Das landhaus am Rhein. English

by Berthold Auerbach

  CHAPTER II.

  A SUNDAY FILLED OUT.

  Eric had wished to write a letter to his mother out of fairy-land, whenhe rode as if under a spell of enchantment through the wood, where allwas music, fragrance, and brightness. Yes, then! It was only a few daysago, and yet it seems as if years had elapsed. How much in these fewdays had Eric thought, seen, experienced! The letter is an entirelydifferent one.

  On Sunday there was a change in the household arrangements, no commonbreakfast being served. When Eric met Sonnenkamp in the garden, thelatter asked him if he would go with them to church. Eric answered no,at once, adding in explanation, that by going he should be guilty of anact of hypocrisy; as a mark of respect for a confession not his own, hemight perhaps be willing to go, but a different view would be taken ofit.

  Sonnenkamp looked at him in surprise. But this straight-forwardnessseemed to have an effect upon him, for he said,--

  "Good; one is at no loss to find out your opinion."

  The tone was ambiguous, but Eric interpreted it favorably.

  After all had gone to church, Eric sat alone, writing to his mother. Hebegan by saying that he seemed to himself like Ulysses thrown upon astrange island; he had, indeed, no fellow-voyagers to take care of, buthe had for companions many noble sentiments, and he must watch sharplest they be turned into----

  Just as he was writing the word, he stopped; that was not the propertone. He destroyed the sheet, and began again. He narrated, simply andbriefly, the interview, with Pranken, Clodwig, and Bella, saying thatas the Homeric heroes were under the special protection of the gods, soto-day a different and better one was vouchsafed, and he wasaccompanied by the spirit and noble character of his parents. Inspeaking of Roland, he said that wealth had a peculiar power to excitethe fancy, and a mighty energy in carrying out its purposes, for Rolandhad already removed her into the small, vine-covered house.

  The bells were ringing in the village, and Eric wrote with flying speedabout his conception of the noble vocation of guiding in the right patha human being, upon whom was conferred the great and influential powerof wealth.

  And now, mingled with the ringing of the bells, there came suddenly therecollection of that narrative in the Gospel of the rich young mancoming to Jesus. He did not remember the precise question and answer,and he looked for a Bible in Roland's library, but there was no Biblethere; yet it seemed as if he could go no farther, until he had becomeexactly acquainted with that incident.

  He went down into the garden; there he came across the gardener, theso-called squirrel, who was very happy to be able to give anaffirmative answer to the question whether he had a Bible. With wordsfull of unction he brought one to Eric, who took it with him to hisroom.

  He wrote no more, he read for a long time; then he sat theremotionless, his head resting upon his left hand, which covered hiseyes, until Roland returned from church, and laid down his prayer-book.As Eric grasped now the hand which had deposited the book, the inquirydarted through his soul. Wilt thou be able to give the youth a likefirm trust as a compensation, if thou shouldest----

  His thoughts were interrupted, for Roland said,--

  "You have procured a Bible, then?" With childish pleasure he informedhim that, by means of the gardener, it had been reported all over thehouse. Eric felt obliged to declare to the boy that he held this bookin high esteem, and thought there was no other to be compared with it,but that he had none of the customary ecclesiastical reverence for it.

  "Do you know this?" Eric asked, pointing to the passage about the richyoung man.

  Roland read it, and when Eric asked him what he thought of it, Rolandonly stared, for he had evidently not perceived the difficulty of theproblem there enunciated. Eric avoided enlightening him now in regardto the meaning of the parable; he would wait. A seed-grain lies atfirst motionless in the earth, until it is stirred into activity by itsown vital forces. Eric knew that at this moment such a seed-grain hadfallen into the child's soul. He would bide quietly the time when itshould germinate and spring up.

  He complied with Roland's desire that he would go with him to meet themajor, who came every Sunday to dinner. They walked for a while in theroad under the nut-trees, and then up the hill through the vineyards.They saw, near a large open space where stakes only were standing, theMajor, with whom we have already become acquainted at Wolfsgarten; hewas to-day in full uniform, with all his badges.

  Whilst the established nobility of the region were very reserved intheir visits to the Sonnenkamp mansion, the Major was the banner ofdistinction to this household, Frau Ceres being especially delightedthat a man with so many badges should devote himself to her in sofriendly a way. Evil tongues, indeed, reported that the Major, inconsideration of this attention to the ladies, and this Sunday displayof his badges, received no trifling addition to his not very largepension, but this was pure scandal, for the Major, or rather FraeuleinMilch, strenuously refused to accept presents from any one in theregion, nor would they allow themselves to be in any manner dependent.

  The Major was very happy to see them both.

  "Have you got him so soon?" said he to Eric. "Be sure and hold him by atight rein."

  And, pointing to the vineyard, he said: "Next season we shall havethere--so Herr Sonnenkamp says--the first wine. Have you ever drunkvirgin wine?"

  Eric answered in the negative, and the Major delighted in being able toexplain to him that the first product of a vineyard was so denominated.

  The Major's gait was nothing but a perpetual plunge forward and arecovery of himself again; every two steps he stopped and looked round,always with a smile. He smiled upon every one he met. Why were peopleto be made unhappy because he has lost his toes? Why should they see atroubled countenance? He informed Eric that he had frozen his toes inthe Russian campaign, and had been obliged to have them amputated; andhe smiled very cheerfully, as he said:--

  "Yes, truly our German proverb is right. Every one knows best himselfwhere the shoe pinches."

  He nodded his agreement with Eric, who made an application of theproverb to the various relations of life.

  Then he asked Roland whether his mother had yet risen; for Frau Ceresmade the no small sacrifice of getting up at nine o'clock, and, whatwill be considered a not much inferior one, of completing her toilet ina single hour, and going with the family to church. She always made up,therefore, for the lost sleep by going to bed again before dinner, andputting on afterwards, for the first time, her real Sunday apparel.

  When they reached the level road, the architect met them, on his wayalso to dinner; he joined Eric, while Roland went with the Major. Themen were all obliged to look at Roland's dogs, before they assembled inthe balcony-saloon. They found the doctor and the priest already withHerr Sonnenkamp.

  Eric had scarcely been introduced, when Frau Ceres appeared in splendidfull dress.

  The Major offered his arm, the servants drew back the folding-doors,and they went through several apartments into the dining-hall.

  The Major had his seat at the left of Frau Ceres, and the priest at herright; next to him was Fraeulein Perini, and then the physician,Sonnenkamp, the architect, Roland and Eric took their respective seats.

  The priest said grace to-day aloud. The conversation was, at first,wholly incomprehensible to Eric, for it was of persons andcircumstances that he knew nothing about. The great wine establishment,the son of whose proprietor had bought, with Pranken, the beautifulhorses, was often mentioned. The head of the firm had realized enormousprofits, at a sale held at one of his wine-vaults up the stream. It wasreported that he intended to give up business entirely, and to resideat the capital, for the shrewd old gentleman was very desirous ofgaining the consideration and good will of the court.

  "I give him credit," cried the doctor, "of being infatuated with thenotion of getting ennobled."

  Herr Sonnenkamp, who just that moment had put into his mouth some fishcut up very fine, was seized with such a sudden an
d violent fit ofcoughing, that all the table were anxious at seeing him turn so red inthe face; but he soon re-assured them, saying that he had onlyincautiously swallowed a fish-bone.

  The Major thought it unfitting that the great wine-merchant shouldallow himself to stand as a government-candidate for the chamber ofdeputies, and that, too, against such a man as Weidmann. Eric gaveattention when this name was now again mentioned; it was always as ifan indescribable train of honors waited upon it. But the doctorcontinued, by saying that the Wine-count was only desirous ofsatisfying his ambition, and his purpose to make himself acceptable tothe government, and that he would succeed even if he knew that he wouldbe beaten, for he appeared in the journals as a supporter of theGovernment.

  "Now, Herr priest," he directly asked, "which candidate will the clergyvote for?"

  The priest, a tall, slender form with white hair, and remarkably brighteyes, which looked keen and quiet from beneath the massive eye-brows,united both dignity and adroitness in his deportment. He would havebeen very glad to remain silent, but he now said--moving his left hand,with the thumb and forefinger joined--that there was really noopposition to be made to Weidmann's good qualities as a citizen.

  The doctor was obliged to put up with this indirect reply. But theMajor extolled very decidedly the noble character of Weidmann, who wassure to triumph.

  The Major always spoke with great difficulty, and turned purple even tothe roots of his white hair, whenever he was obliged to address not hisimmediate neighbor only, but the whole table as well.

  "You speak as a brother Freemason," said the physician, giving him anod.

  The Major looked grimly at him, shaking his head, as if to say. Oneshould not jest about such things; but he said nothing.

  Sonnenkamp was very free in declaring, that although he paid taxes inthis country, he should not vote; that he was cosmopolitan, andconsidered himself and his family to be only guests in Germany.

  Eric's glance and that of the doctor met, and both looked towardsRoland. What can be expected of a boy, to whom it is said. The State inwhich you live is of no account to you at all?

  The physician, having begun to make a butt of the Major, kept it upincessantly. Known and liked as a jovial person, the physician was,early in the day, in the hilarious mood of one who has just risen froma well-spread table, and his very lively tone contrasted strangely withthe heavy delivery of the Major, who very willingly allowed himself tobe made the object of jesting. It seemed to him to be a man's duty tominister, even passively, to his fellow-men; and his features alwayssaid, My children, make yourselves merry, even if it is about me.

  The priest, in the meanwhile, took the part of the persecuted Major,but it was hard to tell whether it was not for the sake of keeping upthe raillery, for the Major smiled in a yet more puzzled way at hisadvocate, than at his assailant. The priest always began in a sort ofnarrative way, and as he went on, shot his well-aimed shafts on allsides, preserving at the same time his polished and obliging manners,and never losing sight, for a moment, of the respect due to hisspiritual calling; and he had, in particular, certain tranquillizingmotions with his handsome, delicate hands. The eyes of Fraeulein Periniseemed to expand, more and more, and to feast in gazing, as she lookedat the ecclesiastic, and listened to him with her eyes. Only she couldnot repress her discomfort, when the priest, after the fashion of thesnuff-taking clergy, rolled up his blue linen pocket-handkerchief intoa ball, and, in the full flow of discourse, tossed it from one hand tothe other. She breathed more freely when he put the horrible bluehandkerchief into his pocket.

  Fraeulein Perini maintained a tranquil imperturbability towards therough and excitable temperament of the physician, while he regarded heras a sort of colleague; and it was really the case, that she had somemedical knowledge. He had a particular respect for her, inasmuch as shehad never consulted him in regard to any ailment. She lived verytemperately, indulged sparingly in the luxurious entertainments and therich daily repast, seemed to have no wants, and devoted herself to theservice, or more properly, to the accommodation, of others. DoctorRichard took the liberty, as a physician of extensive practice, to usebut little ceremony, and was as much the popular as the pampered despotof the whole district, and especially of the Sonnenkamp household. Hewas talkative at the table, eating but little, and drinking so much themore to make up for it. He praised the wines, knew them all, how longthey had been kept, and when they were mellow. He inquired about an oldbrand, and Sonnenkamp ordered it to be brought; the physician found itharsh, rough, and immature. Herr Sonnenkamp would often look updubiously to the physician, before partaking of some dish, but he wouldsay in anticipation:--

  "Eat, eat, it won't hurt you."

  "The really best thing in the world would be to drink," Sonnenkampsaid, jestingly.

  "It's a shame that you never knew the 'precious Borsch,'" cried thedoctor, "who once uttered that illustrious saying, 'The stupidest thingin the world is, that one can't also drink what he eats.'" Turning toEric, he continued:--

  "Your friend Pranken doesn't speak well of our Rhine-land, but thisill-humor is only an epidemic catarrh while getting acclimated, whichevery one must catch. I hope you will not be so long in getting overit. Look at this bottle of wine,--all is corked up here that poetry,the scenic art, and creative art can do to enchant and enliven us; thedrinker feels that he is not a common pack-horse, and though,theoretically, he does not know what elements of the beautiful arecontained in such a bottle, he has no need to know, he tastes it; hedrinks in, in fact, the beautiful."

  "Provided there is no adulteration," the architect suggested.

  "Very true," the doctor cried in a loud voice; "we used to have veryfew cases of delirium-tremens, now so common in our district; anddelirium-tremens is not from the wine, but from the alchohol in it. Doyou know anything about wine?" he asked, turning to Eric, and, as ifactual president, calling upon him for his opinion.

  "Not any."

  "And yet you have probably composed drinking-songs, where the chorusalways comes in, 'We will be merry, let us be merry, we've been merry,'and after the first bottle, the merry gentlemen can't stand on theirrhimed feet any longer."

  A glance towards Roland brought the doctor to his senses; it was notwell to make Eric a subject of ridicule in this way. He thereforeturned the conversation, and gave Eric, whom he called with specialfriendliness Herr Colleague, an opportunity to narrate many interestingincidents of the collegiate and military life. The Major noddedapproval; through Eric's conversation he was left in peace, and couldgive his undisturbed attention to eating and drinking. Under the napkinwhich he had pinned to his shoulders, he opened his uniform. It iswell, he thought, that Fraeulein Milch has furnished me with such a nicewhite vest, and it ought to be seen. He was on the best of terms withthe servants, and whilst they were changing the wine, it only needed awink to Joseph, a universal favorite, and he immediately poured outsome choice Burgundy from the sparkling crystal decanter for the Major.

  The Major drank no more. The conversation had taken a happy turn, afterEric began to speak of the Geneva convention for the care of thosewounded in battle. This was a good common point of union for thepriest, the physician, and the soldier, and, for a time, theconversation at table was harmonious and well-sustained.

  The Major, in a loud tone, declared that men who did not like to havetheir names mentioned were the original movers in this, as in all otherhumane arrangements. The physician remarked to Eric, in a lower tonethan ordinary, that the Major attributed to the Freemasons all the goodin the world, and if he wished to keep in his good graces, he mustnever say anything against Freemasonry.

  The entire table listened with great attention to Eric, as he assertedthat we ought to be proud to see in our century such an arrangementestablished on the ground of pure humanity; and the priest himselfnodded in assent, when Eric added that the Christian religion, in itsself-sacrificing devotion to the care of the sick, had attained anelevated position, purer and loftier than had ever before been re
ached,in any age, and under any dispensation.

  Roland was happy to see the gleaming eyes of all resting upon Eric, andcollected them all in one focus for him.

  They arose from table, and a blessing seemed to have descended upon thewhole repast. The priest engaged in silent prayer, and the Major,coming to Eric, pressed his hand rather tightly, saying in a subduedtone:--

  "You are one already, you must learn the signs."

  Eric was so excited, that he hardly heard what the old man said,although he expressed his highest possible esteem in this readiness toaccept him as a Freemason.

  "See," cried the doctor, impudently, "see how much whiter the hair ofour Major has turned."

  And it actually seemed so, for the face of the Major was so permanentlyred, that its color seemed incapable of being deepened, and now fromthe excitement of the conversation and the wine, the whiteness of thehair was in reality discerned with greater distinctness.

  "The Major's hair has become whiter," everybody now said, and thebewildered smile, that was always round his mouth, exploded in a loudlaugh.