Walter Pieterse

“ All the Rinaldos and Fra Diavolos are not to be mentioned in the same breath with Glorioso, this incomparable hero who carried away countesses by the dozen, plundered popes and cardinals as if they were ordinary fallible people, and made a testament-thief of Walter Pieterse.
To be sure, Glorioso was not to blame for this last, certainly not. One ought to be ashamed to be a [5] hero, or a genius, or even a robber, if on this account one is to be held responsible for all the crimes that may be committed years afterwards in the effort to get possession of one’s history. ”

“ Juffrouw Pieterse was going to speak with Walter about it when he came from school, but first she had to consider the matter with Stoffel, to decide whether it should be a request or a command, so that Walter [104] would have no reason to be “stuck-up.” For that she could not endure in a child.
“Walter, did you know your lesson?”
“No, mother; I had to learn thirteen mountains in Asia, and I knew only nine.”
“Now, look here, that won’t do. I’m paying tuition for nothing. Do you think money grows on my back? I don’t know what’s to become of you.” ”

“ After all, though, Walter was flattered by the commission to write a poem. Stoffel’s and Juffrouw Pieterse’s efforts to conceal their real opinion of his poetical talents had been useless. It was a pleasant surprise for the boy to learn that he was looked up to. He had always heard that he was worse than worthless, and that he would never amount to anything. It interested him now to hear the assurance of his mother and Stoffel that the commission was only a punishment for not knowing the mountains in Asia. ”

“ She always cited the Bible, and spoke continually of feeding swine. Walter wanted to answer: “That’s very nice, Juffrouw Laps, but can’t it be sheep this time?”
He knew very well that she had never had any passion for carding, and consequently was not interested [199] in that blue muffler, which would be so becoming to Femke’s favorite sheep.
But she assured him that he was a prodigal; and that was enough.
“That’s what I’ve always said!” replied Juffrouw Pieterse. “What does he do but squander his mother’s money? If that man wants snuff, let him buy it. The king pays him. ”

“ You see, Stoffel—if he only isn’t too late! That’s the way—those people would break their necks or be first. And who knows but what some of them are Roman Catholics? I wonder if they all think they’re moral and well-behaved. You can just see what kind of people there are in the world!”
Walter had to go back to Maaskamp’s and get the address of the firm in question. The idea was for him to call on the firm in person and thus get ahead of everybody else. Juffrouw Pieterse wanted to bet her ears that not a one of the other applicants could boast of a father who had sold Parisian shoes. ”

“ The true Dutch hearts and republicans paid and left the bar.
It was a sudden whim of Klaas Verlaan’s to make his ward a child of Keizersgracht; but it brought [256] him in more ducats than he cared to admit afterward.
Kopperlith? Kopperlith? on Keizersgracht? Femke on Keizersgracht! And on the day after to-morrow he was to begin work for this wealthy gentleman.
His head swam. Was he still Walter Pieterse? He doubted it. Before he had quite come to himself, he was forced through the door with other late stragglers. It was time for Mrs. Goremest to close. ”

“ Walter pulled on one of his stockings and prepared to listen.
“I swear, Juffrouw Pieterse, by the omnipotent God, that I’m so frightened and excited that I can’t talk.”
“Goodness!”
“Where are your children? In bed? Not all of them, I hope. Really, I can’t speak. Give me another glass of water, Trudie. Listen, how my teeth are chattering. That comes from fright, doesn’t it? I’m in a tremble all over. Thank you, Trudie. Where’s—Stoffel?”
“He’s undressing,” said Juffrouw Pieterse. “He goes to bed before me and Pietro. Mina makes so much noise, you know ”

“ Somebody screamed, and Walter sprang after her.
If he had died at that moment the keeper of the gate would hardly have turned him away because he didn’t know French and had not been confirmed.
When he was brought home, wet and dirty, Juffrouw Pieterse said that one ought not to tempt the Master, and that’s what one did when one jumped into the water without being able to swim. [101]
But I find that the man who can’t swim is the very one to expect something of the Master; for the man who can swim has some prospect of helping himself. ”

“ Such things do happen in cases of inheritance, when one moves to a more select quarter. Besides, there were other signs. They exerted themselves in trying to get Leentje to speak “better Dutch.” Stoffel was zealous in teaching her, but Juffrouw Pieterse spoiled everything by her bad example.
Walter was now wearing a new jacket, with a small collar, such as cabmen wore later. For him a jacket to stuff in the trousers was a thing of the past. It “looked so babyish,” the young ladies said, and was “out of the question now when the boy can write poetry.” ”

“ Juffrouw Pieterse, however, did not recover her hundred florins; and, as usual, she groaned: “There’s always trouble with this boy.”
Walter couldn’t help her. He had his own troubles: he had been cruelly interrupted in his reading. Of course the mysterious parentage of the young robber was perfectly clear to him; but still one likes to see whether one has guessed correctly, or not. [194]
[Contents] Chapter XXIII
“Do you think stivers grow on my back?” asked the mother the next day. “You still don’t earn a doit! Do you have to buy tobacco for old soldiers?” ”

“ Juffrouw Pieterse proposed at last.
“I’m not going, mother. You know it isn’t on my way to school.”
That was a sufficient reason. Never do anything that isn’t on your way—one of the favorite maxims of conservatism. Stoffel himself did not know how profound was the wisdom of his political aphorism.
“How would it do, then, to send Leentje over to Juffrouw Laps’s to inquire about Walter?”
This proposal met with approval, and Leentje was dispatched forthwith.
Oh, poor Juffrouw Laps! She was “the most wretched woman in the world;” ”

“ Walter went home in a peculiar frame of mind. At first the family did not think favorably of that “cash security.” Stoffel, however, had often heard of such things, and negotiations were opened with the said firm. It was finally agreed that a deposit of one hundred florins should be made, for which the firm agreed to pay 31⁄2% interest. Juffrouw Pieterse was [190] not quite satisfied with this, as she was accustomed to getting 4%; but “one must do something for one’s children.” ”

“ Juffrouw Laps had come: “But dear Juffrouw Pieterse, what am I to do about my uncle? You are invited; and I have told him that there will be a poem.”
“Very bad, Juffrouw Laps. You can see though that that poor worm can’t write the poem. What about Stoffel? Why not ask him to write it?”
“It’s all right with me. Just so it’s a poem; otherwise I’m disgraced.”
Stoffel was requested to take Walter’s place, but he raised objections at once.
“You don’t know what that would mean, mother. I would lose the respect of the boys. For anyone working with youth, respect is the main thing ”

“ Again we see the truth of the proposition, that everything has its good side.
“But, Master Pennewip,” asked Juffrouw Pieterse—she threw the subdued sucking animal a look that was like a triumphant telegram, and read: Where are you now?—“but Master Pennewip, what has Walter been doing now?”
“Yes, what has he been up to this time,” added Juffrouw Laps, delighted that the conversation had taken this turn, and that she was now to hear about Walter’s latest sin.
For the sinner is a thing in which pious persons find much edification. ”

“ Walter trudged along further; and, without thinking of where he was going, he came to the meadow where Femke and her mother dried their clothes. He sat down on the grass, intending to wait for the first signs of life in Femke’s home. He was not certain that she was there; he did not know but that she might still be at Holsma’s; but there would be somebody there.
Overcome by weariness he lay down and gradually fell asleep. His cap came off, rolled down into the ditch and disappeared in the mud.
If anyone passed by, he remarked that there lay a drunken fellow. Yes, youth begins early. ”

“ Worldly, worldly, they were—and the princes and princesses. I thought, well, it’s no wonder that there’s so much robbery and murder; for they try God’s patience. I thought, God will punish you; He’s only abiding His time. He always does it, Juffrouw Pieterse! A lady—the creature had red pimples on her face, and was older than you—what do you suppose she had on her head? A turban! She rode in a carriage with four horses. What do you think of that? She was playing with a fan; and, when a prince rode up to her carriage, she stuck out her hand and let the fan go up and down three times. ”

“ Stoffel thought the pastor had preached a beautiful sermon, and said that “in a way all he said could be accepted.” He hoped that it would “bear fruit.”
“Yes,” said the mother, “and he mustn’t tear his new breeches again. They cost too much hard work for that.”
As a matter of fact the “hard work” done in the Pieterse family might be regarded as a negligible quantity. There was the necessary housework, and the usual complaining—or boasting, if you will—but this was to be expected.
That Walter had postponed his visit to go to church was a result of the frightful threats of Juffrouw Laps. ”

“ Kaatje, you can ride in the carriage with us.”
As Holsma helped Walter in he gave the coachman directions to stop at Juffrouw Pieterse’s, where “the girl” was “to leave a message.” When he took a seat by his protégé, Walter pressed his hand and exclaimed: “Oh, what a good fortune it is that I found you!”
“Do you think so? It was only a—mere accident. Mrs. Claus is a——”
“A cousin?” interrupted Walter.
“Yes, and she’s a good woman,” said Holsma. [273] “She is a cousin of ours, and I came to visit her. I do that every week, not as a physician, but as a kinsman. ”

“ Luther had a God in whom he felt he could trust—reinforced by a few grand-dukes. Walter, without any grand-dukes, was ready to enter the field against a God who [239] was allowing any number of murderers to take shelter under the roof and bed of Juffrouw Laps.
“Boy!”
“I’ll risk it.”
“Let him go, Juffrouw Pieterse. You understand—it’s company for me to have such a child with me. Then I’m not frightened so badly, if a murderer is in the closet. Nobody wants to be entirely alone. Isn’t that so?”
Juffrouw Laps gained her point: Walter was permitted to go with her. ”

“ He’s not used to having so much money. All the neighbors know his coat and breeches; and such a man hasn’t any trunk where he can hide his things. He doesn’t know how to manage with drafts and notes; and he don’t know enough to get away to a foreign country. As for friends to help him get rid of the stolen things, he hasn’t any. I tell you, Juffrouw Pieterse, a murder or a robbery, when they don’t catch the murderer right away—then some respectable person has done it, who has more clothes and boxes and presses and linen—and he has friends among bankers. ”

“ Nothing good will ever [65] come to this Walter. A boy that begins with the Bible will end with something else. Yes, Master Pennewip, I’m not surprised—I shouldn’t be surprised at anything he did. I’ve seen it coming for a long time. But what shouldn’t one expect from a family——”
As quick as a flash Juffrouw Pieterse saw here her opportunity to recover her lost advantage. Stoffel had said it was in the book; but a teacher must know whatever is in a book. Therefore——
“Master Pennewip,” she cried, “Is it true that Juffrouw Laps is a sucking animal?” ”

“ Juffrouw Pieterse was calling for the camphor bottle, declaring that she was going to die; Mrs. Stotter was clamoring for her wrap—her “old one”; and Stoffel was playing cuttle-fish as well as he could.
All had got up and were going to leave. They could “put up with a good deal,” but that was “too much”! Juffrouw Krummel was going to tell her husband; Juffrouw Zipperman was going to let everybody in the insurance business know about it; Mrs. Stotter was going to relate the whole story to the gentleman in Prince Street ”

“ But Walter consoled himself with the thought that it wasn’t a thimble this time. The testament will not be missed at once, he reflected, because Sunday was a long way off, and no one would ask about it during the week.
No, it was not a thimble, or a knitting-needle, or a sugar-bowl, or anything in daily use.
When our hero got home, he stuck his greasy Glorioso under Leentje’s sewing-table—the same Leentje who had sewed up his breeches after that wonderful leap, so that his mother never found out about it. She [19] went down to her grave in ignorance of these torn breeches. ”

“ Consideration of acoustics now led Walter to put on his other stocking.
“You know, Juffrouw Pieterse, that of late so much stealing has been going on.”
“Yes, but——”
“And burglary and murder! And the police can’t catch anybody. You know the old woman and the servant-girl who were murdered in Lommer Street.”
“But three are already behind the bars for it. What more do you want?”
“That’s all right; the murderers are running around scot-free. They’ve locked up three fellows just to keep the people from thinking too much. ”