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diff --git a/47168-8.txt b/47168-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index bc20312..0000000 --- a/47168-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9922 +0,0 @@ - THE FOREST SCHOOLMASTER - - - - -This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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 -http://www.gutenberg.org/license. If you are not located in the United -States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are -located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Forest Schoolmaster -Author: Peter Rosegger -Release Date: October 22, 2014 [EBook #47168] -Language: English -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FOREST SCHOOLMASTER *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - - - - The Forest - Schoolmaster - - - By Peter Rosegger - - - - Authorized Translation - by - Frances E. Skinner - - - - G. P. Putnam's Sons - New York and London - The Knickerbocker Press - 1901 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1900 - BY - FRANCES E. SKINNER - - - - The Knickerbocker Press, New York - - - - -For the use of the following autobiographical sketch, -I am indebted to the courtesy of Herr Staackmann, the -author's publisher in Leipzig. - -THE TRANSLATOR. - - - - - *PREFACE* - - -The author of the following work is a man well on in the fifties and -lives--as he should--on his native soil. Born in Steiermark, Austria, -in a lonely mountain region, he led the life of a forest peasant until -he reached the age of eighteen, when he became apprenticed to a -travelling peasant tailor. On the expiration of this apprenticeship, -which covered a period of four years, he spent other four years as -charity scholar in the commercial school at Graz. - -After these experiences, and after having mastered such a variety of -subjects, he began to work at something which he not only had not -mastered but with which he was wholly unfamiliar--literature. He had -always had a passion for books, but having no money with which to buy -them, he had made them for himself. - -In the peasant hut and in the workshop had been brought forth no less -than twenty-four magnificent volumes, closely written with ink made from -soot, illustrated with lead-pencil, and painted in water-colours with a -brush made from his own hair--_édition de luxe_! But worthy to be -printed!--not a single line. - -Thus this youth had worked for ten long years, every Sunday, every -holiday, and often late into the night, by the light of a pine torch and -in the midst of the noise of his house companions, who occupied the same -room. The intellectual and spiritual life of the poor lad was a very -lonely one. - -He did not write for print; the innocent boy scarcely knew that books -were already being printed in this age, for the most of those which he -had seen were old folios. He simply wrote to make two out of one, to -place himself before himself, in his thoughts, in poems, in all kinds of -yarns and tales, that in his great loneliness he might at least have a -comrade. Beyond this he did not think or strive, was happy rather than -unhappy, cherishing a vague hope that his life would at some time -change. Whenever he asked himself what this change might be, he would -calmly answer:--"Probably death." - -But at this point things took a strange turn. The young man was -completely transformed; not only from boy to youth, from youth to man; -he changed not his coat alone, but in his fustian jacket, in his -workman's blouse or student's garb, there appeared each time another -being, which during all these transformations had not once died. - -It finally seemed to him as though three or four different natures were -dwelling in him, and as the original one had formerly tried to express -itself, so now, in great confusion, they all struggled with one another -to do the same. He was twenty-six years old, he had seen something of -life, had read many books and had seen how they were made. Thus he was -inspired to write afresh, and this time--_for print_. - -I should envy him his good fortune were I not the man myself. So -nothing remains for me but to thank Heaven for the pleasant paths over -which I have been led. I have not deserved it, for I was not conscious -of any definite aim, being satisfied to fill my days with work which -appealed to me. I could now write to my heart's content. That which -was written with the least effort was always the most successful, but if -I attempted anything great, which it seemed to me might even prove -itself immortal, it was usually a failure. - -It was finally decided by one of my friends that for the future I should -neither do tailoring nor handle the plough or the yard-stick, but -instead become an author. My youth had not spoiled me, far from it, but -such an aim as this seemed beyond my reach. - -I married and had children. I wrote, and my books found friends. And -now the time had come when one might truly say, "_Augenblick verweile!_" -But the moment did not stay, it flew and with it took from me my -dearest, my all,--my wife. In the _Waldheimath_ and in _Mein Weltleben_ -those events have been depicted. - -But my work was my salvation, and another transformation took place. In -the neighbourhood of my forest home I built myself a little house and -after a number of years I married a second time. More children came, -and as my hair whitened, I was surrounded by a lively circle of gay -young people. - -In the meantime I had seen something of the world, wandering from the -north to the south, visiting friends over in the dear German Empire, -being invited to various cities to give readings from my works in -_steierisch_ dialect. - -For twenty-three years I edited a monthly magazine in Graz, called "_Der -Heimgarten_," where my various writings were placed on trial. Those -which were worthy to endure but a day died with the day, those which -struck a deeper chord appeared in books. During the last thirty years -forty volumes have gone out into the world. Their merits must be judged -by the reader. They are not so impassioned as formerly; but the little -forest springs are clearer than the greater ones. I shall be proud if -my critics will only call them: "_Frisch Wasser_." - - -PETER ROSEGGER. - -KRIEGLACH, Autumn, 1899 - - - - - *CONTENTS* - -INTRODUCTORY - -THE SCHOOLMASTER'S STORY: - -PART FIRST - -PART SECOND - -PART THIRD - -THE LAST PAGE - - - - - *The Forest Schoolmaster* - - - *INTRODUCTORY* - - -"ROAD TO WINKELSTEG." - -These words are on the sign-post. But the rain has nearly washed out -the old-fashioned letters, and the post itself totters in the wind. - -Round about stretches a rugged pine-forest; on the heights above are a -few ancient larches, their bare branches reaching out to the sky. In -the depths of a defile is a roaring torrent which the old mountain road -frequently crosses by means of half-sunken wooden bridges, leading to an -opening where the wanderer from peopled regions catches the first -glimpse of the glaciers. - -Here the Wildbach comes rushing down, and the road, after having -traversed wastes and wildernesses, turns toward more peaceful woodlands, -at last leading to the habitations of man. Along the river-bed extends -a dry rocky ravine, across which storms have thrown pine-trunks, -bleached from long exposure to the sun. - -At the parting of the ways, upon a high rock stands a tall wooden cross, -with triple cross-bars, upon which are carved the instruments of -martyrdom of the holy passion: spear, sponge, reed, pincers, hammer, and -the three nails. The wood is weather-beaten and overgrown with moss. -Close by is the post with the arm and the inscription: "Road to -Winkelsteg." - -This sign points to the neglected stony path leading toward the narrow -valley, beyond which lie the snow-fields. On the farthest heights, -above the gently rising, snow-covered peaks, towers a grey cone, about -whose summit cloud flakes love to gather. - -I seated myself upon a block of stone near the cross and gazed up at the -grey peak. While sitting there, my soul was possessed with that vague -feeling, the source and meaning of which no one can tell, nor why it so -oppresses the heart; clothes it, as it were, with the armour of -resignation, preparing it against a something which must come. We call -this strange experience of the soul, foreboding. - -I might have rested for some time on the stone, listening to the roar of -the wild waters, had it not seemed to me that the wooden arm was -stretching itself out longer and longer, while the words grew into a -pressing reminder: "Road to Winkelsteg." - -On rising I perceived that my shadow was already lengthening, and it was -uncertain how great a distance still lay between me and that remotest -and smallest of all villages, Winkelsteg. - -I walked rapidly, taking little heed of my surroundings. I only noticed -that the wilderness became more and more imposing. I heard deer belling -in the forest, I heard vultures whistling through the air. The sky -darkened, although too early for nightfall. A storm was gathering over -the rocky peaks. First a half smothered rumbling was heard, then a -thundering and rolling, as if all the rocks and masses of ice in the -high mountains were crashing a thousand times against each other. The -great trees swayed, and in the broad leaves of a maple already rattled -the big icy drops. - -With these few drops the storm passed. Farther in it must have been -more severe, for suddenly through the gorge a wild torrent, bringing -with it earth, stones, ice, and bits of wood, rushed toward me. I saved -myself from falling by clambering up the slope, and with great -difficulty made my way forward. The whole country was now wrapped in -fog, which descended from the branches of the pines to the damp heather -on the ground. - -As twilight approached and the defile widened a little, I reached a -narrow valley, the length of which I could not measure on account of the -fog. The grass was covered with hailstones. The brook had overflowed -its banks and torn away the bridge which led to the opposite shore, -where through the grey mist shone the wooden roofs of a few houses and a -little white church. The air was frosty and cold. I called across to -the men who were trying to catch the blocks of wood and regulate the -current. They shouted back that they could not help me, and that I must -wait until the water had lowered again. - -One might wait the whole night for such a torrent to subside; so, taking -the risk, I attempted to wade through the stream. But those on the -other side motioned to me warningly. Soon a tall, black-bearded man -appeared with a long pole, by means of which he swung himself across to -me. Close to the bank he piled a few stones, and upon these laid a -board which the others had shoved to him. Then taking me by the hand, -he cautiously led me over the tottering bridge to the opposite shore. - -While we were swaying over the water, the sound of the Ave-bells reached -our ears, and the men reverently removed their hats. - -The tall, dark man walked with me over the crackling hailstones up to -the village. "So it goes," he grumbled on the way. "If God lets -anything grow, the devil strikes it down into the ground again. The -cabbage plants are gone to the last stump, and the last stump is gone -also. The oats are lying on their backs now with their knees raised -toward heaven." - -"Has the storm done so much harm?" I asked. - -"You see that," he replied. - -"And farther out there it hardly sprinkled." - -"I can well believe it. It is always meant only for us Winkelstegers. -From to-day on not one of us will dare eat his fill all summer, unless -we wish to hang our stomachs up in the chimney flue for the winter." -Such was his answer. - -The village consisted of three or four wooden houses, a few huts, some -smoking charcoal-pits, and the little church. - -In front of one of the larger houses, before the door of which lay a -broad stepping-stone, worn by many feet, my companion paused and said: -"Will you stop here, sir? I am the Winkel innkeeper." With these words -he pointed to the house, as if that were his real self. - -Entering the guest-room, I was met by the landlady who took my -travelling-bag and damp overcoat and, bringing me a pair of straw shoes, -said: "Off with the wet leather and on with the slippers; be quick; a -wet shoe on the foot runs for the doctor." Very soon I was sitting dry -and comfortable by the large table under the _Haus Altar_ and some -shelves, upon which stood a row of gaily painted earthen- and -china-ware. Upon a rack were a number of bottles, and I was asked at -once if I would take some brandy. - -On requesting some wine mine host replied: "There has n't been a drop in -the cellar since the house was built, but I can give you some excellent -cider." - -As I accepted his offer, he started for the cellar, but his wife stepped -hastily up to him and, taking the key out of his hand, said: "Go, -Lazarus, and snuff the candle for the gentleman; and be quick about it, -Lazarus; you'll get your little drop soon enough." - -He came back to the table grumbling, snuffed the wick of the tallow -candle, looked at me for awhile, and finally asked: "The gentleman is -possibly our new schoolmaster?--No? Then your way leads up the Graue -Zahn? That you will hardly do to-morrow. No one has climbed it this -summer. That must be done in the early autumn; at other times there's no -depending on the weather. Indeed, how one does speculate about things; -now I thought you might be the new schoolmaster. Hardly anyone finds -his way up here who does n't belong to the place, and we are expecting -him every day. The old one has run away from us;--have you heard nothing -about it?" - -"So, Lazarus, you 're having a fine chat with the gentleman," said the -landlady in a coaxing tone to her husband, as she set the cider and at -the same time the evening soup before me. - -The woman was no longer young, but was what the foresters call "round as -a ball." She had a double chin, from under which about the full throat, -a silver chain peeped out. Her little eyes had a shrewd and gentle -expression as she spoke or moved about, cheerfully presiding in the -house, each corner and nail of which was familiar to her and had almost -grown to be a part of herself. In a merry mood she directed everything, -joked with the guests, and laughed with the servants in the kitchen. -That the storm had ruined the crops was indeed no joke, she said; but it -was far better that ice should fall from heaven upon the earth than that -it should fall into heaven and break everything to pieces there. Then -indeed one would have nothing more to hope for. And as she talked she -fairly bubbled over with fun, and the whole circle about her was -cheered, each one seeming simply to follow his own bent in whatever he -did, felt, and said; yet all went on in perfect order. - -"You have an excellent little wife," I said to my landlord. - -"Yes, indeed, yes, indeed," he answered with animation; "she is good, my -Juliana, yet--yet----" the word seemed to choke him, or rather he ground -it between his teeth and forced it down; springing up, with his hands -clinched behind him, he strode across the room and back again, finally -draining a glass of water at one draught. - -Then he seated himself upon the bench and was quiet. But he was by no -means himself. He had doubled his fists and was staring hard at the -table.... I once saw at a fair an Arab, a tall, powerful figure, -haggard, rough, brown as leather, with a full black beard, gleaming -eyes, a long hooked nose, snow-white teeth, thick eye-brows, and soft -woolly hair.... Thus appeared the man now brooding so gloomily before -me. - -"There is n't another little wife so good-hearted and faithful," he -murmured suddenly; he finished the sentence with a sullen growl. - -Observing his painful mood, I tried to help him out of it. - -"So you say the old schoolmaster has run away?" At this the landlord -raised his head: "One can't exactly say he has run away; he had nothing -to complain of here. I should think one who had been school-teacher, -and I-don't-know-what-all, in Winkelsteg for fifty years, would n't run -away like a horse-thief in the fifty-first." - -"School-teacher here fifty years!" I exclaimed. - -"He was school-teacher, doctor, bailiff, and awhile even our pastor." - -"And half a fool in the bargain!" called a man from a neighbouring -table, where a number of swarthy fellows, mostly wood-cutters and -charcoal-burners, were sitting before their brandy-glasses. "Aye! aye!" -cried the same voice; "he would sit outside there by the juniper bush -muttering to himself, hours at a time; he must have been trying to teach -the bullfinches to sing by note. Whenever he spied a gay butterfly, he -would flounder after it the livelong day;--a baby in arms could n't have -been more childish. Maybe some such creature has enticed him away now, -so that the old man can never find his way home again, but is lost out -in the woods somewhere." - -"There are no butterflies about at Christmas-time, Josel," said the -landlord, half correctingly, half reprovingly; "and that he was lost on -Christmas eve, you know very well." - -"The devil has taken him, the old sinner!" growled another voice from -the darkest corner of the room, by the big stove. - -As I looked in that direction, I saw in the darkness sparks from a -tinder-box. - -"You mustn't, you mustn't talk so!" said one of the charcoal men. "You -should remember that the old man had snow-white hair!" - -"Yes, and horns under it," was called from the corner by the stove; -"perhaps no one knew him so well, the old sneak, as Schorschl! Do you -think he did n't connive with the great men so that none of us could win -in the lottery? How then did Kranabetsepp make a _tern_ the second week -after the schoolmaster went away? To be sure, the hunch-backed -hypocrite had money enough, but he buried it, so that if he did n't need -it himself the poor could n't use it either. Oh--perhaps one might tell -other stories, too, if certain people were not in the room." - -The voice was silent; nothing could be heard but the sound of lips -puffing smoke, and the shutting of a pipe-lid. - -The landlord arose, threw aside his fustian jacket, and, with flowing -shirt-sleeves, walked a few steps toward the stove. In the middle of -the room he paused. - -"So there are certain people in the room, are there," he said under his -breath. "Schorschl, I thought so myself; but they don't sit at an -honest table before everybody's eyes; they cower in the pitch-dark -corner, like good-for-nothing rascals, like--like----" - -He stopped, and it could be seen how he forced himself to be calm; he -pulled himself together with a jerk, but remained standing in the middle -of the room. - -"Oh, of course the brandy-distillers could n't endure the old man," said -one of the charcoal-burners. Then turning to me: "My dear sir, he meant -well! God comfort his poor soul! He played the organ Christmas eve, but -Christmas morning there were no bells rung for prayers. In the night he -had told Reiter-Peter--he is our musician, you know--to take charge of -the music on Christmas day;--that was his last word, and the -schoolmaster was seen no more. By St. Anthony, how we hunted for the -man! It was impossible to trace him; the snow was as hard as stone -everywhere, even in the forest. All Winkelsteg was up searching the -woods far and near, and even the roads in the country outside." - -The man was silent; a shrug of the shoulders and a motion of the hand -indicated that they had not found him. - -"And so we Winkelstegers have no schoolmaster," said the landlord. - -"As for myself, I don't need one; I never have learned anything, and -never shall now. I manage anyway. But I see very well that there must -be a schoolmaster. Therefore, we peasants of the parish and the -wood-cutters have agreed that we must have a new----" - -At this moment I raised the cider glass to my lips, to swallow the rest -of the excellent drink, and the action seemed to check the man's power -of speech. Staring at the empty glass, he tried to go on with his story, -which apparently was entirely driven from his mind. - -"I know what I think," answered one of the charcoal-burners, "and I say -the same, just exactly the same, as Wurzentoni. The old schoolmaster, -says he, knew a bit more than other people; a good bit more. -Wurzentoni--not only once, ten, nay a hundred times,--has seen the -schoolmaster praying out of a little book in which were all sorts of -sayings, magic and witchcraft signs. If the schoolmaster had died -anywhere in the woods, says Wurzentoni, then someone would have found -the body; if the devil had taken him, then his cloak would have been -left behind; for the cloak, says Wurzentoni, is innocent; the devil has -no power over that, not the least! Something altogether different has -happened, my friends! The schoolmaster has bewitched himself, and so, -invisible, he wanders around day and night in Winkelsteg--day and night -at every hour. That's because he 's curious to see what the people are -doing, and to hear what stories they are telling about him, and -because----. I 'm not saying anything bad about the schoolmaster, not -I; I should n't know what to say, indeed I should n't!" - -"Oh, if the devil was n't any wiser than the black charcoal-burner!" -coughed the voice behind the stove. "The old scoundrel still leads the -Winkelstegers around by the nose!" - -An enraged lion could not have started up more angrily than did the -rough and sullen landlord. Fairly groaning with impatience, he plunged -behind the stove, from whence issued alarming cries. - -Hastening forward, the landlady cried: "Come, Lazarus, don't mind that -stupid rascal there! It is n't worth while that you should lift a -finger on his account. Come, be sensible, Lazarus; see, here I have -poured out your drink of cider for you." - -He yielded at last, and Schorschl sneaked out through the door like a -dog, leaving Lazarus with bits of hair in his fist. Grumbling, he -walked towards the chest upon which his wife had placed a mug of cider. -Almost choking, he tremblingly seized it and, carrying it to his lips, -took a long draught. With staring eyes he stopped a moment, then, -beginning again, he drained the mug to the last drop! That must have -been a terrible thirst! The hand holding the empty mug sank slowly; -with a deep breath the landlord glowered straight before him. - -So the time passed, until the landlady came to me and said: "We can give -you a good bed up in the attic; but I will tell you at once, sir, that -the wind has carried away a few shingles from the roof to-day, and so it -drips through a little. In the schoolhouse above here, is a very nice, -comfortable room, which has already been arranged for the new teacher; -it heats well, too, and we have the key; for my old man is Winkel -Magistrate, and has charge of it. Now, if you would n't mind sleeping -in the schoolhouse, I would advise you to do it. Indeed it's not in the -least gloomy, and it 's very quiet and clean. I think I should like to -live there the year round." - -So I chose the schoolhouse instead of the attic. Not long afterwards, a -maid with a lantern accompanied me out into the dark, rainy night, -through the village to the church beyond the graveyard, on the edge of -which stood the schoolhouse. The hall was bare, and the shadows from -the lantern chased each other up and down the walls. - -Then we entered a little room, where, in the tile stove, a bright fire -was crackling. My companion placed a candle on the table, threw back -the brown cover of the bed, and opened a drawer of the bureau, that I -might put away my things. All at once she exclaimed: "No, really, we -should all of us be ashamed of ourselves; here are these scraps still -scattered about!" She hastily seized an armful of sheets of paper, -which were lying in confusion in the drawer. "I 'll take care of you -soon enough, you bits of trash; the stove is the place for you!" - -"Stop, stop," I interrupted, "perhaps there are things there that the -new teacher can use." - -She threw the papers back into the drawer with an impatient gesture. In -her frenzy for cleaning up, it would doubtless have given her great -pleasure to burn them; just as indeed many ignorant people are possessed -with a desire to destroy everything which seems to them useless. - -"The gentleman can put on the old schoolmaster's night-cap," said the -girl roguishly, laying a blue striped night-cap on the pillow. She then -gave me some advice in regard to the door-key, and said: "So, _in -Gottesnamen_, now I will go!" and with this she left me. - -She closed the outside door, and, turning the key of the inner, I was -alone in the room of the missing schoolmaster. - -How strange had been the fortunes of this man, and how curious the -reports of the people! And how contradictory these reports! A good, -excellent man, a fool; and what's more, one whom at last the devil -claims for his own! - -I looked around me in the room. There was a worm-eaten table and a -brown chest. On the wall hung an old clock; the figures were entirely -effaced from the dial under which the short pendulum swung busily -backward and forward, as if trying to hasten faster and faster out of a -sad past into a better future. And, curiously enough, I could also hear -the ticking of the church-tower clock outside! - -Near this time-piece hung a few pipes, carved out of juniper wood, with -disproportionately long stems; then a violin, and an old zither with -three strings. There were besides the usual furnishings in the room, -from the boot-jack under the bedstead to the calendar on the wall. The -calendar was last year's. The windows were much larger than is usual in -wooden houses, and were provided with lattices, through which dried -birch-twigs were twined. - -Pushing aside one of the blue curtains, I looked out into the darkness. -From one corner of the churchyard, something shone like a stray -moonbeam. It was probably the phosphorous light from a mouldering -wooden cross, or from the remains of a coffin. The rain pattered, the -wind blew in chilly gusts, as is usual after hailstorms. - -I had given up the mountain trip for the next day. I decided either to -wait in Winkelsteg for fine weather, or, by means of one of the coal -waggons, to go away again. Sometimes, even in summer, the damp fogs -last for weeks in the mountains, while in the outlying districts the sun -is still shining. - -Before I retired, I rummaged a little among the old papers in the -drawer. There were sheets of music, writing exercises, notes, and all -kinds of scribbling on rough grey paper, written partly with pencil, -partly with pale, yellowish ink, some hastily, and some with great care. -And between the leaves lay pressed plants, butterflies, which had long -lost the dust from their wings, and a lot of animal and landscape -drawings, mostly rather clumsily done. But one picture struck me -particularly, a curious picture, painted in bright colours. It -represented the bent figure of an old man, sitting upon the trunk of a -tree, smoking a long-stemmed pipe. He wore a flat, black cap, with a -broad, projecting brim, under which his hair was combed straight back. -Whoever had drawn the picture must have been an artist; one could see -that from the expression of the face. Out of one eye, which was wide -open, gazed an earnest, though gentle soul; the other, which was half -closed, twinkled roguishly. When such guests look forth from the -windows of a house, it surely cannot be poor and barren within. Above -the cheeks, made perhaps too rosy by the well-meaning artist, were deep -furrows, as if storms and torrents had swept over them. On the other -hand, the long white beard gave a very droll appearance to the otherwise -smoothly-shaven face; it was for all the world like an icicle hanging -from under the chin. About the throat a bright red kerchief was twisted -a number of times and tied in several knots in front. Then came the -high wall of coat-collar and the blue cloth tail-coat itself, with its -loosely-hanging pockets, from one of which the humorous artist had made -a bun peep out. The coat was loosely buttoned up to the icicle. The -trousers were grey, very tight and short; the boots, also grey, were -broad and long. So the little man sat there, holding the pipe-stem with -both hands, smoking contentedly. The smoke rose in delicate rings and -hearts. - -The artist must have been an odd genius, and the subject still more odd. -One or the other was surely the old schoolmaster, who had disappeared in -such an inexplicable manner, after having taught for fifty years in this -place. "And invisible he wanders around day and night in Winkelsteg, at -every hour!" - -I went to bed, and lay there thinking, not in the least realising what -manner of man had built this house, and rested in this place before me. - -The fire in the stove crackled fainter and fainter and was dying out. -Outside the rain pattered, yet such a silence lay over all that I seemed -to hear the breathing of the night. I was just falling asleep, when all -at once, quite close above me, began a cheerful sound, and several times -in succession the call of the quail rang out loud and merrily. It was -deceptively like the beautiful voice of the bird in the cornfield. It -was the old clock, which in such a strange way had announced to me the -eleventh hour. - -And the sweet tones led my thoughts and dreams out into the sunny -cornfields, to the waving stalks, to the bright blue flowers, to the -dazzling butterflies, and thus I fell asleep that night in the -mysterious schoolhouse in Winkelsteg. - - -As the call of the quail had lulled me to sleep, so it awakened me -again. It was the sixth hour of the morning. - -The mild warmth from the stove filled the room; the walls and ceiling -were as though bathed in moonlight. It was the month of July, and the -sun must have already risen. I arose and drew back one of the blue -window-curtains. The large panes were wet and grey; here and there a -pearly drop, freeing itself, rolled down through the countless bubbles, -leaving behind a narrow path, through which the dark-brown church roof -could be seen. - -I opened the window; a chilly air penetrated the room. The rain had -ceased; upon the graveyard wall lay icicles, lodged there by the storm, -together with broken bark and tops of branches. By the church were bits -of shingle from the roof; the windows were protected with boards. Some -ash trees stood near by, and the water dripped from the few leaves which -the hail had spared. Yonder rose the vanishing image of a chimney; -everything beyond that was hidden by the fog. - -I had abandoned all thought of the Alpine climb for that day. While -dressing, I looked at the mechanism of the old Black Forest clock, -which, by means of two flat bits of wood beating against each other, so -strikingly reproduced the warbling notes of the quail. Afterwards I -rummaged awhile among the papers in the drawer, as it was still too -early for breakfast. I noticed that, excepting the drawings, -calculations, and those papers which served as an album for the plants, -all the written sheets were of the same size, and numbered with red ink. -I tried to arrange the leaves, and occasionally cast a glance at their -contents. It seemed to be a kind of diary, bearing reference to -Winkelsteg. But the writings were so full of peculiar expressions and -irregularly-formed sentences that study and some translation would be -necessary to make them intelligible. - -This task, however, did not discourage me; for here I hoped to find an -account of the isolated Alpine village, and perhaps even facts -concerning the life of the lost schoolmaster. While busily arranging -the papers and thoroughly absorbed in my work, I suddenly discovered a -thick grey sheet upon which was written in large red letters: "THE -SCHOOLMASTER'S STORY." - -So, in a way, I had put a book together, and the leaf with the red -letters I had laid by chance on top as a title. - -In the meanwhile, my quail had announced the eighth hour, and from the -church tower two clear little bells rang out for mass. The priest, a -slender man with a pale face, walked from his house up the stone steps -to the church. A few men and women followed him, and, while still far -from the door, bared their heads, or, taking out their rosaries at the -entrance, sprinkled themselves reverently with holy water. - -Leaving the schoolhouse, I crossed the rough, sandy ground, and, -attracted by the friendly sound of the organ, entered the place of -worship. Upon the first glance, the interior seemed much the same as in -any village church--yet in reality it was quite different. - -Usually the poorer such a church, the more silver and gold is seen -sparkling within--all the candlesticks and vessels, of silver, all the -decorations, the robes of the saints, the angels' wings, and even the -clouds in the sky, of gold. But it is only make-believe. I cannot -blame that peasant for exclaiming, the first time he arranged the -service for mass, thus making nearer acquaintance with the images and -altars: "Our saints seem so fine and sparkle so from a distance, one -would suppose heaven to be filled with very grand people; but when one -looks closer, they are nothing but trash." - -In the church at Winkelsteg I found it otherwise. Although here -everything was made of wood, mostly of the commonest pine, it was not -decorated with gaudy colors, glittering tinsel and such ornaments; it -was simply itself, not attempting to be anything more. - -The walls were grey, and almost bare. In one corner of the nave clung a -few swallows' nests, the occupants of which had remained for the -service, and in their own way were joining in the Sanctus. It was -evident that the floor of the choir above, the confessional, chancel, -and praying-benches, had been made by common home carpenters. The -baptismal font had never seen a stone-cutter, nor the high altar a -sculptor. But there were taste and design in everything. The altar was -a high, dignified table, reached by three broad steps. It was covered -with simple white linen, and under a canopy of white silk were the holy -relics, surrounded by six slender candle-sticks, carved from -linden-wood. But that which impressed me the most, which touched and -almost overpowered me, was a high, bare wooden cross towering above the -canopy. - -It could not always have stood there; it was grey and weather-beaten, -the fibre washed by the rain, and with deep fissures formed by the sun. -That was the Winkelsteg altar-piece. I have never heard a preacher -speak more earnestly or impressively of love and patience, of sacrifice -and renunciation, than did this silent cross upon the altar. - -I next observed something which seemed almost out of keeping with the -poverty and simplicity, otherwise reigning in this house of God, but -which in reality added to its peace and harmony. On either side of the -altar were two high, narrow, painted windows, casting a soft, roseate -half light over the chancel. - -The priest was celebrating mass; the few present knelt in their chairs, -praying quietly; the soft, trembling notes of the organ seemed to join -reverently with them, like a weeping intercessor before God, -supplicating for the poor parish which, through the storm of yesterday, -had a new burden to bear in the loss of its harvest. - -When the mass was over, and the people had risen, crossed themselves and -left the church, a handsome young man descended from the choir. At the -door I asked him if he were not the organist. He nodded and walked away -toward the village; accompanying him, I endeavoured to enter into -conversation. Several times he looked sadly and confidingly into my -face, but uttered not a word; his fresh red lips almost trembled, and he -soon turned and wandered off towards the brook. He was dumb. - -Not long afterwards, I was sitting at my breakfast in the inn. It -consisted of a bowl of milk, flavoured with roasted rye-meal, which is -the Winkelsteg coffee. - -And now--what were my plans? - -I told the cheerful landlady of my intention to wait for favourable -weather in Winkelsteg, to live in the little room at the schoolhouse, -and to read the records of the schoolmaster--"If I may have permission." - -"Oh dear, yes; of course you may!" she exclaimed; "whom could you -disturb up there, sir? And no one else would look at those old -papers--no one that I know of! So you may select those that you want. -The new schoolmaster will bring all such things with him. But I hardly -think one will come now. Certainly you may stay, and I will see that -the room is kept nice and warm." - -So I went up to the schoolhouse again. This time I examined the -exterior. It was built for convenience and comfort; there was a wide -projecting shingle roof, which, with its bright windows, seemed in some -way related to the good-natured roguish face in the picture, of the old -man wearing the visor cap. - -Then I entered the little room. It was already in order, with a fresh -fire crackling in the stove. Through the shining windows I could see the -gloomy day and the heavy fog hanging over the forest; but that only made -the room seem the more cosy and homelike. - -The papers, which I had arranged in the morning, rough, grey and closely -written, I now took from the drawer, and seated myself before the -well-scoured table at the window, that the daylight might fall on them -in a friendly way. - -And what the strange man had written, I now began to read. Yet I found -portions which needed to be smoothed and changed from the original form. -In some places I was obliged to omit, or even insert, entire sentences, -at least enough to make the whole intelligible. For only thus was I -able to make clear the unusual expressions, and to order and connect the -irregular, carelessly formed sentences. However, let it be noticed, -that in a few cases many of the quaint, old forms and terms of speech -are left, in order to preserve, as far as possible, the peculiar -character of these writings. - -The first sheet tells nothing and everything; it contains three words: -"The Schoolmaster's Story." - - - - - *THE SCHOOLMASTER'S STORY* - - - *PART FIRST* - - -"DEAR GOD! - -"I greet Thee, and write Thee a piece of news. My father died to-day. -He has been ill two years. Everybody says it is most fortunate. My aunt -Lies says so too. They have carried father away now. The body goes to -the mortuary, the soul through purgatory, then up to heaven. And now, -dear God, I have a great favour to ask. Please send an angel to meet my -father and show him the way. I will enclose my christening-money for -the angel; there are three groschen. I am sure my father will be happy -in heaven, and please take him directly to my mother. Many greetings to -Thee, dear God, and to my father and mother. - - -"ANDREAS ERDMANN. - -"SALZBURG. In the year of our Lord 1797. - Apostle Simon's Day." - - -This letter has been preserved by chance, so I will begin with it. I -remember the day still. In my great innocence, I was about to wrap the -three groschen in the paper, when my Aunt Lies came in, read the letter -with her glassy eyes, and clapping her hands together, cried: "What a -stupid boy!" Hastily taking my christening-money, she ran away, telling -my story all over the house, from the porter's room up to the third -floor, where lived an old umbrella-maker. Our room was soon filled with -neighbours, curious to see the stupid boy. - -They laughed at me until I began to cry. Then they laughed still more -provokingly. The old umbrella-maker, with his sky-blue apron, was also -there. Raising his hand, he said: "My friends, this is foolish laughter; -perhaps the child is wiser than any of you. Come to me, little one; thy -good father died to-day; thy aunt is far too clever, and her house too -small for thee, my wee lad. Come with me, and I will teach thee to make -umbrellas." - -Oh, how my aunt scolded at that! But I believe that in her heart of -hearts she was glad; for I went up the two flights of stairs with the -old man. - -At the time of my father's death, I must have been in my seventh year. -I only know that, up to my fifth year, my parents lived in the forest, -by the side of a lake. Rocky mountains, woods, and water enclosed the -place, and here my father held an official position in the salt-works. -When my mother died, his health began to fail, and since he was obliged -to give up his work, we moved to his well-to-do sister's in town. He -wished to take an easier situation there, that he might compensate his -sister, who was the very pattern of economy, for food and lodging. But -he was ill a long time, and, besides teaching me to read and write, he -did nothing. And so it came about as I have already written. - -I remained with the old man in the third story a number of years. Like -him, I too, wore a sky-blue apron. In that way one saves clothes. We -made nothing but blue and red umbrellas, which we carried in big bundles -to the fairs and sold. Opening one large umbrella over our wares, our -booth was ready. If business flourished, so that we could sell the -booth itself, we went to the inn for a good dinner; otherwise we made -the wares up in bundles, and carried them home again, there satisfying -our hunger with a warm soup. - -When my master was over seventy years old, he suddenly became weary of -the blue and red canvas; he was forced to seek another tent--he -died--died and left me, as my father had done. - -I was his heir. Two dozen and a half umbrellas were my inheritance. -These I packed up one day and carried to the fair, where we had -previously been successful in selling our goods. - -Suddenly at noon, a storm comes up; the people are as though swept from -the market-place, and with them my umbrellas; a single one being left -with which to cover myself and my hard-earned money. Just then a -gentleman, splashing through the puddles, hurries across the square to -buy my umbrella. - -"Then I should have none for myself," I say. - -"I have seen many a shoemaker going barefoot," laughs the man; "but, see -here, youngster, we will find some way to arrange it. Are you from -town?" - -"Yes," I answer, but no "shoemaker." "That does not matter. There is -no carriage to be had; so we will walk together, boy, and use the same -umbrella; afterwards you may either keep it or have the money for it." - -Thinking to myself, it were a thousand pities to spoil his fine coat, I -assented to his proposal. - -So I, the poor umbrella-maker's boy, walked into town arm-in-arm with -the grand gentleman. On the way we chatted with one another. He -understood drawing me out, and after awhile I had told him my whole -history, with all its circumstances. - -The rain ceased, and as we approached the town I tried to fall behind, -as I thought it unseemly to walk through the streets with such a finely -dressed man. But, in a very friendly way, he invited me to keep beside -him, at last taking me into his house, offering me food and drink, and -finally asking me to remain with him altogether; he was a bookseller, -and in need of an assistant. - -Unskilled even in umbrella-making, and not knowing what occupation to -take up next, I accepted the situation. - -Fortune smiled upon me in those days. I was pleased with my master; he -had fully recompensed me for the shelter of my umbrella; but as an -assistant I was not a success. I was filled with curiosity; I wished to -examine the contents of every book which I took into my hand. The -placing and putting the volumes in order was entirely forgotten. - -My master surprised me one day by saying: "Boy, you are useless for the -outside of books; you must devote yourself to the inside. I think it -would be wise to send you to school." - -"Oh, if you only could! That is just what I have been secretly longing -for." - -"We shall probably succeed in placing you in the Academy, where, if -honest and industrious, you will advance rapidly, and before you know -it--hear yourself called: Doctor Erdmann!" - -On hearing this, I became greatly excited, and still more so when my -master had accomplished his purpose. I entered the Academy and plunged -straight into the inside of books. But in school one has only the -dullest kind; the interesting ones are all forbidden, and I was forced -to crowd my brain with subjects which appealed to me neither from -without nor from within. - -My bills of fare through the week were varied. My dinners I took: -Mondays with a teacher; Tuesdays with a baron; Wednesdays with a -merchant; Thursdays with a schoolmate, the son of a rich manufacturer; -Fridays with an old lieutenant; Saturdays with some very poor people in -an attic, and in payment I gave the children lessons in arithmetic; and -Sundays I was with my protector, the bookseller. And I have also worn -clothing given me by all these people. - -So it went on for a number of years. Then my Tuesday's host engaged me -as tutor to his little son. My prospects now seemed brighter. I gave up -dining with my attic friends, but continued the instruction of their -children. One day, I donned my dress-coat--very fine and respectable, -but not made for me--and visited my aunt. Making me a most elegant bow, -she called me her dear, her very dear Sir Nephew. - -Although I entered into my studies with great eagerness at first, they -soon become distasteful to me. I had always supposed that in an Academy -one could grasp both heaven and earth, and learn to know the beautiful -harmony of everything therein. - -Fine subjects were on the prospectus. Even in the lower classes, we had -geography, history, geometry and languages. But it was a world turned -upside down. In geography, in place of countries and nations, we merely -studied principalities and their cities. In history, instead of -searching after the natural development of mankind, we were learning -about statecraft; the teacher was constantly discussing the high royal -families and their genealogies, intrigues, and battles; the fool knew -nothing else to talk about. In geometry, we puzzled our heads with -problems, which neither the teacher nor the pupils understood, and which -would be useless to us in after life. The study of languages was a -perfect misery. Alas! Our beautiful German is dressed up in a way to -break one's heart. For many years it has been laden by foreign words, -yes, even sentenced to death by their high jurisdiction. If a German -lad wishes to do honour to his pure mother-tongue, then dozens of highly -learned men rush in with their Greek and Latin, the dead letters of the -dead language destroying even the German sounds. I very well know what -great blessings the literature of Homer and Virgil contain for the -badly-abused German tongue; our Klopstock and Schiller bear witness to -that. But the Pharisees of whom I speak insist on the letter, and not -on the spirit. We are obliged to learn by heart the most absurd -theories, evolved by blundering men centuries ago. And whoever does not -like, or cannot comprehend the dry stuff, will be abused by the -teachers. We are defenceless; they have us in their power. We must -laugh at their jokes; if they have the toothache, we are made to suffer -for it. Alas! what a wretched competition and strife; for penniless -boys, utter misery! - -While I was in the institution, two scholars committed suicide. "Very -well," said the Director of the school, "he who does not bend must -break." And that was the funeral sermon. - -On the day following one of these sad occurrences, it happened to be my -turn to deliver a Latin oration, before my teachers and fellow-students, -on the character of the Roman kings. I came directly from the bier of -my unfortunate comrade and with excited brain mounted the platform. "I -will compare the Romans with the Germans," I cried; "the old tyrants -enslaved the body, the new ones enslave the intellect. Outside there in -the dark chamber, deserted and dishonoured, lies one hunted to death, -not the only victim who has sought refuge in the grave...." - -I may have said a few words more; but they then approached, and smiling -led me down from the platform. "Erdmann is out his mind," said one of -the masters; "he should not speak in German but in Latin. The next time -he will do better." - -Nearly crazed, I staggered home. Heinrich, the cloth-maker's son, my -table and school companion, hurried after me. "What hast thou done, -Andreas? What hast thou said?" - -"Too little, too little," I replied. - -"That will be thy ruin, Andreas; return at once and ask pardon for thy -offence." - -I laughed in my friend's face. Moved, he grasped me by the hand saying: -"By Heaven, thou hast spoken the truth, and for that very reason they -will never forgive thee for those words!" - -"Nor do I care." I replied defiantly. - -Heinrich walked beside me in silence. Finally he said: "Thou must learn -wisdom, Andreas; but now go and compose thyself." - -My hand trembles as I write this; yet it was all over long ago. - -One year previous to this occurrence, I had through my friend Heinrich -obtained the position of tutor in the aristocratic family of Baron von -Schrankenheim. - -My task was not heavy. I had one boy to teach and prepare for the -_Hochschule_. Here I fared well and I was no longer obliged to beg my -dinners at different tables. My pupil, Hermann, a fine, studious boy, -was fond of me, as was also his sister, an extraordinarily beautiful -girl,--and I was her devoted friend. - -But, as the time passed, it became oppressive and uncomfortable for me -in the wealthy household. Always somewhat timid and self-conscious, I -now felt my position more keenly than ever, for they were all aware of -my poverty, and even the servants often slipped little presents into my -hand. - -But my pupil possessed delicacy of feeling, and was happy and -confidential with me; and the girl--oh, what a beautiful child she was! - -Evenings, when strolling outside of the city, or over distant flowery -meadows and wooded slopes, I would often find myself thinking: What a -blissful thing to be beautiful and rich! My heart was hot; I dreamed of -"flowers and stars and her eyes."--Whose eyes? Then springing up in -alarm--_Mein Gott_, what am I doing? Andreas, Andreas, what will come -of it? - -I was eighteen years old at that time. In my perplexity I one day -confided in my friend Heinrich, who had always understood me better than -anyone, and he counselled me to conquer myself, telling me that nearly -all young people were afflicted with the same malady, which would soon -pass. Hardly five years older than I, and this was his advice. - -Left alone in my trouble, I decided that, although young in years, I -would consider the matter calmly--notwithstanding the advice of clever -people. Of my poverty I was well aware; my ordinary ancestry impelled -me to make something of myself. He was right; in the presence of my -teachers I should control myself, tame my obstinate will, and with -perseverance and industry submit to the institution. Notwithstanding the -injustice that must be endured, in a few years I should become Doctor, -or a most learned Master of Arts. - -And a Master of Arts may surely ask the hand of a baron's daughter. -Like a man, I will then go and woo her. - -However, keeping my intentions secret, I devoted myself earnestly to my -studies, becoming one of the first among my fellow-students. I -progressed rapidly and drew nearer and nearer to my goal. I already saw -the day when as a man of dignity and standing I might pay court to the -maiden. The family seemed fond of me and the Baron, not over-proud of -his aristocracy, would not object to a learned man for son-in-law. I -was indeed most fortunate and happy. Then the final examinations were -taken, and my professors--rejected me. - -I went directly home, and appeared before the father of my pupil: "Sir, -I thank you for all your kindness to me. I cannot remain longer in your -house." - -Looking at me in great astonishment, he asked, "Where are you going?" - -"I do not know, but I must leave this town at once." - -The good man told me that I was over excited and ill. What had happened -to me, might happen to others as well; he would see that I was cared -for, and in the quiet of his home I would soon recover, and in a year -pass the examination successfully. - -But I persisted in my determination to go away; I was well aware that -the cause of my failure was the German speech on the Latin kings, and -for this reason I should never be allowed to pass the examination. -Heinrich was right. - -"Very well, my obstinate sir," concluded the nobleman, "then I release -you." - -Of whom should I take leave? Of my young pupil? Of the young lady? -_Mein Gott_, lead me not into temptation! She was still so young. She -dismissed me pleasantly, and in a friendly manner. A poor wretch was -leaving to return a made man. I was more defiant than courageous. - -I paid one more visit to my aged aunt. And, as I this time appeared in -a coarse cotton jacket, instead of a fine coat, and announced my -intention of going away, I knew not where,--I all but received my -expressive appellation again. "No," she cried, "no, but thou art -a--a--most extraordinary man! To think, after having been so good and -upright, and now,--oh, dear, be off with thee!" - -She was the only relative I had in the world. - -Last of all I went to Heinrich: "I thank thee a thousand times for thy -love, my faithful friend. Would that I could reward thee for it. Thou -knowest what has happened. There is nothing left for me but to go away. -When I have accomplished something worthy I will come back and repay -thee." - -I was very young when I set my foot into the wide world. Heinrich -accompanied me a long distance. At parting he forced me to accept his -ready money. Heart to heart we swore one another eternal faithfulness, -then we separated. - -O Heinrich! Thou good heart, true as gold, thou hast kept thy word with -me. And I have repaid thee badly--yes, _infernally_, Heinrich! - - - *TO THE WARS* - - -The sun moves from east to west; it pointed out my way. "Farewell, old -world," I said, "I am going to the Tyrol!" There the people are now -uniting against the enemy. The demon Bonaparte is leading in the -French, and our fatherland will be entirely crushed. - -A few days later I am at Innsbruck. Mounting the citadel steps, I ask -the gatekeeper if I may speak with Andreas Hofer. - -"Who will hinder you, then?" he replies, striking his sword against the -marble with a resounding clash. Entering, I pass through a series of -apartments, gorgeous with large mirrors, sparkling chandeliers, and -floors which shine like glass and precious wood. Noisy peasant lads, -dressed in Alpine costumes, are walking to and fro, singing, whistling, -and smoking. At last I find myself in a large room filled with men, -apparently peasants. Asking if I may speak with Andreas Hofer, I am -informed that I must wait my turn, as he is occupied with affairs of -state. I place myself in line, and watch the various people going in -and out, until at last I am summoned into his presence. - -A man in shirt-sleeves, with a full, heavy beard, rises and asks, "What -do you want, then?" - -"I want to join the army!" I reply. - -The bearded man--he is Hofer all over--observing me closely, remarks in -a low voice: "And so young! Have you father and mother?" - -"No, sir." - -"Are you from the Tyrol?" - -"No, but from the immediate neighbourhood." - -"A student, I presume! Do you wish to become a clergyman?" - -"I should like to join the army, and fight for the fatherland." - -Putting his hand into his leather girdle, he takes out some silver -pieces. "There my boy, God bless you! you had better go to Vienna and -enlist with Carl. You are only an inexperienced youth. And besides, -you are no countryman of ours." - -I make my salutation and start to go. - -"Halloa, there!" he calls after me, holding the money towards me. - -"Thank you, I do not want the money." - -At this his eye brightens. "Bravo! Bravo!" he cries. "Stay and become -my secretary; I need one possessing both a good penmanship and a good -conscience." - -"My conscience is also good enough for a soldier," I answer gloomily. - -"Here, Seppli!" cries Hofer at this, "bring this man rifle and knife! -Oh, that 's brave!" and he presses my hand, adding, "We shall soon have -work enough." - -So I become a warrior, a Tyrolese guardsman. And soon I have work. - -The French and the Bavarians and even the Austrians would not suffer a -peasant king in the citadel at Innsbruck. The enemy, three times -overthrown by the Tyrolese, had invaded the country in hordes. The rifle -worked better in my hands than I had supposed possible. Everything in -the past was forgotten, but I longed for my friend Heinrich at my side -while fighting the enemy. I captured one French flag, and in trying for -the second I was taken. Three bearded Frenchmen laughingly disarmed me, -enraged boy that I was.... They made me prisoner and dragged me away, -through Bavaria and Suabia on into France. - -It is painful for me to describe that time. It was a very dog's -life,--a dog's life, not because I lay for three years in prison in a -foreign land, but because I was a rebel against my own country. In -defiance of the Emperor--so it was reported--the Tyrolese had risen -against Bavaria to which he had apportioned them. My German -fellow-countrymen acknowledged it themselves, and so my unhappiness was -complete. Instead of performing an heroic act, thou hast aided in an -evil deed, Andreas; not as brave warrior but as deserter thou liest in -chains. - -A long march to Russia and to the Orient is talked of. Among many -others of my countrymen I am liberated. Several try to reach their -homes. I know nothing of any home and may know nothing. Poor fools like -myself are worse off at home than elsewhere. And as a rebel, which I -now am, I shall never return to my own land. I will do penance for my -sad mistake of illegally bearing arms against the great conqueror. I -will go with his troops and help to free the people of the Orient, and -place them in subjection to the leader of the Occident. A great aim, -Andreas, but a long journey. The Germans make the way very hard for us, -but our commander marches with lightning-like rapidity in among the -disorganised and scattered people, who can neither think great thoughts -nor do great deeds. And for many weeks we drive the Russian army before -us, over the wild steppes and endless snow-fields. But in Moscow the -Russians throw firebrands between themselves and us, in the midst of -their own capital. And we find ourselves buried in the land of unending -winter, without support, resting-place, or means of subsistence. Man -and nature are alike our enemy. Our chief, seeing that everything is -lost, turns us back. Oh, the many desert storms, the hundreds of ice -streams, the thousands and thousands of snowy graves, between us and the -fatherland! Whoever can march with benumbed limbs bruised to the knees; -whoever can tear the last tatters from the body of his dying comrade to -cover himself; whoever is able to suck the warm blood from his own veins -and eat the flesh of fallen horses and dead wolves; whoever understands -warming himself with the snow for a cover and wrestling with the waves -and flakes of ice; and, besides all this, knows how to conquer the -fright, the terror, and the despair--he, perhaps, may see his home -again. - -Benumbed like my body are my soul and my brain; in a wilderness, under -the snow-laden branches of a pine tree, I am left lying. - -A smoky cabin, a bright fire, a long-bearded man and a dark-skinned -maiden meet my gaze as I awake upon a couch of mats. A fur skin has -been thrown over me. Outside is a roaring sound, like the raging of -waters or like a storm. Those are good, friendly eyes which look at me -from the two people. The man is tending the fire; the girl feeding me -with milk. They are talking in their rough language, of which I cannot -understand a word. I think of Heinrich and long for the pleasant sound -of his voice. I am suffering terrible pains all over my body, which the -man has wrapped in a wet cloth. The maiden holds a little cross before -my eyes, murmuring something like a prayer. She is praying a dying -blessing for thee, Andreas! - -Thou dear, friendly house in the enemy's land! What afterwards occurred -there, I can no longer recall. The swarthy maiden often laid her hand -on my brow. Had it only come then, it would have been a beautiful -death; but it happened otherwise. Even now I can hear the blow that -shattered the door. Soldiers forced their way in, maltreated the old -man, and pushed the dark-skinned girl from my bedside. They carried me -away from there, away through the storm and the wilderness--back to the -army. - -I felt as though I were being dragged from my home;--but it is God's -world everywhere. However my comrades had not deserted me; and that -rejoiced my heart. Constant and true I resolved to stay by them and -serve my great general. - -On the Rhine I recovered. And in the young springtime I felt a new life -stirring within me. A lad, counting but three-and twenty-years, I was -inflamed with desire for all that was noble and just, for the common -weal, for the brotherhood of man; in my enthusiasm I cried out with my -comrades, "One God in heaven and one Lord on earth!" He is the -deliverer, the quarrel of princes must now end. The nations must become -one great, united people! Such thoughts inspired me. The dark eye of -the general, like lightning in the night, inflamed us all. Against -Saxony we marched, there to fight the battle for our leader, and to -place the beautiful German country under his protection. - -At Lützen I defended the life of a French general; at Dresden I killed -Blücher's horse from under him; at Leipzig I shot my Heinrich.... - - - *A NEW MISSION* - - -"Andreas!" is his death-cry. Thus I know him. The blood bursts forth -from his breast. I now come to myself. I throw my gun against a rock, -shattering it in pieces; disarmed, I rush into battle; with his own -sword I split the skull of a French officer. - -What good has it done? I have fought against my fatherland, against the -brothers who speak my language, while that of my French comrades I have -scarcely understood. And I have shot my Heinrich. Alas, how late my -eyes are opened! - -"Thou art an inexperienced fellow; go to Vienna, to Carl!" Thou -faithful Hofer, had I but followed thy advice! Thy flag was good, more -glorious than all others in the wide land. From that hour when my faith -in it was torn from my heart, my misfortunes began. Love for freedom in -the world has made me captive; the expiation of my own mistake has led -me into danger and torment; loyalty to my general and longing for a -great, united whole has made me traitor to my fatherland, the murderer -of my friend. Andreas, if virtue leads thee to crime, to what depths -would evil intention have plunged thee? Thou hast proudly repelled the -true leader, experience and guidance failed thee there. Andreas, thou -hast given thyself to trade, to science, and to a soldier's life; -poverty, confusion, and repentance hast thou reaped. Foreigners have -cared for and nursed thee like a son and a brother, and they have been -maltreated for it. Thou bringest nothing good to the world or to -mankind. Andreas, thou must go to the depths of the wilderness and -become a hermit! - -In Saxony, under the arms of a windmill, I repeated these truths to -myself. And thereupon I departed, fled through Bohemia and Austria, and -after many days arrived in the town of Salzburg. That anyone in this -town should recognise me, a poor, sick, ruined fellow, I did not fear. -In _Peters-Friedhof_ my father lay buried. I wished to see the mound -before seeking a cave for myself in some deserted ravine of the forest. -And as I lay upon the cold, frozen earth, once more able to weep my -heart out over my life, so young and so unfortunate, a gentleman -appeared walking among the graves; he asked what troubled me, then with -a gesture of astonishment exclaimed: "Erdmann, you here? And how -changed you are! Gone scarcely four years and hardly to be recognised!" - -Herr von Schrankenheim, the father of my former pupil was standing -before me. - -Walking up and down with him among the graves, I told him all. With wet -eyes he pressed money into my hand: "There, get yourself some new -clothes and then come to my house. Become a hermit!--that is no career -for a brave young lad. You must overcome your despondency and begin life -anew." - -I went to his house with great dread, for there was one folly which I -had not yet conquered. - -Herr von Schrankenheim presented his son to me. He had already become a -tall, elegant gentleman. With his hands behind his back, he made me a -silent bow, and after a little left us. Then his father, conducting me -into his study, bade me take a seat in the softest easy-chair. - -"Erdmann," he began after awhile, "are you really in earnest in your -desire to live a life of seclusion in the wilderness?" - -"That is the best thing for me," I answered. "I am worthless among -people who live in joy and pleasure; in wandering and confusion, the few -years of my youth have tossed me about from one land to another and -amongst the misery of nations. Sir, I know the world and have enough of -it." - -"You are hardly in your twenty-fourth year, and not yet at the height of -your powers, and you wish to give up the service you might render your -fellow-men?" - -At that I listened attentively; the words impressed me. - -"If you think that up to the present time you have only been the author -of evil, why do you wish to escape from the dust without also giving the -world and the community the good which surely slumbers in rich measure -within you?" - -I rose from my chair. "Sir, show me, then, the way to do it! - -"Very well," said Herr von Schrankenheim, "possibly I can, if you will -sit down again and listen to me. Erdmann, I know of a distant and real -hermitage, in which one could serve humanity and perhaps do something -great for the community. Far from here, deep in among the Alps, -stretches a large forest between rocky hills, where shepherds, herdsmen, -wood-cutters, and charcoal-burners are working, and where others are -also living who have perhaps honestly secluded themselves or dishonestly -taken refuge there, and who drag out an existence by means of lawful or -unlawful business. It is true churlish men are among them, whose hearts -are gnawed by misfortune or something worse. They have neither priest -nor doctor and also no school-teacher in their vicinity; they are quite -deserted and isolated and have only their own incompetency and misguided -natures upon which to depend. I am the owner of the forest. For a long -time I have had the intention of sending someone to this region who -should guide the inhabitants a little, assist them with good advice, and -teach the children to read and write. The man might make himself very -useful. And, indeed, it is not so easy to find one for the place; for -it should be someone who, weary of the world, would like to live in -seclusion, yet work for mankind. Erdmann, what do you think of that?" - -At these words I felt impelled to seize his hand and say: "I am the man -for it; dissatisfied with the condition of things in this old world, I -will found a new one in the wilderness. A new school, a new parish,--a -new life. Let me go to-day!" So the fire was not quite extinguished; -sparks sometimes fly from ashes. - -"Cold weather is at hand," continued the Baron. "For the winter remain -in my house and give the matter due consideration and when summer comes, -if my offer still pleases you, then go to the forest." - -The rustling of a dress in the adjoining room filled me with alarm, and -I finally took my leave, begging permission to go away for the winter, -with the promise to return with the swallows and accept his proposal. - -He would not be dissuaded from giving me the "means" for the coming -season, but then I fled. In the front hall I caught a glimpse of a -woman's figure, past which I glided like a spectre. - -One day I wandered as far as the woodland by the lake where my childhood -and my mother lie buried. And here in this place I rented a small room -for the winter. I often climbed the snowy slopes and, standing under -moss-covered trees, was impressed with the feeling of having once stood -there with my mother and father. I often walked over the frozen lake -thinking of the days when I had crossed the gentle waves in a boat at my -parents' side, watching the sunset glow on the mountains and listening -to the song echoes of a yellow-hammer resounding on the cliffs. My -father and mother also sang. That was long ago; long ago. - -I have lain in prison in France; I have wandered ill and dying over the -deserts of Russia; and now I am living here in this dear, precious -little room by the lake. All would have been well, the time of poverty -forgotten like the image in a dream,--only it should never have dawned, -that unhappy day in Saxonland--that will haunt me forever. Heinrich, I -do not fear thy ghost; only come to me once, that I may say to thee: "It -happened in blindness; I cannot alter it now; I will wipe it out with my -own life." ... - - - *RESOLVED* - - -Now it is well. I have searched myself for many days; I have reviewed -my former life and written it out here in a few words, that I may always -keep it the more clearly before my eyes when new perplexities and -troubles overwhelm me. In fact I think I have endured and am still able -to endure the school of life better than the school of books and dead -precepts. I have acquired understanding and have become calm. Having -carefully considered my experiences and circumstances, my talents and -inclinations, I think it no presumption to accept the proposal of Herr -von Schrankenheim. Although outwardly still quite young, inwardly I am -very old. The advice of an old man will surely be welcome to the -dwellers in the forest. - - - THE FEAST OF ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA, SALZBURG, 1814. - - -It is right that I should go to the woods. I am equipped and all is -ready. The Baron has promised me his assistance in everything. His son -Hermann greeted me again with a friendly bow. The young gentleman is a -little pale; he is probably very studious. His sister ... (In the -original two lines were here crossed out so many times that they had -become entirely illegible.) - -They say that my aunt is well. Not wishing to cause her the pain which -she would have experienced at my appearance and my undertaking, I did -not visit her again. Now they are blowing the post-horn. Farewell, -beautiful town. - - -Already three days on the journey. However, this is a pleasanter -expedition than the one over the winter steppes. Day before yesterday -the green uplands changed into picturesque mountain regions. Yesterday -we entered a broad, pleasant valley. To-day we are going up and down -hills, through woods and ravines and by rocky cliffs. Now the road is -becoming narrower and rougher; sometimes it is necessary to alight from -the waggon and shove aside the broken blocks of stone. We see more -chamois and deer than people. I was obliged to remain in debt for my -night's lodging to-day. The bank-note which I have with me the people -in this region cannot change. I would have given my host something as -security, but he assured me if I were to remain in the forests of the -Winkel, I could easily send him the money by a messenger who came -occasionally from that region. I must return the bank-note and ask for -small coin. - - -On this the fourth day I have been set down. The post-chaise has gone on -its way; for a while I still hear the clear horn resounding through the -woods, and then all is silent and I sit here beside my bundle in the -midst of the wilderness. - -Through the ravine flows a stream which they call the Winkel, along -which is a footpath. It leads over stones and roots and is sown with -hard pine-needles of last year. By this road I must travel. - -Through the branches yonder I see the gleam of a white plateau; that is -a snow-field. And do people live in there? - - - *IN THE WINKEL* - - -So I will write it all out. For whom I do not know. Perhaps for the -dear God to whom in my innocence I wrote the letter when my father died. -My heart would break could I not talk over all that is unusual and -sorrowful in my life. I will tell it to the sheet of paper. Perchance -in the future it may be found by someone whom I can trust, though he but -half understands me. You, pure, white leaves, shall now be my friends -and share the years which may come to me. To-day my hair is still dark, -while you are somewhat grey, but you may yet outlive me and become my -future generation. - - A little leaf of paper may live longer - Than the freshest spring-leaf upon God's earth, - Than the fleetest chamois on the rocky cliff, - Than the curly-haired child in the peaceful dale. - A little sheet of paper, pale and fragile, - Is oft the one image, faithful and true, - That man leaves behind him for future time, - When o'er his dust his descendants tread. - His bones are scattered, the grave-stone gone, - The house destroyed, the works have vanished. - Who will then our footsteps trace - In the eternal Nature where we once held sway? - New men wrestle with fortunes new, - And think no more of those who are gone; - Then a leaf, with its pale ink tracings, - Is often the only enduring sign - Of the being who once lived and suffered, - Laughed and wept, enjoyed and struggled, - And the thought that from the heart was born - In pain or joy, or in mad jest, - Remains, and the eternal kiss - Casts it in an everlasting mould. - Oh, may it in future times, - Purified, touch the hearts of men! - - -I arrived here on a Saturday. As I stumbled along by the Winkel Water, -I met here and there wood satyrs, brown and hairy, covered with moss and -pitch, going about in their fustian smocks. They looked like exiled, -withered tree-trunks, seeking for new ground where they might grow and -flourish again. - -Stopping in front of me, they stared in astonishment or glanced at me -threateningly, while they struck fire with tinder and flint for their -pipes. Some of them had flashing eyes which sent forth sparks like those -from the fire-stones; others very good-naturedly showed me the way. One -rough, sturdy fellow, carrying a pack on his back with saws, axe, meal -buckets, etc., stepped to one side, as he saw me coming, and murmured, -"_Gelobt sei Jesu Christ!_" - -"Forever and ever, amen!" was my answer, which seemed to give him -confidence, for he accompanied me a short distance. - -At last the valley widens a little. It is a small basin into which flow -a number of streams from the different ravines, as well as from the -cliffs that rise at my left hand. These form the Winkel. Here a thick -log, hewn flat on the upper side, is laid across the brook, forming the -path to a frame house standing on the edge of the woods. - -This is the forestry, the only house of any size in the vicinity. -Farther away in the defiles and valleys are the cabins of the shepherds -and wood-cutters, and beyond, on the wooded hillsides, where large -clearings have been made and charcoal-pits started, are villages of huts -for the charcoal-burners. - -They call this little valley _Im Winkel_. It still remains almost -entirely in its primeval state, excepting the one large house, with its -domestic surroundings and the footpath leading up to it. - -The forestry is also called the Winkel-warden's house. Here I entered -and, placing my bundle upon a chest in the hall, seated myself beside -it. - -The forester was busy with workmen who were settling their accounts and -receiving their monthly wages. He was a domineering, red-bearded man, -and he dismissed the people somewhat roughly and curtly; but the men -bore it good-naturedly and pocketed their money in silence. - -The business finished, he rose and stretched his strong limbs, which -were clothed in genuine and correct hunter's costume. I now approached, -handing him the credentials which I had brought from the owner of the -forest. - -This document contained everything essential. A nicely furnished room -was assigned to me. A sturdy woman who was there to look after and -arrange it, according to her own ideas, stopped suddenly before my open -door, and with arms akimbo called out loud and shrilly, "_Du lieber -Himmel_, is that how a schoolmaster looks?" She had never seen one in -her life. - -I was soon settled and had all my possessions in order. Politely -knocking at my door, the forester then entered my room. Looking at my -apartment, he asked, "Does it answer your purpose?" - -"Oh, yes, very well," I replied. - -"Are you satisfied?" - -"Yes, and I hope to be quite contented here." - -"Then I trust everything will be all right." - -He walked many times up and down over the plank floor, his hands thrust -into his trousers' pockets, and finally stopping in front of me he said: - -"Now look about you and see what method you would like to adopt for your -work. I leave here to-morrow and only come every Saturday into the -Winkel. The remainder of the time I am busy in other localities, and my -home is in Holdenschlag, four hours from here by the road. The idea of -beginning a school immediately dismiss from your mind, my dear man. -First we must do away with the old one. They are blockheads, I tell -you! And you may as well know at once that we have all kinds of people -in our woods. Nothing very bad can be charged against any one of them, -but they have come here from the east and west--for what reason God only -knows. They are mostly peasants from the outlying regions, who have -fled into the forest to escape military service. There are also fellows -among them whom one would hardly like to meet on a dark night. Poachers -are they all. So long as they only shoot the game of the forest, we let -them go about free; that cannot be helped, and the labour of their hands -is needed. But if they shoot down a hunter, then of course we are -obliged to arrest them. The most of them are married, but they did not -all bring their brides from the altar. You will run across men and women -who, even in this century, have never heard a church bell or seen a -vestment. You will soon observe what an effect that has upon the -people. Do it in whatever way you think best; but first you must become -acquainted with them. And if you find that you can exert an influence -over them, we will support you in it. You are still quite young, my -friend; take care and be prudent! If you think best, take a boy for the -first part of the time to show you your way about. And if you need -anything, apply to me. I wish you well!" - -With these words he departed. He, it seems, is now my master; may he -also be my protector! - -Although it was my first night in the Winkel, I slept soundly on the -straw bed. The murmuring of the brook cheered my heart. It was the -month of June, but the sun rose late over the forest and looked into my -room in a friendly way. - -In the morning I wander out of doors. All is fresh and green and -sparkling with dew-drops, while on the wooded heights, as far as the eye -can reach in the narrow valley, the bluish sun-web spins itself over the -shadowy tree-trunks. Toward the west towers the battlement of rocks -above which lie the meadows of the Alm, then rocky cliffs again, and -over all stretch the wide, inhospitable fields of snow and ice, -glittering like a white plateau. - -If I am successful in my task here below, then sometime I will climb up -to the glaciers. And above the glaciers towers at last the Graue Zahn, -from whose summit, I am told, in the farthest distance can be seen the -great water. Am I successful here, then sometime from the high mountain -I shall behold the sea. - -In war and storm I have rushed over half the world and have seen nothing -but dust and stone; now, in the peace of solitude my eyes are opened to -nature. - -But--poachers, deserters, wild fellows whom one would not like to meet -at night! Andreas, that will be no easy task. - - - *PEACE OF THE PRIMEVAL FOREST* - - -I already feel contented in the woods. The few people who see me going -about in the forest gaze after me, unable to understand why I, a young -fellow, should be roaming here in the wilderness. Ah yes, it is true, -from day to day I am growing younger and am beginning to take a new -lease of life. I am recovering. That comes from the fresh, primitive -nature which surrounds me. - -Romantic fancies I do not indulge in. As it is absorbed through the eye -and the ear and all the senses, the much loved, the beautiful forest, so -I like to enjoy it. The solitary one alone finds the forest; where many -seek, it flees and only the trees remain. The woods are lost to them on -account of the trees. Nay, still more, or, indeed, still less, they do -not even see the trees, but only the wood which serves for timber or -fuel and the twigs which may be used for brooms. Or they open the grey -eyes of wisdom and say,--"That belongs to this class, or to that"--as if -the pines and oaks, centuries old, were nothing but schoolboys. - -I already feel contented in the woods. As long as I enjoy it, I do not -wish to hear a single word of the purpose it serves, as man's love of -gain understands this purpose; I wish to be as childishly ignorant as if -I had to-day just fallen from heaven upon the soft, cool moss in the -shade. - -A network of roots surrounds me, partly sucking the mother's milk from -the earth for its trees, partly seeking to entwine itself about the -mossy bank and Andreas Erdmann sitting upon it. Softly I rest upon the -arms of the network--upon mother-arms. - -The brown trunk of the fir towers straight upward, stretching a rich -garland of rugged branches in all directions. They have long grey -beards, hairy, twisted mosses hanging from bough to bough. Well polished -and dripping with balsam is the silvery, shimmering pine. But in the -rough, furrowed, knotted bark of the larch-tree, with the mysterious -signs and innumerable scars, is engraved the whole world's legend, from -that day when the exiled murderer Cain rested for the first time under -the wild interwoven branches of the larch, up to the hour when another, -also homeless, inhales the perfume of the tender, light-green needles. - -It is dark, as in a Gothic temple; the pine-forest builds the pointed -arch. Above rise the thousand little turrets of branches, between which -the deep blue sky lights up the shady ground beneath, forming tiny -mosaics. Or white clouds are sailing high above, trying to espy -me,--me, a little worm in the woods,--and they waft a greeting to -me--from--No, she is hidden by the hand of man under a baronial roof. -Clouds, ye have not seen her--or have ye? Alas, no, they are drifted -hither from distant deserts and seas. - -There is a whispering, a rustling. The trees are speaking with one -another. The forest dreams. - -In all my life I have never seen such a remarkable woven mat as this -variegated, wonderful network of mossy earth. It is a miniature forest, -and in the bosom of its shade perhaps other beings rest, who like myself -are watching the endless web of nature. Ah, how the ants hasten and run, -embracing the smallest of small things with their slender arms, while -endeavouring to poison everything hostile with their corroding fluid! A -brilliant beetle has been contemptuously regarding the tiny, painstaking -creatures, for it is endowed with wings. It now flutters haughtily -upward, and glittering, circles away; suddenly it is ensnared and -captured in a net. The spider, quiet and industrious, has been toiling -long on this net; a veil, softer than any made on earth, has become the -beetle's shroud. - -The little birds in the branches are also planning their works of art; -where the boughs are thickest, they weave a cradle-basket from straws -and twigs for their beloved young. - -Can it then be true that a red thread spins itself on through all races -of the human and animal kingdoms, down to the very smallest creature? -Does everything then follow one and the same law, the acts of King -Solomon on his throne of gold and those of the lazy, writhing worm under -the stone? I should like very much to know. - -Hush! yonder darts a rabbit; the crowned stag is making his way through -the underbrush. Each shrub acts as mysteriously as if concealing a -hundred beings and wood-spirits within itself. Sharply defined -shadow-forms lie upon the ground, over which strings of light spin -themselves. And the breath of the forest plays upon these strings. - -I step out into the clearing. A trembling breeze ripples towards me, -plays with my curls, and kisses my cheeks. Here are light-green furze -bushes, with their clusters of little red berries, dark, gleaming -bilberry, and the evergreen laurel of our Alps, for the worthy poet of -the forest. The wood-bee is buzzing about among the bushes, and each -leaf is a table spread for her. - -And above this dim, perfumed field rises the charred trunk of a tree, -its one bare branch lifted in defiance, threatening heaven for having -once shattered its head with a lightning-stroke. And yonder towers a -grey, cloven rock, in whose fissures the nimble lizard and the -shimmering adder hide, and at whose feet flourish the serrated leaves of -the fern, and the blue gentians, constantly waving greetings with their -little caps. - -Where there is no path, there is mine--where it is steepest, where the -tangle of the alder-bushes and briars is thickest, where the dogberry -grows, where the adder rustles in the yellow foliage of last year's -beech. The partridges are afraid of me and I of them, and my feet are -the greatest misfortune of the ants, my advancing body the scourge of -God to the spiders, whose house falls in ruins on this summer day. - -It is a delight to penetrate thus into the wilderness, into the dim and -uncertain; that which I anticipate attracts me more than that which I -know; that which I hope for is dearer to me than that which I have. I -stand on the edge of a green meadow, enclosed by young fir-woods. Close -to me a deer springs from the thicket, bounds over the meadow, stopping -on the other side, where it now stands in a listening attitude with head -thrown high. Following an inborn instinct of man, I raise my juniper -stick, lay it beside my cheek like a gun, aiming towards the breast of -the deer. It looks over at me, well aware that a juniper stick does not -go off. Finally it begins to graze. Laying the stick on the ground -again, I walk farther out on the meadow. The deer raises its head -quickly and I now expect it to dart away. But it does not hasten, it -licks its back and scratches itself behind the ear, and again begins to -eat. - -"Little deer," I say, "thou forgettest the respect due to mankind! Dost -thou think me incapable of injuring thee? I wonder at that; here in the -forest wander poachers and hunters. Thou dost not seem to be a novice, -yet thou pretendest to be very inexperienced. Among us men, such -behaviour would be called stupidity." - -The creature, gradually grazing in my direction, stops often to look at -me, but tosses its head in fright, preparing for a spring, whenever -hearing a noise from any other side. With ears constantly pricked up, -its whole being is a picture of anxious watchfulness and readiness for -flight. - -"Thou knowest then," I say, "that thou art in the land of the enemy? -Not a moment safe from the shot? That is indeed cause for fear." - -I draw gradually nearer, the deer taking no heed. - -"I am glad," I say, "that I do not repel thee. It cannot be denied that -I belong to those monsters who walk on two legs. But all bipeds are not -dangerous. I, not at all. A short time ago I composed a few verses, -which I should like to recite to thee." - -At this the creature, startled, leaps to one side. - -"They would not have been long," I say, sorry to have frightened the -deer. - -"It is not crafty of thee to hurt my feelings. The poem is written for -my sweetheart. Somewhere lives one whom I love from the depths of my -soul, but no one suspects it, nor does she herself. So I have composed -these verses for her. But they must be forgotten again. How dost thou -manage in such affairs?" - -The animal, stepping two paces nearer to me, again begins to sniff. I -now become quite bold. - -"Beloved deer!" I continue, holding out my arms, "I cannot say how -interesting thou art to me. If I had a rifle, I might shoot thee down. -No, fear nothing from me, for thou breathest the same air as I, thy -little eye beholds the same sunshine as mine--thy blood is as warm and -as red as my own--why should I kill thee? But if I were hungry and had -a rifle, then I should shoot thee after all, then nothing would help -thee." - -In spite of all this, the little deer is coming nearer. I stand there -motionless, and ten paces away is the creature looking at me. My -sensations are most uncomfortable. There must be something wrong with a -man with whom wild game associates. - -"Thou art curious," I say, "to see how I look near by. Well, observe me -closely. These rags of linen and woollen stuff do not belong to me. -This is only the outer covering. And if thou shouldst see us bare and -naked as thyself, then all anxiety and fear of us would disappear. In -the beginning we cannot shoot, cannot run as thou dost, cannot nourish -ourselves from weeds, cannot dwell in the thicket. So pitiable are we. -We--so it is said--would have been able to do it once, but in the same -degree in which our reason has grown, have our bodies degenerated, -become tender and sensitive, effeminate and weak. And if it continues -in this way, all mankind will dissolve in spirit, which must also -perish, as the flame dies when wick and oil are gone,--and you will take -our place. - -"I do not know," I say, "whether thou art unconsciously searching for -something which, when acquired, still does not satisfy. I do not know -if it be hatred which animates thee, ambition which hunts and urges thee -on, love which makes thee unhappy, pleasure which kills thee. With us -it is so. Do I pity thee or dost thou pity me? Whatever thou hast, -thou art able to enjoy in full measure, while with us the sweet -pleasures of the heart become embittered by the hardness and -pitilessness of reason and prejudice. Our feeling degenerates into -thought, and that is our misfortune. But after all, thou wouldst -willingly exchange places? No, thou art not advanced enough to be -discontented. Thy fear is the hunter, as ours is man. Our own kind -threaten us with the greatest dangers. Hast thou already seen the -latest weekly journal? Ah, thou dost not read leaves, thou eatest them, -which is far more wholesome, only beware of newspaper leaves, they are -poisonous. They should not be so, but they suck the venom from the -ground upon which they stand, from the air that blows around them, from -the times which they serve. Thank God, they do not grow in the Winkel -forest. There grows the sorrel, and that is something for thee, and the -mushroom, which is something for me. For the rest, my little deer, how -long shall we stand here? How goes eating from the hand?" - -I pull some grass from the ground, an occupation which the deer follows -with the eye of a connoisseur. - -A shot is fired. A short whizzing through the air, the deer makes one -high bound--and with the utmost display of its speed, runs across the -meadow straight into the thicket. - -In the near branches the sulphurous smoke slowly disappears. I hasten -to look for the poacher, to deliver him up to justice because he has -fired, and to beg mercy for him because he has not hit. Seeing neither -the poacher nor the deer, I am furious with the thought that the -creature might take me for the guilty one, for the betrayer, or even for -the assassin, and in his eyes I wish to be neither a bad friend nor a -bad protector. - -But what does it all amount to? Such enthusiasm is not enduring; in the -late autumn, when, as I hope, the roast venison will appear upon my -table, the friendly feelings will surely reawaken, however they will not -come from the heart, but from the stomach. - -The triumphant roaring of a bull or the bells and bleating of a goat is -now heard. The shepherd-boy comes skipping by. He will have nothing to -do with the juniper-bushes; the thorns prick, the blueberries are -bitter. He picks strawberries into his cap, or, what he likes better, -into his mouth. Then, plucking the narrow pointed leaf of the -goat-majoram he carries it to his lips, and through it brings forth a -whistle which re-echoes far away on the slopes and which other -shepherd-lads in the distance give back to him. To the little folks of -the woods this is the sign of brotherhood. Through the raspberry-bushes -wriggles the ant-grubber, searching for the resinous kernels in the -ant-hills from which to prepare the incense, that wonderful grain whose -smoky veil enchants the eye of mortals, so that they fall before the -sacrificial bread and see the Lord. - -On the ridge beside the purple erica, under the blackberry leaves, -flourishes the sweet-root; that is a toothsome spice for the -shepherd-boy, and the herdswoman also likes to nibble it, that she may -have a ringing voice for yodling on the Alm. The herdswoman, I notice, -is often affected in a singular manner; surely she has many, yes, a -great many words upon her tongue, but the right one for her heart's -desire is not among them; she therefore expresses it in another way and -sings a song _without_ words which in this region, as far as it is -heard, is called the _Jodel_. - -I proceed down through a defile torn away by the wild torrents of the -Kar. Trees and bushes arch over it, forming an arbour. A cool breeze -fans me as I stand upon the shady bank of a forest lake, enclosed by -dark walls and slender brown trunks of the primeval forest. A perfect -stillness rests upon the water. The stray leaf of a beech or an oak -rustles toward me. I hear that eternal murmuring of deepest silence. A -little bell somewhere in space, we know not if on the earth below or in -the starry heaven above, is constantly calling us. And in a quiet hour -our soul catches the familiar sound and longs,--and longs. - -Peace of the primeval forest, thou still, thou holy refuge of the -orphaned, the deserted, the pursued and world-weary; thou only Eden -which remains for the unhappy! - -Listen, Andreas! Dost thou hear the sound and echo of the song without -words? That is the shepherd's hymn. Dost thou also hear the distant -hammering and reverberating? That is the woodsman with the axe--the -angel with the sword. - - - *WITH THE HERDSMEN* - - -The earliest people were the herdsmen. They are the most harmless that -one meets in these wooded hills. So I have begun with them. - -And I have already learned something of pastoral life. With the -exception of the couple up in the Miesenbach hut, none of them live at -home; the herdsmen really have no homes, they are wanderers. They spend -the winter in the lower, outlying districts, dwelling in the farmyards -to which the herds belong. They eat with the people and sleep with the -cows and goats. In the spring-time, when the freshets are over and the -maple blossoms are peeping forth from their green sheaves toward heaven -to see if the swallows are not already there, the cattle are taken from -the stalls and led by the herdsman to the Alm. The cows are bedecked -with tinkling bells, the calves and steers with green wreaths, such as -the people wear at the feast of Corpus Christi. In the procession to -the Alm, when the young people and cattle walk together, the ceremony of -crowning with wreaths is conducted with great propriety; but when, after -many honeymoons upon the airy heights, the cattle return to the valley -in the late autumn with fresh wreaths, the garland of the herdswoman -does not always remain green in her hair. On the Alm there is much sun -and little shade, and the Alm-boy must bring the fresh water a long -distance--then nothing withers more easily than such a tender nosegay in -the curly locks. - -In the lovely summer-time these people lead a good and happy life upon -the hills and I--truly and by my faith, I am good and happy with them. -Sorrow and woe are like hot-house plants, they will not flourish in the -fresh Alpine air. Even the old keeper of oxen, usually so surly, is -constantly heard singing and piping his flute. - -Within the herdsman's hut everything is well arranged and conveniently -near at hand. By the hearth sits Domesticity in front of the fire and -the brown jugs, and before the shaky table kneels Religion at the -crudely ornamented _Hausaltar_. And where the bedstead stands, the Lord -Himself would have been unable to put anything better. The bed is made -from rough boards, upholstered with moss and rushes--it must be like -that if the young woman of the Alm is to dream happily therein. In the -next room are the buckets and pitchers, and here the milk and butter -business is carried on, the profits of which are honestly delivered to -the owner of the herd. - -The whole household is shut in by four wooden walls, on which the Alm -woman hears at night the little gold man knocking; this is the token of -the fulfilment of her most secret heart's desire. I did not like to -tell the credulous Aga that I thought the little gold man might be an -industrious wood-worm. What in heaven's name would a wood-worm have to -do with her heart's desires? But these will be fulfilled all the same: -the simple folk about here wish for nothing which cannot be attained. -And the maid in the hut, as well as the shepherd-boy and the herd in the -stall, sleep with an easy conscience. - -In the morning the bright sun peeps through the window, calling, "Time -to be up!" Now the herdswoman goes with the bucket into the stall, -where between four legs flow the little white fountains of milk and -butter. The fire on the hearth is ready for the milk and the herdsman -is waiting for the soup. He yodles and shouts, and so the time passes. -But Berthold manages in the simplest way; he lays himself under the -belly of the cow and drinks his breakfast directly from the udder. - -It was with Berthold and Aga in the Miesenbach hut that I made my -observations. After the morning soup Aga takes the basket on her back -and descends toward the grazing meadows of the Thalmulde, that like a -careful mistress she may prepare the table for her four-footed menials. -The herd's meal lasts the whole day; for in the early morning Berthold -has already led them down to the pastures wet with dew. - -Once in such an hour I listened to Aga. She was trilling and singing, -and these are the things I like to record. - - "If the Winkel brook were milk, - And the Winkel vale were beef as well, - And the hills were all of butter, - That were a feast, my lad, to tell." - - -Berthold hearing it does not reflect long; a song so grossly material -calls for one still more material. Standing upon the wall, he sings to -the maid: - - "If thy red hair were gold, - Of thalers full thy throat, - Thy bodice stuffed with diamonds, - Upon thee I would dote." - -And then she: - - "Thy fingers would burn for the thalers, - The jewels thou wouldst embrace, - But the golden hair were much too fine - For thy rough and bearded face." - - -Oh, they do not remain in one another's debt; they know how to tease. -But how does it happen that in the forest-land grow fewer and less -appropriate expressions for love and tenderness than for jesting and -fun? If love down in the valleys is not exactly communicative, up here -with the firs and little cabbage-roses it is as dumb as fish in water. -The kiss is not as customary here as in other places. It is, I should -say, as if the warm blood did not take the time to mount to the lips, -when there is so much to do elsewhere. Everything expresses itself in -the arms, and when a love-sick lad knows no other way of showing his -feelings, he seizes his maiden, as the miller does a sack of grain, and -swings her high in the air, at the same time giving a shout that verily -tears the clouds asunder. - -Berthold does it not a whit differently. They are two poor young -people, left to themselves on the lonely Alpine heights. What is there -to do? Alas! alas! nothing, I think, for me as yet. - - - *WITH THE WOOD-DEVILS* - - -In this wilderness there are trades of which I had no idea. The people -literally dig their bread out of the earth and stones. They scrape it -from the trees, and by the many-sided resources of their wit force it -out of inedible fruits. How strange that man should know so well how to -utilise everything! But has he already done so? And was the necessity -there before the means were discovered, or was it the result of the -things obtained? If the latter were the case, I should consider the -thousand acquisitions as no gain. - -The starved or daring wood-devils hold closer communication with the -mass of mankind outside than one would suppose, and than they themselves -perhaps imagine. Yet after all they know it well enough. For example, -there is the root-digger. His fustian jacket reaches to the calves of -his legs; his hat is a veritable family roof, but in places it is -already breaking and full of holes. One knows him at once from afar. -He climbs around among the rocks and digs out the aromatic roots with -his crooked iron puncheon. He then sometimes sings the little song: - - "When I uproot the spikenard here, - That grows upon the Alm, - I like to think of the women-folk.-- - Canst thou guess where the spices go? - To Turkey land, that the women-folk, - A sweeter perfume may receive. - In Turkey land, the women-folk." - - -I do not yet know if it be true that spikenard travels from here over to -Turkey. But these people believe it and so it is truth to them. The -proud assertion of the root-digger, that he is sending a sweeter perfume -to the woman's world in the Orient, is contested. - -Yonder upon the cliff stands an old comrade, who, hearing the song, -unfastens the brass clasp of his jacket, and retorts: - - "That thou 'rt always thinking - Of the Turkish women-folk, - O Lota, is well-known! - Go rather and perfume thyself - With spikenard on the Alm, - It might not do thee any harm." - - -Thus they tease one another, and that is their harmless side. But the -wood-devil has his cloven foot. The genuine man of the woods has a -double-barrelled shot-gun; one barrel is called _Gemsennoth_ (Danger to -the chamois), the other _Jägertod_ (Death to the hunter). If he could -write, he would engrave these names upon the steel with his crooked -knife; but he keeps it in his mind, that about _Gemsennoth_ and -_Jägertod_. - -He would have given up the digging long ago, to lead solely a poacher's -life, but he imagines that sometime he is going to find a buried -treasure under the stones. Digging for treasures, gold and diamonds -under the ground, that he has heard in fairy-tales and can never forget. - -Gold and diamonds under the ground! Treasure-digging! The fairy-tale is -right; the root-digger is right; the ploughman is right; the miner is -right. But the treasure-digger is not right. - -Of one thing I am careful, that is, not to offend the root-digger, the -pitch-scraper, or the ant-grubber. These are the people who are said to -cause the bad weather, which is all devils' work, and since they live in -the forests, thence the many hard storms in the wooded and Alpine -regions. But how they manage that the atoms of dew condense into water, -that the drops freeze into bits of ice, that the bits of ice become -heavy hail-stones, that flaming darts of lightning hiss through the -night, and that the mighty thunder rolls, until at last it all bursts -upon the trembling men and beasts of the earth--how they manage that, -must be a profound secret of these wild fellows which I have not been -able to discover. - -It is a fearful delusion of these people, when they think themselves -able to perform deeds which are beyond human power, while neglecting -that by which they might accomplish something great.--However, in the -world outside, other mistakes occur, still more harmful because made by -men of superior wisdom and with greater resources than here. Glorious, -O mankind, is thy progress, but with thy monstrous prejudices art thou -still very incomplete! - -Up among the hills is a glen called the Wolfsgrube. I recently visited -this place, arriving there just in time to witness the burial of a man, -who had been neither root-digger, ant-grubber, pitch-scraper, -brandy-distiller, nor poacher, but the most extraordinary wood-devil. - -He had never worked, but had earned his bread by eating. He was called -"the Gormand"; I think he had no other name. He was a human wreck, -although physically very strong. His hair had become a hopelessly -tangled mat with sweat and resin; so he had no need of a hat. His beard -resembled dried pine-needles. His broad and powerful chest was as -though spun over with a tenfold spider's web, thus saving a doublet. An -entire horny skin had formed itself upon his bulky feet, making shoes -superfluous. Almost a terrible sight! I met him a few days ago in the -Winkel. Seeing me, he snatched a handful of sand from the ground, -offering to swallow it for a small remuneration. He often went to the -surrounding villages on church-festival days to exhibit his tricks -before the people. He did not consume tow and ribbons and that sort of -thing, as jugglers usually do, but cloth, leather, and bits of glass. -He has even been known to swallow rusty shoe-nails. His favourite -repast was an old boot or felt hat, torn into bits and prepared with oil -and vinegar. That paid him well, and his purse, like his stomach, had a -good digestion. "For us such food would not be good," said Rhyme-Rüpel, -"though a little drink of _Schnapps_ or wine might cut the pebbles very -fine." Day in, day out, he performed this feat; but everything has an -end, Easter Sunday as well as Good Friday. He was sitting before his -glass of toddy in Kranabethannes' hut, saying in his arrogant way, "Eat -your black bread yourself, Hannes; I 'll drink the brandy and take a -bite of the glass with it." Just then an old root-digger crawled out -from a dark corner of the hearth: "Despise the black bread, do you? -You!" At which the Gormand retorted: "Get out, root-digger; I 'll eat -you and the yoke on your back!" The old man then drew forth a small -root, saying, "Here 's something, you rascal, that's a little stronger -than you are." "Bring it on!" screamed the Gormand, seizing the root -and thrusting it down his throat. "You 're done for!" chuckled the old -man, and he disappeared into the forest. Suddenly springing up, the -Gormand staggered out of the house and fell upon the grass, stone-dead. -The meaning of it all was now plain. No one knew the old -root-digger--he was the devil. - -Half-fact, half-legend, so the superstitious people interpreted and -related it to me. And they would not bury the man in the Holdenschlag -churchyard. In the marshy ground of the Wolfsgrube, where only the -rushes grow and wave their little woolly flags, they made the grave. -Winding the body in thick fir-boughs, they shoved it with a pole, until -it rolled into its final resting-place. - -At the same time a little troop of worshippers came over the heath -through the Wolfsgrube. They had been in a defile in the high mountains -where a cross is said to be standing among the rocks. The little -company paused before the grave, repeating the Lord's prayer for the -dead man. Then suddenly a swarthy woman, a charcoal-burner, cried out: -"You miserable wretches, your pious prayers will be as useful to that -man as dry clothes to a fish in water. He 's already yonder in torment, -for he 's the eater of broken glass!" - -"The holy Lord's prayer will serve afterwards for our live-stock at -home!" murmured the worshippers as they walked away. - -A pale, black-haired man, with a melancholy face though restless -bearing, still remained standing beside the grave. Gazing into it, with -a trembling hand he threw a clump of earth upon the form wrapped in the -green travelling-dress and, looking about him, said: "We will cover him -with earth nevertheless. The devil has not taken him because of his -good appetite; and his heart may have been no worse than his stomach." - -This was the funeral sermon. And then a few men came and shovelled -earth into the grave. - -Later I again met the sad, pale man, whom they call the _Einspanig_. -"Can you tell me something," I asked, "about the eater of broken glass? -It is really a strange, weird tale." - -"Strange and weird is the whole woodland," he answered; "a better -digestion than ours, such a son of the wilderness may have. And -superstition is the intellectual life of these people." With these -words he turned and quickly stumbled away. - -What, old man, art thou not thyself a son of the wilderness? Thou art -truly strange and weird enough. The _Einspanig_, "The Lone One," they -call him; of his history they know nothing. - -I have also made the acquaintance of the pitch-maker. He is a very -peculiar fellow. One can scent him from afar and see him glistening -through the thicket. The hatchet glistens with which he scrapes the -resin from the trees, and the grappling-iron glistens, by means of which -he climbs like a wild-cat up the smooth trunks to reap a harvest from -their tops, or to make an incision for the resin to flow out later on. -And the leather trousers glisten, and the fustian jacket, covered with -pitch, and the blade of the long knife at his side--and finally one sees -his black, glistening eye. If a blossom or a falling pine-needle grazes -him, it sticks to his arm, to his hair, to his beard. If a fly or a -butterfly is flitting about, or a spider, swinging from its web, the -little insect remains clinging to him; and his dress is gaily decorated -with tiny creatures from the plant and animal kingdom when in the -darkness of the forest or at evening he returns home to his hermitage. -The pitch-maker wounds the trees seriously, at last killing them, and -the primeval forest has succumbed to the destruction. He has crippled -the old pines and firs, and they now stretch out their long arms after -him, as if desiring to strike down their deadly enemy. - -By a process of evaporation, the pitch-maker prepares turpentine and -other oils such as are used in the forest regions for every conceivable -malady. I often visit these distilleries, watching the black mass boil -and bubble, until it is put into closed earthen receptacles, from which -the valuable contents are drawn through slender tubes into kegs and -bottles. Packing these in a large basket, the man peddles them from -house to house. The wood-cutter buys pitch-oil for every injury which -he may receive in his battle with the forest. The charcoal-burner buys -it for burns; the brandy-distiller for his casks. The root-digger buys -for sprains and colic, the last of which he contracts from so much -uncooked food. The small peasant farther out buys pitch-oil for his -whole household and cattle, as a remedy against every ill. - -O thou pitch-oil man! A tiny worm has been gnawing long at my -heart--might it not be destroyed with thy gall-bitter oil? - -In the pitch-maker's hut it is unsafe to sit down, for one would stick -fast. And then the little unwashed, tousled children would come and -clamber upon one's neck until there would be no escape. - -The pitch-maker's dwelling is simple enough. Underneath is the bare -earth; above, the bark-shingled roof; while the walls are of rough logs, -stopped up with moss. The uneven hearth serves at the same time as a -table. Under the bedstead is the storehouse for potatoes, mushrooms, -and wild pears. The worm-eaten wardrobe is the revered object in the -house; it guards the sacred souvenirs of the forefathers, the baptismal -gifts of the children, and the rain-coat of the pitch-maker when not in -use. The windows have hardly enough glass to have satisfied the -appetite of the Gormand. "Besides," as the pitch-maker says, "rags and -straw paper are as good as glass panes, if one cannot show a clean face -through them." Behind the wardrobe hangs the gun. If my lord, the -hunter, on one of his visits, should happen to discover it, it is all -right--a gun is a necessity, for there are wolves in the woods. If he -does not see it, so much the better. It is the same with the -pitch-maker's housekeeper; seeing her, one is compelled to acknowledge -that the spring-time of life will return no more to one in the fortieth -year; that, as the proverb says, a wen on the throat is better than a -hole; that one-eyed is not blind, and that a little crookedness in the -legs is neither to be ashamed nor boasted of. If one does not see her, -so much the better. - -But as I have often noticed, to many a pitch-maker clings a young wife. -Country wenches are sometimes very different from city maids. The -latter are usually well pleased when their lovers are white and -delicate, slender, docile, and amorous as doves. The country lass on -the contrary prefers one who is hard, rough, and bristly, angular and -wild. If a girl has a choice between one who cheerfully darns stockings -for her and one who thunders at her with every word--then she takes the -thunderer. For after all she has him in her power. How does the song -go which the pitch-maker likes so well to sing? - - "For the pitch I have my axe, - For the hare I 've gun and ball, - For the hunter two stout fists, - For the wench I 've nothing at all. - 'That,' she says, 'is far too little.' - So she drives me out the door; - Then I go and flog the hunter - Till he troubles me no more." - - -It may not be poetical,--however, the man who occasionally sings such a -song does not harm the hunter. He who goes about with gloomy thoughts -sings no merry song. - -Among the wood-devils, the most cordial and, according to my judgment, -the most dangerous, is the brandy-distiller. He wears finer cloth than -the others and shaves his beard every week. He always carries about -with him a little flask, affably treating each person who comes in his -way. Whoever drinks is ruined, and follows him to the tavern. - -The brandy-distiller reaps a double harvest; first the red berries from -the mountain-ash, from the hop, from the sweet-broom, from everything -that here produces fruit. He believes in the Spirit of Nature, that -lives in all created things, and conjures it out of the fruits of the -forest and, like the magician in the fairy-tale, into the bottle and, -putting the stopple in quickly, imprisons it there. His distillery is a -magic circle under a high, gloomy pine, a circle like that which the -spider draws and weaves. Soon a few flies are there, wriggling in the -net. The woods-people, as they go about, or to and from their work, are -at last enticed into the tavern--these are the flies of the two-legged -spider, and from them the brandy-distiller now reaps his second harvest. - -Each man is advised by his wife to avoid the road by "the Pine," it is -so dark and rough, as well as being longer than any other. The man -appears to be convinced, and besides he has nothing to call him -there,--but health is such an uncertain thing, and as he walks along he -is suddenly attacked by a pressure in the throat, followed by a most -distressing colic. Having no pitch-oil with him, he knows but one -remedy and--he takes the road by "the Pine." "The first little glass," -says Rüpel, "soothes the smart; the second glass makes warm the heart; -the third glass makes it still more warm; one's purse by the fourth will -receive no harm; at the fifth, the man wishes to stretch his limbs; at -the sixth, the pines sway and his poor head swims; at the seventh, his -body is all aglow; at the eighth, to his wife he longs to go." - -But stumbling homewards, the good man swears at the "bad" wife who is -coming to meet him without a light through this ghastly fog; and when -finally, his hat awry and jammed low on his forehead, he tumbles into -the hut, the woman knows what beatings she has already borne and may -receive again, if she does not hasten and escape into the garret or some -safe place. - -My voyages of discovery have cheered me more than I should have thought -possible. A sad fate hangs over this little people, but this fate -sometimes makes an unspeakably droll face. Besides I do not consider -these foresters so utterly depraved and wretched. They are neglected -and uncouth. Perhaps something might be made of them; but first the -leaven must be added. - -The race will not die out so easily. Right here in the damp, dark -forest-land the little ones flourish like mushrooms. The youngsters -follow the path of their elders and carry the grappling-iron for roots, -or the herdsman's staff, or the hatchet for pitch, or the axe for wood. - -But, according to the reports made to the priest in Holdenschlag, the -forest children are all girls. The boys are mostly christened with the -water of the woods; they are recorded in no parish-register, that they -may remain unnoticed outside by the bailiffs and omitted from the -military list. The men here say that the government and whatever -belongs to it costs them more than it would be worth to them, and they -will renounce it. That may be all true, but the government does not -renounce the healthy Winkelstegers. - -The girls also, when they are somewhat fledged, soon take up ant- and -root-digging, gathering herbs, and they know of a market for everything; -they pick strawberries and hops and the fruit of the juniper for the -brandy-distillers. And the little boys, still too young to look after -themselves, already help with the brandy-drinking. - -A short time ago I watched a troop of children. They are playing under a -larch-tree. The fallen larch-cones are their stags and roes, which they -are pretending to feed with green brushwood. Others run about playing -"Hide and Seek" behind the bushes, "Holding Salt," "Driving out Hawks," -"Going to Heaven and Hell," and whatever all the tricks and games are -called. It is pleasant to watch them; to be sure they are all half -naked, but they have well-formed and healthy limbs, and their games are -more childishly gay than any which I have ever seen other children play. -This is the vulnerable spot of the horny Siegfried, who is here called -_Waldteufel_. - -Smiling at the little ones under the larch-tree, I try after a while to -mingle with them in their games, but they draw back shyly, only a few -keeping near me; but when I attempt to get the better of them in a race -or game of tag, then they all join in. And soon I am a good and welcome -friend in the mad, whirling circle of these young people. I prattle -many things to them, but more often I let them talk to me. I go to -school to the children to learn the schoolmaster's art. - -The forest people do not allow themselves to be drawn up by force; he -who would win them for higher things must descend quite to them, must -lead them up arm in arm and indeed by a long, circuitous route. - - - *IN THE FELSENTHAL* - - -Below the slopes of the fore-alps and the cliffs of the Hochzahn with -its chain of glaciers, the wooded hills extend on and on toward the -west. Seen from above they lie there like a dark-blue sea, concealing -in their depths the everlasting shadows and the strange people. - -A day's journey from the valley of the Winkel toward the west, far below -the last hut, is a place where, according to the legend, the world is -fastened in with boards. - -It were better said, walled in with stones; deep fissured precipices -shut off the forest-land and here begin the Alps, where the rocky -boulders no longer lie or lean, but soar straight up into the sky. A -sea of snow and ice with crags, about which hover everlasting mists, -extends endlessly, it is said, over the giant strongholds above, which -in olden times guarded an Eden now turned to stone. Thus the legend. -Strange that this wonderful dream of a lost paradise yet to be regained -should dawn in the hearts of _all_ people and nations! - -These foresters will not believe that on the other side of the Alps -there are again regions inhabited by man. Only one old, shy, blinking -charcoal-burner repeats the story told him by his grandfather, that over -there were human beings, who wore such high pointed hats that they could -not walk about on the mountains in the evening without knocking down the -stars. So the Lord God was obliged to carefully draw down the clouds -every night in order to keep a single star in heaven. The rogue meant -the pointed hats of the Tyrolese. - -In this mountain glen are a number of places held in ill repute. Here -many a dead chamois-hunter has been found, shot through the breast by a -ball of lead. There is also a legend that a monster, which keeps watch -over an inexhaustible treasure of diamonds in the mountains, sometimes -bursts forth from one of the numerous rocky caverns. If the forest-land -endures a while longer, then a hero is expected to come and slay the -beast and recover the treasure. Up to the present such a one has not -appeared. Ah, if I could give this monster its true name! - -The region is adapted to the gloomy myths. It is a dead valley in which -no little finch will sing, no wild pigeon coo, no woodpecker chatter, in -which loneliness itself has fallen asleep. Upon the grey moss-covered -ground piles of rock lie about, just as they have been broken from the -high cliff. Here and there a bold little fir-tree has climbed up on one -of these grey, weather-beaten boulders and proudly looks about, thinking -itself now more fortunate than the other half-dead trees on the sandy -soil below. It will not be long before it too will perish from hunger -and thirst, and will fall from the barren rock. Here the forest cannot -flourish, and if a straight and slender fir shoots up anywhere, its days -are numbered. A storm-wind suddenly comes rushing down from the rocky -defile and almost gently lays the young tree, together with its broken -roots, upon the ground. - -The Scotch fir alone is still courageous; it climbs the steep sides -between the precipices to discover how it looks up there with the -_Edelweiss_, with the Alpine roses, with the chamois, and how far it is -yet to the snow. But the good Scotch fir is no daughter of the Alps; -soon a dizziness seizes it, and, frightened, it crouches down and crawls -painfully upon its knees, with its twisted, crippled arms always -reaching out and clutching something, the little heads of the cones -stretching themselves upward in curiosity, until finally it comes out -into the damp veil of mist and aimlessly wanders about among the stones. - -Upon one of the fallen rocks of this remotest valley in the forest -stands a cross. It is very clumsily made out of two rough pieces of -wood; in places the bark is still clinging to it. Silent it stands -there in the barren waste; it is like the first message concerning the -Redeemer of the world, which in olden times the holy Boniface made from -the trees of the forest and set up in the German wilderness. - -I have often asked the meaning of this cross. Since time immemorial it -has stood upon the rock, and no man can say who placed it there. -According to the legend it was never placed there. Every thousand years -a little bird flew into the forest, bringing a seed of grain from -unknown lands. Previously it was not known what had become of the -seeds, whether they had been lost, or whether the poisonous plant with -the blue berries, or the thorn-bush with the white rose, or something -else, evil or good, had sprung from them. But when the bird last -appeared it laid the seed upon the rock in the Felsenthal, and from it -sprang the cross. Sometimes one goes there to pray before it; the -prayer has often brought a blessing at once, but often a misfortune has -followed it. So it is uncertain whether the cross is for weal or woe. -The Einspanig is the most frequently seen in the Felsenthal, and here he -performs his devotions before the symbol; but it is also uncertain -whether the Einspanig is good or evil. - -After many days of wandering I returned once more to my house in the -Winkel, much puzzled in my mind about the cross in the Felsenthal and -the Einspanig. I learned a little concerning the latter on reaching -home. - -I was surprised to find my housekeeper, usually so good-natured, quite -irritable to-day. It appears that seeing the Einspanig passing, the -woman, who happened to look out at that moment, thought to herself, "Oh, -how I should like to gossip a little with this queer man, and find out -something about him." And as he accidentally turned his face toward the -door, she cordially invited him to enter and rest a little on the bench. -On his accepting her invitation, she hastily brought him bread and milk, -and in her own peculiar way asked, "Good man of God, where do you then -come from?" - -"Down from the Felsenthal," was the answer. - -"_Ihr Närrchen!_" cried the woman, "you don't mean that horrible place! -Up there in the Felsenthal the world is fastened in with boards." - -The Einspanig then replied quietly: "Nowhere is the world fastened in -with boards. The mountains stretch far, far back behind the Hochzahn, -then comes the hilly country, then the plains, then the water which -extends many thousand miles, then land again with mountains and valleys -and little hills, and again water, and again land and water and land and -land----" - -Interrupting him here, the woman cried, "_Mein Gott_, Einspanig, how -much farther then?" - -"As far as home, into our country, into our forest, into the Winkel, -into the Felsenthal. Worthy woman, if God should give you wings and you -should fly away toward the setting sun and on and always on, following -your nose and the sun, then one day you would come flying from where the -sun rises toward your peaceful house." - -"Oh, you humbug!" cried the woman, "go tell your tales to someone else; -I am the Winkel-warden's wife. I 'll give you the milk and with it the -honest opinion of old people: Somewhere there is a place where the world -is fastened in with boards. That is the old faith, and therein will I -live and die." - -"Woman, all honour to your old faith!" replied the Einspanig, "but I -have already travelled the road toward the setting sun and back here -from the rising sun." - -These words seemed to have thoroughly embittered her. "_O Du -Fabelhans!_" she screamed, "the devil has set his mark upon you." And -then shaking his head the man walked away. - -The good woman must have found it hard waiting for me to give further -vent to her feelings. As I approached the house she called to me over -the fence: "By my troth! By my troth! What kind of people there are -upon God's dear earth, to be sure! Now they do not even believe in the -end of the world! But I say: Our Lord God has made it all right, and I -'ll stick to my old faith, and the world is fastened in with boards!" - -"Of course, of course," I acknowledged, as I climbed over the board -fence. "Quite right--fastened in with boards!" - -And so we will cling to the old faith. - - - *WITH THE WOOD-CUTTERS* - - -Alas, that the forest also should have its enemies--the silent, unending -forest, as it stretches over hill and vale--lying there, boundless, -green and dark, and farther on, dimly blue in the sunny horizon. - -What a beautiful rustling, murmuring, echoing, living wall, protecting -all within it from the wild discord without! But--the peace of the -woods is dead. - -In the forest the wind roars, striking off the joyfully waving arm of -many a young pine, breaking the neck of many a daring giant. And in the -depths, rushing and foaming in white frothy flakes--like a gathering -storm--is the Wildbach, which washes, digs, and gnaws the earth away -from the roots, ever deeper and deeper, until at last the mighty tree is -almost standing in the air, only supporting itself above by resting its -strong arms upon its neighbours, and finally plunging into the grave, -which the water has mischievously been digging for it,--that water which -the tree has fed with its falling dew, protected with its thick branches -from the thirst of the wind and guarded with its shade from the -consuming kiss of the sun. And the woodpecker pecks the bark in the -airy tree-top, while the sharp-toothed wheel of time revolves -constantly, and the chips fly--in the spring as blossoms, in the autumn -as withered needles and leaves. - -It is eternally ending and in the end are always the germs of beginning. - -Then man comes for the first time with his rage for destruction. The -blows and strokes resound, the saw buzzes, the axe is heard upon the -iron wedge in the dark valley,--if you look from above over the silent -sea of trees, you do not dream which one it concerns. - -But the axe and the wedge pierce deeper and deeper; then the tree, a -century old, shakes its lofty head, not in the least comprehending what -the little man below there wants, the droll, tiny creature--it cannot -understand and again shakes its head. Then comes the thrust through its -heart; it cracks, snaps, and now the giant totters and bends; whizzing -and whistling in an immense circle, it falls with a wild crash to the -earth. There is an empty space in the air, the forest has a gap. A -hundred spring-times have borne it up with their love and gentleness; -now it is dead, and the world exists and also remains intact without -it--the living tree. - -Silent stand the two or three men, supporting themselves upon the -handles of their axes, and gaze upon their sacrifice. They do not -mourn, they do not exult, a cruel indifference rests upon their rough, -sunburnt features; their very faces and hands resemble the fir bark. -Filling their pipes, they sharpen the hatchets and return to work. They -chop the branches from the fallen trunk, they shave off the bark with a -broad knife, cutting it perhaps into cord-lengths, and now the proud -tree lies there transformed into bare logs. - -These are converted into charcoal, which is forwarded to the foundries -in the outlying regions. The beeches and maples and other deciduous -trees are usually left standing until they inwardly decay and fall to -the ground. Upon the mouldering trunks appear fungous growths, and from -these the pitch-maker or the root-digger prepares the tinder, by -hammering them flat and steeping them in saltpetre. - -The wood-cutter has no thought for the beauty of the wilderness. To him -the forest is nothing more than a hostile shelter from which he must -wrest bread and existence with the gleaming axe. And what a long day's -work it is from early morning until twilight, with but a single hour's -rest at noon! While the wood-devil is his own master, the woodcutter is -the slave of others. As for his food, the wood-cutter is a being who -nourishes himself from plants, unless he be a genuine poacher, who is -shrewd enough to avoid being captured. However, he luxuriates in -imagination and likes to name his flour-dumplings after the animals of -the forest. So for breakfast, dinner, and supper he always eats -venison, foxes, sparrows, or whatever he christens his meal-cakes. One -Friday a young man invited me to a "Venison." Ah, I think, he does not -keep Fast Day,--he is certainly one of the Evangelicals who was left in -the Alps after the peasant wars. But the "Venison" proved to be -harmless little meal-cakes. - -Eighteen groschen wages for a day's work,--that is indeed prosperity; -from it many a woodsman has bought himself a little house and goat, and -supported a wife and troop of children. So at last he has his own -hearth, and in addition to the meal-cakes a rich soup of goat's milk. - -However, the expenses of the forest cabin are not very great. -Fortunately not much is required of the good fathers of families. - - "Man can live as he likes, - If lucky he be,-- - For the children some bread, - Tobacco for me" - -is the song of the forest householder. - -But others, and indeed the most of them, drown their earnings in brandy, -thus forfeiting the few comforts which their unambitious natures demand. -Such spendthrifts live together by the dozen in a single hut, cooking -their dinner at a common hearth which is in the middle of the cabin. -Along the walls are spread the straw beds. - -In each hut they have a _Goggen_ and a _Thomerl_; the first is a wooden -frame on the hearth, which holds the frying-pan over the fire--there are -often half a dozen set up around the flames. The second is a man, who, -however, may be called _Hansl_ or _Lippl_, or whatever he likes, but who -usually has a massive head, high shoulders, and short feet, hands -hanging down to his knees, and a vacant smile continually upon his face. -He is chambermaid, kitchen-boy, wood- and water-carrier, at the same -time goatherd, butt for empty jokes and--the honour of the house. - -Furthermore, in each woodman's hut, in some one of the corners, or under -some board, rifles are always concealed. - -The working-day garb of the wood-cutter has no striking characteristics; -it consists of a combination of tattered fustian, dull-coloured knitted -wool, and a horny leather hide, everything more or less sticky with -resin and almost entirely hiding the form beneath. But the badge is the -high, yellowish-green hat with the tuft of feathers. The feather tuft -is most important, for that is the mark of some poaching adventure, love -affair, or savage broil. Occasionally these people go outside to the -more distant places to celebrate the _Kirmess_--and this is a necessity -to them, as here there are no Sundays, indeed the very heart of -Sunday--the church itself--is missing. - -At these feasts the rough woods-people wear dress-coats and tall -hats,--one would hardly believe it. But the coat is of coarse fustian -edged with green; miniature trees, cut out of the same green material, -decorate the sleeves and back above the coat-tails; large brass buttons -glisten in the distance, and a high standing collar reaches to the head, -which is covered by the tall hat, broad brimmed and with flaring crown. -This is made from rough hair, with a wide green band and shining brass -buckle. - -Even into the wilderness of the Alps the foreign fashions have -penetrated! - -For the most part they are good-hearted people; but if irritated they -can become savage past all belief. Their eyes, although deep-set, are -bright and sparkling. Kindness is clearly read there as well as -quickness of temper. - -But they are pious, suspiciously pious. Each one has his flask of holy -water and tells his beads, with the parenthesis, "Bless all poor souls -in purgatory, and help us to find the money and goods so uselessly -buried in the ground." And each has seen at least one ghost in his -life. - -According to my observation a bloody fight seems to be quite an ordinary -occurrence with these people, and a death-blow no rarity. On the other -hand, thefts are never committed. - -The wood-cutter is born under the tree; his father places, one might -almost say, the axe-handle in his hand before the spoon, and instead of -the nursing-bottle the little one grasps after the tobacco-pouch. He who -is unable to buy tobacco makes it for himself from beech leaves. - -A remarkable amiability is not a native trait of these people. They -scarcely know peaceful joy; they strive for noisy pleasure. They are -not even sensitive to pain. If one of them drives the sharp axe into -his leg he merely says it _tickles_ him a little. But in a few days all -is healed again. And if a man loses a finger, it is a misfortune only -because of the inconvenience in lighting his pipe. - -An old setter of broken bones and an extractor of teeth form the entire -medical faculty, while pine-resin and pitch-oil are the only drugs used -in this shadowy wood-world. - -When these people go away homesickness is their greatest woe. The -homeless ones homesick? Their real trouble is a longing for the forest -hills where they have once passed a portion of their lives. - - - *BLACK MATHES* - - -In the Hinter Winkel stands the haunted hut. A short time ago I was -there to see Mathes the fighter, a hard, rough-appearing man, although -small and thin. He was lying stretched upon a bed of moss, his arm and -head being bound in rags. He was badly hurt. - -The windows of the hut were covered with bits of cloth; the sufferer -could not bear the light. His wife, young and amiable, but grieving -piteously, was kneeling beside him, moistening his forehead with apple -vinegar. His eyes stared at her almost lifelessly, but about his mouth -played a smile, showing the snow-white teeth. A strong odour of -pitch-oil filled the room. - -As I entered, a pale, black-haired boy and a bright-eyed little maid -were cowering at his feet, playing with bits of moss. - -"That is to be a garden," said the girl, "and there I am going to plant -roses!" - -The boy was carving a cross out of a small piece of wood, and he cried: -"Father, now I know what I am making; it 's the Holdenschlag graveyard!" - -The mother in alarm reproved the children for their noise; but Mathes -said: "Oh, never mind; I 'll soon be in the graveyard myself. But, one -thing, wife, don't let Lazarus's temper pass unheeded. For God's sake, -don't do that! Thou hast nothing to say? Thou wilt not follow my -advice? Dost thou perhaps know better than I? Oh, I tell thee, -wife!----" - -Tearing the rags from his arm, he endeavoured to rise. The woman, -repeating loving words to him, pushed him gently back. Yielding to -weakness even more than to her efforts, he sank upon his bed. The -children were sent from the room and on the sunny grass-plot I stayed -with them awhile, entertaining them with games and fairy-tales. - -A few days later I visited the family again. The sick man was feeling -much worse. He could no longer sit up, even when in a fit of rage. - -"He is so exhausted," the sorrowing wife said to me. - -First I was introduced by the children, and now I enjoy in Mathes's -house a certain amount of confidence. I go up there often; it is my -special desire to become acquainted with the misery of the forest. - -Once, while Mathes was lying in a profound, peaceful sleep and I was -sitting beside the bed, the woman drew a long, hard breath, as if she -were carrying a burden. Then she spoke: "I can truly say that there is -no better soul in the world than Mathes. But when a man has once been -so tormented and oppressed by the people and painted so black, he would -indeed become a savage, if he had a single drop of blood left in his -veins." - -And a little later she continued, "I ought to know; I have known him -from childhood." - -"Speak then," I replied; "in me you see a man who never mistakes the -sorrow of the heart for something evil." - -"He used to be as gay as a bird in the air; it was a joy to him simply -to be alive. And at that time he did n't know that he was to inherit -two large farms; nor would he have cared, for best of all he loved God's -earth, as it lies there in the bright sunshine. But you shall see, it -did not always go on in that way." - -And after a long pause the woman continued: "It may have been in his -twentieth year, when one day he drove into the capital of the province, -with a load of corn. The team was brought back by a mounted patrol; -Mathes never came home again." - -"O ho! I 'm already home!" interrupted the sick man, endeavouring to -rise. "There is nothing wrong about thy story, wife, but thou canst not -know it exactly; thou wast not there, Adelheid, when they caught me. I -'ll tell it myself. When I had finished my business in town, I went -into the tavern to moisten my tongue a little. In the corn-market, you -must know, one's talking apparatus becomes very dry before the last sack -is shouted off from the waggon. As I entered the tavern, I found three -or four gentlemen sitting at a table, and they invited me to drink a -glass of wine with them. They were friendly and treated me." - -The man stopped a moment to catch his breath; his wife begged him to -spare himself. He did not heed her and continued: "They were telling -stories about the French, who would never give us any rest, about the -war times and the gay soldier's life; and immediately afterwards they -asked me how the sale of corn had succeeded and what was the price of -sheep. I grew very lively, and was pleased to find that one could chat -so well on all sorts of subjects with perfect strangers. Then one of -them raised his glass, saying, 'Long live our King!' We touched glasses -until they almost broke; I cried out three times as loud as the others, -'Long live the King!'" The sick man stopped and his lips trembled. -After a while he murmured: "With this cry my misfortune began. As I was -about to leave, they sprang up and held me fast. 'O ho, boy, you are -ours!' I had fallen among the recruiting officers. They led me -away,---me, a mere boy; they concealed me among the soldiers and I was -sold." - -Mathes rolled up bits of moss with his bony fingers. - -"Don't grieve, wife," he muttered, "I 'm better now. I 'll expose the -whole crowd yet with my last words. But this I can say, upon the broad, -open field I have never been so savage as I was at that time. I longed -to go home; heavy, golden chains drew me thither. And once, in the -middle of a stormy winter night, I ran away. In Rainhausel I stopped -with an old aunt. And now my own people betrayed me. Soon the officers -were there to hunt for me. In an instant I was out of the house and, -slipping into the woods, I thought, 'If they have played a trick on me, -I will do the same by them.' Two huge hunting dogs were scenting -around, but I ran for quite a distance through the brook, until the -hounds lost track. And the officers rummaged through everything in the -hut; they thrust their knives into the straw bedding and hay, turning -the whole house quite upside down. But as they did n't find me, one of -them, placing the muzzle of his gun against the breast of my old aunt, -said: 'Tell me this instant where he is, or I 'll shoot you down like a -dog!' 'Yes, yes, he 's been here,' she answered, 'but where he is now I -don't know.' They dragged the woman out before the door, three muskets -were pointed at her breast, and threateningly they whispered to her: -'Call out quickly, as loud as you can: "Come here, Hiesel; the officers -have been gone a long time!" If you don't do it you will be buried -to-morrow.' Of course I knew nothing of all this; being concealed in the -thicket, and hearing no sound, I thought I was safe. Then I heard my -aunt call, 'Come here, Hiesel; the officers have been gone a long time!' -I sprang up and, running towards the hut, I saw the woman strike her -hands over her head, and I already heard laughing, and I was seized by -the officers. _Allmächtiger Gott_! I tried to pull out my pocket -dagger; but one of the men hit my arm with a club, so that to this day I -cannot turn my left hand properly. They were much cleverer and stronger -than I, the poor, starved devil, Mathes. And a few days later they fell -upon me. _Mein Gott!_ if each whip-lash had been a stroke of lightning -which did not kill, I should have liked it a thousand times better than -to be beaten and treated like a dog by a man. The two hundred lashes -knocked the very devil into me. Since then, whenever my blood was up, I -have repaid them ten-fold, even to my comrades in the woods. But it was -meant for the others, meant for the rascals who gave me the whipping. -In those days I should have liked to be the Lord God Himself just for -once, by my soul!--I would have crushed the cursed earth into a thousand -million pieces! My wounded back was seasoned with vinegar and salt to -make it heal. Oh, there was great haste. The foreigner had descended -upon the country like the fiend incarnate. Then of course I became -excited and fired away like the evil one himself. When the enemy was -driven back I had just one charge of powder left; for this I might have -found some other victim, in our own regiment mounted on a high horse. -But not that, not that! I thought to myself. Face to face, to tear him -down from his white steed with my hands,--that might do,--but from -ambush, no, never! But I did something cleverer yet, I ran away from -the battle-field and gave my cloak to a peasant for taking me in his hay -waggon across country. My home I reached in safety." - -"And if you loved your home so much, why did you not wish to fight for -it?" I interrupted him. "Why did you run away?" - -"It may be that it was rascality," said Mathes, "it may be. Or -perhaps--maybe it was n't either." - -"I know a man," I answered, "who not only did not fight for his country, -but against the same." - -"I did not stay at home," continued Mathes, "I left everything behind me -and hid myself in this farthermost wilderness, so that they might never -find me. Hunted, hunted, good Lord! And it was not until I reached -here that I became a wild beast. My wife, thou knowest that." - -The voice was shrill, but the words were the faltering utterances of the -dying. He then became silent and closed his eyes. It was as the last -flare of a flame before extinction. - -"The people took him for a poor abandoned wretch, when he came back," -continued the woman; "they threw groschen and pfennige into a hat and -tried to present him with hat and all. For that Mathes would have -killed a few of them; he wanted no alms. As the people were following -him by the dozen, he climbed up a large tree, and swung himself like a -wild-cat from one branch to another, until his pursuers finally saw that -they were mistaken. But in mockery they called him Hieselein. Later -on--yes, of course--he hunted up a wife for himself--" - -"The most beautiful one in the forest!" the sick man interrupted her -again, "and there was such an insolent devil in him, that he--the -half-cripple--plighted his troth to this same maiden only on condition -that he should not find one still more beautiful. By the holy cross, -what a struggle there was over it! Others wanted the girl, too. But I -led my Adelheid right under the noses of the most aristocratic and the -finest of them to my home, and I would not wish to have a better girl -than she is." - -Again he became silent and dropped into a half-slumber. - -"He received terrible blows sometimes," said the woman, "but because he -never lost his footing or was thrown upon the ground, they called him -_Stehmandel_. We have both of us got on right well together," she -continued in a low tone, "but he never would give up his savage ways. -Every Saturday evening he used to sharpen his knife for cutting wood; -but I often begged him: '_Um Gotteswillen_, let the sharpening of the -knife be!' On Sundays he would go to Kranabethannes's and late at night -he would come home with a bleeding head. I always knew that some day -they would bring him home on a litter. But, when he was calm and sober, -there was n't a better, more industrious, or more helpful man in the -whole forest than Mathes. Then he could be gay and laugh and weep like -a child. Of course, as he was a deserter, he forfeited his farm outside -in the country; but he supported the children with his own hands, and -some other people as well, who could no longer earn anything. He -visited the sick and comforted them, just as a priest would do. On -account of his honesty and reliability, he was made master wood-cutter. -However, the innkeeper was always in despair on Sundays, when Hieselein -arrived, whom they had already begun to call Black Hieselein. No matter -how good-naturedly he may have stumbled in at the door, they swore that -he would not go away without a terrible fight. He would n't give it up. -He tried to drown his sorrow in brandy; but the brandy brought the two -hundred whip-lashes to life again. He would start quarrels until the -blood ran. They would throw him down, screaming, 'So, Hieselein, now -perhaps you won't begin any more disturbance!' He would soon be on his -feet. But it is a fact that when he became sober, he would beg pardon -of everyone. But at last, thou holy Mother of God, the begging pardon -did not work any more. All the wood-cutters came one night to -Kranabethannes's, to show the fighter that even though he was their -master at work, they were for once masters in the tavern. At first, as -they see that he is drinking brandy, one glass after another, they begin -to tease and mock him, until he becomes wild and attacks them. They are -all over him, throw him down, tearing his hair and beard. And in this -same hour his guardian angel deserts him; one hand free, he seizes his -knife and plunges it into the breast of Bastian, the charcoal-burner. -They then beat Mathes until he is thrown upon the ground. Two -root-diggers brought him home. Perhaps to-morrow I 'll be a widow, and -the poor children----" - -The woman burst into sobs. Then Mathes raised himself once more: "The -Lord God has done well by thee. Perhaps I might have beaten thee in a -fit of anger. But I say this, I don't want to die so. I will get up -and go to court and confess that I have stabbed Bastian. From the -deceitful recruiting officers who took me from my peaceful youth and -delivered me over to the bloody world, where I was disgraced with -whip-lashes and hunted like a dog, and condemned for murder--to the -charcoal-burner Bastian, who with scorn and mockery himself enticed the -knife from its sheath--all of them I will call before the tribunal; they -must all be there when I am condemned to death." - -The woman shrieked; the man sank choking, back on the moss. - -Just then the children came skipping and shouting in at the door. They -were dragging by the ears a white rabbit which they let loose in the -room, the boy pursuing it. The little besieged animal hopped upon the -bed of moss and over the limbs of the sick man. It remained sitting in -the corner, sniffing and looking anxiously about with its great eyes. -The boy slipped up to it and seized it by its legs. The poor tormented -creature whined piteously and bit the finger of its pursuer.--"Stop! -stop! you rascal!" cried the enraged boy, becoming very red in the face, -while tears filled his eyes, his lips were drawn, and his fingers -convulsively clutched the throat of the animal and--before either his -mother or sister could interfere--the rabbit was dead. - -Mathes beat his face with his hands, crying out so that my very heart -quaked: "Oh, horrible! Now the angry devil lives on in my children! -Must I endure that also?" - -A few moments later the man fell into a terrible death struggle. He -died that same evening. - -They buried Black Mathes in the forest, because he had stabbed Bastian. -The woman wept bitterly upon the mound, and when at last she was led -away from it, the Einspanig came and planted a little pine-tree upon the -grave. - - - THE FEAST OF THE VIRGIN MARY, 1814. - - -And thus I have wandered about the Winkel forests. I have been in the -Hinter Winkel and in the ravines of the Miesenbach, in the forests of -the Kar, in Lautergräben, and in the Wolfsgrube, in the Felsenthal and -on the pastures of the Alm, and yonder in the glen where lies the -beautiful lake. I have introduced myself to the old and made myself -known to the young. It costs trouble and there are misunderstandings. -With a few exceptions, the best of these people are not so good or the -worst so bad as I formerly believed. - -I am even obliged to be a little deceptive; they must not know why I am -here. Many take me for a deserter and for that reason are friendly -toward me. To please these foresters a man must be despised and exiled -from the world, must indeed be as savage and happy-go-lucky as -themselves. Then I have been obliged to look about me for some work. I -weave baskets out of straw, I gather and prepare tinder and carve toys -for the children out of beech wood. I have already so fully gained the -confidence of the people, that they have taught me how to whet the -tools, and now I understand sharpening the axes and saws of the -wood-cutters. This brings me in many a groschen and I accept it--I -must, indeed, depend upon the work of my hands, like everyone here. My -room presents a somewhat confused appearance. And here I sit and work, -when the weather is bad outside or on long autumn evenings, among the -willow branches, the bits of wood, and the various tools. I am seldom -alone; either my housekeeper is chatting with me, or a pitch-maker, -root-digger, or charcoal-burner sits by me and smokes his pipe, watching -with a grin while I begin and finish the different things, and finally -going to work himself. Or there are children about me, listening to the -fairy-tales which I relate, or playing with the chips, until I have -finished the toy in my hands. On Sundays the forester sits with me for -hours together, hearing the story of my experiences and my plans for the -people of the Winkel woods. We talk over everything and I occasionally -write a long letter to the owner of the forest. - -The wood-cutters from Lautergräben are approaching nearer and nearer the -Winkel, and already through the silent forest I have heard the crashing -of many a falling tree. Upon the summit of the Lauter, a pale reddish -plain is spreading from day to day and in the morning sunlight shines -down in a friendly way through the dark green of the forest. - -In the ravines of the Winkel, stone-breakers and ditchers are working; a -waggon road is to be built for the transportation of coal and wood. - -I like to go about with the workmen, watching them and talking with -them, desirous of learning something of their life. - -But occasionally the people are a little mistrustful of me and approach -me with prejudice. I often carry a little volume of Goethe with me, and -seat myself in some attractive nook to read. Many a time I have been -secretly watched while so occupied. And then the report circulates -through the forest that I am a wizard and have a book containing magic -signs. I have wondered if this peculiar reputation may not at first -have given me some advantage in carrying out my plans. The children -would surely be allowed by their parents to learn to read, if I told -them that by first understanding the magic signs, one could exorcise -devils, dig for treasure, and control the weather. I think that the -grown people themselves and even the grey-beards would drop their tools -and come to school to me. But that would be dishonourable and I should -only produce the opposite result from that which I desire. The chief -thing is, not that the people learn to read and write, but that they may -be freed from harmful prejudices and have pure hearts. Of course I -might later substitute books of morals and say,--"Here are the true -magic signs"; but those whom I had deceived would have no further -confidence in me, and the evil would be greater rather than less. - -We will not sneak through a roundabout way; we will hew a straight path -through the midst of the old trees. - -A few times I have read songs to the people; to the girls -_Heideröslein_, and have taught _Christel_ to the boys. They learn the -verses quickly, and they are already much sung in the forest. - - - *UNREST* - - -And now the autumn has come. The clouds are dispersed with the morning -mists, leaving the sky bright and clear. The brilliant foliage of the -maples stands out in relief against the dark brown of the pine-forest, -while in the valley, the meadow has become green anew or glistens with -the silvery hoar-frost. In these woods the autumn is more brilliant and -almost lovelier than the spring. In the spring there is a capricious -brightness and splendour, song and exultation everywhere. The autumn, -on the contrary, is like a quiet, solemn Sabbath. No longer mindful of -the earth, Nature is then expectantly listening to heaven, and the -breath of the Almighty stirs harmonious melodies upon the golden strings -of mellow sunshine. - -The sky has become so trustworthy, that it more than fulfils through the -day that which it promises in the morning with its sad and misty eyes. -One gazes into its still, blue depths. - -Yonder beside the forest fire sits the shepherd-boy. He is taking some -little round things from a bag and shoving them into the fire. - -"Tell me, boy, where did you get the potatoes?" - -Turning red, he replies, "The potatoes, I--I found them." - -"May God bless them to you, and another time do not find them, but go to -the Winkel-warden's wife when you are hungry; she will give you some." - -"Those which are given don't taste good," is the answer; "those that are -found are better, the salt is already on them." - -Yonder stands a bush, which has decorated itself in the night with a -chain of dew pearls; to-day the dew is congealed and is destroying the -very heart of the plant. - -On such a late autumn day I saw at one time an old woman sitting in the -woods. This woman once had a child. He went out to the world, to hot -Brazil, seeking for gold. The horizon is so perfectly clear, that the -mother is able to gaze into the distant past, where the beloved boy is -standing. She looks at him, smiles at him, and falls asleep. The next -morning she is still sitting upon the stone, and now she has a white -mantle about her. The snow has come, the autumn is over. And across -the sea a ship is bearing a letter bound for the hot zones of South -America. It carries news to a sun-burnt man from his distant -home,--"Mother died in the woods." A tiny tear laboriously winds its -way from under his lashes, the sun quickly dries it, and afterwards as -before the watchword is: Gold! Gold! If a single letter might come -back to the old motherland, its message would be,--"The son crushed with -gold." - -What am I dreaming here? It is the way of the world, and is no concern -of mine. I long for peace in the midst of the quiet autumn of this -forest. - -Up there in the top of the beech-tree, a weary leaf loosens itself, -falls from branch to branch and dangles by an infinitesimally tender, -shining spider's web, down to me upon the cool, shadowy earth. The -people far away with whom I used to live, what may they be doing? That -wonderful maiden is always blooming--always--even in the autumn; and in -Saxonland the dry leaves are wafted over the graves. - -Loneliness cannot banish the sorrow of loneliness. I must look for -something to distract and elevate me that I may not become one-sided in -my surroundings. - -I have commenced the study of botany; I have read from books how the -erica grows, and the heath-rose, and other flowers; and I have watched -the same plants hours and hours at a time. And I have found no -connection between the dead leaf in the book and the living one in the -woods. The book says of the gentian: "This plant belongs to the fifth -class, among those of the first order, is found in the Alps, has a -bluish juice, and serves as medicine." It speaks of a number of -anthers, pistils, embryos, etc. And that is the family and baptismal -certificate of the poor gentian. Oh, if such a plant could read, it -would freeze on the spot! That is indeed more chilling than the -hoar-frost of autumn. - -The forest people know better. The flower lives and loves and speaks a -wonderful language. But the gentian trembles with foreboding, when man -approaches; and it is more afraid of his passionately glowing breath -than of the deathly cold kiss of the first snow. - -So I am one who does not understand and is not understood. Without aim -or plan I am whirling in the monstrous, living wheel of nature. - -Ah, if I but only understood myself! Scarcely at rest, after the fever -of the world and enjoying the peace of the woods, I already long again -to cast one glance into the distance, as far as the eye of man can -reach. - -Yonder upon the blue forest's edge, I would I might stand and look far -out into the land over at other men. They are no better than the -foresters, and know scarcely more; yet they are striving after, hoping -for, and seeking Thee, O God! - - - *ON JACOB'S LADDER* - - -One beautiful autumn morning I felt inclined to climb the high mountain, -whose loftiest peak is called the Graue Zahn. With us down here in the -Winkel, there is altogether too much shade, and up there one stands in -the bright circle of the wide world. There is no path thither; one must -go straight on, through underbrush, thickets, stones, and tangled -mosses. - -After some hours I arrived at the Miesenbach hut. The gay young pair -have already departed. The living summer-time is over; the hut stands -in autumn abandonment. The windows from which Aga used to peep at the -lad are fastened with bars; the spring in front is neglected and has -become nearly dry; and the icicle on the end of the gutter grows -downwards--toward the earth. The bell of a colchicum swings near it, -and rings to the last gasp of the dying fountain. - -I seated myself upon the top of a watering-trough and ate my breakfast. -It consisted of a piece of bread made of rye- and oat-flour, such as is -eaten everywhere in this forest-land. That is a meal which, literally, -tickles the palate, very coarse-grained and full of bits of bran. In -the country outside, where wheat grows, such food would not be to our -taste; here it is all we ask for when we pray, "Give us this day our -daily bread!" But there are also times in this region when the Lord is -sparing even with the oat-bread; then dried straw and moss come under -the grindstone. God bless to me the piece of bread and the swallow of -water with it! Prepared with God's blessing, ye master cooks, -everything becomes palatable. - -I then begin to climb farther. First I cross the Kar, from whose bed -project stones washed smooth by the waves. Between the stones stand -tufts of pale feather-grass and lichens. Some tender, snow-white -flowers are also swaying to and fro, looking anxiously about, as if they -had lost their way up here on the rocky waste and longed to return -whence they came. From the once so beautiful red sea of Alpine roses, -the sharp bristles of the bush alone remain. I climb higher, wending my -way around the walls of rock and the peak of the Kleinzahn; I then -stride along a ridge which extends toward the main mountain range. - -There I have before me the blinding fields of the glaciers, smooth, -softly gleaming like ivory, lying there in broad, gentle slopes and -hollows, or in creviced multiform precipices of ice reaching from height -to height. Between, tower battlements of rock, and yonder, in the airy -distance, above the gleaming glaciers, rises many a dark-grey, -sharp-toothed cone, soaring far above the highest peak of the mountains. -That is my goal, the Graue Zahn. - -Towards the east the ground descends to the waving depths of the dusky -forest. And the undulating meadows of the Alm lie deep as in a gulf. -Here and there is the grey dot of an Alm hut, of which the shining roof -alone is visible. On the northern side yawns the awful abyss, beneath -whose shadow is the dim, black lake. - -I walked a few hours over the difficult and dangerous path, along the -edge to the glaciers. Here I bound on my climbing-irons, strapped on my -knapsack tighter, and held my stick more firmly in my hand. The -alpenstock is an inheritance from Black Mathes. It is covered with -innumerable little notches, which do not show, however, how often its -former possessor may have climbed the Zahn or any other mountain, but -how many people he has knocked to the ground in a fight. A dismal -companion! yet this has helped me up over the smooth, white snow-slopes, -on over the wild ice crevasses, and finally up the last steep precipice -to the summit of the Zahn. It has done it faithfully. And how gladly -from this high mountain would I have called out to Mathes in eternity, -"Friend, this is a good stick; had you climbed high with it, you would -have understood it!" - -Now I stand on the summit. - -Would that I were a being that might spin itself by the threads of -sunlight up to the Kingdom of God. - -Under a jutting stone I seat myself upon the weather-beaten ground and -look about me. Near by are the fine, broken spires of immovable, -perpendicular slabs of slate. Above me a sharp breeze may be gently -stirring; I do not hear it; I do not feel it; the jutting rock, the -highest peak of the Zahn, protects me. The friendly warmth of the sun -touches my limbs. The quiet and the nearness to heaven bring peace to -my soul. I wonder how it would be in the everlasting rest. To be happy -in heaven, to live always in joy, always contented and without pain; to -wish for nothing, to long for nothing, to hope for nothing, and to fear -nothing, on through all time. Would it not after all be a little -wearisome? Should I not perhaps wish to take a leave of absence -sometimes, to look down here at the world once more? My possessions here -would easily go into a nutshell. But I think were I once up there I -should long to be down here again. How strange are earthly joy and -sorrow! - -But if I came back, a good angel would have to lend me his wings that I -might fly across the white mountains and sunny peaks and ridges, on into -the distance yonder, where the edge of the mountain chain cuts through -the airy heaven; and upon that last white peak I would rest and look -over into the expanse of plain and to the towers of the city. Perhaps I -might see the gable of the house, or even the gleam of the window where -she is standing. - -And if I saw the gleam of that window, then would I willingly turn about -and enter heaven again. - -Is it then really true that one can behold the sea from this peak? My -eyes are not clear, and yonder, in the south, the grey of the earth -blends with the grey of the sky. I already know the firm ground, the -mould which they call the fruitful earth. Couldst thou, mine eye, only -once reach the wide sea! - -When the sun changed, so that a deep shadow appeared upon my stony -resting-place, I arose and climbed to the very highest point. I took in -the whole picture of the mighty, battlemented kingdom of the Alps. - -And then I descended by the precipices, the crevasses of the glaciers -and the snow-fields; I crossed the long ridge, finally reaching the -soft, yielding meadows, where the wooded hills were before me once more. -Twilight was settling over the valleys, which was most comforting to my -overstrained eyes. For a while I covered them with my hand, and when at -last I was able to look once more, the gold of the setting sun was -illuminating the heights. - -As I come to the Miesenbach hut before which I sat in the morning, a -curious incident occurs. - -While passing the hut, I think how friendly and homelike an inhabited -human dwelling looks to the wanderer, but how forbidding and dreary the -same place appears, when it stands, like an upright coffin, empty and -deserted! Suddenly I hear groaning from within. - -My feet, already very tired, at once become as light as a feather, and -would run away, but my reason forbids, and, straining my ears to listen, -I stand and gaze. From under one corner of the jutting roof proceed a -pounding and snorting, and I then behold a strange spectacle. From out -the rough, brown wooden wall, project a man's head and breast, two -shoulders and one hand, a living, wriggling mass, and from within I hear -the noise of the knees and feet. - -Ah! I think, a thief, who has filled his pockets too full and is -unfortunately caught fast on coming out. It is a young head, with curly -hair, waxed moustache, white shirt collar and red silk neckerchief, such -as one seldom meets with in these forests. - -Perceiving me, he cries loudly: "Holy cross, how lucky that someone has -come at last! Could n't you help me a little?--it needs only a jerk. -Curse this window." - -"Yes, my friend," I say; "but first, I must ask you a few questions. -The man who could get you out the easiest would be the hangman, who -would gently put a rope about your neck, pull a little, and all at once -you would be in the free air." - -"Stupid!" he replies; "just as if an honest Christian could n't get -caught if the hole is too small. I am the son of the master wood-cutter -from Lautergräben and on my way across the Alm, down to the Winkelegg -forest. As I pass the hut, I see that the door stands wide open. -'There is nothing in there,' I said,--'nothing at all that would be -worth while to carry away, but 't is a bad thing to leave an open door -in an empty house; the snow will fly in all winter long. The herdswoman -must have been in a hurry when she moved back to the valley--she must be -a nice sort of a person to go and leave everything open.' Well, I -enter, close the door and from within place a few blocks of wood against -it, afterwards climb upon the bench, and as I try to get out by this -smoke-window, here I stick like the devil." - -But I do not yet trust the lad, and look at him awhile as he dangles. - -"And you think you don't want to remain fastened there under the roof -until someone comes to-morrow and recognises you." At this he grinds -his teeth and struggles violently to escape from his ugly situation. - -"I must be in Holdenschlag early to-morrow," he mutters. - -"What do you want in Holdenschlag?" I say. - -"_Mein Gott_, because there is to be a wedding!" he growls, already -quite indignant. - -"And why must you be present?" - -At first he refuses to answer, but finally bursts out,--"By Jessas and -Anna, because I 'm needed there!" - -"Oh, then of course, we must try to help you," I say, and climbing a -little way up the wall I begin pulling at the lad, until at last we have -the second hand out; then it is easier. He is soon standing on the -ground, where he hunts up his pointed hat which has rolled away, -stretches his stiffened limbs, and with flushed face looks up once more -at the little smoke-window, exclaiming, "The devil take you, that was a -trap, sure enough!" - -In the twilight we went down together towards the Winkelegg forest. The -lad showed no disposition to talk with me. I tried to make amends for -my apparent unfriendliness, assuring him that I recognised at once that -he was no thief. "And to-morrow then, you will be in Holdenschlag at -the wedding? Are you the groomsman?" I asked. - -"The groomsman, no, I am not that." - -"Perhaps then the ceremony could have been performed without you." - -He pulled his hat over his eyes, which were fixed on the ground. - -"Without me," he said at last; "no, I don't think it could. For you -see, this is the way of it, it could n't be done without me, -because--because, it looks very much as if I were the bridegroom." - -On hearing these words, I stopped and stared a moment at the lad, -thinking how dreadful it would have been if the bride and the whole -wedding should have waited and waited below, while the bridegroom was -struggling up there in the smoke-window of the herdsman's hut. The -young man then politely invited me to his wedding. He guided me -faithfully as we walked down through the dark forest to the narrow -valley of the Winkelegg. - -Here we passed a huge pile of bare logs, which had been sent down -through a long shoot from the Winkelegg forest. Near the pile of wood -were three large charcoal-kilns, from which, slowly and silently, the -milk-white smoke rose to the tops of the trees and into the dark autumn -sky. - -The wood-cutter's son from Lautergräben urged me to accompany him into -the hut which stands under the spreading pine. - -In the cabin are three people, two hens, one cat, and the fire on the -hearth. No other living creature is visible. - -A young woman is standing by the hearth, laying larch-branches crosswise -on the fire. My companion informs me that she is his betrothed. - -Behind the broad tile stove, which reaches to the sooty ceiling, sits a -little woman. She glares at me, the strange intruder, with her large -green eyes, while with unsteady fingers she is drawing the strings -through a new pair of shoes. At the same time she continually wipes her -eyes, which are already dimmed like an old window-pane that for many -years has been exposed to the smoke of the charcoal-burner's hut. My -companion tells me that this is the mother of his betrothed, who is -everywhere called by the people, Russkathel. - -Beyond, in the darkest corner, I see a rough, manly figure, his body -bared to the waist, washing and scrubbing himself over a massive wooden -basin with such force that he snorts like a beast of burden. - -"That is the brother of my betrothed," explains the young man; "he is -the charcoal-burner here and they call him Russ-Bartelmei." - -Then the wood-cutter's son approaches his sweetheart to tell her that he -has come at last, and has brought with him the highly learned man who -wanders over the whole forest, and who will give them the honour of his -presence on their wedding-day. - -The young woman, turning toward me, says, "Find a seat somewhere if you -can; everything is so dilapidated with us, we have n't even a decent -chair." - -Then the young man speaks to her in a low voice, apparently telling her -the story of the herdsman's hut, for all at once she cries out: "Oh, -what a stupid fellow! Thou must needs pry into everything, or has it -come to be a habit of thine, up there with the herdswoman?" - -The lad turns to his mother-in-law: "Give me the shoe,--thou art leaving -out half of the eyelets; such work is much too fine for thy weak eyes, -_Mütterchen_!" - -"Yes, Paul, that's true," mumbles the old woman good-naturedly from her -toothless mouth, "but, listen, Paul; my grandmother laced my mother's -shoes, and my mother did it for me; and I, why should such an old, -crooked creature as I be in the world, if I could n't lace my Annamirl's -shoes?" - -"Perhaps you 'll soon have other work, _Mütterchen_; by the cradle you -'ll not need to see," answers Paul mischievously. - -At this, Annamirl shakes her finger at him, saying, "Thou -good-for-nothing!" - -In the dark corner the splashing and snorting continue. It is not so -easy a matter for a man who has once become so blackened as -Russ-Bartelmei to wash himself white enough to appear before the world, -even though his sister should marry the master wood-cutter's son from -Lautergräben. - -And my wood-cutter's son draws the lacing through the shoes of his -betrothed. The old woman, having once found her tongue, begins to -prattle: "And don't forget, Annamirl," says she, "thou must try it also. -It will succeed yet." - -"Dost thou mean that I should plant the christening-money, -_Mütterchen_?" - -"Yes, that 's it. Under a branching pine-tree thou must bury a groschen -on thy wedding-night. That is the money-seed, and thou shalt see, in -three days it will bloom, and in three months it may indeed be ripe. -Our ancestors did it, but they were not all successful. It was this -way: my grandmother missed the time, my mother never found the spreading -pine-tree again, and I planted a false groschen. On that account, my -daughter, take careful note of the hour as well as of the tree, then the -groschen will grow, and thou shalt have money enough all thy days." - -Annamirl opens an old chest and begins to rummage among the clothes and -other contents. I believe she was seeking the christening-money. - -The charcoal-burner washes and rubs himself. He changes the water many -times, but it is always as black as ink. But finally it remains only -grey; then Russ-Bartelmei stops and dries himself; he dresses, sits down -on the door-sill, and, taking a long breath, says, "Yes, folks, I 've -got rid of one skin now, and the other is beginning to show a little." -The new one, however, has grown very red, although in places it is still -somewhat dingy; but it is Russ-Bartelmei all the same, who is going to -his sister's wedding on the morrow. - -I am invited to spend the night in the hut, and the bride hospitably -sets a dish of eggs before me, because I am the "learned man," who might -sometime be of use, should the occasion offer itself and the children -prove to be intelligent. - -The smoke has driven the hens from their evening rest; so now they come -to me upon the little table, and stretch their long necks over the edge -of the dish into my food. Do they wish to have their eggs back again? - -The old woman, too, is all the time coming closer to me; twice she opens -her mouth as if to speak, then closes it again, murmuring into her blue -neckerchief: "I won't say it after all; 'twill be more sensible." -Seeing her timidity, I come to her aid: "Well, what is it, -_Mütterchen_?" - -"God bless you for the question," she replies, drawing still nearer to -me. "People like us can't see into the future. To speak out -plainly,--you are a learned man, they say, so you will surely understand -fortune-telling?--No, not at all?--But I should think a man like you -ought to learn that. And now that we have become so well acquainted, do -you know no numbers for the lottery?" - -"Jesstl and Joseph," suddenly screams the young woman, "hurry, hurry, -_Mütterchen_! I think the kitten has tumbled into the water-pail!" - -The old woman stumbles toward the corner, from which Bartelmei has just -come; but the kitten has already disappeared, was perhaps never in the -water. Annamirl, ashamed of her mother's childish questions, has stopped -them by this trick. - -The next day, when the morning red is glowing through the white smoke, -the people come from all parts of the forest. They are dressed and -decked out as I have never seen them before. They bring -wedding-presents with them. The pitch-maker comes with a black, -glistening jug of pitch-oil. "For the health of the bridal couple," he -announces, and then adds: "What is the message of the pitch-oil? If in -life you have trouble to bear, you must apply at once the oil of -patience. That says the pitch-oil." Root-diggers come with seeds and -bunches of fragrant herbs, and the ant-grubbers, with incense; children -bring wild fruit in little baskets of fir-bark; wood-cutters come -bearing household utensils. Schwamelfuchs, an old hunchbacked, rough -little man, is dragging a huge earthenware bowl, a veritable family -kettle, large enough to feed a dozen mouths. Others bring wooden spoons -for it; again others unpack meal- and lard-buckets, and a -charcoal-burner's wife comes staggering in quite embarrassed and hands -the bride a carefully wrapped package. As with awkward words of thanks -she opens it, two fat stuffed capons come to light. These are spied by -Russkathel, who, already in gala dress, and full of eager expectation, -is creeping along the walls, and she whispers to her daughter: "Dost -thou know, Annamirl, where the best wedding-gift should be put? Ah, -yes, it should be buried in the cool earth. Later a beautiful woman -will come in a golden waggon, drawn by two little kittens; these will -dig out the wedding-gift with their claws, and the woman, taking it in -her snow-white hand, will drive three times around the hut; afterwards -no sorrow can come to your holy wedlock." So the tale of Freya is still -told in the German forest. - -Annamirl is silent for a moment, and, turning the heavy, neatly picked -and stuffed fowls around and around in her hands, as if they were -already on the spit, she finally remarks: "I think, mother, they would -spoil in the earth, or the cats would eat them, and for that reason, I -say, let us eat them ourselves." - -At last even the elegant brandy-distiller arrives with his huge earthen -jug, which immediately spreads an odour of spirits throughout the house. -Scenting it, Russ-Bartelmei, curious to see how such a jug is made and -corked up, hurries forward at once. - -But here Annamirl interferes: "May God bless you a thousand times, -Brandyhannes; that is altogether too much, we could never repay you for -it. Perhaps this is the most valuable wedding-gift, so with it I will -carry out the old custom." - -Quickly drawing the stopper, she pours the sparkling, smoking brandy -upon the ground, to the last drop. The old woman giggles and grumbles, -"Thou fool, thou! now both thy kittens will be drunk; and then what a -row we shall have!" - -By the time all are assembled, the sun is already shining in at the -door. During the night a meal has been cooked, which the people now -devour with good appetites and gay conversation. I also take part in -it, afterwards joining the children who are present, giving them some of -the food in their wooden dishes, that they too may have their share of -the feast. - -Then we all depart. With the charcoal-burners a single old man remains -behind. He stands a long time before the door, resting upon his iron -hook and smoking a short-stemmed pipe, while with a grin he gazes after -us, until we have disappeared in the shady defile. Then only the -silent, friendly morning sun still rests upon the pine-trees. - -A number of men in the wedding-procession have even brought rifles with -them; but to-day they do not shoot at the creatures of the forest, they -fire into the air, considering that they are thus adding greatly to the -festive occasion. - -There is singing and shouting, until the summer day fairly trembles. -Many a gay song is sung, tricks are played, old-fashioned games are -tried on the way, and it is already noon when we reach the church at -Holdenschlag. Five men come to meet us with trumpets, fifes, and a huge -drum which the drummer beats with true festive fury; and what an -excitement and roar of laughter there is, when suddenly the drum-stick -breaks through the much martyred skin and, shooting into the inside, -catches its tact upon the other end. A young man is stealing around the -procession, and according to the old custom trying to take the bride -away from us; but the groomsman is on guard, although in reality -watching more closely over his purse than over the bride; for should he -lose the former, the robber would drag him to some distant tavern, where -he would have to pay for the drinks. - -The bridegroom accompanies the first bridesmaid; not until after the -ceremony does he approach his wife, and then the groomsman walks with -the bridesmaid, so that the seed is sown again for a new wedding. The -groomsman is well known to me; his name is Berthold; the bridesmaid is -called Aga. - -In the church wine is drunk and the priest gives a very edifying talk -upon the sacrament of marriage and its divine purpose. The good old man -speaks most beautifully, but the people from the woods do not fully -understand his high German. Not until we are in the tavern, and have -all eaten, drunken, and played tricks, is the real sermon for the people -delivered. Then the old, bearded Rüpel raises his wine-glass and begins -to speak: - -"I am not learned, I wear no doctor's cap, or monkish cowl, and if my -glass were not at hand, alas! no clever word from me, my friends, would -here be heard. As once did Moses, so do I, you see, with cheering wine -my tongue now free. As aged Bible-reader am I known, but if a knight I -were, I own, upon a snowy steed I 'd ride across the land. Once close -at hand a proverb I did spy: the Lord, the Crucified, did cry,--'Is man -alone, then is he naught, but are there many,' then he taught their -worthlessness; 'so will I try and shut a pair within a hut,--alas! too -little; now a house, and later even heaven 's too small to cover and -protect them all, but through the world to forests strange they go, to -suffer, wandering to and fro,--to part again.' But for His sheep the -Son of God will care, though they go straying everywhere. I hear the -hammer-stroke upon the cross, at foot, at left, at right; my heart is -breaking at the sight. The red blood flows, which wins your heaven and -mine. To Thee, O Lamb, I offer wine, for Thou didst suffer--die!" - -There is silence throughout the large room, and the old man drains his -glass. - -But soon he fills it again and continues: - -"To Him be praise! As at the feast in Galilee, so with us may our -Master be, to change the water into wine, the whole of Winkel brook -to-day, the whole of Winkel brook for aye! The wine is clear and pure, -the white and red together flow, as sure as youthful hearts that onward -go, in honour bound and love. From light of sun and moon, the wine has -caught its fire, between the earth and sky--as grow our souls and bodies -from on high, and from below. To bridegroom and to bride to-day, may -this sweet wine bring health, I pray." - -What a merry-making and shouting now follows, and the fifes and fiddles -resound as the wine is poured upon the green wreath of the bride. - -Each one now raises his glass and extemporaneously delivers his -wedding-speech or bridal-poem. Finally old Russ-Kath staggers to her -feet and with an incredibly clear voice sings: - - "Cut down the pear-tree, - Cut down the box-tree, - Cut both the pear- and box-tree down, - Sweetheart, to make thee - Out of the box-tree - Bedstead, the finest in all the town." - - -As things are now going, it seems to me that the noise and clamour must -burst through all four walls, out into the quiet evening. - -Gradually, however, it grows quieter and the people turn their eyes -towards me, to see if I, the learned man, have no toast for the bride. - -So I then arise and say: "Joy and blessing to the bridal pair! And -when, after five-and-twenty years, their descendants enter the marriage -state, may it be in the parish church by the Winkel bridge! I drink to -your health!" This is my bridal toast. - -Thereupon follow a murmuring and whispering, and one of the oldest of -the company approaches and politely asks me the meaning of my speech. - -All night the inn at Holdenschlag resounds with the music, dancing, and -singing of the wedding-guests. - -The next morning we escort the bridal couple from their room. Then for -a long time there is a search for the groomsman, who is nowhere to be -found. We wish him to join us in the old-fashioned wedding-game, -"Carrying the wood for the Cradle." - -Who would have thought that the excited boy was at this moment standing -in a room in the priest's house, wearing on his cheek a veritable Alpine -glow, while with both hands he was crushing the brim of his hat! - -The priest at Holdenschlag--he must be a shrewd man--walks with -dignified steps up and down the room and with a fatherly voice repeats -the words: "Control thyself, my son, and pray; lengthen thy evening -prayer three times or seven times, if need be. The temptation will -leave you at last. Marry! A penniless fellow! What for then? Hast -thou house and land, hast thou servants, children, that thou needest a -wife? Now, then! To marry with a beggar's staff, such a folly is not -to be thought of. How old art thou?" - -At this question the lad blushes more deeply than ever. It is so -unpardonably stupid not to know one's age. And he does not know it, but -he would be right within ten years if he should straightway say twenty. - -"Wait until thou art thirty; earn house and land for thyself, and then -come again!" is the priest's decision. He now goes into the next room, -but Berthold remains standing where he is, feeling as though he must say -something more,--some weighty word which would overthrow all objections, -so that the priest would answer; "Ah, that is quite another thing; then -marry, in God's name!" But the lad knows no such word, to explain and -make clear why he wishes to be united, forever united, with Aga, the Alm -maiden. - -As the priest does not return from the neighbouring room, where he is -taking his breakfast, the lad finally turns sadly towards the door and -descends the steps, the Jacob's Ladder of his love's happiness, which a -short time before he climbed with joyous confidence. - -But having reached the green earth, he is another being. And the wild, -overbearing way in which the boy conducts himself on this second -wedding-day, makes one suspicious. - -In the afternoon, man and wife, boy and maiden, depart in couples; -Andreas Erdmann joins the old, bearded Rüpel and we all return to the -forests of the Winkel. - - - - - *PART SECOND* - - - 1815. - - -Many centuries ago according to tradition, a people dwelt in this region -who supported themselves by farming and hunting. They had shown much -forethought in damming up the Winkel, while along its banks were -carefully tended green meadows and a waggon road led to the adjoining -country. Not far from the place where the master wood-cutter's house -now stands the remains of a wall show the spot upon which it is supposed -a church once stood. Indeed, the opinion is advanced that it was no -church, but the temple of an idol, where it was still the custom to -drink mead to Wotan and to sacrifice animals whenever the full moonbeams -shimmered through the leaves of the linden. In the same olden time, a -snow-white raven would fly down each year from the wastes of the Alps, -pick up the corn which had been strewn upon a stone for it, and fly away -again. Once, however, no corn was scattered for the bird, because the -year had been a sterile one, and someone had declared the whole thing to -be a foolish superstition. Then the white raven was seen no more. But -the winter was scarcely over when from the East savage hordes came -streaming hither, with ugly brown faces, wearing blood-red caps and -horses' tails, riding strange beasts, and carrying unusual weapons,--and -they invaded even the Winkel woods. These bands plundered and carried -off the inhabitants by hundreds, and thus the region became deserted. - -Then the houses and the temple fell into ruins, the water destroyed the -dams and roads and covered the fields with pebbles and stones. The -fruit-trees grew wild; larch-woods sprang up in the meadows. But the -larches were afterwards supplanted by firs and pines. And thus the -dark, high forests, now centuries old, came into existence. - -It is not certain whether the present race of foresters are descendants -of those ancient people. I rather think that, as the old inhabitants -were washed away by a surging flood over the Alps in savage ages, so -after many years in the storms of time, fragments of other races have -been driven into these forests. Indeed, one can tell by observing the -present inhabitants that this is not their native soil, but -notwithstanding, they have been impelled to take root here and to -prepare a safe and orderly dwelling-place for their descendants. - -However, the old German legends of the wood-gods live on in these -people. In the autumn they leave the last wild fruit upon the trees, or -decorate their crosses and _Haus Altare_ with the same, in order to -secure fruitfulness for the coming year. They throw bread into the -water, when a flood is impending; they scatter meal to the wind, to -appease threatening storms--even as the ancients sacrificed to the gods. -At the sacred hour of twelve they hear the wild hunt, even as the -ancients heard with terror the thundering of Father Wotan. Instead of -Freya of the olden time, they call to mind the beautiful woman who -presides at the wedding-feasts, with her two kittens harnessed to a -golden waggon. And when the Winkel foresters bury one of their comrades -outside in Holdenschlag, they empty the cup of mead to his memory. -Everywhere still linger the old Germanic superstitions and customs, but -above them all is heard the lofty song of the Cross. - -To a certain extent the Winkel foresters appreciate what is needed here, -but only the few are able to give it a name. However, that root-digger -was right when, a year ago at the charcoal-burner's wedding, he said -these words: "Neither God nor priest troubles himself about us. We are -made over to sorrow and the devil. A dog's life is good enough for us; -we are only Winkel people!" - -But the root-digger may yet live to see my toast fulfilled. Since the -wedding I have become a year younger. The foresters of the Winkel are -to have a church. - -If a nation desires to rise from its barbarism to a perfect, harmonious -height, God's temple must form the foundation. Therefore I will begin -with the church in the Winkel woods. - -I have been obliged to urge and press the matter. Herr von Schrankenheim -dwells in his palace in the city, where from every window church bells -are heard, while upon dainty shelves are displayed hundreds of books for -the mind and heart. Who there imagines what a pulpit and a sound of -bells would mean in the distant forest? But at last the proprietor of -these lands has comprehended, and to-day the men are already here to -examine the site. - -Yonder, near the house of the Winkel-warden, straight up from the path -which leads across the Winkel, is a piece of high, rocky ground, secure -from caving, slides, and torrents. It lies between the Upper and Lower -Winkel, and is equally distant from Lautergräben, the Miesenbach valley -and the banks of the Kar. That is the right place for God's house. I -have presented plans which I think are suitable for such a forest -church. - -It should be large enough for all to find room therein who have sad and -hungry hearts, of which there are many and always will be in the forest -country. It should not be too low, for the high woods and rocky walls -have changed and broadened our conceptions; and then again the human -dwellings are small, so it will be doubly comforting to the eye if it -can look upward in the house of God. In city churches a solemn -half-light should always reign, that it may offer a contrast to the gay -and joyous lives of the rich and great; but in God's house of the woods -must smile a bright and gentle friendliness, for gloomy and solemn are -the forest and the forester's house and heart. So the worship of God -should balance and even life; and that which the working-day and home -deny, Sunday and the church should offer. The temple should be a refuge -from the storms of this world, and the entrance to eternity. - -The tower of the little forest church should be slender and airy, like -an upward-pointing finger, warning, threatening, or promising. Three -bells should proclaim the Trinity in the Unity of God, and the -three-toned melody sing of faith, love, and hope. The organ should be -well placed, for its music must be the word of God to the souls of the -poor ones who do not understand the sermon. - -Gilded pictures and dazzling decorations are objectionable; the worship -of God should not coquette with the treasures of this earth. Simplicity -and unity most eloquently and worthily render comprehensible the -thoughts of God and eternity. - -But other things must be considered as well. In order to secure dryness -I have proposed bricks for the walls. The benches and chairs must be -arranged as resting-places, since Sunday is a day of rest. If during -the sound of the organ one should fall asleep, what then? One would -only dream one's self into heaven. For the floor, flagstones are too -damp and cold; thick fir planks are more suitable. For the roof, on -account of hail-storms, neither tiles nor large flat boards are -practicable; small larch shingles are the best. - -My plans have been accepted. Already roads are being cut through and -building material brought here. In the Bins valley, where clay is -found, a brick-kiln has been constructed and by the Breitwand a -stone-quarry opened. - -The foresters stand and watch the strange workmen. They too have their -thoughts about it. - -"They want to build us a church, do they?" says one; "'t would be more -sensible to divide the money among the poor. The Lord God should build -Himself a house only when He is unwilling to remain under the open sky -or dwell in the Winkel forest." - -"I wonder what saint they will set up for us!" - -"Hubertus, I think." - -"Hubertus,--ah, he carries a rifle and could stop the poachers too -easily. The hunters would never endure him. I say, the _Vierzehn -Nothelfer_[#] would be right for us." - - -[#] _Vierzehn Nolhelfer_, fourteen saints to whom the Catholics prayed -in times of great need. - - -"Not to be thought of; they would cost too much, and besides, the great -Christopher is among them, and no church door would be large enough for -him." - -"To him who wishes to find lost things, Saint Anthony many a wonder -brings!" says Rüpel, the old bristly-beard, whose words seem to rhyme, -let him twist his tongue as he will. - -One little old woman very sagely remarks that, as there is no one in the -whole Winkel forest who can play the organ, Saint Cecilia should be -chosen as parish saint. - -Others wish to dedicate the church to Florian, who protects against -fire; but those living by the water prefer Sebastian. - -Thereupon an old shepherd responds: "That's no way to talk. The people -can help each other; but you mustn't forget the poor cattle! The holy -Erhart (patron saint of cattle) should be the one for us in the Winkel." - -Another speaks: "I care nothing for the cattle. We need the church for -the people. And as long as we have to pay for the saint, we may as well -have something fine. I am no heathen; I go to church, and I like a -pretty woman. What do you say to the Magdalen?" - -"Thou wretch," cries his wife, "thou wouldst place that wicked person -upon the altar!" - -"Thou art right, old woman; for such as thou, we must have one who will -set a good example." - -So the people argue, half in fun, half in earnest. They have rummaged -through the whole heaven and have found no saint satisfactory to -everyone. - -And we must have one who will suit them all. I have already my own idea -about it. - - -The wooded hills are growing lighter and lighter, as if the day were -dawning. The jagged clefts in the mountains and a greater expanse of -sky are visible. Many a marten is deprived of his hollow tree, many a -fox of his hole. Innocent little birds and greedy vultures are made -homeless, for branch after branch falls upon the damp, mossy earth, upon -which at last the sun shines again. Through the winter the wood-cutters -have been busy. In the country outside coal and wood have been in great -demand. - -This summer I have no longer much leisure. - -Outside there is war, which will end God only knows when. In -Holdenschlag the foundries are closed again and no coal-waggon enters -the forest. The wood-cutter's work is suspended; the stalwart men wander -idly about. - -I have advised them to join the defenders of the fatherland. They will -listen to nothing of the kind. They have no home, they know no -fatherland. The foreigners are welcome if they bring money and better -times. - -God grant the better times, and keep the foreigners at a distance! - - -It is fortunate for me that I am cool-blooded. That one wild year killed -the germs of my passion. Now I can bend my whole energy toward this end: -out of a scattered, divided people, to form one, united and whole. Am I -successful, we shall have something upon which to build. I will found a -home for them and myself. But we must first gain the co-operation of -the Baron, after which we must influence the woodspeople. - -Extraordinary strength does not seem to me necessary, but certainly -persistent effort. These people are like balls of clay--a push, and -they roll along for a while. They will go on of themselves, but they -must be guided in order to reach one and the same goal. There are -enough members, but they are self-willed and perverse. When the church -is once finished, so that the parish has a heart, we will attend to the -head and build the schoolhouse. - - - AUTUMN, 1816. - - -A few weeks ago I visited all the huts, carrying with me a note-book. I -questioned the fathers about their households, the number in their -families, the year of birth and the names of the little people. The -birthdays can usually be remembered only by events and circumstances. -This boy was born in the summer when the great flood occurred; this -girl, the same winter that straw bread had to be eaten. Such incidents -are striking landmarks. - -Designation by name is not of frequent occurrence. The male inhabitants -are called Hannes or Sepp, Berthold, Toni, or Mathes; those of the -female sex are named Kathrein, or Maria, the last of which is converted -into Mini, Mirzel, Mirl, Mili, Mirz, or Marz. It is much the same with -other names; and a stranger coming here must submit at once to such a -change, according to the custom of the people. For a while they called -me Andredl; but that they found too long a name for such a small man, -and to-day I am only Redl. - -Very few know anything of a surname. Some have either lost or forgotten -theirs, others have never had any. These people need a special form by -which to designate their ancestry and relationship. Hansel-Toni-Sepp! -That is a household name and by it is meant, that the owner of the house -is called Sepp, whose father was named Toni, and grandfather Hansel. -Kathi-Hani-Waba-Mirz-Margareth! Here Kathi was the -great-great-grandmother of Margareth. So the race may have existed a -long time in the solitude of the forest. - -And thus a person is often known by half a dozen names, and each one -drags the rusty chain of his ancestors after him. It is the only -heritage and monument. - -But this confusion must not continue. The names must be prepared for -the parish-book. New surnames will have to be invented and it will not -be difficult to choose those which are fitting. We will call the people -after their characteristics or occupations; that is easily remembered -and preserved for the future. The wood-cutter Paul, who married -Annamirl, is no longer Hiesel-Franzel-Paul, but briefly Paul Holzer -(woodman), because he transports the tree-trunks upon a slide to the -coal-pit, which work is called _wooding_. The tinder-maker and his -descendants, do what they will, shall remain Schwammschlager. A hut in -Lautergräben I call Brünnhütte (spring hut), because a large spring -flows before it. Why then should the owner of the hut be named -Hiesel-Michel-Hiesel-Hannes? He is a Brünnhütter, as well as his wife, -and if his son goes out into the world, whatever his occupation, he -shall always remain a Brünnhütter. - -An old thick-necked dwarf, the coal-driver Sepp, has for a long time -been called Kropfjodel. I recently asked the little man whether he -would be satisfied to be registered in my book under the name of Joseph -Kropfjodel. He assented quite willingly. I then explained to him that -his children and grandchildren would also be called Kropfjodel. At that -he grinned and gurgled, "Let him be called Kropfjodel ten times over, -that boy of mine!" And a little later he added mischievously: "The -name, thank God, we have that at least! Oh, if we but had the boy as -well!" - -The new names meet with approval, and each person bearing one carries -his head higher and is more independent and self-sufficient than -formerly. Now he knows who he is. But everything depends upon keeping -the name in good repute and doing it honour. - -When I came to the Alm boy, Berthold, he shocked me greatly. "A name," -he screamed, "for me? I need no name, I am nobody. God did not make me -a woman, and the priest does not allow me to be a man. Marriage is -denied me because I am as poor as a beggar. Call me Berthold _Elend_! -(misery). Call me Satan! I know I break the law, but I will not betray -my flesh and blood!" - -After these words he hastened away like one mad. The lad, once so merry, -is hardly to be recognised. I have written the name Berthold in the book -and added a cross to it. - -Another man wanders about in the Winkel forests, whose name I do not -know, or if any he bears; it may be evil. The man avoids us all, and -buries himself often for a long time, one knows not where, then appears -again at unusual hours, one knows not why. It is the Einspanig. - - - MAY, 1817. - - -This winter I have suffered from a severe illness, caused by frequently -visiting Marcus Jager, who had been shot by a gamekeeper in -Lautergräben. As fever threatened to appear in the wound and as there -was no one else who would or could nurse the sick man, I often went over -to see him. The people here, instead of cleansing a wound with tepid -water and lint, apply all kinds of salves and ointments. It must indeed -be a powerful constitution which can recover in spite of such -hindrances, and I had a hard struggle keeping Jager alive. - -The last time I was with him was a stormy March day. On the way back -the paths were blocked with snow. In places it reached to my shoulders. -For a number of hours I struggled along, but as night approached I was -still far from the Winkel valley. An indescribable weariness came over -me, which I resisted a long time, but at last could not conquer. My only -thought was that I must perish there in the midst of the snow, and that -I should be found in the spring and be carried past the new church in -the Winkel to Holdenschlag. Here in the forest I should like to lie, -but I would far rather be walking about within it. - -Not until weeks afterwards did I know that I was not frozen, that on the -same evening two wood-cutters came to meet me on snow-shoes, found me -unconscious and carried me into the house of the Winkel-warden; and as I -lay for many days seriously ill, it seems that once they even called the -doctor from Holdenschlag. The messenger who brought him was also -commissioned, as he himself has since told me, to speak at once with the -grave-digger. The latter said, "If the man would only do me the favour -not to die now; one can't dig a hole in this hard, frozen ground." - -I am glad that I was able to spare the good man his labour. - -After the danger of the illness had passed I was attacked by a serious -trouble with my eyes, which has not yet quite left me. For a long time -I shall be obliged to remain in my room, indeed until the warm weather -comes and the freshets are over. I am not at all lonely, for I busy -myself with wood-carving. I intend to make a zither or something of the -kind for myself, so that I may practise music until the organ is ready -in the church. - -The people come often and, sitting down beside me on the bench, inquire -after my health. Russ-Annamirl, who has moved with her family into the -master wood-cutter's house in Lautergräben and according to the new -order of things is called Anna Maria Russ, sent me three big doughnuts -last week. They are some of those which have been baked in great -quantities to celebrate the arrival of a wee Russ. They have christened -the little one with doughnuts. - -The widow of Black Mathes has also been to see me once. She asked me in -great sorrow what was to be done with her boy Lazarus. She then told me -how he was often attacked by a _frenzy_. A frenzy, she explained, was -when one broke out into a passion at the slightest provocation, -threatening everything. Lazarus had this malady in a much worse degree -than his father; sister and mother would be in danger when he became a -little stronger. Did, then, no remedy exist for such a trouble? - -What can I advise the distressed woman? A continuous, regular -employment, and a loving but earnest treatment should be given to the -lad; that is my proposition. - -Of all the people in the Winkel forests, I have the greatest sympathy -for this woman. Her husband, after an unfortunate life, died a violent -death and was dishonourably buried. Nothing better is in store for the -child. And his mother, formerly accustomed to better days, is so -soft-hearted and gentle. - -Day before yesterday a boy came to me dragging a bird-cage with him. -The lad was so small that he could not even reach the door-handle, so he -timidly knocked for a while until I opened the door. Still standing on -the steps, he said, "I am the son of Marcus Jager, and my father sends -me here--father sends me here----" - -The little fellow had learned the speech by heart, but he stopped short, -blushed, and would have liked to make his escape. I had some trouble in -discovering that his father's message was, that he was entirely well and -wished me the same; that soon he would come to thank me, and that he -presented me with a pair of fine crested titmice, for, being aware that -I could not yet go out of doors, he would be glad to send the whole -spring to me in my room. - -What shall I do with the little creatures? If one approaches them, they -flutter confusedly about in the cage and beat their heads against the -wires in their fright. I let them fly out into our Father's bird-cage, -out into the May. - -And when the time is finally fulfilled, I myself walk out early one -morning into the open May. The cock crows, the morning star is peeping -brightly over the dark forest hill. The morning star is a good -companion; it shines faithfully as long as it is night, and modestly -retires when the sun appears. - -Softly I steal through the front door, so that I may not awaken the -people who have not rested for weeks, as I have; the weariness of -yesterday still weighs upon the eyelids, which the dawning day is -already forcing open. - -In the forest there is a trembling, rustling awakening from deep rest. -How strange is the first walk of a convalescent! One feels as if the -whole earth were rocking one--rocking her newly born child in her arms. -O thou holy May morning, bathed in dew and sweet perfumes, trembling and -reverberating with eternal thoughts of God! How I think of thee and thy -fairy magic, which at this hour hath sunk into my soul from the dome of -heaven and the crown of the forest! - -And now I experience a strange sorrow. Youth has been given to me in -vain. What is my aim? What do I signify? A short time ago and from -eternity I was nothing; a short time hence and through all eternity I -shall be nothing. What shall I do? Why am I in this small place, and -conscious of myself for this brief period? Why have I awakened? What -must I do? - -Then I vow to myself anew to work with all my might, and also to pray -that such difficult, heart-burning thoughts may not return to me. - -As the sun appears, I am still standing on the edge of the woods. Below -splashes the water of the Winkel, from the chimney of the house rises a -silvery wreath of smoke, and in the church building the masons are -hammering. - -My housekeeper, having noticed that I was not in my room, reproved me -for my carelessness. As soon as she discovered that I had been lying on -the damp moss in the cool early morning, she asked me quite seriously if -I then found it so uncomfortable in her house, or if I had something on -my mind, that I risked my life in such a way; yes, and did I not know -that he who lies down on the dewy ground in the spring is giving his -measure to the grave-digger? - - - SUMMER SOLSTICE, 1817. - - -This has been a strange walk in the woods, and for what has happened I -feel that I shall not be held responsible either in heaven or on earth. -Where the little stream splashes in the shadowy denies of the -Winkelegger forest, there I remain standing. - -Here upon these ripples let thy thoughts drift without aim or purpose. -Thou knowest the Greek legend of the river Lethe. That was a strange -water. Whoever drank of it, forgot the past. Still stranger are the -waters of the little forest brook. He whose soul floats upon the same, -e'en though his locks be wintry, finds again the long past time of his -childhood and youth. - -I penetrate deeper into the wilderness and rest in the moss, listening -to the ever present murmuring silence. Many a little flower, just -opened, is cradled close to my breast, endeavouring to knock softly at -the gate of my heart. And many a beetle crawls anxiously up, who has -lost his way to his sweetheart in the thicket of grasses and moss. Now -he lifts his head and asks for the right path. Do I know the right path -myself? O tell us where is the longing satisfied which follows us -everywhere? A spider lets itself down from the branches; it has worked -its way to the top, and now that it is there, it wishes to be upon the -ground again. It spins threads, I spin thoughts. Who is the weaver who -knows how to weave a beautiful garment from loose threads of thought? - -While thus dreaming, I hear a rustling in the thicket. It is no deer, -it is no doe; it is a human being; a young, blooming woman, excited and -frightened, like a hunted creature. It is Aga, the Alm maiden. She -hastens up to me, seizes my hands and cries: "Oh, I am so glad it is -you!" - -Then she looks at me and stops for breath, unable to overcome her -excitement. "It is a horrible fate!" she cries again; "but I know no -other way. The evil one follows us both, and now we fear the people; -but I 'm not afraid of you, for you are good and learned! I 'm sure you -will help us out of our trouble, Berthold and me! We should so like to -live a decent life; pray give us the marriage blessing!" - -At first I do not understand, but, comprehending her at last, I say: "If -you are honest in your purpose, the church will not withhold its -blessing." - -"_Mein Gott im Himmel!_" cries the girl; "with the church we will have -nothing more to do; it refuses us marriage because we have no money. But -if God should be angry with us, that would be terrible indeed. My -conscience gives me no peace, and I beg you a thousand times, give us -the blessing which every man may bestow. You are still young yourself, -and if you have a sweetheart, then you must know there is no parting or -leaving one another. And so we live together in the wilderness; we have -n't a single soul to be our friend and wish us happiness. We should so -like to hear one good word, and if someone would only come and say: 'By -God's will and with His blessing remain together until death!' Just a -single word, and we should be freed from the sin, and a wedded pair -before God in heaven!" - -This longing for deliverance from their sin, this struggling for the -right, for human sympathy, for peace of heart--who would not be moved by -that! - -"You true-hearted people!" I cry. "May the Lord God be with you." - -The lad has already knelt beside the maiden. And so, with my words I -have done something for which I am not responsible in heaven or on -earth. I have consummated a marriage in the midst of the green woods. - - - THE FEAST OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL, 1817. - - -Strange,--what is the matter with this lad, Black Mathes's son! He has -his mother's heart and his father's blood. No, he has a still larger -heart than his mother's, and blood three times as savage as his -father's. This boy will become either a saint or a terrible murderer. - -Old Russ-Kath has been ill for months. The people say she lacks young -blood. Little Lazarus, hearing of it, came to me yesterday with a small -wooden bowl and his father's huge pocket-knife, and asked me to draw -some blood from his hand to send to Russ-Kath. - -His face was flushed, otherwise he was quiet. I remonstrated with him -for making such a request. He darted away, and soon afterwards in the -Winkelwarden's yard he was wringing a pigeon's neck: for anger, for -love--I cannot tell which. - -I went out to the dead creature. "Lazarus," I said; "now thou hast -deprived a mother of her life. Seest thou the poor, helpless young -yonder? Dost thou hear how they cry?" - -The boy stood there trembling, pale as marble, struggling for breath, -and biting his underlip until the blood trickled down his chin. -Loosening his clenched fist, I poured water on his forehead and led him -back into his hut. There he fell exhausted upon the moss, and sank into -a deep sleep. - -Something must be done to save the child. How would it be if I should -take him, be father and brother to him, curb and guide him according to -my strength, teach him and keep him at work, seeking in every way to -kill his passion? - -But perhaps the boy has too much blood ... the people say. - - - DOG-DAYS, 1817. - - -Like Sturmhanns's little dog, friendly one moment and the next snapping -at one's calf, are these uncertain dog-days. In the morning all -promises well, and the skies are bright and clear. And the sun caresses -and kisses thee, embracing the world with passionate love--who would not -then stroll out into the comforting shade of the woods? Thou wanderest -freely about and gazest on the green earth thinking: Beloved, beautiful -day! Then, all at once, the dark clouds are over thee, and the storm -tears thy hat from thy head, and the rain madly beats thee in the face; -find a shelter for thyself quickly--the hail comes rushing down. - -The dog-days. Can Nature be unfaithful also? It is man who accuses her -of evil, because his thoughts are unreasonable and his wisdom is -lacking. There is nothing evil and nothing good, excepting in the heart -of man, the one being to whom is given free-will. - -If we could lay aside our free-will, we should then have no conscience. -In the forest there are many to whom that would be very agreeable. - - - THE FEAST OF ST. JAMES, 1817. - - -To-day I was in the Hinter Winkel again, in Mathes's house. The woman -is inconsolable. Two days ago the boy Lazarus disappeared. - -Something horrible has happened. In his rage he hurled a stone at his -mother. Then, with a wild cry, he ran away. Upon Mathes's grave the -fresh imprints of two knees were discovered yesterday. - -We have summoned people to hunt for the boy. He is not in any of the -huts. They will also search along the ravines and streams. - -"He did n't mean to hit me!" sobs the mother; "and it was only a -_little_ stone, but a large one lies upon my heart. He could never have -thrown a greater one at me than by running away." - - - THE FEAST OF ST. PETER IN CHAINS, 1817. - - -The following story has spread like wild-fire through the forest. Early -this morning as the little daughter of Mathes was on her way to plant -wild-rose trees upon her father's grave, she saw the gleam of something -white. Upon the mound had been placed a staff from which a piece of -paper was fluttering. The girl ran home to her mother, and the latter -hastened to me, begging me to come and explain it to her. - -It is most remarkable. It is news from the boy. On the paper in strange -handwriting were the words: - - -"My mother and my sister! Bear me no ill-will and do not worry. I am -in the school of the Cross. - -"LAZARUS." - - -They all looked to me for an explanation. The boy could neither read -nor write, as can hardly anyone in the forest. They think that I, being -learned, ought to know everything. - -I know nothing. - - - THE FEAST OF ALL SOULS, 1817. - - -The people come and go in silence. - -A little drop collects on the high branch of a tree, travels along out -to the farthest needle, trembles, glistens, and sparkles, now grey like -lead, now red like a carbuncle. It has hardly reflected the glorious -colour of the woods and sky, when a breath of wind stirs and the little -drop frees itself from the swaying pine-branch and falls upon the -ground. The earth sucks it in, and there is no longer a trace of the -tiny, sparkling star. - -Thus lives the child of the forest and thus it dies. - -Outside it is otherwise. There the drops congeal in the frosty breath -of conventionality, and the icicles tinkle against each other, tinkling -even as they fall and rest upon the ground, reflecting for a while the -glory of the world until they dissolve and melt, like our thoughts of a -dear departed one. - -Outside, the churchyards are not for the dead, but for the living. -There we pay honour to the memory of our forefathers and to our own -future resting-place. The flowers and the inscriptions are for us, and -we feel peace in our hearts as we think of the sleeper who is freed from -trial. We realise the dissolution of the departed but hope for him the -resurrection. No one walks upon burial-ground unrewarded; these clods -cool the passions and warm the heart, and not only is the peace of death -written on the flowery mounds, but also the worth of life. - -The forest brings rest to whom rest belongs. There the dead sleeper has -no candle, nor has the living one had one. May the _everlasting_ light -give them light! is our only petition. The faint autumn sun smiles -gently, promising eternal brightness, and the coming spring will care -for the flowers and wreaths. - -In the forest our thoughts are not for the bodies of the dead, but for -the agony of the living souls of those who, having died in sin, are -languishing in purgatory! - -When the starving Hans stole the piece of bread from his starving -neighbour in the field and then died, the primeval forest was not yet -standing. The body has decayed. Hans is forgotten, the soul lies in -purgatory. The meadow has become a forest, the forest a wilderness; the -wolves howl and there is no man far or near. On the mountain sides blow -summer breezes and winter storms, and with each moment a grain of sand; -and with each century a mass of mountain plunges into the depths of the -ravines. And the poor soul lies in the fire. Again man comes into the -wilderness, the high forests fall, huts and houses appear and a parish -is founded--the soul belonging to olden times and to days long past lies -in the flames of purgatory, is abandoned and forgotten. - -But there is one day in the year for the consolation of such forgotten -souls. - -When Christ, the Lord, died upon the cross and but one drop of blood was -left in His heart, His Heavenly Father asked Him: "My dear Son, mankind -is saved; to whom wilt thou give the last drop of thy red blood?" Then -Christ, the Lord, answered: "To my beloved mother, who stands at the -cross; that her pain may be soothed." "Oh no, my child Jesus," the -Mother Mary replied, "if thou wilt suffer the bitter death for the souls -of men, then can I also bear the pain of a mother's heart, e'en though -the agony were so great that the sea could not quench it, and the whole -earth a grave which could not bury it. I give the last drop of thy -blood to the forgotten souls in purgatory, that they may have one day in -the year, when they are freed from the fire." - -And thus--according to the legend--originated All Souls' Day. On this -day even the most abandoned and forgotten souls are delivered from their -pain and they stand in the outer courts of heaven, until the stroke of -the last hour in the day summons them back into the flames. - -Such is the idea and meaning of the feast of All Souls in the forest, -and many a good deed is performed with the thought of soothing the fiery -anguish of departed souls. - -But over the lonely graves the late autumn mists are gathering, and the -remainder of the hill is concealed by newly fallen snow, upon which the -claws of a jay may have traced a little chain--the only sign of life -which still reigns here above--symbol of the indissoluble band: About -life and death an eternal chain is wound. - -To-day I am reminded of Lucas, a charcoal-burner, who lies buried in -Lautergräben. One night a goat was stolen from the wood-cutter Luger, -and afterwards, not far from Lucas's hut, they found the animal's skin -and entrails. Thus it was clear Lucas was the thief, and as -slothfulness rules everywhere in the forest, they did not prosecute the -charcoal-burner, and so he could not clear himself. He noticed, -however, how he was suspected, and once he called out: "Had you cut off -my hands, or put out my eyes, I should be content. But you have robbed -me of my honour--now my life is ruined." Still the people said: "Let -him turn and twist as he will, he stole the goat all the same." And -this nearly crazed the poor man. "Thieves must be hanged," he -said,--and afterwards he was found suspended from the branch of a -fir-tree. From time immemorial suicides have chosen their own graves; -so they buried the man among the roots of the fir. - -It was not until a few weeks ago, that an unemployed wood-cutter made -the confession on his death-bed, that it was he who had taken the goat -from Luger. I shall go to-day to Lucas's grave in Lautergräben. - -There is still another grave in the Winkel forests, known and despised -by the people. On this anniversary day, however, it was not deserted. -For here, upon her father's grave, the little daughter of Black Mathes -again discovered a bit of paper with the words: - - -"I am well. I think of my mother and sister and father. "LAZARUS." - - -That is the message, the only news from the vanished boy for many days. -The handwriting is the same as before. - -No footsteps excepting those of the girl lead to the grave, none away -from it. Paths for foxes, and deer, and other animals wind zig-zag -through the wintry woods. - - - THE FEAST OF ST. CATHARINE, 1817. - - -A letter has been written begging the lad to return home for his -mother's sake. It has been carefully fastened upon the little cross -above the grave. It is still there; no one has opened it. - - - CHRISTMAS, 1817. - - -To-day I am homesick for the sound of bells, for the sad, melting tones -of an organ. I sit in my room and play manger songs on the zither. My -zither has but three strings; a more perfect one I did not know how to -make. - -The three strings are enough for me; one is my mother, the other my -wife, the third my child. One always spends Christmas with one's -family. - -Only a few of the forest people go with pine-torches to the midnight -service in Holdenschlag. The distance is too great. The rest remain in -their huts, yet, having no desire to sleep, they sit together and tell -stories, for to-day they have a peculiar impulse to leave their -commonplace life and create a world of their own. Many a one carries -out old pagan customs, hoping thereby to satisfy an unspeakable longing -of the heart. Many a one strains his eyes and gazes over the dark -forests, confidently expecting to see the heavens illumined. He listens -for the ringing of festival bells and soft angel voices. But only the -stars gleam above the forest hills, to-day as yesterday and always. A -cold breeze stirs among the tree-tops; there is a glitter of ice, and -now and then a branch shakes off its burden of snow. - -But on this night the glistening and falling of the snow affect one in -an unusual way, and the hearts of men tremble in longing expectation of -the Redeemer. - -I have trimmed a simple little Christmas-tree, such as they have in -northern countries, and have sent the same to Anna Maria Russ in -Lautergräben. I think the light of the candles will be reflected in a -friendly way in the eyes of the little one. Perhaps a bit of the -brightness will sink into the young heart never to be extinguished. - -In the widow's hut, there can be no Christmas-tree. Mathes's grave is -buried deep in snow; the branch which served as letter-box wears a tall -cap. The pleading letter from the mother to the child will be destroyed -without having been opened or read. - - - MARCH, 1818. - - -Over in one corner of Karwässer Berthold has earned himself a hut. He -has joined the wood-cutters. - -Yesterday a child was born to Aga. It is a girl. They did not carry her -to Holdenschlag, but sent for me to christen the little one. I am no -priest and may not steal a name from the church calendar. I have called -the girl _Waldlilie_ and have baptised her with the water of the woods. - - - EASTER, 1818. - - -When will the angel come to roll away the stone? - -"Alas, alas, our Lord is dead! But as I have already said, one hardly -knows anything in this back country. Well, well, He cannot have been -very young, for I have heard of Him all my life. But all the same His -time has come at last. Ah, who can escape!..." Thus spoke old -Schwammelfuchs, when he learned that on Good Friday it had been -proclaimed from the chancel in Holdenschlag that our Lord had died for -the sins of the world. - -The old man meant it seriously and in the greatest reverence, although -every evening at his prayers he repeats the words: "Suffered under -Pontius Pilate, crucified, dead." - -It is a prayer of the lips. True prayer, the heart offers only in its -need, in its joy, but these people are not conscious of this. Deeply -buried is that which we call true worship or religious feeling. - -The people hasten Easter eve or in the morning out into the open woods, -where they kindle fires, discharge their guns, and gaze into the air for -the papal blessing, which from the pinnacle of St. Peter's at Rome is -scattered to the four winds on Easter morning. - -There is always present the unconscious longing and struggle. One sees -that something lies hidden in the heart which is not dead. But when -will the angel come to roll away the stone? - - - THE FEAST OF ST. MARK, 1818. - - -The snow is melted. Yonder in the gorge the avalanches still thunder. -A year ago we planted a few fruit-trees; these are now becoming quite -green and the cherry-tree bears five snow-white blossoms. - -The building of the church has commenced again. The masons have also -gone to work on the parsonage. That is to be a stately house, built -after plans from the owner of the forest. Why then must the parsonage -be larger than the schoolhouse? The latter is for an entire family and -a troop of young guests; the parsonage harbours one or a few single -people, whose world does not extend outwards, but is absorbed within. - -But the parsonage is the home and refuge for all those needing help or -advice; an asylum for the persecuted and defenceless--the centre of the -parish. - -As in the changing seasons the old is constantly reappearing in the new, -so these people continue the occupations, and in their ignorance and -poverty repeat the lives of their ancestors. - -I no longer have time to wander about in the forest, watching the people -and studying nature. I must oversee the building constantly; the -workmen and foremen depend upon my advice. It requires much thought, -and I am obliged to call to my aid books and the experiences of others, -so that nothing may go wrong. - -But I enjoy this active life and I am becoming younger and stronger. - -Yesterday the roof of the church was raised. Many people were present, -each one wishing to contribute his mite to the church. The widow of -Mathes and her daughter were also working on the building. Not long ago -the woman brought a little stone from her hut, saying: "I should like to -have this pebble lie under the altar." - -It is the stone which the lad threw at his mother. - - - PENTECOST, 1818. - - -The first celebration of the new church. Not inside however, but in -front of it. Yesterday the cross was placed on the tower. It is made -of steel and gilded--a present from the Baron. - -A great crowd of people assembled; there are many inhabitants in the -forest after all. - -From Holdenschlag there was no one present, not even the priest. Can it -be that they begrudge us the new church? But the Einspanig has been -seen on the other side of the Winkel brook, lurking about listening. He -draws his grey mantle over his disordered hair, and hastens along by the -brook, finally disappearing in the thicket. He is a strange creature; -he avoids the people more and more, and is only seen on special days. -No one knows who he is or whence he comes, and what he is weaving no -weaver can tell. - -The master wood-cutter also takes part in the celebration; he has -arrayed himself in gala attire and has even combed his red beard. He -carries a knotted stick, and I notice at once that something unusual is -about to take place. I am not mistaken, for he proceeds to make a -speech in which he says that in the name of the master of the forest he -to-day delivers over the new church to the new parish. - -A stalwart man carries up the cross, bound to his left arm. It is Paul, -the young head journeyman from Lautergräben. From the tower window, -through which he climbs, a very simple staging is placed upon the almost -perpendicular shingle roof, reaching to the summit. Calmly the bearer -of the cross climbs along the beam. Having reached the top, he stands -upright, loosening the cross from his arm. The crowd below is silent, -and round about there is not a sound; it is as if it were still a -wilderness on the banks of the Winkel. Each one holds his breath, as if -fearing to disturb the equilibrium of the man on the dizzy height. - -Paul avoids looking about him, and his movements are slow and regular. -I am seized with terror as I fancy that he makes an unnecessary start -and turn--then the cross sinks into its resting-place and stands firmly. -In the same moment the man stumbles--a cry resounds in my vicinity. But -Paul is still standing on the summit. - -The cry proceeds from Anna Maria. She is deathly pale, and without -uttering another sound she seats herself upon a stone. - -And now the merry-making begins. Paul takes out a glass and, raising it -to his lips, drains it, then hurls it upon the ground. It breaks into a -thousand pieces, and the people struggle with one another for the bits, -that they may preserve them for their descendants and be able to say: -"See, this is a part of the glass which was used at the raising of the -cross on the church tower." - -Paul still stands upon the pinnacle, arm in arm with the cross; in the -tower window the grey head of our rhymster Rüpel now appears. -Contracting his white eyebrows so violently that it can be seen even -from below, the man begins thus to speak: "As the dizzy spire I cannot -reach, so from this window I 'll make my speech. On the highest point a -youth doth stand, with handsome looks and glass in hand. But aged ones -like me should teach, yet sermons I will never preach. For that below a -chancel's given, to honest priests, who guide to heaven. And the font -baptismal stands near by--of no more use to such as I--but some folks in -the parish here, need this wash-trough every year. The font should be -both wide and long--in forest lands it must be strong; near by the -confessional stands for all, where sins are left both great and small, -which God forgives; though the priest his ears may close, the sins from -his own heart he knows. Then there 's the altar, where one leaves one's -woes, refreshed and young one homeward goes. And God twelve angels here -will send, to guard this parish from end to end. Methinks I hear our -bells ring clear: I see our sunlit cross in place, a sacred sign that by -God's grace we all together at last may wend our way to heaven when life -shall end. But I must be the bell to-day, to tell abroad what you fain -would say, and send it forth o'er mountain and wood to the town where -dwells our master good--a message of thanks from this parish new, for -the house of God which he builds for you. May angels guide us to -heaven's door,--this is my greeting, and still more--before above we -have a happy birth, may we rejoice a little while on earth." - -These words warmed the hearts of the people, and I would gladly have -sent my own guardian angel to the Baron in the city with a most loving -message of thanks. - -As Paul has now safely descended from the tower to firm ground, his wife -receives him with open arms: "God gives thee back to me from His own -hands!" - -They then approach the house which to-day has become a noisy tavern. -Behold the fatality, here is Paul, now standing with less security upon -the smooth, firm floor of the inn than he did a few hours ago above on -the tower. - -But the lofty cross is graciously stretching out its arm above the -church and the tavern. - - - A FEW DAYS LATER. - - -That must be a false report which is circulating about the Baron's son. -He is said to have become dissipated. Too much wealth was awaiting him -when he came into this world. But with an illustrious name and an -abundance of money, no wonder life is full of attractions! - -I used to tell my good Hermann what it meant to work for one's daily -bread. But there was one thing about him which did not please me: he -never noticed the labourer in the field, or the flowers of spring, or -the leaves of autumn. - -Still, Hermann, thou canst not go very far astray. By thy side stands -the holiest, truest guardian angel ever born in heaven or on earth. - -Ah, if thou wouldst only come into our beautiful, silent forest! - - - MORGENROTH AND EDELWEISS, SUMMER, 1818. - - -It is sometimes very lonely for me here in the Winkel. But I know one -remedy for this; at such times I go to still lonelier parts of the -forest; I have been there even at night, have watched sleeping nature, -and have found rest. - -Night lies over the woodland. The last breath of the day that has -passed has died away. The birds are resting and dreaming, at the same -time composing songs for the future. The screech-owl hoots, and the -branches sigh. The world has closed her eyes, yet her ear she opens to -the eternal laments of mankind. To what purpose? Her heart is of stone -and impossible to warm. Ah, but she warms us with her peaceful aspect. -Above, constellation presses against constellation, dances its measure -and rejoices in the everlasting day. The morning returns to the forest -also, the branches are already beckoning to it. - -The young king approaches from the east upon his steeds of cloud and -with his flaming lance pierces the heart of night; with faint sobs she -falls, and from the rocky height streams the blood. - -Alpine glow the people call it, and if I were a poet I would celebrate -it in song. - -At this season it would be beautiful on the Graue Zahn. At night, while -below in the dark valley man rests from misery, dreams of misery, and -strengthens himself for new misery--the eternal spires tower aloft, -silently glowing, and at midnight one day reaches its hand to the next -across the Zahn. - -"Oh, what a beautiful light is that!" old Rüpel once exclaimed. "To -distant lands it sends its ray, its rosy splendour fills my heart, to -God above it lights my way." - -A strange yearning sometimes fills my soul; it is not a longing for -space, for infinity; thirst for light would better express it. My poor -eyes can never satisfy the thirsting soul; they will yet perish in the -sea of light and the thirst will still be unquenched. - -A short time since I was on the Graue Zahn again. Soon I shall be tied -to the bell-rope when other people are taking a holiday. The bell-rope -may be compared to a long-drawn breath, always praising God and -proclaiming good-will to man. - -From the high mountain I gazed below, but I did not behold the sea. I -looked toward the north to the farthest horizon, whence one might -perhaps see the plain and the city, the turret of the house, and the -gleam of the windows.... And how far my gaze must wander to find the -grave in Saxon-land!... - -A sharp wind interrupted my thoughts. Then I once more made my descent. - -Beside an overhanging cliff I found something very beautiful. - -On the banks of the distant lake I had already heard from the lips of my -parents, and I have repeatedly been informed by the people of these -woodlands, that in the midst of the sun the holy Virgin Mary sits at the -spinning-wheel. She spins wool from a snow-white lamb, like those -pastured in paradise. Once while spinning, she fell asleep and dreamed -of the human race, and a bit of the wool falling to the earth remained -clinging to a high cliff. The people found it and called it -_Edelweiss_. - -I picked two of the little stars and placed them on my breast. One of -them, which has a slightly reddish tinge, shall be called -_Heinrich-roth_, the other, snow-white, that ... I will leave its old -name. - -As towards evening I descend to the forest and the wood-cutting, I -chance upon something unspeakably lovely. There, not far from my path, -I see a bed of fresh green grass; its perfume is so inviting, that I -think I will rest my weary limbs upon it for a little. And as I -approach the grassy couch, I behold a child sleeping thereon. A -flower-like, tender child wrapped in linen. I remain standing and hold -my breath, that I may not cry out in astonishment and thus waken the -little creature. I can scarcely imagine how it happens that this -helpless, extremely young child should be in this isolated place at such -an hour. Then it is explained. Up from the Thalmulde a load of grass -comes swaying towards me, and under it Aga is panting. She is gathering -fodder for her goats, and the child is her little daughter--my -Waldlilie. - -The woman now loads the grass on her back and the child on her arm, and -together we proceed down the valley. - -The same evening I entered her hut and drank goat's milk. Berthold came -home late from his wood-cutting. The people lead a hard life; but they -are of good courage, and the young Waldlilie is their happiness. - -As Berthold sees the _Edelweiss_ on my breast he says, with a warning -gesture: "Take care, that is a dangerous weed!" As I fail to -understand, he adds: "_Edelweiss_ nearly killed my father and -_Edelweiss_ poisons my love for my dead mother." - -"How so, how so, Berthold?" I ask. - -He then related the following story to me: On the other side of the -Zahn, beyond the abyss, lived a young forester, who loved a herdsmaid. -She was a proud lass and one day she said to the young man; "I love thee -and wish to be thine, but one proof of thy true love thou must give to -me. Thou art a nimble climber, wilt thou refuse, if I ask for an -_Edelweiss_ from the high cliff?" - -"My life, an _Edelweiss_ thou shalt have!" exclaimed the lad, but he -forgot that the high cliff was called the Devil's Mountain, because it -was impossible to climb, and that at its foot stood tablets, telling of -root-diggers and chamois-hunters who had fallen there. And the -herdsmaid did not realise that she was demanding a new tablet. - -But it is very true that love drives one mad. The young forester -started on the same day. - -He climbs the lower cliff, over which the woodcutter is still obliged to -walk with his axe; he ascends crags where the root-digger digs his -spikenard; he swings himself over ravines and rocks where the -chamois-hunter scarcely dares to venture. And finally he reaches that -horrible place on the Devil's Mountain, with the yawning abyss below and -the perpendicular rocks above. - -Upon a neighbouring crag a chamois is standing, which spiritedly raises -its head and looks mockingly across at the lad. It does not flee, up -here the game becomes the hunter and man the helpless game. The chamois -scrapes the ground with its fore-foot, and flaky bits fly into the air -... _Edelweiss_. - -The lad well knows that he must shade his eyes to keep from becoming -dizzy. He well knows that if he looks up the rocky wall above, it will -be farewell to the light of heaven; and if his eye glances downwards it -will gaze into his grave. - -Not the chamois, but the ground upon which it stands, is the object of -his quest to-day. He thrusts his alpenstock into the earth and turns -and swings himself. A blue mist rises before his eyes. Sparks appear, -circle, and fade away. He no longer sees aught but the smile of the -herdswoman. Now he throws his stick away, now he jumps and makes long -leaps. With a start the chamois springs wildly over his head and the -young man sinks upon the white bed of _Edelweiss_. - -On the second day after this, the head forester sent to ask the people -if the lad had been seen. On the third day they saw the herdsmaid -running in the woods with flowing hair. And on the evening of the same -day the young forester walked through the valley leaning upon a staff. - -How he came down from the Devil's Mountain, he told no one, perhaps he -could not tell. He had _Edelweiss_ with him--a bunch on his breast--a -wreath on his head; his hair had become snow-white--_Edelweiss_. - -And the herdswoman, who in her arrogance had caused this to happen to -the brown curly head, now loved and cherished the white locks until -years later her own had become white as well. - -Berthold told the story almost beautifully and finally he added that he -was the child of the young forester and the herdswoman. - - - AUTUMN, 1818. - - -After wandering through other parts of the forest among the people both -old and young, learning from the former, teaching the latter, I am -always glad to return to the Winkel. Here in these last years, the -people have been labouring with axe and hammer about the Winkel-warden's -house and I have sometimes even lent a hand to the work myself. And now -as I look around me I realise that we have a village. - -Near the house a few huts have been erected originally intended for the -builders but now being converted into permanent dwellings. Martin -Grassteiger, a charcoal-burner, from Lautergräben, has recently bought -two such little huts for a considerable sum, and to the astonishment of -the people he paid at once for them in cash. From pitch-black coal, -shining thalers are made, old Russ-Kath once said. And with gleaming -thalers Grassteiger has paid for the huts and has become a man of -influence. - -The parsonage is approaching completion, likewise the church and next -must come the schoolhouse;--_Mein Gott_, what a great joy I am -experiencing in these forests! - -Yesterday evening we locked the church for the first time. The -architect, the carpenter from Holdenschlag, and the master wood-cutter -were present, but I do not know how it came about that as we separated -the key remained in my hand. I am hardly aware of it myself, yet the -Baron has recently written that he was quite satisfied with my work as -schoolmaster in the forest. But what am I accomplishing? I tell the -children stories and show them many little things in the woods, which no -person here has ever before noticed, but which fascinate these young -people. - -The windows in the church, on either side of the altar, do not quite -satisfy me. The dazzling panes weary my eyes, and the wooded slopes and -the wood-cutting stare in upon one. But, alas, the Sunday worshipper -might be quite content with that, for then, instead of offering his poor -soul humbly before the dear God, he would be constantly chopping wood, -counting the felled trunks, the sticks, the piles of brushwood, which on -a week-day would not otherwise trouble him. Prayer would stream from -the heart like a fountain of blood, if one's thoughts did not wander, -but since they cannot always be controlled, we must guard the church -like a fortress, so that the Sabbath may not leave it nor the work-day -enter. - -The two windows must be provided with paintings; so I have sent for red, -yellow, blue, and green paper, and for a number of days I have been -working as designer behind closed doors. - -About the saint for the church the people are not yet united. But I -have my ideas in regard to it. "My friends," I said, "we will not set -up any saint. Let each one think of his own as he will. The saints are -invisible in heaven, and ours could only be made from ordinary wood, -which might simply arouse their anger." - -"Perhaps you're right," answered a few of the people to this proposal, -"and it would surely cost us less." - -A wood-chopper from Karwasserschlag made the altar table. He is a poor -man, blessed with many children; but for the work in the church he took -no pay. "For a good reason I do it," said he; "I do it for my family, -that none of its members may die, or any more be added to it." - -The dear God cannot have rightly understood; scarcely is the altar table -finished, when the wood-chopper's ninth boy comes into the world. - -In order to show that it is an honour to the forest when such a poor man -renders a public service we call the wood-chopper, as he is also one who -does not know his name, Franz Ehrenwald (honour to the forest). The -name will suffice for his nine boys and more. - -Franz Ehrenwald has a clever, ambitious head. Having succeeded with the -altar table, he now decides to change his business entirely to that of -carpenter and cabinet-maker. He has already collected a number of -tools, and furnished himself with two baskets full of planes, -draw-knives, augers, saws, axes, chisels, and other things, which he -does not in the least know how to handle, and which he will not use as -long as he lives. But the tools are his pride; and his boys cause him -no greater annoyance than when, in their own attempts at carpentry, they -take possession of one of the augers or nick a knife. He is quite -willing to have them learn to work correctly, the two baskets will -indeed be their legacy some time. - -I have drawn a number of plans for dwelling-houses, showing how they -should be built, so that they may be durable, light, airy, easily -heated, tasteful, and suited to the people's mode of life. - -According to such plans, Franz Ehrenwald has already commenced a number -of houses. One of them belongs to the master workman Paul in -Lautergräben. The buildings are not expensive, since the owner of the -forest gives the timber free; besides, it is said that they are to -remain exempt from taxes. - -So Master Ehrenwald's business is beginning well; he is obliged to have -assistants in addition to his sons. He has also made plans for his own -house. As I was recently standing down by the brook fishing for trout, -he suddenly came up to me, I have no idea from where, and whispered -mysteriously into my ear: "Believe me, my new house will be devilish -fine, devilish fine!" No one else was near us, and the fish in the -Winkel were deaf. "But devilish fine," he whispered softly; -"magnificent will be my house!" The man is really childish in his -happiness; he is in his element; formerly it did not occur to anyone -that fine houses could ever be built in the Winkel forests. - - - UPON THE ROAD TO THE CROSS, AUTUMN, 1818. - - -Above, in the wastes of the Felsenthal, stands a wooden cross. It is -the same which is said to have grown from the seed of the little bird -that flies into the valley every thousand years. - -I consulted with the forester and a few of the older men, and I -afterwards asked the old bearded story-teller Rüpel, who had no other -important business, if he would go with me to Karwässer and into the -Felsenthal to help bring down the moss-covered cross into the Winkel. - -And so we start one bright autumn morning. We are both unspeakably -happy. We thank the shady Winkel brook for its splashing and gurgling. -We thank the green meadow for its verdure; we thank the dew, the birds, -the deer, and the whole forest. We ascend the slippery floor of the -woods, we clamber over mouldering trunks and mossy stones. The trees are -old and wear long beards, and our story-teller stands on a brotherly -footing with each one. Among the webs of moss we find beetles, ants, -and lizards; we greet them all, and we invite airy, glittering -butterflies to accompany us to the cross. The gay little world cares -nothing about it. - -My companion is a queer fellow. One has to know him to appreciate him. -But among the woodspeople there are sometimes the strangest characters. -Outside in the cultured and polished world, such men are called -geniuses; here they are fools or imbeciles. - -Rüpel is an imbecile of this sort. They also call him Story-teller, -because he always has some kind of a tale to tell, and Rhyme-Rüpel, -because--and that is the peculiarity--he cannot say ten words without -rhyming. It is an absurd habit. On the way he told me the whole story -of his life in rhyme. To be sure the rhymes stumble disgracefully, but -who could avoid stumbling on such stony forest ground? "A chorus boy -was I, as none who read in Holdenschlag the record will deny. I pulled -the rope and made the bells ring out, and as they rung, I sang, and -keeping time, I mocked the clapper with my tongue. Into the chalice for -the priest at service I poured wine, but the sight of water made him -shrink, one drop, in fine, and he would haste away displeased. The -water and the wine together, even as flesh and blood, our highest good -combine, but too much water in the cup, Christ's rosy blood profanes, so -I left the church and the blacksmith's trade I plied for honest gains. -I heard the bellows' rhythmic sound, the merry anvil's ring; the hammer -joined it, keeping time, the sparks flew, everything combined in perfect -harmony, the whole world seemed to sing. But this my master did not -please, so still in rhythmic tide, he seized me by the hair--and lo! -through ringing, singing, side by side, the forge brought forth an -endless rhyme, and though 't was born in peaceful eve, I still am -keeping, keeping time. The forge produces only rhymes, there are no -spades or horseshoes there, the blacksmith chased the rhymster out, to -forest glades and open air. Within the woods I plucked the moss, I -bounded with the deer, and pulled up tangled roots and herbs, the birds -my voice could hear--light as a plume, and, joyous, gay, I singing -passed the time away. A cousin forester of mine feared, with such idle -life, I could but starve, so he transformed my pleasure into strife. A -hunter, shouldering my first gun, the forest was aglee, I shot the game -and hit the air, the deer he looked at me. Then after him in rhythm I -ran, he paused, had I desired, I might have leaped upon his back, but -ever I aspired to keep my life in rhythmic tune, and such uneven gait my -progress would impede I knew, so I preferred to wait. This made my -master sad, the hunter's craft for man like me, he looks upon as bad. -Then for a while I wandered round, attempting more or less, with various -gentlemen I lived, but never won success. Sometimes to leave their -service, they kindly gave me word, sometimes they chased me out of -doors, nor was a protest heard. And so it goes, behold me now, my story -I have told, back to the woods I 've come again, my home is here--I 'm -old. I sing for merry folks and kind, where happy words are said, at -holy service, wedding-feasts, I sing for crumbs of bread. God bless it -unto me! Though it be dry and black, if I am well and my tongue still -moves, for nothing do I lack. And when at last Sir Death doth come, I -'ll go, for ripe the time, and learn, when I have travelled home, the -sweetest of all rhyme. And when the singing I do hear, and trumpet, -sounding long, I 'll rise again--and that's the life of Rüpel and his -song." - -I should like to name the man the wild harpist or forest singer, or the -sparrow of the New Testament; he sows not, he reaps not, and he does not -beg, yet the good Winkel foresters nourish him, while without in the -wide land singers starve. - -After many hours we finally arrive in the Felsenthal. As we walk along -the jagged walls, where in the clefts fear slumbers, and as we see the -cross towering in the midst of the mouldering trunks, my companion -imagines that he sees a human figure disappearing among the stones. But -with the exception of our two selves I notice no one. - -Before the cross we pause. It towers upon the boulder as it towered -years ago, as according to the legend of the people, it has stood since -time immemorial. Storms have passed over it and have loosened the bark -from the wood, though they have done it no further injury. But the warm -sunny days have made fissures in the beam. The blue sky arches even -over this remote corner of the world. The sinking sun shines aslant -from behind the rocks, touches the bare, ancient runes, lighting up the -right arm of the cross. A little brown worm crawls over the beam -towards the sunny arm, but has scarcely reached it when the glow -disappears. A beetle runs along the upright beam and hastens under the -remaining bit of bark, perhaps to snatch away the pupa of an ant. To -the one the gleaming cross is a paradise; to the other the battle-ground -of his struggles and pleasures. - -For our parish may it be the former! - -It is well that no one knows who made and erected the cross, for the -hands that have carved a symbol of divinity may never be folded in -worship before it. From Mount Sinai, Moses brought the tables of the -law down to the people as true image of God. The idol was not created -until the Israelites formed one from their own ornaments and with their -own hands. - -As we climb upon the rock to remove the cross, Rüpel covers his face -with both hands. "We are destroying the altar in Felsenkar," he cries -excitedly. "Where shall the tree in the storm now pray, and the hunted -deer that roams astray, on the forest's edge, with the cross away?" - -My own hand trembles as we take up our burden. I place it so that the -horizontal beam rests upon my neck like a yoke, Rüpel carrying the -upright beam behind. - -And so we go on amid the boulders and the ancient trees. As we come to -the precipice, the shadows of evening are closing in. - -The whole night we walk through the forest. In the ravines and narrow -defiles the darkness is appalling, and our cross crashes against many an -old tree-trunk. When our path leads over rising ground, the moonlight -shimmers through the branches, revealing the white mosaics and hearts -which lie upon the earth. - -Many times we lay down our burden and wipe the sweat from our brows; we -speak very little with one another. Only once Rüpel breaks the silence -with the words: "The cross is heavy--hard, I 'll bear it till I die, and -o'er my grave a tree shall rise, when they bury me by and by; and green -it shall grow to greet the sun, nor o'er my bones decay, but heavenward -ever soar, increasing day by day." - -Once, while we are thus resting, a dark figure glides by us across the -way. It stretches out one hand, pointing to a broad stone, and then -disappears. We both notice this apparition, but do not speak until on -the meadow of the Karwässer we place the cross upright on the ground, -its dark shadow peacefully resting upon the dewy grass, and then the old -man utters these words: "He bore the cross unto the mount--our Lord--in -bitter grief, and stopped to rest upon a stone, and, resting, found -relief. A Jew stepped out and said: 'This stone belongs to me.' The -Saviour staggered on in pain, the Jew must ever flee; he cannot die, but -e'en to-day, there is no rest at hand--from age to age, in fiery shoes, -he roams from land to land." After a little Rüpel continues: "Because -we 've borne the cross to-night, we 've seen the Wandering Jew--he -begged us rest upon the stone, 't were peace for him, but not for me and -you." - -At the coal-pit in upper Lautergräben, four men await us. Taking the -cross, they lay it upon a bier of green branches and proceed with it -towards the Winkel. - -As we approach our valley the day is breaking. And a tone resounds and -trembles through the air, which is not to be compared with song of man, -lute, or any earthly music. It is many years since I have heard a sound -like that, and I scarcely recognise it. We all stop and listen; it is -the bell of our new church. While we were in the Felsenthal, the bells -arrived and were hung. - -As I hear them this morning, I cannot refrain from calling out: "My -friends, now we shall never be alone! The parishes outside ring their -bells at this hour; we have the same morning greeting as they, the same -thoughts. We are no longer dumb, we have our united voice in the tower, -which, in joy and in trouble, will proclaim what we feel but are unable -to convey in words. And the eternal thought of God, which everywhere -exists, but which is nowhere truly comprehended, and which no image or -word can ever quite express, assumes form for our senses and becomes -intelligible to our hearts only in the resounding circle of the bell. -And so thou bringest to us, thou sweet music of bells, a comforting -message from without and from within and from above!" The men gaze at -me, wondering at my words and surprised that it is possible to say so -much about the ringing of church bells, which one may hear every day -over in Holdenschlag. Only the good Rüpel hastens away behind the -alder-bushes so that, undisturbed by my hoarse voice he may listen to -the pure tones. - -Before the church many people are assembled to hear the bells and see -the cross,--that cross, which sprang from the seed brought by the little -bird, which once in every thousand years flies through the forest. - - - CONSECRATION OF THE CHURCH, 1818. - - -It is Sunday--the first Sunday in the Winkel forests. The bells -announced it at dawn, and the people have come from the Upper Winkel, -from Miesenbach, from Lautergräben, from Karwässer, and from every -hermitage and cave of the wide woods. To-day they are no longer -wood-cutters and charcoal-burners as ordinarily, to-day for the first -time they fuse into one, into one body, and are called the parish. - -The church is finished. Above the altar towers the cross from the -Felsenthal; it stands here as unpretentiously and almost as harmoniously -as yonder in its loneliness. Among the people remarks are heard to the -effect that this is the true cross of the Saviour. If they find comfort -and exaltation in this thought, then it is as they say. - -The canopy for the altar is a present from the Baron; the candlesticks -and the credence were carved by Ehremvald. But who has given the two -beautiful altar windows with the painted glass? I am asked. It is well -that the windows are so high, otherwise it must be seen that only -coloured paper is pasted over the panes. The two windows represent the -Commandments of Moses, within a green crown of thorns mingled with red -and white roses. Over the altar and the cross is a round window -representing the eye of God, with the words: "I am the Lord thy God, who -frees thee from bondage. Make thyself no graven image, to worship it." - -The priest from Holdenschlag, who was here to perform the service of -consecration, informed me that the above words were not suitable. "Thou -shalt believe in one God!" it should say. I replied that the words here -employed, I had read in a very old Bible. - -The schoolmaster from Holdenschlag played the organ, which has a pure, -sympathetic tone. "The gladness and woe, which the lips cannot tell, -from music they flow, as rivulets run in the light of the sun," says the -old forest singer. - -In the same way that I have hitherto practised on the zither, I now -practise on the organ. Each sweet sound sinks into the heart of the -worshipper to lift his soul to the altar of God. - -The priest from Holdenschlag preached a sermon on the significance of -the consecration and the parish church, and on the life of man from the -baptismal font to the grave. It then occurred to me that we had no -graveyard. No one has thought of it or wishes to think of it, even -though the font has been spoken of so often. I can no longer worship, -and afterwards, during the mass while the veil of incense is rising, I -cannot help wondering where we shall locate the burial-ground. After -the high mass, when they all come out upon the square and approach the -pedlars' booths to look at the treasures and works of art which the -world is now beginning to send in to the new parish in the Winkel, I -climb up the slope to the first gentle rise over which the dark high -forest extends toward the cliffs. There I lay myself upon the -pine-needles with which the ground is strewn. I am nearly exhausted -from the unusual excitement of recent events, and with the graveyard -still on my mind, I try this couch to see how one would rest up here. - -I hear the cries of the market people and the humming of the crowd -below. - -Many are dissatisfied with the church because no well-regulated inn -stands near it. However, Brandy Hannes is there; he has set up a little -table under the ash-trees and placed upon it some large bottles and -small glasses. "What a dry consecration that would be with nothing to -drink!" the people say, and the young men like to treat their -sweethearts to a tiny glass as well. The devil is a pious fellow, he -counterfeits each new church, but a tavern is always the result. The -bar is his high altar, the gay hostess his priest, the tinkling of the -glasses his bells and organ music, the purse of the host the offering, -the playing-cards his prayer-book; and if a man is overcome with -drunkenness and fighting, he is then his sacrificial lamb. - -The tavern is the shadow of the church. And after the heat of the week, -the workman is only too willing to rest within this shadow. - -At the midday meal, which we ate together in the Winkel-warden's house, -the master wood-cutter told us that Grassteiger wished permission -granted to erect a tavern for dispensing brandy. - -"We already have the tavern-keeper, but where is our priest? - -"One would not care to come to this corner of the world, fastened in -with boards," says the priest from Holdenschlag. - -"That 's true, your highness!" interrupts the Winkel-warden's wife in a -loud voice. "Indeed, I 'll say it a hundred times over, I should like -to leave this wilderness myself, and the sooner the better. There 's -nothing to do in this Winkel. What a good thing it would have been for -us now, if we could have sold a little brandy of a Sunday, and I -consider Grassteiger a lucky fellow!" - -"Ha," laughs the priest, "taverns! It will yet become a lively place, -this Winkel--Winkel--ah, the parish has no name!" - -The name of the parish has already been decided upon. The settlement of -this question would have been a welcome occasion for the people to -assemble at the new tavern to christen the parish with _Schnapps_. But -we baptise with water. Our water is called the Winkel; since time -immemorial a bridge has led across this stream. The square about the -Winkel-warden's house is briefly called _Am Steg_ (by the bridge). Here -stands the new church, and Winkelsteg shall it and the parish be called. -Our master, Baron von Schrankenheim, has endorsed it. - -As the bells were rung at the beginning of our church consecration, so -they rang again at its close. On this day another very exciting -occurrence has taken place. The gentlemen from Holdenschlag and the -forester had left; it was quiet once more in Winkelsteg. Twilight comes -on early now and the mist lay over the high mountains. It was already -dark when I went to my bells. To-day for the first time the little red -lamp was burning before the altar, which from now on shall be called the -everlasting light, and which shall never be extinguished as long as the -house of God remains standing. It is the watch before the Lord. - -As I entered the church I beheld a figure in the shadow by the credence. -A man still knelt there praying. If one must live so long in the misery -of the day, the Sunday which follows, when one is communing with the -dear God or with one's self, is much too short. These were my thoughts, -and I remained silent for a while, but finally advanced to remind the -worshipper that the church was being closed. But as the figure became -aware of my presence, it rose and sought to escape. After all it is no -worshipper, I thought, seizing the fugitive and looking him in the face. -It was a young lad. - -"You rascal, you may well blush!" I cried. - -"I am no rascal," he replied, "and you are blushing too; that comes from -the lamp." Then I looked at him closely. Who should it prove to be but -Lazarus, Adelheid's lost son. - -Striking my hands together, I uttered a cry, as I stood there in the -church. - -"Boy, for God's sake tell me where thou hast been! We have hunted for -thee, thy mother would even have overturned the Alps to find thee. And -how dost thou come here to-day, Lazarus? Indeed this is beyond all -belief!" - -The boy stood there and to my questions he answered nothing--not one -word. - -Then I rang the bells. Lazarus was standing near me; his garment was -composed of a woollen blanket, his hair fell over his shoulders, and his -countenance was very pale. He watched me, for he had never seen bells -rung before. And what a glad heart was mine! Now, with a clear ringing -tongue, I could proclaim the event even as far as the mountains. - -Finally my housekeeper came asking what was then the meaning of the -ringing of the bells; a half dozen times she had already repeated the -Ave Maria and still I did not stop. - -I let go of the bell-rope and pointed to the boy. "See, he has finally -come back. Did you not understand the ringing? Lazarus is found." - -A woman is better than any bell to spread such news. Scarcely had the -Winkel-warden's wife gone out screaming, when Lazarus was already -surrounded by people. I hardly knew how to tell the story, and the lad -murmured now and then, "Paulus," besides which he uttered not a word. - -We asked him who Paulus might be? Instead of answering the question, he -said with a peculiarly shy look: "He led me here to the cross." Then -loudly and anxiously he called out, "Paulus!" His speech was awkward, -his voice strange. - -We led him into the house; the housekeeper placed something to eat -before him. Sadly he gazed at the omelet, turned his head in all -directions, and always back again to the food which he did not touch. - -We all of us urged him to eat. He stretched his thin hands out from his -rough mantle towards his plate but drew them back again. The boy -trembled and began to sob. Later he asked for a piece of bread, which -he swallowed with ravenous appetite. His black locks fell over his eyes -and he did not brush them aside. Finally he dipped the bread into the -water-jug and ate with increasing greed and drained the water to the -last drop. - -We stood around watching him, and we shook our wise heads, asking many -questions; the lad heard nothing and stared at the pine-torch which -gleamed on the wall, or out of the window into the darkness. The same -night Grassteiger and I took the boy to his mother in the upper woods. -A few times he sought to escape from us and to climb up the slopes of -the dark forest. He was as dumb as a mole and as shy as a deer. - -We reach Mathes's house, which is called the Black Hut. Profound peace -reigns everywhere. The little stream is murmuring before the door; the -branches of the pine-trees groan above the roof. In the night one -listens to such things; in the daytime there is, if one might so express -it, the continuous noise of the light, so these other sounds are seldom -noticed. - -Grassteiger holds the boy by the hand. I place myself at a little -window and call in through the paper pane: "Adelheid, wake up a bit!" - -Then follows a slight noise and a timorous request to know who is -without. - -"Andreas Erdmann from Winkelsteg is here and two others!" I say. "But -do not be frightened. In the new church a miracle has been performed. -The Lord has awakened Lazarus!" - -In the hut a red gleam dances up and down the walls, like a feeble flash -of lightning. The woman has blown a bit of wood into a blaze at the -fire on the hearth. - -She lights us in at the door, but as she sees the boy, the torch falls -to the floor and is extinguished. - -When I finally procure a light, the woman is leaning against the -door-post and Lazarus is lying on his face. He is crying. Grassteiger -lifts him to his feet and brushes the hair from his brow. Adelheid -stands almost motionless in her worn night-dress; but in her breast -there is a great commotion. Pressing both hands against her heart, she -turns towards the wall struggling for breath, until I fear she is about -to faint. At last she looks at the boy and says: "Art thou really here, -Lazarus?" And to us: "Sit down on the bench yonder, I will make some -soup directly!" And again to the boy: "Take off thy wet shoes, my lad!" - -But he has no shoes; instead he wears nothing but soles made from the -bark of trees. - -The woman goes to the bed, wakes the little girl, telling her to rise -quickly for Lazarus has come. The child begins to weep. - -The soup stands ready; the boy stares with his large eyes at the table -and at his mother. Now at last her maternal love bursts forth: "My -child, thou dost not know me! Yes, I have grown old, more than a -hundred years! Where hast thou been this endless time! _Jesu Maria!_" -Seizing the child, she presses him to her breast. - -Lazarus gazes downwards; I notice how his lips quiver, but he does not -weep and he utters not a word. He must have had some strange -experience; his soul lies under a ban. - -As he now removes his coarse blanket, to climb upon the freshly made -bed, he takes out from under this rough mantle a handful of grey pebbles -and with one movement strews them all over the floor. Hardly has he -done this before he stoops and begins to collect them again. He counts -them in his hand, then seeking in all the cracks and corners, he -carefully picks up each pebble, counts them once more and hunts further, -looking with great calmness a long time at the floor of the hut, until -he finds the last one and has the full number in his hand. And now we -see the lad smile for the first time. Then replacing the little stones -in the pocket of his cloak he goes to bed, where he soon falls asleep. - -We stand a long time by the hearth near the torch discussing the -miraculous change which has taken place in this boy. - - - CHRISTMAS MONTH, 1818. - - -The boy Lazarus must have been in a very strict school. There is -scarcely a trace left of his fiery temper; only, when he is excited, a -quiver, short and quick as lightning, passes over him. He is also -becoming cheerful and happy. Concerning his life during his year of -absence he will tell but little. Paulus had forbidden him to repeat more -than was necessary. Still occasionally he says something about it, but -his words are vague and confused, almost like those of one talking in a -dream. He tells of a stone hut, of a kind, grave man, of penances and -of a crucifix. - -His words become excited and definite only when he is placed in a -position where he is obliged in any way to defend his own and the grave -man's honour. - -In the parish much is said about the _Wonder-boy_. Some believe that -Lazarus has been apprenticed to a magician and will yet perform great -things. - -The old forest singer is of the opinion that the Messiah must soon -appear; and that Lazarus is the forerunner, a new John the Baptist, who -has nourished himself in the wilderness with locusts and snails. - -May God grant it! An active, warm-hearted priest would be the Messiah -for Winkelsteg. But it is as the priest from Holdenschlag has said. No -one will come into this remote forest valley. - -I am the only one to take charge of the church, ring the bells, play the -organ, sing, and read the prayers on Sunday. The christenings and -funerals must go to Holdenschlag now as before. - - - FEBRUARY, 1819. - - -How does it concern me? It does not concern me in the least, yet I -cannot cease thinking of what the forester has told about our young -Baron. - -The trouble began with a weakening of his constitution and was -aggravated by loose and careless play, extravagance, drinking bouts, and -sprees. Bah! I am a baron, a millionaire, a handsome young man, so, go -ahead! Thus the forester explained it. Ah, but he cannot be so sure -that the story is true. - -Hermann is said to be in the capital, far from home and his sister. -Yes, under such circumstances anything might indeed be possible. God -protect thee, Hermann! It would be a reproach to me, the schoolmaster, -if my first pupil should be a---- - -Away, ugly word! Hermann is a good young man. What does the forester -know about it? - - - SPRING, 1819. - - -The region is changing rapidly. The mountains are becoming grey and -bare; the forest is being burned over and there are smoking -charcoal-pits in all the valleys. - -With a great effort I have induced them to leave a little plot of ground -up there on the knoll. - -This is the last bit of the primeval forest, and in its shade the dead -Winkelstegers shall rest. - -The parsonage is finished. The parish has advertised for a priest. -When this notice is read it will cause amusement: "That will be a fine -sort of a curacy in this Winkelsteg: the communion wine is cider, the -bread is made of oat-flour. Well, if the priest starves in Winkelsteg, -it is his own fault, for he can at least eat the bark of trees! Even -the wild-cats manage to keep alive on that." - -Winkelsteg is terribly maligned; but it is not so bad here after all. -For caring for the church and occasionally mounting the pulpit to read -something for the edification of the people, I receive a plentiful -supply of meal and game. They say it is a pity that I am not a priest. - - -From the owner of the forest money has been sent as a thank-offering to -establish a service in the church at Winkelsteg and to celebrate mass. -The daughter of the house is married. - - -Thank God that my body and my brain find such an abundance of occupation -here. This Einspanig is the cause of much speculation. - -More and more often he is seen in this place; bent like a living -interrogation point, bent and crooked he goes about. But he still -avoids the people; and yet when one has the courage to ask him a -question he gives an answer that would suffice for three. He has also -been seen in the church, in the farthermost corner, where the -confessional is to stand. - -Old Rüpel is quite sure that he is the Wandering Jew. That the -Einspanig is so in part I can well believe. According to my theory, -there are many million Wandering Jews. - - - SUMMER, 1819. - - -Now, all at once, we have a priest, and such a strange one, one as -mysterious as our altar-piece the cross from the Felsenthal. - -At noontide the last day of July, I entered the church to ring the -bells. There, on the upper step of the altar, stood the Einspanig, -reading mass. - -I watched him for a while. Even the priest from Holdenschlag could have -done it no better. But when he finished, solemnly descended the steps, -and with downcast eyes walked towards the door, I then felt it my duty -to intercept him and call him to account. "Sir," I said, "you enter -this house of God, as anyone with an upright heart may do; but you -ascend to the holiest place and do those things which are not fitting -for everyone. I am the keeper of this church, and must ask you what -your action means." - -He stood there looking at me with great calmness. - -"Good friend," he then replied, with a voice which rattled and grated as -if rusty; "the question is short and easy, the answer long and -difficult. But since you have the right to demand it, it is my duty to -give it. Name the day when you will go up to the three pines in the -Wolfsgrube." - -"For what purpose?" I asked. - -"The answer is not to be found on the way. Under the pine-trees you may -learn it." - -"Very well," I said; "then next Saturday at three o'clock I will appear -at the pines in the Wolfsgrube." - -He bowed and walked away. - -For the present I will not mention this incident to the people. He is a -madman! would be the universal cry. - -That may be. I shall go to the pines and perhaps learn something more -definite about him. If I find in him a lunacy as singular and charming -as in old Rüpel, I shall be satisfied. Even though nothing should come -of the parsonage and schoolhouse in Winkelsteg, I shall be able at least -to found a lunatic asylum. - -And that would also be a good deed. - - - *THE EINSPANIG'S ANSWER* - - - MORNING. - - -Despair broods o'er the forest pines--death's cry, or terrors of the -tomb--it pierces through the wall of trees, and all about is grief and -gloom. Stretched on the ground at the forest's edge--a mossy, soft -death-bed--behold the oldest of the trees, a giant fallen, dead. O see! -the slayer madly flees o'er the heath, in wild despair; pursued by the -avenging horde, he raves, with flying hair. Poor murderer! Ah! let him -go--destruction he must spread--but new and brightest life shall spring -from ashes of the dead. - -It is not old Rüpel who infects me, causing me, even in the early -morning, to write such lines as these, but rather an inward emotion, -which fills me on hearing of the storm, and which finds its escape in -words. - -A storm has been raging during the night. We have not noticed it in -Winkelsteg; we have heard only a loud crashing in the north. Within the -graveyard not a twig has been injured. - - - EVENING. - - -But as I now go over the Lauterhöhe, having business in the new clearing -on the other side, my path is barricaded by fallen trees, lying about in -wild confusion, split and criss-crossed in every direction. - -Many a desolate gap has been made in the forest, and when, in the -afternoon, I approach the pines in the Wolfsgrube, I see that the middle -tree has fallen. Of the three this is the largest and probably the -oldest. - -Upon the trunk, which has buried its branches deep in the earth, sits -the Einspanig. - -He has wrapped a woollen cloak about his shoulders, over which fall his -black locks with their many silvery threads. The man sits with his -knees crossed, resting his elbows upon them, while with his hands he -supports his head with its pale face. - -As I approach he rises. - -"You have come after all," he says, "and I was almost prevented from -coming. The storm barred my dwelling-place in the night; it hurled a -rock against the entrance." And after a deep breath, which reminds me -of the sighing of the wind, he pronounces these gloomy words: "Perhaps -it would have been better if last night had buried me for all time in -the rocky cave, than that I should give you the answer to-day. But -since I give it, I would rather give it to you than to anyone. I have -heard good things of you and am glad of the opportunity to know you -better. My answer, young man, is a heavy burden; help me to bear it, -just as you have laden yourself with the sorrows of the other dwellers -in the forest. I well know that you understand filling the office of -priest; so be my father confessor, and free me from a secret, concerning -which I do not know if it be a black dove or a white raven. But what if -you should be incapable of comprehending----" - -He stops; in his glance is something like suspicion. - -I answer that I wish to ask him about nothing excepting the cause of his -action at the altar of our church. - -"In that one question you ask me about everything!" he replies, laughing -painfully; "you ask me about my life's history, about the torment of my -soul, about my devil and about my God. Well, well, come here and sit -down beside me on this fallen tree. No place could be better suited to -my answer than a wreck like this. So, sit down with me on this ruin!" - -A nervous dread almost overcomes me. It is so quiet among the pines, -that one can hear the monotonous sighing of the branches; overhead -clouds are flying from crag to crag. - -I seat myself near the man, whose eyes and words express much more force -than one would have imagined possible in the bent and weary Einspanig. - -Yes, he is called _Einspanig_--single--because he has never been seen in -the company of another. Now the _Zweispan_--the pair--sit upon the -tree-trunk: the question and the answer. - -Turning upon me suddenly, the man begins his story: Do you know what it -is to be a child of the nobility? Born in a palace, rocked in a golden -cradle; the rough floor covered with soft rugs; the burning sunbeams and -threatening clouds concealed from view by heavy silken curtains; for the -slightest wish a troop of servants; the present full of peace and -tenderly guarded happiness; the future full of pleasure and high -dignities; this is the childhood of the nobility. Such a child was I, -yet poorer than a beggar-boy. But at that time I did not know it, and -not until I was twelve or fourteen years of age did the sorrowful -question arise within me: Boy, where is thy mother?--My mother gave me -life and the light of the sun--the life which she gave me was her -own--she died at my birth. - -My father I seldom saw; he was either hunting or travelling, or in the -great city of Paris or at the Baths. The love in my heart designed for -father and mother, I lavished upon my tutor, who was always with me as -teacher and companion and who was deeply attached to me. He was a -priest belonging to the Order of Jesus, a kindly, cheerful man, of great -piety. I still remember how, when reading mass in our chapel, his -countenance would often become glorified like that of Saint Francis -Xavier in the picture above the altar; and how he confided to me that -sometimes during the service he was filled with ecstasy, being -continually inspired with the idea that I, his dear young friend, had -been chosen for great and sacred things. By this I became aware of his -extraordinary love for me. - -And now the day arrives when I must lose him, my only friend. At this -time an unjust law is made and the Order of Jesus is driven from the -country. My good tutor must leave me, he weeps bitterly as he bids me -farewell. But in a moment of inspiration he expresses the assurance -that after trials overcome, we shall meet again. - -And lo, the priestly word is, beyond all expectation, quickly fulfilled. -After a few months my tutor is again in our house. He has left the -Order of Jesus and now belongs to the "Fathers of the Faith," and thus -he receives protection once more in our country. - -I have grown to young manhood. I love my tutor as I would an elder -brother. In secret I have often envied him his cheerful peace and the -serene happiness of his soul. At the same time I begin to be tormented -by a spirit of restlessness. It is too narrow for me within the house, -nor is there space enough without; if it is quiet, I wish for noise, and -if there is noise, I long for silence. My impulse is like that of a -blind, hungry man who has lost his way on the heath. - -Then my tutor says to me; "That, dear young friend, is the curse of the -children of the world. It is the wild longing which, in spite of all -the possessions and pleasures of the earth, can find nothing to satisfy -it, unless one takes refuge in the fortress which Christ has founded -upon earth, in God's Kingdom of the Holy Church." - -"If you are speaking to me, you well know that I am a Catholic," I -answer. - -"You are that only in your intellectual life"--he replies--"but it is -your body, your heart that so thirsts to be satisfied. Your body, your -heart you must lead into God's Kingdom on earth. My dear friend, each -day I pray God that He may make you as happy as I am, that you may -become a brother of Jesus Christ, like myself, for the healing of your -soul and for the good of the holy Faith." - -From that day when my priestly tutor spoke thus to me, the burden and -the unrest grew to be doubly tormenting; but, on examining myself -seriously, I perceived that it would be impossible for me to renounce -the world. - -"You have not understood me," said my tutor, "and I am astonished, that -after the many years of instruction, you can so misunderstand your -friend. Who tells you that you should renounce the joys of the world? -The pleasures of the world are a gift of God; to enjoy them, not for -their own sake, but for the glory of God, that is what brings us true -satisfaction." - -Thus a new life begins for me; my moral feeling, which has hitherto -restrained me, now urges me on to satisfy all the cravings of my nature. -In pleasure and enjoyment I shall serve the Lord--so there no longer -exists any conflict in this life. - -My friend smiles and does not interfere. The world is _beautiful_ when -one is young, and it is also _good_ when one is rich. I make it very -good for myself; and I drain its sweetest cups before drinking the -sacred sacrificial-blood at the altar. - -And after a few years I have emptied the cup of pleasure to its dregs. -I am disgusted. I am sated, more than sated. And the world bores me. - -Now, as I have become of age, my friend again speaks to me, and upon his -advice I decide to devote my life to the service of God and the -salvation of man. I enter the Order of the "Fathers of the Faith," and -willingly I now take the oath of patience, chastity, and poverty. My -entire property passes into the hands of the Order and I swear to -absolute obedience. - -And then--one day a young woman comes to me with whom I have had much to -do in my former life. Now I dare not know her. She implores me not to -abandon her with her child; she implores me for God's sake. But I am as -poor as a beggar, and cannot apply to anyone else in her behalf; I have -to live exclusively for my Order--and it enjoins obedience. - -A few days later the girl is taken from a pond--a corpse. Bitterly I -weep on the breast of my priestly friend, but he pushes me gently away, -saying, "God has done all things well!" - -After speaking thus, the man whom they called the Einspanig started as -if in fear. A jay was flying over our heads. - -He then quickly seized my hand and cried: - -Even to-day I am married to her. That night she stood with the child -before my bed. My Order has one beautiful gleaming star, but only -one--that is the worship of Mary. - -Many a youth, forced into the Order by external circumstances, thus -renouncing everything, gazes eagerly and passionately up to the Virgin -and the child Jesus. I always saw in it the betrayed girl. - -I am consecrated as priest, and in exchange for my worldly title and -honours receive simply the name of Paulus. But my rank enables me to -skip one degree, and from novice I am advanced at once to holy orders. - -I have sacrificed nature and property and my own will; only one thing do -I still possess--the fatherland, and of that I am also deprived. Our -Order is accused of being, by whatever name it may be called, nothing -but masked Jesuitism, whose aims it serves in everything. And, as such, -according to the existing law, it is deprived of a foothold in the land. -My courage almost fails me at the thought of leaving my home and aged -father; but here there is no rest for the soul. We are martyrs for the -greater glory of God; and I am so much of an enthusiast that this -thought sustains me, and I resolve to tear myself from everything. - -We move to Italy. In Rome lives Pius the Seventh, the friend of our -Order. I visit the graves of apostles and martyrs; I hope to lead a -quiet, contemplative life in this blessed land. But prayer and edifying -meditation are not always the affairs of the Society of Jesus. We are -soon sent out to hard work in the Vineyard of the Lord. I scarcely know -by what means, but, with the name of the Order changed, I find myself -all at once transferred to the court of the king, in the western part of -the country. It may be my ancestry or the good training which I have -received, or perhaps even my scholarly attainments and a certain -cleverness which by degrees I have acquired, or it may be my physique, -which has been called fine--whether it is this or something else which -advances me I do not know. I am soon appointed to an influential -position in the State chancery. And my motto is: Be a secret wheel in -the great workshop of the State and lead the people according to the -will of God,--the will of God, that is indeed only known to His -vicegerent at Rome. - -Tact, gentleness, cheerfulness, and patience are the virtues which I -have to adopt. Thus I become the friend at court, the desired -companion, the counsellor much sought after; and when I read mass in the -royal chapel, the whole world of aristocratic women are on their knees -before the altar. Finally I become father confessor to the king. - -About this time a commendatory written acknowledgment comes to me from -Rome, charging me to persevere in my subtle policy--Subtle? Surely I do -nothing secretly, but act as my head and heart dictate. It is a -beautiful life for me. The world smiles, and her smiles please me. -Easily I bear the oath of poverty, for I dwell in the king's palace. I -remain true to my oath of renunciation, for that which I enjoy I do not -enjoy for myself but for the love of God. Even the image of Mary and -the Child in the royal chapel, I am able once more to worship devoutly. - -Then we enter upon stirring times. The revolution is raging in the -world; in our land an insurrection is also spreading. More frequently -than usual the king assembles the great and rich about him, and his -monthly confession increases in importance. One day an order comes to me -from Rome, fastened with a great seal. After reading and considering -it, something rebels within me and asks aloud: How have I the right to -force myself between the king and the people and to tear down the law -from the altar of the fatherland? I then suddenly perceive what a power -is given into my hands, and for the first time I understand why I have -been urged to persevere in my subtle policy. My conscience warns me; at -first I listen to its voice irresolutely, then I become bold and stifle -it. - -I might have taken the step and history would perhaps tell to-day of a -second St. Bartholomew's Eve;--just at this time I receive news of my -father's death. This arouses me. Filial love, sorrow, longing, -homesickness, guilt, and remorse cut me to the heart and prey upon my -mind. I write to Rome that I am incapable of that which they require of -me. - -What is the answer to this? It is an order to ask for my dismissal at -court, as I must sail at once for India. - -This commission crushes me completely. Instead of going to my -fatherland, whither my heart leads me, I must travel to a distant part -of the world. Why? For what purpose? Who asks? The first law of the -Order is blind obedience! - -Here the man made a pause in his story. He passed his fingers over his -pale, thin cheeks down to the coal-black beard. His eyes, which had a -restless, weary look, gazed sadly upwards. Above, the dark clouds were -no longer flying, but had begun to settle upon the rocky cliffs. Deep -silence and twilight reigned in the wooded ravine of the Wolfsgrube. - -Finally the Einspanig continued: Four endless summers I lived with a few -companions in hot India. The hardships were great, but still greater was -the inward trouble, the awakened consciousness of an unsuccessful life. -Only in the strict fulfilment of the priestly calling did I find some -comfort, for now my service had become pure and unselfish. We no longer -worked for the special advantage of an alliance, but for the great, -common, and divine good of mankind, for civilisation. We preached to -the Hindoos European customs, thought, and worship. We gave them the -plough for their fields, upon the mountains we planted the cross. We -preached the teachings of God, self-sacrifice and love. At first they -regarded us with disfavour and suspicion, but finally they opened their -hearts. As messengers from heaven they honoured us, and they had great -respect for the people of the West, whose God had become man, in order -to teach love by His life and sacrifice by His death. - -We had already organised a Christian parish in the Deccan, when troops -of Westerners, English and French, arrived, made war upon a part of the -land and subjugated the people. Now it was no longer a question of -Christian love, but of rice and spices. And that put an end to the -Hindoos' faith in our teachings. They would have murdered us. We fled -to a French ship and returned to Europe. - -At last I see my fatherland once more. The times have changed and our -Order has a foothold and protection in the land. But the people have -been greatly influenced by the trend of thought in recent years, and -some have even threatened to leave the Catholic Church. Thus a new and -difficult task begins for us. According to a systematic arrangement, we -are sent to the towns and country places, and I receive the commission -of missionary to the people. With three companions I wander from region -to region, to hold the services in certain churches. Our priesthood is -now compelled to reveal a new phase of character. With the great and -powerful we have been suave and indulgent; among savage nations, -apostles of civilisation, the strict but loving teachers of the -Christian faith. But here, before the hardened, lazy, frivolous country -folk, already influenced by the new ideas, we are obliged to appear as -earnest remonstrators, as powerful judges of crime. With God, heaven, -and love one accomplishes nothing amongst such people. The local curate -has already exhausted himself with the effort. We preach a devil and -everlasting punishment. - -At first they come to the church full of arrogance and curiosity, to see -the wandering priest; but when they hear our solemn words on life, -death, and the judgment, they are soon prostrate; crushed and trembling -before the black draped altar, they soon force their way to our -confessional. They deny themselves bread until the setting of the sun, -they put sand into their shoes and go on pilgrimages to distant churches -and isolated chapels to pray for pardon. - -Before each church we erect a high, bare cross. Christ has been -crucified for you, now crucify yourselves in mortification and -expiation. - -I am filled with a new zeal which inspires me for my work. Like a -flaming revelation from God it stands before my soul: Penance alone can -save us. - -However gay the life of the village we enter, the streets are soon -silent and the fields and meadows deserted. God's house has become the -refuge. The inhabitants show their readiness to exchange the earthly -for the heavenly, for the fruits of the earth spoil through neglect, -while the people pray in the churches. - -And even the government perceives the necessity of a general conversion -in the land. Should a man be found idling in the village square on a -Sunday, he would be driven into the church at the point of the bayonet. - -That was a time of rejoicing for our Order, which became powerful and -established in the land to a degree never before known. - -But for myself, I was not happy. When the hours of inspiration were -over, I felt within me a void and a demon, constantly seeking to turn me -away from my holy calling, which imposes the great task of taming -rebellious human nature and leading it into the unity and universality -of our church. I fought against this demon with work and prayer, for I -considered it the devil. But I must have been mistaken. - -"Night is now nearing, is it not?" - -The man looked at me in an almost confused way, as if he expected me to -answer his question. - -"It cannot yet be night," I answered; "it is the dark mist hanging over -the forest.' - -"Yes, yes," continued the strange narrator, as if dreaming. "The night -is nearing, young friend; you shall see, the dark night will come." - -It was now so silent for a time, that one seemed to hear the mist -weaving itself among the branches of the pines. Then the man proceeded -with his story: - -We were in a large village. Late one evening I am still sitting in the -confessional. The church is empty at last and the lamp on the altar -already casts its soft, rosy light on the walls. A single man remains -standing near the confessional and seems undecided whether to approach -or leave the church. - -I beckon to him; he starts in terror, draws near and falls upon his -knees before the window of the confessional. He crosses himself merely -with a nervous movement of his right hand over his face. He does not -repeat the customary prayer; in confused and hasty words he makes his -confession. With tightly clasped and trembling hands, he stammers his -request for pardon. My heart rises to my lips and I long to console the -terrified one. But indignantly I banish my own feelings; for the law, -in this case, requires unrelenting severity. The crime is no uncommon -one. We will say, for example, the man has stolen property from his -neighbour. - -And as he kneels there, silent, I answer calmly that he may not be -pardoned for the wrong until it is wholly redressed. - -"Redress it, I cannot do that," he replies; "my neighbour has gone away; -I do not know where to find him." - -"Then wander over the world and seek him; better wear out your feet than -allow your own precious soul to be everlastingly lost." - -"But my wife, my young children!" he cries, passing his hand over his -brow. - -"Just so many souls you plunge with yourself into destruction, if you do -not atone for the sin." - -"For God's sake, yes, I will fast, I will pray! I will give alms, ten -times more than that which I have stolen." - -"All in vain. You must make atonement to the one whom you have -deceived; if he forgives, then God will strike it out." - -"And I must go away now and seek, seek through the whole world?" he -screams excitedly. "Did not the Lord die upon the cross that He might -take upon Himself the sins of the world? Murder and death are pardoned, -and my error may not be forgiven for the sake of Christ's blood?" - -"Do not find fault with a just God in heaven!" I cry, indignant that one -should rebel against the Highest. "Each drop of Christ's red blood -becomes a flaming tongue of hell-fire to the criminal. Heaven is thrice -as high, since it has been bought by the sacrifice on the cross; and -hell is nine times as deep, since the men drove three nails through -Christ's hands and feet." - -At these words of mine I hear a groan, a curse, and the echo of hastily -retreating footsteps. I am now alone in the dark church. - -I leave the confessional, kneel before the high, towering altar and pray -long for the hardened one. And as I gaze up at the image of the Queen -of Confessors, she seems to step suddenly out of the niche--she and the -Child--into the ruddy glow. I hasten toward the door, that I may reach -the refreshing night air outside. But lo, the entrance is locked! - -I had not noticed the hour of closing. The church is some distance from -the town; close by is the charnel-house, but no one there will hear, -call I ever so loudly. - -So I am locked in the gloomy building where I have so often preached a -personal devil and the everlasting pains of hell. Yonder under the holy -canopy the eternal God is throned in reality and truth; now am I alone -with Him; now shall I give account to Him, how, as His substitute, I -have taught His holy doctrines among the people. - -I dare not gaze upon the altar; the terrifying image stands there as if -suspended in the air; the red light sways towards me. Hastening on -tiptoe from one corner to the other, I finally steal into the -confessional again and draw the curtain. - -And there I sit in the greatest excitement. Now, now I fancy the -curtain is moving and a cold hand is reaching in after my faithless -heart. But all is quiet, only the clock on the tower from time to time -strikes the quarter-hour--and before the high window, through which the -moon is now shining, a bat occasionally flies. I lean back against the -wall and close my eyes; sleep does not come to me,--but thoughts. - -Yes, usually they kneel outside there at the confessional, the poor -sinners, and search their consciences; and to-day the confessor searches -his own. I look back over my whole life. How agitated it has been, how -poor and lonely I myself have been! I left my father, even as he left -me; my tutor was estranged from me when he thrust me out among the -snares of the world; and in the pond a heart ceased to beat. I no -longer possess a single friend in the wide, wide world. Like a toy I -have been tossed over land and sea. What has been the meaning of my -empty deeds? For what have I been striving? Have I done well? I am a -priest; have I honoured God with my heart? I am a mediator; have I -reconciled God with man and man with himself? When I stand before God's -judgment seat, when the scales are weighed down with my evil deeds, is -there one soul who will cry, "He has saved me"? - -And while this struggle is going on within me, I suddenly hear a pitiful -groan before the window of the confessional, as if that man were still -kneeling there with his sin. I start, but I am deceived; all is quiet -and the bright moonlight is streaming through the window. - -And so my years--the golden years--have run to waste in the sand. Good -friend, such a misfortune you could never comprehend. At last I begin -to weep painfully. - -In my influential position I surely could have loved and served mankind. -But I was led astray; and my only friend was not my friend. How many -years will still be given to me to misuse? O God, lead me away from Thy -altar, where I have been an unworthy servant; lead me forth from Thy -temple, wherein I have taken Thy name in vain. And lead me away from -men, to whom I have so wickedly misinterpreted Thee. Lead me to a -still, lonely place where I can work out my own salvation! - -This longing is like dew to my spirit; I become calmer and close my -eyes. - -But now I suddenly hear a voice without, calling: "Pater Paulus!" and a -second voice: "What if something should have happened to him!" "Pater -Paulus!" it calls again. Released at last!--I think; and I am about to -rise that I may answer. At the same moment I hear a terrible screaming: -"_Jesu Maria!_ there he is; he is hanging there by a rope!" - -I utter one cry, which terrifies me as it resounds through the nave of -the church. Then, without, I hear another wail and the people hastily -making their escape. The cry in the church, my call for help, has -frightened them. I am alone and so agitated that I almost cease to -breathe. It strikes midnight. What? Outside someone is hanging by a -rope. That is what they called out. Were they not seeking me and then -did they not cry: "There he is; he is hanging there by a rope"? - -I fall upon my face,--Holy God, preserve me from suicide! - -Suddenly a foreboding arises within me. What if it should be the man to -whom I so lately refused the comfort of absolution, whose despairing -soul, struggling for forgiveness, I repulsed? What if he should have -gone away and taken his life? Who is his murderer, O God in heaven!--In -that hour, my good friend, I endured torments.--In my feverish condition -I hear the rattling of dead men's bones; I see the suicide swinging by -the churchyard wall, and how he stares at me with his fixed eyes! From -the depths of the pond rises a woman with her child, and her damp locks -become serpents which wind themselves about my limbs. And all the lost -souls appear to whom I have preached damnation. In the midst stands the -high cross, and I hear a voice calling: "Thou hast crucified the Saviour -in the hearts of men; thou hast burdened them with a heavy cross--the -cross without a Saviour, thou murderer of God." - -With a sigh the man sank upon the branch of the tree. I was scarcely -able to raise him again. I picked fern leaves wet with mist and laid -them upon his burning forehead. - -"Tell me the rest another time," I said, "and to-day we will return to -our homes; night is now really approaching." - -He straightened himself, and with the edge of his mantle he wiped his -eyes. - -"To-day I am at peace," he said, calmly, "but whenever I think of that -hour, my blood is hot like the flames of hell. There, I feel better -now." After a little he continued: - -When I opened my eyes again, the glow of dawn was shining in at the -church windows. Like a gentle smile it rested upon the altar and the -image of the Mother of God. I arose and made a vow, whereupon a feeling -awoke within me, that everything, everything must end well. - -Soon afterwards the keys rattled in the church door; the schoolmaster -entered with one of the Brothers of the Order, and others. They uttered -a cry of joy when they saw me, and, taking me by the hand, they led me -out. They related how they had sought for me, how they had heard a -scream in the church, but in their confusion had imagined it to be the -voice of a spirit. They led me away from the graveyard, for yonder the -suicide was hanging from an iron cross. - -Afterwards I locked myself in my room, where I remained the whole day. -I was to have preached a sermon that morning on repentance and the mercy -of God. One of my companions did it for me. There was a report among -the people that I had purposely remained all night in the church and had -received revelations, for I was considered the most pious of the four -priests. - -Late in the evening, when all were asleep, I wrote these words on a -sheet of paper: "Farewell, my Brothers. Do not search for me. My new -mission is self-redemption." And then I took what was mine, and left -the house and village, and walked the entire night. - -My wandering was without plan. I gave myself up to chance. I had -nothing to lose. Endeavouring to escape from the more crowded regions, -I turned in the direction of the mountains. - -As morning approached I found myself among wooded hills; a brook gurgled -towards me. I drank from the water and rested upon a stone. I observed -a woodsman coming down the path, who doffed his hat to me in honour of -my priestly dress. I arose and asked him to show me the way, for I -wished to go far in among the mountains, to the dwelling-place of the -very last man. - -"The very last man, that must indeed be the charcoal-burner, -Russ-Bartelmei," he answered. - -"Then show me the way to Russ-Bartelmei and put on your hat." - -"Have you business with the charcoal-burner?" he asked me more boldly, -when we were already on our way. "The charcoal-burner is most likely -black, both body and soul; you can never wash him white. But then he 's -no worse than others. What do you want with him?" - -I believe I said something to my questioner about a distant -relationship. He then stopped and looked at me: - -"Relationship! I should be very glad! For I 'm Russ-Bartelmei myself." - -I walked with the man over hills and through ravines. By noon we had -reached his house. - -I remained three days with his family. Black they were, indeed. Among -the people of the Orient black is the colour of virtue and of departed -spirits; and, on the contrary, they paint the devil white. With the idea -of telling him something agreeable, I said this to the charcoal-burner. -But he gazed at me in a peculiar way from under the brim of his hat and -replied, "Then the priest would be a devil in the church and an angel on -the street." - -On the third day, after Bartelmei and I had discussed many things and -both of us had related parts of our life history (his was coal-black and -mine blacker yet), I asked him if he would be my friend. It was my -intention to live in the wilderness and to work for my soul. My earnest -desire was to strive to do good in solitude, since among men, even with -the best intentions, one does not always advance the cause of -righteousness. As a friend, he was, for a remuneration, to provide me -with a few necessary articles, but for the rest to keep my secret. - -The man considered a long time; then he said: "So you wish to become a -hermit? And I am to be the raven that brings you the bread from -heaven?" - -I explained that I would seek for my own bread, but one needed also -clothing and other little things; however, I would not fail to repay him -from my small possessions. - -He was ready to serve me. Only I had to promise to do a favour for him -sometime, and perhaps a very peculiar one. He had his desires as well. - -I left the charcoal-burner's house and Bartelmei led me still farther -into the wilderness. I came up as far as the Felsenthal; here no man -dwelt, here was only the primeval forest and the solid walls of rock. -And here I was content; in a hidden cave, by which flows a gurgling -stream, I took up my abode. In the Felsenthal stood a wooden cross, -which a lost woodsman may have erected in his day. This was my altar of -reconciliation. A cross without a Saviour, like the one I had formerly -held up before the needy souls, had finally come to be my own. - -And so, young friend, I have lived in solitude, have worked with -root-diggers and pitch-makers. And thus year after year has passed. I -will say nothing of renunciation; harder for me has been the feeling of -abandonment, and the longing for human society has often tormented me -unspeakably. Only the thought that renunciation is my expiation has -comforted me. I have often gone out into the valleys, where people live -in pleasant companionship. I have refreshed myself with the knowledge of -their peace of conscience and of their contentment, and I have then -returned to my cave in the ever-lonely Felsenthal and to the silent -cross upon the stony ground. - -But the struggle within me, instead of growing less, has become greater, -and sometimes the thought comes to me: What kind of a life is this, led -in unprofitable idleness, in which one is of use to no man, and which -consumes itself? Can that be the will of God? - -To return to the Order would be impossible. To live in the open world -as an apostate priest would be too great a reproach to the holy calling -itself. What else remains to me but to work with all my power for the -good of this little people in the forest? But I know not where to -begin. With dry sermons one does not always establish truth. I have -called on the devil so long, that he comes of himself. Teach God and -Christian love? I had poor success at that in India. So I have no -longer any inclination to serve mankind with words. - -When I see children I approach them that I may show them a friendliness; -but they are afraid of me. I am avoided, and the sight of me nowhere -causes pleasure, not even in Bartelmei's hut. Besides, I am so strange, -so weird; at last I begin to fear myself. An exile I live in the -Felsenthal, thirsting to do good deeds. Then once more I wander out -towards the streams. - -I have taken the load of wood from the back of the old and feeble woman, -to carry it for her into her hut. I have led the flocks away from the -dangerous cliffs for the shepherd. And in winter, when there is no man -far or near, I have fed the birds and deer with dried seeds and wild -fruit. I have wept over this, my pitiable sphere of activity, and -before the cross I have prayed,--"Lord, forgive! grant that I may yet -perform one good deed!" - -And so, with the intention of achieving something worthy, I took the boy -from the Upper Winkel to live with me. I had heard that he had -inherited his father's fiery temper, and I reflected that, since this -had led Mathes to his ruin, Lazarus would probably meet with the same -fate, if the evil could not be averted by discipline correspondingly -severe. I also reflected that a weak, tender-hearted woman would never -be fitted to give the imperilled boy the strict guidance that was -necessary. One day in the woods I met the lad by the grave of his -father. He was weeping bitterly and did not flee from me like the other -children. When I asked the cause of his trouble he replied that he had -thrown a stone at his mother and now he wished to die. - -I tried to comfort him; I also had once thrown a stone at mankind, but I -had now come into the wilderness to do penance and to make of myself a -better man, and I asked him if he would like to do the same. The boy -looked beseechingly at me and said--Yes. - -So I took him with me up to the Felsenthal and into my hut. I kept him -with me over a year, endeavouring to hold him to strict rules, that he -might overcome his fiery temper. Together we daily performed our -devotions before the cross. I told him the story of the Crucified One; -with all the warmth of my soul I depicted the love, patience, and -gentleness of the Saviour, and I noticed how the heart of the boy was -touched by it all. He is indeed a good lad. - -We worked together, gathered wild fruits, herbs, and mushrooms for our -nourishment. We did not shoot the deer, as Lazarus once proposed. We -wove chairs and mats for our rocky dwelling and for the -brandy-distiller, who knows how to dispose of them. We collected a pile -of fire-wood before our entrance. If I went to Lautergräben or out into -the Winkel forests, the boy willingly remained in the stone hut and -worked alone. He liked to tell me about his little sister, but never a -word of his mother, although he spoke of her often enough in his dreams. -I noticed how his conscience tormented him for the deed which he had -done. - -That the boy might practise patience and gentleness, I discovered a -means, which, curious and absurd as it may seem, still yielded valuable -results. I made a rosary from grey beads, and every evening Lazarus was -obliged to pray through the whole chaplet before he went to bed. He did -not tell them with his lips, however, but with his fingers and eyes. He -first stripped off all the beads from the string, so that they rolled -away on the floor; and then his task was carefully to search for and -pick up the pebbles which were scattered in all the corners. At first, -his temper would indeed overcome him; but as he thereby hindered rather -than hastened his work, he gradually accomplished it with more and more -self-control, even though the search often lasted for many hours, until -he found the last bead. And finally he acquired a calmness and -self-mastery which were admirable. "Child," I once said, "that is the -most beautiful prayer that thou canst make to show thy love for God and -for thy mother, and thereby dost thou save thy father." Then the boy -looked at me with ecstasy in his great eyes. - -We did not talk much with one another, but so much the more important -and well considered was each word spoken. He seemed to love me, he -tried to fulfil my every wish. According to my direction he called me -Brother Paulus. - -The manner in which I had taken and instructed the boy was indeed -daring; but I hope that he has been happily led into a better way. O my -friend, how often have I said to myself: "Of all the spiritual gifts -which are at the disposal of a priest, if I succeed in bestowing that of -self-control upon one being only, then am I saved." - -In the course of the year I often looked after the mother of the boy; -and no matter how much I had become accustomed to him, I still longed -for the day when I might return the lost child to the poor woman like a -piece of pure gold after its refining. - -One evening we found the cross no longer on the rock. It had been our -altar and the symbol of resignation and self-mastery. And now the -mouldy hole from which it had soared aloft stared us in the face. - -Who has taken this, my one comfort, away from me? Is it to be used for -charcoal or for a hearth-fire in the cabin? Does the great forest then -no longer suffice, that they must lay a hand on the cross? What has it -done to them? Or is someone carving a Saviour for it? Or has some sick -or dying man sent for it that he might pray before it? - -So I asked and wondered about it. Later in the evening I was still -hastening through the stony valley, thinking that my symbol of God must -surely be lying somewhere. I ran down into the woods, to the footpath, -and there I saw two men carrying the cross on their shoulders. - -Then it occurred to me that it was to go to the new church _Am Steg_; -the foresters wished to place it on the altar. They honour it, as I do; -they also wish to learn of resignation and sacrifice; they are also -beings who, like myself, are striving and struggling for the right. -Then a joy was awakened within me and my heart was full almost to -bursting. I longed to embrace you,--you and the whole parish. For, -indeed, I belonged to you--a child of the parish. - -And now there was no longer any time for idle thoughts, the hermit -continued. Soon after that I sent Lazarus away from this Felsenthal, -out to the new church, that he might pray before the cross. I gave him -my heartfelt blessing, for I well knew that he would not return to me in -my rocky abode. - -I lived on alone, more abandoned than ever, but calmer, and my heart was -lightened as though the ban were about to be removed. More and more -often I went out to the new church where my cross stood. And the people -avoided me no longer; they gave me alms that I might pray to God for the -healing of their souls. Thereby I perceived with shame that they -considered me better than themselves. - -I went again to Bartelmei's house, where they know more about me than in -the other huts. The charcoal-burner's mother, Kath, who has been ill -now for years, begged me for God's sake to read a mass for her, that she -might die a happy death. This I promised the old woman gladly, and thus -I came to read mass before my cross in the church _Am Steg_. - -With this the man ended his story. - -We were both silent for a while. Finally I said: "As things sometimes -happen strangely in this life, that may not have been your last mass in -our church." - -"I have given you the answer that was due you," replied the Einspanig. -"What the result of it for you, for me may be, cannot be discussed -to-day." - -With these words he arose from the tree-trunk. And as he stood upright -before me, he seemed taller and younger than usual. He drew a long -breath, and suddenly seized my hands eagerly, and with a trembling voice -cried, "I thank you, I thank you." - -He then hastily took his departure. - -He walked up the slope towards the Felsenthal; I, down to Lautergräben -towards Winkelsteg. - -I often stumbled against stones and fallen trees. A dark misty night -enveloped the forests. - - -So my misgivings concerning the hermit were happily dispelled. - -When a man renounces the world, let it be to him what it may, and lives -for years in the wilderness, enduring unspeakable privations, and with -an iron will subdues the longings of his heart--he is supremely in -earnest. For what other reason would he have come into the forests, -long before even a stone had been laid for the church _Am Steg_; for -what other reason would he have caused himself to be avoided by the -people or have sought to satisfy in solitude his impulse to do good? -And before me, a poor man, he has torn away the very fibres of his -heart, that I might look into the depths of his innermost soul, as it -stands there in its sin. - -I have often thought to myself, the first priest in Winkelsteg should -not be a righteous, but a penitent man. Let him not be one who has -never fallen, but one who has risen from his fall. In the depths and -darkness of the forests he must be able to stand and find his way, that -he may lead these people to the shining heights. - - - SUMMER, 1819. - - -How strange! How absurd! I have laughed and cried the whole day. - -It can be nothing but a humorous report, but it is told seriously -everywhere. And combined with what we have already heard, it may indeed -be possible. - -The wicked man is said to have gambled us all away,--the whole Winkel -forest, with every stick and stone, every man and mouse, together with -Andreas Erdmann,--gambled us away at the green table in one single -night. And he lost us to a Jew. - - - A FEW DAYS LATER. - - -Be that as it may, we will proceed with our daily work. To-day I was in -the Miesenbach woods to look at the trees which are destined for the -school-building. - -As I passed by the black hut, the Einspanig came out. He had been to -visit Lazarus, but the boy was not at home. He is now goatherd with the -wood-cutters in the Upper Winkel. Adelheid reproached the Einspanig -bitterly at first; but then she hid her face in her apron and sobbing, -said: "I know it well, you deserve the Kingdom of Heaven for what you -have done for my child!" - -The Einspanig and I walked together toward Winkelsteg. The people whom -we met were laughing over the story that we had been gambled away. Old -Rüpel said: "In honour of Moses my beard I 'll retain, and as long as I -live, I 'll not cut it again." - -"Yes, yes," I said to my companion. "So now we are Jewish, and we shall -have a Polish Rabbi in our temple. Our young master, Judas -Schrankenheim, has betrayed us so neatly!" - -The Einspanig stopped and stared at me in astonishment, finally saying: -"I did not think you so stupid, Erdmann." And after a little he added: -"A respectable man should not believe such foolish reports. How then -could young Schrankenheim have gambled us away? He is not yet master of -his father's possessions, and has not even reached his majority." - -I looked at him quickly. - -My heart was freed from a great burden; but the next moment I was -troubled. Only yesterday, within the hearing of everyone, I had called -the young Baron a wicked man. - -But as I am a man of honour I will make amends. Of course he may be a -wild fellow; still thou art honest and kind-hearted, Hermann, and the -people must know it. For three Sundays in succession I will proclaim it -from the chancel: "Our young future master, Hermann von Schrankenheim, -is honest and good. May God preserve him!" And until death will I beg -his pardon for my slanderous words. - -The Einspanig entered my house with me. One of my windows opens towards -the church and the parsonage. Sitting down by it, we fell into a -conversation which lasted two hours. - -We are now able, when the weather is fine, to measure the time by the -hour; Franz Ehrenwald has painted a sun-dial on the southern side of the -tower. - -When the Einspanig had gone my housekeeper cried: "_Wie närrisch_, now -the _Kukuk_ has brought _him_ into the house again!" - -"The _Kukuk_?" I answered gaily. "Yes, indeed, this man is himself like -the cuckoo; he has no nest and must restlessly flutter from tree to -tree, is avoided everywhere, and is at home nowhere. But all the same -we are glad to see him in the spring, for he brings it with him; he is a -soothsayer who can count our years for us." - -"Yes," screamed the woman, "and tell us all sorts of extravagant tales, -as he did me once; and if for him perhaps the world is not fastened in -with boards, his own head surely is. Get away with your Einspanig!" - -If the good Winkel-warden's wife could only have known what kind of a -letter I wrote to the Baron an hour later! - - - MAY, 1820. - - -Here in the woods are day and night, winter and summer, peace and -suffering, care and sometimes a little comfort in resting from our toil. -And so it drags along. Our Chariot of Time has lost its fourth wheel, -and it often goes badly and unevenly, but it goes. - -Outside, they say, they are trying to overturn the world again. There -are rumours of war. No one troubles himself any longer about us -Winkelstegers. But I am pleased with one thing. Many of our young men -wish to enlist and become soldiers. That is a sign of their awakened -consciousness that they have a home and a fatherland which they must -defend. It is the first good fruit of the young parish. - -For a time the destruction of the forest has ceased; the foundries -outside are closed. Many are now beginning to remove the stumps from -the cleared land and to convert it into fields for planting. The -wood-cutters and charcoal-burners are becoming tillers of the soil. -That is right; the wood-cutter disappears, but the peasant arises in his -place. - -In reply to an appeal from me, a letter has come from the Baron. Now is -no time for churches and priests; we must help ourselves. - -That is very wise advice. But the people will no longer go to church. -"When there is no mass and no sermon," they say, "one can pray for one's -self under the green trees." However, they do not remain under the -green trees, but in the tavern. The flock is scattered when there is no -shepherd. - -The forester is also away, for he has other regions to look after. So I -am alone with my Winkelstegers, as Moses was alone with the Israelites -in the wilderness. - -The commandments have been proclaimed, but the people are again working -at the golden calf. And manna falls no longer from heaven. - - - PENTECOST, 1820. - - -To-day the hermit from the Felsenthal stood before the altar of our -church and read mass. - -The church vestments and sacred utensils we had from Holdenschlag, as -they were lying there in the vestry unused. The mice had eaten holes in -the robe, but the spiders had woven them together again. - -I played the organ. The church is not so large but that from the choir -one can see if tears are standing in the eyes of the priest at the -altar. - -The people prayed little and whispered, much. This Einspanig,--he must -indeed be a second St. Jerome. - -After the service the forest singer said these words to me: "Have you -seen the Wandering Jew? For the suffering Christ he has borne to-day -the heavy cross to Golgotha's heights. Hosanna, he thus casts his sins -away!" - -I repeated the words to the hermit, adding: "May they make you happy; -the man is filled with the Holy Ghost!" - - - THE FEAST OF ALL SOULS, 1820. - - -I have urged the people to choose a chief officer from among themselves, -that there may be someone to issue orders, settle disputes, and keep the -parish united. - -They have chosen Martin Grassteiger, and he is now called Judge. - -At this same meeting the new Judge introduced the future schoolmaster of -the Winkelsteg parish, who had been acknowledged as such by the master -of the forest. - -I then am this schoolmaster. The people declare that I might have known -it for a long time, but Grassteiger says that everything must be done -according to legal form. - -A few days after the above occurrence the Judge ordered me to call a -parish meeting to elect a priest. Everyone laughed over this. "Shall we -choose him from among the pitch-makers and charcoal-burners? But there -is n't one that would be fit for it. There is just one man who is -learned enough for us Winklers, but our men have such foolish notions, -that they would be scandalised at the idea of a priest being his own -housekeeper." - -So they make their jokes, knowing very well for whom they are meant. - -And they have chosen him, too. - -We must help ourselves, the owner of the forest has said; and that we -have done. - -The hermit from the Felsenthal is the priest of Winkelsteg. - - - THE FEAST OF ST. MARTIN, 1820. - - -Russ-Kath is dead. She was ninety years old. Her last wish was that -after her death strong, nailed shoes should be put on her feet; she -would be obliged to traverse the road back to earth many times, to see -how her children and grandchildren were faring. And the road was full -of sharp thorns. - -Russ-Kath is the first one who will rest in our new forest -burying-ground. - - -Two men brought her over from Lautergräben on a bier consisting of two -poles. The white pine-board coffin, still fragrant with resin, was -fastened upon the bier with strips of alder-boughs. Russ-Bartelmei and -his brother-in-law, Paul Holzer, accompanied by a little boy, walked -behind the bearers. They prayed aloud, at the same time looking out for -the roots of the trees which lay across their pathway. The bearers were -also obliged to walk cautiously, for the ground was already slippery -with the late autumn hoar-frost. - -There is a story that years ago as some men were carrying a shepherd to -the Holdenschlag cemetery, one of the bearers stumbled on the narrow -path and the coffin rolled over the precipice, plunging into the abyss, -so that no splinter of it was ever seen again. This was exceedingly -trying for the people, they say, for the grave-digger had to be paid all -the same. - -We Winkelstegers have no grave-digger. We could not maintain one, and -besides no one dies here until his last groschen is spent. So a few -wood-cutters are obliged to come and do this work. They charge nothing -for it. They are glad if they can crawl out of the grave again, well -and hearty. - -During the mass for the dead the coffin stood quite alone upon the hard -ground before the church. A little bird flew hither, hopped upon the -coffin-lid and pecked and pecked and then fluttered away again. - -When Rüpel saw it he was almost sure that it was the bird that flies -into the forest once in every thousand years. - -After the mass we carried Russ-Kath up to the grave which had been -prepared for her. The family stood about gazing fixedly into it. - -When the burial service was over, the priest spoke briefly. The words -which impressed me the most were these: "By the death of our dear ones -we gain fortitude to bear the adversities of this life, and a calm, -perhaps even a joyous, anticipation of our own death. Each hour is one -step towards our meeting again; and until that gate of reunion is opened -for us, our departed ones live on in the sacred peace of our hearts." - -He is well able to expound it. Indeed, we all feel it also, but do not -know the words by which to express it. He has not forgotten his -vocation, although he has lived for years up in the Felsenthal. - -But now another man appears. Rüpel comes quietly forward, and the -people make way for him: "Let us see what Rüpel knows to-day." - -And as the forest singer stands upon the mound, supporting himself by -the handle of the spade, so as not to make a misstep upon the loose -earth, and as he looks down upon the coffin, he begins to speak: "Born -ninety years ago; on her own feet o'er vales and mountains she has -walked to meet those who in sorrow and in troublous ways might need her -succour; for in all her days a horse she never rode, and thus outwore a -hundred pair of shoes. And yet a hundred more in earning children's -bread she wore, and other hundreds still, alas, she rent upon the paths -of pain o'er which she went. But ne'er for dancing and like mirth, -forsooth, was used a single pair, e'en in her youth. Then, when her -whole long, weary life was o'er, she put her last shoes on her feet once -more, and went away into eternal rest. The holy angels, at the Lord's -behest, will lead her soul through purgatory straight, then on and up -unto the heavenly gate. Beneath the ground shall the poor body rest -within its wooden coffin, calm and blest. Sleep well, Kathrin, within -thy cradle new; soon by thy side shall we be sleeping, too. Till to His -heavenly hosts we hear God's call, and we may enter heaven, soul, body, -all." - -"Rüpel would be the right priest for the Winkelstegers!" said the man -whom they have called the Einspanig. - -Yes, if he had not grown up among them! - -When we, the priest and I, had thrown a few clods of earth upon the -coffin, Russ-Bartelmei, very sad, came to us and asked what then had his -mother done, that we should fling dirt after her. We then explained to -him that it signified a last act of love, and that the earth was the -only offering which one could bestow upon the dead. - -Thereupon Bartelmei began to shovel in the earth until not a trace of -the white coffin could be seen, and the people took the spade from him -to fill the grave. - -After the funeral they retired to Grassteiger's inn, where they -refreshed themselves with brandy, just as the ancients offered libations -after laying their dead to rest. - -God counts His people, even in Winkelsteg, and not one escapes Him. - -The little grave in the burying-ground was scarcely closed when the -baptismal font in the church was opened. The first death and the first -baptism in one day--in one family. - -Over the same forest path where a few hours before the coffin was -carried, two women brought a newly born babe from Lautergräben. - -The child is a granddaughter of Russ-Kath and belongs to Anna Maria. - -Someone knocks at the church door, requesting baptism, and the name of -the child is to be Katharina. Her grandmother's name shall not be denied -her, although we have the choice of all the saints in heaven. - - - - - *PART THIRD* - - - WINTER, 1830. - - -During all the sixteen years since I have been in the Winkel forests, I -have seen no such snow as we have this winter. For days not a single -child has come to school. The windows of my room resemble targets. -Should this state of things last much longer, we shall all be snowed in -together. From here to the parsonage a path is shoveled twice a day, -passing by Grassteiger's house, where we, the priest and I, take our -midday meal. Each prepares his own breakfast at home. In the evening -we always meet either at the parsonage or at the schoolhouse. I wonder -how the people are faring over at Karwässer and Graben! There the -snow-storms are much more furious than in the Winkel. Just now many -poor souls are lying sick in their huts, and it is impossible to keep -the paths open, so that the people may help one another. And crossing -the Lauterhöhe is quite out of the question. The signposts which stand -by the cliffs are nearly buried in the snow; the branches and trunks of -trees are torn off and broken by the heavy burden. There is no end to -the snow. It falls no longer in flakes; it is like a heavy, dense -whirlwind of dust. The caps upon the branches and sign-posts and upon -the gables of the roofs are growing higher every moment. - -If the wind should rise, it might perhaps save the forest, but it would -be our destruction. One hour of wind over the loose banks of snow, and -we should be buried. - -The priest has engaged all the workmen that are accessible to make paths -in Lautergräben, Karwässer, and even from one hut to another. They -succeeded in breaking the path in one direction, but were obliged to -perform their labour a second time on their return. However, the -snow-bound people over there will not suffer; their world is within -their huts. In a cabin in Karwässer the corpse of an old man is said to -have been lying for five days. - -To-day the priest bound snow-shoes on his feet in order to make visits -among the sick. But the snow was too soft, and he was obliged to turn -back. Now he is making up little bundles from our landlord's pantry, -and some sturdy wood-cutters are to carry them to the sick people in -Lautergräben. - -These are short days and yet so long. I have my zither, I have the new -violin given to me by the priest on my last birthday, I have other -things with which to distract myself. But now nothing interests me. -For hours at a time I walk up and down the room and wonder what the -result of this winter will be. There are many huts in Graben where the -men have not been with their shovels. We are anxious about the -condition of things over there. - -In order to relieve myself from the oppressive inactivity, I opened -to-day the chest which is under the bench by the stove, and took out the -leaves of my old journal, to see what had been the fortunes of this -parish since its beginning. - -And I find that nothing has been written for ten years. There may have -been two reasons for this interruption in my records. In the first -place, I no longer felt the need of writing out my thoughts and -feelings, for in our priest I have found a friend in whom I can confide -unreservedly, as he has confided in me, telling me the strange story of -his life before we were even acquainted. He is one of the few who, -refined by suffering, have emerged from the entanglements and mistakes -of the world pure and noble. The woodspeople love him devotedly; he -leads them not by words alone but by his deeds. His Sunday sermons he -puts into practice during the week. He sacrifices himself, he is -everything to the people. His hair is no longer black, as at that time -in the Felsenthal; his face is earnest, and bright as the gleam of a -rainbow. Those who are sorrowful gaze into his eyes and find comfort -there. - -When we are all sitting together, he likes to tell us of the distant, -beautiful world--of strange foreign countries, of the wonders of nature. -Pipes grow cold while he talks, for everyone listens with the greatest -eagerness. Only the old woman from the Winkelwarden's house declares -that the priest's stories are silly fables; a proper priest, she thinks, -should talk of heaven and purgatory, and not always of the world. -Nevertheless she listens and smiles. - -A number of years ago the church authorities brought up the question of -our parish, and refused to recognise our Father Paulus, wishing to -install a new priest in his place. Oh! but the Winkelstegers rebelled -against such a change and the attempt was finally abandoned. To offset -this, however, Winkelsteg is not acknowledged outside as parish and -curacy, but simply as a settlement of half-savage, ruined men, such as -it was in former times. - -At first this was a great trial to me, we would so gladly have united -with the main body; but since they repulse us, I am finally reconciled -and say: All the better; then they will leave us in peace. - -The second cause of neglecting my journal is the great amount of work -which my calling imposes upon me. - -At first it was the building of the schoolhouse, which gave me no rest. -For everything has been built exactly as I considered most suitable for -an important project like this. The house is made of wood, for that -retains heat better than stone, and allows of freer ventilation. It was -important that I should erect an appropriate and tasteful wooden -building as a model for the people. To my joy, the light, graceful, and -yet solid design of my schoolhouse, with its convenient arrangement, has -already been copied many times. My windows, doors, masonry, and -locksmith's work are considered as models by the entire population. - -About the schoolhouse is an extensive playground fitted out with -implements for physical exercise. The building is provided with a broad, -projecting roof to guard against injury from storms, but in such a way -that the interior is in no way darkened. In the schoolroom, before -everything else, thought has been taken for the health of the children. - -As to my apartment in the schoolhouse, it is not large but cosey. And -it is made a thousand times cosier by the memory of that winter march -through Russia, which comes back to me sometimes like a wild dream. -Since that dream, however, I have grown many years younger; even as the -storms of the world crushed me to the earth, have I risen again in the -primeval freshness of the forest. - -A far more difficult office than that of keeping the school, and a much -greater duty, is the supervision of the spiritual health of those -confided to my care. Easily enough they learn prudence, and how to -think and act to their own advantage; but it is far more difficult for -them to learn to adjust themselves to the whole, and to make their -existence harmonious with that of their fellows and with the outside -world in general. It is a fact, that self-love is the first sign of -life which is revealed in the budding soul of the young child. Whether -love for humanity or selfishness be the result, the education decides. - -I have my special ideas in regard to dealing with children and the -conception of the world which should be presented to them. I am not -thinking of the little ones in the Winkel parish alone, but of the -children who are obliged to dwell in cities, where the happiness of -their childhood and the pure pleasures of this world are often -embittered. - - - *REFLECTIONS[#]* - - -[#] Under this title an essay was found in the manuscript, the pages of -which were neither dated nor numbered. It had probably been written in -the winter of 1830, and since it bears upon the subject in hand I insert -it here. - -THE EDITOR. - - -The child is a book from which we read, and in which we should write. - -Once upon a time a magician wandered about in these woods creating no -little excitement among the peasants. He carried a book containing -blank pages, which upon being held to his lips were immediately covered -with legible script, as though his breath had been a pen. I then -discovered that the words had previously been written with a colourless -liquid which left no trace and became visible only when he had breathed -upon it. - -Children are like this book. Indifferent eyes discern nothing worthy of -notice in them, and not until they are touched by the warm breath of -love do the traits appear which frequently surprise, delight, or alarm -us. And it rests largely with us which traits shall be called forth. - -That is to say, the personal peculiarities must be taken into account. -In children this individuality is perhaps not great, but it nevertheless -exists. Up to a certain point we enjoy the pliant natures which appeal -to our own, but when the real character once discloses itself, we must -give it due regard. It may be absurd, yet I must say that I have a -certain dislike for many of the educational institutions which now exist -in the world outside, where all the pupils are cast in the same mould -and then polished off, in the end producing but ordinary men. These, to -be sure, constitute the best building material for society and the -state, even as houses are most conveniently constructed with bricks. -But characters, sturdy types which develop under unusual circumstances, -sometimes seem to me preferable. A grindstone does not suit all knives; -many scholars learn more in life than in school. - -We should first test that which we intend to employ with the child, the -physical care, games, moral and mental instruction, in order to be sure -that they harmonise with his nature and with the conditions and demands -of his future life. Cherish childhood tenderly; it is quite different -from our riper age; thoughtlessly forgetting our own childish happiness, -we regard as unreasonable and foolish much of that which is in reality -of great benefit to the little ones, and which they lose all too soon, -never to find again. - -I do not share the opinion of that philosopher who maintains that -parents should allow themselves to be brought up by their children, -although I acknowledge that we might learn much from them that is to be -found in no book of worldly wisdom. Children seem to be born for a -heaven, their young minds being constituted solely for happiness. We -have to educate them for this earth, to which they must now adapt -themselves, but not prematurely. Let the little hearts strengthen -themselves with childish pleasure, warm themselves with faith in God and -the world, for they may need this warmth and strength when, in later -years, many things turn cold and fall in ruins about them. Their faith -in God will change and become more spiritual, but if you--oh, teacher of -a new school--do not instil this faith into the growing mind, then in -the matured intellect there will be no room for belief in the divine, -the ideal. Whoever has once prayed with all his heart before the cross, -will never forget the image of love and self-sacrifice. Whoever has -once been thrilled by the sweet worship of the Mother of God, whoever -has been awed by the resurrection of the dead and the eternal glory of -heaven, he, I think, must be armed for all time against the demon of -unbelief and have unshaken faith in the final victory of the good and -beautiful. - -Each fortunate man upon whom nature has bestowed in his children the -prospect of an earthly future, will wish that they may be as happy as he -himself now is, or happier. - -Human content and discontent depend greatly upon our view of the world. -As the world enters our souls through our minds, such it is to us. It -is not a question of truth for truth's sake, but of happiness, or rather -of contentment. Only those pursue the truth for itself who either find -or fancy they find in the search or in its results _contentment_. - -We cannot greatly alter our own view of the world; our eyes are -accustomed to their spectacles, be they dark or rosy. But the child who -calls us father, although he does not yet know why we are responsible to -him, with clear eyes gazes questioningly into the bright world and -questioningly looks at us. Which glasses shall we give him--rosy, dark, -magnifying, or diminishing? - -Children wear no spectacles! In regard to this, the schoolmaster from -Holdenschlag recently said to me that one should allow children to gaze -upon the world with their natural eyes. - -Here again I think differently. The gypsy boy on the heath looks at the -world with his natural eye. Is he hungry, he takes what lies nearest -him; he knows nothing of mine or thine. Our children must have -instruction and education, the former to show them what the world is -according to our experience, the latter to teach them how to bear -themselves towards it and how far they are to yield to its influence. -The objection might be urged that the nature of the world itself -determines one's conception of it, and a thing cannot be taken for other -than it is. I answer: The contemplation of an object depends entirely -upon the observer's point of view. It is not to be expected of man -that, forgetting self, he should rise above himself and the world at -large, for the eye with which he sees and the brain with which he thinks -is far too human. - -Our point of view is optional; the colour through which we look at the -world is for the most part also optional; but the choice must be made -sufficiently early. Children, as soon as they are conscious of their -existence and their surroundings, consider their parents and teachers -faultless beings; as a matter of course everything is good and perfect -to them. They joyously gravitate towards all things as the flowers of -the field turn towards the sun. Their first look into the world is full -of trust. - -Thinking over the numerous books of the modern school, which I -occasionally receive from the owner of the forest, I often ask myself: -What conception of the world should we teach children? - -Should we say to them: The plan of the world is by no means good; -mankind is imperfect, miserable; existence is aimless; life is a -misfortune? - -Should we show them the bad and good sides, and soberly explain -everything to them, just as it seems to us? - -Or should we acquiesce in their belief and strengthen them in their -view, that everything is desirable and for the best? - -A teacher who had neither sense nor heart would do the first; one who -had sense alone, the second; one who had both sense and heart, the -third. - -The youngsters in ragged clothing, who run about under our feet in the -streets, carrying their bags of books to school, are often a very saucy -brood. They banter, chaff, sneer, and think themselves far wiser than -their elders. We meet with this principally in cities. In their homes -they are accustomed to bitter words. Many methods of education aim to -transform the little ones rapidly into cool-headed, sensible men. The -children must know and think, only this; all warm feeling is stifled, -and then one wonders why there is so little ability and creative power! -When such a youth has sated himself with the works of art and nature, -which have become for him merely toys and objects of derision, he grows -disheartened, fretful, and young men and maidens of twenty are weary of -the world. They have soon convinced themselves that their own abilities -and ambitions are no higher than those which they have so often -scorned--nor scarcely so high; they become impotent and lose faith in -themselves; and now they are fully convinced of that which they have so -often heard, and in their inexperience have so often maintained: The -world is thoroughly bad--and they are _unhappy_. This element of -pessimism, to which they have accustomed themselves, so disturbs their -power of action that they have not even sufficient courage to take that -step which seems to them the most desirable: suicide. - -The second method is not inexpedient, indeed for progress in life it is -often really necessary. We might show the children the world as it -appears to us; relate to them our own experiences, that they may profit -by them. Still this way, although perhaps necessary, is not the best; -it too soon disturbs the ideals of youth which warm the child-heart like -a breath of God and can never be replaced in later years. Therefore we -must not initiate children into the hardships of life prematurely. Then -again, this method is not always as useful as one would think; indeed, -every day we see children who give no heed to the precepts which are the -results of their parents' experiences and who pay for their carelessness -and learn wisdom only by their own failures. Even were they able to -profit by the trials of their parents, how shall they instruct _their_ -children, if not forced to undergo any experiences of their own? Such -things cannot be handed down; only where they originate and grow, do -they bear fruit. - -My opinion is, that we should guard the fresh rosebud called -"child-heart" as long as we are able. Let us interfere as late as -possible with the intellectual life and vocation of the child. For -indeed, even three-year-old children have often already chosen their -life work. They hunt up and make toys for themselves, they hammer, they -dig, they draw, plane, and build and are as much in earnest as we elders -in our efforts. It is a great disadvantage to the children of the rich -to receive their playthings ready made, the result of which is, that -they simply destroy them; and this often happens even in the case of -well-disposed children. How can the little ones become inventive and -ingenious, how can they practise the art of acquiring and saving, of -patience and perseverance, when everything which their hearts desire and -which they often do not really desire, comes to them as if by the aid of -a wishing-rod? It may partly account for the fact--and this is within -my own knowledge--that children of the poor, who from their earliest -youth must seek and make everything that they wish to have, are often -intellectually superior to the children of the rich. But we should -encourage and guide the little ones in their occupations and small -creations. - -It is wiser to check speech than action in children. And if they have -done something wrong, or produced something faulty, then give them the -opportunity to do it again and better. - -Many parents and teachers have the custom of speaking disparagingly and -critically of their children before strangers; that is almost more -dangerous than pushing them forward and praising them in the presence of -others. An embittered disposition is apt to follow wounded ambition. - -Instead of analysing the excellences and defects in the works and -standards of mankind, I consider it better to recognise their worth -unconditionally, that the children may learn to honour and admire them. -Critical knowledge of one's ideal has never been sufficient to inspire a -man to strive to imitate it, although it may have caused respect and -enthusiasm. The critical, fault-finding element means only too often -repudiation--it is the chief characteristic of incapable natures and -never imparts strength, but rather impedes the creative power. Whatever -works upon the reason, chills; that which works upon the heart, warms; -especially with children. - -Children should hear only of the beautiful, the good, and the great. -Our own ideals, the bright visions of our youth and our guiding star, -even though they be now extinct, let us rekindle them in the children's -hearts; or if Nature has herself performed this work, then let us feed -and fan the flame; at such a fire we shall warm ourselves again. Human -history is exceedingly rich in great deeds--I do not mean the campaigns -and destruction wrought by victorious generals, nor the intrigues of -land-greedy princes, with which one ordinarily seeks to _improve_ our -youth--I mean the blessed, beautiful deeds of noble men. Let us -surround the child with these, and with them we shall plant in him a -garden full of roses and glorious fruits! - -And when the high and noble things in the earthly kingdom are exhausted, -then let us with confidence open the gates to those eternal regions -whence mankind for a thousand years has drawn courage and inspiration. -The true man of culture, familiar with all the successes and failures of -the human intellect, the man acquainted with the world, who knows that -tolerance is a chief characteristic of noble minds, will not hesitate to -portray to the child the great ideals of poetic souls. - -But there are certain people in the world outside against whom I would -make the charge that they are as lenient toward the weaknesses and sins -of mankind as they are intolerant of religious opinions. These people -are adherents to a doctrine asserting the animal supremacy in man, and -make freedom of will and action wholly dependent on natural or -accidental outward circumstances--modern fatalists, who are still more -dangerous than those of the romantic school. They believe that they are -satisfying their love for mankind, if they excuse the criminals and -fallen ones according to prescribed precepts, thus justifying the crime -to their children. That means making the criminal interesting to the -children. However, we should instil into their minds neither hatred nor -pharisaical pride, although the mistakes and crimes themselves cannot be -too severely censured before the little ones. Even as nobility should -be represented to them as worthy of their entire respect, so should evil -be unconditionally condemned. One only confuses children with such -subtle reasoning and philosophical explanations--everything must be -distinct, clear, and tangible. - -One more word in regard to the love of fatherland. - -Child and home--how natural! We well know that the little ones long to -go forth into the world, but still stronger is their desire to return -home. So we might add, teach them love of home. A hearth of one's own, -a family; here man is guarded from the greatest evils; here industry, -self-sacrifice, self-confidence, and contentment are developed; here -love for the parish and fidelity to the fatherland thrive. The attitude -which many people in the outside world are now assuming toward the -fatherland is said to be becoming somewhat revolutionary. This must be -followed by results which I do not like to mention to the children here! -I am consequently obliged to counteract these reports by telling them -that it is difficult to remain on friendly terms with people who are -always discontented and unthankful. How shall one demand of a citizen -of the state that he shall work for the perfection, the strengthening, -and freedom of his native land, when he is perfectly indifferent towards -it! And the continual denunciations of the conditions of the country, -of its rulers and laws, all combine to undermine gradually the love for -the fatherland. I do not care for that patriotism which sends our sons -upon the battle-field, chosen for them by leaders of the state, but -rather for that which teaches how to _live_ for the fatherland. Resist -hostile invasions, for that is manly and right. But patriotism often -springs from prejudice; the children should therefore be taught where it -ceases to be a virtue. - -Besides the love of one's native land, there is fortunately in mankind -room for love of the whole world. Instead of inspiring children with -admiration for the warrior heroes of history, it were better to instil -into them the greatest horror for the profession of war. The idea that, -for any reason whatever, we may kill innocent people must gradually be -eradicated from the human race. - -The school alone cannot of course do everything; it teaches youth but is -unable to educate it. With which organs does the young tree absorb the -more nourishment and life, with its branches and leaves from the free -air, or with its roots from the ground, whence it springs? What the -child acquires at school must be carefully digested, but the example and -guidance of the parents are involuntarily absorbed into the flesh and -blood. It remains then with the parents to lay in the child the -foundation for a sound conception of the world. - -I was once acquainted with the father of a family, who so strictly -carried out the principle of presenting to his children a bright -conception of the world, that he kept them away from all existing evil. -That I do not consider necessary. It is not so much what they see as -_how_ they see it. Children seldom tremble in the presence of danger. -One should call their attention to it, not in a startling manner, which -only disheartens, but rather in a tone of calm self-reliance which rests -on the consciousness of its own power. And after unfortunate accidents, -where man is powerless, one should never show despair or apathetic -discouragement before children, but always the open countenance full of -resignation and hope; everything will be well again! These are magic -words for us as well. There is a constant interchange of light and -shadow everywhere in life, and each misfortune brings us new expectation -of good; he who lives in this hope already enjoys the interest of a -capital not yet due. - -The five-year-old daughter of the stone-cutter, when her only brother -was buried, whom she loved so dearly that it was thought she could not -live an hour without him, gazed down into the deep little grave -surrounded by the mourning bystanders and said: "God keep thee, Hans, we -will meet in heaven," and hastened away over the flowery meadow. Yes, -thus should it be and thus should it continue among us men. - -And that boy from Schirmtanner's house, who built a little hut, a mill, -and a variety of things on the hillside, working at it one whole summer, -when an avalanche destroyed his playthings, cried: "It's gone! It did -not please God that I should build on the hill, now I will go and build -my house down by the barn fence." He might just as well have clenched -his fist and snarled: "Why did it not please God?" But it has been said -to him: "God is far stronger and wiser; against Him thou canst do -nothing, but He does not mean ill by thee." And sometime in later years -of life, when the heart is broken and faith is dead, that which is best -and most enduring in such a conception of life shall still remain by -us,--resignation. - -I have nothing against knowledge, but I like wisdom better. Wisdom does -not come so much from the head as from the heart. Let childishness and -confidence in the world be fostered as long as possible; childishness is -fruitful soil for the beautiful, confidence in the world for the good. -I do not mean that a generation of idealists should be developed, who -cannot think and work practically. But they should have confidence in -the world and in themselves, for that is the most fruitful ground for -right thinking and practical deeds. A simpler and happier race must -arise than could ever be imagined by the crabbed philosophers, who are -so vain of their lofty reasoning and so hopeless in their human mission. - -However, the heart of man is good; from generation to generation he -approaches perfection. There are indeed periods which are not -favourable to him; often the blossoms grow too luxuriant, the fruit -becomes too large. In the midst of the most auspicious May, frosts, -blights, insects, and plagues of all kinds arrive---but -gradually--gradually the day shall dawn of which all nations have -dreamed and which all prophets have foretold. - - - *WALDLILIE IN THE SNOW* - - - WINTER, 1830. - - -We are relieved of a great anxiety. The storm has subsided. A light -wind has arisen and gently released the trees from their burden. There -have been a few mild days, during which the snow has settled and with -snow-shoes we can now walk where we please. - -But during this time a curious incident has taken place over in -Karwässer. Berthold, whose family increases from year to year, while -their supply of food grows less, has become a poacher. The Holdenschlag -priest, although a weak-hearted hypocrite, pretends to understand life -better than we, and says, poor people should not marry. According to -conventional ideas and customs, Berthold and Aga are not married, but -they have knelt before me in the woods ... and--now the whole family are -starving. Am I responsible? Alas, the blessing which I gave them is of -no avail! Oh, my God, Thine is the power; as in my youth I have already -committed one crime, grant that _this_ may not prove to be one as well. - -So Berthold has become a poacher. The profits of wood-cutting do not -reach far in a house full of children. I have sent him what I can in -the way of food. Whenever he wishes a nourishing broth for his sick -wife and a bit of meat for the children, he shoots the deer that come in -his way. And as misfortune often changes one's character, Berthold, who -as shepherd was such a good and happy lad, has, through poverty, spite, -and love for his family, grown to be a lawbreaker. - -I have already begged the forester, for God's sake, to look after the -poor man a little, assuring the former that Berthold would certainly -improve and that I would stand bail for him. But up to the present time -there has been no change for the better; and that which has happened -during these wild winter days has made him weep aloud, for he loves his -Waldlilie above everything. - -It is a dark winter evening. The windows are covered with moss; -outside, the fresh flakes fall upon the old snow. Berthold is staying -with the children and the sick Aga, until the eldest daughter, Lili, -shall return with the milk, which she has gone to beg from a hermit near -by in Hinterkar; for the goats in the house have been killed and eaten; -and as soon as Lili arrives, it is Berthold's intention to go up into -the forest with his gun. In such weather one need not seek far to find -the deer. - -But it grows dark and Lili has not yet returned. The fall of snow -becomes heavier and denser; night approaches, and still no Lili. The -children are already crying for the milk; the father is eager for the -game; the mother raises herself in bed. "Lili!" she cries. "Child, -where art thou straying in this pitch-dark forest? Come home!" - -How can the weak voice of the invalid reach the ear of the wanderer -through the wild snow-storm? - -The darker and stormier the night becomes, the stronger is Berthold's -longing for the game and the deeper his anxiety for his Waldlilie. She -is a delicate twelve-year-old girl; to be sure she knows the paths and -the ravines, but the former are covered with snow, the latter concealed -by the darkness. - -Finally, the man leaves the house to seek for his child. For hours he -wanders about calling through the storm-swept wilderness; the wind blows -the snow into his eyes and mouth; he is obliged to use his entire -strength to regain the hut. - -And now two days pass; the storm abates and Berthold's hut is nearly -snow-bound. They comfort themselves with the thought that Lili is -surely with the hermit. This hope is destroyed on the third day, when, -after a long struggle through the drifts, Berthold at last succeeds in -reaching the hermitage. - -Lili had indeed been there three days ago and had started in good time -on her homeward way with her jug of milk. - -"So my Waldlilie lies buried in the snow!" Berthold cries. He then goes -to the other wood-cutters and begs, as no one has ever heard this man -beg before, that they will come and help him seek for his dead child. - -On the evening of the same day they find Waldlilie. - -In a wooded ravine, in a dark tangled thicket of young firs and pines, -through which no flake of snow can force itself and above which the mass -of snow has piled and drifted, so that the young trees groan with the -weight, upon the hard pine-needles on the ground, surrounded by a family -group of six deer, sits the sweet, pale Waldlilie. - -It was a most remarkable circumstance. The child had lost herself in -the ravine on her way home, and, as she could no longer resist the -drifting snow, she crept into the dry thicket to rest. But she was not -long alone. Her eyes had scarcely begun to close, before a herd of -deer, old and young, joined her; they sniffed about the girl and gazed -at her with their mild eyes full of intelligence and sympathy, for of -this human being they were not afraid. They remained with her, laid -themselves upon the ground, nibbled the trees, licked one another, -apparently undisturbed by her presence; the thicket was their winter -home. - -The next day the snow had enveloped them all. Waldlilie sat in the dim -light and drank the milk which she was to have carried to her family, -nestling against the good creatures to keep from freezing in the -chilling air. - -Thus the terrible hours passed by. And just as Waldlilie was about to -lay herself down to die and in her simplicity was begging the deer to -remain faithfully by her side in the last hour, they suddenly began -sniffing in a most curious manner, raising their heads and pricking up -their ears, then with wild leaps and startled cries they burst through -the thicket, scattering in all directions. - -The men forced their way through the snow and underbrush and with a -shout of joy discovered the child, while old Rüpel, who was also there, -called out: "Did I not say, come here, come here, for we may find her -with the deer!" - -Thus it happened; and when Berthold heard how the creatures of the -forest had saved his little daughter and had kept her from freezing, he -cried out wildly: "I will never do it again as long as I live!" And his -gun with which he had been shooting the game for many years he dashed in -pieces against a stone. - -I saw it myself, for the priest and I were in Karwässer, assisting in -the search for the child. - -This Waldlilie is very gentle and as white as snow, and her eyes are -like those of the deer. - - - WINTER, 1830. - - -The reports about our master's son do not cease. If only the half were -true which is told concerning him, then he is indeed a bad man. No -sensible being would act thus. - -I will make a note of it and write to his father soon. Hermann should -visit our forest and see how poor people live. - -Such a journey into the mountains is sometimes very beneficial. - - - THE WINTER SEASON. - - -Lazarus Schwarzhütter is often seen casting loving glances at -Grassteiger's little daughter, and the girl is growing fond of the lad; -so they coquette with one another although the priest has forbidden the -young people to do this. Certainly it is his privilege to preach, but -they continue in their gazing all the same and think they have the -right, a right which Lazarus declares they will never relinquish. - -"Very good," says the priest, "they shall be united even though they -afterwards regret it." - - - CHRISTMAS, 1830. - - -On holy Christmas eve the people come hither from all directions. The -sparks from the lighted torches glide over the crust like shooting -stars. - -Many of the woodsmen, in their anxiety to see the midnight celebration, -have arrived much too early. As the church is not yet open and it is -cold out-of-doors, they come to me in the schoolhouse. I strike a light -and the room is soon filled with people. The women have tied white -shawls, folded like sashes, about their chins and over their ears. They -huddle around the stove, blowing their fingers to soothe the pain caused -by chilblains. - -The men stand closely wrapped in their fustian jackets. Without -removing their hats they sit upon the tables or benches and observe with -an air of important deliberation the school apparatus, which the -children explain to their elders. Some of them walk up and down, -knocking their frozen boots against each other at every step, with a -clattering sound. Nearly all are smoking their pipes. The primeval -forest may be exterminated, but the smoking of tobacco--never. - -I hastily put on my coat, for it is my duty to be the first one in the -church. - -Suddenly there is a loud knocking at the door. An old wrinkled face -crowned with snowy locks, covered by a white sheep's wool cap peers in, -and I recognise the forest singer. He wears a long coat reaching below -the knees and fastened with brass hooks. Over it hangs a knapsack and a -flute, and the old man leans upon a shepherd's staff, holding in his -hand his capacious brown hat. This is his house and his home and his -whole world. A good hat, he thinks, is the best thing in life, and he -adds, "the earth's hat is the sky." - -"Why do you idle your time away?" cries Rüpel in a loud, exultant tone; -"long have the stars been shining without. Praised be the Lord, for -upon this day, wonderful news I bring you about that which in Bethlehem -happened of late. Hear ye no music, no joyful sound? Look from the -windows, haste, do not wait, bright rays of light the houses surround." - -And the people hasten to the windows; but there is nothing to be seen -except the dark forest and the starry heaven. Why should there be -anything else? - -The old man gazes smilingly about him, counting his listeners, then -taking his place in the middle of the room, he knocks several times on -the floor with his stick and thus begins to speak: - -"Alone and heavy-eyed with sleep, out on the heath I stood and gazed -about, while gathering in my sheep; and watched the flock, among which -grazed a sacrificial lamb. Then heard I echoing in the heavens high, a -sound, while tones of music stirred the air. I heard, but knew not why -these strains, nor who such joy expressed. The whole flock leaped about -and when it heard the wonder, with the rest, the lamb most sweetly -bleated. Then saw I--it must a vision be, I thought--child angels fly -about high in the air. Straight down to me one cherub came, whom I, in -doubt, asked, 'What is happening to-day?' Then cried he, joyous, -'Gloria in Excelsis Deo!' by my fay, to say I understood, were sin. -'Come, lad, thou must to German keep; an unlearned parish shepherd, I, -nor aught of Latin know the sheep.' He answered, 'Quickly rise and hie -to Bethlehem, and thou shalt find a new-born infant lying there among -the cattle and their kind, a child most beautiful and fair. Not in a -kingly palace high, but in an ox-stall mean and poor, in -swaddling-clothes our Lord doth lie, whose help is in our need most -sure.'" - -This is the old singer's "message" which he proclaims in all the houses -during the Christmas season. - -We give him a small remuneration, whereupon he repeats a few more -cheering words and hobbles out at the door again. - -The people have become quite silent and reverent; and not until the -church bells begin to ring, do they regain their merry mood and with -awkward words and gestures leave the room. - -I extinguish the candles, close the house and enter the church. This is -the night, when from the Orient to the Occident is heard the ringing of -bells, and a cry of joy re-echoes throughout the world, while lights are -shining like a diamond girdle around the terrestrial globe. In our -church, also, it is as bright as day, and only through the windows -stares the black night. Each person has brought a bit of candle, or -even a whole taper, for on Christmas eve everyone must be armed with his -faith and his light. The people crowd about the little manger, which -to-day has been erected in place of the confessional. A number of years -ago I carved the numerous tiny figures out of linden- and oak-wood, and -set them up as a representation of the birth of Christ. Here are the -stall and the manger with the Child, Mary and Joseph, the ox and the -ass, the shepherds with the lambs, the wise men with the camels; there -are a few other droll figures and groups which are designed to express -joy, goodness, and love for the Christ child according to the conception -of the people, and in the background are the stars and the town of -Bethlehem. - -That which Rüpel understands putting into words, I will suggest by means -of these images. And the people are really edified by this -representation. But they take it, thank God, merely as a symbol, and -they know that, save as a reminder, it is both meaningless and useless. - -It would be otherwise with the image of a saint upon the altar; that -would be before their eyes daily and on every occasion, until they came -to look upon it as God Himself. - -In the choir there was an unfortunate occurrence to-night. The priest -had already begun the _Te Deum_, while I at the organ, in celebration of -the joyous festival, turned on all six stops--when suddenly the bellows -burst, the organ creaked and groaned, and ceased to give forth a single -resounding tone. In my whole life I have never been in a more -embarrassing situation. I was the schoolmaster, the leader of the -choir, and as such was expected to provide the music, for this is really -the essential part of the celebration, and without it there can be no -Christmas eve in the church. Just as all hearts were palpitating, all -ears awaiting the melodious tones, the devil took it upon himself to -render the bellows useless. I covered my face with my hands and felt -like hiding my head in mortification. In vain my fingers wandered over -the keys; the instrument was dumb and lifeless. - -Paul Holzer, his wife, and Adelheid from the black hut, were sitting -with me in the choir and, noticing my annoyance, they moved about in -their seats, coughed, cleared their throats and with loud voices began -to sing "We praise Thee, oh, God!" - -That was like balm to my spirit. - -The chant was soon over and the high mass was to follow, where music, -choral music, was absolutely necessary. - -Old Rüpel came stumbling up the stairs, saying: "Schoolmaster! if the -organ be silent to-day, then why not on the fiddle play?" - -"_Mein Gott_, Rüpel, it is in Holdenschlag being repaired!" - -"And if then the fiddle be away, the hymns on the zither would I play." - -For this suggestion I embraced the old man so violently that he was -completely overwhelmed. I hastened to my room, fetched the zither, and -during high mass, tones from a stringed instrument filled the church, -the like of which were never before heard in this or in any other house -of God. The people listened, and even the priest turned a little, -casting a quiet glance up in my direction. - -So the Christmas festival was celebrated during the long winter night in -Winkelsteg. The music trembled and vibrated softly; it sang the cradle -song for the newly born child Jesus and proclaimed peace to mankind. It -called and awakened the sleeping child, warning it against the coming of -the false Herod; and it trilled a _Wanderlied_ for the flight into -Egypt. - -I played the music for the mass, played the songs which my mother and my -foster-father, the good umbrella-maker, used to sing to me, and which in -the Baron's house the daughter---- - -And at last I scarcely knew what, in my excited mood, I was playing for -the Holy Child and for the parish on that Christmas eve. - -The Winkelstegers will think me as insane as Rhyme-Rüpel. - -After the midnight mass the priest asked me to invite the old, the -deserted, the poorest and most unfortunate people of the parish to the -parsonage. - -Here it is even brighter than in the church! In the middle of the room -stands a tree, gleaming in all its twigs and branches with points of -light. - -The old men and women gaze at it in amazement; giggle and rub their -eyes, thinking it only a foolish dream. That real tapers should be -growing on a tree from the forest, is something which in all their days -they have never seen before. - -"That wonder-bird, which appears every thousand years," says the priest, -"has flown through the forest again, and planted a seed in the ground, -whence this tree with its flaming blossoms has sprung. This is the -third tree of life. The first was the tree of knowledge in paradise; -the second, the tree of sacrifice on Golgotha; and this, the third, is -the tree of human love, which has transformed the Golgotha of this earth -into paradise once more. In the burning bush God once proclaimed the -law, and He repeats it in _this_ burning bush to-day: 'Thou shalt love -thy neighbour as thyself!'" - -The priest now distributes the food and clothing to those for whom it is -intended, saying: "Do not thank me; the _Christkind_ brought it." - -"How wonderful!" the people exclaim. "Now the Christ child even comes -down to us in the woods! That is because we have a church and such a -good priest!" - -Rüpel, also one of the recipients, is more childish than all the rest. -He runs around the tree as though searching for the Christ child among -the branches. "Ah!" he finally cries, "e'en though the sun be wroth -with me, I could not name, I do not know, a light upon the earth below, -that shines so brightly as this tree. Be quiet, list, do you not hear -the rustling branches, and on high, how like the birds the cherubs fly; -they 're building for the Christ child dear a nest, in which to -celebrate the holy feast. And yonder, see that cherub white; no wings -has he, he nearly fell. Child, do not wait, but hasten for thy feet to -find some climbing-irons, for which I'll pay, for see, I have received -to-day, a jacket warm and thalers line each pocket. Angels haste to all -the other trees within our wood and let your light so pure and good, -upon their myriad branches fall." - -Old Rüpel does not eat a mouthful while the others are enjoying a warm -soup provided by Grassteiger. And when straw is brought into the room -and a resting-place prepared, that the people may not be obliged to -return in the night to their distant huts, old Rüpel goes out under the -open sky, and counts the stars, giving to each one a name. And the -rising morning star he calls "Father Paul." - - -The priest has several times, applied to the owner of the forest, asking -that the peasants here--who, with much exertion have made the poor soil -productive--might without payment receive this land as their own -property. But no decisive answer has come. It is said that the old -Baron is travelling and the son is in the capital, and the world is so -wide and the city so noisy that such a message from the forest could not -be heard there. - -So we Winkelstegers remain vassals. - - - JANUARY 14, 1831. - - -To-day I have received news of the death of my relative, Aunt Lies. She -has made me her heir. Old acquaintances, who have not troubled -themselves about me for twenty years, congratulate me upon my -inheritance. But I have heard no further particulars. How much can the -old lady have had? I know she was rich, but she wasted everything in -games of chance. - -And should it be only one groschen, or, indeed, nothing at all--by my -soul, I am pleased that she thought of me. She always meant well by me. -Now my last relative is dead. - - - EASTER, 1831. - - -In the Winkel forest the church festivals must take the place of that -which in the outside world they call art. - -As, according to my poor ability, I set up a manger for the Christmas -celebration, so Ehrenwald and his sons have now made a sepulchre for -Easter. - -In the side aisles of the church stand, as entrance gates, four high -wooden arches, covered with pictures from the story of the Passion. The -innermost arches are narrower than the outer ones, and in a niche in the -shadowy background is the grave of Jesus. Above it is the table for the -sacred utensils, surrounded by a circle of bright-coloured lamps. On -either side of the grave stand two Roman slaves as sentinels. During -the celebration of the Resurrection, the dead Christ disappears, and -within the circle of lamps rises the scarred body of the risen Saviour -with the palm of victory in His hand. - -There is a great charm in the whole celebration. It is preceded by the -period of fasting which, day by day, increases in solemnity; for weeks -there is no music, the pictures are veiled. Good Friday approaches. -First the imposing Palm Sunday, then the mysterious Maundy Thursday, the -gloomy, sad Good Friday, and the quiet Saturday. In this calm one feels -a foreboding and longing and the word of the Prophet gently reminds us: -His grave shall be glorious! - -Once more the house of God is obscured like Golgotha in the darkness; -then the red and green lamps gleam, and the festival tapers sparkle--and -suddenly the joyful cry is heard: "He is risen!" Now the bells are -rung, guns are fired and the air is filled with joyous melodies, the -flaming red banners are waved, and the people go forth into the open -air, their lanterns glowing in the twilight as they disappear in the -woods. - -In the cities the celebration is much greater and far more imposing. -But where is the feeling, the true, hopeful joy in the Resurrection, -which inspires the believing poor! Seeking for inward peace, the -dwellers in the city turn away from the churchyard, murmuring: "In truth -we _hear_ the message." - - - SPRING, 1831. - - -I am already beginning to design houses which are to be built from the -proceeds of my inheritance. In Winkelsteg I shall erect a large, -beautiful mansion, larger than the parsonage. I have the plans all -completed. But as long as I remain schoolmaster, I have no desire to -live in it myself. Sometime I shall give a little room in this house to -the invalid Reutmann from Karwasserschlag; and I shall ask the old, -childless Frau Brünnhütter, and the sick Aga from Karwässer, and Markus -Jager, who is blind, and Joseph Ehrenwald, who has been injured by a -falling tree. And I shall welcome many others, until, by degrees, the -great house is filled. There are a number of wretched creatures -wandering about in the Winkel woods. - -I shall place a doctor and medicine at the disposal of these people, -that is, if the money goes far enough. Then I will invite in jesters and -musicians who understand providing all kinds of entertainment. An -almshouse is dreary enough, without sad and lonesome surroundings in -addition; the merry world should look in at all the windows and say: -"You still belong to me, and I will not let you go!" - -I do not need to pay for the land now, as at present I am merely -building my castle in the air. The inheritance has not yet arrived. -But the report is that my aunt won large sums of money at play. - - -I shall give the pleasantest room in the new alms-house to old Rüpel. -The poor man is really quite deserted. For his rhymes the people pay -him now with scarcely a bit of bread. They have forgotten how, in -former times, they have been edified by his cheering and uplifting songs -on festive occasions, how they have laughed and wept, often saying to -one another: "It is as though the Holy Ghost were speaking through him." - -To be sure the old man has not much to offer now, and he has already -become quite childish. He has bent a piece of wood, across which he has -stretched straws for strings, and this is his harp. He rests it against -his breast, and his fingers wander over the strings as he murmurs his -songs. - -He is a strange old figure, as he sits upon a stone in the dark forest, -wrapped in his wide, faded cloak, with his long, luxuriant, snow-white -beard and shimmering hair, which falls unkempt about his shoulders. He -raises his tearful eyes toward the tree-tops and sings to the birds, -from whom he once learned his songs. - -The creatures of the forest do not fear him; a squirrel often hops down -upon his shoulder from the branches and, standing on its hind-legs, -whispers something into the old man's ear. - -His words, like his songs, are becoming more and more incomprehensible. -They are no longer in keeping with the people or with the circumstances. -He sings foolish love songs and children's ditties, as though dreaming -of his youth. When in summer the white-bearded man is sitting -motionless upon some hill-top, he looks from the distance like a bunch -of _Edelweiss_. - -The beetles and ants run over his coat and scramble up his beard; the -bees fly about his head as though seeking wild honey there. - - -The priest has confided something to me which seems to cause him -anxiety. - -He says it is possible that I may become a rich man, and as such I would -probably go forth into the world, to fulfil all the wishes which I have -formed and nourished in the wilderness. No one is entirely unselfish. - -This communication has cost me a restless night. I have searched my -heart and in truth I have found there one desire, which is far away from -the Winkel forest. But it could not be fulfilled with money. She is -married. - -Why should I demur? My wish is fulfilled. She is happy. - - - MARCH 24, 1831. - - -To-day Sturmhanns from Wolfsgrubenhohe was found dead in Lautergräben. -His beard was badly singed. The people say that a blue flame which -issued from his mouth was the cause of his death. They explain it thus: -Sturmhanns had been drinking a great quantity of gin, then, as he was -lighting his pipe, his breath had taken fire instead of the tobacco, and -thus the man's soul was burned out of him. There is probably some truth -in the story. - - - APRIL 1, 1831. - - -To-day my inheritance has been officially forwarded to me. It consists -of three groschen and a letter from my Aunt Lies, which is as follows: - - -"DEAR ANDREAS: - -"I am old, sick, and helpless. Thou art in the mountains, God only -knows where. During my illness I have been thinking over everything. I -have undoubtedly done thee a wrong and I beg thy pardon. This money -weighs upon my mind more than all else; it is thy christening-money, -which thou wouldst have sent to thy father in heaven. I took it from -thee, but now I beg thee to take it back and to forgive me; for I wish -to die in peace. God bless thee, and I must say one more word: if thou -art in the mountains, then do not come away from there. All is vanity. -In prosperous days my friends remained true to me; now they leave me to -die in poverty. - -"Many thousand kisses for thee, my dear, my only kinsman. When God -takes me to Himself in heaven, I will greet thy parents for thee. - -"Until death - "Thy loving aunt - "ELISE." - - - THE FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI, 1831. - - -For three years we have been collecting money for a baldachin. But we -Winkelstegers have not yet been able to buy one; we must make it -ourselves. - -Old Schwamelfuchs has made a portable canopy from green birch-boughs, -that in celebrating this festival, we may carry the sacred relics out of -the church in a fitting manner. - -The procession in the bright sunshine is a festive one. And the people, -finally freed from the hard winter, sing joyful hymns. We rest in the -woods and the priest pronounces the benediction, sending the holy -blessing to all parts of the world. - -It is unusual that in the midst of the service a layman should raise his -voice, but old Rüpel is an exception, and this is his Corpus Christi -song: - -"Let all the bells ring, let all the birds sing, the Lord cometh forth -from His heavenly gates. In green woods He walks, and upon the fresh -grass, where the young deer doth graze, sweet rest He awaits. His first -mighty word He speaks, and when heard, all the flowers spring up from -the earth where they lie. Again He doth speak with re-echoing sound, -each seed in the valley is wakened thereby. And when the third word He -utters is heard, the thunder is silent, the lightning obeys; with the -touch of His breath deadly hail doth He melt. To Thee, mighty Lord, be -both honour and praise. And with Thy last word all nature is stirred; -the mountains shall tremble, the rocks shall be hurled, the heavens -shall crash and waken the dead, and fire shall descend to destroy all -the world." - -The strange old man understands reaching the heart with his words. -Impressed and exalted we return to the church. And the green birch -baldachin with its white poles shall stand over the altar until its -thousand tender leaves are withered. - - - AUTUMN, 1831. - - -The answer in reference to the granting of land in our parish has -finally arrived. - -The Baron has given the priest to understand that such a conscientious -pastor as he should not, in addition to his other anxieties, burden -himself with worldly cares. - -Further particulars we do not know. - - - *A DYING SON OF THE FOREST* - - - WINTER, 1831. - - -Who in former times would have thought that the hermit from the -Felsenthal could have become what he now is? The inactivity after such -a stirring life, the isolation from people might well have made him -insane. - -It has come about in a wonderful way. Only the great cares and petty -troubles of a forest priest, only the monotonous, yet many-sided and -significant life of a forest parish in its infancy and loneliness could -have saved him. - -He has now adapted himself to the place, is intimately acquainted with -each one of his parish children, and leads them by his example. - -A terrible epidemic is raging in the Winkel woods; our graveyard is -becoming too small and we are unable to secure the services of the -grave-diggers; the powerful men are themselves ill. - -The priest is away from home night and day, sitting with the sick people -in the most distant huts, caring for their bodies as well as for their -souls, even though the Baron has advised him not to trouble himself with -worldly cares. - -At last, as he is sleeping one night in his own warm bed, there comes a -sudden knock on the window. - -"It 's too bad, sir!" calls a voice from the darkness without. "There -'s trouble over in Lautergräben. We don't know what to do. Will you -help us? My brother Bartelmei is dying." - -"Who is it out there?" asks the priest. - -"I am Anna Maria Holzer; Bartelmei is going to leave us." - -"I am coming," says the priest. "But wake up the schoolmaster that he -may make ready the lanterns and the sacrament. He need not toll the -bells, for everyone is asleep." - -However, the woman begs me to ring the bells, so that others may pray -for the dying man. And as the priest now comes out and walks away among -the houses, preceded by the woman with her lantern and little bell, men, -heavy with sleep, are kneeling before their doors praying. - -It is a stormy winter night; the wind blows in gusts across the cliffs -and whistles through the bare, frozen branches of the trees. A fine -snow whirls about us, blocking the path and drifting into all the folds -of our clothing. - -The woman hastens on ahead, and the reflection from the red glass of the -lantern dances up and down upon the snowy ground, while the little bell -which she carries rings incessantly, although the tones are lost in the -storm, and the people in the village have gone to their rest once more. -I, too, after watching the pair for a while, return to my room. - -But I will write down that which happened to the priest on this night; -for the story which was told him was not under the seal of the -confessional. - -As our Father Paul stands by the bed of the sick man, the latter says: -"Does the Priest remember still how he came into Karwässer? Does he -remember? It 's long ago; we both have experienced much since then, -and, by my faith, we have both grown grey!" - -The priest warns the old charcoal-burner not to excite himself by -exhausting conversation. - -"And can he remember what I said to him then: that I had my own desires -and that sometime a priest could do me a great service? That time has -now come. I am lying on my death-bed. I have already arranged with -Ehrenwald-Franz to make a coffin for me. My body will be properly cared -for;--but my soul! Priest, God pardon me, but that is as black as the -devil." - -The priest seeks to soothe and comfort the man. - -"Why do you do that?" asks Bartelmei, "I'm not at all discouraged. I 'm -sure that everything will come out all right.---Why is the Priest -putting on his white robe? No, I don't want that; let us finish up the -affair as quickly as possible. When a man is nearing his end, he does -n't want to do anything unnecessary. I beg you to sit down, sir.--I 'll -say at once, that all is not well with my religious faith; to tell the -truth, I believe in nothing any longer. God Himself is to blame for my -having been brought so low. He denied me something, which, by my soul, -in His almighty power He might have done so easily! I should like to -tell you about it. When Marian Sepp, who in a way belonged to me, was -dying, I said to her at her death-bed, 'Marian,' I said, 'if thou must -die now, thou poor young thing, and I have to remain alone all my days, -then God in heaven is doing a most cruel thing. But I should like to -know, Marian, and I should like to know it before my death, how it is -with eternity, which, they say everywhere, has no end, and in which the -soul of man lives on forever. Nothing definite can be learned about it, -and even though we may believe what other people say, it is not at all -sure that they know anything about it either. And now, Marian,' said I, -'when thou hast to leave us and if thou shouldst enter the everlasting -life as soon as we have buried thee, then do me the favour and, if thou -canst, come back to me sometime, if only for a few moments, and tell me -about it, that I may know what to believe; Marian promised, and if she -could have come I know she would have done so. After she died, I could -not sleep for many nights and I was always--always thinking, now, now -the door will open and Marian will appear and say: 'Yes, Bartelmei, you -may indeed believe it, it is all right, there is an eternity over yonder -and you have an immortal soul!' - -"What does the Priest think? did she come?--She did _not_ come, she was -dead and gone. And since then--I cannot help it--I believe in nothing -any more." - -He is silent and listens to the roaring of the winter storm. For a -while the priest gazes into the flickering flames and finally says: - -"Time and eternity, my dear Bartelmei, are not divided by a hedge, which -we may cross at will. The entrance into eternity is death; in death we -lay aside all that is temporal, for eternity is so long, that nothing -temporal can exist there. Therefore thy importunate request to the -dying girl was forgotten and all memory of this earthly life -extinguished. Freed from the dust of this earth she went to God." - -"Never mind, Priest," interrupts the sick man, "it does n't trouble me -any more. Be that as it may, it will all be right. But there is -another difficulty; I 'm not at peace with myself. I 've not been what -I should have been; however, I should like to arrange my affairs -properly, even as other people do. I 've not much more time, that I -well know, and so I had you frightened out of your warm bed, and now, -Priest, I earnestly beg you to intercede for me. Well--it has been a -secret, but I will out with it: I have been a wicked poacher; I have -stolen many deer from the master of the forest." - -Here the charcoal-burner stops. - -"Anything else?" asks the priest. - -"What! Is n't that enough!" cries the old man; "truly, Priest, I know -of nothing else. I was going to ask you to beg the Baron's forgiveness. -I should have done it myself, long ago, but I always kept thinking I -would wait a little while; I might perhaps need something more from the -forest, and to ask pardon twice, would be unpleasant. Better wait and -do it all at once. But I have waited much too long; I can never do it -now. The Baron is, who knows how far away. But no matter, the Priest -will be so good and make everything all right, telling him in a -Christian speech that I have indeed repented, but not until too late to -alter matters. - -"Now, this is the way it was: to be sure the charcoal business yields a -bit of bread, but when on a feast day a man wants a bite of meat with -it, then he has to go straight out into the woods with his gun. He -can't leave it alone, no matter how long he may resist the temptation, -'t is a great pity, but he can't leave it alone. If the hunters had -once arrested me, then this conversation would not have been necessary -and I should not be obliged to ask such a painful favour of the -Priest.--Ah! but I 'm tired now. I already feel the death pangs." - -They revive him with cold water. The priest takes his hand and promises -him, in a few kind words, to obtain pardon from the Baron. He then -pronounces absolution to the sick man. - -"Thank you, thank you very much," says Bartelmei with a weak voice; -"soon I shall be done for, and--Priest, now, by my soul, I should be -glad myself, if it were true, that about eternity, and if, after my -restless life and bitter death, I might quietly slip into heaven. 'T -would be such a pleasant thing to do!" - -Thus does the deep need and the longing for faith and hope express -itself in the poor, sick man. Our priest now asks him if he wishes to -receive the holy sacrament. - -"It's no use," is the answer. - -"But thou must, brother, thou must," says Anna Maria; "a priest who -returns home with the sacrament untouched will be followed by devils as -far as the church door!" - -"Thou foolish woman, thou!" cries Bartelmei; "now thou art telling -child's fables fit to make the priest laugh at thee. After all it 's -the same to me, and to keep the priest from being molested on his way -home, I would gladly swallow the wafer, but I don't care about it, and -then, I have often heard it was a terrible sin to partake of the -sacrament unworthily." - -Hereupon the priest fervently presses the hand of the sick man, saying: -"You must not be proud in your old age, Bartelmei, but this I say to -you, you have the right idea. You are virtuous, you believe in God and -in the immortality of the soul, whether you acknowledge it to yourself -or not. Your heart is pure and the happiness of heaven shall be yours!" - -The old man now raises himself, stretches out his hands, and with moist -eyes he smiles, saying: "At last I have heard the right words. Will the -Priest be so good as to administer the sacrament to me? Then the King of -Terrors may come--_Mein Gott_! What is that? Marian!" suddenly cries -Bartelmei. He turns his eyes toward the light, and whispers: "Yes, girl, -why art thou wandering about here in the dark night? Marian! Dost thou -bring me the message?--the message?" - -He raises himself still higher, always repeating the word: "Message!" -until he finally sinks back upon his bed and falls asleep. - -After a while he opens his eyes, and with a weak voice says: "Was I -childish, sister? I had such a strange dream! My head is so hot! I -know that I can't last long; I feel such a burning in my heart.--I must -say, God bless you, all of you. Take care of thy children, sister, and -see that they do not run into the woods with the gun.--I 've already -paid Ehrenwald for the coffin.--And be sure and wash me thoroughly; as -coal-black Russ-Bartelmei I should not like to enter heaven." - -When the morning glow shimmered through the little window, the man was -dead. They dressed him in his Sunday garments, and laid him in the -coffin. His sister's children sprinkled him with water from the woods. - -Yesterday we buried him. - - - CARNIVAL, 1832. - - -There is a great commotion. The people are turning Grassteiger's house -upside down; then they race across the church square, perpetrating all -sorts of mischief. - -In the parsonage lies a peasant lad whose chin they have shattered. - -It is Carnival Sunday. The people think no longer of the epidemic. -They assemble in the tavern and drink brandy; they are hilarious, laugh, -and tease one another. Their faces redden, and each one is ready to -taunt and joke the others, but none are willing to be teased themselves. -An untimely word, a sidelong glance, or a dispute about some pretty girl -is enough to raise a quarrel. They strike at each other's cheeks with -the palms of their hands--that does not suffice; they hit one another -with their fists--nor does that satisfy them; they break the legs of -chairs, and, swinging them with both arms in their fury, hurl them down -upon the heads of their comrades. That is enough. One of them lies -stretched upon the floor. The fight is over. - -"Be careful, people," I say to those assembled at Grassteiger's; "if you -are so hilarious on the days of rest, your work will yield no blessing, -and bad times will come to Winkelsteg again." - -Here a master workman from Schneethal speaks: "It 's just because we are -such savage people that we remain nothing but poor devils! I verily -believe it, and the schoolmaster is right; there should be no more -fighting, and I tell you, landlord Grassteiger, if another quarrel takes -place in your house, then I will come with a fence-bar and split open -all your skulls!" - -This spirit is in the people. But the fact that Lazarus never takes -part in such broils is a comfort to me. They try hard to urge him on, -but he makes his escape. Sometimes his blood rises, but he bravely -calms himself. He is a man through and through. And Juliana is his -guardian angel, faithfully helping him to control his fiery temper. - -The forester has tried to persuade Lazarus to go out to the plains; when -one has shown so much ability as this young man, he thinks something -extraordinary might be made of him. But Lazarus will not leave the -forest. He is becoming a good man, and better than that he could not do -outside, though the emperor should place him upon his throne. - -It is a favourable sign that he drinks no brandy. Brandy is like oil in -the fire, and thus the unfortunate fights arise. - -We heads of the parish never touch a drop of it. But, if we do not, -there remains so much the more for the others. - -The priest has many times sternly warned the people against this habit -of drinking. Finally in his indignation he has with a loud voice -denounced the brandy as a fountain of hell, a poison for body and soul, -and the brandy-distiller as a poisoner. - -Old Grassteiger looks at the priest askance and not long afterwards lets -it be known that some fresh cider has arrived at the tavern. - -But Kranabethannes does not allow the matter to drop so easily. With a -much larger stick than he ordinarily carries, he appears before the door -of the parsonage. - -He raps, and even after the priest has twice distinctly called, "Come -in," he raps still a third time. He is not hard of hearing, but he -wishes to show that, although a "wood-devil," he knows how to behave in -the proper manner with a gentleman, and even with his enemy, whom he -to-day intends to annihilate. - -Having finally entered the room, he remains standing close by the door, -crushing his hat brim in his fist and murmuring through his rough, -yellow beard: "I have a word to say to the priest." - -The latter politely offers him a seat. - -"I have a little affair," says the man, not stirring from the spot where -he is standing; "I am the brandy-distiller from Miesenbach forest, a -poor devil, who must earn my bread with the sweat of my brow. I am -willing to work as long as God gives life to a poor old man like me, no -matter how much the people may oppress me and deprive me of my -customers." - -"Sit down," says the priest. "You are warm; have you been walking -fast?" - -"Not at all, but I have come a good distance, and on the way I thought -to myself that there was no more justice in the world, or in any man--no -matter how saintly he may look. What kind of a priest is he who -deprives a poor father of a family in his parish of the last bit of -bread? When honest work yields no profit, then one must steal and rob; -and this, I suppose, is better than that a poor, worn-out man should -taste a drop of brandy;--for it is the 'fountain of hell!'" - -The man breathes hard; the priest is silent; he knows that he must allow -the storm to pass if he wishes to sow in peaceful weather. - -"And he who brews this 'fountain of hell' must indeed be the devil's -friend. The people look at me as if I were such a one. They are right -perhaps. But if I am bad, it is not I who made myself so. And he who has -destroyed my business had better look out for me. Priest, I am not here -for nothing!" - -The brandy-distiller entirely forgets his customary suavity and assumes -a threatening attitude. - -"If you are the brandy-distiller from Miesenbach forest," says the -priest composedly, "then I am glad to see you. As you so seldom come -over to Winkelsteg, I have wanted to go to you. We must talk with one -another. You are giving the Winkelstegers brandy no longer, and you are -a man of honour, a great benefactor to the parish. I thank you, friend! -And your forethought is very praiseworthy. It is true, is it not, that -you are now going into the business of herbs and resin? I hope so, and -I am entirely of your opinion, that you will earn more if you prepare -medicines, oils, and costly balsams from them and then seek a market in -the outside country. I will give you all the assistance in my power. -Yes indeed, that is a good turn which you have made, and in a few years -you will be a well-to-do man." - -The brandy-distiller has no idea what is befalling him. He has made -_no_ turn, has never thought of producing oil and balsam; but it now -seems so sensible and feasible that he does not contradict the priest, -and with a smirk the prospective producer of oil bows his head. - -"And should you temporarily need something for wife and child--_mein -Gott_, at first one manages as best one can--then I should be pleased to -assist with a trifle. I beg of you to regard me as entirely your -friend!" - -Hannes grunts some incomprehensible reply and, stumbling out of the -house, throws his cudgel over the hedge. - - - LENT, 1832. - - -The church authorities are beginning to trouble us again. Our priest is -not sufficiently orthodox; they wish to close his church. - -The church which we have built with the sweat of our brows! - -It is quiet enough there now; Father Paul conducts the service in the -sick-rooms and in the cemetery. The people are coming to the parish -church in coffins. The epidemic is now called "the death." The school -has been closed for months. - -The report is going about that the priest is to blame for the sickness, -on account of having forbidden the brandy, for that is the surest means -of preventing contagion. - -Hannes is on the alert, and now his pride is aroused against the priest, -whose cunning and gentleness so entirely vanquished him a few weeks ago. - -It is an everlasting combat with fate and evil. He who perseveres in -the struggle and satisfies his inner conviction, shall reach the goal. - - - MARCH 22, 1832. - - -Our priest died to-day. - - - THREE DAYS LATER. - - -No one has ever redeemed himself as this man has done--this strange man, -who has ruled at the court of a prince, preached in India, and done -penance in the cave of the Felsenthal. - -He traversed all the crooked paths of priesthood until he discovered the -true one: to be friend and helper to the poor in spirit. - -He contracted his last illness while ministering to the sick. He had -pronounced the betrothal blessing of Lazarus Schwarzhütter and Juliana -Grassteiger. A slight indisposition called him from the festivities to -his room, which he never left again. And as a good, faithful shepherd, -he taught us in his last hours the most important of all things--how to -die. Like a smiling child he fell asleep. Not one of us who saw it has -any further fear of death; and we have vowed to ourselves to strictly -fulfil our duty in accordance with his example. - - -I cannot believe it. Restlessly I gaze out of the window to see if he -is not coming down the road in his brown cloak. He was already obliged -to lean upon a staff; he was bent with age and his hair was white. - -Restlessly I walk by the parsonage; there is no more rapping on the -window-panes, no friendly face smiles out at me. I pause a moment, and -feel that I must call his name aloud. And I cannot believe that he is -gone. - - -The priest from Holdenschlag was here for the funeral. He was greatly -astonished at the general mourning that prevails in the Winkel forests. - -Even the brandy-distiller Hannes came up to the grave and shovelled in a -clod of earth. Only old Rüpel was nowhere to be seen. He was probably -singing the funeral hymn in the peace of the primeval forest. In -Winkelsteg the bells spoke most eloquently. And when at last these were -also silent, the people quietly returned to their poor, scattered -dwellings. - -I alone remain and gaze down at the yellow pine coffin. Eighteen years -ago I saw this man for the first time. He was standing by the grave in -the Wolfsgrube, where the "eater of broken glass" had just been buried. -He has been priest in Winkelsteg for twelve years. The people do not -know or realise how much they are indebted to him. To-day I look down -upon his coffin; yes, that is the end of the Einspanig's "answer." - -While I am still reflecting thus, the old housekeeper from the -Winkel-warden's, my former hostess, comes limping up to me. She also -gazes into the grave, passes her hand over her face, nudges my arm and -says: "God give him everlasting peace! He was a good man, although a -story-teller. His thoughts flew like a bird over the wide world, which -he said was nowhere fastened in with boards. And now--just look down -there, Schoolmaster! Down there it is---God give him everlasting -peace--_down there it is fastened in with boards_." - -Having pronounced these words she hastily hobbles away again on her -crutches. - -The old woman is right. However limitless may be the flight of the -human spirit in space, man's final resting-place is within the boards of -the coffin. Happy sleeper, to thee thy coffin is now boundless space, -and but lately the infinite universe was too small for thee![#] Great -poet, forgive, that I transform your cradle song into an epitaph. - - -[#] Schiller's _Cradle Song_. - - - EASTER, 1832. - - -The epidemic is over. There are many people going about with pale, -haggard countenances. - -Since we are not to commemorate the resurrection in the church, the -parish is eager to celebrate the Easter festival in some other manner. - -The Saturday preceding Easter is over; the cross on the church tower -shimmers in the evening glow more brightly than usual. This night is to -be transformed into day. A new life is beginning. The people emerge -from their homes in gala attire, and the glare of innumerable bonfires -is seen on the hills. Are any of the dwellers of the forest aware that -at this season the old Germans also lighted festal fires to the Goddess -of Spring? - -Who could have conceived the idea? Up there on the height stands a -solitary, ancient fir-tree, which has been wound to the top with dry -branches, moss, and straw. - -A short distance away the people have gathered around a little fire, -where they are singing songs. The women are there with baskets, and the -children are playing with gaily coloured eggs. - -It is already late in the night; Lazarus is about to light the Easter -torch, when old Rüpel glides through the dark forest and, tearing his -rush cap from his head, cries: "May Jesus Christ be praised, Who on the -cross was raised!" - -We are all surprised to see the old man among us once more, and I urge -him to sit down with us and drink a mug of cider. - -"Thanks for the honour!" says Rüpel, taking his straw harp from under -his coat; and gazing into the fire, he thus begins to speak: "I come -from far Jerusalem. On Calvary stand the crosses three, but they are -empty now, I see; and in a tomb, just newly made, Christ's body they -have gently laid--His soul has entered into hell. Our ancient sires -have waited long, amid the flames so fierce and strong, till singed is -Abram's hoary hair. And here in this fiery flue is where Moses has sat -for many years, his laws forgotten, through burning fears. Adam, the -curious, and lovely Eve, who wore no clothes, by your good leave, to -horrible torments were exposed. To these has Paradise long been closed. -But through Christ's death, 't is opened now. The thief on the right -told this to me; as for him on the left, I 'd not allow the truth of -whatever his words might be." - -"Oh, Rüpel!" the people cry, "if you have nothing else to say, your -words are not inspired to-day." Undisturbed by this sneer the old man -continues: "To view the sepulchre at early dawn, our well-beloved women -forth have gone. A young man sitting by the door they find, and -Magdalen, filled with wonder in her mind, while gently toying with her -golden tresses, his name and age and country idly guesses. He spake: -'If you 'll allow, fair dames, I 'll say, the dear Lord Jesus rose at -break of day.' Then would they, for the honour of their Lord, a -_Trinkgeld_ give him for this gladsome word. But he has hastened back -to heaven's door; I 'd follow him had I my strength of yore." - -Again Rüpel is silent. But since no one has understood his reference to -the _Trinkgeld_, he continues: "In the woods does Jesus walk to rest -from sorrow and pain most deep. On the quiet heath a shepherd-lad is -watching by his white sheep. He weeps as he watches, bitterly, and -seeing his deep despair, 'My child, why weepest thou' Jesus asks, 'while -the sun shines bright and fair?' Ah, yes, it shines upon the green sod -that covers my father's grave, and yesterday did the Saviour die on the -cross, and there 's none to save. For who will bid my father arise?' -'See the rocks tremble,' Jesus said; 'the Lord has ascended, my child, -to wake to eternal life the dead.'" - -The old man is silent and he gazes into the flames. His hair and beard -are red, like the Alpine glow, in the reflection of the fire. And this -light falls in bands through the trees upon the fresh graves in the -neighbouring churchyard. - -A deep silence rests upon the assembled people as if on this Easter eve -they already awaited the resurrection of the dead. Suddenly the old man -raises his head again and his fingers glide gently over his harp-strings -of straw; something like mischief lurks in his face, and as if desiring -to complete his speech, he says with almost a bold voice: "The simple -shepherd shook his head, incredulous was he. The Lord stretched forth to -him His hand, within which he could see the sacred scar--'t was just the -size a groschen piece would be." - -Persuasively enough the old man stretches out his empty hand and many a -one lays a _scar_ therein--a pfennig or a groschen piece. - -He thanks the people politely for the little presents which they bestow -upon him, and then disappears in the forest. - -Grassteiger sends a messenger to seek for the poor singer, that he may -invite him to his table for Easter. But Rüpel is not to be found. - -So the night wears on; fortunately it is mild and warm, for no one, not -even the convalescents, can be persuaded to return home. - -The position of a constellation shows that it is midnight, the beginning -of Easter day. A flame shoots up from the straw-bound tree and the -towering Easter torch sends its light over the forest valley up to the -starry heavens. - -Now the men, women, and children shout for joy; but still farther than -the sound can reach may be seen the glare of the pillar of fire, -proclaiming the glorious day to the surrounding forest land. - -And at the same time the women uncover their baskets, that the blessed -breath of Easter may fan the gifts of God therein: bread, eggs, and -meat. Thus our festival bread receives the consecration which Father -Paul cannot administer to it on this day. - -Not until nearly morning does the burning tree, with its soaring flame, -which might have been seen in Miesenbachgraben, crumble and fall. - -We now return to our huts from this celebration on Easter eve. - - -From this time on, Andreas, thou art not growing younger. Younger? Who -has taught thee to prate thus foolishly? Count the silver threads in -thy hair, count them if thou canst, thou old man! - -I feel as though the priest had taken me with him. - - - MAY, 1832. - - -Strange reports are being again circulated about our young master. And -this time they are officially confirmed. Hermann has taken possession -of his father's estates and thus he has come to be our chief. - -As a present he has given the Winkelstegers a respite of ten years for -all outstanding liabilities for work and land. This is a good -beginning. The Winkelstegers know no other way to express their thanks -than by holding a twelve-hour service in the church to pray for the -health of the young gentleman. - -Hermann is said to be an invalid. - -Yesterday Berthold came to see me. Since that time when he found his -lost child with the creatures of the forest he poaches no longer, but -works industriously at wood-cutting, while his children earn their bread -by picking wild berries. - -He brought me a bundle of dried leaves, which grow only over in the -defile and possess a wonderful healing power, which has restored Aga's -health, who for so many years has been an invalid. Lili had gathered -and dried the leaves, and then it occurred to the family to send them to -the young Herr von Schrankenheim; there was no doubt that by using the -herbs he would regain his health. He requested me to forward the -medicine, which I gladly agreed to do. - - - *ALPINE GLOW* - - - CORPUS CHRISTI, 1832. - - -And now the old forest singer also is silent. His life and death have -been like a beautiful wild-rose in the wilderness. - -It has given me much pleasure to write out his strange sayings, and I -will here record his end. - -Up on the Breitsteinalm Kropfjodel owns a herdsman's hut. And here -during the summer live two of his irrepressible sons, who look after the -cattle and, to pass away the time, perpetrate all sorts of mischief. -Rüpel had been staying with the lads of late, and had entertained them -greatly with his songs and his straw harp. The old man had now become -entirely demented and, with his failing sight, was pitiable indeed. - -This was just what amused the lads, who made him the butt of all their -jests; and he did not dislike it, being glad to make himself serviceable -in any way, realising that he was no longer of use to other people. - -In the evening he always returned to the hut, where he was given food -and allowed to sleep upon the hay-mow. - -Early one morning old Rüpel was sitting before the door upon a stone, -damp with dew, playing upon his straw harp, at the same time turning his -weary eyes up toward the morning glow on the rocks. Suddenly a wild yell -resounded in his ears. He started in terror, and saw the two boys -standing beside him, laughing. The old man looked at them with a -good-natured smile. - -"Have you been threshing straw, Rüpel?" Veit asks, pointing to the -strange harp-strings. - -"And so early!" adds Klaus. - -The old man turns, and holding his hand to his lips, he whispers -confidentially: "Don't you know the proverb old? The morning's mouth is -filled with gold." - -"You don't mean it!" Klaus replies sneeringly. "Then its teeth will not -last long!" The shepherd-lads shout with laughter at this foolish joke. - -"Up there is gold, up there!" And the old man tremblingly points to the -glowing cliffs. - -"Yes, Rüpel, you are right!" Veit answers seriously; "that is really -gold; why don't you climb up and scrape it off?" - -Rüpel looks at them in surprise. - -"You might get a whole basketful, and perhaps more!" Klaus urges; "then -you would be able to build yourself a golden castle, and buy a golden -table, and golden wine, a golden harp, and a golden wife!" - -"A golden harp!" murmurs Rüpel, his eyes glittering. He passes his hand -over his brow. He himself had first spoken of the golden morning, but -only in the figurative sense of the proverb--and now, could it really be -true? - -"And this straw you can put in the manger for Grassteiger's donkey!" -cries the impudent Veit. - -This contempt for his harp causes a shadow to fall upon the countenance -of the old man. - -"My harp, leave that alone, I say; do not make fun of it, I pray." - -These words only irritated the youthful tormentors. "I 'll show you how -to play upon this harp!" Veit answered, passing his hand over the -strings, and breaking them in pieces with a rattling noise. The lads -then darted away. - -The old man sat a while motionless. He stared at the broken harp, wiped -his eyes with both hands, and endeavoured to arouse himself from his -dream; he could not believe that it was true. His only possession, his -all, they had ruined--his harp. - -Not until the sun was shining brightly on the rocks above did he raise -his white head. He hung the bent branch with the broken straw over his -shoulder, gazed up at the cliffs, all radiant with light, and with -faltering steps tottered away toward the precipice, over which the water -fell and rippled, looking in the sunshine like liquid gold. - -On the evening of the same day the two shepherd-lads were once more -merrily performing their household tasks before the hearth of their hut. -They made themselves flour dumplings, which they called _foxes_, because -they fried them until they were brown. The herd had been gathered in -from the fields, and was now safe in the stalls. - -The lads were always gay, but particularly so on holiday nights. When -the old harpist was at home, they teased him; if he was not there, they -teased each other. On this day Rüpel was still absent, so Klaus sprang -like a monkey upon Veit's shoulders, rode upon his neck, his legs -hanging down in front, and cried: "Donkey, who is riding?" and Veit -retorted: "One donkey rides another." - -Thus the lads amused themselves. Then they ate their dumplings, and -with the soot from the pan painted mustaches on their faces. They -already aspired to whiskers, and if they only could kiss some young -girl, that, according to the proverb, would encourage the growth. -Rüpel, they think, might spin silver strings for the harp from his long -beard. - -The old man had not yet arrived; could the joking in the morning have -offended him?--The boys did not like to talk about it. They felt a -slight remorse, and so, putting a piece of dumpling into a wooden bowl, -they placed it upon Rüpel's bed in the hay-mow. In doing this, they -were again seized with a mischievous idea; they barricaded the place -with rakes and pitchforks. Now, when the old man returned, he would -bump his nose and grumble until at last he came upon the dumpling, which -would requite him for all the rest. - -On this night the boys slept particularly well. And when they awoke the -bright sunbeams were already peeping through the cracks in the wall. - -But the old man's bed was still barricaded with rakes and pitchforks, -and the food remained untouched. - -Klaus went to the herd in the stall; Veit left the house. And what a -glorious day it was! The fields and the woods were fresh, bright, and -laden with dew, and the morning air had kissed the clouds from the sky. -A bird was warbling gaily upon the gable of the hut, and the brook -splashed merrily into the trough. - -Veit went to the spring. The mountaineers like so well to bathe their -hands and faces in the cold water, which causes all drowsiness to -disappear and the eyes and heart to become bright--bright as the young -day. Veit industriously combed his dishevelled locks with his fingers, -and held both hands under the spout.--How comforting is the cool, -trickling water, Veit!--But in the stream a blood-red thread was -spinning itself, which swam and curled, forming little rings in the -hollow of his hand. Frightened, the lad withdrew his hands and gazed -into the water, until more threads and filaments appeared, twined and -merged into one another, then separated and scattered. - -Veit hastened into the stall: "Klaus, come quick; there is something -strange in the water to-day!" - -Klaus ran to the spot, looked, and said in an undertone: "'T is blood!" - -"A chamois must have fallen into the stream above," added Veit. - -"But Rüpel hasn't come home yet!" Klaus declared, and a little later he -continued: "It will be easy enough to find out if it is chamois' blood." - -Veit was as pale as death. "Klaus," he said, "come up the ravine with -me!" - -They walked along the little stream; the water had now become clear -again. - -Lower and lower the sunbeams penetrated among the silent rocks; higher -and higher, and hurrying more with every step, the two lads climbed, -forcing themselves through narrow, gloomy defiles, which had been torn -asunder by the water in violent storms, or hollowed out in peaceful -seasons. The lads spoke not a word to one another; they struggled -through raspberry-bushes and underbrush, wet with dew; they clambered up -the steep precipice; they heard a roaring sound, for they were -approaching the spot where the water fell like a golden band over the -sunny cliff. - -"Here is something; look!" Klaus cried suddenly. They discovered two -straws fastened together, and near them the bow made from the -pine-bough. On the bushes of the cliff hung a number of torn and broken -straws, and below, in the depths of the abyss--in the depths of the -abyss lay the old man. - -His head was crushed; in his left hand he rigidly held the branch of an -Alpine rose-bush. Over his right hand the water was trickling. - -So they found him. Who could tell how he came to his death? Perhaps he -was searching up there for the gold of the Alpine glow, with which to -make himself a new harp, and while doing this, the poor old man had -plunged over the cliff into the defile below. While falling, he had -evidently tried to hold himself by the rose-bush, and the branch, with -its one brilliant blossom, had remained in his hand.--Thus ended the -life of the forest singer. - -On this Corpus Christi festival we laid him in the ground. There were -not many people present. But the birds in the tree-tops sang a -melodious slumber song to their brother. - -No one in the Winkel forests seemed so poor as this man, and yet no one -was so rich. The all-powerful, mysterious, sacred gift of folk-song -found its embodiment in this strange being. - -Upon Father Paul's grave stands a cross, made from the wood of an -ancient pine. Upon the singer's mound I plant a young, living tree. - - - JULY, 1832. - - -We are having trouble with Kropfjodel's two boys. They refuse to remain -in the Alm hut, insisting that in the night they hear a ceaseless -rapping and gnawing upon the hay-mow. Even though it is mid-summer, -Kropfjodel is obliged to close the hut and drive down the herd. Veit -will no longer wash himself at a spring. He sees in every brook drops -of blood, which cling reproachfully to his hands--the same hands which -destroyed the old man's harp. - - - AUTUMN, 1834. - - -The school has been closed for a few weeks. The children are assisting -at the harvest; this has ripened late and must now be garnered before -the frosts. The rocky heights are already covered with snow. - -I should like once more to climb the Graue Zahn that I might look out -over the world. I am living a very retired and solitary life. The old -people have died; the younger ones I have educated, but not to be my -companions. I am their instructor, but now they desert me, and when, -old and grey, I shall sit upon my lonely bench, they will consider my -solitude the natural lot of a schoolmaster. - -The new priest is a young man, who is better suited to the people; he -enters into the sports in the tavern and the bowling-alley. When -ordering the new prayer-book from the capital, a short time ago, he also -sent for some playing-cards. - -Lazarus and his wife Juliana have become owners of the Grassteiger inn; -they carry on the business, and sell tobacco and all kinds of trifles. -They also keep cloths of foreign manufacture, for there are those in the -parish who, no longer content with fustian and ticking jackets, wish to -have something especially fine to wear; just for the novelty of it, they -say. But I notice this desire soon receives another name. - -As in former times, bailiffs occasionally roam about in our woods -looking for smugglers and deserters. - - - SUMMER, 1835. - - -I relate these things only to the patient leaves of my journal; they -will remember the events longer than I, or than all Winkelsteg. I have -come to look upon it as a duty to record our fortunes. Other -generations will follow who should know our history. - -We are sometimes visited by hail-storms and inundations which destroy -the harvests, interrupting for years the struggling peasants in the -development of their prosperity. - -It has happened again this year. The people are now drying straw and -bringing it to the mills--there are a half dozen of them in the -valley--and this will be the bread for the winter. - - -In _my_ life there are no storms and there is no sunshine. But at all -events I intend to have my spring and my summer, for I have now added a -contrivance to my clock. I have taken out the metal bells from the -striking-apparatus and made instead, out of a spring and two bits of -wood, something which every hour imitates the call of a quail. In this -region the bird is rarely heard, but in my room it is now summer at all -seasons. The children and I are enjoying it greatly. - - -Over in the Holdenschlag defile through which a road has been recently -constructed, on the borderline of the Winkelsteg parish, the peasants -have set up a _weather-cross_. It has triple cross-bars, with carvings -representing the instruments of our Lord's martyrdom, and is reverently -regarded as a protection against inclement weather. The aged -Schwamelfuchs says, however, that it is more harmful than useful; it -prevents the storms, which all have their origin on the Zahn, from -proceeding farther, consequently they descend upon Winkelsteg. - - -As a result of this remark, the peasants have torn down the cross. To -offset this the Holdenschlagers have built a similar one near the same -place, that the storms may be confined here and not reach their fields. - -Now the Winkelstegers are doubly embarrassed, and I, their schoolmaster, -with them. - -Notwithstanding all my teaching, I have been unable to destroy the -superstitions bred under these felt hats. Teaching school is a hard -enough life, although I seem to spend much of my time in idleness. What -a change from those first years when we founded the parish! There -remains enough to be done, but the old priest is dead, and the new one -ignores me. - -I am not yet so advanced in years and I am still at work. I teach a few -hours, rule the writing-books, cut the pens, split a little -kindling-wood, and perform a number of small duties in the church; this -fills neither my time nor my thoughts. - -I spend many sleepless nights, and while lying idly in my bed, I am -haunted by maddening memories--old times, delicate blooming faces and -deathly pale ones. And then I hear a voice saying: "Thou hast mistaken -thy way; thou mightest have lived in splendour and happiness." ... I -spring from my couch, tear the violin from the wall and scrape the -strings that the ghosts may disappear. - -And the strings whisper comforting words, telling me that I may be -content, I have had the happiness to work profitably for the common -weal, to strive constantly for the perfection of my own character. I am -surrounded by the glory of nature, and I have learned to know the minds -of great men through my books, and I shall still achieve much, according -to my strength, and then, content, close my eyes. - - - *WALDLILIE IN THE LAKE* - - - FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION, 1835. - - -An unexpected event has recently occurred. - -A few days ago I received a letter from my former pupil, our present -master. - -Hermann wrote that he had used the herbs, which I had sent him from the -wood-cutter, and since then the condition of his health was somewhat -improved. This had suggested to him the advisability of visiting the -mountains, with which he was not yet acquainted, and of spending a few -days here in the mild early autumn. His intention would be to travel -alone, for people, especially those of the city, were unspeakably -repulsive to him, that being probably a peculiarity of his nervous -state, which he was unable to overcome. Weary of the world, he wished -to seek restoration in the wilderness and in the primeval freshness of -the Alps. He still remembered me, his former tutor, as well as my -services in the Winkel forests, and he begged me to be his guide in the -mountains and on a certain day to meet him in the village of Grabenegg. - -Grabenegg, a good day's journey from here, is not a village, but -consists only of a few stone-cutters' huts which stand near the Ziller -road and receive their name from the mountain defile which begins at -this point. - -On the day mentioned I arrived at the appointed place and there awaited -the master of the forest, who also came as agreed, having driven over in -a hired carriage. I then proceeded with him toward the high mountains. -Hermann's appearance thoroughly alarmed me; I should not have recognised -him, but he, on the contrary, at the first glance addressed me as -Andreas. His greeting was polite, although the poor man showed plainly -that he was surfeited with life. - -The road extended as far as the rocky mountain-pass. Here Herr von -Schrankenheim sent back the carriage and over the rough paths, trodden -by the deer, we entered the wilderness, where, upon the heights, -gleaming glaciers were lodged. My companion walked ahead, sometimes -gloomily and defiantly, sometimes with the eagerness of the hunter on -the track of the deer. I did not know where the man wished to go, or -what he desired; he himself did not know. I was seized with anxiety -lest we should not find shelter for the night, but on my communicating -my fears to him, he burst into a laugh and strode onward. - -Suddenly the idea occurred to me, what if I should be wandering with a -lunatic! Had the Graue Zahn fallen at my feet, my heart could not have -beaten more quickly than at this thought. - -I begged and warned the Baron, but I was unable to stop him; he would -pause only for a moment at the edge of the precipices, cast one glance -into the abyss below and then hasten forward. His limbs trembled and -great drops stood upon his forehead, as at last in the gathering -twilight he fell exhausted beside a mountain spring. - -In that hour I promised the dear God everything, everything if He would -but lead us to a shelter. He heard my prayer. Not far from the spring, -between the two walls of the defile, I discovered a hut, such as are -erected by the chamois-hunters. - -And under this roof, in the midst of the terrors of the wilderness, I -made a fire and from moss and shrubs prepared a bed for the Baron. - -We ate the food which we had brought with us and drank the water from -the spring. When the meal was over, my companion leaned back against -the mossy wall murmuring: "How refreshing! How refreshing!" - -And after a while he looked at me and said: "Friend, I thank you for -being with me. I am ill. But here I shall be healed. This is the water -which the hunted deer drinks, is it not? I have led a wild life--very -wild! I have found that man is not a toy! And now at last I have -fortunately escaped the doctors. I have no desire to lie in a metallic -coffin; it savours of pomp, of gold and silk, of artificial -tears--_pfui_!" - -To my relief he soon fell asleep. I watched the whole night, -endeavouring to devise a means of taking the poor, sick man to some -human habitation. We were in a remote place and, to reach Winkelsteg, -we should be obliged to cross the mountains. - -The next morning, after I had made a new fire and the sun was already -shining through the chinks in the wall, the man awoke, and looking about -him in astonishment, said: "Good-morning, Andreas!" - -He then began to prepare for the journey. - -"I wish to climb the high mountain which they call the Graue Zahn," he -said; "I should like once to look down upon this world from a high -place. Can you not accompany me and arrange to take one or two men with -us? Have no anxiety on my account. Yesterday was a bad day. I -wandered, restless and forlorn and without aim, through the wilderness, -endeavouring to escape from myself as I had escaped from men in the -world without. I was overcome with all the pain of my misery. But this -air is healing me--oh, this pure, blessed air!" - -On leaving the hut, we were obliged to shade our eyes with our hands, -the light was so dazzling. The branches of the pines were a golden red -and in the shadow of the thicket trembled dew-drops, which already -reflected the sunlight through the trees. The birds were holding a -jubilee and squirrels were frisking about looking for their mates and -their breakfast. The dry leaves of a young beech were gently swaying in -the mild morning air. - -Hermann smiled and we proceeded on our way. A thin mist shimmered -through the branches, and a cool breeze fanned our cheeks. Suddenly a -flood of light filled the forest, and each tree stretched out its -arms--silently and reverently pointing to a wonderful picture. - -A peaceful lake lies at our feet, stretching far into the distance, -blue, green, black--who can tell the colour? On the banks of the -eastern side, the dark mountain forest, softly veiled in bright -sunbeams, slopes upward from the grey, pebbly beach. On the opposite -shore towers a massive wall of rock, behind which are piled crag upon -crag, precipice upon precipice up to the highest peaks and cones and -spires which pierce the blue sky above. The mountains, ever varying in -form, stretch away in a great half circle, glorious beyond all -description. Here below are grassy slopes dotted with tufts of -juniper-bushes, green as velvet. In the distance are waterfalls, -milk-white and slender as a thread, their roaring heard by no human ear, -for the sound is lost in space; beyond on the mountain sides are rocky -wastes and dry river-beds, each little stone clearly outlined in the -crystalline air; farther on deep gorges, their dark recesses filled with -snow; and above all tower the massive weather-beaten rocks, silent and -sinister in their eternal repose. - -An eagle soars into the blue ether: now like a black spot, now like a -silvery leaf the bird circles about the rocky peaks. And on the distant -heights, shining glaciers softly lean against the red gleaming sides of -precipices, on which the chisel of Time is constantly cutting, engraving -thereon the never-ending history and the inflexible laws of nature. - -I see it still, see everything clear and distinct before my eyes,--the -lake in the valley, above which towers the Graue Zahn. - -I had already beheld similar scenes, nevertheless the glory of this one -quite overcame me. But the Baron stood there like a statue. He gazed, -absorbed in the endless picture; his trembling lips inhaled the air of -the lake. - -We then descended to the shady banks, where the water was splashing over -the worn stones. - -"This lake so smooth to-day, must be very wild at times," my companion -remarked. "Just see how far up the precipice the stones have been -washed smooth by the waves." - -By these words I perceived that Hermann had an intelligent eye for -nature. "Yes indeed, this lake can become a boisterous companion, -although now it looks so mild and peaceful." - -A remarkable incident then suddenly occurred. Below, where the bushes -dipped into the lake, a human head emerged. The water dripped from the -long, brown curls and blooming face. The neck and throat were somewhat -sunburnt, but the softly moulded, undulating shoulders were like -snow-white marble. A young, beautiful woman, a mermaid! _Mein Gott_, it -was enough to make one a poet! - -The Baron, being shorter-sighted than I, approached the apparition, and -in the same moment the figure sank out of sight and the alders, swayed -over the water as before. - -Hermann gazed at me. I gazed into the lake, the surface of which moved -in soft rings and bubbles and dark lines, here smooth as a mirror, -yonder trembling and rippling. But the head of the maiden did not -appear again. Several minutes elapsed while with a beating heart I -looked for the bather, for who knew if she were able to swim, and the -thought suddenly flashed through my mind: What if the girl out of -modesty had sought a grave for herself beneath the waves! - -After much anxiety and alarm I at last drew the unconscious child from -the water. With our small experience, we finally restored her to -life--to her life of seventeen years. And thereupon the shy creature, -scarcely revived and having been clothed by our assistance, sprang to -her feet and darted away through the forest, her fright giving her -strength. - -The Baron, holding his head with both hands, cried: "Andreas! my malady -is returning; I have visions, I have seen a fairy!" - -"That is no fairy," I answered; "it is the daughter of the wood-cutter -who sent you the herbs." - -It was Waldlilie. - - - A FEW DAYS LATER. - - -To-day the Baron rode away from Winkelsteg on Grassteiger's white horse. - -Nothing came of the proposed ascent of the Zahn. After Waldlilie had -escaped from us there by the lake, Hermann said to me: "My fate is -sealed; I shall not climb the mountain. Take me to your Winkelsteg, -Andreas." - -And here he remained three days, inspecting our arrangements and -drinking a great deal of our water. The people could hardly believe that -he was the owner of the forest, and one old woman said that she expected -the owner of the forest to wear a coat of gold, while this man's coat -was only plain brown cloth. His face was an ashen grey, but under the -pallor I discovered signs of vitality. I recently remarked that he was -surfeited with life; now I believe he is hungry for life. He is in a -very strange condition. Yesterday he sent for Berthold, that he might -pay him for the herbs. - -Old Rothbart died some time ago, so Berthold has now become forester and -lives with his family in the Winkel-warden's house. In a few days the -marriage ceremony of Berthold and Aga will be quietly celebrated in the -church. The Baron has arranged it. This has made me very happy. -Hermann has a thoroughly sound heart; a sick man could not act so -promptly and with so much assurance. But he is a peculiar man -notwithstanding. Before he left, he came to me in the schoolhouse and, -drawing me down beside him on a bench, said: "Schoolmaster! She prized -her maidenhood more than her life; could I have believed that such a -woman existed on earth? The shameless coquettes who dwell in palaces, -how recklessly have they played with me! You, Erdmann, have had the -experience of looking up at the world from a lower station in life, have -become acquainted with it and had your fill. I have viewed it from -above, which is quite a different side, full of splendour and beauty, -but as contemptible as the other. Nothing extraordinary has befallen -me, Erdmann, I have merely lived and have been unhappy. I, too, belong -to this forest--Andreas--I, too, belong here! But I must now return to -my old father.... God forbid that I should take her with me! Happily -she does not know the world. I leave her in your care, Schoolmaster. -Should she feel the want of learning, then teach her; if not, then -cherish and guard her as a wild-lily of the woods. And keep my secret, -Schoolmaster. When I have recovered, I will come again." - -By these significant words, having shown that a great change had taken -place in his feelings, he rode away towards Holdenschlag on -Grassteiger's horse, a workman from this place accompanying him. - - -Others would have been ruined by the kind of life our young master has -led; it has made him a peculiar man. His deep nature has indeed been -shaken, but not destroyed. - -On the day of his departure, three search-warrants arrived, saying that -the young Herr von Schrankenheim, who had long been suffering from -melancholia, had strayed away and disappeared. He had probably gone to -the mountains, for he had dressed himself like a mountain traveller. -And then the clothing, as well as every detail concerning my dear pupil -Hermann, was as minutely described as that of an escaped convict. It is -all right, he will return. He has merely visited his forest possessions. -Must he then travel in the exact manner of the rich? May a Schrankenheim -never step beyond his barriers? - -Thank God, he is the master for Winkelsteg! - -And how relieved I am, for now Berthold and his family are saved. They -have weighed so heavily upon my conscience. - -The obscure words of the Baron, which he said to me at parting, are -partially explained. Waldlilie now comes to school and we practise -reading, writing, and everything connected therewith as far as I -understand these subjects myself. She is very industrious and apt, can -think independently and is becoming lovelier every day. - -Her name is more and more suited to her, for there is something -lily-like about the girl; she is so slender, white, and gentle, and yet -there are traces of the sun's kiss upon her round cheeks and fresh lips. -There is also something still clinging to her which she caught from the -deer on that long winter night, the graceful alertness and the eyes. - -Oh, Andreas! Dost thou look at all thy pupils so closely? - -But then she pleases everyone. - -She is beloved by the poor, for she knows how to help them. She has -comforted many a sad heart by her warm friendly words; she has cheered -many a discouraged one by her tender singing. And it is beautiful how -all the children in Winkelsteg know Waldlilie and cling to her. If the -priest were only living, what great pleasure he would take in such a -nature! - -And the girl is courageous; regardless of wild animals and vicious -people, she climbs the mountains to gather fruit and plants. But then -it is written on her forehead: "All evil is powerless before thee!" - -She recently brought me a blue gentian with bright red stripes, such as -grow only over in the glen. - -"Have you been by the lake again, Lili?" I asked. Turning as red as the -stripes on the flower, she hastened away. - -Perhaps she never knew that I was one of the men who had surprised her -at her bath in the lake, and had so alarmed her that she would have gone -to her destruction had not one of us brought her to dry land. - -The occurrence must be like a dream to her; let it never be mentioned -again. - -But of the fine young master of the forest, who has rescued her family -from distress and poverty, she speaks with pleasure and enthusiasm. - - - SUMMER, 1837. - - -It is fulfilled at last. The signs of it have been in the air since one -day in the spring, when Hermann, as though newly awakened to powerful -manhood, arrived again in Winkelsteg and at once asked me concerning -Waldlilie. - -He no longer takes pleasure in the noisy, rioting circle called by many -the _world_, although the term is entirely misapplied. Hermann has -fortunately passed the dangerous crisis. He has now entered mature -life, where one longs for the glories of nature and the inner worth of -man. Waldlilie has become a wonderfully beautiful young woman, and the -pains which I have taken in the development of her intellectual powers -have been richly rewarded. - -And thus it is fulfilled. A Schrankenheim has burst his barriers. Two -days ago, on the festival of our Lord's Ascension, the master of the -forest and Waldlilie were united in the church. - - -Over in the glen by the lake, Hermann wished to erect a summer villa, -where he and his wife might spend a few weeks every year in the early -autumn. But Waldlilie begged him to abandon the idea. She was very fond -of that region, but she could not visit the lake. - - -They have left us and gone to the beautiful town of Salzburg. - - - WINTER, 1842. - - -The years pass by in monotony and solitude; why does no one call me the -Einspanig? - -The young wife afterwards changed her mind and the summer villa now -stands in the glen by the lake. It is very lively there for a few weeks -in the early autumn, and the happy home of our master's family is -watched over by the grim mountains. - -The forester, now a grandfather, lives with his wife the entire year in -this house, and the brothers and sisters of Frau von Schrankenheim may -hope for a better lot than was prophesied at their cradle. - -The old Herr von Schrankenheim was blessed with two grandchildren before -he died in Salzburg in the winter of 1840. - -Winkelsteg has gained nothing by the house in the glen. A good road has -been built to it, and it has now become the headquarters for -superintending the forest. Strangers visit the place, and there the -great hunting-parties are organised. In the glen, formerly so lonely -and neglected, now stands the _manor-house_; but Winkelsteg remains the -same poor parish for peasants and wood-cutters, and the condition of -things here is not improving, and the schoolmaster--let us not think -about that, Andreas. - - -I recently sewed a number of sheets of paper together for a -writing-book, the cover of which I have made from white linden-wood. In -this book I now lead a secret life, unknown to anyone.[#] - - -[#] This _writing-book_ was not discovered among the records.--The -Editor. - - - AUGUST 1, 1843. - - -To-night a little boy was born to Reitbauer in Karwässer. They brought -him here to be baptised, but, as the priest had gone away for a few days -and the child was feeble, I administered a private baptism. At the -father's request I also stood godfather. The three beloved groschen -inherited from my aunt and formerly my christening present, shall now go -to the little Peter. - - - SUMMER, 1847. - - -When I came into these forests, I found the people scattered, starving, -and uncounted. To-day I see before me a new generation. - -A village surrounds the church. And about the village stand apple- and -pear-trees bearing fruit; an endeavour has been made throughout -Winkelsteg to cultivate the wild fruit-trees, and for the most part it -has succeeded. - -On Sundays people dressed in gala attire come from all directions, the -men, wearing black leather knee-breeches, the women, padded velvet -spencers and droll-looking wired caps, decorated with gilt and ribbons. -Their clothing is no longer of home-made material. Formerly they wore -the linen from their own flax, the wool from their sheep, the shoe -leather from their cattle, the skins and furs from the game which they -shot. To-day peddlers go about in the Winkel forests, exchanging -garments and frippery for the valuable raw material. - -The young people have wider views than the older ones, but they are far -more pretentious; besides, they show too little respect for the past -from which they themselves have sprung. But they still smoke tobacco -and drink brandy, as their ancestors have done before them. - -What can the old schoolmaster do alone? Ah, if my priest were only -living! - - -The little Reiter-Peter, my godchild, is a sweet lad; but a great -misfortune has overtaken him--by a fall from his bed he has lost his -voice. - -How gladly would I give him mine, for it is no longer of use to me! It -has become quite hoarse, and no one listens to it now. - - - SPRING, 1848. - - -How this is going to affect me I do not know. Perhaps it would be best -to take a few weeks' vacation and go away from here. - -Outside in the cities the troops are playing havoc; they are breaking -into palaces and barricading streets. For that reason she is coming. -The general's wife, Hermann's beautiful sister, whom I have so foolishly -adored, is coming. - -In the house by the lake there is no more room, so she flees with her -children to us. Thank God that our Winkelsteg is able to offer her a -refuge in these times! - -And I will not go away after all. I will remain and be strong and not -betray myself. I will look straight into her eyes once before I die. - -I feel that God means well by me. The light of her eyes will illumine -the dark wooded hills, her breath will soften and consecrate the Alpine -air. And even though she goes away again, Winkelsteg, where she has -dwelt, will be my home. - -We have built a beautiful high arch of pine-boughs before the house and -decorated the altar in the church with wreaths. - -Everything is ready, but no one has thought to have the stones removed -from the road. Such women have tenderer feet than those dwelling in the -mountains. - - -For a day and two nights I have been digging the stones out of the road. -The people may laugh, but I am only thankful that the moon was shining. - - - A FEW DAYS LATER. - - -Now they are here. She, the two children, and the servants. I need not -have removed the stones, for they drove in carriages. Nearly all -Winkelsteg was assembled on the square when they arrived. The priest -made an address of welcome; I crept into the schoolhouse. But I was -thoroughly alarmed, for they alighted directly in front of my window, -and I thought they were about to enter. - -I saw her very plainly; she has grown younger. She was hardly out of her -carriage before she was chasing a butterfly. But that was her youngest -daughter. She herself---- - -By my faith, I should not have recognised her. - -Of all her old mirrors with golden frames, not one is so true or has so -faithfully retained her glorious image to the present day as my heart -has done. - -Now the image has disappeared and my youth has vanished like a mist. - - - JUNE, 1848. - - -Yesterday I wandered the whole day among the mountains, and even -ascended the Zahn. On the way I asked myself a dozen times: Why art -thou climbing up here, thou old child? Upon the summit I shall find the -answer, I thought. I saw the kingdom of the Alps. I gazed into the -blue depths of the glen below where by the black sheet of water stands -the manor-house. I strained my eyes toward the south, my eyes already -weak, but--it was all in vain. As often as I have climbed up there, I -have never, never yet beheld the sea. - -They say it is visible on a clear winter day. Besides this sight, I have -nothing more to wish for now; but that one thing I still desire. - -In descending I gathered a bunch of Alpine roses, _Edelweiss_, -spikenard, arnica, and other flowers and plants and pinned them on the -front of my hat, like a love-sick lad. For whom art thou taking home -the nosegay? For wife and child? Ah, thou stupid old man! - -But when I am away from her, as I was up there on the Alm, I see that -she is still lovely. She will surely accept a bouquet of Alpine roses -from me. I will be polite and not force it upon her. Had I but a -single drop of old Rüpel's blood in my veins, I would recite a poem -appropriate to the flowers! These were my thoughts; it is astonishing -that I am still so daring! - -When I reached Lauterhöhe, I seated myself under a tree to rest. My -meditations were suddenly interrupted by something pulling at my hat; I -turned to see what had disturbed me. A brown cow stood there chewing my -mountain nosegay. - -I started up, about to strike the stupid animal with my stick, when it -occurred to me: Good creature, perhaps my flowers have given you more -pleasure than they would afford her, so God bless them to you! She will -drink your nourishing milk as a recompense. - -As, late in the evening, I came down to the village, her windows were -brightly lighted. - - -One of the lady's servants, Jacob, is a jack-at-all-trades. He is -exceedingly clever, can play on musical instruments, do tailoring, make -shoes and draw, and finally he has even made a drawing of me. I did not -wish to sit for it, but he contrived, until at last, dressed in all my -finery, I took my seat on the block of wood yonder. After having made -the sketch, he then painted it in colours, the result being most -remarkable. The red neckerchief was particularly well done. - -He has given me the picture, which I look at in the privacy of my room; -but the school children must not see it! - -I think I will hide it. - - -I thought I should make the acquaintance of her children, but they speak -a foreign tongue which I do not understand. The young gentleman is off -with the horses and dogs; the girl would like to spend her time in the -meadows with the flowers and beetles, but she is forbidden to do this. -She is already too old to be allowed childish pleasures. - - -A day or two ago Hermann--God forgive me for still calling him by this -name--came over from the glen to visit his sister. She excused herself -on the plea of illness. Jacob told me that the two were not on very -friendly terms, for she would recognise no sister-in-law who carried -about with her the odour of pitch. - - -To-day the lady gave a dinner to which the priest and Grassteiger were -invited. A slice from the roast and a glass of wine were sent to me. -Fortunately a beggar was just passing the house, and the food was not -wasted. So to-day two beggars have been fed. - -At the dinner, Jacob said, they spoke of me. The lady then related to -them how, as a poor student, I had once lived on charity for a time in -her father's house, how I had then left the school and returned a -vagabond, whereupon her father, out of pity, had sent me to the forest, -where he had since supported me. - -Now thou knowest all, Andreas Erdmann; but not a grey hair on that -account, for it would only contaminate the white ones. - - - AUGUST, 1848. - - -They have gone away. Jacob has left here for me a pair of black -trousers and a white glove. - - - JULY, 1852. - - -The title-deeds to the land have at last been conferred, and now most of -the peasants in Winkelsteg are their own masters. They are to be -heartily congratulated. But their eyesight seems to have become very -dim, for none of them recognise me when I pass them on the road. - - -This summer I was once more on the mountain. I thought I could almost -catch a glimpse of the sea towards the south. But it was only mist. - -By this excursion, either from the dazzling light in the distance or the -extreme change from heat to cold, I have again brought on the serious -trouble with my eyes, which has lasted for many weeks and hindered me in -my work. - - -I think the dumb Reiter-Peter should be taught a little music. He must -have some way of expressing his feelings. It is hard to realise the -suffering caused by keeping everything to one's self. - - -Peter is clever; he already plays on the zither and the violin. Later I -must teach him the organ. The Winkelstegers will need music for their -mass in the future as well as now. I shall not always be here. - - -Lazarus, or, as they now call him, the Winkel landlord, is kind to me -and to everyone; all Winkelsteg have a friend in him. But his old -trouble recurs now and then. If, for example, something excites him, he -has a hard struggle to control himself. I have suggested that he should -try picking up the beads from the rosary again; but perhaps that would -no longer avail; then there is great danger that he will fall to -drinking. He would be ruined if he had not such a good wife, and -Juliana knows how to manage him; for her sake he will endure the keenest -thirst. - - -The brandy-distiller Schorschl--Hannes is no longer living--occasionally -breaks my windows. He considers me his greatest enemy, because I warn -the children against brandy. - -I mend the windows by pasting paper over them. But as long as I live I -shall teach the young people to shun this evil. - - - 1855. - -Our priest has been changed for a very young one. The latter says that -the curacy has been sadly neglected, but he will now endeavour to -improve matters. He has ordered prayers, penances, and pilgrimages. -His sermons are as cutting as lye; and there are so many sore hearts. - -Since the new priest arrived I am quite superfluous in the school. He -fills the hours with teaching religion. - -The children are capable of more than they thought--they know the whole -catechism by heart. - -The emperor and the pope are said to have issued a special edict for the -salvation of souls, and in Winkelsteg the devil has never been so much -talked about as at present. - - - AUGUST 24, 1856. - - -To-day a public examination took place in the school. The dean from the -capital was here. He seemed well satisfied with the religious teaching; -as to the rest, he shook his head. On arriving, he greeted me politely; -on leaving, he did not see me. - - -I often sit a long time up in the burial-ground under the old trees. -This grove has been preserved from the great forest, and here the parish -is being gathered, thus making another link in the chain of human -history. I may sit here as long as I please, no one will call me. -Would that the dead did not sleep so soundly! - -I am an old spy. My eyes are weak and weary, yet I sometimes see what -is taking place. Through the board fence I have just been observing -Reiter-Peter seize the hand of Schirmtanner's daughter and refuse to let -it go. By a thousand gestures he was telling her something; the blood -mounted to his cheeks, but the girl continually said: "No, Peter, no!" - -Then the lad suddenly took his violin and played for Rosa, something -which I had never taught him. It was wonderful, and I did not suppose -that he could play like that. - -He continued until Rosa finally threw herself into his arms, crying: -"Stop, it pains me so! Peter, I do like you!" - -Young people are exceedingly demonstrative. If a lad has no voice with -which to speak, he declares his love on the violin. - - - WINTER, 1857. - - -A diary is a faithful friend. No matter what one confides to it, it -forgets nothing and discloses nothing. When I look through these -records, I cannot realise that I have experienced and written all this. -It is a strange history. - -And who have I been! From the old man that I felt myself to be when I -entered these forests, I became a younger one, from a young man I have -grown to be a poor old creature, before whose half-blind eyes the notes -dance up and down on the page, when I play the organ for mass in the -church. The people have pushed me aside. - -_Mein Gott_, others fare no better, and I desire nothing; I have done my -part and am content. - - - 1864. - -For fifty years I have not been out of these forests. - -The woodspeople come into existence, live and die and not once in their -lives do they climb the mountain, from where one can behold the glorious -picture and, on clear winter days, the sea. - -The _sea_! How my heart swells at the thought! Yonder moves a boat, and -within stands a youth beckoning-- - -Heinrich! What is it? - - -How foolish of me to have spent my whole life in the Winkel, when I -should have been a sailor! - - - CHRISTMAS EVE, 1864. - - -The track is a short one, but the young people are sliding upon their -sleds and boards over the frozen snow, from the Winkel-warden's house -down to the churchyard wall. And how eager they are, as with glowing -eyes and cheeks they shout at their sport!--I am waiting for -Reiter-Peter; he is coming with his violin to try the new manger song -with me. In the meantime I am looking at the happy children and -writing. - -The little ones wear fur caps, and they stumble and puff before they -reach the top with their sleds--and they are down in ten seconds. Much -exertion and a short pleasure! I only hope none of them will bump their -heads against the wall!--Would that I might glide down to it on my -sled--and never return! - -Peter is coming. "Sleep sweetly, sleep in holy peace!" The song is so -lovely, and to-morrow---- - - - - - *THE LAST PAGE* - - -.... and to-morrow .... - -With these words the story closes. - -I had read two long rainy days. I had read the experiences of a strange -life, covering a period from the last century up to the preceding -Christmas festival. - -.... and to-morrow .... - -My head was heavy and hot. I gazed towards the door, fully expecting -the man would enter and go on with his writing and tell us what happened -the next morning, as well as what afterwards occurred. For this is no -ending and no leave-taking; it is a hopeful look into the future, a long -breath of relief, a morning star. - -I felt almost convinced that the schoolmaster was still living. He was -surely wandering somewhere in unknown parts, this poor man with his -great, nameless longing, such as all feel more or less, the longing for -the whole, the infinite, the true--incomprehensible though it -be--wherein our striving, weary souls hope to find repose and -deliverance. - -A feeling possessed me that I must hasten forth and seek everywhere for -the good, old, childlike man.--And what a terrible struggle and effort -he had made! A vain endeavour after the pursuits of society, a painful -crushing of his rising youthful passion, a despairing plunge into the -entanglements of life, an adventurous journey over the world, a fearful -awakening and disappointment, a flight into the barren wilderness, a -quiet continuous toiling in humility and sacrifice, a great success, a -deep contentment. Old age approaches, a young generation and new -conditions no longer offer opportunity for work; a sad withdrawal into -himself, desertion and loneliness, vague doubts and dreams and a quiet -resignation and peace. In his old age, in his helplessness and -simplicity he becomes a child; a smiling, happy, visionary child. But -the longing and imagination of his youth still remain. And he has -received a great reward, a compensation which reconciles us to his fate, -and which the world can never give, for it only comes to one after the -true fulfilment of life; it is the peace of the soul. - -The quail's call on the clock sounded eight. I carefully locked the -sheets of paper in the drawer and went down towards the tavern. It was -already growing dark; a chilling melancholy brooded over everything, and -through the fine dripping rain a sharp breeze was blowing. - -Lazarus was standing before the door. He turned his face skyward, -saying: "There is going to be a change." He was speaking to himself. -He certainly had no idea that the young stranger now approaching him -knew his whole history. - -On this same evening the host was very sociable, but I was silent and -soon retired to my schoolhouse to rest. - -How changed was my view of everything here from that of two days before. -I felt almost at home in this Alpine village where I, like the -schoolmaster, had grown old. - -And the man who had founded and developed the parish with his life's -blood was now to be cast aside and forgotten? - -No, there were traces of him everywhere. "Invisible he wanders around -day and night in Winkelsteg, at every hour!"--the charcoal-burner had -said. - -The next morning was so dazzling that the light penetrated through my -closed eyelids. On opening the window I saw that it was a bright, clear -winter day. - -I sprang to my feet. It had snowed, and the white covering lay over the -whole valley and upon all the roofs and trees. - -I was soon ready for my Alpine climb. - -"To-day, _mein Herr_," said the hostess, "to-day it will indeed be fine -on the mountain, if you do not lose your way in the snow. He who has -patience may hope for everything in this world, even beautiful weather -in Winkelsteg. But you must take someone with you." Then turning to -her husband she said: "Dost thou not think that Reiter-Peter would like -to earn a nice little fee for acting as guide?" - -"Reiter-Peter," I said, "yes, he will suit me; for I do not care to talk -on the way." - -"Ah, you already know that Peter cannot talk; yes, he is quiet enough, -when he has n't his violin with him." - -Peter was the same dumb lad who two days before had met me by the church -door after mass. So, provided with the necessary equipment, I climbed -the mountain with the schoolmaster's godchild. - -The snow was soft and glistened in the morning sunlight. Soon the -prostrate plants and flowers were again standing erect, and the birds -sang and hopped from branch to branch, shaking the flakes from the -trees. The grass showed itself fresh and green through the rose-tinted -whiteness of the ground, and the mountains stood out in bold relief -against the sky. Summer and winter were blended in a most wonderful -manner. - -We walked by the burial-ground. Peter removed his hat, carrying it in -his hand until we had passed the sacred spot. The old trees interwove -their tops and branches over the few mounds, forming an arch like that -of a Gothic temple. A veil of snow covered it, but beneath its shadow -upon the graves flourished fresh grass and a tangle of moss, which -climbed over and clung to the trunks, or lay in confusion upon the grey, -bare, nameless wooden crosses. - -I wished to see the resting-places of Father Paul and Rhyme-Rüpel. -Peter looked at me inquiringly; the young man knew nothing of them. - -A little later we came out upon a mountain ridge. - -"Are we on the Lauterhöhe?" I asked my silent companion. He nodded -assent. I thought of the cow that ate the Alpine nosegay, of the -pine-trees in the background, and of old Schirmtanner, then I suddenly -turned and asked Peter: "You know little Rose Schirmtanner, do you not?" - -He grew as red as the Alpine flower of the same name. - -From this elevation quite a new region disclosed itself toward the -north; valleys and wooded hills were clearly outlined before me; to the -left rose the cliffs, forming a rough, broken wall far over the forest. -In this direction I fancied were the regions of Lautergräben, Karwässer, -Wolfsgrube, and the Felsenthal. - -The path led down toward the valley; but we turned to the left and -climbed through forests of fir-trees and underbrush, higher and higher -until we reached the clearing, which extended upwards toward the -towering masses of rock. - -The snow here was somewhat harder and more crusty, but it did not -especially interfere with our walking. A few huts stood on this spot, -the smoke issuing from their chimneys, while in the stalls the tinkling -of cow-bells was heard. The cattle must eat hay to-day, but after the -snow has gone there will be warm pleasant weather again. I should like -to know from which of these windows the master workman Paul was found -suspended! - -We proceeded on our way; I soon noticed that my companion was not -familiar with the path. - -Approaching the rocks, we climbed through the defile, as I remembered -the schoolmaster had done, and at last we reached the summit. - -The picture was beyond comparison. The schoolmaster has described it. - -We walked along the ridge, rested a little to refresh ourselves with -bread and meat and bind on our climbing-irons, then, slowly crossing the -glacier, we advanced toward the cone. - -The air was remarkably clear, still, and frosty; and so invigorating -that I felt like shouting for the very joy of living. The nearer we -approached the summit, the more we hastened our footsteps; Peter, too, -became jubilant. - -And now we were above, standing on the summit of the Zahn. It seemed to -me as if I had already been a number of times on these heights. -Surrounding us in an endless circle--as the schoolmaster has said--was -the kingdom of the Alps. - -Even beyond the great forests, in the sunlit south, towered, clear and -distinct, the spires and peaks of another mountain range, and farther -on, stretched straight before me a shimmering band--the sea! - -I felt almost impelled to hasten down from rock to rock and on over hill -and valley to seek the schoolmaster and say to him: "Come, look upon the -sea!" - -Deeply thrilled and absorbed, I gazed a long time. Then we descended a -few steps under the jutting rocks where the man had sat and dreamed -fifty years ago. - -Here the sun was shining warmly and the snow had already melted from -some of the stones. Seating ourselves upon one of them, we ate our -dinner. Peter played in the snow with his stick, tracing letters; I -thought perhaps he was trying to express to me his thoughts and -sensations. But he erased the characters and it proved to be only play. - -My eyes wandered from one mountain to another, on to the most distant -Italian heights; they gazed out over the sunny waters, they drank in the -sea, where upon the waves I could catch the gleaming rays of the midday -sun. A blue shadow suddenly passed before my eyes, which had become -dazzled by the brilliant light. - -All at once a cry resounded near me. The lad had sprung to his feet and -was pointing with both hands toward the rough snow-covered ground. - -Starting up in alarm, I first noticed where the snow had been displaced -by the letters traced in it, and then to my horror I saw--the white -covering having been partially removed--the head of a man which was thus -exposed to view. - -The lad, rigid with terror, stood motionless but for a few seconds, -then, hastening to the spot, he worked with feverish haste to free the -buried form from its snowy shroud. When the whole body was lying -stretched before him, he covered his face with his hands and sank -sobbing into my arms. - -There lay an old man, wrapped in a brown cloak his features withered and -sunburnt, his deep-set eyes closed, his scanty locks disordered and -white as the snow. - -My sensations at that hour were beyond description. - -"Do you know him?" I asked the lad. - -He sorrowfully nodded, - -"Is it the schoolmaster?" I cried. - -Peter bowed his head. - -At last, when we had somewhat regained our composure, we began to -examine the dead man more closely. He was carefully wrapped in the -cloak, climbing-irons were bound to his feet and near by lay an -alpenstock. - -In the half-opened leather bag I discovered some dried bread-crumbs and -a bit of paper rolled together. Seizing this I opened it, and found a -few words, written with a pencil in crooked irregular lines and by a -trembling uncertain hand. - -The writing, which was legible, was as follows: - -"Christmas day. At the setting of the sun I beheld the sea and lost my -eyesight" ---- ---- - -So he had reached his goal. As a blind man he had written the page, the -last page of his story. Then laying himself down on the hard ground, he -had awaited death in the freezing winter night. - -We built a wall of stones about the dead man and covered it over as best -we could. Then we descended to the meadows, taking the shorter path by -the way of Miesenbach to Winkelsteg. - -The next morning, at an early hour, a number of people began the ascent -of the Graue Zahn, I accompanying them. Old Schirmtanner was also with -us, and he had much to tell us about the schoolmaster, his story -entirely corresponding with the records. - -And so we bore the aged Andreas Erdmann, who in the dry cold Alpine air -had become almost a mummy, down to the valley of the Winkel to the -parish church, which had been built through his efforts; we carried him -to the burial-ground which he himself had planned in the shadow of the -forest. - -The news that the old schoolmaster had been found had already spread -through the Winkel woods, and everyone came to the funeral and praised -the good, brave man. The Winkel landlord wept like a child. "He -blessed my poor abandoned father upon his death-bed!" he cried. -Schirmtanner was obliged to lead Peter away from the bier. - -The forester from the manor-house was there. Close by the grave grew a -wood-lily. - -The brandy-distiller Schorschl, speaking to a few people who were -standing by the entrance to the burial-ground, said that he had had -nothing at all against the schoolmaster, but all the same the latter was -an obstinate man. And there was one thing to be remembered, if the -schoolmaster had only had a little flask of gin with him, he would not -have been frozen. - -In the evening by the light of torches the good old man was laid in the -ground. - -The old manuscript which had fallen into my hands in such a peculiar -way, I begged from the parish of Winkelsteg, so that I might give it to -the world as a legacy--as the witness of a poor, yet rich and fruitful -and unselfish life lived in the solitude of the forest. With deep -emotion have I added the last few pencilled words to "The Schoolmaster's -Story." Ponder it, Reader, and a rare experience shall be thine. The -first page is addressed by a child to Heaven; and from this same child, -after the fulfilment of time, the last page is sent down from Heaven to -the struggling ones of earth--a seal of the legacy--bearing this -inscription: - - - RESIGNATION AND RENUNCIATION! - - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FOREST SCHOOLMASTER *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47168 - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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