Quicksands Part 10

CHAPTER VIII.

NEWS FROM BERLIN.

Whilst Egon, with Lieschen and Fritz, was taking his ride to the Oster meadows, Herr von Osternau was pacing his room slowly to and fro.

From his window he had observed old Wenzel saddling Soliman, but he had naturally supposed that Albrecht had ordered the horse, and it never entered his mind that the fiery animal had been saddled for the Candidate, or he would have instantly put a stop to it. He was not aware of the true state of the case until the moment when Egon swung himself lightly into the saddle, and then remonstrance was useless.

Involuntarily he had uttered an exclamation of dismay, which called Frau von Osternau to his side, and together they had looked on while Egon reduced Soliman to submission. Their horror was speedily transformed to admiration as they saw how firm was the rider's seat, how powerless were Soliman's leaps and plunges to do him any injury.

Not a word was exchanged between them until the riding-party had left the court-yard, when Herr von Osternau first gave utterance to his amazement:

"This surpa.s.ses belief. If I had not seen it with my own eyes I never could have believed that a mere Candidate, who one would have supposed had never been on horseback before, could ride Soliman, and ride him in such a fas.h.i.+on! The man is a riddle. If we were not sure from your old friend Kramser's letter that he is a Candidate, I should think it impossible. He is compounded of contradictions, he is never the same for a moment. When I saw him coming across the courtyard this morning I was fairly frightened by his ugliness, I called him a scarecrow, and so did Lieschen when she first saw him, he looked so inconceivably ridiculous and uncouth, but ten minutes had not pa.s.sed before I changed my mind. As he sat there at the piano, playing in that inspired way, he seemed to me a divinely-gifted artist. He cannot be a mere ordinary Candidate. His carriage and air are those of one used to refined society, and the conventional habits of such society are acquired only by a.s.sociation. Remember his manner to Albrecht in the billiard-room.

He demanded satisfaction just as any well-bred gentleman would have done, and received Albrecht's apology in the same way. He speaks English and French with an accent so admirable that he must have had the best instruction in those languages. It requires capital teachers and years of practice to attain such proficiency as he possesses in music, he plays billiards so well as almost to justify Albrecht's sneer about the professional gambler, and, finally, he has just shown himself a first-cla.s.s horseman. No riding-master could have put Soliman more finely through his paces. The man is a perfect puzzle."

Herr von Osternau had begun to pace the room to and fro as he spoke. He paused and looked inquiringly at his wife. She nodded a.s.sent to what he said, and he went on: "The more I think of it the more incomprehensible it is to me that Kramser should have recommended to us just this sort of man, one who in no single particular corresponds to the description contained in Kramser's letter."

"I am quite as much puzzled as yourself," Frau von Osternau said, meekly.

"Go and get Kramser's letter; let us read it once more, and see if it can give us any explanation."

Frau von Osternau brought the letter from her desk and read it aloud to her husband:

"Most Respected Lady,--It has been to me an exceeding great joy that, after the lapse of so many years since the happy season of childhood, you still remember me, and honour me with the great confidence shown in your esteemed epistle. My heart swells with grat.i.tude at the thought of having it in my power to be of service in any way to so highly honoured a lady.

"I have bestowed the gravest reflection upon the choice among my numerous scholars of one possessing the qualifications which you desire for the tutor of your amiable son.

"You ask for a young man possessing the education requisite to give primary instruction to a boy of six, and sufficiently proficient in music to be able to give lessons to your daughter of seventeen. You require, finally, that the young man shall be in no wise distinguished by beauty of person. Nay, you would on the contrary have him ungainly in outward appearance, that the Fraulein your daughter may find no attraction in the person of her preceptor.

"I sympathize fully with your maternal anxieties, and I have therefore, in this connection, carefully stricken from my list of pupils all those possessing goodly exteriors; of those who remain, all are indeed qualified as scholars to teach the rudiments of learning to a boy of six, but few, alas! are sufficiently proficient in music to give lessons on the piano to a lady. At last I have found one, formerly my favourite pupil, whom I can recommend to you, respected madam, in full confidence that he will prove a faithful servant to you, and a capable tutor for your son.

"The Candidate Gottlieb Pigglewitch possesses in the highest degree all the desired qualifications. He is of an ungainly exterior, but in his uncouth form there dwells a soul of great piety, strong in faith in the Lord. There are, indeed, deficiencies in his worldly attainments, but he knows quite enough for the instruction of a boy of six, and his musical capacity far excels that of any of my other pupils. He plays very well upon the piano, and the Lord has bestowed upon him the gift of song, his voice is clear and pleasing.

"Pigglewitch has been an usher in schools for three years, the last of which he has pa.s.sed in a boys' school in Berlin, where, as I am a.s.sured by the princ.i.p.al, he has discharged his duties with diligence and zeal.

Of all my pupils he, respected madam, is the one whom I can most earnestly recommend.

"I have written to Gottlieb Pigglewitch; he is only too glad to accept the honourable position offered him, upon the terms you propose, but he cannot enter upon its duties before the 6th of July, since he is not released from his present situation until July 3d. Should this arrangement meet your approval, respected madam, I beg you to write me to that effect, and the Candidate Gottlieb Pigglewitch will appear at Castle Osternau punctually upon the 6th of July.

"With grateful and respectful regard, yours to command,

"Kramser."

"Is there an imaginable contrast greater than that between your friend's recommendation and the reality?" asked Herr von Osternau when his wife had finished reading the letter. "His worldly knowledge ought to be deficient, but sufficient for the instruction of a child of six, yet he speaks French and English fluently. He ought to be awkward and ungainly, and nothing can be more easy and graceful than his air and carriage. And then his ugliness! Uncouth enough he was in that queer coat, but since he threw that aside he has become another being. I cannot understand your friend Kramser."

Frau von Osternau agreed with her husband. "You are right," she said, thoughtfully. "Neither can I understand him. When that young fellow's eyes flashed to-day as he confronted Albrecht, I thought him actually handsome, and I could not but admire him again just now as he rode out of the court-yard, keeping Soliman so perfectly in rein. It makes me very anxious. It would be terrible to have Lieschen admire him too. He offered to leave Castle Osternau rather than be a cause of dissension in our family. Suppose you----"

"Not a word more, Emma," her husband interrupted her. "After his dispute with Albrecht, in which he conducted himself with such absolute propriety, it would be a crying injustice to dismiss him. Did I not declare that he must remain until we had made trial of his capacity as Fritzchen's tutor?"

"But Lieschen? I have heard you say you should be glad to have Lieschen marry Albrecht. What if she should take a fancy to the Candidate?"

"No fear of that. The little witch has no idea of taking a fancy to any one, and as for the wish I may have expressed to you some time ago, I confess that I no longer cherish it. It arose from my desire to indemnify our cousin for the loss of the estate, but Lieschen's happiness is my first consideration, and I do not think Albrecht is the man to make a woman happy. He is wanting in force of character, he cannot forget his gay life in the capital, indeed I am afraid that he has continued it in his frequent visits to Berlin, and that he is in debt again. But why should we puzzle our brains with what the future has in store for us? I cannot deny that it is a disagreeable sensation, the not knowing what to think of this strange man, I wish we had some one else, even although much more awkward and uninstructed, for Fritz's tutor, but since we have him and have undertaken certain obligations with regard to him, they must be fulfilled. We must show him all the respect we would have Fritz feel for him, we must receive him into our domestic circle that he may feel at home here, but in the mean time we must observe him closely, and should he neglect his duty, or prove to be unfitted for his situation, we can, as we agreed to, part with him."

"But Lieschen?"

"Will take piano-lessons from him. Do not worry yourself unnecessarily; you can always superintend the girl's music-lessons if it will make you less anxious to do so, and can soon convince yourself that there is no danger for the child in Herr Pigglewitch."

Frau von Osternau was not so easy in her mind, but she did not contradict her husband, she only resolved to watch her daughter and the Candidate closely, not only during the music-lessons, but at all times when they were together. The idea of her child's entertaining any warmer feeling for Herr Pigglewitch than that which a pupil should have for a teacher was extremely distasteful to her. She was not rea.s.sured when, soon after the above conversation, she saw the riders return from their visit to the harvesters, and observed the gentle, happy smile with which Lieschen thanked the Candidate for the ready, easy aid which he lent her in dismounting. The mother imagined that she perceived a change in her unconscious child.

Fritz, who had preceded his sister and her cavalier, and had been seeing that his favourite pony was properly attended to, rushed into the room. He had a long story to tell his father and mother, first about the charms of his new tutor during the study-hour, and then of his wonderful riding. "Even Herr Storting grew pale when he saw Soliman tearing down to the Oster, but Herr Pigglewitch didn't care, he only laughed; ah, he knows how to ride! why, he rides better than even Cousin Albrecht!"

Fritz poured out his raptures over his new tutor, much to his father's delight, while Frau von Osternau's maternal anxiety was sensibly increased. She was hardly pleased when her husband sent old Hildebrandt to invite the Candidate to take tea with the family at eight o'clock, in the sitting-room; it seemed to her that it was too speedy a welcome to the domestic circle.

But her fears were appeased when Lieschen, having taken off her habit, made her appearance, and talked without reserve or embarra.s.sment of her ride. The very fact of her expressing with perfect frankness her admiration for the fearless rider and his courage rea.s.sured her mother, and when the girl went on to give a faithful account of her conversation with the Candidate, and the rebuke she had administered to him for entertaining such wicked ideas with regard to suicide, her parents exchanged glances of entire satisfaction.

"Was I not right?" Herr von Osternau asked his wife, with a smile, and she nodded a pleased a.s.sent. Lieschen's freedom from all reserve had quite rea.s.sured her, although, as she repeated to herself, her fears had not been altogether groundless, since the girl's interest in the stranger was evident from her manner of speaking of him. Even when she blamed him there was an unwonted seriousness in her voice and manner, she really seemed to have suddenly grown older.

Egon appeared punctually at eight o'clock in accordance with his invitation, and immediately afterwards Albrecht arrived, not by any means pleased to find the Candidate installed as a member of the circle. His humour was not improved by hearing Herr von Osternau request the tutor to consider himself henceforth as one of the family, joining them at tea whenever he felt so inclined, without further invitation, a privilege hitherto enjoyed by the Lieutenant alone. The two other inspectors never appeared at the tea-table without being specially invited to do so.

In fact, Lieutenant von Osternau did not at all enjoy himself on this particular evening. Until now he had been the enlivening element of the little circle, he had, as it were, formed the centre of conversational interest, but he suddenly found himself superseded by the Candidate, who conducted himself with an easy a.s.surance inconceivable in a man of his station, receiving Herr von Osternau's gracious advances as if they were a matter of course, and taking part in the conversation as though perfectly accustomed to intercourse with people of rank.

And yet, as the Lieutenant could not but admit to himself, the Candidate never thrust himself forward, never attempted to lead in the conversation. When it naturally turned upon his mastery of Soliman, he made no claim to any special bravery or skill, but smilingly put by all the compliments addressed to him, and skilfully changed the subject by remarking upon the interest he had felt in the harvesting, which had been to him so novel a spectacle. He thus gave Herr von Osternau an opportunity to expatiate upon his favourite theme.

When the lord of the castle was once fairly launched upon this subject he usually held forth at great length, but to-day, when Herr Pigglewitch mentioned the singing of the girls and men as they raked the hay, Herr von Osternau called to mind the praise given by Herr Kramser to Herr Pigglewitch's pleasing voice, and he suddenly closed his discourse by a request that the Candidate would gratify him with a song.

With ready amiability Egon went instantly to the piano, where he sang to his own accompaniment, and in a full, rich baritone, a simple Folksong:

"In Oden forest stands a tree With branches fresh and green, Beneath its shade a thousand times I with my love have been."

The Lieutenant observed, with positive rage in his heart, the effect which this song produced upon every member of the family. Frau von Osternau, who was busy at her tea-table, dropped her hands in her lap at the first notes, and listened intently, with eyes fixed upon the singer. Her husband sat leaning back in his arm-chair, scarcely daring to move, for fear of losing one delicious tone, while Lieschen bent forward in rapt delight with sparkling eyes and parted lips, and when the last sounds had died away, and Egon arose to take his place again beside her at the tea-table, she looked up at him with a dreamy, far-away expression in her dark eyes, which told how great had been her enjoyment, although she said not a word.

"Charming! Delicious!" Herr von Osternau exclaimed. "Thank you! thank you! I never heard that song so exquisitely sung. Every note came from the heart, and, of course, went straight to the heart. You understand, Herr Candidate, how to render our 'folksongs' with the simplicity that belongs to them, without any of our modern frippery hung about them."

Egon bowed slightly. Herr von Osternau's cordial enthusiasm was gratifying, but Lieschen's eyes, as she looked up at him, filled him with a delicious intoxication, which, however, quickly evaporated when the Lieutenant, feeling forced to repress his irritation, uttered a few commendatory phrases in order to display his appreciation of music. His praise sobered Egon at once. He would willingly have disclaimed it in a few sharp words, but he suppressed them out of regard for the master and mistress of the house. He was glad to have further discussion of his song interrupted by old Hildebrandt's entrance with the post-bag, which had just arrived from Station Mirbach.

"A letter for you already, Herr Pigglewitch," Herr von Osternau said, handing Egon an envelope.

Egon hesitated for a moment to take the letter which could not possibly be for him, but there was no help for it, and he laid it on the table before him.

"Read your letter, Herr Pigglewitch, you need not stand upon ceremony,"

Herr von Osternau continued, kindly. "Here in the country the advent of letters is quite another matter than the receiving them in town. We live here so secluded from the world that letters are all we have to connect us with it, and of course we wish to open our envelopes as soon as they are brought to us. The post-bag comes in at this time every evening, and each of us instantly opens and reads whatever it brings him or her,--the contents often give us matter for discussion and conversation. So pray read your letter, I will set you an example by opening mine, whilst my wife, Lieschen, and Cousin Albrecht look through the papers and journals."

He broke the seal of his letter as he spoke, and became instantly so absorbed in its contents that he did not observe that Egon thrust the one addressed to Herr Pigglewitch into his breast-pocket without opening it.