“Ronsard, be a man!” he said in a kind, firm voice; “This is the first time you have told me your true history — and — I shall respect your confidence! You have suffered much — equally you have loved much! Doubt not that you are forgiven much. But why should you assume, or foresee unhappiness for Gloria? Why talk of a curse where perhaps there is only an intended blessing? Is she unhappy, that you are thus moved?”
Ronsard furtively dashed away the tears from his eyes.
“She? Gloria unhappy? No, — not yet! The delights of spring and summer have met in her smile, — her eyes, her movements! It was she herself who told me all! If he had told me, I would have killed him!”
“Eminently sensible!” said Von Glauben, recovering his usual phlegmatic calm; “You would have killed the man she loves best in the world. And so with perfect certainty you would have killed her as well, — and probably yourself afterwards. A perfect slaughterhouse, like the last scene in Hamlet, by the so admirable Shakespeare! It is better as it is. Life is really very pleasant!”
He sniffed the perfumed air, — listened with appreciation to the trilling of a bird swinging on a bough of apple-blossom above him, and began to feel quite easy in his mind. Half his mission was done for him, Prince Humphry having declared himself in his true colours. “I always said,” mused the Professor, “that he was a very honest young man! And I think he will be honest to the end.” Aloud he asked:
“When did you know the truth?”
“Some days since,” replied Ronsard. “He — Gloria’s husband — I can as yet call him by no other name — came suddenly one evening; — the two went out together as usual, and then — then my child returned alone. She told me all, — of the disguise he had assumed — and of his real identity — and I — well! I think I was mad! I know I spoke and acted like a madman!”
“Nay, rather say like a philosopher!” murmured Von Glauben with a humorous smile; “Remember, my good fellow, that there is no human being who loses self-control more easily and rapidly than he who proclaims the advantage of keeping it! And what did Gloria say to you?”
Ronsard looked up at the tranquil skies, and was for a moment silent. Then he answered.
“Gloria is — just Gloria! There is no woman like her, — there never will be any woman like her! She said nothing at all while I raged and swore; — she stood before me white and silent, — grand and calm, like some great angel. Then when I cursed him, — she raised her hand, and like a queen she said: ‘I forbid you to utter one word against him!’ I stood before her mute and foolish. ‘I forbid you!’ She, — the child I reared and nurtured — menaced me with her ‘command’ as though I were her slave and servant! You see I have lost her! — she is not mine any more — she is his — to be treated as he wills, and made the toy of his pleasure! She does not know the world, but I know it! I know the misery that is in store for her! But there is yet time — and I will live to avenge her wrong!”
“Possibly there will be no wrong to avenge,” said Von Glauben composedly; “But if there is, I have no doubt you would kill another king!” Ronsard turned pale and shuddered. “It is stupid work, killing kings,” went on the Professor; “It never does any good; and often increases the evil it was intended to cure. Your studies in philosophy must have taught you that much at least! As for your losing Gloria, — you lost her in a sense when you gave her to her husband. It is no use complaining now, because you find he is not the man you took him for. The mischief is done. At any rate you are bound to admit that Gloria has, so far, been perfectly happy; she will be happy still, I truly believe, for she has the secret of happiness in her own beautiful nature. And you, Ronsard, must make the best of things, and meet fate with calmness. To-day, for instance, I am here by the King’s command, — I bear his orders, — and I have come for Gloria. They want her at the Palace.”
Ronsard stepped out of his flower-border, and stood on the greensward amazed, and indignantly suspicious.
“They want her at the Palace!” he repeated; “Why? What for? To do her harm? To make her miserable? To insult and threaten her? No, she shall not go!”
“Look here, my friend,” said the Professor with mild patience; “You have — for a philosopher — a most unpleasant habit of jumping to wrong conclusions! Please endeavour to compose the tumult in your soul, and listen to me! The King has sent for Gloria, and I am instructed to take charge of her, and escort her to the presence of their Majesties. No insult, no threat, no wrong is intended. I will bring her back again safe to you immediately the audience is concluded. Be satisfied, Ronsard! For once ‘put your trust in princes,’ for her husband will be there, — and do you think he would suffer her to be insulted or wronged?”
Ronsard’s sunken eyes looked wild, — his aged frame trembled violently, and he gave a hopeless gesture.
“I do not know — I do not know!” he said incoherently; “I am an old man, and I have always found it a wicked world! But — if you give me your word that she shall come to no harm, I will trust you!”
Silently Von Glauben took his hand and pressed it. Two or three minutes passed, weighted with unuttered and unutterable thoughts in the minds of both men; and then, in a somewhat hushed voice, the Professor said:
“Ronsard, I am just now reminded of the tragic story of Rudolf of Austria, who killed himself through the maddening sorrow of an ill-fated love! We, in our different lines of life should remember that, — and let no young innocent heart suffer through our follies — our rages against fate — our conventions — our more or less idiotic laws of restraint and hypocrisy. The tragedy of Prince Rudolf and the unhappy Marie Vetsera whom he worshipped, was caused by the sin and the falsehood of others, — not by the victims of the cruel catastrophe. Therefore, I say to you, my friend, be wise in time! — and control the natural stormy tendency of your passions in this present affair. I assure you, on my faith and honour as a man, that the King has a kindly heart and a brave one, — together with a strong sense of justice. He is not truly known to his people; — they only see him through the pens of press reporters, or the slavish descriptions of toadies and parasites. Then again, the Crown Prince is an honourable lad; and from what I know of him, he is not likely to submit to conventional usages in matters which are close to his life and heart. Gloria herself is of such an exceptional character and disposition, that I think she may be safely left to arbitrate her own destiny — —”
“And the Queen?” interrupted Ronsard suddenly;— “She, at any rate, as a woman, wife and mother, will be gentle?”
“Gentle, she certainly is,” said Von Glauben, with a slight sigh; “But only because she does not consider it worth while to be otherwise! God has put a stone in the place where her heart should be! However, — she will have little to say, and still less to do with to-day’s business. You tell me you will trust me; I promise you, you shall not repent your trust! But I must see Gloria herself. Where is she?”
Ronsard pointed towards the cottage.
“She is in there, studying,” he said; “Books of the old time; — books that few read. She gets them all from Sergius Thord. How would it be, think you, if he knew?”
The pleasantly rubicund countenance of the Professor grew a shade paler.
“Sergius Thord — Sergius Thord? — H’m — h’m — let me see! — who is he? Ah! I remember, — he is the Socialist lion, for ever roaring through the streets and seeking whom he may devour! I daresay he is not without cleverness!”
“Cleverness!” echoed Ronsard; “That is a tame word! He has genius, and the people swear by him. Since the proposed new taxation, and other injustices of the Government, he has gained adherents by many thousands. You, — whom I once took to be a mere German schoolmaster, a friend of the young ‘sailor’ whom my child so innocently wedded, — you whom I now know to be the King’s physician — surely you cannot live on the mainland, and in the metropolis, without knowing of the power of Sergius Thord?”
“I know something — not much;” replied th
e Professor guardedly; “But come, my friend, I have not deceived you! I was in very truth a poor ‘German schoolmaster,’ once, — before I became a student of medicine and surgery. And that I am the King’s physician, is merely one of those accidental circumstances which occur in a world of chance. But schoolmaster as I have been, I doubt if I would set our ‘Glory-of-the-Sea’ to study books recommended to her by Sergius Thord. The poetry of Heine is more suitable to her age and sex. Let us break in upon her meditations.” And he walked across the grass with one arm thrust through that of Ronsard; “For she must prepare herself. We ought to be gone within an hour.”
They passed under the low, rose-covered porch into a wide square room, with raftered ceiling and deep carved oak ingle nook, — and here at the table, with a quarto volume opened out before her, sat Gloria, resting her head on one fair hand, her rich hair falling about her in loose shining tresses, and her whole attitude expressive of the deepest absorption in study. As they entered, she looked up and smiled, — then rose, her hand still resting on the open book.
“At last you have come again, dear Professor!” she said; “I began to think you had grown weary in well-doing!”
Von Glauben stared at her, stricken speechless for a moment. What mysterious change had passed over the girl, investing her with such an air of regal authority? It was impossible to say. To all appearance she was the same beautiful creature, clad in the same simple white homespun gown, — yet were she Empress of half the habitable globe, she could not have looked more environed with dignity, sweetness and delicately gracious manner. He understood the desolating expression of Ronsard,— ‘You see I have lost her! — she is not mine any more — she is his!’ He recognised and was suddenly impressed by that fact; — she was ‘his’ — the wife of the Crown Prince and Heir-Apparent to the Throne; — and evidently with the knowledge of her position had arisen the pride of love and the spirit of grace to support her honours worthily. And so, as Von Glauben met her eyes, which expressed their gentle wonder at his silence, and as she extended her hand to him, he came slowly forward and bowing low, respectfully kissed that hand.
“Princess,” he said, in a voice that trembled ever so slightly; “I shall never be weary in well-doing, — if you are good enough to call my service and friendship for you by that name! I hesitated to come before, — because I thought — I feared — I did not know!—”
“I understand!” said Gloria tranquilly; “You did not think the Prince, my husband, would tell me the truth so soon! But I know all, and now — I am glad to know it! Dearest,” and she moved swiftly to Ronsard who was standing silent in the doorway— “come in and sit down! You make yourself so tired sometimes in the garden;” and she threw a loving arm about him. “You must rest; you look so pale!”
For all answer, he lifted the hand that hung about his neck, to his lips and kissed it tenderly.
“They want you, Gloria!” he said tremulously; “They want you at the Palace. You must go to-day!”
She lifted her brilliant eyes enquiringly to Von Glauben, who responded to the look by at once explaining his mission. He was there, he said, by the King’s special command; — their Majesties had been informed of their son’s marriage by their son himself; and they desired at once to see and speak with their unknown daughter-in-law. The interview would be private; his Royal Highness the Crown Prince would be present; — it might last an hour, perhaps longer, — and he, Von Glauben, was entrusted to bring Gloria to the Palace, and escort her back to The Islands again when all was over. Thus, with elaborate and detailed courtesy, the Professor unfolded the nature of his enterprise, while Gloria, still keeping one arm round Ronsard, heard and smiled.
“I shall obey the King’s command!” she said composedly; “Though, — having no word from the Prince, my husband, concerning this mandate, — I might very well refuse to do so! But it may be as well that their Majesties and their son’s wife should plainly, and once for all, understand each other. Dear Professor, you look sadly troubled. Is there some little convention, some special ceremonial of so-called ‘good manners,’ which you are commissioned to teach me, before I make my appearance at Court under your escort?”
Her lovely lips smiled, — her eyes laughed, — she looked the very incarnation of Beauty triumphant. Von Glauben’s brain whirled, — he felt bewitched and dazzled.
“I? — to teach you anything? No, my princess! — and please think how loyally I have called you ‘Princess’ from the beginning! — I have always told you that you have a spiritual knowledge far surpassing all material wisdom. Conventions and ceremonials are not for you, — you will make fashion, not follow it! I am not troubled, save for your sake, dear child! — for you know nothing of the world, and the ways of the Court may at first offend you—”
“The ways of Hell must have seemed dark to Proserpine,” said Ronsard in his harsh, strong voice; “But Love gave her light!”
“A very just reminder!” said Von Glauben, well pleased;— “Consider Gloria to be the new Proserpine to-day! And now she must forgive me for playing the part of a tyrannical friend, and urging her to hasten her preparations.”
Gloria bent down and kissed Ronsard gently.
“Trust me, little father!” she whispered; “You have not taught me great lessons of truth in vain!”
Aloud she said.
“The King and Queen wish to see me and speak with me, — and I know the reason why! They desire to fully explain to me all that my husband has already told me, — which is that according to the rules made for monarchs, our marriage is inadmissible. Well! — I have my answer ready; and you, Professor, shall hear me give it! Wait but a few moments and I will come with you.”
She left the room. The two men looked at each other in silence. At last Von Glauben said: —
“Ronsard, I think you will soon reap the reward of your ‘life-philosophy’ system! You have fed that girl from her childhood on strong intellectual food, and trained the mental muscles rather than the physical ones. Upon my word, I believe you will see a good result!”
Ronsard, who had grown much calmer and quieter during the last few minutes, raised himself a little from the chair into which he had sunk with an air of fatigue, and looked dreamily towards the open lattice window, where the roses hung in a curtain of crimson blossom.
“If it be so, I shall praise God!” he said; “But the years have come and gone with me so peacefully since I made my home on these quiet shores, that the exercise of what I have presumed to call ‘philosophy’ has had no chance. Philosophy! It is well to preach it, — but when the blow of misfortune falls, who can practise it?”
“You can,” replied the Professor;— “I can! Gloria can! I think we all three have clear brains. There is a tendency in the present age to overlook and neglect the greatest power in the whole human composition, — the mental and psychical part of it. Now, in the present curious drama of events, we have a chance given to exercise it; and it will be our own faults if we do not make our wills rule our destinies!”
“But the position is intolerable — impossible!” said Ronsard, rising and pacing the room with a fresh touch of agitation. “Nothing can do away with the fact that we — my child and I — have been cruelly deceived! And now there can be only one of two contingencies; Gloria must be acknowledged as the Prince’s wife, — in which case he will be forced to resign all claim to the Throne; — or he must marry again, which makes her no wife at all. That is a disgrace which her pride would never submit to, nor mine; — for did I not kill a king?”
“Let me advise you for the future not to allude to that disagreeable incident!” said Von Glauben persuasively: “Exercise discretion, — as I do! Observe that I do not ask you what king you killed; — I am as careful on that matter as I am concerning the reasons for which I myself left my native Fatherland! I make it a rule never to converse on painful subjects. You tell me you have tried to atone; then believe that the atonement is made, and that Gloria is the sign of its acceptance, and �
� happy augury! — here she comes.”
They both instinctively turned to confront the girl as she entered. She had changed her ordinary white homespun gown for another of the same kind, equally simple, but fresh and unworn; her glorious bronze-chestnut hair was unbound to its full rippling length, and was held back by a band or fillet of curiously carved white coral, which surmounted the rich tresses somewhat in the fashion of a small crown, and she carried, thrown over one arm, the only kind of cloak she ever wore, — a burnous-like wrap of the same white homespun as her dress, with a hood, which, as the Professor slowly took out his glasses and fixed them on his nose out of mere mechanical habit, to look at her more closely, she drew over her head and shoulders, the soft folds about her exquisite face completing a classic picture of such radiant beauty as is seldom seen nowadays among the increasingly imperfect and repulsive specimens of female humanity which ‘progress’ combined with sensuality, produce for the ‘advancement’ of the race.
“I have no Court dress,” she said smiling; “And if I had I should not wear it! The King and Queen shall see me as my husband sees me, — what pleases him, must suffice to please them! I am quite ready!”
Von Glauben removed the spectacles he had needlessly put on. They were dim with a moisture which he furtively polished off, blinking his eyes meanwhile as if the light hurt him. He was profoundly moved — thrilled to the very core of his soul by the simplicity, frankness and courage of this girl whose education was chiefly out of wild Nature’s lesson-book, and who knew nothing of the artificial world of fashion.
“And I, my princess, am at your service!” he said; “Ronsard, it is but a few hours that we shall be absent. To-night with the rising of the moon we shall return, and I doubt not with the Prince himself as chief escort! Keep a good heart and have faith! All will be well!”
“All shall be well if Love can make it so!” said Ronsard;— “Gloria — my child — !” He held out his wrinkled hands pathetically, unable to say more. She sank on her knees before him, and tenderly drawing down those hands upon her head, pressed them closely there.
Delphi Collected Works of Marie Corelli (Illustrated) (Delphi Series Eight Book 22) Page 556