Waldfried Part 34

My soul had been closed to the world, but was now again open to the air and the suns.h.i.+ne of existence. From that moment, I felt the spell of the lofty peaks and lovely scenery, and, yielding to it, at last became absorbed in self-communion.

I was again living in unconstrained and cheerful intercourse with human beings; and indeed I could not, at times, refrain from showing some of the well-informed Swiss that I met how carelessly and sinfully their countrymen were treating the forests. They complained that the independence of the cantons and the unrestrained liberty of individuals rendered it useless to make any attempt to protect the forests.

I made the acquaintance of many worthy men, and that, after all, is always the greatest acquisition.

We met the widow of our cousin who had fallen at Koniggratz. She was exceedingly gay, was surrounded by a train of admirers, and flaunted in elegant attire. She nodded to us formally and seemed to take no pride in her citizen relatives.

I must report another occurrence.

On the very last morning, Richard had succeeded in plucking a large bunch of edelweiss. He was coming down the mountain where the wagon was waiting for us. Just then another wagon arrived, and in it was Annette with her maid.

Richard offered the flowers to Annette.

"Were you thinking of me when you plucked them?" she asked.

"To be truthful, I was not."

"Thanks for the flowers--and for your honesty."

"I did not know, when plucking them, for whom they were; but I am glad to know that now they are yours."

"Thanks; you are always candid."

We continued our journey. On the way, Richard said, "Our cousin, the Baroness, is quite a new character; she ought to be called 'the watering-place widow.' She travels from one watering-place to another, wears mourning or half-mourning, is quite interesting, and always has a crowd buzzing around her. It were a great pity if Annette were to turn out in the same way."

I replied, "If she were to marry, which indeed, were greatly to be desired, she would no longer be 'the watering-place widow.'"

He made no answer, but bit off the end of a cigar which he had been holding in his hand for some time.

On our way home, we rested in the shadow of a rock on a high Alpine peak, and there I found a symbol of what was pa.s.sing between Annette and Richard--a forget-me-not growing among nettles.

CHAPTER II.

I reached home refreshed and invigorated. The china-asters that she had planted were blooming. Martella had decorated her grave with the loveliest flowers, and maintained that the wild bees affected that spot more than any other. Her memory gradually began to present itself to me as overgrown with flowers.

I went to attend the winter session of the Parliament, and Martella accompanied me. We lived with Annette--she would take no refusal, and we were both at ease in her beautiful house.

Annette always wanted to have Martella about her, but Martella had an unconquerable--I cannot say aversion, but, rather, dread of Annette; for Annette had an unpleasant habit of calling attention to every remark of Martella's, and had even quoted several of them in society.

Richard, who, as the representative of the University, had become a member of the Upper Chamber, seemed provoked; not on account of my having brought Martella with me, but because I had allowed myself to be induced to stay at Annette's house.

He hinted that Annette's marked hospitality was not caused by regard for me; and it really seemed as if she desired to see much of Richard at her house, although he had been cold and distant, and, at times, even scornful towards her. Nevertheless, he often visited us and allowed Annette to draw him into all sorts of discussions.

One evening when we three were alone,--Annette had been invited to the house of a friend,--Martella said:

"Richard, do you know what Madame Annette admires most in you?"

"No."

"Your fine teeth. She lets you use your good teeth to crack her hard nuts."

Richard jumped up from his seat embraced Martella, and kissed her.

Martella blushed crimson and called out, "Richard, you are so polite and yet so rude! Is that proper?"

But Richard was quite happy to know that Martella had guessed at what had so often displeased him.

Martella, who never wanted to leave me, one day suddenly expressed a wish to return home. Annette had on the previous evening taken her to the theatre, where a ballet had been produced in addition to the drama.

A little child, representing a winged spirit, had descended from above, and Martella had called out in a loud voice, "That hurts!"

All eyes were turned to Annette's box, in which Martella sat with her eyes wide open and looking towards the stage as if oblivious of aught else.

Annette left the theatre with her. Martella could not be induced to utter a single word in explanation of her sudden fright. I was surprised to find how Annette bore this mishap, in which she herself had been subjected to the unkind glances of all the audience. "How strange," said she; "we are all, unconsciously, slaves of ceremony.

There seems to be a tacit understanding that every member of a theatre audience or art-gathering must either remain silent or confine himself to one of two childish expressions--clapping the hands and hissing. And here this child is perfectly innocent, and I thank her for having solved another problem for me."

In the morning, Martella wanted to go home. We accompanied her to the depot, and I telegraphed to Rothfuss to meet her at the station.

My active labors for the Fatherland had restored me. In my solitary walks, my mind was now occupied by something besides constant thoughts of myself.

Spring was with us again, and the wondrous power that revives the human soul had its influence on me.

I was often invited to consultations in regard to matters affecting the common weal, and it seemed as if my little world was extending its area, when I made the acquaintance of many brave men, who lived in a neighboring district, and who kept alive their hopes for the future of our Fatherland.

During the summer holidays, Richard paid us a visit. He and Baron Arven had stocked the forest-streams with choice varieties of fish. In some instances they had not succeeded in getting a pure breed; there were pikes among their fish.

He was fortunate enough with several of the streams, but was greatly provoked to find that the farmers of the neighboring villages would not wait until the young brood had grown, and had already begun to catch the fish. He induced the authorities to threaten the farmers with a fine, but on the next day found the notice floating on the stream.

He appointed a forester as watchman, and spent the night in a log cabin hastily built near by. Once they were fortunate enough to catch the thief.

Richard and the forester brought the culprit before the authorities, and he was sentenced to six weeks' imprisonment. While we were seated at table, Richard expressed his satisfaction at the punishment which had been meted out to the offender. This made Martella as angry as I have ever seen her, and she became the more provoked when Richard quickly took down the mirror and held it up to her, saying:

"Here, look at yourself; you are prettiest when you are angry."

"It is nothing to you, how I look!" cried Martella. "Tell such things to your Madame Annette, but not to me."

The color left Richard's cheeks.

Annette had for several weeks been living in the neighborhood, with Baroness Arven, and Martella had hardly finished speaking, when we heard the clatter of horses' hoofs in front of the house. Annette and Baron Arven came riding up the road. The Baron congratulated Richard on having caught the first of the pirates, and Annette was in quite a merry mood.

The Baron also brought us a piece of news that he had just received from his brother, the forester-in-chief, to the effect that my grandson Julius had been appointed a.s.sistant forester, and that the next official gazette would announce the appointment.

We sent for Joseph. We were all very happy at the news, and Martella exclaimed, "That is the position Ernst wished for. But I congratulate Miss Martha with all my heart she will make a handsome young wife for the town forester."

We had always avoided alluding to this connection, but now that it had been openly mentioned, we made no concealment of our joy.