Adolf Streckfuss

“ While the wretches who envy us for our wealth crowd about us to gather up servilely the golden crumbs we may throw them, while they flatter and cringe and worship us as their golden calf, those whom we esteem and love withdraw from our society. We are too rich for those disinterested souls who would love us for our own sakes,--they will not expose themselves to the degrading suspicion of seeking us for the sake of our wealth! How often I have been devoured with rage when you, Leo, my dearest friend, have refused to share with me the enjoyments that wealth can procure! ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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." ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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? ”

“ 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. ”

“ Delmar said, laughing. "What say you, Kuno? shall I bestow a few more attentions upon him for the sake of his fair betrothed? The fellow ought to be punished for his insolence in crossing our path again."
"Let him alone, Delmar. Why provoke gossip? He probably does not cross our path intentionally."
"As I have before had occasion to remark, you are a model of wisdom, noble knight. You are right; we will let the rogue alone. Let us leave him to all the joys of his betrothal,--to the lovely Eva. It is an admirable match. Lean more heavily on my arm, Herwarth. It is time you were on the sofa. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Leo regarded Paul with amazement, looking in vain for the sneer that was wont to play about his lips when he wanted to tease his friend.
Delmar had been steadily contemplating the picture as he spoke in a tone of honest conviction. Now he turned to Leo, and remarking his amazement, he continued, with a smile: "You look at me as if you hardly believed me, and, remembering my folly with regard to Fräulein Schommer, I cannot blame you. The age of miracles however is not yet over; the most hardened of sinners may be converted by the logic of lovely lips, and I am a convert. ”

“ 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! ”

“ Money was of so little value in his eyes, he so detested pride of purse, that he had intentionally kept aloof from the beautiful heiress; he would not add another to the crowd of her adorers, and the sweet smile with which Eva replied to his bow, instead of acknowledging it by the haughty bend of her head which she accorded to others, increased his dislike of her, for he thought this smile was given to his money and not to himself.
By her betrothal to the man for whom Delmar had so thorough a contempt Eva had lost every claim to his regard. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ I pity any man who does not know how to appreciate so refined an enjoyment. A bad dinner is the greatest of losses: it can never be repaired,--it has gone forever! He only who knows how to eat appreciates the full value of life. Here is your plate, Leo,--my Jean is an active fellow,--and now take your soup; season it as you like it, and, for heaven's sake, look like a reasonable being. Such a long face as yours is as bad for the soup as if the cook had over-salted it."
Delmar set his friend an excellent example, which Leo gradually followed. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Often, as they walked fearlessly along the brink of frightful abysses, he remembered his despairing desire to end a life that could offer him no future save pain and anguish. As he talked gayly with Hilda such thoughts would assail him; he would pause for an instant and gaze with longing into the blue depths. Why should he live on? Eva and Leo were reconciled. All that remained for him to do was to break the tie between Eva and Bertram and his work in the world would be at an end. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Will you make me the happiest of men? Will you grant any request of mine, even one for this lovely hand?"
"Any one!"
Aline lost her self-possession entirely. She seemed to see the friend whom she loved about to plunge into an abyss from which she must rescue her. Greatly agitated, she arose, and interposed. "You are going too far, Eva!" she said, indignantly; "you must not purchase the prevention of this duel at such a price; and you, Herr von Bertram, if you are a man of honour, will not accept such a sacrifice,--you cannot thus take advantage of the misery of a weak girl. ”

“ With the scornful smile which so often hovered upon his lips and did not at all add to his attractions, Paul bowed low to Eva as he approached, and addressed her in a low tone, "'Tis an unexpected pleasure, Fräulein Schommer, to meet you here in this retired corner of the world. I am the more delighted, as it gives me an opportunity to offer you my congratulations upon your betrothal; congratulations as sincere as is my admiration for Herr von Bertram, who certainly, as far as manliness and nobility of disposition are concerned, is worthy of his lovely betrothed." ”

“ 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. ”

“ Come, begin! Tell me all that you know of this Herr Delmar, from the moment when I saw the boy for the last time until the present day."
Herr von Heydeck sprang up from his seat and paced the room to and fro in the wildest distress. He tried to reflect, to come to some determination, but his mind was confused; the doctor's threat had so terrified him that he could think of nothing but the wretched consequences of such a betrayal, and he lost sight of the fact that his guilty accomplice had an equal interest with himself in preserving his secret. ”