October had come. It was autumn's reign. The leaves of the trees were
richly colored with deep and varied hues. The landscape lay enveloped
morning and evening in fog and mist, and the nights brought with them
the hoar-frost, but the days, for the most part, were sunny and
delightful.
Since the gay evening on which the whole country round had assembled,
there had been no special festivities at Fürstenstein; all interest had
centered in the hunt, which was, of course, of paramount importance to
the men.
The duke, at his wife's instance, decided to have no other great or
noisy entertainment at the castle. The duchess liked a change of faces
in their little circle, but she courted the quiet and freedom from
restraint which her mountain home brought her. There were frequent
arrivals and various excursions, both by horse and on foot, through the
mountain forest, and a goodly number always met around the princely
board at night to discuss the pleasures and excitements of the day.
Adelheid von Wallmoden belonged, naturally, to this exclusive circle.
The duchess, who had learned through some source, of her sister-in-law's
insulting attitude toward the young wife, had been more amiable than
ever, and had managed to keep Baroness von Wallmoden near herself
whenever it was possible; the duke also, anxious to show all attention
to the Prussian ambassador, seconded his wife's endeavors with zest.
Wallmoden was still in Berlin, though over two weeks had elapsed since
he left the castle, and he had not yet been able to write definitely as
to the date of his return.
One of the most frequent guests at Fürstenstein was Prince Egon
Adelsberg, who was an acknowledged favorite among his princely kinsfolk,
and his friend Rojanow was always included in the invitations sent to
Rodeck. The prince's prophesies had proven true; Hartmut had descended
upon them like a brilliant meteor. All eyes were turned upon him with
admiration and wonder, and it pleased his new associates to have him
soar above the old fashioned usages and customs of their monotonous
Court life. He had read his 'Arivana' to the duchess at her request, and
had scored a decided success. The duke had promised him that his drama
should be brought out at the Court theatre, and the princess Sophie had
made a special point of taking the young man under her wing.
The princely household followed, as usual, in the wake of their master,
but willingly enough in this instance, for Hartmut won friends on all
sides by his cordiality, good temper, and grace of manner and person.
The prince's hunting wagon stood before the castle of Rodeck. It was
early in the day and the faint mist which yet hung over the hills
concealed a bright, warm sun. Egon stepped out on the terrace dressed
for the hunt, closely followed by the old steward, to whom he was
speaking.
"So you want to see the hunt, too, do you?" he asked. "Of course, if
there's anything to see, Peter Stadinger must see it. My valet has asked
permission also. For that matter I believe all the inhabitants of the
forest have turned out to-day with their whole families to go to the
hunting grounds."
"Yes, your highness, they don't often have an opportunity to see such a
sight," replied Stadinger. "The great Court hunts seldom take place in
our woods. There's hunting enough around here to be sure, but then you
never ask any ladies to Rodeck, and the ladies--"
"Are a great bore," interrupted the prince. "That's my opinion; but what
are you prating about? You are generally down on the women, and unless
they are over eighty don't want to see one of them around the place. Are
you going back to your young and giddy days?"
"I meant the court ladies, your highness," said Stadinger impressively.
"'The court ladies,' can honor me with their company for a walk, but
I'll never invite any of them to any hunt of mine, for I'm still a young
bachelor."
"And why is it that your highness is still a bachelor?" responded the
old servant reprovingly.
"Man alive, I do believe you are trying to get me married, like my
old--like all the rest of the world. Don't waste any thought or time on
me, for I won't marry."
"Your highness is wrong," remonstrated old Stadinger, who always gave
his master the title once at least in each sentence, for he thought if
he did have to read the prince a lecture every now and then, he must
show him some respect while doing it, "and it is unchristian, too, for
the marriage relation is a holy state in which it is well to live; your
father, blessed be his memory, married--and so did I."
"Of course, and so did you. Yes, you are the grandfather of that lovely
girl, Zena, whom you sent away in such shameless haste. By the way, when
is Zena coming back?"
The steward appeared not to hear the question, but returned obstinately
to his theme.
"Her highness, the duchess, and princess Sophie, are very anxious to see
you married. Your highness should think it well over."
"Well, that's enough of your fatherly advice for one day. And it's no
business of princess Sophie. By the way, as you are going to Bucheneck,
where the hunt meets to-day, it's very possible that you will be seen
and spoken to by some of the court."
"Very possible, your highness," agreed the steward, complacently. "Her
grace often honors me with a little conversation, for she recognizes me
as the oldest servant of a princely house."
"Well, if the princess should inquire by chance about the snakes and
beasts of prey which I brought with me from my travels, you can tell her
that I'm going to have them sent to one of my other castles."
"That is not at all necessary, your highness," replied the steward.
"Your gracious aunt has obtained information about everything."
"Information? About what? Perhaps you have given it."
"I was questioned the other day at Fürstenstein. Princess Sophie was
just returning from a walk and beckoned me to her to ask me a few
questions."
"The deuce she did!" muttered the prince, who saw mischief. "And what
answers did you give her?"
"'Your grace need feel no uneasiness,' I said, 'of living animals we
have only monkeys and parrots at Rodeck, and there's never been a snake
about the place; a sea serpent was coming, but it died on the way, and
the elephants broke loose before they were shipped at all, and went back
to their palm groves--so his highness told me. As to tigers, we have
two, but they are stuffed, and we've only the skin of a lion in the
large hall, so your grace can see that no harm will come from them.'"
"No, but enough will come from your tattle," said the prince, angrily.
"And the princess, what did she say to it all?"
"Her grace only smiled and then asked me about the women employed here
at Rodeck, and if all the girls in the region were not here. But I
said," and Stadinger threw his head back proudly, "'all the women at the
castle, your grace, were engaged by me. They are all industrious and
honest; I have seen to that; but his highness ran away when he caught
sight of them, and Herr Rojanow was more put out than the prince even,
so the gentlemen never paid but one visit to the kitchen.' Her grace was
very kind and gracious to me, and took leave of me very well contented,
I could see that."
"And I'd be very well contented to send you to the devil, you old fool.
To spoil it all with your long tongue," exclaimed the prince, furious
now.
The old man, who thought he had done everything for the best, looked at
his young master in perplexity.
"But I only told the truth, your highness."
"But the truth's not to be spoken at all times."
"Oh, I did not know that."
"Stadinger, you have a bad habit of answering back--perhaps you also
told the princess that Zena had been in the city for several weeks?"
"Yes, your highness, she asked me about my granddaughter, particularly."
"What's the trouble with Stadinger now?" asked Hartmut, who came out at
this moment, also attired for the day's sport, and who had caught the
last few words.
"Oh, he's been making a first class fool of himself, that's all,"
explained the exasperated prince. The oldest servant of a princely house
could not allow such an insult to pass.
"I beg your highness's pardon. I have not been making a fool of myself
at all."
"Perhaps you believe it is I who have been doing it?"
Stadinger looked his young master well over and then replied,
discreetly:
"I do not know, your highness--but it might be so."
"You're an old bear," cried the prince sharply.
"The whole forest knows that, your highness."
"Come on, Hartmut, there's nothing to be gained from this old ghost of
the woods," said Egon half angry, half laughing. "First you place me in
all sorts of embarrassments, and then you defend yourself by giving me a
lecture."
With that he went off with Rojanow to the carriage. Stadinger remained
standing in a respectful attitude, for he never meant to be rebuked for
lack of respect to "his highness." It never occurred to him to yield an
inch of ground; that was for Prince Egon to do, but not for Peter
Stadinger.
Egon was almost of this opinion himself. He related what had occurred to
Hartmut as they drove along, and with a comical despair he concluded:
"Now can you imagine what kind of a reception that most worshipful aunt
of mine will give me? She evidently suspected that I wanted to keep her
away from Rodeck. Now my morals are saved in her eyes, but at the
expense of my love of truth. Hartmut, you must do me a favor; you must
be my lightning rod. Expend all your power of fascination upon that
imperious kinswoman of mine. Dedicate a poem to her if necessary, but at
least shield me from the first fierce flashes of her anger."
"Well, I should have thought you weather-proof in that particular by
now," said Rojanow smiling. "You must have had cause for forgiveness
before this for such enormities. The duchess and the other ladies will
be on horseback to-day, will they not?"
"Certainly; they could see nothing from the carriages. By the way, did
you know that Frau von Wallmoden was an accomplished horse woman? I met
her day before yesterday returning from a ride with her brother-in-law,
the head forester."
"Ah, then we'll know where to find Prince Adelsberg to-day."
Egon, who had been leaning back comfortably, sat erect now, and said, as
he gave his friend a searching look:
"Not so spitefully, I beg of you. You are not often in the company of
the lady in question, I grant that, and you bear yourself as if you were
only a looker-on at others, but I know you well enough to understand
that you and I are very much of the same opinion concerning her,
nevertheless."
"Well, and if we are--would you consider it a breach of friendship on my
part?"
"Not in this instance. For the object is unattainable by either of us."
"Unattainable?" an ironical smile played around Rojanow's lips.
"Yes, Hartmut," said the young prince, half in earnest, half in jest,
"the lovely, cold northern light, as you have named her, remains true to
its nature. It gleams on the horizon distant and unapproachable, and the
icy sea above which it shines is not to be broken through. The lady has
no heart. She is free from every feeling of passion, and that is what
gives her her enviable security. Here you must acknowledge all your
influence, all your boasted powers are frustrated by that icy breath;
you are chilled through, and so you keep your distance."
Hartmut was silent. He was thinking of the moment in the tower room when
he had begged for the bright blossom. She had refused him, but no icy
breath had enveloped the young wife while she stood trembling beneath
his pleading glance and words. He had seen her daily since then, but
had seldom gone near her, but he knew that now, as before, she was under
his influence.
"But, in spite of it all, I cannot tear myself loose from this foolish
fascination," Egon went on in a dreamy tone. "It always seems to me that
the ice and snow will disappear as if by magic, and warmth and light
burst out in full bloom in their stead. If Adelheid von Wallmoden were
still free--I believe I'd try the experiment."
Rojanow, who had been lost in thought as he gazed steadily into the mist
which yet shrouded the hills, turned around suddenly and violently now.
"What experiment? Do you mean by that, you'd offer her your hand?"
"That thought seems to excite you greatly," said the prince, laughing
out loud. "Yes, that's precisely what I mean. I have no such prejudice
against trade as my respected aunt, who would go into convulsions over
the very thought, and even you don't seem to take to the idea any too
kindly. Well, you can both calm yourselves, his excellency her husband,
has already secured the prize, and he'll never change her into a
creature of warmth and light with those tiresome diplomatic speeches of
his--but the man is happy; he has had no end of good luck."
"Call no man happy until his death," said Hartmut, half-aloud.
"A very wise remark, only not quite original," answered Egon. "Do you
know that at times you have a look in your eyes which is positively
alarming, like a demon. Forgive my saying so, but you looked this moment
as if you were one."
Hartmut did not answer.
They were just turning from the forest into the broad road, and
Fürstenstein, with its ducal flag flapping gaily in the morning wind,
was plainly visible on its wooded height.
Half an hour later, their carriage rolled along the broad graveled
carriage-way, where all was life and bustle. Every servant of the
household was stirring; carriages and saddle horses were standing ready
for the start, and nearly all those invited to join the hunt had
arrived.
As the gay throng started on their way, the sun suddenly burst forth
through the mist, and as it shone down on the glittering cavalcade just
leaving the castle, it made a brilliant and impressive picture.
The duke and duchess rode at the head, closely followed by their
numerous suite, and then came the many guests. All the younger women
were on horseback, and the whole party were in full hunting costume.
Away they rode in the clear sunlight of a bright autumn morning. Over
the hills and meadows and through the woods. Shots were fired on every
side, and the flying deer broke through the thicket and across the
clearing, while the whole hunting park resounded with the din of the
sport.
The whole corps of foresters had been summoned by the head forester, who
saw to it that no arrangements were lacking to make the day a success.
He felt that this was peculiarly his affair, and that no mishaps of any
sort should occur.
They arrived about midday at Bucheneck, a small hunting lodge belonging
to the duke, which lay in the center of the forest, and which could
offer shelter in case of any unfavorable change in the weather. To-day
no such precaution seemed necessary, as the weather was glorious, only
somewhat too warm for the season. The sun beat down almost too fiercely,
as they took their breakfast in the open air.
With that exception, everything was a success, and the crowd which
moved hither and thither over the broad, green meadow, near which
Bucheneck lay, were in high spirits. The duke, who had handled his
fowling piece with more than usual skill, was in the best of humors; the
duchess chatted gaily with the ladies, and the head forester fairly
beamed with pleasure, for the prince had congratulated him warmly upon
his faculty for doing perfectly all he undertook. Frau von Wallmoden,
who kept near the duchess, was the object of much attention; she was
unquestionably the most beautiful woman there; the others needed for the
most part rich toilettes and glittering gems to set off their beauty.
Here in the clear light of the midday sun, clad in dark riding habits,
which permitted neither color nor adornment, many paled who were at
other times very attractive in appearance, but Frau von Wallmoden, with
her slender figure and erect bearing, which seemed especially suited to
the saddle, her clear skin, large, earnest eyes and wealth of blonde
hair so simply coiled, was a picture at which to gaze with unmitigated
pleasure. In short, the "northern light," as she was now commonly called
at court, the prince having whispered the name, was the admired of all
beholders, all the more so when it became known that the cold,
statuesque beauty was soon to desert them.
Frau von Wallmoden had received a letter from her husband yesterday,
stating that his diplomatic business was ended, but that affairs in
North Germany connected with the Stahlberg manufactories would detain
him for some time longer. It was whispered that there were to be many
important changes, great improvements were to be introduced, and in all
this Baron von Wallmoden as executor and guardian of the only son, would
have a decisive voice. The length of his absence from the South Germany
court would necessarily be uncertain, so he had asked his government
for an extended leave, which had been granted, and had announced all
this to the duke. He had written his wife at the same time, leaving her
free to remain at Fürstenstein, or to join him at once and go with him
to her old home to see her brother again; now, after two weeks, if she
chose to leave, no "misconstruction" could be placed upon her departure.
Adelheid had chosen without hesitation; she had announced to the duchess
that she would leave on the following day.
Princess Sophie and her sister, together with some of the older ladies,
had driven to Bucheneck in carriages, and the Princess Sophie's first
anxiety had been to get hold of her nephew. But so far Prince Egon had
managed to avoid her. He had been everywhere but in the neighborhood of
his deceived aunt, until at last, losing all patience, she ordered a
gentleman of the Court to bring Prince Adelsberg to her at once. This
order was imperative, and Egon did not dare disobey it, but he took the
precaution of having his "lightning rod" with him to get the first
shock. Hartmut was by his side when he presented himself before the
princess.
"Well, Egon, it's a great privilege to see your face at all to-day,"
were the first words. "You are in demand on all sides, it seems."
"But I am always at the service of my beloved aunt," Egon declared. His
amiability was of no use to him on this occasion, however; the princess
measured him with anything but a conciliatory glance.
"Whenever your knightly services are not needed in the interest of Frau
von Wallmoden. You will have the opportunity of exhibiting a glittering
example of chivalry and courage, when her husband comes back. You will
learn to know and appreciate him better then."
"I appreciate him very highly now, as a man, as a diplomat and as 'his
excellency.' Your grace must surely believe that."
"I believe you absolutely, Egon. Your love of truth is one of the
verities upon which I pin my faith," said the lady, with biting irony.
"For that very reason I was pleased to have the opportunity of a little
talk with old Stadinger the other day. He's not so rusty after all, for
his years."
"Poor fellow, he suffers greatly from weakness of memory," the prince
hastened to assure her. "Stadinger forgets nearly everything--don't you
know, Hartmut? What he declares most earnestly one day, is entirely
forgotten on the next."
"I found, on the contrary, that his memory was very fresh; above all,
this faithful old servant of your house is trustworthy, circumspect--"
"And rude," interrupted Egon, sighing. "You can have no idea of the
incivility in which old Peter Stadinger's whole nature is steeped. He
tyrannizes most terribly over Herr Rojanow and myself. I have thought
seriously of putting him out of the way."
It is hardly necessary to say he had not thought of anything of the
kind.
Princess Sophie, who was an autocrat, and who dealt most severely with
her own servants, was inclined to be very lenient in this instance.
"You should not think of harming so faithful a creature," she answered.
"A man who has served three generations of your race can be forgiven for
slight eccentricities, especially when one thinks of the pleasant life
which the two young masters of Rodeck lead him, for we all know they do
not court company, but prefer loneliness."
"Ah, yes, loneliness," said Egon with feeling. "It is a great change
after our eventful life in the East, and we enjoy it in full measure. I
occupy myself principally--"
"With the taming of wild beasts," interrupted the princess, maliciously.
"No, with--with--reminiscences of my travels, which I recount to
Hartmut, while he poetises a little, and composes melancholy odes from
them. He's writing a little poem now on some reflection he heard your
grace make."
The princess turned with a radiant smile to the young poet as she
exclaimed:
"And have you really been able to use any nonsense which I may have
uttered in a poem, Herr Rojanow?"
"Indeed, I have, your grace, and I am very grateful to you for your
idea," replied Hartmut promptly. He had no idea in the world what the
talk was all about, but was ready to second whatever his friend might
suggest.
"I am delighted to hear it; I adore poetry, and think it the greatest of
literary productions."
"You two will agree perfectly as to that," said Egon with admiration.
Having accomplished his object, he escaped, leaving his friend to enter
into a discussion with the princess, on the relative merits of poets and
their inspirations.
The prince once more approached the duchess's little circle, where he
was sure to find Frau von Wallmoden, and where he was far from the sound
of his malicious aunt's voice.
The breakfast was ended, and the day's sport was about to begin in
earnest. But since noon the bright, sunny weather had changed; the
heavens were overcast, and there was a fear that one of the sudden,
heavy storms which were frequent at this season, might come before the
day was over.
The duchess, with some of her friends, had taken their stand upon a
height, from which they thought they could obtain the best view, but the
hunters took a sudden turn, and the lookers on were forced to follow.
It was at this juncture that a slight accident occurred to Frau von
Wallmoden; her saddle girth broke, and she would have had a disagreeable
fall had she not had the presence of mind to slip at once from her
saddle to the ground. To follow the riders was now an impossibility, for
her groom could not have obtained another saddle for her, so she decided
to send the servant over to Bucheneck with the horse, and follow on
foot, at her leisure.
It was a relief to her that this accident had occurred, it saved her the
weary necessity of following the hunt to its close, and permitted her to
drop for a time, in this solitude, the mask which she wore before the
world, and which was at times becoming almost too heavy for her to
carry.
Now that she was alone and unobserved, the cold, proud repose which had
been so noticeable since her wedding-day, departed as a shadow, and she
was a creature of another world.
Her features, which were an heritage from her father, and betokened a
strong and determined nature, had become more rigid in the last few
months, but over her face lay a new expression, one of pain and anxiety,
as if some secret and hitherto unknown spring had been touched; the blue
eyes lost their cold, passionate look, deep shadows lay in them, which
told of strife and anguish, and the blonde head sank low, as under some
unsupportable burden.
And yet Adelheid breathed more freely than she had done for many a day,
at the thought that this was the last one at Fürstenstein. To-morrow at
this time, she would be far away, and distance she prayed would save her
from that dark influence against which she had been battling for weeks
in vain, when she would no longer see those eyes whose power she
dreaded, or hear the voice which bewitched her. When she had flown from
the mysterious power which held her, she could conquer and utterly
destroy it. God be praised!
The sound of the hunt grew each moment less distinct, and was finally
lost altogether in the distance; but in the wood, near the elevation on
which she stood, the baroness could hear crunching footsteps which told
her she was no longer alone. She turned to go in an opposite direction,
but as she turned, a man's form appeared among the trees, and Hartmut
Rojanow stood before her.
The meeting was so sudden that Adelheid lost her self-possession.
She drew back as if seeking protection among the trees beneath which she
had been standing, and stared at him with the eyes of a wounded animal
watching the pursuing hunter.
Rojanow did not appear to perceive this. He bowed and asked hastily:
"Are you alone, baroness? The accident was not serious, then?"
"What accident?"
"I heard you'd been thrown from your horse!"
"What an exaggeration. My saddle girth broke, and as I saw it in time I
jumped to the ground, while the animal stood perfectly still--that was
the accident."
"Thank God--I heard something of a plunge, a fall, and as you did not
return to the hunting field I--"
He stopped suddenly, for Adelheid's glance showed him she did not
believe his statement; he had probably met the groom and had questioned
him. Now at last her self-possession returned, and she said very
coldly:
"I thank you, Herr Rojanow, but your solicitude was altogether
unnecessary. You should have reflected that the duchess would not have
allowed me to remain unsought in the wood had so serious an accident
occurred. I sent her word I was on my way to Bucheneck."
She would have passed by him now, but as he stepped aside, he said in a
low voice:
"My dear madame--I have to beg your pardon."
"My pardon--for what?"
"For the favor for which I plead so hard and injudiciously. I only asked
for a flower. Is my crime then so great that your anger must last for
weeks?"
Adelheid remained standing, almost without knowing it. She was again
under the influence of those eyes and that wonderful voice.
"You are mistaken, Herr Rojanow," she responded. "I am not angry with
you."
"No? And yet you assume again that icy tone which is ever yours when I
am near you, and now that you have heard my drama you make no sign of
approval. You were present when I read it at Fürstenstein. I heard words
of praise on all sides. Your lips alone were closed. From you I received
no single word of commendation--will you deny it to me now?"
"I thought we were out for a hunt, to-day," said Adelheid evasively,
"and this is neither the time nor the place to discuss poetry."
"We have both left the hunt for to-day; it's on its way now toward the
Rodecker heights. Here is the true forest loneliness. Look at the
perfect autumn landscape around us. It speaks to the heart of peace and
forgiveness. Look at that placid sheet of water, a those heavy
storm-laden clouds against the horizon--to me there is more poetry in
this than in the crowded salons of Fürstenstein."
The aspect of the landscape had entirely changed since the morning
hours, and a dull, gloomy light had taken the place of the bright, clear
sunshine, beneath whose gleams the cavalcade had set forth so merrily.
The endless stretch of forest which lay before them was in its gayest
autumn dress, but in the sombre light of the approaching storm, its
brilliant leaves looked faded and faint. The deep reds and many tinted
yellows of the foliage formed a beautiful picture, but these were the
colors of decay and death, and told that the end of their life and bloom
was not far distant.
Beneath them lay the little lake, dark and motionless, surrounded by
high grasses and swamp reeds. It looked like another lonely sheet of
water in the far northland--the Burgsdorf fish pond, and back from this
little lake stretched a meadow green and marshy, from which, even now, a
faint mist was rising, a mist, which as night came down, would change
into a rain, while the will-o'-the-wisp in its endless sport and motion,
would play in and out among the long green rushes, now gleaming, now
disappearing--thus perfecting that far off picture of long ago.
The air was oppressive and sultry, and the distant clouds were forming
deeper and darker heights against the horizon.
Adelheid had not answered Hartmut's question; she stood looking into the
distance with face turned away from the man who was watching her, and
yet she felt the dark consuming glance resting on her, as she had felt
it so many times during the past few weeks.
"You are going away to-morrow, my dear baroness!" he began again. "Who
knows when you will return--when I shall see you again. May I not beg
for your verdict now, may I not ask whether my words have found favor in
Ada's eyes?"
Again her name upon his lips, again that soft, veiled, passionate tone
which she so feared, and which rang in her ear like the voice of an
enchanter. She felt there was no escape, no chance for flight, she must
look the danger in the eye. She turned to her questioner, and her face
betrayed that she had decided to fight out the battle--the battle with
herself.
"Are you interested in my verdict merely because I bear this name?" she
said coldly and proudly. "It stands at the beginning of your poem, which
by the way was sent me the other day by some mysterious hand, without
name."
"And which you read notwithstanding?" he interrupted triumphantly.
"Yes, and burned."
"Burned?" The old savage expression came over Hartmut's face, that
intense angered look which had evoked from Egon's lips the expression,
"You look like a demon, Hartmut." The demon of hate and revenge burned
once again in his breast as he thought of his recent insults from this
woman's husband, insults which must be resented to the full. And yet he
loved the woman before him as only Zalika's son could love, with a wild,
consuming passion. But in this moment hate gained the mastery.
"My poor pages!" he said with unconcealed bitterness. "They, too,
suffered in the flame; they were, perhaps, worthy a better fate."
"Then you should not have sent them to me. I will not and dare not
accept such poems."
"You dare not, my dear Baroness? It is the homage of a poet which he
lays at a woman's feet, and poets have had that right for all time. It
is incumbent on you to accept such an offering."
The words were spoken in such a hot, passionate whisper that Adelheid
trembled.
"Perhaps you pay homage to the women of your country in such words.
German woman do not understand them."
"But you understand them," said Hartmut fiercely, "and you understand
the fire and passion of my 'Arivana,' which rises above all laws and
restrictions of this narrow, human life. I saw that on the evening when
you turned your back on me, while the rest of the world applauded and
came forward with their congratulations. Do not deceive yourself, Ada.
When the god-like spark enters two souls, it bursts into flame whether
they be of the south or the cold north, and that spark has ignited and
burns in us both. All strength and will dies in its fiery breath, it
extinguishes all else, nothing remains but that holy, sacred fire which
illumines and blesses, even while it consumes. You love me, Ada, I know
it; do not try to deceive me, and I love you beyond all power of
speech."
He stood before her in the triumph of victory. Never before had his dark
beauty shone forth so strongly, never before had his eyes glowed with
such intensity, or his face expressed such passion and longing.
And he had spoken the truth.
The woman who leaned against the tree, trembling and deadly pale, loved
him; loved him as only a pure, exalted nature can love. This cold,
haughty woman, whom the world had named heartless, was swayed and torn
by this, the first love of her young life.
She felt within her a passion to which she could no longer blind
herself; the fiery breath, with all its fierceness, was blowing down
upon her. Now came the crucial-test.
"Leave me at once, Herr Rojanow--this instant," she said. The words had
a choked, scarcely audible sound, and they were spoken to a man who was
not accustomed to yield when he felt himself the victor. He would have
gone closer to her--but something in the young wife's eye, in spite of
all, kept him within bounds. But he spoke her name again, and in a tone
whose power he best knew:
"Ada!"
She shuddered, and made a protesting motion.
"Not that name. For you I am only Adelheid von Wallmoden. I am married;
you know that."
"Yes, married to a man who is standing on the threshold of old age; who
does not love you, and for whom you could feel no love even if he were
younger. What does that cold, calculating diplomat know of love? The
Court, his position, his advancement, is all in all to him; his wife is
nothing. He exults over the possession of a treasure whom he knows not
how to prize, and to whose happiness and peace he gives not a thought."
Adelheid's lips trembled. She knew only too well that all he said was
true. She did not answer.
"And what binds you to this man?" continued Rojanow, coming closer. "A
word, a single 'yes,' which you have spoken without knowing its
significance, without knowing yourself. Shall you permit it to bind you
for your whole life? Shall you allow it to make us both miserable for
all time? No, Ada, love, that eternal, undying right of the human heart,
must have its own. Men prate of guilt, others of destiny. It is destiny
which is beckoning us to-day, and we must follow after. A feeble word
cannot separate us."
At this moment a lightning flash parted the heavy, distant clouds, and
cast a long, narrow, dazzling light over the great forest, and gleamed
across Hartmut's face and figure where he stood.
Surely he was his mother's son now. He never looked more like her than
at this moment, with his dark, destroying beauty, and his peculiar,
passionate, demoniacal glance. Perhaps it was this glance which brought
Adelheid to her senses, perhaps it was the something concealed behind
all the fire and passion.
"A freely given and freely received word is an oath," she said, slowly,
"and who breaks it breaks his honor."
Hartmut breathed hard; keen and cruel like a lightning's flash, came a
memory to his soul, the memory of that hour in which he had freely given
his word--and broken it.
Adelheid von Wallmoden looked straight at Hartmut now; her face was
pale, and her voice trembled as she addressed him again:
"I wish you to cease this persecution, which has been going on for weeks
now. You fill me with horror--your eyes, your words, your manner. I feel
that everything which emanates from you is false, and no one can love
that which is false."
"Ada." There was a tone of passionate entreaty in his voice, but hers
had gained in steadfastness now, and she continued earnestly:
"And you do not love me. I have seen for some time that your pursuance
of me was from hate, not love. You and your kind have not the capacity
for loving."
Rojanow was silent from surprise. Who had taught her to read him so
nearly aright?
He had not even acknowledged to himself how closely the love and hate
were united in his breast.
"And you say this to the author of Arivana?" he exclaimed with
bitterness. "My drama has been called the ode to love, and--"
"Then those who so named it have been deceived by the flimsy veil of
oriental legend in which your figures are enveloped, they have seen the
Eastern priest with the woman he loves succumb to an iron, inhuman law.
Perhaps you are a great poet, perhaps you will astonish the world with
your fame, but to me you are something else, for the passion and fiery
language of 'Arivana' have taught me something of its creator; of the
man who believes in nothing, to whom nothing in the world is holy,
neither duty nor pledge, neither manly honor nor womanly virtue; who
would drag the highest in the dust for the sport of his passion. I yet
believe in duty and honor, believe in myself, and with this belief I bid
defiance to the fate which you so triumphantly prophesy will enthrall
me. It can drive me to death--but never into your arms."
She stood opposite him, neither trembling nor irresolute. All her secret
struggles were over, and with each word one more link of the chain was
loosened.
Her eyes met his, full and free; she feared their dark, baneful glance
no longer--that mysterious power was broken; she felt it and breathed
deeply, like one whose hour of deliverance had come.
Again there was a flash of lightning, noiseless, not followed by any
thunder crash, but it seemed to open the heavens to their very depths.
In the palpitating light one could see fantastic cloud pictures, forms
which seemed to struggle and battle with one another as if borne by
force before the storm, and yet the cloud-mountain stood immovable on
the far horizon; and just as immovable stood the man upon whose dark
countenance the lightning flash revealed a deep pallor.
His eyes had not turned from the young wife's face, but the wild glow
within them was extinguished, and his voice had a strange sound as he
said:
"And this is the sentence for which I begged. I am then, in your eyes
nothing more than a--reprobate?"
"A lost man, perhaps--you have forced me to this avowal."
Hartmut stepped slowly back a few steps.
"Lost," he repeated in bitter tone. "That is probably what you think.
You may be at rest, my dear madam. I will never approach you again; one
has no desire to hear such words a second time. You stand so proud and
firm upon your watch tower of virtue and judge so severely. You have no
conception what a wild, desperate life can make of a man who goes
through the world without home or family. You are right. I believed in
nothing in the heavens above or on the earth beneath--until this hour."
There was something in his tone and in his whole bearing which disarmed
Adelheid.
She felt she had no cause to fear a further explosion of passion, and
her voice grew milder as she answered:
"I judge no one, but I belong heart and soul to another world, with
other laws than yours. I am the daughter of a father whom I dearly
loved, who, all his life long, trod but one path, the earnest, rigid
path of duty. Upon this he raised himself from poverty and privation to
wealth and honor, and he taught his children to follow in the same way,
and it is this thought which has been my shield and protection in this
hard hour. I could not endure it if I were compelled to lower my eyes
before the noble image which my memory holds. Your father is no longer
alive?"
There followed a long, oppressive pause. Hartmut did not answer, but his
head sank under the words of whose crushing significance the questioner
had no knowledge, while his eyes seemed to pierce the ground.
"No," he said at last, slowly.
"But you have the memory of him and of your mother?"
"My mother!" Rojanow broke forth wildly now. "Do not speak of her, in
this hour--do not speak to me of my mother."
It was an alarming cry, a mixture of boundless bitterness, with reproach
and despair. In it the mother was sentenced by her son, he felt her
memory was but a desecration of this hour.
Adelheid did not understand him, she only saw that she had touched on a
point which admitted of no discussion, but she also saw that the man who
stood before her with his deep, dark glance, with his tone of despair,
was another than he who had stood there a quarter of an hour before. It
was a dark, fathomless mystery upon which she gazed, but she had no
longer any fear.
"Let us end this interview," she said, earnestly. "You will seek no
second one, I believe that; but one word more before we part. You are a
poet. I have felt that in spite of everything, as I have learned to know
your work. But poets are teachers of mankind, and can lead to good or to
ill. The wild flame of your 'Arivana' springs from a life which you,
yourself, seem to hate. Look yonder," and she pointed to the distant
heavens inflamed now with the lightning's play. "Those are also flaming
brands, but their beginnings are from above and they point out another
way--and now farewell!"
Long after she had disappeared, Hartmut stood on the same spot as if
rooted to the ground. He had answered no word, made no comment, only
gazed where she had pointed, with fixed, hopeless eyes.
Flash after flash of lightning was now rending the heavens and the whole
landscape was enveloped in a lurid glare which reflected itself in that
little sheet of water so like the Burgsdorf fish pond; the long reeds
and grasses swayed and bent above the water and the mist from the meadow
rose above it all.
Under just such long, waving grass the boy had lain long ago and dreamed
of the day when he should mount like the falcon from which his race had
taken their name, always higher and higher into boundless freedom toward
the sun, and now on a similar spot the sentence had fallen upon him like
a judgment from heaven, and the will-o'-the-wisp on this lowering autumn
night seemed in its spectral flashes to dance over the grave of false
hopes and falser aspirations. The falcon had not mounted to the skies,
the earth had held him fast. He had felt for some time that the
intoxicating cup of freedom and of life which his mother's hand had
poured for him was poisoned; there were for him no cherished memories to
guard--he dare not venture to think of his father.
Darker and darker grew the heavens with their heavy, storm laden clouds,
and wilder and fiercer was the struggle between those giant figures
which were riven at every flash only to come together again with greater
fury, and brighter and more vivid grew that mighty flame as it mounted
higher and higher in the inky firmament.