Spite of his views of freedom and equality, Fritz walked somewhat more
timidly with Mina in the garden the following day.
"You may go without any fear," Mrs. Dote had said encouragingly; "only
you must keep rather in the side walks than in the broad alleys. You can
go and gather me a beautiful nosegay and fresh green for the little hall
where the family will dine. And if you should meet the young grandees
and they should speak, you must answer prettily and politely; only mind,
don't you speak first."
"He is, however, nothing but a boy, like me, only somewhat younger,"
Fritz was again ready to reply, but he checked himself and remained
silent.
They had not been long in the garden before they saw the two handsome
children coming hand in hand down the broad alley.
"Oh, how charming it is!" exclaimed the little girl, delighted. "I never
saw anything so charming!"
"And is it not charming," said the boy, "that your governess is still
poorly, and that my tutor is gone a journey, and so we have a holiday?"
At this moment they saw Fritz and Mina, who stepped somewhat embarrassed
aside.
"Do you live in the garden?" inquired the little girl.
"No, young gentry," returned Mina, to whom no other title suggested
itself, and she curtseyed.
"My name is Meta," said the little girl with frank simplicity; "and his
name is Hugo," added she, pointing to her brother, "but where, then, do
you live?"
"At Steinheim, fifteen miles from here," said Fritz, in his
straightforward manner, and perfectly self-possessed. "We are now on a
visit to my godmother, Mrs. Dote, the castle housekeeper, during our
holidays."
"Indeed! we also have holiday," said Hugo. "Do you know of any bird
nests? I have never seen a bird's nest."
"I know of one," returned Fritz, somewhat hesitatingly, "but----"
"Well, where is it?" inquired Hugo, with a little impetuosity.
I'll show it you, but--you must promise----
"What must I promise?" interrupted the young prince, reddening with
anger and impatience.
"That you will only look at it, and not touch it, even with your little
finger," returned Fritz, now speaking firmly, "else the old birds will
never come back again, and the young ones will die."
"Yes, I know that," said the fair-haired Meta. "Mamma once told me that
the young birds would die if the old ones did not attend to them," and
she looked very sorrowful; "but you will not touch it, will you, Hugo?"
"Upon my honour. I will not!" declared the young cavalier so earnestly
that Fritz was ready to venture, and led him to a low fir-tree which
stood in some thick plantations, where lay between the boughs a little
nest, in which were five lovely greenish-speckled eggs. He lifted up
Meta, so that she could peep in, and both children were delighted at the
sight.
"But the next time we must not come so near," said Fritz, "the little
hen-bird is sitting; but we may come every day and see it from a
distance, till the young birds are hatched."
In this joyful hope the four children became good friends, although Hugo
had a something of princely pride in his bearing which did not quite
harmonize with the liberal turn of Fritz's mind. The boys rambled
together from the garden into the deer-park, visited the old keeper who
lived there, and learned to shoot under his instructions; nay, they even
one day brought home a hare which had been shot, though it could not
exactly be ascertained by whom. Still more delightful was the
entertainment which the two girls found together. Meta had a very
wonderful doll, beautiful beyond anything which Mina had conceived
possible. It had a lovely waxen face, and could shut its eyes; it slept
upon a cushion trimmed with lace, and had a little bassinet lined with
blue silk; it wore the daintiest little cap and a little knitted jacket.
Mina, it is true, had quite grown out of dolls, and at home only brought
out hers, which had a shining face of papier-maché, and wore a plain
pink cotton frock, when her little friend Matilda came to see her; but
she would not have been a girl if she had not been delighted with this
miracle of a baby. It had, however, no name, and Mina assisted in the
choice of one, which, after long deliberation, it was decided should be
Rosalinde, because it was so beautiful. Meta was regarded as the mother
of the little Rosalinde, and Mina acted as nurse-maid, but was called
the Bonne, and she fondled, and carried, and rocked, and fed the darling
baby to her heart's delight. The little Rosalinde was a very
quick-growing child, however, and already on the second day wore her
short frocks, and on the fourth a little dress and socks of Mina's
making from some splendid material which Mrs. Dote produced from her
wonderful old stores, and which had, once upon a time, been a part of a
grand court dress. Now and then, however, again the little one became a
baby, and was laid upon its cushion, and as such carried about. Many
lovely little nooks, too, there were in the garden, on the green sward,
and amongst the bushes, which were exactly suitable for nurseries; then,
too, Meta took many great journeys with her little daughter through the
gardens, Mina, in the meantime, decorating the green nursery with
flowers, and setting out a pretty little feast of summer fruit in little
baskets which she wove of rushes; whilst Meta, on her return, brought,
from her mother, in fact, a pretty ribbon or a nice little bag as a
present to her faithful Bonne.
Lightly and softly, as a sunbeam, the Princess Clotilde glided in her
grey silk dresses here and there through the garden, appearing to the
country children almost like a being from some higher world. She had
kept a much stricter supervision over them than they had any idea of, in
order that she might ascertain whether they were fitting companions for
her children. Her children had hitherto lived in such deep retirement
and seclusion, that now, finding these young strangers so admirable in
every respect, she rejoiced that her children should become acquainted
through them with other relationships and other classes in life, and
happy in the thought that they could thus thoroughly enjoy their golden
freedom before the return of the governess and tutor. The castle
housekeeper, Mrs. Dote, was therefore on the very pinnacle of bliss
because of the honour which was done to her young guests.