Alone, with folded arms, on the following evening, Arwed wandered up
and down the northern bank of the Suedermalm in the new volunteer
uniform, anxiously glancing across lake Malar towards the magnificent
city of Stockholm, which there arose with its palaces, cupolas and
towers, proud and lordly as became the queen of those waters. The sun
had already gone down, but it yet glowed redly upon the waves of the
lake, gently ruffled by a soft west wind, and its last rays glistened
upon the knob of the high towers of St. Gertrude, which it lighted up
like a giant star shining through the incipient twilight. With earnest
attention the youth's eyes glided from tower to tower and from palace
to palace, until they finally remained fixed upon that of the royal
residence, which in consequence of the continued impoverishment of the
treasury had not been rebuilt since the fire that destroyed it twenty
years before.
'What horrible desolation in the midst of so much splendor!' said Arwed
mournfully to himself. 'The ruins of the royal castle almost appear to
me to be symbols of the decay of this noble realm! Yet also this
palace,' proceeded he, consoling himself with the light-mindedness of
youth, 'will one day again rise from its ashes, perhaps more beautiful
than before. Lost lands can be conquered again, new generations will
come to fill up the vacancies caused by the sword, and soon perhaps
will Europe tremble again before the mighty roar of the Swedish lion.'
A splash in the water interrupted the proud prophecy. A row-boat from
the Ritterholm cut through the stream and neared the bank. Two ladies
in plain dark cloaks and covered with white veils, stepped from the
boat. 'Georgina,' cried Arwed in ecstasy, springing towards her. With
light, nimble steps one of the ladies, a slender and delicately formed
figure, approached and affectionately extended to him her right hand,
while her left was employed in withdrawing the veil from her youthful
and lovely face.
'My Georgina!' he joyfully repeated, leading her to a seat upon the
rocky bank, whilst the other lady remained standing at some distance,
sending from under her veil in every direction her scrutinizing
glances, so as to be enabled to warn the youthful pair betimes of any
troublesome witness who might interrupt the happy interview.
The beauteous Georgina fixed her affectionate gaze upon the beloved
youth, but with softened feelings which filled her dark eyes with
tears. 'By your dress I see,' said she with emotion, 'that this is our
parting hour--and I thank thee that I have been hitherto kept in
ignorance of it, so that I was enabled to enjoy the anticipation of
this meeting without alloy.'
'Yes, dearest maiden,' answered Arwed: 'my wishes are accomplished, my
father's kindness has opened to me the path of honor, which I dare to
hope will enable me to deserve and obtain thee. That I may hereafter be
entirely thine, I now leave thee. Thou wilt again see me, crowned with
the laurels of victory, or thou wilt hear that I have bravely fought
and fallen worthy of thee and myself.'
'Oh, Arwed,' faintly murmured the almost breathless maiden, reclining
her beauteous head upon his breast and turning her eyes upon his face
with a look of gentle reproach. 'Must it then be so? Thou hast indeed
always asserted this sad necessity, but I could never bring myself to
believe it. Credit me, my father is good, and by no means so haughty
and violent as the Swedes consider him. Ungrateful men indeed, hate
him--but he loves his newly adopted country. Thy house is one of the
most honorable--and even if he had other plans respecting me, he would
not be able to withstand my prayers if I dutifully opened my heart to
him.'
'I love thee with all my soul, Georgina,' said Arwed with flashing
eyes: 'but at the same time Swedish pride claims its rights. It would
be disgraceful to a Gyllenstierna to be indebted to the prayers and
tears of the daughter for the consent of the proud stranger. And if
your father should now ask me what I had hitherto done for the honor of
the name which his child is to bear, and I could answer him nothing
except that I had read Greek and Latin with my tutor and listened to a
few college lectures at Upsala, I should sink into the earth for shame.
Yet not for that cause alone do I grasp the sword. With it I hope to
gain the favor of the king and independence of my father, who, though
he truly loves me, will hardly with a good will consent to the proposed
connection. Besides, having long since decided on my course, I beg that
you will not make more difficult by your sorrow a step which is already
sufficiently afflicting, since it separates me from you.'
'Cruel, perverse man!' said Georgina, kissing him. 'Yes, your sex are
our tyrants, and the worst of it is, that the more pitilessly you
torment us through your pride and severity, the more ardently we love
you. What can the poor feeble maiden do but submit to the hard fate
which her Arwed decrees--and henceforth weep, hope, wish, until her lot
is indissolubly united with his.' She dried her tears, and then with
assumed resolution asked; 'when do you leave?'
'This night I depart for Norway,' answered Arwed, 'but whether for the
north or the south, you must decide for me.'
'_I_?' asked Georgina, trembling: 'you mock me.'
'You know the reasons,' proceeded Arwed, 'which induce me to desire to
repair to Frederickshall. But my father insists with inexorable
severity, that I shall go to Armfelt, which he prefers as the better
path for promotion, and from fear that the reckless temerity of the
king may expose my life to unnecessary danger. I believe, however, that
the aversion which the fiery old aristocrat retains so firmly against
the great Charles, is the principal cause of his obstinacy. Now counsel
me Georgina. Uninfluenced by party hatreds, and all the low springs of
action which prevail in this kingdom setting brother against brother,
standest thou there, like a good angel, above the thunder and the
death-cry of the battle field, and only lookest down compassionately
upon the wild tumult.--With thee I shall find the truth, or nowhere.
Shall I follow the conquering path of the great king, inspired by his
presence, and perhaps rewarded with his approbation whenever an
opportunity for good service may occur, and struggle to obtain the
chaplet of honor through my own deservings; or shall I, in obedience to
the arbitrary will of my father, repair to Armfelt's corps for the
purpose of supplanting meritorious warriors by means of a wicked
favoritism? Decide! What you advise, that will I do.'
'Thou art magnanimous, Arwed,' said Georgina, smiling through her
tears. 'Thou wishest to flatter a maiden's vanity, so that she may the
less acutely feel the sorrow of parting. How shall I be so presumptuous
as to counsel a youth who is as headstrong as ever could have been the
king himself?'
'Upon my honor!' cried Arwed impatiently, 'I desire thy counsel in real
earnest. My own feelings have long since decided,--but I wish to be
governed not by my own feelings, but by what is right, and that I find
only in thy clear soul.'
'Thou demandest of me the performance of a delicate and responsible
duty,' said Georgina with emotion. 'Were I to obey only the voice of
anxiety which speaks so loudly for thee in a loving maiden's bosom, I
had quickly decided--as, with the king is undoubtedly the greatest
danger. But in this case the voice of honor must also be heard, and thy
honor is also mine.'
'Such language is Worthy of a Swedish maiden!' cried Arwed, warmly
embracing her.
'Nor is honor alone to be considered,' proceeded Georgina. 'The
question of filial duty is also an important one. Thy father hath
declared his will, and I am not presumptuous enough to counsel
disobedience to him.'
'My God!' cried Arwed disconsolately. 'I now stand just where I did
before--and if I would ever come to a conclusion, like Alexander I must
cut the knot I cannot untie.'
'Move not towards the north, young hero!' whispered, all of a sudden in
the evening stillness, a low hoarse voice, as if from heaven.
Georgina shrieked with alarm and covered her eyes with her hands. Arwed
sprang in a rage from his rocky seat, and drew his sword. 'Who here
gives his counsel unasked?' thundered he among the rocks above him, on
whose top he observed through the fading twilight a tall human form,
wrapped in a gray mantle.
'One wiser than thou,' answered the apparition, 'and who means thee
well.'
'What have I to fear in the north?' hastily asked Arwed.
'An inglorious death!' answered the unknown, and instantly vanished.
'Strange,' said Arwed, slowly returning his sword to its scabbard.
'Now am I to decide!' cried Georgina, tremblingly attaching herself to
him. 'Obey the voice, Arwed, it appeared to be that of a friend.'
'Prophecies were always disagreeable to me,' said Arwed. 'Imposition or
fanaticism, it makes no difference. Now am I almost determined to go to
Armfelt, merely to prove that I give no heed to such jugglery.'
'Hast thou forgotten what there awaits thee?' anxiously asked Georgina.
'An inglorious death would indeed be the greatest calamity that could
befal me,' said Arwed; 'and the voice sounded so honest.'
'If thou lovest me, obey it,' implored Georgina,--and at that moment
her companion approached to remind her that it was high time to return
to the city.
'Fare thee well, my beloved life!' said Arwed, locking the sobbing
maiden in his arms.
'Thou goest to Frederickshall?' inquired she, faintly.
'Hast thou not united the wish with my love?' asked the youth in
return, and long and silently he pressed her beloved form to his bosom.
'Hasten, baroness!' anxiously entreated her companion.
Georgina finally forced herself from his embrace. 'I believe in a good
God!' exclaimed she with a sort of inspiration: 'we shall meet again.'
The ladies proceeded to the boat which was waiting for them. Arwed
remained standing silently on the spot where he had received Georgina's
last kiss, gazing after the receding boat, until it disappeared in the
shadow which the old Gothic church of the Ritterholm, behind which the
moon was now rising, threw over the waters of the Malar.