The fire blazed newly from its embers and set strange shadows to dancing
upon the polished floor. Now and then, there was a gleam from some dark
mahogany surface and an answering flash from a bit of old silver in the
cabinet. April, warm with May's promise, came in through the open
window, laden with the wholesome fragrance of growing things, and yet,
because an old lady loved it, there was a fire upon the hearth and no
other light in the room.
She sat in her easy chair, sheltered from possible draughts, and watched
it, seemingly unmindful of her three companions. Tints of amethyst and
sapphire appeared in the haze from the backlog and were lost a moment
later in the dominant flame. In that last hour of glorious life, the
tree was giving back its memories--blue skies, grey days just tinged
with gold, lost rainbows, and flashes of sun.
Friendly ghosts of times far past were conjured back in
shadows--outspread wings, low-lying clouds, and long nights that ended
in dawn. Swift flights of birds and wandering craft of thistledown were
mirrored for an instant upon the shining floor, and then forgotten,
because of falling leaves.
Lines of transfiguring light changed the snowy softness of Miss Field's
hair to silver, and gave to her hands the delicacy of carved ivory. A
tiny foot peeped out from beneath her gown, clad in its embroidered silk
stocking and high-heeled slipper, so brave in its trappings of silver
buckles that she might have been eighteen instead of seventy-five.
Upon her face the light lay longest; perhaps with an answering love. The
years had been kind to her--had given her only enough bitterness to make
her realise the sweetness, and from the threads that Life had placed in
her hands at the beginning, had taught her how to weave the blessed
fabric of Content.
"Aunt Peace," asked the girl, softly, "have you forgotten that we have
company?"
Dispelled by the voice, the gracious phantoms of Memory vanished. There
was a little silence, then the old lady smiled. "No, dearie," she said,
"indeed I haven't. It is too rare a blessing for me to forget."
"Please don't call us 'company,'" put in the other woman, quickly,
"because we're not."
"'Company,'" observed the young man on the opposite side of the hearth,
"is extremely good under the circumstances. Somebody nearly breaks down
your front door on a rainy afternoon, and when you rush out to save the
place from ruin, you discover two dripping tramps on your steps.
Stranded on an island in the road is a waggon containing their trunks,
from which place of refuge they recently swam to your door. 'How do you
do, Aunt Peace?' says mother; 'we've come to live with you from this
time on to the finish.' On behalf of this committee, ladies, I thank
you, from my heart, for calling us 'company.'"
Laughing, he rose and made an exaggerated courtesy. "Lynn! Lynn!"
expostulated his mother. "Is it possible that after all my explanations
you don't understand? Why, I wrote more than two weeks ago, asking her
to let us know if she didn't want us. Silence always gives consent, and
so we came."
"Yes, we came all right," continued the boy, cheerfully, "and, as
everybody knows, we're here now, but isn't it just like a woman? Upon my
word, I think they're queer--the whole tribe."
"Having thus spoken," remarked the girl, "you might tell us how a man
would have managed it."
"Very easily. A man would have called in his stenographer--no, he
wouldn't, either, because it was a personal letter. He would have made
an excavation into his desk and found the proper stationery, and would
have put in a new pen. 'My dear Aunt Peace,' he would have said, 'you
mustn't think I've forgotten you because I haven't written for such a
long time. If I had written every time I had wanted to, or had thought
of you, actually, you'd have been bored to death with me. I have a kid
who thinks he is going to be a fiddler, and we have decided to come and
live with you while he finds out, as we understand that Herr Franz
Kaufmann, who is not unknown to fame, lives in your village. Will you
please let us know? If you can't take us, or don't want to, here's a
postage stamp, and no hard feelings on either side.'"
"Just what I said," explained Mrs. Irving, "though my language wasn't
quite like yours."
The old lady smiled again. "My dears," she began, "let us cease this
unprofitable discussion. It is all because we are so far out of the
beaten track that we seldom go to the post-office. I am sure the letter
is there now."
"I will get it to-morrow," replied Lynn, "which is kind of me,
considering that my remarks have just been alluded to as
'unprofitable.'"
"You can't expect everybody to think as much of what you say as you do,"
suggested Iris, with a trace of sarcasm.
"Score one for you, Miss Temple. I shall now retire into my shell." So
saying, he turned to the fire, and his face became thoughtful again.
The three women looked at him from widely differing points of view. The
girl, concealed in the shadow, took maidenly account of his tall,
well-knit figure, his dark eyes, his sensitive mouth, and his firm,
finely modelled chin. From a half-defined impulse of coquetry, she was
glad of the mood which had led her to put on her most becoming gown
early in the afternoon. The situation was interesting--there was a vague
hint of a challenge of some kind.
Aunt Peace, so long accustomed to quiet ways, had at first felt the two
an intrusion into her well-ordered home, though at the same time her
hospitable instincts reproached her bitterly. He was of her blood and
her line, yet in some way he seemed like an alien suddenly claiming
kinship. A span of fifty years and more stretched between them, and
across it, they contemplated each other, both wondering. For his part he
regarded her as one might a cameo of fine workmanship or an old
miniature. She was so passionless, so virginal, so far removed from all
save the gentlest emotions, that he saw her only as one who stood apart.
The smile still lingered upon her lips and the firelight made shadows
beneath her serene eyes. Had they asked her for her thoughts she could
have phrased only one. Deep down in her heart she wondered whether
anything on earth had ever been so joyously young as Lynn.
His mother, too, was watching him, as always when she thought herself
unobserved. In spite of his stalwart manhood, to her he was still a
child. Forgiving all things, dreaming all things, hoping all things with
the boundless faith of maternity, she loved him, through the child that
he was, for the man that he might be--loved him, through the man that he
was, for the child that he had been.
The fire had died down, and Iris, leaning forward, laid a bit of pine
upon the dull glow in the midst of the ashes. It caught quickly, and
once again the magical light filled the room.
"Sing something, dear," said Aunt Peace, drowsily, and Iris made a
little murmur of dissent.
"Do you sing, Miss Temple?" asked Irving, politely.
"No," she answered, "and what's more, I know I don't, but Aunt Peace
likes to hear me."
"We'd like to hear you, too," said Mrs. Irving, so gently that no one
could have refused.
Much embarrassed, she went to the piano, which stood in the next room,
just beyond the arch, and struck a few chords. The instrument was old
and worn, but still sweet, and, fearful at first, but gaining confidence
as she went on, Iris sang an old-fashioned song.
Her voice was contralto; deep, vibrant, and full, but untrained. Still,
there were evidences of study and of work along right lines. Before she
had finished, Irving was beside her, resting his elbow upon the piano.
"Who taught you?" he asked, when the last note died away.
"Herr Kaufmann," she replied, diffidently.
"I thought he was a violin teacher."
"He is."
"Then how can he teach singing?"
"He doesn't."
Irving went no farther, and Miss Temple, realising that she had been
rude, hastened to atone. "I mean by that," she explained, "that he
doesn't teach anyone but me. I had a few lessons a long time ago, from a
lady who spent the Summer here, and he has been helping me ever since.
That is all. He says it doesn't matter whether people have voices or
not--if they have hearts, he can make them sing."
"You play, don't you?"
"Yes--a little. I play accompaniments for him sometimes."
"Then you'll play with me, won't you?"
"Perhaps."
"When--to-morrow?"
"I'll see," laughed Iris. "You should be a lawyer instead of a
violinist. You make me feel as if I were on the witness stand."
"My father was a lawyer; I suppose I inherit it." Iris had a question
upon her lips, but checked it.
"He is dead," the young man went on, as though in answer to it. "He died
when I was about five years old, and I remember him scarcely at all."
"I don't remember either father or mother," she said. "I had a very
unhappy childhood, and things that happened then make me shudder even
now. Just at the time it was hardest--when I couldn't possibly have
borne any more--Aunt Peace discovered me. She adopted me, and I've been
happy ever since, except for all the misery I can't forget."
"She's not really your aunt, then?"
"No. Legally, I am her daughter, but she wouldn't want me to call her
'mother,' even if I could."
The talk in the other room had become merely monosyllables, with bits of
understanding silence between. Iris went back, and Mrs. Irving thanked
her prettily for the song.
"Thank you for listening," she returned.
"Come, Aunt Peace, you're nodding."
"So I was, dearie. Is it late?"
"It's almost ten."
In her stately fashion, Miss Field bade her guests good night. Iris lit
a candle and followed her up the broad, winding stairway. It made a
charming picture--the old lady in her trailing gown, the light throwing
her white hair into bold relief, and the girl behind her, smiling back
over the banister, and waving her hand in farewell.
In Lynn's fond sight, his mother was very lovely as she sat there, with
the firelight shining upon her face. He liked the way her dark hair grew
about her low forehead, her fair, smooth skin, and the mysterious depths
of her eyes. Ever since he could remember, she had worn a black gown,
with soft folds of white at the throat and wrists.
"It's time to go out for our walk now," he said.
"Not to-night, son. I'm tired."
"That doesn't make any difference; you must have exercise."
"I've had some, and besides, it's wet."
Lynn was already out of hearing, in search of her wraps. He put on her
rubbers, paying no heed to her protests, and almost before she knew it,
she was out in the April night, woman-like, finding a certain pleasure
in his quiet mastery.
The storm was over and the hidden moon silvered the edges of the clouds.
Here and there a timid planet looked out from behind its friendly
curtain, but only the pole star kept its beacon steadily burning. The
air was sweet with the freshness of the rain, and belated drops, falling
from the trees, made a faint patter upon the ground.
Down the long elm-bordered path they went, the boy eager to explore the
unfamiliar place; the mother, harked back to her girlhood, thrilled with
both pleasure and pain.
Happy are they who leave the scenes of early youth to the ministry of
Time. Going back, one finds the river a little brook, the long stretch
of woodland only a grove in the midst of a clearing, and the upland
pastures, that once seemed mountains, are naught but stony, barren
fields.
As they stood upon the bridge, looking down into the rushing waters,
Margaret remembered the lost majesty of that narrow stream, and sighed.
The child who had played so often upon its banks had grown to a woman,
rich with Life's deepest experiences, but the brook was still the same.
Through endless years it must be the same, drawing its waters from
unseen sources, while generation after generation withered away, like
the flowers that bloomed upon its grassy borders while the years were
young.
Lynn broke rudely into her thoughts. "I wish I'd known you when you were
a kid, mother," he said.
"Why?"
"Oh, I think I'd have liked to play with you. We could have made some
jolly mud pies."
"We did, but you were three, and I was twenty-five. Much ashamed, too, I
remember, when your father caught me doing it."
"Am I like him?"
He had asked the question many times and her answer was always the same.
"Yes, very much like him. He was a good man, Lynn."
"Do I look like him?"
"Yes, all but your eyes."
"When you lived here, did you know Herr Kaufmann?"
"By sight, yes." He was looking straight at her, but she had turned her
face away, forgetting the darkness. "We used to see him passing in the
street," she went on, in a different tone. "He was a student and never
seemed to know many people. He would not remember me."
"Then there's no use of my telling him who I am?"
"Not the least."
"Maybe he won't take me."
"Yes, he will," she answered, though her heart suddenly misgave her. "He
must--there is no other way."
"Will you go with me?"
"No, indeed; you must go alone. I shall not appear at all."
"Why, mother?"
"Because." It was her woman's reason, which he had learned to accept as
final. Beyond that there was no appeal.
East Lancaster lay on one side of the brook and West Lancaster on the
other. The two settlements were quite distinct, though they had a common
bond of interest in the post-office, which was harmoniously situated
near the border line. East Lancaster was the home of the aristocracy.
Here were old Colonial mansions in which, through their descendants, the
builders still lived. The set traditions of a bygone century held full
sway in the place, but, though circumscribed by conditions, the upper
circle proudly considered itself complete.
West Lancaster was on a hill, and a steep one at that. Hardy German
immigrants had settled there, much to the disgust of East Lancaster,
holding itself sternly aloof year after year. It was not considered
"good form" to allude to the dwellers upon the hill, save in low
tones and with lifted brows, yet there were not wanting certain good
Samaritans who sent warm clothing and discarded playthings, after
nightfall and by stealth, to the little Teutons who lived so near them.
Hemmed in by the everlasting hills, estranged from its neighbour, and
barely upon speaking terms with other towns, East Lancaster let the
world go on by. Two trains a day rushed through the station, for the
main line of the railroad, receiving no encouragement from East
Lancaster, had laid its tracks elsewhere. It was still spoken of as "the
time when, if you will remember, my dear, they endeavoured to ruin our
property with dirt and noise."
"Her clothes are like her name," remarked Lynn.
"Whose clothes?" asked Mrs. Irving, taken out of her reverie.
"That girl's. She had on a green dress, and some yellow velvet in her
hair. Her eyes are purple."
"Violet, you mean, dear. Did you notice that?"
"Of course--don't I notice everything? Come, mother; I'll race you to
the top of the hill."
Once again her objections were of no avail. Together they ran, laughing,
up the winding road that led to the summit, stopping very soon, however,
and going on at a more moderate pace.
The street was narrow, and the houses on either side were close
together. Each had its tiny patch of ground in front, laid out in
flower-beds bordered with whitewashed stones, in true German fashion.
There were no street lamps, for West Lancaster also resented all modern
innovations, but in the Spring night one could see dimly.
Lanterns flitted here and there, like fireflies starred against the
dark. Margaret protested that she was tired, but Lynn put his arm around
her and hurried her on. Never before had she set foot upon the soil of
West Lancaster, but she had full knowledge of the way.
The brow of the hill was close at hand, and she caught her breath in
sudden fear. Lynn, in the midst of a graphic recital of some boyish
prank, took no note of her agitation. He did not even know that they had
come to the end of their journey, until a man tiptoed toward them, his
finger upon his lips.
"Hush!" he breathed. "The Master plays."
At the very top of the hill, almost at the brink of the precipice, was a
house so small that it seemed more like a box than a dwelling. In the
street were a dozen people, both men and women, standing in stolid
patience. The little house was dark, but a window was open, and from
within, muted almost to a whisper, came the voice of a violin.
For an hour or more they stood there, listening. By insensible degrees
the music grew in volume, filled with breadth and splendour, yet with a
lyric undertone. Sounding chords, caught from distant silences, one by
one were woven in. Songs that had an epic grasp; question, prayer, and
heartbreak; all the pain and beauty of the world were part of it, and
yet there was something more.
To Lynn's trained ear, it was an improvisation by a master hand. He was
lost in admiration of the superb technique, the delicate phrasing, and
the wonderful quality of the tone. To the woman beside him, shaken
from head to foot by unutterable emotion, it was Life itself, bare,
exquisitely alive, tuned to the breaking point--a human thing, made of
tears and laughter, of ecstasy, tenderness, and black despair, lying on
the Master's breast and answering to his touch.
The shallows touch the pebbles, and behold, there is a little song. The
deeps are stirred to their foundations, and, long afterward, there is
a single vast strophe, majestic and immortal, which takes its place by
right in the symphony of pain. To Margaret, standing there with her
senses swaying, all her possibilities of feeling were merged into one
unspeakable hurt.
"Take me away;" she whispered, "I can bear no more!"
But Lynn did not hear. He was simply and solely the musician, his body
tense, his head bent forward and a little to one side, nodding in
emphasis or approval.
She slipped her arm through his and, trembling, waited as best she might
for the end. It came at last and the little group near them took up its
separate ways. Someone put down the window and closed the shutters. The
Master knew quite well that some of his neighbours had been listening,
but it pleased him to ignore the tribute. No one dared to speak to him
about his playing.
"Mother! Mother!" said Lynn, tenderly, "I've been selfish, and I've kept
you too long!"
"No," she answered, but her lips were cold and her voice was not
the same. They went downhill together, and she leaned heavily upon
his supporting arm. He was humming, under his breath, bits of the
improvisation, and did not speak again until they were at home.
The fire was out, but Iris had left two lighted candles on a table in
the hall. "A fine violin," he said; "by far the finest I have ever
heard."
"Yes," she returned, "a Cremona--that is, I think it must be, from its
tone."
"Possibly. Good night, and pleasant dreams."
They parted at the head of the stairs, and down on the landing the tall
clock chimed twelve. Margaret lay for a long time with her eyes closed,
but none the less awake. Toward dawn, the ghostly fingers of her dreams
tapped questioningly at the Master's door, but without disturbing his
sleep.