Georg Ebers

“ Your health, Colonel Mulder! Captain Huivenvoorde, I drain this goblet to your new standard and hope to have many a jolly ride by your side.”
The German’s eyes again sparkled with an eager light, and when Captain Van der Laen, continuing his conversation, cried enthusiastically: “The Beggars of the Sea will yet sink the Spanish power. The sea, gentlemen. the sea! To base one’s cause on nothing, is the best way! To exult, leap and grapple in the storm! To fight and struggle man to man and breast to breast on the deck of the enemy’s ship! To fight and conquer, or perish with the foe!” ”

“ So sang Janus Dousa, so rang a voice in Peter’s soul, so prayed Maria, and with her thousands of men and women.
But the glow in the horizon died away, the firing ceased. A second day elapsed, a third and fourth, but no messenger arrived, no Beggar ship appeared, and the sea seemed to be calm; but another terrible power increased, moving with mysterious, stealthy, irresistible might; Death, with his pale companions, Despair and Famine.
The dead were borne secretly to their graves under cover of the darkness of night, to save their scanty ration for the survivors, in the division of food. ”

“ You have done this thing, you, the friend of the Prince, the shield and providence of this brave city, you, the man who received the oaths of the citizens, the martyr’s son, the servant of liberty—”
“No more!” he interrupted, trembling with shame and rage. “Do you know what it is to bear the guilt of this most terrible suffering before God and men?”
“Yes, yes, thrice yes; it is laying one’s heart on the rack, to save Holland and liberty. That is what it means! Oh, God, my God! You are lost! You intend to negotiate with Valdez!” ”

“ The hat is the sign of liberty, and the free man keeps his hat on. So some of the burgomaster’s guests sat at the board with covered heads, and how admirably the high plaited cap of dark-red velvet, with its rich ornaments of plumes, suited the fresh old face of the senior Seigneur of Nordwyk and the clever countenance of his nephew Janus Dousa; how well the broad-brimmed hat with blue and orange ostrich-feathers—the colors of the House of Orange—became the waving locks of the young Seigneur of Warmond, Jan Van Duivenvoorde. ”

“ My wheat is destroyed by the hail.”
“Then let it be, and see if the barley and clover don’t do better,” replied Wilhelm gaily, tossing vetches and grains of wheat to a large dove that had alighted on the parapet of his tower.
“It eats, and what use is it?” cried Allertssohn, looking at the dove. “Herr von Warmond, a young man after God’s own heart, has just brought me two falcons; do you want to see how I tame them?”
“No, Captain, I have enough to do with my music and my doves.”
“That is your affair. The long-necked one yonder is a queer-looking fellow.” ”

“ Georg descended the stairs in a state of bewilderment. Both halves of the book, in which ever since the wedding at Delft he had written a succession of verses to Maria, lay in his hand.
The light of the kitchen-fire streamed into the entry. He followed it, and before answering Barbara’s kind greeting, went to the hearth and flung into the fire the sheets, which contained the pure, sweet fragrance of a beautiful flower of youth.
“Oho! Junker!” cried the widow. “A quick fire doesn’t suit every kind of food. What is burning there?” ”

“ Wilhelm must certainly have looked anything but well-clad, for as he stood in old Fraulein Van Hoogstraten’s spacious, stately hall, the steward Belotti received him as patronizingly as if he were a beggar.
But the Neopolitan, in whose mouth the vigorous Dutch sounded like the rattling in the throat of a chilled singer, speedily took a different tone when Wilhelm, in excellent Italian, quietly explained the object of his visit. Nay, at the sweet accents of his native tongue, the servant’s repellent demeanor melted into friendly, eager welcome. ”

“ The musician laughed, exclaiming: “You a coward! How many Spaniards has your Brescian sword killed?”
“Wounded, wounded, sir, far oftener than killed,” replied the other. “If the devil challenges me I shall ask: Foils, sir, or Spanish swords? But there’s one person I do fear, and that’s my best and at the same time my worst friend, a Netherlander, like yourself, the man who rides here beside you. Yes, when rage seizes upon me, when my beard begins to tremble, my small share of sense flies away as fast as your doves when you let them go. You don’t know me, Wilhelm.” ”

“ Henrica returned to her aunt in a deeply-agitated mood. Was the adventuress of whom Wilhelm had spoken, the only creature whom she loved with all the ardor of her passionate soul? Was Isabella her lost sister? Many incidents were opposed to it, yet it was possible. She tortured herself with questions, and the less peace her aunt gave her, the more unendurable her headache became, the more plainly she felt that the fever, against whose relaxing power she had struggled for days, would conquer her. ”

“ There is our house. You are our guest, and if you address a single word like the last ones to your friend’s wife—”
“Maria, Maria—oh, don’t touch the knocker. How can you so unfeelingly destroy the whole happiness of a human being—”
The door had opened, and the burgomaster’s wife crossed the threshold. Georg stood opposite to her, held out his hand as if beseeching aid, and murmured in a hollow tone:
“Cast forth to death and despair! Maria, Maria, why do you treat me thus?” ”

“ In truth, the men who sat around the table, so daintily decked with flowers by a woman’s hand, understood how to empty the large fluted goblets so nimbly, that jug after jug of Peter’s Malmsey and Rhine wine were brought up from the cellar, the men who made breaches in the round pies and huge joints of meat, juicier and more nourishing than any country except theirs can furnish—did not look as if pallid fear had brought them together. ”

“ You can remain here an hour, Frau Van der Werff, but that will be enough for to-day. I’ll go to your house and send the servant for you with a lantern.”
When the two ladies were left alone together, Maria said:
“You set great value on the sound of voices; so do I, perhaps more than is desirable. True, I have never had any serious illness—”
“This is my first one too,” replied Henrica, “but I know now what it is to be compelled to submit to everything we don’t like, and feel with two-fold keenness everything that is repulsive. It is better to die than suffer.” ”

“ The Spanish besieging army encompassed the city like an iron wall. Each individual felt that he was a fellow-prisoner of his neighbor, and drew closer to companions of his own rank and opinions. Business was stagnant, idleness and anxiety weighed like lead on the minds of all, and whoever wished to make time pass rapidly and relieve his oppressed soul, went to the tavern to give utterance to his own hopes and fears, and hear what others were thinking and feeling in the common distress. ”

“ The fencing-master struck his broad chest as he uttered these words and, without waiting for his companion’s reply, continued:
“You know me and my life, Herr Wilhelm. What do I do, what do I practise? Only chivalrous work.
“My life is based upon the sword. Do you know a better blade or surer hand than mine? Do my soldiers obey me? Have I spared my blood in fighting before the red walls and towers yonder? No, by my fore man Roland, no, no, a thousand times no.” ”

“ Who would not, like you, Herr Wilhelna, go to the Tiber to increase the short span of the present by the long centuries of the past!”
“I should be glad to go to Italy once more with you,” replied Wilhelm.
“And I with you.”
“Let us first secure our liberty,” said the musician. “When that is accomplished, each individual will belong to himself, and then: why should I conceal it, nothing will keep me in Leyden.”
“And the organ? Your father?” asked Aquanus.
“My brothers will remain here, snug in their own nest,” answered Wilhelm. ”

“ In thoughtful minds the dread of what must inevitably come was increasing. The rain made anxiety grow as rapidly in the hearts of many citizens, as the young blades of grain in the fields. Conversations, that sounded anything but hopeful, took place in many tap-rooms—in others men were even heard declaring resistance folly, or loudly demanding the desertion of the cause of the Prince of Orange and liberty.
Whoever in these days desired to see a happy face in Leyden might have searched long in vain, and would probably have least expected to find it in the house of Burgomaster Van der Werff. ”

“ Maria glanced indignantly at Henrica, who had leaned far across the table. She was showing Georg a ring, and laughingly exclaimed:
“Don’t you wish to know what the device means? Look, a serpent biting its own tail.”
“Aha!” replied the Junker, “the symbol of self-torment.”
“Good, good! But it has another meaning, which you would do well to notice, Sir Knight. Do you know the signification of eternity and eternal faith?”
“No, Fraulein, I wasn’t taught to think so deeply at Jena.”
“Of course. Your teachers were men. Men and faith, eternal faith!” ”

“ She thought of Bessie, followed Peter in imagination to the town-hall, and heard his powerful voice contending for resistance to the last man and the last pound of meat; nay, she could place herself by his side, for she knew what was to come: To stand fast, stand fast for liberty, and if God so willed, die a martyr’s death for it like Jacoba, Leonhard, and Peter’s noble father. ”

“ The grown people too were not silent, and as the procession approached the town-hall, head-quarters of military companies, guild-halls or residences of popular men, loud cheers arose, mingled with the ringing of bells, the shouts of the sailors on both arms of the Rhine and on the canals, the playing of the city musicians at the street corners, and the rattle of guns and roar of cannon fired by the gunners and their assistants from the citadel. ”

“ At last the widow paused, saying:
“Perhaps the Prince has sent a messenger for Peter. In such times, after such blows, everything is possible. You might have seen correctly.”
“It was surely he,” replied Maria positively.
“Poor fellow!” said the other. “It must be a sad ride for him! Much honor, much hardship! You’ve no reason to despond, for your husband will return tomorrow or the day after; while I—look at me, Maria! I go through life stiff and straight, do my duty cheerfully; my cheeks are rosy, my food has a relish, yet I’ve been obliged to resign what was dearest to me. ”

“ Every one wanted to watch the Spaniards, hurrying hither and thither like sheep pursued by a wolf. Every one wanted to hear the thunder of the Beggars’ cannon, the rattle of their arquebuses and muskets; men and women thought the tempest that threatened to sweep them away, pleasanter than the softest breeze, and the pouring rain, which drenched them, preferable to spring dew-drops mirroring the sunshine.
Behind the strong fort of Lammen, defended by several hundred Spanish soldiers, and the Castle of Cronenstein, a keen eye could distinguish the Beggars’ vessels. ”

“ Peter clasped both hands over his brow; but Bontius found no word of comfort, and merely exclaimed: “And I, and I? My wife and child ill with a fever, day and night on my feet, not to cure, but to see people die. What has been learned by hard study becomes childish folly in these days, and yet the poor creatures utter a sigh of hope when I feel their pulses. But this can’t go on, this can’t go on. Day before yesterday seventy, yesterday eighty-six deaths, and among them two of my colleagues.” ”

“ The Rhine and the canals will grow crimson, for much blood will flow into them and they will mirror an unequalled conflagration. Woe betide the men, tenfold woe betide the women, against whom the conqueror’s fury will then be directed. And you, you—the wife of the man who has induced thousands to desert King Philip, the wife of the exile, who directs the resistance within these walls.”
At the last words Maria had opened her large eyes wider and wider, and now interrupted her husband with the question: “Do you wish to try how high my courage will rise?” ”

“ For, oh! this a song that ne’er can die, It seeks the heart of all humanity. In the deep cavern and the darksome lair, The sea of ether o’er the realm of air, In every nook my song shall still be heard, And all creation, with sad yearning stirred, United in a full, exultant choir, Pray thee to grant the singer’s fond desire. E’en when the ivy o’er my grave hath grown, Still will ring on each sweet, enchanting tone, Through the whole world and every earthly zone, Resounding on in aeons yet to come. ”