Adolf Streckfuss

“ Experience must have taught you that when I speak I mean what I say. For the last four weeks I have watched Fräulein Schommer narrowly; there is no need to tell you that your betrothed abhors you, that she loves my friend, Leo von Heydeck, with all her soul, and that nothing but her inexorable sense of right withholds her from retracting the promise by which she bound herself to you. You know all this as well as I do. If you were a man of honour, such knowledge would suffice to induce you voluntarily to renounce----"
"Herr Delmar, you insult me! Remember your promise!" ”

“ I alone can expose the tissue of lies which she has woven around herself. I alone cannot be won over to testify to her truth, as she has won over old Johanna, who would perjure herself willingly for her darling, and Anna needs such falsehoods. It is almost impossible to believe that the daughter, driven to madness and despair by daily ill treatment, herself opened the locked doors for her lover. ”

“ I hoped to regard Castle Hohenwald as my home; I hoped to pass years here, sheltered from the sorrows which have poisoned my life; but your words drive me forth into the world again!"
"Anna! I conjure you----"
"No more, Herr Baron! I must not listen to you; must not permit hopes that can never be fulfilled. You say that the hope of one day winning my love will be the guiding star of your life; banish the idle thought, for never,--I swear it by Almighty God,--never may I return your love."
"You love another, then?" Arno exclaimed. ”

“ It is no easy matter, after all, to be a tutor! How had Egon looked down hitherto upon this calling, and here he sat racking his brains over the problem of how to teach a child his A B C! Half an hour passed like a moment, when a timid knock was heard at the door, and Fritz entered shyly. Positively Egon felt his heart beat quicker. Never, even when about to pass the most difficult examination, had he felt such trepidation, such a sense of the utter inadequacy of his knowledge as at this moment. He could not but smile at his cowardice, he could not understand himself. ”

“ He loves you, Fräulein Schommer. Your image is so deeply engraven upon his soul that it stands upon his easel at this moment wrought by his hand, so like you that it almost seems your living, breathing self. He loves you, but you are 'too rich.' Not your cold reserve, but your miserable money, repels his pride. That fortune, which is a bait for the avarice of a--Bertram, is a barrier between yourself and the man in whose affection you might find the deepest bliss attainable in this world. ”

“ Eva cried, reproachfully. "Can you consider wealth a blessing? I know perfectly well that others envy me, but if they dreamed what misery this wretched money has brought me, how it daily embitters every enjoyment of life, filling my mind with distrust and suspicion, making me despise those about me, they would give me pity instead of envy. Wherever I go I am received with delight and loaded with courtesies. I? No, my millions! I represent to these sordid souls their idol,--wealth. I am nothing to them but the heiress, and as such beautiful, lovely, talented, fêted and caressed wherever I go. ”

“ The Finanzrath sprang up in a rage, but his brother, without waiting for a reply, left the room. "Insulting!" Werner exclaimed, quite beside himself.
"Not one word against Arno!" the old Freiherr said, sternly. "Every word that he uttered found its echo in my soul, and I thank God that there is at least one Hohenwald who retains within him a sense of right and honour and a genuine love of his country. Not a word, Werner! I will hear no more of your disgraceful schemes; not now, at all events. I must be more myself than I am now when I speak with you again. Now leave me; I wish to be alone." ”

“ The richly-cultured fields waving with golden grain, the luxuriant, flowery meadows, which lie like broad green ribbons among them, the dark forests which bound the horizon do not it is true combine to form a scene of majestic magnificence, but the landscape is full of a tender, benignant beauty, and in the eyes of Herr von Osternau, who was agriculturist to his very heart's core, there was in all Silesia no more beautiful spot than his dear Osternau. ”

“ Still, after that kiss of reconciliation Kurt had not felt perfectly comfortable as he walked home to Grünhagen; he was dissatisfied with himself. Cool reflection told him that he had been false to his resolve,--he, a man to whom life and its perils were familiar, should have conquered himself; he should have been a guide to Celia, who was half a child, and who had no idea that there could be any danger in her guileless familiarity. ”

“ Egon suddenly felt himself transported to the old life which he knew so well,--Herr von Osternau's pleasant room changed to a brilliant ball-room, and before him stood one of the ball-room puppets whom he so hated and despised, particularly when they tried to make themselves attractive by flattering him.
Involuntarily he stood more erect. The disdainful smile which Lieschen had so disliked, and which she had not seen of late, appeared on his lips as he replied, "Is it possible that you fear criticism, Fräulein? A mastery of technique is the ideal of our modern art. ”

“ Not another word, Aline! You argue against yourself. Is all their homage paid to my beauty? Why, this is almost worse than if it were paid to my wealth. How can beauty without mind and heart attract any man of genuine worth? Because they all praise my beauty I despise them the more. Has one of the crowd about me ever had an opportunity of discovering whether I possess either heart or intellect? I scarcely reply to their flatteries; I treat them with the cold contempt that they merit, but they cringe all the more. ”

“ I toss restlessly throughout the night. My thoughts dwell perpetually in the Lonely House. At times I have feared that I should become insane. The struggle raging within me during these last few days is indescribable. I loved Anna with all my heart. I love her still, and, although it is madness, I shall love her to my last breath. Neither her crime nor the hatred which she displays towards me can kill this insane love within me, and fate has ordained that I should be the inexorable judge, the dread accuser of her lover, in ruining whom I ruin her also ”

“ It was Celia,--the will-o'-the-wisp, as her father loved to call her,--who always appeared when least expected.
With a merry laugh she flew to the Finanzrath, sealing her flower-greeting with a light kiss upon his cheek, and then turning to the old Baron, she threw her arms around his neck. "You are a dear, darling old papa!" she cried, gayly. "You will not let your Celia be sent to school like a little child; you will not let me be disposed of without consulting me! Thank you, my own dear papa; but as for you, Werner, I shall not forget that you would have banished me from Hohenwald." ”

“ It needs but a breath, perhaps, to make this spark a flame, a breath of self-inspection or a breath of affection, and yet you condemn him. If he should judge himself as you judge him, the spark would surely die beneath the ashes, and he would be lost without hope of rescue."
Lieschen stared at the speaker in wonder. "How strangely you speak," she said, "exactly as if you knew Herr von Ernau! And how agitated you have become! you have grown quite pale. Oh, you must know Herr von Ernau, or you would not thus defend him."
"I did not mean to defend him," Egon replied, in some confusion. ”

“ I have been dreaming of a happy future for our friend. It is particularly stupid to indulge in waking dreams, but it is a habit of mine, and I cannot get rid of it. I saw Leo with a charming young wife,--saw him wealthy and happy, valued by every one as a true artist and scholar, and beloved as a friend by all who stand in need of aid or counsel. I saw him thus, and his lovely young wife gave me a bewitching glance from her dreamy dark eyes, and smiled the gentle, kindly smile which I saw to-day for the first time. ”

“ Fräulein Hilda is the image of her mother; just as lovely, but fresher healthier and stronger; just as kind, but merrier and a wee hit wild,--no rock is too steep and no mountain too high for her. Not a boy in the village can outstrip her in a mountain walk, and she clambers about everywhere by herself, looking for the plants which she thinks will give her father pleasure. If any one is ill, she is upon the spot to aid wherever help is necessary. She is a heretic to be sure like her mother, but every one loves her, and the poorest most of all. ”

“ That deadly-tiresome, monotonous stretch of brilliant blue sky is the very image of my own weary existence. Nothing but light and splendour; it is intolerable. If the sky were only covered with clouds,--if there could be a flash here and there of lightning, with thunder crashing and winds howling, one might have some satisfaction in sending a bullet through one's brains with the thunder for a dirge. But no, even that is not to be. I am to die as I have lived, surrounded by weary, soul-destroying sunshine. Ah, well, it is a fitting end to an insignificant and utterly useless life. ”

“ Yes, I do hate the arrogant, ambitious Prussian, but I have a fiercer hatred for the arch-enemy of all Germany, and it fills me with shame and indignation that a Hohenwald should dream of inciting his brother to a disgraceful league with France in a war with Germany. This is the error in your prudent calculations: you reckon upon the hatred of Prussia in South Germany, in Hanover and Saxony, but that hatred will vanish like chaff before the wind when it comes to be a question of defending Germany against French lust of conquest. ”

“ I gave my promise to Bertram that Leo von Heydeck might escape a great peril,--I cannot be unhappy."
"You deceive yourself, Eva; you must not sacrifice yourself to a phantom of the imagination. Bertram loves not yourself, but your money; with money you can atone to him for his lost future."
"Say no more, Aline, I cannot bear it; you must not think so meanly of the man who, although I cannot esteem or love him, has never given me reason to believe him so sordid a wretch as you describe. I will keep the promise I have given. ”

“ I can at least serve one man in the world by my death. And the news will fly like wildfire. It would be almost worth living for,--the hearing of all that heartless gossip. How busy all those empty heads will be with wondering what could have driven a fellow so favoured by fortune to suicide! 'An unfortunate love-affair,' the sentimentally disposed will declare. 'His father wished to force him into a marriage with a person of high rank, and in his despair he took his own life.' Of course they must invent some reason for a man's escaping from this wretched, wearisome existence. ”

“ Arno by no means shared his father's satisfaction. His face grew dark as he looked at Anna. What magical charm did this stranger, whom Werner had introduced among them, possess, to enable her thus, by a single word, to transform his father, prompting him to utter that "heartily welcome," and now so completely winning over Celia, who had naturally rebelled against the idea of a governess? Had she not even made a far deeper impression upon himself than he was willing to admit? She must be an adept in the art of pleasing. ”

“ Yes, it is your greatest trial, as it is my own, to be 'too rich.' Your wealth has poisoned your soul. Conscious of these wretched riches, you receive all who approach you with haughty disdain, believing them attracted solely by the glitter of your gold. Such was your treatment of Leo, the noblest and most disinterested of men, and the cold contempt of your manner cut him to the quick. And this is not the worst,--an unkind word can be atoned for by kindness,--Leo would not be implacable any more than you will be so, but--you are too rich. ”

“ The highest aim of existence was enjoyment, and it was unpardonable folly to resign all the delights which wealth could procure for the sake of indulging in a brief dream of love from which one must soon awake to bitter repentance and misery.
Frau von Osternau listened in dismay; her favourable opinion of Bertha was shaken by her avowal of such sentiments, but the unpleasant impression faded when Bertha immediately afterwards showed herself so sweet-tempered and charming that it was impossible to resist her. ”

“ Are you really speaking of Baron Arno von Hohenwald? I can scarcely credit that you travelled for a year with that gloomy misanthrope, that inveterate woman-hater. And yet it must be so, for to my knowledge there is but one family of Hohenwalds in Saxony, and I ought to know, for I am distantly connected with them myself. I never judge others with severity,--it is not my nature,--but I cannot help pronouncing the Hohenwalds, that is, the old Baron and his son Arno, haughty, disagreeable, inaccessible people, who have very little intercourse with any one, not even their nearest relatives. ”

“ I purse-proud! I who am forced to feel with shame and pain every hour of the day that I myself am nothing, that with the exception of two or three friends every human being who comes near me values me for my money! And never was I so painfully conscious of this as at the present moment. For you, with your millions, my wealth is valueless. In your eyes I am simply an insignificant girl whom you regard with contempt, and whom you feel yourself justified in humiliating by offensive words of reproof. ”

“ A piano-player is seldom graceful in the exercise of her art, but with Bertha von Massenburg even the rapid movement of hands and fingers as they flew over the keys seemed natural and beautiful; therein lay one charm of her playing, and yet, masterly as it was, it lacked something,--it lacked depth of feeling. Was it really lacking? or was there no opportunity for its revelation in a brilliant drawing-room piece of music, which was calculated to display merely the execution and skill of the performer? ”

“ After a week of wandering, after climbing the terrible Schiechpass, over rocks and glaciers, we are at last arrived in Tausens. We find ourselves at the foot of the rock that bears upon its summit the enchanted castle Reifenstein. High above us sits enthroned the old monster Uncle Heydeck and the wicked fairy Hilda, who intends to ensnare our Leo in her golden enchanted net; but we two, the Knight von Herwarth and the simple squire Delmar, must rescue our friend, our first duty being to learn how the land lies, so to speak. ”

“ Egon did not speak, but his eyes were more eloquent than words.
"You shall hear how I am at odds with myself," Lieschen went on. "It is about Bertha von Massenburg. My father wishes me to receive her affectionately, to let no word or look betray how indignant I am with her, with her sordid views, her odious conduct. My dear father is so gentle and kind, he cannot bear to think ill of any one. He does not believe in Bertha's low motives. It is easy for him to receive her kindly, but in me it would be hypocrisy. Must I be a hypocrite? Should not truth be our first consideration? ”

“ I have often told my Hilda of you and of Leo; her blue eyes sparkle when she hears his name; she is proud of her cousin, and loves him without ever having seen him. Could I but see Leo and Hilda man and wife! I conjure you, Hans, forget what parted us; help me to provide a happy future for our children. We old people could depart in peace if we knew our name thus destined to flourish worthily. ”

“ Before either could reply, Paul Delmar, who had appeared beneath the awning simultaneously with the old man, answered, "Do you wish to speak to Herr von Bertram, colonel? Yonder he sits beneath the awning, but in the farthest comer. Count Waldheim is standing beside him."
"My old eyes are not worth much," growled the colonel. "Sir, I thank you. Your face is familiar to me, but just at present I cannot recall your name; my memory leaves me in the lurch. 'Tis the curse of old age; my senses fail me, and even my memory forsakes me." ”

“ Eva's dark eyes gazed at him from the canvas with a look that seemed to promise the fulfilment of his boldest hopes, and in gazing he was sometimes beguiled into delicious dreams, from which he was startled by the consciousness of reality, and a stern voice within him crying, "Lost, lost forever!"
He knew that Paul could force Bertram to resign all pretensions to Eva's hand, but even if Eva should be free she was still lost to him. Could he, a poor artist, whose future life must be one of hard labour, aspire to the hand of the millionaire heiress? ”

“ As soon as I appear in society all the men vie with each other in doing me homage. One flatters me, another exerts all his wit to entertain me, a third sighs and languishes at my feet,--and it is all a lie, all wretched hypocrisy! These very men who flatter and woo me would never accord me a moment's notice if I were poor. Oh it is hard to be obliged to repeat over and over to one's self, 'You yourself are nothing; these wretches adore your millions, not you!' What do they care although I treat them with the greatest arrogance and contempt? ”

“ With every miserable hour I have become more and more clearly convinced that you, dearest Eva, have accorded me a right to remain near you as your betrothed only in consequence of a promise too hastily given. I have seen that your heart belongs to another, and that it never can be mine.
"I do not blame you; I only bewail the ill fortune that shatters all my life's fairest hopes. I should be indeed lost to all sense of honour if I attempted to hold you, my beloved Eva, to a promise given me when you were ignorant of your own heart. You, at least, shall not be unhappy. ”

“ Every day Leo and Hilda came from the castle to carry off Eva and Delmar to some point of beauty in the neighbourhood, while Aline remained upon the balcony with her betrothed, and kindly Uncle Balthasar felt it his duty to bestow his society upon 'our dear Guido,' who never took part in the daily walks. Besides the mountain-paths were too steep for the old man, and thus Hilda, Eva, Delmar, and Leo were left to themselves to enjoy the exquisite weather and to explore, with Hilda for a guide, all the beauty and grandeur that abound in the neighbourhood of Tausens. ”

“ Herr von Heydeck has proved upon the field that fear is unknown to him; he will call you to account. Do you know that his skill with the pistol is unerring; that he never misses his aim; that your life will be at his mercy?"
"I also know no fear, Fräulein Schommer. If it should be my fate to fall in this duel, I shall die content, for my life will be a sacrifice to my duty as a man of honour. Were the consciousness mine that you would give a kindly thought to my memory, I should meet death joyfully."
Bertram spoke these words with immense pathos, looking earnestly at Eva the while. ”

“ I must leave the army, my comrades disdaining to serve with me! I am poor, Fräulein Schommer. You, rolling in luxury, have no conception of what it means to be poor. Having left the service, I must accept any, even the meanest, position that can insure me sufficient income to maintain a wretched existence, if indeed I do not have recourse to a bullet through my brains to end a life that has been such a wretched failure. This is my future if I fulfil your request. To-day the world stands open to me. The highest honours that crown a military career may be mine. ”

“ You are certainly the mistress and I the servant, I know that, Eva. You often forget this; I never do! But now, the duty I owe to my mistress is lost in that which I owe to my friend. You must not obstinately persevere in making your whole future life unhappy, and if I cannot prevail with you to refrain from making such a sacrifice, I must appeal to Herr von Bertram, to his honour, which forbids his thus bartering for your hand. What hard-driven bargain for money could be half so disgraceful? You cannot accept this sacrifice, Herr von Bertram, for you can never succeed in winning Eva's heart! ”

“ Eva's long explanation had given Paul time to recover from his embarrassment, and the change in her manner helped him to overcome his confusion; but he had lost all desire for a war of words. He no longer regarded Eva with his late dislike. Her frankness and candour inspired him with esteem and interest; her lament over the misery of wealth aroused his sympathy. Had he not often felt thus while he despised those who flattered and cringed to him? He had known that their homage was paid only to his money, and he could easily conceive how a like knowledge should embitter Eva's very soul. ”

“ A mocking smile hovered upon the dragoon's lips, but he suppressed it, and said, in the quiet tone of perfect conviction, "You are wrong, Fräulein von Schlicht! I shall win this noble heart; it will be conquered by my devoted affection. I am conscious of sufficient force and courage to enable me to win it, and therefore, knowing that I shall succeed in making her whom I love a happy wife, I claim the dear hand, although she gives it to me without her heart. Yes, dearest Eva, I hold you to your promise. ”

“ Eva was one of fortune's spoiled darlings; her father, who from being a common day-labourer had become the possessor of mines and millions, cherished an idolatrous affection for his daughter. Was she not an only child, the very image of the wife whom he had wooed for very many years only to have her snatched from him by death after one short year of marriage?
Karl Schommer was universally held to be a hard, cold, stern man, capable of only one passion--avarice. One woman, she to whom he had given his whole heart, knew what he really was. ”

“ Poor Eva Schommer! She, too, is 'too rich,' and therefore throws herself away upon a heartless vagabond. For the man who would love her disinterestedly for her own sake she is 'too rich'! The devil take wealth! if it robs us of all that is best and noblest in this world,--the love of our friends,--giving us instead only the flattery of fools, ennui, satiety, and disgust of life!"
Leo had never seen his friend thus agitated. ”

“ Hilda exclaimed, anxiously; but he continued to advance fearlessly.
"Let us follow him, cousin," Leo said, with a smile. "Make your mind easy about Paul; he will carry through whatever he attempts; no power on earth can stay him. I am convinced that he would take that path even although he knew that he should fall into the abyss. But he will not fall; he has no fear, and he is never dizzy."
"And you, Cousin Leo?"
"I? Why should I fear? Only those who love life fear to lose it."
"What can you mean, cousin?" There was a genuine compassion and ready sympathy in her words that soothed Leo. ”

“ Aline returned her friend's kiss, and said, with a smile, "Who would believe that the charming Eva could be guilty of such folly, that the proud beauty whom all adore could wish to resemble poor insignificant me, whom no one cares for except the friend whose affection blinds her? No, stay as you are, dear, for as you are you conquer every heart." ”

“ The brilliant lady of fashion receiving, in diamonds and lace, the homage of her ball-room adorers as her right, with a haughty, disdainful air, was scarcely to be recognized in the simple lovely girl who stood leaning against the balustrade of the balcony contemplating Herwarth's reception of her friend, with a look full of loving sympathy. The dark eyes, wont to flash with disdain, were full of gentle tenderness, while a charming smile transfigured her face for an instant as Kuno bestowed his eager kiss upon Aline's hand. ”