A Strange Cavalier.
"Well, Miss Jane, a most promising introduction this much bepraised
Rhine gives us, to that fatherland of yours! In six-and-thirty hours, I
have become mortally weary of the whole country. We landed in such a
fog that we couldn't see the shore until we set foot on it; that day we
passed in Hamburg there was such a rain that I really thought a second
deluge had broken out, and here upon the Rhine, we find a pretty state
of things, don't we? I cannot understand how you remain so calm through
it all!"
It was indeed no enviable situation, this, which so aroused Mr. Atkins'
ire. In a dense fog, in the midst of a drizzling but incessant rain,
the heavy post-chaise lay half upset in the middle of the suburban
road. The horses already loosed from harness stood near with bowed
heads, as if fully comprehending the unfortunate state of affairs, and
in a gully by the road side near the broken hind-wheel, sat the
postilion, his head bound up with a handkerchief, and groaning as he
held his injured foot in both hands. Jane, who with an air of
resignation stood by him, paid no heed to Atkins' complaints. She only
gave a slight shrug of her shoulders, and persisted in an obstinate
silence.
"We cannot possibly remain here longer in the rain!" continued Atkins
in renewed vexation; "You certainly cannot. So far as I can determine,
our postilion's injuries are not dangerous, and he declares that B. is
only an hour's distance at the furthest. Our best course is to hasten
on there and send him the needed help."
"No," interrupted Jane, gently but decidedly. "His wound is still
bleeding, and he is liable to faint at any moment. We could not
possibly leave him helpless and alone; you at least, must remain with
him, while I try to reach the nearest house."
"Alone? In a strange country? In this fog which would be very likely to
lead you right into that accursed Rhine, that we hear raging down
yonder, without seeing a glimpse of it? No, I shall consent to no such
thing."
"I am not at all afraid," declared Jane, with a positiveness which
showed that she did not allow Atkins to have the least influence or
control over her movements, "and if I follow the main road it will be
impossible for me to lose my way. In any event, it is the only thing
that remains for us to do."
"But Miss Jane, consider!--If some human being would only make his
appearance!--Hold! there comes some one!--A word with you, Sir, if you
will allow it."
These last words, although spoken in German, must, through their strong
English accent, have betrayed the foreigner, for a low but musical
voice, asked in the purest English; "What is the matter, Sir?"
"God be praised, it is a gentleman; he speaks English!" said Mr.
Atkins, with a sigh of relief, and quickly approaching the stranger,
who until now had been only half visible through the fog, he continued
excitedly:
"We have had a mishap with our carriage. It is broken, the postilion is
injured, and we are entire strangers here. May I ask if you would,
perhaps, show us the way to B.?"
"Certainly!"
"And I also beg you to send us out the first carriage you can find. And
one thing more! You will, perhaps, have the kindness to take a young
lady to B. under your protection."
The stranger, who had bowed a polite assent to the first request, at
the last stepped back, and there was something like a tone of horror in
his voice as he replied.
"A young lady--am I--"
"You are to conduct her to the city and to the house which she
designates to you. Miss Jane, may I implore you to confide yourself to
this gentleman's care? You cannot possibly stand here longer in the
rain."
Jane, who had taken no part in the conversation, now turned to the
stranger. She glanced at his pale, delicate face, into a pair of blue,
dreamy eyes which at this moment had an expression of mingled terror
and embarrassment.
"I am exceedingly obliged to you," said Mr. Atkins, without waiting in
the least for the gentleman's assent. "And now may I beg you to hasten,
for the young lady's sake as well as my own? Good-by, Miss Jane. Have
no anxiety in regard to the injured man; he remains in my care. I hope
to meet you soon in a dryer atmosphere."
All these arrangements had been made so hastily, with such dictatorial
politeness, and in such an incontrovertible tone of command, that no
evasion seemed possible. The stranger made no effort at resistance; in
dumb consternation, he allowed all this to pass over him, and followed
mechanically the directions given him. With a silent bow, he asked the
young lady to accompany him; the next moment they were already on the
way, and a winding in the road hid them from the eyes of Atkins and the
coachman.
Whether the stranger was more surprised at the free, American manner in
which the lady confided herself to the care of the first man she had
met upon the highway, or frightened at the duty of gallantry imposed
upon him, was difficult to decide. But his embarrassment was evident,
and kept him from all attempts at conversation. Miss Forest did not
understand this strange behavior. She was accustomed every where to be
an object of great attention, and now this man, in appearance and
language a gentleman, showed himself so little susceptible to the honor
of accompanying a lady, that he did not even deem it worth his while to
address a word to her. Jane measured her companion with a glance of
anger, compressed her lips, and decided not to speak a word to him
during the entire way.
For almost ten minutes they had walked on in silence, side by side,
when the gentleman suddenly paused, and in the same low, musical voice
as before, said; "The highway makes a broad winding here. May I conduct
you by the nearer path in which I am wont to go?"
"I have confided myself to your guidance," answered Jane, shortly and
coldly, and with another silent bow, he turned from the public road and
took a path to the left.
The designated path might certainly be nearer, and for a man passable
in a case of necessity; but it was not at all suitable for a lady. It
led over a swampy soil; through wet meadows, through dripping hedges,
through fields and bushes, not only to the injury, but to the ruin of
Jane's elegant mourning clothes, which had been designed for
travelling, but for travelling in an extra post-chaise. The light cloak
was as slight a protection as the thin boots; her dress became wet
through and through, while her companion, enveloped in a thick woollen
plaid, scarce felt any inconvenience from the weather, and did not
think to offer her its protection. But he seemed to take very literally
Mr. Atkins' injunction to hasten, for he hurried on in such strides
that Jane could keep up with him only through the greatest effort.
Any other woman would have declared that such a path and such a pace
were beyond her strength. But Miss Forest had determined to reach the
town as soon as possible so as to send aid to those she had left
behind, and lamentation and delay were not her business. She therefore,
more and more resolutely, drew her shoes from the mud which seemed
inclined to hold them fast, set her feet energetically into the tall,
moist grass, and kept tearing her veil loose from the hedges to which
it caught. But her manner grew more and more morose, and after a
quarter of an hour passed in this way, she halted suddenly.
"I must beg you to wait. I need a moment's rest."
These words, spoken in the sharpest tone, seemed to awaken--in her
companion a sense of his thoughtlessness. He paused, and gazed in
terror upon his protegee, who, exhausted and quite breathless, stood at
the edge of a dense hedge of willows.
"I beg your pardon, Miss; I had quite forgotten--I"--he paused, and
then added apologetically "I really am not accustomed to association
with ladies."
Jane bowed as if she would say: "I have learned that!"
The gentleman now, for the first time, seemed to be aware of the state
of the young lady's toilet. "Good heavens, you are quite wet through!"
he cried anxiously, and then glancing upward, he added in evident
bewilderment: "I believe it rains!"
"I _believe_ so!" said Jane, with an irony which happily escaped the
stranger; for he gazed searchingly around. They were both standing by
the willow-hedge, which rising from a wall of earth, after a rain of
several hours, offered no especially inviting resting place; and yet,
the gentleman seemed to regard it as such. With a hasty movement, he
tore the plaid from his shoulders, spread it carefully on the wet
ground, and with a gesture of the hand, invited his companion to take
her seat upon it.
Jane remained standing, and looked up to him. It really surpassed all
comprehension. For a whole half hour this man, with the most
indifferent air in the world, had seen her getting soaked through and
through, and now unhesitatingly, just to afford her a resting place for
two minutes, he threw into the mud the shawl which might all this while
have protected her. Anything more laughable or impracticable had never
before met her observation, and still, in this proceeding there lay
such painful anxiety, so timid an apology for former thoughtlessness,
that Jane almost involuntarily accepted the invitation, and
hesitatingly sat down.
For the first time, she now gazed attentively at her companion, who
stood close to her. As if heated by the rapid walk, he had thrown off
his hat, and stroked the rain-soaked hair from his high forehead. He
had noble, delicate features, intellectual in the highest degree, but a
transparent, sickly pallor lay upon them, and the large, blue eyes,
with their strange, dreamy expression, looked as if they had nothing at
all to do with the world and the present; as if they were gazing far
out into the illimitable distance. This young lady, with the cold,
beautiful features, and the proud, energetic glance, with an interest
peculiar and almost indefinable to herself, gazed into the face so
infinitely unlike her own.
Over all brooded the fog, and wove its gray veil around the trees and
shrubs, which, dim and shadowy, gleamed through it; softly pattered
down the rain, the first mild spring rain, which appeared to revive the
whole earth with its warm, aromatic breath; lightly murmured through
the air those strange voices, those whisperings and echoes peculiar to
the rainy landscape, and amid these mist-voices, far away and
mysterious, toned the ebbing and flowing of the still invisible river.
The whole situation had something strange, something oppressive, and
Jane, to whom these emotions were entirely new, suddenly broke loose
from their spell.
"Is that the river, down yonder?" she asked pointing out into the fog.
"The Rhine! We are on its banks."
Again there was a pause. Miss Forest impatiently broke a twig from the
willow-hedge, for a moment gazed absently at the opening buds, from
which the first green was just bursting forth, and then carelessly
threw it on the ground. Her companion bent, and lifted up the twig; she
glanced at him in surprise.
"They are the first spring buds," he said softly. "I would not see them
perish in the mud."
Jane's lips curled mockingly. How sentimental! But, indeed, she was now
in Germany! Annoyed and almost angry at this indirect reproach, the
young lady rose suddenly, and declared herself quite rested.
The gentleman was ready to go at once. Jane threw a hasty glance upon
the plaid still lying in the mud, but as he seemed to have quite
forgotten it, she did not think it worth her while to remind him of it.
They walked on silent as before, but the guide now moderated his steps,
and often looked anxiously around to see if she could follow. Another
quarter of an hour had passed, when the outlines of houses and turrets
loomed up through the fog, and the stranger turned to his companion.
"We are in B. May I ask Miss, where I shall conduct you?"
"To the house of Dr. Stephen."
He paused in surprise. "Doctor Stephen?"
"Yes! do you know him?"
"Certainly. I live in his house, and indeed"--he passed his hand
thoughtfully over his forehead--"I faintly remember having heard that
some one was expected there, a young relative, I believe."
"I was certainly expected," said Jane impatiently, "and you will oblige
me if you would shorten the waiting of my relatives as much as
possible."
"I am at your command, Miss! May I beg you to turn to the right so that
I can conduct you through the garden by the shortest path?"
Jane followed, but she soon found reason enough to execrate this
shortest path; for the hedge-way leading through the garden was worse
than the deep mud and difficulties of the path they had just gone over.
Her companion appeared to realize this himself, for after a while he
paused suddenly, and said in evident embarrassment:--
"I forgot that the path was not suitable for a lady. Shall we turn
around?"
"I think we are already half through it," answered Jane in a somewhat
exasperated tone. "The end cannot be far distant."
"It is there behind the latticed gate."
"Well, then, let us go forward."
They had advanced a hundred steps or more, when a new obstacle loomed
up. The deepest portions of the path were quite overflowed by the rain,
which here formed a real lake, that, enclosing the whole breadth of the
passage, was not to be avoided. The unhappy guide halted in utter
confusion.
"You cannot possibly pass through here," he said anxiously.
"I will try!" answered Jane resignedly, and placed the tip of her foot
in the water; but he excitedly held her back.
"Impossible! The water is a foot deep. If you only--if you would allow
me to carry you over."
The question was very timidly uttered, and with a half sympathetic,
half derisive glance, Jane's eyes swept the tall but very slender and
delicate form with its bowed shoulders.
"I thank you!" she returned with unconcealed irony. "The burden might
be too heavy for you."
The irony had a peculiar effect upon the hitherto timid stranger. A
scarlet flush suddenly shot over the pale face; with a single effort,
he drew himself up, lifted the young lady in his arms, and rushed with
her into the midst of the water. All this passed so suddenly, that
Jane, surprised and confounded, had no time for resistance, but now she
made a hasty movement, resolved to wade through the deep water, rather
than permit a liberty taken without her consent. All at once, she met
his eyes. Was it the dumb, almost plaintive entreaty that lay in them,
or was there something quite other--something strange in this glance?
Jane's eyes fell slowly, the former oppressive feeling returned with
redoubled might, and she remained motionless, while with a strength
none would have dreamed that those arms possessed, he carried her all
the way over.
"I beg your pardon," he said in a low voice, as, timidly and
respectfully, he set down his burden at the garden gate.
"I thank you," replied Jane, curtly and coldly, as she herself thrust
open the gate, and entered.
She had only taken a few steps in the garden, when a tall, almost
gigantic, figure loomed up before her.
"Herr Professor, in Heaven's name, what tempted you to go out in such
weather," he said. "And without an umbrella too! You may have taken a
cold, a fever, your death--and the plaid! Herr Professor, where then
have you left your plaid?"
Vexed and almost offended, the professor turned away from the anxious
servant, who, armed with an immense umbrella, sought to protect him in
such an obtrusive way.
"But Frederic! Do you not see the lady?" He pointed to Jane whom in his
great excitement Frederic had not remarked. This new event, the
appearance of a lady by his master's side, seemed to entirely transcend
the servant's powers of comprehension; he let the umbrella fall, and
stared at both with wide-open mouth, and in such boundless astonishment
that it was very evident such a thing had never happened before.
The professor made a hasty end to his speechless consternation. "It is
the young lady who was expected at Doctor Stephen's," he said. "Go,
now, and tell the doctor--"
He had time to say no more; for scarce had Frederic caught the first
words, when, with an unintelligible exclamation, he turned suddenly,
and shot away in mighty strides. Jane remained motionless, gazing at
the professor; her manner plainly betrayed what she began to think of
her German countrymen, and after this meeting with these two first
specimens, she began to have serious doubts as to their sanity. The
master as well as the servant was ridiculous in her eyes.
Meantime, in the house, Frederic's cry of announcement had caused a
positive uproar. Doors were opened and shut violently, stairs creaked
under light and heavy footfalls; they seemed to be in eager haste to
improvise some new reception ceremonies, or to place in order those
already begun; and when, at last, Jane, accompanied by the professor,
approached the front door, a new surprise awaited her. Rich garlands of
flowers surrounded doors and pillars, a giant "_Welcome_" was displayed
over the former; flowers were strewn upon floors and stairways, and at
the foot of the staircase stood the tall Frederic, with an immense
bouquet in his hand, which, with a proud smile on his broad face, he
held in rather an awkward manner, right before the young girl's nose.
Such a reception was evidently not to Miss Forest's taste. In her
father's house, all such superfluous sentimentality had been suppressed
in the same measure as all undue familiarity with servants had been
avoided. Jane's brows contracted, she scanned the servant from head to
foot, and as he, abashed at this ungracious stare, stepped to one side,
with a haughty wave of the hand in which there lay small thanks, but a
great deal of cold repulsion, she swept past him up the stairs, without
deigning a glance at the festal adornments in her honor, and arrived at
their head, where Doctor Stephen and his wife stood to meet her.
The professor, as if spell-bound, stood below, and gazed at her through
the door, which remained open for a moment. He saw how the young lady
at this very peculiar first meeting with her relatives, before whom she
appeared unexpectedly, drenched with rain, through the garden gate and
in the company of an entire stranger, did not for a moment lose her
self-possession. She stepped up to her uncle, with cool politeness,
reached him her hand, and with exactly the same expression, offered her
cheek to be kissed by her aunt. She then drew herself up, and stood
before them both, resolute, majestic, and self-conscious, as if at that
very first moment of meeting, she would protest against any future
guardianship or dictation from them.
The door closed, and as if awaking from a dream, the professor started
up, and glanced around at Frederic. The poor fellow still stood at the
foot of the stairs; the flowers had fallen from his hands, and he
stared motionless after the proud, beautiful apparition, that had so
rudely repelled him. His master laid a hand upon his shoulder.
"Come up with me, Frederic?"
At these words, some life entered the poor fellow's face, which
gradually assumed an expression of deep mortification. He passed his
hand through his ash-blonde hair, and with his clear blue eyes, in
which stood some tears, he gazed at his master.
"But what have I done so much out of the way?" he asked in a pathetic
tone.
"Never mind, Frederic," said the professor kindly. "The young lady is
evidently not acquainted with our German manners of reception. Come,
now!"
Frederic obeyed. He bent down and picked up his bouquet, but at sight
of it, the former mortification seemed to give place to resentment.
With an expression of rage, he hurled the bouquet far out into the
garden.
"Frederic!" The exclamation and the grave tone of his master brought
the servant at once to reflection.
"I am coming, Herr Professor!" he replied humbly, and wiping away the
tears with his hand, with bowed head, he softly followed his master up
the stairs.
* * *
More than six weeks had already passed since the arrival of the young
American, and she still remained a stranger in the house of her
relatives. It was not their fault; they had from the first treated her
with the warmest cordiality. Doctor Stephen and his wife belonged to
those good, harmless people, whose highest endeavor it is to live in
peace with all the world, and not to allow themselves to be disturbed
in the even tenor of their way. The deceased Forest had judged his
brother-in-law righteously, when he declared that he had defrayed the
expenses of himself and wife and children to America, partly out of a
good heart, but in a great measure, to be rid of the demagogue, who
threatened to bring his otherwise loyal family into constant annoyance
and suspicion.
The doctor had very much regretted that his sister's destiny was united
to that of this unfortunate man, who in his pride and obstinacy, would
let his family starve rather than accept the slightest assistance from
relatives; and he had been most firm in his conviction, that this
dreamy, eccentric radical would go to ruin in matter-of-fact America.
It had happened otherwise, and here, as elsewhere, success had won its
homage. Although Doctor Stephen and his wife had once anxiously shunned
all mention of their Forest relatives, they had of late years, gladly
and often, spoken of their brother-in-law, the millionaire across the
ocean, and the prospective visit of his daughter had thrown them into
no small excitement. If the orphan niece had come to them poor and
helpless, she would have been greeted with open arms; but the young
heiress was received with the most profound respect, and this was what
Jane especially demanded. From the first, she resisted every attempt at
outside control, and the relatives soon found that they must in no way
interfere with the young lady's independence.
In consideration of her wealth, they could cheerfully have forgiven
every whim and every fault; but they could not forgive this persistent
coldness and reticence, through which no beam of warmth ever
penetrated, and which made confidence impossible as disagreement.
Never, by word or glance, did Jane betray the slightest dissatisfaction
with the house in which she was a guest. But the pitying contempt with
which this young lady, reared in the bosom of American luxury, yielded
to their simple, plebeian way of life, was deeply felt, and wounded
none the less. After a few days' acquaintance with their niece, the
doctor and his wife came to the conclusion that she was the haughtiest,
most heartless creature in the world.
In one respect, Jane did herself wrong; her haughtiness was not founded
on the possession of riches or personal advantages; but upon that
intellectual superiority through which she ruled all around her, and
which she, ere long, began to make evident in a wider circle. Reared in
the freedom of American life, she thought the respect here paid to
leading personages slavish, the exclusiveness of certain circles
ridiculous, and the interminable titles and ceremonies of German
society called forth her bitterest irony. Her relatives, in mortal
terror, frequently heard her intrude these opinions in the presence of
strangers; but they need have given themselves no uneasiness. Miss
Forest was an American and a reputed millionaire, two peculiarities
which gave her entire freedom to do and say what would not have been
allowed to another; and this so much the more as her betrothal remained
a secret. There was scarcely a family of position in the city who did
not cherish some hopes of future relationship with this eligible young
heiress; and so, upon her entrance into society, Jane found herself
courted and nattered, a state of things not at all new to her. All the
world was enraptured with her beauty, which was in such striking
contrast to the serene, blooming freshness of the Rhineland maidens;
they flattered her pride which so often wounded; they admired the
intellect which she hardly thought it worth her while to display in
these stupid circles. The young students who, without exception,
admired and wondered at this foreign meteor which had made so sudden an
appearance among them, left no opportunity unemployed to approach and
give expression to their homage. But none succeeded even for a moment,
in penetrating the icy indifference and chill decorum of this young
lady. True to the traditions of her father, she had, upon her first
arrival in Germany, girt herself about with this icy dignity and
haughtiness, almost as with a coat of mail.
Doctor Stephen owned a pretty house in the handsomest part of B. His
family occupied only its lower story; the upper was rented to Professor
Fernow, who, called to the university almost three years ago, had since
had his lodgings here. A scientific work which had made a profound
sensation in the learned world, had won for the young man this
professorship in B. He had come here, an entire stranger, without
recommendations or acquaintances, and attended only by his servant; but
at his very first lectures, he had enforced marked attention from his
colleagues, and excited the liveliest interest among the students. With
this success he had been content; the professor was not a man to assert
himself, or claim any especial place in society. He anxiously avoided
all intercourse not indispensable to his calling; he made no visits and
received none; he shunned all acquaintanceship, declined every
invitation, and lived in the solitude of his studies. His delicate
health always served him as an excuse. At first the people of B. had
been unwilling to accept this apology, and had sought to ascribe his
strange exclusiveness to Heaven knows what mysterious and dangerous
motives; but now they were convinced that the professor was the
gentlest, most harmless man in the world, whom only his passion for
study, combined with his really impaired health, had led into such a
way of life.
Several of his colleagues, who had approached nearer to him in the way
of official relations, spoke with wondering admiration of his
astonishing knowledge and his astonishing modesty, which really shunned
all recognition, all emerging from retirement; but from their full
hearts they were content with this, for they best knew how dangerous
such a man might become to their authority, if, with this fulness of
knowledge, was united an obtrusive personality and an energetic
character. So, without opposition, they let him go on in his silent
way; his learning was esteemed without envy, his lectures were
numerously attended; but he played as unimportant a role in the
university as in society, and lived like a veritable hermit in the
midst of B.
Doctor Stephen found no occasion of complaint against his quiet tenant,
who brought neither noise nor disturbance into the house; who
punctually paid his rent, and who, when upon rare occasions he became
visible, gave a polite greeting but shunned any longer conversation.
The doctor was almost the only one who, at the professor's frequent
attacks of illness, entered his rooms, or came into any closer
relations with him; but the doctor's wife, who would gladly have taken
the sick man under her motherly wing, had not succeeded in her efforts,
and must content herself with bringing the servant under her domestic
sway instead of his master.
Frederic was not gifted with surpassing intelligence nor with especial
strength of comprehension; his intellectual abilities were small, but
in their stead, Nature had given him a giant body, and replaced his
other defects by a boundless good nature and a really touching devotion
to his master. But quite in contrast to him, he had a most decided
inclination to associate with others, and was delighted to employ for
others, the abundant leisure which the professor allowed him; and so he
helped the doctor's wife in the house, and the doctor in the garden. In
this way he had gradually become a sort of factotum for both, without
whose help nothing could be done, and it had been he who, through hours
of exertion, and an expenditure of all his powers of invention, had
prepared that unsuccessful welcome for the young American. Since that
scene he always avoided her, half-timidly, half-resentfully.