A CATO IN GOLDEN CURLS.
"Beg pardon, Herr Candidate, I must request you to follow me."
Old Hildebrandt bowed as he spoke these words, and proceeded to conduct
Herr Gottlieb Pigglewitch to his apartments. In a corner of the hall
lay the ancient travelling-bag. Pigglewitch would have picked it up to
carry it to his room himself, but this Hildebrandt would by no means
allow. "I will call a servant," he said, taking the bag from the young
man's hand, and in answer to his twice-repeated call of "Johann!" a
footman appeared, who was taken to task for his dilatoriness and
ordered instantly to carry the Herr Candidate's portmanteau to his
room.
Johann scanned the figure of the stranger contemptuously, mentally
comparing the threadbare coat of the latter with his own well-kept
livery. It was really quite derogatory to his dignity to carry such a
fellow's luggage up the stairs. "It's not my place to fetch and carry
for _him_!" he was mentally ejaculating, when he suddenly encountered
the glance of the stranger's eye, and what he saw there was in such
contrast to his shabby exterior that he meekly took the bag and obeyed
Hildebrandt's directions.
The old servant led the way up the broad staircase and along a wide
corridor, at the end of which he threw open a door with "This is your
sitting-room, Herr Candidate."
Pigglewitch was most agreeably surprised by the appearance of the
apartment into which he was ushered,--a large, comfortably-furnished
room, lighted by two broad windows. The low, chintz-covered sofa, with
its large pillows, the big arm-chairs, the piano in one corner, the
well-filled book-shelves, the study-table, all gave the place a refined
air of comfort which gratified the young man's taste. He was especially
pleased to find a piano here,--his dormant love of music had suddenly
revived. Formerly his piano had been his best friend, he greeted it
once more with joy.
He went to the window, which looked out upon a charming old-fashioned
garden filled with bloom, and an extent of close-shaven lawn.
The old servant allowed the young man time to observe the prospect, and
then remarked, "This door leads into your bedroom, Herr Candidate,
where you will find your wardrobe and conveniences for washing, and
where Johann has left your bag. The family dines at three o'clock
punctually, and Herr von Osternau likes to have every one in the
dining-hall as the clock begins to strike. It would be well if you
would set your watch by the castle clock so as to be dressed by five
minutes of three, when I shall with your permission show you the way to
the dining-room. Madame likes to have every one dress for dinner; the
Herr Lieutenant always does so, and when the Herr Inspectors are too
busy to do so they dine in the Inspector's room and do not appear at
table."
"You wish me to dress, then?" Pigglewitch asked, with a smile.
"If you please, Herr Candidate; I do not mean to presume, but you will
like to know the custom of the household. Should you require anything
further, you will be good enough to pull your bell three times in
succession; the Herr Lieutenant rings twice and Herr von Osternau and
madame once only. Johann will obey your summons immediately."
He bowed and left the room, leaving its occupant gazing thoughtfully
out of the window. He looked across the blooming flower-beds, the
velvet lawn, the luxuriant shrubbery, his eyes sought the distant
horizon while his thoughts took shape in a half-muttered soliloquy:
"The first step in the new life is taken, and everything differs
utterly from my anticipations. Where is the haughty aristocrat, the
scornful lady, whom I hoped to inspire with horror by my appearance?
What has become of the struggle with arrogant self-assertion to which I
looked forward? Positively my ill luck, the tiresome good fortune which
has been lavished upon me ever since I was a child, pursues me here
also, my irresponsible folly has introduced me to a household where any
man save myself would be perfectly happy. Was it worth while to don
Pigglewitch's ridiculous attire to be pursued here too by my fate? And,
besides, how can I answer it to my conscience to deceive these worthy,
unsuspicious people? If they were what I imagined them, arrogant,
brutal, looking down with contempt upon the man whose services they had
hired, there would have been some amusement in bringing their pride low
in a contention with them. Such a struggle would have been worth a
couple more weeks of existence. But now? Well, why not? I have
something very different here from the eternal monotony of a
fashionable society life. This one may be as tiresome, but variety will
make it endurable for a time. I am already refreshed and enlivened by
the idea of attempting to conform myself to new conditions of
existence. But have I a right to play with these kindly people, to
deceive them, for the gratification of a whim of the moment? Pshaw! It
can do no harm to assume the _role_ of a Candidate Pigglewitch for a
few days. I have acknowledged frankly that this is but a trial, that I
mistrusted my own qualifications for the position; what more could be
desired? And, besides, if my _alter ego_, the real Pigglewitch, had
come to them, would they have been any better off? They ought to thank
me for ridding them of him. The farce is begun; it must be carried out
until--until it grows too tiresome, and then the sham Pigglewitch can
go the same way that the real Pigglewitch was so near going but
lately."
He paused. His thoughts were diverted from their course by the clear,
joyous voice of a child in the garden below his windows.
A handsome little fellow, with fair close curls, broke forth from the
shrubbery on the farther side of the lawn, and a few steps behind him
came running, still faster, a girl hardly more than a child. She tried
to catch the boy, he slipped from her but only for a moment. She caught
him, lifted him in her arms, kissed him, and then putting him down with
"Now catch me, Fritzchen!" she vanished again among the bushes. It was
a charming picture. The graceful, girlish figure had glided like a
fairy over the lawn, seeming to the spectator rather to fly than to
run. With all her tender grace how strong and healthy she looked!
Pigglewitch had but one fleeting glimpse of her face, when she lifted
the boy and kissed him. It seemed to him wonderfully lovely, but the
next instant she had disappeared in the shrubbery, and the boy followed
her with a shout.
"Herr Fritzchen! Fraeulein! Fraeulein Lieschen!"
Old Hildebrandt was standing in the gravel-path that ran through the
garden, calling in stentorian tones.
"Yes, yes!" came from the shrubbery, and immediately afterwards the
brother and sister appeared, hand in hand, running swiftly. As they
crossed the lawn, however, they slackened their pace, so that
Pigglewitch could observe them at his ease. They were extremely alike,
both handsome, but the maidenly charm of the young girl was
indescribably attractive.
"What is it? Why are you calling us, Hildebrandt?" she asked, from a
distance. The tone of her voice delighted the ear of the listener at
the window. It was rich, clear, and melodious.
"Madame your mother sent me. The Herr Tutor has come. Fritzchen is to
go to him in his room immediately."
"The new tutor? Oh, I must see him too!" was Lieschen's reply, and hand
in hand with her little brother she ran so swiftly towards the castle
that her golden curls were blown backward by the wind.
Pigglewitch turned from the window and looked towards the door in
expectation of the visit. That beautiful boy was to be his charge, that
charming fairy his pupil in music. Here was another surprise. Would
fortune never tire of showering her favours upon him? This time,
however, her gifts did not strike him as tiresome. If he had ever
hesitated as to whether he should carry out his mad scheme of remaining
as tutor in Castle Osternau, all such hesitation was now at an end.
He waited but a few moments before light, tripping steps were heard in
the corridor, then came a low, melodious laugh, and then a knock at his
door.
"Come in!"
The door opened, and on the threshold there appeared, still hand in
hand, the beautiful boy and the golden-haired fairy. The girl looked
around the room with an air of arch curiosity, but no sooner did her
eyes encounter Pigglewitch's figure than she burst into a laugh, which
she vainly tried to suppress. She blushed, her efforts at self-control
were evident, but they were of no use. One glance towards the new tutor
was enough to provoke her merriment afresh. Thus, still laughing, she
advanced into the room with Fritzchen, who looked in shy amazement at
the stranger.
The young lady's unbridled mirth aroused in Pigglewitch, who guessed
its cause, a very disagreeable sensation. On the day previous, and on
this very morning, he had contemplated his image in his hand-glass with
much complacency, congratulating himself upon the impression his
slouching, bedraggled figure would make upon the aristocratic inmates
of Castle Osternau. His expectations had been fulfilled, and were being
fulfilled at this moment, but he was not enjoying himself. The
prolonged laughter of the young girl vexed him, and as she sank into an
arm-chair, and seemed entirely unable to regain her composure, he bit
his lip and gave utterance to his annoyance by observing, sharply, "May
I inquire the cause of your amiable merriment, Fraeulein?"
The question only provoked a fresh burst of laughter, after which the
girl controlled herself for a moment sufficiently to reply, "I am so
sorry, but indeed I cannot help it when I look at you, you do look so
utterly ridiculous!"
"Your pertinent reply bears testimony to taste in dress and to love of
truth rather than to good breeding on your part, Fraeulein."
Lieschen suddenly grew graver; she looked him fairly in the face for
the first time. Hitherto her attention had been given to the queer
black coat, with its long, pointed tails. She saw now that its wearer
was offended, and she said, kindly and ruefully, "I am sorry to have
vexed you, but indeed I could not help it. I mean no harm, but I must
laugh when I look at you." Then, suddenly altering her tone, she went
on, "But why should I excuse my conduct? Have you not just called my
reply pertinent and a proof of good taste? consequently you must know
yourself how utterly ridiculous that old-fashioned coat is, how ugly
you look in it. If you come to Castle Osternau dressed like a
scarecrow, you must not complain if you are laughed at. Hildebrandt
told me how odd you looked. He prepared me, and yet I could not help
laughing when I saw you. How can you wear such clothes? They do not
suit your face at all, and Hildebrandt says you played the piano most
delightfully."
She looked him full in the face as she thus lectured him, and shook her
curls with a charming air of severity.
"A poor Candidate has no means wherewith to dress himself elegantly,"
Pigglewitch replied, colouring in spite of himself at the girl's
reproof, the truth of which he could not deny, and taking refuge in
prevarication.
"I do not believe you," Lieschen replied, adding after a short pause,
during which she looked at him with grave reproof in her eyes, "It
shows a want of respect for papa and mamma and for all of us. If you
knew no better we could not help laughing at you although we should
pity you, but your words betray your consciousness of the ridiculous
appearance you present, and yet you come dressed thus to Castle
Osternau. Papa always dresses for dinner, although he is an old man and
the head of the house. And would you teach Fritzchen and me in that
coat? Then do not ask us to be serious. Oh, I cannot help laughing when
I look at you!"
She leaned back among the cushions of the arm-chair as her laughter
burst forth again, while little Fritz, whom awe of the new tutor had
hitherto kept quiet, was emboldened by his sister's example, and also
laughed aloud.
The situation was by no means an agreeable one for Pigglewitch. If the
girl's reproof had only not been so just! He cursed himself for his
folly in exchanging clothes with the real Pigglewitch, but the deed was
past recall, and he must bear the consequences.
"You ought not to ridicule poverty, Fraeulein," he observed, merely for
something to say.
Lieschen grew grave again; she was charming when she laughed, but still
more attractive when she spoke with her little air of serious
disapproval:
"I should be ashamed of laughing at a poor man because he could not
dress in the fashion. I never should laugh at you for wearing a
threadbare coat, although I cannot understand how a young man who has
only himself to provide for should not be able to dress decently. You
must have another suit of clothes. What is there in that old
travelling-bag?"
She pointed to the bag which Johann had put just inside the open door
of the next room. Her question embarrassed Pigglewitch. Had he told the
truth he must have replied, "I don't know." He could not possibly say
this, and again he had recourse to prevarication.
"Certainly nothing in the fashion," he replied. "Since, however, you
lay such stress, Fraeulein, upon my dress at table and during study
hours, I will take care to provide myself as soon as possible with the
best clothes that can be found here in the country. Until I have done
so, I will beg madame your mother to dispense with my society at meals
and to relieve me of my duties as instructor, for I cannot allow my
pupils to laugh at me, even although one of them be a young lady."
Lieschen looked approval, she bethought herself a moment and then said,
"I have a plan to propose, Herr Candidate. It would be a great pity
that you should stay away from table for several days, for it will take
the tailor fully that length of time to provide you with a new suit.
Herr Storting will help you. He is just your size, and his clothes will
at all events fit you better than that ugly, ridiculous coat."
"Who is Herr Storting?"
"Our second inspector. He is so obliging he will surely help you if I
ask him to. He never refuses me anything, and I know he has a whole
wardrobe full of suits. Do you consent? Indeed you must, you cannot
reject my proposal, and in return I promise you that I will not even
smile, either when you come to dinner or when you give me my first
lesson on the piano. Herr Storting has just come in from the fields, I
saw him ride into the court-yard a moment ago. I will go and ask him,
and he will be here in five minutes and will offer to do anything for
you. You need not say a word. Run quickly to the inspector's office,
Fritzchen, and tell Herr Storting that I wish to speak to him
immediately, and that I am waiting for him in the garden in the
jessamine arbour. Adieu, Herr Candidate! We have had a little quarrel,
but that is no matter, it can all be made up. We shall see each other
again at dinner."
She did not wait for an answer: before Pigglewitch could either accept
or reject her proposal she had tripped away, with Fritzchen running
before her, eager to obey her orders.
"Egon, you have made an infernal fool of yourself," Pigglewitch
muttered, when the young girl had left him. He felt really humiliated
by the reproof uttered by those charming lips with so much girlish
dignity. A mere child had ventured first to laugh at him, then to
lecture him, and finally to act as it were as a kind of guardian over
him. It was rather hard, especially as he could not but be conscious
that Lieschen was right. Egon von Ernau, having taken upon himself
Pigglewitch's name and social standing, must submit to be treated
accordingly. He could withdraw from such treatment, for he was not as
yet bound even by any promise. The idea occurred to him that he had
best leave Castle Osternau as quickly as possible, but it was banished
almost before it had taken shape. It would be unpardonable weakness,
actual cowardice, he said to himself, to end the struggle for existence
which he had hardly begun, by a flight from the scene of action. Was it
the struggle only that interested him? Was there not an attraction in
the image of a charming child, a fairy with golden curls, her dark-blue
eyes now dancing with laughter, now frankly reproachful? No, he could
not leave Castle Osternau at once, this child must learn to respect
him, and if he stayed it must not be to afford the fairy occasion for
mirth: he must lay aside the ugly mask which he had purchased of the
real Pigglewitch. Perhaps the travelling-bag, as yet unopened, would
furnish more respectable apparel than that which its owner had worn
when travelling.
Egon had felt no antipathy to exchanging clothes with Pigglewitch, but
he was suddenly seized with disgust for everything belonging to the
man. He had laughed when he had first looked at himself in the glass,
but as he now caught sight of his reflection he was positively ashamed.
"She called me a scarecrow," he muttered, "and, by Jove! she was right.
No scarecrow could be a more ridiculous object than I am at this
minute."
He picked up the travelling-bag: it was locked and there was no key,
there was nothing for it but to force the wretched lock with his
pocket-knife. When it was opened, the contents proved worse than he had
imagined. He found, to be sure, another suit of clothes rather better
than Pigglewitch's travelling attire, but it was made after precisely
the same fashion, and when Egon put on the coat he thought he looked
more like a scarecrow than before. The real Pigglewitch must have
purchased his wardrobe in some old-clothes shop, with a special view to
a certain bygone fashion. The newer coat being less shabby than the
other could be less easily forgiven for its antique cut.
The linen which Egon discovered formed no contrast to the suit, it
entirely disgusted him. What should he do until other clothes could be
procured? and when could he procure these? Should he use the money in
his pocket-book? He had determined not to touch it. It had been a chief
part of his wild scheme to live for a while like a poor Candidate, with
no other means than his salary as tutor. He had thought it interesting
to try for once how life looked to a poor man, who must economize and
contrive. Was he at the outset to be false to this scheme? No.
Disagreeable as he might find it, he had resolved to taste, as Gottlieb
Pigglewitch, the joys and sorrows of a poor Candidate, and he would
carry out his intention. What would Gottlieb Pigglewitch do in his
place? This was a question difficult to answer. He would hardly have
been very sensitive beneath the laugh of the charming fairy. His usual
dress had not been odious to him, and he would not probably have wished
to exchange it for any other. In vain did Egon attempt to devise some
way of procuring decent habiliments without having recourse to his
pocketbook. He was pacing his room to and fro, in a very unenviable
state of mind, when there was a knock at his door, and a fine-looking
young man made his appearance. An involuntary smile played about his
mouth at sight of Egon's peculiar attire, as, with a courteous
inclination, he said, "Allow me to introduce myself to you, Herr
Candidate. My name is Storting. Fraeulein Lieschen sends me to you. You
know the purpose of my coming, and I need not tell you how happy I
shall be to serve you. My wardrobe is well supplied, and I can easily
provide for you until you can make other arrangements."
The frank kindliness of the young man's offer embarrassed Egon afresh.
He felt an eager desire to accept it, but was reluctant to place
himself under such obligations to a stranger. Herr Storting's tall,
well-made figure was like his own. Fraeulein Lieschen had truly guessed
that the young inspector's coat would fit him, but---- "I really do not
see how I can accept your exceedingly kind offer, for which I thank you
most cordially," he said, with hesitation.
"But indeed you must accept it," Storting replied, with a laugh. "It is
Fraeulein Lieschen's wish, and, as you will acknowledge before you have
passed many days in Castle Osternau, this is a sufficient reason with
every one of its inmates, from Herr von Osternau to the gardener's boy,
with the exception perhaps of the Herr Lieutenant, for turning the
world upside down. It is Fraeulein Lieschen's wish, and to this wish you
must bend. Pray come with me to my room. We shall soon be able to equip
you suitably. To be honest with you, the young lady's wish is perfectly
justifiable. You must not take my frankness amiss, I cannot help
telling you that it would never do to appear at dinner in that coat.
You would expose yourself to the derision of the servants, and
compromise your position in the castle."
"I understand, but----"
"Do not hesitate to accept my offer. What harm can it do to wear a coat
which I do not need myself, for a couple of days, until you have fitted
yourself out?"
"Until I have fitted myself out? But when shall I be able to do this?"
"Ah! yes, I understand you. You are for the moment in some pecuniary
embarrassment."
"And supposing this to be the case?"
"That can easily be arranged. We will both ask for leave of absence for
to-morrow forenoon. Mirbach Station is only a quarter of a mile from
the castle. We can take the first train thence to-morrow, and be in
Breslau by eight o'clock. I will take you to my tailor there, who will
give you credit upon my recommendation, if you will promise to make
quarterly payments on account when you receive your salary. He has a
large establishment of ready-made clothing, and is not too dear. For
fifty thalers you can easily procure a summer outfit, and I shall be
happy to be of service to you in your selection, since you are probably
not familiar with the prevailing fashions. We will take with us to
Breslau the suit which you have on and that other lying on the chair,
and dispose of them to the best advantage, for really they are not
suitable to be worn at Castle Osternau. Do you agree?"
"Assuredly, and with a thousand thanks for your courtesy," Egon
replied. He might, he thought, accept this proposal, and he quite
enjoyed the idea of needing a sponsor to procure him a credit of fifty
thalers, and of selling the wardrobe of the worthy Pigglewitch to an
old-clothes dealer. Certainly there was variety here for Egon von
Ernau.
He immediately followed Herr Storting to his room, where the wardrobes
were found almost too well stocked, as the young inspector remarked,
for their owner's means. "But better too many clothes than too few," he
added. "It is specially needful to be always well dressed in the
country, where there is so much temptation to be negligent, and where
one's authority among the peasants and labourers depends more than
would be believed upon a certain distinction of dress. Wherefore I am
grateful to Herr von Osternau for strictly requiring that we should
dress for dinner. It confirms us in good habits, as you, Herr
Candidate, will admit when you have been a few weeks here."
Egon made no reply to this exordium. He merely expressed his thanks
again, as Herr Storting selected from a wardrobe and placed at his
disposal a plain but well-made summer suit, and it was with a positive
sense of relief that he stripped off Pigglewitch's habiliments. As he
did so Storting observed with surprise in his tone, "You are a riddle
to me, Herr Candidate. Your linen is of the finest, and of the latest
and most expensive fashion, while the remainder of your attire is so
inconceivably forlorn. I cannot understand it. But my coat, you see,
fits you as if it were made for you. You look a different man without
that swallow-tailed abomination."
The pleasure with which Egon now contemplated himself in the
looking-glass was an entirely new sensation. Involuntarily he wondered
whether Fraeulein Lieschen would again liken him to a scarecrow.