Von Kronhelm

“ At three o'clock this morning, Von Kronhelm having withdrawn the greater part of the troops from the defence of the bridges, in an attempt to occupy defensive positions in North London, the South Londoners, impatient with long waiting, broke forth and came across the river in enormous multitudes, every man bent upon killing a German wherever seen. ”

“ Until nearly noon desperate conflicts at the barricades continued. The defence was even more effectual than was expected; yet, had it not been that Von Kronhelm, the German generalissimo, had given orders that the troops were not to attempt to advance into London before the populace were cowed, there was no doubt that each barricade could have been taken in the rear by companies avoiding the main roads and proceeding by the side streets. ”

“ Further information which has just reached us from private sources states that thousands of prisoners have been taken by Lord Byfield to-day, and that Von Kronhelm has acknowledged his position to be absolutely hopeless.
"The great German Army has been defeated by our British patriots, who have fought so valiantly and so well. It is not likely that the war will be resumed. Von Kronhelm received a number of British officers at the War Office half an hour ago, and it is said that he is already making preparations to vacate the post he has usurped. ”

“ The speech was received on both sides of the House with ringing cheers, when, in conclusion, he promised them that, within a few days, the fiat would go forth, and the enemy would find himself crushed and powerless.
"South London," he declared, "is our stronghold, our fortress. To-day it is impregnable, defended by a million British patriots, and I defy Von Kronhelm—indeed, I dare him to attack it!"
Von Kronhelm was, of course, well aware of the formation of the Defenders, but treated the League with contempt. If there was any attempt at a rising, he would shoot down the people like dogs. ”

“ Of the men who had so gallantly held the fortified house, not a single one escaped. Strings of men and women were hurried to their doom in one day, for the troops were savage with the lust of blood, and Von Kronhelm, though he was aware of it by telephone, lifted not a finger to stop those arbitrary executions. ”

“ Our position, much as we are attempting to conceal it, is a very grave one. We believed that if we reached London the British spirit would be broken. Yet the more drastic our rule, the fiercer becomes the opposition. How it will end I fear to contemplate. The British are dull and apathetic, but once aroused, they fight like fiends.
"Last night we had an example of it. This League of Defenders, which Von Kronhelm has always treated with ridicule, is, we have discovered too late, practically the whole of England. ”

“ The British fought desperately. Three several times they hurled back at the attackers, but, alas! we were overborne by sheer weight of numbers. Reinforcements summoned by telephone, as soon as the determined nature of the attack was apparent, were hurried up from every available source, but they only arrived in time to be carried down the hill again in the rush of its defeated defenders, and to share with them the storm of projectiles from the quick-firers of General Von Kronhelm's artillery, which had been pushed forward during the assault. ”

“ The British held as prisoners by the Germans near Enfield have now been released, and are rejoining their comrades along the northern heights. Many believe that another and final battle will be fought north of London, but military men declare that the German power is already broken. Whether Von Kronhelm will still continue to lose his men at the rate he is now doing, or whether he will sue for peace, is an open question. Personally, he was against the bombardment of London from the very first, yet he was compelled to carry out the orders of his Imperial master. ”

“ In more than one instance where German soldiers have attempted to take refuge in houses these women have obtained petrol, and, with screams of fiendish delight, set the houses in question on fire. Awful dramas are being enacted in every part of the metropolis. The history of to-day is written in German blood.
"Lord Byfield has established temporary headquarters at Jack Straw's Castle, where Von Kronhelm was during the bombardment, and last night we could see the signals exchanged between Hampstead and Sydenham Hill, from whence General Bamford has not yet moved. ”

“ In these terrible days a man's life is not safe from one moment to another. Both sides seem to have now lost their heads completely. Among the Germans all semblance of order has apparently been thrown to the winds. It is known that London has risen to a man, and the enemy are therefore fully aware of their imminent peril. Already they are beaten. True, Von Kronhelm still sits in the War Office directing operations—operations which he knows too well are foredoomed to failure. ”

“ Von Mitter smiled disdainfully, but did not stir.
“I warn you, Madame,” he said, “that this is war. I accept all the responsibilities of my position. I know nothing of any surrender or victory. To me you are simply an enemy. I will kill any one who attempts to pass. I should be pleased if General Kronau would make the first step to question my sincerity.”
Kronau's fingers twitched around his revolver, but Madame touched his arm. She could read faces. ”

“ So, as he considered himself an excellent horseman, Kronenberg had a secondary object in mind when he undertook this journey, namely, to reaccustom this beautiful animal to reason and order: he learned, as he trained it, that he too was more absent-minded than he had thought: the worst failing, and the one which ensures that all training, whether by someone of a reasonable or an unreasonable disposition, becomes impossible. ”

“ Cronshaw in his shabby great-coat, with the collar turned up, and his hat well down on his head, with his red fat face and his little gleaming eyes, looked extraordinarily comic; but Philip was too much in earnest to laugh.
"Have you never done anything you regret?"
"How can I regret when what I did was inevitable?" asked Cronshaw in return.
"But that's fatalism."
"The illusion which man has that his will is free is so deeply rooted that I am ready to accept it. I act as though I were a free agent. ”

“ Kronenberg gathered himself, helped his nag to rise, and tried to regain the highway across the meadows and footpaths and through the woods.
In cheerful sunshine he roamed through many beautiful districts, sometimes lingering in the towns, making new acquaintances, tarrying at the watering-places, and trying to occupy himself and take his mind off his troubles. By now he had penetrated into the valleys of a romantic mountain range, and the variety of forest and mountain, hill and meadow delighted him immensely. ”

“ Every day he dreads this hour, and every day it takes him a long time to recover from it. Go on up: you may perhaps release him from this Purgatory.
Kronenberg followed this suggestion, and in the Baron's room he found the servants drawn up in silence and forced attention, contemplating their master, who was gazing at the Heavens. ”

“ A servant addressed him and led him to a house where the Count was waiting for him. The latter embraced him in a fatherly manner and after congratulating him on his deliverance from an apparently life-threatening situation, to which Kronenberg was almost too ashamed to respond, he finally said:
— No doubt there are many people who are possessed of a certain charm, a talisman, that wins them love and friendship wherever they go, and makes them happy if they respect this obliging sympathy. ”

“ For once, it seems, I have paid him back in his own coin, he exclaimed; he is determined that no one shall hoodwink him. His father has no intention of coming.
Kronenberg would have felt very ill at ease if the kindness of the beautiful girl and her courteous and obliging manner had not made amends. ”

“ He then proceeds on his way, and is about to go off when Corman and his companions burst upon him from behind the buttress.]
CORMAN.
We seize thee in the name of the law.
ARDUSOFFE (still concealing his face) .
Go to! you mistake me for another; suffer me to pass. Ye have no right to detain me.
CORMAN.
Come under the lamp here, and let us see your face.
[They drag him towards the light, he making great resistance, when Kranzberg enters suddenly and lays hold of him.]
KRANZBERG.
Resistance is in vain, Van Maurice: we seize thee in the act of making escape from prison ”

“ Kronborg with a flicker of irony, as she tucked the letter back under her pillow. “The children you don’t especially need, you have always with you, like the poor. But the bright ones get away from you. They have their own way to make in the world. Seems like the brighter they are, the farther they go. I used to feel sorry that you had no family, doctor, but maybe you’re as well off.”
“Thea’s plan seems sound to me, Mrs. Kronborg. There’s no reason I can see why you shouldn’t pull up and live for years yet, under proper care. ”

“ Thea always woke with a pink flush on her cheeks, and this morning her mother thought she had never seen her eyes so wide-open and bright; like clear green springs in the wood, when the early sunlight sparkles in them. She would make a very handsome woman, Mrs. Kronborg said to herself, if she would only get rid of that fierce look she had sometimes. Mrs. Kronborg took great pleasure in good looks, wherever she found them. She still remembered that, as a baby, Thea had been the "best-formed" of any of her children. ”

“ Every one is familiar with the story of Kronos, who devoured his own children. Now, Kronos is a mere creation from the older and misunderstood epithet Kronides or Kronion, the ancient of days. When these days or time had come to be regarded as a person the myth would certainly follow that he devoured his own children, as Time is the devourer of the Dawns. ”

“ Archie, would have understood, she comprehended perfectly. To any other woman there, it would have meant that a child must have her hair curled every day and must play in public. Mrs. Kronborg knew it meant that Thea must practice four hours a day. A child with talent must be kept at the piano, just as a child with measles must be kept under the blankets. Mrs. Kronborg and her three sisters had all studied piano, and all sang well, but none of them had talent. Their father had played the oboe in an orchestra in Sweden, before he came to America to better his fortunes. ”

“ I have taken the time and effort to teach my sensible daughter all these little arts, so that she will never be the victim of a cleverly educated man, who could trap an inexperienced girl with such tricks to her own misfortune. We delude men, but we must never allow ourselves to be deluded; I was surprised when you walked right into her trap on the very first day.
Kronenberg bowed politely and with some emotion declared himself grateful that she had not insisted on being too hard on him. ”

“ Krone is an intimate friend of more than one Councilman, and a man of much measure in the political world-that is, Mr. Krone is a politician-maker. When you say there exists too close an intimacy between the pugilist and the politician, Mr. Krone will bet twenty drinks with any one of his customers that he can prove such doctrines at fault. He can secure the election of his favorite candidate with the same facility that he can make an hundred paupers per week. You may well believe him a choice flower in the bouquet of the corporation ”

“ Her eagerness aroused all the young Hungarian's chivalry. Instinctively one went to the rescue of a creature who had so much to overcome and who struggled so hard. He used to tell his wife that Miss Kronborg's hour took more out of him than half a dozen other lessons. He usually kept her long over time; he changed her lessons about so that he could do so, and often gave her time at the end of the day when he could talk to her afterward and play for her a little from what he happened to be studying. It was always interesting to play for her. ”

“ KRANZBERG.
Ardusoffe!
ARDUSOFFE.
Yea, the same, and thy accomplice in endeavouring to persuade a prisoner to escape from the hands of justice. (Seeing him look round significantly to Corman, who, thereupon, draws the other men to a distance.) What, art thou afraid those men should hear us; thou who art so free and open, even to imprudence? Thou wilt become a character of perfection by and by, since thou correctest thy errors so completely.
KRANZBERG.
Is Van Maurice then so assured of his innocence that he refuses to fly? ”

“ Upjohn was also a little put out because Philip had brought Cronshaw to his own rooms.
“I wish you had left him in Soho,” he said, with a wave of his long, thin hands. “There was a touch of romance in that sordid attic. I could even bear it if it were Wapping or Shoreditch, but the respectability of Kennington! What a place for a poet to die!”
Cronshaw was often so ill-humoured that Philip could only keep his temper by remembering all the time that this irritability was a symptom of the disease. Upjohn came sometimes before Philip was in, and then Cronshaw would complain of him bitterly. ”

“ Her voice shook a little.
Mrs. Kronborg spoke up from the next room. “He’s a good teacher, doctor. It’s good for us he does drink. He’d never be in a little place like this if he didn’t have some weakness. These women that teach music around here don’t know nothing. I wouldn’t have my child wasting time with them. If Professor Wunsch goes away, Thea’ll have nobody to take from. He’s careful with his scholars; he don’t use bad language. Mrs. Kohler is always present when Thea takes her lesson. It’s all right.” Mrs. Kronborg spoke calmly and judicially. ”