No, no, laugh no more. Look you, that which I thought so humorous
has its serious side as well, a very serious side, like everything
in this world! Believe me, that word, chance, is blasphemy; nothing
beneath the sun is the work of chance; and do you not see herein
the purpose marked out by Providence!--LESSING: _Emilia Galotti_.
Yes, a deep design often lies at the root of what men call chance. There
seems to be a mysterious hand which marks the cause and purpose of
events. We inveigh against fickle fortune, against the strange accidents
of our lot, and lo! chaos is made clear by a fearful flash of lightning
or a marvellous beam of light, and human wisdom is humbled by the great
lessons of fate.
If, for instance, when Frederic d’Ahlefeld displayed his magnificent
attire, his foolish complacency, and his presumptuous pride, in some
sumptuous apartment, to the ladies of Copenhagen; if some man, endowed
with the gift of second sight, had troubled his frivolous thoughts by
gloomy revelations; if he had told him that one day the brilliant
uniform of which he boasted should cause his death; that a monster in
human shape should drink his blood as greedily as he, careless epicure
that he was, drank the wines of France and Bohemia; that the locks upon
which he could not lavish too many essences and perfumes should sweep
the dust of a cave haunted by wild beasts; that the arm which he so
gracefully offered to the fair ladies of Charlottenburg should be flung
to a bear like a half-gnawed chicken-bone,--how would Frederic have
answered these dismal prophecies? With a laugh and a pirouette; and,
more frightful still, most sensible men would have applauded his
reckless conduct.
Let us consider his destiny more closely. Is it not strange to find that
the crime of Count and Countess d’Ahlefeld met with such fitting
punishment? They wove an infamous plot against the daughter of a
prisoner; this unfortunate girl by a mere chance found a protector, who
saw fit to remove their son, charged by them to carry out their
abominable scheme. This son, their only hope, was sent far from the
scene of his purposed villany; and hardly had he reached his
destination, when another avenging chance caused his death. Thus in
their attempt to bring dishonor upon an innocent yet detested young
girl, they plunged their own guilty yet adored son into the oblivion of
the grave. The wretched pair were made miserable by their own hands.