Anne Manning

“ THE CHÂLET. A FEW hours after Rudolf had gone, Hofer was standing at the door of his hut, when he thought he saw a dark object stealthily moving among the firs. At first he took it for some animal of prey, but his next impression was that it was a human creature on all fours; and, as he had certainly been himself seen, he thought he lost nothing by rushing out on the intruder.
A man, creeping along under an ox-hide, started up, and proved to be Franz.
"What do you here?" cried Hofer.
"Why, Sandwirth, can that be you?" said Franz, in seeming astonishment. "Why, how you surprise me! ”

“ Thank God!" said Hofer.
"Thank God," said Speckbacher, "I feel I've done right."
"Rely on it. The wonder to me, brother, is, that you could ever have been over-persuaded. What! is our love of our country a mere dream? How many have already laid down their lives for it! For my part, I can die for freedom, but I cannot live a slave. Will Austria, think you, be angry in her heart, that we continue the defence of the cause? On the contrary, she will secretly rejoice in every success. ”

“ Instead of setting us aside to cool, he stirs up the fire hotter and hotter, never minding our boiling and bubbling, so long as we don't boil over. Well, supposing fused metal had the feelings of a man, just fancy its state! At last the scum parts! the pure, bright silver appears!—he stoops over it, sees in it his own face,—takes us to heaven!"
"Oh me! I don't believe I could stand all that!" cried Speckbacher, turning pale. "You might, but I couldn't!"
"God only knows our hearts," replied the Sandwirth. ”

“ Whenever a man has put to me the question, 'Are you Hofer?' I have never yet said 'No;' and I cannot begin now."
Anna was going to remonstrate; but he smiled rather sadly at her and said—
"It would be to little good, dear—we are already discovered by Franz."
Here Johann burst into a loud fit of crying, and flung himself on the straw; while Anna stood speechless.
"We had better go somewhere else, then," said she, after a moment.
"Where? We dare not descend into the valleys; and if we stray about the mountains, Rudolf will not know where to find us, and we shall perish with hunger. ”

“ Scarcely had the sun begun to gild the mountain-tops, when Theresa stood beside the river with her milk-pail on her head, inquiring of Rudolf, who was fishing in the shade, how many trout he had caught for Father Joachim's breakfast.
Carrying a pail or pitcher on the head gives the neck an erect, noble carriage—reining it up, as it were: and Theresa, in her short, scanty grass-green petticoat, and black bodice laced with scarlet, might have stood for the Princess Nausicaa, as her laughing black eyes looked down on the young fisherman from beneath their long lashes. ”

“ Franz walked on, silent and astounded, doubting which of them were the wickeder man. "The Sandwirth," resumed he, at length, with a choke in his voice, "has never done me a wrong—on the contrary, nothing but good. It is only Theresa—"
"Ah, if you can put up with that girl's scorn, you can put up with anything," said Father Donay contemptuously.
"I can't put up with it, and won't!" cried Franz; "but it's making her pay pretty dearly, too, if her father gets shot."
"Don't be such a dolt as to suppose it," said Father Donay pacifyingly; "the worst he and she will get is a good fright. ”

“ Speckbacher was not immediately aware of Hofer's fall. We left him in his mountain fastnesses, dwelling among perpetual snows, and only approaching the haunts of men when impelled by hunger. On one of these occasions, he was cautiously approaching a group of people, consisting of a man, woman, and some children, near the little village of Volderberg, when it struck him that they appeared to be fugitives like himself, and would probably prove unable to assist him in his need.
On approaching them, O joy! he beheld his Maria, with her children and honest Zoppel. ”

“ In came Eisenstecken, looking still redder than Hofer; but he walked straight up to him, held out his hand, and said,
"Don't bear malice, Sandwirth; I did wrong, I own it. I was faint-hearted, and threw up a good cause as lost—many's the regret it has cost me! But, come, I have been punished enough!"
Hofer, after a few moments' pause, held out his hand to him, saying,
"I believe you, my lad. Why, every success of ours must have been gall and wormwood to you! Speckbacher chose the better part." ”

“ The Archduke calls it a holy war, and so do I. So great a power as Napoleon Buonaparte's cannot be opposed alone, and therefore all the nations ought to make common cause against him."
"Ought and will are two things," said Baron Sternach drily. "I should embark in this war with much more readiness than I do, if I saw our way safely and victoriously out of it; but if, after a fruitless though brilliant struggle, we are reduced to make inglorious conditions of peace, it would have been better to leave the matter alone."
"Ah, papa, don't throw cold water on us!" cried Hildegarde. ”

“ While Hofer amused this wayward little son with one story after another, rewarded therein by beguiling himself of his own heavy thoughts, Anna stood musing, with her eyes wistfully fixed on her husband's rifle.
"It has brought down many a man in battle," thought she; "and why not now, if spies come lurking about him to make a prey of him? He would not do it, I know; but, I declare, if I espy any one prowling about that has no business here, I'll see if I can't manage to hit him myself!"
Just four evenings after his previous visit, Rudolf reappeared. ”

“ Down went the coulter; he kissed wife and infant, and hurried into the house, followed, wherever he went, by his little son Anderl, who wistfully eyed him as he took up his rifle.
The last word having been spoken cheerily, Speckbacher sped on his way, watched only for a minute by Maria, who felt a tear glistening in her eye and did not wish him to see it. So she re-entered the house.
Meanwhile, the little boy ran after him.
"Father! let me go too!"
"You? you little rogue! No, no, not this time. You must stay at home and take care of your mother." ”

“ Franz looked sheepish, made a movement of his hand towards Hofer's, drew it back, and crept off. Even his gait was that of a caitiff.
"How altered the Sandwirth is!" mused he—"his hair, that was raven black, is now half grey; his beard looks as if it hadn't been trimmed for a month. His face is full of lines and furrows, and he is very thin. Why, he isn't half the bulk he was!—very likely, knows pretty well what it is to want victuals. Well, so do I; and when a man wants victuals, it makes him ready to do things that he wouldn't think of doing when full fed. ”

“ Hurrah!—We're all true weapon-brothers. And those that are not shall be ducked in the Inn. Long live the Emperor. Hofer for ever. Hurrah!"
The Sandwirth kept his family with him only forty-eight hours. He had a very great dread of the allurements of what, to him, appeared a very luxurious capital. So Anna and Theresa, having strayed about the city with the children, visited the Hoffkirche, the market, and the public walks, and enjoyed the female privilege of a little shopping, contentedly retraced their way home on mules; for there are none but mule-paths to the Passeyrthal. ”

“ Where's Theresa?"
"Looking after the horse. The children are keeping the cows, goats, and sheep. Here comes Theresa."
Theresa flew up to her father, and embraced him; then overwhelmed him with a thousand questions.
"One at a time will last the longer," said he; and drawing her to his knee, with his wife close beside him, he rehearsed to them in detail what has here been recounted more briefly; interjecting warm praise of Chastelar, Hormayr, and Martin Teimer. ”

“ Well, then, I'll think about it, father: and—"
"And, if somebody else should do it while you are only thinking about it, he'll get the reward instead of you."
"That won't suit me at all!" cried Franz. "Why, if I make up my mind to do an ill turn, I may as well do it as not; the sin—that is, the—whatever it is, will be the same—"
"The intention, but not the reward," said Father Donay. "Heaven notes our intentions; man only notes works."
"I wish I were fairly out of this work," exclaimed Franz. "If Theresa, now, were to come across me at this moment, she might overcome me with a straw!" ”

“ The struggle at Berg Isel had taken place on the 26th, and on the following day a man was to be seen rapidly skirting the mountains that bound Halle to the north, along the edge of a ravine, in the depths of which brawled an impetuous torrent. His green coat and red sash might have been those of any Tyrolese; but his dark beard showed him to be no other than Hofer. ”

“ Speckbacher says there are no fewer than forty-eight caverns, and that some of the galleries connecting them are three leagues in length. He called it a capital place for hide and seek."
"Aye, or for storing brandy, as that scamp Franz said," muttered Rudolf.
"Much obliged," said Franz, sauntering up. "Hope I'm no interruption."
"None at all," said Rudolf, watching his trout.
"Listeners never hear good of themselves," said Theresa tartly.
"I didn't know you were talking secrets, or I wouldn't have intruded," said Franz, throwing himself on the grass. "So I'm a scamp, am I?" ”

“ He did not reach the cottage of Zoppel's kinsman, Hans, till after dark. Hans, hearing a slight sound outside, thought a wolf was prowling round the cottage, and approached the door cautiously with his rifle. On beholding a man crouching down, he at first took him for a spy, and was half ready to give him the reception he had intended for the wolf; but on hearing Speckbacher faintly say, "Hans, don't you know me?" ”

“ Suddenly an old man, at least eighty years of age, with hair as white as snow, but with the fire of youth in his dark eyes, levelled his piece from behind an almost inaccessible crag, brought down his man, reloaded his piece, and continued his deadly fire, never wasting a bullet, yet without receiving the least hurt in return. His execution was so fatal, that a couple of Saxons were detached, and privately sent round by a circuitous path to seize him. As soon as they rushed upon him, he shouted "Hurra!" shot the first, seized the second in his arms, and, crying "In God's name!" ”

“ Dead bodies must certainly be lying here and there in the gorges; for now and then carrion crows, sated with their impure repast, rise slowly on their flapping wings, and fly heavily away.
In the sunniest and prettiest part of the valley is a little village of some dozen whitewashed huts, that look clean and comfortable at a distance. The village is surely deserted! not a creature seems in it except an old purblind woman, sitting outside her door on a stone; and she is straining her cracked voice in vain efforts to make herself heard.
[64]
"Hannes!—Lenora!—Franz!" ”

“ Hofer could not get on with his bread and cheese. [219] He sank sorrowfully back in his chair, and covered his eyes with his hand.
"Take courage, son," said Father Donay; "consider what a noble sacrifice thou art about to make—"
"What sacrifice?" cried Anna hastily.
"The sacrifice of his will, daughter; the hardest sacrifice man or woman can make."
"Something more than that," groaned Hofer.
"What's that?" cried Anna sharply. "Your will was always a good one—why should you give it up?" ”

“ Leonard, they struck up to the old Castle of Jauffen; and then began to climb a steep and stony path resembling the dry bed of a torrent, being strewn with boulders; shaded here and there with walnuts and budding elders. Presently the path ran along a precipitous slope, high above the valley, and occasionally crossing chasms on most insecure-looking bridges of poles, carelessly laid across, that required Tyrolean nerves to tread in confidence. These men thought nothing whatever about it, unless the idea occurred how easily they could pull the loose poles after them if the enemy were behind. ”

“ Theresa rewarded him with a grateful look, and [228] then began to milk the cow. He stood by her the while.
"How everything has changed, Theresa!"
"Changed indeed—"
"I am not changed."
"Nor I."
"The winter, with its snows and its ice-blasts, is not more different from the summer, with its ripe fruits and sunshine, than the prospects of the Tyrolese now are, from what they were a few months, even weeks, ago!"
"No. Still I am glad we tried to free ourselves, though it did not please God to give us success. We can feel self-respect. Even our enemies must, I think, reluctantly respect us." ”

“ Franz burst out laughing, and suddenly stopped short, as he saw Father Donay turn red with wrath.
"You are rude to laugh," said the priest, with displeasure. "I nearly lost my life, I can tell you! When I floundered out, I found so many foot-tracks that I got confused, and could make none of them out to be Hofer's; yet, whoever it was who had walked up to that spot, must have turned back or gone on, unless, indeed, they could have been smothered in the snow." ”

“ Hofer rose, looking comforted.
"I'm all the better for that," said Speckbacher, heartily.
"How can it be otherwise, brother? God has bidden us cast our care upon Him; it is our own fault if we do it not."
They proceeded on their way.
"I wonder if Chastelar ever kneels down and prays as we have just done," said Speckbacher presently.
"There's no saying, brother; I should hope he does. There seems to me to be little praying in camps. Men touch their hats as they pass a picture or a crucifix—that is pretty nearly all; outwardly, at least, which is all we can judge from. ”