CHAPTER X.
PLAYING COURT.
The first thing in the morning, Roland wanted to carry the owl, whichlay frozen outside his window, to Claus, who knew how to stuff birds.
All the events of the past day seemed to have vanished from his mind,leaving no trace, in the joy he felt in his splendid shot.
"Stop!" cried Roland suddenly, as he was stretching out the owl'swings, "stop; I've just thought of what a man said to me in my dreams;he looked like Benjamin Franklin, but he was thinner. I dreamed that Iwas going to battle; the music was making a great noise, discordant,and broken by shouts, and every now and then the man said: 'A goodname--a good name'--and then there suddenly appeared thousands of blackheads, nothing but black heads, a perfect sea of them; and they allgnashed their teeth, and I woke up in dreadful agony."
Eric could not answer, and Roland went on:--
"To-day is the last day of the year; we ought to enter upon a whollynew world tomorrow; I don't know why, but I long to have it so."
Eric laid his hand on the boy's brow, which was feverishly hot.
Roland was summoned to his mother, who wanted him; Eric watched himthoughtfully as he went; he felt also that a new page was to be turned,without knowing what it was to be. He looked towards the door, for heexpected that Sonnenkamp would send for him. The man had shown on theprevious day such new and strange moods that an explanation wasnecessary. What would it be? This could not be guessed. As if in avision, Eric saw Sonnenkamp in his own room, in a state of the greatestexcitement, sometimes bursting out violently, then calming himselfagain. He heard the steps of two people approach his room. Rolandentered, holding his father's hand.
"Mother is asleep again," he said, "but there is some news. Eric, weare going to the capital together, to stay all winter."
"Yes, I have decided upon it," said Sonnenkamp, in confirmation, aftersaying good-morning to Eric, "and I hope that your mother will go withus."
With calm deliberation, he went on to say that gay society would begood for all of them, after the loneliness of their retired life in thecountry; and, with a watchful look at Eric, he added:--
"We shall meet your friend Clodwig, and his charming wife, at thecapital."
Eric looked at him calmly, and said that he should feel it to be hisduty to meet all of Herr Sonnenkamp's social acquaintances.
"I have thought much about last evening," began Sonnenkamp, seatinghimself near Eric. "You are a learned and also a bold man."
His manner was extremely polite, almost affectionate, for he wasinwardly happy when he could play the hypocrite; whenever he could makefools of all around him, he felt an elevating and sustainingsatisfaction. He was in such good humor that he said to Eric:--
"I hope to convert you; to make you see that the best way of living inthe world is to hold yourself a stranger in it, and not to botheryourself about the immediate regulation of the affairs of state."
"In some respects," answered Eric, "Aristotle agreed with you; he livedgenerally in Athens, having a sort of certificate of residence withoutbeing a regular citizen, and without being responsible either activelyor passively in the choice of rulers; for only in this way, as analien, could he live wholly in his ideas."
"I like that. One is constantly hearing something new and sensible ofthe old philosophers. Then Aristotle was free also to go wherever hepleased? That's good!"
Sonnenkamp looked amused. These learned gentlemen are very convenient;they know how to find great historical reasons for what we do selfishlyor thoughtlessly. He smiled in a friendly way, and his smile did notdisappear, though Eric explained that what befitted a philosopher likeAristotle very well would not do for everybody; for if every one werelike him, the world could not last; who would undertake municipal andstate affairs?
Sonnenkamp still smiled. This German pedagogue is a funny fellow, hethought to himself; the very hour before starting on a journey, he isready for a learned discussion. Looking extremely well pleased, he saidto Eric:--
"I am very much obliged to you; one always learns something of you; youare always up to the mark."
Every word was meant to give a stab, but Eric took it quite seriously,and was grateful for the gratitude of Sonnenkamp, who was inwardlyexcessively diverted by this man, so childishly unsuspicious with allhis learning.
He desired Eric and Roland to make the necessary preparations for thejourney, and then left the room, a servant having come to say that hisgracious lady was ready to see his master.
He entered Frau Ceres' room. She looked at him languidly as he said hewas glad she was better, and that she would be able to undertake thejourney to the capital on the following day. In glowing colors herepresented the pleasant life in the city, upon which they had a surehold through the family of the Cabinetsraethin, Count Wolfsgarten andhis wife, and also through Herr von Endlich's family.
He added in a very confident tone: "Be strong and charming, lovely FrauCeres; you will return to these rooms a Baroness."
Frau Ceres sat up, and only mourned that the dresses ordered in Parishad not yet arrived. Sonnenkamp promised to telegraph directly, andpromised also that the Professorin should go with them, so that theentrance into society could be made under her auspices.
"You may kiss me," said Frau Ceres.
Sonnenkamp did so, and she said,--
"I think that we shall all be very happy. Ah, if I could only tell youmy dream, but you never like to hear about dreams, and it is betterthat I should not tell it. But there was a bird with great wings,enormously large, and I was sitting on the bird, and was carriedthrough the air; and I was ashamed because I was not dressed, and allthe people below were looking up at me, and hooting, and shouting, andlaughing, and then the bird turned its head round, and it was theProfessorin, and she said: You are so splendidly dressed! and then Ihad all my ornaments on, and my lace-trimmed satin dress--but I knowyou don't want to hear my dream."
Sonnenkamp left the room in good spirits. The day was bright, a keen,cold, sparkling winter-day, when the whole landscape, every rock, everytree, stood sharply out against the blue sky; the ice had closed overthe Rhine, and a strange quiet, like a repressed breathing, lay overthe whole scene.
Sonnenkamp was glad that the bright daylight had driven away all thespectres of the night, and brought fresh life. He immediately gaveorders in the stable, that two pairs of horses and a second carriageshould be sent to the capital. An hour afterwards, as he was walkingwith Eric and Roland to the vine-clad cottage, they saw the horses,covered with warm blankets, on the highroad, already on their way tothe capital. Roland begged that his pony might be sent also, andpermission was given; then he asked which dogs he might take, and whentold that only one must go he could not decide which it should be.
The Professorin's large sitting-room looked like a yearly fair; ontables and chairs lay great packages of knit and woven woollen garmentsfor men and women. Fraeulein Milch was reading from a large sheet ofpaper the names of various needy people, and a list of the articlesintended for them, while the Mother and the Aunt compared the bundleswith the list.
When this was done, Fraeulein Milch called in Claus, with his wife anddaughter, and the Seven-piper with his whole family. They were directedto deliver the bundles to the people to whom they were addressed, andwere very ready to undertake the work.
"It's very well that you don't give any money," said Claus; "butthere's something wanting."
"What is it?"
The entrance of Sonnenkamp and Roland prevented his replying.
Sonnenkamp expressed much pleasure with the discreet manner in whichhis money had been used, and spoke a few friendly words to FraeuleinMilch, whom he had not seen since the morning when Roland was missing.
He asked for the Major, and learned with regret that he had not beenwell during the night, and had not slept till nearly morning, so thathe was probably still asleep; he had, happily, a constitution whichalways recovered its tone by sleep
.
The Professorin asked to be excused, as she wished to send off thethings before she attended to her early visitors; she now asked Clauswhat he meant by saying that an important thing was wanting.
"Yes," said the huntsman, "Herr Sonnenkamp is just the man for it."
"For what?"
"I mean that it is all well and good to wrap people up and protect themfrom the cold; but hilarity and joy are still lacking, and I thinksomething ought to be done about warming up inside, and it wouldn't goamiss to send every one of them a bottle of wine. Every year the peoplesee the vineyards before their eyes, and work in them, and most of themdon't ever drink, so much as a single drop of the wine."
"Good!" said Sonnenkamp. "Go to the butler, and tell him to put withevery bundle a good bottle of last year's wine."
Sonnenkamp was in a most lavish mood, for he put, besides, in eachbundle a gold-piece; but he almost spoiled the whole by saying toClaus,--
"You see how much confidence I have in you. I have no doubt that youwill deliver it all faithfully."
All the huntsman's jolly good humor seemed damped, but he restrainedhis anger, and only pressed his lips tightly together.
Roland helped carry the bundles to a cart which was waiting before thehouse, Sonnenkamp wanted to prevent him, but the Mother made him a signto let him do it. With the last package, Fraeulein Milch disappeared.
In the emptied room Sonnenkamp told the Professorin of his plan ofremoving to the capital, and begged her to accompany the family.
Gratefully, but most positively, the Professorin declined; andSonnenkamp had some trouble in hiding his vexation, when he found thatno persuasions could change her decision. He took leave politely, butout of humor, and Roland promised to leave Griffin with her as a guard.
The Professorin felt that the boy wanted to be doing something for herwhile he was away, and to sacrifice for her something which he caredfor.
"Life will go well with you." she said, as she pressed his hand.
Roland felt a thrill through his whole being; he had received one ofthe holiest of blessings, though it was given in such simple words.
The Professorin had promised to come that evening to the villa, wherethey were all to watch out the old year.
When she came, she found great black chests in the hall; in Frau Ceres'parlor all the chairs were covered with clothes, and Frau Ceres was ashappy as a child, directing everything with an activity never seen inher before. At last they all repaired to the dining-room and sat downto tea.
All felt that a great break had come in their life; while theconversation went on easily and continually no one noticed the time,and all believed that it would be very hard work to keep awake tillmidnight. The Professorin felt the strain, the haunting ghost, if onemay so call it, of the impending separation; they were, in fact, nolonger here, no longer together. She said more of this than she reallymeant to, and told them of her entrance into the great world.
Frau Ceres was very attentive, and kept begging her to go on. Suddenlyshe rose and asked her husband to leave the room with her. Sonnenkampsoon reappeared, and begged the Professorin to do his dear little wifea favor. She declared herself quite ready; and it seemed she was toplay the Princess, Eric the Court-Marshal, Sonnenkamp the Prince, andAunt Claudine the Mistress of Ceremonies. The Aunt resisted thearrangement, and blushed deeply; but the Professorin persuaded her, andmanaged to make her take the _role_ of the Princess.
After a little waiting, the folding-doors were opened. Eric stood atthe door with a wand, and led Frau Ceres, who glittered and beamed indiamonds and pearls, to the throne of the Aunt.
The Aunt condescendingly dropped very slightly the fan which she held,and Frau Ceres made a truly courtly reverence.
"Come nearer," said the Aunt. "It is very good in you to take up yourabode in our country."
"It was my husband's wish," answered Frau Ceres.
Das landhaus am Rhein. English Page 113