Das landhaus am Rhein. English

by Berthold Auerbach

  CHAPTER XIV.

  A MORNING GIFT.

  Before daylight Roland was at Eric's bedside, and waked him, saying:--

  "I will go with you to-day."

  Eric could not think what the boy meant, till he reminded him of hishaving said that he ought, at least once every year, to go up on somehill and see the sun rise. Eric remembered saying so, and, hastilyputting on his clothes, they walked together up a neighboring eminence.A year ago that morning, Roland said he had for the first time seen thesun rise; then he was alone, now with a friend.

  "Let us keep silent," advised Eric. They looked towards the east, andsaw the light gradually appear. A new light dawned in Roland's mind; hesaw that all the splendor and glory of the world is nothing, comparedwith the light which belongs alike to all. The richest can make forhimself nothing higher than the sunlight, which shines for the poorestin his hovel; the fairest and the highest belongs to all mankind.

  Roland fell into a sort of ecstasy, and Eric with difficulty refrainedfrom pressing him to his heart. He was happy, for the sun had risen inRoland, the sun of thought which can never set; clouds may obscure it,but it stands and shines for ever.

  The two descended to the river, and bathed joyfully in it under theearly light, and to each the water was as a new baptism. The bells wereringing as they returned to the villa, and in the distance they sawManna going to church.

  Herr Sonnenkamp also had risen early, and paid a morning visit to theProfessorin.

  "I have followed your good advice," he said, "and made Roland nopresent to-day. Your account of the way in which royal children keeptheir birthday was charming; they are not to receive, but to give. Ihave followed your suggestions in every particular, and given Rolandnothing but the means and opportunity of bestowing upon others; I oweyou double thanks for allowing me to take the entire credit of theidea. Any approach to untruthfulness is distasteful to me, but for myson's sake, I venture to practice a little deception to-day."

  The lady pressed her lips together. Here was this man, whose whole lifewas a lie, trying to pass himself off for a man of truth! But she hadalready taught herself not to be always inquiring too closely into themotives of good deeds. She asked about the presents that Roland was todistribute, and finally yielded to Sonnenkamp's desire that she shouldaccompany him to the villa.

  As they approached the door, a carriage drove up from which jumpedPranken. He had come, he said, because it was Roland's birthday, andexpressed great pleasure at hearing that Manna also had arrived:Fraeulein Perini's telegram he thought it needless to mention. As hestood upon the terrace overlooking the Rhine, he saw Manna walking upand down not far off with a little book in her hand, and could perceivethe motion of her lips as she repeated the words from it.

  Fraeulein Perini soon appeared, and exchanged a few whispered words withPranken. Great was her pride at having frustrated the cunningly wovenplans of this Professor's family, which so plumed itself on its loftysense of honor. There was no doubt in her mind that the idea ofbringing Manna from the convent had originated with Eric, and she sawfurther evidence of his plotting, in the girl's having been taken tothe green cottage on the very evening of her arrival, and returningdelighted with the whole family, especially with Aunt Claudine. With aknowing look at Pranken, Fraeulein Perini slyly remarked that the Auntwas kept as a reserve to be brought to bear upon Manna, but she hopedthat Pranken and herself would be able to hold the field.

  At last Manna herself came upon the terrace, and again offered her lefthand to Pranken, as in the right she held her prayer-book. She thankedhim cordially for his congratulations that this beautiful springmorning found no blossom wanting on the family tree, and, as heundertook to read what was in her mind, and interpret her feelings atfinding herself once more under her father's roof, she said quietly:--

  "It is a tent which is spread and folded again."

  With great tact Pranken seized upon the expression; he was sufficientlyfamiliar with the ecclesiastical manner of speaking, to be able toconstruct the whole contingent of meditation and reflection, from whichthis single remark had been thrown like a solitary soldier on areconnoissance. He talked with no little eloquence of our pilgrimagethrough the desert of life, until we reached the promised land, addingthat the old man in us must die, for only the new man was worthy topossess the land of promise.

  There was a certain conversational fluency in Pranken's manner ofspeaking which at first repelled Manna, but she seemed pleased, uponthe whole, to find this carefully trained, versatile man at home inthis sphere of thought. The fact of his belonging to the church, andtherefore living among the same ideas with herself, seemed to form abond of attraction between them. When at length he drew out of hispocket the Thomas a Kempis she had given him, and told her that to thathe owed whatever of good was in him, she cast down her eyes, and,laying her hand upon the book, said hurriedly, as she heard the voicesof the Professorin and the Major approaching: "Pray put the book back,away."

  Pranken obeyed, and while his eyes were fixed upon Manna, kept his handpressed on the book, which lay against his heart. This common secretestablished a degree of intimacy at once between himself and the pure,reserved girl.

  The Major examined Manna as he would have done a recruit, making herturn round and round, and walk this way and that, that he might judgeof her way of moving, all which evolutions Manna went through withgreat good humor.

  "Yes, yes," he said at length, extending the forefinger of his lefthand, as he always did when about to bring forth a piece of wisdom;"yes, yes; when it works well, it is all right. Yes, yes; HerrSonnenkamp, when it works well, it is right, this sending a young maninto the army and a young woman into a convent, for a while. When itworks well, it is all right."

  All nodded assent, and the Major was enchanted at having begun the dayby saying a good thing. But he soon changed his tone to one ofcomplaint at Roland's absence; he did not deserve his happiness,keeping out of the way on such an anniversary as this, such a beautifulspring day, too, that if they had ordered it expressly it could nothave been finer. He was just about to relate the fearful adventure inthe special train, which took place just a year ago that very day, whenRoland and Eric at last appeared.

  Manna embraced her brother affectionately, as did Pranken also, butRoland quickly disengaged himself from the latter's grasp, and said toManna:--

  "Shake hands with Herr Eric too, for this is his birthday amongst us. Ayear ago to-day he became mine, or I his; did you not, Eric? Give himyour hand."

  Manna offered Eric her hand, and for the first time the two looked oneanother full in the face, in the broad daylight.

  "Thank you for the kindness you have shown my brother," said Manna.

  Eric was much struck by Manna's appearance; she seemed to him awonderful mixture of gentle melancholy and lofty pride; her featuresexpressed a cold indifference; her motions were full of grace; therewas a bewitching softness in her voice, but mingled with a tone ofsadness.

  Without knowing or wishing it, Manna became the central point ofattraction; even on this fete-day of Roland's, all seemed to turn toher.

  Presently the party adjourned to the great hall, where were Eric'smother and aunt, Fraeulein Perini and Frau Ceres. Frau Ceres had suchfear of the morning air that all the windows were tight shut. She wasyawning when Roland entered, but embraced and kissed him. TheProfessorin also embraced him, saying:--

  "I wish you happiness; that is, I wish for you a constantly growingappreciation of the happiness that has been granted you, and aknowledge how to use it."

  Sonnenkamp shrugged his shoulders at these words, and said to Pranken,by whom he was standing:--

  "How this woman is always trying to say something out of the commoncourse! She has actually forgotten at last how to say a simplegood-morning."

  "Let us be thankful," rejoined Pranken, "that she has not yetremarked,--As my departed husband, Professor Mummy, used to say."

  The two men spoke
without any change of expression, so that no oneheard or observed them.

  Upon a great table lay a number of packages, each inscribed with aname. The Professorin, with Fraeulein Milch, had made a list of the boysin the neighborhood of Roland's own age, who were to have presentsgiven them on his birthday. They were mostly apprentices about to setout on their travels, laborers on the Rhine boats, or in the vineyards:some poor and needy persons had also been thought of, and for every onea suitable gift was provided. In the middle of the table lay a largeenvelope which Sonnenkamp had hastily placed there on his entrance, andon which was written: "For my friend and teacher. Captain Doctor EricDournay."

  Roland's quick eye soon discovered the envelope, and he handed it toEric, who, on opening it, found a package of banknotes to aconsiderable amount. His hand trembled; for a moment he looked abouthim, then replaced the bills in the envelope, and advancing toSonnenkamp, who was standing by Manna and Pranken, and had just spokensome words in a low tone to the latter, held the envelope towards him,and, in a voice so agitated that he could scarcely enunciate a word,begged him to take back his gift.

  "No, no; do not thank me; it is I who should thank you."

  Eric's eyes were cast to the ground, but he raised them and said,--

  "Excuse me, I have never in my life accepted any present, and amunwilling--"

  "A man of independence like you," interrupted Pranken, "should waste nowords on the matter. Take the gift as cordially as it was given."

  He spoke as one of the family, almost as if he had presented the moneyhimself. Eric stood abashed, not knowing how to refuse the gift withoutseeming ungrateful and over delicate. As his eyes fell upon Manna, apang shot through his heart at the thought of having to appear beforeher, on this first morning, as a needy receiver of money. He looked ather as if imploring her to speak to him, but she kept silent; seeing noother course open for him, he drew back the hand which held thepackage, and soon after disappeared from the room.

  Without, in the park, he walked thoughtfully to and fro for a while,then, sitting down on the bench where Bella had sat, opened theenvelope and counted the money; it amounted to a sum large enough tosupport a moderate family. As he sat there dreaming and unconscious,holding the envelope between his two hands, and deaf to the song of thebirds in the trees and shrubs about him, his name was suddenly called,and the servant Joseph handed him a letter from Professor Einsiedel,congratulating him upon the anniversary, and admonishing him to earnmoney enough to enable him to lead an independent life, wholly devotedto pure science. The Professor repeated his wish, that there might besome place of retreat established for the reception of men of sciencein their old age.

  Greatly comforted, Eric returned to the company in the drawing-room,who had scarcely missed him.

  "That is the way with these idealists, these reformers, these priestsof humanity," said Pranken to Sonnenkamp. "See how the Doctor looks asif he had got wings! Yes, that is the way with them. They despisemoney, till they have it themselves."

  Pranken had observed aright. Eric did in truth feel himself endowedwith a new power, but also the thought arose in him: Now you too arerich, and can care for others besides yourself. Observing, presently,that he was keeping his hand upon the breast-pocket which contained themoney, he drew it away as if it had been upon coals.