Problematic Characters Part 12

said the young man to himself, caressing the enormous animal. On the right hand he noticed a bright garden, separated by a low fence, in a line with the front of the mansion. It was a low house of two stories, very simple, but rather picturesque, thanks to a ma.s.sive stone balcony over the front-door, and two superb linden-trees just in front. The three other sides of the large square were filled with offices and farm-buildings. A low fence and a row of dwarf fruit-trees formed a line of division between the court-yard and the lawn immediately before the house. As Oswald walked along the front of the house, he saw the high windows open; but there seemed to be n.o.body in the fine rooms beyond. The front-door was also open, and allowed him to look into a n.o.ble hall with a floor of colored marble. A large hall-clock alone broke the deep silence with its slow ticking. The court-yard even was buried in silence. The whole place looked deserted, and only the sparrows were twittering and making quite a noise in the linden-trees, and the swallows flitted low under the eaves to their young in the nests, and then as swiftly shot back again for more food.

"There is probably no one at home," thought Oswald. "You have made the long journey for nothing. Or can you perhaps tell me where your mistress is, my good dog? Shall we look in the garden?"

The dog looked as if he had understood Oswald's question, and trotted off towards a gate close by the house, which evidently led into the garden; there he stopped and looked round at the stranger.

"Then she is in the garden?"

Oswald opened the gate. The dog ran before him past a number of flower-beds into a narrow walk with hedges on either side, down to a flight of steps, which led through the hedge upon a kind of terrace.

There he once more looked round at Oswald. Then he ran up the steps.

Oswald followed.

The creature had disappeared in a group of tall, blooming shrubs. In the mean time the young man had advanced a few steps, and there a picture presented itself to his eyes which fixed him motionless to the spot. He looked upon a small open s.p.a.ce which was framed in on two sides by the tall hedges that enclosed the whole terrace. In the centre a huge pine-tree with broad-spreading branches rose in full might like a lance. At the foot of the tree, and upon the carpet of brown leaves, stood a round garden-table and a few chairs. In one of these chairs Melitta was sitting, surrounded by the soft dreamy light of the summer afternoon, her head resting on one hand and the other mechanically caressing the dog, who was pressing closely to his mistress. She wore a white dress, which fell in graceful folds around her, and concealed her shoulders and her bosom but just enough to betray their charming outlines. On the table lay a glove, a broad-brimmed straw hat, and an open book.

She was sitting there so deep in thought that she did not hear Oswald's light step till he was standing before her. Then she threw up her head, and scarcely suppressed a cry of delighted surprise as she saw the man actually before her with whom her thoughts had been so busy just now.

For a moment the blood stopped in her heart, and then, rushing forth with vigor, it poured out upon her cheeks a rich glow of purple.

"See there!" she said, quickly rising and offering Oswald her hand.

"I beg your pardon, madam," said the young man, reverently carrying the fair trembling hand, which lightly rested on his, to his lips, "if I come unannounced----"

"But not unexpected, to interrupt your _dolce far niente_ and so forth, and so forth"--interrupted Melitta. "Come, come, no phrases, if you please. Leave that to our empty-headed young gentlemen. Sit down and be thankful that you find me at all. Bemperlein and Julius have given you up long ago, and are away to pay a visit in the neighborhood; so you must be content with myself. That is your just punishment."

"If the punishment is just, it is fortunately also very mild," replied Oswald, "and I submit to it with all the humility required of a penitent sinner."

"You do look like a penitent sinner! But, seriously speaking, why do you come so late, and----"

"In such a condition? Seriously speaking, I could not come sooner and could not come otherwise. Walking on foot and over utterly unknown roads----"

"But why did you undertake that?"

"I am fond of such undertakings."

"Then we are kindred spirits. Well, go on!"

"And meeting on the road an old woman, who delivers lectures on immortality, a country parson, who preaches on the same subject, and a literary lady, who tells in sweet verses what she has heard from the beasts of the field, and----"

"Oh, you poor man!" cried Melitta, clapping her hands.

"Losing my way afterwards in the forest, falling asleep on the edge of a swamp, dreaming there all kinds of sweet, foolish things, finding upon awaking a gypsy standing before me, who tells me my fortune, getting her boy to show me the right way, and finding upon arriving at your enchanted castle no one who could lead a stranger to the lady of the house, but an amiable dog, who listens as attentively as if he understood every word we say--do you not think that doing all this requires at least as much time as I have taken to tell it to you?"

The dog laid his head confidingly on the lap of his mistress and looked up at her. "Art my brave Bonc[oe]ur," she said, caressing her pet, "doest honor to thy name. Thou watchest nicely over house and home, and knowest full well that n.o.body else does it but thou and Baumann. Do you know that you excite my deepest interest by your encounter with the nut-brown countess, I mean the gypsy woman, and with her daughter Czika--for it is a girl, as I must tell you, to the honor of your sagacity."

"A girl, the Czika?"

"The Czika is a girl, you may rely on it. Where did you meet the two?"

"About a quarter of an hour's walk from here, in the forest, near the same lake, on the banks of which I had fallen asleep."

"Then it was upon my own soil--I am glad of that."

"You seem really to be deeply interested in the fair mother and her still fairer daughter. I recollect now that the child was much too beautiful for a boy. How does the gypsy woman get the name of the nut-brown countess?"

"Ah," laughed Melitta. "That is a long story, and one of those foolish undertakings of mine, in which I sympathize with you. It is now about six years since Isabel came for the first time into this district. She was then about twenty years old--perhaps, for she herself does not know her age accurately. Her child, the Czika, was four years old, that she knew, for she was her own child and not a stolen princess."

"How do you know that?"

"From the striking likeness between mother and daughter, which must have struck you also. Both of them were at that time extremely beautiful; in fact, I have never seen anything like it. I do not think any one could have remained unmoved by the sight of this youthful mother with her magnificent child, which in the theatrical costume and the dark, abundant curls might pa.s.s as easily for a boy as for a girl.

I have seen the like of it only in Murillo's paintings, with their sunny glow and fierce pa.s.sion. It so happens that I fancy I know something of picturesque beauty, and try my hand occasionally at painting myself--so they set me drawing all day long, and I went to work on gypsy heads from morning till evening. I forgot to tell you that I kept the two gypsies for a few days here at Berkow. On one of these days I was obliged to give a large party. And--now comes the folly of the thing--in order to get a joke a tour absurd people here, I dressed Isabel up in the richest costume that I possessed, and handed the Czika over to my chambermaid, to deck her out, and then I introduced the two as the Countess of Kryvan, with her little daughter Czika, whose acquaintance I had made the year before at a watering-place, and who had just arrived from Hungary to pay me a visit."

"And what did the company say?"

"They were delighted. I had previously made it known that Isabella belonged to the old Magyar n.o.bility, who had pledged themselves never to use any other language but the national tongue, and occasionally a little Latin."

"Did the people really believe that, and did the gentlemen try to keep up the conversation in Latin?"

"You can make our people believe anything you choose; and as for the gentlemen, Latin is Greek to them. Isabella, I can a.s.sure you, took her seat on the sofa with almost regal dignity, and our greatest people in the neighborhood overwhelmed the countess with attentions, regretting again and again their inability to speak Latin, and thus to enjoy the interesting and attractive conversation of the great lady. The little girl was taken from lap to lap, and almost smothered with t.i.tbits and with caresses. In fine, the comedy was played successfully to the very last scene, and for several days afterwards the whole neighborhood was full of the 'nut-brown countess,' as they took it into their heads to call the friend of Melitta von Berkow. Well, how do you like my story?"

"To be candid, only so-so. I enjoy the mystification of your high-mighty visitors with all my heart, but I confess I feel rather pained to see a poor helpless woman made the toy of the rich and the great simply because she is poor and helpless."

Melitta looked full at Oswald and replied, without the slightest trace of resentment:

"Now look, that is nice in you to think so, and I think it still nicer that you tell me so openly. But I told you beforehand it was a foolish thing I did; and afterwards I felt heartily sorry for it, and did all I could to make amends for the evil consequences which followed. Only listen, and see how the matter ended. I had, of course, presented the Brown Countess with all the things which she and the Czika had worn during the comedy. The poor woman, not knowing what to do with the plunder, tried to sell it in the next town. They thought she had stolen the things, and demanded that she should explain how she had come in possession of such a wardrobe. That she could not do, for she had forgotten my name and the name of my place, and besides, n.o.body could understand her jargon. The justices, therefore, in their wisdom, concluded to put the Brown Countess into jail as a vagabond and a thief, until the matter should be cleared up in some way or other.

Unfortunately, I had myself left a few days before for a watering-place in the neighborhood, and whilst I was there enjoying the fresh sea air in full draughts, the poor woman had to suffer for weeks in a damp prison cell. Alas! and these people value freedom above all things! You see, I shall never forgive myself for all this! It was only after my return that I heard, by a mere accident, of what had happened. Of course, I did at once all that could be done. I drove myself into town and opened the prison-doors to my Brown Countess. But how I found her changed! Pale, emaciated, worn out, she looked as if every week of her imprisonment had cost her a year of her life. Little Czika looked, if possible, still worse. I took both of them back with me to Berkow; I nursed them and comforted them; I made them presents, and tried all I could to make amends. But repentance came here, as usually, too late.

Little Czika had been grievously injured by the damp air of the jail.

She fell, soon after her arrival here, in a raging fever, and I thank G.o.d to this day that she escaped with her life. What could I have done if she had died!"

Melitta was silent, and something like a tear glistened in her eyes.

But the next moment she laughed again, and said:

"Well, after all, she did not die, but grew as fresh and bright as before, and played with my Julius till she recovered her red cheeks and bright eyes. The children had become exceedingly fond of each other, and I should have liked nothing better than to keep the little girl here and have her educated with Julius. The child showed remarkable talents; she was a perfect genius for music. The Brown Countess I should have kept as my waiting-maid, or anything she might have accepted. I offered to let her arrange her mode of life as she chose, if she would only consent to stay here. But it was the old story of the frog and the golden chair. For a few weeks she stood the quiet life, pretty well; and one fine morning she had disappeared--she and the Czika. Afterwards they have repeatedly come back to this country, but they have never visited me here. Isabel is either still angry with me, or she is jealous of me and afraid I might steal her little Czika. And yet she ought to see that I mean it well with her. The people in the village have my orders to do all she may desire; the keeper has been directed not to molest her in the forest, and I myself have abstained from seeking her out, because I do not wish to frighten her away altogether. That is my story of the Brown Countess. Are you still angry with me?"

"What right have I to be so?"

"Well, you frowned just now in a way which made me feel like a very wicked sinner."

"You are pleased to jest. What can my opinion matter to you?"

"More than you pretend to think, in your half-a.s.sumed modesty. A woman always thinks much of a man's opinion, because she feels instinctively that his head thinks more soberly and thoroughly, though not as quickly as her own. And for you learned gentlemen we have a special respect.

You have all of you, about the eye and the corners of the mouth, something mystical, something unfathomable, something----"

Oswald could not help laughing.

"Yes, you may laugh as you choose. You may not think so, but we, we are afraid of your learning, even when we try to make fun of one or the other among you, who is good-natured enough to offer himself for our amus.e.m.e.nt There is my Bemperlein, my faithful, good Bemperlein. Well, he is most a.s.suredly no genius, and knows as much of the world as I know of Greek, and yet I invariably succ.u.mb when we dispute. That vexes me, when I compare him with our country gentlemen! There are handsome, very handsome men among them, and they look remarkably well in their militia uniforms, with their light mustaches, their sunburnt faces, and bright blue eyes; but in evening costume they look stupid. They are as stupid and lifeless as the faces of horses and dogs. The only one among them who has been to college looks as if he belonged to another world."

"Who is this ph[oe]nix?"

"Baron Oldenburg."

A shadow pa.s.sed over Melitta's animated face as when a cloud drifts rapidly over a sunlit landscape. She looked for a few moments straight before her, as if she had lost the thread of the conversation. Then, awaking from her dream, she said: