Odensburg

“ No, Herr Dernburg--since you desire to know the truth--as things are now, a permanent sojourn in the South is a condition of life with your son. He can come to Odensburg, for a few months in summer, but he can never stand another winter in our mountains, no more than he can the fatigues of an active calling. ”

“ The works filled with men; all came and all were prepared to help.
In the beginning Dernburg had been almost petrified at the sight of these arrivals; but now, when one procession after the other emerged from the darkness, when the people came as though on a race between life and death--anything so as only to arrive in time--when the engines drove up at a gallop, then the lord of Odensburg heaved a long, deep sigh ”

“ I have learned to love your Odensburg, and bring to it the unbroken energies of a man who is weary of his aimless existence and would like to begin a new life. Will you refuse me this, only because two decades divide me and her whom I love? ”

“ And just now when I invited him to come to Odensburg, he looked as if he did not care to do so. What is the meaning of all this?"
"I, too, was struck by the Count's restraint of manner," said Leonie, "and for that very reason you should not have been so cordial in your advances, Maia. You are a grown-up young lady now, and should not permit the same freedoms to the country neighbors as when you were a child."
"Victor is no mere country neighbor!" cried the young girl indignantly. "He was the friend of Eric's youth, and, when a boy, used to be almost as much at Odensburg as at Eckardstein. ”

“ At Odensburg nobody either finds fault with the chief or presumes to regret what he does--they simply obey him. Herr Dernburg always knows what he is about, and is not going to make any mistake in this case, either, unless his protégé should, perchance, disappoint him. ”

“ The Baron leaned against the stone parapet and looked out again, then he said slowly:
"I had already heard a great deal of your Odensburg from Eric and others, but to form a conception of the magnificence of the scale upon which the enterprise is planned one must see it with his own eyes. It must be an intoxicating feeling to know one's self to be the absolute ruler of such a world, and to be able to put ten thousand men in motion by a single word."
"It took me thirty years to reach that point," answered Dernburg coolly. ”

“ I should prefer a quiet life, in a modest home, located in such a terrestrial paradise as this delicious climate supplies; but it is not worth while to talk; as an only son, it must one day devolve on me to superintend the work at Odensburg."
"You are ungrateful, Dernburg! A good fairy endowed you, when in your cradle, with a destiny such as thousands aspire to, with eager longing--and I verily believe you sigh over it." ”

“ Should any other man here at Odensburg dare to do the same, he would obtain his dismissal on the spot, but Runeck's discharge seems as yet to be a thing of the dim future. You see his plan has been accepted without any question, while we were plainly given to understand that ours were good for nothing. ”

“ Under the circumstances, you will readily comprehend why I challenge you to vacate the place that you now occupy at Odensburg. They say that you are the betrothed of the daughter of the house: but you yourself best know how you have forfeited the right to link your fate with that of a pure young girl. It were a crime against Herr Dernburg and his family if I should allow such a thing to happen without opening his eyes. Spare me the bitter necessity of having to come forward as your accuser. ”

“ Shall I write to Dernburg? Impossible. I am wholly out of favor with him--he believes the worst of me; he would deem the letter a wretched calumny, and Wildenrod would win his game nevertheless. There is no help for it, I must fight the battle face to face, and not give up either, until it is decided, until Maia is released from this bond. Be it so, then--I am going to Odensburg."
CHAPTER XXI. FROM HEIGHTS OF BLISS TO DEPTHS OF WOE.
There prevailed at Odensburg the sultriness that portends the gathering storm. ”

“ Why, to-day you received princely homage, and as those endless throngs of dependents marched past you, surely it must have become clear to you, what significance the name that you now bear, has in the world. That life in Odensburg, which you dreaded so, is to be spared you. You are to return to Italy. Eric worships you, he lives only in your looks, and will leave no wish of yours ungratified, showering upon you everything that wealth can give. What more can you ask of your marriage? ”

“ The engagement of the young heir of Odensburg to Baroness Wildenrod had now indeed been announced and had excited great surprise in neighborhood circles, that had always supposed that in this matter, too, Dernburg would act as his son's guardian, and have the first word to say as to this union, and now Eric had made his own choice, far away at the South, without asking either his advice or permission. The beauty of the bride-elect, her good old name and her evidently brilliant fortune and connections, lent to this choice, it is true, the prestige of a thoroughly suitable one. ”

“ Just let the people come to their senses for once, and perceive what they lose when they turn their backs upon Odensburg, and what sorrows they thereby entail upon their wives and children--I tell you, you will not be able to hold them together for eight days; they will run back to Dernburg as fast as their legs can carry them. But he will be a different man from what he has been heretofore; he will not and cannot pardon the insult that they have inflicted upon him. ”

“ Calmly, but with sharper intonation, he replied: "Those are your views, Herr Dernburg; I regret that mine differ from them."
"And it is not for me to disturb myself about them, you think," supplemented Dernburg. "There you are mistaken, though. I do concern myself about the political opinions of my employés. But I do not condescend to enter into explanations with them. Whoever does not like Odensburg can quit. I force nobody to stay; but he who does remain has to submit absolutely to its regulations. Either----or! There is no third way here." ”

“ It did seem to have made this impression upon the Baron too, for his eyes turned slowly from one end of the valley to the other, while he remarked:
"A mighty creation is this Odensburg! Why, you have caused to spring up here a regular city, in the solitude of mountains and forests. Those huge buildings there that tower aloft in the center, are----"
"Those are the cylinders and foundries: yonder, farther on, are the forges."
"And those grounds to the right, that look almost like a colony of villas?"
"Those are the residences of our officers; the workmen's homes lie on the other side. ”

“ After his recovery, Egbert had left Odensburg and stayed away for a long while. He, like Dernburg, felt that the new future, about which they were fully agreed, was not to be linked immediately and unceremoniously to the past, seeing that many an inward wound must close up ere the outward one should be perfectly healed. The young engineer had traveled widely and spent a full year in America, where there was so much for him to see and learn. ”

“ Dernburg got up and stood close in front of him.
"Why did you come back to Odensburg, if you knew that the difference between us was an irreconcilable one? You did not need the position that I offered you. The whole world stood open to you. Yet why do I ask? The thing was to prepare for the contest with me; to undermine the ground upon which I stand; to betray me first on my own soil, and then strike----"
"No, I did not do that!" impetuously declared Runeck. "When I came here, nobody dreamed of the possibility of my election, and I least of all. Landsfeld was alone in our eye. ”

“ The Odensburg family always drive straight to the depot. All the subordinate officers, though, deal with me; why, I put my main dependence upon Odensburg, and would not for any money in the world----"
"Have it all spoiled for the sake of one party!" said Hagenbach, finishing his sentence for him.
"Of course, that is a matter of business, Runeck is to speak to-day; not a seat will be vacant in your big hall, and it will yield you a pretty profit." ”

“ I am no longer the old blockhead who supposed that, alone, he could stem the tide of a new era. I cannot, indeed, welcome this new era with open arms; for the period of a whole generation I have stood on different ground and cannot be untrue to myself, but I can summon to my side a young, fresh force that is in sympathy with the present. When, hereafter, I give Odensburg entirely into your hands, then keep it up with the times, Egbert. I shall not oppose it! Until then, though, let there be for us all a clear track!"
FOOTNOTE:
Footnote 1: Caper-spurge. ”

“ This is a brilliant victory that he has won, to be sure, and over whom? That he gained it over you, that alone makes him a famous man. And in this hour the result of the election will be known in Odensburg--they will have a celebration, vaunting their candidate, and rejoicing until the sound of their shouts will be heard at the Manor-house, and you will have to listen to them----"
"I shall do no such thing!" declared Dernburg with vehemence, retiring a step. It was evident that the poison was taking effect, the man was extremely provoked. ”

“ Are you perfectly sure of those votes too? Much has altered in the last three years."
"Not with me," said Dernburg quietly. "My workmen and I have known each other for tens of years. I know that insurrectionary influences have been at work--insinuations and the like. Trying with all my might I have not been able to protect Odensburg from these, and perhaps here and there these whisperings may have found individuals who would listen; but the mass of my men stand fast by me." ”

“ My permanent presence in Berlin will not be required for four weeks yet, when the sessions of the Reichstag begin, and so it seems to me I am more needed here just now than there."
"You are mistaken," declared Landsfeld. "We need you here no longer, now that your election has been carried. But I thought to myself that you would return as speedily as possible, when you heard that trouble was brewing for your beloved Odensburg. Yes, we have beaten it into the old man's brain at last that he is not infallible. ”

“ Dernburg, indeed, took the arrival of reports and telegrams, going and coming of officers and their announcements, with his wonted calmness. For him it involved no mere question of ambition, he sacrificed to his seat in the Reichstag, time and strength which were needed in his calling, the want of which he sometimes felt now, at the coming on of old age. He would willingly have resigned his seat to a representative of his own way of thinking, but as things stood, the victory of his party linked itself with his name, and, besides, it was Odensburg that would decide his election. ”

“ If one has, at least, a mother or sister, then one can get along somehow; but I have only that silly fellow Dagobert, and what I have in him you know yourself."
"But, Doctor, must we discuss this subject just today?" said Leonie, trying to evade an answer. "At this hour, when all Odensburg----"
"Odensburg will, I hope, do me the pleasure to defer its rebellion until we have arranged our matters," interposed Hagenbach. ”

“ Victor is a scatterbrain--alas--and has many a time caused his parents anxiety by various mad pranks--some of which Odensburg could tell of--but he always kept his heart in the right place. He is no genius, but open and honorable and intelligent enough to make a splendid officer some day."
"So much the better," remarked the Baron. "For the Count and--for Maia."
Dernburg turned around and looked at him in amazement. ”

“ Runeck was silent for a few minutes, then he said with sad earnestness: "That is a hard saying."
"I know it. Think you I do not know the trend of coming events, if the ten thousand engaged in my enterprises take holiday for weeks, perhaps for months? The people will be driven to wretchedness, to despair, and I must be the witness of it. The responsibility for this, however, rests upon you and your fellows--you have left me no choice. For a generation, peace and blessedness had their abode at Odensburg, and whatever a man could do for his workmen, that I did. ”

“ He must either be perfectly infatuated with you, or he has some object to subserve. He is capable of anything. As for the rest, your candor was very out of place in this case, for now, of course, your movements at Odensburg will no longer be free. You have managed very awkwardly, young man!"
"Was I to deny the truth?" asked Egbert with knitted brow. ”

“ To be sure I have only been able to accommodate the very smallest number in Odensburg, the most of them living about in the adjoining villages."
"I know, Eric showed me as we rode along. How many workmen, exactly, do you employ, Herr Dernburg?"
"Nine thousand here in the works: the mines up in the mountains have their own force of laborers, and their own officers."
Wildenrod looked at the man, who, with such perfect composure and evidently through no impulse of vanity, unfolded before him the description of a power and wealth that would have made any other man dizzy. ”

“ They were only possible for a man who had millions at his disposal, and was not stingy with his wealth, when the welfare of his subordinates was in question.
But in return for this, Dernburg demanded complete subjection to his will, and planted himself like a rock against the advent of modern ideas, such as that every individual has the right to follow his own convictions. At Odensburg, strikes, rebellion, and conflicts, such as are so common in other industrial establishments, were things unknown. ”