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diff --git a/34506-8.txt b/34506-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f003217 --- /dev/null +++ b/34506-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18491 @@ +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 *** + +***** This file should be named 34506-8.txt or 34506-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/5/0/34506/ + +Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by Google Books + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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