Das landhaus am Rhein. English

by Berthold Auerbach

  CHAPTER X.

  THE LOST ORGAN-TONES.

  Mattenheim was the seat of a hearty Rhenish hospitality. There werealmost always visitors in the house. The Banker came, and was rejoicedto find Roland so busy and cheerful. Professor Crutius came, and madefriendly overtures to Roland; but the latter said,--

  "You cannot want my friendship."

  The information brought by Crutius concerning the state of affairs inthe New World gave rise to many an animated discussion on the great,decisive, protracted struggle between freedom and slavery apparentlyimpending there. Crutius could corroborate from his own observation thestatement, that the Southern States were abundantly provided withdisciplined officers; for in the military school at West Point, wherehe had formerly been a teacher, there were many more Southern thanNorthern students. If the Union succumbed, if, as was very possible,the slaveholders should conquer, the cause of freedom was wounded tothe core. Not only would men lose their faith, but the cause itselfwould be injured; who knew how deeply or for how long a time?

  Soon after Professor Crutius departure, a kind of dulness and dejectionwas observable in Roland. He did what was required of him; but he wore,for hours together, a fixed and hard expression. Neither to Weidmannnor to Eric did he reveal what was passing in his mind. To Knopf alonehe confessed his anxieties, making the latter promise that he wouldtell no one else.

  Roland had learned that Dr. Fritz was his father's bitterest foe; hehad also accidentally heard Crutius tell Weidmann, that he had no doubtSonnenkamp was one of the most zealous of the Southern leaders, andwould take an active part in the war.

  Like a smothered fire which suddenly sends up countless tongues offlame, so did all Roland's anguish revive. Anguish for his father'sdeeds, for his flight and the elopement of Bella while his mother yetlived, for his mother's death and his own inheritance of sorrow--allthese several pains were blended confusedly within him, and his onehope of deliverance seemed annihilated. Lilian is the child of one ofhis father's most determined enemies, and, if forced to decide, can hetake the field against his father?

  Roland became desperate. Is there any thing like a righteous moralorder in the affairs of this world? No: all is chaos and barbarism.

  Knopf knew not how to comfort him, and found it hard to keep his ownpromise of secrecy.

  One day, a bright, cold, bracing winter day, Weidmann crossed the riverto close a contract for the supply of railway sleepers, and took Rolandwith him.

  On their return, they found the Rhine full of floating ice. The bellswere ringing in the valley and on the hills; the sunset-glow in theheavens, spread in strange waves of light over a background of palegreen sky. Griffin stood in the prow of the boat, looking out upon thelandscape; and as they made their way, the boatmen pushing aside theblocks of ice, Roland said suddenly,--

  "It was just such a day, just such an evening, when Washington crossedthe Delaware."

  He said no more. Weidmann divined that Roland was wondering whyWashington had not abolished slavery immediately on the close of thewar; but he turned the subject aside, saying that he thought it one ofthe finest traits in the great Washington's character, that he was soready to be convinced of an error.

  Roland was startled. What might that mean?

  Weidmann continued, "I have left you to yourself, Roland; but now Iwill tell you the state of your mind. You are involved in doubt anddespair; but you are no strong man unless you rise above them."

  The young man's eyes dilated, and Weidmann continued,--

  "Two things are to be noted. In the first place, you have ceased tobelieve that the world is under the dominion of moral law, you havelost your faith in that Supreme Being whom we, as well as the Priests,call God; and, secondly, you believe (and this is worse still),--youbelieve that you must take upon yourself the expiation of sins whichyou never committed. You dread the inevitable consequences entailed byevery earthly event, and are confused by your fears."

  Roland gazed wonderingly at the man who thus calmly and deliberatelyspoke out his own inmost thought.

  Weidmann continued,--

  "On the one hand, you deny the operation of eternal laws; on the other,you fear it. Now look at these masses of ice in the river. Do you careto learn something of that immeasurable and all-pervading wisdom whichinterrupts the laws of Nature when their strict, logical consequenceswould involve the destruction of the world?"

  "Oh, if that were so! If I might but learn it!"

  "Well, then, stop there. Do you know what changes regularly take placein bodies as they become warmer or colder?"

  "Heat expands, and renders them lighter. Cold contracts, and makes themheavier."

  "Is it the same with water?"

  "I think so."

  "No, it is not. If ice were heavier than water, it would sink, and thestreams would freeze from the bottom upward. There suddenly we have adeviation, an exception to the so-called stern and implacable law ofNature. Water attains its utmost weight and density at a temperature of38 deg. 75 Fahrenheit. Beyond this point, it grows lighter, and expands.And I tell you I do not comprehend how a man knowing this canpersist in denying God. For God is here. Here is no mere blind,self-regulative, natural law. Here is the free Genius of the Universal.Here is Wisdom. Observe, if solidified water went on increasing inweight, and streams froze from beneath upward, the river-beds wouldremain undisturbed until the spring-thaws. And do you understand whatthe consequences would be?"

  "Certainly; the fish would all die."

  "Even so. Here is the wisdom of God. Here is the Deity who modifies thelaw of Nature for the preservation of his creatures. Our God no longertowers aloft above the waters and their laws. He lives and works withinthe waters. The law of Nature is broken that Nature may be preserved.There are no more visible miracles; but all life, beyond a certainpoint, subsists by a miracle,--the miracle of Genius. The very surfaceof the earth, whereon we plant and build, is such a natural miracle.Our globe is molten fire inside, and the crust remains cool above it.Do you understand?"

  "I believe I do."

  "And now, my son, you have not to suffer and repent and make atonementunder some iron law of Nature, because the man who was your fathersinned. You are free. Least of all creatures, is man the helplesssubject of natural law. He is lord of his fate. Look up! The world isvery bright, and this whole, vast, beauteous world is full of God. Letthe bell-ringers, yonder, understand and address him after their ownfashion. It is not ours. The churches are but little chambers in thegreat temple of the universe. Let no man, in my presence, restrict theHighest to one revelation and one mode of worship. God, the great, theholy, is everywhere. It is impossible not to find him. We have himhere, out under the broad arch of heaven, and we have him in our ownhearts. He who thus feels the breath of the Infinite upon him--he livesa holy life. Come to my heart, my son! You have wrestled manfully! Youare saved!"

  Roland threw himself into the arms of this man, and kissed his garment,and wept in the fulness of his heart.

  It was night when they disembarked; but within and around Roland allwas ineffably bright. A new man stepped upon the shore.

  Roland and Weidmann walked home in silence.

  With a feeling of release, as if the evil spirit which possessed himhad been exorcised by a spell, Roland entered the house with Weidmann.He stood at the window, gazing long into the starlit heaven, and thenwrote a letter to Manna. Out of an overflowing heart, he told her thatto-day he had found the Highest--a trust, a faith, a rest, such as hehad never believed possible. But he could not finish the letter.

  He sought Eric, and begged that he would go back with him to VillaEden.

  Eric understood him; and the next day they departed together.

  It was a happy coming home, when Eric and Roland arrived at the Villa.

  They found the ladies tranquil and happy. Manna beamed with a twofoldrapture. Her brother and her lover had come; and both brought strengthwith them and substantial invigoratio
n.

  They had much to tell one another; yet, when the first greetings wereover, they reverted to higher and more general themes. All were struckwith surprise, that Manna should have a story so like Roland's to tell.

  Professor Einsiedel had several exceptions to take to Roland'scommunication; but he stifled them. The youth might some time advanceanother step; still it was needful for him to have taken this.

  To the story of Manna's experience he listened with satisfaction. Hecould reflect that he had helped to establish her self-dependence.

  Sitting with her hand in Eric's, Manna told her tale.

  "It was hard for me to forego the old sacred consolations. Whenever Iwent to church, I thought of you and of myself. The strong, tremulousswell of the organ speaks so directly to the heart. Those tones arelost to you and me. You have told me that your friends used to derideyou as a sentimentalist, because you could not overcome the longing inyour soul for those organ-tones; and now that same desire awoke withinme when I thought of you. But 'tis vain! It must be enough for us thatthe realm of music and of feeling is still vast and wide, without thestrains of the church-organ. I cling to those noble words, 'My templeare ye.' If the human soul has become the temple of the Holy Ghost, weneed no visible temple."

  A spirit of consecration hovered over them as they were now assembledin the vine-clad house. They felt that they were members of thecommunion which has no name.

  When Eric visited the little town, he was informed by the cooper, now,mine host of the "Carp," that the comedy-writer had wanted to make acarnival play out of Sonnenkamp's story, and bring it out in themarket-place; but that he himself had not favored it, and they weregoing to represent a nobility-mill instead. Commoners in front were tobe thrust in above, and noblemen with weapons and shields were to comeout below, on the back side.

  He begged Eric to be present at the carnival performance next day; butEric was not in the mood.