CHAPTER IV.
VOCATION AND FATHER-LAND.
While the children had been dreaming and chattering together in thegarden, the men had gone into the house. They stepped into the largewainscoted entrance-hall, where a great many withered wreaths weresuspended. Weidmann pointed out to Eric that forty-two of thesebelonged to him, for that was the number of harvests he had worked inhere.
The single wreath hanging by itself was the fiftieth one of hisfather-in-law, which had been placed upon his grave. Weidmann nodded asEric said:--
"This is a decoration which cannot be purchased, which one can acquireonly for himself."
Eric was glad to point this out to Roland.
They entered the sitting-room on the ground-floor. It was spacious andcomfortable, with pleasant seats in the window-recesses, and chairs andtables scattered about here and there.
"We live on the ground-floor in the summer," said Weidmann to Eric;"every thing can be overlooked here better: After the leaves havefallen, we remove to the upper story for the winter."
The great sitting-room opened into another apartment, where the heavydamask curtain had just been drawn back. The Banker, whom Eric hadbecome acquainted with at Carlsbad, came out of it, holding in his handa bundle of papers, and gave him a friendly greeting, expressing hispleasure in meeting again here the man who was as intimate a friend ofClodwig's as he was himself.
A new subject was at once introduced. The Banker said that he hadlooked over the papers thoroughly; the public domain did not seem to bevalued at too high a figure, and Weidmann must understand how it waspurposed to divide it; but he believed that it would be hardly possibleto extend to this new undertaking the plan of insurance which Weidmannhad adopted for his laborers; that it was very questionable whether theincome, for years, would be such that the life-insurance premium couldbe saved.
Eric learned that Weidmann paid the life-insurance premium of all hisemployees after they had been with him four years.
Weidmann gave a statement, in general outline, of the manner in whichthe so-called social question struck him as being the same as among theancient Romans; the point of consideration was to make free andindependent cultivators of their own lands. And he laid particularstress upon the remark that this social question, however, was not tobe solved as if it were merely a problem in arithmetic; that there mustbe a moral and social enthusiasm, and he must confess, although manywould shrug their shoulders at it, that he himself was of opinion thatthe humane principle of Freemasonry, which had too much lost its realmeaning, was to look for, and to find here, a new inspiration andapplication.
It was soon evident that the Banker was a brother of the order.
Eric's heart swelled as he felt obliged to say to himself, while histhoughts were carried away to the grand movements of the world:--
"Everywhere, in our day, there is an active endeavor, a care for theneighbor, for those in adverse circumstances. This is our religion,which has no temples and no established days of festive celebration,but which, everywhere and at all times, struggles for the good."
He entirely forgot where he came from, and why he came, and livedwholly in the present.
Weidmann postponed, however, the subject to another time, and askedwhat Roland was going to do. But before Eric could reply, a man came inwith Dr. Fritz, to whom Eric gave a cordial reception. It wasWeidmann's son-in-law, an infantry officer of high rank. The two menrequested that the conversation might not be interrupted, and Weidmannrepeated his question about Roland.
Eric informed them that his pupil wanted to become a soldier; heexpressed his own opposition to the plan, and his desire that Rolandwould devote himself to science or agriculture.
Weidmann answered, smiling, that Eric was a little too hard on thismode of life, from having been a soldier; that he himself was convincedit was of essential advantage to a man to have had a soldier'straining. A man became ready, resolute and self-reliant, and at thesame time he was one member of a large body. Nowhere can one be taughtpunctuality better, or learn better what it is to command, and what toobey, than in the military service. Roland must be made to realize,however, that this soldierly life was only transitional with him,nothing that was to occupy and fill out his whole existence.
"Then he will be no true soldier," interposed Weidmann's son-in-law."Whoever undertakes anything which he does not consider as an activeemployment, requiring the full energies of his life, and whoever iscontinually looking to some future vocation, does not plant himselffirmly in the present."
"Here you agree with my old teacher, Professor Einsiedel," Eric wenton. "He used to say that the worst ruler is the provisional one. Itwould be, therefore, important for Roland to adopt some permanentcalling, and not one merely temporary. With his peculiarcharacteristics, it is very hard for another to determine for him; butyou, Herr Weidmann, you, with the powerful impression which you andyour active usefulness have made upon Roland, you would be exceedinglywell adapted to give to him the decisive impulse in one particulardirection which I could not do, because I have not seen clearly what isbest.
"Let us take counsel together," agreed Weidmann. "We here have had agreat deal of experience."
"Do you think," Eric broke in, "that a better result would come from aconsultation of many, than from the quiet meditation of a singleperson?"
"Aha! doubt in the efficacy of parliamentarianism," said Weidmannsmiling. "I can imagine it possible. I answer your question with asimple yes. What the deliberation of many settles upon is suitable formany, and a person rich like him has in himself the power of many andfor many. Let us consult together."
They sat down, and the Banker began,--
"I believe it is Jean Paul who said,--If you come into a newdwelling-place, and it does not seem homelike to you, then go to workand you will begin to feel at home. I should like to extend thisfurther. One feels at home in the world only through labor; he who doesnot work is homeless."
The conversation was again interrupted by the entrance of the Russianprince, Weidmann's son, and Knopf. The subject was again stated.
"We have a good council of deliberation," said Weidmann, sitting backin his chair. "You have all seen the noble-looking youth, HerrSonnenkamp's son, and Captain Dournay has trained him so that now, wemight say, he is fitted to enter upon whatever calling he may adopt.What now shall the boy do?"
"Allow me one preliminary question," interposed Knopf. "Must a rich manproduce, accomplish anything himself? Is it not his task to further theproduction, the doing of others, whether art, science, industry, orlabor, and to make himself so far familiar with it as to give suchaid?"
"You wanted to answer something." Weidmann pointed to the Banker, whosefeatures were very expressive, and who seemed to have a remark on hislips.
"Not exactly answer," responded the Banker. "I wanted, first of all, todistinguish between vocation and business. There are active pursuitswhich are only a business, and again there are positions which are onlya vocation. This is the chief difficulty, that a person so excessivelyrich must have only a vocation; there is no necessity of his pursuingany business. Rich people's children degenerate, because there is nosuch necessity."
"What do you understand by vocation?" asked Weidmann.
"I can't at once define it."
"Then allow me to help you," said Eric. "Vocation is a natural gift, ora necessity, which we turn into a law that acts freely. The brute hasno vocation, because he follows natural instinct alone."
"Very true," nodded the Banker gratefully. "One question more," hesaid, turning to Eric. "Hasn't your pupil, as I am sorry to say mostrich men's sons have, the desire to be a cavalier, a young nobleman?"
As Eric made no answer, he continued,--
"Our misfortune is, that the sons of the rich are satisfied with beingheirs, and do not want to find a means of active development forthemselves."
"As we have heard already," began Weidmann's son-in-law, "the young manwishes to
become a soldier, and I believe that he ought to beencouraged in that purpose. I hope that it won't be attributed toprejudice in favor of my own calling, but I must repeat our father'sview, that the military profession, more than any other, gives acertain decision of character. To have to stand ready every day withbag and baggage, scrip and scrippage, this makes one prompt anddecided; this standing army becomes a fact, as it were, in eachindividual soldier."
"Granted," rejoined Weidmann. "But is it not to be feared that a man,who has been a soldier for the best years of his life, will be able totake up with great difficulty any other employment? He always regardshimself as on furlough; and the great misfortune--I might call it theleading tendency of our time--manifests itself especially in the rich,who look upon themselves as on furlough, always on vacation."
"The best thing about it is, Roland will run through his money, andthen it is scattered among the people," jokingly observed Weidmann'sson, showing those impertinently white teeth that Pranken objected toso strongly.
"I would like to say one word," the Russian remarked to Knopf, whocried,--
"The Prince requests to have the floor."
Weidmann bowed to him pleasantly.
"I think that we can furnish an example in Russia. Our wealthy men areobliged to become agriculturists, whether the inheritance consists inmoney or goods. Why should not the young man be simply anagriculturist?"
"Agriculture has five branches," replied Weidmann, "and they ought tohave their roots in five corresponding inclinations. Agricultureconsists of physics, chemistry, mineralogy, botany, and zoology, andone of these, that is, the inclination to one of these sciences, andthe activity growing out of it, must have its foundation in the naturalbent or genius, otherwise there is no happiness in one's calling. Anddo you know," he turned toward the Prince, smiling, "do you know whatis the first requisite for an agriculturist?"
"Money."
"No, that's the second. The first is a sound human understanding. Thereare far more intellectual men than there are men of genuine commonsense."
The Prince nodded to Knopf, and he gave a merry nod in return.
Weidmann opposed, with a warmth that was very different from hisusually composed manner, the view generally entertained of agricultureas a sort of universal refuge, to which every one could have recourse;and yet the conclusion was finally arrived at, that it would be themost suitable thing for Roland to devote himself to agriculture, inconnection with other branches of industry carried out on a largescale.
The conversation broke up into groups. Knopf said to Eric, that at thepresent time there was no longer an Olympus where the fate of humanbeings could be decided, and Weidmann added, that the worst thing ofall was, that Roland had nothing to expect, nothing to wish for and toobtain, and for which he must exert his energies, happy when hesucceeded in his first attempt, and then girding himself immediatelyfor another; for this is the impelling cause of all movement andprogress, that what is attained becomes the seed of a new effort.
"You were right," he closed, finally turning to Eric, "we cannotprovide for another in advance, least of all here. And no one can betrained to be a giver of happiness. There must be awakened within theyouth a desire to associate himself with his fellow-men; he must notmerely want to confer happiness, but to create something. Out ofcreative activity alone proceeds happiness. He must be educated bothfor himself and for others; he must refer everything to others, and atthe same time to himself."
Dr. Fritz had taken no part in the discussion; he sat meditatively withhis brows contracted.
"Why have you had nothing to say?" said Weidmann in a low tone to him,when the conversation had become general. Dr. Fritz replied in the samelow tone:--
"It is hard enough to know what to do with such an enormous inheritancerighteously acquired; but how much harder, with one to which guiltadheres."
Weidmann made a significant sign to his nephew, and laid his fingerupon his lips, as if begging silence. Eric had heard nothing of theconversation between the two, but as he looked at them, he had afeeling, as if something transpired there which was calculated toexcite alarm. He had an involuntary dread, for which he could notassign any reason.
Frau Weidmann now came in, and invited them to the table. They got upat once and proceeded to the dining-room.
Eric sat by the side of Knopf, and said to him:--
"I have a question to ask you, Herr Colleague, which you may take untiltomorrow to answer."
"What is it, pray?"
"What would you do; if you should become the possessor suddenly of manymillions?"
Knopf, who had just put his glass up to his mouth, began to cough andchoke so that he was forced to leave the table. He came back againafter a while; but he ate and drank nothing the whole evening.
The Banker, who read a great many journals, asked Dr. Fritz if thehorrible stories one reads of American life had any foundation intruth.
"Most certainly," answered Dr. Fritz--Roland looked sharply athim--"if we fix the gaze upon some individual and separate fact in thedevelopment of life in the New World, we shall often be wounded bymonstrous appearances of deformity; but a very distinguished statesmanonce gave me a striking illustration, of which I am glad to make awider extension. This gentleman said to me:--'I was at Munich, andthere I first understood aright my fatherland. I was at the foundrywhere the gigantic statue of Bavaria was cast, and the different partsof the figure were lying around, here an arm, a knee, a hand, there thehead and a part of the trunk, all horrible to look at in this separatecondition. But when I saw the whole colossal statue set up in itsplace, and in all its beautiful harmony of proportions, then itoccurred to me that America must be looked at in this way. Theseparate parts appear monstrous, but if one regards it at as a whole,it is of an unequalled beauty and grandeur.'"
At these words, Roland looked up at Eric with a bright, triumphantglance, and smiled.
They rose from the table. Lilian was soon put to bed, and when Dr.Fritz took leave previous to retiring, Roland retained his hand firmly,saying:--
"I thank you for having so beautifully extolled my fatherland. I shallnever forget it."
"Shall you not consider Germany as your fatherland?"
"No," was Roland's loud and decided answer.
"Stay here; I have something yet to say to you," said Weidmann in a lowtone to Eric.
Roland walked about with Knopf in the bright starry night, and Knopfhad to promise him that he would wake him up to say good-bye to Dr.Fritz and his child. Roland then consented to go to bed, but was longin falling asleep, for the events of the day, the noise of the brook,and the clattering of the mill kept him awake. But at last wearinessand youth gained the victory, and he slept soundly.
Das landhaus am Rhein. English Page 152