Zacharias Topelius

“ Meri, with a broken heart, retained her self-possession, and tried to recall Regina to life.
"The king has then fallen on the battlefield in the midst of victory?" she asked.
"On the battlefield of Lützen, the 6th of November, and in the midst of a glorious victory," replied Lady Marta, more and more surprised at Meri's knowledge.
"Awake, gracious lady, he has lived and died like a hero, worthy of the admiration of the whole world. He has fallen in the hour of triumph, in the highest lustre of his glory; his name will live in all times, and his name we will both bless." ”

“ One might say that nature in this deep silence of winter and night is dead, and yet she lives, warm and rich, in the wanderer's heart.
It is as if she had in this little spot, this solitary place in the wilderness, compressed all her throbbing life, only to let it exist all the more beautifully in the midst of silence, stillness, and the radiance of the stars.
Bertel also experienced this feeling of freshness and life. He was still young and open to every impression. As he hastened along, light as the wind, between the trees and snow-drifts, he felt like a child. ”

“ I know the fruit of the sword, and what the plough produces. In the sword lurks a spirit of evil, which revels in blood and tears; the sword kills and destroys, but the plough gives life and happiness. You see, Larsson, the plough has made this field. Over at Korsholm is the Finnish coat of arms, a lion with a naked sword. Were I king, I would say, Away with the sword and take the plough. The latter is the true weapon of Finland; if we possess bread we have plenty of arms; with arms we can drive our enemies from our homes. But without bread, Larsson, what use is steel and powder to us? ”

“ Finland is the most favoured child of the Baltic; she empties her treasures into the lap of her mother, and the great sea does not disdain the offering, but withdraws lovingly and tenderly like an indulgent mother, that her daughter may develop, and every season clothes the shores with grass and flowers. Fortunate the land which lulls to sleep in its bosom the waters of a thousand lakes, and stretches one hundred and forty Swedish miles along the shore. The sea bears power, freedom, and enlightenment; the ocean is an active civilising element in the world ”

“ Both the Larssons and Meri surround Bertel with warm and apparently embarrassed greetings. Ketchen flies and throws herself, without thinking of the difference between her burgher dress and the costly velvet cloak, into Regina's arms, who, with emotion, clasps her faithful friend to her heart.
Bertel gently frees himself from Meri's embrace, and goes straight up to old Bertila with a firm step, who, cold and silent in his high chair at the end of the table, does not honour him with a word or glance. ”

“ One day at the end of December, 1631, the king gave a splendid banquet in Frankfurt on account of the queen's arrival. Great crowds of people filled the place outside the castle, the high Gothic windows at night shone bright as day. Ale and wines flowed constantly from big casks for the people's entertainment; around the tap-holes workmen and soldiers jostled each other, holding out tankards and goblets, which were quickly filled and as suddenly empty again. The good citizens of Frankfurt were beside themselves with admiration for the great king. ”

“ When the moon rises upon this world of vanishing green, then there is nothing more sadly beautiful to be found in all nature than one of these lovely evenings in August. Then the eye accustomed to three months unbroken day, shrinks from the darkness and yet sees this darkness in its loveliest aspect, like a mild sorrow softened by a ray of heavenly glory. This impression would return every year even if one lived for centuries; it is light and darkness which at the same moment are struggling in the world and in the human heart. ”

“ The king looked at Lady Regina, but more sadness than anger was to be seen in his eyes. It pained him that so young and beautiful a girl could take part in such a detestable plot.
"Mercy, your Majesty! mercy for my father confessor! He is innocent!" cried the unhappy girl.
"Will your Majesty allow me to ask a few questions in your place?" said Oxenstjerna.
"Do as you think best, minister," said the king.
"Very well. What did your reverence come here for?"
"To bring back a great sinner to the true fold," said the monk hypocritically, with his eyes turned upwards. ”

“ At daybreak, Lady Regina was on the look-out at her little turret window. It was a glorious sight, when the sun rose over the autumn hills with their still verdant vineyards, through which the River Main wound like a glittering serpent of gold and silver in the morning light. In the town all was activity; four Swedish regiments marched in with flags flying and drums beating, their armour shining in the bright sunlight, and the plumes of their officers waving in the wind. ”

“ You who can see into my inmost being, you know that I have not enough strength to hate this heretic king as you demand of me. He is so great, so noble. Woe unto me, I shudder to think of the holy charge you have given me!"
"Courage, my daughter," whispered a voice close by, and Lady Regina's evil spirit, the pale Jesuit, stood behind her.
"The hour is approaching," he said in a low tone. "The godless king has been taken by your beauty; rejoice, my child. The Holy Virgin has decided his destruction. This night he shall die." ”

“ But you do not know, Meri. It is an anguish that you cannot understand, it is a fearful conflict when one loves a man, a hero, the personification of the highest and grandest in life, and yet is commanded by a Holy Faith to hate this man, to kill him, to persecute him to the grave. You do not know, happy one, who only needs to love and bless, what it means to be tossed between love and hate, like a ship on the mighty waves ”

“ You renounce a patent of nobility, you, who have blushed for your peasant name and taken another which would look more imposing? No, on your knees have you begged for a coat of arms. What do I know about its being offered you; what do I care. I only know that since your earliest childhood I have tried to implant in your soul, recreant, that there are no other rightful powers than the king and people, that all who place themselves between, whether they bear the name of aristocrats, ecclesiastics, or what not, are monstrosities, a ruin, a curse to State and country ... ”

“ I honour and respect your station, but I have grown accustomed to the career of a soldier, which I neither can nor will abandon. To choose a wife to your mind is equally impossible. Here is my wife; she is a prince's daughter, but she has chosen a peasant's son for her husband; this is a proof that she will not blush to call you father."
At these words Regina humbly approached the old man as if to kiss his hand, and all rose except Bertel and his father. But the peasant king's former fiery temper now burst forth. ”

“ I forbid you to work. Even if your father turned me out of doors, and I had to beg my bread, you should not work any more to-day. Well, well, my child, don't take it so hard; your father is not so foolish. He knows that you are not strong; you are like your dead mother, who was a lady by birth, and from your education in Stockholm ... There, there; let us go home; don't be obstinate now, Meri!"
"Let me go, Larsson; see, he comes himself!" cried Meri, tearing herself free and grasping the scythe, with which she again tried to mow the golden rye. ”

“ The darkness of the autumn increased, and its fogs covered the blood-stained fields of Germany, and still the battles did not cease. Here it was ordained that only one great spirit should find everlasting rest, after many storms, and pass from life's dark night to eternal light. The angel of death came closer over Gustaf Adolf's noble head, and threw over him a gleam of light from a higher world, which is sometimes seen shining around the great souls of the earth in their last moments. ”

“ I do not believe in the new ideas about a perpetual peace. I believe that as long as human hearts retain selfish desires, the curse of war will prevail. Eternal peace consists in no longer fighting blindly, slavishly, as before, but with glad courage comprehending the reason why, and for a righteous cause; then one can hack away with right goodwill."
"Then we should always fight for an idea," said the schoolmaster thoughtfully.
"That's it, for an idea. It is to the honour of the Finnish soldier that with one exception he has always fought for the defence of his fatherland. ”

“ And among themselves, these people bewitch each other with all kinds of evils, so that when anyone carries food to another person, he changes his enemy into a wolf; and every word they speak takes life, so that when they wish to make a boat or an axe, they say it, and directly they have what they wish."
"You are drawing a fine picture," said Regina, smiling for the first time in a long period, for the freshness of the sea had a good influence on her dreamy soul. "Happy is the land where the people can create all they wish for with a word. ”

“ Lady Regina was closely guarded after her midnight visit to the king; and later in the spring, when the waters were released from their icy fetters, she was sent to Finland, where we may find her again. No religious hatred, still less revenge, prompted the anger of the usually generous Gustaf Adolf towards the young girl; abused confidence deeply stabs a noble heart, and Regina said nothing to remove the idea of her guilt from the king's mind; in fact, she strengthened it more and more by her fanaticism, and hatred still possessed her young heart, which ought to have been given to love alone. ”

“ Again an ironical smile played around the old man's lips.
"Do you not understand," he coldly said, "how it is possible to hate soldiers and aristocrats, and yet send one's son to war as the nearest road to distinction, under a king's eyes?"
"I beg of you, Bertila, put aside such wild fancies; you are a reasonable man when the demon of pride does not get possession of your restless mind. Your plan will fail; it must fail."
"It cannot fail."
"What! Not fail!"
"No! Have I not told you that Gösta must be either king or peasant? Either. I do not care. ”

“ The prisoners' wounds healed rapidly under the care of the nuns. The fierce autumn storms whistled around the castle turrets, and the heavy rain beat against the small panes. The verdure of the vineyards faded, and a thick, heavy mist rose from the Main, and obscured the view of the town.
"I cannot stand it any longer," growled Larsson. "The wretches! they do not give us either wine or dice. And forgive me, Saint, the devil may kiss their hands or lips, not I. No. I have a great respect for old women. I cannot stand this. I will jump out of the window."
"Do it," said Bertel, provoked. ”

“ This region is East Bothnia; greater than many kingdoms, and extending to the verge of Lapland in the north, where the sun never sets at midsummer, and never rises during the Christmas darkness.
Nature is awake for three months of the year in an unbroken day, and then at midnight you can read the finest print; three months of night, but a night of moonlight and glittering snow—clear, cold, and solemn. The flower's beauty perishes sooner there than human joy; for seven months the plains are covered with snow and the lakes with solid ice; but never is spring more delightful than such a winter ”

“ When I was at Würzburg, I used to get a dozen kisses a day from the young sisters at the convent; such sins always obtain absolution. Well," he continued, seeing the nun still hesitating at the door, "your venerableness must not take offence at a soldier's freedom of speech; an honest soldier is a born gallant. Although an unbelieving heretic, I can talk Latin like a monk. When we stayed at Munich I was very intimate with a plump Bavarian nun, twenty-seven years old, with brown eyes and a Roman nose."
"Hold your tongue!" impatiently whispered Bertel, "you will drive the nun away." ”

“ Gustaf Adolf was merely resting, and revolving still more daring enterprises in his mind. But from this time the king's pathway began to darken. The death angel went before him with drawn sword, and aimed now here, now there, a blow at his life, as if to cry constantly in his ear, "Mortal, thou art not a god." ”

“ You treat her worse than any of your servants; you allow her frail and weak body to perform the hardest work; she sinks to the ground, and you do not raise her. You are cruel, Bertila; you are an inhuman father."
"You do not understand the matter," answered the morose old man. "You are too tender-hearted to comprehend what it means to go straight ahead without compunction. Meri, like her mother, has the fine lady in her, and that must be uprooted. She cannot become a queen; well, then, she shall be a thorough peasant. ”

“ Rex Regi Rebellis—the king rebellious against the king; the happiest, the mightiest among men, has to fear the greatest danger within himself.'"
"And this ring, O Regina, is ours!" exclaimed Bertel, with both fear and joy. "What a wealth and what a responsibility goes with this ring."
"Power! Honour! Immortality!" caed Regina with transport.
"Beware, my daughter!" said Meri sadly. "Behind these words lie the greatest dangers."
Old Bertila looked at the ring and the young people with a contemptuous smile.
"False gold!" he said. "Vanity! Useless ornament! False ambition! ”

“ The great ideas that constantly revolve in his bald head give him no peace, and yet these plans are now completely shattered by the king's death, like fragments from a shipwreck floating around on the stormy billows of a dark sea. Strong souls like his generally succumb only by destroying themselves. ”

“ When the yard was empty, Fru Marta and her men ventured out again to behold the strife from the ramparts. The courageous old lady undoubtedly wished to join in some way in the contest, for she cried to the peasants in a loud voice:
"That's right, boys, go ahead; let the sticks fly; many have danced to worse tunes!"
And to the soldiers she screamed:
"Good luck to you, my children; help yourselves to a little supper; Korsholm offers what it can give. Be at ease; your witch is in good keeping; Korsholm has bolts and bars for you too, miscreants!" ”

“ That night none but the little children could sleep in the bishop's castle. Crowds of soldiers, monks, and women, were constantly arriving; one baggage-wagon after the other rattled in through the castle gates; the vaults echoed with the cries of the watch, the orders of the officers, and the children's crying, and above all this noise and confusion one could plainly hear the masses of the monks, who were invoking in the chapel the protection of the Holy Virgin and all the saints, on behalf of the threatened fortress, the strongest castle of the Catholics in all Franconia. ”

“ And Regina started up with all the superstitious terror that belonged to her time. Probably she could not account for her fear, but Meri's conversation had all along seemed strange and unaccountable, coming from the mouth of an uncultivated peasant woman in this barbarous land.
"Who am I?" repeated Meri, with the same mild look. "I am a woman who loves. That is all."
"And you say that the king will die?"
"God alone presides over human destinies, and the greatest among mortals is still but a mortal." ”

“ No Finn in the wilderness is without snow-shoes. Out with them, quick!"
And without heeding the old man, Bertel pushed open the door which led to the garret, and drew out a fine pair of snow-shoes.
"Well, old friend," exclaimed the young cavalier, "what do you think of my horses? ... I call them mine, for I will bet anything that you will sell them to me for three hard silver thalers: swifter steeds have seldom hurried over high snow-drifts. If you have any greeting for the monk or Lady Regina, I will take it with pleasure."
"Do not go alone into the wilderness," said the old man. ”

“ Lady Regina stood there, at the same time crushed and uplifted by the king's magnanimous spirit. Perhaps she remembered his answer to the burghers of Frankfurt, when they asked him to be allowed to remain neutral; "neutrality is a word which I cannot bear to hear, least of all amidst the battle between light and darkness, betwixt liberty and slavery." Brought up to hate the Protestant faith, she could not understand how it was possible for the sword which had destroyed the worldly power of the church to be laid aside in the presence of its spiritual power over the hearts and minds of men. ”

“ All who wear this ring will die a violent death."
"What then!" exclaimed Bertel. "The death of the soldier on the battlefield is grand, and full of honour. I do not ask a better one."
"Just listen to him," said Bertila bitterly. "I knew it; he runs after fame even to the grave. A peaceful death or a peaceful life is an abomination to him; but you, Larsson, tell me: have you a desire to give away the axe and take the ring?"
"H'm!" thoughtfully replied the captain; "if the ring were of gold, I might sell it in town and get a good cask of ale for the money. ”