with his offspring, and the son
+really did look about him meekly and respectfully. But presently he
+said:
+
+"I want to drink out of the little silver mug over there."
+
+"Will you be quiet, or I'll knock the senses out of you before you can
+turn round," said his father. But when Hediger pushed the full cup
+towards him he said: "Well, then, if the gentlemen will allow it, take
+a drink, but don't guzzle it all."
+
+"That's a lively youngster you've got there, my good man," said
+Frymann, "how old is he?"
+
+"Oh," replied the father "around New Year's he'll be about fifty-two;
+at least he was screaming in his cradle in 1798 when the French came,
+drove away my cows and burnt my house. But because I took a couple of
+them and knocked their heads together, I had to fly, and my wife died
+of misery in the meantime. That's why I have to bring up my boy alone."
+
+"Didn't you get a wife for him who could have helped you?"
+
+"No, he's still too clumsy and wild; it won't do, he smashes everything
+to pieces."
+
+In the meantime the youthful ne'er-do-well had drained the fragrant
+cup. He filled his pipe and looked round the circle blinking most
+happily and peacefully. Thus he discovered Hermine and the womanly
+beauty that radiated from her suddenly rekindled ambition in his heart
+and the desire to show his strength. As his eye fell simultaneously on
+Karl who was sitting opposite him, he invitingly stretched out his
+crooked middle finger across the table.
+
+"Stop that, Sonny! Has Satan got into you again?" cried his father
+wrathfully, and was about to take him by the collar, but Karl told him
+to let the other be and hooked his middle finger into that of the young
+bear and then they tried, each to pull the other over to him.
+
+"If you hurt the young gentleman or sprain his finger," warned the old
+father, "I'll take you by the ears so that you'll feel it for three
+weeks."
+
+The two hands now wavered for a considerable time over the centre of
+the table; Karl soon ceased laughing and grew crimson in the face, but
+at last he gradually drew the arm and shoulder of his opponent
+perceptibly towards his side of the table and with that the victory was
+won.
+
+The man from Entlibuch looked at him quite bewildered and downcast, but
+not for long; his old father, now enraged at his defeat, boxed his
+ears, and much ashamed he looked at Hermine; then he suddenly began to
+cry and said, sobbingly:
+
+"And now at least I want a wife!"
+
+"Come, come," said his papa, "you're ready for bed now." He grasped him
+by the arm and marched him off.
+
+After the departure of this odd pair, a silence fell on the old men and
+they wondered anew at Karl's deeds and achievements.
+
+"That's entirely due to gymnastics," he said modestly; "they give you
+training, strength, and knack for such things and almost anyone can
+learn to do them who is not a born weakling."
+
+"That is true," said Hediger, his father, and, after some reflection he
+continued enthusiastically: "Therefore let us forever and ever praise
+the new era which is again beginning to train men to be men and which
+commands not only the country gentleman and the mountain herdsman but
+the tailor's son as well to train his limbs and develop his body so
+that it can do something."
+
+"That is true," said Frymann also awaking from meditation, "and we too
+have all taken part in the struggle to bring on this new era. And
+to-day, as far as our old heads are concerned, we, with our little
+banner, are celebrating the final result, the command 'Cease firing!'
+and the rest we leave to the young ones. But now, no one has ever been
+able to say of us that we stuck obstinately to our errors and
+misunderstandings. On the contrary, we have always striven to keep our
+minds open to all that was rational, true, and beautiful; and so I
+herewith frankly and openly take back my declaration in regard to the
+children and invite you, Friend Kaspar, to do the same. For what better
+memorial of this day could we found, plant, and establish than a living
+line, springing directly from the loins of our friendship, a family
+whose children will preserve and transmit the principles and the
+unswerving faith of the Upright Seven? Well then, let Bürgi bring his
+canopy-bed that we may equip it. I will lay in it grace and womanly
+purity; you, strength, resolution and skill, and with that, forward
+with the waving green banner, because they are young. It shall be left
+to them and they shall keep it after we are gone. So do not resist
+longer, old Hediger, but give me your hand as my kinsman."
+
+"Accepted," said Hediger solemnly, "but on the condition that you don't
+give the boy any money to spend on foolishness and heartless
+ostentation. For the devil goeth about seeking whom he may devour."
+
+"Accepted," cried Frymann, and Hediger continued:
+
+"Then I greet you as my kinsman, and the Swiss blood may be tapped for
+the wedding."
+
+All the Seven now rose and Hermine's hand was laid in Karl's amid great
+jubilation.
+
+"Good luck! There's a betrothal, that's the way it ought to be!" cried
+some of those sitting near, and at once a throng of people came up to
+clink glasses with the young couple. As if by arrangement the orchestra
+struck up, but Hermine managed to slip out of the crowd without letting
+go of Karl's hand, and he led her out of the hall to the festival
+grounds where already nocturnal silence reigned. They walked round the
+fortress of flags and as no one was near they stood still. The flags
+waved with animation and whispered together but they could not discover
+the little banner of friendship, for it had disappeared in the folds of
+a huge neighbor and was well taken care of. But overhead in the
+starlight the Swiss flag snapped in its constant solitude and the sound
+of the bunting could plainly be heard. Hermine put her arms round her
+betrothed's neck, kissed him of her own accord, and said tenderly and
+with emotion:
+
+"But now we must see that we order our life aright. May we live just as
+long as we are good and competent, and not a day longer!"
+
+"Then I hope to live long, for I feel that life will be good with you,"
+said Karl and kissed her again; "but what do you think now about who
+shall rule? Do you really want to hold the reins?"
+
+"As tight as I can. In the meantime, law and a constitution will surely
+develop between us and it will be a good one whatever it is."
+
+"And I will guarantee the constitution and claim the first chance to be
+godfather," suddenly rang out a strong bass voice.
+
+Hermine craned her neck and seized Karl's hand; but he went nearer and
+saw one of the sentries of the Aargau sharpshooters standing in the
+shadow of a pillar. The metal on his equipment gleamed in the dark. Now
+the two young men recognized each other and the sentry was a tall,
+fine-looking fellow, the son of a peasant. Karl and Hermine sat down on
+the steps at his feet and chatted with him for a good half hour before
+they returned to their party.
+
+
+
+
+
+                      THE RIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE
+
+                                   BY
+                             THEODOR STORM
+
+
+                             TRANSLATED BY
+                         MARGARETE MÜNSTERBERG
+
+
+
+
+                           BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
+
+
+Hans Theodor Woldsen Storm, usually known as Theodor Storm, was born in
+the small coast town of Husum in Schleswig-Holstein on September 14,
+1817. His father was an attorney whose family had for generations been
+tenants of the old mill in Westermühler, and his mother's family were
+of the local aristocracy. Influences from his ancestry on both sides
+and from the country in which he was brought up played an important
+part in the formation of his sentiments and character.
+
+Storm was educated at schools in Husum and Lübeck, and studied law at
+Kiel and Berlin. At Kiel he formed a friendship with the historian
+Theodor Mommsen and his brother Tycho, and the three published together
+in 1843 "Songs by Three Friends." In spite of his interest in
+literature, Storm went on with his legal career, and began practice in
+his native town. There in 1846 he married his cousin Konstanze Esmarch,
+and settled down to a happy domestic life.
+
+When Storm was born, Schleswig and Holstein were independent duchies,
+ruled by the king of Denmark; but when they were forcibly incorporated
+into the kingdom of Denmark, Storm, who was a strong German in
+sentiment, felt forced to leave his home, and in 1853 became assistant
+judge in the circuit court in Potsdam. The bureaucratic society of the
+Prussian town was uncongenial, and three years later he was glad to be
+transferred to Heiligenstadt in Thuringia. In 1864 Schleswig-Holstein
+was conquered by Prussia, and though Storm was disappointed that it did
+not regain its independence, it was at least once more German, and he
+returned to Husum as "Landvogt," or district magistrate, in 1865, and
+lived there till 1880. The last eight years of his life he spent at a
+country house in the neighboring village of Hademarschen, where he died
+July 4, 1888. Konstanze had died in 1865, and he married as his second
+wife Dorothea Jensen. Both marriages brought him much happiness.
+
+Storm began his literary career as a lyric poet, and his work in this
+field gives him a high place among the best in a kind in which German
+literature is very rich. His story writing began with "Immensee"
+(1849), perhaps his best known work. His early prose shared some of the
+quality of his poetry in that it sought rather to convey a mood than
+describe action; but, as his talent matured, incident and character
+stood out more and more distinctly.
+
+The progress can be traced from "Immensee" through "At the Castle" and
+"At the University" to the objective narrative of "In the Village on
+the Heath" and "At Cousin Christian's." In "Eekenhof" and "Hans and
+Heinz Kirsch" he is frankly realistic, and the complete evolution from
+his early subjectivity is seen in the dramatic depicting of human
+struggles in "The Sons of the Senator," "Renate," and, last and
+greatest of his works, "The Rider on the White Horse."
+
+In this masterpiece, Storm exhibits a man's will in conflict, on one
+side, with unintelligent conservatism among his fellowmen and, on the
+other, with the forces of nature. The figure of the dike-master emerges
+from the double struggle with a fine impressiveness; and the tragedy
+which finally engulfs him and his family is profoundly moving. At the
+same time we are given a vivid picture of the landscape of the
+low-lying coast of the North Sea, with the ever-present menace of the
+flood tide; and the sternness of the action is tempered with glimpses
+of humor and a picture of warm affection. Here Storm's art reached a
+pitch which places him beside the masters of the short novel.
+
+                                                    W. A. N.
+
+
+
+
+                      CRITICISM AND INTERPRETATION
+
+                             By Adolf Stern
+
+
+Within his special North German world, Storm's view extends back
+through the decades and centuries. It reaches also, from the humblest
+classes of the people, whose solidity and peculiar virtues he
+understands as well as anyone, up to the circles of the most liberal
+and profound culture. But the class that stands out most conspicuously
+is the bourgeoisie, with their moderate means and their traditional
+eagerness to assure to their children circumstances as good as their
+own or better; among them his novels are usually laid; and among them
+he finds his richest and most original characters. All these people are
+deeply rooted in the soil of the family, of the home in the narrower
+sense; with all of them the memories of childhood, the earliest
+surroundings, play a more important part than would be the case with
+people of the same type of mind and the same social position from
+another region. With all of them a conservative element is predominant,
+which makes itself felt in all their doings, their way of seeing
+things, their habits. Men and women appear to be in the peculiar
+bondage of a convention more formal than severe; they seem possessed by
+a feeling of responsibility towards a conception of life which
+dominates them, a conception which does not, to be sure, exclude free
+will, a noble passion or warm affection, but which recognizes such and
+admits them to their world only under special conditions, watchfully,
+carefully, and with reserve. They are more dependent on the opinion of
+their environment than the more careless and indifferent children of
+other stocks. But though all the characters which Storm likes to
+portray are wonderfully and apparently inextricably overgrown with
+tradition and custom, yet they are, on the other hand, strong
+individualities, independent to the point of stubbornness, and fully
+conscious of their right to their own inner life. In these natures so
+honestly sober, testing and weighing so sensibly, living in such
+well-established order, there reigns secretly a powerful imagination, a
+longing and a determination to win, each for himself, a piece of life
+after his heart's desire. They are all ready under certain
+circumstances to enter into the sharpest conflict, even into the most
+irreconcilable struggle with all the conventions, as soon as they feel
+their inmost being seized by such a yearning. They have little
+inclination to yield to their imaginations in the things of everyday
+life, or to urge their desires beyond the usual. But sometimes in
+decisive moments they are carried away, they become conscious of the
+ardor and at the same time of the strength of their hearts, for once
+they must follow the call of their feelings which tells them they are
+free and have to work out their own salvation. It is among such natures
+that there is scope for the strong and deep passion of love, for that
+faithful affection that gives no outward sign--we stand on the shore
+whence rose the song of Gudrun in the gray days of old.
+
+Of course, not every one of these peculiar and silent characters is
+victorious in the strife with the hard, stubborn, conventional world,
+nor does their struggle for their highest good always lead to a tragic
+ending. Storm's eye rests too serenely and securely on the object; he
+is an artist filled with too deep a sympathy with life to deceive
+himself sentimentally about the fatal chain of human destiny, about
+guilt and error, about the secret relation between weakness and its
+results in life, about the places in the way which we cannot pass. He
+is a better, even a keener, realist than many who call themselves by
+that name, and has looked deeper into the eye of Nature than those who
+imagine that their microscope has laid bare to them every eyelid of the
+eternal mother.--From "Studien zur Litteratur der Gegenwart" (1895).
+
+
+
+
+                      THE RIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE
+
+
+What I am about to tell I learned nearly half a century ago in the
+house of my great-grandmother, old Madame Fedderson, widow of the
+senator, while I was sitting beside her armchair, busy reading a
+magazine bound in blue pasteboard--I don't remember whether it was a
+copy of the "Leipzig" or of "Pappes Hamburger Lesefrüchte." I still
+remember with a shudder how meanwhile the light hand of the past
+eighty-year-old woman glided tenderly over the hair of her
+great-grandson. She herself and her time are buried long ago. In vain
+have I searched for that magazine, and therefore I am even less able to
+vouch for the truth of the statements in it than I am to defend them if
+anyone should question them; but of so much I can assure anyone, that
+since that time they have never been forgotten, even though no outer
+incident has revived them in my memory.
+
+
+It was in the third decade of our century, on an October
+afternoon--thus began the story-teller of that time--that I rode
+through a mighty storm along a North Frisian dike. For over an hour I
+had on my left the dreary marshland, already deserted by all the
+cattle; on my right, unpleasantly near me, the swamping waters of the
+North Sea. I saw nothing, however, but the yellowish-grey waves that
+beat against the dike unceasingly, as if they were roaring with rage,
+and that now and then bespattered me and my horse with dirty foam;
+behind them I could see only chaotic dusk which did not let me tell sky
+and earth apart, for even the half moon which now stood in the sky was
+most of the time covered by wandering clouds. It was ice cold; my
+clammy hands could scarcely hold the reins, and I did not wonder that
+the croaking and cackling crows and gulls were always letting
+themselves be swept inland by the storm. Nightfall had begun, and
+already I could no longer discern the hoof of my horse with any
+certainty. I had met no human soul, heard nothing but the screaming of
+the birds when they almost grazed me and my faithful mare with their
+long wings, and the raging of the wind and water. I cannot deny that
+now and then I wished that I were in safe quarters.
+
+It was the third day that this weather had lasted, and I had already
+allowed an especially dear relative to keep me longer than I should
+have done on his estate in one of the more northern districts. But
+to-day I could not stay longer. I had business in the city which was
+even now a few hours' ride to the south, and in spite of all the
+persuasions of my cousin and his kind wife, in spite of the Perinette
+and Grand Richard apples still to be tried, I had ridden away.
+
+"Wait till you get to the sea," he had called after me from his house
+door. "You will turn back. Your room shall be kept for you."
+
+And really, for a moment, when a black layer of clouds spread
+pitch-darkness round me and at the same time the howling squalls were
+trying to force me and my horse down from the dike, the thought shot
+through my head: "Don't be a fool! Turn back and stay with your friends
+in their warm nest." But then it occurred to me that the way back would
+be longer than the way to my destination; and so I trotted on, pulling
+the collar of my coat up over my ears.
+
+But now something came toward me upon the dike; I heard nothing, but
+when the half moon shed its spare light, I believed that I could
+discern more and more clearly a dark figure, and soon, as it drew
+nearer, I saw that it sat on a horse, on a long-legged, haggard, white
+horse; a dark cloak was waving round its shoulders, and as it flew past
+me, two glowing eyes stared at me out of a pale face.
+
+Who was that? What did that man want? And now it came to my mind that I
+had not heard the beating of hoofs or any panting of the horse; and yet
+horse and rider had ridden close by me!
+
+Deep in thought over this I rode on, but I did not have much time to
+think, for straightway it flew past me again from behind; it seemed as
+if the flying cloak had grazed me, as if the apparition, just as it had
+done the first time, had rushed by me without a sound. Then I saw it
+farther and farther away from me, and suddenly it seemed as if a shadow
+were gliding down at the inland side of the dike.
+
+Somewhat hesitating, I rode on behind. When I had reached that place,
+hard by the "Koog," the land won from the sea by damming it in, I saw
+water gleam from a great "Wehl," as they call the breaks made into the
+land by the storm floods which remain as small but deep pools.
+
+In spite of the protecting dike, the water was remarkably calm; hence
+the rider could not have troubled it. Besides, I saw nothing more of
+him. Something else I saw now, however, which I greeted with pleasure:
+before me, from out of the "Koog," a multitude of little scattered
+lights were glimmering up to me; they seemed to come from some of the
+rambling Frisian houses that lay isolated on more or less high mounds.
+But close in front of me, half way up the inland side of the dike lay a
+great house of this kind. On the south side, to the right of the house
+door, I saw all the windows illumined, and beyond, I perceived people
+and imagined that I could hear them in spite of the storm. My horse had
+of himself walked down to the road along the dike which led me up to
+the door of the house. I could easily see that it was a tavern, for in
+front of the windows I spied the so-called "ricks," beams resting on
+two posts with great iron rings for hitching the cattle and horses that
+stopped there.
+
+I tied my horse to one of these and left him to the servant who met me
+as I entered the hall.
+
+"Is a meeting going on here?" I asked him, for now a noise of voices
+and clicking glasses rose clearly from the room beyond the door.
+
+"Aye, something of the sort," the servant replied in Plattdeutsch, and
+later I learned that this dialect had been in full swing here, as well
+as the Frisian, for over a hundred years; "the dikemaster and the
+overseers and the other landholders! That's on account of the high
+water!"
+
+When I entered, I saw about a dozen men sitting round a table that
+extended beneath the windows; a punch bowl stood upon it; and a
+particularly stately man seemed to dominate the party.
+
+I bowed and asked if I might sit down with them, a favor which was
+readily granted.
+
+"You had better keep watch here!" I said, turning to this man; "the
+weather outside is bad; there will be hard times for the dikes!"
+
+"Surely," he replied, "but we here on the east side believe we are out
+of danger. Only over there on the other side it isn't safe; the dikes
+there are mostly made more after old patterns; our chief dike was made
+in the last century. We got chilly outside a while ago; and you," he
+added, "probably had the same experience. But we have to hold out a few
+hours longer here; we have reliable people outside, who report to us."
+And before I could give my order to the host, a steaming glass was
+pushed in front of me.
+
+I soon found out that my pleasant neighbour was the dikemaster; we
+entered into conversation, and I began to tell him about my strange
+encounter on the dike. He grew attentive, and I noticed suddenly that
+all talk round about was silenced.
+
+"The rider on the white horse," cried one of the company and a movement
+of fright stirred the others.
+
+The dikemaster had risen.
+
+"You don't need to be afraid," he spoke across the table, "that isn't
+meant for us only; in the year '17 it was meant for them too; may they
+be ready for the worst!"
+
+Now a horror came over me.
+
+"Pardon me!" I said. "What about this rider on the white horse?"
+
+Apart from the others, behind the stove, a small, haggard man in a
+little worn black coat sat somewhat bent over; one of his shoulders
+seemed a little deformed. He had not taken part with a single word in
+the conversation of the others, but his eyes, fringed as they were with
+dark lashes, although the scanty hair on his head was grey, showed
+clearly that he was not sitting there to sleep.
+
+Toward him the dikemaster pointed:
+
+"Our schoolmaster," he said, raising his voice, "will be the one among
+us who can tell you that best--to be sure, only in his way, and not
+quite as accurately as my old housekeeper at home, Antje Vollmans,
+would manage to tell it."
+
+"You are joking, dikemaster!" the somewhat feeble voice of the
+schoolmaster rose from behind the stove, "if you want to compare me to
+your silly dragon!"
+
+"Yes, that's all right, schoolmaster!" replied the other, "but stories
+of that kind are supposed to be kept safest with dragons."
+
+"Indeed!" said the little man, "in this we are not quite of the same
+opinion." And a superior smile flitted over his delicate face.
+
+"You see," the dikemaster whispered in my ear, "he is still a little
+proud; in his youth he once studied theology and it was only because of
+an unhappy courtship that he stayed hanging about his home as
+schoolmaster."
+
+The schoolmaster had meanwhile come forward from his corner by the
+stove and had sat down beside me at the long table.
+
+"Come on! Tell the story, schoolmaster," cried some of the younger
+members of the party.
+
+"Yes, indeed," said the old man, turning toward me. "I will gladly
+oblige you; but there is a good deal of superstition mixed in with it,
+and it is quite a feat to tell the story without it."
+
+"I must beg you not to leave the superstition out," I replied. "You can
+trust me to sift the chaff from the wheat by myself!"
+
+The old man looked at me with an appreciative smile.
+
+Well, he said, in the middle of the last century, or rather, to be more
+exact, before and after the middle of that century, there was a
+dikemaster here who knew more about dikes and sluices than peasants and
+landowners usually do. But I suppose it was nevertheless not quite
+enough, for he had read little of what learned specialists had written
+about it; his knowledge, though he began in childhood, he had thought
+out all by himself. I dare say you have heard, sir, that the Frisians
+are good at arithmetic, and perhaps you have heard tell of our Hans
+Mommsen from Fahntoft, who was a peasant and yet could make
+chronometers, telescopes, and organs. Well, the father of this man who
+later became dikemaster was made out of this same stuff--to be sure,
+only a little. He had a few fens, where he planted turnips and beans
+and kept a cow grazing; once in a while in the fall and spring he also
+surveyed land, and in winter, when the northwest wind blew outside and
+shook his shutters, he sat in his room to scratch and prick with his
+instruments. The boy usually would sit by and look away from his primer
+or Bible to watch his father measure and calculate, and would thrust
+his hand into his blond hair. And one evening he asked the old man why
+something that he had written down had to be just so and could not be
+something different, and stated his own opinion about it. But his
+father, who did not know how to answer this, shook his head and said:
+
+"That I cannot tell you; anyway it is so, and you are mistaken. If you
+want to know more, search for a book tomorrow in a box in our attic;
+someone whose name is Euclid has written it; that will tell you."
+
+The next day the boy had run up to the attic and soon had found the
+book, for there were not many books in the house anyway, but his father
+laughed when he laid it in front of him on the table. It was a Dutch
+Euclid, and Dutch, although it was half German, neither of them
+understood.
+
+"Yes, yes," he said, "this book belonged to my father; he understood
+it; is there no German Euclid up there?"
+
+The boy, who spoke little, looked at his father quietly and said only:
+"May I keep it? There isn't any German one."
+
+And when the old man nodded, he showed him a second half-torn little
+book.
+
+"That too?" he asked again.
+
+"Take them both!" said Tede Haien; "they won't be of much use to you."
+
+But the second book was a little Dutch grammar, and as the winter was
+not over for a long while, by the time the gooseberries bloomed again
+in the garden it had helped the boy so far that he could almost
+entirely understand his Euclid, which at that time was much in vogue.
+
+I know perfectly well, sir, the story teller interrupted himself, that
+this same incident is also told of Hans Mommsen, but before his birth
+our people here have told the same of Hauke Haien--that was the name of
+the boy. You know well enough that as soon as a greater man has come,
+everything is heaped on him that his predecessor has done before him,
+either seriously or in fun.
+
+When the old man saw that the boy had no sense for cows or sheep and
+scarcely noticed when the beans were in bloom, which is the joy of
+every marshman, and when he considered that his little place might be
+kept up by a farmer and a boy, but not by a half-scholar and a hired
+man, inasmuch as he himself had not been over-prosperous, he sent his
+big boy to the dike, where he had to cart earth from Easter until
+Martinmas. "That will cure him of his Euclid," he said to himself.
+
+And the boy carted; but his Euclid he always had with him in his
+pocket, and when the workmen ate their breakfast or lunch, he sat on
+his upturned wheelbarrow with the book in his hand. In autumn, when the
+tide rose higher and sometimes work had to be stopped, he did not go
+home with the others, but stayed and sat with his hands clasped over
+his knees on the seaward slope of the dike, and for hours watched the
+sombre waves of the North Sea beat always higher and higher against the
+grass-grown scar of the dike. Not until the water washed over his feet
+and the foam sprayed his face did he move a few feet higher, only to
+stay and sit on. He did not hear the splash of the water, or the scream
+of the gulls or strand birds that flew round him and almost grazed him
+with their wings, flashing their black eyes at his own; nor did he see
+how night spread over the wide wilderness of water. The only thing he
+saw was the edge of the surf, which at high tide was again and again
+hitting the same place with hard blows and before his very eyes washing
+away the grassy scar of the steep dike.
+
+After staring a long time, he would nod his head slowly and, without
+looking up, draw a curved line in the air, as if he could in this way
+give the dike a gentler slope. When it grew so dark that all earthly
+things vanished from his sight and only the surf roared in his ears,
+then he got up and marched home half drenched.
+
+One night when he came in this state into the room where his father was
+polishing his surveying instruments, the latter started. "What have you
+been doing out there?" he cried, "You might have drowned; the waters
+are biting into the dike to-day."
+
+Hauke looked at him stubbornly.
+
+"Don't you hear me? I say, you might have drowned!"
+
+"Yes," said Hauke, "but I'm not drowned!"
+
+"No," the old man answered after a while and looked into his face
+absently--"not this time."
+
+"But," Hauke returned, "our dikes aren't worth anything."
+
+"What's that, boy?"
+
+"The dikes, I say."
+
+"What about the dikes?"
+
+"They're no good, father," replied Hauke.
+
+The old man laughed in his face. "What's the matter with you, boy? I
+suppose you are the prodigy from Lübeck."
+
+But the boy would not be put down. "The waterside is too steep," he
+said; "if it happens some day as it has happened before, we can drown
+here behind the dike too."
+
+The old man pulled his tobacco out of his pocket, twisted off a piece
+and pushed it behind his teeth. "And how many loads have you pushed
+to-day?" he asked angrily, for he saw that the boy's work on the dike
+had not been able to chase away his brainwork.
+
+"I don't know, father," said the boy; "about as many as the others did,
+or perhaps half a dozen more; but--the dikes have got to be changed!"
+
+"Well," said the old man with a short laugh, "perhaps you can manage to
+be made dikemaster; then you can change them."
+
+"Yes, father," replied the boy.
+
+The old man looked at him and swallowed a few times, then he walked out
+of the door. He did not know what to say to the boy.
+
+Even when, at the end of October, the work on the dike was over, his
+walk northward to the farm was the best entertainment for Hauke Haien.
+He looked forward to All Saints' Day, the time when the equinoctial
+storms were wont to rage--a day on which we say that Friesland has a
+good right to mourn--just as children nowadays look forward to
+Christmas. When an early flood was coming, one could be sure that in
+spite of storm and bad weather, he would be lying all alone far out on
+the dike; and when the gulls chattered, when the waters pounded against
+the dike and as they rolled back swept big pieces of the grass cover
+with them into the sea, then one could have heard Hauke's furious
+laughter.
+
+"You aren't good for anything!" he cried out into the noise. "Just as
+the people are no good!" And at last, often in darkness, he trotted
+home from the wide water along the dike, until his tall figure had
+reached the low door under his father's thatch roof and slipped into
+the little room.
+
+Sometimes he had brought home a handful of clay; then he sat down
+beside the old man, who now humoured him, and by the light of the thin
+tallow candle he kneaded all sorts of dike models, laid them in a flat
+dish with water and tried to imitate the washing away by the waves; or
+he took his slate and drew the profiles of the dikes toward the
+waterside as he thought they ought to be.
+
+He had no idea of keeping up intercourse with his schoolmates; it
+seemed, too, as if they did not care for this dreamer. When winter had
+come again and the frost had appeared, he wandered still farther out on
+the dike to points he had never reached before, until the boundless
+ice-covered sand flats lay before him.
+
+During the continuous frost in February, dead bodies were found washed
+ashore; they had lain on the frozen sand flats by the open sea. A young
+woman who had been present when they had taken the bodies into the
+village, stood talking fluently with old Haien.
+
+"Don't you believe that they looked like people!" she cried; "no, like
+sea devils! Heads as big as this," and she touched together the tips of
+her outspread and outstretched hands, "coal-black and shiny, like newly
+baked bread! And the crabs had nibbled them, and the children screamed
+when they saw them." For old Haien this was nothing new.
+
+"I suppose they have floated in the water since November!" he said
+indifferently.
+
+Hauke stood by in silence, but as soon as he could, he sneaked out on
+the dike; nobody knew whether he wanted to look for more dead, or if he
+was drawn to the places now deserted by the horror that still clung to
+them. He ran on and on, until he stood alone in the solitary waste,
+where only the winds blew over the dike where there was nothing but the
+wailing voices of the great birds that shot by swiftly. To his left was
+the wide empty marshland, on the other side the endless beach with its
+sand flats now glistening with ice; it seemed as if the whole world lay
+in a white death.
+
+Hauke remained standing on the dike, and his sharp eyes gazed far away.
+There was no sign of the dead; but when the invisible streams on the
+sand flats found their way beneath the ice, it rose and sank in
+streamlike lines.
+
+He ran home, but on one of the next nights he was out there again. In
+places the ice had now split; smoke-clouds seemed to rise out of the
+cracks, and over the whole sand-stretch a net of steam and mist seemed
+to be spun, which at evening mingled strangely with the twilight. Hauke
+stared at it with fixed eyes, for in the mist dark figures were walking
+up and down that seemed to him as big as human beings. Far off he saw
+them promenade back and forth by the steaming fissures, dignified, but
+with strange, frightening gestures, with long necks and noses. All at
+once, they began to jump up and down like fools, uncannily, the big
+ones over the little ones, the little ones over the big ones--then they
+spread out and lost all shape.
+
+"What do they want? Are they ghosts of the drowned?" thought Hauke.
+"Hallo!" he screamed out aloud into the night; but they did not heed
+his cry and kept on with their strange antics.
+
+Then the terrible Norwegian sea spectres came to his mind, that an old
+captain had once told him about, who bore stubby bunches of sea grass
+on their necks instead of heads. He did not run away, however, but dug
+the heels of his boots faster into the clay of the dike and rigidly
+watched the farcical riot that was kept up before his eyes in the
+falling dusk. "Are you here in our parts too?" he said in a hard voice.
+"You shall not chase _me_ away!"
+
+Not until darkness covered all things did he walk home with stiff, slow
+steps. But behind him he seemed to hear the rustling of wings and
+resounding screams. He did not look round, neither did he walk faster,
+and it was late when he came home. Yet he is said to have told neither
+his father nor anyone else about it. But many years after he took his
+feeble-minded little girl, with whom the Lord later had burdened him,
+out on the dike with him at the same time of day and year, and the same
+riot is said to have appeared then out on the sand flats. But he told
+her not to be afraid, that these things were only the herons and crows,
+that seemed so big and horrible, and that they were getting fish out of
+the open cracks.
+
+God knows, the schoolmaster interrupted himself, there are all sorts of
+things on earth that could confuse a Christian heart, but Hauke was
+neither a fool nor a blockhead.
+
+As I made no response, he wanted to go on. But among the other guests,
+who till now had listened without making a sound, only filling the low
+room more and more thickly with tobacco smoke, there arose a sudden
+stir. First one, then another, then all turned toward the window.
+Outside, as one could see through the uncurtained glass, the storm was
+driving the clouds, and light and dark were chasing one another; but it
+seemed to me too as if I had seen the haggard rider whiz by on his
+white horse.
+
+"Wait a little, schoolmaster," said the dikemaster in a low voice.
+
+"You don't need to be afraid, dikemaster," laughed the little narrator.
+"I have not slandered him and have no reason to do so"--and he looked
+up at him with his small clever eyes.
+
+"All right," said the other. "Let your glass be filled again!" And when
+that had been done and the listeners, most of them with rather anxious
+faces, had turned to him again, he went on with his story:
+
+Living thus by himself and liking best to associate only with sand and
+water and with scenes of solitude, Hauke grew into a long lean fellow.
+It was a year after his confirmation that his life was suddenly
+changed, and this came about through the old white Angora cat which old
+Trin Jans's son, who later perished at sea, had brought her on his
+return from a voyage to Spain. Trin lived a good way out on the dike in
+a little hut, and when the old woman did her chores in the house, this
+monster of a cat used to sit in front of the house door and blink into
+the summer day and at the peewits that flew past. When Hauke went by,
+the cat mewed at him and Hauke nodded; both knew how each felt toward
+the other.
+
+Now it was spring and Hauke, as he was accustomed to do, often lay out
+on the dike, already farther out near the water, between beach pinks
+and the fragrant sea-wormwood, and let the strong sun shine on him. He
+had gathered his pockets full of pebbles up on the higher land the day
+before, and when at low tide the sand flats were laid bare and the
+little gay strand snipes whisked across them screaming, he quickly
+pulled out a stone and threw it after the birds. He had practiced this
+from earliest childhood on, and usually one of the birds remained lying
+on the ground; but often it was impossible to get at it. Hauke had
+sometimes thought of taking the cat with him and training him as a
+retriever. But there were hard places here and there on the sand; in
+that case he ran and got his prey himself. On his way back, if the cat
+was still sitting in front of the house door, the animal would utter
+piercing cries of uncontrollable greed until Hauke threw him one of the
+birds he had killed.
+
+To-day when he walked home, carrying his jacket on his shoulder, he was
+taking home only one unknown bird, but that seemed to have wings of gay
+silk and metal; and the cat mewed as usual when he saw him coming. But
+this time Hauke did not want to give up his prey--it may have been an
+ice bird--and he paid no attention to the greed of the animal. "Wait
+your turn!" he called to him. "To-day for me, to-morrow for you; this
+is no food for a cat!"
+
+As the cat came carefully sneaking along, Hauke stood and looked at it:
+the bird was hanging from his hand, and the cat stood still with its
+paw raised. But it seemed that the young man did not know his cat
+friend too well, for, while he had turned his back on it and was just
+going on his way, he felt that with a sudden jerk his booty was torn
+from him, and at the same time a sharp claw cut into his flesh. A rage
+like that of a beast of prey shot into the young man's blood; wildly he
+stretched out his arm and in a flash had clutched the robber by his
+neck. With his fist he held the powerful animal high up and choked it
+until its eyes bulged out among its rough hairs, not heeding that the
+strong hind paws were tearing his flesh. "Hello!" he shouted, and
+clutched him still more tightly; "let's see which of us two can stand
+it the longest!"
+
+Suddenly the hind legs of the big cat fell languidly down, and Hauke
+walked back a few steps and threw it against the hut of the old woman.
+As it did not stir, he turned round and continued his way home.
+
+But the Angora cat was the only treasure of her mistress; he was her
+companion and the only thing that her son, the sailor, had left her
+after he had met with sudden death here on the coast when he had wanted
+to help his mother by fishing in the storm. Hauke had scarcely walked
+on a hundred steps, while he caught the blood from his wounds on a
+cloth, when he heard a shrill howling and screaming from the hut. He
+turned round and, in front of it, saw the old woman lying on the
+ground; her grey hair was flying in the wind round her red head scarf.
+
+"Dead!" she cried; "dead!" and raised her lean arm threateningly
+against him: "A curse on you! You have killed her, you good for nothing
+vagabond; you weren't good enough to brush her tail!" She threw herself
+upon the animal and with her apron she tenderly wiped off the blood
+that was still running from its nose and mouth; then she began her
+screaming again.
+
+"When will you be done?" Hauke cried to her. "Then let me tell you,
+I'll get you a cat that will be satisfied with the blood of mice and
+rats!"
+
+Then he went on his way, apparently no longer concerned with anything.
+But the dead cat must have caused some confusion in his head, for when
+he came to the village, he passed by his father's house and the others
+and walked on a good distance toward the south on the dike toward the
+city.
+
+Meanwhile Trin Jans, too, wandered on the dike in the same direction.
+In her arms she bore a burden wrapped in an old blue checkered
+pillowcase, and clasped it carefully as if it were a child; her grey
+hair fluttered in the light spring wind. "What are you lugging there,
+Trina?" asked a peasant who met her. "More than your house and farm,"
+replied the old woman, and walked on eagerly. When she came near the
+house of old Haien, which lay below, she walked down to the houses
+along the "akt," as we call the cattle and foot paths that lead
+slantingly up and down the side of the dike.
+
+Old Tede Haien was just standing in front of his door, looking at the
+weather. "Well, Trin!" he said, when she stood panting in front of him
+and dug her crutch into the ground, "What are you bringing us in your
+bag?"
+
+"First let me into the room, Tede Haien! Then you shall see!" and her
+eyes looked at him with a strange gleam.
+
+"Well, come along!" said the old man. What did he care about the eyes
+of the stupid woman!
+
+When both had entered, she went on: "Take that old tobacco box and
+those writing things from the table. What do you always have to write
+for, anyway? All right; and now wipe it clean!"
+
+And the old man, who was almost growing curious, did everything just as
+she said. Then she took the blue pillowcase at both ends and emptied
+the carcass of the big cat out on the table. "There she is!" she cried;
+"your Hauke has killed her!" Thereupon she began to cry bitterly; she
+stroked the thick fur of the dead animal, laid its paws together, bent
+her long nose over its head and whispered incomprehensible words of
+tenderness into its ears.
+
+Tede Haien watched this. "Is that so," he said; "Hauke has killed her?"
+
+He did not know what to do with the howling woman.
+
+She nodded at him grimly. "Yes, yes, God knows, that's what he has
+done," and she wiped the tears from her eyes with her hand, crippled by
+rheumatism. "No child, no live thing any more!" she complained. "And
+you know yourself how it is after All Saints' Day, when we old people
+feel our legs shiver at night in bed, and instead of sleeping we hear
+the northwest wind rattle against the shutters. I don't like to hear
+it. Tede Haien, it comes from where my boy sank to death in the
+quicksand!"
+
+Tede Haien nodded, and the old woman stroked the fur of her dead
+cat. "But this one here," she began again, "when I would sit by my
+spinning-wheel, there she would sit with me and spin too and look at me
+with her green eyes! And when I grew cold and crept into my bed--then
+it wasn't long before she jumped up to me and lay down on my chilly
+legs, and we both slept as warmly together as if I still had my young
+sweetheart in bed!"
+
+The old woman, as if she were waiting for his assent to this
+remembrance, looked with her gleaming eyes at the old man standing
+beside her at the table. Tede Haien, however, said thoughtfully: "I
+know a way out for you, Trin Jans," and he went to his strong box and
+took a silver coin out of the drawer. "You say that Hauke has robbed
+your animal of life, and I know you don't lie; but here is a crown
+piece from the time of Christian IV; go and buy a tanned lambskin with
+it for your cold legs! And when our cat has kittens, you may pick out
+the biggest of them; both together, I suppose, will make up for an
+Angora cat feeble from old age! Take your beast and, if you want to,
+take it to the tanner in town, but keep your mouth shut and don't tell
+that it has lain on my honest table."
+
+During this speech the woman had already snatched the crown and stowed
+it away in a little bag that she carried under her skirts, then she
+tucked the cat back into the pillowcase, wiped the bloodstains from the
+table with her apron, and stalked out of the door. "Don't you forget
+the young cat!" she called back.
+
+After a while, when old Haien was walking up and down in the narrow
+little room, Hauke stepped in and tossed his bright bird on to the
+table. But when he saw the still recognizable bloodstain on the clean
+white top, he asked as if by the way: "What's that?"
+
+His father stood still. "That's blood that you have spilled!"
+
+The young man flushed hotly. "Why, has Trin Jans been here with her
+cat?"
+
+The old man nodded: "Why did you kill it?"
+
+Hauke uncovered his bleeding arm. "That's why," he said. "She had torn
+my bird away from me!"
+
+Thereupon the old man said nothing. For a time he began to walk up and
+down, then he stood still in front of the young man and looked at him
+for a while almost absently.
+
+"This affair with the cat I have made all right," he said, "but look,
+Hauke, this place is too small; two people can't stay on it--it is time
+you got a job!"
+
+"Yes, father," replied Hauke; "I have been thinking something of the
+sort myself."
+
+"Why?" asked the old man.
+
+"Well, one gets wild inside unless one can let it out on a decent piece
+of work!"
+
+"Is that so?" said the old man, "and that's why you have killed the
+Angora cat? That might easily lead to something worse!"
+
+"You may be right, father, but the dikemaster has discharged his
+farmhand; I could do that work all right!"
+
+The old man began to walk up and down, and meanwhile spat out the black
+tobacco. "The dikemaster is a blockhead, as stupid as a goose! He is
+dikemaster only because his father and grandfather have been the same,
+and on account of his twenty-nine fens. Round Martinmas, when the dike
+and sluice bills have to be settled, then he feeds the schoolmaster on
+roast goose and mead and wheat buns, and sits by and nods while the
+other man runs down the columns of figures with his pen, and says:
+'Yes, yes, schoolmaster, God reward you! How finely you calculate!' But
+when the schoolmaster can't or won't, then he has to go at it himself
+and sits scribbling and striking out again, his big stupid head growing
+red and hot, his eyes bulging out like glass balls, as if his little
+bit of sense wanted to get out that way."
+
+The young man stood up straight in front of his father and marveled at
+his talking; he had never heard him speak like that. "Yes, God knows,"
+he said, "no doubt he is stupid, but his daughter Elke, she can
+calculate!"
+
+The old man looked at him sharply.
+
+"Hallo, Hauke," he exclaimed "what do you know about Elke Volkerts?"
+
+"Nothing, father; only the schoolmaster has told me?"
+
+The old man made no reply; he only pushed his piece of tobacco
+thoughtfully from one cheek into the other. "And you think," he said,
+"that you can help in the counting there too."
+
+"Oh, yes, father, that would work all right," the son replied, and
+there was a serious twitching about his mouth.
+
+The old man shook his head: "Well, go if you like; go and try your
+luck!"
+
+"Thanks, father!" said Hauke, and climbed up to his sleeping place in
+the garret. There he sat down on the edge of the bed and pondered why
+his father had shouted at him so when he had mentioned Elke Volkerts.
+To be sure, he knew the slender, eighteen-year-old girl with the
+tanned, narrow face and the dark eyebrows that ran into each other over
+the stubborn eyes and the slender nose; but he had scarcely spoken a
+word to her. Now, if he should go to old Tede Volkerts, he would look
+at her more and see what there was about the girl. Right off he wanted
+to go, so that no one else could snatch the position away from him--it
+was now scarcely evening. And so he put on his Sunday coat and his best
+boots and started out in good spirits.
+
+The long rambling house of the dikemaster was visible from afar because
+of the high mound on which it stood, and especially because of the
+highest tree in the village, a mighty ash. The grandfather of the
+present dikemaster, the first of the line, had in his youth planted an
+ash to the east of the house door; but the first two had died, and so
+he had planted a third on his wedding morning, which was still
+murmuring as if of old times in the increasing wind with its crown of
+foliage that was growing mightier and mightier.
+
+When, after a while, tall, lank Hauke climbed up the hill which was
+planted on both sides with beets and cabbage, he saw the daughter of
+the owner standing beside the low house door. One of her somewhat thin
+arms was hanging down languidly, the other seemed to be grasping behind
+her back at one of the iron rings which were fastened to the wall on
+either side of the door, so that anyone who rode to the house could use
+them to hitch his horse. From there the young girl seemed to be gazing
+over the dike at the sea, where on this calm evening the sun was just
+sinking into the water and at the same time gilding the dark-skinned
+maiden with its last golden glow.
+
+Hauke climbed up the hill a little more slowly, and thought to himself:
+"She doesn't look so dull this way!" Then he was at the top. "Good
+evening to you!" he said, stepping up to her. "What are you looking at
+with your big eyes, Miss Elke?"
+
+"I'm looking," she replied, "at something that goes on here every
+night, but can't be seen here every night." She let the ring drop from
+her hand, so that it fell against the wall with a clang. "What do you
+want, Hauke Haien?" she asked.
+
+"Something that I hope you don't mind," he said. "Your father has just
+discharged his hired man; so I thought I would take a job with you."
+
+She glanced at him, up and down: "You are still rather lanky, Hauke!"
+she said, "but two steady eyes serve us better than two steady arms!"
+At the same time she looked at him almost sombrely, but Hauke bravely
+withstood her gaze. "Come on, then," she continued. "The master is in
+his room; let's go inside."
+
+The next day Tede Haien stepped with his son into the spacious room of
+the dikemaster. The walls were covered with glazed tiles on which the
+visitor could enjoy here a ship with sails unfurled or an angler on the
+shore, there a cow that lay chewing in front of a peasant's house. This
+durable wall-covering was interrupted by an alcove-bed with doors now
+closed, and a cupboard which showed all kinds of china and silver
+dishes through glass doors. Beside the door to the "best room" a Dutch
+clock was set into the wall behind a pane of glass.
+
+The stout, somewhat apoplectic master of the house sat at the end of
+the well-scrubbed, shining table in an armchair with a bright-coloured
+cushion. He had folded his hands across his stomach, and was staring
+contentedly with his round eyes at the skeleton of a fat duck; knife
+and fork were resting in front of him on his plate.
+
+"Good day, dikemaster!" said Haien, and the gentleman thus addressed
+slowly turned his head and eyes toward him.
+
+"You here, Tede?" he replied, and the devoured fat duck had left its
+mark on his voice. "Sit down; it is quite a walk from your place over
+here!"
+
+"I have come, dikemaster," said Tede Haien, while he sat down opposite
+the other in a corner on the bench that ran along the wall. "You have
+had trouble with your hired man and have agreed with my boy to put him
+in his place!"
+
+The dikemaster nodded: "Yes, yes, Tede; but--what do you mean by
+trouble? We people of the marshes, thank goodness, have something to
+take against troubles!"--and he took the knife before him and patted
+the skeleton of the poor duck almost affectionately. "This was my pet
+bird," he added laughing smugly; "he fed out of my hand!"
+
+"I thought," said old Haien, not hearing the last remark, "the boy had
+done harm in your stable."
+
+"Harm? Yes, Tede; surely harm enough! That fat clown hadn't watered the
+calves; but he lay drunk on the hayloft, and the beasts bellowed all
+night with thirst, so that I had to make up my lost sleep till noon;
+that's not the way a farm can go on!"
+
+"No, dikemaster; but there is no danger of that happening with my boy."
+
+Hauke stood, his hands in his pockets, by the door-post, and had thrown
+back his head and was studying the window frames opposite him.
+
+The dikemaster had raised his eyes and nodded toward him: "No, no,
+Tede,"--and now he nodded at the old man too; "your Hauke won't disturb
+my night's rest; the schoolmaster has told me before that he would
+rather sit with his slate and do arithmetic than with a glass of
+whiskey."
+
+Hauke did not hear this encouragement, for Elke had stepped into the
+room and with her light hand took out the remnants from the table,
+meanwhile glancing at him carelessly with her dark eyes. Then his
+glances fell on her too. "By my faith," he said to himself, "she
+doesn't look so dull now either!"
+
+The girl had left the room. "You know, Tede," the dikemaster began
+again, "the Lord has not granted me a son!"
+
+"Yes, dikemaster, but don't let that worry you," replied the other,
+"for they say that in the third generation the brains of a family run
+out; your grandfather, we all remember, was a man who protected the
+land!"
+
+The dikemaster, after some pondering, looked quite puzzled: "How do you
+mean, Tede Haien?" he said and sat up in his armchair; "I am in the
+third generation myself!"
+
+"Oh, indeed! Never mind, dikemaster; that's just what people say!" And
+the lean Tede Haien looked at the old dignitary with rather mischievous
+eyes.
+
+The latter, however, spoke unconcerned: "You mustn't let old women get
+nonsense like that into your head, Tede Haien; you don't know my
+daughter yet--she can calculate three times better than I can! I only
+wanted to say, your Hauke will be able to make some profit outside of
+his field work in my room with pen and pencil, and that will do him no
+harm."
+
+"Yes, yes, dikemaster, he can do that; there you are perfectly right;"
+said old Haien and then began to demand some privileges with the
+contract which his son had not thought of the night before. For
+instance, the latter should receive, besides his linen shirts, eight
+pair of woollen stockings in addition to his wages; also he wanted to
+have his son's help at his own work for eight days in spring--and more
+of the sort. But the dikemaster agreed to everything; Hauke Haien
+appeared to him just the right servant.
+
+"Well, God help you, my boy," said the old man, when they had just left
+the house, "if that man is to make the world clear to you!"
+
+But Hauke replied calmly: "Never mind, father; everything will turn out
+all right."
+
+Hauke had not been wrong in his judgment. The world, or what the world
+meant to him, grew clearer to his mind, the longer he stayed in this
+house--perhaps all the more, the less he was helped by a wiser insight
+and the more he had to depend on his own powers with which he had from
+the beginning helped himself. There was someone in the house, however,
+whom he did not seem to suit; that was Ole Peters, the head man, a good
+worker and a great talker. The former lazy and stupid but stocky hired
+man had been more to his liking, whose back he could load calmly with a
+barrel of oats and whom he could knock about to his heart's content.
+Hauke, who was still more silent, but who surpassed him mentally, he
+could not treat in the same way; Hauke had too strange a way of looking
+at him. Nevertheless he managed to pick out tasks which might have been
+dangerous for the young man's yet undeveloped body; and when the head
+man would say: "You ought to have seen fat Nick, he could do it without
+any trouble at all," then Hauke would work with all his might and
+finish the task, although with difficulty. It was lucky for him that
+Elke usually could hinder this, either by herself or through her
+father. One may ask what it is that binds people who are complete
+strangers to each other; perhaps--well, they were both born
+arithmeticians, and the girl could not bear to see her comrade ruined
+by rough work.
+
+The conflict between head man and second man did not grow less when
+after Martinmas the different dike bills came in for revision.
+
+It happened on a May evening, but the weather was like November; inside
+the house one could hear the surf roar outside from behind the dike.
+
+"Hey, Hauke," said the master of the house, "come in; now is your
+chance to show if you can do arithmetic!"
+
+"Master," Hauke replied; "I'm supposed to feed the young cattle first."
+
+"Elke!" called the dikemaster; "where are you, Elke? Go and tell Ole to
+feed the young cattle; I want Hauke to calculate!"
+
+So Elke hurried into the stable and gave the order to the head man who
+was just busy hanging the harness used during the day back in place.
+
+Ole Peters whipped the post beside which he had been busying himself
+with a bridle, as if he wanted to beat it to pieces: "The devil take
+that cursed scribbler!"
+
+She heard these words even before she had closed the stable door again.
+
+"Well?" asked the old man, as she stepped into the room.
+
+"Ole was willing to do it," said his daughter, biting her lips a
+little, and sat down opposite Hauke on one of the roughly carved chairs
+which in those days were still made at home on winter evenings. Out of
+a drawer she had taken a white stocking with a red bird pattern on it,
+which she was now knitting; the long-legged creatures might have
+represented herons or storks. Hauke sat opposite her, deep in his
+arithmetic; the dikemaster himself rested in his armchair and blinked
+sleepily at Hauke's pen. On the table, as always in the house of the
+dikemaster, two tallow candles were burning, and behind the windows
+with their leaden frames the shutters were closed and fastened from
+within; now the wind could bang against them as hard as it liked. Once
+in a while Hauke raised his head and glanced for a moment at the bird
+stockings or at the narrow, calm face of the girl.
+
+Suddenly from the armchair there rose a loud snore, and a glance and
+smile flew back and forth between the two young people; gradually the
+breathing grew more quiet, and one could easily talk a little--only
+Hauke did not know about what.
+
+But when she raised her knitting and the birds appeared in their whole
+length, he whispered across the table: "Where have you learned that,
+Elke?"
+
+"Learned what?" the girl returned.
+
+"This bird knitting?" said Hauke.
+
+"This? From Trin Jans out there on the dike; she can do all sorts of
+things. She was servant here to my grandfather a long time ago."
+
+"At that time I don't suppose you were born?" said Hauke.
+
+"I think not; but she has often come to the house since then."
+
+"Does she like birds?" asked Hauke; "I thought only cats were for her."
+
+Elke shook her head: "Why, she raises ducks and sells them; but last
+spring, when you had killed her Angora cat, the rats got into the pen
+at the back of the house and made mischief; now she wants to build
+herself another in front of the house."
+
+"Is that so?" said Hauke and whistled low through his teeth, "that's
+why she dragged mud and stones from the upper land. But then she will
+get on to the inland road; has she a grant?"
+
+"I don't know," said Elke. But he had spoken the last word so loud that
+the dikemaster started out of his slumber.
+
+"What grant?" he asked and looked almost wildly from one to the other.
+"What about the grant?"
+
+But when Hauke had explained the matter to him, he slapped the young
+man's shoulder, laughing: "Oh, well, the inland road is broad enough;
+God help the dikemaster if he has to worry about duck pens!"
+
+It weighed on Hauke's heart that he should have delivered the old woman
+and her ducks over to the rats, but he allowed himself to be quieted by
+this objection. "But, master," he began again, "it might be good for
+some people to be prodded a little, and if you don't want to go after
+them yourself, why don't you prod the overseers who ought to look out
+for order on the dike?"
+
+"How--what is the boy saying?" and the dikemaster sat up straight, and
+Elke let her fancy stocking sink down and turned an ear toward Hauke.
+
+"Yes, master," Hauke went on, "you have already gone round on your
+spring inspection; but just the same Peter Jansen hasn't weeded his lot
+to this day; and in summer the goldfinches will play round the red
+thistles as gaily as ever. And near by--I don't know to whom it
+belongs--there is a hole like a cradle on the outer side of the dike;
+when the weather is good it is always full of little children that roll
+in it; but--God save us from high water!"
+
+The eyes of the old dikemaster had grown bigger and bigger.
+
+"And then--" said Hauke again.
+
+"Then what more, boy?" asked the dikemaster; "haven't you finished
+yet?" and it seemed as if he had already had too much of his second
+man's speech.
+
+"Yes; then, master," Hauke went on; "you know that fat Vollina, the
+daughter of the overseer Harder, who always fetches her father's horse
+from the fen--well, as soon as she sits with her round legs on the old
+yellow mare--Get up!--why, then every time she goes diagonally up the
+slope of the dike!"
+
+Hauke did not notice until now that Elke had fixed her intelligent eyes
+on him and was gently shaking her head.
+
+He was silent, but a bang on the table from the old man's fist
+thundered in his ears. "Confound it!" he cried, and Hauke was almost
+frightened by the bear's voice that suddenly broke out: "to the fens!
+Note down that fat creature in the fens, Hauke! That girl caught three
+of my young ducks last summer! Yes, yes, put it down," he repeated,
+when Hauke hesitated; "I even believe there were four!"
+
+"Oh, father," said Elke, "wasn't it an otter that took the ducks?"
+
+"A big otter!" cried the old man, panting; "I guess I can tell the fat
+Vollina and an otter apart! No, no, four ducks, Hauke--but as for the
+rest of what you have been chattering--last spring the dikemaster
+general and I, after we had breakfasted together at my house, drove by
+your weeds and your cradle-hole and yet couldn't see anything. But you
+two," and he nodded a few times significantly at Hauke and his
+daughter, "you can thank God that you are no dikemaster! Two eyes are
+all one has, and one is supposed to look with a hundred. Take the bills
+for the straw coverings, Hauke, and look them over; those rascals do
+keep their accounts in such a shiftless way!"
+
+Then he leaned back in his chair again, moved his heavy body a few
+times and soon gave himself over to care-free slumber.
+
+The same thing was repeated on many an evening. Hauke had sharp eyes,
+and when they sat together, he did not neglect to call the old man's
+attention to one or the other violation or omission in dike matters,
+and as the latter could not always keep his eyes closed, unawares the
+management acquired a greater efficiency and those who in other times
+had gone on sinning in their old, careless ways and now, as it were,
+unexpectedly felt their mischievous or lazy fingers slapped, looked
+round indignantly and with astonishment to see whence these slaps had
+come. And Ole, the head man, did not hesitate to spread the information
+and in this way to rouse indignation among these people against Hauke
+and his father, who had to bear part of the guilt. The others, however,
+who were not affected or who were not concerned with the matter,
+laughed and rejoiced to see that the young man had at last got the old
+man going a bit. "It's only too bad," they said, "that the young fellow
+hasn't enough ground under his feet; else he might make a dikemaster of
+the kind we used to have--but those few acres of his old man wouldn't
+do, after all!"
+
+Next autumn, when the inspector and the dikemaster general came for the
+inspection, he looked at old Tede Volkerts from top to toe, while the
+latter was urging him to sit down to lunch.
+
+"I tell you, dikemaster," he said, "I was thinking--you have actually
+grown ten years younger. You have set my blood coursing with all your
+proposals; if only we can get down with all that to-day!"
+
+"Oh, we shall, we shall, your Honor," replied the old man with a smirk;
+"the roast goose over there will give us strength! Yes, thank God, I am
+still always well and brisk!" He looked round the room to make sure
+that Hauke was not about; then he added with calm dignity: "And so I
+hope I may fulfill the duties of my office a few more blessed years."
+
+"And to this, my dear dikemaster," returned his superior, "we want to
+drink this glass together."
+
+Elke who had looked after the lunch laughed to herself as she left the
+room just when the glasses were clicking. Then she took a dish of
+scraps from the kitchen and walked through the stable to give them to
+the poultry in front of the outside door. In the stable stood Hauke
+Haien and with his pitchfork put hay into the racks of the cows that
+had to be brought up here so early because of the bad weather. But when
+he saw the girl come, he stuck the pitchfork into the ground. "Well,
+Elke!" he said.
+
+She stood still and nodded at him: "All right, Hauke--but you should
+have been in there!"
+
+"Do you think so? Why, Elke?"
+
+"The dikemaster general has praised the master!"
+
+"The master? What has that to do with me?"
+
+"No, I mean, he has praised the dikemaster!"
+
+The young man's face was flushed crimson: "I know very well," he said,
+"what you are driving at."
+
+"Don't blush, Hauke; it was really you whom the dikemaster general
+praised!"
+
+Hauke looked at her with a half smile. "You too, Elke!" he said.
+
+But she shook her head: "No, Hauke; when I was helper alone, we got no
+praise. And then, I can only do arithmetic; but you see everything
+outdoors that the dikemaster is supposed to see for himself. You have
+cut me out!"
+
+"That isn't what I intended--least of all you!" said Hauke timidly, and
+he pushed aside the head of a cow. "Come, Redskin, don't swallow my
+pitchfork, you'll get all you want!"
+
+"Don't think that I'm sorry, Hauke;" said the girl after thinking a
+little while; "that really is a man's business."
+
+Then Hauke stretched out his arm toward her. "Elke, give me your hand,
+so that I can be sure."
+
+Beneath her dark brows a deep crimson flushed the girl's face. "Why?
+I'm not lying!" she cried.
+
+Hauke wanted to reply; but she had already left the stable, and he
+stood with his pitchfork in his hand and heard only the cackling and
+crowing of the ducks and the hens round her outside.
+
+In the January of Hauke's third year of service a winter festival was
+to be held--"Eisboseln" they call it here. The winds had been calm on
+the coast and steady frost had covered all the ditches between the fens
+with a solid, even, crystal surface, so that the marked-off strips of
+land offered a wide field for the throwing at a goal of little wooden
+balls filled with lead. Day in, day out, a light northeast wind was
+blowing: everything had been prepared. The people from the higher
+land, inhabitants of the village that lay eastward above the marshes,
+who had won last year, had been challenged to a match and had accepted.
+From either side nine players had been picked. The umpire and the
+score-keepers had been chosen. The latter, who had to discuss a
+doubtful throw whenever a difference of opinion came up, were always
+chosen from among people who knew how to place their own case in the
+best possible light, preferably young fellows who not only had good
+common sense but also a ready tongue. Among these was, above all, Ole
+Peters, the head man of the dikemaster. "Throw away like devils!" he
+said; "I'll do the talking for nothing!"
+
+Toward evening on the day before the holiday a number of throwers had
+appeared in the side room of the parish inn up on the higher land, in
+order to decide about accepting some men who had applied in the last
+moment. Hauke Haien was among these. At first he had not wanted to take
+part, although he was well aware of having arms skilled in throwing;
+but he was afraid that he might be rejected by Ole Peters who had a
+post of honor in the game, and he wanted to spare himself this defeat.
+But Elke had made him change his mind at the eleventh hour. "He won't
+dare, Hauke," she had said; "he is the son of a day laborer; your
+father has his cow and horse and is the cleverest man in the village."
+
+"But if he should manage to, after all?"
+
+Half smiling she looked at him with her dark eyes. "Then he'll get
+left," she said, "in the evening, when he wants to dance with his
+master's daughter." Then Hauke had nodded to her with spirit.
+
+Now the young men who still hoped to be taken into the game stood
+shivering and stamping outside the parish inn and looked up at the top
+of the stone church tower which stood beside the tavern. The pastor's
+pigeons which during the summer found their food on the fields of the
+village were just returning from the farmyards and barns of the
+peasants, where they had pecked their grain, and were disappearing into
+their nests underneath the shingles of the tower. In the west, over the
+sea, there was a glowing sunset.
+
+"We'll have good weather to-morrow," said one of the young fellows, and
+began to wander up and down excitedly; "but cold--cold." Another man,
+when he saw no more pigeons flying, walked into the house and stood
+listening beside the door of the room in which a lively babble was now
+sounding. The second man of the dikemaster, too, had stepped up beside
+him. "Listen, Hauke," he said to the latter; "now they are making all
+this noise about you." And clearly one could hear from inside Ole
+Peters's grating voice: "Underlings and boys don't belong here!"
+
+"Come," whispered the other man and tried to pull Hauke by his sleeve
+to the door of the room, "here you can learn how high they value you."
+
+But Hauke tore himself away and went to the front of the house again:
+"They haven't barred us out so that we should hear," he called back.
+
+Before the house stood the third of the applicants. "I'm afraid there's
+a hitch in this business for me," he called to Hauke; "I'm barely
+eighteen years old; if they only won't ask for my birth certificate!
+Your head man, Hauke, will get you out of your fix, all right!"
+
+"Yes, out!" growled Hauke and kicked a stone across the road; "but not
+in!"
+
+The noise in the room was growing louder; then gradually there was
+calm. Those outside could again hear the gentle northeast wind that
+broke against the point of the church steeple. The man who listened
+joined them. "Whom did they take in there?" asked the eighteen-year-old
+one.
+
+"Him!" said the other, and pointed to Hauke; "Ole Peters wanted
+to make him out as a boy; but the others shouted against it.--'And his
+father has cattle and land,' said Jess Hansen.--'Yes, land,' cried Ole
+Peters, 'land that one can cart away on thirteen wheelbarrows!' Last
+came Ole Hensen: 'Keep still!' he cried; 'I'll make things clear: tell
+me, who is the first man in the village?'--Then all kept mum and seemed
+to be thinking. Then a voice said: 'I should say it was the
+dikemaster!'--'And who is the dikemaster?' cried Ole Hensen again; 'but
+now think twice!'--Then somebody began to laugh quietly, and then
+someone else too, and so on till there was nothing but loud laughter in
+the room.--'Well, then call him,' said Ole Hensen; 'you don't want to
+keep the dikemaster out in the cold!'--I believe they're still
+laughing; but Ole Peters's voice could not be heard any more!" Thus the
+young fellow ended his account.
+
+Almost in the same instant the door of the room inside the house was
+opened suddenly and out into the cold night sounded loud and merry
+cries of "Hauke! Hauke Haien!"
+
+Then Hauke marched into the house and never could hear the rest of the
+story of who was the dikemaster; meanwhile no one has found out what
+was going on in his head.
+
+After a while, when he approached the house of his employers, he saw
+Elke standing by the fence below, where the ascent began; the moonlight
+was shimmering over the measureless white frosted pasture.
+
+"You are standing here, Elke?" he asked.
+
+She only nodded: "What happened?" she said; "has he dared?"
+
+"What wouldn't he--?"
+
+"Well, and--?"
+
+"Yes, Elke; I'm allowed to try it to-morrow!"
+
+"Good night, Hauke!" And she fled up the slope and vanished into the
+house.
+
+Slowly he followed her.
+
+Next afternoon on the wide pasture that extended in the east along the
+land side of the dike, one could see a dark crowd. Now it would stand
+motionless, now move gradually on, down from the long and low houses
+lying behind if, as soon as a wooden ball had twice shot forth from it
+over the ground now freed by the bright sun from frost. The teams of
+the "Eisbosler" were in the middle, surrounded by old and young, by
+all who lived with them in these houses or up in those of the higher
+land--the older men in long coats, pensively smoking their short pipes,
+the women in shawls or jackets, some leading children by the hand or
+carrying them on their arms. From the frozen ditches, which were being
+crossed gradually, the pale light of the afternoon sun was gleaming
+through the sharp points of the sedges. It was keen frost, but the game
+went on uninterruptedly, and the eyes of all were again and again
+following the flying ball, for upon it depended the honor of the whole
+village for the day. The score-keepers of the two sides carried a white
+stick with an iron point for the home team, a black one of the same
+kind for the team of the people from the upper land. Where the ball
+ended its flight, the stick was driven into the frozen ground,
+accompanied, as it happened, either by silent approval or the derisive
+laughter of the opposing side; and he whose ball had first reached the
+goal, had won the game for his team.
+
+Little was said by all these people; only when a capital throw had been
+made, a cry from the young men or women could be heard; sometimes, too,
+one of the old men would take his pipe out of his mouth and knock with
+it on the shoulder of the thrower with a few cheering words: "That was
+a good throw, said Zacharias, and threw his wife out of the door!" or:
+"That's the way your father threw, too; God bless him in eternity!" or
+some other friendly saying.
+
+Hauke had no luck with his first throw: just as he was swinging his arm
+backward in order to hurl off the ball, a cloud sailed away which had
+covered the sun so that now its bright beams shot into his eyes; the
+throw was too short, the ball fell on a ditch and remained stuck in the
+ice.
+
+"That doesn't count! That doesn't count! Hauke, once more!" called his
+partners.
+
+But the score-keeper of the people from the high land protested against
+this: "It'll have to count; a throw is a throw!"
+
+"Ole! Ole Peters!" cried the young folks of the marshes. "Where is Ole?
+Where the devil is he?"
+
+But there he was: "Don't scream so! Does Hauke have to be patched up
+somewhere? I thought as much."
+
+"Never mind! Hauke has to throw again; now show that your tongue is
+good for something!"
+
+"Oh, it is all right!" cried Ole and stepped up to the scorekeeper of
+the other side and talked a lot of bosh. But the pointedness and
+sharpness of his usually so scintillating words were absent this time.
+Beside him stood the girl with the enigmatic eyebrows and looked at him
+sharply with angry glances; but she was not allowed to talk, for women
+had no say in the game.
+
+"You are babbling nonsense," cried the other scorekeeper, "because you
+can't use any sense for this! Sun, moon and stars are alike for us all
+and always in the sky; the throw was awkward, and all awkward throws
+have to count!"
+
+Thus they talked back and forth a little while, but the end of it was
+that, according to the decision of the umpire, Hauke was not allowed to
+repeat his throw.
+
+"Come on!" called the people from the upper land, and their
+score-keeper pulled the black stick out of the ground, and the thrower
+came forward when his number was called and hurled the ball ahead. When
+the head man of the dikemaster wanted to watch the throw, he had to
+pass Elke Volkerts: "For whose sake have you left your brains at home
+to-day?" she whispered to him.
+
+Then he looked at her almost grimly, and all joking was gone from his
+broad face. "For your sake," he said, "for you have forgotten yours
+too!"
+
+"Go, go--I know you, Ole Peters!" the girl replied, drawing herself up
+straight. But he turned his head away and pretended not to have heard.
+
+And the game and the black and white stick went on. When Hauke's turn
+to throw came again, his ball flew so far, that the goal, the great
+whitewashed barrel, came clearly in sight. He was now a solidly built
+young fellow, and mathematics and the art of throwing he had practised
+daily in his boyhood. "Why, Hauke!" there were cries from the crowd;
+"that was just as if the archangel Michael himself had thrown the
+ball!" An old woman with cake and brandy pushed her way through the
+crowd toward him; she poured out a glass for him and offered it to him:
+"Come," she said, "we want to be friends: this to-day is better than
+when you killed my cat!" When he looked at her, he recognised her as
+Trin Jans. "Thank you, old lady," he said; "but I don't drink that." He
+put his hand into his pocket and pressed a newly minted mark piece into
+her hand: "Take that and empty your glass yourself, Trin; and so we are
+friends!"
+
+"You're right, Hauke!" replied the old woman, while she obeyed his
+instructions; "you're right; that's better for an old woman like me!"
+
+"How are your ducks getting on" he called after her, when she had
+already started on her way with her basket; but she only shook her
+head, without turning round, and struck the air with her old hands.
+"Nothing, nothing, Hauke; there are too many rats in your ditches; God
+help me, but I've got to support myself some other way!" And so she
+pushed her way into the crowd and again offered her brandy and honey
+cake.
+
+The sun had at last gone down behind the dike; in his stead rose a red
+violet glimmer; now and then black crows flew by and for moments looked
+gilded: evening had come. But on the fens the dark mass of people were
+moving still farther away from the already distant houses toward the
+barrel; an especially good throw would have to reach it now. The people
+of the marshes were having their turn: Hauke was to throw.
+
+The chalky barrel showed white against the broad evening shadow that
+now fell from the dike across the plain.
+
+"I guess you'll leave it to us this time," called one of the people of
+the upper land, for it was very close; they had the advantage of at
+least ten feet.
+
+Hauke's lean figure was just stepping out of the crowd; the grey eyes
+in his long Frisian face were looking ahead at the barrel; in his hand
+which hung down he held the ball.
+
+"I suppose the bird is too big for you," he heard Ole Peters's grating
+voice in this instant behind his ears; "shall we exchange it for a grey
+pot?"
+
+Hauke turned round and looked at him with steady eyes: "I'm throwing
+for the marshes," he said. "Where do you belong?"
+
+"I think, I belong there too; I suppose you're throwing for Elke
+Volkerts!"
+
+"Go!" shouted Hauke and stood in position again. But Ole pushed his
+head still nearer to him. Then suddenly, before Hauke could do anything
+against it himself, a hand clutched the intruder and pulled him back,
+so that the fellow reeled against his comrades. It was not a large hand
+that had done it; for when Hauke turned his head round for a moment he
+saw Elke Volkerts putting her sleeve to rights, and her dark brows
+looked angry in her heated face.
+
+Now something like steely strength shot into Hauke's arm; he bent
+forward a little, rocked the ball a few times in his hand; then he made
+the throw, and there was dead silence on both sides. All eyes followed
+the flying ball, one could hear it whizz as it cut the air; suddenly,
+already far from the starting point, it was covered by the wings of a
+silver gull that came flying from the dike with a scream. At the same
+time, however, one could hear something bang from a distance against
+the barrel.
+
+"Hurrah for Hauke!" called the people from the marshes, and cries went
+through the crowd: "Hauke! Hauke Haien has won the game!"
+
+He, however, when all were crowding round him, had thrust his hand to
+one side to seize another; and even when they called again: "Why are
+you still standing there, Hauke? The ball is in the barrel!"--he only
+nodded and did not budge from his place. Only when he felt that the
+little hand lay fast in his, he said: "You may be right; I think myself
+I have won."
+
+Then the whole company streamed back and Elke and Hauke were separated
+and pushed on by the crowd along the road to the inn which ascended
+from the hill of the dikemaster to the upper land. At this point both
+escaped the crowd, and while Elke went up to her room, Hauke stood in
+front of the stable door on the hill and saw how the dark mass of
+people was gradually wandering up to the parish tavern where a hall was
+ready for the dancers. Darkness was slowly spreading over the wide
+land; it was growing calmer and calmer round about, only in the stable
+behind him the cattle were stirring; from up on the high land he
+believed that he could already hear the piping of the clarinets in the
+tavern. Then round the corner of the house he heard the rustling of a
+dress, and with small steady steps someone was walking along the path
+that led through the fens up to the high land. Now he discerned the
+figure walking along in the twilight, and saw that it was Elke; she,
+too, was going to the dance at the inn. The blood shot up to his neck;
+shouldn't he run after her and go with her? But Hauke was no hero with
+women; pondering over this problem, he remained standing still until
+she had vanished from his sight in the dark.
+
+Then, when the danger of catching up with her was over, he walked along
+the same way until he had reached the inn by the church, where the
+chattering and shouting of the crowds in front of the house and in the
+hall and the shrill sounds of the violins and clarinets surged round
+him and bewildered his senses. Unobserved he made his way into the
+Guildhall; but it was not large and so crowded that he could not look a
+step ahead of him. Silently he stood by the doorpost and looked into
+the restless swarm. These people seemed to him like fools; he did not
+have to worry that anyone was still thinking of the match of this
+afternoon and about who had won the game only an hour ago; everybody
+thought only of his girl and spun round with her in a circle. His eyes
+sought only the one, and at last--there! She was dancing with her
+cousin, the young dike overseer; but soon he saw her no longer, only
+other girls from the marshes or the high land who did not concern him.
+Then suddenly the violins and clarinets broke off, and the dance was
+over; but immediately another one began. An idea shot through Hauke's
+head--he wondered if Elke would keep her word and if she would not
+dance by him with Ole Peters. He had almost uttered a scream at this
+thought; then--yes, what should he do then? But she did not seem to be
+joining in this dance, and at last it was over. Another one followed,
+however, a two-step which had just come into vogue here. The music
+started up madly, the young fellows rushed to their girls, the lights
+flickered along the walls. Hauke strained his neck to recognise the
+dancers; and there in the third couple, was Ole Peters--but who was his
+partner? A broad fellow from the marshes stood in front of her and
+covered her face! But the dance was raging on, and Ole and his partner
+were turning out of the crowd. "Vollina! Vollina Harders!" cried Hauke
+almost aloud, and drew a sigh of relief. But where was Elke? Did she
+have no partner or had she rejected all because she did not want to
+dance with Ole? And the music broke off again, and a new dance began;
+but she was not in sight! There came Ole, still with fat Vollina in his
+arms! "Well, well," said Hauke; "Jess Harders with his twenty-five
+acres will soon have to retire too! But where is Elke?"
+
+He left the doorpost and crowded farther into the hall; suddenly he was
+standing in front of her, as she sat with an older girl friend in a
+corner. "Hauke!" she called, looking up to him with her narrow face;
+"are you here? I didn't see you dance."
+
+"I didn't dance," he replied.
+
+"Why not, Hauke?" and half rising she added: "Do you want to dance with
+me? I didn't let Ole Peters do it; he won't come again!"
+
+But Hauke made no move in this direction: "Thank you, Elke," he said;
+"I don't know how to dance well enough; they might laugh at you; and
+then--" he stopped short and looked at her with his whole heart in his
+grey eyes, as if he had to leave it to them to say the rest.
+
+"What do you mean, Hauke?" she said in a low voice.
+
+"I mean, Elke, the day can't turn out any better for me than it has
+done already."
+
+"Yes," she said, "you have won the game."
+
+"Elke!" he reproached her almost inaudibly.
+
+Then her face flushed crimson: "Go!" she said; "what do you want?" and
+she cast down her eyes.
+
+But when Elke's friend was being drawn away to the dance by a young
+man, Hauke said louder: "I thought Elke, I had won something better!"
+
+A few seconds longer her eyes searched the floor; then she raised them
+slowly, and a glance met his so full of the quiet power of her nature
+that it streamed through him like summer air. "Do as your heart tells
+you to, Hauke!" she said; "we ought to know each other!"
+
+Elke did not dance any more that evening, and then, when both went
+home, they walked hand in hand. Stars were gleaming in the sky above
+the silent marshes; a light east wind was blowing and bringing severe
+cold with it; but the two walked on, without many shawls or coverings,
+as if it had suddenly turned spring.
+
+Hauke had set his mind on something the fit use for which lay in the
+uncertain future; but he had thought of celebrating with it quietly by
+himself. So the next Sunday he went into the city to the old goldsmith
+Andersen and ordered a strong gold ring. "Stretch out your finger for
+me to measure!" said the old man and seized his ring-finger. "Well," he
+said; "yours isn't quite so big as they usually are with you people!"
+But Hauke said: "You had better measure the little finger," and held
+that one toward him.
+
+The goldsmith looked at him puzzled; but what did he care about the
+notions of the young peasant fellows. "I guess we can find one among
+the girls' rings" he said, and the blood shot into both of Hauke's
+cheeks. But the little gold ring fitted his little finger, and he took
+it hastily and paid for it with shining silver; then he put it into his
+waistcoat pocket while his heart beat loudly as if he were performing a
+ceremony. There he kept it thenceforth every day with restlessness and
+yet with pride, as if the waistcoat pocket had no other purpose than to
+carry a ring.
+
+Thus he carried it for over a year--indeed, the ring even had to wander
+into a new waistcoat pocket; the occasion for its liberation had not
+yet presented itself. To be sure, it had occurred to him that he might
+go straight to his master; his own father was, after all, a landholder
+too. But when he was calmer, he knew very well that the old dikemaster
+would have laughed at his second man. And so he and the dikemaster's
+daughter lived on side by side--she, too, in maidenly silence, and yet
+both as if they were walking hand in hand.
+
+A year after that winter holiday Ole Peters had left his position and
+married Vollina Harders. Hauke had been right: the old man had retired,
+and instead of his fat daughter his brisk son-in-law was riding the
+brown mare over the fens and, as people said, on his way back always up
+the dike. Hauke was head man now, and a younger one in his place. To be
+sure, the dikemaster at first did not want to let him move up. "It's
+better he stays what he is," he had growled; "I need him here with my
+books." But Elke had told him: "Then Hauke will go too, father." So the
+old man had been scared, and Hauke had been made head man, although he
+had nevertheless kept on helping the dikemaster with his
+administration.
+
+But after another year he began to talk with Elke about how his own
+father's health was failing and told her that the few days in summer
+that his master allowed him to help on his father's farm were not
+enough; the old man was having a hard time, and he could not see that
+any more. It was on a summer evening; both stood in the twilight under
+the great ash tree in front of the house door. For a while the girl
+looked up silently into the boughs of the tree; then she replied: "I
+didn't want to say it, Hauke; I thought you would find the right thing
+to do for yourself."
+
+"Then I will have to leave your house," he said, "and can't come
+again."
+
+They were silent for a while and looked at the sunset light which
+vanished behind the dike in the sea.
+
+"You must know," she said; "only this morning I went to see your father
+and found him asleep in his armchair; his drawing pen was in his hand
+and the drawing board with a half-finished drawing lay before him on
+the table. And when he had waked up and talked to me with effort for a
+quarter of an hour, and I wanted to go, then he held me back by the
+hand so full of fear, as if he were afraid it was for the last time;
+but--"
+
+"But what, Elke?" asked Hauke, when she hesitated to go on.
+
+A few tears ran down the girl's cheeks. "I was only thinking of my
+father," she said; "believe me, it will be hard for him to get on
+without you." And then added, as if she had to summon her strength for
+these words: "It often seems to me as if he too were getting ready for
+death."
+
+Hauke said nothing; it seemed to him suddenly, as if the ring were
+stirring in his pocket. But even before he had suppressed his
+indignation over this involuntary impulse, Elke went on: "No, don't be
+angry, Hauke; I trust you won't leave us anyway."
+
+Then he eagerly took her hand, and she did not draw it away. For a
+while the young people stood together in the falling darkness, until
+their hands slipped apart and each went his way. A gust of wind started
+and rustled through the leaves of the ash tree and made the shutters
+rattle on the front of the house; but gradually the night sank down,
+and quiet lay over the gigantic plain.
+
+Through Elke's persuasion, the old dikemaster had relieved Hauke of his
+services, although he had not given notice at the right time, and two
+new hired men were in the house. A few months later Tede Haien died;
+but before he died, he called his son to his bedside: "Sit by me, my
+child;" said the old man with his faint voice, "close by me! You don't
+need to be afraid; he who is near me now is only the dark angel of the
+Lord who comes to call me."
+
+And his son, deeply affected, sat down close by the dark bed fixed to
+the wall: "Tell me, father, what you still have to say."
+
+"Yes, my son, there is still something," said the old man and stretched
+out his hands across the quilt. "When, as a half-grown boy, you went to
+serve the dikemaster, then you had the idea in your head that you
+wanted to be one yourself some day. That idea I caught from you, and
+gradually I came to think that you were the right man for it. But your
+inheritance was too small for such an office. I have lived frugally
+during your time of service--I planned to increase it."
+
+Passionately Hauke seized his father's hands, and the old man tried to
+sit up, so that he could see him. "Yes, yes, my son," he said; "there
+in the uppermost drawer of the chest is a document. You know old Antje
+Wohlers has a fen of five and a half acres; but she could not get on
+with the rent alone in her crippled old age; so I have always round
+Martinmas given the poor soul a certain sum, or more when I could; and
+for that she gave her fen over to me; it is all legally settled. Now
+she too is on her deathbed; the disease of our marshes, cancer, has
+seized her; you won't have to pay her any more."
+
+For a while he closed his eyes; then he spoke once more: "It isn't
+much; but you'll have more then than you were accustomed to with me.
+May it serve you well in your life on earth!"
+
+With his son's words of thanks in his ears, the old man fell asleep. He
+had no more cares: and after a few days the dark angel of the Lord had
+closed his eyes forever, and Hauke received his inheritance.
+
+The day after the funeral Elke came into his house. "Thanks for looking
+in, Elke," Hauke greeted her.
+
+But she replied: "I'm not looking in; I want to put things in order a
+little, so that you can live decently in your house. Your father with
+all his figures and drawings didn't look round much, and the death too
+makes confusion. I want to make things a little livable for you."
+
+His grey eyes looked full of confidence upon her. "All right, put
+things in order!" he said; "I like it better that way too."
+
+And then she began to clear up: the drawing board, which was still
+lying there, was dusted and carried up to the attic, drawing pens and
+pencil and chalk were locked away carefully in a drawer of the chest;
+then the young servant girl was called in to help and the furniture was
+put into different and better positions in the room, so that it seemed
+as if it now had grown lighter and bigger. Smiling, Elke said: "Only we
+women can do that," and Hauke in spite of his mourning for his father,
+had watched her with happy eyes, and, where there was need for it, had
+helped too.
+
+And when toward dusk--it was in the beginning of September--everything
+was just as she wanted it for him, she took his hand and nodded to him
+with her dark eyes: "Now come and have supper with us; for I had to
+promise my father to bring you; then when you go home, you can enter
+your house in peace."
+
+Then when they came into the spacious living-room of the dikemaster,
+where the shutters were already closed and the two candles burning on
+the table, the latter wanted to rise from his armchair, but his heavy
+body sank back and he only called to his former man: "That's right,
+that's right, Hauke, that you've come to see your old friends. Come
+nearer, still nearer." And when Hauke had stepped up to his chair, he
+took his hand into both of his own: "Now, now, my boy," he said, "be
+calm now, for we all must die, and your father was none of the worst.
+But Elke, now see that the roast gets on to the table; we have to get
+strength. There's a great deal of work for us, Hauke! The fall
+inspection is coming; there's a pile of dike and sluice bills as high
+as the house; the damage to the dike of the western enclosure the other
+day--I don't know where my head is, but yours, thank God, is a good bit
+younger; you're a good boy, Hauke."
+
+And after this long speech, with which the old man had laid bare his
+whole heart, he let himself drop back into his chair and blinked
+longingly toward the door, through which Elke was just coming in with
+the roast on the platter. Hauke stood smiling beside him. "Now sit
+down," said the dikemaster, "so that we won't lose time for nothing;
+that doesn't taste well cold."
+
+And Hauke sat down; it seemed to be taken for granted that he should
+help to do the work of Elke's father. And when the fall inspection had
+come and a few more months of the year were gone, he had indeed done
+the greatest part of the work.
+
+The story-teller stopped and looked round. The scream of a gull had
+knocked against the window, and out in the hall one could hear a
+stamping of feet, as if someone were taking the clay off his heavy
+boots.
+
+The dikemaster and the overseers turned their heads toward the door of
+the room. "What is it?" called the first.
+
+A strong man with a southwester on his head had stepped in.
+
+"Sir," he said, "we both have seen it--Hans Nickels and I: the rider on
+the white horse has thrown himself into the breach."
+
+"Where did you see that?" asked the dikemaster.
+
+"There is only the one break; in Jansen's fen, where the
+Hauke-Haienland begins."
+
+"Did you see it only once?"
+
+"Only once; it was only like a shadow, but that doesn't mean that this
+was the first time it happened."
+
+The dikemaster had risen. "You must excuse me," he said, turning to me,
+"we have to go out and see what this calamity is leading to." Then he
+left the room with the messenger; the rest of the company too rose and
+followed him.
+
+I stayed alone with the schoolmaster in the large deserted room;
+through the curtainless windows, which were now no longer covered by
+the backs of the guests sitting in front of them, one could have a free
+view and see how the wind was chasing the dark clouds across the sky.
+
+The old man remained on his seat, with a superior, almost pitying smile
+on his lips. "It is too empty here now," he said; "may I invite you to
+my room? I live in this house; and believe me, I know every kind of
+weather here by the dike--there is nothing for us to fear."
+
+This invitation I accepted with thanks, for I too began to feel chilly,
+and so we took a light and climbed up the stairs to a room under the
+gables; there the windows also looked toward the west, but they were
+covered by woollen rugs. In a bookcase I saw a small library, beside it
+portraits of two old professors; before a table stood a great high
+armchair. "Make yourself comfortable," said my pleasant host and threw
+some pieces of peat into the still faintly glowing stove, which was
+crowned by a tin kettle on top. "Only wait a little while! The fire
+will soon roar; then I'll mix you a little glass of grog--that'll keep
+you awake!"
+
+"I don't need that," I said; "I won't grow sleepy, when I accompany
+your Hauke upon his life-journey!"
+
+"Do you think so?" and he nodded toward me with his keen eyes, after I
+had been comfortably settled in his armchair.
+
+Well, where did we leave off? Yes, yes; I know. Well, Hauke had
+received his inheritance, and as old Antje Wohlers, too, had died of
+her ailment, his property was increased by her fen. But since the
+death, or rather, since the last words of his father, something had
+sprung up within him, the seed of which he had carried in his heart
+since his boyhood; he repeated to himself more often than enough that
+he was the right man for the post if there had to be a new dikemaster.
+That was it; his father, who had to know, who was the cleverest man in
+the village, had added his word, like a last gift to his heritage. The
+fen of the Wohlers woman, for which he had to thank his father too,
+should be the first stepping-stone to this height. For, to be sure,
+even with this--a dikemaster had to be able to show more real estate!
+But his father had got on frugally through his lonely years; and with
+what he had saved he had made himself owner of new property. This Hauke
+could do too, and even more; for his father's strength had already been
+spent, but he could do the hardest work for years. To be sure, even if
+he should succeed along this line--on account of the sharp methods he
+had brought into the administration of his old employer, he had made no
+friends in the village, and Ole Peters, his old antagonist, had just
+inherited property and was beginning to be a well-to-do man. A row of
+faces passed before his inner vision, and they all looked at him with
+hostile eyes. Then a rage against these people seized him: he stretched
+out his arms as if he would clutch them, for they wanted to push him
+from the office for which he alone, of all, was destined. These
+thoughts did not leave him; they were always there again, and so in his
+young heart there grew beside honor and love, also ambition and hate.
+But these two he locked up deep within him; even Elke surmised nothing
+of them.
+
+When the new year had come, there was a wedding; the bride was a
+relative of the Haiens, and Hauke and Elke were both invited. Indeed,
+at the wedding dinner it happened that, because a nearer relative was
+absent, they found themselves seated side by side. Their joy about this
+was betrayed only by a smile that flitted over the face of each. But
+Elke to-day sat with indifference in the midst of the noise of
+chattering and the click of the glasses.
+
+"Is something ailing you?" asked Hauke.
+
+"Oh, really nothing; only there are too many people here for me."
+
+"But you look so sad!"
+
+She shook her head; then again she said nothing.
+
+Then something like jealousy rose within him on account of her silence,
+and secretly, under the overhanging tablecloth, he seized her hand. She
+did not draw it away, but clasped it, as if full of confidence, round
+his. Had a feeling of loneliness come over her, as she had to watch the
+failing body of her father every day? Hauke did not think of asking her
+this; but his breathing stopped, as he pulled the gold ring from his
+pocket. "Will you let it stay?" he asked trembling, while he pushed the
+ring on the ring-finger of the slender hand.
+
+Opposite them at the table sat the pastor's wife; she suddenly laid
+down her fork and turned to her neighbor: "My faith, look at that
+girl!" she cried; "she is turning deadly pale!"
+
+But the blood was returning into Elke's face. "Can you wait, Hauke?"
+she asked in a low voice.
+
+Clever Frisian though he was, he nevertheless had to stop and think a
+few seconds. "For what?" he asked then.
+
+"You know perfectly well; I don't need to tell you."
+
+"You are right," he said; "yes, Elke, I can wait--if it's within a
+human limit."
+
+"Oh, God, I'm afraid, a very near one! Don't talk like that, Hauke; you
+are speaking of my father's death!" She laid her other hand on her
+breast; "Till then," she said, "I shall wear the gold ring here; you
+shan't be afraid of getting it back in my lifetime!"
+
+Then both smiled, and their hands pressed each other so tightly that on
+other occasions the girl would have cried out aloud.
+
+The pastor's wife meanwhile had looked incessantly at Elke's eyes,
+which were now glowing like dark fire under the lace fringe of her
+little gold brocade cap. But in the growing noise at the table she had
+not understood a word; neither did she turn to her partner again,
+for she was accustomed not to disturb budding marriages--and this
+seemed to be such a case--if only for the sake of the promise of the
+wedding-fee for her husband, who did the marrying.
+
+Elke's presentiment had come true; one morning after Easter the
+dikemaster Tede Volkerts had been found dead in his bed. When one
+looked at his face, one could see written upon it that his end had been
+calm. In the last months he had often expressed a weariness of life;
+his favorite roast, even his ducks, wouldn't please him any more.
+
+And now there was a great funeral in the village. Up on the high land
+in the burying-ground round the church there was on the western side a
+burial-place surrounded by a wrought-iron fence. Upright against a
+weeping willow stood a broad blue tombstone upon which was hewn the
+image of death with many teeth in the skeleton jaws; beneath it one
+could read in large letters:
+
+
+           "Ah, death all earthly things devours,
+            Takes art and knowledge that was ours;
+            The mortal man at rest here lies--
+            God give, that blesséd he may rise."
+
+
+It was the burial-place of the former dikemaster Volkert Tedsen; now a
+new grave had been dug in which his son, Tede Volkerts, was to be
+buried. And now the funeral procession was coming up from the marshes,
+a multitude of carriages from all parish villages. Upon the first one
+stood the heavy coffin, and the two shining black horses of the
+dikemaster's stable drew it up the sandy hill to the high land; their
+tails and manes were waving in the sharp spring breeze. The graveyard
+round the church was filled with people up to the ramparts; even on the
+walled gate boys were perching with little children in their arms; all
+wanted to see the burying.
+
+In the house down in the marshes Elke had prepared the funeral meal in
+the best parlour and the living-room. Old wine was set on the table in
+front of the plates; by the plate of the dikemaster general--for he,
+too, was not missing today--and of the pastor there was a bottle of
+"Langkork" for each. When everything was ready, she went through the
+stable in front of the yard door; she met no one on the way, for the
+hired men were at the funeral with two carriages. Here she stood still
+and while her mourning clothes were waving in the spring wind, she
+watched the last carriages down in the village drive up to the church.
+There after a while a great turmoil appeared, which seemed to be
+followed by a deadly silence. Elke folded her hands; now they must be
+letting the coffin into the grave: "And to dust thou shalt return!"
+Inevitably, in a low voice, as if she could have heard them from up
+here, she repeated the words. Then her eyes filled with tears, her
+hands folded across her breast sank into her lap. "Our Father, who art
+in heaven!" she prayed ardently. And when the Lord's prayer was
+finished, she stood a long time motionless--she, now the mistress of
+this great marsh farm; and thoughts of death and of life began to
+struggle within her.
+
+A distant rumbling waked her. When she opened her eyes, she again saw
+one carriage after another drive rapidly down from the marshes and up
+to her farm. She straightened herself, looked ahead sharply once more
+and then went back, as she had come, through the stable into the
+solemnly ordered living-rooms. Here too there was nobody; only through
+the wall could she hear the bustle of the maids in the kitchen. The
+festive board looked so quiet and deserted; the mirror between the
+windows had been covered with white scarfs, and likewise the brass
+knobs of the stove: there was nothing bright any more in the room. Elke
+saw that the doors of the alcove-bed, in which her father had slept his
+last sleep were open and she went up and closed them fast. Almost
+absently she read the proverb that was written on them in golden
+letters between roses and carnations:
+
+
+           "If thou thy day's work dost aright,
+            Then sleep comes by itself at night."
+
+
+That was from her grandfather! She cast a glance at the sideboard; it
+was almost empty. But through the glass doors she could still see the
+cut-glass goblet which her father, as he used to tell with relish, had
+once won as a prize when riding the ring in his youth. She took it out
+and set it in front of the dikemaster general's plate. Then she went to
+the window, for already she heard the carriages drive up the hill; one
+after the other they stopped in front of her house, and, more briskly
+than they had come, the guests leaped from their seats to the ground.
+Rubbing their hands and chattering, all crowded into the room; it
+was not long before they sat down at the festive board, where the
+well-prepared dishes were steaming--in the best parlor the dikemaster
+general and the pastor. And noise and loud talking ran along the table,
+as if death had never spread its awful stillness here. Silent, with her
+eyes upon her guests, Elke walked round the tables with her maids, to
+see that nothing was missing at the funeral meal. Hauke Haien, too, sat
+in the living-room with Ole Peters and other small landowners.
+
+When the meal was over, the white pipes were taken out of the corner
+and lighted, and Elke was again busy offering the filled coffee cups to
+her guests; for there was no economy in coffee, either, on this day. In
+the living-room, at the desk of the man just buried, the dikemaster
+general stood talking with the pastor and the white-haired dike
+overseer Jewe Manners.
+
+"Well, gentlemen," said the former; "we have buried the old dikemaster
+with honor; but where shall we get the new one? I think, Manners, you
+will have to make up your mind to accept this dignity."
+
+Old Manners smiled and lifted his little black velvet cap from his
+white hair: "Mr. Dikemaster General," he said, "the game would be too
+short then; when the deceased Tede Volkers was made dikemaster I was
+made overseer and have been now for forty years."
+
+
+"That is no defect, Manners; then you know the affairs all the better
+and won't have any trouble with them."
+
+But the old man shook his head: "No, no, your Honor, leave me where I
+am, then I can run along with the rest for a few years longer."
+
+The pastor agreed with him: "Why not give the office," he said, "to the
+man who has actually managed the affairs in the last years?"
+
+The dikemaster general looked at him: "I don't understand you, pastor!"
+
+But the pastor pointed with his finger to the best parlor, where Hauke
+in a slow serious manner seemed to be explaining something to two older
+people. "There he stands," he said; "the long Frisian over there with
+the keen grey eyes, the bony nose and the high, projecting forehead. He
+was the old man's hired man and now has his own little place; to be
+sure, he is rather young."
+
+"He seems to be about thirty," said the dikemaster general, inspecting
+the man thus presented to him.
+
+"He is scarcely twenty-four," remarked the overseer Manners; "but the
+pastor is right: all the good work that has been done with dikes and
+sluices and the like in the last years through the office of dikemaster
+has been due to him; the old man couldn't do much toward the end."
+
+"Indeed?" said the dikemaster general; "and you think, he would be the
+right man to move up into the office of his old master?"
+
+"He would be absolutely the right man," replied Jewe Manners; "but he
+lacks what they call here 'clay under one's feet;' his father had about
+fifteen, he may well have twenty acres; but with that nobody has yet
+been made dikemaster."
+
+The pastor had already opened his mouth, as if he wanted to object,
+when Elke Volkers, who had been in the room for a while, spoke to them
+suddenly: "Will your Honor allow me a word?" she said to the dikemaster
+general; "I am speaking only to prevent a mistake from turning into a
+wrong."
+
+"Then speak, Miss Elke," he replied; "wisdom always sounds well from
+the lips of pretty girls."
+
+"It isn't wisdom, your Honor; I only want to tell the truth."
+
+"That too one must be able to hear, Miss Elke."
+
+The girl let her dark eyes glance sideways, as if she wanted to make
+sure that there were no superfluous ears about: "Your Honor," she began
+then, and her breast heaved with a stronger motion, "my godfather, Jewe
+Manners, told you that Hauke Haien owned only about twenty acres; that
+is quite true in this moment, but as soon as it will be necessary,
+Hauke will call his own just so many more acres as my father's, now my
+own farm, contains. All that together ought to be enough for a
+dikemaster."
+
+Old Manners stretched his white head toward her, as if he had to see
+who was talking there: "What is that?" he said; "child, what are you
+talking about?"
+
+But Elke pulled a gleaming gold ring on a black ribbon out of her
+bodice: "I am engaged, godfather Manners," she said; "here is my ring,
+and Hauke Haien is my betrothed."
+
+"And when--I think I may ask that, as I held you at your baptism, Elke
+Volkerts--when did that happen?"
+
+"That happened some time ago; but I was of age, godfather Manners," she
+said; "my father's health had already fallen off, and as I knew him, I
+thought I had better not get him excited over this; now that he is with
+God, he will see that his child is in safekeeping with this man. I
+should have kept still about it through the year of mourning; but for
+the sake of Hauke and of the diked-in land, I had to speak." And
+turning to the dikemaster general, she added: "Your Honor will please
+forgive me."
+
+The three men looked at one another; the pastor laughed, the old
+overseer limited himself to a "hm, hm!" while the dikemaster general
+rubbed his forehead as if he were about to make an important decision.
+"Yes, dear miss," he said at last, "but how about marriage property
+rights here in this district? I must confess I am not very well versed
+in these things at this moment in all this confusion."
+
+"You don't need to be, your Honor," replied the daughter of the
+dikemaster, "before my wedding I shall make my goods over to my
+betrothed. I have my little pride too," she added smiling; "I want to
+marry the richest man in the village."
+
+"Well, Manners," said the pastor, "I think you, as godfather, won't
+mind if I join the young dikemaster with the old one's daughter!"
+
+The old man shook his head gently: "Our Lord give His blessing!" he
+said devoutly.
+
+But the dikemaster general gave the girl his hand: "You have spoken
+truly and wisely, Elke Volkerts; I thank you for your firm explanations
+and hope to be a guest in your house in the future, too, on happier
+occasions than today. But that a dikemaster should have been made by
+such a young lady--that is the wonderful part of this story!"
+
+"Your Honor," replied Elke and looked at the kindly high official with
+her serious eyes, "a true man ought to be allowed the help of his
+wife!" Then she went into the adjoining parlor and laid her hand
+silently in that of Hauke Haien.
+
+
+Several years had gone by: in the little house of Tede Haien now lived
+a vigorous workman with his wife and child; the young dikemaster Hauke
+Haien lived with his wife Elke Volkerts on the farm of her father. In
+summer the mighty ash tree murmured as before in front of the house;
+but on the bench that now stood beneath it, the young wife was usually
+seen alone in the evening, sitting with some sewing in her hands; there
+was no child yet from this marriage. The husband had other things to do
+than to sit in front of his house door, for, in spite of his having
+helped in the old man's management before, there was still a multitude
+of labors to be done which, in those other times, he had not found it
+wise to touch upon; but now everything had to be cleared up gradually,
+and he swept with a stiff broom. Besides that, there was the management
+of the farm, enlarged by his own land, especially as he was trying to
+save a second hired man. So it came about that, except on Sundays, when
+they went to church, the two married people saw each other usually only
+during dinner, which Hauke ate with great haste, and at the rise and
+close of day; it was a life of continuous work, although one of
+content.
+
+Then a troublesome rumor started. When one Sunday, after church, a
+somewhat noisy company of young landowners from the marshes and the
+higher land had stayed over their cups at the inn, they talked, when it
+came to the fourth and fifth glass, not about the king and the
+government, to be sure--they did not soar so high in those days--but
+about communal and higher officials, specially about the taxes demanded
+of the community. And the longer they talked, the less there was that
+found mercy in their eyes, particularly not the new dike taxes. All the
+sluices and locks had always held out before, and now they have to be
+repaired; always new places were found on the dike that required
+hundreds of cartloads of earth--the devil take the whole affair!
+
+"That's all on account of your clever dikemaster," cried one of the
+people of the higher land, "who always goes round pondering and sticks
+his finger into every pie!"
+
+"Yes, he is tricky and wants to win the favor of the dikemaster
+general; but we have caught him!"
+
+"Why did you let him be thrust on you?" said the other; "now you have
+to pay in cash."
+
+Ole Peters laughed. "Yes, Marten Fedders, that's the way it is here,
+and it can't be helped: the old one was made dikemaster on account of
+his father, the new one on account of his wife." The laughter which ran
+round the table showed how this sally was appreciated.
+
+But as it had been spoken at the public table of an inn, it did not
+stay there, and it was circulated in the village of the high land as
+well as that of the marshes below; and so it reached Hauke. Again the
+row of ill-meaning faces passed by his inner eye, and he heard the
+laughter round the tavern table more jeering than it really was.
+"Dogs!" he shouted, and his eyes looked grimly to the side, as if he
+wanted to have these people whipped.
+
+Then Elke laid her hand upon his arm: "Let them be; they all would like
+to be what you are."
+
+"That's just it," he replied angrily.
+
+"And," she went on, "didn't Ole Peters better himself by marriage?"
+
+"He did, Elke; but what he married with Vollina wasn't enough to be
+dikemaster on."
+
+"Say rather: he wasn't enough," and Elke turned her husband round so
+that he had to look into the mirror, for they stood between the windows
+in their room. "There is the dikemaster!" she said; "now look at him;
+only he who can manage an office has it."
+
+"You're not wrong," he replied pensively, "and yet--Well, Elke, I have
+to go to the eastern lock; the gates won't close again."
+
+He went; but he was not gone long, before the repairing of the lock was
+forgotten. Another idea, which he had only half thought out and carried
+round with him for years, which, however, had been pushed back by the
+urgent affairs of his office, now took hold of him again and more
+powerfully than before, as if he had suddenly grown wings.
+
+Before he was really aware of It himself, he found himself on the
+sea-dike a good way south toward the city; the village that lay on this
+side had some time ago vanished to the left. He was still walking on,
+fixing his eyes constantly on the seaward side of the broad foreland.
+If some one had walked beside him, he must have seen what concentrated
+mental work was going on behind those eyes. At last he stood still: the
+foreland here dwindled into a narrow strip along the dike. "It will
+have to work!" he said to himself. "Seven years in the office--they
+shan't say any more that I am dikemaster only because of my wife."
+
+He was still standing there, and his eyes swept sharply and
+thoughtfully on all sides over the green foreland. Then he walked back
+until, here too, the broad plain that lay before him ended in a narrow
+strip of green pastureland. Through this, close by the dike, shot a
+strong arm of the sea which divided almost the whole foreland from the
+mainland and made it an island; a crude wooden bridge led to it, so
+that one could go back and forth with cattle or teams of hay or grain.
+It was low tide now, and the golden September sun was glistening on the
+strip of wet clay, about a hundred feet broad, and on the deep channel
+in the middle of it through which the sea was even now driving its
+waters. "That can be damned!" said Hauke to himself, after he had
+watched this playing of the water for a while. Then he looked up, and
+on from the dike upon which he stood, past the channel, he drew an
+imaginary line along the edge of the isolated land, round toward the
+south and back again to the east over the eastern continuation of the
+channel, up to the dike. But the line which he had drawn invisibly was
+a new dike, new also in the construction of its outline, which as yet
+existed only in his head.
+
+"That would make dammed-in land of about a thousand acres," he said
+smiling to himself; "not so large; but--"
+
+Another calculation came into his mind: the foreland here belonged to
+the community, or rather, a number of shares to the single members,
+according to the size of their property in the municipality or other
+legal income. He began to count up how many shares he had received from
+his father and how many from Elke's father, and how many he had already
+bought during his marriage, partly with a dim foreboding of future
+gain, partly because of his increased sheep stock. It was a
+considerable lot; for he had also bought all of Ole Peter's shares when
+the latter had been disgusted because his best ram had been drowned,
+once when the foreland had been partly flooded. What excellent pasture
+and farm land that must make and how valuable it would be if it were
+all surrounded by his new dike! Like intoxication this idea rose into
+his brain; but he pressed his nails into the hollows of his hands and
+forced his eyes to see clearly and soberly what lay there before him: a
+great plain without a dike exposed to who knew what storms and floods
+in the next years, and at its outermost edge a herd of dirty sheep now
+wandering and grazing slowly. That meant a heap of work, struggle, and
+annoyance for him! In spite of all that, as he was walking on the
+footpath down from the dike across the fens toward his hill, he felt as
+if he were carrying home a great treasure.
+
+In the hall Elke came to meet him: "How about the lock?" she asked.
+
+He looked down at her with a mysterious smile: "We shall soon need
+another lock," he said; "and sluices and a new dike."
+
+"I don't understand," returned Elke, as they walked into the room;
+"what do you want to do, Hauke?"
+
+"I want," he began slowly and then stopped for a second, "I want the
+big foreland that begins opposite our place and stretches on westward
+to be diked in and made into a solid enclosure. The high floods have
+left us in peace for almost a generation now; but when one of the bad
+ones comes again and destroys the growth down there--then all at once
+there'll be an end to all this glory. Only the old slackway has let
+things stay like this till to-day."
+
+She looked at him with astonishment: "Why, you are scolding yourself!"
+she said.
+
+"I am, Elke; but till now there were so many other things to do."
+
+"Yes, Hauke; surely, you have done enough."
+
+He had sat down in the armchair of the old dikemaster, and his hands
+were clutching both arms fast.
+
+"Have you the courage for it?" his wife asked him.
+
+"I have that, Elke," he spoke hastily.
+
+"Don't be too hasty, Hauke; that work is a matter of life and death;
+and almost all the people will be against you, they won't thank you for
+your labor and trouble."
+
+He nodded. "I know that!" he said.
+
+"And if it will only succeed," she cried again, "ever since I was a
+child I heard that the channel can't be stopped up, and that therefore
+one shouldn't touch it."
+
+"That was an excuse for the lazy ones!" said Hauke; "why shouldn't one
+be able to stop up the channel?"
+
+"That I have not heard; perhaps because it goes right through; the rush
+of the water is too strong." A remembrance came over her and an almost
+mischievous smile gleamed out of her serious eyes: "When I was a
+child," she told, "I heard our hired men talk about it once; they said,
+if a dam was to hold there, some live thing would have to be thrown
+into the hole and diked up with the rest; when they were building a
+dike on the other side, about a hundred years ago, a gipsy child was
+dammed in that they had bought from its mother for a lot of money. But
+now I suppose no one would sell her child."
+
+Hauke shook his head: "Then it is just as well that we have none; else
+they would do nothing less than demand it of us."
+
+"They shouldn't get it!" said Elke and folded her arms across her body
+as if in fear.
+
+And Hauke smiled; but she asked again: "And the huge cost? Have you
+thought of that?"
+
+"I have, Elke; what we will get out of it will far surpass the cost;
+even the cost of keeping up the old dike will be covered a good bit by
+the new one. We do our own work and there are over eighty teams of
+horses in the community, and there is no lack of young strong arms. At
+least you shan't have made me dikemaster for nothing, Elke; I want to
+show them that I am one!"
+
+She had been crouching in front of him and looking at him full of care;
+now she rose with a sigh. "I have to go back to my day's work," she
+said, and gently stroked his cheek; "you do yours, Hauke."
+
+"Amen, Hike!" he said with a serious smile; "there is work enough for
+us both."
+
+There was truly work enough for both, but the heaviest burden was now
+on the man's shoulder. On Sunday afternoons, often too in the evenings,
+Hauke sat together with a good surveyor, deep in calculations, drawings
+and plans; when he was alone, he did the same and often did not stop
+till long after midnight. Then he would slip into their common
+sleeping-room--for the stuffy beds fixed to the wall in the living-room
+were no longer used in Hauke's household--and his wife would lie with
+her eyes closed, pretending to sleep, so that he would get his rest at
+last, although she was really waiting for him with a beating heart.
+Then he would sometimes kiss her forehead and say a low word of love,
+and then lie down to sleep, though sleep often did not come to him
+before the first crowing of the cock. In the winter storms he ran out
+on the dike with pencil and paper in his hand, and stood and made
+drawings and took notes while a gust of wind would tear his cap from
+his head and make his long, light hair fly round his heated face. Soon,
+as long as the ice did not bar his way, he rowed with a servant out
+into the sea and with plumb line and rods measured the depths of the
+currents about which he was not yet sure. Often enough Elke trembled
+for his life, but when he was safely back, he could hardly have noticed
+anything, except by the tight clasp of her hand or by the bright
+lightning that gleamed from her usually so quiet eyes. "Have patience,
+Elke," he said once when it seemed to him as if his wife would not let
+him alone; "I have to have the whole thing clear to myself before I
+propose it." Then she nodded and let him be. There were no less rides
+into the city, either, to see the dikemaster general, and all these and
+the labors for house and farm were always followed by work late into
+the night. His intercourse with other people outside of his work and
+business vanished almost entirely; even with his wife it grew less and
+less. "These are bad times, and they will last long yet," said Elke to
+herself and went to her work.
+
+At last, when sun and spring winds had broken the ice everywhere, the
+last work in preparation had been done. The petition to the dikemaster
+general, to be seconded by a higher official, contained the proposal
+that the foreland should be diked for the promoting of the general
+weal, particularly of the diked-in district, as well as the ruler's
+treasury, as this would receive in a few years the taxes from about a
+thousand acres. This was neatly copied and put into a firm envelope
+together with the corresponding drafts and plans of all the positions,
+present and future, of the locks and sluices and everything else that
+belonged to the project; and this was sealed with the official seal of
+the dikemaster.
+
+"Here it is, Elke," said the young dikemaster; "now give it your
+blessing."
+
+Elke laid her hand into his: "We want to stand by each other," she
+said.
+
+"Yes, we do."
+
+Then the petition was sent into the city by a messenger on horseback.
+
+I must call your attention to the fact, dear sir, the schoolmaster
+interrupted his account, fixing his eyes pleasantly upon me, that
+what I have told you up to this point I have gathered during my
+activity of almost forty years in this district from the traditions
+of intelligent people or from the tales of their grandchildren and
+great-grandchildren. What I am about to tell you now, so that you may
+find the right connection between what has gone before and the final
+outcome of my story, used to be and is still the talk of the whole
+marsh village, as soon as the spinning-wheels begin to whir round All
+Saints' Day.
+
+If one stood on the dike, about five or six hundred feet to the north
+of the dikemaster's farm, one could, at that time, look a few thousand
+feet out over the sea, and somewhat farther from the opposite shore one
+could see a little island, which they called "Jeverssand," or "Jevers
+Island." Our forefathers of that generation had used it as a pasture
+for sheep, for at that time grass was still growing on it; but even
+that had stopped, because the low island had several times been flooded
+by the sea, and in midsummer too, so that the growth of grass was
+stunted and made useless as a sheep pasture. So it happened that the
+island had no more visitors except gulls and other birds and
+occasionally a sea eagle; and on moonlight nights from the dike one
+could only see the light or heavy mists pass over it. And people
+believed that, when the moon shone upon the island from the east, they
+could recognise a few bleached skeletons of drowned sheep and that of a
+horse, although, to be sure, no one could understand how it had come
+there.
+
+It was at the end of March that the day laborer from the house of Tede
+Haien and Iven Johns, the hired man of the young dikemaster, stood
+beside each other at that place and without stirring stared at the
+island which could scarcely be recognised in the dim moonshine; but
+something out of the ordinary seemed to hold them there. The laborer
+put his hands into his pockets and shuddered: "Come, Iven," he said;
+"there's nothing good in that; let us go home."
+
+The other laughed, even though horror sounded through his laughter:
+"Oh, bosh, it's a live creature, a big one! Who the devil has chased it
+on to the clay out there? Look, now it's stretching its neck our way!
+No, it's drooping its head; it is feeding. I'd have thought, there was
+nothing to feed on there! What can it be?"
+
+"That's not our business!" replied the other. "Good night, Iven, if you
+don't want to go with me; I'm going home!"
+
+"Oh, yes; you've got a wife, you can go into your warm bed! But I've
+got a lot of March air in my room!"
+
+"Good night, then," the laborer called back, as he marched home on the
+dike. The hired man looked round a few times after his fleeing
+companion; but the desire to see something gruesome held him fast. Then
+a dark, stocky figure came toward him on the dike from the village; it
+was the servant boy of the dikemaster. "What do you want, Carsten?" the
+hired man called to him.
+
+"I?--nothing," said the boy; "but our master wants to speak to you,
+Iven
+Johns."
+
+The man's eyes were drawn back to the island again. "All right, I'm
+coming right off," he said.
+
+"What are you looking at so?" asked the boy.
+
+The man raised his arm and pointed silently to the island. "Oh, look!"
+whispered the boy; "there goes a horse--a white horse--the devil must
+be riding that--how can a horse get to Jevers Island?"
+
+"Don't know, Carsten; if it's only a real horse!"
+
+"Yes, yes, Iven; look, now it's feeding just like a horse! But who has
+brought it there--we have no boats in the village big enough! Perhaps
+it's only a sheep; Peter Ohm says by moonlight ten circles of peat look
+like a whole village. No, look! Now it's jumping around--it must be a
+horse, after all!"
+
+Both stood silent for a while, their eyes fixed on what they saw
+indistinctly going on upon yonder island. The moon stood high in the
+heavens and shone upon the wide sea that was just beginning, as the
+tide rose, to wash with its waters over the glistening flats of clay.
+Only the low murmur of the water, not the sound of a single animal
+was heard here in the vast open; on the marshes behind the dike,
+too, all was deserted, and cows and oxen were still in their stalls.
+Nothing stirred; only the thing that they took for a horse--a white
+horse--seemed to be moving on Jevers Island. "It is growing lighter,"
+the hired man broke into the silence; "I can see the white sheeps'
+skeletons shimmer distinctly!"
+
+"I too," said the boy and stretched his neck; but then, as if it came
+over him suddenly, he pulled the man by the sleeve. "Iven," he gasped,
+"the horse skeleton, that used to lie there too--where is that? I can't
+see it!"
+
+"I don't see it either. Strange!" said the man.
+
+"Not so strange, Iven! Sometimes, I don't know in what nights, the
+bones are supposed to rise and act as if they were alive!"
+
+"Is that so?" said the man; "that's an old wives' story!"
+
+"May be, Iven," said the boy.
+
+"But I thought you were sent to get me. Come, we have to go home. It
+always stays the same, anyway."
+
+The man could not get the boy away until he had turned him round by
+force and pushed him on to the way. "Listen, Carsten," said the former,
+when the ghostly island lay a good way behind him, "you are supposed to
+be a good sport; I believe you would like to inspect these doings
+yourself."
+
+"Yes," replied Carsten, still shuddering a little. "Yes, I'd like to do
+that, Iven."
+
+"Do you really mean that? Then," said the man after he had given his
+hand to the boy emphatically, "we'll take our boat to-morrow evening;
+you row to Jeverssand; I'll stay on the dike in the meantime."
+
+"Yes," replied the boy, "that'll work! I'll take my whip with me."
+
+"Do that."
+
+Silently they came near the house of their employers, to which they
+slowly climbed up the high hill.
+
+At the same hour on the following night the hired man sat on the big
+stone in front of the stable door, when the boy came to him, snapping
+his whip. "What a strange sound!" said the former.
+
+"I should say--take care!" returned the boy; "I have stuck nails into
+the string, too."
+
+"Then come," said the other.
+
+As on the night before, the moon stood in the eastern sky and looked
+down with a clear light. Soon both were out on the dike again and
+looked over to Jevers Island, that looked like a strip of mist in the
+water. "There it goes again," said the man; "I was here in the
+afternoon, and then it wasn't there; but I saw the white horse skeleton
+lying there distinctly!"
+
+The boy stretched his neck: "That isn't there now, Iven," he whispered.
+
+"Well, Carsten, how is it?" said the man. "Are you still keen on rowing
+over?"
+
+Carsten stopped to think a moment; then he struck the air with his
+whip: "Go ahead and slip the mooring, Iven."
+
+But over yonder it seemed as if the creature moving there were
+stretching its neck and raising its head toward the mainland. They were
+not seeing it any more; they were already walking down the dike to the
+place where the boat was moored. "Now get in," said the man, after he
+had slipped the mooring. "I'll wait till you are back. You'll have to
+land on the eastern side; that's where one always could land." And the
+boy nodded silently and rowed away into the moonlit night with his
+whip; the man wandered back to the foot of the dike and climbed on to
+it again at the place where they had stood before. Soon he saw how the
+boat was moored at a steep, dark place, where a broad creek flowed out,
+and how a stocky figure leaped ashore. Didn't it seem as if the boy
+were snapping his whip? But then, too, it might be the sound of the
+rising flood. Several hundred feet to the north he saw what they had
+taken for a white horse; and now--yes, the figure of the boy came
+marching straight up to it. Now it raised its head as if it were
+startled; and the boy--now one could hear it plainly--snapped his whip.
+But--what was he doing? He was turning round, he was going back the
+same way he had come. The creature over there seemed to graze on
+unceasingly; no sound of neighing could be heard; sometimes it seemed
+as if strips of water were drawn across the apparition. The man gazed
+as if spellbound.
+
+Then he heard the arrival of the boat at the shore he was on, and soon
+in the dusk he saw the boy climb toward him up the dike. "Well,
+Carsten," he asked, "what was it?"
+
+The boy shook his head. "It was nothing!" he said. "From the boat I saw
+it a short way off; but then, when I was on the island--the devil knows
+where that animal has hid himself! The moonlight was bright enough; but
+when I came to that place there was nothing there but the pale bones of
+a half dozen sheep, and a little farther away lay the horse skeleton,
+too, with its white, long skull and let the moon shine into its empty
+sockets."
+
+"Hm!" replied the man; "are you sure you saw right?"
+
+"Yes, Iven, I stood in the place; a forlorn bird that had cowered
+behind the skeleton for the night flew up screaming so that I was
+startled and snapped my whip after it a few times."
+
+"And that was all?"
+
+"Yes, Iven; I don't know any more."
+
+"It is enough, too," said the man, then he pulled the boy toward him by
+the arm and pointed over to the island. "Do you see something over
+there, Carsten?"
+
+"It's true, there it goes again."
+
+"Again?" said the man; "I've been looking over there all the time, and
+it hasn't been away at all; you went right up to the monster."
+
+The boy stared at him; all at once horror was in his usually so pert
+face, and this did not escape the man. "Come," said the latter,
+"let's go home: from here it looks alive and over there is nothing but
+bones--that's more than you and I can grasp. But keep quiet about it,
+one mustn't talk of these things."
+
+They turned round and the boy trotted beside him; they did not speak,
+and by their side the marshes lay in perfect silence.
+
+But when the moon had vanished and the nights were black, something
+else happened.
+
+At the time when the horse market was going on Hauke Haien had ridden
+into the city, although he had had nothing to do with the market.
+Nevertheless, when he came home toward evening, he brought home a
+second horse. It had rough hair, however, and was lean, so that one
+could count every rib and its eyes looked tired and sunken deep into
+the sockets. Elke had stepped out in front of the house door to meet
+her husband: "Heaven help us!" she cried, "what shall we do with that
+old white horse?" For when Hauke had ridden up to the house with it and
+stopped under the ash tree, she had seen that the poor creature was
+lame, too.
+
+The young dikemaster, however, jumped laughing down from his brown
+horse: "Never mind, Elke; it didn't cost much, anyway."
+
+The clever woman replied: "You know, the greatest bargain turns out to
+be the most expensive."
+
+"But not always, Elke; this animal is at most four years old; look at
+it more carefully. It is starved and has been abused; our oats shall do
+it good. I'll take care of it myself, so that they won't overfeed it."
+
+Meanwhile the animal stood with bowed head; its long mane hung down its
+neck. Elke, while her husband was calling the hired men, walked round
+it with curious eyes; but she shook her head: "A horse like this has
+never yet been in our stable."
+
+When the servant boy came round the corner, he suddenly stood still
+with frightened eyes. "Well, Carsten," called the dikemaster, "what has
+struck you? Don't you like my white horse?"
+
+"Yes--oh, yes, master, why not?"
+
+"Then take the animal into the stable; don't feed it. I'll come myself
+right off."
+
+The boy took hold of the halter of the white horse carefully and then
+hastily, as if for protection, seized the bridle of the brown horse
+also put into his trust. Hauke then went into the room with his wife.
+She had warm beer ready for him, and bread and butter were there, too.
+
+He had soon finished; then he got up and walked up and down the room
+with his wife. "Let me tell you, Elke," he said, while the evening glow
+played on the tiles of the wall, "how I came to get the animal. I
+spent about an hour at the dikemaster general's; he has good news for
+me--there will be some departures, here and there, from my drawings;
+but the main thing, my outline, has been accepted, and the next days
+may bring the command to begin the new dike."
+
+Elke sighed involuntarily. "After all?" she said, anxiously.
+
+"Yes, wife," returned Hauke; "it will be hard work; but for that, I
+think, the Lord has brought us together! Our farm is in such good order
+now, you can take a good part of it on your own shoulders. Think ahead
+ten years--then we'll own quite a different property."
+
+During his first words she had pressed her husband's hand into hers as
+a sign of assurance; but his last words could give her no pleasure.
+"For whom all the property?" she said. "You would have to take another
+wife then; I shall bring you no children."
+
+Tears shot into her eyes; but he drew her close into his arms. "We'll
+leave that to the Lord," he said; "but now and at that time too, we are
+young enough to have joy for ourselves in the fruits of our labors."
+
+She looked at him a long time with her dark eyes while he held her.
+"Forgive me, Hauke," she said; "sometimes I am a woman in despair."
+
+He bent down to her face and kissed her: "You are my wife and I am your
+husband, Elke. And nothing can alter that."
+
+Then she clasped her arms tightly round his neck: "You are right,
+Hauke, and what comes, will come for us both." Then she freed him,
+blushing. "You wanted to tell me about the white horse," she said in a
+low voice.
+
+"So I did, Elke. I told you, my head and heart were full of joy over
+the good news that the dikemaster general had given me. So I was riding
+back again out of the city, when on the dam, behind the harbor, I met a
+shabby fellow--I couldn't tell if he was a vagabond, a tinker, or what.
+This fellow was pulling the white horse after him by the halter; but
+the animal raised his head and looked at me with dull eyes. It seemed
+to me as if he wanted to beg me for something--and, indeed, at that
+moment I was rich enough. 'Hallo, good sir,' I hailed him, 'where do
+you want to go with your jade?'
+
+"The fellow stopped, and the white horse, too. 'Sell him,' he said, and
+nodded to me slyly.
+
+"'But spare me!' I called cheerfully.
+
+"'I think I shall!' he said; 'it's a good horse and worth no less than
+a hundred dollars.'
+
+"I laughed into his face.
+
+"'Well,' he said, 'don't laugh so hard; you don't need to pay it. But I
+have no use for it, it'll perish with me; with you it would soon look
+different.'
+
+"Then I jumped down from my brown horse and looked into the white
+horse's mouth and saw that it was still a young animal. 'How much do
+you want for it?' I cried, for again the horse seemed to look at me
+beseechingly.
+
+"'Sir, take it for thirty dollars,' said the fellow, 'and I'll give you
+the halter to the bargain.'
+
+"And then, wife, I took the fellow's stretched-out brown hand, which
+looked almost like a claw. And so we have the white horse, and I think
+a good enough bargain. The only strange thing was that, when I rode
+away with the horses, I soon heard laughter behind me, and when I
+turned round my head, saw the Slovak standing with his legs apart, his
+arms on his back, and laughing after me like a devil.
+
+"Oh, horror," cried Elke; "I hope that white horse will bring you
+nothing from his old master. May he thrive for your good, Hauke!"
+
+"Thrive he shall, at least as far as I can make him!" And the
+dikemaster went into the stable, as he had told the boy a while ago.
+
+But not only on the first night did he feed the white horse--from that
+time on he always did it himself and did not leave the animal out of
+sight. He wanted to show that he had made a first-rate bargain; anyway,
+he did not want to allow any mistake. And already after a few weeks the
+animal's condition improved: gradually the rough hair vanished; a
+smooth, blue-spotted skin appeared, and one day when he led it round on
+the place, it walked nimbly on its steady legs. Hauke thought of the
+adventurous seller. "That fellow was a fool, or a knave who had stolen
+it," he murmured to himself. Then soon, when the horse merely heard his
+footsteps, it threw back its head and neighed to greet him; and now he
+saw too that it had, what the Arabs demand of a good horse, a spare
+face, out of which two fiery brown eyes were gleaming. He would lead it
+into its stable and put a light saddle on it; and scarcely did he sit
+on the saddle, when the animal uttered a neigh like a shout of delight.
+It sped away with him, down the hill to the road and then to the dike;
+but the rider sat securely, and when they had reached the top, it went
+more quietly, easily, as if dancing, and thrust its head to the side of
+the sea. He patted and stroked its smooth neck, but it no longer needed
+these endearments, the horse seemed altogether to be one with the
+rider, and after he had ridden a distance northwards out on the dike,
+he turned it easily and reached the farm again.
+
+The men stood at the foot of the hill and waited for the return of
+their master. "Now, John," he cried, as he leaped down from his horse,
+"you ride it to the fens where the others are; it'll carry you like a
+cradle."
+
+The white horse shook its head and neighed aloud over the sunny
+marshes, while the hired man was taking off the saddle and the boy ran
+with it to the harness-room; then it laid its head on its master's
+shoulder and suffered him to caress it. But when the hired man wanted
+to swing himself on its back, it leaped to the side with a sudden bound
+and then stood motionless, turning its beautiful eyes on its master.
+"Hallo, Iven," cried Hauke, "has he hurt you?" and he tried to help his
+man up from the ground.
+
+The latter was busily rubbing his hip: "No, sir, I can manage still;
+but let the devil ride that white horse!"
+
+"And me!" Hauke added, laughing. "Then bring him to the fens by the
+bridle."
+
+And when the man obeyed, somewhat humiliated, the white horse meekly
+let itself be led.
+
+A few evenings later the man and the boy stood together in front of the
+stable door. The sunset gleam had vanished behind the dike, the land it
+enclosed was already wrapped in twilight; only at rare intervals from
+far off one could hear the lowing of a startled bull or the scream of a
+lark whose life was ending through the assault of a weasel or a water
+rat. The man was leaning against the doorpost and smoking his short
+pipe, from which he could no longer see the smoke; he and the boy had
+not yet talked together. Something weighed on the boy's soul, however,
+but he did not know how to begin with the silent man. "Iven," he said
+finally, "you know that horse skeleton on Jeverssand."
+
+"What about it?" asked the man.
+
+"Yes, Iven, what about it? It isn't there any more? neither by day nor
+by moonlight; I've run up to the dike about twenty times."
+
+"The old bones have tumbled to pieces, I suppose," said Iven and calmly
+smoked on.
+
+"But I was out there by moonlight, too; nothing is moving over there on
+Jeverssand, either!"
+
+"Why, yes!" said the man, "if the bones have fallen apart, it won't be
+able to get up any more."
+
+"Don't joke, Iven! I know now; I can tell you where it is."
+
+The man turned to him suddenly: "Well, where is it, then?"
+
+"Where?" repeated the boy emphatically. "It is standing in our stable;
+there it has been standing, ever since it was no more on the island. It
+isn't for nothing that our master always feeds it himself; I know about
+it, Iven."
+
+For a while the man puffed away violently into the night. "You're not
+right in your mind, Carsten," he said then; "our white horse? If ever a
+horse was alive, that one is. How can a wide-awake youngster like you
+get mixed up with such an old wives' belief!"
+
+But the boy could not be converted: if the devil was inside the white
+horse, why shouldn't it be alive? On the contrary, it was all the
+worse. He started, frightened, every time that he stepped into the
+stable toward night, where the creature was sometimes kept in summer
+and it turned its fiery head toward him so violently. "The devil take
+you!" he would mutter; "we won't stay together much longer!"
+
+So he secretly looked round for a new place, gave notice and, about All
+Saints' Day, went to Ole Peters as hired man. Here he found attentive
+listeners for his story of the dikemaster's devil's horse. Fat Mrs.
+Vollina and her dull-witted father, the former dike overseer, Jess
+Harders, listened in smug horror and afterwards told it to all who had
+a grudge against the dikemaster in their hearts or who took pleasure in
+that kind of thing.
+
+In the mean time already at the end of March the order to begin on the
+new dike had arrived from the dikemaster general. Hauke first called
+the dike overseers together, and in the inn up by the church they had
+all appeared one day and listened while he read to them the main points
+from the documents that had been drawn up so far: points from his
+petition from the report of the dikemaster general, and lastly the
+final order in which, above all, the outline which he had proposed was
+accepted, so that the new dike should not be steep like the old ones,
+but slant gradually toward the sea. But they did not listen with
+cheerful or even satisfied faces.
+
+"Well, yes," said an old dike overseer, "here we have the whole
+business now, and protests won't do any good, because the dikemaster
+general patronises our dikemaster."
+
+"You're right, Detlev Wiens," added a second; "our spring work is
+waiting, and now a dike miles long is to be made? then everything will
+have to be left undone."
+
+"You can finish all that this year," said Hauke; "things don't move as
+fast as that."
+
+Few wanted to admit that. "But your profile," said a third, bringing up
+something new; "the dike will be as broad on the outside toward the
+water as other things are long. Where shall we get the material? When
+shall the work be done?"
+
+"If not this year, then next year; that will depend chiefly on
+ourselves," said Hauke.
+
+Angry laughter passed along the whole company. "But what is all that
+useless labor for? The dike isn't supposed to be any bigger than the
+old one;" cried a new voice; "and I'm sure that's stood for over thirty
+years."
+
+"You are right," said Hauke, "thirty years ago the old dike broke; then
+backwards thirty-five years ago, and again forty-five years ago; but
+since then, although it is still standing steep and senseless, the
+highest floods have spared us. But the new dike is to stand in spite of
+such floods for hundreds of years; for it will not be broken through;
+because the gentle slope toward the sea gives the waves no point of
+attack, and so you will gain safe land for yourselves and your
+children, and that is why the government and the dikemaster general
+support me--and, besides, that is what you ought to be aware of for
+your own profit."
+
+When the assembled were not ready on the spot to answer these words, an
+old white-haired man rose with difficulty from his chair. It was Elke's
+godfather, Jewe Manners, who, in response to Hauke's beseeching, had
+kept his office as dike overseer.
+
+"Dikemaster Hauke Haien," he said, "you give us much commotion and
+expense, and I wish you had waited with all this until the Lord had
+called me to rest; but--you are right, and only unreason can deny that.
+We ought to thank God every day that He has kept us our precious piece
+of foreland against storms and the force of the tide, in spite of our
+idleness; now, I believe, is the eleventh hour, in which we must lend a
+hand and try to save it for ourselves to the best of our knowledge and
+powers, and not defy God's patience any longer. I, my friends, am an
+old man; I have seen dikes built and broken; but the dike that Hauke
+Haien has proposed according to his God-given insight and has carried
+through with the government--that dike none of you living men will see
+broken. And if you don't want to thank him yourselves, your
+grandchildren some day will not deny him his laurel wreath."
+
+Jewe Manners sat down again; he took his blue handkerchief from his
+pocket and wiped a few drops from his forehead. The old man was still
+known as a man of efficiency and irreproachable integrity, and as the
+assembly was not inclined to agree with him, it remained silent. But
+Hauke Haien took the floor, though all saw that he had grown pale.
+
+"I thank you, Jewe Manners," he said, "for staying here and for what
+you have said. You other gentlemen, have the goodness at least to
+consider the building of the new dike, which indeed will be my burden,
+as something that cannot be helped any more, and let us decide
+accordingly what needs to be done."
+
+"Speak!" said one of the overseers. And Hauke spread the map of the new
+dike out on the table.
+
+"A while ago someone has asked," he began, "from where we shall get the
+soil? You see, as far as the foreland stretches out into the flooded
+district, a strip of land is left free outside of the dike line; from
+this we can take our soil and from the foreland which runs north and
+south along the dike from the new enclosed land. If we have a good
+layer of clay at the water side, at the inside and the middle we can
+take sand. Now first we have to get a surveyor to mark off the line of
+the new dike on the foreland. The one who helped me work out my plan
+will be best suited for the work. Furthermore we have to order some
+one-horse tipcarts at a cartwright's for the purpose of getting our
+clay and other material. For damming the channel and also for the
+inside, where we may have to use sand, we shall need--I cannot tell now
+how many cartloads of straw for the dike, perhaps more than can be
+spared in the marshes. Let us discuss then now how all this is to be
+acquired and arranged. The new lock here, too, on the west side toward
+the water will have to be given over to an efficient carpenter later
+for repairs."
+
+The assembly gathered round the table, looked at the map with half
+attention and gradually began to talk; but it seemed as if they did it
+merely so that there might be some talking. When it came to the choice
+of a surveyor, one of the younger ones remarked: "You have thought it
+out, dikemaster; you must know best yourself who is fit for it."
+
+But Hauke replied: "As you are sworn men, you have to speak your own
+opinion, Jacob Meyen; and if you think of something better, I'll let my
+proposal fall."
+
+"Oh, I guess it'll be all right," said Jacob Meyen.
+
+But one of the older ones did not think that it would be so perfectly
+all right. He had a nephew, a surveyor, the like of whom had never been
+in the marshes, who was said to surpass the dikemaster's father, the
+late Tede Haien.
+
+So there was a discussion about the two surveyors and it was finally
+decided to let both do the work together. There was similar disputing
+over the carts, the furnishing of the straw and everything else, and
+Hauke came home late and almost exhausted on his brown horse which he
+was still riding at that time. But when he sat in the old armchair,
+handed down from his self-important but more easy-going predecessor,
+his wife was quickly at his side: "You look tired, Hauke, she said, and
+with her slender hand pushed his hair out of his forehead.
+
+"A little, I suppose," he replied.
+
+"And is it getting on?"
+
+"It'll get on;" he said with a bitter smile; "but I myself have to push
+the wheels and have to be glad if they aren't kept back."
+
+"But not by all?"
+
+"No, Elke; your godfather, Jewe Manners, is a good man; I wish he were
+thirty years younger."
+
+When after a few weeks the dike line had been marked off and most of
+the carts had been furnished, the dikemaster had gathered together in
+the inn by the church all the shareholders of the land to be diked in
+and also the owners of the land behind the old dike. He wanted to
+present to them a plan for the distribution of the work and the cost
+and to hear their possible objections; for the owners of the old land
+had to bear their part of the labor and the cost because the new dike
+and the new sluices would lessen the running expenses of the older
+ones. This plan had been a hard piece of work for Hauke and if he had
+not been given a dike messenger and a dike clerk through the mediation
+of the dikemaster general, he could not have accomplished it so soon,
+although again he was working well into the night. When he went to bed,
+tired to death, his wife no longer waited for him with feigned sleep;
+she, too, had such a full share of daily work that she lay, as if at
+the bottom of a deep well, in a sleep that could not be disturbed.
+
+Now Hauke read his plan and again spread his papers out on the
+table--papers which, to be sure, had already lain for three days in the
+inn for inspection. Some serious men were present, who regarded this
+conscientious diligence with awe, and who, after quiet consideration,
+submitted to the low charge of the dikemaster. But others, whose shares
+in the new land had been sold either by themselves or their fathers or
+someone else who had bought them, complained because they had to pay
+part of the expenses of the new diked-in land which no longer concerned
+them, not thinking that through the new work the old lands would be
+less costly to keep up. Again there were others who were blessed with
+shares for the new land who clamoured that one should buy these of them
+for very little, because they wanted to be rid of shares that burdened
+them with such unreasonable labor. Ole Peters who was leaning against
+the doorpost with a grim face, shouted into the midst: "Think first and
+then trust in our dikemaster! He knows how to calculate; he already had
+most of the shares, then he was clever enough to get mine at a bargain,
+and when he had them, he decided to dike in the new land."
+
+After these words for a moment a deadly silence fell upon the assembly.
+The dikemaster stood by the table where he had spread out his papers
+before; he raised his head and looked over to Ole Peters: "You know
+very well, Ole Peters," he said, "that you are libeling me; you are
+doing it just the same, because you know that, nevertheless, a good
+part of the dirt you are throwing at me will cling to me. The truth is
+that you wanted to be rid of your shares, and that at that time I
+needed them for my sheep raising. And if you want to know more I will
+tell you that the dirty words which escaped your lips here at the inn,
+namely that I was made dikemaster only on account of my wife--that they
+have stirred me up and I wanted to show you all that I could be
+dikemaster on my own account. And so, Ole Peters, I have done what the
+dikemaster before me ought to have done. If you are angry, though,
+because at that time your shares were made mine--you hear now, there
+are enough who want to sell theirs cheaply, because the work connected
+with them is too much."
+
+There was applause from a small part of the assembled men, and old Jewe
+Manners, who stood among them, cried aloud: "Bravo, Hauke Haien! The
+Lord will let your work succeed!"
+
+But they did not finish after all, although Ole Peters was silent, and
+the people did not disperse till supper time. Not until they had a
+second meeting was everything settled, and then only after Hauke had
+agreed to furnish four teams in the next month instead of the three
+that were his share.
+
+At last, when the Whitsuntide bells were ringing through the land, the
+work had begun: unceasingly the dumpcarts were driven from the foreland
+to the dike line, there to dump the clay, and in the same way an equal
+number was driven back to get new clay from the foreland. At the line
+of the dike itself men stood with shovels and spades in order to put
+the dumped clay into its right place and to smooth it. Huge loads of
+straw were driven up and taken down. This straw was not only used to
+cover the lighter material, like sand and loose earth, which was used
+for the inside; gradually single pieces of the dike were finished, and
+the sod with which they were covered was in places securely overlaid
+with straw as a protection against the gnawing waves. Inspectors
+engaged for the purpose walked back and forth, and when it was stormy,
+they stood with wide open mouths and shouted their orders through wind
+and storm. In and out among them rode the dikemaster on his white
+horse, which he now used exclusively, and the animal flew back and
+forth with its rider, while he gave his orders quickly and drily,
+praised the workmen, or, as it happened sometimes, dismissed a lazy or
+clumsy man without mercy. "That can't be helped!" he would cry; "we
+can't have the dike spoiled on account of your laziness!" From far,
+when he came up from the enclosed land below, they heard the snorting
+of his horse, and all hands went to work more briskly. "Come on, get to
+work! There's the rider on the white horse!"
+
+During breakfast time, when the workmen sat together in masses on the
+ground, with their morning bread, Hauke rode along the deserted works,
+and his eyes were sharp to spy where slovenly hands had used the spade.
+Then when he rode up to the men and explained to them how the work
+ought to be done, they would look up at him and keep on chewing their
+bread patiently; but he never heard a word of assent or even any
+remark. Once at this time of day, though rather late, when he had found
+the work on a part of the dike particularly well done, he rode to the
+nearest assembly of breakfasting men, jumped down from his white horse
+and asked cheerfully who had done such a neat day's work. But they only
+looked at him shyly and sombrely and only slowly, as if against their
+will, a few names were given. The man to whom he had given his horse,
+which stood as meekly as a lamb, held it with both hands and looked as
+if he were frightened at the animal's beautiful eyes fixed, as usual,
+upon its master.
+
+"Well, Marten," Hauke called to him; "why do you stand there as if you
+had been thunderstruck?"
+
+"Sir, your horse is so calm, as if it were planning something bad!"
+
+Hauke laughed and took the horse by the reins himself, when immediately
+it rubbed its head caressingly against his shoulder. Some of the
+workmen looked shyly at horse and rider, others ate their morning meal
+silently, as if all this were no concern of theirs, and now and then
+threw a crumb to the gulls who had remembered this feeding place and
+with their slender wings almost descended on the heads of the men. For
+a while the dikemaster gazed absently at the begging birds as they
+chased with their bills the bits thrown at them; then he leaped to his
+saddle and rode away, without turning round to look at the men. Some of
+the words that now were being spoken among them sounded to him like
+derision. "What can that mean?" he spoke to himself. "Was Elke right
+when she said that all were against me? These laborers and poorer
+people, too, many of whom will be well off through my new dike?"
+
+He spurred on his horse, which flew down into the enclosed land as if
+it were mad. To be sure, he himself knew nothing of the uncanny glamour
+with which the rider of the white horse had been clothed by his former
+servant boy; but now the people should have seen him, with his eyes
+staring out of his haggard face, his coat fluttering on his fiery white
+horse.
+
+Thus summer and autumn had passed and until toward the end of November
+the work had been continued; then frost and snow had put a stop to the
+labors and it was decided to leave the land that was to be diked in,
+open. Eight feet the dike rose above the level of the land. Only where
+the lock was to be made on the west side toward the water, a gap had
+been left; the channel up in front of the old dike had not yet been
+touched. So the flood could make its way into the enclosed land without
+doing it or the new dike either any great damage. And this work of
+human hands was entrusted to the great God and put under His protection
+until the spring sun should make possible its completion.
+
+In the mean time a happy event had been expected in the house of the
+dikemaster: in the ninth year of his marriage a child had been born. It
+was red and shrivelled and weighed seven pounds, as new-born children
+should when they belong, as this one did, to the female sex; only its
+crying was strangely muffled and did not please the wise woman. The
+worst of all was that on the third day Elke was seized with high
+childbed fever, was delirious and recognised neither her husband nor
+her old helper. The unbounded joy that had come over Hauke at the sight
+of his child had turned to sorrow. The doctor from the city was called,
+he sat at her bedside and felt her pulse and looked about helplessly.
+Hauke shook his head: "He won't help; only God can help!" He had
+thought out a Christianity of his own, but there was something that
+kept back his prayer. When the old doctor had driven away, Hauke stood
+by the window, staring out into the wintry day, and while the patient
+was screaming in her delirium, he folded his hands--he did not know
+whether he did so in devotion or so as not to lose himself in his
+terrible fear.
+
+"The sea! The sea!" wailed the patient. "Hold me!" she screamed; "hold
+me, Hauke!" Then her voice sank; it sounded, as if she were crying:
+"Out on the sea, on the wide sea. Oh, God, I'll never see him again!"
+
+Then he turned round and pushed the nurse from the bed; he fell on his
+knees, clasped his wife and drew her to his heart: "Elke, Elke, don't
+you know me? I am with you!"
+
+But she only opened wide her eyes glowing with fever and looked about,
+as if hopelessly lost.
+
+He laid her back on her pillows; then he pressed his hands together
+convulsively: "Lord, my God," he cried; "don't take her from me! Thou
+knowest, I cannot live without her!" Then it seemed as if a thought
+came to him, and he added in a lower voice: "I know well Thou canst not
+always do as Thou wouldst--not even Thou; Thou art all-wise; Thou must
+act according: to Thy wisdom. Oh Lord, speak to me through a breath!"
+
+It seemed as if there were a sudden calm. He only heard low breathing;
+when he turned to the bed, he saw his wife lying in a quiet sleep and
+the nurse looking at him with horrified eyes. He heard the door move.
+
+"Who was that?" he asked.
+
+"Sir, the maid Ann Grethe went out; she had brought in the
+warming-pan."
+
+"Why do you look at me so in such confusion, Madame Levke?"
+
+"I? I was frightened by your prayer; with that you can't pray death
+away from anybody!"
+
+Hauke looked at her with his penetrating eyes: "Do you, too, like our
+Ann Grethe, go to the conventicle at the Dutch tailor Jantje's?"
+
+"Yes, sir; we both have the living faith!"
+
+Hauke made no reply. The practise of holding seceding conventicles,
+which at that time was in full swing, had also blossomed out among the
+Frisians. "Down-and-out" artisans and schoolmasters dismissed as
+drunkards played the leading parts, and girls, young and old women,
+lazy and lonely people went eagerly to the secret meetings at which
+anybody could play the priest. Of the dikemaster's household Ann Grethe
+and the servant boy in love with her spent their free evenings there.
+To be sure, Elke had not concealed her doubtful opinion of this from
+Hauke, but he had said that in matters of faith one ought not to
+interfere with anyone: this could not hurt anybody, and it was better
+to have them go there than to the inn for whiskey.
+
+So he had let it be, and so he had kept silent even now. But, to be
+sure, people were not silent about him; the words of his prayer were
+spread from house to house. He had denied the omnipotence of God; what
+was a God without omnipotence? He was a denier of God; that affair with
+the devil's horse may have something in it after all!
+
+Hauke heard nothing of all this; his ears and eyes were open only for
+his wife in these days, even his child did not exist for him any more.
+
+The old doctor came again, came every day, sometimes twice, then stayed
+a whole night, again wrote a prescription and Iven Johns swiftly rode
+with it to the apothecary. But finally the doctor's face grew more
+cheerful, and he nodded confidentially to the dikemaster: "She'll pull
+through. She'll pull through, with God's help!" And one day--whether it
+was because his skill had conquered her illness or because in answer to
+Hauke's prayer God had been able after all to find a way out of his
+trouble--when the doctor was alone with the patient, he spoke to her,
+while his old eyes smiled: "Lady, now I can safely say to you: to-day
+the doctor has his gala-day; things looked very darkly for you, but now
+you belong to us again, to the living!"
+
+Then a flood of light streamed out of her dark eyes; "Hauke, Hauke,
+where are you?" she cried, and when, in response to her loud cry, he
+rushed into the room and to her bed, she flung her arms round his neck:
+"Hauke, my husband--saved! I can stay with you!" Then the old doctor
+pulled his silk handkerchief out of his pocket, wiped his forehead and
+cheeks with it and nodding left the room.
+
+On the third evening after this day a pious speaker--it was a
+slippermaker who had once been dismissed by the dikemaster--spoke at
+the conventicle held at the Dutch tailor's, where he explained to his
+audience the attributes of God: "But he who denies the omnipotence of
+God, who says: 'I know Thou canst not as Thou wouldst'--we all
+know the unhappy man; he weighs like a stone on the community--he has
+fallen off from God and seeks the enemy of God, the friend of sin, as
+his comforter; for the hand of man has to lean upon some staff. But
+you--beware of him who prays thus; his prayer is a curse!"
+
+This too was spread from house to house. What is not spread in a small
+community? And it reached Hauke's ears. He said no word about it, not
+even to his wife; but sometimes he would embrace her violently and draw
+her to himself: "Stay faithful, Elke! Stay faithful to me!" Then her
+eyes would look up at him full of wonder. "Faithful to you? To whom
+else should I be faithful?" After a short while, however, she had
+understood his words. "Yes, Hauke, we are faithful to each other; not
+only because we need each other." Then each went his and her way to
+work.
+
+So far all would have been well. But in spite of all the lively work, a
+loneliness had spread round him, and in his heart nestled a
+stubbornness and a reserved manner toward other people. Only toward his
+wife he was always the same, and every evening and every morning he
+knelt at the cradle of his child as if there he could find the place of
+his eternal salvation. Toward servants and workmen, however, he grew
+more severe; the clumsy and careless ones whom he used to instruct with
+quiet reproaches were now startled by his harsh address, and sometimes
+Elke had to make things right quietly where he had offended.
+
+When spring came, work on the dike began again. The gap in the western
+dike line was closed by a temporary dike half-moon shaped on the inside
+and the same toward the outside, for the protection of the new lock
+about to be made. And as the lock grew, so the chief dike gradually
+acquired its height, which could be more and more quickly attained. The
+work of directing was not any easier for the dikemaster, as in place of
+Jewe Manners, Ole Peters had stepped in as dike overseer. Hauke had not
+cared to attempt preventing this, but now in place of the encouraging
+word and the corresponding friendly slap on the shoulder that he had
+earned from his wife's old godfather, he had to cope with the
+successor's secret hostility and unnecessary objections which had to be
+thwarted with equally unnecessary reasons. For Ole belonged to the
+important people, to be sure, but not to the clever ones in dike
+matters; besides, the "scribbling hired man" of former days was still
+in his way.
+
+The brightest sky again spread over sea and marshes, and the enclosed
+land was once more gay with strong cattle, the bellowing of which from
+time to time interrupted the widespread calm. Larks sang continually
+high in the air, but one was not aware of it until for the time of a
+heartbeat the singing had ceased. No bad weather disturbed the work,
+and the lock was ready with its unpainted structure of beams before it
+needed the protection of the temporary dike for even one night; the
+Lord seemed to favor the new work. Then Elke's eyes would laugh to
+greet her husband when he came home from the dike on his white horse.
+"You did turn into a good animal!" he said, and then patted the horse's
+smooth neck. But when he saw the child clinging round her neck, Hauke
+leaped down and let the tiny thing dance in his arms. Then, when the
+white horse would fix its brown eyes on the child, he would say: "Come
+here, you shall have the honor." And he would place little Wienke--for
+that was her Christian name--on the saddle and lead the white horse
+round in a circle on the hill. The old ash tree, too, sometimes had the
+honor; he would set the child on a swinging bough and let it rock. The
+mother stood in the house door with laughing eyes. But the child did
+not laugh; her eyes, between which there was a delicate little nose,
+looked a little dully into the void, and her little hands did not try
+to seize the small stick that her father was holding for her to take.
+Hauke did not pay attention to this, especially as he knew nothing
+about such little children. Only Elke, when she saw the bright-eyed
+girl on the arm of her charwoman, who had been confined at the same
+time with her, sometimes said with regret: "Mine isn't as far on as
+yours yet, Trina." And the woman, as she shook the chubby boy she held
+by the hand with brusque love, would cry: "Yes, madam, children are
+different; this one here, he stole apples out of my room before he was
+more than two years old." And Elke pushed the chubby boy's curls from
+his eyes, and then secretly pressed her quiet child to her heart.
+
+At the beginning of October, the new lock stood solidly at the west
+side in the main dike, now closed on both sides. Except for the gaps by
+the channel, the new dike now sloped all the way round with a gentle
+profile toward the water and rose above the ordinary high tide by
+fifteen feet. From the northwestern corner one, could look unhindered
+past Jevers Island out over the sea. But, to be sure, the winds blew
+more sharply here; one's hair fluttered, and he who wanted a view from
+this point had to have his cap securely on his head.
+
+Toward the end of November, when storm and rain had set in, there
+remained only one gap to close, the one hard by the old dike, at the
+bottom of which the sea water shot through the channel into the new
+enclosure. At both sides stood the walls of the dike; now the cleft
+between them had to vanish. Dry summer weather would have made the work
+easier; but it had to be done anyway, for a rising storm might endanger
+the whole work. And Hauke staked everything on accomplishing the end.
+Rain poured down, the wind whistled; but his lean figure on the fiery
+white horse rose now here, now there out of the black masses of people
+who were busy by the gap, above and below, on the north side of the
+dike. Now he was seen below beside the dump-carts that already had to
+go far on the foreland to get the clay; a crowded lot of these had just
+reached the channel in order to cast off their loads. Through the
+splashing of the rain and the roaring of the wind, from time to time
+sounded the sharp orders of the dikemaster, who wanted to rule here
+alone to-day. He called the carts according to their numbers and
+ordered back those that were crowding up. When his "Stop" sounded, then
+all work ceased. "Straw!" Send down a load of straw! he called to those
+above, and the straw from one of their loads came tumbling down on to
+the wet clay. Below men jumped about in it and tore it apart and called
+up to the others that they did not want to be buried. Again new carts
+came, and Hauke was up on top once more, and looked down from his white
+horse into the cleft below and watched them shovel and dump their
+loads. Then he glanced out over the sea. The wind was sharp and he saw
+how the edge of the water was climbing higher up the dike and that the
+waves rose still higher. He saw, too, that the men were drenched and
+could scarcely breathe during their hard work because of the wind which
+cut off the air right before their mouths and because of the cold rain
+that was pouring down on them. "Hold out, men! Hold out!" he shouted
+down to them. "Only one foot higher; then it'll be enough for this
+flood." And through all the raging of the storm one could hear the
+noise of the workmen; the splashing of the masses of clay tumbling
+down, the rattling of the carts and the rustling of the straw let down
+from above went on unceasingly. In the midst of these noises, now and
+then, the wailing of a little yellow dog could be heard, which,
+shivering and forlorn, was knocked about among all the men and teams.
+Suddenly a scream of anguish from the little animal rose out of the
+cleft. Hauke looked down: he had seen the dog hurled down from above.
+His face suddenly flushed with rage. "Stop! Stop!" he shouted down to
+the carts; for the wet clay was being heaped up unceasingly.
+
+"Why?" a rough voice bawled up from below, "not on account of the
+wretched brat of a dog?"
+
+"Stop, I say!" Hauke shouted again; "bring me the dog! I don't want any
+crime done with our work."
+
+But not a hand stirred; only a few spades full of tough clay were still
+thrown beside the howling animal. Then he spurred his white horse so
+that it uttered a cry and stormed down the dike, and all gave way
+before him. "The dog!" he shouted, "I want the dog!"
+
+A hand slapped his shoulder gently, as if it were the hand of old Jewe
+Manners, but when Hauke looked round, he saw that it was only a friend
+of the old man's. "Take care, dikemaster!" he whispered to him. "You
+have no friends among these people; let this dog business be!"
+
+The wind whistled, the rain splashed, the men had stuck their spades
+into the ground, some had thrown them away. Hauke bent down to the old
+man. "Do you want to hold my horse, Harke Jens?" he asked; and the
+latter scarcely had the reins in his hand when Hauke had leaped into
+the cleft and held the little wailing animal in his arms. Almost in the
+same moment he sat high in his saddle again and galloped back to the
+dike. He glanced swiftly over the men who stood by the teams. "Who was
+it?" he called. "Who threw down this creature?"
+
+For a moment all was silent, for rage was flashing from the face of the
+dikemaster, and they had a superstitious fear of him. Then a muscular
+fellow stepped down from a team and stood before him. "I didn't do it,
+dikemaster," he said, bit off a piece from his roll of tobacco, and
+calmly pushed it into his mouth before he went on, "but he who did it,
+did right; if your dike is to hold, something alive has to be put into
+it!"
+
+"Something alive? From what catechism have you learned that?"
+
+"From none, sir!" replied the fellow with a pert laugh: "our
+grandfathers knew that, who, I am sure, were as good Christians as you!
+A child is still better; if you can't get that, a dog will do!"
+
+"You keep still with your heathen doctrines," Hauke shouted at him,
+"the hole would be stopped up better if you had been thrown into it!"
+
+"Oho!" sounded from a dozen throats, and the dikemaster saw grim faces
+and clenched fists round him; he saw that these were no friends. The
+thought of his dike came over him like a sudden fear. What would happen
+if now all should throw down their spades? As he glanced down he again
+saw the friend of old Jewe Manners, who walked in and out among the
+workmen, talked to this one and that one, smiled at one, slapped
+another on the shoulder with a pleasant air--and one after another
+took up his spade again. After a few minutes the work was in full
+swing--What was it that he still wanted? The channel had to be closed
+and he hid the dog safely in the folds of his cloak. With a sudden
+decision, he turned his white horse to the next team: "Let down the
+straw!" he called despotically, and the teamster obeyed mechanically.
+Soon it rustled down into the depth, and on all sides all arms were
+stirring again.
+
+This work lasted an hour longer. It was six o'clock, and deep twilight
+was descending; the rain had stopped. Then Hauke called the
+superintendents together beside his horse: "To-morrow morning at four
+o'clock," he said, "everybody is to be in his place; the moon will
+still be shining, then we'll finish with God's blessing. And one thing
+more," he cried, when they were about to go: "do you know this dog?"
+And he took the trembling creature out of his cloak.
+
+They did not know it. Only one man said: "He has been begging round the
+village for days; he belongs to nobody."
+
+"Then he is mine!" said the dikemaster. "Don't forget: to-morrow
+morning at four o'clock!" And he rode away.
+
+When he came home, Ann Grethe stepped out of the door. She had on neat
+clothing, and the thought shot through his head that she was going to
+the conventicle tailor's.
+
+"Hold out your apron!" he called to her, and as she did so
+automatically, he threw the little dog, all covered with clay, into the
+apron.
+
+"Carry him in to little Wienke; he is to be her companion! But wash and
+warm him first; then you'll do a good deed, too, that will please God,
+for the creature is almost frozen!"
+
+And Ann Grethe could not help obeying her master, and therefore did not
+get to the conventicle that day.
+
+The next day the last cut with the spade was made on the new dike. The
+wind had gone down; gulls and other sea birds were flying back and
+forth over land and water in graceful flight. From Jevers Island one
+could hear like a chorus of a thousand voices the cries of the wild
+geese that still were making themselves at home on the coast of the
+North Sea, and out of the white morning mists that spread over the wide
+marshes, gradually rose a golden autumn day and shed its light on the
+new work of human hands.
+
+After a few weeks the commissioners of the ruler came with the
+dikemaster general for inspection. A great banquet, the first since the
+funeral banquet of old Tede Volkerts, was given in the house of the
+dikemaster, to which all the dike overseers and the greater landowners
+were invited. After dinner all the carriages of the guests and of the
+dikemaster were made ready. The dikemaster general helped Elke into the
+carriage in front of which the brown horse was stamping his hoofs; then
+he leaped in after her and took the reins himself, for he wanted to
+drive the clever wife of his dikemaster himself. Then they rode merrily
+from the hill down to the road, then up to the new dike, and upon it
+all round the new enclosed land. In the mean time a light northwest
+wind had risen and the tide was driven against the north and west sides
+of the new dike. But one could not help being aware of the fact that
+the gentle slope made the attack of the water gentler; and praise was
+poured on the new dikemaster from the lips of the ruler's
+commissioners, so that the objections which now and then were slowly
+brought out by the overseers, were soon stifled by it.
+
+This, too, passed by. But the dikemaster received another satisfaction
+one day as he rode along on the new dike, in quiet, self-conscious
+meditation. The question naturally arose in his mind why the new
+enclosure, which would not have had its being without him, into which
+he had put the sweat of his brow and his night watches, now finally was
+named after one of the princesses "the new Caroline-land." But it was
+so: on all the documents concerned with it stood the name, on some even
+in red Gothic letters. Then, just as he was looking up, he saw two
+workmen coming toward him with their tools, the one about twenty paces
+behind the other. "Why don't you wait!" he heard the one behind
+calling. The other, who was just standing by a path which led down into
+the new land, called to him: "Another time, Jens. I'm late; I have to
+dig clay here."
+
+"Where?"
+
+"Down here, in the Hauke-Haien-land."
+
+He called it aloud, as he trotted down the path, as if he wanted the
+whole marsh below to hear it. But Hauke felt as if he were hearing
+his fame proclaimed; he rose from his saddle, spurred on his horse and
+with steady eyes looked over the wide land that lay to his left.
+"Hauke-Haien-land! Hauke-Haien-land!" he repeated softly; that sounded
+as if in all time it could not have another name. Let them defy him as
+they would--they could not get round his name; the name of the
+princess--wouldn't that soon moulder in old documents?--His white horse
+galloped proudly and in his ears he heard a murmur: "Hauke-Haien-land!
+Hauke-Haien-land!" In his thoughts the new dike almost grew into the
+eighth wonder of the world; in all Frisia there was not the like of it.
+And he let the white horse dance, for he felt as if he were standing in
+the midst of all the Frisians, towering over them by the height of a
+head, and glancing down upon all keenly and full of pity.
+
+Gradually three years had gone by since the building of the dike. The
+new structure had proved its worth, the cost of repairing had been
+small. And now almost everywhere in the enclosed land white clover was
+blooming, and as one walked over the sheltered pastures, the summer
+wind blew toward one a whole cloud of sweet fragrance. Thus the time
+had come to turn the shares, which hitherto had only been ideal, into
+real ones, and to allot to each shareholder the piece which he was to
+keep as his own. Hauke had not been slow to acquire some new shares
+before this; Ole Peters had kept back out of spite, and owned nothing
+in the new land. The distribution of the parts could not be
+accomplished without annoyance and quarreling; but it was done,
+nevertheless. This day, too, lay behind the dikemaster.
+
+From now on he lived in a lonely way for his duties as farmer and as
+dikemaster and for those who were nearest to him. His old friends were
+no longer living, and he was not the man to make new ones. But under
+his roof was a peace which even the quiet child did not mar. She spoke
+little, the constant questioning that is so characteristic of bright
+children was rare with her and usually came in such a way that it was
+hard to answer; but her dear, simple little face almost always wore an
+expression of content. She had two play-fellows, and they were enough:
+when she wandered over the hill, the rescued little yellow dog always
+jumped round her, and when the dog appeared, little Wienke did not stay
+away long. The second companion was a pewit gull. As the dog's name was
+"Pearl" so the gull was called "Claus."
+
+Claus had been installed on the farm by an aged woman. Eighty-year-old
+Trin Jans had not been able to keep herself any longer in her hut on
+the outer dike; and Elke had thought that the aged servant of her
+grandfather might find peaceful evening hours and a good room to die in
+at her home. So, half by force, she and Hauke had brought her to their
+farm and settled her in the little northwest room in the new barn that
+the dikemaster had had built beside the main house when he had enlarged
+his establishment. A few of the maids had been given rooms next to the
+old woman's and could help her at night. Along the walls she kept her
+old furnishings; a chest made of wood from sugar boxes, above it two
+coloured pictures of her lost son, then a spinning-wheel, now at rest,
+and a very neat canopied bed in front of which stood an unwieldy stool
+covered with the white fur of the defunct Angora cat. But something
+alive, too, she had had about her and brought with her: that was the
+gull Claus, which had been attached to her and fed by her for years. To
+be sure, when winter came, it flew with the other gulls to the south
+and did not come again until the wormwood was fragrant on the shore.
+
+The barn was a little lower down on the hill, so the old woman could
+not look over the dike at the sea from her window. "You keep me here as
+in prison, dikemaster," she muttered one day, as Hauke stepped in to
+see her, and she pointed with her bent finger at the fens that spread
+out below. "Where is Jeverssand? Above those red oxen or those black
+ones?"
+
+"What do you want Jeverssand for?" asked Hauke.
+
+"Jeverssand!" muttered the old woman. "Why, I want to see where my boy
+that time went to God!"
+
+"If you want to see that," Hauke replied, "you'll have to sit up there
+under the ash tree. From there you can look over the whole sea."
+
+"Yes," said the old woman; "yes, if I had your young legs, dikemaster."
+
+This was the style of thanks the dikemaster and his wife received for
+some time, until all at once everything was different. The little
+child's head of Wienke one morning peeped in through her half-open
+door. "Well," called the old woman, who sat with her hands folded on
+her wooden stool; "what have you to tell me?"
+
+But the child silently came nearer and looked at her constantly with
+its listless eyes.
+
+"Are you the dikemaster's child?" Trin Jans asked, and as the child
+lowered its head as if nodding, she went on: "Then sit down here on my
+stool. Once it was an Angora cat--so big! But your father killed it. If
+it were still alive, you could ride on it."
+
+Wienke silently turned her eyes to the white fur; then she knelt down
+and began to stroke it with her little hands as children are wont to do
+with live cats or dogs. "Poor cat!" she said then and went on with her
+caresses.
+
+"Well," cried the old woman after a while, "now that's enough; and you
+can sit on him to-day, too. Perhaps your father only killed him for
+that." Then she lifted up the child by both arms and set it down
+roughly on the stool. But when it remained sitting there, silent and
+motionless and only kept looking at her, she began to shake her head.
+"Thou art punishing him, Lord God! Yes, yes, Thou art punishing him!"
+she murmured. But pity for the child seemed to come over her; she
+stroked its scanty hair with her bony hand, and the eyes of the little
+girl seemed to show that this did her good.
+
+From now on Wienke came every day to the old woman in her room. Soon
+she sat down on the Angora stool of her own accord, and Trin Jans put
+small bits of meat and bread which she always saved into the child's
+little hands, and made her throw them on the floor. Then the gull shot
+out of some corner with screams and wings spread out and pounced on the
+morsels. At first the great, rushing bird frightened the child and made
+her cry out; but soon it all happened like a game learned by heart, and
+her little head only had to appear in the opening of the door, when the
+bird rushed up to her and perched on her head and shoulders, until the
+old woman helped and the feeding could begin. Trin Jans who before
+never could bear to have anyone merely stretch out a hand after her
+"Claus," now patiently watched the child gradually win over the bird
+altogether. It willingly let itself be chased, and she carried it about
+in her apron. Then, when on the hill the little yellow dog would jump
+round her and up at the bird in jealousy, she would cry: "Don't, don't,
+Pearl!" and lift the gull with her little arms so high, that the bird,
+after setting itself free, would fly screaming over the hill, and now
+the dog, by jumping and caressing, would try to win its place in her
+arms.
+
+When by chance Hauke's or Elke's eyes fell upon this strange
+four-leaved clover which, as it were, was held to the same stem only by
+the same defect--then they cast tender glances upon the child. But when
+they turned away, there remained on their faces only the pain that each
+carried away alone, for the saving word had not yet been spoken between
+them. One summer morning, when Wienke sat with the old woman and the
+two animals on the big stones in front of the barn door, both her
+parents passed by--the dikemaster leading his white horse, with the
+reins flung over his arm. He wanted to ride on the dike and had got his
+horse out of the fens himself; on the hill his wife had taken his arm.
+The sun shone down warmly; it was almost sultry, and now and then a
+gust of wind blew from the south-southeast. It seemed that her seat was
+uncomfortable for the child. "Wienke wants to go too!" she cried, shook
+the gull out of her lap and seized her father's hand.
+
+"Then come!" said he.
+
+But Elke cried: "In this wind? She'll fly away from you!"
+
+"I'll hold her all right; and to-day we have warm air and jolly water;
+then she can see it dance!"
+
+Then Elke ran into the house and got a shawl and a little cap for her
+child. "But a storm is brewing," she said; "hurry and get on your way
+and be back soon."
+
+Hauke laughed: "That shan't get us!" and lifted the child to his
+saddle. Elke stayed a while on the hill and, shading her eyes with her
+hand, watched the two trot down the road and toward the dike. Trin Jan
+sat on the stone and murmured incomprehensible things with her lips.
+
+The child lay motionless in her father's arms. It seemed as if it
+breathed with difficulty under the pressure of the sultry air. He bent
+down his head to her: "Well, Wienke?" he asked.
+
+The child looked at him a while: "Father," she said, "you can do that.
+Can't you do everything?"
+
+"What is it that I can do, Wienke?"
+
+But she was silent; she seemed not to have understood her own question.
+
+It was high tide. When they came to the dike, the reflection of the sun
+on the wide water flashed into her eyes, a whirlwind made the waves
+eddy and raised them high up, ever new waves came and beat splashing
+against the beach. Then, in her fear, her little hands clung round her
+father's fist which was holding the reins, so that the horse made a
+bound to the side. The pale-blue eyes looked up at Hauke in confused
+fright: "The water, father! The water!" she cried.
+
+But he gently freed his hand and said: "Be calm, child; you are with
+your father; the water won't hurt you!"
+
+She pushed her pale blond hair from her forehead and again dared to
+look upon the sea. "It won't hurt me," she said trembling; "no, tell it
+not to hurt us; you can do that, and then it won't do anything to us!"
+
+"I can't do that, child," replied Hauke seriously; "but the dike on
+which we are riding shelters us, and this your father has thought out
+and has had built."
+
+Her eyes turned upon him as if she did not quite understand that; then
+she buried her strikingly small head in the wide folds of her father's
+coat.
+
+"Why are you hiding, Wienke?" he whispered to her; "are you afraid?"
+And a trembling little voice rose out of the folds of the coat: "Wienke
+would rather not look; but you can do everything, can't you, father?"
+
+Distant thunder was rolling against the wind. "Hoho!" cried Hauke,
+"there it comes!" And he turned his horse round to ride back. "Now we
+want to go home to mother!"
+
+The child drew a deep breath; but not until they had reached the hill
+and the house did she raise her little head from her father's breast.
+When Elke had taken off the little shawl and cap in the room, the child
+remained standing before her mother like a dumb little ninepin.
+
+"Well, Wienke," she said, and shook her gently, "do you like the big
+water?"
+
+But the child opened her eyes wide. "It talks," she said. "Wienke is
+afraid!"
+
+"It doesn't talk; it only murmurs and roars!"
+
+The child looked into the void: "Has it got legs?" she asked again;
+"can it come over the dike?"
+
+"No, Wienke; your father looks out for that, he is the dikemaster."
+
+"Yes," said the child and clapped her little hands together with an
+idiotic smile. "Father can do everything--everything!" Then suddenly,
+turning away from her mother, she cried: "Let Wienke go to Trin Jans,
+she has red apples!"
+
+And Elke opened the door and let the child out. When she had closed it
+again, she glanced at her husband with the deepest anguish in her eyes
+from which hitherto he had drawn only comfort and courage that had
+helped him.
+
+He gave her his hand and pressed hers, as if there were no further need
+for words between them; then she said in a low voice: "No, Hauke, let
+me speak: the child that I have borne you after years will stay a child
+always. Oh, good God! It is feeble-minded! I have to say it once in
+your hearing."
+
+"I knew it long ago," said Hauke and held tightly his wife's hand which
+she wanted to draw away.
+
+"So we are left alone after all," she said again.
+
+But Hauke shook his head: "I love her, and she throws her little arms
+round me and presses close to my breast; for all the treasures of the
+world I wouldn't miss that!"
+
+The woman stared ahead darkly: "But why?" she asked; "what have I, poor
+mother, done?"
+
+"Yes, Elke, that I have asked, too, of Him who alone can know; but you
+know, too, that the Almighty gives men no answer--perhaps because we
+would not grasp it."
+
+He had seized his wife's other hand too, and gently drew her toward
+him. "Don't let yourself be kept from loving your child as you do; be
+sure it understands that."
+
+Then Elke threw herself on her husband's breast and cried to her
+heart's content and was no longer alone with her grief. Then suddenly
+she smiled at him; after pressing his hand passionately, she ran out
+and got her child from old Trin Jans' room, took it on her lap and
+caressed and kissed it, until it stammered:
+
+"Mother, my dear mother!"
+
+Thus the people on the dikemaster's farm lived quietly; if the child
+had not been there, it would have been greatly missed.
+
+Gradually the summer passed by; the migrating birds had flown away, the
+song of larks was no longer in the air; only in front of the barns,
+where they pecked at the grain in thrashing time, one could hear some
+of them scream as they flew away. Already everything was frozen hard.
+In the kitchen of the main house Trin Jans sat one afternoon on the
+wooden steps of a stairway that started beside the stove and led to the
+attic. In the last weeks it seemed as if a new life had entered into
+her. Now she liked to go into the kitchen occasionally and watch Elke
+at work; there was no longer any idea of her legs not being able to
+carry her so far, since one day little Wienke had pulled her up
+here by her apron. Now the child was kneeling beside her, looking
+with her quiet eyes into the flames that were blazing up out of the
+stove-hole; one of her little hands was clinging to the old woman's
+sleeve, the other was in her own pale blonde hair. Trin Jans was
+telling a story: "You know," she said, "I was in the service at your
+great-grandfather's, as housemaid, and there I had to feed the pigs. He
+was cleverer than all the rest--then it happened--it was awfully long
+ago--but, one night, by moonlight, they had the lock to the sea closed,
+and she couldn't go back into the sea. Oh, how she screamed and
+clutched her hard, bristly hair with her fish-hands! Yes, child, I saw
+her and heard her scream. The ditches between the fens were all full of
+water, and the moon beamed on them so that they shone like silver; and
+she swam from one ditch into another and raised her arms and clapped
+what hands she had together, so that one could hear the splash from
+far, as if she wanted to pray. But, child, those creatures can't pray.
+I sat in front of the house door on a few beams that had been driven
+there to build with, and looked far over the fens; and the mermaid was
+still swimming in the ditches, and when she raised her arms, they were
+glittering with silver and diamonds. At last I saw her no longer, and
+the wild geese and gulls that I had not been hearing all the time were
+again flying through the air with whistling and cackling."
+
+The old woman stopped. The child had caught one word: "Couldn't pray?"
+she asked. "What are you saying? Who was that?"
+
+"Child," said the old woman; "it was the mermaid; they are monsters and
+can't be saved."
+
+"Can't be saved!" repeated the child, and a deep sigh made her little
+breast heave, as if she had understood that.
+
+"Trin Jans!" a deep voice sounded from the kitchen door, and the old
+woman was a little startled. It was the dikemaster Hauke Haien, who
+leaned there by the post; "what are you telling the child? Haven't I
+told you to keep your fairy-tales for yourself or else to tell them to
+the geese and hens?"
+
+The old woman looked at him with an angry glance and pushed the little
+girl away. "That's no fairy-tale," she murmured, "my great-uncle told
+it to me!"
+
+"Your great-uncle, Trin? You just said you had seen it yourself."
+
+"That doesn't matter," said the old woman; "but you don't believe me,
+Hauke Haien; you want to make my great-uncle a liar!" Then she moved
+nearer to the stove and stretched her hands out over the flames of the
+stove-hole.
+
+The dikemaster cast a glance at the window: twilight had scarcely
+begun. "Come, Wienke!" he said and drew his feeble-minded child toward
+him; "come with me, I want to show you something outside, from the
+dike. But we have to walk; the white horse is at the blacksmith's."
+Then he took her into the room and Elke wrapped thick woolen shawls
+round the child's neck and shoulders; and soon her father walked with
+her on the old dike toward the northwest, past Jeverssand, where the
+flats stretched out broad and almost endless.
+
+Now he would carry her, now she would walk holding his hand; the
+twilight thickened; in the distance everything vanished in mist and
+vapour. But in parts still in sight, the invisibly swelling streams
+that washed the flats had broken the ice and, as Hauke Haien had once
+seen it in his youth, steaming mists rose out of the cracks as at that
+time, and there again the uncanny foolish figures were hopping toward
+one another, bowed and suddenly stretched out into horrible breadths.
+
+The child clung frightened to her father and covered her face with his
+hand. "The sea devils!" she whispered, trembling, through his fingers;
+"the sea devils!"
+
+He shook his head: "No, Wienke, they are neither mermaids nor sea
+devils; there are no such things; who told you about them?"
+
+She looked up to him with a dull glance; but she did not reply.
+Tenderly he stroked her cheeks: "Look there again!" he said, "they are
+only poor hungry birds! Look now, how that big one spreads its wings;
+they are getting the fish that go into those steaming cracks!"
+
+"Fish!" repeated Wienke.
+
+"Yes, child, they are all alive, just as we are; there is nothing else;
+but God is everywhere!"
+
+Little Wienke had fixed her eyes on the ground and held her breath; she
+looked frightened as if she were gazing into an abyss. Perhaps it only
+seemed so; her father looked at her a long while, he bent down and
+looked at her little face, but on it was written no emotion of her
+inscrutable soul. He lifted her on his arm and put her icy little hands
+into one of his thick woollen mittens. "There, my Wienke"--the child
+could not have been aware of the note of passionate tenderness in his
+words--"there, warm yourself, near me! You are our child, our only one.
+You love us--" The man's voice broke; but the little girl pressed her
+small head tenderly against his rough beard.
+
+And so they went home in peace.
+
+After New Year care had once more entered the house. A fever of the
+marshes had seized the dikemaster; he too had hovered near the edge of
+the grave, and when he had revived under Elke's nursing and care, he
+scarcely seemed the same man. The fatigue of his body also lay upon his
+spirit, and Elke noticed with some worry that he was always easily
+satisfied. Nevertheless, toward the end of March, he had a desire to
+mount his white horse and for the first time to ride along his dike
+again. This was one afternoon when the sun that had shone before, was
+shrouded for a long while by dim mist.
+
+In the winter there had been a few floods; but they had not been
+serious. Only over by the other shore a flock of sheep had been drowned
+on an island and a piece of the foreland torn away; here on this side
+and on the new land no damage worth mentioning had been done. But in
+the last night a stronger storm had raged; now the dikemaster had to go
+out and inspect everything with his own eyes. He had ridden along on
+the new dike from the southeastern corner and everything was well
+preserved. But when he reached the northeastern corner, at the point
+where the new dike meets the old one, the new one, to be sure, was
+unharmed. But where formerly the channel had reached the old dike and
+flowed along it, he saw a great, broad piece of the grassy scar
+destroyed and washed away and a hollow in the body of the dike worn by
+the flood, in which, moreover, a network of paths made by mice was
+exposed. Hauke dismounted and inspected the damage close by: there was
+no doubt that the mischief done by the mice extended on invisible.
+
+He was startled violently. All this should have been considered when
+the new dike was being built; as it had been overlooked then, something
+had to be done now. The cattle were not yet grazing in the fens, the
+growth of the grass was unusually backward; wherever he looked there
+was barrenness and void. He mounted his horse again and rode up and
+down the shore; it was low tide, and he was well aware of how the
+current had again dug itself a new bed in the clay and had now hit upon
+the old dike. The new dike, however, when it was hit, had been able to
+withstand the attack on account of its gentler slope.
+
+A heap of new toil and care rose before the mind's eye of the
+dikemaster. Not only did the old dike have to be reenforced, its
+profile, too, had to be made more like that of the new one; above all,
+the channel, which again had proved dangerous, had to be turned aside
+by new dams or walls.
+
+Once more he rode on the new dike up to the farthest northwestern
+corner, then back again, keeping his eyes continually on the newly worn
+bed of the channel which was marked off clearly on the exposed clay
+beside him. The white horse pushed forward, snorted and pawed with its
+front hoofs; but the rider held him back, for he wanted to ride slowly,
+and to curb the inner unrest that was seething within him more and more
+wildly.
+
+If a storm flood should come again--a flood like the one in 1655, when
+property and unnumbered human beings were swallowed up--if it should
+come again, as it had come several times before! A violent shudder came
+over the rider--the old dike would not hold out against the sudden
+attack. What then--what would happen then? There would be only one, one
+single way of possibly saving the old enclosed land with the property
+and life in it. Hauke felt his heart stand still, his usually so steady
+head grew dizzy. He did not utter it, but something spoke within him
+strongly enough: your land, the Hauke-Haien-land, would have to be
+sacrificed and the new dike pierced.
+
+In his mind's eye he saw the rushing tide break in and cover grass and
+clover with its salty, foaming spray. His spur pricked the flanks of
+his white horse, which, with a sudden scream, flew along the dike and
+down the road that led to the hill of the dikemaster.
+
+He came home with his head full of inner fright and disorderly plans.
+He threw himself into his armchair, and when Elke came into the room
+with their daughter, he rose again, lifted up the child and kissed it.
+Then he chased away the little yellow dog with a few light slaps. "I
+have to go up to the inn again," he said, and took his cap from the
+hook by the door, where he had only just put it.
+
+His wife looked at him anxiously. "What do you want to do there? It is
+near evening, Hauke."
+
+"Dike matters!" he muttered. "I'll meet some of the overseers there."
+
+She followed him and pressed his hand, for with these words he had
+already left the door. Hauke Haien, who hitherto had made all decisions
+by himself, now was eager for a word from those whom he had not
+considered worthy of taking an interest before. In the room of the
+tavern he found Ole Peters with two of the overseers and an inhabitant
+of the district at the card table.
+
+"I suppose you come from out there, dikemaster?" said Ole, who took up
+the already half distributed cards and threw them down again.
+
+"Yes, Ole," Hauke replied; "I was there; it looks bad."
+
+"Bad? Well, it'll cost a few hundred pieces of sod and a straw
+covering. I was there too this afternoon.
+
+"It won't be done so cheaply, Ole," replied the dikemaster; "the
+channel is there again, and even if it doesn't hit the old dike from
+the north, it hits it from the northwest."
+
+"You should have left it where you found it," said Ole drily.
+
+"That means," returned Hauke, "the new land's none of your business;
+and therefore it should not exist. That is your own fault. But if we
+have to make walls to protect the old dike, the green clover behind the
+new one will bring us a profit above the cost."
+
+"What are you saying, dikemaster?" cried the overseers; "Walls? How
+many? You like to have the most expensive of everything."
+
+The cards lay untouched upon the table. "I'll tell you, dikemaster,"
+said Ole Peters, and leaned on both elbows, "your new land that you
+presented to us is a devouring thing. Everybody is still laboring under
+the heavy cost of your broad dike; and now that is devouring our old
+dike too we are expected to renew it. Fortunately it isn't so bad; the
+dike has held out so far and will continue to hold out. Mount your
+white horse to-morrow and look at it again!"
+
+Hauke had come here from the peace of his own house; behind these words
+he had just heard, moderate though they were, there lay--and he could
+not but be aware of it--tough resistance; he felt, too, as if he were
+lacking his old strength to cope with it. "I will do as you advise,
+Ole," he said; "only I fear I shall find it as I have seen it to-day."
+
+A restless night followed this day. Hauke tossed sleepless upon his
+pillows. "What is the matter?" asked Elke who was kept awake by worry
+over her husband; "if something depresses you, speak it out; that's the
+way we've always done."
+
+"It's of no consequence, Elke," he replied, "there is something to
+repair on the dike at the locks; you know that I always have to work
+over these things at night." That was all he said; he wanted to keep
+freedom of action; unconsciously the clear insight and strong
+intelligence of his wife was a hindrance to him which he instinctively
+avoided in his present weakness.
+
+The following morning when he came out on to the dike once more the
+world was different from the one he had seen the day before; it was low
+tide again, to be sure, but the day had not yet attained its noon, and
+beams of the bright spring sun fell almost perpendicularly onto the
+endless flats. The white gulls flew quietly hither and thither, and
+invisible above them, high under the azure sky, larks sang their
+eternal melody. Hauke, who did not know how nature can deceive one with
+her charms, stood on the northwestern corner of the dike and looked for
+the new bed of the channel that had startled him so yesterday, but in
+the sunlight pouring down from the zenith, he did not even find it at
+first. Not until he had shaded his eyes from the blinding rays, did he
+recognise it. Yet the shadows in the twilight of yesterday must have
+deceived him: it could be discerned but faintly. The exposed mouse
+business must have done more damage to the dike than the flood. To be
+sure, things had to be changed; however, this could be done by careful
+digging and, as Ole Peters had said, the damage could be repaired by
+fresh sod and some bundles of straw for covering.
+
+"It wasn't so bad," he said to himself, relieved; "you fooled yourself
+yesterday." He called the overseers, and the work was decided on
+without contradiction, something that had never happened before.
+
+The dikemaster felt as if a strengthening calm were spreading through
+his still weakened body and after a few weeks everything was neatly
+carried out.
+
+The year went on, but the more it advanced and the more undisturbed the
+newly spread turf grew green through the straw covering, the more
+restlessly Hauke walked or rode past the spot. He turned his eyes away,
+he rode on the inside edge of the dike. A few times, when it occurred
+to him that he would have to pass by the place, he had his horse,
+though it was already saddled, led back into the stable. Then again,
+when he had no business there, he would wander to it, suddenly and on
+foot, so as to leave his hill quickly and unseen. Sometimes he had
+turned back again, unable once more to inflict on himself the sight of
+this uncanny place. Finally, he felt like breaking up the whole thing
+with his own hands, for this piece of the dike lay before his eyes like
+a bite of conscience that had taken on form outside of himself. And yet
+his hand could not touch it any more; and to no one, not even his wife,
+could he talk about it. Thus September had come; at night a moderate
+storm had raged and at last had blown away to the northwest. On the
+dull forenoon after it, at low tide, Hauke rode out on the dike and, as
+his glance swept over the flats, something shot through him: there, on
+from the northwest, he suddenly saw the ghostly new bed of the channel
+again, more sharply marked and worn deeper. No matter how hard he
+strained his eyes, it would not go.
+
+When he came home, Elke seized his hand. "What's the matter, Hauke?"
+she said, as she looked at his gloomy face. "There is no new calamity,
+is there? We are so happy now; it seems, you are at peace now with all
+of them."
+
+After these words, he did not feel equal to expressing his confused
+fear.
+
+"No, Elke," he said, "nobody is hostile to me; but it is a responsible
+function--to protect the community from our Lord's sea."
+
+He withdrew, so as to escape further questioning by his beloved wife.
+He walked through stable and barn, as if he had to look over
+everything; but he saw nothing round about. He was preoccupied only
+with hushing up his conscience, with convincing himself that it was a
+morbidly exaggerated fear.
+
+The year that I am telling about, my host, the schoolmaster, said after
+a while, was the year 1756, which will surely never be forgotten in
+this region. Into the house of Hauke Haien it brought a death. At the
+end of September Trin Jans, almost ninety years old, was dying in the
+barn furnished for her. According to her wishes, they had propped her
+up in her pillows, and her eyes wandered through the little windows
+with their leaden casements far out into the distance. A thin layer of
+atmosphere must have lain above a thicker one up in the sky, for there
+was a high mirage and the reflection raised the sea like a glittering
+strip of silver above the edge of the dike, so that it shone dazzlingly
+into the room. The southern tip of Jeverssand was visible, too.
+
+At the foot of the bed little Wienke was cowering, holding with one
+hand that of her father who stood beside her. On the face of the dying
+woman death was just imprinting the Hippocratic face, and the child
+stared breathlessly on the uncanny incomprehensible change in the
+plain, but familiar features.
+
+"What is she doing? What is that, father?" she whispered, full of fear,
+and dug her finger nails into her father's hand.
+
+"She is dying!" said the dikemaster.
+
+"Dying!" repeated the child, and seemed to have fallen, into a confused
+pondering.
+
+But the old woman moved her lips once more: "Jens! Jens!" her screams
+broke out, like cries in danger, and her long arms were stretched out
+against the glittering reflection of the sea; "Help me! Help me! You
+are in the water---- God have mercy on the others!"
+
+Her arms sank down, a low creaking of the bedstead could be heard; she
+had ceased to live.
+
+The child drew a deep breath and lifted her pale eyes to her father's.
+"Is she still dying?" she asked.
+
+"She has done it!" said the dikemaster, and took his child in his arms.
+"Now she is far from us with God."
+
+"With God!" repeated the child and was silent for a while, as if she
+had to think about these words. "Is that good--with God?"
+
+"Yes, that is the best." In Hauke's heart, however, the last words of
+the dying woman resounded heavily. "God have mercy on the others!" a
+low voice said within him. "What did the old hag mean? Are the dying
+prophets--?"
+
+Soon after Trin Jans had been buried by the church, there was more and
+more talk about all kinds of mischief and strange vermin that had
+frightened the people in North Frisia, and there was no doubt that on
+mid-Lent Sunday the golden cock was thrown down by a whirlwind. It was
+true, too, that in midsummer a great cloud of vermin fell down, like
+snow, from the sky, so that one could scarcely open one's eyes, and
+afterwards it lay on the fens in a layer as high as a hand, and no one
+had ever seen anything like it. But at the end of September, after the
+hired man had driven to the city market with grain and the maid Ann
+Grethe with butter, they both climbed down, when they came home, with
+faces pale from fright. "What's the matter? What's the matter with
+you?" cried the other maids, who had come running out when they heard
+the wagon roll up.
+
+Ann Grethe in her travelling clothes stepped breathless into the
+spacious kitchen. "Well, tell us," cried the maids again, "what has
+happened?"
+
+"Oh, our Lord Jesus protect us!" cried Ann Grethe. "You know, old
+Marike of the brickworks from over there across the water--we always
+stand together with our butter by the drugstore at the corner--she told
+me, and Iven Johns said too--'There's going to be a calamity!' he said;
+'a calamity for all North Frisia; believe me, Ann Grethe!' And"--she
+muffled her voice--"maybe there's something wrong after all about the
+dikemaster's white horse!"
+
+"Sh! Sh!" replied the other maids.
+
+"Oh, yes, what do I care! But over there, on the other side, it's even
+worse than ours. Not only flies and vermin, but blood has poured down
+from the sky like rain. And the Sunday morning after that, when the
+pastor went to his washbowl, he found five death's heads in it, as big
+as peas, and everybody came to look at them. In the month of August
+horrible red-headed caterpillars crawled all over the land and devoured
+what they found, grain and flour and bread, and no fire could kill them
+off."
+
+The talker broke off suddenly; none of the maids had noticed that the
+mistress of the house had stepped into the kitchen. "What are you
+talking about there?" she said. "Don't let your master hear that!" And
+as they all wanted to tell about it now, she stopped them. "Never mind;
+I heard enough; go to your work; that will bring you better blessings."
+Then she took Ann Grethe with her into the room and settled the
+accounts of the market business.
+
+Thus the superstitious talk in the house of the dikemaster found no
+reception from its master and mistress. But it spread into the other
+houses, and the longer the evenings grew, the more easily it found its
+way in. Something like sultry air weighed on all, and it was secretly
+said that a calamity, a serious one, would come over North Frisia.
+
+
+It was All Saints' Day, in October. During the day a southwest wind had
+raged; at night a half moon was in the sky, dark brown clouds chased by
+it, and shadows and dim light flitted over the earth in confusion. The
+storm was growing. In the room of the dikemaster's house stood the
+cleared supper table, the hired men were sent to the stables to look
+after the cattle; the maids had to see if the doors and shutters were
+closed everywhere in the house and attic, so that the storm would not
+blow in and do harm. Inside stood Hauke beside his wife at the window,
+after he had hurriedly eaten his supper. He had been outside on the
+dike. On foot he had marched out, early in the afternoon. Pointed posts
+and bags full of clay or earth he had had brought to the place where
+the dike seemed to betray a weakness. Everywhere he had engaged people
+to ram in the posts and make a dam of them and the bags, as soon as the
+flood began to damage the dike; at the northwestern corner, where the
+old and the new dike met, he had placed the most people, who were
+allowed to leave their appointed posts only in case of need. These
+orders he had left when, scarcely a quarter of an hour ago, he had come
+home wet and dishevelled, and now, as he listened to the gusts of wind
+that made the windows rattle in their leaden casements, he gazed
+absently out into the wild night. The clock on the wall was just
+striking eight. The child that stood beside her mother, started and
+buried her head in her mother's clothes. "Claus!" she exclaimed crying,
+"where's my Claus?"
+
+She had a right to ask, for this year, as well as the year before, the
+gull had not gone on its winter journey. Her father overheard the
+question; her mother took the child on her arm. "Your Claus is in the
+barn," she said; "there he is warm."
+
+"Why?" said Wienke, "is that good?"
+
+"Yes, that is good."
+
+The master of the house was still standing by the window.
+
+"This won't do any longer, Elke!" he said; "call one of the maids; the
+storm will break through the window-panes--the shutters have to be
+fastened!"
+
+At the word of the mistress, the maid had rushed out; from the room one
+could see how her skirts were flying. But when she had loosened the
+hooks, the storm tore the shutter out of her hand and threw it against
+the window, so that several panes flew splintered into the room and one
+of the candles went out, smoking. Hauke had to go out himself to help,
+and only with trouble did they gradually get the shutters fastened in
+front of the windows. As they opened the door to step back into the
+house a gust blew after them so that the glass and silver in the
+sideboard rattled; and upstairs, over their heads the beams trembled
+and creaked, as if the storm wanted to tear the roof from the walls.
+But Hauke did not come back into the room; Elke heard him walk across
+the threshing floor to the stable. "The white horse! The white horse,
+John! Quick!" she heard him call. Then he came back into the room with
+his hair dishevelled, but his gray eyes beaming. "The wind has turned!"
+he cried, "to the northwest; at half spring tide! Not a wind--we have
+never lived through a storm like this!"
+
+Elke had turned deadly pale. "And you want to go out once more?"
+
+He seized both her hands and pressed them almost convulsively. "I have
+to, Elke."
+
+Slowly she raised her dark eyes to his, and for a few seconds they
+looked at each other; but it seemed an eternity. "Yes, Hauke," said his
+wife, "I know--you have to!"
+
+Then trotting was heard outside the house door. She fell upon his neck,
+and for a moment it seemed as if she could not let him go; but that,
+too, was only for a moment. "This is our fight!" said Hauke, "you are
+safe here; no flood has ever risen up to this house. And pray to God
+that He may be with me too!"
+
+Hauke wrapped himself up in his coat, and Elke took a scarf and wrapped
+it carefully round his neck, but her trembling lips failed her.
+
+Outside the neighing of the white horse sounded like trumpets amid the
+howling of the storm. Elke had stepped out with her husband; the old
+ash tree creaked, as if it would fall to pieces. "Mount, sir!" cried
+the hired man; "the horse is like mad; the reins might tear!"
+
+Hauke embraced his wife. "At sunrise I'll be back."
+
+He had already leaped onto his horse; the animal rose on its hind legs,
+then, like a warhorse rushing into battle, it tore down the hill with
+its rider, out into the night and the howling storm. "Father, my
+father!" a plaintive child voice screamed after him, "my dear father!"
+
+Wienke had run after her father as he was tearing away; but after a
+hundred steps she stumbled over a mound of earth and fell to the
+ground.
+
+The man Iven Johns brought the crying child back to her mother. She was
+leaning against the trunk of the ash tree the branches of which were
+whipping the air above her, and staring absently out into the night
+where her husband had vanished. When the roaring of the storm and the
+distant splashing of the sea stopped for a few moments, she started as
+if in fright; it seemed to her now as if all were seeking to destroy
+him and would be hushed suddenly when they had seized him. Her knees
+were trembling, the wind had unloosed and was sporting with her hair.
+"Here is the child, lady," John cried to her; "hold her fast!" and
+pressed the little girl into her mother's arms.
+
+"The child?--I had forgotten you, Wienke!" she cried. "God forgive me!"
+Then she lifted her to her heart, as close as only love can hold, and
+with her fell on her knees. "Lord God and Thou my Jesus, let us not be
+widow and orphan! Protect him, oh, good God; only Thou and I, we alone
+know him!" Now the storm had no more pauses; it howled and thundered as
+if the whole world would pass away in this uproar.
+
+"Go into the house, lady!" said John; "come!" and he helped them up and
+led both into the house and into the room.
+
+The dikemaster Hauke Haien sped on his white horse to the dike. The
+small path seemed to have no bottom, for measureless rain had fallen;
+nevertheless, the wet, sucking clay did not appear to hold back the
+hoofs of the animal, for it acted as if it felt the solid ground of
+summer beneath it. As in a wild chase the clouds wandered in the sky;
+below lay the marshes like an indistinct desert filled with restless
+shadows. A muffled roaring rose from the water behind the dike, more
+and more horrible, as if it had to drown all other sounds. "Get up,
+horse!" called Hauke, "we are riding our worst ride."
+
+Then a scream of death sounded under the hoofs of his horse. He jerked
+back the reins, and turned round: beside him, close above the ground,
+half flying, half hurled by the wind, a swarm of white gulls was
+passing by with derisive cackling; they were seeking shelter on land.
+One of them--the moon was shining through the clouds for a moment--lay
+trampled by the way: the rider believed that he saw a red ribbon
+flutter at its throat. "Claus!" he cried; "poor Claus!"
+
+Was it the bird of his child? Had it recognised horse and rider and
+wanted to find shelter with them? The rider did not know. "Get up!" he
+cried again; the white horse raised his hoofs to gallop once more. All
+at once the wind stopped, and in its place there was a deathlike
+silence--but only for a second, when it began again with renewed rage.
+But human voices and the forlorn barking of dogs meanwhile fell upon
+the rider's ear, and when he turned his head round to look at his
+village, he recognised by the appearing moonlight people working round
+heaped up wagons on the hills and in front of the houses. Instantly he
+saw other wagons hurriedly driving up to the higher land; he heard the
+lowing of cattle that were being driven up there out of their warm
+stables. "Thank God! They are saving themselves and their cattle!" his
+heart cried within him; and then with a scream of fear: "My wife! My
+child! No, no; the water doesn't rise up on our hill!"
+
+A terrible gust came roaring from the sea, and horse and rider were
+rushing against it up the small path to the dike. When they were on
+top, Hauke stopped his horse violently. But where was the sea? Where
+Jeverssand? Where had the other shore gone? He saw only mountains of
+water before him that rose threateningly against the dark sky, that
+were trying to tower above one another in the dreadful dusk and beat
+over one another against the solid land. With white crests they rushed
+on, howling, as if they uttered the outcry of all terrible beasts of
+prey in the wilderness. The horse kicked and snorted out into the
+uproar; a feeling came over the rider that here all human power was at
+an end; that now death, night, and chaos must break in.
+
+But he stopped to think: this really was the storm flood; only he
+himself had never seen it like this. His wife, his child, were safe on
+the high hill, in the solid house. His dike--and something like pride
+shot through his breast--the Hauke-Haien dike, as the people called it,
+now should show how dikes ought to be built!
+
+But--what was that? He stopped at the corner between the two dikes;
+where were the men whom he had placed there to keep watch? He glanced
+to the north up at the old dike; for he had ordered some there too. But
+neither here nor there could he see a man. He rode a way further out,
+but he was still alone; only the blowing of the wind and the roar of
+the sea all the way from an immeasurable distance beat with deafening
+force against his ear. He turned his horse back again; he reached the
+deserted corner and let his eyes wander along the line of the new dike.
+He discerned clearly that the waves were here rolling on more slowly,
+less violently; there it seemed almost as if there were a different
+sea. "That will stand all right!" he murmured, and something like a
+laugh rose within him.
+
+But his laughter vanished when his eyes wandered farther along the line
+of his dike: in the northwestern corner--what was that? A dark mass
+was swarming in confusion; he saw that it was stirring busily and
+crowding--no doubt, there were people! What were they doing, what were
+they working for now at his dike? Instantly his spurs dug into the
+shanks
+of his horse, and the animal sped thither. The storm rushed on
+broadside;
+at times the gusts of wind were so violent, that they would almost have
+been hurled from the dike into the new land--but horse and rider knew
+where they were riding. Already Hauke saw that a few dozen men were
+gathered there in eager work, and now he saw clearly that a groove was
+dug diagonally across the new dike. Forcibly he stopped his horse:
+"Stop!" he shouted, "stop! What devil's mischief are you doing there?"
+
+In their fright they had let their spades rest, when they had suddenly
+spied the dikemaster among them. The wind had carried his words over to
+them, and he noticed that several were trying to answer him; but he saw
+only their violent gestures, for they stood to the left of him and
+their words were blown away by the wind which here at times was
+throwing the men reeling against each other, so that they gathered
+close together. Hauke measured the dug-in groove with his quick glance
+and the might of the water which in spite of the new profile, splashed
+almost to the top of the dike and sprayed horse and rider. Only ten
+minutes more of work--he saw that clearly--and the flood would break
+through the groove and the Hauke-Haien-land would be drowned by the
+sea!
+
+The dikemaster beckoned one of the workmen to the other side of his
+horse. "Now, tell me," he shouted, "what are you doing here? What does
+that mean?"
+
+And the man shouted back: "We are to dig through the new dike, sir, so
+that the old dike won't break."
+
+"What are you to do?"
+
+"Dig through the new dike."
+
+"And drown the land? What devil has ordered that?"
+
+"No, sir, no devil, the overseer Ole Peters has been here and ordered
+it."
+
+Rage surged into the rider's eyes. "Do you know me?" he shouted. "Where
+I am, Ole Peters can't give any orders! Away with you! Go to your
+posts, where I put you!"
+
+And when they hesitated, he made his horse gallop in among them. "Away
+to your own or the devil's grandmother!"
+
+"Sir, take care!" cried one of the crowd and hit his spade against the
+animal that acted as if it were mad; but a kick of its hoof flung the
+spade from his hand; another man fell to the ground. Then all at once a
+scream rose from the rest of the crowd--a scream such as only the fear
+of death can call forth from the throat of man. For a moment all, even
+the dikemaster and the horse were benumbed. Only one workman had
+stretched out his arm like a road sign and pointed to the northwestern
+corner of both dikes where the new one joined the old. Nothing could be
+heard but the raging of the storm and the roar of the water. Hauke
+turned round in his saddle: what was that? His eyes grew big: "Lord
+God! A break! A break in the old dike!"
+
+"Your fault, dikemaster!" shouted a voice out of the crowd; "your
+fault! Take it with you before the throne of God."
+
+Hauke's face, red with rage, had turned deathly pale; the moon that
+shone upon it could not make it any paler; his arms hung down limply;
+he scarcely knew that he was holding his reins. But that, too, was only
+for a moment. Instantly he pulled himself erect with a heavy moan; then
+he turned his horse silently, and the white horse snorted and tore away
+with him eastward upon the dike. The rider glanced sharply to all
+sides; in his head these thoughts were raging: what fault had he to
+bear to God's throne? The digging through of the new dike--perhaps they
+would have accomplished it, if he had not stopped them; but--there was
+something else that shot seething into his heart, because he knew it
+all too well--if only, last summer, Ole Peters's malicious words hadn't
+kept him back--that was the point. He alone had recognised the weakness
+of the old dike; he ought to have seen the new repairs through in spite
+of all. "Lord God, yes, I confess it," he cried out aloud suddenly into
+the storm: "I have fulfilled my task badly."
+
+To his left, close to the horse's hoofs, the sea was raging; in front
+of him, now in complete darkness lay the old enclosed land with its
+hills and homelike houses. The pale light of the sky had gone out
+altogether; from one point only a glimmer of light broke through the
+dark. A solace came into the man's heart: the light must have been
+shining over from his own house. It seemed like a greeting from wife
+and child. Thank God, they were safe on their high hill! The others
+surely were up in the village of the higher land, for more lights were
+glimmering there than he had ever seen before. Yes, even high up in the
+air, perhaps from the church steeple, light was piercing the darkness.
+"They must all have left--all!" said Hauke to himself; "to be sure, on
+many a hill the houses will lie in ruins; a bad year will come for the
+flooded fens; sluices and locks will have to be repaired! We'll have to
+bear it and I will help even those who did me harm; only, Lord, my God,
+be merciful to us human beings!"
+
+Then he cast a glance to his side at the new enclosed land; the sea
+foamed round it, but the land lay as if the peace of night were upon
+it. An inevitable sense of triumph rose out of the rider's breast. "The
+Hauke-Haien dike will hold all right, it will hold after a hundred
+years!"
+
+A thundering roar at his feet waked him out of his dreams; the horse
+refused to go on. What was that? The horse bounded back, and he felt
+that a piece of the dike was crashing into the depth right before him.
+He opened his eyes wide and shook off all his pondering: he was
+stopping by the old dike; his horse had already planted his forelegs
+upon it. Instinctively he pulled his horse back. Then the last mantle
+of clouds uncovered the moon, and the mild light shone on all the
+horror that was rushing, foaming and hissing into the depth before him,
+down into the old land.
+
+Hauke stared at it, as if bereft of his senses; this was a deluge to
+devour beasts and men. Then the light glimmered to his eyes again, the
+same that he had seen before; it was still burning up on his hill. When
+he looked down into the land now, encouraged as he was, he perceived
+that behind the chaotic whirlpool that was pouring down, raging in
+front of him, only a breadth of about a hundred paces was flooded;
+beyond he could recognise clearly the path that led through the land.
+He saw still more: a carriage, no, a two-wheeled cart was driven like
+mad toward the dike; in it sat a woman--yes, a child too. And now--was
+that not the barking of a little dog that reached his ears through the
+storm? Almighty God! It was his wife, his child; already they were
+coming close, and the foaming mass of water was rushing toward them. A
+scream, a scream of despair broke forth from the rider's breast:
+"Elke!" he screamed; "Elke! Back! Back!"
+
+But the storm and sea were not merciful, their raving scattered his
+words. The wind had caught his cloak and almost torn him down from his
+horse; and the cart was speeding on without pause towards the rushing
+flood. Then he saw that his wife was stretching out her arms as if
+toward him. Had she recognised him? Had her longing, her deathly fear
+for him driven her out of her safe house? And now--was she crying a
+last word to him? These questions shot through his brain; they were
+never answered, for from her to him, and from him to her, their words
+were all lost. Only a roar as if the world were coming to an end filled
+their ears and let no other sound enter.
+
+"My child! Oh, Elke, oh, faithful Elke!" Hauke shouted out into the
+storm. Then another great piece of the dike fell crashing into the
+depth, and the sea rushed after it, thundering. Once more he saw the
+head of the horse below, saw the wheels of the cart emerge out of the
+wild horror and then, caught in an eddy, sink underneath it and drown.
+The staring eyes of the rider, who was left all alone on the dike, saw
+nothing more. "The end!" he said, in a low voice to himself. Then he
+rode up to the abyss where the water, gurgling gruesomely, was
+beginning to flood his home village. Still he saw the light glimmer
+from his house; it was soulless now. He drew himself up erect, and
+drove the spurs into his horse's shanks; the horse reared and would
+almost have fallen over, but the man's force held it down. "Go on!" he
+called once more, as he had called so often when he wanted a brisk
+ride. "Lord God, take me, save the others!"
+
+One more prick of the spurs; a scream from the horse that rose above
+the storm and the roar of the waves--then from the rushing stream below
+a muffled sound, a short struggle.
+
+The moon shone from her height, but down on the dike there was no more
+life, only the wild waters that soon had almost wholly flooded the old
+land. But the hill of Hauke Haien's farm was still rising above the
+turmoil, the light was still glimmering there and from the higher land,
+where the houses were gradually growing darker, the lonely light in the
+church steeple sent its quivering gleams over the foaming waves.
+
+
+The story-teller stopped. I took hold of my full glass that had for a
+long time been standing before me, but I did not raise it to my lips;
+my hand remained on the table.
+
+"That is the story of Hauke Haien," my host began again, "as I have
+been able to tell it according to my best knowledge. To be sure, the
+housekeeper of our dikemaster would have told it differently. For
+people tell this too: the white horse skeleton was seen after the flood
+again, just as before, by moonlight on Jevers Island; the whole
+village is supposed to have seen it. But this is certain: Hauke Haien
+with wife and child perished in this flood. Not even their graves have
+I been able to find up in the churchyard; their dead bodies must have
+been carried by the receding water through the breach into the sea
+and gradually have been dissolved into their elements on the sea
+bottom--thus they were left in peace by men at last. But the
+Hauke-Haien dike is still standing after a hundred years, and
+to-morrow, if you are going to ride to the city and don't mind half an
+hour's longer way, your horse will feel it under its hoofs.
+
+"The thanks of a younger generation that Jewe Manners had once promised
+the builder of the dike he never received, as you have seen. For that
+is the way, sir: Socrates they gave poison to drink, and our Lord
+Christ they nailed to the cross. That can't be done so easily nowadays,
+but--making a saint out of a tyrant or a bad, stubborn priest, or
+turning a good fellow, just because he towers above us by a head, into
+a ghost or a monster--that's still done every day."
+
+When the serious little man had said that, he got up and listened into
+the night. "Some change must have gone on outside," he said, and drew
+the woolen covering from the window. There was bright moonlight.
+"Look," he went on, "there the overseers are coming back; but they are
+scattering, they are going home. There must have been a break in the
+dike on the other shore; the water has sunk."
+
+I looked out beside him. The windows up here were above the edge of the
+dike; everything was just as he had said. I took up my glass and drank
+the rest: "I thank you for this evening. I think now we can sleep in
+peace."
+
+"We can," replied the little gentleman; "I wish you heartily a good
+night's sleep."
+
+As I walked downstairs, I met the dikemaster in the hall; he wanted to
+take home a map that he had left in the tavern. "All over!" he said.
+"But our schoolmaster, I suppose, has told you a fine story--he belongs
+to the enlighteners!"
+
+"He seems to be a sensible man."
+
+"Yes, yes, surely; but you can't distrust your own eyes. And over there
+on the other side--I said it would--the dike is broken."
+
+I shrugged my shoulders. "You will have to think that over in bed. Good
+night, dikemaster."
+
+The next morning, in the golden sunlight that shone over wide ruin, I
+rode down to the city on the Hauke-Haien dike.
+
+
+
+
+
+                        TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS
+
+                             A BERLIN NOVEL
+
+
+                                   BY
+                            THEODOR FONTANE
+
+
+
+                 TRANSLATED FROM THE FOURTEENTH EDITION
+                           BY KATHARINE ROYCE
+
+
+
+
+                           BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
+
+
+Theodor Fontane, though ranking as one of the greatest of German
+novelists, was by race entirely of French Huguenot stock. He was born
+at Neu-Ruppin, near Berlin, on December 30, 1819. His father, the son
+of a Gascon drawing-master at the court of Prussia, was an apothecary;
+but his happy-go-lucky disposition and his passion for gambling
+hindered his success in business. The mother was able and practical,
+but was unable to keep up the family fortunes, and the marriage was
+finally dissolved.
+
+After a somewhat irregular education, Theodor was apprenticed to an
+apothecary in Berlin when he was sixteen, and after four years of
+preparation he found himself qualified to practice a profession in
+which he had no interest. Before he was twenty he had published verses
+and a story, and he spent his leisure in literary clubs. In 1850 he
+received a position in the press department of the Prussian Ministry of
+the Interior, on the strength of which he married. Two years later he
+was sent to London to write reports on conditions in England for
+government journals, and this was only the first of a series of visits
+to Britain. He acted as war correspondent in the campaigns of 1864,
+1866, and 1870, being taken prisoner by the French when visiting the
+home of Joan of Arc. His interest in the picturesque history of
+Scotland seems to have led him to the study of the past of his own
+region, the Mark of Brandenburg, his thorough knowledge of which
+appears both in his descriptive works and in his fiction. The greater
+part of his life was spent in Berlin, where he died on September 20,
+1898, honored as one of the leading men of letters of his time.
+
+Fontane's earlier literary efforts were mainly in verse, the best of
+which is ballad poetry, largely of Scottish inspiration. His middle
+period was chiefly devoted to descriptions of travel. It was not till
+he was nearly sixty that he really found himself and turned to the
+writing of the novels on which his fame chiefly depends. He began in
+1878 with "Before the Storm," a long romance after the manner of Sir
+Walter Scott, and for the next twenty years he drew on his accumulated
+knowledge of life and produced with great fertility. His most
+successful field was the Berlin life with which fifty years in the
+Prussian capital had made him intimately familiar, and his chief works
+are "L'Adultera" (1882), "Petöfi" (1884), "Cécile" (1887), "Stine"
+(1890), "Frau Jenny Treibel" (1892), "The Poggenpuhls" (1896), and, in
+the year of his death, "Stechlin."
+
+The interest of these novels lies rather in character than in action.
+While he portrays many types characteristic of Berlin and the
+surrounding region, and is very successful in rendering local color and
+the atmosphere of the particular circle described in each book, his
+penetration into universal human nature is sufficiently deep to raise
+him far above provincialism. His effort is to represent people vividly
+and naturally in their normal relations, not to strain after
+sensational or even dramatic situations, though two of his shorter
+tales, "Grete Minde" and "Ellernklipp," dealing as they do with crimes,
+are to some extent exceptions to this rule. "Trials and Tribulations"
+("Irrungen Wirrungen", 1887) gives an excellent idea of his power. In a
+gently moving story, told without the forcing of emotion or the
+contriving of exciting scenes, he deals with the pathos of the relation
+between a man and a woman, alike in an attractive simplicity of
+character, but forced apart by difference of rank. The situation is
+laid before us without expressed censure or protest, and is allowed to
+have its effect by the sober truth of its presentation. Fontane's is an
+honest and sincere art, none the less great because unpretentious.
+
+                                                    W. A. N.
+
+
+
+
+                     CRITICISMS AND INTERPRETATIONS
+                                   I
+
+                          By Richard M. Meyer
+
+
+Fontane possesses the wonderful irony of the Berliner--an irony which,
+paradoxical as it may sound, is naïve; for it is nothing but an
+involuntary doubt of his equally naïve conceit, as Fontane often likes
+to say. Assuredly the Berliner is inclined to a certain conceitedness.
+He belongs to a city which has grown great in a struggle against
+antipathies--antipathies of the Government and of the "Junker" class,
+of the poets and of the rival capitals, one might almost say of nature
+herself, so sparingly has she dealt with this city on the Spree. In
+this constant struggle Berlin has been victorious, and every Berliner
+to this day feels that victory to the marrow of his bones. Fontane,
+using his friend Lepel as his mouthpiece, makes him say, "Well,
+Fontane, there you are again; talking like an oracle. It all comes from
+that curiously naïve belief in yourself. You always think you know
+everything best. But I can tell you, there are people living on the
+other side of the mountains too." This quiet feeling of superiority the
+Berliner has gained only after a struggle, and therefore he is at
+bottom precisely aware of his limits. No one can express this more
+strikingly than Fontane himself: "Deeply penetrated by my insufficiency
+and my ignorance, I saw--incredible though it may seem--that the
+ignorance of my fellow-creatures was even greater than my own. So I was
+at the same moment both humble and conceited." There is the typical
+Berliner! He knows well his own weakness, but, since he is successful,
+he takes it for granted in all naïveté that he is yet the one-eyed
+among the blind.
+
+It is this attitude which gives Fontane's irony its peculiar flavor....
+
+The gentle melancholy of two people coming together in a way which can
+never lead to full satisfaction, the quiet tragedy of a separation not
+forced by external powers but by the constant pressure of
+circumstances--this is what sounds through this splendid story. "Trials
+and Tribulations" is built entirely on this motive. An honest sturdy
+young officer and a decent pretty girl get to know each other on an
+excursion. Unconsciously they drift into a relation where heart meets
+heart, the breaking of which causes the deepest pain. But both see
+clearly from the beginning that there is no other end. For they know
+that the world is stronger than the individual, and the many small
+moments than the one supreme. They know it, for they are, like their
+creator, resigned realists. They shut their eyes only in order not to
+see the end too near. Then comes the parting, still and quiet: "She
+leaned on him and said quietly and warmly, 'And so this is the last
+time that I shall hold your hand in mine?'"--From "Die deutsche
+Litteratur des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts" (1910).
+
+
+
+                                   II
+
+                          By S. C. De Soissons
+
+
+In 1898, Germany suffered a great loss in the person of Theodor
+Fontane, who represented a superior kind of realism, and to whom the
+modern German novel was very much indebted. As he was of French origin,
+his writings naturally possessed more equilibrium and measure than one
+usually finds in German writers; he also had a fine and keen esprit,
+never importuning, never displaying his wit, never running into pathos.
+For that reason his novels seemed cold to sentimental readers and
+frivolous to moralists. But the cultivated and unprejudiced reader
+admired his quiet experience and his deep knowledge of external life as
+well as of the depths of the human soul, qualities which were mingled
+with a love of his native country, Brandenburg. But although dead,
+Fontane has not ceased to be the father of modern realism. All that is
+good, true, beautiful, and important in the German realistic novel
+comes from Theodor Fontane. Naturalism and symbolism stand far apart
+from him; but even the most passionate and the most intelligent
+adversaries of symbolism point to him as a representative of true
+art.--From "The Modern German Novel," in "The Contemporary Review"
+(1904).
+
+
+
+
+                        TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS
+
+                             A BERLIN NOVEL
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+
+
+At the junction of the Kurfürstendamm and the Kurfürstenstrasse,
+diagonally across from the Zoological Garden, there still remained,
+about the middle of the seventies, a large market-garden, extending
+towards the open country. The little house belonging to this property
+had but three windows, and was set about a hundred paces back in a
+front garden; yet in spite of its small size and its secluded position,
+it could be plainly seen from the road that ran past. But all else that
+belonged to the place, and indeed formed the principal part of it, was
+hidden behind this little dwelling as if by the side-scenes of a
+theatre, and only a little red and green painted tower with a half
+broken dial beneath its peak (nothing remained of the clock itself)
+gave one a hint, that behind this "coulisse" something more must be
+hidden, a hint which was confirmed from time to time by the rising and
+circling of a flock of pigeons around the tower, and still more by the
+occasional barking of a dog. Where this dog was actually kept it was
+indeed impossible to find out, in spite of the fact that the door of
+the house, which was close to the left corner, stood open early and
+late and afforded a glimpse of a small part of the yard. However,
+nothing seemed to have been purposely hidden, and yet everyone who came
+along the road at the time when our story begins, had to be satisfied
+with a glimpse of the little house with its three windows and of a few
+fruit trees that stood in the front garden.
+
+
+It was the week after Whitsunday, when the days are so long that it
+seems as if the dazzling light would never come to an end. But to-day
+the sun was already hidden behind the church-tower of Wilmersdorf and
+instead of the light, with which it had filled the front garden all
+day, the shades of evening had already fallen, and the half mysterious
+silence was only surpassed by that of the little house which was
+occupied by old Frau Nimptsch and her adopted daughter Lena as tenants.
+But Frau Nimptsch was sitting as usual by the large low hearth in her
+front room, which took in the whole width of the house, and, bending
+forward, she was gazing at a blackened old tea kettle, whose lid kept
+up a continual rattling, although the steam was pouring out of the
+spout. The old woman was holding her hands out towards the glowing
+embers and was so lost in her thoughts and dreams that she did not hear
+the hall door open and a stout woman enter somewhat noisily. Only when
+the latter cleared her throat and greeted her friend and neighbor, our
+Frau Nimptsch, quite affectionately by name, did the latter turn around
+and speak to her guest in friendly fashion and with a touch of
+playfulness: "Well, this is good in you, dear Frau Dörr, to come over
+again. And from the 'castle' too. For it is a castle and always will
+be. It has a tower. And now do sit down.... I just saw your dear
+husband go out. Of course he would have to. For this is his evening at
+the bowling alley."
+
+She who received this friendly greeting as Frau Dörr was not only
+stout, but was an especially imposing-looking woman, who produced the
+impression of narrow-mindedness as well as that of kindliness and
+trustworthiness. Meanwhile Frau Nimptsch apparently took no offence and
+only repeated: "Yes, his evening at the bowling alley. But what I was
+going to say was, that Dörr's hat really will not do any longer. It is
+all threadbare and really disgraceful. You ought to take it away from
+him and put another in its place. Perhaps he would never know the
+difference.... And now draw up your chair, dear Frau Dörr, or perhaps
+over there where the footstool is.... Lena, you know, has slipped out
+and left me in the lurch again."
+
+"Has he been here?"
+
+"Of course he has. And they have both gone a little way towards
+Wilmersdorf; nobody comes along the footpath. But they may be back
+again any minute."
+
+"Well, then I had better go."
+
+"Oh, no indeed, dear Frau Dörr. He will not stay. And even if he
+should, you know, he would not mind."
+
+"I know, I know. And how are things then?"
+
+"Why, how should they be? I believe she is thinking of something even
+if she does not want others to know it, and she is imagining something
+or other."
+
+"Oh, my goodness," said Frau Dörr, as she drew up a somewhat higher
+stool instead of the footstool that had been offered her. "Oh, my
+goodness, then it's bad. Whenever one begins to imagine things, trouble
+begins. It is just like the Amen in church. See here, dear Frau
+Nimptsch, it was just the very same with me, only there was no
+imagining. And that is just why everything was really quite different."
+
+Apparently Frau Nimptsch did not really understand what Frau Dörr
+meant, and so the latter went on: "And because I never took any notions
+into my head, things always went perfectly well and smoothly and now I
+have Dörr. Oh well, that isn't much, but still it is something
+respectable and I can show my face everywhere. And that is why I went
+to church with him too, and not merely to the registrar's office. If
+you only go to the registrar's office, there will always be talk."
+
+Frau Nimptsch nodded.
+
+But Frau Dörr repeated: "Yes, in church, in the Matthäikirche. But this
+is what I was really going to say, don't you see, my dear Frau
+Nimptsch, I was really taller and more pleasing than Lena, and if I was
+not prettier (for that is something one can never rightly know and
+tastes differ so), yet my figure was stouter and a great many like
+that. Yes, so much is certain. But even if I was, as you might say,
+more solid and weighed more, and there was a something about me--well
+yes, there was something about me--yet I was always very innocent,
+almost simple; and as to him, my Count, with his fifty years on his
+shoulders, well, he was very simple too and always very gay and would
+never behave properly. And before very long, I told him: 'No, no,
+Count, this will never do; I can't allow anything like this....' And
+old people are always like that. I will only say, dear Frau Nimptsch,
+you can't imagine anything of the sort. It was dreadful. And now when I
+see Lena's Baron, it makes me ashamed to think what mine was like. And
+now as to Lena herself. My Lord, of course she isn't exactly an angel,
+but she is neat and industrious and knows how to do everything, and
+loves order and practical things. And don't you see, Frau Nimptsch,
+that is just the sad part of it. These fly-abouts, that are here to-day
+and there to-morrow, well, they never come to grief, they always fall
+on their feet like a cat, but such a good child, who takes everything
+seriously, and does everything for the sake of love, that is bad.... Or
+perhaps it may not be so bad; you only adopted her and she is not your
+own flesh and blood and perhaps she is a princess or something like
+that."
+
+At this conjecture Frau Nimptsch shook her head and looked as if she
+were about to answer. But Frau Dörr had already risen and said, as she
+looked along the garden path: "Heavens, there they come. And he is just
+in civilian's clothes, with coat and trousers to match. But you would
+notice him all the same! And now he is whispering something in her ear
+and she is smiling to herself. But she is blushing so.... And now he is
+going away. And now ... Really, I believe, he is turning back. No, no,
+he is only saying good-bye again and she is throwing him a kiss....
+Yes, I think something like that would have suited me.... No, mine was
+not like that."
+
+Frau Dörr went on talking, until Lena came in and greeted both women.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+
+The next forenoon the sun, which was already rather high, shone into
+the yard of the Dörr's little establishment and lighted up a
+considerable number of buildings, among which was the "castle" of which
+Frau Nimptsch had spoken on the previous evening with roguish
+playfulness. Such a "castle"! In the twilight its general outlines
+might have passed for something of the sort, but to-day, as it stood in
+the remorselessly bright light, one could see only too plainly, that
+the building with its Gothic windows painted on the walls clear to the
+top, was nothing more than a wretched old wooden house, in the two
+gable ends of which had been set some timber framing, the spaces of
+which were filled with plaster, a comparatively solid structure which
+indicated two gable rooms. All the rest of the house was merely a
+stone-paved space from which a confused looking set of ladders led to a
+loft or garret and from that to the tower which served as a pigeon
+house. Formerly, before Dörr's time, the whole great wooden "shack" had
+served merely as a store-house for bean poles and watering pots,
+perhaps even as a potato cellar, but since, some years ago, the garden
+had been bought by its present owner, the real dwelling house had been
+rented to Frau Nimptsch, and the old building painted in the Gothic
+style, with the addition of the two gable rooms already mentioned, had
+been arranged as a dwelling for Dörr, who was then a widower; a very
+primitive arrangement it was, which was in no wise altered by his
+speedy second marriage. In the summer this cool store house with its
+stone pavements and almost no windows was not a bad dwelling place, but
+in the winter Dörr and his wife as well as a rather feeble-minded
+twenty-year-old son of the former marriage, would have actually frozen,
+had it not been for the two big hothouses which stood on the other side
+of the yard. In these the three Dörrs spent their time exclusively from
+November until March, but even in the warmer and more comfortable part
+of the year, the family life, when it was not actually necessary to
+seek refuge from the sun, was mostly carried on in front of these hot
+houses or in them, because everything there was more convenient. Here
+were the steps and shelves on which the flowers that were brought out
+of the hothouses every morning had their airing, here was the stall for
+the cow and the goat, and here the kennel for the dog that was used to
+pull the little wagon, and from here extended outward the double row of
+hotbeds, perhaps fifty paces long, and with a little path between,
+until they reached the vegetable garden which lay further back. This
+garden did not look very neat, partly because Dörr had no sense of
+order, and also because he had such a passion for poultry, that he
+would allow his favorites to scratch and pick everywhere, without
+regard to the damage that they did. To be sure, the damage was not
+great, for there was nothing very fine in the garden except the
+asparagus beds. Dörr thought that the commonest things were also the
+most profitable, and therefore raised marjoram and other herbs for
+seasoning sausages, especially "borré," concerning which he held the
+opinion that a genuine Berliner really needs only three things: his
+pale ale, his "gilka" and "borré." "With borré," he always concluded,
+"one is never at a loss." He was decidedly an eccentric, wholly
+self-sufficient in his views and was decidedly indifferent as to what
+might be said about him. His second marriage was in keeping with this
+tendency, a marriage of inclination, upon which the idea of his wife's
+unusual beauty had had its effect as well as her former relation to the
+Count, which instead of injuring her chances, had tipped the balance
+for the better and had simply served as a complete proof that her
+charms were irresistible. If there was any hint of overvaluing personal
+charms--and there was good ground for this opinion--it could not be on
+the side of Dörr himself, for whom nature, so far as outward
+appearances were concerned, had done uncommonly little. Thin, of medium
+height and with five strands of grey hair drawn over his head and brow,
+his looks would have been completely ordinary had not a brown mole
+between his eye and his left temple given him a certain mark of
+distinction. For this reason his wife, with some reason and in her own
+free and easy fashion used to say: "He is withered looking, but from
+the left he reminds me of a 'Borsdorfer'."
+
+This description was well hit off and would have served to identify him
+anywhere if he had not continually worn a linen cap with a big visor,
+which being drawn well down over his face, hid its every-day as well as
+its unusual aspect.
+
+And so, with his cap and visor drawn down over his face, he stood once
+more, on the day after the conversation between Frau Dörr and Frau
+Nimptsch, before a flower stand that stood against the front
+greenhouse, setting to one side various wallflower and geranium pots,
+which were to go to the weekly market on the morrow. They were all
+plants that had not been raised in pots, but simply set into them, and
+with especial joy and satisfaction he passed them in review, laughing
+beforehand at the "madams," who would come the next day to spend their
+usual five pfennigs, but in the end would be fooled. He considered this
+one of his greatest pleasures and indeed it was the principal part of
+his mental life. "If I could only hear them scold about it ... If I
+only could."
+
+He was talking to himself in this vein, when he heard from the garden
+the barking of a little cur together with the distressed crowing of a
+cock, and unless he was very much deceived, of his cock, his favorite
+with the silvery feathers. And looking toward the garden, he actually
+saw his flock of hens rushing this way and that, while the cock had
+flown up in a pear tree, from which he constantly called for help while
+the dog barked beneath.
+
+"Thunder and lightning," cried Dörr in a rage. "There is Bollmann's dog
+again.... He has got through the fence again.... But we shall see." ...
+And quickly setting down the geranium pot that he was examining, he ran
+to the dog kennel, caught up the hook of the chain and turned the big
+dog loose, who rushed furiously through the garden. But before he could
+reach the pear tree, "Bollmann's beast" had already given leg bail and
+was disappearing under the fence into the open, the big yellow dog
+pursuing him with great leaps. But the gap that had sufficed for the
+pug would not let him through, and he was forced to give up the chase.
+
+Dörr himself had no better luck, when he came up with a rake and
+exchanged glances with the dog. "Well, Sultan, we didn't catch him this
+time." And so Sultan trotted back to his kennel in a slow, puzzled way,
+as if he had been blamed for something. But Dörr himself gazed after
+the pug who was running over the ploughed ground and said to himself
+presently: "The Devil take me, if I don't get me an air gun at Mehle's
+or somewhere. And then I'll get the beast out of the way so silently
+that neither cock nor hen will make a sound. Not even mine."
+
+The cock, however, seemed to have for the present no use for the quiet
+attributed to him by Dörr, but continued to use his voice just as
+strenuously as before. And meanwhile he puffed out his silver white
+throat as proudly as if he wanted to show the hens that his flying up
+into the pear tree was a well-considered "coup" or else a mere whim.
+
+But Dörr said: "Oh Lord, what a cock. He thinks he is something
+wonderful. And yet his courage doesn't amount to much."
+
+And so saying he went back to his flower stand.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+
+The whole incident had also been observed by Frau Dörr, who was cutting
+asparagus, but she paid very; little attention, because such things
+happened nearly every other day. So she kept on with her work, and only
+gave up the search, when even the sharpest scrutiny of the beds failed
+to reveal any more white heads. Only then did she hang the basket on
+her arm, putting the knife in it, and driving a couple of strayed
+chickens before her, while she walked slowly along the middle path of
+the garden and then into the yard and up to the flower stand, where
+Dörr had resumed his work for the market.
+
+"Well, Susy," he greeted his better half, "here you are. Did you see?
+Bollmann's dog was here again. Listen, he had better say his prayers
+and then I will try him out over the fire; there must be a little fat
+on him and Sultan can have the scraps.... And listen, Susy, dog's
+fat...." And he appeared to become absorbed in a favorite method of
+treating gout which he had been considering for some time. But at this
+moment he caught sight of the asparagus basket on his wife's arm, and
+interrupted himself. "Come, show it to me," he said. "Did you have good
+luck?"
+
+"So so," said Frau Dörr, holding out the scarcely half-filled basket,
+whose contents he passed through his fingers, shaking his head. For
+most of the stalks were thin and there were many broken ones among
+them.
+
+"Now, Susy, listen. You certainly have no eye for asparagus."
+
+"Yes I have, too. But I can't work magic."
+
+"Oh well, we will not quarrel, Susy; that will not make it any more
+than it is. But it looks like starvation."
+
+"Why, not at all. They are all under ground, and whether they come up
+to-day or to-morrow, it is all the same. One good shower, such as we
+had before Whitsunday, and then you will see. And there is going to be
+rain. The water barrel is already smelling again and the big spider has
+crept into the corner. But you want to have everything every day; and
+you can't expect that."
+
+Dörr laughed. "Well, tie it all up nicely. And the poor little stalks
+too. And then you can sell it a little cheaper."
+
+"Now, don't talk like that," interrupted his wife, who always got angry
+over his avarice, but still she pulled his ear, which he always
+regarded as a sign of affection, and then she went over to the
+"castle," where she meant to make herself comfortable in the stone
+paved passageway and tie up her asparagus in bunches. But she had
+scarcely drawn up to the threshold the stool which always stood ready,
+than she heard, over in the little house with three windows where Frau
+Nimptsch lived, a back window pushed up vigorously and a moment later
+hooked in place. And then she saw Lena with a lilac and white jacket
+over her woolen skirt and a cap on her ash-blond hair, waving a
+friendly greeting to her.
+
+Frau Dörr returned the greeting with equal warmth and said: "The window
+always open; that's right, Lena. It is already beginning to grow hot.
+Some change must be coming."
+
+"Yes. And mother already has her headache from the heat, and so I would
+rather iron in the back room. It is pleasanter here too; at the front
+we don't see anybody."
+
+"That is so," answered Frau Dörr. "I believe I will come over to the
+window for a bit. I can always work better when I have some one to talk
+to."
+
+"How kind and good you are, Frau Dörr. But right here by the window the
+sun is so strong."
+
+"That will do no harm, Lena. I will bring my market umbrella along, the
+old thing is covered with patches. But it serves its purpose still."
+
+And within five minutes, good Frau Dörr had moved her stool over by the
+window and sat there as comfortable and self-satisfied as if she were
+at the regular market. Inside the room Lena had put the ironing board
+across two chairs close to the window and stood so near it that it
+would have been easy to reach her with one's hand. Meanwhile the
+flatiron moved busily back and forth. And Frau Dörr also was diligently
+choosing and binding up her asparagus and if she paused from her work
+now and then and glanced into the room, she could see the glow of the
+little ironing stove from which the fresh coals were taken for the
+flatiron.
+
+"You might just bring me a plate, Lena, a plate or a dish." And when
+Lena brought what Frau Dörr had asked, the good woman dropped into the
+dish the broken pieces of asparagus which she had kept in her apron
+while she was sorting out the stalks. "There, Lena, that will make a
+little taste of asparagus. And it is just as good as the rest. For it
+is all nonsense that you must always have the heads. And it is just the
+same with cauliflower; always the flower ... pure imagination. The
+stump is really the best, for the strength of the plant is there. And
+the strength is always the most important thing."
+
+"Heavens, you are always so good, Frau Dörr. But what will your husband
+say?"
+
+"He? What he says doesn't matter. He will be talking. He always wants
+me to put in the spindling ones with the rest as if they were real
+stalks; but I don't like such cheating tricks, even if the broken
+pieces do taste just as good as the whole stalks. What anyone pays for,
+he ought to get, only it makes me angry that a man who gets on so well
+should be such an old skinflint. But all gardeners are like that, skimp
+and grasp and then they can never get enough."
+
+"Yes," laughed Lena, "he is greedy and a bit peculiar. But for all that
+he is a good man."
+
+"Yes, Lena, he is well enough so far, and even his stinginess would not
+be so bad, for at least it is better than wastefulness, if only he were
+not too fond. You would not believe it, but he is always right there.
+And just look at him. I have nothing but bother with him for all that
+he is fifty-six years old, and maybe a year more. For he tells lies if
+it suits him to. I keep telling him about strokes of apoplexy and point
+out people who limp or have their mouths drawn to one side, but he
+always laughs and will not believe me. But it will happen. Yes, Lena, I
+have no doubt that it will happen. And perhaps soon. Well, he has
+willed me everything he has and so I will not say anything more. When
+one has made one's bed, one must lie in it. But why are we talking
+about Dörr and strokes, and his bow legs. Good Lord, Lena, there are
+plenty of other folks who are as straight as a fir tree. Aren't there,
+Lena?"
+
+At this Lena grew still more rosy than before, and said: "The charcoal
+is cold." And stepping back from the board, she went to the stove and
+shook the coal back among the embers, so as to take out a new one. All
+this was the work of a moment. And now with a quick turn of the hand
+she slipped the new hot coal from the tongs into the iron, shut the
+little door, and only then noticed that Frau Dörr was still waiting for
+an answer. But to make sure, the good woman asked the question over
+again and added: "Is he coming to-day?"
+
+"Yes. At least he promised to."
+
+"Now tell me, Lena," went on Frau Dörr, "how did it really begin?
+Mother Nimptsch never says much, and if she does say anything, it
+doesn't amount to much, and I never get the ins and outs of it. For she
+only tells part and that all confused. Now do tell me. Is it true that
+you met in Stralau?"
+
+"Yes, Frau Dörr, it was in Stralau, on Easter Monday, but it was
+already as warm as if it were Whitsunday, and because Lina Gansauge
+likes boating, we took a skiff; and Lina's brother Rudolph, whom I
+think you know, took the rudder."
+
+"Heavens, Rudolph. Rudolph is a mere boy."
+
+"That is so. But he thought he knew all about it, and he kept saying:
+'You must sit still, girls; you rock the boat so,' for he speaks with
+such a frightful Berlin accent. But we didn't think of doing such a
+thing, because we soon saw that his steering wasn't good for much. But
+by and by we forgot all about it, and let ourselves go, and joked with
+those we met, and splashed each other with water. And in the only boat
+that was going in the same direction that we were, sat a pair of very
+fine gentlemen, who saluted us, and we were so reckless that we
+returned their greetings and Lina even waved her handkerchief, and
+behaved as if she knew the gentlemen, which however was not the case,
+and she only wanted to show off, because she is so young. And while we
+were laughing and joking like that, and only playing with the oars, we
+saw all at once that the steamer from Treptow was coming towards us,
+and as you can imagine, dear Frau Dörr, we were frightened to death and
+called out to Rudolph that he must steer us out of the way. But the boy
+had lost his head and just steered us round and round in a circle. And
+then we began to scream and we should surely have been run down if the
+two gentlemen in the other boat had not at that very moment taken pity
+on us in our trouble. With a couple of strokes they reached us and
+while one of them took firm hold of us with a boat hook and made us
+fast to their boat, the other rowed their boat and ours out of the wake
+of the steamboat, and only once more did it seem as if the big waves
+would capsize us. The captain shook his fist at us (I saw that for all
+my fright), but that was soon over and in another minute we had reached
+Stralau and the two gentlemen, to whom we owed our rescue, jumped out
+and gave us their hands and helped us out like regular escorts. And so
+there we stood on the slip at Tübbecke's, feeling very bashful and Lina
+was crying softly and only Rudolph, who is always obstinate and
+boastful, and doesn't like soldiers, looked sullenly before him, as if
+to say: 'Nonsense, I could have steered you out all right myself.'
+
+"Yes, that is what he is, a boastful young rascal; I know him. But now
+tell me about the two gentlemen. That is the chief thing...."
+
+"Well, they did what they could for us and then took their places at
+another table and kept looking over at us. And when we were ready to go
+home, towards seven o'clock, and it was growing a little dark, one of
+them came to us and asked 'whether he and his friend might offer to
+escort us?' And I laughed rather recklessly and said, 'they had rescued
+us and one must not refuse anything to one's rescuer. But they had
+really better think about it a little, for we lived almost at the other
+end of the earth. And it would be really quite a journey.' Thereupon he
+answered politely, 'All the better.' And meanwhile the other man had
+come up.... Ah, dear Frau Dörr, perhaps it was not right, to talk so
+freely at first sight, but one of them took my fancy, and I never knew
+how to put on any prim airs. And so we walked all the long way home
+together, first by the Spree and then by the canal."
+
+"And how about Rudolph!"
+
+"He followed after, as if he had nothing to do with us, but he used his
+eyes and noticed everything. And that was quite right; for Lina is only
+eighteen and is still a good, innocent child!"
+
+"Do you think so?"
+
+"Certainly, Frau Dörr. You only need to look at her. You can see that
+at once."
+
+"Yes, usually. But once in a while you can't. And so they saw you
+home?"
+
+"Yes, Frau Dörr."
+
+"And afterwards?"
+
+"Yes, afterwards. But you know already how it was afterwards. He came
+the following day to inquire. And ever since he has come often, and I
+am always glad when he comes. Heavens, it does make one happy to see a
+little of life. It is often so lonely, away out here. And you know,
+Frau Dörr, mother has nothing against it and always says: 'Child, that
+does no harm. Before you know it, you will be old.'"
+
+"Yes indeed," said Frau Dörr, "I have often heard Frau Nimptsch speak
+like that. And she is quite right too. That is to say, just as one
+takes it, and to live according to the catechism is really better and,
+so to speak, actually the best way. You may take my word for it. But I
+know very well, things do not always go that way, and a great many are
+not willing to follow those rules. And if one will not, one will not,
+and things must take their own course as they usually do, so long as
+one is honest and decent and keeps his word. And naturally, whatever
+happens, one must put up with it and must not be surprised. And if one
+knows all this and keeps it in mind, well, then it is not so bad. And
+really, fanciful notions are the only thing that does any harm."
+
+"Oh, dear Frau Dörr," laughed Lena, "what can you be thinking of?
+Fanciful notions! I have no fancy notions. If I love anyone, I love
+him. And that is enough for me. And I want nothing more from him,
+nothing at all. And it makes me happy that my heart beats so and that I
+count the hours till he comes, and that I cannot wait until I see him
+again, that is my joy, and it is enough for me."
+
+"Yes," said Frau Dörr smiling to herself, "that is right, that is as it
+should be. But Lena, is his name really Botho? No one could have such a
+name; it is no sort of a Christian, name."
+
+"But it is, Frau Dörr," and Lena seemed as if she wanted to prove the
+fact that there were such names. But before she could succeed, Sultan
+barked and one could plainly hear the sound of some one entering from
+the corridor. The letter carrier came in and brought two orders for
+Dörr and a letter for Lena.
+
+"My Lord, Hahnke," exclaimed Frau Dörr to the man on whose brow the
+great drops stood, "you are dripping with sweat. Is it so frightfully
+hot? And only half-past nine. I see very well that there isn't much fun
+in being a letter carrier."
+
+And the good soul started to go and get a glass of fresh milk. But
+Hahnke refused with thanks. "I have no time, Frau Dörr. Some other
+day." And with these words he left at once.
+
+Meanwhile Lena had opened her letter.
+
+"Well, what does he say?"
+
+"He isn't coming to-day, but to-morrow. Oh, what a long time it is till
+to-morrow. It is a good thing that I have work; the more work the
+better. And this afternoon I'll come over to your garden and help you
+dig. But I don't want Dörr to be there."
+
+"The Lord forbid."
+
+And then they separated and Lena went into the front room to give her
+old mother the dish of asparagus from Frau Dörr.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IV
+
+
+And now the next evening had come, the time for Baron Botho's promised
+visit. Lena was walking up and down in the front garden, but in the
+large front room Frau Nimptsch sat as usual by the hearth, while to-day
+again the whole Dörr family had grouped themselves around her. Frau
+Dörr was knitting with big wooden needles on a blue woolen jacket for
+her husband, and the work, as yet quite shapeless, lay on her lap like
+a great fleece. Near her, with his legs comfortably crossed, Dörr was
+smoking a clay pipe, while his son sat in a big grandfather's chair
+close to the window, leaning his red head against the "wing" of the
+chair. Every morning he was up by cockcrow, so to-day he had once more
+fallen asleep through weariness. There was but little talk, and so
+nothing was to be heard but the clicking of the needles and the
+chattering of the squirrel, which from time to time came out of his box
+and gazed curiously about. The only light came from the fire on the
+hearth and the afterglow of the sunset.
+
+Frau Dörr sat so that she could look along the garden path and in spite
+of the twilight she could see who was coming along the road, past the
+hedge.
+
+"Ah, there he comes," said she. "Now, Dörr, just let your pipe go out.
+You are just like a chimney to-day, puffing and smoking all day long.
+And such a stinking old pipe as yours is not fit for everyone."
+
+Dörr did not let such speeches trouble him much and before his wife
+could say any more or repeat her verdict, the Baron came in. He was
+visibly mellow, as he had just come from a punch bowl, which had been
+the subject of a wager at the club, and said, as he took Frau
+Nimptsch's hand: "Good evening, mother. I hope all is well with you.
+Ah, and Frau Dörr; and Herr Dörr, my favorite old friend. See here,
+Dörr, what do you say to the weather? Specially ordered for you and for
+me too. My meadows at home, that are under water four years out of five
+and bear nothing but crow's foot, such weather will do them good. And
+it will do Lena good too; she can stay out of doors more; she is
+growing too pale to suit me."
+
+Meanwhile Lena had drawn up a wooden chair near her old mother, because
+she knew that this was Baron Botho's favorite place; but Frau Dörr, who
+was fully impressed with the idea that a Baron must occupy the seat of
+honor, had meanwhile risen, and with the blue fleecy mass trailing
+after her, she called out to her stepson: "Will you get up! I say, now.
+If there is nothing in him, it's no use to expect anything from him."
+The poor boy stood up, all stupid and sleepy and was going to give up
+his seat, but the Baron would not allow it. "For heaven's sake, dear
+Frau Dörr, leave the poor boy alone. I would far rather sit on a bench;
+like my friend Dörr here."
+
+And therewith he pushed the chair, which Lena still had ready for him,
+beside the old mother and said as he sat down:
+
+"Here beside Frau Nimptsch is the best place. I know of no other
+fireplace that I am as fond of; there is always fire, always warmth.
+Yes, Mutterchen, that is true, this is the best place."
+
+"Oh my soul," said the old woman. "This is the best place! In an old
+washerwoman's house."
+
+"Certainly. And why not? Every class and calling is worthy of respect.
+And a washerwoman too. Do you know, Mutterchen, that here in Berlin
+there was a famous poet who wrote a poem about his old washerwoman?"
+
+"Is it possible?"
+
+"Of course it is possible. Moreover it is true. And do you know what he
+said at the end? He said that he wished he could live and die like his
+old washerwoman. Yes, that is what he said."
+
+"Is it possible?" said the old woman to herself once more, simpering a
+little.
+
+"And do you know, Mutterchen, now don't you forget it, he was quite
+right, and I say the very same? Oh yes, you laugh to yourself. But just
+look about you here. How do you live? Like the good Lord in France. In
+the first place, you have your house and hearth, and then the garden
+and Frau Dörr. And then you have Lena. Haven't you? But what has become
+of her?"
+
+He would have gone on talking, but just then Lena came in with a tray,
+on which was a carafe of water and some cider, for which the Baron had
+a preference not easily to be understood, but for his belief in its
+wonderful curative properties.
+
+"Why Lena, how you spoil me. But you should not offer it to me so
+formally. It seems just as if I were at the club. You must bring it to
+me in your hand, it tastes best that way. And now give me your little
+hand, and let me stroke it. No, no, the left one; that is nearest the
+heart. And now sit right there, between Herr and Frau Dörr, so that you
+will be opposite me and I can see you all the time. I have been happy
+all day, looking forward to this time."
+
+Lena laughed.
+
+"Perhaps you don't believe it? But I can prove it to you, Lena, for I
+have brought you something from the fine party that we had yesterday.
+And when one has a little present to bring, he always feels happy about
+the girl who is to receive it. Isn't that so, my dear Dörr?"
+
+Dörr grinned, but Frau Dörr said: "Lord, he? He bring presents? Dörr is
+all for scraping and saving. That is the way with gardeners. But I am
+curious to see what the Herr Baron has brought."
+
+"Well, then I will not keep you waiting any longer, or else dear Frau
+Dörr might think I have brought a golden slipper or some such thing out
+of a fairy story. But this is all it is."
+
+And therewith he gave Lena a paper bag, from which, unless all signs
+failed, the fringed ends of some snapping bonbons peeped out.
+
+They proved to be snapping bonbons and the bag was passed around.
+
+"But now we must pull one, Lena. Hold on tight and shut your eyes."
+
+Frau Dörr was delighted when the cracker snapped, and still more so
+when Lena's forefinger began to bleed. "That doesn't hurt, Lena, I know
+it doesn't. It is just like a bride who pricks her finger. I used to
+know one who was so crazy about it, that she kept pricking herself and
+sucked and sucked, as if it were something wonderful."
+
+Lena blushed. But Frau Dörr did not notice and went on: "And now read
+the verse, Herr Baron."
+
+And this is what he read:
+
+
+            When two forget themselves for love,
+            God and the angels rejoice above.
+
+
+"Heavens," said Frau Dörr, folding her hands. "That is just like
+something out of a song book. Is the verse always so pious?"
+
+"I hope not," said Botho. "Not always. Come, dear Frau Dörr, let us
+pull one and see what we shall get out of it."
+
+And then he pulled again and read:
+
+
+            Where Love's dart has struck well.
+            Wide open stand both heaven and hell.
+
+
+"Now, Frau Dörr, what do you say to that? It sounds different, doesn't
+it?"
+
+"Yes," said Frau Dörr, "it sounds different. But I don't quite like
+it.... If I pull a bonbon...."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Then I don't want anything about hell to come out, I don't want to
+hear that there is any such thing."
+
+"Nor I either," laughed Lena. "Frau Dörr is quite right: for that
+matter, she is always right. But really, when one reads such a verse,
+one has always something to start with, I mean to begin a conversation
+with, for the beginning is always the hardest, just as it is with
+writing letters. And I simply cannot imagine how you can begin a
+conversation at once with no more ado, with so many strange ladies, for
+you are not all acquainted with each other."
+
+"Oh, my dear Lena," said Botho, "it isn't so hard as you think. It is
+really quite easy. If you like, I will give you a dinner-table
+conversation now."
+
+Frau Dörr and Frau Nimptsch said that they would like to hear it and
+Lena too nodded her assent.
+
+"Now," went on Baron Botho, "you must imagine that you are a little
+Countess. And I have just escorted you to the table and sat down and we
+are taking the first spoonful of soup."
+
+"Very well. But what now?"
+
+"And now I say to you: 'If I am not mistaken, I saw you yesterday at
+the flower show, you and your mother together. It is not surprising.
+The weather entices us out every day now and we might almost say that
+it is fit for travelling. Have you made any plans for the summer,
+Countess?' And now you answer, that unfortunately nothing is settled
+yet, because your papa is determined to go to Bavaria, while your
+dearest wish is to see Saxon Switzerland with the Königstein and the
+Bastei."
+
+"It really is," laughed Lena.
+
+"You see, that goes very well. And then I go on: 'Yes, gracious
+Countess, in that we share the same tastes. I prefer Saxon Switzerland
+to any other part of the world, even to the actual Switzerland itself.
+One cannot always revel in the grander aspects of nature, and clamber
+and get out of breath all the time. But Saxon Switzerland! Heavenly,
+ideal. There is Dresden; in a quarter or a half hour I can be there,
+and I can see pictures, the theatre, the great gardens, the Zwinger,
+and the green vault. Do not neglect to see the tankard with the foolish
+virgins, and above all things that cherry stone, on which the whole of
+the Lord's prayer is carved. It can only be seen through the magnifying
+glass.'"
+
+"So that is the way you talk!"
+
+"Exactly, my darling. And when I have paid sufficient attention to my
+left-hand neighbor, that is, the Countess Lena, I turn to my right-hand
+neighbor, that is, to Madame the Baroness Dörr...."
+
+Frau Dörr was so delighted that she slapped her knee with a loud
+noise....
+
+"So I am to converse with Madame the Baroness Dörr? And what shall we
+talk about? Well, say we talk about mushrooms."
+
+"But, great heavens, mushrooms. About mushrooms, Herr Baron, that would
+never do."
+
+"Oh why not, why shouldn't it do, dear Frau Dörr? That is a very
+serious and instructive subject and is more important than you think. I
+once visited a friend in Poland, a comrade in my regiment and also
+during the war, who lived in a great castle; it was red and had two
+huge towers, and was so fearfully old, that you never see anything like
+it nowadays. And the last room was his living room; for he was
+unmarried, because he was a woman hater...."
+
+"Is it possible?"
+
+"And everywhere the old rotten boards were trodden through and wherever
+there were a couple of boards lacking, there was a mushroom bed, and I
+passed by all the mushroom beds, until at last I came to his room."
+
+"Is it possible?" repeated Frau Dörr and added: "Mushrooms! But one
+cannot always be talking about mushrooms."
+
+"No, not always. But really quite often, and anyway it makes no
+difference what you talk about. If it isn't mushrooms it is
+'champignons,' and if it is not the red castle in Poland it is Schloss
+Tegel or Saatwinkel, or Valentinswerder. Or Italy or Paris, or the city
+railway, or whether the Panke should be filled in. It is all the same.
+One can always talk a little about anything, whether it is especially
+pleasing or not. And 'yes' is just as good as 'no.'"
+
+"But," said Lena, "if all the talk is so empty, I am surprised that you
+should go into such company."
+
+"Oh you see beautiful women and handsome gowns and sometimes you catch
+glances that will betray a whole romance, if you look sharp. And
+anyway, it does not last long, so that you still have a chance to make
+up for lost time at the club. And at the club it is really charming,
+for there the artificial talk ceases and reality begins. Yesterday I
+took Pitt's black mare from him."
+
+"Who is Pitt?"
+
+"Oh, those are just names that we have among ourselves, and we use them
+when we are together. The Crown Prince himself says Vicky, in speaking
+of Victoria. It really is pleasant that there are such affectionate pet
+names. But listen, the concert is beginning over there. Can't we open
+the windows, so as to hear it better? You are already tapping with your
+foot. How would it do for us to take our places and try a Quadrille or
+a Française? We have three couples: Father Dörr and good Frau Nimptsch,
+and Frau Dörr and I (I beg the honor) and then comes Lena with Hans."
+
+Frau Dörr agreed at once, but Dörr and Frau Nimptsch declined, the
+latter because she was too old, the former because he was not used to
+such fine doings.
+
+"Very well, Father Dörr. But then you must beat time; Lena, give him
+the tray and a spoon. And now come, ladies. Frau Dörr, your arm. And
+now Hans, wake up, be lively."
+
+And both pairs actually took their places and Frau Dörr's stateliness
+visibly increased, as her partner began in a formal, dancing-master's
+French: "_En avant deux, Pas de Basque_." The poor sleepy freckle-faced
+boy looked about mechanically and allowed himself to be shoved here and
+there, but the three others danced as if they knew how, and old Dörr
+was so delighted that he jumped up and beat time on his tray with his
+knuckles instead of with his spoon. The spirit of other days seemed to
+return to Frau Nimptsch also, and since she found nothing better to do,
+she poked the fire until the flames leaped up.
+
+This went on until the music stopped; Botho led Frau Dörr back to her
+place, but Lena still stood there, because the poor awkward boy did not
+know what he ought to do with her. But that suited Botho exactly, for
+when the music at the garden began again, he began to waltz with her,
+and to whisper to her, how charming she was, more charming than ever.
+
+They had all grown warm, especially Frau Dörr, who now stood close to
+the open window. "Lord, how I am shivering," said she suddenly,
+whereupon Both courteously sprang forward to close the window. But Frau
+Dörr would not hear of such a thing and said, the fine people were all
+wild about fresh air, and many of them so much so that the bed
+coverings froze to their mouths in winter. Their breath was just like
+the steam from the spout of the kettle. So the window must stay open,
+she would not give up that point. But if dear Lena had something
+comforting to give them, something to warm the cockles of the heart ...
+
+"Certainly, Frau Dörr, whatever you want. I can make tea, or punch, or
+better still, I have the cherry brandy, that you gave Mother Nimptsch
+and me last Christmas for my big Christmas cake."
+
+And before Frau Dörr could decide between punch and tea, the flask of
+cherry brandy was already there, with small and large glasses which
+each could fill according to their own desire. And now Lena went
+around, the black kettle in her hand, and poured the boiling water into
+the glasses. "Not too much, Lena, not too much. Let us get the good of
+it. Water takes away the strength." And in a moment the room was full
+of the rising aroma of cherry brandy.
+
+"How nicely you did that," said Botho, as he sipped from his glass.
+"Lord knows, I had nothing yesterday, nor to-day at the club that
+tasted like this. Hurrah for Lena! But the chief credit of it all
+belongs to our friend, Frau Dörr, because she had that shivering fit,
+and so I am going to drink a second health. Frau Dörr; Hurrah for Frau
+Dörr."
+
+"Long may she live," shouted all the group together, and old Dörr began
+to thump his tray with his knuckles again.
+
+They all pronounced it a delicate drink, far finer than punch extract,
+which in summer always tastes of sour lemon, because you mostly get old
+bottles, which have been standing in the hot sun, in shop windows, ever
+since Shrove Tuesday. But cherry brandy was something wholesome and
+never spoiled, and rather than poison one's self with that bitter
+almond poison one ought to take some proper good stuff, at least a
+bottle.
+
+It was Frau Dörr who made this remark, and her husband, who did not
+want things to go too far, perhaps because he knew his wife's pet
+weakness, urged their departure: "There will be another day to-morrow."
+
+Botho and Lena asked them to stay a while longer. But good Frau Dörr,
+who well knew "that one must yield at the proper time, in order to keep
+the upper hand," merely said: "Never mind, Lena, I know him; he wants
+to go to bed with the birds." "Well," said Botho, "what is settled is
+settled. But at least we will escort the Dörrs home."
+
+And therewith everybody went out, excepting old Frau Nimptsch, who
+looked after her departing friends amiably, nodding her head, and then
+got up and seated herself in the big grandfather chair.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER V
+
+
+Lena and Botho paused before the "castle" with the green and red
+painted tower and asked Dörr with considerable formality for permission
+to go into the garden and walk there for half an hour. The evening was
+so fine. Father Dörr muttered that he could not leave his property in
+better hands, whereupon the young couple took leave, bowing
+courteously, and went into the garden. Everything was already quiet,
+and only Sultan, whom they had to pass, got up, and whimpered until
+Lena had stroked him. After that he crawled back into his kennel.
+
+In the garden all was perfume and freshness, for all the way along the
+principal path, between the currant and gooseberry bushes, grew gilly
+flowers and mignonette, whose delicate perfume mingled with the more
+powerful odour of the thyme beds. Nothing stirred in the trees, and
+only the fireflies darted through the air.
+
+Lena was hanging on Botho's arm and they walked together to the end of
+the garden, where a bench stood between two silver poplars.
+
+"Shall we sit down?"
+
+"No," said Lena, "not now," and she turned into a side path bordered
+with tall raspberry bushes which nearly overtopped the garden fence. "I
+love to walk leaning on your arm. Tell me about something--something
+really pretty. Or ask me about something."
+
+"Very well. Are you willing that I should have more of a friendship
+with the Dörrs?"
+
+"As far as I am concerned."
+
+"A curious couple. And moreover, I think, they are happy. He has to do
+as she wishes, and yet he is far cleverer than she."
+
+"Yes," said Lena, "he is cleverer, but then he is miserly and
+hard-hearted and that makes him docile, because he always has a bad
+conscience. She looks after him sharply and will not allow it, if he
+tries to overreach anyone. And that is what he is afraid of, and that
+makes him yielding."
+
+"Is that all?"
+
+"Perhaps love, too, if it does sound strange. I mean love on his side.
+For in spite of his fifty-six years or more he is perfectly wild over
+his wife, simply because she is stout. Both of them have made me the
+most wonderful confessions about that. But I confess frankly, she is
+not to my taste."
+
+"But you are wrong there, Lena; she makes quite a figure."
+
+"Yes," laughed Lena, "she makes a figure, but she has none. Can't you
+see, that her hips are a hand's breath too high? But you never see
+anything like that, and 'figure' and 'imposing' are every other word
+with you, without any concern as to the origin of that 'imposing
+figure.'"
+
+Chatting and teasing each other thus they paused and stooped down to
+see if they could find an early strawberry in the bed that lay in front
+of the hedge and fence. Finally Lena found what she wanted, took the
+stem of a perfect beauty between her lips and came close up to Botho
+and looked at him.
+
+He was nothing loth, plucked the berry from her lips and embraced and
+kissed her.
+
+"My sweet Lena, you did that just right. But just hear how Sultan is
+barking; he wants to get to you; shall I let him loose?"
+
+"No, if he is here, you are only half mine. And if you keep on talking
+about 'stately Frau Dörr,' then I have as good as nothing left of you
+at all."
+
+"Good," laughed Botho, "Sultan may stay where he is. I am contented.
+But I want to talk more about Frau Dörr. Is she really so good?"
+
+"Yes, she really is, for all that she says strange things--things that
+sound as if they have a double meaning and perhaps really have. But she
+knows nothing about that, and in her doings and behavior there is not
+the least thing that could recall her past."
+
+"Has she a past then?"
+
+"Yes. At least she had some sort of a relation for years and 'went with
+him' as she calls it. And there is no sort of doubt that there was
+plenty of talk about that affair, and of course about good Frau Dörr
+herself. And she herself must have given occasion for it again and
+again. Only she is so simple that she never gave it a thought, still
+less reproached anyone. She speaks of it as an unpleasant service, that
+she faithfully and honorably fulfilled, simply from a sense of duty.
+You may laugh, and it does sound queer. But I don't know any other way
+to tell it. And now let us leave Frau Dörr alone and sit down and look
+at the crescent moon."
+
+And in fact, the moon stood just above the elephant house, which, in
+the flood of silver light, looked even more fantastic than usual. Lena
+pointed to it, drew her hood closer and hid her face on Botho's breast.
+
+So the minutes passed by, silent and happy, and only when Lena aroused,
+as if from a dream that escaped her, and sat up again, did she say:
+"What were you thinking of? But you must tell me the truth."
+
+"What was I thinking of, Lena? Why, I am almost ashamed to tell you. I
+had some sentimental thoughts and was thinking of our kitchen garden at
+Castle Zehden, which is laid out so much like this of the Dörr's, the
+same lettuce beds with cherry trees between and I would almost wager,
+just as many bird houses. And even the asparagus beds run the same way.
+And I would walk amongst them with my mother and if she was in a good
+humor, she would give me the knife and let me help her. But woe be unto
+me if I were careless and cut the asparagus stalk too long or too
+short. My mother's hand was hasty."
+
+"I well believe it. And I always feel as if I ought to be afraid of
+her."
+
+"Afraid? How so? Why, Lena?"
+
+Lena laughed merrily and yet her laughter was a trifle forced. "You
+must not take it into your head that I have any intention of presenting
+myself before the gracious lady; you must just feel as if I had said
+that I am afraid of the Empress. That would not make you think that I
+meant to go to court? No, don't be afraid; I shall never complain of
+you."
+
+"No, you wouldn't do that. You are much too proud for that, and then
+you are a regular little democrat, and every friendly word has to be
+almost choked out of you. Isn't that so? But however that may be,
+describe my mother, as you imagine her. How does she look?"
+
+"Very much like you: tall and slender and blond and blue-eyed."
+
+"Poor Lena (and now the laugh was on his side), you have missed it this
+time. My mother is a little woman with bright black eyes and a long
+nose."
+
+"I don't believe it. It isn't possible."
+
+"And yet it is true. You must remember that I have a father too. But
+that never occurs to you. You always think that you women are the
+principal thing. And now tell me something about my mother's character.
+But make a better guess."
+
+"I think of her as very much concerned for the welfare of her
+children."
+
+"Correct."
+
+"... And that all her children must make wealthy, yes very wealthy
+marriages. And I know too, whom she has ready for you."
+
+"An unfortunate woman, whom you ..."
+
+"How you do mistake me. Believe me, that I have you now, for this very
+hour, is my joy. What follows does not trouble me. One of these days
+you will have flown away...."
+
+He shook his head.
+
+"Don't shake your head; what I say is true. You love me and are true to
+me; at least in my love I am childish and vain enough to believe so.
+But you will fly away, I see that clearly enough. You will have to. The
+saying is that love makes us blind, but it also makes us see far and
+clear."
+
+"Ah, Lena, you do not know how dearly I love you."
+
+"Oh yes, I do. And I know too that you think of your Lena as something
+set apart, and every day you think, 'if only she were a Countess.' But
+it is too late for that now, I can never bring it about. You love me,
+and you are weak. That cannot be altered. All handsome men are weak and
+the stronger spirit rules over them.... And the stronger spirit ...
+now, who is that? Either it is your mother, or people's talk, or your
+connections. Or perhaps all three ... But just look."
+
+And she pointed towards the Zoological Garden, where through the
+darkness of the trees and foliage a rocket rushed hissing into the air
+and with a puff burst into a countless shower of sparks. A second
+followed the first and so it went on, as if they were chasing and
+trying to catch up with one another, until of a sudden the rockets
+ceased and the shrubbery began to glow in a green and red light. A
+couple of birds cried out harshly in their cages and then after a long
+pause the music began again.
+
+"Do you know, Botho, what I would give, if I could lean on your arm and
+walk with you over there up and down that school for scandal, as safely
+as here among the box borders, and if I could say to everyone: 'Yes,
+you may wonder at us, he is he and I am I, and he loves me and I love
+him,'--do you know what I would give? But don't guess, for you never
+could. You only know yourself and your club and your life. Oh, the poor
+little life."
+
+"Don't speak so, Lena."
+
+"Why not? One must look everything squarely in the face and not whiten
+anything over, and above all one must not whiten one's self. But it is
+growing cold and they are through over there. That is the last piece
+that they are playing now. Come, we will go in and sit by the fireside,
+the fire will not be out yet and my mother has long since gone to bed."
+
+So they walked back along the garden path, she leaning lightly on his
+shoulder. The lights were all out in the "castle" and only Sultan gazed
+after them, thrusting his head out of his kennel. But he did not move
+and only some dim, sullen thoughts passed through his brain.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER VI
+
+
+It was the next week after the events narrated, and the chestnut trees
+were already in bloom. They were blossoming also in Bellevue Street.
+Baron Botho lived here in a ground floor apartment that extended
+through from a front balcony to one that opened on a garden: there was
+a living-room, a dining-room, and a bedroom, which were distinguished
+by a tasteful furnishing decidedly beyond the means of their owner. In
+the dining-room there were two pictures of still life by Hertel and
+between these a bear hunt, an admirable copy from Rubens, while in the
+living-room the "show piece" was a storm at sea by Andreas Achenbach,
+surrounded by several smaller pictures by the same artist. The storm
+picture had come into Baron Botho's possession by chance at a lottery,
+and by means of this beautiful and valuable work he had gained the
+reputation of a connoisseur and especially of an admirer of Achenbach.
+He joked freely about this and used to declare "that his luck at the
+lottery cost him quite dear, because it continually led him to make new
+purchases, adding that it was perhaps the same with all good fortune."
+
+Before the sofa, the plush of which was covered with a Persian rug, the
+coffee apparatus stood on a malachite table, while on the sofa itself
+all kinds of political journals were lying about, and amongst these
+some whose presence in this place seemed rather peculiar, and could
+only be explained by Baron Botho's favorite phrase "fiddlesticks before
+politics." Stories which bore the stamp of imagination, so-called
+"pearls," amused him the most. A canary bird, whose cage always stood
+open at breakfast time, was flying as usual to light on the hand or
+shoulder of his too-indulgent master, who, instead of being impatient,
+put his paper aside every time to stroke his little favorite. But if he
+omitted the caress, the little creature would cling to the reader's
+neck and beard and chirp long and persistently until he had his way.
+"All favorites are alike," said Baron Rienäcker, "they expect humility
+and obedience."
+
+Just now the door bell rang and the servant came in to bring the
+letters. One, a gray, square envelope, was open and bore a three
+pfennig stamp. "Hamburg lottery tickets or new cigars," said Rienäcker,
+and threw envelope and contents aside without further consideration.
+"But this one ... Ah, from Lena. I will save this for the last, unless
+this third sealed one contends for the honor. The Osten crest. Then it
+is from Uncle Kurt Anton: the Berlin postmark means that he is already
+here. What can he want now? Ten to one, he wants me to breakfast with
+him or to buy a saddle or to escort him to Renz, or perhaps to Kroll
+also; most likely I am to do the one and not omit the other."
+
+And he took a knife from the window-sill and cut open the envelope, on
+which he had recognized also Uncle Osten's handwriting, and took out
+the letter. The letter read:
+
+
+                     "Hotel Brandenburg, Number 15
+
+"My dear Botho:
+
+"An hour ago I arrived safely at the eastern depot, warned by your old
+Berlin notice 'Beware of Pickpockets,' and have engaged rooms in the
+Hotel Brandenburg, which is to say, in the same old place; a real
+conservative is conservative even in small things. I shall only stay
+two days, for your air is too heavy for me. This is a smothering hole.
+But I will tell you everything by word of mouth. I shall expect you at
+one o'clock at Hiller's. After that we will go and buy a saddle. And
+then in the evening we will go to Renz. Be punctual. Your old Uncle,
+
+                                          Kurt Anton."
+
+
+Rienäcker laughed. "I thought as much! And yet there is an innovation.
+Formerly it was Borchardt, and now it is Hiller. Oh, oh, Uncle dear, a
+true conservative is conservative even in small things.... And now for
+my dear Lena.... What would Uncle Kurt Anton say if he knew in what
+company his letter and his commands arrived."
+
+And while he was speaking, he opened Lena's note and read:
+
+
+"It is now five whole days since I last saw you. Is it going to be a
+whole week? And I was so happy that evening that I thought you simply
+must come again the next day. And you were so dear and good. Mother is
+already teasing me, and she says: 'He will not come again.' Oh, what a
+pain in my heart that gives me, because I know that it must happen some
+time and because I feel that it might happen any day. I was reminded of
+that again yesterday. For when I just wrote you that I had not seen you
+for five whole days, I did not tell the truth; I did see you yesterday,
+but secretly, by stealth, on the Corso. Just fancy, I too was there,
+naturally far back in a side path and I watched you riding back and
+forth for an hour. Oh I was extremely happy, for you were the most
+imposing rider (almost as imposing as Frau Dörr, who sends her regards
+to you), and I was so proud just to see you that I didn't even grow
+jealous. I mean I was jealous only once. Who was the pretty blonde,
+with the two white horses? They were simply garlanded with flowers, and
+the flowers were so thick that there were no leaves nor stems. I never
+saw anything so beautiful in my life. When I was a child I would have
+thought that she was a Princess, but now I know that Princesses are not
+always the most beautiful. Yes, she was pretty and you liked her, I
+could see that, and she liked you too. But her mother, who set beside
+the pretty blonde, you liked still better. And that angered me. I grant
+you a really young woman, if it must be so. But an old woman! and even
+a mamma? No, no, she has had her share. In any case, my own Botho, you
+see that you will have to quiet me and make me happy again. I shall
+expect you to-morrow or the next day. And if you cannot come in the
+evening, come in the daytime, even if only for a minute. I am so
+troubled about you, that is to say, about myself. But you understand me
+already.                        Your
+
+                                         "Lena."
+
+
+"Your Lena," said he, repeating the signature, once more to himself and
+a sort of restlessness took possession of him, because all kinds of
+conflicting emotions passed through his heart: love, anxiety, fear.
+Then he read the letter through again. At two or three passages he
+could not forbear to make a little mark with his silver pencil, not
+through pedantry, but through pure delight. "How well she writes! The
+handwriting certainly, and the spelling almost ... _Stiehl_ instead of
+_Stiel_.... Well, why not? Stiehl was a much dreaded school inspector,
+but the Lord be praised, I am not. And '_emphelen_.' Shall I be put out
+with her over f and h? Good Lord, how many people can spell 'empfehlen'
+properly? The young Countesses cannot always, and the old ones never.
+So where is the harm! Really, the letter is like Lena herself, good,
+true and trustworthy, and the mistakes make it only the more charming."
+
+He leaned back in his chair and covered his eyes and brow with his
+hand: "Poor Lena, what is to come of all this? It would have been
+better for us both, if there had been no Easter Monday this time. Why
+indeed should there be two holidays? Why Treptow and Stralau and
+boating excursions? And now my Uncle! Either he is coming as a
+messenger from my mother, or else he has plans for me himself, of his
+own initiative. Well, we shall see. He has never been through any
+training in diplomatic disguises, and even if he has sworn ten oaths to
+keep silence, he comes out with everything. I shall soon find out, for
+all that I am even less experienced than he in the art of intrigue."
+
+Thereupon he pulled out a drawer of his writing table, in which there
+were already other letters of Lena's, tied up with a red ribbon. And
+now he rang for the servant to help him to dress. "So, John, that is
+all I need.... And now don't forget to draw the blinds down. And if
+anyone should come and ask for me, I shall be at the barracks till
+twelve, at Hiller's after one and at Renz's in the evening. And be sure
+to raise the blinds again at the right time, so that I shall not find a
+bake-oven again. And leave the lamp lighted in the front room, but not
+in my bedroom; it seems as if the flies are possessed this year. Do you
+understand?"
+
+"Very good, Herr Baron."
+
+And during this dialogue, which was half carried on in the corridor,
+Rienäcker passed through the vestibule, and out in the garden he
+playfully pulled the braids of the porter's little girl, who was
+stooping over her little brother's wagon, and got in return a furious
+glance, which changed to one of delight as soon as she recognized him.
+
+And now at last he stepped through the gate to the street. Here he saw
+beneath the green bower of the chestnut trees the men and vehicles
+passing silently to and fro between the great gate and the Zoological
+Garden, as if through the glass of a camera. "How beautiful! This is
+surely one of the best of worlds."
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VII
+
+
+Towards twelve his service at the barracks being over, Botho von
+Rienäcker was walking along under the Lindens toward the Gate, simply
+with the intention of filling up the time as well as he could until his
+interview at Hiller's. Two or three picture shops were very welcome to
+him in this interim. At Lepke's there were a couple of Oswald
+Achenbach's in the show window, among them a street in Palermo, dirty
+and sunny, and strikingly truthful as to life and color. "There are
+things, then, about which one is never quite clear. So it is with these
+Achenbach's. Until recently I always swore by Andreas; but when I see
+something like this, I do not know that Oswald is not his equal or his
+superior. In any case he is more brilliant and varied. But such things
+as this I can only think to myself, for to say them before people would
+be to lower the value of my 'Storm at Sea' by half, and quite
+unnecessarily."
+
+Thinking of these matters he stood for a time before Lepke's show
+window and then walked across the Parisian Square to the Gate and the
+path turning sharply to the left toward the Zoological Garden, until he
+paused before Wolf's group of lions. Here he looked at the clock. "Half
+past twelve. Then it is time." And so he turned and went back over the
+same path towards the Lindens.
+
+In front of the Redern Palace he saw Lieutenant von Wedell of the
+Dragoon Guards coming towards him.
+
+"Where are you going, Wedell?"
+
+"To the club. And you?"
+
+"To Hiller's."
+
+"Aren't you rather early?"
+
+"Yes, but what of it? I am to breakfast with an old uncle of mine, an
+old Neumärker who lives in an odd corner with 'Aldermann, Petermann and
+Zimmermann'--all names that rhyme with man, but without connection or
+obligation. By the way, he was once in your regiment, my Uncle, I mean.
+To be sure it was long ago, about forty years. Baron Osten."
+
+"From Wietzendorf?"
+
+"The same."
+
+"Oh, I know him, at least by name. There is some relationship. My
+grandmother was an Osten. Is he the same who has the quarrel with
+Bismarck?"
+
+"The same. I tell you what, Wedell, you had better come too. The club
+can wait and Pitt and Serge too; you can find them at three just as
+well as at one. The old gentleman is still wild over the blue and gold
+of the dragoons, and is enough of a Neumärker to consider every Wedell
+an acquisition."
+
+"Very well, Rienäcker, but it is on your responsibility."
+
+"With pleasure."
+
+During this talk they had reached Hiller's, where the old Baron was
+already standing by the glass door looking out, for it was a minute
+after one. He made no comments, however, and was evidently overjoyed
+when Botho presented "Lieutenant von Wedell."
+
+"Your nephew ..."
+
+"No excuses. Herr von Wedell, everyone who bears the name of Wedell is
+welcome to me, and doubly and trebly so when wearing this coat. Come,
+gentlemen, we will extricate ourselves from this mélée of tables and
+chairs, and concentrate in the rear as well as we can. It is not
+Prussian to retreat, but here it does not matter." And therewith he
+preceded his guests to choose a good place, and after looking into
+several little private rooms, he decided on a rather large room, with
+walls of some leather colored material, which was not very light, in
+spite of the fact that it had a broad window in three parts, because
+this looked out on a narrow and dark court. The table was already laid
+for four, but in the twinkling of an eye the fourth cover was removed,
+and while the two officers placed their side arms in the corner of the
+window, the old Baron turned to the head waiter, who had followed at
+some distance, and ordered a lobster and some white Burgundy. "But what
+kind, Botho?"
+
+"How would Chablis do?"
+
+"Very well, Chablis, and fresh water. But not from the tap. I want it
+cold in a carafe. And now, gentlemen, be seated: my dear Wedell, sit
+here, and Botho there. If only we hadn't this heat, this dog-day
+weather coming so early. Air, gentlemen, air. Your beautiful Berlin,
+(which, so they tell me, grows more beautiful all the time, at least
+those who know no better say so), your beautiful Berlin has everything
+but air." And with these words he threw open the big window sash, and
+sat so that he had the large middle opening directly opposite him.
+
+The lobster had not yet come, but the Chablis was already on the table.
+Old Baron Osten restlessly began to cut one of the rolls from the
+basket quickly and skilfully into diagonal strips, merely for the sake
+of having something to do. Then he laid down the knife again and
+offered his hand to Wedell. "I am endlessly grateful to you, Herr von
+Wedell, and it was a brilliant idea of Botho's to alienate your
+affections from the club for a couple of hours. I take it as a good
+omen, to have the privilege of meeting a Wedell immediately after my
+arrival in Berlin."
+
+And now he began to fill the glasses, because he could not control his
+uneasiness any longer. He ordered a bottle of Clicquot to be set to
+cool and then went on: "Really, dear Wedell, we are related; there are
+no Wedells to whom we are not related, were it only through a bushel of
+peas; we all have Neumärk blood. And when I see the blue of my old
+dragoons once more, my heart jumps right up in my mouth. Yes, Herr von
+Wedell, old affection does not rust. But here comes the lobster....
+Please bring me the big shears. The shears are always the best.... But,
+as I was saying, old love does not grow rusty, nor the edge of the
+blade either. And I wish to add, the Lord be praised. In those days we
+still had old Dobeneck. Heavens, what a man he was! A man like a child.
+But if things did not go well and would not work out properly, I
+should have liked to see the man who could keep his face under old
+Dobeneck's eye. He was a regular old East Prussian dating from the year
+'13 and '14. We were afraid of him, but we loved him too. For he was
+like a father. And, do you know, Herr von Wedell, who my riding master
+was ...?"
+
+At this point the champagne was brought in.
+
+"My riding master was Manteuffel, the same to whom we owe everything
+that the army, and victory with the army, has made of us."
+
+Herr von Wedell bowed, while Botho said softly: "Surely, one may well
+say so."
+
+But that was not wise nor clever of Botho, as was soon manifest, for
+the old Baron, who was already subject to congestion, turned red all
+over his bald head and what little curly hair still remained on his
+temples seemed to curl still tighter. "I don't understand you, Botho;
+what do you mean by 'one may well say so,' that is the same as to say
+'one might also not say so.' And I know, too, what all this points to.
+It signifies that a certain officer of Cuirassiers from the reserves,
+who, for the rest, held nothing in reserve, least of all revolutionary
+measures, it signifies, I say, that a certain man from Halberstadt with
+a sulphur-yellow collar, himself personally stormed St. Privat and
+closed the great circle around Sedan. Botho, you ought not to come to
+me with any such tale as that. He was a young barrister and worked for
+the government at Potsdam, and what is more, under old Meding, who
+never spoke well of him, as I know, and for that matter, he never
+learned anything but how to write despatches. I am willing to grant him
+that much, he does understand that, or in other words, he is a quill
+driver. But it is not quill drivers who have made Prussia great. Was
+the hero of Fehrbellin a quill driver? Was the hero of Leuthen a quill
+driver? Was Blücher a quill driver, or York? The power of the Prussian
+pen is _here_! I cannot suffer this cult."
+
+"But my dear Uncle ..."
+
+"But, but, I will tolerate no buts. Believe me, Botho, it takes years
+to settle such questions; I understand such things better. How is it
+then? He tips over the ladder by which he has climbed, and even
+suppresses the 'Kreuzzeitung,' and, to speak plainly, he ruins us; he
+despises us, he tells us foolish things, and if he takes a notion to,
+he denounces us for robbery or interception of documents and sends us
+to the fortress. But why do I say fortress? The fortress is for decent
+people; no, he sends us to the poor-house to pluck wool.... But air,
+gentlemen, air. There is no air here. Damnable hole."
+
+And he jumped up, and in addition to the middle window which was
+already open, he flung wide the two side windows also, so that the
+draught that passed through blew the curtains and the tablecloth about.
+Then, sitting down again, he took a piece of ice from the champagne
+cooler and passed it over his forehead.
+
+"Ah," he went on, "this piece of ice is the best thing in the whole
+breakfast.... And now tell me, Herr von Wedell, am I right or not?
+Botho, with your hand on your heart, am I right? Is it not true that
+one, as a member of the Märkisch nobility, may talk oneself into a
+charge of high treason simply through the pure indignation of a
+nobleman? Such a man ... from one of our very finest families ... finer
+than Bismarck's, and so many have fallen for the throne and for the
+Hohenzollerns, that you could form a whole regimental company of them,
+a company with helmets, and the Boitzenburger to command them. Yes, my
+friends. And such an affront to such a family. And what for?
+Interception of documents, indiscretion, betrayal of official secrets.
+I should like to know if there is anything else left except child
+murder and offences against morality, and it is actually strange that
+they have not loaded those on also. But you gentlemen are not saying
+any thing. Speak out, I beg you. Believe me, I can listen to other
+opinions patiently; I am not like him; speak, Herr von Wedell, speak."
+
+Wedell, whose embarrassment was increasing, sought for some soothing
+and reconciling words: "Certainly, Herr Baron, it is as you say. But,
+pardon me, at the time that the affair was decided, I heard many
+express the opinion, and the words have remained in my memory, that the
+weaker must give up all idea of crossing the path of the stronger, for
+that is impossible in life just as in politics. Once for all it is so:
+might is more than right."
+
+"And there is no gainsaying that, no appeal?"
+
+"Oh yes, Herr Baron. Under some circumstances an appeal is possible.
+And, to be perfectly frank, I have known of cases where opposition was
+justified. What weakness dare not venture, sincerity might, the
+sincerity of belief, the courage of conviction. In such cases
+resistance is not only a right but a duty. But who has this sincerity?
+Had he ... But I will be silent, for I do not want to offend either
+you, Herr Baron, or the family to whom we have reference. But you know,
+even without my telling you, that he who had that audacity, had not
+such sincerity of belief. He who is merely the weaker should dare
+nothing, only the pure in heart should dare everything."
+
+"Only the pure in heart should dare everything," repeated the old
+Baron, with such a roguish expression, that it seemed doubtful whether
+he was more impressed by the truth or by the untenability of the
+thesis. "The pure in heart should dare everything. A capital saying
+which I shall carry away with me. It will please my pastor, who
+undertook a controversy with me last autumn and demanded a strip of my
+land. Not for his own sake, the Lord forbid! but for the sake of
+principle, and of posterity, for which reasons he ought not to yield.
+The sly old fox. But the pure in heart should dare everything."
+
+"Of course you would have to yield in the land quarrel with the
+pastor," said Botho. "I knew Schönemann long ago at Sellenthin's."
+
+"Yes, he was a tutor there and knew no better than to shorten the
+lesson hours and lengthen the recreation hours. And he could play
+grace-hoops like a young marquis; really, it was a pleasure to watch
+him. But now he has been seven years in orders and you would never know
+the Schönemann who used to pay court to the charming mistress of the
+house. But I must admit this, he educated both the young ladies well,
+especially your Katherine...."
+
+Botho glanced timidly at his uncle, almost as if to beg him to be
+discreet. But the old Baron, delighted to have seized upon so favorable
+an opportunity to enter on his favorite theme, went on in exuberant and
+ever-increasing good humor: "There, there, Botho. Discretion. Nonsense!
+Wedell is from our region and must know the story just as well as
+anyone else. Why should we keep silence about such things? You are
+already as good as bound. And God knows, young man, when I pass the
+young girls in review, you cannot find a better--teeth like pearls, and
+she is always laughing so that you can see the whole row. A flaxen
+blonde to tempt your kisses, and if I were only thirty years younger, I
+declare ..."
+
+Wedell, who noticed Botho's confusion, tried to come to his aid and
+said: "The Sellenthin ladies are all very pleasing, the mother as well
+as the daughters; last summer I met them in Norderney, and they were
+charming, but I would prefer the second...."
+
+"So much the better, Wedell. You will not come into any conflict and we
+can celebrate a double wedding. And Schönemann may be sure that if
+Kluckhuhn, who is touchy like all old people, agrees, I will not only
+put a spoke in his wheel, but I will give up the strip of parsonage
+land to him without further ado if I can see such a wedding within the
+year. You are rich, dear Wedell, and there is really no haste about
+you. But look at our friend Botho. That he looks so well nourished is
+no thanks to his sandy wastes, which, excepting a couple of meadows,
+are really nothing but a nursery of young pines, and still less to his
+eel pond. 'Eel pond,' sounds wonderful, you might almost say poetic.
+But that is all. One cannot live on eels. I know you do not like to
+hear about this, but so long as we are on the subject, I may as well
+come out with it. How do matters stand, then? Your grandfather had the
+timber cut down and your late father--a capital fellow, but I never saw
+anyone play the man of affairs so poorly and so expensively too--your
+late father, I say, divided up the five hundred acres of eastern
+farming-land among the Jeseritz peasants, and there is not much good
+land left, and the thirty thousand thalers are long since gone. If you
+were alone, it might do, but you must share with your brother, and at
+present the mamma, my sister Liebden, has the whole still in her hands,
+an admirable woman, clever and skilful, but she does not err on the
+saving side. Botho, what is the use of belonging to the Imperial
+Cuirassiers and what is the use of having a rich cousin, who is only
+waiting for you to come and seal and ratify by a formal proposal what
+your parents had already agreed upon when you were still children? Why
+consider longer? Listen, if I could go to your mother to-morrow on my
+return and bring her the news: 'Dear Josephine, Botho consents;
+everything is arranged,' listen, boy, that would be something for an
+old uncle who means well by you to rejoice over. Speak to him, Wedell.
+It is time that he should quit this bachelor life. Otherwise he will
+squander his bit of property or get caught by some little bourgeoise.
+Am I right? Naturally. Done! And we must drink to the happy event. But
+not with these dregs...." And he rang the bell. "A bottle of Heidsieck.
+The best brand."
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+At about this same time there were at the club two young cavaliers, one
+of them, who was tall, slender and smooth-faced, belonged to the Gardes
+du Corps; the other, who was somewhat shorter, and had a full beard
+with only the regulation smooth chin, had been dismissed from the
+Pasewalkern. The white damask table cloth, which remained from their
+breakfast, had been turned back and the two were playing piquet on the
+bare half of the table.
+
+"Six cards and four of a kind."
+
+"Very well."
+
+"And you?"
+
+"Fourteen aces, three kings, three queens.... And you don't make a
+trick." And he laid his hand on the table and then pushed all the cards
+together while his companion shuffled.
+
+"Did you know that Ella is about to be married?"
+
+"What a pity!"
+
+"Why a pity?"
+
+"She can't jump through the hoop any more."
+
+"Nonsense. The more they are married the slenderer they grow."
+
+"Yet there are exceptions. Many names belonging to the aristocracy of
+the circus already appear in the third and fourth generation, which
+seems to point to some alternation of a slender and a stouter form, or
+if you like, to the new moon, the first quarter, &c."
+
+"You are mistaken. _Error in calculo_. You forget that there may be
+adoptions. All these circus people are secretly 'Gichtelianer' and pass
+on their property, their rank and their names according to agreement.
+They seem the same and yet they are different. There is always fresh
+blood. Cut.... Besides that I have another bit of news. Afzelius is to
+join the General Staff."
+
+"Which do you mean?"
+
+"The one who belongs to the Uhlans."
+
+"Impossible."
+
+"Moltke values him highly and he must have done some excellent work."
+
+"He does not impress me. It was all an affair of hunting libraries and
+plagiarizing. Any one who is a trifle ingenious can turn out books like
+Humboldt or Ranke."
+
+"Four of a kind. Fourteen aces."
+
+"Five sequence to king."
+
+And while the trick was being played, one could hear from the billiard
+room near by the sound of the balls and the falling of the little pins.
+
+
+In the two back rooms of the club, the narrow side of which looked out
+on a sunny but tiresome garden, there were in all only six or eight
+men, all silent, all more or less absorbed in their whist or dominoes,
+and not the least absorbed were the two men who had just been talking
+about Ella and Afzelius. The game ran high, and so the two did not look
+up until they saw, through an open curved niche, a new-comer
+approaching from the next room. It was Wedell.
+
+"But Wedell, if you don't bring us a lot of news, we will excommunicate
+you."
+
+"Pardon, Serge, there was no definite agreement."
+
+"But almost. For the rest, you will find me personally in the most
+accommodating mood. How you can settle things with Pitt, who has just
+lost 150 points, is your affair."
+
+Thereupon the two men pushed the cards aside and the young man whom
+Wedell had greeted as Serge took out his watch and said: "Quarter past
+three. Time for coffee. Some philosopher, and he must have been one of
+the greatest, once said that the best thing about coffee was that it
+was always suitable under all circumstances and at all times of day.
+Truly that was a wise saying. But where shall we take it? I think we
+had better sit outside on the terrace, right in the sun. The more one
+braves the weather the better one fares. Here, Pehlecke, three cups. I
+cannot listen to the falling of the pins any longer. It makes me
+nervous; outside, indeed, there is noise too, but it is different, and
+instead of the sharp strokes, we shall hear the rumbling and thundering
+of the underground railway, and we can imagine that we are on Vesuvius
+or Ætna. And why not? All pleasures are in the last analysis imaginary,
+and whoever has the best imagination enjoys the most pleasure. Only
+unreality gives value and is actually the only reality."
+
+"Serge," said the man who had been addressed as Pitt at the piquet
+table, "if you go on with your famous wise sayings, you will punish
+Wedell more severely than he deserves. Besides, you must have some
+mercy on me because I have been losing. So, we will stay here, with the
+lawn behind us, this ivy near us, and a view of a bare wall. A heavenly
+location for his Majesty's guards! What would old Prince Pückler have
+said to this club garden? Pehlecke, here, bring the table here, that
+will do. And, to finish with, you may bring us some of your very best
+lager. And now, Wedell, if you want to win forgiveness, give your cloak
+a shake, and see if you cannot shake a new war or some other big piece
+of news out of it. You are related to God in heaven through the
+Puttkamers. With which branch I need not say. What more is he brewing?"
+
+"Pitt," said Wedell, "I beg you, don't ask me any questions about
+Bismarck. For in the first place, you know that I know nothing about
+such matters, because cousins in the seventeenth degree are not
+precisely the intimates and confidants of princes, and in the second
+place, I come, instead of from the Prince, direct from a shooting match
+where with a few hits and many, many misses, no other than his Highness
+was the target."
+
+"And who was this bold shot?"
+
+"The old Baron Osten, Rienäcker's uncle. A charming old gentleman and a
+good fellow. But of course a sly dog also."
+
+"Like all Märkers."
+
+"I am one myself."
+
+"_Tant mieux_. Then you know all about it yourself. But out with it.
+What did the old fellow say?"
+
+"A good many things. His political talk was hardly worth reporting, but
+another bit of news was all the more important: Rienäcker has a sharp
+corner to turn."
+
+"And what corner?"
+
+"He is about to marry."
+
+"And you call that a sharp corner to turn? I beg to disagree with you,
+Wedell; Rienäcker stands in a much more difficult position: he has 9000
+marks a year and spends 12000, and that is the sharpest of all corners,
+at least sharper than the marriage corner. Marriage is no danger for
+Rienäcker, but a rescue. For that matter, I have seen it coming. And
+who is it then?"
+
+"A cousin!"
+
+"Naturally. A rescuer and a cousin are almost identical terms at
+present. And I will wager that her name is Paula. All cousins are named
+Paula these days."
+
+"But this one is not."
+
+"And her name?"
+
+"Katherine."
+
+"Katherine? Ah, now I know. Katherine Sellenthin. Hm! Not so bad, in
+fact a brilliant match. Old Sellenthin, he is the old man with the
+plaster over his eye, has six estates, and with the farms there are
+really thirteen. If divided in equal parts, Katherine will get the
+thirteenth thrown in. My congratulations."
+
+"Do you know her?"
+
+"Certainly. A wonderful flaxen-haired blonde with eyes as blue as
+forget-me-nots, but for all that she is not sentimental, and is less
+like the moon than like the sun. She was here at Frau Zülow's Pension,
+and at fourteen she was already surrounded and courted."
+
+"At the Pension?"
+
+"Not really at the Pension and not every day, but on Sundays when she
+went to lunch with old Osten, the one whom you have just seen.
+Katherine, Katherine Sellenthin!... she was like a rail then, and that
+is what we used to call her, and she was the most charming little
+hoyden that you can imagine. I can still see her braid of hair, which
+we always called the distaff. And Rienäcker will now have a chance to
+spin it off. Well, why not? It will not be so difficult for him."
+
+"After all, it may be more difficult than many think," answered Wedell.
+"And while he certainly needs his finances improved, yet I am not sure
+that he would decide at once in favor of the blond beauty from his own
+province. For you must know that Rienäcker has for some time past
+enjoyed another tint, indeed ash-blond, and if what Balafré lately told
+me is true, he has been seriously considering whether he should not
+raise his blanchisseuse to the rank of la dame blanche. He sees no
+distinction between Castle Avenal and Castle Zehden. A castle is a
+castle and, you know, Rienäcker, who for that matter, goes his own way
+in many things, was always in favor of naturalness."
+
+"Yes," laughed Pitt. "That he was. But Balafré draws the long bow and
+invents interesting tales. You are sober, Wedell, and will not be ready
+to believe such made up nonsense."
+
+"No, it is not imaginary," said Wedell. "But I believe what I know.
+Rienäcker, in spite of his six feet, or perhaps because of them, is
+weak and easily guided and is peculiarly gentle and tenderhearted."
+
+"He certainly is. But circumstances will compel him and he will break
+away and free himself, at the worst like a fox out of a trap. It is
+painful and a bit of one's life is left behind. But the main thing is
+to get out again--out, out and free. Long live Katherine! And
+Rienäcker! What does the proverb say? 'God helps those who help
+themselves.'"
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IX
+
+
+That evening Botho wrote to Lena that he would come on the following
+day, perhaps even earlier than usual. And he kept his word and arrived
+an hour before sunset. Naturally he found Frau Dörr there. The air was
+very fine and not too warm, and after they had talked a while, Botho
+said:
+
+"Perhaps we could go into the garden."
+
+"Yes, either into the garden or somewhere else?"
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+Lena laughed. "Don't be worried again, Botho. There is no one hiding in
+ambush and the lady with the pair of white horses and the wreaths of
+flowers will not cross your path."
+
+"Then where shall we go, Lena?"
+
+"Just out in the green meadows where you will have nothing but daisies
+and me. And perhaps Frau Dörr, too, if she will be so good as to go
+with us."
+
+"Will she?" said Frau Dörr. "Surely she will. I feel much honored. But
+I must put myself to rights a little. I will be with you again
+directly."
+
+"There is no need, Frau Dörr; we will call for you."
+
+
+And so the plan was carried out, and as the young couple walked across
+the garden a quarter of an hour later, Frau Dörr was already standing
+at the door, a wrap on her arm and a marvellous hat on her head, a
+present from Dörr, who, like all misers, would buy something absurdly
+expensive once in a while.
+
+Botho said something complimentary to the rather overdressed lady, and
+all three walked down the path and went out by a hidden side door and
+reached a little path, which before it led further and curved out into
+the open green fields ran along by the outer side of the garden fence
+where the nettles grew high.
+
+"We will follow this path," said Lena. "It is the prettiest and the
+most solitary. No one comes here."
+
+And certainly it was the loneliest path, far more silent and solitary
+than three or four other roads that ran parallel with it over the
+meadows towards Wilmersdorf and showed something of their own sort of
+suburban life. On one of these roads there were a good many sheds,
+between which there were horizontal bars somewhat like those used by
+gymnasts. These aroused Botho's curiosity, but before he could ask
+about them, the work going on answered his question: rugs and carpets
+were spread out on the frames and immediately began such a beating and
+banging with big sticks that a cloud of dust rose and nearly concealed
+the road.
+
+Botho pointed out this dust and was beginning a discussion with Frau
+Dörr about the value or harmfulness of carpets, which, viewed in this
+light, are mere dirt catchers, "and if one has not a very strong chest
+one might get consumption and never know how." But he stopped short in
+the middle of a sentence, because the road he had taken led past a
+place where the rubbish of a stone-cutter's workshop had been thrown
+out, and all sorts of fragments of ornaments lay about, in great
+numbers especially angels' heads.
+
+"There is an angel's head," said Botho. "Look, Frau Dörr. And here is
+even one with wings."
+
+"Yes," said Frau Dörr. "And a chubby face too. But is it really an
+angel? I think it must be a cupid, because it is so small and has
+wings."
+
+"Cupid or angel," said Botho, "they are just the same. You ask Lena,
+and she will tell you so. Isn't that so, Lena?"
+
+Lena seemed offended, but he took her hand and they were good friends
+again.
+
+Immediately behind the rubbish heap the path turned to the left and
+opened immediately afterwards into a somewhat larger country road where
+the willows were in bloom and were scattering their fleecy catkins over
+the fields, where they lay strewn about like cotton wool.
+
+"Look, Lena," said Frau Dörr, "do you know that they stuff beds with
+that now instead of feathers? And they call it tree wool."
+
+"Yes, I know, Frau Dörr. And I am always glad when people think of
+anything like that and make use of it. But it would never do for you."
+
+"No, Lena, it would not do for me. You are right. I am more in
+favor of something firm, horse hair and a spring bed, and if it gives a
+jump ..."
+
+"Oh, yes," said Lena, who was growing a trifle nervous over this
+description. "But I am afraid that we shall have rain. Just hear the
+frogs, Frau Dörr."
+
+"Yes, the frogs," repeated the latter. "At night they keep up such a
+croaking that one cannot sleep. And why? Because this is all swamp and
+only looks like meadow land. Look at the pool where the stork is
+standing and looking right over this way. Well, he isn't looking at me.
+He might have to look a long time. And a mighty good thing too."
+
+"But we ought really to be turning back," said Lena, who was much
+embarrassed, and simply wanted to say something.
+
+"Oh, no indeed," laughed Frau Dörr. "Surely not now, Lena; you mustn't
+get frightened at a little thing like that. Good stork, you must bring
+me ... Or shall I sing: Dearest stork?"
+
+And so it went on for a while yet, for it took time to get Frau Dörr
+away from such a favorite topic.
+
+But finally there was a pause, during which they walked slowly onward,
+until at last they came to a plateau-like ridge that led over from the
+Spree towards the Havel. Just at this point the pasture land ended and
+fields of rye and rape seed began and continued as far as the first
+rows of houses of Wilmersdorf.
+
+"Now let us go up there," said Frau Dörr, "and then we will sit down
+and pick buttercups and make a wreath out of the stems. It is always so
+much fun to poke one stem into another until the wreath or the chain is
+done."
+
+"Yes, yes," said Lena, whose fate it was not to be free from small
+embarrassments. "Yes, yes. But now come, Frau Dörr, the path leads this
+way."
+
+And talking thus they climbed the little slope and seated themselves at
+the top on a heap of weeds and rubbish that had been lying there since
+the previous autumn. This heap was an excellent resting place, and also
+afforded a good point of view from which one could overlook a ditch
+bordered with willows and grass, and could not only see the northern
+row of houses of Wilmersdorf, but could also plainly hear, from a
+neighboring smoking-room and bowling-alley, the fall of the ninepins
+and more plainly still the rolling back of the heavy ball along the two
+noisy wooden rods of its track. Lena enjoyed this, and took Botho's
+hand and said: "See, Botho, I understand that so well (for when I was a
+child we lived near such a bowling-alley) that when I just hear the
+ball hit, I know at once how much it will make."
+
+"Well," said Botho, "then we can bet."
+
+"And what shall we bet?"
+
+"We shall think of something."
+
+"Very well. But I only have to guess right three times, and if I say
+nothing it doesn't count."
+
+"I am satisfied."
+
+And so they all three listened, and Frau Dörr, who grew more excited
+every minute, swore by all that was holy that her heart was throbbing
+and that she felt just as if she were sitting before the curtain at the
+theatre. "Lena, Lena, you have undertaken too much, child; it really is
+not possible."
+
+And so she would have continued, if they had not just then heard a ball
+hit and after one dull blow come to rest against the side guard.
+"Missed," cried Lena. And this was actually the case.
+
+"That was easy, too easy," said Botho. "I could have guessed that
+myself. Let us see what happens next."
+
+And then, two more strokes followed, without Lena speaking or moving.
+But Frau Dörr's eyes seemed to pop out of her head more and more. But
+now, Lena rose at once from her place, there came a small, hard ball
+and one could hear it dance, vibrating over the board with a tone in
+which elasticity and hardness were curiously mingled. "All nine," said
+Lena. And in a moment the falling of the ninepins was heard and the
+attendant only confirmed what scarcely needed confirmation.
+
+"You have won, Lena. We must eat a philopena to-day and then we'll call
+it square. Isn't that right, Frau Dörr?"
+
+"Why certainly," said Frau Dörr winking. "It is all square." And so
+saying, she took her hat off and began to swing it about as if it had
+been her market hat.
+
+Meanwhile the sun had gone down behind the Wilmersdorf church tower and
+Lena proposed to start for home, "it was growing so chilly; but on the
+way they would play tag: she was sure that Botho could not catch her."
+
+"We shall soon see."
+
+And now they began chasing and running, and Lena actually could not be
+caught until at last she was so weak with laughter and excitement that
+she took refuge behind the substantial form of Frau Dörr.
+
+"Now I have a tree to dodge around," she laughed, "and so you'll never
+catch me." And thereupon she took hold of Frau Dörr's rather loose
+jacket and pushed the good woman so cleverly to the left and right,
+that she protected herself for quite a while. But suddenly Botho was
+beside her and caught her and gave her a kiss.
+
+"That is against the rules; we had not agreed on anything." But despite
+this protest she hung on his arm and commanded, imitating the harsh
+voice of the guard, "Forward march ... double quick," and enjoying Frau
+Dörr's endless exclamations of admiration wherewith the good woman
+accompanied the game.
+
+"Is it believable?" said she. "No, one can hardly believe it. And
+always just like this. And when I think of mine! It is unbelievable, I
+say. And yet he was a man too. And he always behaved so!"
+
+"What in the world is she talking about?" asked Botho softly.
+
+"Oh she is just thinking.... But you know all about it.... I told you
+about it before."
+
+"Oh, so that is it. Well, he can't have been so very bad."
+
+"Who knows? For that matter, one is about the same as another."
+
+"Do you think so?"
+
+"No." And she shook her head while her eyes shone with a soft and
+tender expression. But she would not let this mood get the upper hand
+of her and so she said quickly: "Let us sing, Frau Dörr. Let us sing.
+But what shall we sing?"
+
+"'Rosy dawn' ..."
+
+"No, not that ... 'To-morrow in the cold grave' is too sad for me. No,
+let us sing 'A year from now, a year from now' or rather 'Do you
+remember?'"
+
+"Yes, that is right, that is a pretty one: that is my favorite song."
+
+And with well-practised voices all three sang Frau Dörr's favorite
+song, and when they had nearly reached the garden the words still rung
+out over the field: "_Ich denke d'ran.... Ich danke dir, mein Leben_."
+And then from the other side of the road, where the long row of sheds
+and carriage-houses were, the echoes repeated the song.
+
+Frau Dörr was very, very happy. But Lena and Botho had grown quiet and
+serious.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER X
+
+
+It was already growing dark when they stood once more in front of Frau
+Nimptsch's house, and Botho, who had quickly recovered his high
+spirits, wanted to come in for just a moment and then bid good-bye at
+once. But when Lena had reminded him of all sorts of promises, and Frau
+Dörr with much emphasis and much use of her eyes had reminded him of
+the still outstanding philopena, he yielded and decided to spend the
+evening.
+
+"That is right," said Frau Dörr. "And I will stay too. That is, if I
+may and if I shall not be in the way of the philopena. For one can
+never know. And I will just take my hat and cloak home and then come
+right back."
+
+"Surely you must come back," said Botho, as he shook hands with her.
+"We shall never be so young when we meet again."
+
+"No, no," laughed Frau Dörr, "We shall never be so young when we meet
+again. And it is quite impossible, of course even if we should meet
+again to-morrow. For a day is always a day and must amount to
+something. And therefore it is perfectly true that we shall never be so
+young when we meet again. And every one must agree to that."
+
+In this fashion she went on for a while longer, and the wholly
+undisputed fact of growing older every day pleased her so much that she
+repeated it several times yet. And then she went out. Lena escorted her
+out through the hall, while Botho sat down by Frau Nimptsch and asked,
+as he put her shawl around her shoulders, "whether she was still angry
+with him for taking Lena away again for a couple of hours? But it had
+been so beautiful there on the mound where they had sat to rest and
+talk that they had quite forgotten the time."
+
+"Yes, happy people forget the time," said the old woman. "And youth is
+happy, and that is right and good. But when one grows old, dear Herr
+Baron, the hours grow long and one wishes the day was done and life
+too."
+
+"Ah, you are only saying that, Mutterchen. Old or young, everyone loves
+life. Isn't that so, Lena, that we all love life?"
+
+Lena had just come back into the room and ran to him as if struck by
+what he had said and threw her arms around his neck and kissed him and
+was far more passionate than was usual with her.
+
+"Lena, what is the matter with you?"
+
+But she had already regained her self-control and with a quick gesture
+she refused his sympathy, as if to say: "Do not ask." And while Botho
+was talking with Frau Nimptsch, she went to the kitchen cupboard,
+rummaged about there a little and came back immediately with a
+perfectly cheerful face, bringing a little blue book sewed up in paper,
+which looked like the books in which housewives write down their daily
+tasks. In fact the book served this purpose and also contained
+questions which Lena had noted down either out of curiosity or because
+of some deeper interest. She now opened it and pointed to the last
+page, on which Botho's eyes immediately fell upon the heavily
+underscored words: "_Things I need to know_."
+
+"For heaven's sake, Lena, that sounds like a tract or the title of a
+comedy."
+
+"It is something of the sort. Read on."
+
+And he read: "Who were the two ladies at the Corso? Is it the elder or
+is it the younger? Who is Pitt? Who is Serge? Who is Gaston?"
+
+Botho laughed. "If I should answer all those questions, Lena, I should
+have to stay till early to-morrow morning."
+
+It was fortunate that Frau Dörr was not present to hear this answer or
+else there would have been a fresh embarrassment. But the good lady who
+was usually so brisk, at least where the Baron was concerned, had not
+yet returned, and so Lena said: "Very well, then, have it your own way.
+And for all I care, the two ladies may wait until another time! But
+what do the foreign names mean? I asked you before, the time you
+brought the bonbons. But you gave me no real answer, only half an
+answer. Is it a secret?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Then tell me about it."
+
+"Gladly, Lena, these names are only nicknames."
+
+"I know that. You said so before."
+
+"So they are names that we have given each other for convenience, with
+or without reason, just by chance."
+
+"And what does Pitt mean?"
+
+"Pitt was an English statesman."
+
+"And is your friend a statesman too?"
+
+"For heaven's sake ..."
+
+"And Serge?"
+
+"That is a Russian given name, belonging to a Russian saint and many
+Russian crown princes."
+
+"Who, however, do not find it necessary to be saints if I am right?...
+And Gaston?"
+
+"Is a French name."
+
+"Yes, I remember that. Once when I was a little young thing, before I
+was confirmed, I saw a piece: 'The Man with the Iron Mask.' And the man
+with the mask was called Gaston. And I cried dreadfully."
+
+"And now you will laugh if I tell you that I am Gaston."
+
+"No, I will not laugh. You have a mask too."
+
+Botho was about to contradict this, both in earnest and in jest, but
+Frau Dörr, who just then came in, broke off the conversation, by
+excusing herself for having kept them waiting so long. But an order had
+come in and she had been obliged to make a burial wreath in a hurry.
+
+"A big one or a little one?" asked Frau Nimptsch, who loved to talk
+about funerals and had a passion for hearing all the details about
+them.
+
+"Well," said Frau Dörr, "it was a middle-sized one; plain people. Ivy
+and azaleas."
+
+"Oh, Lord!" went on Frau Nimptsch, "every one is wild about ivy and
+azaleas, but I am not. Ivy is well enough when it grows on the grave
+and covers it all so green and thick that the grave seems as peaceful
+as he who lies below. But ivy in a wreath, that is not right. In my day
+we used immortelles, yellow or half yellow, and if we wanted something
+very fine we took red ones or white ones and made a wreath out of
+those, or even just one color and hung it on the cross, and there it
+hung all winter, and when spring came there it hung still. And some
+lasted longer than that. But this ivy and azalea is no good at all. And
+why not? because it does not last long. And I always think that the
+longer the wreath hangs on the grave, the longer people remember him
+who lies below. And a widow too, if she is not too young. And that is
+why I favor immortelles, yellow or red or even white, and any one can
+hang up another wreath also if he wants to. That is just for the looks
+of it. But the immortelle is the real thing."
+
+"Mother," said Lena, "you talk so much about graves and wreaths
+lately."
+
+"Yes, child, everyone speaks as he thinks. And if one is thinking of a
+wedding, he talks about weddings, and if he is thinking of a funeral,
+then he talks about graves. And, anyway, I didn't begin talking about
+graves and wreaths; Frau Dörr began it, which was quite right. And I
+only keep on talking about it because I am always anxious and I keep
+thinking. Who will bring you one?"
+
+"Now, mother ..."
+
+"Yes, Lena, you are good, you are a dear child. But man proposes and
+God disposes, and to-day red, to-morrow, dead. And you might die any
+day as well as I; for all that, I do not believe you will. And Frau
+Dörr may die, or when I die she may live somewhere else, or I may be
+living somewhere else and may have just moved in. Ah, my dear Lena, one
+can never be sure of anything, not even of a wreath for one's grave."
+
+"Oh, but you can, Mother Nimptsch," said Botho, "you shall certainly
+have one."
+
+"Oh, Herr Baron, if that is only true."
+
+"And if I am in Petersburg or Paris, and I hear that my old friend Frau
+Nimptsch is dead, I will send a wreath, and if I am in Berlin or
+anywhere near, I will bring it myself."
+
+The aged woman's face brightened for joy. "There, now you have said
+something, Herr Baron. And now I shall have a wreath for my grave and
+it is dear to me that I shall have it. For I cannot endure bare graves,
+that look like a burial ground for orphans or prisoners or worse. But
+now make the tea, Lena, the water is boiling already, and we have
+strawberries and milk. And sour too. Heavens, the Herr Baron must be
+quite starved. Looking and looking makes folks hungry, I can remember
+so much yet. Yes, Frau Dörr, we had our youth, even if it was long ago.
+But men were the same then as they are to-day."
+
+Frau Nimptsch, who happened to be talkative this evening, philosophised
+for a while longer, while Lena was bringing in the supper and Botho
+continued to amuse himself by teasing Frau Dörr. "It was a good thing
+that she had put away her handsome hat, which was suitable for Kroll or
+for the theatre, but not for the mound near Wilmersdorf. Where did she
+get the hat? No princess had such a hat. And he had never seen anything
+so becoming; he would not speak for himself alone, but a prince might
+have fallen in love with it."
+
+The good woman did indeed realize that he was joking. But still she
+said: "Yes, indeed, when Dörr once gets started, he is so eager and so
+fastidious that I can hardly tell what has come over him. Day by day he
+is quite dull, but all of a sudden he is as if he had changed into
+another man and then I always say to myself: there must be something
+the matter with him and this is the only way he knows how to show it."
+
+And so the talk went on over the tea, until ten o'clock. Then Botho
+rose to go and Lena and Frau Dörr accompanied him through the front
+garden to the gate. While they were standing there Frau Dörr reminded
+them that after all they had forgotten the philopena. Both seemed
+desirous to disregard this reminder and repeated once more how
+delightful the afternoon had been. "We must make such little excursions
+oftener, Lena, and when I come again, we will think where to go. I
+shall be sure to think of something, some place where it is quiet and
+beautiful, and further away, and not just across the fields."
+
+"And we will take Frau Dörr with us again," said Lena, "You ask her,
+will you not, Botho?"
+
+"Certainly, Lena. Frau Dörr must always go with us. Without her the
+trip would be a failure."
+
+"Ah, Herr Baron, I could never accept that, I could never expect such a
+thing."
+
+"Oh, yes indeed, dear Frau Dörr," laughed Botho. "You may expect
+everything, such a woman as you."
+
+And therewith they parted.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XI
+
+
+The country excursion, which had been promised or at least discussed
+after the walk to Wilmersdorf, was now the favorite topic for several
+weeks, and whenever Botho came the question was, where to go? All
+possible places were mentioned: Erkner and Kranichberg, Schwilow and
+Baumgartenbrück, but all were too much frequented, and so it happened
+that at last Botho spoke of Hankel's Ablage, the beauty and solitude of
+which he had heard enthusiastically described. Lena agreed, for all she
+wanted was to get out into God's green world, as far as possible from
+the city and its doings, and to be with her lover. It really did not
+matter where.
+
+The next Friday was decided upon for the excursion. "Agreed." And so
+they started by the Görlitz afternoon train for Hankel's Ablage, where
+they had engaged quarters for the night and meant to pass the next day
+very quietly.
+
+There were very few coaches on the train, but even these were not very
+full, and so it happened that Botho and Lena found themselves alone. In
+the next coupe there was a good deal of talk, from which it was plainly
+to be heard that these were through passengers and not people meaning
+to stop over at Hankel's Ablage.
+
+Lena was happy, and gave her hand to Botho and gazed silently at the
+landscape with its woods and meadows. At last she said: "But what will
+Frau Dörr say about our leaving her at home?"
+
+"She needn't find it out."
+
+"Mother will be sure to tell her,"
+
+"Why, that is rather bad and yet we could not do any differently. Look
+here! It was well enough out in the fields the other day, because we
+were quite alone. But if we do find ourselves practically alone at
+Hankel's Ablage, yet we shall have a host and a hostess and perhaps a
+waiter from Berlin. And a waiter laughing quietly to himself or at
+least laughing inwardly, I cannot endure: he would spoil all my
+pleasure. Frau Dörr, when she is sitting by your mother or teaching the
+proprieties to old Dörr, is great fun, but not in public. Amongst
+people she is simply a comical figure and an embarrassment to us."
+
+
+Towards five the train stopped at the edge of a wood.... Actually no
+one but Botho and Lena got out, and the two walked leisurely and with
+frequent pauses to a tavern, which stood close to the Spree and about
+ten minutes' walk from the little station. This "Establishment," as it
+was described on a slanting signboard, had been originally a mere
+fisherman's cottage, which had very gradually, and more by addition
+than by rebuilding, been changed into a tavern. The view across the
+stream made up for all other deficiencies, so that the brilliant
+reputation which the place enjoyed among the initiated never for a
+moment seemed exaggerated. Lena, too, felt quite at home immediately,
+and went and sat in a sort of veranda-like room that had been built on,
+and that was half covered over by the branches of an old elm that stood
+between the house and the bank.
+
+"Let us stay here," said she, "Just see the boats, two, three ... and
+further out a whole fleet is coming. Yes, it was indeed a lucky thought
+that brought us here. Only see how they run back and forth on the boats
+and put their weight on the rudder. And yet it is all so silent. Oh, my
+own dear Botho, how beautiful it is and how I love you!"
+
+Botho rejoiced to see Lena so happy. Something determined and almost
+severe that had always formed a part of; her character seemed to have
+disappeared and to have been replaced by a new gentleness, and this
+change seemed to make her perfectly happy. Presently mine host who had
+inherited the "Establishment" from his father and grandfather, came to
+take the orders of the "gentle folk," and especially to ascertain
+whether they intended to stay overnight, and when this question was
+answered in the affirmative, he begged them to decide upon their room.
+There were several at their disposal, but the gable room would probably
+suit them the best. It was, indeed, low studded, but was large and
+roomy and had the view across the Spree as far as the Müggelborg.
+
+When his proposal had been accepted, the host went to attend to the
+necessary preparations, and Botho and Lena were left once more to enjoy
+to the full the happiness of being quietly alone together. A finch
+whose nest was in a low bush near by was swinging on a drooping twig of
+the elm, the swallows were darting here and there, and finally came a
+black hen followed by a whole brood of ducklings, passed the veranda,
+and strutted pompously out on a little wooden pier that was built far
+out over the water. But half way along this pier the hen stopped, while
+the ducklings plunged into the water and swam away.
+
+Lena watched all this eagerly. "Just look, Botho, how the stream rushes
+through among the posts." But actually it was neither the pier nor the
+water flowing through, that attracted her attention, but the two boats
+that were moored there. She coquetted with the idea and indulged in
+various trifling questions and references, and only when Botho remained
+deaf to all this did she express herself more plainly and declare that
+she wanted to go boating.
+
+"Women are incorrigible. Incorrigible in their light-mindedness. Think
+of that Easter Monday! Just a hair's breadth ..."
+
+"And I should have been drowned. Certainly. But that is only one side
+of the matter. There followed the acquaintance with a handsome man, you
+may be able to guess whom I mean. His name is Botho. I am sure you will
+not think of Easter Monday as an unlucky day? I am more amiable and
+more gallant than you."
+
+"There, there.... But can you row, Lena?"
+
+"Of course I can. And I can steer and raise a sail too. Because I was
+near being drowned, you think I don't know anything? But it was the
+boy's fault, and for that matter, any one might be drowned."
+
+And then they walked down the pier to the two boats, whose sails were
+reefed, while their pennants with their names embroidered on them
+fluttered from the masthead.
+
+"Which shall we take," said Botho, "the _Trout_ or the _Hope_?"
+
+"Naturally, the _Trout_. What have we to do with _Hope_?" Botho
+understood well enough that Lena said that on purpose to tease him, for
+in spite of her delicacy of feeling, still as a true child of Berlin
+she took pleasure in witty little speeches. He excused this little
+fling, however, and helped her into the boat. Then he sprang in too.
+Just as he was about to cast off the host came down the pier bringing a
+jacket and a plaid, because it would grow cold as the sun went down.
+They thanked him and soon were in the middle of the stream, which was
+here scarcely three hundred paces wide, as it flowed among the islands
+and tongues of land. Lena used her oars only now and then, but even
+these few strokes sufficed to bring them very soon to a field overgrown
+with tall grass which served as a boatbuilder's yard, where at some
+little distance from them a new boat was being built and various old
+leaky ones were being caulked and repaired.
+
+"We must go and see the boats," said Lena gaily, taking Botho's hand
+and urging him along, but before they could reach the boat builder's
+yard the sound of hammer and axe ceased and the bells began to ring,
+announcing the close of the day's work. So they turned aside, perhaps a
+hundred paces from the dockyard into a path which led diagonally across
+a field, to a pine wood. The reddish trunks of the trees glowed
+wonderfully in the light of the sinking sun, while their tops seemed
+floating in a bluish mist.
+
+"I wish I could pick you a pretty bunch of flowers," said Botho, taking
+Lena's hand. "But look, there is just the grassy field, all grass and
+no flowers. Not one."
+
+"But there are plenty. Only you do not see them, because you are too
+exacting."
+
+"And even if I were, it is only for your sake."
+
+"Now, no excuses. You shall see that I can find some."
+
+And stooping down, she searched right and left saying: "Only look,
+here ... and there ... and here again. There are more here than in
+Dörr's garden; only you must have an eye for them." And she plucked the
+flowers diligently, stooping for them and picking weeds and grass with
+them, until in a very short time she had a quantity both of attractive
+blossoms and of useless weeds in her hands.
+
+Meanwhile they had come to an old empty fisherman's hut, in front of
+which lay an upturned boat on a strip of sand strewn with pine cones
+from the neighboring wood.
+
+"This is just right for us," said Botho: "we will sit down here. You
+must be tired. And now let me see what you have gathered. I don't
+believe you know yourself, and I shall have to play the botanist. Give
+them here. This is ranunculus, or buttercup, and this is mouse's ear.
+Some call it false forget-me-not. False, do you hear? And this one with
+the notched leaf is taraxacum, our good old dandelion, which the French
+use for salad. Well, I don't mind. But there is a distinction between a
+salad and a bouquet."
+
+"Just give them back," laughed Lena. "You have no eye for such things,
+because you do not love them, and the eyes and love always belong
+together. First you said there were no flowers in the field, and now,
+when we find them, you will not admit that they are really flowers. But
+they are flowers, and pretty ones too. What will you bet that I can
+make you something pretty out of them."
+
+"I am really curious to see what you will choose."
+
+"Only those that you agree to. And now let us begin. Here is a
+forget-me-not, but no mouse's ear--forget-me-not, but a real one. Do
+you agree?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And this is speedwell, the prize of honor, a dainty little blossom.
+That is surely good enough for you. I do not even need to ask. And this
+big reddish brown one is the devil's paintbrush, and must have grown on
+purpose for you. Oh yes, laugh at it. And these," and she stooped to
+pick a couple of yellow blossoms, that were growing in the sand at her
+feet, "these are immortelles."
+
+"Immortelles," said Botho. "They are old Frau Nimptsch's passion. Of
+course we must take those, we need them. And now we must tie up our
+little bouquet."
+
+"Very well. But what shall we tie it with? We will wait till we find a
+strong grass blade."
+
+"No, I will not wait so long. And a grass blade is not good enough for
+me, it is too thick and coarse. I want something fine. I know what,
+Lena, you have such beautiful long hair; pull out one and tie the
+bouquet with that."
+
+"No," said she decidedly.
+
+"No? And why not? Why not?"
+
+"Because the proverb says 'hair binds.' And if I bind the flowers with
+it you too will be bound."
+
+"But that is superstition. Frau Dörr says so."
+
+"No, the good old soul told me herself. And whatever she has told me
+from my youth up, even if it seemed like superstition, I have always
+found it correct."
+
+"Well, have it so. I will not contradict you. But I will not have the
+flowers tied with anything else but a strand of your hair. And you will
+not be so obstinate as to refuse me."
+
+She looked at him, pulled a long hair from her head and wound it around
+the bunch of flowers. Then she said: "You chose it. Here, take it. Now
+you are bound."
+
+He tried to laugh, but the seriousness with which Lena had been
+speaking, and especially the earnestness with which she had pronounced
+the last words, did not fail to leave an impression on his mind.
+
+"It is growing cool," said he after a while. "The host was right to
+bring you a jacket and a plaid. Come, let us start."
+
+And so they went back to the boat, and made haste to cross the stream.
+
+Only now, as they were returning, and coming nearer and nearer, did
+they see how picturesquely the tavern was situated. The thatched roof
+sat like a grotesque high cap above the timbered building, whose four
+little front windows were just being lit for the evening. And at the
+same time a couple of lanterns were carried out to the veranda, and
+their weird-looking bands of light shone out across the water through
+the branches of the old elm, which in the darkness resembled some
+fantastically wrought grating.
+
+Neither spoke. But the happiness of each seemed to depend upon the
+question how long their happiness was to last.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XII
+
+
+It was already growing dark as they landed. "Let us take this table,"
+said Botho, as they stepped on to the veranda again: "You will feel no
+draught here and I will order you some grog or a hot claret cup, shall
+I not? I see you are chilly."
+
+He offered several other things, but Lena begged to be allowed to go up
+to her room, and said that by and by when he came up she would be
+perfectly well again. She only felt a trifle poorly and did not need
+anything and if she could only rest a little, it would pass off.
+
+Therewith she excused herself and went up to the gable room which had
+been prepared in the meantime. The hostess, who was indulging in all
+sorts of mistaken conjectures, accompanied her, and immediately asked
+with much curiosity, "What really was the matter," and without waiting
+for an answer, she went right on: yes, it was always so with young
+women, she remembered that herself, and before her eldest was born (she
+now had four and would have had five, but the middle one had come too
+soon and did not live), she had had just such a time. It just rushed
+over one so, and one felt ready to die. But a cup of balm tea, that is
+to say, the genuine monastery balm, would give a quick relief and one
+would feel like a fish in the water and quite set up and merry and
+affectionate too. "Yes, yes, gracious lady, when one has four, without
+counting the little angel ..."
+
+Lena had some difficulty in concealing her embarrassment and asked, for
+the sake of saying something, for a cup of the monastery balm tea, of
+which she had already heard.
+
+
+While this conversation was going on up in the gable room, Botho had
+taken a seat, not in the sheltered veranda, but at a primitive wooden
+table that was nailed on four posts in front of the veranda and
+afforded a fine view. He planned to take his evening meal here. He
+ordered fish, and as the "tench and dill" for which the tavern was
+famous was brought, the host came to ask what kind of wine the Herr
+Baron desired? (He gave him this title by mere chance.)
+
+"I think," said Botho, "Brauneberger, or let us say rather Rudesheimer
+would suit the delicate fish best, and to show that the wine is good
+you must sit down with me as my guest and drink some of your own wine."
+
+The host bowed smilingly and soon came back with a dusty bottle, while
+the maid, a pretty Wendin in a woolen gown and a black head-kerchief,
+brought the glasses on a tray.
+
+"Now let us see," said Botho. "The bottle promises all sorts of good
+qualities. Too much dust and cobweb is always suspicious, but this ...
+Ah, superb! This is the vintage of '70, is it not? And now we must
+drink, but to what? To the prosperity of Hankel Ablage."
+
+The host was evidently delighted, and Botho, who saw what a good
+impression he was making, went on speaking in his own gentle and
+friendly way: "I find it charming here, and there is only one thing to
+be said against Hankel's Ablage: its name."
+
+"Yes," agreed the host, "the name might be better and it is really
+unfortunate for us. And yet there is a reason for the name, Hankel's
+Ablage really was an Ablage, and so it is still called."
+
+"Very good. But this brings us no further forward than before. Why is
+it called an Ablage? And what is an Ablage?"
+
+"Well, it is as much as to say a place for loading and unloading. The
+whole stretch of land hereabouts (and he pointed backward) was, in
+fact, always one great domain, and was called under Old Fritz and even
+earlier under the warrior kings the domain Wusterhausen. And the thirty
+villages as well as the forest and moorland all belonged to it. Now you
+see the thirty villages naturally had to obtain and use many things, or
+what amounts to the same thing, they had to have egress and ingress,
+and for both they needed from the beginning a harbor or a place to buy
+and sell, and the only doubt would have been what place they should
+choose for the purpose. They actually chose this place; this bay became
+a harbor, a mart, an 'Ablage' for all that came and went, and since the
+fisher who lived here at that time was my grandfather Hankel, the place
+became 'Hankel's Ablage'."
+
+"It is a pity," said Botho, "that this cannot be so well and clearly
+explained to everyone," and the host who felt encouraged by the
+interest shown was about to continue. But before he could begin, the
+cry of a bird was heard high in the air, and as Botho looked up
+curiously, he saw that two large, powerful birds, scarcely recognizable
+in the twilight, were flying above the water.
+
+"Were those wild geese?"
+
+"No, herons. The whole forest hereabouts is full of them. For that
+matter, it is a regular hunting ground. There are huge numbers of wild
+boar and deer and woodcock, and among the reeds and rushes here ducks,
+and snipe."
+
+"Delightful," said Botho, in whom the hunter was waking up. "Do you
+know I envy you. After all, what is in a name? Ducks, snipe, woodcocks!
+One could almost wish to be in such pleasant circumstances also. Only
+it must be lonely here, too lonely."
+
+The host smiled to himself and Botho, who noticed this, became curious
+and said: "You laugh. But is it not so? For half an hour I have heard
+nothing but the water gurgling under the pier, and just now the call of
+the herons. I call that lonely, however beautiful it may be. And now
+and then a couple of big sailboats glide by, but they are all alike, or
+at least they look very similar. And really each one seems to be a
+phantom ship. It is as still as death."
+
+"Certainly," said the host. "But that is only as long as it lasts."
+
+"How so?"
+
+"Yes," repeated the host, "as long as it lasts. You speak of solitude,
+Herr Baron, and for days together it is truly lonely here. And it might
+be so for weeks. But scarcely has the ice broken up and the spring come
+when we have guests and the Berliner has arrived."
+
+"When does he come?"
+
+"Incredibly early. All in a moment there they are. See here, Herr
+Baron, while I, who am hardened to the weather, am still staying
+indoors because the east wind blows and the March sun scorches, the
+Berliner already sits out of doors, lays his summer overcoat on the
+chair and orders pale ale. For if only the sun shines the Berliner
+speaks of beautiful weather. It is all the same to him if there is
+inflammation of the lungs or diphtheria in every wind that blows. It is
+then that he best likes to play grace-hoops, and some are also fond of
+Boccia, and when they leave, quite blistered from the reflected
+sunlight, my heart really aches for them, for there is not one among
+them whose skin will not peel off at least by the following day."
+
+Botho laughed. "Yes, indeed, the Berliners! And that reminds me, your
+Spree hereabouts must be the place where the oarsmen and yachtsmen meet
+to hold their regattas."
+
+"Certainly," said the host. "But that is not saying very much. If
+there are a good many, there may be fifty or perhaps a hundred. And
+then all is still again, and the water sports are over for weeks and
+months. No, club members are comfortable to deal with; by comparison
+they are endurable. But in June when the steamers come, it is bad. And
+then it will continue all summer, or at any rate a long, long time ..."
+
+"I believe you," said Botho.
+
+"Then a telegram comes every evening. 'Early to-morrow morning at nine
+o'clock we shall arrive by the steamer _Alse_. Party to spend the day.
+240 persons.' And then follow the names of those who have gotten up the
+affair. It does well enough for once. But the trouble is, it lasts so
+long. For how do such parties spend their time? They are out in the
+woods and fields until it is growing dark, and then comes their dinner,
+and then they dance till eleven. Now you will say, 'That is nothing
+much,' and it would not be anything much if the following day were a
+holiday. But the second day is like the first, and the third is like
+the second. Every evening at about eleven a steamer leaves with two
+hundred and forty persons and every morning at nine a steamer arrives
+with just as many on board. And between whiles everything must be
+cleared away and tidied up. And so the night passes in airing,
+polishing and scrubbing, and when the last corner is clean the next
+boat load is already arriving. Naturally, everything has its good side,
+and when one counts up his receipts towards midnight one knows what he
+has been toiling for. 'From nothing you get nothing,' says the proverb
+and it is quite true, and if I were to fill all the punch bowls that
+have been drunk here I should have to get a Heidelberg tun. It brings
+something in, certainly, and is quite right and proper. But according
+as one moves forward he also moves backward and pays with the best that
+he has, with his life and health. For what is life without sleep?"
+
+"True, I already see," said Botho, "no happiness is complete. But then
+comes winter, and then you can sleep like the seven sleepers."
+
+"Yes, if it does not happen to be New Year's or Twelfth Night or
+Carnival. And these holidays come oftener than the calendar shows. You
+ought to see the life here when they arrive in sleighs or on skates
+from all the ten villages, and gather in the great hall that I have
+built on. Then we don't see one citified face among them, and the
+Berliners leave us in peace, but the farm hands and chambermaids have
+their day. Then we see otter skin caps and corduroy jackets with silver
+buttons, and all kinds of soldiers who are on leave are there also:
+Schwedter Dragoons and Fürstenwald Uhlans, or perhaps Potsdam Hussars.
+And everyone is jealous and quarrelsome, and one cannot tell which they
+like best, dancing or fighting, and on the slightest pretext the
+villages are arrayed against each other in battle. And so with noise
+and turbulent sports they pass the whole long night and whole mountains
+of pancakes disappear, and only at dawn do they leave for home over the
+frozen river or over the snow."
+
+"Now I see plainly," said Botho, "that you have not very much solitude
+or deathly stillness. But it is fortunate that I knew nothing about all
+this, or else I should not have wished to come and should have missed a
+real pleasure. And I should have been really sorry not to have seen
+such a beautiful spot.... But as you said before; what is life without
+sleep? and I feel that you are right. I am tired, although it is still
+early; I think it must be the effect of the air and the water. And then
+I must go and see ... Your good wife has taken so much trouble ... Good
+night, I have talked quite enough."
+
+And thereupon he rose and went into the house, which had now grown very
+quiet.
+
+
+Lena had lain down on the bed with her feet on a chair at the bedside
+and had drunk a cup of the tea that the hostess had brought her. The
+rest and the warmth did her good, the little attack passed off, and
+some little time ago she could have gone down to the veranda to join in
+the conversation of Botho and the landlord. But she was not in a
+talkative mood, and so she only got up to look around the room, in
+which she had thus far taken no interest.
+
+And the room was well worth her attention. The timbers and the
+plastered walls had been allowed to remain since former times, and the
+whitewashed ceiling was so low that one could reach it with one's hand.
+But whatever could be improved had been improved. Instead of the small
+panes which one still saw on the ground floor, a large window reaching
+nearly down to the floor had been set in, which afforded, as the host
+had said, a beautiful view of the scenery, both woods and water. But
+the large window was not all that had been accomplished here in the way
+of modern comfort. A few good pictures, very likely bought at some
+auction, hung on the old irregular plastered walls, and where the
+projecting window gable joined the sloping roof of the room itself
+stood a pair of handsome toilet tables facing each other. Everything
+showed that the character of the fisherman's and boatman's tavern had
+been carefully kept, while at the same time the place had been turned
+into a pleasing hotel for the rich sportsmen of the yacht club.
+
+Lena was much pleased with all that she saw, and began to examine the
+pictures that hung in broad frames to the right and left of the bed.
+They were engravings, the subjects of which interested her keenly, and
+so she wanted to read the inscriptions under each. One was inscribed
+"Washington Crossing the Delaware" and the other "The Last Hour at
+Trafalgar." But she could get no further than merely to decipher the
+syllables, and although it was a very small matter, it gave her a pang,
+because it emphasised the chasm that divided her from Botho. He was,
+indeed, in the habit of making fun of learning and education, but she
+was clever enough to know what to think of such jesting.
+
+Close to the entrance door, above a rococo table, on which stood some
+red glasses and a water carafe, hung a gay colored lithograph with an
+inscription in three languages: "_Si jeunesse savait_"--a picture which
+Lena remembered having seen at the Dörrs'. Dörr loved such things. When
+she saw it here again, she shivered and felt distressed. Her fine
+sensibility was hurt by the sensual quality of the picture as if it
+were a distortion of her own feeling, and so, in order to shake off the
+impression, the went to the window and opened both sashes to let in the
+night air. Oh. how refreshing it was! She seated herself on the
+windowsill, which was only a couple of hands' breadth from the floor,
+threw her left arm around the middle bar and listened to hear what was
+happening on the veranda. But she heard nothing. Deep stillness
+reigned, except that in the old elm there was a stirring and rustling,
+and any discomfort that might have lingered in her mind disappeared at
+once, as she gazed with ever-growing delight on the picture spread out
+before her. The water flowed gently, wood and meadow lay in the dim
+evening light, and the thin crescent of the new moon cast its light on
+the stream and showed the tremulous motion of the rippling waves.
+
+"How beautiful," said Lena, drawing a deep breath. "And I am so happy,"
+she added.
+
+She could hardly bear to leave the view. But at last she rose, placed a
+chair before the glass and began to let down her beautiful hair and
+braid it. While she was thus occupied Botho came in.
+
+"Lena, still up! I thought that I should have to wake you with a kiss."
+
+"You are too early for that, however late you come."
+
+And she rose and went to him. "My dearest Botho, How long you stayed
+away ..."
+
+"And your fever? And your little attack?"
+
+"It has passed off and I have felt well again for the last half hour.
+And I have been waiting for you all that time." And she led him over to
+the open window: "Only look. Would not the beauty of that view fill any
+poor human heart with longing?"
+
+And she clung to him and just as she was closing her eyes, she looked
+up at him with an expression of rapture.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+Both were up early and the sun was still struggling with the morning
+mist as they came down stairs to take breakfast. A light early breeze
+was blowing, which the boatmen did not want to lose, and so, as our
+young couple were stepping out of doors, a whole flotilla of sailboats
+glided past on the Spree.
+
+Lena was still in her morning dress. She took Botho's arm and wandered
+along the bank with him to a place where the reeds and rushes grew
+tall. He looked at her tenderly. "Lena, I have never seen you look as
+you do to-day. I hardly know how to express it. I cannot find any other
+word; you look so happy."
+
+And that was true. Yes, she was happy, perfectly happy and saw the
+world in a rosy light. She was leaning on her lover's arm and the hour
+was very precious to her. Was not that enough? And if this hour was the
+last, then let it be the last. Was it not a privilege to pass such a
+day, even if it were only once?
+
+Thus all thoughts of care and sorrow vanished, which in spite of
+herself had oppressed her spirit, and she felt nothing but pride and
+joy and thankfulness. But she said nothing, for she was superstitious
+and did not dare to talk about her happiness, and it was only through a
+slight tremor of her arm that Botho knew that his words "I believe you
+are happy, Lena" had found their way to her innermost heart.
+
+The host came and inquired courteously, though with some slight
+embarrassment, whether they had slept well.
+
+"Admirably," said Botho. "The herb tea, which your good wife
+recommended, did wonders and the crescent moon shone right in at our
+window, and the nightingales sang softly, so softly that we could
+barely hear them. Who would not sleep as if in paradise? I hope that no
+steamer with two hundred and forty guests has been announced for this
+afternoon. That indeed would drive us forth from paradise. You smile
+and are probably thinking, 'Who can tell?' and perhaps my own words
+have conjured up the devil, but he is not here yet. I see neither
+smokestack nor smoke, the Spree is still undisturbed, and even if all
+Berlin is on the way our breakfast at least we can enjoy in peace. Can
+we not? But where?"
+
+"Wherever you order it."
+
+"Very well, then I think under the elm. The fine dining-room is only
+necessary when the sun is too hot out of doors. And it is not too hot
+yet and has not wholly burned away the mist above the woods."
+
+The host went to order the breakfast, but the young couple walked as
+far as a little promontóry on their side of the stream, from which they
+could see the red roofs of a neighboring village and close to the
+village the sharp church steeple of Königs-Wusterhausen. By the water's
+edge lay the trunk of a willow that had drifted down stream and lodged
+there. They sat down on this log and watched a fisherman and his wife
+who were cutting the tall reeds and throwing great bundles of them into
+their skiff. They enjoyed the pretty sight, and when they arrived at
+the tavern again, their breakfast was just being served. The breakfast
+was in the English style rather than the German: coffee and tea, with
+eggs and meat and even slices of toast in a silver rack.
+
+"Just look, Lena. We must take breakfast here often. What do you think?
+It is heavenly. And look over towards the dockyard; they are already at
+work caulking the boats and the work follows a regular rhythm. Really,
+the rhythm of any such work is the best kind of music."
+
+Lena nodded, but she was only half listening, for again to-day her
+attention was attracted toward the pier. It was not, indeed, the boats
+that were moored there, and which had so aroused her interest
+yesterday, but a pretty maid, who was kneeling half way down the pier
+amongst her kettles and copperware. With a hearty pleasure in her work,
+which was expressed in every motion of her arms, she polished the cans,
+kettles, and saucepans, and whenever she had finished one, she let the
+water run over the highly polished vessel. Then she would hold it up,
+let it glisten a moment in the sun and then put it in a basket.
+
+Lena was quite carried away by the picture, and pointed to the pretty
+girl, who seemed to love her work as if she could never do enough.
+
+"Do you know, Botho, it is no mere chance that she is kneeling there.
+She is kneeling there for me and I feel plainly, that it is a sign and
+a token."
+
+"But what is the matter with you, Lena? You look so different, you have
+grown quite pale all of a sudden."
+
+"Oh nothing."
+
+"Nothing? And yet your eyes are glistening as if you were nearer to
+tears than to laughter. You certainly must have seen copper kettles
+before and a cook polishing them. It seems almost as if you envied the
+girl kneeling there and working hard enough for three women."
+
+The appearance of the host interrupted the conversation at this point
+and Lena recovered her quiet bearing and soon her cheerfulness also.
+Then she went upstairs to change her dress.
+
+When she returned she found that a programme proposed by the host had
+been unconditionally accepted by Botho: the young people were to take a
+sailboat as far as the next village, Nieder Löhme, which was charmingly
+situated on the Wendisch Spree. From this village they were to walk as
+far as Königs-Wusterhausen, visit the park and the castle, and then
+return in the same way. This excursion would take half a day. The
+manner of passing the afternoon could be arranged later.
+
+Lena was pleased with the plan and a couple of wraps were just being
+put in the boat, which had been hastily gotten ready, when voices and
+hearty laughter were heard from the garden--a sound which seemed to
+indicate visitors and the probability that their solitude would be
+disturbed.
+
+"Ah, members of the yacht and rowing club," said Botho. "The Lord be
+praised, we shall escape them, Lena. Let us hurry."
+
+And they both started off to reach the boat as quickly as possible. But
+before they could reach the pier they saw that they were already
+surrounded and caught. The guests' were not only Botho's comrades, but
+his most intimate friends, Pitt, Serge, and Balafré. All three had
+ladies with them.
+
+"_Ah, les beaux esprits se rencontrent_," said Balafré in a rather wild
+mood, which quickly changed to a more conventional manner, as he
+observed that he was being watched by the host and hostess from the
+threshold. "How fortunate we are to meet here. Allow me, Gaston, to
+present our ladies to you: Queen Isabeau, Fräulein Johanna, Fräulein
+Margot."
+
+Botho saw what sort of names were the order of the day, and adapting
+himself quickly, he replied, indicating Lena with a little gesture and
+introducing her: "Mademoiselle Agnes Sorel."
+
+All the three men bowed civilly, even to all appearances respectfully,
+while the two daughters of Thibaut d'Arc made a very slight curtsey,
+and Queen Isabeau, who was at least fifteen years older, offered a more
+friendly greeting to Agnes Sorel, who was not only a stranger to her,
+but apparently embarrassed.
+
+The whole affair was a disturbance, perhaps even an intentional
+disturbance, but the more successfully the plan worked out, the more
+needful did it seem to keep a bold front at a losing game. And in this
+Botho was entirely successful. He asked one question after another, and
+thus found out that the little group had taken one of the small
+steamers very early and had left the boat at Schmöckwitz, and from
+there had come to Zeuthen on a sailboat. From Zeuthen they had walked,
+since it took scarcely twenty minutes; it had been charming: old trees,
+green fields and red roofs.
+
+While the entire group of new-comers, but especially Queen Isabeau, who
+was almost more distinguished for her talkativeness than for her stout
+figure, were narrating these things, they had by chance strolled up to
+the veranda, where they sat down at one of the long tables.
+
+"Charming," said Serge. "Large, free and open and yet so secluded. And
+the meadow over there seems just made for a moonlight promenade."
+
+"Yes," added Balafré, "a moonlight promenade. That is all very fine.
+But it is now barely ten o'clock, and before we can have a moonlight
+promenade we have about twelve hours to dispose of. I propose a boating
+trip."
+
+"No," said Isabeau, "a boating trip will not do; we have already had
+more than enough of that to-day. First the steamer and then the
+sailboat and now another boat, would be too much. I am against it.
+Besides I never can see the good of all this paddling: we might just as
+well fish or catch some little creatures with our hands and amuse
+ourselves with the poor little beasts. No, there will be no more
+paddling to-day. I must earnestly beg you."
+
+The men, to whom these words were addressed, were evidently amused at
+the desires of the Queen Mother, and immediately made other proposals,
+which, however, met with the same fate. Isabeau rejected everything;
+and at last, when the others, half in jest and half in earnest, began
+to disapprove of her conduct, she merely begged to be left in peace.
+"Gentlemen," said she, "Patience. I beg you to give me a chance to
+speak for at least a moment." This request was followed by ironical
+applause, for she had done all the talking thus far. But she went on
+quite unconcernedly: "Gentlemen, I beg you, teach me to understand men.
+What is an excursion into the country? It is taking breakfast and
+playing cards. Isn't that so?"
+
+"Isabeau is always right," laughed Balafré giving her a slap on the
+shoulder. "We will play cards. This is a capital place for it; I almost
+think that everyone must win here. And the ladies can go to walk in the
+meantime or perhaps take a forenoon nap. That will do them the most
+good, and an hour and a half will be time enough. And at twelve o'clock
+we will meet again. And the menu shall be according to the judgment of
+our Queen. Yes, Queen, life is still sweet. To be sure that is from
+'Don Carlos.' But must everything be quoted from the 'Maid of
+Orleans'?"
+
+That shot struck home and the two younger girls giggled, although they
+had scarcely understood the innuendo. But Isabeau who had grown up
+amongst conversations that were always interspersed with such slightly
+hinted sarcasms, remained perfectly calm and said, turning to the three
+other women: "Ladies, if I may beg you, we are now abandoned and have
+two hours to ourselves. For that matter, things might be worse."
+
+
+Thereupon they rose and went into the house, where the Queen went to
+the kitchen, and after greeting those present in a friendly but
+superior manner, she asked for the host. The latter was not in the
+house, so the young woman offered to go and call him in from the
+garden, but Isabeau would not hear of it. She would go herself, and she
+actually went, still followed by her cortège of three (Balafré called
+them the hen and chickens). She went into the garden, where she found
+the host arranging the new asparagus beds. Close by there was an
+old-fashioned greenhouse, very low in front, with big, sloping windows,
+and a somewhat broken-down wall on which Lena and the daughters of
+Thibaut d'Arc sat, while Isabeau was arranging her business.
+
+"We have come," said she, "to speak with you about the luncheon. What
+can we have?"
+
+"Everything you are pleased to order."
+
+"Everything? That is a great deal, almost too much. Now I should like
+eels. Only not like this, but like this." And as she spoke she pointed
+first to a ring on her finger and then to her broad thick bracelet.
+
+"I am very sorry, ladies," answered the host. "We have no eels. Nor any
+kind of fish; I cannot serve you with fish, it is an exception.
+Yesterday we had tench and dill, but it came from Berlin. If I want a
+fish, I have to go to the Cologne fish market for it."
+
+"What a pity! We could have brought one with us. But what have you
+then?"
+
+"A saddle of venison."
+
+"H'm, that sounds rather well. And before that some vegetables for a
+salad. It is too late or almost too late for asparagus. But I see you
+still have some young beans there. And here in the hot bed there is
+surely something to be found, a couple of small cucumbers or some
+lettuce. And then a sweet dish. Something with whipped cream. I do not
+care so much for it myself, but men, who always behave as if they did
+not like such things, are always wanting sweets. This will make three
+or four courses, I think. And then bread and butter and cheese."
+
+"And at what time do you wish the luncheon?"
+
+"Well, I think quite soon, or at least as soon as possible. Is that
+right? We are hungry and half an hour is long enough to roast the
+saddle of venison. So let us say at about twelve. And if I may ask, we
+will have punch, a bottle of Rhine wine, three of Moselle and three of
+Champagne. But good brands. You must not think that it will be wasted.
+I am familiar with wines, and can tell by the taste whether it is Moët
+or Mumm. But you will come out all right; you inspire me with
+confidence. By the way, can we not go from your garden directly into
+the wood? I hate every unnecessary step. And perhaps we may find some
+mushrooms. That would be heavenly. They would go well with the saddle
+of venison; mushrooms never spoil anything." The host not only answered
+the question in the affirmative, but escorted the ladies as far as the
+garden gate, from which it was only a couple of steps to the edge of
+the wood. Only a public road ran between. As soon as one had crossed
+the road, one was in the shady woods, and Isabeau, who suffered greatly
+from the increasing heat, thought herself fortunate in having avoided
+the rather long detour over a strip of treeless grass land. She played
+the fine lady, but her parasol, which she hung to her girdle, was
+decorated with a big grease spot. She took Lena's arm, while the two
+ladies followed. Isabeau appeared to be in the best humor and said,
+glancing back, to Margot and Johanna: "We must have a goal. It is quite
+dreadful to see only woods and then more woods. What do you think,
+Johanna?"
+
+Johanna was the taller of the two d'Arcs, and was very pretty, but
+somewhat pale and dressed with studied simplicity. Serge liked that.
+Her gloves fitted wonderfully, and one might have taken her for a lady
+if she had not used her teeth to button one of her glove buttons which
+had sprung out.
+
+"What do you think, Johanna?" the Queen repeated her question.
+
+"Well, then, I propose that we should go back to the village from which
+we came. It was called Zeuthen, and looked so romantic and so
+melancholy, and the road between there and here was so beautiful. And
+it must be just as beautiful or more so going back in the other
+direction. And on the right hand, that is to say, on the left going
+from here, was a churchyard with crosses. And there was a very large
+marble one."
+
+"Yes, dear Johanna, that is all very well, but what good would it do
+us? We have seen the whole road. Or do you want to see the
+churchyard...."
+
+"Of course I do. I have my own feelings, especially on a day like this.
+And it is always good to be reminded that one must die. And when the
+elder bushes are in bloom ..."
+
+"But, Johanna, the elders are no longer in bloom; the acacia is about
+all, and that already has pods. My goodness, if you are so wild about
+churchyards, you can see the one in the Oranienstrasse every day.
+Zeuthen and the churchyard, what nonsense! We had rather stay right
+here and see nothing at all. Come, little one, give me your arm again."
+
+The little one, who by the way was not little, was Lena. She obeyed.
+But as they walked on again, the Queen continued in a confidential
+tone: "Oh that Johanna, one really cannot go about with her; she has
+not a good reputation, and she is a goose. Ah, child, you would not
+believe what kind of folks there are going about now; Oh well, she has
+a fine figure and is particular about her gloves. But she might better
+be particular about some other things. And if you will notice, it is
+always such as she who talk continually about the churchyard and dying.
+And now you ought to see her by and by. So long as things are all
+right, they are all right. But when the punch bowl comes and is emptied
+and comes in again, then she screeches and screams. No idea of
+propriety. But where should it come from? She was always amongst the
+commonest people, out on the Chaussée towards Tegel, where no one ever
+goes and only the artillery passes by. And artillery ... Oh well....
+You would hardly believe how different all that is. And now Serge has
+taken her up and is trying to make something out of her. My goodness,
+it can't be done, or at least not all of a sudden; good work takes
+time. But here are some strawberries still. How nice! Come, little one,
+let us pick some (if it were not for this accursed stooping), and if we
+find a real big one we will take it back with us. I will put it in his
+mouth and he will be pleased. For I want to tell you that he is just
+like a child and he is just the very best man."
+
+Lena, who saw that Balafré was referred to, asked a question or two,
+and also asked once more why the men had those peculiar names? She had
+already asked about it, but had never learned anything worth speaking
+of.
+
+"Good Lord," said the Queen, "there would have to be something like
+that and no one should take any notice; and any way it is all put on.
+For in the first place no one concerns himself about it, and even if
+anyone did, why, it is so all the same. And why not? What harm does it
+do? They have nothing to cast up at one another, and each one is just
+like the rest."
+
+Lena looked straight before her and kept silence.
+
+"And really, child, you will find it out for yourself, really all this
+is simply tiresome. For a while it goes well enough, and I have nothing
+to say against it, and I will not deny it myself. But time brings
+weariness. Ever since you are fifteen and not even confirmed. Truly,
+the sooner one gets out of all this the better. Then I shall buy me a
+distillery (for I get plenty of money), and I already know where; and
+then I shall marry a widower and I already know whom. And he is willing
+too. For I must tell you I like order and propriety and bringing up
+children decently, and whether they are his or mine, it is all the same
+to me.... And how is it really with you?"
+
+Lena did not say a word.
+
+"Heavens, child, you are changing color; perhaps something in here (she
+pointed to her heart) is involved and you are doing everything for the
+sake of love? Ah, child, that is bad, then there is sure to be some
+sudden smash."
+
+Johanna followed with Margot. They purposely kept at some little
+distance and plucked twigs of birch, as if they meant to make a wreath
+of them. "How do you like her?" said Margot. "I mean Gaston's ..."
+
+"Like her? Not at all. The very idea that such girls should take a hand
+in the game and come to be the fashion! Just see how her gloves fit.
+And her hat doesn't amount to much. He ought not to let her go like
+that. And she must be stupid too, for she has not a word to say."
+
+"No," said Margot, "she isn't stupid; it is only that she has not
+struck her gait yet. And it is rather clever in her to make up to our
+stout friend so promptly."
+
+"Oh, our stout friend. Get out with her. She thinks she is the whole
+show. But she is nothing at all. I don't believe in backbiting, but she
+is false, false as the wood of the gallows."
+
+"No, Johanna, she is not really false. And she has pulled you out of a
+hole more than once. You know what I mean."
+
+"Good gracious, _why_ did she do it? Because she was stuck in the same
+hole herself, and because she always gives herself airs and thinks she
+is so important. Anyone as stout as that is never good."
+
+"Lord, Johanna, how you do talk. It is just the other way around, stout
+people are always good."
+
+"Well, have it your own way. But you cannot deny that she is a comical
+figure to look at. Just see how she waddles; like a fat duck. And
+always buttoned up to her chin because otherwise she would not look fit
+to be seen among decent people. And, Margot, I will not give way on
+that point, a slender figure is really the principal thing. We are not
+Turks, you know. And why wouldn't she go with us to the churchyard?
+Because she is afraid. Heaven forbid, she isn't thinking of any such
+thing, it's because she's buttoned up so tight and she can't stand the
+heat. And yet it isn't really so terribly hot to-day."
+
+
+So the conversations went, until the two couples came together again
+and seated themselves on a moss-grown bank.
+
+Isabeau kept looking at her watch; it seemed as if the hands would
+never move.
+
+But when it was half past eleven, she said: "Now, my friends, it is
+time; I think we have had enough of nature and may quite properly pass
+on to something else. We have never had a bite to eat since early this
+morning at about seven. For those ham sandwiches at Grunauer do not
+count.... But the Lord be praised, self-denial brings its own reward,
+as Balafré says, and hunger is the best cook. Come, ladies, the saddle
+of venison is beginning to be more important than anything else. Don't
+you think so, Johanna?"
+
+The latter shrugged her shoulders, and sought to turn aside the
+suspicion that any such things as venison and punch could ever matter
+to her.
+
+But Isabeau laughed. "Well, we shall see, Johanna. Of course the
+Zeuthner churchyard would have been more enjoyable. But one must take
+what one can get."
+
+And hereupon they all started to return from the woods through the
+garden, where a pair of yellow butterflies were fluttering together,
+and from the garden to the front of the house where they were to take
+luncheon.
+
+As they were passing the dining-room Isabeau saw the host busily
+repairing the damage where a bottle of Moselle had been spilt.
+
+"What a pity," said she, "that I had to see just that. Fate really
+might have afforded me a more pleasing sight. And why must it be
+Moselle?"
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+In spite of all Isabeau's efforts no genuine cheerfulness would return
+to the group since the walk. But the worst of it was, at least for
+Botho and Lena, that they could not regain any real cheerfulness even
+after they had bidden good-bye to Botho's comrades and their ladies,
+and were beginning their homeward journey quite alone in a coupe that
+they had engaged. An hour later they had arrived, somewhat depressed,
+at the dimly lighted depot at Görlitz, and here, as they were getting
+out, Lena had at once asked quite urgently to be allowed to go the rest
+of the way through the city alone. "She was tired and out of sorts,"
+she said, "and that was not good." But Botho would not be turned aside
+from what he considered to be his duty as an escort, and so the two
+together had traversed in a rickety old cab the long, long road by the
+canal, constantly trying to keep up a conversation about the excursion,
+and "how lovely it had been"--a terribly forced conversation, which had
+made Botho feel only too plainly how right Lena's feeling had been,
+when in an almost imploring tone she had begged him not to escort her
+further. Yes, the excursion to "Hankel's Ablage" from which they had
+expected so much, and which had actually begun so charmingly and
+happily, had ended only in a mingling of ill humor, weariness and
+discontent; and only at the last moment, when Botho, with a certain
+feeling of being to blame, had bidden Lena a friendly and affectionate
+"good night," did she run to him, take his hand and kiss him with
+almost passionate impetuosity: "Ah, Botho, things were not as they
+should have been to-day, and yet no one was to blame ... not even the
+others."
+
+"Never mind, Lena."
+
+"No, no. It was nobody's fault, that is the truth, and it cannot be
+altered. But the worst of it is, that it is true. If anyone is to
+blame, he can ask pardon and so make all good again. But that is no
+help to us. And then too, there is nothing to forgive."
+
+"Lena ..."
+
+I "You must listen for a moment. Oh, my dearest Botho, you are trying
+to hide it from me, but the end is coming. And quickly too, I know it."
+
+"How can you say so!"
+
+"To be sure, I only dreamed it," Lena went on. "But why did I dream it?
+Because all day long it had been in my mind. My dream was only what my
+heart told me. And what I wanted to tell you, Botho, and the reason why
+I ran after you a few steps was, that what I said last night holds
+good. That I could pass this summer with you was a joy to me, and
+always will be, even if I must be unhappy from this day forth."
+
+"Lena, Lena, do not say that ..."
+
+"You feel yourself that I am right; only your kind heart struggles
+against it and will not admit the truth. But I know it: yesterday, as
+we were walking across the meadow, chattering together, and I picked
+you the bunch of flowers, it was our last joy and our last beautiful
+hour."
+
+
+With this interview the day had ended, and now it was the following
+morning, and the summer sunshine was streaming brightly into Botho's
+room. Both windows stood open and the sparrows were quarreling
+in the chestnut tree outside. Botho himself was leaning back in a
+rocking-chair, smoking a meerschaum pipe and striking with his
+handkerchief now and then at a big blue-bottle fly that came in at one
+window as fast as he went out of the other, to buzz persistently around
+Botho.
+
+"If I could only get rid of the creature. I should enjoy tormenting it.
+These big flies are always bearers of bad news, and then they are as
+spitefully persistent as if they took pleasure in the trouble that they
+announce." And he struck at the fly once more. "Gone again. It is no
+use. Resignation then is the only help. On the whole, submission is the
+best. The Turks are the cleverest people."
+
+While Botho was thus soliloquising, the shutting of the little wicket
+gate led him to look into the garden, where he saw the letter carrier
+who had just entered and with a slight military salute and a "Good
+morning, Herr Baron" first handed him a paper and then a letter through
+the low window. Botho threw the paper aside, and looked at the letter,
+on which he easily recognised his mother's small, close, but still very
+legible handwriting. "I thought as much ... I know already, before I
+have read it. Poor Lena."
+
+And he opened the letter and read:
+
+
+                            "Schloss Zehden, June 29, 1875."
+
+"My dear Botho:
+
+"The apprehension of which I told you in my last letter, has now proved
+well founded: Rothmüller in Arnswalde has demanded his money on October
+1 and only added 'Because of our old friendship' that he would wait
+until New Year, if it would cause me any embarrassment. 'For he knew
+very well what he owed to the memory of the departed Baron.' The
+addition of this expression, however well it may have been meant, was
+doubly humiliating to me; it showed such a mingling of pretentious
+consideration, which never makes a pleasing impression, least of all
+from such a source. You can perhaps understand the care and discomfort
+that this letter gave me. Uncle Kurt Anton would help me, as he has
+already done on former occasions. He loves me, and you best of all, but
+always to claim his benevolence again, is somewhat oppressive and all
+the more so because he lays the blame for our continual difficulties on
+our whole family, but especially on us two. In spite of my honest
+efforts at good management, I am not thrifty and economical enough for
+him, in which opinion he may be right, and you are not practical and
+sensible enough for him, in which opinion also he may be quite correct.
+Well, Botho, that is how things stand. My brother is a man of very fine
+feeling in regard to justice and reason, and of a perfectly remarkable
+generosity in money matters, which cannot be said of many of our
+nobility. For our good Mark of Brandenburg is a province characterized
+by economy and even, when help is needed, by nervous anxiety. But
+however kind my brother is, he has his moods and his obstinacy, and
+finding himself continually crossed in his wishes has for some time
+past put him seriously out of humor. He told me, the last time I took
+occasion to mention the demand for the payment of our debt which was
+then threatening again: 'I am very glad to be of service, sister, as
+you know, but I frankly confess that to be constantly obliged to help,
+when one could help oneself at any minute, if only one had a little
+more foresight and a little less self-will, makes great claims on the
+side of my character which was never the strongest: I mean on my
+indulgence....' You know, Botho, to what these words of his referred,
+and I ask you to take them to heart to-day, just as your Uncle Kurt
+Anton wished me to take them to heart then. There is nothing which
+causes you more cold shivers, as I conclude from your own words and
+letters, than sentimentality, and yet I fear that you are yourself more
+deeply involved in something of the kind than you are willing to
+confess, perhaps than you know yourself. I will say no more."
+
+
+Rienäcker laid down the letter and walked up and down the room, while
+he half mechanically exchanged the meerschaum for a cigarette. Then he
+picked up the letter again and read on:
+
+
+"Yes, Botho, you have the future of all of us in your hands, and it is
+for you to decide whether this feeling of constant dependence shall
+continue or cease. You have our future in your hands, I say, but I must
+indeed add, only for a short time yet, in any case not very much
+longer. Uncle Kurt Anton spoke with me about this also, especially in
+connection with Katherine's Mamma, Frau Sellenthin, who, when he was
+last in Rothenmoor, expressed herself not only very decidedly but
+with some access of irritation, as to this matter which interested
+her so keenly. Did the Rienäcker family perhaps believe that an
+ever-diminishing property increased constantly in value, after the
+manner of the Sibylline books? (Where she got the comparison, I do not
+know.) Katherine would soon be twenty-two, had had enough social
+experience to form her manners, and with the addition of an inheritance
+from her Aunt Kielmannsegge would control a property whose income would
+not fall far behind that of the Rienäckers' forest land and the eel
+pond together. It was not fitting to keep such young girls waiting,
+especially with such coolness and placidity. If Herr von Rienäcker
+chose to drop all that had formerly been planned and discussed by the
+family and to regard agreements that had been made as mere child's
+play, she had nothing to say against it. Herr von Rienäcker would be
+free from the moment when he wished to be free. But if, on the
+contrary, he did not intend to make use of this unconditional freedom
+to withdraw, it was time to make his intentions known. She did not wish
+her daughter to be talked about.
+
+"You will not find it difficult to see from the tone of these words,
+that it is absolutely necessary to come to a decision and to act. You
+know what my wishes are. But my wishes ought not to bind you. Act as
+your own intelligence dictates, decide one way or the other, only act.
+A withdrawal is more honorable than further procrastination. If you
+delay longer, we shall lose not only the bride, but the whole
+Sellenthin house as well, and what is worst of all, the friendly and
+helpful disposition of your Uncle also. My thoughts are with you, and I
+wish that they might guide you. I repeat, this is the way to happiness
+for you and for us all. And now I remain, your loving Mother,
+
+                                          "Josephine von R."
+
+
+When he had read the letter, Botho was much excited. It was just as the
+letter said, and further delay was no longer possible. The Rienäcker
+property was not in good condition and there were embarrassments which
+he did not feel the power to clear away through his own energy and
+ability. "Who am I? An average man from the so-called upper circle of
+society. And what can I do? I can ride and train a horse, carve a capon
+and play cards. That is all and therefore I have the choice between a
+trick rider, and a head butler and a croupier. At the most I might add
+a soldier, if I am willing to join a foreign legion. And then Lena
+could go with me as daughter of the regiment. I can see her now with a
+short skirt and high-heeled shoes and a knapsack on her back."
+
+He went on speaking in this tone, and actually enjoyed saying bitter
+things to himself. Finally, however, he rang and ordered his horse,
+because he meant to go riding. And it was not long before his beautiful
+chestnut, a present from his uncle and the envy of his comrades, was
+waiting outside. He sprang into the saddle, gave the stable boy some
+orders and rode to the Moabiter Bridge, after crossing which, he
+turned into a broad road that led over fens and fields to the Jungfern
+Haide. Here he let his horse change from a trot to a walk, and while
+he had thus far pursued all sorts of dim thoughts, he now began to
+cross-examine himself more sharply every moment. "What is it then that
+hinders me from taking the step that everyone expects of me? Do I mean
+to marry Lena? No. Have I promised her that I would? No. Does she
+expect it? No. Or would the parting be any easier if I should postpone
+it? No. Still no, again and again. And yet I delay and hesitate to do
+the one thing which positively must be done. And why do I delay? What
+is the cause of this vacillating and postponing? Foolish question.
+Because I love her."
+
+His soliloquy was here interrupted by the sound of gun shots from the
+Tegler shooting range, and only when he had once more quieted his
+restive horse did he take up again the thread of his thoughts and
+repeat: "Because I love her! Yes. And why should I be ashamed of this
+affection? Feeling reigns over all, and the fact that one loves also
+gives one the right to love, no matter how much the world may shake its
+head or talk about riddles. For that matter it is no riddle, and even
+if it were I can solve it. Every man according to his own nature is
+dependent upon certain little things, sometimes very, very little
+things, which in spite of being so small, mean life for him or the best
+there is in life. And for me the best there is in life is simplicity,
+truth, naturalness. Lena has all this, that is how she won me, and
+there lies the magic from which it now seems so difficult to free
+myself."
+
+Just now his horse shied and he saw a hare that had been driven out of
+a strip of meadow land, and was darting right in front of him towards
+the Jungfern Haide. He watched the creature curiously and only resumed
+his reflections when the fugitive had disappeared among the trunks of
+the trees. "And was what I wanted," he went on, "anything so foolish
+and impossible? No. It isn't in me to challenge the world and declare
+open war against its judgments; besides, I do not believe in such
+quixotism. All that I wanted was a still, secluded happiness, a
+happiness which I expected would sooner or later win the approval of
+society, because I should have spared it the shock of defiance. Such
+was my dream, such were my hopes and my thoughts. And now shall I
+abandon this happiness and exchange it for another that is no happiness
+to me? I am wholly indifferent to a _salon_, and I feel a repulsion for
+all that is untrue, high-flown, dressed up or disguised. _Chic_,
+_tournure_, _savoir faire_--are all just as ugly to me as their foreign
+names."
+
+At this point in Botho's reflections, the horse, whose reins had been
+lying loose for the past quarter of an hour, turned as if of its own
+accord into a side path, which led first to a bit of farm land and
+immediately behind this to a grass plot surrounded by undergrowth and a
+few oak trees. Here, in the shade of an old tree, stood a low, solid
+cross, and as he rode up to have a better look at the cross, he read:
+"Ludwig v. Hinckeldey, died March 10, 1856." What an impression this
+made upon him! He had known that the cross was somewhere in this
+region, but had never been exactly here before, and he now regarded it
+as a sign, that his horse left to his own devices had brought him to
+this very spot.
+
+Hinckeldey! It was now nearly twenty years since the death of this man,
+whose power was then almost absolute; and everything that had been said
+in his parents' house when the news came, now came back vividly to
+Botho's mind. And more clearly than anything else he remembered one
+story. One of the citizens, who was especially trusted in other ways as
+an adviser by his chief had warned and admonished him against duels in
+general, and especially against such a duel under such circumstances,
+as a folly and a crime. But his chief, suddenly taking his stand as a
+nobleman on this occasion, had answered brusquely and haughtily:
+"Nörner, you do not understand anything about such matters." And an
+hour later he was dead. And why? For the sake of a conception of what
+was required of a nobleman, for a whim of a class of society, which
+proved more powerful than reason, even more powerful than the law to
+uphold and protect, which was especially his duty. "Instructive." And
+what in particular have I to learn from this story? What does this
+monument preach to me? In any case, one thing, that our ancestry
+determines our deeds. He who obeys this principle may go to ruin, but
+he goes to ruin in a better way than he who disobeys it.
+
+While he was thinking thus, he turned his horse around and rode across
+the field towards a great factory, a rolling mill or a machine shop,
+from the many chimneys of which flames and smoke were rising. It was
+noon, and part of the workmen were sitting outside in the shade, eating
+their dinner. The women, who had brought them their food, stood near by
+chatting, several with babies in their arms, laughing amongst
+themselves whenever a playful or sarcastic remark was made. Rienäcker,
+who quite rightly believed that he appreciated naturalness, was
+delighted with this picture, and with a sort of envy he gazed at the
+group of happy people. "Work and daily bread and an orderly life. When
+our people from the Mark marry, they have nothing to say about love and
+passion, they merely say: 'I need to lead an orderly life.' And that is
+a fine trait in the life of our people and not at all prosaic. For
+order is a great thing, and sometimes it is worth everything. And now I
+must ask myself, has my life been 'orderly'? No. Order means marriage."
+In this strain he talked to himself for a while longer and then he saw
+Lena standing before him once more, but she did not look at him
+reproachfully or complainingly, but rather the reverse, as if she were
+in friendly agreement with him.
+
+"Yes, my dear Lena, you too believe in work and orderly living, and you
+will understand and not make it hard for me ... but it is hard all the
+same ... for you and for me."
+
+He put his horse to the trot again and kept along by the Spree for a
+little while more. Then, however, he turned aside into a bridle path,
+which led past the tents which lay in the noonday silence, then past
+the Wrangel Spring and soon afterwards to his own door.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XV
+
+
+Botho wanted to go to Lena at once, and when he felt that he had not
+strength enough for that, he wanted at least to write. But even that
+was too much for him. "I cannot do it, not to-day." And so he let the
+day go by and waited until the next morning. Then he wrote very
+briefly.
+
+
+"Dear Lena:
+
+"Things are turning out, just as you told me the day before yesterday.
+We must part. And we must part forever. I have had letters from home
+which compel me; it must be, and since it must be, let it be
+quickly.... Ah, I wish these days lay behind us. I will say no more,
+not even how my heart aches.... It was a beautiful time, though so
+brief, and I shall never forget anything that has been. Towards nine I
+shall come to you, not earlier, for it must not last long. Auf
+Wiedersehen! only this once more, auf Wiedersehen!    Your own,
+
+                                                  "B. v. R."
+
+
+And so he came. Lena was standing at the gate and received him as
+usual; not the slightest trace of reproach or even of painful
+renunciation was to be seen in her face. She took his arm and so they
+walked along the front garden path.
+
+"It is right that you have come ... I am happy because you are here.
+And you must be happy too."
+
+With these words they reached the house, and Botho started to go into
+the large front room as usual. But Lena led him further along and said:
+"No. Frau Dörr is in there."
+
+"And is she still angry with us?"
+
+"Oh, no. I comforted her. But what do we want with her to-day? Come, it
+is such a beautiful evening and we want to be alone."
+
+Botho agreed, and so they went along the passage and across the yard to
+the garden. Sultan did not stir and only blinked at the two, as they
+followed the long middle path and then went over to the bench that
+stood between the raspberry bushes.
+
+They sat down on the bench. It was very still, only they could hear a
+chirping from the fields beyond and the moon was high above them.
+
+She leaned against him and said quietly and affectionately: "And so
+this is the last time that I shall hold your hand in mine?"
+
+"Yes, Lena. Can you forgive me?"
+
+"How can you always ask that? What have I to forgive?"
+
+"That I make your heart ache."
+
+"Yes, it aches. That is true."
+
+And she was silent again and looked up at the dim stars that were
+appearing in the sky.
+
+"What are you thinking of, Lena?"
+
+"How beautiful it would be if I were up there."
+
+"Do not speak so. You ought not to wish your life to be over; it is
+only a step from such a wish ..."
+
+She smiled. "No, not that. I am not like the girl who ran and threw
+herself into the well, because her sweetheart danced with some one
+else. Do you remember when you told me about that?"
+
+"But what do you mean then? It does not seem like you to say such a
+thing, just for the sake of talking."
+
+"No, I meant it seriously. And really" (she pointed up to the sky), "I
+should be glad to be there. Then I should be at peace. But I can
+wait.... And now come, let us walk out in the fields. I brought no wrap
+and I find it cold sitting still."
+
+And so they followed the same path through the fields that had led them
+the other time as far as the first houses of Wilmersdorf. The tower was
+plainly visible under the bright starry sky while a thin mist was
+drifting over the meadow land.
+
+"Do you remember," said Botho, "how we took this same walk with Frau
+Dörr?"
+
+She nodded. "That is why I proposed to come here; I was not chilly, or
+scarcely at all. Ah, that was such a beautiful day and I have never
+been so gay and happy, either before or afterwards. Even now my heart
+laughs, when I think how we walked along singing, 'Do you remember.'
+Yes, memory means so much--it means everything. And I have that and I
+can keep it and nothing can ever, take it away from me. And I can feel
+plainly how it will lighten my heart."
+
+He embraced her. "You are so good."
+
+But Lena went on quietly: "And I will not let it pass without telling
+you all about it, how it is that my heart is so light. Really it is
+just the same thing that I told you before, the day before yesterday,
+when we were in the country on our half-spoiled excursion, and
+afterwards when we were saying good-bye. I always saw this coming, even
+from the beginning, and nothing has happened but what had to happen. If
+one has had a beautiful dream, one should thank the Lord for it, and
+not lament that the dream ends and reality begins again. It is hard
+now, but all will be forgotten or will seem pleasant again. And some
+day you will be happy again and perhaps I shall too."
+
+"Do you believe so? And if not? What then?"
+
+"Then we must live without happiness."
+
+"Ah, Lena, you say that as if happiness were nothing. But it is
+something, and that is what distresses me, and it seems to me as if I
+had done you an injustice."
+
+"I absolve you from that. You have done me no injustice, you did not
+lead me astray and you made me no promise. Everything was my own free
+choice. I loved you with all my heart. That was my fate, and if it was
+a sin, then it was my sin, and more than that, a sin in which I rejoice
+with all my heart, as I have told you again and again, because it was
+my joy. If I must pay for it, I will pay gladly. You have not injured,
+hurt, or damaged anything, unless perhaps what men call propriety and
+good morals. Shall I distress myself about that? No. Everything will
+come right again, and that too. And now come, let us turn back. See how
+the mist is rising; I think Frau Dörr must have gone home by this time
+and we shall find my good old mother alone. She knows everything, and
+all day long she has only said the one same thing."
+
+"And that was?"
+
+"That all was for the best."
+
+Frau Nimptsch was alone, as Botho and Lena came in. The room was still
+and dusky and only the firelight flickered amongst the great shadows
+that lay across the room. The goldfinch was already asleep in his cage,
+and there was not a sound but now and then the hissing of the boiling
+water.
+
+"Good evening, Mutterchen," said Botho.
+
+The old woman returned his greeting and was going to rise from her
+footstool to draw up the big armchair. But Botho would not allow it and
+said: "No, Mutterchen, I will sit in my old place."
+
+And he pushed the wooden stool up to the fire.
+
+There was a short pause; but soon he began again: "I have come to-day
+to bid good-bye and to thank you for all the loving-kindness that I
+have enjoyed here so long. Yes, I thank you from my heart. I was so
+happy and always loved to be here. But now I must leave you, and now I
+can only say that perhaps it is better so."
+
+The old woman did not speak but nodded as if in agreement.
+
+"But I shall not be gone out of the world," Botho went on, "and I shall
+not forget you. And now give me your hand. That is right. And now
+good-night."
+
+Hereupon he rose quickly and walked to the door, while Lena clung to
+his arm. And so they walked as far as the garden gate, without another
+word being spoken. But then Lena said: "Quick now, Botho. My strength
+will not hold out any longer; these two days have really been too much.
+Farewell, my dearest, and may you be as happy as you deserve to be, and
+as happy as you have made me. Then you will be happy. And we will not
+talk about the rest, it is not worth while. There, there."
+
+And she kissed him again and again and then closed the gate. As he
+stood on the other side of the street, he seemed, when he saw Lena, as
+if he must turn back for one more word, for one more kiss. But she made
+an urgent gesture of refusal. And so he walked on down the street,
+while she, leaning on the gatepost, with her head supported on her arm,
+gazed after him with wide eyes.
+
+So she stood for a long time until his footsteps had died away in the
+silence of the night.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XVI
+
+
+The wedding had taken place about the middle of September on the
+Sellenthins' estate, Rothenmoor. Uncle Osten, who was usually no
+speaker, had offered his good wishes to the bridal pair in what was
+undoubtedly the longest toast of his life. And on the next day the
+following notice appeared among other family items in the
+"Kreuzzeitung": "Botho Freiherr von Rienäcker, First Lieutenant in the
+Imperial Regiment of Cuirassiers, and Katherine Freifrau von Rienäcker,
+née Sellenthin have the honor to announce their marriage which took
+place yesterday." Naturally the "Kreuzzeitung" was not the paper which
+usually found its way to the Dörrs' dwelling nor to the other house in
+their garden, but the very next morning there came a letter addressed
+to Fräulein Magdalena Nimptsch, containing nothing but a newspaper
+clipping containing the marriage notice. Lena was startled, but
+regained her self-control more quickly than the sender, apparently some
+envious acquaintance, might have anticipated. That the clipping came
+from such a source was easily seen from the addition of
+"Hochwohlgeboren" (well born). But his gratuitous freak of sarcasm,
+which was intended to double her pain, stood Lena in good stead and
+diminished the bitter feeling that the news would otherwise have caused
+her.
+
+
+Botho and Katherine von Rienäcker started for Dresden the very day of
+the wedding, after both had happily withstood the enticement of a tour
+of visits among the Neumark relatives. And actually they had no reason
+to repent their choice, certainly Botho had not, for every day he
+congratulated himself not only upon his stay in Dresden, but still more
+upon the possession of a young wife who seemed to know nothing of
+caprice or ill humor. She actually laughed all day long, and her nature
+was as bright and clear as her complexion. She was delighted with
+everything and saw the cheerful side of everything. At their hotel
+there was a waiter with a forelock that looked like the crest of a
+breaking wave, and this waiter with his coiffure was a source of
+constant amusement to her, so much so, that although she was not
+usually very witty, she simply outdid herself in images and
+comparisons. Botho also was amused and laughed heartily, until suddenly
+a shade of doubt and even of discomfort began to mingle with his
+laughter. That is, he began to notice that whatever happened or came in
+sight, she took notice only of the trivial and the comical side of it.
+And at the close of a pleasant fortnight spent in Dresden, as the
+couple were beginning their homeward journey to Berlin, a short
+conversation fully enlightened him as to this side of his wife's
+character. They had a coupé to themselves and as they looked back from
+the bridge over the Elbe to take farewell of old Dresden and the tower
+of the Frauenkirche, Botho said, as he took her hand: "And now tell me,
+Katherine, what was really the most beautiful thing here in Dresden?"
+
+"Guess."
+
+"But that is difficult, for you have your own tastes, and I know you do
+not care for church music and Holbein's Madonnas...."
+
+"No. You are right there. And since my lord and master is so serious I
+will not keep him waiting and tormenting himself any longer. There were
+three things that I was delighted with: first, the confectioner's shop
+at the Old Market and the Scheffelgassen corner, with those wonderful
+pasties and liqueurs. Just to sit there...."
+
+"But, Katherine, one could not sit at all, one could scarcely stand,
+and it seemed as if one had to get every mouthful by force."
+
+"That was just it. That was the very reason, my dear. Whatever one must
+win by force ..."
+
+And she turned away roguishly pretending to pout, until he kissed her
+ardently.
+
+"I see," she laughed, "that you really agree with me and as a reward I
+will tell you the second and third too. The second thing was the summer
+theater in the suburbs, where we saw 'Monsieur Hercules' and Knaak
+drummed the Tannhäuser March on a rickety old whist table, I never saw
+anything so comical in all my life, and I don't believe you ever did
+either. It was really too funny.... And the third ... was 'Bacchus
+Riding on the He-goat' in the Art Museum and the 'Dog Scratching
+Himself' by Peter Vischer."
+
+"I thought it was something like that; and when Uncle Osten hears about
+it he will think you are quite right and he will be fonder of you than
+ever and will say still oftener than before, 'I tell you, Botho,
+Katherine ...'"
+
+"And isn't he right?"
+
+"Why surely he is."
+
+And with these words their conversation ceased for some minutes,
+leaving in Botho's mind, however tenderly he gazed upon his young
+bride, a somewhat painful impression. The young woman herself had
+meanwhile no suspicion of what was taking place in her husband's mind,
+and only said: "I am tired, Botho. So many pictures. It comes over me
+afterwards.... But [the train was just stopping] what is the noise and
+excitement outside?"
+
+"That is some Dresden pleasure resort, Kötchenbroda, I think."
+
+"Kötchenbroda? How comical."
+
+And as the train went on again, she stretched herself out and
+apparently closed her eyes. But she was not asleep and was watching her
+dear husband between her eyelashes.
+
+
+On the Landgrafenstrasse, which still had houses on one side only,
+Katherine's mother had in the meantime arranged the home for the young
+couple, who were much pleased with the comfort that they found awaiting
+them when they arrived in Berlin at the beginning of October. Fire was
+burning in the fireplaces of the two front rooms, but the doors and
+windows stood open, for the autumn air was mild and the fire was only
+for the sake of cheerfulness and for ventilation. But the most
+attractive thing was the large balcony with its low-hanging awning,
+under which one could look straight out over the open country, first
+over the birch woods and the Zoological Garden and beyond that as far
+as the northern point of the Grünewald.
+
+Katherine clapped her hands for joy over this beautiful wide view,
+embraced her mother, kissed Botho and then suddenly pointed to the
+left, where between scattered poplars and willows a shingled tower
+could be seen. "See, Botho, how comical. It looks as if it had been
+notched three times. And the village near by. What is it called?"
+
+"Wilmersdorf, I believe," stammered Botho.
+
+"Very well, Wilmersdorf. But what do you mean by 'I believe'? You
+surely must know the names of the villages hereabouts. Only look,
+mamma, doesn't he look as if he had been betraying a state secret?
+Nothing is more comical than these men."
+
+And then they left the balcony, and went into the room near it to take
+their first luncheon _en famille_: only Katherine's mother, the young
+couple and Serge, who had been invited as the only guest.
+
+
+Rienäcker's house was scarcely a thousand steps from that of Frau
+Nimptsch. But Lena did not know that and often passed through the
+Landgrafenstrasse, which she would have avoided if she had had the
+slightest suspicion that Botho lived so near.
+
+Yet it could not long remain a secret to her.
+
+The third week in October was beginning, but it was still like summer
+and the sun shone so warm, that one could scarcely notice the slight
+sharpness in the air.
+
+"I must go into town to-day, mother," said Lena. "I have a letter from
+Goldstein. He wants to speak to me about a pattern that is to be
+embroidered on the Princess Waldeck's linen. And while I am in town, I
+shall also go to see Frau Demuth in old Jakobstrasse. Otherwise one
+would never see a soul. But I shall be back at about noon. I shall tell
+Frau Dörr, so that she will keep an eye on you."
+
+"Never mind, Lena, never mind. I like best to be alone. And Frau Dörr
+talks so much and always about her husband. And I have my fire. And
+when the goldfinch chirps, that is company enough for me. But if you
+could bring me a bag of candy, I have so much trouble with my throat
+tickling and malt candy is so loosening ..."
+
+"Very well, mother."
+
+And then Lena left the quiet little house and walked first along the
+Kurfürsten Strasse and then the Potsdamer Strasse, to the Spittelmarkt,
+where the Goldstein Brothers' place of business was. All went well and
+it was nearly noon. Lena was homeward bound, and this time had chosen
+to pass through the Lützowstrasse instead of the Kurfürsten Strasse as
+before. The sun did her good and the bustle and stir on the Magdeburg
+Square, where the weekly market was being held and everything was being
+made ready for departure, pleased her so much that she paused to watch
+the cheerful activity. She was quite absorbed in this and was only
+aroused when the fire apparatus rushed by her with a great noise.
+
+Lena listened until the rumbling and ringing had vanished in the
+distance, but then she glanced to the left at the clock tower of the
+Church of the Twelve Apostles. "Just twelve," said she. "Now I shall
+have to hurry; she always grows uneasy if I come home later than she
+expects me." And so she went on down the Lützowstrasse to the square of
+the same name. But suddenly she paused and did not know which way to
+turn, for at a little distance she recognised Botho, who was coming
+directly towards her, with a pretty young lady leaning on his arm. The
+young lady was speaking with animation and apparently about droll or
+cheerful things, for Botho was laughing all the time, as he looked down
+at her. It was to this circumstance that she owed the fact that she had
+not been observed long before, and quickly deciding to avoid a meeting
+with him at any price, she turned to the right of the sidewalk and
+stepped up to the nearest large show window, before which there was a
+square iron plate, probably used as a cover for the opening to a
+cellar. The window itself belonged to an ordinary grocery store, with
+the usual assortment of stearine candles and bottles of mixed pickles,
+in no way uncommon, but Lena stared at them as if she had never seen
+the like before. And truly it was time, for at this very moment the
+young couple passed close to her and not a word of the conversation
+between them escaped her.
+
+"Katherine, don't talk so loud," said Botho, "people will be staring at
+us."
+
+"Let them ..."
+
+"But they must think we are quarreling ..."
+
+"While we are laughing? Quarrelling and laughing at once?" And she
+laughed again.
+
+Lena felt the thin iron plate on which she stood tremble. A horizontal
+brass rod ran across in front of the show window to protect the large
+pane of glass and for a moment it seemed to Lena as if she must catch
+at this rod for help and support, but she managed to stand straight,
+and only when she could make sure that the pair were far enough away
+did she turn to walk homeward. She felt her way cautiously along close
+to the houses and got on well enough at first. But soon she felt as if
+she were going to faint, and when she reached the next side street that
+led toward the canal, she turned into it and stepped through an open
+gate into a garden. It was with difficulty that she dragged herself as
+far as a little flight of steps that led to a veranda and terrace, and
+sat down, nearly fainting, on one of the steps.
+
+As she came to herself, she saw that a half-grown girl, with a little
+spade in her hand with which she had been digging small beds, was
+standing near her and looking at her sympathetically, while from the
+veranda railing an old nurse regarded her with scarcely less curiosity.
+Apparently no one but the child and the old servant was at home, and
+Lena rose and thanked them both and walked back to the gate. But the
+half-grown girl looked after her with sad and wondering eyes, and it
+almost seemed as if some premonition of the sorrows of life had dawned
+upon her childish heart.
+
+Meanwhile Lena, having crossed the embankment, had reached the canal,
+and now walked along at the foot of the slope where she could be sure
+of meeting nobody. From the boats a Spitz dog barked now and then, and
+as it was noontime a thin smoke rose from the little stovepipes of the
+galleys. But she saw and heard nothing of what was going on, or at
+least had no clear consciousness of it, and only where beyond the
+Zoological Garden the houses by the canal came to an end and the great
+lock gate with the water rushing and foaming over it came in sight, did
+she stand still and struggle for breath. "Ah, if I could only cry." And
+she pressed her hand to her heart.
+
+
+At home she found her mother in her accustomed place and sat down
+opposite her, without a word or a glance being exchanged between them.
+But suddenly the old woman, who had been looking all the time in the
+same direction, glanced up from the fire and was startled at the change
+in Lena's face.
+
+"Lena, child, what is wrong with you? How you do look, Lena?" And
+although she was usually slow in her movements, she jumped up in a
+moment from her bench and got the jug, to sprinkle water on Lena, who
+still sat as if she were half dead. But the jug was empty and so she
+hobbled into the passageway and from there into the yard and the
+garden, to call good Frau Dörr, who was cutting wallflowers and
+honeysuckle for bouquets for the market. Her old husband stood near her
+and was just saying: "Don't use up too much string again."
+
+When Frau Dörr, heard from some little distance the distressed cry of
+the old woman, she turned pale and called back "I am coming, Mother
+Nimptsch, I am coming," and throwing down whatever she had in her
+hands, she ran at once to the little house, saying to herself that
+something must be wrong there.
+
+"Yes, just as I thought ... Lena." And she vigorously shook the young
+girl, who still sat lifeless as before, while the old woman slowly
+shuffled in from the passageway.
+
+"We must put her to bed," said Frau Dörr, and Frau Nimptsch started to
+take hold with her. But that was not what the stronger woman meant by
+"we". "I can manage alone, Mother Nimptsch," and taking Lena in her
+arms, she carried her into the next room and covered her over.
+
+"There, Mother Nimptsch. Now a hot cover. I know what is the trouble,
+it comes from the blood. First a cover and then a hot brick to the
+soles of her feet; but put it right under the instep, that is where the
+life is.... But what brought it on? It must have been some shock."
+
+"I don't know. She didn't say anything. But I think that perhaps she
+saw him."
+
+"That is so. That's it. I know about that.... But now shut the window
+and draw down the blinds.... Some people believe in camphor and
+Hoffmann's drops, but camphor is so weakening and is really only fit
+for moths. No, dear Frau Nimptsch, nature must help itself, and
+especially when one is so young, and so I believe in sweating. But
+thoroughly. And what makes all the trouble? The men. And yet we need
+them and must have them.... There, her color is coming back."
+
+"Hadn't we better send for a doctor?"
+
+"Heaven forbid! They are all out going their rounds now and before one
+of them would get here she might die and come to life again three times
+over."
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XVII
+
+
+Two and a half years had passed since this meeting, during which time
+many things had changed in our circle of friends and acquaintances, but
+not among those of the Landgrafenstrasse.
+
+The same good humor continued there, the gayety of the honeymoon still
+remained, and Katherine continued to laugh as of old. What might
+perhaps have troubled other young women, that they had no children, did
+not disturb Katherine for a moment. She enjoyed life so much and found
+such complete satisfaction in dressing and small-talk, in riding and
+driving, that she shrank from any change in her way of life rather than
+desired it. The feeling for family life, to say nothing of any real
+longing for it, had not yet awakened in her and when her mother made
+some remark in a letter about such matters, Katherine answered somewhat
+heretically: "Don't trouble yourself, mamma. Botho's brother has just
+become engaged, and in six months he will be married and I shall gladly
+leave to my future sister-in-law the care of providing for the
+continuance of the house of Rienäcker."
+
+Botho did not take exactly this view, but even his happiness was not
+seriously disturbed by the lack of children, and if from time to time
+he had a discontented mood, it was chiefly because, as he had already
+found out on his wedding journey to Dresden, he could perhaps talk
+somewhat reasonably with Katherine, but any really serious speech with
+her was wholly out of the question. She was talkative and sometimes
+even had bright ideas, but the best things she ever said were but
+superficial and trivial, as if she were unable to distinguish between
+important and unimportant things. And what was the worst of all, she
+considered all this as a merit, and plumed herself on it, and never
+thought of correcting the habit. "But, Katherine, Katherine," Botho
+would exclaim sometimes, and the tone of his voice would show some
+displeasure, but her happy nature could always disarm him again, so
+completely, indeed, that his own expectations seemed almost pedantic to
+him.
+
+Lena with her simplicity, genuineness, and directness of speech often
+recurred to his mind, but vanished again as quickly; and only when
+chance recalled some special incident very vividly did her image come
+to him with greater distinctness, and perhaps a stronger feeling with
+which some embarrassment was mingled.
+
+Such an incident happened during the first summer, when the young
+couple, who had returned from dining with Count Alten, were sitting on
+the balcony taking tea. Katherine was leaning back in her chair
+listening to a newspaper article which was profusely interspersed with
+figures, and dealt with the subject of minister's salaries and surplice
+fees. She actually understood very little of the subject, and all the
+less because the many figures troubled her, but she listened rather
+attentively, because all the young girls of her province spend half
+their youth "with the minister" and so they retain a certain sympathy
+with the affairs of the parsonage. This was the case to-day. Finally
+evening came on and just as it was growing dark the concert at the
+Zoological Garden began and the tones of a ravishing Strauss Waltz
+reached them.
+
+"Only listen, Botho," said Katherine, rising, while she added eagerly:
+"Come, let us dance." And without waiting for his consent, she pulled
+him up out of his chair and waltzed with him into the large room from
+which the balcony opened and then two or three times around the room.
+Then she kissed him, and while she clung to him caressingly she said:
+"Do you know, Botho, I never danced so wonderfully before, not even at
+my first ball, that I went to while I was still at Frau Zülow's and had
+not yet been confirmed, if I must confess it. Uncle Osten took me on
+his own responsibility and mamma knows nothing about it to this very
+day. But even then it was not so lovely as to-day. And yet forbidden
+fruit is the sweetest. Isn't it? But you are not saying anything,
+Botho, you seem embarrassed. See, now I have caught you again."
+
+He attempted to say something or other, but she did not give him a
+chance to speak. "I really believe, Botho, my sister Ina has taken your
+fancy and it is of no use your trying to comfort me by saying that she
+is only a little half-grown girl or not much more. Those are always the
+most dangerous. Don't you think so? Now I am not going to take any
+notice and I do not grudge it to you or to her. But I am very jealous
+about old affairs of long ago, far, far more jealous than of things
+that may happen now."
+
+"How curious," said Botho, and tried to laugh.
+
+"And yet after all it is not so curious as it may look," Katherine went
+on. "Don't you see, affairs that are going on now one has almost under
+one's eyes; and it must be a hard case and an arch deceiver, if one
+should notice nothing and so be completely betrayed. But there is no
+control possible over old stories; there might be a thousand and three,
+and one might hardly know it."
+
+"And what one does not know ..."
+
+"May make one's anger grow. But let us drop all this and read me
+something more from the paper. I was reminded constantly of our
+Kluckhuhns. And the good wife can't understand it, and the oldest boy
+is just going to the University."
+
+
+Such incidents happened more and more frequently and led Botho to
+recall old times as well as Lena's image; but he never saw her, which
+surprised him, because he knew that they were almost neighbors.
+
+This surprised him and yet it would have been easily explained had he
+promptly ascertained that Frau Nimptsch and Lena were no longer living
+at the old place. And yet this was the case. From the day when she had
+met the young couple on the Lützowstrasse, Lena had told her old mother
+that she could no longer stay in the Dörr's house. And when Mother
+Nimptsch, who used never to contradict her, shook her head and
+whimpered and continually pointed to the fireplace, Lena said: "Mother,
+you know me. I will never rob you of your open fire; you shall have
+everything again that you have had; I have saved up money enough for
+it, and even if I had not, I would work until I had got it together.
+But we must get away from here. Every day I should have to pass that
+way, and I could never stand it, mother. I do not grudge him his
+happiness, and what is more, I am glad that he has it. God is my
+witness, for he was a dear, good man and lived only for my sake; no
+pride, no stinginess. And I will say it right out, for all that I
+cannot bear fine gentlemen, he is a real nobleman, and his heart is in
+the right place. Yes, my dear Botho, you must be happy, as happy as you
+deserve to be. But I cannot bear to see it, mother, I must get away
+from here, for I cannot take ten steps without imagining that he is
+right there before me. And that keeps me all in a tremble. No, no, it
+will never do. But you shall have your fireplace. I am your Lena, and I
+promise you that."
+
+After this talk there was no more opposition on the part of old Frau
+Nimptsch and even Frau Dörr said: "Of course, you will have to go. And
+it serves that old miser, Dörr, right. He is always grumbling at me
+that you are getting the place too cheap and that what you pay would
+never cover rent and repairs. Now let him see how he likes it when he
+has the whole place standing empty. For that is how it will be. For who
+is going to move into such a doll's house, where every cat can peek in
+at the window and there is no gas nor running water. Well, it is plain;
+you can give a quarter's notice and at Easter you can leave, and it
+will do him no good to make a fuss. And I am really glad of it; yes,
+Lena, I am so glad. But then I have to pay for my bit of malice too,
+For when you are gone, child, and good Frau Nimptsch with her fire and
+her teakettle that is always boiling, what shall I have left, Lena?
+Only him and Sultan and the poor foolish boy, who keeps growing more
+foolish. And nobody else in the world. And when it grows cold and the
+snow falls, it is enough to drive one crazy, simply sitting still and
+all alone."
+
+Such were the early discussions, since Lena held fast to her plan of
+moving, and at Easter time, a furniture wagon drew up before the door
+to carry away her household possessions. Old Dörr had behaved
+surprisingly well at the last and after a formal farewell Frau Nimptsch
+was bundled into a Droschke with her squirrel and her goldfinch and
+carried to the Luise Bank, where Lena had hired a charming little flat,
+three flights up, and had not only gotten a little new furniture, but
+had remembered her promise, and had arranged to have a pleasant open
+fireplace built on to the big stove in the front room. The landlord had
+at first made all sorts of difficulties, "because such an addition
+would ruin the stove." But Lena had persevered and had given her
+reasons, which made such an impression on the landlord, an old
+master-carpenter who was pleased with such ideas, that at last he was
+disposed to yield.
+
+The two now lived in much the same way that they had formerly done in
+the house in the Dörr's garden, only with this difference, that they
+were now three flights up and that they looked out upon the beautiful
+tower of Michael's church instead of the fantastic tower of the
+elephants' house. Indeed, the view that they enjoyed was delightful,
+and so free and fine that it even influenced the habits of old Frau
+Nimptsch and induced her not to sit all the time on the bench by the
+fire, but when the sun was shining, to sit by the open window, where
+Lena had managed to have a little platform placed. All this did old
+Frau Nimptsch a great deal of good and even improved her health, so
+that since her change of abode, she suffered much less pain than in the
+Dörr's little house, which, however poetically it was situated, was not
+much better than a cellar.
+
+For the rest, never a week passed without Frau Dörr's coming all the
+long distance from the Zoological Garden to the Luise Bank, simply "to
+see how everything was going on." During these visits she talked, after
+the manner of Berlin wives, exclusively about her husband, and always
+in a tone which implied that her marriage to him had been one of the
+most dreadful misalliances and really half inexplicable. In fact,
+however, she was extremely comfortable and contented, and was actually
+glad that Dörr had his peculiarities. For she reaped only advantages
+from them, first, to grow richer all the time, and second (an advantage
+which she valued quite as highly) without any danger of change or loss
+of property she could continually hold herself superior to the old
+miser and reproach him for his niggardly ways. So Dörr was the
+principal theme of these conversations and Lena, unless she was at
+Goldstein's or somewhere else in town, always laughed heartily with the
+others, all the more so because she, as well as Frau Nimptsch, had
+visibly improved in health since they had moved. The moving in, buying
+and placing of house furnishings had, as one may imagine, led her away
+from her own thoughts from the beginning and what was still more
+helpful and important for her health and the recovery of her spirits
+was that she no longer needed to fear a meeting with Botho. Who came
+away out to the Luise Bank? Certainly not Botho. All this combined to
+make her seem comparatively fresh and cheerful again, and only one
+outward sign remained of the struggles she had been through: in the
+midst of her long hair there was one white strand. Mother Nimptsch
+either did not notice this or did not think much about it, but Frau
+Dörr, who in her own way followed the fashions and was uncommonly proud
+of her own braid of hair, noticed the white lock at once and said:
+"Good Lord, Lena. And right on the left side. But naturally ... that is
+where the trouble is ... it would have to be on the left."
+
+It was soon after the moving that this conversation took place.
+Otherwise there was usually no mention either of Botho or of the old
+days, which was simply because whenever the gossip turned in this
+special direction, Lena always broke off the conversation quickly or
+even left the room. As this happened again and again, Frau Dörr
+remarked it and learned to keep silence about topics which proved
+unwelcome. So things went on for a year and then there appeared another
+reason that made it seem inadvisable to recall past incidents. A new
+neighbour had hired a room just on the other side of the wall from Frau
+Nimptsch, and while he seemed to wish to be on neighbourly terms from
+the beginning, he soon promised to become even more than a good
+neighbour. He would come in every evening and talk, so that it seemed
+like the old times when Dörr used to sit on his stool smoking his pipe,
+only that the new neighbour was very different in many ways. He was a
+correct and well educated man, with very proper although not exactly
+fine manners, and was also a good talker. When Lena was present, he
+would talk about all sorts of town affairs, such as schools, gas works,
+or canals, and sometimes also about his travels. If it happened that he
+found the old lady alone, he was not at all annoyed, but would play
+"everlasting" or checkers or would help her with a game of patience, in
+spite of the fact that he hated cards. For he was a Conventicler, and
+after he had taken some part with the Mennonites and later with the
+followers of Irving, he had still more recently founded a separate
+sect.
+
+As may be readily imagined, all this aroused Frau Dörr's curiosity to
+the highest pitch, and she was never weary of asking questions, and
+making allusions, but only when Lena was busy at some household task or
+had matters to attend to in town. "Tell me, dear Frau Nimptsch, just
+what is he, really? I have tried to hunt him up, but he is not in the
+book; Dörr never has any later one than year before last. His name is
+Franke?"
+
+"Yes. Franke."
+
+"Franke. There used to be one on the Ohmgasse, a master cooper, and he
+had only one eye; that is, the other eye was still there, but it was
+all white and looked just like a fish's bladder. And what do you
+suppose had happened to it? When he went to put on a hoop, it had
+sprung loose and the end had hit him in the eye. That is how it was.
+Could he have come from there?"
+
+"No, Frau Dörr, he is not from anywhere near here. He is from Bremen."
+
+"Well, well. Then of course it is quite natural."
+
+Frau Nimptsch nodded in assent, without seeking to be further
+enlightened as to this "naturalness," and went on talking herself: "And
+it only takes a fortnight to go from Bremen to America. And he has been
+there. And he was a tinman or a locksmith or a workman in a machine
+shop or something like that, but when he saw that he could not make it
+go, he became a doctor and went around with a lot of little bottles and
+he began to preach too. And because he preached so well, he got a
+position with the ... There now, I have forgotten it again. But they
+must have been very pious people and good proper people too."
+
+"Glory be to God!" said Frau Dörr. "Surely he was not.... Heavens, what
+is the name of those people that have so many wives, always six or
+seven and sometimes even more.... I don't know what they do with so
+many."
+
+This theme seemed made on purpose for Frau Dörr. But Frau Nimptsch
+reassured her friend: "No, dear Frau Dörr, it is quite different. At
+first I thought it was something like that, but he laughed and said:
+'The Lord forbid. Frau Nimptsch. I am a bachelor. And if I ever marry,
+I think one will be quite enough.'"
+
+"Oh, that takes a load off my heart," said Frau Dörr. "And what
+happened afterwards? I mean over in America."
+
+"Well, after that everything went well and it was not long till he had
+help enough. For religious people are always helping each other. And he
+found customers again and got back to his old trade. And that is what
+he works at now, and he is in a big factory here on the
+Köpnickerstrasse, where they make little tubes and burners and
+stopcocks and everything that is needed for gas. And he is the chief
+man, something like a foreman carpenter or foreman mason, and has
+perhaps a hundred under him. And he is a very respectable man and he
+wears a tall hat and black gloves. And he has a good salary too."
+
+"And Lena?"
+
+"Oh, Lena, she would take him all right. And why not? But she cannot
+hold her tongue, and if he comes and says anything to her, she is going
+to tell him everything, all the old stories, first the one with
+Kuhlwein (and that is so long ago that it is just as if it never had
+happened), and then all about the Baron. And Franke, you must know, is
+a refined and well-behaved man, and really a gentleman."
+
+"We must persuade her out of that. He does not need to know everything;
+why should he? We never know everything."
+
+"Yes, yes. But Lena ..."
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XVIII
+
+
+It was now June, 1878. Frau von Rienäcker and Frau von Sellenthin had
+spent the month of May on a visit with the young couple; and the mother
+and the mother-in-law had day by day convinced each other that
+Katherine looked paler and more bloodless and languid than she had ever
+been before, and needless to say they had incessantly urged that a
+specialist should be consulted, by whose advice, after a gynecological
+examination (which, by the way, proved very expensive), a four weeks'
+stay at the Schlangenbad health resort was pronounced indispensable and
+was accordingly decided upon. Schwalbach might be useful later.
+Katherine laughed and would not hear of any such thing, especially of
+Schlangenbad, "the name sounded so uncanny and she already seemed to
+feel a viper in her bosom," but finally she had yielded and had found
+in the preparations for the journey a far greater contentment than she
+expected from the cure itself. She went down town every day to make
+purchases, and was never tired of telling how she was only now
+beginning to understand "shopping" which was in such high favor among
+Englishwomen: to go from shop to shop and always to find beautiful
+goods and courteous people, was really a pleasure and instructive too,
+because one saw so much that one did not know before, perhaps not even
+by name. As a rule Botho took part in these little trips and
+excursions, and before the beginning of the last week in June, half of
+the Rienäckers' dwelling was turned into a little exhibition of
+traveller's conveniences: a brass-bound travelling trunk, which
+Botho, not without some show of justice, called the coffin of his
+property--this took the lead, then came two smaller ones of Russia
+leather, with satchels, rugs, and cushions, and the travelling wardrobe
+lay spread out over the sofa with a dust cloak over all and a pair of
+marvellous thick-soled laced boots, as if a trip to the glaciers were
+in question.
+
+June 24th, midsummer day was set for the beginning of the journey, but
+the day before Katherine wanted the intimate circle to be gathered
+around her once more, and so Wedell and young Osten, and naturally Pitt
+and Serge too, were invited for a comparatively early hour. Also
+Katherine's special favorite Balafré, who had as a "Halberstädter"
+taken part in the great cavalry attack at Mars-la-Tour, and who still
+deserved his nickname because of a great sabre cut across his brow and
+cheek, a souvenir of that battle.
+
+Katherine sat between Wedell and Balafré and did not look as if she
+were in need of the Schlangenbad or any other water cure in the world.
+She had color, laughed, asked a hundred questions and when the person
+of whom she had asked the question started to speak, she contented
+herself with a minimum in the way of reply. In fact she led the
+conversation, and no one was offended with her, because she was a past
+mistress in the art of pleasing small talk. Balafré asked how she
+pictured her life at the water cure. Schlangenbad was renowned not only
+for its wonderful cures but also for its monotony, and four weeks of
+monotony at a health resort would be a good deal even under the most
+favorable circumstances.
+
+"Oh, dear Balafré," said Katherine, "you ought not to frighten me, and
+you would not if you knew how much Botho has done for me. He has got me
+eight novels though, to be sure, he put them in the bottom layer of my
+trunk; and in order that my imagination should not be prejudiced
+against water cures, he put in also a book about scientific fish
+culture."
+
+Balafré laughed.
+
+"Yes, you laugh, my dear friend, and yet you know only the lesser half,
+for the larger half (Botho, you know, never does anything without
+weighty reason) is his motives. Of course, what I just said about the
+pamphlet on fish culture being meant to prevent my taking a prejudice
+against the water cure was only a joke. The serious side of the matter
+is simply this, that I must actually read the pamphlet, and that from
+local patriotism, for Neumark, your happy home as well as mine, has
+been for a long time the birth and breeding place of scientific fish
+culture, and if I knew nothing of this new factor of food production,
+so important nationally and economically, I should never dare to show
+myself again on the further side of the Oder in the Landsbergerkreise,
+much less, however, in Verneuchen, at my Cousin Borne's."
+
+Botho started to speak, but she cut him off and went on: "I know what
+you were going to say, that the eight novels were only put in 'in case
+of emergency.' But I think there are not likely to be any
+'emergencies.' Only yesterday I had a letter from my sister Ina, who
+wrote me that Anna Grävenitz has already been there for a week. You
+know her, Wedell; she was a Miss Rohr, a charming blonde. We were
+together at old Frau Zülow's Pension, and we were even in the same
+class. And I remember how we both adored our divine Felix Bachmann, and
+even wrote verses, until good old Zülow said that she forbade any such
+nonsense. And Elly Winterfield, as Ina writes me, is apparently coming
+too. And now I say to myself, in company with two charming young
+women--and I myself for the third, even if I cannot be compared with
+the others--in such good company, I say, one must surely be able to
+live. Don't you think so, dear Balafré?"
+
+The latter bowed with a grotesque air, which seemed to express his
+agreement with everything Katherine might say, except her assertion
+that any one might be her superior, but nevertheless he resumed his
+former list of questions: "If I might hear the details, gracious lady!
+The separate items, so to speak; one minute, may decide our happiness
+and unhappiness. And there are so many minutes in a day."
+
+"Well, I think it will be like this: Every morning letters. Then a
+promenade concert and a walk with the two ladies, preferably in a
+secluded path. There we will sit down and read our letters aloud, for I
+hope we shall have received some, and we shall laugh if he writes
+tenderly and say 'Yes, yes.' And then comes the bath, and after the
+bath the toilette, naturally with care and enthusiasm, which in
+Schlangenbad may be no less amusing than in Berlin. Rather the
+contrary. And then we shall go to lunch and I shall have an old general
+on my right and a rich manufacturer on my left. From my youth on I have
+had a passion for manufacturers--a passion of which I am much ashamed.
+For either they have invented a new kind of armor plate or laid a
+submarine telegraphic cable or bored a tunnel or constructed an
+ascending railway. And beside all this, they are rich, which I do not
+at all despise. And after lunch, the reading-room and coffee, with the
+Venetian blinds let down, so that light and shade will be chasing each
+other across the newspaper. And then a walk, or a drive. And perhaps,
+if we are fortunate, a couple of cavaliers from Frankfort or Mainz may
+have wandered over and they may ride beside the carriage; and I must
+say, my friends, that compared with Hussars, whether red or blue, you
+are not in the fashion, and from my military standpoint it is and
+remains a decided blunder, that they have doubled the Dragoon Guards,
+but have, so to speak, simply left the Hussars alone. And it is still
+more incomprehensible to me that they should be left over there.
+Anything so special belongs in the capital."
+
+Botho, who began to be annoyed by his wife's great talent for
+conversation, tried by means of little jokes and mockeries to stem the
+tide of her endless prattle. But his guests were far less critical than
+he, indeed they grew more enthusiastic than ever over "the charming
+little woman," and Balafré, who was over head and ears in his
+admiration for Katherine, said: "Rienäcker, if you say one word more
+against your wife, you are a dead man. My dear lady, what in the world
+does your ogre of a husband want? What does he find to criticise? I
+can't imagine. And in the end I am forced to believe that he feels his
+honor as a cavalryman insulted, and if you will pardon the pun, he
+rumples his feathers simply because he has feathers. Rienäcker, I take
+my oath! If I had such a wife as you have, her lightest whim would be
+my law, and if she wanted to turn me into a Hussar, I would join the
+Hussars and make an end of it. But so much I know for certain, and I
+would stake my life and honor on it, if his Majesty could hear such
+persuasive words, the Hussars would never have another quiet hour;
+to-morrow morning they would be in the quarters for moving troops at
+Zehlendorf, and day after to-morrow they would be marching into Berlin
+through the Brandenburg Gate. Oh these Sellenthins, whose health I
+drink, taking time by the forelock, the first, second, and third time
+in this one toast! Why have you not another sister, my dear lady? Why
+is Fräulein Ina already engaged? It is too soon and in any case it is
+my loss."
+
+Katherine was delighted with these small flatteries and assured him
+that, in spite of the fact that Ina was now hopelessly lost to him, she
+would do everything for him that could possibly be done, although she
+knew perfectly well that he was an incorrigible bachelor and was only
+making pretty speeches.
+
+Immediately afterwards, however, she dropped her badinage with Balafré
+and began to talk once more about her journey, and especially about how
+she thought her correspondence would be during her absence. She hoped,
+as she could not help repeating, that she should get a letter every
+day, for that was no more than the duty of an affectionate husband, and
+as for her, she would think it over, and only on the first day, she
+would show some sign of life at every station. This proposal was
+approved even by Rienäcker, and finally was but slightly altered, it
+being decided that at every important station she passed through, in
+spite of detours, as far as Cologne, she should write a card, but that
+she should put all the cards, whether they were few or many, in one
+envelope. This plan would have the advantage, that she could express
+herself freely about her travelling companions without any fear of
+post-office clerks and letter carriers.
+
+After dinner they took their coffee on the balcony, where Katherine,
+after making some objections, appeared in her travelling costume: a
+Rembrandt hat and a dust cloak with a travelling satchel slung over her
+shoulder. She looked charming. Balafré was more enchanted than ever and
+begged her not to be too much surprised if the next morning she should
+find him anxiously squeezed into the corner of the coupé as an escort
+for the journey.
+
+"Provided that he gets his furlough," laughed Pitt.
+
+"Or that he deserts," added Serge, "which would really be the first
+thing that would make his devotion complete."
+
+And so they chatted for a while longer. Then they bade their hospitable
+host and hostess good-bye and agreed to go together as far as the
+bridge at Lützow Square. Here, however, they divided into two groups,
+and while Balafré, Wedell and Osten sauntered further along the canal,
+Pitt and Serge, who were going to Kroll's, went toward the Thiergarten.
+
+"What a charming creature that Katherine is," said Serge. "Rienäcker
+seems rather prosaic beside her, and then he looks at her so
+discontentedly and so reprovingly, as if he needed to make excuses to
+every one for the little woman, who to a discerning eye is really
+cleverer than he."
+
+Pitt kept silence.
+
+"And what in the world does she want at Schwalbach or Schlangenbad?"
+Serge went on. "That does not help matters at all. And if it does, it
+is usually a rather peculiar sort of help."
+
+Pitt glanced at him sidewise. "I think. Serge, that you are growing
+more and more Russian, or what amounts to the same thing, you are
+living up to your name more and more."
+
+"But still not enough. But joking aside, my friend, I am in earnest
+about one thing: Rienäcker makes me angry. What has he against the
+charming little woman? Do you know?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"She is rather a little silly. Or if you prefer it in German, she
+babbles a bit. At all events too much for him."
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIX
+
+
+Between Berlin and Potsdam Katherine was already drawing down the
+yellow curtains of the car windows to protect herself from the dazzling
+light which grew stronger and stronger. But on this same day no
+curtains were drawn in the little home on the Luise Bank and the
+forenoon sun shone brightly in at Frau Nimptsch's window and filled the
+whole room with light. Only the background was in shadow and here stood
+an old-fashioned bed with a high pile of red and white checked pillows,
+against which Frau Nimptsch was leaning. She was sitting up rather than
+lying down, because she had water on the lungs and was suffering
+severely from asthma. She kept turning her head toward the one open
+window, but still oftener toward the fireplace where no fire was
+burning to-day.
+
+Lena was sitting by her, holding her hand, and when she saw that her
+mother kept looking in the same direction, she said: "Shall I make a
+fire, mother? I thought that you were lying warm in bed and it is such
+a hot day ..."
+
+The old woman did not speak, but it seemed to Lena as if she would like
+it. So she went and knelt down and lit a fire.
+
+When she came back to the bed, the old woman smiled contentedly and
+said: "Yes, Lena, it is hot. But you know, I always want to see it. And
+when I do not see it, I think everything is gone and there is not a
+spark of life left. And there is so much trouble here...."
+
+And she pointed to her breast and heart.
+
+"Ah, mother, you are always thinking about dying. And yet it has passed
+away so many times already."
+
+"Yes, child, it has passed away often, but it must come sometime and at
+seventy it may come any day. I wish you would open the other window
+too, so that there will be more air and the fire will burn better. Just
+look, it isn't burning well, it smokes so ..."
+
+"The sun does that, it is shining right on it...."
+
+"And then give me the green drops that Frau Dörr brought me. They
+always help me a little."
+
+Lena did as she was asked and when the sick woman had taken the drops,
+she really seemed to be a little better and easier around her heart.
+She propped herself up with her hands and raised herself higher, and
+when Lena had put another cushion behind her back, she said:
+
+"Has Franke been here lately?"
+
+"Yes, he was here early to-day. He always stops to inquire before he
+goes to the factory."
+
+"He is a very good man."
+
+"Yes, he is that."
+
+"And about the Conventiclers...."
+
+"It may not be so bad. And I almost believe that he gets his good
+principles from them. Do you believe so?"
+
+The old woman smiled. "No, Lena, they come from the good God. And one
+has them and another has not. I don't believe very much in learning and
+training.... And has not he said anything yet?"
+
+"Yes, yesterday evening."
+
+"And how did you answer him?"
+
+"I told him that I would accept him, because I thought he was an
+honorable and trustworthy man, who would not only take care of me, but
+of you too...."
+
+The old woman nodded her approval.
+
+"And," Lena went on, "when I had told him that, he took my hand and
+exclaimed cheerfully: 'So then, Lena, it is all settled!' But I shook
+my head and said, not quite so fast, because I still had something to
+confess to him. And when he asked what it was, I told him that I had
+had two love affairs: First ... there, mother, you know all about
+it ... and the first I liked very much and the other I loved dearly
+and still cared for him. But he was now happily married and I had never
+seen him again but just once, and I did not want to see him again. But,
+since he was so good and kind to us, I felt obliged to tell him
+everything, because I would not deceive anyone, and certainly not
+him...."
+
+"My Lord, my Lord," whimpered the old woman, while Lena was speaking.
+
+"And directly afterwards he got up and went back to his own rooms. But
+I could see plainly that he was not angry. Only he would not let me go
+to the door with him as usual."
+
+Frau Nimptsch was evidently anxious and uneasy, although indeed one
+could not tell whether the cause was what Lena had told her or the
+struggle for breath. But it almost seemed as if it were her breathing,
+for suddenly she said: "Lena, child, I am not high enough. You will
+have to put the song book under me too."
+
+Lena did not contradict her, but went and got the song book. But when
+she brought it, her mother said: "No, not that one, that is the new
+one. I want the old one, the thick one with the two clasps." And when
+Lena came back with the thick song book, she went on: "I used to have
+to bring that same book to my mother too when I was not much more than
+a child and my mother was not yet fifty; and she suffered here too, and
+her great frightened eyes kept looking at me so. But when I put the
+Porst song book, that she had got when she was confirmed, under her,
+she grew perfectly quiet and fell peacefully asleep. And I want to do
+that too. Ah, Lena. It isn't death ... but dying.... There, now. Ah,
+that helps me."
+
+Lena wept softly to herself and since she now saw plainly that the good
+old woman's last hour was very near, she sent word to Frau Dörr, that
+"her mother was in a bad way and would not Frau Dörr come." She sent
+word back, "Yes, she would come." Toward six o'clock she arrived,
+bustling noisily in, for she knew nothing about being quiet, even with
+sick people. She tramped about the room so that everything on or near
+the hearth shook and rattled, and at the same time she scolded about
+Dörr, who was always in town when he ought to be at home, and always at
+home when she wished he was in Jericho. Meanwhile she took the sick
+woman's hand and asked Lena, "whether she had given her plenty of the
+drops?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"How many have you given her?"
+
+"Five ... five every two hours."
+
+That was not enough, Frau Dörr assured her, and after bringing to light
+all her medical knowledge she added: "She had let the medicine draw in
+the sun for a fortnight, and if one took it properly the water would go
+away as if it were pumped out. Old Selke at the Zoological had been
+just like a cask, and for more than four months he could never go to
+bed, but had to be propped up straight in a chair with all the windows
+wide open, but when he had taken the medicine for four days, it was
+just as if you squeezed a pig's bladder: haven't you seen how
+everything goes out of it and it is all soft and limp again!"
+
+While she was telling all this, the vigorous Frau Dörr forced the sick
+woman to take a double dose from her thimble.
+
+Lena, whose anxiety was only too justly redoubled by these heroic
+measures, took her shawl and made ready to go for a doctor. And Frau
+Dörr, who was not usually in favor of doctors, had nothing to say
+against it this time.
+
+"Go," said she, "she can't hold out much longer. Just look here (and
+she pointed to the nostrils), that means death."
+
+Lena started; but she could scarcely have reached the square in front
+of Michael's church, when the old woman, who had been lying in a half
+doze sat upright and called: "Lena ..."
+
+"Lena is not here."
+
+"Who is here then?"
+
+"I, Mother Nimptsch. I, Frau Dörr."
+
+"Ah, Frau Dörr, that is right. Come here; sit on the footstool."
+
+Frau Dörr, who was not accustomed to receiving orders, hung back a
+little, but was too good-natured not to do as she was asked. And so she
+sat down on the stool.
+
+And immediately the old woman began: "I want a yellow coffin and blue
+trimmings. But not too much...."
+
+"Yes, Frau Nimptsch."
+
+"And I want to be buried in the new Jacob's churchyard, behind the
+Rollkrug and quite far over on the road to Britz."
+
+"Yes, Frau Nimptsch."
+
+"And I saved up enough for all that is needed, long ago, when I was
+still able to save up. And it is in the top drawer. And the chemise and
+short gown are there and a pair of white stockings marked with N. And
+it is lying among the other things."
+
+"Yes, Frau Nimptsch. Everything shall be done just as you say. And is
+there anything more?"
+
+But the old woman did not seem to have heard Frau Dörr's question, and
+without answering, she merely folded her hands, looked up toward the
+ceiling with a pious and peaceful expression and prayed: "Dear Father
+in heaven, protect her and reward her for all that she has done for a
+poor old woman."
+
+"Ah, Lena," said Frau Dörr to herself and then she added: "The good
+Lord will do that too, Frau Nimptsch, I know him, and I have never seen
+any one come to grief that was like Lena and that had such a heart and
+such hands as she has."
+
+The old woman nodded and one could see that some pleasant picture was
+in her mind.
+
+So the minutes passed away and when Lena came back and knocked on the
+door of the corridor, Frau Dörr was still sitting on the footstool and
+holding her old friend's hand. And only when she heard Lena knock did
+she lay down Frau Nimptsch's hand and go to open the door.
+
+Lena was still out of breath. "He will be here right away.... He is
+coming at once."
+
+But Frau Dörr only said: "Oh Lord, the doctors!" and pointed to the
+dead woman.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XX
+
+
+Katherine's first letter was posted in Cologne and reached Berlin the
+following morning, according to expectations. The accompanying address
+had been given by Botho himself, who, smiling and good-humored, held in
+his hand a rather thick-feeling letter. Three cards faintly written on
+both sides with a pencil had been put in the envelope, and all of them
+barely legible, so that Rienäcker went out on the balcony, in order
+better to decipher the indistinct scrawl.
+
+"Now let us see, Catherine."
+
+And he read:
+
+
+                     "Brandenburg a. H., 8 o'clock in the morning.
+
+"The train, my dear Botho, stops here only three minutes, but I will
+make the best use I can of the time, and in case of need I will write,
+well or ill as it happens, when the train is in motion. I am travelling
+with a very charming young banker's wife, Madame Salinger, née Saling,
+from Vienna. When I wondered at the similarity of the names, she said:
+'Yes, it looks as if I had married my own comparative.' She talks like
+that right straight along, and in spite of having a ten-year-old
+daughter (blonde; the mother is brunette) she too is going to
+Schlangenbad. And she is going by way of Cologne too, like me, because
+of a visit that she is to make there. The child has naturally a good
+disposition, but is not well brought up and has already broken my
+parasol by her constant climbing about in the railway carriage, a
+mishap which embarrassed her mother very much. The railroad station,
+where we are just now stopping (that is to say, the train is starting
+again this very moment), is swarming with soldiers, among them
+Brandenburg Cuirassiers with a name in yellow letters on their shoulder
+straps; apparently it was Nicholas. It looked very well. There were
+fusiliers there too, from the thirty-fifth, little people, who seemed
+to me far too small, although Uncle Osten always used to say the best
+fusilier was one who could not be seen with the naked eye. But I will
+close. The little girl, alas, is running from one window to the other
+as before and makes it hard for me to write. And besides she is
+constantly munching cakes, little pastry tarts with cherries and
+pistachio nuts on top. She began that long ago, between Potsdam and
+Werder. The mother is too weak. I would be more severe."
+
+
+Botho laid the card aside and ran through the second one as well as he
+could. It ran:
+
+
+                                           "Hannover, 12-30.
+
+"Goltz was at the Magdeburg station and told me you had written him
+that I was coming. How very good and kind you were once more. You are
+always the best and most attentive of men. Goltz has charge of the
+survey in the Harz Mountains now, that is, he begins July first. The
+train stops a quarter of an hour in Hannover, and I have made use of
+the time to see the place immediately around the station: regular
+hotels and beer-drinking places that have grown up under our
+government, one of which is built completely in the Gothic style. The
+Hannoverians call it the 'Prussian beer church,' as a fellow traveller
+told me, simply because of Guelphish hostility. How painful such things
+are! But time will mitigate this feeling also. Heaven send that it may.
+The child still keeps on nibbling, which begins to make me nervous.
+What will be the upshot of it? But the mother is really charming and
+has already told me _everything_. She has also been in Würzburg, with
+Scanzoni, about whom she is enthusiastic. Her way of confiding in me is
+embarrassing and almost painful. For the rest, she is, as I can only
+repeat, perfectly _comme il faut_. To mention just one thing, what a
+dressing case! In Vienna they far surpass us in such things; one can
+notice the older culture."
+
+
+"Wonderful," laughed Botho. "When Katherine indulges in reflections on
+the history of civilisation, she surpasses herself. But all good things
+go by threes. Let us see."
+
+And he picked up the third card.
+
+
+                               "Cologne, 8 o'clock in the evening.
+                                                    "Headquarters.
+
+"I prefer to mail my cards here rather than to wait until I reach
+Schlangenbad, where Frau Salinger and I expect to arrive to-morrow
+noon. All goes well with me. The Schroffensteins are very friendly and
+pleasant; especially Herr Schroffenstein. By the way, not to omit
+anything of interest, Frau Salinger was fetched from the station by the
+Oppenheim's carriage. Our journey, which began so charmingly, grew
+somewhat burdensome and unattractive from Hamm on. The little girl had
+a hard time, and moreover it was her mother's fault. 'What more do you
+want?' as soon as the train had left the Hamm station, whereupon the
+child answers: 'Drops.' And it was from that very moment that things
+got so bad.... Ah, dear Botho, young or old, our wishes ought to be
+constantly kept under strict and conscientious control. This thought
+has been constantly in my mind ever since and the meeting with this
+charming woman was perhaps no chance occurrence in my life. How often
+have I heard Kluckhuhn speak in this vein. And he was right More
+to-morrow.                                Your
+
+                                            "Katherine."
+
+
+Botho put the three cards back in the envelope and said: "Exactly like
+Katherine. What gift she has for small talk! And I ought to be glad
+that she writes as she does. But there is something lacking. It is all
+so trivial and comes so easily, like a mere echo of society talk. But
+she will change when she has duties of her own. Or perhaps she will. In
+any case, I will not give up the hope."
+
+The next day there came a short letter from Schlangenbad, in which
+there was far, far less than in the three cards, and from this time on
+she wrote only twice a week and gossiped about Anna Grävenitz and Elly
+Winterfeld, who had actually put in an appearance, but most of all
+about Madame Salinger and her charming little Sarah. There were always
+the same asseverations and only at the close of the third week did some
+lessening of enthusiasm appear:
+
+
+"I now think the little girl more charming than her mother. Frau
+Salinger indulges in such luxurious toilettes as I find scarcely
+appropriate, especially as there are practically no men here. And then
+too, I see now that her complexion is artificial; her eyebrows are
+certainly painted and perhaps her lips too, for they are cherry-red.
+But the child is perfectly natural. Whenever she sees me, she rushes up
+to me and kisses my hand and makes her excuses for the hundredth time
+about the drops, 'but it was Mamma's fault," in which I fully agree
+with the child. And yet, on the other hand, there must be a mysterious
+streak of greediness in Sarah's nature, I might almost say something
+like a besetting sin (do you believe in besetting sins? I do, my dear
+Botho), for she cannot let sweet things alone and constantly buys
+wafers, not the Berlin kind that taste like buns with meringue on top,
+but the Karlsbad land with sugar sprinkled over. But I will not write
+any more about all this. When I see you, which may be very soon--for I
+should like to travel with Anna Grävenitz, we should be so much more by
+ourselves--we will talk about it and about a great many other things
+too. Ah, how glad I shall be to see you and to sit on the balcony with
+you. After all, Berlin is the most beautiful place, and when the sun
+goes down behind Charlottenburg and the Grünewald, and one grows so
+tired and dreamy, how lovely it is! Don't you think so? And do you know
+what Frau Salinger told me yesterday? She said that I had grown still
+blonder. Well, you will see for yourself.
+
+                              As always, your
+
+                                                "Katherine."
+
+
+Rienäcker nodded and smiled. "Charming little woman. She writes nothing
+at all about her health or the effects of the cure; I will wager that
+she goes out to drive and has hardly taken ten baths yet." And after
+saying this to himself, he gave some orders to his man servant who had
+just come in and then walked through the Zoological Garden and the
+Brandenburg gate, then under the Lindens and then to the barracks,
+where he was on duty until noon.
+
+
+Soon after twelve o'clock, when he was at home again, and had had
+something to eat, and was about to make himself comfortable for a
+little, the servant announced "that a gentleman ... a man (he hesitated
+over the word) was outside, and wished to speak with the Herr Baron."
+
+"Who is it?"
+
+"Gideon Franke ... so he said."
+
+"Franke? Strange. I never heard of him. Bring him in."
+
+The servant went out again, while Botho repeated: "Franke ... Gideon
+Franke ... Never heard of him. I don't know him."
+
+In a moment the visitor entered the room and bowed somewhat stiffly at
+the door. He wore a dark-brown coat closely buttoned up, highly
+polished boots and shiny black hair, which lay very thick on both
+temples. He wore black gloves and a spotlessly white high collar.
+
+Botho met him with his usual courteous amiability and said: "Herr
+Franke?"
+
+The latter nodded.
+
+"How can I serve you? Let me beg you to be seated.... Here ... or
+perhaps here. Stuffed chairs are always uncomfortable."
+
+Franke smiled in assent and took a cane-seated chair, which Rienäcker
+had indicated.
+
+"How can I serve you?" repeated Rienäcker.
+
+"I have come to ask you a question, Herr Baron."
+
+"It will give me pleasure to answer it, provided that I am able."
+
+"No one could answer me better than you, Herr von Rienäcker ... I have
+come, in fact, about Lena Nimptsch ..."
+
+Botho started back a little.
+
+"And I want to add at once," Franke went on, "that it is nothing
+troublesome that has brought me here. What I wish to say, or if you
+will permit me, Herr Baron, to ask, will cause no inconvenience to you
+or to your family. I already know that your gracious lady, the Frau
+Baroness is away, and I carefully waited until you should be alone, or,
+if I may say so, until you should be a grass widower."
+
+Botho's discriminating ear perceived that, in spite of his rather
+ordinary middle-class clothes, the man was frank and high-minded. This
+soon helped him to get over his embarrassment and he had recovered his
+usual calmness of manner, as he asked, across the table: "Are you a
+relative of Lena's? Pardon me, Herr Franke, for calling my old friend
+by the old name of which I am so fond."
+
+Franke bowed and replied: "No, Herr Baron, no relative; I have not that
+right to speak. But my right is perhaps quite as good: I have known
+Lena for a year and more and I intend to marry her. She has given her
+consent, but on that occasion she told me of her previous life and
+spoke of you so affectionately, that I at once determined to ask you
+yourself, Herr Baron, freely and openly, what you can tell me about
+Lena. When I told Lena of my intention, she at first encouraged me
+gladly, but immediately afterwards she added, that I might as well not
+ask you, as you would be sure to speak too well of her."
+
+Botho looked straight before him and found it difficult to control the
+beating of his heart. Finally, however, he mastered himself and said:
+"You are an excellent man, Herr Franke, and you want to make Lena
+happy. So much I can see at once, and that gives you a perfect right to
+an answer. I have no doubt at all as to what I ought to tell you, and I
+only hesitate as to how I shall tell it. The best way will be to tell
+you how it all began and continued and then how it came to an end."
+
+Franke bowed once more, to show that he too agreed to this plan.
+
+"Very well then," began Rienäcker, "it is about three years or perhaps
+a couple of months more, since on a boating excursion around the
+Liebesinsel near Treptow I had the opportunity of doing two young girls
+a service by preventing their boat from capsizing. One of these two
+young girls was Lena, and from her manner of thanking me, I saw at once
+that she was different from others. She was wholly free from
+affectation, both then and later, a fact which I specially wish to
+emphasise. For no matter how merry and at times almost boisterous she
+may be, yet she is naturally thoughtful, serious and simple."
+
+Botho mechanically pushed aside the tray, which was still standing on
+the table, smoothed the cloth and then went on: "I asked leave to
+escort her home, and she consented without more ado, which at that time
+surprised me for a moment. For I did not yet know her. But I soon saw
+what it meant; from her youth on she had been accustomed to act
+according to her own judgment, without much regard for others, and in
+any case without fearing their opinion."
+
+Franke nodded.
+
+"So we went all the long distance together and I escorted her home and
+was delighted with all that I saw there, with the old mother, with the
+fireplace by which she sat, with the garden in which the house stood,
+and with the modest seclusion and stillness of the place. A quarter of
+an hour later I took my leave, and as I was saying good-bye to Lena at
+the garden gate, I asked whether I might come again, and she answered
+the question with a simple 'Yes.' She showed no false modesty, and yet
+was not unwomanly. On the contrary, there was something touching in her
+voice and manner."
+
+As all this came so vividly before his mind once more, Rienäcker rose,
+in manifest excitement and opened both halves of the balcony door, as
+if the room were growing too hot. Then, as he walked back and forth, he
+went on more rapidly: "I have scarcely anything more to add. That was
+about Easter and we had a whole long happy summer. Ought I to tell you
+about it? No. And then came life with all its serious claims. And that
+was what separated us."
+
+Meanwhile Botho had sat down again and Franke, who had been busily
+stroking his hat all the time, said quietly to himself: "Yes, that is
+just how she told me about it."
+
+"And it could not be any other way, Herr Franke. For Lena--I rejoice
+with all my heart to be able to say so once more--Lena does not lie,
+and would sooner bite her tongue off than to boast or speak falsely.
+She has two kinds of pride; one is to live by the work of her own
+hands, the other is to speak right out freely and make no false
+pretences and not to represent anything as more or less than it really
+is. 'I do not need to do it and I will not do it,' I have often heard
+her say. She certainly has a will of her own, perhaps rather more
+than she should have, and one who wanted to criticise her, might
+reproach her with being obstinate. But she only persists in what she
+thinks she can take the responsibility for, and she really can too,
+and that sort of strength of will is, I think, rather character than
+self-righteousness. I see by your nodding your head that we are of the
+same opinion, and that pleases me greatly. And now just one word more,
+Herr Franke. What has been, has been. If you cannot pass over it, I
+must respect your feeling. But if you can, I want to tell you, you will
+have an exceptionally good wife. For her heart is in the right place
+and she has a strong sense of duty and right and order."
+
+"That is how I have always found Lena, and I believe that she will make
+me an uncommonly good wife, precisely as the Herr Baron says. Yes, one
+ought to keep the Commandments, one ought to keep them all, but yet
+there is a distinction, according to which commandments they are, and
+he who fails to keep one of them, may yet be good for something, but he
+who fails to keep another, even if it stands the very next one in the
+catechism, he is worthless and is condemned from the beginning and
+stands beyond the hope of grace."
+
+Botho gazed at him in surprise and evidently did not know what to make
+of this solemn address. Gideon Franke, however, who for his part had
+now gotten well started, had no longer any sense of the impression
+produced by his homemade opinions, and so went on in a tone that more
+and more suggested that of a preacher: "And he who, because of the
+weakness of the flesh sins against the sixth commandment, he may be
+forgiven if he repents and turns to better ways, but he who breaks the
+seventh, sins not merely through the weakness of the flesh but through
+the corruption of the soul, and he who lies and deceives, or slanders
+and bears false witness, he is rotten to the core and is a child of
+darkness, and for him there is no salvation, And he is like a field in
+which the nettles have grown so tall that the weeds always come
+uppermost, no matter how much good corn may be sown. And I will live
+and die by that and have always found it true. Yes, Herr Baron, the
+important things are neatness and honesty and practicality. And in
+marriage it is the same. For 'honesty is the best policy,' and one's
+word is his word and one must be able to have confidence. But what has
+been, has been, and that is in the hands of God. And if I think
+otherwise about it, which I too respect, exactly as the Herr Baron
+does, then it is my place to keep away and not allow my love and
+inclination to get a foothold. I was in the United States for a long
+time, and although over there just the same as here, all is not gold
+that glitters, yet it is true, that there one learns to see differently
+and not always through the same glass. And one learns also that there
+are many ways to salvation and many ways to happiness. Yes, Herr Baron,
+there are many roads that lead to God, and there are many roads that
+lead to happiness, of that I feel sure in my very heart. And the one
+road is good and the other road is good. But every good road must be
+straight and open, and lie in the sun, without swamps or quicksands or
+will-o'-the-wisps. Truth is the main thing, and trustworthiness and
+honor."
+
+With these words Franke had risen and Botho, who had politely gone to
+the door with him, gave him his hand.
+
+"And now, Herr Franke, as we are bidding good-bye I will ask just one
+thing more: Please greet Frau Dörr from me, if you see her, and if the
+old friendship with her still continues, and above all give my
+greetings to good old Frau Nimptsch. Does she still have her gout and
+her days of suffering, of which she used to complain so constantly?"
+
+"That is all over now."
+
+"How so?" asked Botho.
+
+"We buried her three weeks ago, Herr Baron. Just three weeks ago
+to-day."
+
+"Buried her?" repeated Botho. "And where?"
+
+"Over behind the Rollkrug, in the new Jacob's churchyard.... She was a
+good old woman. And how she did love Lena! Yes, Herr Baron, Mother
+Nimptsch is dead. But Frau Dörr is still living (and he laughed), and
+she will live a long time yet. And if she comes--it is a long way--I
+will give her your greeting. And I can see already how pleased she will
+be. You know her, Herr Baron. Oh yes, Frau Dörr ..."
+
+And Gideon Franke took off his hat once more and the door closed.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXI
+
+
+When Rienäcker was alone again, he was as if benumbed by this meeting
+and by all that he had heard toward the close of the interview.
+Whenever, since his marriage, he had recalled the little house in the
+garden and its inmates, he had as a matter of course pictured
+everything in his mind just as it had been formerly, and now everything
+was changed and he must find his way in a completely new world: there
+were strangers living in the little house, if indeed it was occupied at
+all; there was no fire burning in the fireplace any more, at least not
+day in and day out, and Frau Nimptsch, who had kept up the fire, was
+dead and buried in the new Jacob's churchyard. All this whirled round
+and round in his head, and suddenly he also recalled the day when, half
+seriously, half in jest, he had promised the good old woman to lay a
+wreath of immortelles on her grave. In the restlessness that had come
+over him, he was very glad that he had remembered the promise and
+decided to fulfil it at once. "To the Rollkrug at noon and the sun
+reflected from the ground--a regular journey to central Africa. But the
+good old woman shall have her wreath."
+
+And he took his cap and sword at once and left the house.
+
+At the corner there was a cab stand, a small one, indeed, and so it
+happened that in spite of the sign: "Standing room for three cabs"
+there was usually nothing there but standing room or, very seldom, one
+cab. It was so to-day also, which in consideration of the noon hour
+(when all cabs are in the habit of disappearing as if the earth had
+swallowed them) was not particularly surprising at this cab stand which
+was one merely in name. Therefore Botho went further along, until, near
+the Von der Heydt Bridge, he met a somewhat rickety vehicle, painted
+light green, with a red plush seat and drawn by a white horse. The
+horse seemed barely able to trot and Rienäcker could not keep from
+smiling rather pitifully when he thought of the "tour" that was in
+store for the poor beast. But as far as his eye could see, nothing
+better was in sight, and so he stepped up to the driver and said: "To
+the Rollkrug. Jacob's churchyard."
+
+"Very good, Herr Baron."
+
+"But we must stop somewhere on the way. I shall want to buy a wreath."
+
+"Very good, Herr Baron."
+
+Botho was somewhat surprised at the prompt and repeated use of his
+title and so he said: "Do you know me?"
+
+"Yes, Herr Baron. Baron Rienäcker of Landgrafenstrasse. Close by the
+cab stand. I have often driven you before."
+
+During this conversation Botho had got in, meaning to make himself as
+comfortable as possible in the corner of the plush cushioned seat, but
+he soon gave up that idea, for the corner was as hot as an oven.
+
+Rienäcker had, in common with all Brandenburg noblemen, the pleasing
+and good-hearted trait that he preferred to talk with plain people
+rather than with more "cultivated" folk, and so he began at once, while
+they were in the half shade of the young trees along the canal: "How
+hot it is! Your horse cannot have been much pleased when he heard me
+say Rollkrug."
+
+"Oh, Rollkrug is well enough; Rollkrug is well enough because of the
+woods. When he gets there and smells the pines, he is always pleased.
+You see, he is from the country.... Or perhaps it is the music too. At
+any rate, he always pricks up his ears."
+
+"Indeed," said Botho. "He doesn't look to me much like dancing.... But
+where can we get the wreath then? I do not want to get to the
+churchyard without a wreath."
+
+"Oh, there is plenty of time for that, Herr Baron. As soon as we get
+into the neighborhood of the churchyard, from the Halle Gate on and the
+whole length of the Pioneerstrasse."
+
+"Yes, yes, you are quite right. I was forgetting...."
+
+"And after that, until you are close to the churchyard, there are
+plenty more places."
+
+Botho smiled. "You are perhaps a Silesian?"
+
+"Yes," said the driver. "Most of us are. But I have been here a long
+time now, and so I am half a true Berliner."
+
+"And are you doing pretty well?"
+
+"There is no use talking about 'pretty well.' Everything costs too much
+and one has to have always the best quality. And hay is dear. But I
+should do well enough, if only nothing would happen. But something is
+always sure to happen--to-day an axle breaks and to-morrow a horse
+falls down. I have another horse at home, a light bay, that used to be
+with the Fürstenwald Uhlans; a good horse, only he has no wind and he
+will not last much longer. And all of a sudden he will be gone.... And
+then the traffic police; never satisfied, you mustn't go here and you
+mustn't go there. And one is always having to repaint. And red plush is
+not to be had for nothing."
+
+While they were chatting together, they had driven along by the canal,
+as far as the Halle Gate. And now a battalion of infantry with the band
+playing spiritedly was coming straight toward them from the Kreuzberg,
+and Botho, who did not wish to meet acquaintances, urged the coachman
+to drive faster. And they passed rapidly over the Belle-Alliance
+Bridge, but on the further side, Botho asked the driver to stop,
+because he had seen a sign on one of the first houses that read:
+"Artistic and Practical Florist." Three or four steps led into a shop,
+in the show window of which were all kinds of wreaths.
+
+Rienäcker stepped out and went up the steps. As he entered the door,
+bell rang sharply. "May I ask you to be so kind as to show me a pretty
+wreath?"
+
+"A funeral wreath?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+The young woman in black, who, perhaps because she sold mostly funeral
+wreaths, looked ridiculously like one of the Fates (even the shears
+were not lacking), came back quickly with an evergreen wreath with
+white roses among the green. She apologised at once for having only
+white roses. White camellias were far more expensive. Botho, for his
+part, was satisfied, declined to have more flowers shown him and only
+asked whether he could not have a wreath of immortelles in addition to
+the wreath of fresh flowers.
+
+The young woman seemed rather surprised at the old-fashioned notions
+that this question seemed to imply, but assented and immediately
+brought a box containing five or six wreaths of yellow, red and white
+immortelles.
+
+"Which color would you advise me to take?"
+
+The young woman smiled: "Immortelle wreaths are quite out of fashion.
+Possibly in winter.... And then only in case ..."
+
+"I think I had better decide on this one at once." And Botho took the
+yellow wreath that lay nearest him, hung it on his arm, put the wreath
+of white roses with it and got quickly into his cab. Both wreaths were
+rather large and took up so much room on the red plush seat that Botho
+thought of handing them over to the driver. But he soon decided against
+this change, saying to himself: "If one wants to carry a wreath to old
+Frau Nimptsch, one must be willing to own up to the wreath. And if one
+is ashamed of it, he should not have promised it."
+
+So he let the wreaths lie where they were, and almost forgot them, as
+the carriage immediately turned into a part of the road whose varied
+and here and there grotesque scenes led him aside from his former
+thoughts. On the right, at a distance of about five hundred paces, was
+a board fence, above which could be seen all sorts of booths,
+pavilions, and doorways decorated with lamps, and all covered with a
+wealth of inscriptions. Most of these were of rather recent, or even
+extremely recent, date, but a few of the biggest and brightest dated
+further back, and, although in a weather-beaten state, they had lasted
+over from the previous year. Among these pleasure resorts, and
+alternating with them, various artisans had set up their workshops,
+especially sculptors and stone cutters, who mostly exhibited crosses,
+pillars, and obelisks hereabouts, because of the numerous cemeteries.
+All this could not fail to strike whoever passed this way, and
+Rienäcker too was strangely impressed, as he read from the cab, with
+growing curiosity, the endless and strongly contrasted announcements
+and looked at the accompanying pictures. "Fräulein Rosella, the living
+wonder maiden"; "Crosses and Gravestones at the Lowest Prices"; "Quick
+Photography, American Style"; "Russian Ball throwing, six shots for
+tern pfennig"; "Swedish Punch with Waffles"; "Figaro's Finest
+Opportunity, or the First Hairdressing Parlor in the World"; "Crosses
+and Gravestones at the Lowest Prices"; "Swiss Shooting Gallery":
+
+
+           "Shoot right quick and shoot right well,
+            Shoot and hit like William Tell."
+
+
+And beneath this Tell himself with his son, his cross bow and the
+apple.
+
+Finally the cab reached the end of the long board fence and at this
+point the road made a sharp turn toward the wood and now, breaking the
+stillness of noon, the rattle of guns could be heard from the shooting
+stands. Otherwise everything was much the same on this continuation of
+the street: Blondin, clad only in his tights and his medals, was
+balancing on the tightrope, with fireworks flashing around him, while
+near him various small placards announced balloon ascensions as well as
+the pleasures of the dance. One read: "A Sicilian Night. At two o'clock
+Vienna Bonbon Waltzes."
+
+Botho, who had not seen this place for a long time, read all these
+placards with real interest, until after he had passed through the
+"wood," where he found the shade very refreshing for a few minutes, and
+beyond which he turned into the principal street of a populous suburb
+that extended as far as Rixdorf. Wagons, two and even three abreast,
+were passing before him, until suddenly everything came to a standstill
+and the traffic was blocked. "What are we stopping for?" he asked, but
+before the coachman could answer, Botho heard cursing and swearing from
+in front, and saw that the wagons had become wedged. He leaned forward
+and looked about with interest, true to his fondness for plain people,
+and apparently the incident would have amused rather than annoyed him,
+if both the load and the inscription on a wagon that had stopped in
+front of him had not impressed him painfully. "Broken glass bought and
+sold, Max Zippel, Rixdorf" was painted in big letters on the high
+tailboard and a perfect mountain of pieces of glass was piled up in the
+body of the wagon. "Luck goes with glass" ... And he looked at the load
+with distaste and felt as if the fragments were cutting all his finger
+tips.
+
+But at last the wagons moved on again and the horse did his best to
+make up for lost time, and before long the driver stopped before a
+corner house, with a high roof and a projecting gable and ground floor
+windows so low that they were almost on a level with the street. An
+iron bracket projected from the gable, supporting a gilded key placed
+upright.
+
+"What is that?" asked Botho.
+
+"The Rollkrug."
+
+"Very well. Then we are nearly there. We only have to turn up hill
+here. I am sorry for the horse, but there is no help for it."
+
+The driver gave the horse a cut with the whip and they began to go up a
+rather steep, hilly street, on one side of which lay the old Jacob's
+cemetery, which was half closed up because of being over full, while
+across the street from the cemetery fence rose some high tenement
+houses.
+
+In front of the last house stood some wandering musicians, apparently
+man and wife, with a horn and a harp. The woman was singing too, but
+the wind, which was rather strong here, blew the sound away up hill and
+only when Botho had gone more than ten steps beyond the poor old
+couple, was he able to distinguish the words and melody. It was the
+same song that they had sung so happily long ago on the walk to
+Wilmersdorf, and he sat up and looked out as if the music had called
+him back to the musicians. They, however, were facing another way and
+did not see him, but a pretty maid, who was washing windows on the
+gable side of the house, and who might have thought that the young
+officer was looking back at her, waved her chamois skin gayly at him
+and joined vigorously in the chorus:
+
+
+     "Ich denke d'ran, ich danke dir, mein Leben; doch du Soldat,
+          Soldat, denkst du daran?"
+
+
+Botho threw himself back in the cab and buried his face in his hands,
+while an endlessly sweet, sad feeling swept over him. But the sadness
+outweighed the sweetness and he could not shake it off until he had
+left the town behind and saw the Müggelberg on the distant horizon in
+the blue midday haze.
+
+Finally they drew up before the new Jacob's graveyard.
+
+"Shall I wait?" said the driver.
+
+"Yes. But not here. Down by the Rollkrug. And if you see those
+musicians again ... here, this is for the poor woman."
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXII
+
+
+Botho entrusted himself to the guidance of an old man who was busy near
+the entrance gate and found Frau Nimptsch's grave well cared for: ivy
+vines had been planted, a pot of geraniums stood between them and a
+wreath of immortelles was already hanging on a little iron stand. "Ah,
+Lena," said Botho to himself. "Always the same.... I have come too
+late." And then he turned to the old man who was standing near and
+asked: "Was it a very small funeral?"
+
+"Yes, it was very small indeed."
+
+"Three or four?"
+
+"Exactly four. And of course our old superintendent. He only made a
+prayer and the big middle-aged woman, about forty or so, who was here,
+cried all the time. And a young woman was here too. She comes once a
+week and last Sunday she brought the geranium. And she means to get a
+stone too, the kind that are fashionable now: a green polished one with
+the name and date on it."
+
+And herewith the old man drew back with the politeness common to all
+who are employed about a cemetery, while Botho hung his wreath of
+immortelles together with Lena's, but the wreath of evergreens and
+white roses he laid around the pot of geraniums. And then he walked
+back to the entrance of the cemetery, after looking a little longer at
+the modest grave and thinking lovingly of good old Fran Nimptsch. The
+old man, who had meanwhile returned to the care of his vines, took off
+his cap and looked after him, and puzzled over the question, what could
+have brought such a fine gentleman (for after that last handshake of
+his, he had had no doubts as to the quality of the visitor) to the
+grave of an old woman. "There must be some reason for it. And he did
+not have the cab wait." However he could come to no conclusion, and at
+least to show his gratitude as best he could, he took a watering pot
+and filled it and then went to Frau Nimptsch's grave and watered the
+ivy, which had grown rather dry in the hot sun.
+
+Meanwhile Botho had gone back to the cab, which was waiting by the
+Rollkrug, got in and an hour later had once more reached the
+Landgrafenstrasse. The driver jumped down civilly and opened the door.
+
+"Here," said Botho "... and this is extra. It was half an excursion
+..."
+
+"One might as well call it a whole one."
+
+"I see," laughed Rienäcker. "Then I must give you a bit more?"
+
+"It wouldn't do any harm ... Thank you, Herr Baron."
+
+"But now feed your horse a little better, for my sake. He is a pitiful
+sight."
+
+And he nodded and ran up the steps.
+
+
+There was not a sound in the house and even the servants were away,
+because they knew that he was usually at the club at about this time,
+at least during his wife's absence. "Untrustworthy people," he grumbled
+to himself and seemed quite provoked. Nevertheless he was glad to be
+alone. He did not want to see anyone and went and sat out on the
+balcony, to be alone with his dreams. But it was close under the awning
+which was down and had also a deep, drooping fringe and so he rose to
+put up the awning. That was better. The fresh air, which now entered
+freely, did him good and drawing a deep breath he stepped to the
+railing and looked over fields and woods to the castle tower of
+Charlottenburg, whose greenish copper roof shimmered in the bright
+afternoon sunshine.
+
+"Behind lies Spandau," said he to himself. "And behind Spandau there is
+an embankment and a railroad track which runs as far as the Rhine. And
+on that track I see a train, with many carriages and Katherine is
+sitting in one of them. I wonder how she looks? Well, of course. And
+what is she probably talking about? A little of everything, I think:
+piquant tales about the baths, or about Frau Salinger's toilettes, and
+how it is really best in Berlin. And ought I not to be glad that she is
+coming home again? Such a pretty woman, so young, so happy and cheerful
+And I am glad too. But she must not come to-day. For heaven's sake, no.
+And yet I can believe it of her. She has not written for three days and
+it is quite likely that she is planning a surprise."
+
+He followed these fancies for a while yet, but then the pictures
+changed and, instead of Katherine's, long past images arose again in
+his mind: the Dörr's garden, the walk to Wilmersdorf, the excursion to
+Hankel's Ablage. That had been their last beautiful day, their last
+happy hour.... "She said then that a hair would bind too tight, and so
+she refused and did not want to do it. And I? Why did I insist upon it?
+Yes, there are such mysterious powers, such affinities that come from
+heaven or hell, and now I am bound and cannot free myself. Oh how dear
+and good she was that afternoon, while we were still alone and did not
+dream of being disturbed, and I cannot forget the picture of Lena among
+the grasses picking flowers here and there. I have the flowers still.
+But I will destroy them. Why should I keep the poor dead things, that
+only make me restless and might cost me what little happiness I have
+and disturb the peacefulness of my marriage, if ever another eye should
+see them."
+
+And he rose from his seat on the balcony and passed through the whole
+length of the house to his workroom, which overlooked the courtyard and
+was very sunny in the morning, but was now in deep shadow. The coolness
+did him good and he went to a handsome desk which he had had ever since
+his bachelor days, and which had little ebony drawers decorated with
+various little silver garlands. In the middle, surrounded by these
+drawers there was a sort of temple-like structure with pillars and a
+pediment; this temple was meant to keep valuables in and had a secret
+drawer behind it, which closed with a spring. Botho pressed the spring
+and when the drawer sprung open, took out a small bundle of letters,
+tied up with a red cord, on top of which, as if put there as an
+afterthought, lay the flowers of which he had just been speaking. He
+weighed the packet in his hand and said, as he was untying the cord:
+"Great joy, great grief. Trials and tribulations. The old song."
+
+He was alone and need fear no surprises. But still, fancying himself
+not sufficiently secure, he rose and locked the door. And only then did
+he take the topmost letter and read it. It was the one written the day
+before the walk to Wilmersdorf, and he now looked very tenderly at the
+words which he had formerly underlined with his pencil. "Stiehl....
+Alléh.... How these poor dear little 'h's' take my fancy to-day, more
+than all the orthography in the world. And how clear the handwriting
+is. And how good and at the same time how playful is what she wrote.
+Ah, how happily her traits were mingled. She was both reasonable and
+passionate. Everything that she said showed character and depth of
+feeling. How poor a thing is culture, and how ill it compares with
+genuine qualities."
+
+He picked up the second letter and meant to read the whole
+correspondence from beginning to end. But it distressed him too much.
+"What is the use? Why should I recall to life what is dead and must
+remain dead? I must destroy all this and I must hope that even memory
+itself will fade with the reminders that awakened it."
+
+Now that his mind was fully made up, he rose quickly from his desk,
+pushed the fire screen to one side and stepped to the little hearth to
+burn the letters. And slowly, as if he wanted to prolong the sweet
+sorrow, he let leaf by leaf fall on the hearth and vanish in the
+flames. The last thing left in his hand was the bunch of flowers and
+while he was thinking and pondering, a change of feeling come over him
+and he felt as if he must untie the strand of hair and look at each
+flower separately. But suddenly, as if overcome with superstitious
+fear, he threw the flowers after the letters.
+
+One more flicker and all was wholly quenched and destroyed.
+
+"Am I free now?... Do I want to be? I do not. It is all turned to
+ashes. And yet I am bound."
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXIII
+
+
+Botho gazed at the ashes. "How little and yet how much." And then he
+replaced the handsome fire screen, in the centre of which was a copy of
+a Pompeian frescoed figure. A hundred times his eye had glanced at it
+without noticing what it really was, but to-day he saw it and said:
+"Minerva with her shield and spear. But her spear is resting on the
+ground. Perhaps that signifies peace ... Would that it might be so."
+And then he rose, closed the secret drawer which had now been despoiled
+of its chief treasure and returned to the front of the house.
+
+As he was passing through the long, narrow corridor, he met the cook
+and the housemaid who were just coming back from a walk in the
+Zoological Garden. As he saw them both standing there nervous and
+confused, he felt a movement of compassion, but he controlled it and
+reminded himself, although indeed somewhat ironically, "that it was
+high time that an example should be made." So he began, as well as he
+could, to play the part of Jove with his thunderbolts. Where in the
+world had they been? Was that the proper way to behave? Their mistress
+might come home any time, perhaps even to-day, and he had no desire to
+hand over a disorganised household to her. And the man too? "Now, I
+don't want to know anything about it, I will not listen; least of all
+to any excuses." And when he had finished his little scolding, he
+walked on smiling, chiefly at himself. "How easy it is to preach and
+how hard it is to live up to one's principles. I am a hero only in
+words. Am I not myself out of bounds? Have I not, myself, fallen away
+from correct and virtuous customs? That it has been, might be
+tolerated, but that it still is, that is the worst."
+
+So saying he took his former seat on the balcony and rang. His man came
+now, almost more nervous and troubled than the women, but there was no
+longer any need, for the storm was over. "Tell the cook to get me
+something to eat. Well, what are you waiting for? Oh, I see now (and he
+laughed), there is nothing in the house. All this happens so
+conveniently ... Then some tea; bring me tea, that will surely be in
+the house. And let them make a couple of sandwiches. Good Lord, how
+hungry I am.... And have the evening papers come yet?"
+
+"Very good, Herr Rittmeister."
+
+The tea table was soon served on the balcony and a bit of something to
+eat had also been discovered. Botho leaned back in a rocking chair and
+gazed thoughtfully at the little blue flame. Then he picked up his
+little wife's monitor, the "Fremdenblatt," and after that the
+"Kreuzzeitung," and looked at the last page. "Heavens, how glad
+Katherine will be, when she can study this last page every day fresh
+from the source, that is, twelve hours earlier than in Schlangenbad.
+And is she not right? 'Adalbert von Lichterloh, Government Referendar
+and Lieutenant of Reserves, and Hildegard von Lichterloh, _nee_ Holtze,
+have the honor to announce their marriage which took place to-day.'
+Wonderful! And really it is fine to see how life and love goes on in
+the world. Weddings and christenings! And now and then a few deaths
+interspersed. Oh well, one does not need to read them. Katherine does
+not, nor I either, and only when the Vandals have lost one of their
+'alten Herren' and I see the name of my regiment among the death
+notices do I read it; that interests me and it always seems to me as if
+the old camp at Hofbräu were invited to Walhalla. Spatenbräu is still
+more suitable."
+
+He laid the paper aside, because the bell rung ... "Can she really ..."
+No, it was nothing but a bill of fare of soups sent up by the landlord
+with a charge of fifty pfennigs. But for all that he was much disturbed
+all the evening, because he constantly imagined the possibility of a
+surprise, and whenever he saw a cab with a trunk in front and a lady's
+travelling hat on the back seat turning into the Landgrafenstrasse, he
+would exclaim to himself: "That is she; she loves such doings and I can
+already hear her saying: I thought it would be so funny, Botho."
+
+However, Katherine did not come. A letter from her came next morning
+instead, in which she said that she should return on the third day
+after the date of the letter. "She wanted to travel with Frau Salinger
+again, for, take it for all in all, she was a very nice woman, with
+many pleasant traits, a great deal of style and also knew how to travel
+very comfortably."
+
+Botho laid down the letter and for the moment was sincerely pleased at
+the thought of seeing his pretty young wife within three days. "There
+is room in the human heart for all sorts of contradictions.... She
+talks nonsense, certainly, but even a foolish young wife is better than
+none at all."
+
+Then he called the servants and told them that their mistress was
+coming back in three days; they must have everything in order and
+polish all the locks and other brasses. And there must be no fly specks
+on the big mirror.
+
+Having given these housekeeping orders beforehand, he went to the
+barracks for his period of service there. "If anyone asks, I shall be
+back at five."
+
+His programme for the intervening time was, that until noon he would be
+on the parade ground, then ride for a couple of hours and after his
+ride dine at the club. If he did not find anyone else there, he would
+at least find Balafré, which implied two-handed whist and a wealth of
+true or untrue stories of the Court. For Balafré, however trustworthy
+he was, made it a principle to set aside one hour of the day for humbug
+and exaggeration. Indeed, with him, this activity took the lead among
+the pleasures of the mind.
+
+And the programme was carried out just as it was planned. The big clock
+at the barracks was striking twelve as he sprung into the saddle and
+after he had passed the "Lindens" and immediately after the
+Luisenstrasse, he at last turned into a road that ran along beside the
+canal and further on ran in the direction of Plötzensee. As he rode
+along, he recalled the day when he had ridden here before, to gain
+courage for his parting with Lena, for the parting that had been so
+hard for him and that still had to be. That was three years ago. And
+what had there been for him in the meantime? Much happiness, certainly.
+But it had been no real happiness. A sugar plum, not much more. And who
+can live on sweets alone!
+
+He was still brooding over these thoughts, when he saw two comrades
+coming along a bridle path from the woods towards the canal. They were
+Uhlans, as he could plainly see even from a distance by their
+"Czapkas." But who were they? To be sure, he could not remain long in
+doubt and before they had approached within a hundred paces, Botho saw
+that they were the Rexins, cousins, and both from the same regiment.
+
+"Ah, Rienäcker," said the elder. "Where are you going?"
+
+"As far as the sky is blue."
+
+"That is too far for me."
+
+"Well, then, as far as Saatwinkel."
+
+"That is worth thinking of. I believe I will join the party, that is,
+provided that I do not intrude.... Kurt (and as he spoke he turned to
+his younger companion), I beg your pardon. But I want to speak with
+Rienäcker. And under the circumstances ..."
+
+"You would rather speak with him privately. Just as you prefer, Bozel,"
+and Kurt von Rexin touched his hat and rode on. The cousin who had been
+addressed as Bozel, however, turned his horse around, took the left
+side of Rienäcker, who was far above him in rank and said: "Very well
+then, to Saatwinkel. We shall take care not to ride into the Tegeler
+rifle range."
+
+"At all events I shall try to avoid it," replied Rienäcker, "first for
+my own sake and second for yours. And third and last because of
+Henrietta. What would that interesting brunette say, if her Bogislaw
+should be shot and killed and that too by some friend?"
+
+"That would indeed give her a heartache," answered Rexin, "and would
+also strike out one item in the reckoning between her and me."
+
+"What reckoning do you mean?"
+
+"That is the very point, Rienäcker, about which I wanted to consult
+you."
+
+"To consult me? And about what point?"
+
+"You ought to be able to guess it. It is not difficult. Naturally I
+mean an affair, an affair of my own."
+
+"An affair!" laughed Botho. "Why, I am at your service, Rexin. But, to
+be frank with you, I hardly know just what leads you to confide in me.
+I am not a remarkable fount of wisdom in any direction, least of all in
+this. And then, too, we have quite different authorities. One of these
+you know very well. And moreover he is a special friend of yours and of
+your cousin's."
+
+"Balafré?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+Rexin felt that there was something like reluctance or refusal in these
+words and stopped talking with some air of finality. But that was more
+than Botho had meant, and so he led on a little further. "Affairs.
+Pardon me, Rexin, there are so many affairs."
+
+"Certainly. But however many there are, they are all different."
+
+Botho shrugged his shoulders and smiled. But Rexin, evidently not
+meaning to be stopped the second time through his own sensitiveness,
+only repeated in an indifferent tone: "Yes, however many there are, yet
+they are different. And I wonder, Rienäcker, that you should be the one
+to shrug your shoulders. I really thought ..."
+
+"Well, then, out with it."
+
+"So I will."
+
+And after a while Rexin went on: "I have been through the University,
+and have served with the Uhlans, and before that (you know I joined
+them rather late) I was at Bonn and Göttingen and I need no instruction
+and advice when the case is a usual one. But when I examine myself
+carefully, I find that in my case the affair is not usual but
+exceptional."
+
+"Everyone thinks that."
+
+"To speak plainly, I feel myself engaged, and more than that, I love
+Henrietta, or to show you my feeling more plainly, I love my dark
+Yetta. Yes, this importunate pet name with its suggestion of the
+canteen suits me best, because I want to avoid all solemn airs in this
+connection. I feel sufficiently in earnest and just because I am in
+earnest, I feel no need of anything like pompous or artificial forms of
+speech. They only weaken the expression."
+
+Botho nodded in agreement and refrained from every sign of derision or
+superiority, such as he had shown at first.
+
+"Yetta," Rexin went on, "is not descended from a line of angels nor is
+she one herself. But where can you find one who is? In our own sphere?
+Absurd. All these distinctions are purely artificial and the most
+artificial are to be found in the realm of virtue. Naturally, virtue
+and other such fine things do exist, but innocence and virtue are like
+Bismarck and Moltke, that is, they are rare. I have observed very
+carefully her life and conduct, I believe her to be genuine and I
+intend to act accordingly as far as possible. And now listen,
+Rienäcker. If, instead of riding beside this tiresome canal, as
+straight and monotonous as the forms and formulas of our society, I
+say, if we were now riding by the Sacramento instead of beside this
+wretched ditch, and if we had the diggings before us instead of the
+Tegeler shooting range, I would marry Yetta at once. I cannot live
+without her. She has bewitched me, and her simplicity, modesty and
+genuine love have more weight with me than ten countesses. But it is
+impossible. I cannot treat my parents so, and besides, I cannot leave
+the service at twenty-seven years of age, to become a cowboy in Texas
+or a waiter on a Mississippi steamer. Therefore the middle way...."
+
+"And what do you mean by that?"
+
+"A union without formal sanction."
+
+"You mean a marriage without marriage."
+
+"If you like, yes. The mere word means nothing to me, just as little as
+legalisation, sanctification, or whatever else such things may be
+called; I am a bit touched with nihilism and have no real faith in the
+blessing of the church. But, to cut a long story short, I am in favor
+of monogamy, not on moral grounds, but because I cannot help it, and
+because of my own inborn nature. All relations are repugnant to me,
+where beginning and breaking off may happen within the same hour, so to
+speak. And if I just now called myself a nihilist, I may with still
+more justice call myself a Philistine. I long for simple forms, for a
+quiet, natural way of living, where heart speaks to heart and where one
+has the best that there is, faithfulness, love and freedom."
+
+"Freedom!" repeated Botho.
+
+"Yes, Rienäcker. But since I well know that dangers may lurk here too
+and that the joy of freedom, perhaps all freedom, is a two-edged sword,
+that can wound, one never knows how, I wanted to ask you."
+
+"And I will answer you," said Rienäcker, who was growing more and more
+serious, as these confidences recalled his own life, both past and
+present, to his mind. "Yes, Rexin, I will answer you as well as I can,
+and I believe that I am able to answer you. And so I implore you, keep
+out of all that. In such a relation as you are planning for, only two
+things are possible, and the one is fully as bad as the other. If you
+play the true and faithful lover, or what amounts to the same thing, if
+you break entirely with your position and birth and the customs of your
+class, sooner or later, if you do not go to pieces altogether, you will
+become a horror and a burden to yourself; but if things do not go that
+way, and if, as is more common, you make your peace, after a year or
+more, with your family and with the social order, then there is sorrow,
+for the tie must be loosened which has been knit and strengthened by
+happiness, and alas, what means still more, by unhappiness and pain and
+distress. And that hurts dreadfully."
+
+Rexin looked as if he were about to answer, but Botho did not notice
+him and went on: "My dear Rexin, a short time ago you were speaking, in
+a way that might serve as a model of decorous expression, of relations
+'where beginning and breaking off may happen within the same hour,' but
+these relations, which are really none at all, are not the worst. The
+worst are those, to quote you once more, which keep to the 'middle
+course.' I warn you, beware of this middle course, beware of half-way
+measures. What you think is gain is bankruptcy, and what seems to you a
+harbor means shipwreck. That way leads to no good, even if to outward
+appearances all runs smoothly and no curse is pronounced and scarcely a
+gentle reproach is uttered. And there is no other way. For everything
+brings its own natural consequences, we must remember that. Nothing
+that has happened can be undone, and an image that has once been
+engraved in the soul, never wholly fades out again, never completely
+disappears. Memory remains and comparisons will arise in the mind. And
+so once more, my friend, give up your intention or else the whole
+course of your life will be disturbed and you will never again win your
+way through to clearness and light. Many things may be permitted, but
+not those that involve the soul, not those that entangle the heart,
+even if it is only your own."
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXIV
+
+
+A telegram sent just as Katherine was on the point of departure arrived
+on the third day: "I shall arrive this evening. K."
+
+And she actually arrived. Botho was at the station and was presented to
+Frau Salinger, who declined all thanks for her good companionship
+during the journey, and kept repeating how fortunate she had been, and
+above all how fortunate he must be in having such a charming young
+wife. "Look here, Herr Baron, if I were so fortunate as to be her
+husband, I would never part from such a wife even for three days." And
+then she began to complain of men in general, but in the same breath
+she added an urgent invitation to Vienna. "We have a nice little house
+less than an hour from Vienna, and a couple of saddle horses and a good
+table. In Prussia you have schools and in Vienna we have cooking. And I
+don't know which I prefer."
+
+"I know," said Katherine, "and I think Botho does too."
+
+Hereupon they separated and our young couple got into an open carriage,
+after having given orders for sending the baggage home.
+
+Katherine leaned back and put her little feet up on the back seat, on
+which lay a gigantic bouquet, a parting attention from the Schlangenbad
+landlady who was perfectly delighted with the charming lady from
+Berlin. Katherine took Botho's arm and clung to him caressingly, but
+only for a few moments, then she sat up again and said, as she held the
+great bouquet in place with her parasol: "It is really charming here,
+so many people and the river so crowded with boats that they can
+scarcely find their way in or out. And so little dust. I think it is
+really a blessing that they sprinkle now and everything is drenched
+with water; of course one had better not wear long dresses. And only
+look at the baker's wagon with the dog harnessed in. Isn't he too
+comical? Only the canal.... I don't know, it is still just about the
+same...."
+
+"Yes," laughed Botho, "it is just about the same. Four weeks of July
+heat have not managed to improve it."
+
+As they were passing under some young trees, Katherine plucked a linden
+leaf, placed it over the hollow of her hand and struck it so that it
+made a popping sound. "We always used to do that at home. And at
+Schlangenbad, when we had nothing better to do, we would pop leaves and
+do all sorts of little tricks that we used to do when we were children.
+Can you imagine it, I really care a great deal for such foolish little
+things and yet I am quite old and have finished with them."
+
+"But, Katherine...."
+
+"Yes, yes, a regular matron, you will see.... But just look, Botho,
+there is the rail fence again and the old alehouse with the comical
+and rather improper name, that we used to laugh at so heartily at
+boarding-school. I thought the place was gone long ago. But the
+Berliners will not let anything of that sort go, a place like that will
+always keep on; all that is needed is a queer name, that amuses
+people."
+
+Botho vacillated between pleasure over Katherine's return and fleeting
+moments of discontent. "I find you a good deal changed, Katherine."
+
+"Certainly I am. And why should I be changed? I was not sent to
+Schlangenbad to change, at least not my character and conversation. And
+whether I have changed in some other ways, _mon cher ami, nous
+verrons_."
+
+"Quite matronly now?"
+
+She held her hand over his mouth and pushed back her veil, which had
+fallen half over her face, and directly afterwards they passed the
+Potsdam railway viaduct, over the iron framework of which an express
+train was just rushing. It made both a thundering and a trembling and
+when they had left the bridge behind, Katherine said: "It is always
+disagreeable to me to be directly under it."
+
+"But it is no better for those who are up there."
+
+"Perhaps not. But it is all in the idea. Ideas always have so much
+influence. Don't you think so too?" And she sighed, as if some dreadful
+thing that had taken a terrible hold upon her life had suddenly come
+before her mind. But then she went on: "In England, so Mr. Armstrong,
+an acquaintance at the baths, told me (I must tell you more about him,
+besides he married an Alvensleben)--in England, he said, they bury the
+dead fifteen feet deep. Now fifteen feet deep is no worse than five
+feet, but I felt distinctly, while he was telling me about it, how the
+clay, for that is the correct English word, must weigh like a ton on
+the breast. For in England they have a very heavy clay soil."
+
+"Did you say Armstrong.... There was an Armstrong in the Baden
+Dragoons."
+
+"A cousin of his. They are all cousins, the same as with us. I am glad
+that I can describe him to you with all his little peculiarities. A
+regular cavalier with his mustache turned up, and he really went a
+little too far with that. He looked very comical, with those twisted
+ends, which he was always twisting more."
+
+In about ten minutes the carriage drew up before the door and Botho
+gave her his arm and led her in. A garland hung over the large door of
+the corridor and a tablet with the inscription "Willkommen"
+("Welcome"), from which, alas, one "l" was wanting, hung somewhat
+crookedly from the garland. Katherine looked up, read it and laughed.
+
+"Willkommen! But only with one 'l,' that is to say, only half. Dear me.
+An 'L' is the letter for Love, too. Well then, you too shall have only
+half of everything."
+
+And so she walked through the door into the corridor, where the cook
+and housemaid were already standing waiting to kiss her hand.
+
+"Good day, Bertha; good day, Minette. Yes, children, here I am again.
+Well, how do you think I look? Have I improved?" And before the maids
+could answer, which indeed she was not expecting, she went on: "But you
+have both improved. Especially you, Minette, you have really grown
+quite stout."
+
+Minette was embarrassed and looked straight before her, and Katherine
+added good-naturedly: "I mean only here around your chin and neck."
+
+Meantime the man servant came in also. "Why, Orth, I was growing
+anxious about you. The Lord be praised, there was no need; you are none
+the worse for wear, only a trifle pale. But the heat causes that. And
+still the same freckles."
+
+"Yes, gracious lady, they stay."
+
+"Well, that is right. Always fast color."
+
+While this talk was in progress she had reached her bedroom, where
+Botho and Minette followed her, while the other two retired to their
+kitchen.
+
+"Now, Minette, help me. My cloak first. And now take my hat. But be
+careful, or else we shall never know how to get rid of the dust. And
+now tell Orth to set the table out on the balcony. I have not eaten a
+bite all day, because I wanted everything to taste good here at home.
+And now go, my dear girl; go Minette."
+
+Minette hastened to leave the room, while Katherine remained standing
+before the tall glass and arranged her hair which was in some disorder.
+At the same time she looked at Botho in the glass, for he was standing
+near her and looking at his pretty young wife.
+
+"Now, Botho," said she with playful coquetry and without turning around
+to look at him.
+
+And her affectionate coquetry was cleverly enough calculated so that he
+embraced her while she gave herself up to his caresses. He put his arms
+around her waist and lifted her up in the air. "Katherine, my little
+doll, my dear little doll."
+
+"A doll, a dear little doll. I ought to be angry at that, Botho. For
+one plays with dolls. But I am not angry, on the contrary. Dolls are
+usually loved best and treated best. And that is what I like."
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXV
+
+
+It was a glorious morning, the sky was half clouded and in the gentle
+west wind the young couple sat on the balcony, while Minette was
+clearing the coffee table, and looked over toward the Zoological Garden
+where the gay cupolas of the elephant houses shone softly in the dim
+morning light.
+
+"I really know nothing yet about your experiences," said Botho. "You
+went right to sleep, and sleep is sacred to me. But now I want to hear
+all about it. Tell me."
+
+"Oh yes, tell you; what shall I tell you? I wrote you so many letters
+that you must know Anna Grävenitz and Frau Salinger quite as well as I
+do, or perhaps still better, for among other things I wrote more than I
+knew myself."
+
+"Perhaps. But you always said, 'More about this when we meet.' And that
+time has now come, or do you want me to think you are keeping something
+from me? I know actually nothing at all about your excursions and yet
+you were in Wiesbaden. You said indeed that there were only colonels
+and old generals in Wiesbaden, but there are Englishmen there too. And
+speaking of Englishmen reminds me of your Scotchman, about whom you
+were going to tell me. Let me see, what was his name?"
+
+"Armstrong; Mr. Armstrong. He certainly was a delightful man, and I
+cannot understand his wife, an Alvensleben, as I think I told you
+before, who was always embarrassed whenever he spoke. And yet he was a
+perfect gentleman, who always respected himself, even when he let
+himself go and showed a certain nonchalance. At such moments, gentlemen
+are always the most easily recognised. Don't you agree with me? He wore
+a blue necktie and a yellow summer suit, and he looked as if he had
+been sewed into it, and Anna Grävenitz always used to say: 'There comes
+the penholder.' And he always carried a big, open umbrella, a habit he
+had formed in India. For he was an officer in a Scotch regiment, that
+had been stationed a long time in Madras or Bombay, or perhaps it may
+have been Delhi. But any way it is all the same. And what had he not
+been through! His conversation was charming, even if sometimes one
+hardly knew how to take it."
+
+"So he was too forward? Insolent?"
+
+"I beg your pardon, Botho, how can you speak so? Such a man as he; a
+cavalier _comme il faut_. I will give you an example of his style of
+conversation. Opposite us sat an old lady, the wife of General von
+Wedell, and Anna Grävenitz asked her (I believe it was the anniversary
+of Königgratz), whether it was true that thirty-three Wedells fell in
+the seven years' war? Old Frau von Wedell said that it was quite true,
+and added that there had really been more. All who were present, were
+astonished at so great a number, excepting Mr. Armstrong, and when I
+playfully took him to task, he said that he could not get excited
+over such small numbers. 'Small numbers!' I interrupted him, but he
+laughed and added, for the sake of refuting me, that one hundred and
+thirty-three of the Armstrongs had perished in the various wars and
+feuds of their clan. And when Frau von Wedell at first refused to
+believe this, but finally (as Mr. A. stuck to his story) asked eagerly,
+whether the whole hundred and thirty-three had really 'fallen'? he
+replied 'No, my dear lady, not exactly fallen. Most of them were hung
+as horse thieves by the English, who were then our enemies.' And when
+everybody was horrified over this unsuitable, one might almost say
+embarrassing tale of hanging, he swore that 'we were wrong to be
+offended by any such a thing, for times and opinions had changed and as
+far as his own immediate family were concerned, they regarded their
+heroic forbears with pride. The Scottish method of warfare for three
+hundred years had consisted of cattle lifting and horse stealing.
+Different lands, different customs,' and he could not see any great
+difference between stealing land and stealing cattle."
+
+"He is a Guelph in disguise," said Botho, "but there is a good deal to
+say for his view."
+
+"Surely. And I was always on his side, when he made such statements.
+Oh, he would make you die of laughter. He used to say that one should
+not take anything seriously, it did not pay, and fishing was the only
+serious occupation. He would occasionally go fishing for a fortnight on
+Loch Ness or Loch Lochy--only think what funny names they have in
+Scotland--and he would sleep in the boat, and when the sun rose, there
+he was again; and when the fortnight was ended, he would moult and his
+whole sunburnt skin would come off and then he would have a skin like a
+baby. And he did all this through vanity, for a smooth, even color is
+really the best thing that one can have. And as he said this, he looked
+at me in such a way, that I did not know how to answer for a moment.
+Oh, you men! But yet from the beginning I really had a warm attachment
+for him and took no offence at his way of talking, which sometimes
+pursued one subject for some time, but far, far oftener shifted
+constantly here and there. One of his favorite sayings was: 'I cannot
+bear to have one dish stay on the table a whole hour; if only it is not
+always the same, I am much better pleased when the courses are changed
+rapidly.' And so he was always jumping from the hundreds into the
+thousands."
+
+"Then you must have met on common ground," laughed Botho.
+
+"So we did. And we mean to write to each other, in the same style in
+which we used to talk; we agreed on that as we were saying good-bye.
+Our men, even your friends, are always so thoroughgoing. And you are
+the most thoroughgoing of all, which sometimes annoys me and puts me
+quite out of patience. And you must promise me that you will be more
+like Mr. Armstrong and try to talk a little more simply and amusingly
+and a little faster and not always on the same subject."
+
+Botho promised to amend his ways, and as Katherine, who loved
+superlatives, after describing a phenomenally rich American, an
+absolutely albino Swede with rabbit's eyes, and a fascinating Spanish
+beauty--had closed with an afternoon excursion to Limburg, Oranienstein
+and Nassau, and had described to her husband in turn the crypt, the
+cadets' training school and the water-cure establishment, she suddenly
+pointed to the towers of the castle at Charlottenburg and said: "Do you
+know, Botho, we must go there to-day or to Westend or to Hallensee. The
+Berlin air is rather heavy and there is none of the breath of God in
+it, as there is in the country where the poets so justly praise it. And
+when one has just come back fresh from nature, as I have, one has
+learned to love once more what I might call purity and innocence. Ah,
+Botho, what a treasure an innocent heart is. I have fully determined to
+keep my heart pure. And you must help me. Yes, you must promise me. No,
+not that way; you must kiss me three times on my forehead like a bride.
+I want no tenderness, I want a kiss of consecration ... And if we take
+lunch, a warm dish, of course, we can get out there at about three."
+
+
+And so they went on their excursion and although the air of
+Charlottenburg was still less like the breath of God than the Berlin
+air, yet Katherine was fully determined to stay in the castle park and
+to give up Hallensee. Westend was so tiresome and Hallensee was half a
+journey further, almost as far as Schlangenbad. But in the castle park
+one could see the mausoleum, where the blue lights were always so
+strangely moving, indeed she might say it was as if a bit of heaven had
+fallen into one's soul. That produced a thoughtful mood and led to
+pious reflections. And even if it were not for the mausoleum, still
+there was the bridge where you could see the carp, the bridge with the
+bell on it, and if a great big mossy carp came swimming by, it always
+seemed to her as if it were a crocodile. And perhaps there might be a
+woman there with round cakes and wafers, and one might buy some and so,
+in a small way, do a good work. She said a "good work" on purpose and
+avoided the word Christian, for Frau Salinger was always charitable.
+
+And everything went according to the programme, and when the carps had
+been fed they both walked further into the park until they reached the
+Belvedere with its rococo figures and its historical associations.
+Katherine knew nothing of these associations and Botho therefore took
+occasion to tell her of the ghosts of the departed Emperor and Electors
+whom General von Bischofswerder caused to appear at this very place in
+order to arouse King Frederick William the Second from his lethargy, or
+what amounted to the same thing, to get him out of the hands of his
+lady love and bring him back to the path of virtue.
+
+"And did it do any good?" asked Katherine.
+
+"No."
+
+"What a pity! Anything like that always moves me so painfully. And if I
+consider that the unhappy prince (for he must have been unhappy) was
+the father-in-law of Queen Luise then my heart bleeds. How she must
+have suffered! I can never rightly imagine such things in our Prussia.
+And you say Bischofswerder was the name of the general who caused the
+ghosts to appear?"
+
+"Yes. At court they called him the tree toad."
+
+"Because he brought on changes of weather?"
+
+"No, because he wore a green coat."
+
+"Oh, that is too comical!... The tree toad!"
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXVI
+
+
+As the sun was setting the young couple reached home, and after
+Katherine had given her hat and cloak to Minette and had ordered tea,
+she followed Botho into his room, because she thought it fitting to
+spend the whole of the first day after her journey in his company, and
+besides she really wished to stay with him.
+
+Botho was content, and because she was shivering, he put a cushion
+under her feet and spread a plaid over her. Soon afterwards he was
+called away, on account of some official business which required prompt
+attention.
+
+The time passed and since the cushion and plaid did not quite suffice
+to give the requisite warmth, Katherine rang and asked the servant to
+bring a couple of pieces of wood; she was so cold.
+
+At the same time she rose, to set the fire screen to one side, and in
+doing this, she saw the little heap of ashes, which still lay on the
+iron plate of the fire place.
+
+At this very moment Botho came in again and was startled at what he
+saw. But he was immediately reassured, as Katherine pointed to the
+ashes and said in her most playful tone: "What does this mean, Botho.
+Look there, I have caught you again. Now confess. Love letters? Yes or
+no?"
+
+"Of course you will believe what you choose."
+
+"Yes or no?"
+
+"Very well then; yes."
+
+"That is right. Now I am satisfied. Love letters! That is too comical.
+But perhaps we had better burn them twice; first to ashes and then to
+smoke. Perhaps that will bring good luck."
+
+And she took the pieces of wood that the servant had brought in the
+meantime, laid them skilfully together and started to light them with a
+couple of matches. The wood caught. In a moment the fire was blazing
+brightly and as she drew the armchair up before it and put her feet
+comfortably on the iron fender to warm them, she said: "And now I will
+tell you the story of the Russian, who naturally was not a Russian. But
+she was a very clever person. She had almond eyes, all such persons
+have almond eyes, and she gave out that she was at Schlangenbad for the
+sake of the cure. Well, one knows what that means. She had no doctor,
+at least no regular physician, but every day she went to Frankfort or
+Wiesbaden, or even to Darmstadt, and she always had an escort. And some
+even said that it was not always the same one. And you just ought to
+have seen her toilettes and her conceited airs! She would scarcely bow
+to anyone when she came to the table d'hôte with her chaperon. For she
+had a chaperon--that is always the first requisite for such ladies. And
+we called her 'the Pompadour,' I mean the Russian, and she knew that
+we called her that too. And the general's wife, old Frau von Wedell,
+who was entirely on our side and was quite indignant over this
+doubtful person (for she was a _person_, there could be no doubt about
+that)--Frau Wedell, I say, said right out loud across the table: 'Yes,
+ladies, the fashions change in everything even in pockets large and
+small and in purses long and short. When I was young, there were still
+Pompadours, but now there are no longer any Pompadours. Is not that so?
+There are no longer any Pompadours?' And as she said this we all
+laughed and looked at the Pompadour. But the shocking person won a
+victory over us for all that for she said in a loud, sharp tone (old
+Frau von Wedell was rather deaf) 'Yes, Frau Generalin, it is exactly as
+you say. Only it is strange, that as the Pompadours went out reticules
+came in, and presently they were called Ridicules and such Ridicules we
+still have.' And as she spoke she looked at good old Frau von Wedell,
+who, since she could not answer, rose from the table and left the room.
+And now I should like to ask you, what have you to say to this? What do
+you think of such impertinence?... But, Botho, you are not saying
+anything. You are not listening...."
+
+"Oh yes, I am, Katherine...."
+
+
+Three weeks later there was a wedding in Jacob's church, the
+cloister-like court in front of which was filled with a large and
+curious crowd, mostly workingmen's wives, some of them with children on
+their arms. But there were some school children and street children
+among them too. A number of carriages drove up, from one of the first
+of which a couple alighted, who were accompanied by laughter and
+comments, as long as they were in sight.
+
+"Such a figure!" said one of the women who stood nearest.
+
+"Figure?"
+
+"Well, her hips."
+
+"They are more like the sides of a whale."
+
+"That is right."
+
+And doubtless this conversation would have continued longer, had not
+the bride's carriage driven up just at this moment. The servant sprang
+down from the box and hastened to open the door, but the bridegroom
+himself, a thin man in a tall hat and high pointed collar, was quicker
+than he and gave his hand to his bride, a very pretty girl, who, as is
+usually the case with brides was less admired for her beauty than for
+her white satin dress. Then both walked up the few stone steps, which
+were covered with a somewhat worn carpet, then over the court and
+directly afterwards through the church door. All eyes followed them.
+
+"And she has no wreath?" said the same woman whose critical eye had
+shortly before looked so severely at Frau Dörr's figure.
+
+"Wreath?... Wreath?... Didn't you know then?... Haven't you heard
+anything whispered about?"
+
+"Oh, so that is it. Of course I have. But, my dear Kornatzki, if
+everybody paid attention to rumors there would be no more wreaths and
+Schmidt on the Friedrichsstrasse might as well shut up shop at once."
+
+"Yes, yes," laughed Kornatzki, "so he might. And after all, for such an
+old man! At least fifty years have gone over his head and he looks as
+if he might be going to celebrate his silver wedding at the same time."
+
+"Yes indeed. That is just how he looked. And did you see his
+old-fashioned high collar? I never saw anything like it."
+
+"Well, he could use it to kill her with, if there are any more rumors."
+
+"Yes, he can do that."
+
+And so the talk ran on a little longer, while the organ prelude could
+already be heard from the church.
+
+
+The next morning Rienäcker and Katherine were sitting at breakfast,
+this time in Botho's workroom, both windows of which stood wide open to
+let in the air and light. Some mating swallows were flying and
+twittering all about the yard, and Botho, who was in the habit of
+giving them crumbs every morning, was just reaching for the basket
+again for the same purpose when the hearty laughter of his young wife
+who for the last five minutes had been absorbed in her favorite
+newspaper, caused him to set the basket down again.
+
+"Now, Katherine, what is it? You seem to have found something
+uncommonly nice."
+
+"So I have.... It is simply too comical, the names that one sees! And
+always in the notices of weddings or engagements. Just listen...."
+
+"I am all ears."
+
+"Gideon Franke, Master Mechanic, and Magdalena Franke, née Nimptsch,
+respectfully beg leave to announce their marriage which took place
+to-day ... Nimptsch. Can you imagine anything funnier? And then
+Gideon!"
+
+Botho took the paper, but only as a means of concealing his
+embarrassment. Then he handed it back, and said in as careless a tone
+as he could muster: "What have you against Gideon, Katherine? Gideon is
+better than Botho."
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 1: The reader need not take the trouble to look for the place
+thus designated. We have found it necessary to change the names given
+in the original.]
+
+[Footnote 2: We feel obliged to suppress the passage in the letter, to
+prevent anyone from feeling aggrieved; although no author need pay much
+attention to the opinion of a mere girl, or that of an unsteady young
+man.]
+
+[Footnote 3: Though the names are omitted, yet the authors mentioned
+deserve Charlotte's approbation, and will feel it in their hearts when
+they read this passage. It concerns no other person.]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction
+- German, by J. W. von Goethe and Gottfried Keller and Theodor Fontane and Theodor Storm
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HARVARD CLASSICS FICTION--GERMAN ***
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