Das landhaus am Rhein. English

by Berthold Auerbach

  CHAPTER VI.

  A RECEIPT FOR THE FIRST INSTALMENT OF SALARY.

  Frau Ceres expressed herself in the morning strongly disinclined toreturn to the villa. The fete on Rudolph's hill still floated beforeher fancy, and she wanted to have another just like it to-day. Sheurged the Cabinetsraethin at least to go back with her to the villa andmake her a visit. The invitation was declined, but a visit promised atan early date.

  Frau Ceres was so much out of spirits, that to cheer her up Sonnenkampmade Pranken sit in the carriage with her, while he drove with Roland.When he was alone with his son, he questioned him on all kinds ofsubjects; he even went so far as to ask him how often Eric visited theCountess Bella, and whether they often took walks alone together.

  Roland was perplexed.

  On the road they overtook the saddle-horses, which had been senthomewards in advance of the party. The horses were wholly enveloped incoverings, so that only their eyes and feet were visible. Sonnenkampordered a halt to be made; the creatures' great eyes were fixed with asingular expression on their master from under their close coverings.He severely reprimanded one of the grooms, whom he had seen at adistance sitting on one of the horses instead of walking by theanimal's side. The next act of disobedience should lose the man hisplace. As they drove on, Roland made the remark that these horses werebetter clothed than many men.

  Sonnenkamp threw a sidelong glance of surprise at his son, but made noanswer.

  All at once Roland beckoned to the driver to stop. He had noticed bythe road-side the teamster, employed in carting the stone bottles tothe mineral-spring, whom he had walked with on that eventful night.Alighting, Roland held out his hand to the man and requested him totell the hostler, when he met him, that he was innocent; whereupon heresumed his seat in the carriage, the teamster all the while staringafter him, while his father desired him to tell him more about thestrange rencontre.

  Roland related all he knew, not omitting the legend of the laughingsprite; but the story about this sprite seemed to have no effect uponSonnenkamp's risibles; and when Roland remarked, that he liked tofamiliarize himself with the life of poor people battling with abjectmisery, Sonnenkamp whistled the inaudible tune to himself. At the sametime, the more Roland talked, the more surprised did his father appearat the mental activity of the lad; and the conversation in the oldcastle, after Claus had questioned him, was brought back to his mindwith strange associations and connections.

  Sonnenkamp was inwardly debating what to do. To dismiss Eric on thespot would not answer, on Roland's account; such peremptory dismissalmight only make him cling all the more obstinately to his erroneousviews and tendencies. Besides, it would be ill-advised to bring about arupture with Eric, on account of the Cabinetsraethin, especially sinceshe had expressed herself strongly on the point of procuring theassistance of Eric's mother; above all else, however, Clodwig had to beconsidered, for the connection with Clodwig was not Pranken's, butEric's work, and Clodwig was the most powerful ally in the execution ofthe plan.

  Sonnenkamp was actuated by a twofold jealousy: the clergy had taken onechild from him; this time, a man of the world was on the point oftaking away the other. He did not disapprove in direct terms of Eric'sideas, he merely cautioned his son as to there being no need of suchutter submission to a paid person, adding that he saw no necessity ofhis fretting too much about his studies, which might do well enough forpeople who had to fight their way in life, but certainly not for ayoung man who required just about knowledge enough to be able toexpress an opinion of his own. He admonished his son not to allow hislife to be disturbed by fantasies; and found it an easy task once moreto make the glitter of a soldier's life in the capital appear veryattractive to him.

  Soon after the first salutations were exchanged, Sonnenkamp enquired ofEric where he had been the day before; putting this question very muchlike a master, whose servant's time is by right his own, and who istherefore justified in demanding a proper account thereof.

  Eric told him of his visit to Wolfsgarten, dwelling more particularlyon a description of the Russian prince.

  Sonnenkamp smiled; he was pleased to see, that this proud virtue knewso well how to hide his deviations from the straight path.

  Roland was evidently inclined to break through the strict disciplinewhich Eric had introduced, and which he himself had re-established;whenever he stayed through a lesson he looked sullen, the instigationsof his father beginning to show their effect. A glance at Ericfrequently would show the latter, that Roland almost looked upon him ashis jailor. Hitherto Roland had only seen things with Eric's eyes, andregarded whatever happened to him as if he were expected to accept itfor Eric's sake, all this was now at an end. In the dim distance stillresounded, the notes of martial music and the laughter of militaryofficers conversing gaily.

  Eric could not but notice this change in his pupil; it made him feelsad. He could devote all his energy to Roland. Roland received it muchagainst his will; and since he no longer hesitated to manifest hisdispleasure, his ill-humor of old returned and revived. Again and againthe hardship of a tutor's profession presented itself to Eric's mind.He lived the past over again. In his garrison, when off duty, he hadlived quietly by himself; at the parental home he was allowed toindulge in his own fancies, his mother having been habituated by hisfather to the belief that she ought to wait quietly to be spoken to,inasmuch as learned men ought not to be disturbed in their reflections;and Eric had been treated in the same way: he was never disturbed, andwas left entirely to his own thoughts. Now, however, at table, or whileout driving, he had to answer the numerous queries of both pupil andfather, who were fond of asking questions, and having intricate onessolved for them. For a long, long time, he had been accustomed to anindependent life, devoted to his own mental improvement; now, however,it seemed to him as if, together with his state of servitude, he werelosing himself, as if he were but the shadow of his former past, andnothing new nor fresh was stirring in him, while all his formerthoughts and feelings appeared to require a forcible awakening. Ericmourned over his mental decline. Formerly he had hardly dared toconfess to himself, that he had derived new animation and pleasure frombeing near Bella--and that was to cease henceforth. What then remainedfor him?

  He stood aghast at perceiving, that the whole sanctity of his innerself had been staked on another being, and a new revelation came tohim, which made Sonnenkamp's dissatisfaction, as well as that of hispupil, appear as a just penalty. He redoubled his zeal, but in vain.

  An event, seemingly trifling, and of a surprising nature, brought thedisturbing elements to a crisis. Sonnenkamp paid Eric the firstinstalment of his salary in Roland's presence, looking all the whiletriumphantly at his son. Eric trembled, but quickly recovered hisself-control. He took the gold and advanced a step or two towards thewindow at which Roland was standing. Sonnenkamp supposed, for a moment,that he was going to throw the gold out of the window, but Eric said,in a tone of forced composure:--

  "Roland, take my pay and carry the money to my room. There you may waitfor me."

  Roland took the gold, looking confusedly at his father and Eric.

  "Do me the favor of carrying that gold to my room," repeated Eric. "Andnow go." Roland went. He carried the money as if it were a heavyburden, and repaired to Eric's room, where he deposited it on thetable. He then turned to go, when the thought suddenly occurred to him,that he ought also to watch it; he was on the point of locking theroom, when he remembered, that Eric had ordered him to wait for hiscoming. He stood there, while everything seemed to be whirling around.What had happened?

  Suddenly Pranken came in to bid him good-bye. He congratulated Rolandupon his speedy deliverance from Eric. Then only did he realize whathad happened, and what was to follow. Pranken referred slightingly toEric, as to a man to whom he might make certain concessions from sheerpity. Merrily he bade Roland farewell. After he had gone. Roland feltthat he could no longer have any love for Pranken, and realized a senseof loss; he quietl
y remained standing at the table, looking down uponthe money before him. In a childlike way he began to count the sumEric had received. For what length of time had he received it? He couldnot make it out, and turned angrily aside to look out of the window.Behind him on the table lay the money; he felt as if somebody near himwere whispering all the time: Forget me not!

  Meanwhile Eric was still in the room with Sonnenkamp, who, with an airof great astonishment, said,--

  "You are wantonly destroying all attachment between us."

  Eric replied, that he might perhaps have chosen a more appropriatetime, and that nothing but the manner in which he had been paid hadcompelled him to act as he had done.

  "Have I hurt your feelings?"

  "I am not very sensitive. I appreciate money as far as it deserves toappreciated and am always pleased at receiving my honest wages. I aminclined to think that I love your son more than--no matter! there isno standard to measure love by,--it can only be measured by itself."

  "I am obliged to you."

  "I beg your pardon, sir; allow me to finish my sentence. Just because Ilove your son, I prefer to have the blame fall upon me rather than uponhis father."

  "Upon me?"

  "Yes, sir. I might have paid you back for the way in which you paid meoff in my pupil's presence; I might have told you that free labor--Iabstain from using the word love, and simply confine myself to refer tosuch work as one man will do freely for another--can never be paid. Isuppressed my feelings, because I wished that your son should love andrespect you more than he does other people, than even myself."

  Sonnenkamp clenched his fists. He stared at Eric for awhile, but soonlooked down; he had to exert great self-control in order not to betraythat he trembled.

  At last he said,--

  "I don't know what you mean by some expressions you have used, and Idon't want to know. But I am the man to put a bullet through theforehead of him who attempts----"

  "I very readily comprehend your excitement," said Eric, quietlystraightening himself up and looking Sonnenkamp coolly in the face.

  "Who are you? Who am I?" asked Sonnenkamp, while his features werestrangely distorted.

  "I am your son's tutor, and I know the accountableness of my position;I am in your service; this is your house, you can turn me out of it atonce."

  "I will not do that--not that! Have I said that I would? I must onlyexplain myself to you, and you must explain yourself to me. Have younot said to Roland that the time will come, or has already come, whenthere would no longer be any private property?"

  Eric assured him that he had not the remotest purpose of doing anythingof the kind; he was sorry that he made use of the illustration, andregretted Roland's misconception.

  "Let us sit down," said Sonnenkamp, his knees trembling. "Let us talkcalmly, like reasonable men, like friends, if I may be allowed to sayso."

  He whistled to himself, and then said, in a wholly different tone,--

  "I must tell you, that irrespective of this mistake, your whole tone ofthought seems to me dangerous to my son. You seem to me, in fact, aphilanthropist, and I honor that; you are one of those persons whowould like to thank every common laborer in the road for his toil, andpay him also as much as possible. You see I believe your philanthropyis genuine, and not taken up merely for the sake of popularity. Butthis philanthropy--I speak without any disguise--is not the thing formy son. My son will have, at some time, a princely income; and if arich man must go through life in this way, always looking around to seewhere there is poverty, where there is not adequate compensation, hewould be condemned to greater wretchedness than the beggar in theditch. The worst thing that could be done to my son would be to makehim sentimental, or even pitiful and compassionate. I am not one ofthose men, and I would not have my son to be one, who are eternallylonging after the ineffable, and, as I believe, unattainable; I wantfor myself and for my son a practical enjoyment of existence. Believeme, a contraband-trade will be driven in feelings, if one persuadeshimself that men in lower conditions have the same susceptibilitiesthat we have."

  "I thank you," replied Eric, "for this straightforward plainness ofspeech, and I am glad that you have given me the opportunity to tellyou that I have endeavored to make Roland good-hearted, but notweak-hearted. He is to comprehend the goodly advantages of his life, sothat he may receive and make his own the noblest and the highest; he isto be a noble administrator of the grand power that is to be put intohis hands."

  Eric unfolded this more in detail, and Sonnenkamp, extending his handto him, said,--

  "You are--you are--a noble man, you have also to be my educator. Forgetwhat has happened. I trust you now, unconditionally. I confide in you,that you will not alienate from me the heart of my child, that you willnot make him a soft-hearted helper of everybody, and everything."

  Sonnenkamp jerked these words out forcibly, for he inwardly chafed,that this man, whom he wanted to humble, had humbled him, so that hewas compelled to stand before him like a beggar, entreating a strangernot to alienate from him the heart of his child.

  "Why,"--he at last began again, "I pray you, I only ask forinformation, for I am convinced that you have good grounds for everysuch step,"--a spiteful glance, notwithstanding all his guardeddiscretion, gleamed forth at this question--"I only ask forinformation, why you have restrained Roland from making a free use ofhis purse, as, since my return, I have been informed is the case."

  "I cannot give definite reasons for all my doings, but I have a validone for this. Roland lavishes and squanders money, and he does itignorantly and wantonly, while I consider the control of money a partof self-control."

  And now Eric informed Sonnenkamp what an impression the robbery hadmade upon Roland. Exultantly Sonnenkamp cried out:--

  "I am rejoiced that he has found out so early how completely one issurrounded in the world by knaves; he will be cautious whenever hecomes to manage his own affairs. Yes, Herr Philosopher, write down inyour books: The one trait in which man surpasses the brutes is, thatman is the only animal who can dissemble and can lie. And the soonerand the more perfectly my son can know that fact, so much the better amI pleased. I should be very glad if Roland had been through the secondgrade of schools."

  "The second grade?"

  "Yes; the first is, to bestow benefits upon people, and then to get aninsight into their rascality; the second is, to play games of chance,believing that one can make any gain thereby. Debts of beneficence anddebts of the gaming-table are not very willingly paid."

  There was a certain fatherly tone in Sonnenkamp's voice, as he praisedEric's transcendental benevolent intents, at the same time warning himof the baseness of the whole brood of human creatures. His fundamentalmaxim was, that man is a wolf to his fellow-man.

  When Eric came to Roland, the latter stretched out both his hands tohim.

  "I thank you," cried the boy, "for treating me as my father treatedyou; yes, I will have nothing more to do with money. I beseech you,forgive my father for paying you like a servant."

  Eric had great difficulty in making an explanation to the boy, so asnot to disturb and bewilder his natural feelings and perceptions. Theson must preserve love and respect for his father.

  "Put away the gold," Roland entreated. Eric immediately put it away outof sight, for he saw how it annoyed the youth.

  "Give me something," he then besought,

  "I have nothing to give," answered Eric. "But you will know henceforth,that one human being can give something to another which is of morevalue than all the gold in the world; we will both hold fast theproverb: A friend who can desert you was never your friend."

  Roland kissed the hand which had received the gold. Eric was opposed toall sentimentality, but here he had witnessed the opening of a flower,and had inhaled its earliest fragrance, and this flower was a youth'sheart.

  "We will go and see the Major," said Roland at last; it was evidentthat he wanted to be with some person who had nothing to do with allthis perplexity, and simply lived his own quiet lif
e.

  They went to the Major's, but did not find him in. They walked for along time together, until after dark, without speaking a word.

  Sonnenkamp also walked about the park in the silent night, inwardlychafing at the thought that there was always something to conceal, fora single expression of Eric's that day had awakened a powerful strugglewithin him. That expression was, free labor. And then he began towonder how it had happened that he had allowed himself to do anythingto wound Eric, while it was still his intention to send for his mother.It produced a thrill of satisfaction in him, when he thought howinfinitely charitable people would consider that. If he himself couldonly have believed that it was true charity! But he knew what his ownobject really was. No matter! If the world believes in the noble andkindly, that is enough. She who is rouged, knows that she has not redcheeks, but she takes pleasure in the thought that the world believesshe has, and she is gay and girlish.

  Sonnenkamp had desired that Pranken should purchase the neighboringvilla which they wished to sell to the Cabinetsraethin. Pranken haddeclined to do it in a friendly manner, and for good reasons, that itwould seem a natural measure for Sonnenkamp to take, in order to securea good neighbor. Sonnenkamp did not know whether to hope or fear thatPranken had already taken measures beforehand, and thereby made aprofit for himself. Was he to be over-reached? But it would be fine ifhis son-in-law had such a prudent eye to his own advantage.

  Sonnenkamp did not concern himself much the next few days with house orgarden, with Roland or Eric; he visited the country-house, offered topurchase the vineyards appertaining to it, and became completelyconvinced that Pranken had taken no steps in the matter. He was wellsatisfied to acknowledge to himself that he had not been thoroughlyacquainted with the nature of the nobility; Pranken was a man who wouldhave nothing to do with any clandestine methods of gaining a pecuniaryprofit.

  The Wine-count was his principal competitor for the country-houseoffered for sale; it was said he wanted to purchase it for hisson-in-law, the son of the Marshal of the Prince's household.Sonnenkamp closed the bargain immediately.