Mór Jókai

“ Skill, valour, and fidelity are three excellent aids to a man in making his way upward, and all three are developed by service. There are victories yonder waiting to be won, and my son is to take the lead. There will be war in Europe when once the earthquake begins, and a Richard Baradlay will find work enough ready to his hand. His fame shall cast its glory over us all. He must never marry: a wife would only be in his way. Let his part be to promote the fortunes of his brothers. What an excellent claim for their advancement would be the heroic death of their brother on the battle-field! ”

“ Richard smiled. "But the Danaë I have already exchanged for my own portrait," said he.
"Oh, your portrait doesn't go out of my house now for any money," declared the Jew. "This is the first time in my life that a gentleman has said to me: 'Solomon, what you offer me for fifteen ducats is worth not fifteen, but a hundred; it is not a Crivelli, but an Al-Bohacen.' Such another portrait is not to be found in all the world. It is a rarity, it is unique. No, no, that portrait doesn't leave my house; it stays here. Take the sword and pay me a ducat to boot; then we shall be quits." ”

“ The sound of horses' hoofs fell on their ears.
"Time is flying, my son!" exclaimed the baroness. "You must not linger another moment."
A slow rain was falling. The hussars were drawn up in order, and their captain had nothing to do but mount his horse and place himself at their head.
"Saddle horses and right about!" sounded the subdued watchword; and the squadron wheeled around. The trumpeter was dead, but the valiant band needed no bugle blast to spur it forward. In a moment it had vanished in the mist and darkness. ”

“ Any happiness that befalls you cannot fail to rejoice me also. Rank, wealth, birth are slight matters in my eyes. If you chose a bride from the working classes,—a virtuous, industrious, pure-hearted girl,—I should give you my blessing and rejoice in your happiness; or if you should select a spoiled creature of fashion, a coquette and a spendthrift, I should still receive your bride as my daughter, and pray God to bless the union and turn evil into good; but if you marry Alfonsine Plankenhorst, it will be without the blessing of either God or your mother, and we shall be parted for ever. ”

“ After drawing up his men across the street and before the entrance to the convent, he was calmly watching the mob's advance, when suddenly a strangely clad figure approached him. A black coat faced with red, black, and gilt, a sash of the same colours, a straight sword with an iron hilt, a broad-brimmed hat adorned with a black ostrich feather,—these were the accoutrements of the stranger, who wore a thin beard and mustache, and was of a bold and spirited bearing, though evidently not of military training. Hastening up to Richard, the newcomer greeted him heartily. ”

“ The slightly wounded bound up their wounds, while those who had fared the worst were laid across their comrades' rifle-barrels and so carried along, marking their path with their life-blood, and ever shouting hurrahs for the cause of liberty.
At last the cartridges ran low.
"Look here, patron," said Mausmann to Ödön, "we have but one round of ammunition left, and when that is gone we are lost. But there's a bridge yonder which we can easily hold, and the cavalry can't get through the bog to surround us. ”

“ Jenő started up in horrified protest.
"And when you are a rich and powerful man," his mother continued, "in possession of all that we now hold in common, and when you are crowned with honours and happiness, then, my son, remember this hour and your mother's petition: let your brother's children never suffer want."
"Mother!" cried Jenő, beside himself with grief and pain. Hastening to his desk, he drew forth his certificate of appointment from one of its drawers, tore it into a hundred pieces, and then sank weeping on his mother's breast. "Mother, I am not going to Russia." ”

“ No sooner had the two champions fallen than there followed a furious conflict over their bodies, each side striving to rescue its fallen hero. Old Paul, who had spurred his horse after his master, sprang from his saddle and threw himself on Richard's body. The hoofs of trampling steeds soon stamped the life out of the faithful servant, but he had succeeded in saving the one being in this world whom he loved. With unselfish affection, he had shielded his dear master and cheerfully laid down his life for him. ”

“ He groaned and sighed piteously as he came limping into camp, using his pole-axe for a crutch, and appearing utterly exhausted.
"Boksa, what has happened to you?" asked Ödön.
"Ah, sir," moaned the ox-driver, "you may well ask what has happened to me. A good deal has happened to me. I am all done up. I shall never again be the man I was. Oh, oh! my backbone is broken. That cursed cannon-ball! A big forty-pounder hit me."
Mausmann and his comrades burst into a loud laugh at this.
"But where is our herd of oxen?" was the question from every side. ”

“ I must die, and I can leave my secret only to a noble-hearted man who will know how to honour and guard it. I was your enemy, but now I am good friends with everybody. You have got the better of me, and are left to receive your old enemy's bequest; it is your duty to accept it."
"I accept it," said Richard.
"I knew you would, and so I sent for you. I have a son whom I have never seen, and never shall see. His mother is a high-born lady; you will find her name in the papers that are in my pocketbook. She was beautiful, but heartless. I was a young lieutenant when we first met. ”

“ The double doors at the farther end of the hall were thrown open and the procession of ladies entered, led by the widow Baradlay, who presented Aranka Lánghy to the assembled company as the bride. It was a beautiful sight,—the elder lady in a trailing black gown, a garnet diadem in her hair, and a long-unwonted smile lighting up her face and giving her the aspect of a beautiful queen; and the fair young bride at her side, in robe of white with white hyacinths for her ornaments and a modest blush adding its charm to her sweet maidenly dignity. ”

“ But suddenly the shrill notes of a bugle were heard above the howling of the mob. It was a signal to the horsemen to hold themselves in readiness for action, and it dampened the ardour of the rioters.
"For heaven's sake," exclaimed Fritz, "don't give the order to attack. We must avoid bloodshed. I will try to make these fellows listen to me."
"Speak, then, in God's name! I will stay at your side," said Richard, as he lighted a cigar and waited for his companion to try the effect of his eloquence on the unruly mob before them. ”

“ My third and youngest son, Jenő, is my favourite; I don't deny that I love him best of the three; but he will never know it. I have always treated him harshly, and you too must continue so to treat him. Let him remain at Vienna in the civil service and make his way upward step by step. The struggle will give him address, shrewdness, and fruitfulness of resource. Let him learn to supplant others by dint of superior intelligence and amiability, and to take all possible pains to please those whom he is afterward to use as ladders for his own upward progress. ”

“ Soon she was nodding as if overcome with sleepiness, and finally she leaned back on the sofa, and her eyes seemed to be closed; but through her long lashes she was watching intently the three women before her. They thought her asleep.
"Is she always like this?" asked the Baroness Plankenhorst.
"She is incorrigibly lazy," replied Sister Remigia. "No work, no books seem to interest her. Eating and sleeping are her sole delight."
"Well, we must make the best of the matter," returned Antoinette. "I hope she will enjoy her convent life. ”

“ A cloud of dust veiled the scene for a space, and when it cleared one might have witnessed the living enactment of the hero-epics of old,—six or seven thousand knights indiscriminately mingled, and every man seeking his foe. Horses were rearing and snorting, flashing swords rang blade against blade, red shakos, shining helmets, and four-cornered caps were densely crowded in one swaying, surging, struggling mass.
In the stress of the conflict, two leaders who towered by a head above their fellows suddenly caught sight of each other. One was Richard Baradlay, the other Otto Palvicz. ”

“ You are young yet,—not forty years old. You are beautiful and will not lose your beauty. Twenty-four years ago, when I married you, you were not a whit fairer than you are to-day. You had raven-black hair and bright eyes, and you have them yet. You were gentle and modest, and you have not lost those virtues. I have always loved you warmly, as you well know. In the first year of our married life my eldest son, Ödön, was born; in the next year my second son, Richard; and in the third my youngest, Jenő. ”

“ By this time Richard had dismounted and thrown his horse's bridle to old Paul. "So the Plankenhorst ladies are still in the city, are they?" he asked, as he proceeded with Fritz toward the entrance of the convent. "And you say they are friends of the revolutionists. Do you know these women?"
"It is one of our chief concerns to know them," was the reply. "Their past is not unknown to us, but now they declare themselves unconditionally on our side. Nothing catches fire like a woman's heart at the cry of freedom. But our confidence in them is a guarded one. ”

“ From the summits of the surrounding mountains one could overlook Buda and examine its interior as if it had been an open book. Old brick walls formed its sole fortifications, with no outworks of any sort.
Wherein, then, lay its mysterious strength? In the fact that Pest lay outstretched at its feet, and for every cannon-ball directed against the fortress it could retaliate with a deadly shower of fire and iron. The enemy on the hill said to his foe across the river: "If you draw your sword against me I will slay your wife and daughters and the infant in its cradle." ”

“ You no longer fear that Aranka's little ones will come to want, do you? Heaven has ordered all things well,—both for him who dies, and for those that are left behind. You have a strong nature, an exalted soul, and I need not leave you any strength of mine. The mother of the Gracchi received into her arms her murdered sons, and wept not. For those that die a glorious death their mothers need shed no tears,—so you have told us. ”

“ Let us oppose our breasts to the flood and dam its course with our bodies."
Poor Jenő! To offer his own person as a check to the fury of the mob, and to stand as a target between two fires—that of the rioters on one side, and of the soldiery on the other—was hardly to his liking. But he made haste to assure his friend Fritz of his hearty acquiescence in the plan proposed, and bade him go on ahead; he himself would run home and get his sword and pistols and then follow in a cab. Before Alfonsine he could not betray how little stomach he had for the undertaking. ”

“ Richard threw his cigar away and sprang down the steps. Fritz intercepted him, and insisted on being heard.
"Brother," he cried, "do nothing rash. Avoid the shedding of blood—not that I fear bloodshed in itself, but the hatred that is sure to grow out of it. We must not hate one another. Your sword must not drink our people's blood. A peaceful issue is still possible." ”

“ And one word more: when you have mounted my horse, and want him to go, press his flanks with your knees, but don't whip him. If you use the whip he'll stand stock-still, and the harder you whip the stiller he'll stand. More than one horse-thief has come to grief for want of knowing that. His name is Ljubicza, and he likes to be called by it. If you whisper in his ear, 'Hurrah, Ljubicza!' he'll dart away like the wind."
Ödön felt renewed life thrill through his veins. ”

“ The two Baradlay brothers, meanwhile, were busy restoring order in their camp, and it was toward morning when Ödön sought his couch. Richard laid his head on the table before him; he could sleep very well so. Suddenly, as the day was beginning to dawn, a trampling of many hoofs and the cracking of a whip awoke the sleepers. Richard ran to the window and beheld Gregory just dismounting from his horse, and surrounded by his herd of oxen. The sweat ran from the animals' panting sides, and their quivering nostrils breathed forth clouds of steam. ”

“ It was a grim task climbing the ladders in the face of a deadly fire of sharpshooters, and the air was filled with the groans of those that fell. Theirs was a [Pg 273] twofold death, shot down as they were by the enemy, and then falling, only to be caught on the bayonets of their own comrades behind them.
Ödön mounted his ladder as coolly as if he had been climbing an Egyptian pyramid on a wager to show himself proof against giddiness. Looking up, he could see a soldier standing at the head of the ladder, half concealed by the breastworks and holding his rifle ready to shoot. ”

“ The house of Baradlay needs a master and a mistress,—a master to command and guide, a mistress with power to win hearts. A master it will find in—you."
Ödön started in surprise.
"You will be the master, and your wife the mistress, of this house."
The young man sighed heavily. "Mother, you know this cannot be," said he.
"Will you not marry?"
"Never!"
"Make no such rash vow. You are but twenty-four years old. You were not born to be a Carthusian monk. The world is full of pretty faces and loving hearts, and even you are sure to find one for yourself." ”

“ At this charge Jenő's face flushed with anger. "That is false!" he cried. "That is a shameless slander! No Baradlay would commit a crime!"
This outburst sealed his fate by removing any lingering doubt as to his identity. Such a passionate denial could have come only from him whom the charge actually concerned, that is, from Ödön Baradlay.
"What have you to say in your defence?" he was asked in closing.
"Our defence is in our deeds," was the proud rejoinder. "Posterity will judge us." ”

“ On the right lay the river like a dark mirror under the scurrying clouds.
"Now, boys," said Richard, when he had his men all before him, "we have begun a march which will take us either home or to destruction. I have to warn you—what you know well enough already—that we are about to face every sort of peril and hardship. We must ride day and night without a halt, swim rivers, climb mountains, bear hunger, thirst, and [Pg 190] want of sleep, and be prepared to fight for our lives at every step. He who faints by the way is lost; he will be taken prisoner and shot. I ask no man to follow me. ”