Das landhaus am Rhein. English
Page 46
CHAPTER VII.
A SUBSTITUTE.
Roland had gone to sleep with anger in his heart, on the evening of theparting, and he awoke in sorrow. It seemed impossible that Eric couldhave left him, and so strong was his faith in the bond between them,that he wished to go to Eric's room to ask forgiveness for havingdreamed such evil things of him. But it was all true. He went to theroom; it was empty, with only the doctor's diploma lying upon thetable, a sign that it had not been all a dream.
Roland was not to remain long alone; he was summoned to his father.
His father introduced him to a man of gentlemanly bearing, who spokeonly in French and somewhat broken German. This agreeable-looking youngman, the Chevalier de Canne by name, was from French Switzerland, andcame warmly recommended by a banker in the capital, who did not himselfknow the fountain-head of the stream which had brought the man to him,for it was all Fraeulein Perini's work.
Fraeulein Perini was never seen to send her letters by post, for theywent through the hands of the priest, but her relations with the Frenchclergy were such, that, by safe mediation, a lay-pupil who could bedepended on was called to the position in Sonnenkamp's household.Sonnenkamp's prejudices against such a connection were well known, andit was carefully concealed.
By his modest and dignified bearing the Chevalier knew how to win thefavor of the whole household, not excepting Herr Sonnenkamp. Incontrast with Eric, he had about him something impersonal, so to speak;never obtruding any peculiar expression of his own special views,skilfully agreeing with everything, and succeeding, without flattery,in giving back each person's own words in such a way that they seemedto the speaker remarkably significant and excellent. He was able so toillustrate and interpret even the few words which Frau Ceres uttered,that one would believe he had long known the lady; he was besidesespecially welcome to Herr Sonnenkamp, from having a thorough knowledgeof botany. With Fraeulein Perini, he said grace before dinner, with somodest and elegant an air that it only added to the attractiveness ofhis appearance. Everyone was charmed except Roland, who, withoutknowing why, was constantly comparing the Chevalier with Eric. For thefirst time, he begged his father to send him to some school, no matterwhat one, and promised to be perfectly tractable; his father would notyield to his desire, but declared instead that Roland was veryfortunate to have such a tutor found for him.
Roland could not complain that the Chevalier made his studies a burdento him, but he could not put Eric out of his thoughts. He had alreadythrice written to him directly, letters like the lament of a maiden whotells her lover how she is urged to a loveless marriage, and imploreshim to come to her. He begged Eric, who knew nothing of his angry mood,to forgive him for having fallen away from his allegiance for a moment;he clung to the hope that his father, who always spoke well of Eric,would still summon him.
So wrote Roland; he did not send the letters, but carelessly left themlying open, and the Chevalier took copies, which Fraeulein Perinireceived.
Eric had in Joseph a firm ally in the family. He asked Rolandcontinually when Eric would return, told him much of his parents andhis grandfather, and also of a brother who was just Roland's own age.This gave new intensity to the longing after Eric, for Roland thoughthe would bring his brother with him, and then he would also have abrother and comrade.
Several days had passed thus; Roland was sitting on a camp-stool, nearthe road, where there was a fine view of the park, from which the towerof the castle seemed to spring up as a natural growth. Roland wasdrawing, and the Chevalier, who was a master in the art, sat near him.Roland soon saw that he had heretofore received too much assistance; hewas now really painstaking and earnest. The Chevalier drew whateverRoland was drawing, and, from time to time, they compared their work.His teacher had advised him to make drawings of all the views of thecastle before it was rebuilt, and Roland had succeeded in doing so.Sometimes he believed that he had done it himself, then it all seemedlike a humbug to him, for the teacher had really done most of the work.
Roland heard carriage-wheels, his heart beat, it was certainly Ericcoming. He hurried to the road, and saw Pranken sitting by the Justice.
The Chevalier had followed Roland, who stood staring at the carriage.Pranken held out his hand and asked Roland to introduce the gentleman;Roland was obliged to mention his name, and the Chevalier added, in atone of studied respect, the position he held. Pranken nodded in a veryfriendly manner, and left the carriage to walk with Roland, telling himthat he brought him greetings from his sister, and that he wanted tospeak with him alone, by and by, as he had an important message forhim. Then he praised the noble bearing of the stranger, and said thatsuch a man was far better than a conceited German doctor.
"Eric has a right to be conceited, but he is not," answered Roland.
Pranken twirled his moustache; he might be easy, and let Eric have due,since he was out of the way.
Roland felt an anxiety for which he could not account; he had aforeboding that something was going on which concerned Eric. At thevilla Pranken left Roland to the Chevalier, to whom he noddedgraciously; he asked the Justice to go without him to Herr Sonnenkamp,and, while the Justice stared in astonishment, vanished, withoutwaiting for an answer, and went to find Fraeulein Perini.
There was a most cordial greeting between the two, who held out bothhands to each other. When Pranken asked about the Chevalier, FraeuleinPerini pretended to know nothing of him; Pranken spoke strongly of thegood impression he had received of the man, and affected not to suspectthat she had brought any secret influence to bear in the matter.
Then came an account of the visit to Manna. Not fully, but in somemeasure, Pranken made known what a change had taken place in himself.
Fraeulein Perini listened attentively, holding her pearl cross in herleft hand; then she gave the particulars of Eric's secret visit to FrauCeres, which she had referred to in her note: she showed Pranken aletter, which she had received from the superior in answer to herinquiries about the meeting between Eric and Manna. A copy of a letterfrom Roland to Manna, in which Eric was mentioned, was also at hand.
But now all the chivalry in Pranken's nature showed itself, increasedby a moral and religious impulse. He stretched out his hand, as if hewould shelter Manna from every breath, and said firmly and decidedly,that not a syllable more should seem to put her in a doubtful position.The whole thing was nothing but a school-girl fancy of the Justice'ssilly daughter, Lina. Manna's radiant being should not be dimmed by theleast cloud of suspicion, for she was pure, and great, and noble.Pranken felt himself her knight, the defender of innocence, and he wasnoble enough to extend his defence to Eric, who was blameless in thisrespect: honorable feeling and elevated sentiment required that heshould do him justice. Fraeulein Perini watched Pranken's noble ardorwith surprise, as he continued:--
"From this moment let us forget Lina's childish fancy; neither you, norI, nor my sister, nor Herr Sonnenkamp, who fortunately knows nothing ofit, you say, will ever cherish a thought of it again."
Fraeulein Perini, instead of being hurt, was quite happy at thisgreatness of mind and acuteness in Pranken; she was modest enough tomake a jest at the petty ideas of women. With great tact she declaredthat this was now the true knight's service, for the ground on whichthe tournament was held in our days was higher than of old.
Fraeulein Perini would, on no consideration, come into collision withPranken, knowing what power she would thereby put out of her hands.Pranken left her, with calm self-satisfaction, to go to HerrSonnenkamp: he was almost ready to defend Eric since he was already setaside. With great peace of mind he laid his hand on the book in hisbreast pocket; the man who spoke in it would be content with him.