CIHM Microfiche Series (l\Aonog raphe) ICMH Collection de microfiches (monographies) la CanwMan ImtltiiM for Hittorieal Mleronproduetioiw / Imtltut Canadian da mierarapraduetiont MMoriquaa TIM Intltam hM atmnpMd to obMn Um ba copy (MilaMt (or lilmlni. FMtwn of this a of no MM(M in Mo npnuucuoit, oc v liflnificantlv choiici tho umol motfiod of fflnint, i CoMn dMiM(td/ CoMft roitofos •nd/or tamiiiMiri/ ComrtH UtHnt D D D D n D □ ColoondplotMand/brUtanraiiom/ I D CiflH fliovapMaiioi on ooHloiir Colowod ink «A eaw than btao or Mockl/ Enoro da aoaloor (i^. autra qua Maiia ou noinl I Fiandiai at/ou iiiiiiuationi an eouioar Bound witli ethor malarial/ (Mit aaaa d'awrai doaiimanti |-,Ti^t aiona intarior matoln/ La raNwa Mnta pout lalonidala I I Blanklaaaaiaddaddiifkiti 1 I witnin tno taxt. Wlianavar lliapautquaoartalnatoatatblancho i ajouito km d'uno raitaufatton awaraiaiant dam la tax*. □ Additional eommantt:/ Coramantairat uippltaiantaira): L'lmtitut a mienfilm* la maillaur axanvlaira ^'11 hij a M peaiMa da M praamr. Latdtoilidaoat amnplain «d MM paut-Mia vniquat du point da n raprodirfta.ouqui pouaant axlfar una modHiaation damlofl □ Coloimd popf / Nfai da oeidaiir I IPamdamiad/ laataurfai at/ou poNieiiMai dbaotourad. ttainad or foxad/ r~| hfH raitorad andter laminatad/ [-^ Slioi»tlirou|h/ HQuaHty of print vaiiat/ Oualit* in*(ala da I'impiatMMi □ Continuow pofination/ hfination continua □ Indudai indaxlail/ Comprand un IdatI indax Titia on haadar takan from:/ La titn ii> i'an-ilta pmriant: liaraiion Titra da dipart da la li>rai>on □ TitIa pat* of Itnia Pati da titra da la r^ Caption of itwa/ D Gintriqua (piriodiquat) da la linaiian Tkititafflii Cadocwnai MX ItX aiouft 10X 2ZX »X SOX y 1 ~ 12X 11X 2DX MX kM^ ax '~~^ ' nx TiM copy fllmwl hara hu bami raproduoad thanks to tha gananwity of: National Library of Canada L'axsmplaira fllm* fut raprodult grica * la g«n«rotlt« da: BIbllotMqua natlonala du Canada Tha Imagaa sppaaring h* a ara tha baal quality ponlbia conaldaring tha condition and laglUHty of tha original copy and In kaaping with tha filming contract ipacHloatlons. Original coplaa In printad papar eovara ara fllmod jaglnning with tha front covar and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or llluttratad Impraa- slon, or tha back covar whan approprlata. All othar original coplaa ara fllmad baglnning on tha first paga with a printad orlllustratad Impraa- slon. and anding on tha laat paga whh a printad or lllustratad Impraaslon. Tha last racordad frama on aach microfleha ahaH contain tha symbol -*> Imaaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol ▼ (meaning "END"), whichavar appllas. Maps, plataa, charts, ate., may ba fllmad at diffarant raductlon rathw. Thosa too largo to ba antlraly Inehidad In ona axporura ara fHmad baglnning In tha uppar laft hand comar. laft to right and top to bottom, as msny framas as raqulrad. Tha following diagrams lllustrata tlia mathod: Laa Imagas sulvantaa ont ttt raprodultas svac la plus grand soln, compta tanu da la condition at da la nattat* da I'axamplairs fllm<. at an conformM avac las conditions du contrat da fllmaga. Laa axamplalraa orlglnaux dont la couvartura an paplar ast imprimta sont fllmts an commandant par la pramlar plat at an tarmlnant soK par la damMrs paga qui comporta una ampralnta dimpiasslon ou d'lllustratlon, solt par la sacond plat, salon la caa. Tous las autraa axamplalraa orlglnaux sont fllmts an comman9ant par la pramltra paga qui comporta una ampralnta d'Imprasslon ou d'lllustratlon at an tarmlnant par la damlira paga qui comporta una talla ampralnta. Un daa symbolsa sulvsnta apparaltra sur la damMra Imaga da chaqua microfleha. salon Is caa: la symbola — »- signlfis "A SUIVRE". Is symbols V signlfia "FIN". Las cartas, planchas, tsblsaux, ate., pauvant ttra fllm The Benefactress BY THE AUTHOR OF " "ELIZABETH AND HER GERMAN GARDEN - Ston tebaif »er bttnng WlUUUI BDSCH. THIS ™x,ON MUST NOT B. IMPO.TED .NT» 0|«*T B^AIi. O. ™. UNITID STATIS. ""TAIll OK TM TORONTO THE COPP, CLARK COMPANY, Limited 1901 P(i(o62S «• practicSlyS: he J" ^^K Estcourt of tlie Devonshire Est! S^r'minH *" .tPh'lo-opher. and phZIhe"" never mind anythmg. But Anna was in T less agreeable situation. She was not a ?hi CsJ,h^ ^aT'^V^"''^^' '^^ had bestowed SS inilA ^^"'^ everything, and she was of an wheSere*is"'ir„= '"^ "^ '"dependent nature" .(,».!!^".-^*^ was younjger and more high-flown she sometimes talked ofsweeping crossing Z,^ •'e^^ster-in-kw Susie would not h*LrTSinJL and dressed her beautifully, and tc^k her ouT^d ?^w" ^V""^. '"'^ dine and do as other jri?ls did being of opinion that a rich husband of g^ position w^ more satisfactory than crossings^^ fecf h?«te" Anna was so pretty that the per- ^ Whi'^"lA\t° ^ '^ ■"«« question of &Kf « • could the most desirable of men. * b?WkcWn!,''/°'"'*^'""» ^''' ^=">* ">«« than so bewitching a young creature ? But he did not come, somehow, that man of Susie's dreamsrand after a year or two, when Anna began to under stand what all this dressing and J^ncing reallv sh^d^H'"^'1^u'■ '^'}''^ hSl oflfersfromyopK she d,d not like, and had herself fallen 1^6 Ztl 7°"*'' °* "° /"^^"^ ^ho was prudent enough to marry somebody else with money, she I'^, THE BENEFACTRESS •hrank back andsrew colder, and objected more and more decdecBy to Susie's strenuous private matrimonial urgings, and sometimes made remarks of a cynical nature to her admirers, who took frieht at such symptoms of advancing age, and fell off considerably in numbers. It was at this period, when she was barelv t^renty-two, that she spoke of crossings. Sule had seriously reprove/ her for not mfet-ng the adi^nces of an o d and rich and single person alluded to the number of pounds she had spent on her every year for the last three yeare, antfthe necessity for putting an end. by marryhg, to all tbs outlay; and instead of being sensibH and talking things over quietly, AnnaLd pou A out a flood of foolish sentiments about the m; rv of knowing that sne was expected to be nice to eTety man with money, the intolerableness of the lUe she was leading, and the superior attractions «Wh^, you haven't enough money for the broom,'^sa.d Susie impatiently. "Vou can't sweep without a broom, you know. I wish Jou were a little less silly, Anna, and a little more grateful. Most girls 4ouId jump at the splendid opportumty you've got now if m^anying, aKk- d^?l and who lived t^nr« ^ %''[^ ^ '* •" P°^''''e to 'niagine. Peter te^"i.°^ ^u-^y-.. ^"°^ ^as subject to pr" ?™!!^.*l°*,'='""y '"«"«• Susie used, at such lTof°th*-"^ regretfully of the cheerful Dobbs ^^V°* *''^"" ^""''^ '^'^ congenial vulgarity. hnSr /.'"'* "J^" eighteen, Susie? prospects brightened for a time. 1)oors that had been shut ever since she married, opened before heron her appeanns: with such a pretty rSiuianU under her Sl'f lif ". ^°"ld enjoy (he reflected glory o ^JTJ-^^^^ triumphs. And then, without any a^ST".* 5?ason, Anna had altered so strangdv and had disappointed every one's exoecteSs^' never encouraging the right man, never S to ^tteA ^f"^'. \-' ^Per^tingly careless on^H matters of vital importance, and ending by show- mg symptoms of freezing into something of the S^ £''°r P^'""^ '*^*^*^ P^*«^- Their mother hsd been German -a lady-in-waiting to one of tfte Uerman pnncesses; and their father had met THE BENEFACTRESS 9 her and married her while he was secretary at the English Embassy in St. Petersbuig. And Susie, who had heard of German philosophy and Ger- man stolidity, and despised them both with all her heart, concluded that the German strain was ac- countable for everything about Peter and Anna that was beyond her comprehension; and some- times, when Peter was more than usually wise and unaRjroachable, would call him Herr Schopen- hauer—which had an immediate effect of pro- ducing a silence that lasted for weeks; for not only did he like her least when she was playftil, but he had, as a matter of fact, read a great deal of Schopenhauer, and was uneasily conscious that it had not been good for him. While Peter fished, and meditated on the van- ity of human wishes at Estcourt, Anna, with rare exceptions, was wherever Susie was, and Susie was wherever it was fashionable to be. For a week or two in the summer, for a day or two at Easter, they went down to Devonshire; and Anna might wander about the old house and CTounds as she chose, and feel how much better she had loved it in its tumble-down state, the state she had known as a child, when her mother lived there and was happy. Everything was aggres- sively spruce now, indoors and out. Susie's money and Susie's taste had rubbed off all the mellowness and all the romance. Anna was glad to leave it again, and be taken to Marienbad, or any place where there was royalty, for Susie loved royalty. But what a life it was, going round year after year with Susie! London, Devonshire, Marienbad, Scotland, London again, following to THE BENEFACTRESS less pleading everJ^^v^Tc' I ^ ^""^^ ^°S^^ moni rWfj^^ c^ J^^^- *^ "^'" «ye and ear erew looked rhZT^ I ~f' • ^« whether any of t looked cheerful; and it was the rarest fW«„ * come across an« «^«...:-_ ,^ . '^"^! ^^'ig to iKest interest n; r^oot t^^lu^- ^^^^f' '^^ ^' ^^e accord on\Kd it "^^ *'"" ''^'^ ^'*'' °«« THE BENEFACTRESS „ She passionately resented her position of de- Se &W fr^' ^"^ ^^^ passionately resented n^!J^ p the only way to get out of it was to many. Every hme she had an o£Fer. she first of t^^^ >^* r u"""'«y **t astonished the unhappy suitor, and then spent days and nights o agony because she had refused il and becfuse Susie wanted her to accept it, and because of an oTheTheK^ ' H^"'"' 't'^"^ "^^'^ P°2ession of her heart. How could Peter live so placidly at Susies expense, and treat her with such a 3 Plete want of tenderness? Anna's love for hTr brother diminished considerably directly she be- g^n to understand Susie's lifei It was surh » heroicaUy smiling in the face of ^U-treatment No one cared for her in the very lea^ She had hundreds of acquaintances. wX> w^ild^^t her dinners and go away and poke fun at her ter r„°^ r"?,«'' ^t"^- "«^ ^"^band lived on her and hardly spoke to her. Her boy at Eton an amazing png, looked down on her. ^Her little daughter never dreamed of obeying her Anna herself was prevented by gome stubborn spS? of fetidiousness, ev^dently'not possessed™y any o^ her contemporanes, from doing the oJy tiiinj Susie had ever really wanted hir to do -mam? mg, and getting herself out of the way? wffif Susie were a vulgar little woman of no education and no family That did not make ifany Ae more glonpus for the Estcourts to take all thev could and Ignore her existence. It wS S er alf the bottom of her heart; such a forlorn little It THB BENEFACTRESS VMJ in peace. The privacy of the «rreat nili^r on the perplexities of life^l hel~H f„ k u''?"'" " The world is a dreadful olace full nf ..»i. people." she though, looking ou't on' to'the'SfJ THE BENEF.'^TRESS ,« with unhappy eyes. " Each one by himself, with no one to comfort him. Each one with more than he can bear, and no one to help him. Oh. a I could. I would help and comfort everyone could?" " ** heart, or sorry— oh, if I And she dreamed of all that she would do if she were Susie— rich, and free from any sort of interference — to help others, less fortunaie, to be happy too But, since she was the very reveree of nch and free, she shook off these dreams, and made numbers of good resolutions instead — resolutions bearing chiefly on her future behaviour towards Susie. And she would come out of the church filled with the sternest resolves to be ever afterwards kind and loving to her; and the very firet words Susie uttered would either irritate her into speeches that made her sorry, or freeze her back into her ordinary state of cold aloofness. . If Susie had had an idea tliat Anna was pity- ing her, and making good resolutions of which she was the object at afternoon services, and that m her eyes she had come to be merely a cross which must with heroism be borne, she pi^b- Mj would have been indignant. Pitying people thingp. The first is soothing and sweet, the sec- ond is annoying, or even maddening, according to the temperament of the patient. Susie how- ever, never suspected that anyone could be sorry tn'ji^'"'/'"^ ^'hen, after a party, before they went to bed Anna would put her arms round her and ^Za i ^ disproportionately tender kiss, she would show her surprise openly. "Why what's '4 THE BENEFACTRESS Ann![?"'" Fori' *°"',t """ ,"A"°*" "oo* It was when Anna was twenty-five anH m.,^k nons as to the why and wherefore of the aimlesi use ess existence s>.e was leading, that thi woTd.^ ful thing happened that change! her wholHSr CHAPTER II chin, He Aert^^citoErCl"^"'^' i~- >ng his sister's life when aT^^^'" ?"<* <*«"•• Peter was unmrriS. Ld 4^^^, '^^ '^ happy toeether at Estcourt aL "?!**"• »•«* introduction into the fa^/f ""^^^^^e's when Anna was berinnin^T^ J ^ at rthat period hair behind hw^eTrf ^ *° s«fife„.^ p^ ^^ hefuTatenLtnlSeaS"^^!!!?*'^ otSea^^a^lSs" foffi'^uJ^nTas-aSt^^^^ have h A° fe^L^K h^J'^ISSS^ all Germans, and thouD-ht Jhf^ J^*?^***^ to dreadful old man. IWele 'weSSfa* * humorous comments on »,;= , f *"eti '"*^'*^- •5 M •• THE BBNEFACTRBaB •ma picture-gallenei, sometinws alone end JanZ Uncfc Joachim »aie„,^ S^haS^k?, *" ♦u-. • * , "" *"** seem of a certaintv tr^ u^ the voices of aneels An,j «- • ^^"*'n'y to be TH* BBNBFACTKCas „ to IW;. he S loScS at W ^7 ""8"'* "P wenT3«S f 1/^^"* ¥'^wed him wherever he "ax, *® ?°°«* Peter s but a QuaiscAlr^-r' "A Quatsikkopf?'' echoed An.T^Tk''^ 18 a Quaisckkop/r * '" *''^ *°'''d Uncle Joachim did notimmediately iplv TW i8 THE BENEFACTRESS AlUsdurchmackt auf Reisen / " he siirheH Ti,- heput his handkerchief back into hfs i^ui; i ^*'l up at Anna, who was standfnl n fmn'^f v''°f ''^ Dobbs s a vulgar woman ,Kr-' ^T-, ^'^'»''^ « M^i. • ^^"'6*"^ woman who is not nch ennncrK " byh^r^"o?ey!"°^^LYrtr^"^V^^^^^^^ It wouy aeal^SfcS,-^^^ else. should be a millionnaire mI ^^"^'l* woman Hut not somebody else's." comes it that you are not marJlS ? » '" """' ^°" Anna frowned. "Nnu/ .,«,. Susie." she said ^°" *"= S^^'^g Hke THE BENEFACTRESS «9 " &* ~~ ^^^ ^^^ y°" tJ^t often ? " And what knows she ? " said Annf^- *** [ '"g^t«° everybody awav" that I loycross-tiratfr^f ^^^ *° P^^P'^- isn t really independence." ^ oesiaes, it I "?°'' ^ •^°™*" i* is the one life" said rinni- Joachim with great decision. ••Taik nS to m^ o sirti*^- JJJ5^-^^^ -not frth*° ,s husVnd if^ \woman s pnde to lean on a good Lr home, for heThaSne 1 is not' ""rh '"'^' °* " MdJn^ IS'r ^ .4'SdTthin2^^f ^-- .. { ™° * believe it," said Anna. ^ It IS nevertheless true." " J'°°.'^ *t Susie — is she so happy ? " only I were independent I " ^"'' ** ■^ THE BENEFACTRESS What halrZu t'^^tli^h'^^lif^ *°"'- woman's head, made if ever ?^' J ^' H P""^ a good man's shoSr ? " ^ •"■ *° '^° °" ging her ( uncle, whose hS roll^ho 't^I ^ *^?.^"' ^^" man comes alonfaJ^^r^^^^^ ^ «°-^ her^cT^k for aTom".*?' '^* V' '^^' -"d laid is theTnhr gc^^'^Tn^* T' M* '^ ^ ''^^^^- " This on/'sheZI MfTwereanl^^^^^^ ^^^' '^^'^ what I would preachT" ^ ^^'' ''° y°" ^"°«^ preach? EarTylndlaS? T ''"°"' *''^* ' ^""'^ ::MuchSttdLb?s^"^^ onfy; and they wouTd be i" """"^ ■*°'' ^"""^ She sat ud and ?^t«f warnings agamst props." of her eyes ^bdt h™.^ ^* ^1"^ °"* °^ '^e comers space. ^ ' ^ ^^ continued to stare stonily into indeperdlVlT?.*;ir^^^^^^^ -^ ^^ -*• ' Be talk so much, aK Se r^""*^'"* ' ^°"'* and let your neielAour^^ v 9? y.^"' °*n way. other peopleSvou M '■ ?°" * "^^ddle with cutoutfor you Sin^r^lT ^" ^T °^" ^o^k all the props ^'"^ ^^^ ^°'''^^- Shake ofif THE BENEFACTRESS . ^, ^ Anna, thou art talking folly " stairvter but Jo =;innl 8° *lone-.crawl, stumble, loved, then? " he a^H.f TJ^!"" "P* ^'^^f ?ever ■:ii! '""Ves'-^e^l^^^^^^^ 1 1,1?! *^"* ^'^^y '"^ """ried somebody ei- I had no money, and she had a great d«l t to her with botfi hfnl '^^"''iependence. giving with it? She read the™ th^ 'T^ "?ssing alonf fully, holding them w^tn ST^^ ^.^ain. very care- was true Ihe SaTt^ ^'""Suu''.^"'^^- Yes, it for very love anTtendemZ' ^,'''''"g over them melted into graSde^„!,T\'?" whole being by a sense ofK HWe sh^ . T. »"'' ^^^«*™ct by the thousandTove Ivri *'^'^,:J«?'^ed it, dazzled of an eye. hi lak^a "'^ ^'^'' '" '^^ *^'"Wing THE BENEFACTRESS - class goose>mDobbshadfumirhe?PererS^^^^^ wise defective npsf »io u^j , ""^"^""sother- P=n«c.ce brXTlj'-?^'"'" *^^ °"'- "«»««^» only to ml— »"' *''' '^''"■"' ^"^ kinti^STuS " Never mind what he was " int«M,.»,4^ a_ • still more impatiently. .• What hSSn*'?'* you? Tell me that/ You always SiS^lf^' o you - Peter too - that he had E^ ^^ places somewhere in the deirt S^^"*" ? boys What could he do for y^u > ^ **"' °* uo for mt ? " Anna rose up with a«ik«.-:^ worthy of the ei^at news about t^ ffh^"'^ both her hands on Susie's little shodZ^fl^ •°He' hi'?r '' •^^^^'^'^ shining eytSb^ saSSfaylar""*^^^ '""^'"^ •'^^^V^'ou^' aw;s?™?k.*'°""""" "'^°^'^ Susie. ««mp,fett,y " Marks," said Anna. • " °''i'"*j'«s." said Susie, chilled. " Thaf*«irm™ .sn t ,t ? I really thought for a moJJ^^"'' They re more than francs. It brinssiin «« ,„ average two thousand pounds a yeaT"%J^'" thousand — pounds — a — year" rei>«it«*i^~ nodding her^ead at each^^ok ."^nS fe what do you think of that? " ^^' ^^^ " What do I think of it ? Why that if,sw«-«. i. Where would you all have bS'l w^SSS only had two thousand a year? " "**^'''' ^n** JO THE BENEFACTRESS "Oh, congratulate me I" cnV? 4» ner una. « Ki*. m- - j . « *° Anna, openins' Don't you see St ,%,!!*'« " "".3^°" "^fft That w ne^never th1^t°l?'T *'*"^» '"^t W? That you ^^l ne^er have'to^K ''"'"«"''« ^g'"''? clothes, and never S Joir SonLr T "'°'* more trotting me round? FT ll, **'* °"t any us is to be congratuCLi » °u ' '51°"' "'''i^h o7 looking at Susi^wl h kI °'*' f ¥ ^'^''^d laughing «he insisted onSi^: ^J^" ^V" ot tea«. Ven foolish things"n hir ir fL"?r'-*"'' ""rmurlj all her hoJd i^y"^! .I^^'K^'^S "^ sony for determined no^^betZ^I^''^''^ ^^ her, aHd S " My t&ar Anna .ri8°°d for ever and ever. liked inlh^e^S n?vTt!!rt^ ^^'^'' ^^^^^s- exhibitions of feelljg^'^f ^"/J^;^'^ »" '"espona .o you. It almost seems as if Tr^- ' ^°"«'atulate chances in the way you have J^r"« ^^f^' °"«'« tl"ng to do, and is £ 1^*,^!^^ *^ ^''e right waste time. You k,SwL^T"i^\. '^O"'* let us has he left Peter ?" ^° °"* *° dinner. What foesR^^^^ different. He-he Joachim knew that » ' ^^ °^ <^°""e Uncle 'oo'k^atr Ste.".^ ''-•^ ^ot a penny. Let me ,J^They..in German. You won-tbeablefo^ the worJd 4o can do tWn^" *' ""'^ P^^"" '" THE BENEFACTRESS hot and cold by tumf with f„- u?*, ^°°}''"^ o". Chance her earl/ stSs^ho..&^''l '?* ^^ »°'"e been quite forgotten "°* ''^*'^' *" '"^e saidlTdenr^&ir^o'r^"'^"^''^"- It is something Dobb? wK^ ''\'"'^".^ '"•=• rS;' I"™ fre oo others." and with the most excruciaSnr?. ''^"^.'"? Anna, w« ever heard. " ' SrS^i/ Z'Sf!? '''^* lichen die bureerlich^rVl. / *^/«*^, »»«/ What stuS h^^^'ltll ^y'i!''"^^^ Yet I must Wblen J^" ^^-^^'^ understand it. the prize. Whit \^Lf^ ^ " ^* ^^''oo'- *« get me look." She ?o?fe,l"t"P-'"''^"*- "^et session. " Oh thf ?s whit I ^'"'^. '"^^ ^^' ^^ doesn't think it fair t£^^'rsL?/l!''^V^ ever on ou and Peter." ^ * ''"'■''^° 'o"" " Weil, that's sensible enoue-h Th»„ij , , some sense in him after alSurd'^tt^ugh'TS 3' THE BENEFACTRESS and vulgar. ItwwVfair, of course ^A <. say anything disagreeable or f K ,^°r" * ""^^n ^ for you in your fi7hut%°f, ^^T ^" ^ ''^^^ done wouldhavemadrthesacn-fiSi^"""; *"^ "others forsister^-in-W-SuSfc "Dear Susie," saidVnni f '^^^"^^^"o^her." arm round her rearf^ f V* tenderly, putting her than all. the l^Sshe'&^'^'^S^ '^'^ ^"'^^o'e been only too kinS' ntgenerou? t f ^°" u^^^^ owe vou everything in the wnHJ ^'"?°* *hat I how fovely it fs for me to fee7thi; ^"^ i"'* ^'^J' my weightoffyourshouldere Vn """^ ^ ^^" ^^''^ h ve with me now. whenever v„" """' *'°"'" ^"'^ and ni feel so proud hav^-2 '^- "'^'^ °* ^^'^Ss, " Live with you ? "excSfd^s" • "i"^ ^°"^ ' self away. •■ ^here —^""^^ Susie, drawing her- :: W therruupp^s^ «°'"^ *° "- ^ -^ "NoYu.7/ /%'''^t^ condition?" Hope^yw^l,^ardVanrs^^^^^ ^ -^IT^ he after the place " "^ '^o*" and look ing. haveVou ? He w^nl ^^^f '?"'='' ^^out l^rm- German." . ^"^ "^ ^ turn quite into a ^^^Good gracious," cried Susie, genuinely horri- nJte^SS^^^o work, and ^ Talkmgwhat?" « ^'^'•^'^'*- THE J- •vNEFACTRrrs 33 " Near Stralsund." ask he/to bring her atL" "^'^ ™' ^'" ^^"^^ ^"'^ is morf than we have "^ ^ "^' ^"^ ""'P^' ''^''^ opJiheT of trToveTnl "?«Ve^S feSy1.^Toi"r^ f ^"-^ nigS7reVe°y brother who w/,i}' suffered greatly from having a comhS ou? 7nn "^P' P^'""^' examinations and coming out top, and was consequently subiertpH herself, by an ambitious mother who w?s suri that herseTfl^to:^"'"^^'^^^^'^ '""^ wS only^ ^^iJ( ?f 'y f^amination that happened to LeKentfhl'f h ^'' ?f^ ' ^° '^^' sheS Mi s paring for fS ^^^^ ^•*'?^''°" ^^^ defensive. pre- r-rfaftti^;'^^^^^^ bru^hin!?n7.r''r'"^'^ '^"^'^ of '^ashing and Drushmg. and then Letty marched into the draw- ing-room her atlas under her arm and deep susi cion on her face. But no bland and treacherous exammer was visible, covering his S n^ry 34 THE BENEFACTRESS movements with ehastiv «i mother and her preVllfnt'^'"''"*"^*'- °"'y her sheope'nS^theS"'^^" ^^^^-^ci together, as she^2gr'P^^^''°^-''«tared. "What'sthatr. "uttl^lt''^~^ P'^« m Gerwanv" "o-ey I We 4^, ™" *■> S" 'lial after ail thf MOW ««.? • i" 'on your education you don't ?^'p^!s:,%zts''''"' *- "" to a"d ^e^ at'^rlP- 'S^'S t'^'r " th,s .sgoing to be an SLJS- 'H'*'* "aid it to do many .hing^XcouirS"™ "* '"^ k" a»d.|ooic (or it. wKS j SV""'' "" <=«"»"" .•Slf—^-^-SMaST^rtS "*'""'' •^'^•^-■-■dLe.ty^oodi,,, THE BENEFACTRESS 3^ K ^i^t!"* T'^° ^""^ ^I^" ^^s always kind to ners ! Surely it is hard on a person of fourteen to h/^"^ ^?"^ °^ ?j°y'"g l'^^^" as anybody else' 00m ^t^T'''^'^'t"'^P' "P^t^i^ '" a dreary th^^MM ^ •"" '* *'''"'"§• and the voices df the children passing come up joyously to the orisoh windows, and all the world fs out of dooiVl lS thought so and Miss Leech thought it hard on a person of thirty, and each tried to consoe the other lectures strSl """"^fl^S vistas of classes anS S^ of f ,^"^^7 ^^^"'"^ and behind them dot ed at intervals, oh. so frequent ! with the black spots of examinations ? Was not the pavemen? of ^nTA'^^f' '"i^^ ^^"«'"gton Square^nd of aU those distncts where girls can be lectured into wS dom,qu,te worn by tKeir patient feet ? And then the accomplishments I Oh, what a life it was A man came twkea week and insisted on LacWng her ?K^'^'''^i3^ highly nervous man, who jerked hir elbow and rapped her knuckles with his K when- and ^.H?l^f^°"*°**r'*'^'^'^^as all the time, and made bitter remarks of a killinelv s^rcJtir nature to Miss Leech when she stumbS She accompaniments On Wednesdays there wis a dancing class where a pinched young lady phyed tifeliris th.T """^"'^ tumed-out toes taught sweaf 1 £ K ^"^^"S ^T'^'S his bread in the ch^?hL V ''™'^- ".^ *'^ ^as sarcastic, but he clothed his sarcasms in the garb of kindlv fun laughing gently at them himseff, and expeSg hb 36 THE BENEFACTRESS pupils to laugh too; which they did uneasily, for the fun was of a personal nature, evoked by the clumsiness or stupidity of one or other of them, and none knew when her own turn might not come. The lesson ended with what he called the March of Grace round the room, each girl by herself, no music to drown the noise her shoes made on the bare boards, the others looking on, and the master making comments. This march was ter- rible to Letty. All her nightmares were connected with it. She was a podgy, dull-looking girl, fat and pale and awkward, and her mother made her wear cheap shoes that creaked. " Miss Estcourt has new shoes on again," the dancing master would say, gently smiling, when Letty was well on her way round the room, cut off from all human aid, conscious of every inch of her body, desperately trying to be graceful. And everybody tittered except the victim. " You know. Miss Estcourt," he would say at every second lesson, " there is a saying that creaking shoes have not been paid for. I beg your pardon ? Did you say they had been paid for? Miss Estcourt says she does not know." And he would turn to his other pupils with a shrug and a gentle smile. On Saturday afternoons there were the Popular Concerts at St. James's Hall to be gone to — Susie regarded them as educational, and subscribed — and Letty, who always had chilblains on her feet in winter, suffered tortures trying not to rub them ; for as surely as she moved one foot and began to rub the other with it, however gently, fierce enthu- siasts in the row in front would turn on her— old gentlemen of an otherwise humane appearance, rapt I " 'I THE BENEFACTRESS j, ladies with eyeglasses and loose clothes -and sh_sh- her with Furious hissings into immobility. aZa Y ly*^ ^"'^ ''* «*'"• Miss Leech, who K It ?u '"'"y-.*""''' ""Pl°re in a whisper; but f u-iuf ^^•"°.*.''^'^*''^'" ^^" know the torture of chilblains inside thick boots, where they cannot be got at ? As soon as the chilblains went, the Sat- F^iV^""!:!.' '^^l °^' ^"'^ '* ^e^'ned as though Fate had nothing better to do than to be spiteful. It was indeed a dreadful thing, thought Lettv as she bent over the map of Germanv, to be young and to have to be made clever at all costs. Here w^ her aunt even, her pretty, kind aunt, asking her geography questions at seven o'clock at night when she thought that she had really done with lessons for one more day, and had been so much enjoying Leechys description of the only man she ever loved while she comfortably toasted trtffH ^^^ «^^°o''•.o?'n•fi'•e• Anna, who spent such lofty hours of spiritual exaltation at St. Paul's and came away with her soul melted into pity for the unhappy, and yearned with her whole being to help them, never thought of Letty as a creature who might perhaps be helped to cheerfulness with a little trouble Letty was too close at hand; and enthusiastic philanthropists, casting about for ob- jects of charity, seldom see what is at their feet It was so difficult to find Stralsund that by the time Letty s wandering finger had paused udon it busie could only give one glance of horror at its position, and hurry away with Anna to dress. ,o!l?h';n?k'^°R,''^,''^J^ P'^^^"^^ •' to be farther south, in the Black Forest, or some other roman- tic region, where it would have amused her to go 3« THE BENEFACTRESS "1 a part of the woZ'fh u^'^}' ^^ '* couJd be except in eonnStri-tfdo^-^ hard], heard S Joacht had'SXVr ^^^^^- '•* --• Uncle joined. ItwoSdb^S,r"'r"ded and not et to go there and set up ho'etf '^°''''"f O' for her need not go; she waTalm. .^^P'"« ^^one. She SO. Anjlo'v, therlwaJno nV"'" '^^ ^°"W "ot once fhe money w^wh.rT'"'^ *° ^^^''^e at could spei^d it whl^Th u ^^^ ^3" ted, and she chim'sLpectoSwhomh."'"- ^.'* ""^Woa? go on getting forty SSaJd T u '" ^"'^^ P'^'i the place, and she wouW^liJ ,1 ^ ^^^ °"* "^ She ran upstairs to out on jf^*^"^ ''""tent- to have her hair done in the curr.^i*'''* ''^"^^' ^"^ so long eschewed. ShoulH =i? ^""^ "^^^^s she had charn,fngaspossibleSi1set"°'-'""''^''^^«^'fS every^bo^y was soyooda„dt^'"g*orld, where measure of beauty af d t/n^ '""''■ ^"^ add her beamed on Lett? « 1. '^"^^^ ^ the rest? She climbing slowly^^ferhf ^r °" ^'^^ «t-i^! from hsrand would carr^.-fl •"« ?tlas, and took it Miss Leech, who wasScHn?f V^''^ ''^^™«d o" schoolroom door- shJ hf ^/°'' ^^'^ P"PiI at the beamed on her ow^ rf fl f-™^^. °n her maid she .'ndeed at that m^en ta?trat'"f *'^ ^''^' ^^Sh young woman. Oh haoot hf °^ ^ ^^'^ beautiful should she do with so mnr^' ^^^^ ^"'^'^ ' What never had a penny TnTerfe^ ^ ^^'' ^ho had ^eipasmanypeopSSlf^^^^^^^^^^^^^ THE BENEFACTRESS 39 ^" J "^^5w' "^^^'■' "ever let them feel thaf tt,« under ob cations n;^ ci, ^ \ "" ^''ey were White HiltonTas curl-- J ^^^^^ ^^^^ into contact SThe clerSf aS^T'? ^'"S ^'' oflate had been fromlKe'rl'f vfn'th?^"^ who had preoared hpr fr,, ^^ c ^^' ■ f " *"e vicar being the'n aS^t^SolXZ^'J'^'V^'^^ mourned, had wanted to mar^ her "^It?h^ ^^^" I am twenty-five and staiH ttJJ^u .t. • . because able." she thought buf. J n^^ ^'V"'' ""^ ^""t" at the face in tie glass '^ "°* '''^^ ^'""'"g waSce^roTsttSwW^^^^^^^^ find Mnte„tm„\"*S°,''''t ?= "^'i''' '^°»'' waves." ncrseit, and Hilton's wonderful swfeSsfof SLir SSrSa^ "°' ^° -«' *« and kindness sMnJn^ ^ u ' '^^PP'ness and love :^.W^ 40 THE BENEFACTRESS bacUo beauty, by Uncle Joachim's timely inter- stoppeJiSvolunSly L^^theiV m^ f-'"8''"?' ^^^ a strange sound in A,lf j ?/ "*"versation. It was had said, on her rSm from tt' ^j"""'?^'" ^^^^ "but mamma and Aunt An^, ^^ ^Jrawmg-room, night for anything Wh^","f ^'\l^ weird to- me down for? t! ev didn\ tn ^°" ^'""'^ ^^X had was, and wanted to Sd out tjT '"''"" ^^^^'^""d wanted to see if /knew fa-^ J^^yP^^t^ndedthey that game. And Auni Ann "?°", '^* *hroug^ happy. I believe she^ Lfn "t ^T^' Wghtfufiy wants to go to StrafsunI ?or Ve^h^n "'"^^^' ^"^ And Lettv toot im kl ^ . ^ noneymoon." Leech, as i^duty^Cn^^^^^^^^ memory in regard to sS '^^!;^«hed her pup.Ts and the Hans! cUiergfS;'' "'"^ ^^"^nsfein M'^KL «H|| CHAPTER IV come back to them • t- p f ' ^^ '^""''^ °f course 4» THE BENEFACTRESS kind"ofe';iri^^^^^^^^ '' '^"'' "Ot that punt wa^ n^'ffat /he wanSrsA ^'"'iS '" » by the love of her le-s fortunt J'jf "^^ *''""'=d ?nd the sense of power to SDth.^"°*;''?"*"'^«' •ng to go and do'^it What shl rT'n"*^ ^^^ '""S" Peter was that he should t.li,^'"^ ^''''^^ o^ and help her throuo-h thl / ^ v^-' '° Germany his letter artved shV tt hT'''"''J ^°' ^^"^e the fir^t thing to iJdone '''" *''"' '^^' ^« appefrtoherthather b'rX !h' '?^"'*"'^' '^'^ «' and she wrote him a ELn.. °"'f 8° ^'''^ ''er; would.be able to ^ a'^t "l£ ^.^llll^r^.^r ''^ ^ -'6'^'=. cAcuses, and eood raents. BesiTs Deri^?J'[^'°™« """"^y "^nge- She knew he suffered from rL™' ^ ^"^'•"? ^^H- you have rheumatism fhT'"!*'^'": ^ncfwhen journey is ap^ufng """' '^°''^^' °^ ^ '°"g conSntm^J;;^^^^^^^^ clear on all matter, sity of Anna's g^irS to r •■"^°&"'«ed the neces- re^ardedPeteraftheCstnT'^'""^ ^^^ ^'^o guide; but she wZs n^ ^■"'?' companion and Her th;t he couW ^o^Jo T,?!^ ^^^" ^nna tol3 pecCapologised Annl% He oftenha,° T'^ ''■'^■ •n the spring, and perhaps het^it^nlw'""^'""' Pq^- THE BENEFACTRESS 43 Susie snifSFed " whlt'L^rtot £,Lf ^""« ^ - pause yea« never abt tol"^ ff'"^ »«' -^t. JJ'SJ |T go with you " "S ^wmjjBelf ^" "^ "You? But what ,k ^ ^ "Oh. ni throwthL'ove ^nd't ?^«^«"^^ ? " can come too. It will do her' Ge'?"^ i^tty mvitations to all the world Th ''?"'^'*« "S d.ng after Easter. LThadl^Zn^'^^' ^^■ This was oneof those triak^L^^ ""^tb Susie. K she, being in London at fU.-^""* »*« faced. felt that she coulS not b^J it" V""''^ •*^««- She ness pumey to the CoSnt " ""^^^^eburi! wanted to ielp SroToTthis^t''"''^ '^'^^^ On her return she would be altT'"^**^**""- fng discussed and expre^^her HI ^'^''^e^wed- havmg nu-ssed it with a sLnJ b o^P^^j!?^'' at mind. " ^ei^cne brow aoti » d kindle the Ss u^ugnter so plain. And then so fatl What a ^.^iffsriT'^ THE BENEFACTRESS She heraclf and Peter Zrlthtf ^^ «^' " ^™'"? It must be that LetVy aTe too n.. 'r*1.*°i^ """rtals. onlya disgusting practice hn? "^^' *'''*='' *»« "ot should beVtfowTro„./"!uP'n«veone,and had not ha§ such In oppoTuniTi'of T""'' k?"?^ specting her child for yeara aS °L "'"V^'^'y '"- prolonged examination ofTe'r".,? -^'"'^ °' **"'« she would not let any of the n^^v, k P"'"'' ^''^ ^^^^ eat at all, declarin^that K^ T ^"^^'''''g '« trains, expressing aVazeme„r?h.? «" 1° ^^*'" bring themselvef to toucrthi >'. Pfople should offered, and turning Ler Lck iSln ?°^'!i? ^°°d on two stout German I^lv u '" ™Patient disgust hausen, and i^hTwere en frT^" ^^^ ?°* '" ^' ^^^r- unmoved.by.herc:n^"mp?l^'oli^^^^^^ ^rom beginn ngtoend witL.,f ff ^^'•"ga chicken taking Repeated siS oT !„ 1 J° '' ""'^ '''^ °^*'^'" naturf from a higViZ \l,f''TP ^t'^^actory haviVtn "r:p?rTyLXar '^^' '""'^ '^^-. wherets Susie'^pal wa^"^^!^; ^f "^ very cheerful, t>on ; especially Joo/ wSs Leech ."" "''''""'• very strong, and so nearly fainteS' th?^° ^'""""^ obliged to notice it, and exoreSeH I ^"'-^ ^^« Anna in a loud and oeevithS 1 'conviction to «^ going to Ce a nSTce '"^' ''"* ^'^« ^^^^h into bed. -SISK •^""^' ^ ^'^^ -ept passions." ^'avelhng bnngs out one's wor^t . It is indeed strano-e • for ■• .■ , •ng equals the expecteiit i' . ''if'" *>* ""^h- i^ ""t . -■,. ^m and mutual 46 THE BENEFACTRESS finfl M*^ Start except the cold dislike of the finish. Many are the friendships that have found an unforeseen and sudden end on a journey, and few are those that survive it. But if Horace W^- pole and Grey fell out. if Byron andSh S were obliged to part, if a host of other pelonaZ Ship desirable, could not away with each other after a few weeks together abroad, is it toT wondered at that weaker vessels such as Susie and t1^2"h i'"y ^"^ I^''' ^^'^' should have found tS enS T""! ^"^^ ^°"*^°" *° Berlin sufficreni to enable them to see one another's failings with a clearness of vision that was startling?^ On the lawyer, a keen-eyed man with a con- spicuously fine face. Anna mide an entirely favour- able impression. WhenhesawthisgraciousyoZ ;^f M T^ channing eves, he perfectly understood 2ter°L />m'''"" s'^""" tiave been bewitched SS after a httle conversation, it appeared that she u^l."«° P^^l* '"*""*'°" °f ^^"ying out her uncles wishes, but. setting them coollylside nro^ posed to spend all the gSod German^rone^E ffeXnZa':^^™^^^"^^^^-^^^^^^ janS^ShSiiK^J^f^S Joachim's affairs before he himself had stepped into the paternal shoes, and the feeling of both fa her wanrferM""' '^' ^''^ ,"l^" ^'^'^ ^efn considemWy warmer than is usual between lawyer and cl™ of men Ta^^ *.£• '•'^'' ^"'^^'"g ^^^^ ^^fm-ne" ot men, that anything so pretty could also be un- ^mm.Mi^^^-%'^mkwr- § ■#iii«e¥'-^ THE BENEFACTRESS 47 restless liSSy ht iSc^'nn^- ''P ^'".1^ ^^*^^ ^"^ » who was the cause of T^.fyi""'* *^^* she it was benefactor's wishes Sus e ^^u« ^'^^ °^ ^ ^^^d him because his Sllaf tu^^tr' '^'"'''''^ she^htllirof^ri; ?ff S^-S^,,°^ .BeH- you see things doubleTr the r«. "J ^t^ t°P *at Anna thought nf flT u ^^^ "^ *e time. delightful lawyers fiiM' ^^"""'g Place, where Susie thought of ii^^^hP"?^,^'fh ™oney. place abroad IheS bv d S^"^ ' f '°" ^ ^''^ °"« walks from sight to sShtTn ft '*^^"* ^'^°"0'"y. cuous cakes Stead of tV. '^'"■•^"^ P™"""^ less cheap meS Letfv . n i"""^ satisfactory but walde. ^ ^* "^^'^g they started for Klein- CHAPTER V Stralsund is an old town of gabled houses an- "^t. churches, and quaint, rougfly pavJd s^^^s. dikes. It look Its best m the early summer when inff" '".'^ """""Jy P^»'"« on whosfedge k Ste c?oLfr° ""''^ 't'^Scups, and the ffttle Ini A £f ^^"S over them almost motionless and the cattle are out, and the larks sing, and Se orange and red sails of the fishine-smact/-% THE BENEFACTRESS gloomy da^I^aMh^^lnW^'-^'" '^'^ doubly oufiht to have shown sol^ *'"*^^ **>«" spnng ani has not done s^ th^ /'^^°t.^ ^ ^PP™^*=^ and driving rain and'^^t K , °f "g -'"^^^ this plain is merely a hl^t i ^° snowstorms, with a forlorn o'S^town Ly °^-'''"'*""^^« • corner. '°^" huddling m its farthest It was at its very bleakest =^A j morning that Susie and hlf fK '■^^"^** °'' the travelleS across it "What ^ J^^^ companions Susie, as mile afte; mil7tl , P'^^^' i exclaimed was still the same suc^2i^''o/^,r'"r''' .""'^ '^^'^ marshes, and plough fiewfP""^''"^''^^''^. group of furiously sS„SLT"' *•*/ "^^e b'rches bent double^fore^thf -^^ °'" °^ ^"ver part of the world to cZo 1^ ?• '^'"''- " What a uncle of youre was^.T^i'."^^ ''^e in I That old think vou^d eventafhPrTf^^'^ ^.^^ ^°"Jd be to spending even a stL^Y^i£ «?°d-. And imagine I r^'dn-t take a b^tSa^'^^r? '^"^ '''-• ^id AnAa. "Tn?! ^f. 'su^%„T^ ^^'i!?^"'^" nght to buy a place here ^ h. ^ /°^^''™ was " Oh, of couree, k'sZ^dl^fJ^^ ^'^^^s right. " up. Perhaps it gs s £ter fSh""^ to praise him see how anybody can smiri'"°"' ^"* ^ don't yearoutof/St'ikeSlk"'" *''° *'^°"«^"d a tainly7o?S2cr. tt'lS ftl ^ ^^ - anyplace would look dSnf^t *°^^ ^^"^^ *at much too happy in the fi^Tfl '^u "^f^^^^"' *"d was to be depresseK anvtW^l "f °^ '"dependence not that ve^ morLng^fe ^Sibe^dt i (I so THE BENEFACTRESS reast'offenT'''2^'''"S '^' ^^*°^f ''""^^'le ^o^ds. tainly not fS me™ S Mis,?' ^lL°"i '"«' ^^•- She had a profound ho^or J h^^''^' '''stressed, wildered by the wav in t^^^i,^^''^"^^' *"^ ^^^ be- ne spran/uD on^i "'•'' *^^ ^^eds of rheto- " ^ell^:^Z f;',^^^«'°-« >« ^etty-s speech! •'St;'*7>^"'>"^ear?" Chamed to heaven?" to heavenTtltty^^^' ''"^ ^^" ^ <='ty be chained ;; Then what did he say it for?" "Oh- •rT°«f^"'^taphor." -tapho/^i butSpJ^d'^mrt!;""" ^\^* » us^.n sieges, and P^Sj ^ ^^1 ^Srl^^^^ "lel^g^elS'nlK ^'^ ^-•'. " Poor beasts ," "'"'^'^s of slam on the field." "don't let-rSer la Wsf>" ^''^ "^'^P^'^d, Mr. Jessup. You'd ^ot m?" ""T" ^o on with Arnv for the fim timf " *° **'"'" ''^ ^"^d you loved, and his historj'^2 "f fhf t'"'^^ ''^'^ ^^«^ ^ was of absorbmg mterest to THE BENEFACTRESS ^S'A^r:Jff,''2''^-:iS his first appe " ?ubsequent advanS Lfo"e the t"'"^^' ^'^^ his >ng was reached, thi courtiia •^^^"^"^"court^ ancholv end; £«; Mr. Je JuC^a^f '' '"^ '*^ ""^l- Churcli of England whtf'J '^^^''gJ^an of the receive his wil. hadSdenK^^^ ^" ''^''3' ^ new convictions anH hTf ^ become a prey tc of Rome; wh";rpt'lf:iVT-tothe&hu'rcf clergyman of the Church of Fntl^' ^^^^^'' ^^^ a great deal about the Scartt^ "'^' ^""^ ^^"'ed a and had shut the door fn Mr r^^" .^^r ^^^^'on. next he called to eZhtn ri-'^'iF^J^''^ ""^^^ when Miss Leech wS^tfventv M ^^^ \'PP^"ed orphan resigned to the woSV ^^^l^^i^^'^Y^^n a gentle consolation in Seating 5'*'' '^^ ^°"nd il -starred engagement K f ^''^ ^^"O^ of her friend and p3^nd tK» u ''^"^3' interested the less did Tt grieve her tillttT?!!^ ^^P^^tedit ally to enjoy the reraemh« ^'^.^''^'^^'"eactu. have Playid the princS,""?"^^ °^ ''••P'^^^l to that was hissed oBhSll^''^V'} * ''"'"a sympathetic listener dweiHn^^T' l^^^ '° '^"^ a a^s^i^oii-^^^^H^rite t-cp tt^illf-'^e would ever have ex- sup had he remainSfixed1nfc"v J''?'? Mr- J«- and married her in due season r^'J*? °^ ^'' ^^thers had unconsciously becor^^a ^o.? nf '' ''"-?''°" ^^ Letty£;ndhe.3elf,Li„eThemfr. P^^'^ence to dulness. furnishing theif loneW^ '?^'^«« ^^ours of romance and mystery andff &°'t°°'" "^^ with he gradu^ly t.\ o'^'^^S^ M.j U^^^ ' <;( 54 THE BENEFACTRESS fey Wen;]'' "^ '^1 "'^Z^''^ ^^^ '""™* ot fk ^u. i *^"'^^' ^^^ glowed and thrilled at the mSi' *** f '■''^Ps she too would one day have a Mr. Jessup of her own, who would have conviction, Inn^^f .^^^'y, ''.'"S.^'^ ■" the world, till they were roused to realities by their arrival at StralsunS and Sus,e, thrustmg books and bags and umSas into Hilton, the maid shared by Susie and Anna i,,^ thentobefoundand urged to^claX^dow^^^^^^^ on to the low p atform, where she stood helpkssl? the Picture of injured superiority, hustled bv the she7co^L°'?'" '"^ P^?,^^^'^' °"* of whost way she scorned to move, while Anna went to look for This cart was an ordinary farm cart used for .W n^,??,!" *" ''^y i" J""«- ^t -ISO used for carS ing out the manure in November; and on a sackZf snouid St. The farm boy who drove it and whr, helped the porter to tie tL trunks to ite sTdesTest thev should too violently bump agains each oVlSr so; the porter, who seemed to think it quSuraf sa.d so ; and everybody was waiting fori? ton to 'et .n.who,whenshehadatlengthg4edthSu2i^'n THE BENEFACTRESS S5 ^i shaken by passion and a fal V' *"** *'"^ » voice tored.announc^herintentLor^,'"«'?^^ «rt as a coT,se. Xn thev r^; lf>S° "K'"that they pleased, buTaHvini^^''' j'? *''•' her as never. • ""^ as a living body with breath in it. itywI^nTextf^sLtlet'^'-'^^^^^^ topressround.anfX&;:''"'>^"d sleet, began train stopped on t&y,J^^^f^,''.T^^y^^^s^rne boy patted the sack and SrS if. ?v ^^^^""^ straw, the coachman stood un on J u '* ^^ ^^'^a" that it was a new sack fhZ^^'l?" '"^ ^°'^ *"d swore lein that it was as comforK?' ^'"^^'^ ^^^e F^^u- and nobody seempH^-^ J ^^ ^ ^^^^''er bed was being ISt^MtsT' ^"^^ ^''^^ ^^^ ^^^'^^^Si^^^^ ^en in the herself; quoting ^their^.aJrnlr' '."^P^^enient to they woJd havl acted n^an?„r'"*'"«^ °"' how ways, it appeared thev hi^!f^ ^"'^" ""^^^ and al- ton desired Susil&'frat "' f'S^'j' ^hat Hil- slavish, and Hilton wS^^S ^^',^"*=h«ses was hberah"tv that wa« Ik y^ated with an nduleent luggage and the m^d If *^^^ '* ^« ^o-- the her wfth them in what thi ^^""Posslble to take -^ how to get^t;:;i?u^, 7:t..i SoVlatans M ' ';■ s« THE BENEFACTRESS .SpaT?oA;„r"'«''»"-'^<''"--d Susie. doi'f^bi a foolfsh^'S'" ■'r H*°.«°. •? •'• "•''<>". in the we Th.^ k^"; r'* t"] ^"^P "« ^ere thinks anythinAere of Hn-^"«^'^"1' ""^ "O^odv stanng at you now because you are J^°^^^ "^ a fuss. Get in like 7^^^ ^^ ^ making such "Only^ a corSe «?°1.«°"'. and let us start." chattering t4th '^ev^r « T^'"''^ i^"*°" *ith HiltS;'^£^:£" -Peated 4- "Poor " We must ^P^^ K • t'ley must be here." isn;tto^Sr-^"^^^ ruinous?'""''-^ ^" ''-^ '^-^--ef It will be ple'Ke:- ''"' '*'"' ""''' ^-"^-g these peo- Place^l ••• iriif sTsielaT" T^*° ^'""^ ''-"ble ton's rage ' """^ '"ade miserable by Hil- lam^el\rto''?ii?tl?r° 1'^^^"^ ''')^' *° J'- coT)se,m'Iady/'rndwas%TrS°r"' "•°"'>' *« * unwilling dnver who t.-i^j-^"8:'ng with an drive to\S;^de^tf consett^Tt^'H*^"^ *° bemg promised tw»A«^ '^°nsented to do so on oatsfor hTho Js and r'fe,^ '^^' ^""^ ^^^d of shape of refrSenranr^.''"'^ ^'^'*'°" '" the sug^estij.elfSrnXn"^^^^^^^^^ ^ra^^:^1;i^^S-^-pe..^topa, the appeased THE BENEFACHHWSi 57 suppose." '^'^ * JWir property, I feel, disposing of carts and /J.3-'"°8"'''«nt I you please to^t info my cSw*". N°^- «'« o^-f the extreme resSS J^4fj^ou deSi.rg!tr;?o?g"gi^^^^^ cloth cap on his hea,f fnd ^J^"*' ^ l^^k-Wue fawn-coloured suit and Site^^ ^•*'^'"=*' '" » many tarnished silver butons^dS',"^^ ?^t JoacW's coat of arms wS f^^*** ^"*='« terva^s. removed his cap ^hile^ ^ '''°'^ '"- and her party were enterin7t£il?** ""«":« notputjio/again t?thry^wSS^""'' '^•*' 3 Ju.te as though we^e^^^-*^.^ ,-^ g"4t Sstit;^ /hr^Lrs'^i^ -'•o I'ke my horses. Susie 7 Or ^. **"• " ^ you of having been ploughing all th ^'^"Vcct them well." she added^qu^SMai'T.i"*^' ^^' any part of her dear Set t«t .f '^"S*""8 ^t has to have heavily buHtLrJl^'^l^^Wose one -H Where the^roads '^pr^af ^^.^Jjil^ g^The.r tails might be a littfe ^^. ^ >T&fd*':;i-^,^,n---«.i,. ^ncle Joachim Will S^—^-^^^. i 5> THE BENEFACTRESS they were at last somehow packed into the car- nage and away they rattled over the rough stoneL lanTlhf ?•. °^«''•1^°f . the town on ?he S and. the hail and wind in their faces, out into the open country, with their horses' heads turned to«^ds the north. The fly c. ntoining Hilton fol "^'''M'""^ ^2^ °f straw followed the fly " We can't see much of Stralsund," said Anni trymg o peep round the hood at he old tCwn acn.^ the lakes separating it from the main and ^hniJu^'y ^T"^''^ t°*"'" observed Susie, who had happened to notice, as she idly turned Zli^ P'^"* ° ^^^ ^''^^^'^ O" the w/y down hat there was a long description of it wit^ dares.' Chi f ?°T^ /°" know.-'^she added, turning sharply to her daughter. turning t,L^^^^^:" ^"^ ^^"y- "Wallenstein said he'd ound ; " "'^^^^hained to heaven, and when he Iwav andT^".^ ^^ r? ^l8''t^""y ^•^''> »"d went ?/• ? ^" t**^"™ ^' "» the fields." al,„l"f ^^?'''j*u° *^,°" the little seat, strug- ghng to defend herself from the fury of the eli ments wi h an umbrella, looked anxious, but Susie only sa-d m a ^ratified'voice. " I'm glad you remem ber what ;.ou%e been taught." fo wETettT i^'n th?' '".«L''' 'fi'"*^'^"'' thought this dri^' •Ratr^ J"{?^ fun, again replied heartily! Rather, and her mother congratulated herself onhavmgdone the right thing^in br nging her to Germany, home of erudition and profunditv already evidently beginning to do its^work ^' The carnage smelt of fish, which presently up- set Susie, who. unfortunately for her.*^had a no?e m- i^:jiir:^wir.4Ta:it3iPP^ THE BENEFACTRESS a^hou^ to be seen, she i^un/fe It'l^sT S basket somewhere and ^J' ^*P*^^"."« *« find a one to pushTt out* Tultfy ali!?'"''^ '' 't^ ^°""d that she should drive for tJoK^ ^^^ •T?'"«; f°' kerchief up to her n«^I °"" *'"' •>" hand- could expct of ^7°^^!^%'^^:^ ^"^^y than anybody ought tolSt^ofif '''1,*^°"J "^^^^ in goin^ to L expUseTtttuSetYfr'^'^' convenience of the absence /mm k^ . l^^ '"" ^ke. and she hope^tt A^rfehTnt ful''"sh' had never vet shnmi- fr«», u j s^rerui. s>he ^ Smell..? I should .hi„k I did. „., a.^^^ .Ung .ha iX« JS "Tts^Sr'S' n- «»™„ wheeliand bumpad diSl^a^d'S 6o THE BENEFACTRESS hZl^"^ '^""v ^"y*ing under the seats. Per- haps the man has g^ot it on the box. Ask him Anna; I really can't stand it." ' Anna did not quite know how to attract his but'sTkid notT"^ l'^^'^''''^ "- P°"- i Kw i? • 1* H"°* ^'s "ame, and the wind blew her voice back in the direction of Stml^ n^ when she had cleared it, and couXd and caHeH out mher shyly. "Oh, .^u^scAerF^'.^J^,?^'^ and twfr "leniembered that oh was not German fn its d1^"^ ^ i^^^'"" ^^ "«^d sonorous Sj Letty giggled. " Go it. Aunt Anna," she said encouragmgTy. "dig him in the rite with vo,^r umbrella-orl wilt if you like" ^ THE BENEFACTRESS 6i at some length that she 3';, i:^"^ explained offering assfstancT ""'^ ^""S nice, and he;'fabt1!^>S^:;,X J«ke .'^''".•" ^'d Anna, of the carriage and the h^^l? °/V" "'^ "^"hng perhaps vou^wo Jd toucS ,^^ t T^" " ^ Miss Leech turned an^ arm. Miss Leech." his sleeve. He a' on- -K'*^ ^-.'''«'""'y *°"^hed who stopped ?ead! .SeS^'^'ffi '° '"'^ ]'°'^«- 'ng down at Anna inquired ? 5 ? ''^P' ^"^ 'o°k- Jt was done so qu"ck v that A """^"Z^"- versational German was^exrL?•"^ ^''°^« «^on- quite unable to remember T>.!f"^>, ^^^y- was sat looking up at ShelnlS "^^l^, ^°' ^^^' and searched ifer brains ''^'P'^^^'^'. while she vainly to sSrSlssiS ?h:™he m ^'\"'1' ^PP^^'-g tng capless in the rain ^" '''°"''^ ''^ wait- Su^ie^L]?'*'^*^'-^'^^- fish?" inquired "Fist?" eTcSlM^t '°°.'''"^ «'"P'^- "^«^/l/" sai^he cLh • ^'^^'''S^^ help, at the word. <^oachman hiinself, catching blX/r„i,t°h:r|tr1!]:.V"'::"^."-' Anna ened'tnTpot'^Shis^'^,?- ''^ '^^ ''"6''* sea on their right St. 5 '^'''? *° ^^^ fifing ing fields, he sffd thaShe'r'' "'^ "?* '"*^^en? especially herrfngs ^ "^^ '""'^'^ ^^h in it, 6a THE BENEFACTRESS Letty laughed uproariously. The coachman seeing Letty and Anna laugh, thought he mus have said tKe right thing Sfter all, and lookS very pleasant. I^LclttaT^f^'" "'""*'" ^""^ """^ *-' . The coachman stared. Then he said vaeuelv ma soothmg voice, not in the least knowine what she meant, "iV««, nein, gnddiges FrduUin^ am-! evidently hoped she woufl be sitisfied. Aber es rtecht, esriecht!" cried Anna, not r,^e l^ii'"''"^ ^ ■»' °- ^» ""»£ • "'i J»l^ brightened again. « Ach so —jawohl i^w' .^.^'iu'^"""'^ cheerfully ; and hastened to explain that there were no fish nearer than the to^„,^r *if * '^\^^^ h« had used that m^fng to make the leather of the hood and apron shin! nS^ '^tk" fi^J'y. «">«». ^ he hfmself hS sm^ll^>K^''^-«';^^'°HS Miss loves not the M\\ T''"'^'^ anxiouslv; for he had seven children, and was very desirous that his new mistress should be pleased. Anna laughed and shook her head, and though ft It iS K PT* «'"Ph»s« that she did not lo^e surtd ^ ^^"'"y *''''* ^^ *«'* '^^^ "What does he say?" asked Susie. Why, I m afraid we shall have it all the way. It s the grease he s been rubbing the leather with " ',-p ■«*- *■' ■' THE BENEFACTRESS ?lready'^^°cLm-^*'^. f "«e ""«"'y. feeline sick and encourage him fnstead of^^l ""«'' «' '""'n pa«ho„ at once and showTnt hLl& "^ y^" stand any nonsense. He „.,^ "** y°" won't unboxed I" she adrfp^; °"fif''* to be — to hJ heard of delfnqSt derlSnT*'' = '°^«he°ha'S ut^^P ^'^-'^ -X^uen^'Sac-ht^^^^^^^ cou^d^^Tilp^rJid f ^*-^-tto.butshe \ngry by this childish l.!'-^' ™***« ««" more *e rest o^the drivS ^'^^'°"^> sulked durfng jny ItalS'nranTS'Si'wt" in^ gf l^new hardly her words never could £.^^"^'^3' '»nd wanted troubled the last two da^s bv t^' ''"* H been these wonls came to her iL ^ "''^^ '" ^bich opened them to speak finna^ '""^ '™^ ^''e they4nTon^VSln?S ^^ ^^--^ -d ««t stretched^ay S| the' W*- ^'^^''^^^^ The high-road. or^W^i „" *? * *^'**a«* bend s>de wfth maples. MrfKl; "" P'^"*ed on either whitewashed s Ses had J^^^" 'be maples bj way at night, and LK ^^" '^* '» ""ark thf stones, ditfhes hadlL"„^ ?uy°^%?V'«=« and road as a protec«on to th? P*"^"^' *'*b the fram the po^ible wandering of ™P? '" ^"'"'"er a cart erred, it tumbled ?n^f,f ^?"? <^rts- « «ngementwassiSpira„d.£^^'*"^- ^he ar- "ghUcross some ma«ht u !^u**='°"«- On the ^ for a little w£Kf^ ',^'«'- «;«y could see the . witn the flat coast of Rugen ;;(1,I 'i m^sM.jK^LwmwFm'i 64 THE BENEFACTRESS opposite; and then some rising ground, bare of trees and brilliantly green with winter corn, hid it from view. On the left was the dreary plain, dotted at long mtervals with farms and their little groups of trees, and here and there with windmills work- ing furiously in the gale. The wind ivas icy, and the December snow still lay in drifts in the ditches. In that leaden landscape, made up of grey and brown and black, the patches of winter rye were quite startling in their greenness. Susie thought it the most God-forsaken coun- try she had ever seen, and expressed this opinion plainly on her face and in her attitudes without any need for opening her lips, shuddering back ostentatiously mto her corner, wrapping Tierself with elaborate care in her furs, and behaving as slaves to duty sometimes do when the paths they have to tread are rough. After driving along the chaussee for about an hour, they passed a big house standing amoni/ trees back from the road on the right, and a little farther on came to a small /illage. The carriage pulled up with a jerk, and looking eageriy round the hood Anna found they had come to a stand- still m front of a new red-brick building, whose steps were crowded with children. Two or three men Md some women were with the children. 1 wo of the men appeared to be clergymen, and the elder, a middle-aged, mild-faced man, came down the steps, and bowing profoundly pro- ceeded to welcome Anna solemnly, on behalf of those children from Kleinwalde who attended this school, to her new home. He concluded that Anna was the person to be welcomed because he THE BENEFACTRESS "rlrhertis^and 'l^ '^^ ^ '"^^ ^'^er cor- friendly whereS th. *^^ ^?°^^^ ^"ytf'ing but her hand ^ '""''"« ^"'l folding out carriage to bS £ck so h,T /^ u^?* °^ '^^ her village whohaHS^^L *''« children from the school^hiK alark mt''^.^'-''"S°''J^^* *« tion of fur coc^"Vp=.rt. ' '"yf*enous combina- He spoke distinZ ^ oJe",?. *1' '"^'^.^ ^ "P^^^*»- ing often and loni^'=.^/ a^ accustomed to speak- ■wlrd. ShrtL^at tTe^atcTt f^"^ ceremonies, and had no idea of »w u^ ^^T say in reply, but sat sSing vfil Ltf„,''l°"t^ ing very pretty and very fhv l»L ''""• 'oo^- that hersmiles^er^ i^a^propriatf anrh"/T^ ?way: for.wa.-niing as he proceelH 1 ^^^ '^'^'^ It appeared was f^CiL^ -J^J ^^' *"^ parson, intended to l7^ on h.^r * ^°' «^'^"*^'' ^^^^t she quentlyde?caSg°onthecoS?'sh:' "" ^'°- I 1' 66 THE BENEFACTRESS wSeXSTh.-"" •« ^"'■.S^^'"' P'^'f"' °f their weakness and their sins. His face lit up with enthusiasm as he went on. and Anna was thanWul X^l Susie could not understand. This crowd of Ik^^' T^ J heanng promises made on her behalf that she had no thought of fulfilling. She iS down and twisted her fingers al^ut nervouslv and felt uncomfortable. nervously, At the end of his speech, the parson his pv^ f uM of the tea,, drawn forth, by his owTdoqueS hii ofl^hU^K? ""• ^"'^.^'^'""'y blessed heXnd^ ng o£f his blessing with a loud Amen, after which Amen^'^H'" '*''r,? P""^^- Susi; heard the Amen and guessed that something in the nature of a blessing was being invoke^ and made | movement of impatient. The parson wa^ odious m her eyes, firet because he iS hS the ministers of the Baptist chapels of her un! married youth, but principally fc:ause he wl^ keeping her there in the gale and prolongirLTh^ A^'h;?' rif ""'^"'j"8 ^^"^ the smelPoWh Anna did not know what to say after the Ainen and looked up more shyly than ever and «tam* mered in her confusion K^^Xhoping that n,«^^»P™Pf '^'^"'^ '° '"^'^e: whereupo^n the pareon bowed again, as one who should say pSv the schoolmaster, took out a tuning-fork 3 out a note, and the children sang a^.J^a/fo^ lowing It up with other more ch«rful^n« In sLrcSsr''""-^''"^*''^^'^'^''-^ JLdPk ^w: w. ' iTOi THE BENEFACTRESS tall narrow youth 3so ?n wkII °?^^"«.P^"°"> » toned up tiefitlv in rf^ ^"^, '"'^ gloves, but- a pallid CfSthfc^uKfl '^™r-°^»'' "'* "Herr Vicir Klutz" S^tSl !m'" ''^"• a wave of the hand an^S^ H ''^/r-P^'^""' *i* his bow, and haS'hfs limnl,"!.'! ^'"'F' ""^^ing by that other ffehanranH"1,^T"^«'*^P«d smiled into by those otht f 5,'^ '""^^^ eyes on the spot /espe4tel!rn/"^"'^'^^y^''b^c»'"e very natural. SlKy he H; ^H''^'^ *^ woman under fortf for six ^Inl""^ 'F''^" *° « self twenty and a poe? 'V;,"*°"*«' ?nd was him- aftemoon shut un^^'i^ S-'P^"** *^^ 'est of the all nourishmen?Ve cn^^'^°'"' *''^'«' '^f^sing r^^thl^r^S-^^^ the?LVeVe1::''rSn"".K*"*'t^"-''' -d wife and the pa,^nwt ^^*'\''^''°°''"«ter's smiled and muSd ShL ^d T''' k ^""", ''^ speeches to each in turn LhkTK'^"* ""le bowed at least » 1 V '^ ^^^ "otlded and ladies, who ctld byTo Ss'L''"':, °' '""'^ their curtseys and LT-^ ?^ ^^^^^ ^°"e with dumb figure in Selrner'^"'"' ^f"" *° the monies fetty Stared rn^nJ^' j""'}^ *'^''='' <:ere- at the sch?oiSri;rrir^r",-T"'''"i stared round^ved a^rf n^f ^ school-children and MissLSTookedde°^?:!"l"3^? 5* Letty. -e co,traued ^- su^^'^'iS^'^SS ■ir Wl;i^. ■: wir* tlMP: 69 THE BENEFACTRESS whether she might not now with propriety con- perted that she should give the signal. w.?"!^?^^^ *^' f^'''''^ *' everybody else by SnL V."'"? "A*'^ P«"^ of hesitation, except Susie, who sliut her eyes with great dien tv and shivered in so marke/a manner thattfeSreon himself came to the rescue, and bade the coach- ToAnnF . T P!J-i'P ^''l ^°~* *§f'"- explaining to Anna as he did so that her Frau &kwest^ was not used to the climate^ -^nwester Evidently the moment had come for going on and the bows that had but just left ofiF befan aS with renewed vigour. Anna was anxious to %ay something pleasant at the finish, so she asked the IITJIa T '^ she bade her good-bye. whether t n'^'t 5i; t'o Sr."°"'' '^""'^ *° ^'^--''^^ anJ^^i^'f*''?" produced a very deep curtsey and a flush of gratification, but the recipient SsTleal^ure^'- '"'^ ^^""^ ^-P«"« '*• *« ^^ pa^iXnttS^FS?" '''"• ^^'^ ^''^ "^^Aja," stammered Anna, ashamed of herself for having forgotten. "y^^-i/a "exclaimed '.e parson's wife, still more ashamed of herself for having forgotten "Perhaps Saturday, then?" suggested Anna. ihe parson murmured something about quiet hours preparatory to the Sabbath; But his wffe a person who struck Anna as being quite eJ^r dinanly stout, was burning with curiosity to ex- amme those foreign ladies more conveniently THE BENEFACTRESS 4^ corner; and she ur^^j^ J ?"'' feathers in the doforincrwatUTdet'rou",." ' ^^^ ^^''^\»° patted her on the cheek sS" • V '^^''eupon he said he would make fn i.! !^ 'ndu gently, and the honour of aSSing '^ '"'^ ^° ''''"'^" understand.^g heT^fci'''!,'"^"'S[«"<^e by bows they drove awTv L S""*,"*- ?'""" ^"^ curtseys, theSooS takinfoff fc? '""^'"f had hee„pierdW"aSTote1o&^ ^^ galXd'l^n^J.rfaSt^VuitH^^^ she turned to Susie w?fh=.. ' v"* l*"^ ^"^^ ^""e had hidden the «our/i.m"«^^' '''^^" *''^ ''ood gU2.^onsotTeSiThlntfS^^^^^^^^ came^t^tl'r/n'f twot ""^^V''^ ''^«-- its place The're 1,7 ^■^'P''^"'^^™^^^ took tion!^one arm o' Ihkh 00^;^'*,?.* ^H"" l""^' road that ran down c'lS tX setVj'^t. •"'* walde scrawled on it- -.^a u -f ?^ "^ Klem- man on HoS wa^^alSngtfthfn!^ ^'^-P"^* ^ as tfe'carfirrSppe?" ?^ ;r"'«*ed Susie OLennspector Dellwig," said the man, intro- I 7« THE BENEFACTRESS ducing himself, and sweeping off his hat and I. U}?'J^^^^ ^ ^^^ inspector Uncle Joachim hoped rd keep." ^id Annfin an undertonT " dont W l*"*"" *,''° ^^ •'• ''"* ^o' heaven's sake irt nf fV"" "'*'?^ * *P*^'=''- I can't stand thi! your hands if you're not careful, and you won't like /A./, so you had better stop him '■ ^ 1 u*^"u *'°P I'''"'" s«d Anna, perplexed Sh«. also had had enough of speechet ^ * £»A^ja*M/^ -ffWw/««^ a««/w>4,," began the ftSSs'"""^ ^^ ^^^-^ --^ - "o- out^*' tL*" no escape, and they had to hear him It ne would. It was not so long as the Darson'4^ but was guite as flowery in afother X ove^- ^STiAl^^''""^ ^J'"^'""" *° the^eaS'd Ijtv nfU!i? ^ expressions of unbounded loy- l^^TTC""^ ''^^°*'°" *° *»>« new mistrei lo^ WW ' ?^; *"^ save herself up for ^hin^ V ''""'•^ ."'''°"' wl'o must be dose belund waiting in the cold, uncomforted by a^ d,2d.H?>. '"'""«' ^"'■'^' ^'^'^ °f »» this? Ls"e dreaded the moment when she would have to f^ in J»n j"?f ''*°'" ^"^"^"^^^ ^" he had intended say- n&^ ^ A "• «l""»ng a more colloquial tone she would be dnving through heFo^ property. f^?/ THE BENEFACnawS! much ; for he had a reaj H^Tj *««.*»? things to Anna in a very loSSf^ "piawed along, expatiating on V^iS."* ^^'^''t crops the previouf sum.^r. ^^^^.'^ .^^ the crops of the coming suS^Sf fc' *"* s^r£tf:°hic^/idl^^ ^'xh'i'.S'dTe'^-^^^^^^^^^^ lurched and heaved from 8iS± **'^; • ** and groaning alarmingly. Si^?^."«^"?« immment penl Anna K«u ""'*..f««:h was m and hardly had leisure to 11"^ *■*" *** ^"^^ andyoj arid qu Jtlons^/ /.^^''^"H'^ «r>t, whelJ the inrrpatse^d'a^ttSS^S did not like his lonlrs a„j -^iTT^ pnsaOi. She S VSeVth^ii^nlifd-s S^Peo^L- to be and do ceE thTn" S£^T ^ "« sured herself that it did f ot !„ fi^T^. '''^ '^ how they had made im fk«- -^ '®^t matter obliged ^to ShTv^ in Cwav^Jf '''* '^'* of her She did not want to iSlX'^PT^ ant-looking man, and what he wwSir*J"P'«^ crops and their mrvelTousneL^^**^!'* *« g'bt^to her and who^a^K f eS'^^S^ };^ 7» THE BENEFACTRESS J.»chlm o„ hi. ia., vi."f .'JX^k (L3! o«\^ l£'^^ J*^ '^^P'"^' ''"^ beeches, railed ott from the road on either side by woodek rails ^.nted m black and white stripes. tSjoachim overfl^fld*' '°^''?'' of Prussians, and his loy^'ty 8tbctshfh,T" 'nto his fences. Esthetic in^ simcts he had none, and it he had been bro.,X to see It, would not have cared at all thTt f k ^-i .ngs made the otherwise'b^S av nSe iSk Hlle" «?e entrance to a restaurant or a raiU^yTtat on The stripes, renewed every year and of ^,f Jtr distinctness, were an out JrHnd ".IbL S^ o? bSs^„ic ''''i;".^^^ *''^ 'ts white and tn fL^ f ^ ^?? symbolic; and when they came two Pn^^-^ ^"''\" *i''*='^ t''^ house itseKo^ CHAPTER V! A LOW. white, two-storied >,o.i,. vdim>.,( r, , the forest only by a circular. -■« .'P'^'-* *'' ' ' ' ' with half-melLVnoTin'i ;;^"':;' ""^ \^'"^" house apparently quite by hs^/' • , J^/* the r^ttlingof' thi :hSr?X\t^"t^Vh:f t?' wJatLl°°"^T r^ garlanded with evergreen wreaths, over which a green and white f\Zal^^T w^thcr-toto bee, and browJS gTo^'tilo 73 itl* kM 74 THE BENEFACTRESS of the parson's wife. " ^^^ presence " ; never saw so many bows in my life " cmimW-^ lie. pushing the se4nt asW. ^ 'f LA?™"«^ c,,-;' - • ". r* " =" ""my Dows m my if ?aro.fl^^l!if:i!ll---i -de,Ld netting out nd misen find hereelf in a Mua>^^,ll 1 *'?^- *'°'*^' ""'^ ^ intoIeraWe idnes^^of a SI* °'t-T^"" *^ *he Uncle Joachim came dom, he 1!™)!^^' '"" M the back d the houi wlH, . j 7 "I? ™°"' the garfen through ScT he i«'??r«,'»''' StS? »l^,1S''^er "^ 4 -"^^ G-aSToo^'dtlraF^""- ^^f^lPUP- THE BENEFACTRESS Uncle Joachim, and ?rawn M,;fi, ment of whips and huntimr .f ^ '"""^'^ *^rt. comer stood an arranSenff°P*' '"^ '» one Joachim's variourSSs /n»r* "-"^'^ ha_n«ngmonumentally'?™£^^.'^'=^'*--<'venn^ and took hK^Tant SseTh '"a '''^ 4" this? Anna! Aren't von^w i V^""*> ^'ho's body kissing my S.d^.°" '^°"""«' "««'« some- inn^^hafwiffel'ei^r,,™--? '"to the keeping.oneon\Kfcf? ^J/-^^^^^^^^ at once in their anxietv to J;,i/ ' , .°* talking , "The cook? TheVterh".'^°*^™P'"^'°» food. I shall die if I doni I, *° Sive us some Do you know wL im^it isrprf'''"^ ^°^- talked to Ann^ S thev ^ere'Jf. J^'"^''««' «»d though theydid no exist ^ Tfl *^'^r"l« *° ^^' ^^ tion to be ^lite to thS difff- ?* ^^'* *" °bHga- noneatall. ThevdKf 7^"* P^"°"s she ^It if they had it wSd l.t ""^^"'''"^ English, but she would ha^ gone L';:iJ?^""^'-^'J ^hen'and though they hid f o?U"„ Se"*^ '^^-^ them as 76 THE BENEFACTRESS hJt? ^ Dellwigs had very loud voices, so Susie had to raise hers m order to be heardfaDd there was consequently such a noise in the empty. eclS house that after looking round bewiffi'rS anf trying to answer everybody at once, Anna eive k up, and stood and laughed. ^ " I don't see anything to laugh at." said Susie crassly. " we are all starvfng. and fhese people won' _'' But how can I make them go ? " sav tffi'H L°"[ f "■?»"*'• ^ l"PP°«^- ^ «»io"ld just •' Th.vlf»l '^ ^°' *''!'" ^^^" ^ *^"ted them." so ilrZVV^'^ "'"'''' astonished. The man is so far from bemg my servant that I believe he means to be my master." », J''^ t^oDellwigs perplexed by Anna's laughter when nobody had said anything amusing and un aSt themsel'^^^f ^.Vs^'"« ^* «°-"'wng about themselves, looked from her to Susie sus- piciously, and for that brief moment were quiet _^*r W>i««^^,"said Anna to the wife 1 he food comes immediately." she replied • and h^tened away with the cook and the other 2mnt husS'tt ro^riinp^L^'s/^, ^'^ thtgcaon'geS ;;!!;,"•"« '''"^ '" - ^'^-^'^ S„c;?°^^-*'"1 P^''«'.'-,''ve in the house? " inquired Susie, eying him with little goodwill. ^ He told me he lives at the farm But of course he has always looked after everything here '' When they were all in the dining-Yoom.Vriven THE BENEFACTRESS *, take off thei? wraSa^ 1 T"'-P°''*^"^* *« order to lay his nlanSl"""^ '"""'^ ^^^^' on^n *• What L« h^S^ " ike^T'"-"^ '^^"^^ ''^^• shut behind hiril. ^ ^^^ ^"^'^- « the door " Thi Sc* '?""'* tS^'" '^ter on." likes with you " ^' °° ^s he was obstinate-you ivSyfsaid?^^..*'^""^'^* ' Hei?genrd,o'u"^^°'-"'^^--hat.an. "Uncle Joachim said he was excellent " words,;,<«Seet?w^fL'™'!3«^' ''"* '"^^J' 'ny place." ^ ^'^^ thousand a year out of the Anna was silent. Susie was invariably shrewd 7« THE BENEFACTRESS and sensible, if inclined, Anna thought, to be over suspicious, in matters where money was concerned. Dell wigs face was not one to inspire confidence: and his way of shouting when he talked, and of talking incessantly, was already intolerable to her. bhe was not sure, either that his wife was any more satisfactonr. She too shouted, and Anna detested noise. The wife did not appear again, and had evidently gone home with her husband, for a great silence had fallen upon the house, broken onfybv the monotonous sighing of the forest, and the pat- termg of ram against the window. The dining-room was a long narrow room, with one big windo'v forming its west end look- ing out on to the grass plot, the ditch, and the g^te-posts with the eagles on them. It was a study in chocolate — brown paper, brown carpet brown rep curtains, brown cane chairs. There were two wooden sideboards painted brown facing each other down at the dark end, with a collection of miscellaneous articles on them: a vinegar cruet that had stood there for years, with remains of vinegar dried up at the bottom ; mustard pots con- taining a dark and wicked mixture that had once been mustard ; a broken hand-bell used at long- past dinners, to summon servants long since dead- an old wme register with entries in it of a quarter of a century back; a mouldy bottle of Worcester sauce, still boasting on its label that it would im- part a relish to viands otherwise dull; and some charming Dresden china fruit-dishe.s, adorned with cheerful shepherds and shepherdesses, incurable optimists, persistently pleased with themselves and their surroundings through all the days and nights THE BENEFACTRESS ner-table was ap^t of HIi«^fVhP"if''' """^ d'"" in crinkly pink ti^ue ni^^f- J "^'^y- enveloped satin ribU, with ea«^o??L n'' ™"?^ *'* P^ iween the flowcMtX?; ''*lf*P«'- drawn up be- ttast of DinkTnd wSe P'°^"'^' " P'easingW "Well It's warm enough here isn'f ,> ?>• ' -j Susie, going round the ro«Sn J!f-j ' • * ' "'^ things with*^an inVrSt SrexciH^'*"i?'"« «'^^ "^Ra^hl^^^r"-^^^^^ ""^' and Sl^^g h'er'h^n^S^' ThlW £!,^^^^''-'y. room, peepfng into all" fK- ^^''^ked about the cupboa?^Pt';fi^"Ve sofa a^nd'^K^P-'"'"^ '^^ frisky a fashion that h J m f u '^''^ving Tn so her a^ home.°and kSe" Tr'oilf ° ™ f^ gloomy girl, turned once or twice fr;l^K"^"«''*y esting sideboards to stare TtKl^ ^^^- •"*"■ through her lorgnette ''^'" '"^^iringly of white cottoTilove for tlf; ^ P"* °" * P^'^ ing. but still worf her felt ^fnnf'^'"?;!^"* *»•*- plates in a pile on [h? J ^'^Tv ^'^^ P"* ^he mured sometC in ^r^f\^. '^' '^^^'' •""••- nor did she com! back riH «f,f k "^1°"^ ^S^''" : couree, when she ShLli ■ ''™"?''* *''« next •nanner, and continued ?o A ^ Pf^'^"'y «'"'"«'• meal; the dinere havta n k'^/'I.''^"«''°"' the to sit patiently durln^th." w"' 'l'"^ °''"K«d thought that thevil '"Nervals, until she some more! ^ ^ P^**P« "^ ready for It was anoflH mpqi 3„j . _ „ . , — nie3=, a..u began with cold choco- 8o THE BENEFACTRESS late soup with frothy white things that tasted of S„ u i.*^'t^"P *** she forgot all about Hilton, who had been driven ignominiously to the back door and was left sitting in the kitchen tin sSinf =. '"•Ti''°y'"« ''^^ time composing'^ speech of a spirited nature in which she intenlf^ E|a,-n" "*^*"" "°^'- '"^^ momenVsTetl . Her mistress meanwhile was meditativ^lv +,,«, aJJT^ ^y'^f^^ ^^^' - her soup 4Sl" d^tjike 1," she said at last, laying dorL} can'y°'''M?'si&^J" '"^^ ^r ^"?hter ecstati- S end" ^'''"^ °""^ P"**'"g «' the ere'edv ^rf A LTJ°k'' ^' "I^'^^'^te after Berlin. f^P ^ • ^^^ ^^"^ '"ot^'er, disgusted by her child s obvious tendency towards a too fr^ induT gence in the pleasures of the table B^ TtSv was feeling so jovial that in the face of "hfs ouS tion she boldly asked for more-rrequest th^ w^ refused indignantly and at once^ iJiere was such a lone oausp afw n,„ fc'n"^.rd.trngi?nX^^ T. white cr«:het mat in a°japann^ dis^^rso damp and was so full of caraway seeds thlf7t was uneatable. After a while^o^^ Sch SuU on the estate, and with a strong muddy flavfu >n, and after that came cutlets from Anna's pi|s THE BENEFACTRESS j, Ust^'^'of Xl'"?„7l«^'tl'"«"lP"^'''"§ that evidently at an end 1^^"" k ''' "'^ '"e^l being mendous fuss befojv w-? "^.^^^^o ""ake a tre- treating you lik^ a oif^ ^^l l'^'" *° '^^^^ «« to eat t1,e^puddr„g\P?,i^h'l f'^'^- teaspoons way thro Jh. It! :K' £""Y:? .^' '"^^ ought to have stayed in Sn tk "^"'^ ^« and down impatiently^ her chat SlCT^ "P go over the house, then " saiHi Iff Y"''^'* explore. ' **"' ^^"7' dying to " Oh, yes, you may on over thp h - • • t ^ - 7 5- "cr ine nuusc, saiu her ,.w^'-iiiL-A":^.-«»i *• THE BENEFACTRESS anyone who hT&^Ji^'t^^''''^ P»«Jed Tlien she suddSly SmemS W *° '?'*'"• found lfiiton°rlmainJd s?!;f*^''* ^"?^' *''° ^J allotted her «&"? ti'nTe "^ '" ** ^"^"^ she hll^onl'rna «;;! '^' f ''^'"- "^ -^en ever^een^ ^aths^Xlhkh h 'U""!!^ '' *^« and which filled it «^Vk ,^ * *?* decorated and then ran^t o «e ^h?" hK '''''^ ^T??''' Her heart was tallotoZ^l 71^°""?^ was like, wandered a^ut he r£! *"^ happiness as she n?agicword«2LX7Xr\"a Pf^*='- ■^''« piece of furniture a chL™L^ •*",'* «V"^ "^^ that she would n^t have SH.„"**"^"^°."?'y »««* world. She took UD th! a-^ ^ ""^ °' '* ^°' the ments that tere s<^tte?^^.f *"*"! "T"'^^*"* o™a- whenorwhy.andshlDutth^m!) ■ "H^ '"'ew where else, oily beSuSe had ST" *^'" ^""^ things and she love^ t^remilrfl?*^ "^•j*.*" "^ter patted the walls and the tahi *"^^'^ °^ '*• She smoothed dovm the folS f tS'^^P"^; "he tender touchj^ she win uo t '""*"•"" ^'^ looking-glass and sto<^ ?! f^ 1° f'^'^y ""Pa^te so that there shonMi^ front- of it a moment, the image o"itsmis^ir?K"*'''^ not reflected dehghted wi h her sr,^»f • ^^^ •**" «° childishly 8 CO with her scanty possessions that she was THE BENEFACTRESS g ^mi^utlS'scoff""''' •"^"'•"^ -d clid no! that prevailed T EsSurt?"*;"^ \'"^ ''"<«"?> these shabby Httle mSl,7the s'd? o^L'T? the worn foxes' skins be?o« fK • .™ ^d*- the cane or wooden^hSl ?i, *''\}»'ntine.taWes, tains with meek ^tt„„ 5 *''*' *^J'<' '^'^co cur- prints on the ^Ils^£f^,-"^f"' ^^^ *J"eer httle seemed to heM„ 'ttlf""*"* ^°oden bedsteads! tentiousnL to £ embTeScZrtf ^^^ ^'"P'-^ As she hnirered inthi • ! ' ^ *" ^''e virtues. n«ed alonl'tS S Jaeef'^ '■°°'"^'^hile Lethl that this Spartan Sfdt^)?"*,?"^ *° ''«"<:» uxur, that^ours*a?/^Jf^"-/ 0' avenr tans, if there ;"S%PSf;P^7 «' the Puri.' must all come from wUin hL^=.if^ * i"^' «'°'y 't only the beauty of a ruin r»*" °^ ***« spW^ be kina thouehte Sh^ n t Jlf*.""^ *e elory of in one of tfoS nn!SoS^,,'':^\^l-l^P sun shminjj on her fan. =.n^.- • . *"* mommg round of usefuK b her " • «. *2 «° ''^'' '^^V there would be "ra uTrrJ./ J'T ''°."?«' ^^^^re tions, and none if tnTm.n Iv? P'J'^"' ^"bi" that need never 4 Wo^^^k'"""' ^^'^'^ches days, those days o^'siZ^e dutS ""V^ ilfPP^ hfe — the better life " shp ~,^ * j ^ ^^^ '^tter ine in the middle of tl h^^^ "!u''"«'^ ''t*"^. tall windows she could Lefhl^'^i''™"^'' ^^<^ o^^-arshj: land. an°f th"n' t^^-i-"^ -?^P «^h«« 01 tne guiis and the dark ffne^fthelu^": •♦ THE BENEFACTRESS frugality, hard S y^.^'^^anicallv, "Simplicity. very wise — but still An^T i~ ^ * ^^ *" understood me. but s^iiTlJ?" ^'^ '°^«' '"'^' "«» lon^lS jpolirj"' '«•«''* °-^ •'•='^» ••" » witfi iSrTk^i^ i*' * *'"" ''""re in a fur cloak h Linidiie^o? s:rr fn ''*'* •" "^««^^n •he sto^ ifore °he JL. ^ k 'f"","'ne. when subdued after ^„^ '^'■^^*' P*'« >"«• t'red and «»t up to l„„„ ,, I,,, ,i,i, „e« „Sent " -k lewt. But she suppS*?^ J ^"* *'^*'""8 =>* to him. feehng soKwZLl*. T""* K^. «**>*" authoritative a person a^'^*'"' *° »*^'"1'"K «> a,^'^oK„t ?rs1l;?-^e '"Tu"^' w.th noK. making a sound iS rtiSir" /'''*'::^"« '"'^ and waking the echws iU« **i' "^ trumpet. do quietly.^she though ; hJjL:^2:''*r ''^ ^« torsliip oddly irritated bv^^^* "[P^Pne- affiressiveiy'^^n her houS S^Ik* '''°*\^« oiThSlShtr ^^-^«^'«He tr,js\7ht toh!i%sSe'XiSSir^i\-r- •eeing that he exoer e^ < u^ ^^ '""^s on thougT, she had7o1^;i';'Jt'^f''«" ''^"^^ *'»''• ?oon : and then she lerhS it'^K^ ^f 1 1*?^" into the drawintr.mnm o^^^ * ushered by him •helves, and a huge ro^S J^ •"i*'?'' ='"*' '^o'" middleV ^ ""* l»«lished table in the Jcicht. a'^^a'? ^ull^S l^rr^"-^ ?'^ "-'^ •at down at a big wr itimrS" ^i'" ""^'^^ ^he top. her feet pK XlS ^'"^ * ?'*^*'" ^'""^ py rug. anIreK S, fe ^K ''^''^ °^=» on tiptoe akd A .r, l!i""!?^^"<*._««nt out again whatpat.ence.he-:o;adX'S^SS '-mM^j^sm^'MMki^m^i&i^m^TLjm >- i. MiQiocofY MwumoN mr chait (ANSI and BO TEST piAir No. 2) la ■2.8 12.5 5 bfi 12£ U 116 A /ff='PLIED i^MGE Ihc 1653 EM IMn StraM ~ nocftMtor. Nm York 14aOS USA <7tS) 482 - 0300 - Phofw (716) 26a-36n-Fac 86 THE BENEFACTRESS w« in iiseu an effort, and she had not vetlearnpH the German for rye and oats and the rest t^T^ . Naturluk, natUrlicA," shouted De lw.V hi, '• ForeS' Th^r"!^ "" '°'^^*'" «^'d Anna, estate It L I^JVT *^°^^'^ two-thirds of the toS SnU only forest on the entire promon! ha^'seldSm ge" " L'^l^f ^'^ °" '>' ^°-* «//" Andh^e^iftS-hisiL^L^KSrtrt THE BENEFACTRESS j^ press his admiration, and was about to jro intn lengthy raptures when the map rol ed itf^lf^ n ES'it'oul '"^'''"«^' ^"5 -"1im1L"rf nTrsll?n'i,tS™hTereL"^f1ef '^■^°'- sorts of artificial manuri^'on th?diltt cr/ y«, said Anna, balancing a paper-knife nn «„« finger, and profoundly bore^d. "Whose land ^t Pe Jnt"^sl°5e?4"° '-^^^^^^^^^ *° On the south it is all f nhm xk '®. *^ ®^*- "The village where the school is?" gracious Miss s patroness Herr v^^ i u ^/'^ Hves in the house Sn« bS frL^°t™'*^° and perhaps noticed by "i «^c oS Mi^- ' A'^tsvorsteher in both "^IWeJ?^ ^"'' '^ every now a\d then S ZTi^U sKS JSTu^^-J.^-^^^^ could examme her face at his L?in thJshlw 88 THE BENEFACTRESS of the lamp-shade, her dark eyelashes lowerpH J,pr profile only turned to him. Jth ks deSetne o brow and nose, and the soft and gracious cu^es of the mouth and chin and throat. One hanK «u hVnd fun 5' r^'%°* "e^l,*' ^ «l-der,tS titui hand, full of character and enerey, and the other hung listlessly over the arm oPthe chlir Anna was very tired, and showed it in ever^ ifne of her attitude; but Dellwig was not tired Tt all ^f^^is vn- '° *"^?^' T^^y^^^' ^» times the sound of his voice, and on this occasion felt it to be his &h? ";-ke things cleaf. So he went Tnto the lengthiest details as to the nature and offire nf Amtsvoi^tehers details that were ^rfectiy £om prehensibe and wholly indifferent to AnnaTd spared neither himself nor her. WhHe he talS however, he was criticising her, comparing the aziness of her attitude with^the brisk and™fpeS ful alertness of other women when he talked ^He knew that these other women belonged to a dif" ferent class ; his wife, the pardon's wife, the wives of the inspectors on other estates, these ^ere nTof course, in the same sphere as the newSreS'of Kleinwalde; but she was only a woman and dress up a woman as you will, call her by what nime IZ "^t"^^ '' "t"^'"« ^"* ^ womanK to hdp a clever man like himself. Old Joachim miffht have lounged as he chose, and put his fee^ o" f e llS/h ^^ 'n"!f^ good to him, and DeHwS would have accepted it with unquestioning respecf as an eccentricity of HerrschafUn; but a woman J„^J"°fort.of right, he said to himself, wMe he so fluently discoursed, to let hereelf go in the pr^! THE BENEFACTRESS 89 ence of her natural superior. Unfortunately old Jc^chim, so level-headed an old gentleman & all tunes TnThfi,'''^ ^^^1'^' P°^^^ °^^r his fo ! back so , .nit. "^' ?^-^^'l ^^^"^ ^^'"^'e 'waning back so unbecomingly in her chair, plavine with the objecte on the table, never raising her efeT o his, and showing indeed, incredible ^ it seemed every symptom of thinking of something S The women of his acquaintance were, he wis ^^ tain, worth individually fifty such affectedlndif erent young ladies. Aey^worked early and la 1" to make their husbands comfortable; t^y we^ iS iffi"''* '? '^'? "^* '^^"'^^'^ of'wom^en liv! ing m the country ; they were models of thrift and dingence; yet, with all their virtues and aH the? accomphshments. they never dreamed of loungbg °L ,• ^'V^^'ng.when a man was speaking, but sat attentively on the edge of their chdrs, straight fn sa.S.^f ^-'"'^•-^-^-'^ehadfiaeS Anna certainly did sit very much at her ease done'f i:- °f '"-^"^^'^g- ^'^^ °"ght to have done to his descnption of Amtsvorltehere, ^ thinking of other things. Dellwig had thick hS that could not be hidden entirely by his erLkd rn°ow??M;"^- ^r^' ""*^ ^' ^^^'^' so/o? eyes a bToW-'^V""'^^"*!'"' *™*f"' ^« fishy, a^nd a big obstinate nose, and a narrow obstinate fore arthirl'na t^,^»?^ '?.' ''"''' '^^^ ' ^"^^ho^gh fiuiMnfshUffn^??^^-r;yj^i^^^^ iSThaft/'^^^^'* ^'^^^ sheLTTusSdlrwiS ing that his manners were less offensive less boastful and boisterous, and that he did noi bite 90 THE BENEFACTRESS J?i °l ' J ^ wonder." she thought, her eyes care- fully fixed on the paper-knife, but consciouf of hb ev^jy look and movement. " I wonder if he°s ^ SSi W^n ' looks Surely Uncle Joachim muS have known what he was like, and would never tonL '^'"k *° ^""P ^'"^ " ^^ had not £ honest. Perhaps he is perfectly honest, and when 1 meet him m heaven how ashamed I shall be of f^ni t J'""^"* H^ *^°"''*«'" And then Shi fell to niusing on what sort of an appearance a chastened and angelic Dellwig would probablv he'lJl^ii!'^''!"'^^ ^y^^^ comprehensible?" wh,T^.f u"«' ''*''"'« J"?* •^^"'^ to the end of Loi'^d'^lLr ' "^'^''y ^"«*^ °* "- -» tl,r ^ ^^ r","" P^*"?^"" ^ " s*'om.whe«?he curious table. io.'^edtoVJ^Si^-^'"^"^^'' ='"«' dressing- woic, joined to the heat jrom the stove orodurS aheavy atmosphere that made hereasD S"^^ sea was a deep blue now. with crests of f^- 1 >>', 98 THE BENEFACTRESS the island coast opposite was a shadowy streak stretched across the feet of the sun. Oh, it was beautiful to stand at that open window in the freshness, listening to the robin on the bare lilac bush a few yards away, to the quarrelling of the in^pudent sparrows on the path below, to the wind in the branches of the trees, to all the happy morning sounds of nature. A joyous feeling took possession of her heart, a sudden overpowering delight in what are called common things — mere earth, aky, sun, and wind. How lovely life was on such a morning, in such a clean, rain- washed, wind-scoured world. The wet smell of the garden came up to her, a whiff of marshy smell from the water, a long breath from the pines in the forest on the other side of the house. How had she ever breathed at Estcourt ? How had she escaped suffocation without this life-giving smell of sea and forest? She looked down with delight at the wildness of the garden ; after the trim Estcourt lawns, what a relief this was. This was all liberty, freedom from conventionality, absolute privacy; that was an everlasting clip- ping, and trimming, and raking, a perpetual stumbling upon gardeners at every step, for Susie would not be outdone by her greater neighbours in these matters. What was Hill Street looking like this fine March morning? All the blinds down, all the peq)le in bed — how far away, how shadowy it was; a street inhabited by sleepy ghosts, with phantom milkmen rattling spectral cans beneath their windows. What a dream that life lived up to three days ago seemed in this morning light of reality. White clouds, like the THE BENEFACTRESS ,, Clouds in Raphael's backgrounds, were floatin.r by 5fed''r;, 'Y *^y -°"Wnot' be huSf bv the wind; a black cat sat in a patch of sun- sJune on the path washing itself ;somebZ opened a lower window, and there w^ a ?4e o^ sweeping, presently made indistinguishable by the a pSuV"£!o5^ t|e sweeper, no loubt Marfe. in a pious, Good Friday mood. "LoS Gott ih, Chftsten alUugUichr\\^r.i^i^ Marie keeping ZIT^ ^\ ''T'"- "^^ ^^^^^ was'loud^anf monotonous, but Anna listened with a smile and would have liked to join in. and so fet^ome of her happiness find its way out. * She dressed quickly. There was no hot water chn™.°.'^",/.? ""f ^°' ^^'^^^ ^»d she di^S IhL r • ^""^^^."^^ cold water, assuring herself that It was bracing. Then she put on her hat and coat and stole out, afraid of dLurbhig Susie who was lying a few yards away filled S smouldering wrath, anxiois to have at St rae quiet hour before beginning a day that Se felt sure was going to be\ dav of wo^riel "There ^Jo.M i^l*'?"'^ '"r"*^'^*«'y f^lt shamed thirshe should look forward to being without her. "But I have never been without her since I was ten " she explained apologetically to her oflfended con- science, "and I want to see how I feel " intnf^i^ ^■''^'''" '^•'^ M^"^' »s Anna came F^^nch wKr°°" °" '^•- ^y °"* ^•'-"g^ •*« \Gutm Morgenr said Anna cheerfully Mane leaned on her broom and watch^ her go loo THE BENEFACTRESS down the garden, greedily taking in every detail of her clothes, profoundly interested in a being who went out into the mud where nobody could see her with such a dress on, and whose shoes would not have been too big for Marie's small sister aged nine. The evening before, indeed, Marie had beheld such a vision as she had never yet in her life seen, or so much as imagined ; her new mistress had appeared at supper in what was evidently a herr- schaftliche BallkUid, with naked arms and shoul- ders, and the other ladies were attired in much the same way. The young Fraulein, it is true, showed no bare flesh, but even she was arrayed in white, and her hair magnificently tied up with ribbons. Marie had rushed out to tell the cook, and the cook, refusing to believe it, had carried in a super- erogatory dish of compot as an excuse for secur- mg the assurance of her own eyes ; and Bertha from the farm, coming round with a message from the Frau Oberinspector, had seen it too through the crack of the kitchen door as the ladies left the dining-room, and had gone o£f breathlessly to spread the news; and the post cart just leaving with the letters Tiad carried it to Lohm, and every mhabitant of every house between Kleinwalde and Stralsund knew all about it before bedtime. ;• What did I tell thee, wife? " said Dellwig, who, in spite of his superiority to the sex that served, listened as eagerly as any member of it to gossip; and his wife was only too ready to label Anna mad or eccentric as a slight private consolation for hav- ing passed out of the service of a comprehensible German gentleman into that of a woman and a foreigner. THE BENEFACTRESS ,oi Unconscious of the interest and curiosity she was exciting for miles round, pleased by Marie's artless piety, and filled with kindly feelings towards aU her neighbours, Anna stood at the end of the garden looking over the low hedge that divided it from the marsh and the sea, and thought that she had never seen a place where it would be so easy to be good. Complete freedom from the wearisome obligations of society, an ideal privacy surrounded by her woods and the water, a scanty population of simple and devoted people — did not Dellwie shed tears at the remembrance of his master? — every day spent here wou'd be a day that made her better, that would bring her nearer to that heaven m which all good and simple souls dwelt while still on earth, the heaven of a serene and quiet mind. Always she had longed to be good and to help and befriend those who had the same longing but in whom it had been partially crushed by want of opportunity and want of peace. The healthy goodness that goes hand in hand with happiness was what she meant; not that tragic and futile goodness that grows out of grief, that iSts Its head miserably in stony places, that flourishes m sick rooms and among desperate sorrows, and goes to God only because all else is lost. She went round the house and crossed the road into the forest The fresh wind blew in her face, and shook down the drops from the branches on her as she passed. The pine needles of other years made a thick carpet for her feet. The sun gleamed through the straight trunks and warmed her. The restless sighing overheard in the tree tops filled her ears with sweetest music. " I do believe the toa THE BENEFACTRESS place is pleased that I have come I " she thought, with a happy laugh. She came to a clearing in the trees, opening out towards the north, and she could see the flat fields and the wide sky and the sunshine chasing the shadows across the vivid green patches that she had learned were winter rye. A hole at her feet, where a tree had been uprooted, still had snow in it ; but the larks were singing above in the blue, as though from those high places they cotfld see Spring far away in the south, coming up slowly with the first anemones in her hands, her face turned at last towards the patient north. The strangest feeling of being for the first time in her life at home came over Anna. This poor country, how sweet and touching it was. After the English country, with its thickly scattered villages, and gardens, and fields that looked like parks, it did seem very poor and very empty, but intensely lovable. Like the furniture of her house, it struck her as symbolic in its bareness of the sturdier virtues. The people who lived in it must of necessity be frugal and hard-working if they would live at all, wresting by sheer labour their life from the soil, braced by the long winters to endur- ance and self-denial, their vices and their languors frozen out of them whether they would or no. At least so thought Anna, as she stood gazing out across the clear! .ig at the fields and sky. " Could one not be good here ? Could one not be so, so good ? " she kept on murmuring. Then she re- membered that she had been asking herself vague questions like this ever since her arrival ; and with a sudden determination to face what was in her THE BENEFACTRESS 103 mind and think it out honestly, she sat down on a tree stump, buttoned her coat up tight, for the wind was blowmg full on her, and fell to considerine what she meant to do. Susie did not go down to breakfast, but stayed in her bedroom on the sofa drinking a glass of milk into which an egg had been beaten, and listening to Hilton's cnticisms of the German nation, delivered with much verom while she packed. But Hilton, though her contempt for German ways was so great as to be almost un- utterable, was reconciled to a mistress who had so quickly given in to her wish to be taken back to Hill Street, and the venom was of an abstract nature, containing no personal sting of unfavour- able comparisons with duchesses ; so that Susie was sipping her milk in a fairly placid frame of mind when there was a knock at the door, and Anna asked if she might come in. " Oh, yes, come in. Have you looked out the trains ? " " Yes. There's only one decent one, and you'll have to leave directly after luncheon. Won't you stay, Susie ? Youll be so tired, going home with- out resting." " Can't we leave before luncheon ? " " Yes, of course, if you prefer to lunch at Stral- sund." " Much. Have you ordered the shandrydan ? " " Yes, for half-past one." "Then order it for half-past twelve. Hilton can drive with me." "So I thought" 104 THE BENEFACTRESS "Has that wretch been rubbing fish oil on it again r « I don't think so, after what I said yesterday." I shouldn t think what you said yestercfay could have fnghtened him much. You beamed « r? ^ , °"S" ^^ ^^^ your best friend." Anna vras looking odd. Susie thought, and answering her remarks with a nervous, a&tracted air. S>he had apparently been out, for her dress was muddy, and she was quite rosy, and her hair was not so neat as usual. She stood about in an undecided sort of way, and glanced several times at Hilton on her knees before a trunk. "Is that all the breakfast you are going to have? she asked, becoming aware of the llass of milk. * "What other breakfast is there to have?" snapped Susie, who was hungry, sad would have liked a great deal more. "Weil, the eggs and butter are very nice,'any- way, said Anna, quite evidently thinking oi other things. " Now what has she got into her head ? " Susie asked herself, watching her sister-in-law with mis- giving. Anna's new moods were never by any chance of a sort to give Susie pleasure. Aloud she said tartly, " I can't eat Cjggs and butte. by themselves. 1 shouldn't have had anything at all If It hadn t been for Hilton, who went into the kitchen and made me this hereelf." "Excellent Hilton," said Anna absent/. Haven t you done packing yet, Hilton ? " " No. mm." THE BENEFACTRESS ««S ::i, !• Anna sa down on the end of the sofa and began to twist the frills of Susie's dressing-eown round her fingers. "I haven't closed my eyes all night," said Susie, putting on her martyr look, "nor has Hilton. " Haven't you? Whv not? I slept the sleep of the just — better, indeed, than any just that I ever heard of." " What, didn't that man go into your room ? " " What man ? Oh, yes. Miss Leech was telling me about it. He lit the stoves, didn't he? I never heard a sound." "You must have slept like a log then. Any one in the least sensitive would have been fright- ened out of their senses. I was, and so was Hilton. I wouldn't spend another night in this house for anything you could give me. It appeared that Susie really had just cause for complaint She had been nervous the night be- fore after Hilton had left her, unable to sleep, and scared by the thought of their defenceless- ness — six women alone m that wild place. She wished then with all her heart that Dellwig did live in the house. Rats scampering about in the attic above added to her terrors. The wind shook the windows of her room and howled dis- consolately up and down. She bore it as long as she could, which was longer than most women would have borne it, and then knocked on the wall dividing her room from Hilton's. But Hil- ton, with the bedclothes over her head and all the candles she had been able to collect alight, would not have stirred out of her room to save I0< THE BENEFACTRESS her mistress from dyine; and Susie, desperate at the prospect of the aw?ul houre round Skht to fetch her. Poor Susie, standing shiverinir be- fore her maid's bolted door. scSntil/cIothed. anxiously watching the flame 'of her Lde ffi threatened each second to be blown out. alone on the wide, draughty landing, frighten^ at th* sound of her own c'alls min Jing Sfv'-^h he creakings and hangings of the temp^stshaken house, was an object cfeserving of pity^ It ?Sk some minutes to I'nditee Hilton to open the do^? and such minutes Susie had not. in the coureTrf an ordered and normal existence, yet TiSed ^ZS^.TuT ?"'"5'^ room. l4edTeS: fffjf, I ' i "''*?" ^*7 '^o*" ^n the sofa; and A ha?fn«f /r' c''"^^"" '"*° »" uneasy ;i^'^ At half-past three Susie started up in bed- some Ther„cJf^\^:5\°P^" *!!*' door^and knclcffg' The candles had burnt themselves out and she could not tell what time it was, but thought i1 Tnted'lo'b'S.'rt^/"'* ^'^^^ the°2:Ln' m/rfn »„^ K 5^ u ^"^ ^°^ '^^^'' ^nd She woke Hilton and bade her open the door. Hfltoir did tT;^2' ^T' ""l"""?' ^"'^ «""g herself bade on the sofa, wheij she lay as one dead, her face essly. Susie was never nearer fainting in her Jhf. '^^ '^' u ^r ^^' ^^' '^o'd hand! claspS tightly round her knees, her eyes fixed on tSs dreadful appantion, unable to speak or mov? paralysed by terror. This was the end?thTn rf all her hopes and ambitions-to come o Poml THE BENEFACTRESS 107 rania and die like a dog. Then the sickenine feehng of fear gave way to one of overwhelming wrath when she found that all the man wanted WM to liKht her stove. On the same principle that a child is shaken who has not after all been lost or run over, she was speechless with raee now that she found that she was not, after all to be murdered. He was a very old man, aiid the light from the lantern cast strange reflections on his face and figure as he crouched before the stove. He mumbled as he worked, talking to the fire he was making as though it were a pereon. Zfu unllst nickt, brennm. Lump ? Was f Na warte mal!" And when he had finished, crept out again without glancing at the occupants ci the room, still mumbling. "It's the custom of the country, I suppose." said Anna. *^^ " Is it ? Well the sooner we get out of such a country the better. You are determined to stay in spite of everything ? I can tell you I don't at all hke my child being here, but you force me to leave her because you know very well that I can't let vou stay here alone." Anna glanced at Hilton, folding a dress with immense deliberation. "Oh, Hilton knows what I think," said Susie, with a shrug. " But she doesn't know what / think," said Anna. " I must talk to vou before you leave so please let her finish packing afterwards. Go and have your breakfast, Hilton." "Did you say breakfast, m'm?" inquired Hil- ton with an innocent look. to* THE BENEFACTRBSB ,.,"?«*Wa8t?" repeated Susie; "poor thine I'd '•''„* to h"?u* *'°* '^'^ ^'^"^ »he is toget «?:•• Well, then, go and don't have yourVeakfast" J^I sl""1i,?P**'!"!'y- ,^^^ '"^ something to tell Susie that must be told soon, and was not in a mood to bear with Hilton's ways. rl^°*..Wl*"'''" "^marked Susie as the door closed. • Really you are a delightful hostess." Anna laughed. "I don't mean to be brutal" fc^'^^V ^V >/ we «n exist on the food without Ittofly'KnVd^P ''*= "^" too. especially as tJf^L°"?it''u"*j-'^".'" '^^"9 Letty here is that she wil be dieted in spite of herself. I ex- pect you to bnng her back quite thin." « A «^ ^°l fP '^"essly and went to the window. And whatever you do, don't forget that the return tickets onlv last till the 24th.^ But youTl be sick of It long before then." ' th^'^rV""'"^^""'' *""• '^^"^ •>" back against the window The strong morning light ^on her hair, and her face was in shadowTyet Susie had a feelinsf that she was looking guilty. effoS'"^' "^ •'^" thinking," sSe^sai/ with an "Really? How nice." " Yf' 't was. for I found out what it is that I must do if I mean to be happy. But I'm afraid that you won' thmk it nice, and wiU scold me. Now don t scold me. " Well, tell me what it is." Susie lay staring at Annas form against the light, bracing herself to hear something disagreeable* She knew very weH from past expenence that Anna's new plan what- ever It was, was certain to be wild and foolish. THE BENEFACTRESS i,- " I am going to stay here." «.r I- ?i ^°", ""• *"'* ^ """ow that nothing I «n say mil make you change your mind. pSer fLTyJ'^" J'°»-t»'e more I show him what a £Si^ «S'"« ^ "^h" °^ '^•'"«=« the more he msists on doing ,t He calls it determinaTion Average people like myself, with smaUer and more easify managed brains than youTo won dershave^tcalfltpigheadedness.^' meai f^goS^ °"'^ '°' "^'""y'' '^°-'^»y»'- ' •JJ?^ *^°*^ul ^"^'^ opened her mouth and De&" r^^V*' same bfank consternation that ov^r^^ll "^ angry with me," said Anna, coming MshSiaxi^ai-^ anjs^ and the duty towards one's ^eigh- "'o" *nd lea^dbSe^StSiSf' '* "" "^ °- ^'""^ -^ coiit^mlll*^" Tl°i'' *°°'""V^ S""'^ *it'' bitterest contempt. "That money, then, is goinjj to be thrown away on Germans? As tKouS, here weren't poor people enough in Englancf if you™ ^^ibitionistoposeasabenefactrestl" ^ ««„?»); i 1 * T'"* '° P°'« '^ anything— I only want to help unhappy wretches." cried >lnna. U haL " M''''/"r'",l'y °" Susie's unfiling hand. ' Now don't scold me — foigive me if I'm silly, and be patient with me till Tfind ou th^t I ve made a goose of myself and come creeping back to you and Peter. 6ut I mus^ do it - 1 S try — I a/,// do what I think is right " be mlde h^^pyT"*'' *"^*^''"' P'^' "^° »« »° "Oh, those I am sorriest for — that no one dl^J,elps-the genteel ones, if I can only get at "I never heard of genteel wretches," said Susie. Anna laughed again. "I was thinking it al M^H^ f%^°TJ. '^^ '"Owning." she said, "and i suddenly flashed across me that this big roomy ?n«>t«7^' "^- "' ""'^"^ "°* *° be used, and tha^t nstead of gomg to see poor people aid givinJ nllTn^ I" *^ °'*""y ^?' 't would Vsf .nuch better to let women of the better class^ lit THE BENEFACTRESS who have no money, and who are dependent and miserable, come and live with me and share mine, and have everything that I have — exactly the same, with no difference of any sort There is room for twelve at least, and wouldn't it be beau- tiful to make twelve people, who had lost all hope and all courage, happy for the rest of their daysF* Oh, the girl's mad I " cried Susie, springing up from the sofa, no longer able to bear herself. She began to walk about the room, not knowing what to s^ or do, absplutely without sympathy for beneficent impulses, at all times possessed of a fine scorn for ideals, feeling that no argument would be of any avail with an Estcourt whose mind was made up, shocked that good money, so hard to get, and so very precious when got, should be thrOTrn away in such a manner, bewildered by the difficulties of the situation, for how could a girl of Anna's age live albne, and direct a house full of objects of charity? Would the objects themselves be a sufficient chaperonaee? Would her friends at home think sol' Would they not blame her, Susie, for having allowed all this? As though she could prevent it! Or would they e:q>ect her to stay with Anna in this place till she should marry? As though any- bodv would ever marry such a lunatic I « Mad, mad, mad I cned Susie, wringing her hands. " .was afraid that you wouldn't like it," said the culprit on the floor, watching her with a distressed " Like it ? Oh — mad, mad 1 " And she con- tinued to walk and wring her hands " Well, you'll stay, then," she said, suddenly THE BENEFACTRESS "3 stoppmg in front of Anna. " I know you well enough, and shall waste no breath arguine. That infatuated old man's money has tunfed jlur hSl ;;^ur i^^J^ u"^ 'i "^^ '° ^^^ «"t J°o»^ into your heart when I am gone— youll have time enough and quiet enough -and ask youS honestly whether what you are going to S^ if" LTu "^,1^ °* P^y'"« ^'^ ^" ^ ^^^^ done for ^ou! and all the expense you have been. You know what my wishes are about you. and you don't c^re one jot Gratitude I There isn't a spark of it S yourwholebody. Never was there a more selfih creature, and I can't believe that ingratitude and selfishness are the stuff that makes ^ints. Don? dare to talk any more rot about duty ^o vour neighbour to me. An Englishwoma^ to come „t!P^?.*^ ^^"^ money on German charities » « "^.^rman money." murmured Anna. m»Hl" i°/'c ^^^-}? "^« Aff^-oh, mad, madl And Susies mdjgnation threatening to rif«^ r* ''l^ Tl"^^^ ^^' ^^^ «"d her gesficu- tereteardL ^^ **PP'"S '""°"«ly O" the She longed to take Letty and Miss Leech away with her that very morning, and punish Anna by teivmg her entirely alone; but sW did not dar^ because of Peter. Peter was always on Anna^ ?o H-T'''" *S!- " ''T' differences, and would be sur^ to do something dreadful when he heard of it — perhaps come and live here too. and never go back Whv\^^f"^'"°•'■^; .Oh. these half GemansI Why had she married into a family with such a one here, she said, turning on Anna, who still sat "4 THE BENEFACTRESS on the floor by the sofa, a look on her face of apology and penitence mixed with firmness that f Zinf ''T- 'l^^^'^^" y°" ^t'^y here alone i,?? r! ""^ ^'"^ t^f'l'' "^'^^ yo" till the end of the holidays, though I hate to seem to encourage you; but then you see I do my duty and alwavs Jave, though I don't talk about^it. ^^en I g? W? Jf °°^ K^"""^ elderly woman wlio In'fL l*^ '"'"'"]? ^^'^ '"'^ s«e'"g that you dont make yourself too much of a by-word, and the day she comes you are to send me back my Susie ^"^"^ °^ ^°" *° '^* ""^ ^^P L^"y> dear "Dear Susie!" .,.:' ^"t^ do?'t mean to be a by-word, as you call t, continued Anna, the ghost of a smile lurking m her eyes, "and I don't want an EnglishwoS What use would she be here? SKe wouldn't underetand if it was a German byword that I howf hS^h J *°"ght ^bout askings the paSon how I had better set about getting a German lady FnclfKm wro^;!^'"^^'^^^"^^'' '" ^-"•- " Oh Uncle Joachim " Susie could hardly endure to hear the name. It was that odious oS man who had filled Anna's head with these ideas To leave her money was admirable, but to influ- ^1™^ '^v.'' «"■[' T'"'^ ^'^^ J^'-" wishy-washy German philosophy about the better life and such rubbish, as he evidently had done during those excursions with her, was conduct so shameful th^ opmion of it. Everyone would blame her for THE BENEFACTRESS tti 1; ; Vi! what had happened, everyone would jeer at her, and say that the moment an opportunity of escape had presented itself Anna had seized it, preferring an existence of loneliness and hardship — any sort of existence — to all the pleasures of civilised life in Susie's coro-iny. Peter would certainly be very angry witn her, and reproach her with not having made Anna happy enough. Happy enough! The girl had cost her at least three hundred a year, what with her expensive educa- tion and all her clothes since she came out; and if three hundred good pounds spent on a girl could not make her happy, she'd like to know what could. And no one — not one of those odious people in London whom she secretly hated — would have a single word of censure for Anna. No one ever had. All her vagaries and absurdi- ties during the last few years when she had been so provoking had been smiled at, had been, Susie knew, put down to her treatment of her. Treat- ment of her, indeed! The thought of these things made Susie writhe. She had been look- ing forward to the next season, to having her pretty sister-in-law with her in the happy mood she had been in since she heard of her good fortune, and had foreseen nothing but advantages to herself from Anna's presence in her house — an Anna spending and not being spent upon, and no doubt to be persuaded to share the expenses of house- iPi'"^" "^"^ "°^ ^^^ '""®* S° '^°'"^ ^y herself to blame, scoldings, and derision. The prospect was almost more than she could bear. She went to the door, opened it, and turning to Anna fired a parting shot " Let no one," she said, her voice h u6 THE BENEFACTRESS hannt" ^^ '^^^^^ '''*«"**• " ^^o Wants to be offlamia'Sn'^H-u""'^ ""*°°= nor did she leave ott calling till Hilton appeared, and so prevented Anna from saying anoth?7woid. P^^nted CHAPTER VIII f„?"^ ■' j"u'^'' "^ge was such that she refused to say good-bye, and terrified Miss Leech while she was waiting in the hall for the carriage by dark allusions to strait-waistcoats, when the par- son was taken into Anna's confidence after dinner ^,.n5* folowing night his raptures knew no bounds. "Lubes, edeldenkendes Fraulein!" he burst out, clasping his hands and gazing with a moist, ecstatic eye at this young s|rig of piety. He was a good man, not very learned? not venr v^\ ^"*""ental exceedingly, and much in- clined to become tearfully eloquent on such sub- jects as dulubekUine Kinder, die herrliche Naiur, ape I'rau als Schutzengel, and the sacredness of das Famtlunleben. Anna felt that he was the only person at hand who could perhaps help her to find twelve dejected ladies willing to te made happy, and had uXlded her plan to fiim as tersely as possible in her stum- bling German, with none of those accompanyinc digressions into the question of feelings that Susie stigmatised as drivel ; and she sat uncomfortable enough while he burst forth into praises that would not end of her goodness anc nobleness. It IS hard to look anything but fatuous when some- body IS extolling your virtues to your face, and she could not help both looking and feeling foolish 117 Its THE BENEFACTRESS Hn,?U^K^ extravagant glorification. She did not doubt his sincerity, and indeed he was aSteS sincere, but she wished that he w^ld iS S and^'Z""'' 'n^"S' ^"'^ *°"W skip the raptu^l c.^j,''^ "'°''^ *^ ^'.'"P'^ ^'''te dress that had caused such a sensation in the neighbourhood, a gaSt cl» li ","« '" long, soft folds, accen uatfnrher id tu^keTth-'Tt """ ''"^'^^ hair wip^arfed her Kk ^ ^^"'l ''f ^^"^^ Everything about her breathed an absolute want of self-conscious ness and vanity, a perfect freedom from ?he S thought of the impression she might be mS' yet she was beautiful, and the gJSd man obS-' uft told& '"'^ ?r^'"S '^^"^ what shS iff *°''' '"'"^an equal beauty of character, for ever ^terwards when he thought of angels on aufet Sunday evenings in his |rden, clofhed °hem 2 h^ZZ^ ''1°'^^ '^' "V^ "ot even shrinking a^»„ K ^'"S 'J'^"? ^'■''^ ^ courage worthy of ticrW^i^'/^; '*'' ^1! ^^ ^'^ss, which was also her hghtest, sat on the edge of a chair some way off '^^r^f'^'S greatly ^t many things. She ?oSld not hear what it was Anna had laid to set her oeS^t'^.H ^-^ r«:>^i'"in& because the governed persisted in trying to talk German to her and would not be satisfied with vague repHer' She was disappointed by the sudden^isSartnce of tuZlT^^'^'^T ^^^^^^i^^ hJ^ownher! self to a single soul; astonished that she had not THE BENEFACTRESS "9 been requested to sit on the sofa, in which place of honour the young Fraulein sprawled in a way that would certainly ruin her clothes; distusted that she had not been pressed at table, nay, not even asked, to partake of every dish a second time ■ indeed, no one had seemed to notice or care whetlier she ate anything at all. These were strange ways. And where were the Dellwigs. those great people accustomed to patronise her because she was the parson's wife ? Was it possible that they had not been invited? Were there then quarrels already ? She could not of course dream that Anna would never have thought of askine her inspector and his wife to dinner, and that in her Ignorance she regarded the parson as a person on an altogether higher social level than the in- spector These things, joined to conjectures as to the probable price by the yard of Anna's, Letty's and Miss Leech's clothes, gave Frau Manske more food for reflection than she had had for years; and she sat turning them over slowly in her mind in the intervals between Miss Leech's sentences, while her dress, which was of silk, creaked ominously with everv painful breath she drew. i,."J!/^ ^®* "^^7 ,*° *^*'" ^^'^ t'^e parson, when Jie had exhausted the greater part of his raptures, will be to advertise in a newspaper of a Christian character. " But not in my name," said Anna. " No. no, we must be discreet — we must be very 1 ^f/^l*" J, advertisement must be drawn up with Skill. 1 will make, simultaneously, inquiries amone my colleagues in the holy office, but there must also be an advertisement. What would the gra- »«• THE BENEFACTRESS ri^^lJ!*'*''^°P'"'°? ^ °^ the desirability of refer- "^x^"*?''^?",*^ '" '•>« fi"t instance, to mr?" Why, 1 think it would be an excdlent olln if you do not mind the trouble - '*^^"*''* P'*"' " "Trouble! Joy fills me at the thought of was to become a holy place, a blessed refujre for the world-worn, a nooi fragrant with charity?!!" .. (J°/ n°' chanty," interposed Anna, min^ffl '^il'r^'" '^°"''""ed the parson, deter- mined to finish his sentence, " whose>erfu^e will ascend day and night to the attentfve havens But such are the celestial surprises Providence leSfex-peSIt^^ ^"'^ '^''^^ "-" - ^^'nT the a'Ji;i:Sif„t r- " ^"* ^''^^ ^•^^" - P"* - I J^^* •'/'' ,*'?^ advertisement In the contem- plation of this beautiful scheme I forget the advertisement." And again the mSi of ecstasy suffused his eyes? and again he clSrJd weS SrbLlifiWemt^ ^°""^ '^''^ '^^-" fod"? ^°* •I'P ^""^ *^"* *° the writing-table to keeohinf'tn'i""''-".'''^"^ °* P^P^--- »™ o Hf»*^j!l ^, *'^tP°'"*; *"«^ the parson watching «fn, !T^^u' ^'"'^ '^g"^^ *^ more than evef uTL^^ ^^ '■^.«f'"blance to his idea of anS He did not consider how easy it was to lookS a l^ing from another worid, a creature purifiS tn KlKT/fu'*'''y/™''"^s«' to eyes accustomS •WTpWH THE BENEFACTRESS ,„ She brought the paper, and sat down again at the table on which the lamp stood. " How does one write any sort of advertisement in German? " she said. " I could not write one for a housemaid. And this one must be done so carefully." "Very true; for, alas, even ladies are some- times not all that they profess to be. Sad that in a Christian country there should be impostors Doubly sad that there should be any of the female sex. " Very sad," said Anna, smiling. " You must tell me which are the impostors among those that answer. " Ach, it will not be easy," said the parson, whose experience of ladies was limited, and who began to see that he was taking upon himself responsi- bilities that threatened to become grave. Sup- pose he recommended an applicant who after- wards departed with the gracious Miss's spoons in her bag ? " Ack, it will not be easy," he said, shaking his head. "Oh, well," said Anna, "we must risk the im- postors. There may not be any at all. How would you begin?" t. 7^f .Pai^n threw himself back in his chair, folded his hands, cast up his eyes to the ceiling, and meditated. Anna waited, pencil in hand' ready to write at his dictation. Frau Manske at the other end of the room was straining her ears to hear what was going on, but Miss Leech, desirous both of entertaining her and of practising her German, would not cease from her spasmodic talk, even expecting her mistakes to be corrected. And there were no refreshments, no glasses of »•» THE BENBPACTRESS Sof ^l "^'"^ ''"'^^'^ '°""'l' n° "quid con- soiation of any sort, not even seltzer water Shi '^'^^fi ^". «^"ing « a failure *•* fh- C ^nnst'an lady of noble sentiments " dictated ' linr°oK''a'hom^e ^f"«K ^''^ -°'^» "« !h2 " f/:u- .L * "ome m her house " " - offlc ^^^rtjsement ? " asked Anna. .. — offers a home m her house " Anna. "I ^ulH"''^I!''' .•^K^""'"*" hesitated norsentLe'nul". "''" '''''" °"' *•«"' ^he "As the gracious one pleases Modpsfv n,„ n^verbeanything but an orLme'ni. ' A° cfctn" a hdvf ""fc S*'^'^* '^^y ' Wl'y "°t simply a lady? Are there, then, heathen lilies about that you msist on the Christian? " ** Worse, worse than heathen." replied the oar- our midst, here evervwhew. talr;„„ ^k «f,„ u ??^^la* him. mystified. "The Jews?" STs ":)Z\ d?r K°i *]" «^^*^^* friends at h^me was a Jew, a delightful person, the mere recollec tion of whom made her smile, so witS and chaS >ng and kind was he. And of JeSb'getSi THE BENEFACTRESS 1,3 ■he could not remember to have heard anything "But not only money fiom our pockets and bread from our mouths," continued the parson leanmg forward, his light grey eyes opened to their widest extent, and speaking in a whisper that made her flesh begin the process known as creepmg, " but blood — blood from our veins " " Blo^« , "CrazinessI Thou callest this craziness ? It IS my wife, the wife of a pastor, that I hear apply- scSeme?"* *° "^ ''^''"*'^"'' ^ Christian, a THE BENEFACTRESS ,,, Woman, shut thy mouth ! " rr;»/ fu ^" WW CHAPTER IX The next morning early, Anna went over to the farm to ask Dellwig to lend her any news- papers he might have. She was anxious to adver- tise as soon as possible for a companion, and now that she knew' of the existence of sister Helena, thought It better to write this advertisement witiv out the parson s aid. copying any other one of the sort that she might see in the papers. Until she Si^^^Tu ^^u ^""'''''^ °* * German lady who would tell her how to set about the reforms she intended making in her house, she was perfectly helpless. She wanted to put her home in order quickly so that the twelve unhappy ones should not be kept waiting; and there were many things to be done. Servants, furniture, everything, wis necessary, and she did not know where such thines were to be had. She did not even know where washerwomen were obtainable, and Frau Dellwiff never seemed to be at home when she sent for her or went to her seeking information. On Good Friday, after Susie's departure, she had sent a rnessage to the farm desiring the attendance of the inspectors wife, whom she wished to consult about the dinner to be prepared for the Manskes. all provisions apparently passing through Frau Dellwig s hands; and she had been told that the lady was at church. On Saturday morning, dis- 'ttl-, .•»"" ^m^.^mfW'^mi^^^M THE BENEFACTRESS ,3, turbed by the emptiness of her larder and the mmmence of her guests, she had gone hereelf to the farm but was told that the lady was b the cow-sheds-m which cow-shed nobody exactly knew. Anna had been forced to ask^DeS about the food. On Sunday she took LetYy wT^ her, abashed by the whisperings and staring she had had to endure when she went alone. Tor on this occasion did she see the inspector's wife and T^^n n° ^°J"^^' ^''^t had become of £ 1 he Dellwigs wrath and amazement when thev found that the parson and his wife had been bvUed to dmner and they themselves left out was inde the"m'^' Thf'T^ ""f ^"'^!! ^" '"^"'^ beenXed thp,vVi ^''.^y had always been the first people of their class m the place, always held their heads up and condescended to the clergy, always been .'iT^he r-'lfl*'^^ S°"^ ^''' *''™"gh dolors sS m the right-hand corners of sofas If he was t7u'.^ ^^' '*'" """'^ ^' filled with venom XZ^U ^^^^ 9^erjoyed, Frau Manske; and though her own interest demanded it. she was altogether unable to bring herself to meet Anna for the purpose, as she knew, of being consulted about the menu to be offered to the wretched upstart. Indeed, Frau Dellwig's posidon was similar to that painful one in which Se found Kr o^r^'l!: '•?''"?"*J^' London acquaintance Si °^ ^^^ mvitations to the wedding; on s*Se^toT"V''r ' k"o^.. Susie had been con- strained to flee to Germany in order to escape the comments of her friends. Frau Dellwig could not flee anywhere. She was obliged to stay where '3» THE BENEFACTRESS she was and bear it as best she might, humiliated .n the e;.es of the whole neighbourlioc^d. an obS of derision to her very milkmaids. Ph losoDhIre smrle at such trials; Lt to pe«ons who are nol philosophers, and at Kleinwalde these were in S anTSill'l^ '^' '""^^ *^'«'^"'' *° enXre than thl l^^ bereavement. There is no dignity about them, and friends, instead of sympathisin/ rejojce more or less openlv accordingTthfS of thei • cmhsatton. The degree of civdliS among Frau Dellwig's friendslas not gSranS d^e rejoicings oh the next Sunday when they all met would be but ill-concealed; there wa/no escape from them, they had to b^ faced a^ the malicious condolences accepted with what counte! nance she could. Instead of making sausages And ""t'^-r ''"* ''"1"'^ •" her bedroom and wfp A.rfj? ^^"!f •''°"* ^''^t tl^e unconscious Anna, whose one desire was to live at peace with 5avs""?A^"'''' "^^ *^? T""^'' within Two days. AI women." said Dellwig to his wife "high and ow. are alike. Unless^they have a husband to keep them in their right plaUtheJ has wormed himself in very cleverly, truly very cleverly. But we will worm' him out again 3 frlft'^'™"''- ^' ^r ^'^ ^««- ^hat cSst thou expect from so great a fool ? " J'Jf°hi!'"^-^'^'J''°^ ^?' ^ ^^Pe«^t nothing." re. pied his wife tossmg her head, "but from the n ece of our late master I expected the behaviour t^ t^^\ k"'^ ^' '^^' """^^"t- the niece of her bedro^^ ^"^ announced, she fled into her T^tM^^WK% TKR BENEFACTRESS came with Lettv into fht P °^ l?^"" ^"'val, where he was workinawfhaCr ""^^ ^'^^^ shine in her face. TWh .K ^ "'ornmg sun- many things, she was intern,.! \'^'" Peq^Iexed by feet freedom after h?r,^'? ''^PPJ'- The per- heaven. Ke she Jaf fn""]?.^ '"'"''"^ ^^ "^e which nobody could Tak^K / °'^" ^"""^^ f^m life as she cLse Ohl •^'■^V°*''^"«e her and this the most iSaitlT^ * beautiful lorld. was sure the sky wa^ K u" J"^V- °^ ''' She in other places and th^.tk *, ^'^'^walde than And then was she not on th/ ^"^' '""«^ '°"'^^'-- ng her dreams of CngPn^tll^uTru''^ '•f^h's- into dark and hopelessi vfs ? t^uKu ^.^iness beautiful world I Sh^T " • ^^ ^^^ beautiful, with the lov°'o'f'itSrni^"^^r e?e?^'«'^ '"^"^ his S andtuTerdeplnr;- '" ""/-'"-^ely young woman; but he was jl°" ^'^'^ P^"^^'^ talkative, considering wit^^n k' ^J^y^' '"^^ 'ess not be expected to nf " '"'"^^'^ *hat he could some alSSf in fifmr/er"'^ h' ^"«'i* *.'*«"' to show that he was oawT "^ u"^ ""?''*• *>« ^^It, it so unmistakabWat shJ •-■" °"? '° '''°* tooffersomeSpZatilof hT'"^ ^'^^P' ^ '«J ingly he assum^rthrsubdSed'beht'-' '^'f'"'^- whose feelings have^en h„.7 behaviour of one wantedThe pJ^i.^^;" '"^'^ '° ^^^^ why she women toVad^S^s'jlS^ " "" "-""^"^^ ^°^ murder, nr =.„„*»..•-_ "rrr^" 'I !i nythingSfthatsor;,h'.^'wSk:d to »34 THE BENEFACTRESS see them, but not at other times. " Is the jrracious ^sroX!"^'"'^^'"'^'"''"^'^''-^"^^ while fiS™ ""^* "''^ ''^'^ * ""'^ " I? "" '" 'iterature, perhaps ? " " There are some well-written articles occasion- ally on the modes m ladies' dresses." " Really ? " thl^L*?^ *l"! "^^ .'^^ °**«" ««ts hints from them as to what is being worn. Ladies, we know, he added with a superior smile, checked, however, on h.s remembering that he was pained are mterested in these mattlrs." K.l^^"' ^^X "f *Sr^^^ Anna, smiling, and *>oWing out her hand for the papere. "Ah. then, it is that that the gracious Miss wishes to read? "he said quickly .« V'l^P*'^'*'"'^'"!?'" ^'^ Anna, who began to see that he too suffered from the prevailine inquisitiveness. Besides, she was too much afraid ot his having sisters, or of his wife's having sisters Itfl u *'°'!}^ ^"'* ^^ ^ "^^'"g to l>er. to tell him' about her advertisement. On the steps of his house, to which Dellwie accompanied the two girls, stood a man who haS just got off his horse. He was pulling off his rioves as>he watched it being led away By a boy. He had his back to Anna, and she looked at it interested, for it was unlike any back she had yet seen in Klemwalde, in that it was the back of a gentleman. Uanl. "^ ."-•■ •nr.'.ji THE BENEFACTRESS unfortunately drink T^^^^" u"""^ °^ o""" People Good FriSanS there ,-""'* °? ''°''^*y» «ke to the gracio^us one that he ifn'""'> ^ "^P'^'^^d He.? von Lohm turned l.u ^'"*«?'^teher." wigWoice. and tS,k oThis hat' '-T'' °^ ^^"• me to these ladies." he said tn n "i^y P'-^sent bowed as gravely to ittn, ! Dellwig, and great satisfSn ^^^ ^' *° ^""^ to her wkbgtw?arhSt'^"^ti;: hn"^''^ ^-- which she stood with her nTni ^?''^f **^P on " So this is old Joachim's^X ' " . ^J! ^^' ^™- always talking ?''thouX Tn>f' °^, '"'/'?'" ''^ *^ her. "Wise fid man to leave Th.°°,'""« "P ^* instead of to those unnlJ. ^^ P'*^^ 'o her proceeded to mak?aTw 7n"* '?•"'-, ^"^^ he hoping that she 5k^ h* ''\"*'°"*' '•^marks, soon & quite used to th5/ "T '^T^ ^"'^ wo"ld quiet and lonj^? 'ft a adv nof "^ ^'Jl' " ^* '« ^^"7 country, with its L estates Irfl'' *° °-"'Ll''"d of hesai/in English.^ ^May I talk Fn ^f'^''^^^-" It g|ves me pfeasure to do^o " "^^''^ '° ^^^ ' who m^h^'°bC vl!^ fe S "?; ^ P-- reached^rwits- Sd iSS, ^^^ '{ ^"^^ ^he howdean.and whaia'nl, ^?* 'J'ce he looked, ing so grateSy on ears1^^,\""* ^°^^ he had, fall-' wi^'s sffouts and tL nai^if-t'^/^'^^.g ^'^h Dell- He was somewLrfSween &^ °T^- not young at all, she thoShav& ^"u ^°'^' got out of the habit of ffel nt vl^- '""^'^ "'^^^ Seyond being long and wl^'^ffot^n^a tS I. ! •J« THE BENEFACTRESS dency to fat. as she noticed with pleasure, there was nothing striking about him. ?Iis tc» K and h.s green Norfolk jacket and greenTelfhS with a httle feather stuck in it gave him an ajj tr^I'S-^VTV'- ^* vasreKeshingtocome across Em, ,f onlv because he did not b^w. Also considenne h.m !rom the top of the steps, she £ came sudcTenly conscious that Dellwig and the parson neglected their persons moi^ than was lent ; but she did like nicely washed men rM^^'^u" u*"" 'j^^San tc t.!k about Uncle Joa- chim, with whom he had oeen very intimate Anna came down the steps and he went a few yards with her. leaving Dellwig standing at the door, and followed by the eyes of Dellwfg's w«e concealed behind her bedroom curtain T IJ^^^^ ^ *,!*'' .?°" •" °"« moment," called Lohm over his shoulder. v«.i™ Sf ^u'ulf'** ^^"*.'«; '^^ he went in to tell his wife that these English ladies were very free with eentlemen. and to bid her mark his words That Lohm and Kleinwalde would before long be one "And us? What will become of us?" she asked, eying him anxiously. "I too would like to know that," replied her husband. " This all comes of leaving land away from the natural heirs." And with freat eneT^? masten *° ''"'^ ^^^ memor/of his iS A„^„°.'""'u ^"g''f.'L*^ so good that it astonished tlk^ at i I'^H-''^ ^"^ '^°*' *">* ^^ '">«1« no mis- takes at all. His manner was grave, and looking ■r-^^v THE BENEFACTRESS ,3^ 0! m.T.kT''"^''"'''}""'"''/ '•'« «* traces on his face of much hard work ancf anxiety. He told her W t^r°«So S'Th'" ^•^°"^'? °l[ Uncle jSS mam-,„» • .•* ''l^'* " * "''?*'' relationship by marnage existing between us.-'^he said. ^ beyo^/'retSiot" "'""^ ""'""«• "^=''"' ^--^ periS?" T'S '*'r,'"'**' y°" f"-- " indefinite tha thL„« 1^!^-. ^ '^*""°' *void knowing a ,™£ ..^°"A'^*^y." y°"' "'ece," he added witf T'u- ^."'^ t''** s'^e is here with her eoveme« FriHJ''"L^'^y ^^°"^ '^^t suddenly^on SS' Fnday because all that concerns you is ofihe greatest interest to the inhabitants of this auiet plac^ and they talk of little else " ^ I ,il„'f°ril°"»5*'" '* ^^''^ "'«'" t° get used to me? I don t like being an ob ect of inteFest. No Lettv IS gomg home as soon as I have found a coS panion. That is why I am taking the^nspt^^^l newspapers home with me. I can't constractan advertisement out of my stores of Gem?n aS Lrvf XSjS^ ' ' ^^ «"^ something"?h\"i ii,1 mn',?i;«f^^I..*'^'P y°t"^ ^'''='t difficulties you must meet with every hour of the day 1 " ^ I do, agreed Anna, thinking of all there was to be done Sefore she could opin her dooA Tnd her arms to the twelve. fnv'n'Ii"/ ?^'^'^^.,t*>^.t I can render to my oldest win 'T *'" S>ve me the greatest pleasure Wil you a^lowjneto d the rdvertise^n^^; " I don't," said Anna. " It would be very kind ^ •jS THE BENEFACTRESS that I should find somebody soon," " S," fi! ""^ ''"' importance." said Lohm. Has the parson told him of my plans already?" tMo;J"""- ?"' ^°*"" •'"'^ "°* seen Manske that morning, and was only picturing this little Sch^a Hiff""''?' i'.^'" daint'y little l=5y. used to such a different life, alone in the empty house struggling with her small supply of 6eVmanTo make the two raw servants unJeLand h™way ° hZ^Z'^ Tu* ''"'^ ]'''"« ^* *"• ^^^ she would have been half-amused and half-indignant if she '•H^l.'^''^"i, ^^K "''^*^°'^'' ^^ began- tadied s^ter?' ''?°"«^V"''« *' got an^unat- K.^r oViJ r soi^etimes stays with me with her children, and when she is here will be able o help you in many ways if you will allow her to She im if^* y.?*""- ""^'* ^'■°'" •>" childhood. Sveh^^^ ^'"^"y interested to know that you have had the courage to settle here." ' Courage?" echoed Anna. "Why, I love it It s the most beautiful place in the world " but tt ^ '^ doubtfully at her for a moment; eTJ 'I^\Z"'T^'l^ the sincerity of thos^ " Mv sistir T^hT"* u '^^^ y^" '^y ^°'" he said, iviy sister frudi would scarcely credit her ears indV^'vP'^'""*- • J° ^'' •' i« ^ terrible place bti^t^lnlt.^' "*' ^" ''^^ ^^^^ ''--- W Anna laughed. She thought she knew verv well what sister Tmdis were ifke. " I do not pS you, she said; "I couldn't pity any being who rmmmw-\^, f^*«*.. ..-^f t:*|p*^ THE BENEFACTRESS ,3, Eii";/*""',!;!!"'' ""'^'='' '^'» '^y- Look how whTte'^eTe? ■•'' '''' ^'''^ - ^'^ y°" «^- ^ee such J^'jiite'lijSSS-eS-the moment-it was sU a glorioKaster ?ul " and^the world was so fu! of °the frunda'^glS Ini ,„j "^'^ ^" "^ept waiting loie enough, and came out again on to the step! ^ Lolim saw h.m. and flit that he must S " I K1^.'"Z''"?"^'''\' ^^ «^i^- "but as ylu'have toThe paXTn^t' ^n^^ ^" adve?;irement haye^pm^^^ ^^^^^p. '^-i. to to do, so very much to da" f JIf CHAPTER X He sent the advertisement by the evening post to two or three of the best newspapers, h! K seen the pastor after morning churS. who had at r^^f/*""*^-'? ° ^'K^"" ^" ^bout Anna's twelve ladies gamisAmg the story with intenections warmly apprecatTve of the acHon of Pro^v'dence «.*^-\Tu^^^°'"" ^^^ been considerlbS ^tonished but had said little; it was not his ^y to sajr much at any time to the parson, and^e ecstasies about the new neighbour jarred on h m Miss Estcourt's need of alvice mist have K hJ^^L-^^aZ *° '^r ^°"fid«d in ManVke He appreciated his good qualities, but his family had never been intimate with the parson ; perhaps because from time immemorial tVe Lohms hS ^Zfn'^"'''^^ ^"^. ^^^ *"'t"de of male Ger- C ^KW^.M'".'?"*^'^*"* ^^ dealings with him.as his father had done before him, to tTie nee essary deliberations on the treatment of the sfck holrH?'^ to official meetings in the schS as^liin. .„T '°T*"/ '^1"'^ '° *»•'"• ^nd lent as willing an ear as his slender purse allowed to applications, for assistance; but the idea ofdis° cussing spiritual experiences with him. or, in imes hlTrirf, '°T7' °^ '^^e^gconver.'ationafy on his gnefs, would never have occurred to him. 140 mr'T-m^ 0^1 THE BENEFACTRESS '41 Lohn,. should da^e to oS-wiS^""f"'*°"^^' honing the veil ^ihmL; l- • P'^o^ane ques- Hfe. ManlkThteve; Le^ ""^^'^''-'^ r er compunction. HewaiMTl.u^^^' ^"'^ "o dous questions bSwelntwn^ lu? T^^ ^'^">^^- backing himself uDwJf.T^i,""!''^."'' °^ Padding, the Lutheran ChurchTesides'tSt •'"^''°"*y °^ if the poor people and thin .f ^^"P^^res; and it, and were edffied and .n-P^*> ^^"'^^^^'^ "J^^d talking over thdr rel^^io.T^''' .'•'"''"■"g "P ^"d muchls theyS the tet vilf'" '°"'/l™^* ^« who had no taste elthJrf """^g^.^candal, Lohm, kept the parsontt a^'fletr'^' ""' ™'°-- had"lS°"h?m duS t' ^"* -^^* M-«>^e gone to the parsori.eL for hert- ^'^^ .''^^ was no one else to ^o tn p ?' l^cause there could imajine the!ort;f P^""" ''"'« thing. He made her,S the sort of IjP':-*^"' ^^""'^^ ^^d have told her to wn°te P. "^rl^f'"".'?* ^^ ^""'d what he cou[d d^was to ouVL ? •'''?k^- ^^"• in the house under?onj';t*'*h^ made hapDv I nhn.^ ?j ^ P''*^^^^ °f being thepIan'^'^Lthoi^htof m"°V'^^'P ^-"'""g ^^ that had formed in the cou..e of Va^s^oTeflh^ * .^ m >>^y. '%^' ^^mm^^MM 14a THE BENEFACTRESS hearts of her patients, and he trusted that she would not exhaust her own youth and joyousness in the eifort. Perhaps she would succeed He did not remember having heard of any scheme quite analogous, and possibly she would override all obstacles m triumph, and the patients who entered her home with the burden of their past misery heavy upon them, would develop in the sunshine of her presence into twelve riotously jovial ladies. But would not she herself sufifer? Would not her pwn strength and hopefulness be sapped up b^ those she benefited ? He could not think that it would be to the advantage of the worid at large to substitute twelve, nay fifty, nay any number of jolly old ladies, for one girl with such sweet and joyous eyes. This, of course, was the purely masculine point of view. The women to be benefited — why he thought of them as old is not clear, for you need not be old to be unhappy — would have protested, probably, with indignant cries that individually they were well worth Miss Estcourt, in any case were every bit as good as she was, and collectively — oh, absurd. He thought of his sister Tnidi. Perhaps she knew of some one who would be both kind and clever, and protect Miss Estcourt in some meas- ure from the twelve. Trudi's friends, it is true, were not the sort among whom staid companions are found. Their husbands were chiefly lieu- tenants, and they spent their time at races. They lived m flats in Hanover, where the regiment was quartered, and flats are easy to manage, and none of these young women would endure, he supposed, »^*^»- THE BENEFACTRESS some one of them Sht hTw' rsibilitylhat a suitable persoT irTr,^^;^'^ *° recommend him now she wouW be a^ea h^ln' '""^"^ ^^'^ because of what she woK f V"P* ®° """cb could go with her to Enwalde'^SH'M- "^''^ court could come m i,^ t ! ^° ^^^ Est- anything. and n"ed "t den "!f *'?? '^^ ^^"^^ son. It was h?,!?,.? P??*^ .^°'^'y «» the par- unchangirkfndnes?'toT'JJ^T^« °^'^ J^^^bkn's the old Lf £d taken to he?n l''"'"".^ ^''^ P^'"^ ment of his eLte In f ^ ^™ '" ^''^ ""^nage- timewhenhegJSivneeH^'K?"'^?" '^'"^ ^^ ^ ment, to do all th^J I ^ t*^ '''''P ^"'^ encourage- chim-sniie wLS hJh^aH tr.' '°'- "''^ J°- he had decided that t hJc u- * I*"? ^^ coming she was so pretty so ^oT^l^" P'f " '^"^y-' ^^at and friendly'^Krde^^'^t?^: Pr!"y ?»^ ^•"Ple H« 0..4. J , '""^ * week or two He sat down at his writine-table in tL u- • dow overlooking the farm™?^ jT "^ •"& *'"■ previous summer, and snSesS th.t .hi 1° "t come for a few davs wi'ufl^, i,-.j ^ shmiUi the spring was coTinrandThe''^ow"haT ''^' The woods will soo? be blue San'emo^e? i im^' 144 • THE BENEFACTRESS he wrote, though he well knew that Trudi's atti- tude towards anemones was cold. Perhaps her httle boys would like to pick them; anyhow, some sort of an inducement had to be held out Outside his window was a duck-pond, thin surface; behmd the duck-pond was the dairy; and on either side of the yard were cow-sheds and pig- styes. The farm carts stood in a peaceful Sunday row down one side, and at the other end of the yard, shutting.out the same view of the sea and island that Anna saw from her bedroom window, was a mountainous range of manure. When Trudi came, she never entered the rooms on this side of the house, because, as she explained, it was one of her peculiarities not to like manure; and she slept and ate and aired her opinions on the west side, where the garden lay between the hou^ and the road. She never would have come to Lohm at all, not being burdened with any undue sentiment m regard to ties of blood, if it had not been neces- sary to go somewhere in the summer, and if the other places had not been beyond the resources of the family purse, always at its emptiest when the racing season was over and the card-playing at an end. As It was this was a cheap and convenient haven, and her brother Axel was kind to the little S f" " J* *°° ^"^,'y !^^^" ^^^y plundered his apple-trees, damaged the knees of his ponies, and did their best to twist ofiF the tails of his discon- certed sucking-pigs. He was the eldest of three brothers, and she "f,! '^^- ^^'^^ twenty-six, and he was ten )ears older. When the father died, the land THE BENEFACTRESS ,^j eonsidarable skai aKu,! B*Sj! ""^ »4« THE BENEFACTRESS beautiful, thfone th^ tho,^^^ «"ti^y been very successful. xSlfscomed J° «P^ "^1 she sad, "at the last ;= Jri j '*• Peace,* one wan s is peace ai !h^V°^-''* *"• ^bat middle. But you onlv ?M„u^'"r^.^»'' '» ^be cause you h^Jn'LA} t '*"^ ^'^^ ^^^^ be- BesideVK» k J?^' *"^ "°"^ came up his wav anils "S^ttirjSt V7 ^f '?^^- the least inclinaHnn^' °.^ ''^'^ "°* S'nce had that h?hLd woS'i?S%,"'^tri'nony. After years flew by filSi ^fif ^*" ^''^''' »" mav be.carried on, is not a labour tha™evokeTan unflagging enthusiasm in the labourer • and A»^? however beautiful a life of duty St' l^ to mJ.' s"e« aja nsf r '"^^ 'l™ '""-"• ^efendi 'g^^ SwsS wl r"!,"^*"^""^ ^y Prolonged^inter- rf the Ifil. u**^ inspector, or a zealous study .. T !u* '^°':K°" potato diseases. ^ 1 see that Bibi Bornstedt is stayine with vnnr have two hundred thousand marks a year wh^J the old ones die and is quite a decent ^rT Her a wLk vou^'w^'.''"*.^''^" y?" •'^^^ bee^ marSd a nSe ^ An^ .,"°l '° T^'^'l ^ ^^^ ^^^^ she has L-n cf^ii u .u ^^^ **° hundred thousand marks rnLfl^ th^'-e- ^^>i. Axel, what comfort whS YournS' 'r.^° '^""^^^'1 thousand maTks deffardl tomh S'J"°f S''?"°"« wreaths on fifi: E ^J^' ^'"^^' ''^^P'"g racehorses." Lohm suddenly remembered this letter as he sat, having finished his own, looking out of the window at two girls in Sunday splen^dour k°ss n^ one of he stable boys behind I f^rm cart fh"? were all three apparently enjoying themsllves C': I'.i , 't I4« THE BENEFACTRESS very much, the girls laughing, the boy with an expression at once imbecile and beatific. They thought the .master's eye could not see them there, but the master's eye saw most things. He took up his pen again and dded a postscript. If you come soon you will be able to enjoy the society of your friend Bibi. She came on Wednes- day, I believe." Then, feeling slightly ashamed ot using the innocent Miss Bibi as a bait to catch his sister, he wrote the advertisement for Anna, and put both letters in the post-bag. The effect of his postscript was precisely the one he had expected. Trudi was drinking her morning coffee in her bedroom at twelve o'clock, when the letter came. Her hair was being done by a Fnseur, an artist in hairdressing, who rode about Hanover every day on a bicycle, his pock- ets bulging out with curiing-tongs, and for three marks decorated the heads of Trudi and her fnends with innumerable waves. Trudi was de- voted to him, with the devotion naturally felt for the person on whom one's beauty depends, for he was a true artist, and really did work amazing transformations. "What! You have never had Herr JungbUith ? " Trudi cried, on the last occa- sion on which she met Bibi, the daughter of a Hanover banker, and quite outside her set but for the nches that ensured her an enthusiastic welcome wherever she went, " aber Bibi I " There was so much genuine surprise and compassion in this '^aber Bibi " that the young person addressed felt as though she had been for years missing a possibility of happiness. Trudi added, as a special recommendation, that Jungbluth smelt of soap. THE BENEFACTRESS ,4, He had carefully studied the nature of women, and It he had to do with a pretty one would find an early opportunity of going into respectful rap- tures over what he described as her klassUches frojil; and if it was a woman whose face was not all she could have wished, he would tell her m a tone of subdued enthusiasm, that her profile' as to which she had long been in doubt, was hochst tnteresjant. The popularity of this young man m Trudis set was enormous; and as all the less aristocratic Hanoverian ladies hastened to imitate, Jungbluth lived in great contentment and prospenty with a young ^fe whose hair was reposefully straight, and a baby whose godmother was Trudi. "Blue woods! Anemones I " read Trudi with immense contempt. "Is the boy in his senses? 1 he Idea of expecting me to go to that dreary place now. Ah, now I understand," she added turning the.page, "it is Bibi — he is really after her, and of course can get along quicker if I am there to help. Excellent Axel I And why did he go to the pams of trotting out the anemones? What IS the use of not being frank with me ? I can see through him, whatever he does. He is so good-natured that I am sure he will lend us heaps of Bibis money once he has got it. So heder Jungblulh," she said aloud, "tKat will do today. Beautiful — beautiful — better than ever JfteLon." '"'■'^- ' *"^^' *° ^'■"" *'^ -»>■ And the next day she arrived at Stralsund, and vras met by her brother at the station. She greeted him with enthusiasm. " As we are iJ ISO THE BENEFACTRESS here, she said, when they were driving through the town, "let us pay our respects to the Regi- erungsprSsidentin. It will save our coming in coming to-day. I must get back as The hands had their Easter erungsprSsidenti.. again to-morrow." "No, I cannot quickly as possible. . ... ..„..„o ..»u men i^oaicr ball yesterday, and when I left Lohm this morning half of them were still in bed." " Well, then, the horses will have to do the jour- ney again to-morrow, for no time should be lost. " Yes, you can come in to-morrow, if you lonjr so much to see your friend." ■ And you ? " asked Trudi, in a tone of astonish- ment " And I ? I am up to my ears now in work. Last week was the first week for four months that we could plough. Now we have lost these three days at Easter. I cannot spare a single hour." " But, my dear Axel, Bibi is of far greater im- portance for the future of Lohm than any amount of ploughing." " I confess I do not see how." " I don't understand you." " JJ^'^y <*'*^'>'t yo" bring the little boys ? " ''What have you asked me to come here for?" • ",^°'"*'> Trudi, you've not been near me for eight months. Isn't it natural that you should pay me a little visit ? " " No, it isn't natural at all to come to such a place m winter, and leave all the fun at home. I came because of Bibi." " What I You 11 come for Bibi, but not for your own brother?" IFrmX. THE BENEFACTRESS |j, col^foT'youtr '"'°*^"y-^" 'h-t I have .^"k°'J* ^^^!, . ^''** *o"W Miss Bibi say if she^heard you tallcing of hereelf and of me as 'you " I wish you would not bother to go on like this. It 8 a great waste of time." .f Jif° '**"• "y,^"""- Any talk about Bibi Bom- S tim? "^ *"" ~n=«rned. is a hopless waste "Axell" "Trudi?" ing rf°her ? " * ""*" *° "^^ *•""* y°" "^ "°* **''"'^- "Thinking of her? I never let my thoughts linger round strange young ladies." ^ here for ?*'^* '" ' """^ ''*^*= y°" K°' »"« ^* The anemones are coming out - " " They really are." "Suppose instead of teasing me as though I Mn^Wv TK ^^/°"^ great bully, you talked S ^'^ l^'^ Hofienstems give a balmasqui to- night, and I gave It up to come to you " ' V i^y cear, that was really kind," said Lohm touched by the tremendousness of this sacrifice ^,lZJ? ,f ^?°^ boy "said Trudi caressingly, edging herself closer to him, "and tell me you Ire going to be wise about Bibi. Don't throw such a Chance away — it's positively wicked." . "My dear Trudi, you'll have us in the ditch It dri^'^ T%r^''' ^■°" '^^" ^g^'"^* "^^' b"t I can't drive. By the way, you remember my old Klein- »s» THE BENEFACTRESS The old man who spoilt you walde neighbour? so atrociously ? " "Bibi wilf make a most excellent wife." said Tnid,. ungratefullv indifferent to the memory of to^.'' said Trudi ;; It w.li be kind of you." said Lohm. Kind! It isnt kindness, it's curiosity" said things by their nght names." Anna was in the garden, admiring the first crocus, when Trudi appeared. She drive AxeTs cobs up to the door in what she felt was^xcelknt fS^':-" • ^f^'^ ^''' ^^t^°"^^ ^^ watching her from a window and would see that Englishwomen ...A* ^ ,n THE BENEFACTRESS ,„ were not the only sportswomen in the world coat, with an immens^e Sr^urSd Tn^ ""'u^' ears. "I wonHpr" ^.,cjj -r ?• "P o^^"" her ■■ How nS I ™ ,„ '"*? "" ""«• geniJ smiles. she c-HSIiSaiL-S' Th^ 3?^': quite as correctly as her brothe- -,nT^ t ^''*'' M p*s.Am:^..r«ifeA- wr^ ;. THE BENEFACTRESS . . - »S7 'ig her gaze down a^ai n f n a . . ^^^'^' ^nng- " My flat in Hanov? L in n" i- ' ^^^' '''^ ^*^'^^> most becoming "Svou ?i"„ ' «"*her amusing togo l' I I I 11 :ii^ 1- !l(l ' TWr j^'i^jSmi^m.M 158 IHE BENEFACTRESS Anna thought Trudi delightful. Trudi's new friends always did think her delightful ; and she never had any old ones. She drove recklessly, and they lurched and heaved through the sand between Kleinwalde and Lohm at an alarming rate. They passed Letty and Miss Leech, going for their afternoon walk, who stood on one side and stared. " Who's that ? " asked Trudi. " My brother's little girl and her governess." " Oh yes, I heard about them. They are to stay and take care* of you till vou have a companion. Your sister-in-law didn't like Kleinwalde ? ' " No." Trudi laughed. They passed Dellwig, riding, who swept ofl his hat with his customary deference, and stared. " Do you like him ? " asked Trudi. "Who?" " Dellwig. I know him from the days before I married." " I don't know him very well yet," said Anna, "but he seems to be very — verj- polite." Trudi laughed again, and cracked her whip. " My uncle had great faith in him," said Anna, slightly aggrieved by the laugh. "Your uncle was one of the best farmers in Germany, I have always heard. He was so ex- perienced, and so clever, that he could have led a hundred Dellwigs round by the nose. Dellwig was naturally quite small, as we say, in the pres- ence of your uncle. He knew very well it would be useless to be anything but immaculate under such a master. Perhaps your uncle thought he THE BENEFACTRESS ,j. wjuld go on being immaculate from sheer habit with nobody to look after him." "*■ *nW nf-^f ^ ''t^'**'" ^^ Anna doubtfully « He SSh-^"'""- ''' ^^'^ -^- thi;-/caS oJrnW^ ^^i ^°'""' "'SO riding. He was When she was abreast of him, she winked her eve at him with perfect solemnity. " ^^^ Axel looked stony. I CHAPTER XI Neither Tradi nor Anna had ever worked so hard as they did during the few days that ended March and began April. Everything seemed to happen at once. The house was in a sudden up- roar. There were people whitewashing, people painting, people putting up papers, people bring- ing thin^ in 'carts from Stralsund, people trim- ming up the garden, people coming out to offer themselves as servants, Dellwig coming in and shouting, Manske coming round and glorifying — Anna would have been completely bewildered if it had not been for Trudi, who was with her all day long, going about with a square of lace and muslin tucked under her waist-ribbon which she felt was becoming and said was an apron. Trudi was enjoying herself hugely. She saw Jungbluth's waves slowly strai«itening them- selves out of her hair, and for the first time in her life remained calm as she watched them go. She even began to have aspirations towards Uncle Joachim's better life herself, and more than once entered into a serious consideration of the advan- tages that might result from getting rid at one stroke of Bill her husband, and Billy and Tommy her two sons, and from making a fresh start as one of Anna's twelve. Frau Manske and Frau Dellwig could not face her infinite superciliousness more than once, and kept out of the way in spite of their burning curi- i6o fv" I " THE BENEFACTRESS ,j, AZ^\^^fr«'' ^''""^^ »«^»"e intolerable. we nave time to listen— my friend ha* n^f , ™y ijS ■ '"' """• """ "'""« -""« " My dear, he must be kept in his nlari. .7 »,» tnes to come out of it. Yo^u don'tknow what a set these pastors are. They are not likj vour clergymen. If you are too kfnd to tha man yS have no peace. I remember in my father's t°me he came to dinner every Sunday Lt^lL i!!l torn of the table, and wlS^n the7uddL?appeaS" made a bow and went away." *^"°°"'« appeared " He didn't like pudding ? " " I don't know if he liked it or not, but he never got any. It w^ a good old custom that the pa^' tor should withdraw before the pudding and Axd " But what has the pudding that he didn't tret iim^nr?'^° ^° '° ^•''^ ^- '--g -^^nd^S to 'bl on."'"^ *° '^'^'" *^ P^P^*" ^°°*'"g f°^ h™ " And^the proper footing is a puddingless one? ^r\r, m ^ km,.- M» l6t THE BENEFACTRESS Well, in my house neither puddinK nor kindness in suitable quantities shall be withheld from him, so don't ill-use him more than you feel is abso- lutely necessary for his good." "Oh, you are a dear little thing!" said Trudi, putting her hands on Anna's shoulders and look- mg into her eyes — they were both tall young women, and tljeir eyes were on a level — "I won- der what the end of you will be. When you know all these people better you'll see that my way of treating them, which you think unkind, is the only way. ' You must turn up your nose as high as it will go at them, and they will burst with respect Don't be too friendly and confid- ing— -they won't understand it, and will be sure to think that something must be wrong about you, and will begin to backbite you, and invent all sorts of horrid stories about you. And as for the pastor, why should he be allowed to treat your rooms as though they were so many pul- pits, and you as though you had never heard of the Apostel Paulus? ^ Anna admitted that she was not always 'r\ the proper frame of mind for these unprovoked ser- mons, but refused to believe in the necessity for turning up her nose. She ostentatiously pressed Manske, the very next time h*^ came, to stay to the evening meal, which was rather of the nature of a picnic in those unsettled days, but at which, for Letty's sake, there was always a pudding; and she invited him to eat pudding three times run- ning, and each time he accepted the offer; and each time, when she had helped him, she fixed her eyes with a defiant gravity on Trudi's face. THE BENEFACTRESS ,<3 at "JiJf' /''"'* >n sometimes when he had business Axel ,„. «"^°,5eS "ThfV"? whitewashed • the hall Ko^ v^ j *"^ '■°*»""s sisted on the substitution of whitewash in Lvl afte'r^ott'nl^^n^^^^^^^ which the clean. certainly^J^^Sa^ ^^^ ^ifeeSut 7h^ ^ sure however, that it woul/ never be s^ Tn^f °* ""^ ■^^^'T ^I^^* ^^"^e into it But tSi" Trudi was sceptical about hearts. *^^" At the end of Easter week when Tr,,^; l iS4 THE BENEFACTRESS nine about a cold house all day Jong, answers to the advertisements began to arrive, and soon arnved in shoals. These letters acted as bellows on the flickering flame of her zeal. She found them extraordinarily entertaining, and would meet Manske in the hall when he brought them round, and take them out of his hands, and run with them to Anna, leaving him standing there un- certain whether he ought to stay and be con- sulted, or whether it was expected of him that he should go home again without having unbur- dened himself ftf all the advice he felt that he contained. He deplored what he called tlas im- pulsive Temperament of the Grafin. Always had she been so, since the days she climbed his cherry-trees and helped the birds to strip them; and when, with every imaginable precaution, he had approached her father on the subject, and carefully excluding the word cherry hinted that the climbing of trees was a perilous pastime for voung ladies, old Lohm had burst into a loud laugh, and had sworn that neither he nor anyone else could do anything with Trudi. He actually had seemed proud that she should steal cherries, for he knew very well v/hy she climbed the trees, and predicted a brilliant future for his only daughter; to which Manske had listened respect- fully as in duty bound, and had gone home un- convinced. But Anna did not let him stand long in the hall, and came to fetch him and beg him to help her read the letters and tell her what he thought of them. In spite of Trudi's advice and example she continued to treat the pastor with the defer- -r ^.^ THE BENEFACTRESS •«S '"" ''"if heLC^*"'' ''"P"' r"- What did it nd'wS lT,'=l??.T!-\» !>.« need have matter « hc wiKea twice as much as h* r..^ \~ " of which he was the!peciaro^,^„^?"*^H ""''*='."« cere he «ally be&^tP W™"/and 'reX ? h ttlvl""^' **°^ '" "° "•^•^'^ °^ » place aSgMlJ Most of the women who wrote in answer to th« wis takmg a great deal upon herself Anm. t*°oS„*' tT^'"« '^', '!"^'^ uSeS hdping her theTuna^kedanTif • •'''"I7'"« ^°^ ^° ^eteh the^u-nfflthe^lTKr^^^^^^^ in aDowing her to see them at all ^l7» k -5 c5 fuSsKS;^^-'"^'"?^^°^^^^^ creatures to Trudi's mquisitive and diverted Jve^ XTeSthaW^ P^*^"!, *° herwhenTe fr«™ , " ^\ ^""^ opened turned out to be fe-uP^J'^" ^^^ ^^ ''"own. "Why" cried I^tm '/"'t '^"''""S ^'* excitemeS .. herel her nCn f^'' ''^1'''^ *^ ^'^'^oo' ^'th me. And her photo, too-what a shocking scarecrow she I ji i^ iM THE BENEFACTRESS has grown into I She is only two years older than I am, but miRht be forty. Just look at her — and she used to think none of us were good enough for her. Don't have her, whatever vou do — she married one of the officers in Bill's first regiment, and treated him so shamefully that he shot him- self. Imagine her boldness in writing like this I " And she began eagerly to read the letter. Anna got up and took it out of her hands. It was an unexpected action, or Trudi would have held on tighter. " She never dreamed you would see what she wrote," said Anna, " and it would be dishonourable of me to let you. And the other letters too — I have been thmking it over — tiiey are only meant for me; and no one else, except perhaps the parson, oueht to see them." "Except perhaps the parson!" cried Trudi, greatly offended. " And why except perhaps the parson ? " " I can't always read the German writing," ex- plained Anna. " But surely a woman of your own age, who isn't such a simpleton as the parson, is the best adviser you can have." " But you laugh at the letters, and they are all so unhappy." Trudi went back to Lohm early that day. " She has taken it into her head that I am not to read the letters," she said to her brother with no little indignation. " It would be a great breach of confidence if she allowed you to," he replied ; which was so unsatis- factory that she drove into Stralsund that very afternoon, and consoled hereelf with the pliable Bibi. THE BENKFACTRESS „y Contemplatmg the good Bibi in he. 3 r- n. , splendour from Paris, Trudi's heart t'i'rl.i'.'^t ^."V"* thought of all that ^l , n .'. s hand and take it. Anna would never ina-r\ ■ l^J c'^„?Tr-*°"''^ never ml,^';,"" being completely engrossed by her ohifantl follies; but if she di3, what wL her pSu in «me compared to Bibi's? And Axel Kuld^er" ^ pTars,ii; "'^ "4rAnd%?bi d"s; venr plain , which was not fair either. riaee of BiS^K? P"^'^?*'"- « <=°"«" by mar- h^H'f^iu J*"/"* ^^ ^*"^ '•'ere was no hurrv and I. II ##. Wf. iM THE BENEFACTRESS with ears perpetually pricked up in 4he hope 6t catching gossip, felt that she had not enjoyed an afternoon so much for years. Bibi sat listening with her mouth wide open. It was an artless way of hers when she was much interested in a conversation, and was deplored by those who wished her well. " Oh, yes, she is quite in her senses. Rather too sure she knows best, always, but quite in her senses." " Then she is very religious ? " " Not in the oidinary way, I should think. She goes in for nature. Go» in der Natur, and that sort of thing. If the sun shines more than usual she goes and stands in it, and turns up her eyes and gushes. There's a crocus in the garden, and when we came to it yesterday she stopped in front of it and rhapsodised for ten minutes about things that have nothing to do with crocuses — chiefly about the liebeu Gott. And al' in English, of course, and it sounds worse in English. " But then, my dear, she is religious ? " "Oh, well, the pastor would not call it religion. It's a sort ot huddle-muddle pantheism as far as it is anything at all." From which it will be geen that Trudi was even more frank about her friends behind their backs than she was to their faces. She drove back to Lohm in a discontented frame of mind. " What's the good of anytliing ? " was the mood she was in. Sheliad over-tired herself help- ing Anna, and she was afraid that being so much in cold rooms and passages, and washing in hard water, had made her skin coarse. She had caught sight of herself in a glass as she was leaving the ~f; lr':i THE BENEFACTRESS ,fi, bv &l^^'?'l^"!i?i "^^ ^'^ "^^ disconcerted by fining that she did not look as pretty as she felt Nor was she consoled for this by the con! sciousness that she had been unusually amusS that the Regerungsprasidentin. when repeating all 5,^^ j'.^ltoWJ.er to her friends, woulcQd S Trud. Hasdorf had terribly ««^./«.i/._dreadfu word descnptiye of the filed state immeSdy IZZ^^f '^"''L- '• ^"'^ ^^^ '">«* abhorrence by every seir-respecting woman. 6f what earthly use was t to be cleverer and mor« amusing than other peoo^e rf at the same time ^ou had etLp^ki^ . \yhat a stupid worid it fs," thought ffii driv- ing along the ckaussie in the early April twilitrht A mist lay over the sea. and the pale sickle of the ?ST° r'«''°'H'H« "bove the white shroud! Inland the stars were faintly shining, and all the earth beneath was damp and fragrant It was Sat! urday evening, and the two belFs of Lohm church ^!I£ T^ri^ ""«??« ^^'^ '^'"'"der to the coun byside that the week's work was ended and God's ^u 1 r. " ^ ***y ^^^ I shall be bored to death -that Estcourtckld and her governess have got toes, and flabby boneless woman, only held to- and children- wherever one goes, there they are. pj..f • Tt' l^^*"^ are those noisy little boys and tW HW^''"n'?,r''>?"8.^' ^^y'^"d then there's tiiat tiresome Bill coming in to meals. Anna and Bibi are just in the position I would like to be in — no husbands and children, and lots of money" I70 THE BENEFACTRESS And stanng straight before her, with eyes dark wth envy she fell into gloomy musings on the beauty of Biks dress, and the blindn^ of fate. Uirowmg a^y a dress like that on a Bibi, when It was so eminently suited to tall, slim women like herself; and it was fortunate for Axel's peace that when she r^ched Lohm the first thinVshe saw was a letter from the objectionable Bill teUing her to come home, because the foreign prince who was honorary colonel of the regiment was expected im- mediately m Hanover, and there were to be great doings m his honour. * She left, aU smiles, the next morning by the first " Miss Estcourt will miss you," said Axel, "and wU wonder why you did not say good-bye. I am af-^id your lourney will be unpleasant, too, to^lay. 1 wish you had stayed till to-morrow." " 9**' L*^^'* ™'"<^ ^^^ Sunday people once in a way. said Trudi gaily. "And please tell Anna how It was I had to go so suddenly. I have started her, at least, with the workmen and people she wants. I shd see her in a few weeks again, you know, when Bill is at the manoeuvres." • "A few weeks I Six months," "Well six months. You must both try to exist without me for that time." "You seem very pleased to be oflF," he said, smiling as she climbed briskly into the dog-cart and took the reins, while her maid, with her arms full of bags, was hoisted up behind. " Oh, so pleased ! " said Trudi, looking down at him v„th sparkling eyes. " Princes and parties ar« jOiiier any day than whitewash and the better life " THE BENEFACTRESS "And brothers." look better than she did yestercfay. She has im- proved so much nobody would know-—-" outhirwSh""'' ^°'"' *"'"•" ^^'*^ Axel,puUing holT^f' 8°«!:by« then, «/to- /««^,.. Work hard, do your duty, and don't let yo^r thoushte linger too much round strange young HeT tlfcf ^"/°'.. tWnk you saihe had flashed across the Kleinwalde horizon, and left a trail pf workmen and new servants be- hind, with whom Anna was now occupied, unaided, from morning till night Miss Leech and Letty did all they could, tut their German being re- stncted to quotations from the Erl-Kdnig and the l.ted von der Gkckf, it could not be brought to bear with any profitable results on the workmen. 1 he servants, too, were a perplexity to Anna. Iheir cheapness was extraordinary, but their quality curious. Her new parlourmaid —for she felt unequal to coping with German men-servants — wore her arms naked all day long. Anna thought she had tucked up her sleeves in her zeal for thoroughness, but when she appeared with the afternoon coffee — the local tea was undrinkable —she still had bare arms; and, examining her more closely, Anna saw that it was her usual state, for her dress was sleeveless. Nor was her want of sleeves her only peculiarity. Anna began to wonder whether her house would ever be readv for the twelve. ' The answers to the philanthropic advertisement were in a proportion of fifty to one answer to the I7» THE BENEFACTRESS ^^^S!^U^rSrt\ ?;'?^- -ere fifty without means Sg to S ^jf'' '° T '^^ terribly, being ohUgeihv ^o^f't '^°'""^'^ ^""^ to limit the numbS to K C" "?i ^ "^y bear to read the letter t • ^''^ could hardly had to be 4cted -Se hnT"^ '^' "^arly aft being dragged thmncrhu-?* "^"y ^^ "^es are able,nheffrd tteske ±ri 'k' '^ ^omfort- universality of impoverishment^^^i ^P^'^nt day^Ind'^heTe tera'rntTf ""^^ *^" °"^e a the afternoon he se^nt K wLT.'^ ^''^ '° ^^ of poetic promDtin«Jl,^Ki '*'?''. y°""g cleric on herarrfvalT'fo^^'^^etfSrT' ^""^ spontaneousness eauaMpW k ^'^.^eshness and sonnets that hS ever i?" ^ '^P'^^'^'ered, the best it WK to a vo^h nf • "• '^'?"^"- What a joy thoughtVs Su'refnoTSke r ■ 'V< ^^^ -''° regarded it as bv nn 11 ^ Goethe's, and who his^rain shruKroS"trbe'T°'^t'".'y ^^^^ same resemblance to laTlcda^vTh'^ ""f 't gleaming, whisperinc' forTif ''^''y . through the and composing^atfhes n.; '"""«'".« '^'^ «*'ck whom they t^ted h?f f ""worthy of her of A.i^.,anS treShanLf^''^.*°-^'-d« the magic ets full of herTetter^^r"'vV".*^ ^'' P°ck- clerical, but hTs b"wVf.i?w ^L"*"> ""^^ ^^^ his buttonhole l^^M^l^^Kf'^i the flower in - -jf^v.^i oi ihe worldliness «» THE BENEFACTRESS within. " A poet," he assured himself often, " is a citizen of the world, and is not to be narrowed down to any one circle or creed." But he did not expound this view to the good man who was help- ing him to prepare for the examination that would make him a full-flledged pastor, and received his frequent blessings, and assisted at prayers and intercessions of which he was the subject, with outward decorum. The first time he brought the letters, Anna received him with her usual kindness ; but there was something In his manner that displeased her, whether it was self-assurance, or conceit, or a way he had of looking at her, she could not tell, nor did she waste many seconds trying to decide ; but the next day when he came he was not admitted to her presence, nor the next after that, nor for some time to come. This surprised Herr Klutz, who was of Dellwig's opinion that the most supe- rior woman was not equal to the average man; and take away any advantage of birth or position or wealth that she might possess, why, there she was, only a woman, a creature made to be conquered and brought into obedience to man. Being young and poetic he differed from Dellwig on one point : to Dellwig, woman was a servant ; to Klutz, an admirable toy. Clearly such a creature could only be gratified by opportunities of seeing and con- versing with members of the opposite sex. The Miss's conduct, therefore, in allowing her servant to take the letters from him at the door, puzzled him. He often met Miss Leech and Letty on his way to or from Kleinwalde, and always stopped to THE BENEFACTRESS ^ak to them and to tear), n, , '" ententes and practise w. **" * ^^"^ G«™an English; and from th*m £ IZ '?■*" ''*«^'' <>' that the youn^ woman hi ^ ^"'^ discovered all ration wm dJn? Toh^^T'^ *''f*' h«adm - wjde to settlelffe!;?cS itin^'lLJr ■^'-•"- the labourers, or to tn, „# "«tween Dellwig and several timS and°s ^pSthS K.' ^^^"'^ courtmg the govemesr^ ** ^'"*" ™"st be Xne day Trudi Uft i „i. i , Annaand delivered Sssister'^m.^''^""-" "'""'' ^ embellished form. " K Jif] k,'^^^ '" » ^"ghtly do now unassisted." heSid^ « r i ^^^'^t^ing to any difficulty you wSf I^L^ u ^ ^^^^ ^''a* '"n workmen are insolent for„T ^^'^ ^P"- « t^e servants are dishonest or in ?''' ^^ ^ ^^^^ "^^ trouble. You know lis ml H.^I'^ ^ «^^« y°" her to interfe.. when suX'hing^l^^^^^f--^- You are very ki„d." «./a"*PP^"- wants to come as companion* U JcTl" c """= ,""" answers to that advertiseme;^ /), f *'?^ ^"^^ °^ *e Lohm took the letter TnH I . ^'^^^ '"«•" amined them. « |he Ja p,lif ^°*'?'^P^ ^"'J "- " It is a very good fam n ^ "''^""' ^ see," he said have been 7eS^o t;Jl" '°"'" °^ ''' hranches old families have been ^ ^' ^ '^ '"'"y "^ our Vou might pmpose thaTshI stouT '" ^'' ^'^''■ for a few weeks on trial ^ Vn ,, '^ ''°'"^ =>* ''^t and she may not apSatJo'iiSr^-^ii'''^^ ''^^- a.ccping. "' " r-"--'niniijpsc nouse- I I -^r/i^F : ^w^m tit THE BENEFACTRESS Anna laughed. " I am doubly anxious to get someone soon," she said, "because my sister-in- law wants Letty and Miss Leech." Letty and Miss Leech heaved tragic sighs at this ; they had no desire whatever to go home. " Will you not feel rather forlorn when they are gone, and you are quite alone among strangers ? " " I shall miss them, but I don't mean to oe for- lorn," said Anna, smiling, "The courage of the little thing!" thought Lohm. " Ready to brave anything m pursuit of her ideals. It makes one asnamed of one's own grumblings and discouragements." Anna arranged with Frau von Penheim that she should come at once on a three months' trial ; and immediately this was settled she wrote to Susie to ask what day Letty was to be sent home. She had had no communication with Susie since that angry lady's departure. To Peter she had written, explaining her plans and her reasons, and her hopes and yearnings, and had received a hasty scrawl in reply dated from Estcourt, conveying his blessing on herself and her scheme. " Susie came straight down here," he wrote, " because of the Alderfon wedding to which she was not asked, and went to bed. You know, my dear little sister, anything that makes you happy contents me. I wish you could have seen your way to benefiting reduced English ladies, for you are a long way oft; but of course you have the house free over there. Don't let Miss Leech leave you till you are per- fectly satisfied with your companion, Yestenlay I landed the bigj;est " etc. In a word, Peter, her side, |c ifjvn«j»m<» py«ifrt|T\ ^'P*= fiH \f^m^'^ Ik? THE BENEFACTRESS her (don't feed fer f^""*^ t'^^^ ''er and fed four years and »K *^ '?"'=''^' '* wo"W only be hands? I X telk?nl . ^^" ^^'^ yo" on my her the other day-^^f £,"'"" ^"''TP^ ^^""^ I made him takTsom hin?off-and1e"^'J']!'* all means let her stav InTfJl ° J?* ®*"^ ''X speaks German noSaysI^rnL ^^^"^^7 up at once in that a3^ni, /"^^^^ *"" P'<=k « ill when I got SckThJf '^r^ °! ^^V' ^ *« ^ had to stay in S^ Sr 2 ^^"* ^ Estcourt, and eye.7 day/and somedm'rt^/e'"Hr 'Tl^ didn^ wonder, when I f«W \^ „ t^. ^^''^ he through. Peter »!« v ''"" *•' ^ ^^d gone Missfeech Sc.^i^v^'1' '"'^ ^°l "^- Send me the day you It S,U "i * "?."*'* "°«« for some Ger^aWf J^^,^?,%^^^^'fjo" -"'t find remember its wretched «,^ ^ ".^ place — I can't my address L7^-td CeVTtt.°f ^°°^'"S '» day. Therestofthekrshe'^'JSrd^r^"^ - your tweive victims. I believe maftL^S f m" * ll ■ ':¥ l^t THE BENEFACTRESS many only charge about 6d. an hour, so it won't ruin you. Make her take lots of exercise, and let her nde. She has outgrown her old habit, but German tailors are so cheap that a new one will cost next to nothing, and any horse that shakes her up well will do. I shall be quite happy about her diet, because I know you don't have anythine to eat I was at the Ennistons' last night. They seemed verv sorry for me being so nearly related to somebody cracked; but after all, as I tell peo- ple, Im not responsible for my husband's rela- tions. — Your affectionate SUSIK ESTCOURT." " I have never seen Hilton so upset as she was after that German trip. She cried if anyone looked 'I . „ ^°°^ *'^'"8' "o wonder. The doctor says she IS all nerves." ' The evening meal was in progress at Kleinwalde when this letter came. The dining-room was fin- ished, and It was the first meal served there since its transformation. No one who had seen it on that dark day of Anna's arrival would have recoe- nised It, so cheerful did it look with its whitewash^ wills. There were no dark .cmers now where china shepherds smiled in vain ; the western light filled It, and to a person lately come from Susie's Hill Street house, it was a refreshment to sit in any place so simple and so clean. Reforms, too, had been made in the food, and the bread was no longer disfigured by caraway seeds. A great bowl of blue hepaticas, fresh from the forest, stood on the table ; and the hepaticas were the exact colour of Annas eyes. When Letty saw her mother's THE BENElfACTRESS „ into the outer darkness ^ fft ""'?"« ^" ^<^^ andthe literature lectures Sh. °P"" F°"«rt» •^sing a spoonful oiSt^ ft **^ '" ^''^ >«:* °f mouth, wh^she cSf s"|ht of ?K ""'^^ ^P^"'^^ wnting. She hesitated her fiLV"^ well-known she laid her sooonH^'J^ • ''''°°''' "nd finally plate back Af ?hetr^2/*-'" '"'^ P^'^^ her goon eating pudding?" WhTt1he°' ''''^^° '^'^ and joy to lee her funt «t ,n ""^ ^" '^"^ where she was sitting bVafed tn f""^™""^ to put her arms round irn^t and t.'f '^'u*""*- being kissed. " You a». ^- ' . *° '^^' ''«'^If after^lll" cried Anna7elfcri!!IS/° '"^l^"'^ «"« Letty-IshouldhavemissXn.fS'- 1^^" ""'^ you glad? YourmSSsTnTH^" ^'*"'* ever so lone " ^ *" *° '^^P you for and beingT^iTctiS ^PP'^g'" e^'aimed Letty • finished ferPddl^g ^"°" "' °"« '^^"n'ed and ^-irtt-^S»^1-<«r^P^ed. — - "-tctii, too, loc How c„„,, 3,, ^ an^hi;g^„rpieti;d7rtire ith a person who was always Anna? ««_ r. i- -^ sTetThtToTt^hl^^?^^^^^^^^^ felt thai it w^l morh" tutf^ '^^""g^- -^ rf they were hurt- vet th/^ A ' """^""^ ^'"^'^ hurt 4s Painfff an^1iS:?^5jyj^«; ^"^ ^'"^ tempered as Anna was vei^SduTf^n' f° '^"" Mr. Jessup would have lik^d^S the^'S^" 1V( '-■r W} rT'-r >'/,'^?V' MKMCOPY MKUniOH TBT OMtT (ANSI and ISO nsr CHART No. 2) MS _ 121 12^ 12.0 Its ^Piili /APPLIED ItVHGE Inc 16S5 Eait Uain Strwt RoehMtM'. Nmr Yorli 14609 USA (716) 482 - 0300 - Ptw.« (716) 2M-S9e9 -Tom iSo THE BENEFACTRESS he could have known her. A higher complinient it was not in Miss Leech's power to pay. And when Anna saw the pleasure on Miss Leech's face, and saw that she thought she was to stay too, she felt that for no sister-in-law in the world would she wipe it out with that month's notice. She decided to say nothing, but simply to keep her as well as Letty. Her two thousand a year was in her eyes of infinite elasticity. Never having had any money, she had no notion of how far it would go ; and she did not hesitate to come to a decision which would probably ultimately oblige her to reduce the number of those persons Susie described as victims. The next day the companion arrived. Anna went out into the hall to meet her when she heard the approaching wheels of the shepherd-plaid chariot She felt rather nervous as she watched her emerg- ing from beneath the hood, for she knew how much of the comfort and peace of the twelve would depend on this lady. She felt exceedingly nervous when the lady, immediately upon shaking hands, asked if she could speak to her alone. " NatHrlich" said Anna, a vague fear lest Fritz, the coachman, should have insulted her on the way coming over her, though she only knew Fritz as the mildest of men. She led the way into the drawing-room. " Now what is she going to tell me dreadful? " she thought, as she invited her to sit on the sofa, having been instructed by Trudi that that was the place where strangers expected to sit " Suppose she isn't going to stay, and I shall have to look foi someone all over again ? Perhaps the lining of the carriage THE BENEFACTRESS i?f),^"*°° "'"'='' ^^-^ her. BitU with an heim uneasy towards ' smile, i8i «p," she said aloud, lotioning a seSs^iKr^eT Ss '•^' ^''^^^ 'ady with wore a mackin osh sKat r '^'"K 1"^ ^^e more attentively at Ann. •> J^"' ^"'^ 'oozing who saw her foY thefe ^ !?-^ ^ost peoplf such a change and a o7eU^ ^f- *^*- ^^ ^as faces, and dull fSes and ^^ ^^^^ '/^'"S P'ain ■•ndeiinite perio^ ^^l^lfonll^Pel^n'r " '''^ ^" charming yet manifpsri,, .T,! ^ • ?" * person so te« than^£ chams '^P'^^^C'^uP-ed ^yothermat- "b;fo4te'g"Lt&S1ot,/^y V" ^™-. This was^alamine t£ fV?" '''^ *">*." solemn. Anna iS^Ih i \ ^^^ * manner was She wished that Axel Lohm ^^' ^"'^ ^^'^ s«^ared. " 1 see you are voun^° W '^ somewhere near. I Presume^hat ^oraiVeCSeJ'^ '^'^' "^"'' «cArornSirm££^^^ " TwentS^five ?■ You dn ^?."«^,~ t^entyfive." is twenty./ve ? » ^°" '^^ "o* look it. But what contSrtKaSrscTCt-'-'^^ ^ ^P^-^'e one." smiling again at wh^. ,^ '""«^ ^""^^ ^ce, and charge^f^'LlhSels^g^lX;''^^:- 7!^''S^ circumstances in this casf ILT^^ i- ^•.. ^"'^ *e "Yes," said Anna •■ fhl P^'^"''ar." than you im45e -!l- -' '^^n^^^^" '"^'^ Peculiar °s «= And she was about to i8i THE BENEFACTRESS explain the approaching advent of the victims, when the lady held up her hand in a masterful way, as though enjoining silence, and said, " First hear me. Through a series of misfortunes I have been reduced to poverty since my husband's death. But 1 do not choose to live on the charity of rela- tives, which IS the most unbearable form of charity calhnp Itself by that holy name, and I am deter- mined to work for my bread." She paused. Anna could find nothing better to sav than " Oh." * " Out of consideration for my relatives, who are enraged at my .resolution, and think I ought to starve quietly on what they choose to give me sooner than make myself conspicuous by working I have called myself Frau von Penheim. I wfll not come here under false pretences, and to you, privately, I will confess that my proper title is the Fnncess Ludwig, of that house." She stopped to observe the effect of this an- nouncement. Anna was confounded. A prin- cess was not at all what she wanted. She felt that she had no use whatever for princesses. How could she ever expect one to get up early and see that the twelve received their meat in due season? "Oh," she said again, and then was silent. The princess watched her closely. She was ^?^^P°.°""' *"i very anxious to have the place. Oh IS so English," she said, smiling to hide her anxiety. " We say ' ack: " Anna laughed. "And do not think that all German princesses are like your English ones," she went on eagerly. THE BENEFACTRESS ,g " ThJf u *, \~ *^^t you — • " you li3dTever'hav° u"i„ '^^''^'''^^ ^hen was the prompt reply '"^' ^^^" O" trial." 'M^nrf'"-^^^' '?'■'' P'^'"'y- "No. I would not" things d " "AtTfr"^ ''''' ' shoStnd'sorr . back V the S pit Th?an7tlf''°^°^'^P'' Ktn^dS;.4e:£rf?'^^^^ SsitS^li£!^t;ye?^if^: straight before her Jft?/"'' ^^e added, staring remembrance?. ^" ^^'^ 8^™^'"g dim at hef "To''If ■'' ^"u".^' ""d^"- her breath her?ot.'"""""'^^^"---"rii?rcatchi„ tha^^/ou SeS stetToX-P'^ who only wish ;:Mamed;.wh/steAVn^^ thinking aloud ratTer th^ai^l^'^ ^°'" '^^ ^''^ ^een ••I1^n'oweve^tht;t„T^rSSTand 'M : .!J!: ■nik^-J i«4 THE BENEFACTRESS in a rush of bad but eager German she told her of those old days when even the sweeping of cross- ings had seemed better than living on relations, and how since then all her heart had been filled with pity for the type of poverty called genteel, and how now that she was well off she was going to help women who were in the same sad situation in which she had been. Her eyes were wet when she finished. She had spoken with extraordinary enthusiasm, a fresh wave of passionate sympathy with such lives passing over her; and not until she had done did she remember that she had never before seen this lady, and that she was saying things to her that she had not as yet said to the most intimate of her friends. She felt suddenly uncomfortable ; her eyelashes quivered and drooped, and she blushed. The princess contemplated her curiously. " I congratulate you," she said, laying her hand lightly for a moment on Anna's. " The idea and the good intentions will have been yours, whatever the result may be." This was not very encouraging as a response to an outburst. " I have told you more than I tell most people," Anna said, looking up shamefacedly, " because you have had much the same experiences that I have." "Except the uncle at the end. He makes such a difference. May I ask if many of the ladies answered ioiA advertisements ? " " No, they did not." "Not one?" " Not one." The princess thought that working for one's c..^^ ^ C^^rl^c .«B^*\*7^ A'-" THE BENEFACTRESS 185 bread was distinctly preferable tn f,i.- charity; but then sL«^«^f ^^^S Anna's and independent naturT •' r f """'"='">' ^^^'^y said after a short See "tW f^^'^.^V'"*''^ best to look after your hou2^anH*°"''' ^° "^ friends and yourself?' '^ your— your -oS"i\hrmerS?h° "^" *'V thing. AndgTtupeS;besiL'^'3'^-''^l'y- voice full of douhf tk/ . '°^' said Anna, her she felt, to t^2iegIJ;Pors:rsIck"^'!f'°"S'^''■ and if she had asked W 0^1 ' "^'^' ^"^ sorry; there would Lvel^^StSediffiru^ '^' *^^^^ her one But the SmplnS, 'Ife tg If ^'"f was to be a rpal u^\^ r»'""" sne nad imagined "No." she «.-^ "f would But thank you, dear child, for ot like that at all. making the offer. I I '1 I I iM THE BENEFACTRESS Let me stay here and do what work you want done, and then you pay me for it, and we are ciuits. I assure you there is a solid satisfaction in being quits. 1 shall certainly not expect any more consideration than you would give to a Frau Schultz. And I will be able to take care of you ; and I think, if you will not be angry with me for saying so, that you greatly need taking care of." "Well, then," said Anna, with an effort, "let us try it for three months." An immense load was lifted ofif the princess's heart bv these words. " You will not regret it," she said emphatically. But Anna was not so sure. Though she did her best to put a cheerful face on her new bar- gain, she could not help fearing that her enter- prise had begun badly. She was unusually pensive throughout the evening. CHAPTER XIII What the Princess Ludwig thought of her ni.«. Place It would be difficult to%.^She accented hfthi:?f'°"f"%r"'*^^[ *° the ^comforts Tthe hitherto comfortless without remark and entirely as a matter of course. She got up at hours ex^r? &n."A''' r'V'f ^' ^"d was VtT houTe" nittl ng a bunch of keys all day long. She wa! wholly practical, and as destitute oflllusions S she was of education in the ordinary sense H^ knowledge of German literature w2 Slv J^l extensiye than Letty's. and of ^ther ton^s a„1 other literatures she knew and cared nothS As for illusions, she saw things as they are an^' hV-f asms, rNor had she the least taste for hidden IT'^^'Tu-^'"^ synibols. Maeterlinck,if she had heard of him. would baye been dismissed by her with an easy smile. Anna's whitewash to her w2 coSf kLt"^'"]?'^ ^"* economicSv:^ covering She knew and approved of it as cheao ■ how could she dream that i?^ was also s^mbolS? She never dreamed at all, either sleeping or wak ing. If by some chance she had fallen fnto mus «ngs, she would have mused blood and iron the superiority of the German nation, cookerE; its in all which forms she was preeminent in skiU _ she would have mused, that is. on facts, pla'n and '87 tU THE BENEFACTRESS undisputwL If she had had children she would nave made an excellent mother; as it was he made excellent cakes — also a form of activity co be commended. She was a Dettingen b fore ..er marriage, and the Dettingens are one of the oldest Prussian families, and have produced more first- rate soldiers and statesmen and a larger number pt mothers of great men than any other 'amily in that part. The Penheims and Dettingens had intermarned continually, and it was to his mother's Dettingen blood that the first Furst Penheim owed the energry that procured him his elevation. PnnccM Ludwig was a good example of the best type of female^ Dettingen. Like many other Illiterates, she prided herself particularly on her sturdy common sense. Regarding this quality which she possessed, as more precious than oth- ers which she did not possess, she was not likely to sympathise much either with Anna's plan for ™.*r"8 Peop'e happy, or with those who were wiling to be made happy in such a way. A sen- sible woman, she thought, will always find work, and need not look far for a home. She herself had been handicapped in the search by her unfor- tunate title, yet with patience even she had found a haven. Only the lazy and lackadaisical, the morally worthless, that is, would, she was con- vinced, accept such an offer as Anna's. It was not, however, her business. Her business was to look after Anna's house; and she did it with a zeal and thoroughness that struck terror into the hearts of the maid-servants. Trudi's fitful enerjry was nothing to it. Trudi had introduced worlc- men and chaos; the princess, with a rapidity and THE BENEFACTRESS skill little ahnrf «* . ' quainted with the cap^ESoJV"^^ ""«^- German /faus/rau cWpH * /l*''* *e"-trained reduced the cCs io o^ W fh*^- ^u''''^^" ^^^ letter SYnqr^ce^lir'^.K^^''^" "P -"'ting o be weeded out Of Lv F^ r^*^^^« ^^ey had 'n one day. three or four leSl' •*'°"? '^^^^'^^^ alone remain for further rnn-^^ '"9""^. would these three or four, XjT'^^''?t'0'>; and of times pot one wodd be left °'"' ""5"''y> «""«■ « MSe?:rdtti'?hi"T'' ^^-^ - -ell the consultations that Se tl^n -^f ^«.present at te« of the unworthy were ^fK'"*';^'''^'' ^^' '^t- All those ladies beloJ^r^ gathered wn-^ Wg. ,t middle classes were in ?^ *° ^''^ AKr^^/^T or If Anna had pr^^SeS fo tal^'^ '-'{ollylln^o. rhy Jer home, and r^uired It ^^^''erwomen -4 brightening their TveL^f the pnncesss he! . in the fulf measure D.I«?'J' ''^^e been ^ over, that befits a ri, ^^^^'^ ^°-n and run, more immediately below hi°"S^'"« ^o the cla&. fee'.-ng was only ^hrSt^n so I^"^' '''e P"ncess'. great way off. There"v2« "« 1" '^ey kept a 'n the o&ctions sh^' J5,^° !""J goo^ sense her best to keep an opTn mini ^","^' '^''o did tiv-ely to advice, was fSTno ^"*^ '^ten atten- added letters to the everlcrer' ^.!''' ''"'^"^ ^ver-increasmg heap of the 190 THE BENEFACTRESS rejected which she might otherwise have reserved for nper consideration. After two or three days however, it became clear to her that if she contin- ued to consult the princess, no one would be ac- cepted at all, for Nfanske's respect for that lady was so profound that he was invariably of her opinion. She did not, therefore, invite her again to assist at the interviews. Still, all she had wid, and the knowledge that she must know her own countrywomen fairly thoroughly, made Anna pru- dent; and so it came about that the first arrivals were to be only three in number, chosen without reference to the .princess, and one of them was OMrnrluh. "We can meanwhile proceed with our inquiries about the remaining nine," said Manske, " and the gr«:ious Miss will be always gaining experence." She trod on air during the days preceding the arrival of the chosen. To say that she was bliss- ful would be but an inadequate description of her state of mind. The weather was beautiful, and it increased her happiness tenfold to know riiat their new life was to begin in sunshine. She had never a doubt as to their delight in the sun- chequered forest, in the freshness of the glittering sea, in the peacefulness of the quiet country life so quiet that the week seemed to be all Sundays Were not these things sufficient for herself? Did she ever tire of those long pine vistas, with the narrow strip of clearest blue between the gently waving tree-tops? The dreamy murmur of the forest gave her an exquisite pleasure. To see the bl ^e minutes to make sure thf"*"* 'P^^^ '^veiy few The bedrc>oms werefun of'^?'^i'''"«.'^«»d;^ morning; the coffrhadb^l''^l'>«Paticas of the care and an eye to efferf?, T °"* ^* ^finite ^«le table in £ dtaS^^ ^T" ^^"^^^ on a dow, through wEch the«mad"A''^M*''*.°P^ ^"- and gently^ianned the curtain, r' ^^^^'»« i" the princess had baked h^r>ll° ^7'' ''■°'- *"d occasion, inwardly dSorint "^V ^^kes for the such cakes shoX S "fff^.^ ,^^^ ^^^ «o, that When she had seen rif,* n^*' *° s"ch people she withd^rinto her own V^ ^ V* ^''""W bl mained darning shSs W l°°"'rhere she re- to excuse her Lm^ • ^°' *^^ ^^ asked Anna ance by you.^lf/'X^'^J' ^.^iLV^eir acquaint toomanystraneereatfi.^! • l ^.^^ Presence of under th4 cirSSanc^^* "^^^ ^'^^°°^«rt them her hearii^trdSlci^ *^'« — k- -ade in when the cKgeZrLS; ''?^'"',^° 'J^^* and^Letty were^stand,•i^n£X?in°^^3r THE BENEFACTRESS Anna's heart bumped so as the three slowly disentangled themselves and got out, that she could hardly speak. Her face flushed and grew pale by turns, and her eyes were shining with something suspiciously like tears. What she wanted to do was to put her arms right round the three poor ladies, and kiss them, and comfort them, and make up for all their griefs. What she did was to put out a very cold, shaking hand, and say in a voice that trembled, " Guteti Tag." " Guten Tag" said the first lady to descend ; evidently, from her mourning, the widowed Frau von Treumann.' Anna took her extended hand in both hers, and clasping it tight looked at its owner with all her heart in her eyes. " Es frtut mUk so — es freut mick so" she murmured incoherently. "Ach — you are Miss Estcourt?" asked the lady in German. "Yes, yes," said Anna, still clinging to her hand, "and so happy, so very happy to see you." Frau von Treumann hereupon made some re- marks which Anna supposed were of a grateful nature, but she spoke so rapidly and in such sub- dued tones, glancing round uneasily as she did so at the coachman and at the others, and Anna herself was so much agitated, that what she said was quite incomprehensible. Again Anna longed to throw her arms round the poor woman's neck, and interrupt her with kisses, and tell her that gratitude was not required of her, but only that she should be happy ; but she felt that if she did so she would begin to cry, and tears were surely I I: THE BENEFACTRESS 30 r Elmreich ? " * • *"'' '"" «s Baroness Baro'Sjss^E'iinSh''' *'"' '^''^ ^"-^^y. "/am boS:'tiL'S"!f ttt^llf" ^rt Pl"°" -^'o^ out the other little «^^i^ ''}°''}^' ^'^ blotted "^&¥?"^^^^^^^^ ^"' with"i fhrlal^^li tr °"^ f - ^'^e other heart. HerdefeSeGe^ *f «'T"« ''> ^" completeJy. She d^d Sff^^" [°'^°°'' ^«' aJ™ost . J ','•"■• and nil in the ^an« «P oi the bow afnbbon trembling on her head to the buckles of the shoes creaking on her feet. Ought she to ^> f*°A''1 ''*?*'' 7^"' •*^'"' o"" ought 8he to ^l^^i ''"''a " t''"*'? ^*' L«*ty «*ed herself distractedly Anyhow it was rather rude to stare hke that. She had always been taught that it was rude to stare like that. «.^."JL''^u^°'«^u"^".*" **»"* ^^'' and only remembered her when they were in the drawir/- ™/?u t"!^*"^ u "<* '^Sun to pour out the co .e. Oh, Letty. where are you? This is my niece," she^said; and Letty was at last shaken hands SJ^^T^^^ ^**P5 y°" company," said the bar- ones& "You found it lonely here, naturally." f.,lL 5ir°' lu" "*''" '?"?%" ^'^ Anna cheer- tuUy, fillinR the cups and giving them to Letty to carry round. ■' •' How pleasant the air is today," observed Frau von 1 reumann, edging her chair away from the window. "Damp,l)ut pleasant You like fresh «ir, 1 sec ,.,"Oh, I love it," said Anna; "and it is so beau- tiful here— so pure, and full of the sea." " You are not afraid of catching coW, sittine so near an open window? " * /'Oh, is it too much for you ? Letty, shut the window It « getting chilly. The days are so Bne that one forgets it is only April." Anna talked German and poured out the coffee with a nervous haste unusual to her. The three women sitting round the little table staring at her THE BENEFACTRESS ^. own roof at last, but sK Ji* " *^<='y ""der her determinea that the4 Sd S?'°"\ ^^'^ *>« conventionality from the fi«ft.^' "° '''"^ers of and her; not?Ste mSof* r*^",.*''<''"«>ves be wasted; this was 7he7r^„„ ^^""^ ''^'^ "^s to ijady to love thm • she h^^^' T^ '^^ *>» »" that however shy sh^ felt ,hL "'*''^"P *>«•• '"inc as though they were her J.arwl*?'"« *° »^''''^« deed, she assured heSf^. °"**'',~**''ch i"- were. -herefore she stn.Ti ^''1'="^ *»>«* ♦?-'ey J«r nervousness. addressM.'^ '"T/^'^ =^J?ainst «ng'y. saying whate^:^r S fim'?l'*^4^^^ •n her anxiety to say someH^?n„ m*° ^^'^ ^^^ pressing the irinS's Skes o^' JiT'''"? ''^./f'*^'"' ting them drink their coffee w" ^*'''?' ''a^dly let- give them more. But k 1^ "^ she wanted to and remained nervous i^u''°S'^' ^he was when she lifted k St ^h^l^'^u'"'"'*' ^^°o^ so , Fiaulein K^hJaufir ts'Th^''""^; least. If she caujrht An^^ the one who stared whereas the eves f f fK»^if ''^*' ^"^ O'^" drooped She sat on thT^dl^Sf ?er'c^° ^"^^ ^^^^ familiar to Anna blinf^n. *'''*!'■, '" * ^^X made and whate4 anySS^'h *'*''/'^" Manske and murmured vV;i!f^ ?if ""^^"'^ ''^^^ead at ease, and dropp-ed' the su^af V^ "^^ obviously ill offered sugar ^th a louRI?"«^ '^''^" sf'e was nishedfloo^nearyswinL t °° *° *»»« ^ar- m her effort to pi^kTSS uV5' "'"'^ °^ *" *^"« them°uV° KylSf, l-t'' Utty will pick for the sugar-Sin? ^^ *'"Ss-much too big •il t04 THE BENEFACTRESS y«. tifn, said Frtlulein Kuhrauber, sitting up and lookmR perturbed. The other two removed their eyes from Anna's face for a moment to stare at the Fraulein. The baroness, a small, fair per- son with hair arranged in those little flat curls called kiss-me-quicks on each cheek, and wide-open pale blue eyes, and a little mouth with no lips, or lips so thin that they were hardly visible, sat very still and straight, and had a way of moving her eves round from one face to the other without at the same time moving her head. She was un- married, and w?T probably about thirty-five, Anna thought, but siie had always evaded questions in the correspondence about her age. Fr^uJein Kuh- rauber was also thirty-five, and as large and bloom- ing as the baroness was small and pale. Frau von Treumann was over fifty, and had had more sor- rows, judging from her letters, than the other two. She sat nearest Anna, who everv now and then laid her hand gentlv on hers and'let it rest there a moment, in her determination to thaw all frost from the very beginning. " Oh, I quite foreot," she said cheerfully — the amount of cheerfulness she put into her voice made her iaugh at herself — "I quite forgot to introduce you to each other." " We did it at the station," said Frau von Treu- mann, " when we found ourselves all entering your carriage." " The Elmreichs are connected with the Treu- manns," observed the baroness. " We are such a large family," said Frau von Treumann quickly, " that we are connected with nearly everybody. The tone was cold, and there was a silence. THE BENEFACTRESS 105 FriS!L*i them, apparently, was connected with Frtu ein Kuhrauber, who buried her face in hlr Z^nJ" "i'^^ '^f ',"''P°°" remained whit she B^i^^uT'^y '°"g^ ^°' connections * But she had none. She was absolutely without relations except deceased ones. She haySn »„ aunt till she was ten. The aunt diVH ,^a -J. found a refuge in an orphanage tiu'Se w^t' bSV Sh '^' *»» t°W that the must eTm her ^^i^^tr,h%to'U^^ --.r ^««y«« These !/«/«, or SjSts are common m mWdle Begged Anna. not£?;:fSk!!L^'?« hasty reply. -l did "o THE BENEFACTRESS "Our lettere have said so much already — jnrelv there is nothing you cannot tell me now? And if I can help you " Frau von Treumann freed hereelf by a hasty movement, and began to walk up and down again. No, no, you can do nothing;-you can do noth- ing she said, and wept as she walked. Anna watched her in consternation. n«m! r- *° "^j"*! ^ ^^".^ '^°'"^ — s^« *o what I have come! said the agitated lady under her breath but with passionate intensity, as she passed and repassed her dismayed hostess ; « oh, to have fallen so low I oh, to have fallen so low I " ;'So low?" echoed Anna, greatly concerned. PHifir. ??^ ''^tl^' ^ .Treumann -I, a geborene Grafin Ilmas-Kadenstem— to live on charity— to be a member of a charitable institution I " Annf*'""iV°"- ?^"*y/ Oh no, no ("cried Anna^ It is a home here, and there is no chanty in it from the attic to the cellar." And she went towards her with outstretched hands. A home I Yes, that is it," cried Frau von ireuraann, waving her back, "it is a home a charitable home I " ' "No, not a home like that — a real home, my h,T^;^?"''K**°'"^~r'*/^«'*'" ^""* protested ; but ramly, because the German word Heim and Me English word "home" have little meaning in -ommon. ° " - :« Heim, ein Heim," repeated Frau von Ireumann with extraordinary bitterness, "«« k^ows'^r "' ~^^^' '^ ^^^ '^' *"'' everybody " Everybody knows it ? " THE BENEFACTRESS an " How could I think " ck-. -j hands "how could I think Xn' r,"«^-1« '^^'• come here that the whok, „nli " ^ ''^'^'''e<' to acquainted with yourplS IV ^ "^^^ were to be kept privatfTJ *i. *''°"?''* *hey, think we were you? Wends !!!L*»' *°^^^ «« to And so you are." "r: your guests-^ — " And she burSZo =. f T^' *** ^o^J " Anna sto^ hSss Wh '^^T* ?^ t^^"^" ony to aggravat?Frau v^n Tretf''.^PP^^^«'^ and rage -for surely thlreJf^""® '°"^w sorrow? She was at%. ^! Y^* ^"S^*" ^^ well as son of this outbTm HadT^f ^ '°'' ^°'- ^^e rea- chanv"^"" '°'^ *''"'" *^* -« -re objects of different mot ves-Lt t^/T',''"" ^^'^ very of charitv. rS,g \^l t&'^,'"e an objeci; my trunks— I neter Lv^ VT """o* ""strap strap trunks." The sLbT k^" •^^5^*^'^ to un- ".oment with further'i^eeSr '"2?/^'' '?' ' S^-nr/re^^S SF t« -^-^- 1^ bhe shall go to-morrow." * The others think the same thing." THE BENEFACTRESS " They shall go to-morrow — that is, have they been rude to you ? " " Not yet, but they will be." " When they are, thej; shall go." " I went into the corridor to seek other assist- ance, and I met — I met " " Who ? " " Oh, to have fallen so low I " cried Frau von Treumann, clasping her hands, and raising her streaming eyes to the ceiling. " But who did you meet ? " "I met— I met the Penheim." "The Penheim? Do you mean Princess Ludwig?" " You never said she was here " " I did not know that it would interest you." " — living on charity — she was always shame- less — I was at school with her. Oh, I would not have come for any inducement if I had known she was here! She holds nothing sacred, she will boast of her own degradation, she will write to all her friends that I am here too — I told them I was coming only on a visit to you — they knew I knew your uncle — but the Penheim — the Penheim " and Frau von Treumann threw herself into a chair and covered her face with her hands to shut out the horrid vision. The corners of Anna's mouth began to take the upward direction that would end in a smile ; and feeling how ill-placed such a contortion would be in the presence of this tumultuous grief, she brought them carefully back to a position of proper solemnity. Besides, why should she smile ? The poor lady was clearly desperately unhappy about THE BENEFACTRESS found in its peace. pSinTt^Tj"'^ °^ '•'«• P^o- taste of rest after wlrrf nort .ff ™°">'' *^« ««* and here was Frau von T?e,lf ^"^ '/°™y «eas ; very audible grief and^-„%K "' "" P^^nged in a baroness, a difco4erl'\'ombinf/°°'"^^« '^^ tiveness and ice anH S^k ^ **'°" °^ 'nquisi- was Fraulein Kuhr^ublr T '^T" ^'^^ P^ssagL wondered, would St d^F^.T^"' ^''*'' ^""^ Anyhow she had little reason .^'"-.^"'''^"ber? horror with which Prints i°r-''\ ^"* *he mentioned seemed drdEX t^""'^ , ^^^ been of the sterling quaEs of ?h=.^'"°'^'? '^"^wledge She went over to the chair Yn ^ v^u'"* ^"-"a". Jreumannlayprostrate^n^ "1 ^J^^ich Frau von She was glad that thl^'uf '^* '^°"'" beside her sitting doVforIa wL ?,^'^''^t'' *^ ^'^ge o^ who^wiU not keep still^ ' '^''^""'^ ^° ^ Person tating°iS, " tfi you shSli? ^'^ T'^y^ ''"i- unhappy the very fim^e^nin^ ^^^^^be^" made wretch. Don't fe her sS^" ^^f"^ ^^ a little able You shall not see S aSn'^f''" ^""^ "'^^r- And she patted Frau vcn fre^^?' ^P''°""se you." about Princess Lud Jgnil " ?if "" ' ^™- " ^"t fully, "she has bfeen LeTom^ "^7* °" ^^eer- soon learn to know a nJrc^ ^ "^^^^^ ^"^1 you day. and really I haTeZTd" ^°" "v5" ^'*b every and kind." "^ ^ *°""'' ber nothing but good de;^l?„liVi:S^-sh! -^^^^ before no outF^uvonTreirmt'S f l:'* ' " ;: I. 14 »»4 THE BENEFACTRESS denly removing her hands from her fete. " Thfc trouble she has given her relations I She delights in dragging her name in the dirt. She hii tried to get places in the most impossible families, and made no attempt to hide what she was doing. She has broken the old Fiirst's heart. And she talks about it all, and has no shame, no decency " " But is it not admirable " began Anna. " She will gloat over me, and tell everyone that I am here imthe same way as she is. If she is not ashamed for herself, do you think she *ill spare me?" " But whv should you think there is anything to be ashamed of in coming to live with me and be my dear friend ? " " No, there is nothing, so long as my motives in coming are known. But people talk so cruelly, and will distort the facts so gladly, and we have always held our heads so high. And now the Penheim I " She sobbed afresh. " I shall ask the princess not to write to anyone about your being here." " Act, I know her — she will do it all the same." " No, I don't think sa She does everything I ask. You see, she takes care of my house for me. She is not here in the same way that — that you and Baroness Elmreich are, antf Jter interest is to stay here." Frau von Treumann's bowed h* there are 4its to oS's «nT °* *^''"& ''"t certain thines th*. K« ! ^"durance, there are " Yes.-3 AnnJ?'^^''* "°"°* '^"•" acdoXtthe'lSlSourX^ "^'^S^-' -X us unable to hold uoourT ^°"'' ^"'^ '"*''«« death." "P """^ heads, is woree than distort^""' fcuiteTmn^ ^°"« ^ ^^^^ -« not and Iamwillingnr;ou?;n7n2°V'Jf^ '^^^^^ my son looked It it ffe Jf^ ? , • P** *as how evidently needs Sends ^d ^"^' ^'"««' ''he ^houid you hesitatTf mSf SS^oTut? Ift:;f !;'?-■ aa6° THE BENEFACTRZ3S You must regard it as a good work.' You would like my son ; his brother officers adore him." "Really? "said Anna. " He is so sensible, so reasonable ; he is beloved and respected by the whole regiment. I will show you his photograph — ach, the trunks are still unstrapped." " I'll go and send someone — but not Marie," said Anna, getting up quickly. She had no desire to see the photograph, and the son's way of looking at things had considerably astonished her. " It must be nearly supper time. Would you not rather lie down and let me send you something here? Your head must ache after ciying so much. You have baptised our new life with tears. I hope it is a good omen." " Oh, I will come down. You will do as you promised, will you not, and forbid the Penheim to gossip ? " " I shall tell the princess your wishes." " Or, if she must gossip, let her tell the truth at least If my son nad not pressed me to come here I really do not think " Anna went slowly and meditatively down the passage to Fraulein Kuhrauber's room. For a moment she .bought of omitting this last visit altogether ; she was afraid lest the Fraulein should be in some unlooked-for and perplexing condition of mind. Discouraged ? Oh no ; she was surely not discouraged already. How had the word come into her head ? She quickened her steps. When she reached the door she remembered the cup and the sugar-tongs. Perhaps something in the bedroom was already broken, and the Fraulein THE BENEFACTRESS was mended. I tw2^th?t„r ^'""^^^ ^"™'t"re of Frau von TreSnn H^'^^iP '"^^^'^ g^'^f soothe. As to thaT^h. ^^^^^^'' ""^blt to about it at present and bil-^'^jl ?«* *° think against its fmage 'with th^lf^^^'' '^^""Shts Tout comprendre rW /iM i^^°''"S sentence, sentence fhe tLC^Z.^ZlTl:^' ^"^ ^ Pected that she would nL^ •* ^ ^""^ "°t ex- soon. °"''' "ee<^ 'ts reassurance so thetyr:i*f%tlret5^ r"^-^-^ — thed last, was peace There h.l^* °"'"' ^^-^ ^^^^e, at here with bells and ct«nc ^^? "J? difficulties trunks had been oSened7nA ^"^ ¥^""- The assistance; and wh^n A„„" ""P^"^"'^ ^th°"t tents were all put awav . n^ p- "'f ^. '" ^^^ oon- washed and coCbeTYnd t ^hTr" Su" X"'';^"''-' was sitting in an easv rJ,=?, k xl "^^^ '''ouse, sorbedinfbook Sat-foi- ^^ *^^ ^'"^^^ ab- on her face iTontentwi^er^^^^^^^^ '™f'''>' hne of her attitude. WheTThf 1 ^ T^"^ ^^"^ got up and made a curtsev Sh k ^!1"^' "'^^ beams were instantly reStedinr"''.- 7^^ '""S^^'^/'l/t-chltht' " ^""^^ ^^^«' ease wlJh ?h's tmbe^'of 'f ^^'^''^ '' ^^^ happy?" member of her trio, "are you than'Tvet 'Ittas'fa'^t^^^"'^ ^^^^^ -- She was Of those rw^^S^rfe^^^^An^t.^ I ^..-... ^W ^^ JW'^t. ti8 THE BEtlEFACTRESS 1^1 travelling companions; but at nc time had she had much conversation. Hers had been a rumi- native existence, for its uncertainty but rarely disturbed her. Had she not an excellent diges- tion, and a fixed belief that the righteous, of whom she was one, would never be forsaken? And are not these the primary conditions of happiness ? Indeed, if everything else is wanting, these two ingredients by themselves are sufficient for the concoction of a very palatable life. " You have found an interesting book already? " Anna asked, pleased that the fiterature chosen with such care should have met with instant appreciation. She took it up to see what it was, but put it down again hastily, for it was the cookery book. " I read much," observed Fraulein Kuhriuber. " Yes ? " said Anna, a flicker of hope reviving in her heart Perhaps the cookery book was an accident. " I know by heart more than a hundred recipes for sweet dishes alone" " Reafly ? " said Anna, the flicker expiring. "So you can have an idea of the number of books I have read." " Here are a great many more for you to read." " AcA j'a, ach ja" said Frauiein Kuhrauber, glancing doubtfully at the shelves; "but one must not waste too much time over it — there are other things in life. I read only useful books." '\ Well, that is very praiseworthy," said Anna, smiling. " If you hke cookery books, I must get you some more." '=:«M'iir*' THE BENEFACTRESS said ATlSJefn U?n7j;7K ''7^ ^^ 8°«J r brfore her wUh hfSfeft Lli- *=5""n'n« figure tude. "This beauHfJr^!f"7''°" »"d gW had every SSmhyA°^ """"^^ ^''e had place to pJace from oL ■ i^'"^ *°' s^nt from another, ever W shf l Vl*^'*?"* ^'^^s/rau to perauaded that she hid ^ '^J'^'" »"' Anna! of unspeakable despS ^'?''' ^r from depths speechr " Don't tSf aCf ^ ""'^'"J-^^^ ^y this tenderly " yo„ l^^ t!^"* deservmg." she said were to^be happy no ' ittJ. *"f '^ '^ '^^ ^'^t ^^ you the next fifty'^^^^'^-7'*''°"j ^^opping once for right." ^ ^^"* '* *o"Jd onl^ be just and »enrwrso''e"n&t?shr^"l,1 *'« «-«- and kissed it ferventiv A ^T^^/°»a's hand was going on and £• ""* '*"?hed while this had Lt lant^ gir i«r H''*^^- Sh« come it was TOnT^nl ' • "°w that it had warming Ih^^uton^"'^'"^-^*"''*"' *"^ ^«S the Fraflein's ne?k and kllT^'^P^'^'^^'y '°"nd practically the first Wss^W l^""' ^".^ *« ^« ceived, for the nerfifnof ** ^^ had ever re- tantlydutifu aumsc^'S.f'"^^«« °^ '"^'"c- Preti^ name. ^ ''^''^'y he called by that iegc^nftol^fef^fevl''^^ ^^'l^''' "- down, t-hat was the sup^r £lL'^ ' ^""^ "* «° MMWLy Ji^V-**-« liB^' •so THE BENEFACTRESS And they went downstairs together, appearing in the doorway of the drawing-room arm in arm, as though thev had loved each other (or years. "As though they were twins," muttered the baroness to Frau von Treumann, who shrugged one shoulder slightly by way of reply. I ( CHAPTER XVI first evening of the new ifff^ Kuhrauber, the The Fraulfin, who entiSl th'/ '^'^^PPO'^^'nent. under the impression of^,f """V '° ''Wily awkward anrunco„Slrtau/'.'K"* ^'''' '^^^^'"^ caught sight of the oSS^ I •^''^'no'^ent she quite pitfful sta?e nf ' ^'"J?- '"^^^ed, into a Srough^forVet^tdme'SLfh?" °" ^^'"« princess's critical and .m^, 1^^ ."■'"«« °f the experience had nor^uffSn '^^- "^' she made a series of ,n^f,fjP"""^^«' ^nd, as one altogethe^rnsufficiffi ^'^ ''""^'^y^' ^^^^i"? felt as though ThTcdH f '° «''^*.^ '^'^y- ^hf through easfy iS h^^ ?^ T'^- P'^''^'"? her inmost recess of^erci^'''?''^ discovered the hidden, SrSemoJ^of^h" ±ma^ V° ^^^^^^^'^^ the princess looked at K s^drf.n • '7 *™^ sciousness of the Dostt«rn fl j ^" ^'^'^ ^on- utterly refusin.^ tn h? .^ ^^"?^'' "P ^'thin her, ing «cS&n that heT^f'^S ^^ '''' '°°'^' thirty years That nK„; , '^?" ^"gelic for those pureed lbs unit k'^ experienced eye and she made no remarrwh^t!.'' '° '""PP^^^^ that that followed%ut sat nrxttnT '^"""^ '^^ ^^^^^ 231 j ^fc#iiaRP? y-a:- jpt^woi *j» THE BENEFACTRESS fMtldious that Anna felt there really was some slight excuse for the frequent and lengthy stares that came from the other end of the table « Yet she IS an immortal soul— what does it matter ^Zu^r^ Z/iime^rrj//- said Anna to herself. What do such tnfle^ such little mannerisms, really matter? I should indeed be a miserable creature if I let them annoy me." But she turned ousl toh"^' ^^^^^^^^' »"d taJlted assidu- "there was no one else for her to talk to Frau von Treumann and the baroness had seated them- selves at once one on either side of the princess, and devoted their conversation entirely to her. In the drawing-room later on, the same thine happened.— the three German ladies clusterine together near the sofa, and the three EnelisH ^'."? .left -omehow to themselves, except for I'raule'' Kuhrauber. who clung to them To avoid uu» division into what looked like hostile camps Anna pushed her chair to a place midway between the groups, and tried to join, though not very successfully, in the talk of each in turn. Outward calm prevailed in the room, subdued voices, the tranquillity of fancy-work, and the peace of albums; yet Anna could not avoid a chilled impression, a feeling as though each per- son present were distrustful of the othere, and more or less on the defensive. Frau von Treu- mann. It is true, was graciousness itself to the pnncess, conversing with her constantly and ami- ably, and showing herself kind; but. on :\e other hand, the pnncess was hardly graciru Frau von Treumann. An unbiassed o' > >' . . ^yij THE BENEFACTRESS ■U u • * both the advances of Fra" vo„ t""' "'""^'"? the attentions of the baro^P«. "*i.^'*"'"'^n and As for the b^^^nesTherd^t"^"^^ '°^^''''''- respectability were bWn . *"* ''^ '° Anna's forever wheA^oTwiCy '^^•"P'^te'y and before supper. shS V u''^*'."*^-™^"' door than the J^W DetfinTn''*^ ^J"^ » P«"on The baroness Z spen fer if^ ■'*' °" '''^ «°^a- tiny provincial town but .^- I '" ? "'"'°^^ and t>Vn and Pen&famiHes tTb^ ^^* ^^*- pnncess in her opinion S?nW^ "^'"^' ^'''^ a gether precious and adml^w/ ^ f*"^**' *" alto- sb-- miglit choos^ to do He^.''"'^ V"*V*^»*«^er «t at ?est. but he°S" as far r^'"' *""' *^^« cemed showed no sien^ 5 .f ^""'^ ^« con- amiability and her eS to nJi5*'"«- ^" ''^r pression were lavished on A^i^-'^"''^ * «°«' ™- teing by birth aTd marri * CSdt? •""'"" the baroness had vet met «nlu ?'^"°«st person properly, had no dfmpiS an^d^ not?^" *°"«"« her hand. She looked on I'ti • ^^ *° ^^'°^^ irritation at the eSv mannl* '"u"S[*^ *^« and Treumann trelt^thTs !lj",'!,^"^'' ^'^^ ^on teemed as though she w^rl ''^.^- .^.* ^''^^^^ Really these TSmf„L f Patronising her. race; audadous E^st P ^^'^ \ b^'^zen-hced thought theSves L'LS"S?r bSf^"^' ^''^ st.in branch; anru^X^.^iVtZrilS ills' ''f&m%M' «34 THE BENEFACTRESS brother whose end was so abrupt — had been Sthtri fowl-run that wanted mending J^lL. ^^^^'■'Is of the front door, and thaf the door standing open all day long, he had fr^ quently met fowfs walking about in the haH and passages Vet remembeSng the brother's stoS and how there was no shadow of the sort resS h J'r°*r .^"^^ ^°" Treumann, though L shf had a son thei-e was no telling how long Lr shad- seT with^M ^' '^l*' '''' '^"^ ^ in^SSe her- self with that lady, who met her advances cooUy, when^l^^J '"'V°T*'"g "'^^ responsivenes^ when Fraulein Kuhrauber was in question. Fraulem Kuhrauber sat behind Letty and Miss She t J^ ^^ T"^ ^ro™ the othe,^ as ^she cou d kJft Sk! °''"'?^-"^".';h*"d.but she did not kmt. She never knitted if she could avoid it and was conscious that from want of pr^Sce her needles moved more slowly than is^sS_so S;^J."'''1?' ^ *e be conspicuous. Let^ fn^n^ ',"■ P''°t°g.'^.P»'s and was very kind to S mstinctiveiy perceiving that here 4as someone who was as uneasy under the tall lady's stares a^ the ^Jr.f- ^^' privately though her by f^ the best of the new arrivals, and wisLd she knew iW S^ctn '"".I" *° '"^"'^^ '"to her views resp^c* ng Schiller ; there was something in the Frauldn's igre^iTsXlS." "-^'^ '-''^^^ ^'^y-^^^^ STouT^i^; t?^^ ^J '^'M"g exclusively to this were'^vinrhl^T*'*''^^'" '" ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ers were saying had been unsuccessful; and with a THE BENEFACTRESS 135 of it, she turned to Se?n T,^" '^i'"""''^ «"* voted herself pore anr^ to he^ *"'• ^"'^ ^^- baroIiYiraTo^voti^L'p"^'^'' '^-"''^d ^^e "The Miss find^he coL^'^r -^ Treumann. quite ethereal next to her" ^'*'°"''' ^°°^^« " Do you think her pretty ? » askoH th. k nounceTDe iS^^ualUen- "°J^^"* ^^^ - got up and went^out THr "? T'!,^' "'^ ^""a walked down Se bncr ;^^ '^^*5*'^*^ '^^'- ^ she disappeaJlegan to^diSs h"er*'*'" ^''^ ''^^ ease, their rapid Gennan K^f '?'°'^ ^* ^^^eir hensible to Le'tty STmLuV^^ '"^""P- "SleTas'^o^e^rSLto"!;^'^-*^^---- the princess. ^ ^'^ *° her inspector," said ..^fj"; s^'d Frau von Treumann " These FnoriJck' ° ^^^ Pnncess. von Trfumfnt ^'" WW r"^"^^ ^^^^•" ^^'^ ^^au would you find with £, m^T'" ^'""^ °^ '^^'- ^8^ prise? -^ ^^'^ ^ ""c** energy and entlr- I »36 THE BENEFACTRESS "Is she SO very young?" inquired the baroness, with a look of mild surprise. "Why, she is plainly little more than a chUd." said Frau von Treumann. " She is twenty-five," said the princess. Rather an old child," observed the baroness. i)he looks much younger. But twenty-five is surely young enough for this life, away imm her own people," said Frau von Treumann. Yes — why does she lead it? " asked the baron- ess eager V. , "Can you tell us, Frau Prinzessin ? fS^ *i^" quarrelled with all her friends ? " Miss Estcourt has not told me so." *i. " ?•"* ,h "*"** ,*'*^^ quarrelled. Eccentric as the tnghsh are, there are limits to their eccen- tricity, and no one leaves home and friends and country without some good reason." And Frau von Treumann shook her head. "She has quarrelled, I am sure," said the baroness. " I *'«!« so too," said Frau von Treumann : " I thought so from the first. My son also thought sa You remember Karlchen, princess?" " Perfectly." ■ " I discussed the question thoroughly with him. of course, as to whether I should come here or not. 1 confess I did not want to come. It was a great wrench, giving up everything, and going so far from mv son. But after all one must not be self- ish. And F;rau von Treumann sighed and paused. Wo one said anything, so she continued: " One feels, as one grows older, how great are the claims of others. And a widow with only one son can do so much, can make herself of so much use THE BENEFACTRESS ways been the first to LSS' °" ""^^ ''ave al^ to the friendless, how isl Tht *>''"f ^*etic hand Depend upon it. she hi hS ^^°" ^-es'tate now? W needs countenance and hi^'^'^' ^* ''""e encumbrances. Yo! can ^n '^^ ^o" have no other^ You must ^Srd^^ T^ "^''y ^h^n Aad that decided me^ ^* * S°°d work.' -totes'^^^^^^^ von Treumann. « ^X^5" if^*'^^*^^^^ ^^ F^au of deep interest. « Thtse Lf^^ '^"^ '" ^ ^O'ce ^^«- .i,rr&^» '"'^^ were your reasons? steady eyes. « Tho^ vSre^v ^it P^"''^« but ^,/Mf-* work of charity"^ ''"^ '■^^^°"«- I -"l^gtrU""^-"-™^^^ baroni* ' ''teree'S T'*^"^- '*'"P"* - the von Treumann? * y°" entirely.'dear Frau von Vtmann^'^S .^disguise." went on F^u Jve here but poJ^'fU^^^^^^^y for me^o husband's death—,^ °^^" since mv dear :Perfectiy'*^°" «»»^™her Kari, prS Jf >' formrsii^leiSnte^a^nH'i ^i^^" ''^^ sufficient of altering VS«MliS"°^^'r^ '^'■^^^^^^^^ not been so ajpealing » ^«t«"rt s lettere had .38 THE BENEFACTRESS '^ Ack — they were appealing ? " " Oh, a heart of stone would have been melted by them. And a widow's heart is not of stone, as you must know yourself. The orphan appealing to the widow — it was irresistible.' " Well, you see she is not by any means alone," said the princess cheerfully. " Here we are, five; of us counting the little Letty, surrounding her.. So you must not sacrifice yourself unnecessarily." "Oh, I am not one of those who having put their hand to' the plough " " But where is the plough, dear Frau von Treu- mann ? You see there is, after all, no plough." " Dear princess, you always were so literal." " Ah, you used to rep- jach me with that in the old days, when you ' • -ote poetry and read it to me and I was rude .lOugh to ask if it meant anything. We did i . think then that we should meet here, did we ? " " No, indeed. And I cannot tell you how much I admire your courage. - ^ me with " My courage ? What fine qualities you invest " Miss Estcourt has told me how admirably you discharge your duties here. It is wonderful to me. You are an example to us all, and you make me feel ashamed of my own uselessness." "Oh, you underrate yourself. People who leave everything to go and help others cannot talk of being useless. Yes, I look after her house for her, and I hope to look after her as well." " After her i Is that one of your duties ? Did she stipulate for personal supervision when she engaged you ? How times are changed I When irjH' THE BENErACTREss. ray Kari was aliv^ ,«j ,• **'"^ housekeeper should klenZl ^°^^'i^^^ that my. my house." '^^ "'^ '" o«ier as well « T^irES.''"^""^ ^-^ F«u von' you to go." ^ *^ **^>' *"™ round and request not Ssl7s"Se"'>' '^PP^"' ^"* I hope it will ' ban|^tS^;^hersopretty?"p,,,„,,^ a?prehfnd fterP^'^'Sked'Fl?'^ '^V"" ^^^n with a look of amuseiSnt ^n" ''°" .Treumann always did take your dnt;« • Pnncess. you a treasure you would ha,S L'° n"°"''y- ^^at .ways Itis-'admirable But^n" *° ?^ '" ""any include watching over m^° iT ^""^^^ '^'"^^Y For I suppose you arP^hJ^u^ Estcourt's heart? " I am tl^inkiCof !i ^'"«^ °' ^er heart? " cess. •' Any yoll^^t^'^'V^'^r said the prin- natu.^,ybe^dSghfedTsSeThis"°"^>^ "°""^ and Klemwalde And tho« u y?""g Jady money have debts wn^w Tf^ ,^''° '"stead of deli«:hW" And thTprincet'^^'j: ^' ^*'" ">°^ pens.ye,y but steacSlyTt JiV'Von T™ ^^^'^ No she said, takine ud hfr T " Treumann. not thinking of her Lart kT'T^.^^^'"' " I was «he might & put to Y;,^* ^ }^^ annoyance heart would easily be touched " °'^ *^^* ^er •40 THE BENEFACTRESS Anna came in at that moment for a paper she wanted, and heard the last words. " What," she said, smiling, as she unlocked the drawer of her writing-table and rummaged among the contents, "you are talking about hearts? You see it is true that women can't be together half an hour without getting on to subjects like that If you were three men, now, you would talk of pigs/' Then, a sudden recollection of Uncle Joachim coming into |ier mind, she added with conviction, " And pigs are better." Nor was it till she had closed the door behind her that it struck her that when she came into the room both the princess and Frau von Treumann were looking pretematurally bland. m,«r CHAPTER XVII lettere, and thoS'vou IZ^l"^^ '^^ «* the "Oh. I don't Wint aJL *'1S'^* *em." isn't it so?" "*"**'« o% an excuse. Now :Notinthl*i^,et.I?^— >-« toosoCnrS^d Jr^Sto'Teer*^ °"^ -'-»^ door, your plan isS Are th!!!! T *'/'^* *« What a pile I » HeVface fdl ^ '^"^" ** Yo^^^nra^^dithSeSoTh-- •'-•- thernT^ ^°" ''° °°* seeni pleased to get .."91' yesi I am; but I am HmJ ♦ • l the idea of nine moii ia!S , to-mght. and feel sleepy." ""^ '^dies makes me feel — Ml ! 1^! »4« THE BENEFACTRESS She stood under the lamp, holding the packet loosely by its strine and smiling up to him. There were shadows in her eyes, he thought, where he was used to seeing two cheerful little lights shin- mg, and a famt ruefulness in the smile. "^Vell, if you are tired vou must go to bed," he teid, msuch a matter of fact tone that they toth laughed. ' > "u °' ^ mustn't," said Anna ; " I am on my way to Herr Dellwig at this very moment. He's in there, she said, with a motion of her head towards the dmmg-room door. « tell me," she added, Idwenng her voice, "have you got a brick-kiln at LiCthm r ^^'^A^ brick-kiln? No. Why do you want to " But why haven't you got a brick-kiln ? " "Because there is nothing to make bricks with. Lohm IS almost entirely sand." " He says there is splendid clay here in one part, and wants to build one." ' "Who? Dellwig?" "Sh — sh." " Your uncle would have built one lone aeo if there really had. been clay. I must look at the place he means. I cannot remember any such place. And it is unlikely that it should be as he Srkind'hL%."°* '^'^ ^"^ propositions of ..1',}^"^°^^^ *=^s* *»eaps to set it going, wouldn't " Yfes, artd probably bring in' nothing at all." 'f But he tnes tortiake Out that it would be quite cheap. He says the timber could all begot oiA THE BENEFACTRESS dl^'afe ^^ ^ar the thought of cuttilg ,;:But he talks ffialfiriint'n'^^^^^^ heasnght He told me ist„^% seems that double th^„^^^ theeUte-"""^'''^* '* ''""W „ I aon t believe it." the tip of the finger "£ harf L^^ j'^t''^ '"ed on 'oop of string that tfed thf i^^*'^'^ *''™"gh the she watched ft as the oact.H"^'^ *°g«her, and Axel laughed man who dij want to Lt d 7^" ''^''"^ «' a give anything to be men " °^ °^ *°'"^" ^ould ..Andjouareoneof ihem?' He laughed again. ?He S^ltfhiijS'^ ffL^rr^l""^^ --'" immediatelyfand with k ^^.n K^ ^^^^e sober "'om door liie conTnuel !?lt f ' 'H^'^Ht dining^ ^eak. My sister Susie savs '° ^°'"'^ *° ^d P-haps I was wi-th her. bTdli^-JeS^t n -^ I »44 THE BENEFACTRESS different eflFects on one." She sank her voice to a whisper, and looked at him anxiously. " You "' P'^tecting there were apparentlv „„ k '"."P'^'^e where kind, but only treeS anrf ° "u '" '^'"«« ^^ any a bystander to J^U^fsh^.^^"' »"?'«''' ^'^"^ to wa8luminousneMiSKHl'*° '''^ ^I^'''''^" 't their Jove for each oiher "° ^^^ "'<^^e^««d and''sS'"Lf^"SoVS'cing thro ,,e door bowed wit! his c^'stoma??e«L^"''f- '''«^"'^' ''"d thousand times DaXn^k*^^'"^"^"- "^bega gracious MiS" a^stngted'an^''^ "{.'''""^''^ »^e and I was about to go^S"'^ *°"''' ""* -^turn, Anna «.Wly°""^u?ii,P*P^^»"d am coming," said An I wasn't I nVht ? " ckellw.g3 because of the unbuilt brick-kiln w?U TjpmmjsMi' mi'^Mi.^. wm THE BENEFACTRESS be incomprehensible. Yet thes^ fr,r«,««* acute that in the weaker m«™ ?-^"*® **'■- so ion of their neighbou% ^ The good opin- of their neighbTrsl^aTtoTh'^J^/^''^. the envv oftheirnostrils. In thdr U .^ ^''^ ^^"^ '''■^^*'^ first, the undisputeSy luckiest H.I "^T' ^f.'^^ off. Anypoinil^rt^^^JSlVul^^^^ Manskes,from which thet hli L '''""^!: *° ^^^ lous respect shown Mm k; ^™' *^ "^'^u- mad chTSable schem?' ^nynr""*'"" ^'* ''^^ 'i^lt:: : eyes, and hating he? with a hearti ness »s» THE BENEFACTRESS uJ" rl^ 1? i^„ ^^^ SnglanSrin wiU ruin -^f* Cr»«, if he would die I " exclaimpri Pr,„ reopie never die when anyth mg depends on it" he grumbled, turning over on his side AnVC" cursed Axel several Les. Z Jent t slefp"'^ ''" CHAPTER XVni other everymormW as eS'^"!? *° ?^et eai fresh, so strong solustv*^^ ^ goddesses; so «der the newl^riSn and 'th° '^'^"^.' '''d he coS ^ust of necessftyT U S^l T'-^'"'f ^P^nited Expenence. that hopelessly orSl?"^ ^^'^^' ""d never ^ves us any hoidavs^v^ *" governess who ?/ >t. >or what is to b«com; rf7K^'"^^'j:,^'«Poses .f only one in a company T^"' tJ^.S^^-like pood aged and old. who ab6und^n Ji ^^^ ^'^^le- seldom god-like, and are nevS S:^tT^rh "^ The mori na after fk^ • ^. ** ''reakfast. Anna woke uf b the^rue'^'S °' ^''^ ^^'°^". She had been brought bS t?I!!"T'' ^^"'P^'' of realities from the%py*°jJ^„/'yPy world the sun of an unusually £LrT„ ?/ I^P^-ns by her face. She had oZtooLl^^u^ "''•^''g °n be convnced that all which l^K^f ,'^"''°^ ^ of blessings. Just beneath her ^^^^'^ ^ f»« grass was a double chS tri '•„''fl"'^°'" °° t^^e quisite th ne to loolr ^^V^ '." ^ower. an ex- and the bei ^uijf J^^jts" blS* *'^ T^'^'^^ reasoning joyfuln"es, fk"? ■ '''?s?oms. The un- sfon of hVhVart XneSr "tr'"?.'°°'' P°«^- &' -ThVtjl ~^^^^^^ world that She r-;i^-t^^^^^^ ■N »S4 THE BENEFACTRESS was manifestly a place in which to be happy. Everything she saw was very good. Even the remembrance of Dellwig was transfigured in that clear light. And while she dressed fhe took her- self seriously to task for the depression of the night before Depressed she had certainly been • and why? Simply because she was overexcited and over-tired, and her spirit was still so mortify- ingly unable to rise superior to the weakness of her tiresome flesh. And to let herself be made wretched by Dellwig, merely because he talked loud and had convictions which she did not share I 1 he god-hke morning mood was strong upon her, and she contemplated her listless sell of the previous evening, the self that had sat so long despondently thinking instead of going to be£ with contempt. These evening intervfews with Dellwig, she reflected, were a mistake He came at hours when she was least able to bear his wordiness and shouting, and it was the knowledge of his impending visit that made her irritable &- forelund and ruffled the absolute serenity that She felt was alone ^propriate in a house dedi- Jk^l^t °i!*?T .?"* i^ T^ °°^ ""Jy Dellwig and the bnck-kiln that had depressed her- she had actually had doubts about her three new friends, doubts as to the receptivity of their souls, as to the capacity of their souls for returning love At one awful moment she had even doubted whether they had souls at all, but had hastily blown out the candle at this point, extinguishing the doubt at the same ime, smothering it beneath the bed- clothes arid falling asleep at once, after the fash- ion ot healthy younj^ p)eo->Ie. HJHp^' i^#^ M 4 THE BENEFACTRESS calmly oter tfe interview ^L^Tu'^^ *°"ght intennew that had ien th^c'h.Vf"" " ^^ ^^^' dejectioa Frau von Tr^,,! u f^"^^ ^^ her untruth, a quite Zous and I ^^ '°^^ ^'' ^" the face of the rnrr« j ^^^^''^ untruth in of her cominglo wSnSdrih^ V° ^''^ ^-^ had only come af fl,» ■ . . ^he had said she looked ui^n AnUasa^de^'^ °^ ^'' «°" i' ■And Anna had lien hurtTa!7K^ °^'^''' °^ help, hie. by the paltriness of tWs fib^ h" '""''^ ""■«^'^- was to reach her friends' sonl« ".^': P^^* desire the beautiful intimacy in^v 2 ..''"'"'^'i;' *° ^"^^n « unnecessary; and so Httle di?V'"^"''*'^^«°» •nann understand her that iLl /[^" ^""^ ^reu- ship that was to be for Se tltt'f ''"S"" ^ ^iend- would not have misled a child B?,^ ""''i'*^ '^"^^ of sleep and a gracious A nril« "• ^^ ^^^ effect shabbiness and pahrinesf ^^ thTfiK "^- 7^^ ^'9 heart jream over the pSrhdv } '^,^^\Anmi that tried to hide its wonnH^ .purely the pride pitiful flimsiness t^sp72unA^ \j^?' °f «"ch such pride, all falefrSm AnJ'P^*''^'''^^ With hut real and painful erT.ch . -f ^^'"^ °^ view, necessity that drove her f.^^ 'ts possessor, the must have been more cmJthlT^' ^?"^'« "^^r cruel, generally is. He^hUrf "^^^^''i^^' ^^^^J^ fnend as she dressed anH?.^^^?^^ °ver her .ness that must S Ss ^ J,.' '^* '^'* ^''^ ^«^k- ■ng love. For nobSv sh. "' f'^^^^^ '■^quir- he unless driven to h^byfearT"'^' ^""^'^ 'ver If. then, it made h.l iTo^I^^ °^^0'"^. "'""-•- happy, and made" hefHfe »S6 THE BENEFACTRESS easier, let her thii that Anna believed she had come for her sake. What did it matter ? No one was perfect, and many people were surprisinelv pathetic. "* ' Meanwhile the day was glorious, and she went downstairs with the springy step of hope. She was thinkmg exhilarating thoughts, thinking that there were to be no ripples of misgivings and misunder- standmgs on the clear surface of this first morn- ing. They wojuld all look into each othere' candid eyes at breakfast, and read a mutual conscious- ness of interests henceforward to be shared, of happiness to be shared, of life to be shared, — the life of devoted and tender sisters. The hall door stood open, and the house was full of the smell of April ; the smell of new leaves budding, of old leaves rotting, of damp earth, pine needles, wet moss, and marshes. " Oh, the lovely lovely morning I" whispered Anna, running out on to the steps with outstretched arms and up- turned face, as though she would have clasped all the beauty round and held it close. She drew in a long breath, and turned back into the house singing in an impassioned but h^-suppressed voice the first verse of the Magnificat. The door leading to the kitchen opened, and to her surprise Baroness Elmreich emerged from those dark re- gions. The Magnificat broke off abruptly. Anna was surprised. Why the kitchen ? The baroness saw her hostess's figure motionless against the light of the open door; but the light behind was strong and the hall was dark, and she thought It was Anna's back. Hoping that she had not been noticed she softly closed the door again THE BENEFACTRESS »^' ™"^ ^' ■■■ " - *e';^r^i';;Si,?g" " ThlfT K. 'Tj;^;! *« prince, heanily. f»n «e. Notice Ihe a3™„„„ i"™ !'=P' "eU, I m to breakf„t "nd nM ™|1^ ""i-S straight i»^ A^i'/Ste^'^J ;° ""ve .!» best," have guests here.'^ *^ ^"P' "when I toldll^L^^-SK"'" '"'"^- ^^-'Je. you here r ^'^"^ "^- "« the baroness not been _"No, she is still in bed." we« with heT.-- "■ ' '"°'"^'^* ^°- I thought you tesledten^-^^^^^^^^^^ Le^ than nine hours ,Z %tf n ^^^J"^' '=«*? my bedroom and talke?much i°"°Yl'^ "^ '"to tl^i^r^^^«-K^^^^ ^ .m^'MM^^'^^ »58 THE BENEFACTRESS SJ^ T^" l^t '=°"t'n"fd- " Axel Lohm stayed so late I think he wanted to speak to you. But you went straight up to bed." ' " I had seen him before he went in to you. He didnt want to speak to me. He was consumed by curiosity about our new friends." them wlf Lu'^l*^''' "°* '^°'^ '""'='' '"te«st in fU u. r ^"'^'^ *° ""^ "^^'■•y all the time. He Af^'jf "T'."* *t' '^^ ''"^^ the baroness Z^ri^' R f'?w ''*]'"'■ ^* fi"' »"d seemed suipnsed. Bujt i turned out that she was only lin^-^'^w ^^ ''?"^ She had evidently never t»il ^™,'^^°'-«- ^t « a great pleasure to me to while Anna ate her toast. "So it is to me," said Anna, nff'l ''^^.'^et "lanv people in my life, and have often wondered at the dearth of nice ones -how ew there are that one likes to be with and wishS decTdedT"" "^ ^"' " °"' °^ *^ '^^' " So he is," agreed Anna, face "^''^'^^ '* goodness written on every line of his I 'L?^l^l ^^ the kindest face. And so strone. I feel that If anything happened here, anything dreadful that he would make it righi a^in af once. He would mend us if we got smashid, and us thifh^P fTV\ *e got burned, and protect us, this houseful of one women, if ever anybody tned to run away with us." And Anna n^ded reassuringly at the princess, and took another piece of toast "That is how I feel about him.^she said. So agreeably certain, not only of his THE BENEFACTRESS was so kind, so good S s^mnS tf "' **'*^"- "« admired strengtHT' ou,^« ^- ^^o* much she nerrd^!Sr£f=^K-^ -4 "hi'm^.^^ 't:^^;.:,^^ An„:: .^^^^^^^^ ask her if she JiS7t li L ^ *°"y""* «^<^n a good thing for her hat rn^ ? '"'"*' *^* '* ^^^ have chosel my sonTn. Ll ^ £f '^ ^ ' ^^ ''^"' ^ come to church and mar™^- > Z"""" ''^t- and an end of /L? "^ ''""• ^"^ 'here'd be empl'o^mCtrfryiJ^i^^^^^^^^^^ - unprofitable could not but SM what hXh uf^ ! ''^"«^- She after the touchbg mantr of"!^-/^ ^""* = '^^ vinced of the supfrioJftv nf *"^°'^'' ^« <^on. of real happHSllZ ""^'""^ge. as a means other fo™ of occupaSr^v'f '^^ ""'^ ^'^^ talke. of him s£ w^ Zf J^* "whenever she agreement and finklnSusiaL^thf"^ """"I^ being taken out of her m.^ff^' ^^/^n. words praises o^ him Jo^bled" ndteble'd' S" °*" promising friendship, but it wa?a 1,, i T' * promising prelude to love singularly un- "th'e ot£":S? r/oS "f''" '''SS^ Anna ; not have cold stuff "H^ '^°^" '°°"' ^"'^ """st the mere mendo?of«theoSer-''K*'"^^^ ^* and Axel, both of .,i,T^^ ^fj^^^P^ces. Id ^^mm^Fmf^^MM^ m^. i«o THE BENEFACTREM iZJ^A °" ^^^ ^'^^^ '°"«=»' »« the princess had already noted. There was nothing in either »^„2l '° ^'P**' '° that side of her Sature. tf.u- tender, mother side, which is in all good wom< . and most bad ones. They were Tier frif,,. suunch fnends. she felt, and of course she lil- ; and respect«l them; but they were sturdy. . a.jc- ble people, firmly planted on their own fee , iHe to battie successfully with life -as differenv \s SToiJS, TA*"" V^'P'l" °"^« *ho needed her, whom she had iaved. to whom she was everythinir M ^sWeld " "'"^ **"' ''"'' *°'™'^ ^^^ *^ ^^* mJr° °/v'i''^ l^^'P'^P """^ *=»"><= '" at that mo- ment, with frosty, early-morning faces. Anna put the vision she had seen at the kitchen door from fter mind, and went to meet them with happy smiles and greetings. Frau von Treumann id r L .u° ":espond warmlv, but it was very early to be enthusiastic, and at that hour of the day she ^ K^^"?T"^ *° ^'"8 "^ ""'« *^™"- Besides. A^Mui 5 !l°.u°^^^ y/*' *"*^ her hostess evi- dently had. and that made a great difference to an^ kS""^"*^. ^^^ ^™"«» looked pinched ^i n^- ' ' u ''* "^ '^ ^"«^^ as ever to Anna, said nothing about having seen her before, and seemed to want to be left alone. So thai the ill" take^^ac^ '"*° ^^^ °*^'''* *^" '^'^ "°*' '^^^^ The princess waited to see that they had all th« wanted. and then went out rattling her keys- ta A V !? /"terval, during which Anna chat- tered cheerful and ungrammatical German, and the window was shut, and warming food eaten THE BENEFACTRESS F-u von Tr^umann became amiable and begl! •t down to show S. A„H r*t"'- 'i^ '»'-°"Kht 'etter from him aiSy H. ''^^^ ''^'^ » '°ng mother. Truly a ?cSf son^, ,^^'^'' "'^^''^^t* hi! "I suppose 4" sS^Anlia """"^^ °^ W" fixer t&Tn ' "rptr/" ^'^'^ --^ -cl thought, "the son again ff- • i^^''" "^e this morning the i^l^.ii;^* "JK^' the son. ^-tirr'^™-""^^^^^^^ The 'iPSfl7^:'^:l^ifjlf^^. - He notr "Oh - becoming hV itS, """J"*^ uniform." Especially on his h^oLe I Z'!u"'*°'?'''^ 'n '"t- fnything but a hS beiu2^ of T ^'i^'"" ^ uniform. And he suits iV^Ti^ the charming built, graceful figure /.r^ „ "^"'"^H ^ Hghtly People^s feet, 'fe.^ von r n^" stumbles over my poor foot last nieht ut"" j-^''^ '^^shed scream. I never dfrf L^ • *« difficult not to made by the n^e^^r 1 '^"""^ 'Hose long men would go on fS evert?he^"" '' '''°"«^ ^^^Y : He1> rat' er lonl"lg^'ed IZ "° ^f'""^' .. " Heartwhoie." thfughf Fra^ "o ' 't'''"«- . Tell me, dear Miss Eftcourt ~° J'-CHmann. mg her hand on Anna's ^^^ ^'^' '^y- "Butt°haISenT-'''"^^*-"«-" Hk;'2sierhrili';L^r- ^earefo be Anna." she said! tu.^trA£Sr^""^^^ ■,^w a6i THE BENEFACTRESS You are veiy good." said the baronew. WelJ, my httle sister." said Frau von Treu- mann. smiling, " my baby sister " len'; T'/umann' " ''""^'^^ *^ ''*™"-- " E-^'" no;;;a^l7h^nsl"tefof7or-°^ '">' ''^^ -"''^ buirSlf oneT''~"°* ' *^°'^ sister, perhaps. "Well, as y^ou please. The idea is sweet to JeH;r?,M.%*^°"l,? *° ^."f yo"-but Karlchen's -such SkT''/"«^''"'^^>'-'"'='' *°"ghts in it — such high Ideals " And she turned over lo'^ol^rtT' ''^'^ ^"^ ''-^' ^^' •-«- Ann^^.^^ written you a very long letter." said Anna pleasant y; the extent to which the nose ttrtfrc^n^ir"^'^"^^''---)^- w- AcA netn — doch »w.»," murmured Frau von 1 reumann, turning the sheets over, and blowine her nose harder than ever. o'owing "It will come off," thought Letty. who had s hpped in unnoticed, and «ls eating bS aS butter alone at the further end of the table Karkhen." "^' ^^''^ "^""^ "^^^ ^°^ **' tinSTorbC- '"""« "''''^'' ^'^ "°^^ -- said^FlIf"^' %''^»"«"1. but sad -very sad," said Frau von Treumann, shaking her head de- spondingly. "Poor boy _ poor *dear boy -he ■".•*.- -zs'- Tl^. THE BENEFACTRESS Oh. my dear Miss EstcJurtl 1^ ^ *^ '^i^- -smiling faintiy-"! coul7n '^.""^ *hen" you the wrench it was. the terrihl^ r' -tf"^"^^ ^^ Wmg him who forf^V^SS' r""^^^^r,nch, five vears- has been niy ijr ^^ ^™ * ^'^o* ™tSir """ ''^'^'^"'•"-unnured Anna ^"f:^^S&---ss.sta. »ent up K ;;„ jj^ "»"*'• The handketcTuet J here was another silence tk- t. Treumann wiped her evS anA Jt*"" ^'^" ^O" *f' n. .. Now he wr[tes^Sat ttn k ? ^''^ '^Wer been away two davs fivl d- , "«^ ' have only stationed at, it S, ,? ^j''*,'> ^''^ ^^.n he is b°y' He L qu'^esi^tl^ '■> years. P^oV poor boy ^' And ^^ ~,''i*'^" *° th'"s- readaIou'd.-..Imustsee ' '™K ^. "«J^- -"d from fame to time. I ha/^"' t ''\ ^''^' ^'"^. would be like this, or I couW n/^ "i" ^^P^'^tion go. Pra^ beg Miss Estcou?-^'.'"'''^^ ''' y°" ..._tS,°"»''tt''e baroness. »°*"ow me to visit my mother occasion- Ml a£4 THE BENEFACTRESS fooljsh boy-he is desperate — "And she folded up the letter, shook her head, smiled and baroneS ^^^"'"'»"'»- thought the unblinking ent1^^•n'?n i*^ some perplexity. Sons had not entered mto her calculations. In the corresoonH ^ce. she remembered, the son haf iSn Ughtfv passed over as an officer living on h^ pay aS without a superfluous penny for the suDi^rt of his parent !^ot a word had been s^/^ any it^^nU!' '?"^^" u"'''^*'"? ^'^^^ tS. Now It appeared that the mother and son were aJI in l'°dSu?"A ".r- P^— XTepaiSi'n was dreadful A mother's love was a sentiment that inspired Anna with profound respect B^ fore Its unknown depths and heights Te st«Si in awe and silence. How could the a soinS even faintly comprehend that sacrS^ fueling ?k was a mysterious and beautiful emotion thit she could only reverence from afar. Cleariy she must not come between parent and child; bSt yS- ft over' "^ '^' ^'"^ "^^ '""'^ ^-^^ to think She looked rather helplessly at Frau von Treu- K^^a'a^J^ ^:^ ^^' ''^"'^ a l'"le squeeze. The hand did not return the squeeze, and the face remained buried in the handkerchief. Wei k would be absurd to want to cut off the son THE BENEFACTRESS **5 entirely from his mother U i,„ alJy to see her it could not n,..*"^'''^ occasion- gave the hand a firS saueL^ "!i'' "'^''^' She effort that she did™er b«t fn' ^"'^ "^l^ ^'^^ ^ must come then, when hf .. ''°T'^^' " B"* he Jong way-didn't you sav v-"' u'.'' '"^ther a night in Beriin?" ^ ^^ ^^^ ^ad to stay a cri^d^^r^vt V™f n''°"'' -u'">' '^-^ Anna , " chief from her lace '^^SLe.v'"'''."^ ^''^ ''^"^ker- both he,3. "what a weTitlm,;!^ ^T'' ''^"^ *" ? heavy, heavy weiltr ah • V. "j^^rt- what 'nghowshairi bSfti^is?^V,lf^' ^ -^"^ '^^"^- then,and tell him whai von » ^^ T*^ '° him, ney? You are afr^H !•/ "n^^^^ A long jour- wifi be nothing no hi It"^ to""^ ','•".' ^J^' '^ he can see his mother^ ul ^^^'^hen if only You will say mnraSud??:" '^" ^. '^^""^ X^" ' CHAPTER XIX Anna put on her hat and went out to think ,> over. Fraulein Kuhrauber was apparently sti asleep. Letty, accompanied by MissLeeA hli Germ^ Fr,^, ° had undertaken to teach her oerman. Frau von Treumann said she mnef i{h|;^;pri?J^nTs'^-^^^^^^^^ why then she must have him from tfr^e to rime I wonder why I don't like Karlchen." ^• grou';^d.^fh?nS'^'„\S3tX^ - %' cajs had left her, nor didThe U^toTef wh?tt" April mornmg was doing. Frau von Treumann had not been under her n^of twenty-four h^m and already her son had been added - if onW occasionally, still undoubtedly addS- o t£ party. Suppose the baroness and Fraulein Kuh l?v^ -.f^'l'l^ •^^"'^"y ^'"^^^ ^n inXlity to ive without being visited by some cherished rela ,r /"T'" '^" °*''^^ "'"e- the stin Unchosen should each turn out to have a relative wSne^ tragically in the background for per)n7ssToT"f 366 THE BENEFACTRESS «ake repeated calU? a j '^^ ''7^^Jouldallbemale? '^ '"PPo^e these rela- was quheTa^K Kl°"f ; «° ^-^ve that she Sodeepi„thought>»heas.e,s*,.,,,, Anna wondered hnn, ,•* went through theloJe^t 'wZM^""' ^° ^^^n Lohm tb anywhere ? She hf^ * ',''°'"* «^"t ^om four times ^atel;.. i„ q^l ^^^^ "^.e* him three o^ iUtf.lT'' '° "^^ th?oighTt and '.u'^u P^rts. f all hours of the day^ "'^ '^^''^ through -keJ^nTrXnra^^^^^^^^ r^"^ O"?" she ^ just then puttLVhe ™^''?t ^ ^"«h there not dnye everyday a^boutK°M '^ ^°^ «he did out spnngs wfth l5elS for „„!•' '" ^ ^^^^ with- have potatoes to plant^J, Lk^'L'."/-, A«1 must home^ then, and do it? °° ' "''^^ ^"^n't he stay at '«ly to^iv- t^^j;ra-«on for a country waste no time in conveni !"«^ ^'"'^sed. " S f^k ng how I drbutl"t"a1 ^'^ '"omings or Well, I do not believf fhr. "'^^ ^'^^ potatoes ested in mine,soIsral tel^°" "^ '•ea% inS hem You onlv wanV t" Smi^dl"?^"/ ^^out ro be seeing them nlanflT • ""^ *hat I ought about your ^oodsT '^ "'"'' '"^^^^'l of walkfng ...Anna smiled. "Ibeliev. r dy „ ' aia mean some- ' Well, I said, am not .?o aimless as you suppose," he .i;i: ?- -PortS s.ster of the dancing bro^Sri^.'^ really the ^He|*^S^K:;sf„1SL^^r/.^Htthat t m the letters before she?ame ' n ""^ ''''u^"^*« •s a pra,seworthy occupalnT; a ^a-'^T •'''"t" i-i H man, doing his 1 1.^ ^g •70 THE BENEFACTRESS I' I best to find out disgraceful things about a very poor and very helpless woman ? " " No, I do not," said Axel decidedly. « Under any other circumstances I would leave the poor lady to take her chance. But do consider,'' he said, following her, for she had begun to walk on quickly again, "do consider your unusual position You are so young to be living away from your fnends, and so young and inexperienced to be at the head of a home for homeless women — you ought to be quite extraordinarily particular about the antecedents of the people you take in. It would be most unpleasant if it got about that they were not respectable." "But they are respectable," said Anna, looking straight before her. " " A sister who dances at the Wintergarten " " Did I not tell you that she has no sister? " Axel shrugged his shoulders. "The resem- blance IS so striking that they might be twins." he said. " Then you think she says what is not true? " "How can I tell?" Anna stopped again and faced him. "Well suppose it were true — suppose it is her sister,' and she has tried to hide it — do you know how I should feel about it ? " " Properly scandalised, I hqje." " I should love her all the more. Oh, I should love her twice as much ! Why, think of the mis- ery and the shame — poor, poor little woman — trying to hide it all. bearing it all by herself — she must have loved her sister, she must have loved her brother. It isn't true, of course, but mMFmjw THE BENEFACTRESS Anna turned a • ^' leave nff ,u':'^"* ^ ^'ngle thine «T "^Ji^^ be ..J™'"l)'>"»i1/ he said Suily .^but J' P'*"'«beauti- And the nature tha"m2de it U r*"^ ""Poetical, ful but of course quKunn^' f-^"? ^"'•^- ^eauti- And he smiled down at h^r '^T*'"' '^ the plan." "I know I doTset .hn\^u^'''«^"'alsmii;. w»y,"shesaid. •■lfoni„„ °"* '""^^ the right the pasts ot my pi? f^/? ''°"''^"'t worry abfut couldhelpmesomuch" P'*"''"'^^'^ times, you "Princei^ Sigl^'r-K^ ^^"^ - again woman." he 3'and^/:^',f ,*"^ experiefced ways that I cannot" '^ ^*" ^^^P y°" '" '"any ' But she only looks at n,« ^ z • , a question, and that is reaivnV'"'*'^'"''*' «'de of too unpractical. I know ffi .r°"^ '''^^- ^ am fjjough But I donT'wanttfn' ""P'-actical What I wanted to ay w« thif ^^^ \^"t her. ladies have been choSiS ii^ K°"^^ ■.^''^'^ P^or making inquiries is over1sn't^« for concerned. anyhow.Tt s / ^L ^^ ^^ as ; am them, never. «i,^. go piease li . T''^' ^°'^'^e T P'^^^ don t try to tell me y^^VWiOP'm.H^ ittaoeen wm i u tiow tmt oun (ANSI and BO nXT CHAKJ No. J) 1.0 gi I.I 1.25 lit u u U£ !£■ IS ■ 2^ 114 ■^ 12.0 L8 A y^PPUEn BVliGE Ihc 1653 Eo«( Uotn StTMt ~~ Rochyrtw. NM York 14609 USA (716) 482- 0300 -PhofW (71«) 3a0-9SM-Fa>c »74 THE BENEFACTRESS things about them — it doesn't change my feel- ings towards them, and only makes*me angry with you Which IS a pity. I want to live 3^ peace with my neighbour." " Well ? " he said, as she paused. " That, I take It, is a prelude to something else " "Yes. it is. It's a prelude to Karlchen." " To Karlchen ? " She looked at him, and laughed rather ner- yously. "lam afraid," she saidT"that Karlchen is coming to stay with me." " And who, pray, is Karlchen ? " widow"^" °"'^ ^°" °^ ^'^ mother, and she is a He came to a standstill again. "What" he said, " Frau von Treumann has asked you to invite her son to Kleinwalde ? " ' "She didn't actually ask, but she got a sad let- ter from him, and seemed to feel the separation so much, and cned about it, and so — and so I did " Axel was silent. "I don't yearn to see Karlchen," said Anna in rather a small voice. She could not help feeling that the invitation had been wrung from her Axel bored a hole in the moss with his stick, and did not answer. "But naturaUy his poor mother clings to him, and he to her. Axel was intent on his hole and did not answer. Ihey are all the world to each other" Axel filled up his hole again, and pressed the moss carefully over it with his foot. Then he ^fi a" "^f"" y^* ''^^^^ °^ ^° Treumanns being all the world to each other." * THE BENEFACTRESS manS" "''^" '° ^'^' ^ down on the Treu- " Not in the Jeasf r j est me enough t i/,f p^^* f^^ they inter- family that his spread Svo^H v ™'''^" J""ker and one meets them evei^whl ' °/J"'^' "">'*«. characteristics. What Iffi ^' ^"'^ ''"°ws theii^ "'•rra^o^'"^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ''° "At r;!i .^''^'".^^R'sJar." you wish me to mike LY" •''^ '^'^ ^^^^^^ Do , "Oh, no. Ttrno use ";^-'''°^''''"^" hapy without him. so"hemu"com°e"" ^^"'* ^ in tS'Z'SUtA' ' r"5 to help you , "I wanted to ask vo"-? !^"' ''^ >* «"/"' think he will cleoC.' *"'■-- ^''^^her you will^^ti^St^^el positively ..hat he JJhl saiclAnna. They walked on in silence. "what yl TuldTolTo'v' J?he '''' ■ "--^X. their relations asked down fn^^~''.'*^^s ^^nt .Chnstmas,for instance ira L'*^^.^'*'' '^^^^ joicmg, when the colde^ L l""^ °^ general re- lations who hJ!^£^,'';i^\M^o^ warm. Re- other out at ChristmaV fn^ 1 ,i ^^^^^ «^ek each of blood. And bfrS4iS *''*"y ^^ «« ters be content to speH ^eTr/7'' *?'.^>^e sis- remote from all mem WoJ II- ^'^^f ^'rthdays days here are important davsT?'"''^.^, ^'^h- a month now for vou to ~i i^^'^ "^'^ ^'^ one walde." y°" to celebrate r Klein- '1 ■ •7« THE BENEFACTRESS "I have not got farther than consiaering Karlchen, said Anna with some impatience "A male Kuhrauber," said Axel musingly, swmging his stick and gazing up at the fleecy clouds floating over the pine tops, "a male Kuh- rauber would be quite unlike anything you have ' yet seen." ' "There are no male Kuhraubers," said Anna. " At least," she added, correcting herself, " Frau- lem Kuhrauber said so. She said she had no relations at all, but perhaps— perhaps she has forgotten som^, and will remember them by and by. Oh, I wish they would tell me exactly how they stand, and not try to hide anything! I thought we had left nothing unexplained in the letters, but now Karlchen — it seems " She stopped and bit her lip. She was actually on the verge of criticising, to Axel, the behaviour of her sisters. " Look," she said, catching sight of red roofs through the thinning trees, "isn't that Lohm? I have seen you home without know- ing it." She held out her hand. " It isn't much good talking, IS It ? " she said, moved by a sudden impulse, and looking up at him with a slightly wistful smile. " How we talk and talk and never get any nearer anything or each other. Such an amount of ex- plaining oneself, and all no use. I don't mean you and me especially — it is always so, with every- one and everywhere. It is very weird. Good- bye. » K?"» ^^ ^^^'^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^°^ vfould not let her go. " No, he said, in a voice she did not know, " wait one moment. Why will you not let me really he^ THE BENEFACTRESS Kl>?t£Vg';L'Z:'^ ---hieve an" it not better to ffce it aM fh° ""^V" '""^ ? ^^ -after that, kno^ng Se truth ? m°""'' ^^^ ang7 whenever I try to tell vn,,;., ^H """^ ^O" I believe to be the tTuth Ihi.K^^ V".*^' °' ^^at are certain to find Tt out fnr^^'^ ^"f}^'^ ^O" You force me to look nn o a y""''*'^ «"« day.' pointed. anTgrieS and 1!.^" ^^I! ''"'"^ ^'^^P- mg you," he saJrl in k;. . ^^^ '■ am lectur- givemefortSnk^n^ LT"'"^"" **"'«• "^or- your plan in a wav ft,5 ^°" ^"^ '^"'"g about As you sa;; we'^LRndTalkTnd "fh ^"^'^"^^"'• talk the less do we under^fln^' u H '"^^ *e a foolish world an^ understand each other. It is He Itfted Jis hat and^"?'"'"^'>' '""^'j' °"^-" opened her lips to lav 1 ""T^ ^^^^ Anna gone. '^ ° ^^y something, but he vas She went home and meditated on volcanoes. CHAPTER XX tJMl!^7 ^''^ ^^^'■ '" Northern Germany was .13^ i * P?* '. ^'^^"'- The days were Ukl a Cham of pearls, increasing in beauty and t,r1. ciousness as the chain len|thened Thr lif, flowered a fortnight earlierfhan fn ot£ yea " The winds, so restless usually on tho'^^^flT Sf« fi'-st Saturday of that bessed nonth felt all disposed to love if thei«t ^1 ( L i "°* ^^^ '""ch of a young woman milf °ru"^"^"' ^^ inwardly prayed A^Hhe soSim: 'are'^'Se" "^^^ ^^ -ves'with money' whjr4n^[:d. a^d' hl^^ ieThirotraSf which is^reserved excSV^L^eS^^^i 278 ■«■•••• f"!*!" THE BENEFACTRESS SO he had three excellent reason- t .. ■ marry. He had desired ,tTdJl!i f "^^''"n? *<> had attempted it often and ^i'^' ^°" ^""^ "me. The father of weSthv Tlif^ not achieved it state of his finanres Sh /n^" ^"■'^ ^"^w the unworthy; and they knew J^^^*'*"'^" ^^^^^^^ his little Vaknesses^As^'J/'f«;,^ven^ one of daughters to other suitors ""o'" V''^^ «^^^ '''^'■'• without a father who ln» .^. ^^""^ *as a girl all. There was^f coutse ir'^l''^ '•''°"* '''•" « ground to account for henrv? '•°'\ " ^^^ ^ack- that was precisely what wo Jdi^'e '^^ ^^y-" ^ut husband who wo^ld « il^e tTo^^J'"- g'ad of a of building up the weaker Lrf L^^^ necessity on a founcfation of what kK °' '^'i! ^^P^^ation the inmates of the hon« J^^"• ^''^" he saw ^l^e Sck^.:hteln. Reputatbn'^'^ K^ stigmatised I •ng at Fraulein KulSu£ ;„. k ^*^^' ^'^'^ bought. Naturally strwould ^5 ^ *°° ^^^^y husband, who would let her 1^ ?'/" easygoing fun, to this dreary and aimfL -^''^ *'* all it! The Treuma7nc i. ?t'^*® ^*'stence. Whatabu7deTh"mothe?S'!;"^" '" '"^k. the last five vearel Mss E,?n !f"u°? '""'" fo"" him of it. 5Jow here is. ^?"1 ^^ "-eheved would relieve him of those aLtK ^^^^ ^"'^ ^he pent she must have had at'hnrf ^ ''."'^ entangle- •n Germany, where no onl U^ "^""'^ "°* ""after her. except^atSe was theT.M ^'''"^ ^''°"* Joachim's niece. Anvwav h« ^^^i respectable to let bygones ^^T^oli^'^^^^ftfy^''^^^'^^ walked roun'^d to^ruiTtfle^-tt S r ate THE BENEFACTRESS tTh. f''.^ ''^Pt o"t Of the way till the evening, and he had ample time to bs haoDv with hi^ mother. When ^e did see her. he fE l^e with ^La Tli ?^ H 1"ite a simple nature, com- ^sed who% of instincts, and fell in love A^th an ease acquired by long practice. Anna's face and figure were far prettier than he had dared to hope. Sfsf^tln'' '^'"i^' t' 1°''' ^^^^^ ^'th much satisfaction. Truly the Treumanns were in luck. He entirely forgot the roi, he was to play of loving n«;? i,^''°*f*^>''"'^'^' ^^^ his habitual artless- K ' J t • ■■• ¥^^^' « he had not forgotten it iLb*^ ^1 Z^'^f' ""T ^ ""!« accustomed to displays of affection that they would have been but clumsy actors. There is a great difference between affectionate letters written quietly in one's room,andaffectionateconvetsationthathastosound as hough It welled up from one's heart. Nothing of the kind everwelled up from Karlchen's heart; and Anna noticed at once that there were no signs of unusual attachment between mother and ^n. Karlchen was not even commonly polite to his mother, nor did she seem to expect him to bi When she dropped her scissors, she had to pick flil^v. *°'/* ^'°"f- W''^" «he wanted a footstool, she got up and fetehed one from under his very nose. When she came into the room and kwked about for a chair, it was Letty who offered r rn «„T" 1 ^*''<^^^!l «?* Comfortably with his legs Z of '.^.^^u^l^'^'i *^^ paper-knife he had taken out of the book Anna had been reading, and Uri^l r'^" P'^'^"*- "^ ^^^ his mother's large black eyes, and very long thick black eye- THE BENEFACTRESS lashes of which he was nm.,^ rested becomingfy^n hfs cheeu"'?.'°"'u*'''»* *«y down at the paper-knife riff '^''^" ^^ 'oo^ed by them, an/inSd of Mfss^r'^K^':''*^^^ whether she hJef^fZtASe '" ^ '"''''^' Mis^uiT^eiSlf''''' ^^^'-'^^ *-." replied said U?tySfu11y.~'''^>''- -tton eyelashes." Sati'-^Tdrjd^r^^L-h. imperfect Sr^an S *T ''"*^'"«« of her Chen when he^Sundulv Mn/ ''V^'^'' ^ar]- done in Enghsh and w fK v *' *^^ ^°"'d have as it were, at thSr one2S f •' !?°J-''"'' Presiding. he half turned his back on h "^^T^"*" ^hen voice to a rapid undertone ^f l"'^ ^^PP^d his self completely i^co2reh.nc-Kf^^'"^'''"S him- Princess pleasantly °"SS' to" ^"^ *^ slowly and distinrtiv fZ ^ , '° speak very court woSldcertafnlv no?'"'' ^'^'^ ^'^^ Es?^ word.she took him indlL""''-'^'^"''- ^" ^ would or no. and wrsrsteH ^^'^'"P. ^'hether he spite of his motherSrSin^cr^; fnendliness in to d^w her into coUeSon^'^ '"P^"*^ ^^^^^ FrauvoJirrelarafLT'-'lf,^ ^"-^" -ied cessLudwig.s=ru[\%Xtr-ftk:£ i8i THE BENEFACTRESS and had been unable to bear the least hrp=>fK^ She m» quite appiufinglj, sociable-. VhesDite S more and mnr^^"" '"^^- ^^'''^h^"' be^o^: w^kS InX^ ^ enamoured the longer he tainl^in .uctt M^tISdTn%^Sd::r mann, interrupting the endless questionT •• Mv dear pnncess-your rheumatisn?_and I whol^ THE BENEFACT,>ESS „ " I do not fed"?" saf/fh "'•'' ^^' ^^^t- thick shoes. But iou dear Fra''""""'-?.' " ^ ''''^e do not stay if you &;£;-"" ^°" ^reumann. ^^U'^'^ "^ii^tt'on^t^ "P.^'^^ '•^'e of On the oath /L,o ^ • " *° *^^ Path ? " '■" <=oupL^ aZ'AT *"?* ^^7 """St walk stopper and looked ronn-'-'^'-^^' '^ P""*^^^ "My dear chi?d." she sa^3 T''/" "^'^"^ ^'"•le. arm. "we have b^en keepll H.i""'' '^'''"S ^^' from his mother reSSf,f hl^fT ^'•^"'"ann you to pardon my thou^ri« ^^ '"P" ^ ^eg tuning to him/?uttfSsTf^^^^ ■' "^'^^^ old friends' sons has made m- \ r""^ °^ '"y you took this long fou^nev to h^'-f J°'«f"* '^^' mother. We will nJi^l ^ '^ ^'t'' your dear -ydear. I wtntirS&lZ^^^r;- k^'™" Anna away, droooino- hJ ' ^""^ she led questioning SSg ' hren.? • '""Z'^^"^-' cook. * '"^ ^ngagmg of a new There was nothing to be done Ti,» , of comfort Karlchen obt^-ned J'^.^on'y crumb one — was a reluctant • "T ''^^ '* ^as a big mother's vividly delcrSLf'Jw. 'T*"*'°"' "^ ^^ the place where hfwlKll%u°"''.°^ Parting move his luggage from S. '?''/''! "«'''• ^o re- and to sleep tfere. '"" *° ^""a's house. con'soS by tS/fX'^rt ^'*^'^^>^'^'' ^e said, with his iXrZ but 7if 1f '^ ^^^ J"«t had yemencesyou-^e^DldivJ ^"? ^^^ '"oon- it " ^ "^^ ^''^■ers are used to roughing »«4 THE BENEFACTRESS fcr J^*^ l*"' '"°"'" anxiously. " It is „^'fit f^™ ft'^J."'** ""?•,'"''' ^ J-e^'d t^his very evenimr he had written h^^^ou^'af I't^fsunr A^h" p^y to^'rr: Araiirth'e^'^^'"^ order a room to bs got ready ^" P"""" *° hj™n.sUld have found that not%r^t£ Karlchen left on Sunday evenine after a n«f The morning, then, was wasted. At luncheon SfilFI THE BENEFACTRBSS time to Frt„Iei„ Kuh^VtSr ''"' "» •'>»1« "Anna talks tohl,°*^'"«'"ore.•• -i^J^she w« alSadr S^a "'to^ ='">'°--" »>« "Yes. It is disgusting"' '° ^"^' ^"^^ ^our,. equa tenns with such a pSJn •' ''^'"'^ °" ,,,Jt .s .andalous. But%rwi„ change a,, J's nose because of wHyelShes "H^fc' '^"^'^ '<:^« here," he S.^titfrTZ"' °^ *^* •y''^«'^- h>s thoughts were rosy "C%f""'?« ^'""^^h What relation does s?; c l ^ ""-e'ch. now. filmreich?" ^* ^''^ ^^^ she is to Arthur relltl^n^nr'AVlltS^' ^''-''^ - - " A^«. «« " was I^Jri~l *,'''«*3nt cousin." Engh-sh eq'uiSenfi^^" V^PJy; a '"^P'y whose cal wink. "'^ ''^ a profoundly scepti- «M THE BENEFACTRESS "What do you really think ?" she besan, and then stopped. He stood before the glass readjusting his mous- tache into the regulation truculent upward twist "Think?" he said. "You know Arthur's sister LoUi was engaged at the Winteigarten this win- ^r. She was not much of a success. Too old. But she was down on the bills as Baroness Elm- reich, and people went to see her because of that, and because of her brother." "Oh — terrible," murmured Frau von Treu- mann. "Well, I know her; and I shall ask her next time I see her if she has a sister." "But this one has no relations living at all," said his mother, horrified at the bare suggestion that Lolli was the sister of a person with whom she ate her dinner every day. " No, na," said Kar'.chen. " But my dear Karlchen, it is so unlikely — the baroness is the veriest pattern of primness. She has such very strict views about all such things — quite absurdly strict. She even had doubts, she told me, when first she came here, as to whether Anna were a fit companion for her." Karlchen stopped twisting his moustache, and stared at his mother. Then he threw back his head and shrieked with laughter. He laughed so much that for some moments he could not speak. His mother's face, as she watched him without a smile, made him laugh still more. "LiebsU Matna" he said at last, wiping his eyes, " it may of course not be true. It is just possible that it IS not. But I feel sure it is true, for this Elm- THE BENEFACTRESS »»7 Go/A aeh Gott/" AnJ i? u ^?"'* ^'sterf ^4^^ 'ng herself up to her fuU hTk Jif""?^""' <'«w- to tell Anna. I canL; "f *^^i' '* '« ""y duty with such a woLT^lVetu^tl?"*^ ""' "°^ -ul^trS -i^^H. ^ ^"ffed h, an u„- you call her? " ^"^* ^'^^^ A.s- this Lolli,^ Karlchen shook his heaH « r* • l begin with ultimatums," he 'saw " ^"^'" ""* to «y you cannot staHnder t^l ^^ ^- " " ^^^ Efmreich. and she do2s not i'r t?" ™°^ T'^^ ^.e you must And that " hT.AT^ }^\ ?°' ""^V then "would be disitrouc Nn ''^f' '°°^'"g Earned; any case leavfit alone tHl '1"?;^""^" '* ^°"«- In shall come down soon aSfjn ^''^ '^" ^olli. I wish we could g^t rid o^fh^'r"..™*^ ^ «"'^- I reaUy would be^good h?nl Tv";- • ^^^t'^^* But Frai. vr.., T* "?• Thmk it over " of thinkiS'iroveT^oSrhe *^^ ^>^ """""""t Penheim. * '^""''^ ^''^y ever get rid of the dusky garden wherl !he stofdTnT^ °"* 1'^*° ^^^^ Karichen was well on hil^ai tn S^ r ''l"*^"- time. "'* way to Berim by that ^^-''^r.'rliMi'tt^''' i!-" veo. much if I ^"^u von Treumann shook her head sadly. ■88 THE BENEFACTRESS ' But now? I see you do not like him now. You J^"" —^ "v. a«n^, aamu All hardly spoke to him. He was hurt A mother ' — " Oh, ' thought Anna, " I am tired of mothers," — "a mother always knows." Her handkerchief came out She had put one hand through Anna's arm, and with the other began to wipe her eyes. Anna watched her in silence. "What? What? Tears? Do I see tears? Are we then missing our son so much? " exclaimed a cheery voice 'behind them. And there was the pnncess again. " Serpent" thought Frau von Treumann; but what is the use of thinking serpent ? She had to submit to being consoled all the same, while Anna walked away. CHAPTER XXI such an abnoSuv larl^ r„"H^'''''^P°^^^««^ "^ had been so e^er Vhfr nffL''^™«^^*.'^ ^* ««*• been laid down bv him in thi- Tlf' '* ''^'^ °ften her own expe^eKf rirk h,^*'''« ^°^^^^^'' ^"^ its soundSK « tL pfnt,W?5 P™^^<1 her mind against him "?hlT ^^* have poisoned otherwise tf^ Lin th/5^ decided at last, unable received any S of K^Tk^^^ with which Anna such sheer ikeT Fof £'"• ,5"^ ^^^'^ ^ver woman with notL ^tl ^* *^°,"''' '* '"atter to a Someb^y wS m1i^'-°r^^^^^^^ Penheim would loTe^r nil; °'r'*'^'l: ^'''^ *« it not be KarkhenT ^ ^' *''^° ^^^ ^^°"ld 3oy 390 THE BENEFACTRESS whether he were to have the best sheets oh his bed, or the second best sheets ; and Anna had replied, " The worst." But if Frau von Treumann was uneasy about Anna, Anna was still more uneasy about Frau von Treumann. Whenever she could, she went away into the forest and tried to think things out. She objected very much to the feeling that life seemed somehow to be thickening round her — yet, after Karlchen's visit there it was. Each day there were fewer and fewer quiet pauses in the trivial bustle pf existence; clear moments, like windows through which she caught glimpses of the serene tranquillity with which the real day, nature's dajr, the day she ought to have had, was passing. Frau von Treumann followed her about and talked to her of Karlchen. Fraulein Kuh- niuber followed her about, with a humble, dog- like a£Fection, and seemed to want to tell her something, and never got further than dark utter- ances that perplexed her. Baroness Elmreich re- pulsed all her advances, carefully called her Miss Estcourt, and made acid comments on everything that was said and done. " I believe she thslikes me," thought Anna, puzzled. " I wonder why? " The baroness did ; and the reason was simplicity itself. She disliked her because she was younger, prettier, richer, healthier than herself. For this she disliked her heartily; but with far greater heartiness did she dislike her because she knew she oujht to be grateful to her. The baroness detested having to feel grateful— it is a detesta- tion not confined to baronesses — and in this case the burden of the obligations she was under THE BENEFACTRESS »j, Zh?V,5'*** *''* '* "^ ''''"°«t P«t endurance And there was no escape. She had been starv Zi:^£z ^' 5^^"' ^"^ ^'^^ -°^3 sta;:e again It Anna turned her out. She owed her SlorKis cL'litor °' '°^" '^ *^^ '°- °^ "^ der^i^lS"*^' ^^T^ i" i}^'' '■°°'"' A"'^ would won- ness ont Z^':^^ ^^^^.gh^t the unsatisfactori- ness ot It, and the emptiness. When were thpv goine to begin the better life, the souTto S We sTie was waiting for? How busy they had aH been, and what had they done? WKothini A ht le aimless talking,^a little aimVe!L^se: S ittle aimless walking about, a few letters to write that need not have Been written, a newspaper to glance into that did not really interesrffidy meals in rapid succession, nfght, and oblS That was wfiat was on the surface. What ,^' beneath the surface she could only guess at- 1^ after a whole fortnight with the dhfsen s£'4 est dmi^"*'5'°'''^ ^^ ^"'^"^^«- ^" the hot for' est^drowsy and aromatic, where the white butter- pS tt^T^f ¥* ^'""SS *he shadows of the fvpm, n ^""^•■ed up and down the unending avenues all day long, she wandered, during hi afternoon hour when the Chosen napped to the most out-of-the-way nooks she couldTnd; and special bit of lovehness. some distant radiant leaves .t^Hf^f^ ^'■^^" '*'°*^'- °^ bidding effect of blue and white between the branches so 29' THE BENEFACTRESS far above her head, she would ponder and ponder till she was weary. There was no mistaking Karlchen's looks; she had not been a pretty girl for several seasons at home in vain. Karlchen meant to many her. She of course, did not mean to marry Karlchen, but that did not smooth any of the ruggedness out of the path she saw opening before her. She would have to endure the preliminary blandishments of the wooing, and when the wooing itself had reached the state of ripeness which would enable her to let him know plainly her own intentions, there would be a gnevous number of scenes to be gone through wth his mother. And then his mother would shake the Klemwalde dust from her offended feet and go and failure number one would be upon her. In the innermost recesses of her heart, offensive as Karl- chen's wooing would certainly be, she thought that once It was over it would not have been a bad thing ; for, since his visit, it was clear that Frau von Treumann was not thr sort of inmate she had dreamed of for her home for the unhappy. Un- happy she had undoubtedly been, poor thing, but happy with Anna she would never be. She had forgiven the first fibs the poor lady had told her, but she could not go on forgiving fibs for ever. All those elaborate untruths, written and spoken' about Karlchen's visit, how dreadful they were. Surely, thought Anna, truthfulness was not only a lovely and a pleasant thing but it w-s absolutely indispensable as the basis to a real friendship. How could any soul approach another soul through a network of lies ? And then more painful still — she confessed with shame that it was m -re painful THF BENEFACTRESS ,,3 I think,'; she said to Manske, when he cam.. "I ^IT'^'V'^- " "^* °f «^'«<=ted applkations otUt nt:- "'" ""* ^^ "«'^ "-^-^ ch'S>singre " I have found nine most deserving cssm" i,a urged, "and later there may not KL'?""'' ^^ the auium'n '"*^r"Pt«d Anna, « we will wait. In ml^u "• Pe^^aps — not now. First I must make the ones who are here happy. You know " she^jd, smrhng, "they cameTre to L made thevfen7ll^l''"°* '*• ^"i ''^PPy '"deed must !iS 'andtstwk""'°""'^'^ ^' ^" ^^^^ '"^''- is D2?^r."''*-H"''-'°'".'^''^ Anna.musing. "It L,^.^^*^^' '*"* •* — it should be easy to be happy here, -yet I am not sure that they are" THE BENEFACTRESS tied Not sure ? " Manske looked at her. •tar- Die ^J^ f people -most people, ordinary peo- hW'.n? ti!^' 'P^^'""^ *° 'herself more than to , "The fear of the Lord," he replied proniDtlv which put an end to the convention P^^P^'^' Annah^rfnlr *>" PeT'exities about the Chosen. Anna had other worries. De Iwie had rer«.iv«i tK- refusal to let Jiim build the bSS wi hluch insolence, and had, in his anger, said such ext^aor dmaiv things about Axel ifohm, that Anna S bl^ed out too. and had told himhe must^. U out fm,!! l" unpleasant scene, and she hafcome out from It white and trembling. She had hi- Jl''' u ^?.^ ^""'^ '« ^° *e difmissini foThe; Lt- but"Zr;K^'''"'*^'y ^^'^^ t° ^nd Wm away , but she had been overwhelmed by a sudden ^r IrTu' '^I """'« intolerabL uisiW tions-only half understood, but sounding for t he^frr'^.^" they wer^ -and hady^ It herself. Since then she had not seen him. Bv the agreement her uncle had made with him he not rnnt '^f ""f""'' ^"^ ^'^^ ^^"ew she couW not continue to refuse to see him: but how she dreaded the next interview! And how uneJsv her lis *' ''?«•/* '^' '^' mana^g^menrS her estate was entirely in the hands oi a man who must now be her enemy. AxelwK Muallv had to be done, of course; but he did not like THE BENKFACTRKSS ^ An2r?hi?°'"u^*'*" ^^ "«* •'i'"- He asked Anna to allow him to ride round her olace « bhe left oflf reading Maeterlinck, borrowed books on farming from .Cxel, and eagerly studied tk^m J^rning by heart before breaklstfoi pa^^^^^^^^ SS anTp^"'*'- '' '^^ *- chfef'^p^S «thp"i!l,^^"°* ?° """^^ harm." Axel assured her- d^to^he^ '15- "" '^^ '"• '^^ *hat can he . "How kind you are," said Anna ent^MUr. indeed, he seemed to her' to be a tow^^ofSSh "Anyone would do what they could to hK forlorn young lady in the straits you are in ' h^ said, smiling at her, ' ' "* i,:."^!^*^"^*. *8^'" ''Po'^en of the Chosen since &k^'ewtw£,^r«K^*'l^^°^^^*= -^^^^^^^^ ac Knew that Karlchen had been and eone he Ma not mention his name. Nor did inna Th. longer she lived with her sistei. Ihe kss did S ■^i^- ■ •9< THE BENEFACTRESS care to talk about them, especially to Axel. As for Frau von Treumann's plans, how could she ever tell him of those ? And just then Letty, the only being who was reallv satisfactory, became a cause to her of fresh Ceiplexity. Letty had been strangely content with er German lessons from Herr Klutz. Every day she and Miss Leech set out without a muftnur, and came back looking placid. They brought back little offenngs from the parsonage, a bunch df narcissus, the first lilac, cakes baked by Frau Manske, always something. Anna took the flow- ers, and ate the cakes, and sent pleased messages 1? return. If she had been less preoccupied by Uellwig and the eccentricities of her three new friends, she would certainly have been struck by Letty's silence about her lessons, and would have quesfaoned her. There was no grumbling after the first day, and no abuse of Chiller and the muses. Once Anna met Klutz walking through Kleinwalde, and asked him how the studies were progressing. "Colossal," was the reply, "the progress made is colossal," And he crushed her rings into her fingers when she gave him her hand to shake, and blushed, and looked at her with eyes that he felt must bum into her soul. But Anna noticed neither his eyes nor his blush ; for his eyes, whatever he might feel them to be doing, were not the kind that bum into souls, and he was a pale young man who, when he blushed, did It only in his ears. They certainly turned cnmson as he crushed Anna's fingers, but she' was not thinking of his ears. . " Frau Manske is too kind," she said, as the i THE BENEFACTRESS first •97 _, ., _ intermittent, became things of daily occurrence. They grew bigger, t-x), every day, attammg such a girth at last tl«it L. tty could hardly car.y them. " She must not plunder her garden like this." " It is very full of flowers," said Miss Leech. Really a wonderful display. The bunch is always ready, tied together and lying on the table when we arrive. I tried to tell her yesterday that you were afraid she was qjoiHn? her garden, send- ing so much, but she did not .em to understand. She IS showing me how to make those cakes you said you liked. "I wish I had some of these in my garden," said Anna, laying her cheek against the posy of wallflowers Letty had just given her. There was nothing in her garden except grass and trees; Uncle Joachim had not been a man of flowere. She took them up to her room, kissing them on the way, and put them in a jar on the window-sill ; and It was not until two or three days later, when they began to fade, that she saw the comer of an envelope peeping out from among them. She pulled It out and opened it. It was addressed to Ihr Hochwohlgeboren FrauUin Anna Estcourt; and inside was a sheet of notepaper with a large red heart painted on it, mangled, and pierced by an arrow ; and below it the following poem in a cramped, hardly readable writing : — The earth am I, and thou the heaven, The mass am I, and thou the leaven, No other heaven do I want but thee, Oh Anna, Anna, Anna, pity me I August Klutz, Kandidat. •»• THE BENEFACTRESS V^iw came you to tallr «i„.k u"j the whoktLe^iXed ?"• ''^H, about you day Leechy ?iS»^^ ''""'S^ ^* *'^'= ^ ^ "Cooked?" yo" mmed a, pfca«d a, »j^ftj.. ""= ''")'■ »"'' THE BENEFACfRESS ^ "And instead of learning German you and h» have been making up this fort of thinj°" * A^^V ""'^^ ?"** ^y^ frightened Cetty. She 2S/''°'?w".lS'!h° 'iL^TL^."'' '«>''^ down •aid, addressing the caipet; "it's only llr fessuD over again Leechy wasn't angry mtl Mr Cn She was frightfully pleased. She savsit^T; greatest compliment a person SL iTanvbodv Sicifg^t;^"* ^'"" '^' "*^" KlS/ JSS Anna stared at her, bewildered. "Mr lessun?" Sf«T**'A " ^"*^ ''o y°" -n^an to tell me tVat s^nTe?" 5h':"n^°lu''''^-*''"'l'«g"'«nTnon! sense/ She held the maneled heart at -.r^L length, crushing it in her hanf. ^ ** *™' Thll**^' ^°"v 'P°" '*• "« wo'ked at it for day. There weren't any paints red enouiih for Te wound, and he had to go to Stralsund S pu^e He thought no end of it." And Letb- sS^d though sEe was. could not resist gigglTn^alMe 4aCS''^°inllLV^^^^^^ L^^ftVe^-^^^^^^ notet^"°''' *''''°".t knowing about it. soTm not breaking my promise talking to you -1—" "That s what I said - or something like it I ^/^j;^,;,ollyrot. He said, -what's rot?- I 300 THE BENEFACTRESS to'Set^!'" -^^'^ Annaangrily. Shelonged was rot, and I was sure you wouldn't, but as he ffi K ''"T-'^''** 'P^ *^> 't wasn't much Rood didn't W 'J °"* '" *^^ ^'^^--y- »nd stK- " Y^uTn'f t '°°''' u« ^* ''^'" ^* indignant eyes. You don t know what you have done?" she said "evidently you don't, ft is a dreadful thing that the moment Miss Leech leaves you you sLuld begin to talk pf such things-such hoVrid thSs -7/*5j^.J,'^i;g«r- .AHttfegirlof yourai_^» 1 didnt begm," whimpered Letty, overcome by the wrath in Anna's voice. overcome it "S!^^ ^U *i® ^'""^ y°" ^*ve l^en going on with •t.^ instead of at once telling Mil feech or -greanSn."'* ^~^ ^°''^' before- 1 thought it ^' Then aU those flowers were from him ? " He thought I knew they were from him ? " JNo answer. "Did he?" insisted Anna. "Ye — es." "You are a very wicked little girl," said Anna, with awful sternness. "You have been S untruths every day for ages, which is just as bS of thi h^ '^r- V°[?'* ^"^^^ y°" hive an iSea of the horndness of what you have done — I hone you have not. Of course'your lessons at Lohm have come to an end. /ou will not go there again. Probably I shall send yo« home^to yo^ THE BENEFACTRESS 301 forgive her^eTt h wi'Sf ^r' 1"'!t "1^'^'^ *° She had been aDDalir^^^hi ! ^*"^*' ^^^ ^elt. the heart and t^e^ w fat had "ILf ''""^'^ ^'' wh e she was learnir.^ * , • *^ °^" IfoJng on kitchen. ^Such™ ^ *ir'' '" ^•""^ ^ansTce's youn. man?' she eSmeT''r'''''-'°?'^'"g "AnI about to take hol^'o'de;. r^"^^-^*"'^^-- at aKrAnTa ^^j^-^^^ -d respectable jng. and quitrw"Lut"4^,r"S'^.!?*^'P"r ised person would take arlvT^f r ^ ^ demoral- Pupif in that way " ^^^^"t^ge of a poor little She lit a candle, and burnt the bearf « tu ,, Htd.Xl;?^btlo1Sn\V^^ courage to cross Sesl^l"'' °^ '*/ ^ hadn't the I should he^r sEh?n.?v.T^''T^^^^^^id tooangn.,SiTh^*veS*ft would make me how, dla> m"ss Leerh I! . ' the parson. Any again, ever w 11 te ? '''1IS "°' '"^^^ ^^^ ^^o"^ this will h;ppenTwL but ^eTffi^tt'b^'"'^ chance, will we.? Now don't T« f " ?^^^ * Tell me about Mr. Jersup'' ^' '°" ""'^Wy. so'eVl^l!f;^ttt\t'if^""/ '^"^^^ ''"* «he distressed,!' reLL;TrVu"^^^^^^ " '^^P'^' She spent the evening^S Vo S : ^r;^|^htT„ *>» THE BENEFACTRESS useless laments, while, in the room adjoining, Letty lay face downwards on her bed, bathed in tears. For Letty's conscience was in a gri< tus state of tumult. She had meant well, and sht nad done badly. She had not thought her aunt would be angry — was she not in full possession of the facts concerning Mr. Jessup's cP'Ttship? And had not Miss Leech said that no higher honour could be paid to a woman than to fall m love with her and make her an offer of marriage? Herr Klutz, it is true, was not the sort of person her aunt could m^rry, for her aunt was stricken in years, and he looked about the same age as her brother Peter; besides, he was clearly, thought Letty, of the guttersnipe class, a class that bit its nails and never married people's aunts. But, aifter all, her aunt could always say No when the su- preme moment arrived, and nobody ought to be offended because they had been fallen in love with, and he was frightfully in love, and talked the most awful rot. Nor had she encouraged him. On the contrary, she had discouraged him ; but it was precisely this discouragement, so virtuously administered, that lay so heavily on her conscience as she lay so heavily on her bed. She had been proud of it till this mterview with her aunt ; since then it had taken on a different complexion, and she was sure, dreadfully sure, that if her aunt knew of it she would be very angry indeed — much, much angrier than she was before. Letty rolled on her bed in torments ; for the discouragement administered to Klutz had been in the form of poetry, and poetry written on her aunt's notepaper, and purporting to come from THE BENEFACTRESS poem hidden in the wfnfln ''^ '■^'"™ to his to believe that the bou^uS h^^' K^'^ ^'"sed nation. - There hi hlA ^'^ T''^^^ 'ts dest,° "you have nkyed me ^Z-'J^'i" ^' ^^ed; told up witfi Jjiction '^"'^ '^e seemed to the lefTe^^^t^-sSid f" "'^^f*-. ^^e hasn't found ^tonished^by'thetute fe ^^-^^^rtS nght— you wait a Wt cu m^"^^- "It's all »«:f"jlly. and kissed them "^''' ''''^'^ '^' Aowei , rhishTartruKSLlL'''""^^ romantically. I f^^^^verdoesfind SietterS l^^^^^nn^ a rude answer. I will answer j'J i?"'^ '^"^ him discourage him." Forif tL „ f?"" ¥•"■ ^nd gently from Letty's mouth were wr'^Vt^* P'-^'^^ede J whenever they dwdt on eiSJX"'',''^'- Noughts, Klutz, were invariably cK^-'i^^'"? or fterr guage of sentiment ^ ^^ '" **>« tender lan- console. It cost K»\. • c • " to discourage and -as finished shffeu' haf ft'L^f '' ''"' -^-" ' a". She copied it ou in caokal ^T ^°'^'' '^^"^ notepaper, folded it up carefS ^"^''•°" ^""a's one of her own haiV Sm? "y- ^"'^ tied it with !"\3-of-the-va%shTha5 °?h *^%"*"^ "^""^^ ^ m the forest. ^ '^ gathered for the puipose This was the poem: — It is a matter of regret rhat circumstances won't AltowmetocalltheemrpLt But as It is they don't 304 THE BENEFACTRESS For why? My miny yean forbid, And likewise thy position. So take advice, and strive amid Thy tears for meek submission. Anna. And this poem was, at that very moment, as she well knew, in Herr Klutz's waistcoat pocket CHAPTER XXII the poet puts it, of £ S ^S't.^-'P'^' °^' « upt^befter th'fn^'of httte"yU^«'"^ ^° '""'^ coming cruelly to him ?„ tlf T""'' ^"'^ ^^*^' the Lutheran Churrh u- . ?'°°"y "^^es of no oppoS^'rLtturV^^^ J'^'^ ''^ dissolving, but remffned ^,j,? /' ''^X^'^png. and where theV amusld^ th.m J * u^ '" ^'^ ''eart, world to come. ' "'^^ *° ^"» of the in;a'Jd%sj-„;^o7ria!;i ^'"^^^-«- he was, "may or mav nnf k» ^ '^?,''''' '" ^^ch but its'wayTs not my wW? ''^jf ? j^ ^Y' a silence that miJht K^^V i ''■^^ ''^^^^ed in or bored to Ma^il ^vn ^H- "*";: ^°^ «^«1 course, interpreted" S^Vwer'"" ^'"'''' °' vicar." J,e saij^ to his wif? •• thfnU °l!'' J;°""S -Housandcontem^lJ^l^S-b^jShr^e^a."!^: 305 3o6 THE BENEFACTRESS IS not a man of many and vain words." To which his wrfe replied only by a sniflf of scepticism. bhe had no direct proofs that Klutz was not serious and contemplative, but during his first winter m their house he had fallen into her bad graces because of a certain indelicately apprecia- C/!t ll'^l''^ displayed towards her apple jelly. Not that she grudged him apple jelly in just quantities; both she and her husband were fond ot It, and the eating of it was luckily one of those pleasures whose indulgence is innocent. But there are limit^ beyond which even jelly becomes VICIOUS, and these limits Herr Klutz continually overetepped. Every autumn she made a suffi- cient number of pots of it to last discreet appe- ar. ?/• "^u"^^ ^^'^ 7^'^ ^'^ «J*»ys been vic!ire in their house, and there had never been a dearth ot jelly. But this year, so eariy as Easter, there were onlj; two pots left. She could not cinven! lently lock It up and refuse to produce any, for then she and her husband would not have it them- selves; so all through the winter she had watched the pots being emp od one after the other, and tfte thinner the rows m her storeroom grew, the more ^ pronounced became her conviction that S .^^M Vu' ''"*•"'''" ''^^P- A young man wha could behave in so unbridled a fishion could not be really senous; there was something, she thought, that smacked suspiciously of tlfe flesh and the devil about such conduct. Great then was her astonishment when, the penultimate pot being placed at Easter on the table, Klutz turned from it with loathing. Nor did he ever took at apple jelly again; nor did he, of other m. •»s-«V' THE BENEFACTRESS ^Aat.T^ttt'^^''^ •" ''«'*. He had to be coaxed Z^^eZ '°'^,°i ^'' "''^^'' ^nd spent his spare time wrifi ^-^^ ^^* ^^ ^"- He ail night, and'oir. e"K'rf.KP ^°"^*''"«« ong rate with which he had nl •* ^''f '^'"'^ ''^ad- the elly; and when towa^rffM"'"!'^ ^^"^"'"ed once more commenced ^1;, ^^^ ^^' ''"^hand Man^lce. conscienc"Jl ^^^^^ St?e?he^- a d?whrhe^S"St^ ^Ll'^^ ^* ^-^ on s.lence and had refused tfeSt S^ "^^^^ '" seemed' bo'tK^o rin^^^^ J^- 4 and sou, am sick _ sick even u„to del^' ^'''' °' f^^^^- " ^ And he did feel sick n.,w , «nce he had received A?nir^° '^"J'^ ''^'^ ^'apsed thrown by it into a tumuU o? Hi?"'."! '"^ ^''^ ^« forthediscouraeemen?/iL . ?''^A* ^""^ triumph; aged him the'SrappSrtot''"*^'-- becommg self-depreciation n?,^ '^ .'"^'^'y the who has1,een by^StS?o!l:^„rS"l^n before him perfectly ready to overioKf 'k °''f " "« ^as "nion to whici; she Suded Ih^"'^'^' '"^ '^^^^ heryeare; there were trulvm ^°1!''' "«* help would have wisheTbufSklThe "'''" *^" ''^ 'We on that still bvely face ^1^^ "^^'^."P^ vis- supposed she meant that h!: ° Position, he a man, he refleSel comparert.""* "''^'^'- ^"^ always aaS^/^v whatever hf/ ° ^ "^^^an, is virtue of his hiZr and „„M "^"'f ""^^ ^' hy been for rushinfat once to ^l"'*"";!- "^ ^ad P"P.1 and confiiant^d^ ^id^'' S!?^ 'n^fh^aS J0« THE BENEFACTRESS ■ said It with such energy that for that day at least he had resisted. And now, the very morning of the day on which the Frau Pastor was asking him whether he were ill, he had received a curt note from Miss Leech, informing him that Miss Letty Estcourt would for the present discontinue her German studies. What had happened? Even the poem, lying warm on his heart, was not able to dispel his fears. He had flown at once to Kleinwalde, feeling that it was absurd not to follow the dictates of his heart and cast himself in person at Anna's no doubt expectant feet, and the door had been shut in his face — rudely shut, by a coarse servant, whose manner had so much enraged him that he had almost shown her the precious verses then and there, to convince her of his importance in that house ; indeed, the only consideration that restrained him was a conviction of her ignorance of the English tongue. " Would vou like to see the doctor ? " inquired Frau Manske, startled by his looks and words; perhaps he had caught something infectious; an infectious vicar in the house would be horrible. "The doctor I" cried Klutz; and forthwith quoted the German rendering of the six lines beginning. Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased. Frau Manske was seriously alarmed. Not aware that he was quoting, she was horrified to hear him calling her Du, a privilege confined to lovers, hus- bands, and near relations, and asking her questions that she was sure no decent vicar would ever ask the respectable mother of a family. " I am sure -J*.^ THE BENEFACTRESS 309 would ha/shot'h^^reprnT'""^^ 'onger he afternoon. S th^ wind thT^L^ ^"^*^ ^^^ lon^ was blowing^^'Se d'u^t i 'cSs •''"bu? hi dusT witft ''^''^'"^^ °/ ^^^t and wind and very turbSlv Hp ., ^ u ^'J, ^^n^e ^ him daugKwere eitt^'r^P '^!,^''^''" '^^ P^'^o"'^ ^_ f. "^'^ 7fre either married or were «!ti'll fiVj DeHwW If' T ^ S"^^' condescension, to the Se7aroLrS Ce^u^'t^" ^°° ''^ '"^ 310 THE BENEFACTRESS thirty, forty fifty — of a dizzy antiquity, that it, and their talk was of butter-making and sausaees. and they cared not at all for Love, " Oh, Love. Love, Love, where shall I find thee?" he would cry to the stars on his way home through the forrat after these evenings; but the stars twinkled coldly on, obviouslv profoundly indifferent as to whether he found it or not. His chest of drawers TOs full of the poems into which he had poured the emotions of twenty, the emotions and long- ings that welWed, unoccupied twenty mistakes for soul. And then the English Miss had burst upon his gaze, sitting in her carriage on that stormy March day, smiling at him from the very first, piercing his heart through and through with eyes that many persons besides Klutz saw were lovelv, and so had he found Love, and for ev»r lost his interest in apple jelly. It was a confident, bold Love, with more hopes than fears, more assurance than misgivings. The poem seemed to burn his pocket, so violently did he long to show it round, to tell everyone of his pod fortune. The lilies-of-the-valley to which it had been tied and that he wore since all day long m his coat, were hardly brown, and yet he wm tired already of having such a secret to himself. What advantage was there in being told by the lady of Kleinwalde that she regretted not being able to call him Ldmmchen or Schdtzchm (the alternative renderings his dictionary gave of pet ) if no one knew it ? When he reached the house he walked past it at a snail's pace, staring up at the blank, repellent windows. Not a soul was to be seen. He went THE BENEFACTRESS 3,, ■ HJIn??'","^ "'*'''?• What should he do? Th. "»My when she heai? «,« ,h. *' ""™' pioH„ j;rofSe%'S.';!i'5'„a "" ^ £Krs^h'^ia^.-«t.» sit THE BENEFACTPESS Dellwig's eyes upon him, he bunt into a torrent of tears. "Well of all — what's wrong at Lohm. you great sheep ? " asked Dellwig, seizing his arm and giving him a shake. Klutz signified by a movement of his head that nothing was wrong at Lohm. He was crying like a baby, into a red pocket-handkerchief, and could not speak. Dellwig, stilj gripping his arm, stared at him a moment m silence; then he turned him round, pushed him down the steps, and walked him off. " Come along, voung man," he said, " I want some explanation of this. If you are mad youll be locked up. We don't fancy madmen about our place. And if you're not mad you'll be fined by the Amtsvorsteher for disorderly conduct. Knock- ine like that at a lady's door I I wonder you didn't kick it in, while you were about it It's a good thing the Herrschaften are out." Klutz really felt ill. He leaned on D-llwig's arm and let himself be helped along, the energy gone out of him with the fury. " You have never loved," wis all he said, wiping his eyes. "Oh that's it, is it? It is love that made you want to break the knocker? Why didn't you eo round to the back? Which of them is it? The cook, of course. You look hungry. A Kandidat crying after a cook ! " And Dellwig laughed loud and long. " The cook I " cried Klutz, galvanised by the word into life. "The cook I" He thrust a shak- ing hand into his breast-pocket and dragged it out, the precious paper, unfolding it with trem- WmA THE BENEFACTRESS triumphant. tC we^ In *k! j' '^«'""'ou»ly of the house. SS tt^u t'^'^' °"' "!. •JK'^t it clo« to hi. eyT^. Whatt th'^P': jfj'd W "Wu\^?iL«'"''''**'^ Klutz. What, the governess ? •• «• ii""*^ readout Dellwiir "Anna > tu . • MissEstcourt'sname" * ' ■'^''»* '» " ll iem,'^. ^^i"*"- ''" *^^" »" '^^ed up. ••ii?S°K'rutr'^'"-'^^^"-V'W "Miss Estcourt? Senf if »r ^ T» repression while he did it v^ not fl^- ^" u'^ ."{:°;jp,f^'d Klutz proudly. eagig M.TaL£m?er •, tl ^'"^ where w. might be disturbed" "' ''^'^ t,ome on, then," said Dellwi? wralkinir nff * a great pace with the paper in hKd ^ "^ '* ■f^ 3>4 THE BENEFACTRESS Just as they were turning into the farmyard the rattle of a carnage was heard coming down the road. _ "Stop," said Dellwig, laying his hand on Klutz s arm, " the Herrschaftm have been drink- mg coffee in the woods — here they are, coming home. You can get a greeting if you wait." They both stood on the edge of the road, and the carriage with Anna and a selection from her house-party drove by. Dellwig and Klutz swept off the.r hats. )Vhen Anna saw Klutz she turned scarlet — undeniably, unmistakably scarlet — and looked away quickly. Dellwig's lips shaped them- selves into a whistle. " Come in, then," he said, glancing at IClutz, " come in and translate your poem. ' Seldom had Klutz passed more delicious mo- ments than those in which he rendered Letty's verses into German, with both the Dellwigs drink- ing in his words. The proud and exclusive Dell- wigs I A month ago such a thing would have been too wild a flight of fancy for the most ambi- tious dream. In the very room in which he had been thrust aside at parties, forgotten in corners, left behind" when the others went in to supper, he was now sitting the centre of interest, with his «rr^'^i.®"P^'"^'''°"* ''°^*® hanging on his words. When he had done, had all too soon come to the end of his delightful task, he looked round at them triumphantly ; and his triumph was imme- diately dashed out of him by Dellwig, who said with his harshest laugh, " Put aside all your hopes, young man — Miss Estcourt is engaged to Herr von Lohm." "Engaged? To Herr von Lohm?" Klutz THE BEN F .CTRE3S j„ side. ^ ^® dropping Jimpiy ^ his pelted??ioud^^"*' '"^"Sed." Dellwig re- LJame engiged" ^"°"^' ""°* "P'"^^' ''"* ^' •■AnT^K ^:^"'"<=o'nn'anded Dellwig . And she takes my flowers — mv^fii a ings, floral and poetical andTh^ '"y.aaily ofiFer- verees-and all Terim/I • u ^^".*^^ '"e *«e one else ? " ""^ '''^ '" betrothed to some- laughfeV'fir'KL??^'^ ^''^ ^""^"^^^ burst of =f ;:tS°^nto have he^r l^^t jot^^n^^ ^^^She is a person without shame!" cried his "Silence. Frau!" snapped Dellwio- « I n^i. Si« THE BENEFACTRESS man, eh ? Here, drink this, and tell us if you are not a man. ' Klutz feebly tried to push the glass away, but Dellwig insisted. Klutz was pale to ghastliness, and his eyes were brimming again with tears, ou'li. • L r,''®°"' Oh, this Englishwoman! Uh, the shameful treatment of an estimable young man ! cned Frau Dellwig, staring at the havoc Anna had wrought. "Silence, Fr^ul " shouted Dellwig, stamping his foot You can t be treated like this," he went on to Klutz, who, used to drinking much milk at the abstemious parsonage, already felt t:,e brandy run- ning along his veins like liquid fire, "you can't be made ndiculous and do nothing. A vicar can't fight, but you must have some revenge " Klutz started. "Revenge I Yes, "but what revenge?" he asked. " Nothing to do with Miss Estcourt, of course. Leave her alone " " Leave her alone ? " cried his wife, " what, when she it is " " Silence, Frau ! " roared Dellwig. " Leave her alone, I say. You won't Min anything there, young man. But go to her Brdutigam Lohm and tell him about it, and show him the stuff. He'll be interested." Dellwig laughed boisterously, and took two or three rapid turns up and down the room. He had not lived with old Joachim and seen much of old Lohm and the surrounding landowners with- out having learned something of their views on questions of honour. Axel Lohm he knew to be specially strict and strait-laced, to possess in THE BENEFACTRESS always been a nricr H. ^^'^V. ^""^ ^^ had Estcourt to be talkS about .f?''^ ^' "'^^ Miss be talked about ?Kw' ' °^?""^ she would stopped, and the who'£"d'^s riS^^ouwf "°^'" had been going on. Axel I nW ,K"°^ "^hat would not maL a vount ^°'""^«^o"Id not and to vicars; and7allS^ ^^^ *''° ^'^te vei^es Kleinwalde ceased wrvtE°"'r^'^'? ^°'"" «nd former pleasanTcouS^he De'^f "^"""^^ '^^"'"^ '*« his post, becoming as M; n.f "^'fv^^y'^S on at sole adviser, and^^rtalTy SeT^ ' '"'^^^^^^'^ achieving all he wanteH ;L j- , persuasion The plainness arddi^i'^"?^ l^^ brick-kiln, beautiful. He walked !,n/^*^^ ^"^"'•e ^as making odd souS of satisfof- '^°*".*''^ '•°«'" his wi^ with vSour evttll-''*'°"i.^"'^ ^"encing lips.. Even hisS srquTck asViTle^P/"^'^ ""'^ hension, had not aracn^j k rV'^^'^^ompre- changed their sitLf^nf ^ j u""^ *^'« Poem had now Sot to abuse thdr'?«f ^"V. ^^^''^'^ thern making young m4^^''c'?i'*'^s\h?fore a mischief- by her^hatrelS^iss^fetTn'i'"'^?,''- ''^ ^'"e^. always the slaves ifdlfiSce "f th^""""" -^'"^ ests, to some emotion or n?^ •Z'^^"' °^ ">ter- then it was ha"S" Nev*r"cj>uld\r "°*-'7«' anything whatever tCZ ■ ^^^y ™'t for out and^be SduLd tej^"'"^ ?^^'°" must quences might be^'M^han''''^r"' *^ '^""^e- the best of fhemwhaV fools H^T ^''! ' ^"^ at h. wife as he Pass^dt^u^H^^Kla 3i8 THE BENEFACTRESS ling from her to Klutz, who sat quite still with head sunk on his chest, legs straieht out before him, the hand with the paper loosely held in it hanging down out of the cufBess sleeve nearly to the floor, and vacant eyes staring into space, his good humour returned, and he gave another harsh laugh. "Well?" he said, standing in front of this dejected figure. "How long will you sit there? If I were you I'd lose no time. You don't want tho?e two to be making love and en- joying themselves an hour longer than is neces- sary, do you ? With you out in the cold ? With you so cruelly deceived? And made to look so ridiculous? I'd spoil that if I were you, at once." " Yes, ;rou are right. I'U go to Herr von Lohm and see if I can have an interview." Klutz got up with a great show of determina- tion, put the paper in his pocket, and buttoned his coat over it for greater security. Then he hesi- tated. " It ts a shameful thing, isn't it? " he said, his eyes on Dellwig's face. " Shameful ? It's downright cruel." " Shameful ? " began his wife. " Silence, I tell thee ! Young ladies' jokes are sometimes cruel, you see. I believe it was a joke, but a very heartless one, and one that has made you look more foolish even than half-fledged pas- tors of your age generally do look. It is only fair in return to spoil her game for her. Take another glass of brandy, and go and do it." Klutz stared hard for a moment at Dellwig. Then heseized the brandy.gulped it down.snatched THE BENEFACTRESS saw h m pass ben*.aft, ViT • ? *^ ''oo'"- Thev And he I.n^e=d"d^ *SE;°i7,r"''°"«" l»»d, .ha, helhoSf S*rf S„' '"'")' '"""ted h». k^iwmjj^-iim^*^' .iWwmm. CHAPTER XXIII Ki.oTz sped, as fast as his shaking limbs allowed: to Lohm. When he passed Anna's house he flung it a look of burning contempt, which he hoped she saw and felt from behind some curtain ; and then, trying to put her from his mind, he made desperate efforts to arrange his , thoughts a little for the coming interview. He i ^VEPOs^'^ that it must be the brandy that made it so I ! difficult for him to discern exactly why he was to go to Herr von Lohm instead of to the person prin- cipally concerned, the person who had treated him so scandalously; but Herr Dellwig knew best, of course, and judged the matter quite dispassionately. Certainly Herr von Lohm, as an insolently happy nval, ought in mere justice to be annoyed a little ; and if the annoyance reached such a pitch of effec- tiveness as to make him break off the engagement, why then — there was no knowing — perhaps after ?"-; — ? The ordinary Christian was bound to forgive his erring brother; how much more, then, was it incumbent on a pastor to forgive his erring sister? But Klutz did wish that someone else could have done the annoying for him, leaving him to deal solely with Anna, a womai., a mem- ber of the sex in whose presence he was always at his ease. The brandy prevented him from feeling it as acutely as he would otherwise have done, but the plain truth, the truth undisguised by 320 THE BENEFACTRESS he was frightened ^ ^' '^''^" ^''^y met, and foS by%&:oadsS:1bou^fi^'' ^'?^'-- -^-^ from Axel's gate he founW v," ^^^.""""tes' walk over his sulerings once aS """^^'^ *° g° count the dinnere he h!^^ • *^"^ ''>' one, to the feverish nTghts and ,h'""'''^\'° '"^'"^'"ber rehearse what &) wig'td '^^^^^/^^^I"^^ days, to present ridiculousness or h,.^„ told him of his back and gone home' R„. .., °"H ^^^^ t"med him the cofrage necessa.? tol.?t- ^^u^*^'^ ^^^^ gate; and by the tfme h?^u°F' '''"? through the m the avenue escape had L •■°"'?''^^ ^^^^ bend Axel was standi-nfon L cT' '"^possible, for Axelhadacigar?fh1smontfPK- u^ '^^ ^°^^- Ws pockets, af d he was wa"ch n^' th''^'^^ ^^^^ '« young mare which was beini^ ?!. ^^ P^*^^^ of a Two pointers were IfttinJ^f k-'^."P ^"d down. Klutz appeared thevr^K^ f ^" ^^^^' ^nd when Klutz did noPas a^ 'r t!? ''°^" ^* J'™ barking by dogs, buf h? las 'fnt^htl^ ''^'"^ Marked ft 4 a„d^Klutz,^withtt et^SaiVat Jlk^ Ax'eu'f ha'nds t JVhS o"ock .^^"^.- " -^'^d on the mare's legs P""^^*' ^"d his eyes ^.M wish to speak with you privately." said 3" THE BENEFACTRESS Gut. Just wait a moment." And Klutz waited, while Axel, with great deliberation, con- tinued his scrutiny of the mare, and followed it up by a lengthy technical discussion of her faults and her merits with the groom. This was intolerable. Klutz had come on busi- ness of vital importance, and he was left standing there for what seemed to him at least half an hou* as though he were rather less than a dog or a bee- gar. As time tJassed, and he still was kept waft- ing, the fury that had possessed him as he stood helpless before Anna's shut door in the afternoon, returned. All his doubts and fears and respect melted away. What a day he had had of suffer- ing, of every kind of agitation ! The ground alone that he had covered, going backwards and forwards between Lohm and Kleinwalde, was enough to tire out a man in health ; and he was not in health, he was ill, fasting, shaking in every limb. WhUe he had been suffering (leidend und sckwitzmd, he said to himself, grinding his teeth), this comfortable man in the gaiters and the aggressively clean cuffs had no doubt passed very pleasant and easy hours, had had three meals at least where he had had none, had smoked cigars and examined horses' legs, had ridden a little, driven a little, and would presently go round, now that the cool of the even- ing had come, to Kleinwalde, and sft in the twi- light while Miss Estcourt called him Schatg. Oh It was not to be borne ! Dellwig was right — he must be annoyed, punished, at all costs shaken out of his lofty indifference. " Let me remind you," Klutz burst out m a voice that trembled with pas sion, "that I am still here, and still waiting, and ..tmL'^.::t THE BENEFACTRESS 3,3 "What IS the matter, my dear Herr K\„h} Mhav^l^ ""^'^ about Wthing" ^'"''' I have been shamefully treated by a woman " said AirtiSr"" '^^"^^"^ ^° ^°""« ""■" Khtl'K^^eTrbl^'^^^P*'^'^- "^^ *^^^" cried w.sh^metohelpyou. If yS^ ^anW^^^ "J will not go." " My dear Herr Klutz." "I say I will) came to tell you. . " Miss Estcourt ? Then he added, " "She is a woman ml to^tiirvou"" Vh *'" ^ ^^^^ ^^''^ y°" ^hat I me to tell vou. The woman is Miss Estcourt " repeated Axel, amazed. Call her a lady. to all intents and purposes- 3»4 THE BENEFACTRESS " Call her a lad^r. It sounds better from a youne man of your station." ' '^ " Of my station I What, a man with the brains pt a man, the mmd of a man, the sinews of a man IS not equal, is not superior, whatever his station may be, to a mere woman ? " " I will not discuss your internal arrangements. Has there, then, been some mistake about the salary you are to receive ? " "What salary?" " For teaching Miss Lclty Estcourt? " ,"^*^;~''^* salary. Love does not look at salaries. " That sounds magnificent. Did you say love ? " "For weeks past, all the time that I have taught the niece, she has taken my flowers, my messages, at first verbal and at last written " " One moment. Of whom are we talking ? I have met you with Miss Leech " "The governess? Ichdanke. It is Miss Est- court who has encouraged me and led me on, and now, after calling me her Ldmmcfun, takes away her niece and shuts her door in my face " " You have been drinking ? " "Certainly not," cried Klutz, the more indig- nanthr because of his consciousness of the brandy " Then you have no excuse at all for talking m this manner of my neighbour ? " " Excuse ! To hear you, one would think she must be a queen," said Klutz, laughing derisively If she were, I should still talk as I pleased. A cat may look at a king, I suppose?" And he laughed again, very bitterly, disliking even for one moment to imagine himself in the role of the cat iH^T-CAB^: THE BENEFACTRESS 4 ^** likes/' ^id^Ll^'bu? Ir^ ^"^ '^ °^'- « it any/hi!;? ""' ^''^ ''^ ^o lu^nE];- about Oh. ho! Not if it could bite, have"^;^ ite pocket " " '""''^ ''•*^' ^"^ ^ad what I Yo'u'Sti? ha"v°i SoLTthafv"^ '^f "f" K'"*- is it that vou h?v?iryou^ P^""^'' ^'^y- ^"^^^ of mine THtSe't::^ "^ '" ?"«-- ^o one might liket sl^hoTyl^Zure w-^"«^* ^^^ another man." ^ '""^^ *'^« writes to on'me''?~Oufo^ouIl^^" "iT, ^^"^^ ^ kindJy wife then.%lP"EltcS"'"^""^- ^^ ^"'"'^ ^ ft IS an open secret." It IS, most unfortunately, not true." KIUU lean^ WM and A3l,S'',!S:"Si mi!mKm^i^w M^^ . 3*6 THE BENEFACTRESS a muscle moved. It had been calm before, and it remained calm. Klutz could hardly keep himself from leaping up and striking that impassive face, striking some sort of feeling into it. He had piaved his big card, and Axel was quite unmoved. What could he do, what could he say, to hurt him? " Shall we bum it ? " inquired Axel, looking up from the paper. " Burn it ? ' Bum my poem ? " " It is such very great nonsense. It is written by a child. We know what child. Only one in this part can write English." "Miss Estcourt wrote it, I tell you I" cried Klutz, jumping to his feet and snatching the paper away. " Your telling me so does not in the very least convince me. Miss Estcourt knows nothine about it." ® "She does — she did "screamed Klutz, beside himself. "Your Miss Estcourt — your Braut — you try to brazen it out because you are ashamed of such a Braut. It is no use — everyone shall see this, and be told about it — the whole province shall ring with it — / will not be the laughing-stock, but you will be. Not a labourer, not a peasant, but shall hear of it " " It strikes me," said Axel, rising, " that you badly want kicking. I do not like to do it in my house — it hardly seems hospitable. If you will suggest a convenient place, neutral ground, I shall be pleased to come and do it." He looked at Klutz with an encouraging smile. Then something in the young man's twitching htH'm' .::ai.ii» z:: THE BENEFACTRESS J»7 would make to your Zt S"? ' ^'''*^^'* about f A„"';our*eUd.''"4'i''^'f'" ^T the '-efsteak'^'a'n^;! TcLr;^;XSr"^' ^^ H ^S a^asTea^aS ^f^-^'^VZ ever saw." *° '""^*^ ^^ any man I har^kSowi^ThaThe diS ZTsS'' T' *^*- himself to speal Klu?^^Sr' ^ran^lH Tl the match Axel held for h-\. Hs " pitifully. " Now go home, my ar Klutz," hand shook aid Axel 3»8 THE BENEFACTRESS very kindly. " Tell Frau Pastor to give you some food, and then get to bed. I wish you would have taken the beefsteak — here is your hat. If you, like, we will talk about this nonsense later on. Believe me, it is nonsense. You will be the first to say so next week." And he ushered him out to the steps, and watched him go down them, uneasy lest he should stumble and fall, so weak did he seem to be. " What a hot wind ! " he exclaimed. " You will have a dusty walk home. Go slowly. Good- night." ' " Poor devil," he thought, as Klutz without speaking went down the avenue into the darkness with unsteady steps, "poor young devil — the highest possible opinion of himself, and the small- est possible quantity of brains ; a weak will and strong instincts ; much unwholesome study of the Old Testament in Hebrew with Manske ; a body twenty years old, and the finest spring I can re- member filling it with all sorts of anti-parsonic longings. I believe I ought to have taken him home. He looked as though he would faint." This last thought disturbed Axel. The image of Klutz fainting into a ditch and remaining in it prostrate all night, refused to be set aside ; and at last he got his hat and went down the avenue after him. But Klutz, who had shuffled along quickly, was nowhere to be seen. Axel opened the avenue gate and looked down the road that led past the stables to the village and parsonage, and then across the fields to Kleinwalde; he even went a little way along it, with an uneasy eye on the #M THE BENEFACTRESS 3*9 ditches, but he did not see Klutz, either unnVl^f or prostrate. Well, if he were in a difrh ^f^-j to &mself, he would not drown" he'Shes wire |epan«t Sd^^^^^^^^^^^ quickly to his own gate; for it was late anrl hi had work to do, and he had wS ,S,re i^ than he could afford with Klutz A man onl hJnnSr-P.°°.'"y°i:j"«4e^''^s Axel called him bSonH a'" -**•• i*""y'ngdown the dark avenu^' beyond Axels influence, far from fainting, Uv^^' all Klutz could do not to shout with pafsion^t recSn^H J" ^^^ P""^"^"*^^ o^ *e man he now regarded as his enemy. The tears in his eve^ had given Lohm an opportunity for pretendfna he was sorryrfor him, and for making insult nf hln- 'r'.f '^ °^ ^°'^- What coufd r^a -^ suZ ctedT %UXT^^:' "•''^'' ''^ "^^ been ,^S *? r "^* "^ ^'^'^ been treated as a do? rui ?t!l' ^" ■T'?."' ^^^' ^^^ ^««e and more dl: cult o bear with dignity, as a child. A beefsteak ? oHH^Vfe '^:t^ ^^^'■^'^ b- «0"1 as he though hJ A This revoltmg specimen of the upper class had declared, with a hateful smile of Sgem JU .%r - lir 330 THE BENEFACTRESS supenority, that all his love, all his sufferings, all his just indignation, depended solely for their exist- ence on whether he did or did not eat a beefsteak. Could coarse-mindedness and gross insensibility go further ? " Thrice miserable nation I " he cried aloud, shaking his fist at the unconcerned stars, "thrice miserable nation, whose ruling class is composed of men so vile I " A nd, having removed his cigar in order to make this utterance, he re- membered, with a great start, that it was Axel's. He was in the road, just passing Axel's stables. The gate to the stable-yard stood open, and inside It, heaped against one of the buildings, was a waggon-load of straw. Instantly Klutz became aware of what he was going to do. A lightning flash of clear purpose illumined the disorder (rt his brain. It was supper time, and no one was about. He ran inside the gate and threw the lighted cigar on to the straw; and because there was not an instantaneous blaze fumbled for his matchbox, and lit one match after the other, pushing them in a kind of frenzy under the loose ends of straw. There was a puff of smoke, and then a bright tongue of flame ; and immediately he had achieved his purpose he was terrified, and fled away from the dreadful light, and hid himself, shuddering, in the darkness of the country road. CHAPTER XXIV oul' ?n;;,"th'e'te?n1;llSl:!:! P"--' hurrying alarm was given ^'^^'^ ^^^n first th^ Ann J" .u""/ ^"^'J someone else wind. The t^eS in the wiT ^''i'"* ''^ ^^^^ hot creaked, the air ^s olrrht ^it?. '^^^^'^ ^nd light glared brigK eS 1^?^. '" c °^ f ^*' *he veiynear? Surelv if w=c ^"*V Purely it was "It^s in Lohm"'cried^n?f'''*h"^*'^^«"nd? and Anna tu.;dTn?h:°rt^-':^--^^^^^^^ asked &ty'KhUri *?• 1:""* ^"'>-?" the aflfair ,^th Klute ?he £ nr^/u'^""' ^^'^ «'"« like a co„science-s"tricke: Sg "'' ""'' ^""' ^^out itmS'g5'!:!5J"^-^''-^ -one at thefarm- Lohm church-lells rinJ^ *7 *=°"'d hear the 335 Slar-3m*J:!»4»Ji jW.. 33* THE BENEFACTRESS "Yes — the fire-engine — is it ordered? Has it gone ? No ? Then at once — at once — — " "/awoA/,jawoH" ssiid Frau Dellwig with great calm, the philosophic calm of him who contem- plates calamities other than his own. She said something to one of the maids, who were standing about in pleased and excited groups laughing and whispering, and the girl shuffled off in her clatter- ing wooden shoes. "My husband is not here," she explained, " and the men are at supper." "Then they must leave their supper," cried Anna. "Go, go, you girls, and tell them so — look how terrifcle it is getting " " Yes, it is a bi§ fire. The girl I sent will tell them. They say it is the Schloss." " Oh, go yourself and tell the men — see, there is no sigjn of them — every minute is priceless " " It is always a business with the engine. It has not been required, thank God, for years. Mietze, go and hurry them." The girl called Mietze went oflF at a trot. The others put their heads together, looked at their young mistress, and whispered. A stable-boy came to the pump and filled his pail. Everyone seemed composed, and ^et there was that bloody sky, and there was that msistent cry for help from the anx- ious bell. Anna could hardly bear it. What was happen- ing down there to her kind friend ? " It is the Schloss" said the stable-boy in answer to a question from Frau Dellwig as he passed with his full pail, spilling the water at every step. " Ach, I thought so," she said, glancing at Anna. -' SsA-e « THE BENEFACTRESS doCn thefts 'afKt riri M'T'^^'i '^^ -» wig could nofbS fol ow wWcte>/?" P^"" a ijsapproving distance ^^ ''"' ''°*'y> ^t men?h?st"SeSd S*^ >^/^ ^* *^t - from its shed, rot the W»c k ^^""^"^engine after what AnVa though? L^!;""'?^'' '° '*• ^"d away. When it staS Si I f*^^'"*^ '* ^Wled was like one dSft e S^& *° ^''^ -"^'> ,, J. s the stables." he said to Anna. Herrvon Lohm's?" ^ "AndthlhTuseT''"--^" •nig"!"t"^s^!^.^^/f-M- ..1,3 a ^„,^ J»^y- Ther. ° pine trees hi. '"S^"g that isasdiyas. deS"^ '^t^'^en. Eveiy^K.-.,g Bi!?n'n''-^*~^'"« *ey insured?" bell was heard abZ th^UkH°"'^ ^'l^ ^"^'^'^ of the wind. Mt^horriLk "J^*"d hanging bell tolling, and iLlrg'i'the'st^'T^/^^^^^^ throw one single bucketful nf t!.^' . ^ '^""'^ should not feel so useless so Lw"" ? ^'j^ '^^^ ^ use or good for anything" ^' """'"'^ °^ "° NeitHer of them had Iver seen a fi« j u I-: mit 1 '^^^ § I 334 THE BENEFACTRESS «, J 'i W It : to lose money: From things Trudi had said, from things the princess had said, she knew it. There was at Lohm, she felt rather than knew, an abun- dance of everything necessary to ordinary com- fortable living, as there generally is in the country on farms ; but money was scarce, and a series of bad seasons, perhaps even one bad season, or any- thing out of the way happening, might make it very scarce, might make the further proper farm- ing of the place impossible. Suppose the stables were not insured, where would the money come from to rebuild them ? And the horses — she had heard that hordes went mad with fright in a fire, and refused to leave their stables. And the house — suppose this cruel wind made the checking of the fire impossible, and it licked its way across the trees to Axel's house ? " Oh, what can we do ? " she cried to the frightened Letty. " Let's go there,' said Letty. " Yes ! ' cried Anna, striking her hands together. " Yes ! The carriage — Frau Dellwig, order the carriage — order Fntz to bring the carriage out at once. Tell him to be quick — quick ! " " The gracious Miss will go to Lohm ? " " Yes — call him, send for him — Fritz I Fritz ! " She herself began to call. "But " " Fritz I Fritz I Run, Letty, and see if you can find him." " If I may be permitted to advise " "Fritz I Fritz! Fritz!" " Call the herrschaftlicke Kutscher Fritz," Frau Dellwig then commanded a passing boy in a loud and stern voice. " Not only mad, but improper," THE BENEFACTRESS w her private comment " si,^ to her i?^VA>««, _ to her ^T ^y °'«ht Srauttgamr f ven a r^cc-ki ""acknowledged gam dii not. in her onJ^ ^^^^ ''"™'ns ^S The darkAess conSdY '"^ ^"* ^ Sp. and Anna neither notfcid nor .r?.' "^ ''^'- '^ce. m her voice, but bewn K» f/^"* '°'" ^^^e anger direction of the stah^f. ^-^'^ ^ run in the her reflections '''"'■ ^"*^"« F«u Dellwig to wh;«?S inn??jd ttJv^ ^-.^- eve^- her, having found Frit^^^i' ^' '^o'^'ng towards ■He aid 6„ ^J^^l" |™age coming, • house into the light of thl \ ^^^ '*^Ps of the <-ome anJ look at child, what do ^TKK yourself in the glass." ^ '^ k ai Dd'4 ha^S^d ''^ «'^^^ ^''^^ ''-g aoove the H-JeK?SJ^^fA.na looking at bemg got ready now." ^ " ^he carriage is been, dotg^ trCrtafrP^ee^it '^^ ^''^ -"'^ ««Ie curls. S'tulnToKoT ?» theseSffl spect young woman " ^ '°'^'" »nd circum- I 33« THE BENEFACTRESS Anna bent her head and let the princess do as she pleased. " Herr Dellwig is afraid the fire will spread to the house," she said breathlessly. " Our engine has only just gone " " I heard it." " It is such a lumbering thing, it will be hours getting there " „ " Oh, not hours. Half a one, perhaps. " Are they insured ? " " The buildings ? They are sure to be. But there is always a loss that cannot be covered — ach, Frau Dellwig, good-evening —you see we have taken possession of your house. To have no stables and probably no horses just when the busy time is beginning is terrible. Poor Axel. There — now you are tidy. Wait, let me fasten your cloak and cover up your pretty dress. Is Letty to come too ? " « 6h — if she likes. Why doesn't the. carnage come?" , , ,„ " It will be much better if Letty goes to bed, said the princess. " Oh !^' said Letty. " It is long past her bedtime, and she has no hat, and-nothinff round her. Shall we not ask Frau Dellwig to send a servant with her home ? " "Abergewiss " began Frau Dellwig. But Anna was out again on the steps, was shutting out the flaming sky with one hand while she strained her eyes into the darkness of the corner where the coach-house was. She could hear Fritz's voice, and the horses' hoofs on the cobbles, and she could see the light of a lantern • jogging up and down as the stable-boy who held #S. T THE BENEFACTRESS 337 " Quick, quick, Fritz," she it hurried to and fro cned. "JawoM, gnddiges FrauUi^ " answer in tht old man WK„ ''^"'^ ^^k the But it was like a StmaJe 7^; T'''"''S tones. una^etoX'S-::^^^^ i ake me with von Ui. Letty from behind hlT «r"'^ ^°"l^ too,»pleaded Anna's. '"'' "^^^ ^''PP'ng her hand into yo;r\\'i.*''>saWn'^^^^^^^^^ eTe'^^^^l'^S -"'^ moving about before "£ ZT^r, °" ^''^ '^"t^"» carnage lamps flashed out fn?""'^V ^''«" the • the carriage rattli up ' ^^ '" ^^ot^e'" moment ^eesT^^efti t^ c^ugt'r °' *^^ P- red horror of the skv aV,^ i? ' ?'"npses of the the open Anna cfed ott^'i'" . ^«°* °"* '»*' seemed as if the whole worM "^^'i'^' ^°' i* sp.re of Lohm church Tnd th^""' T f'' ^^e ^ges stood out clear and sham^-„??'/ '^^ ^°*- The horses, more and m«™ ^^ l" *^ ''erce 1 ght. they drew, pirg^/ai^f^'l^ghtened the nearer hardly hoi induced to and terrified, an/ tSeate ?„"^''^ ^'''^^' ^''•^king upset the carriage bto ?he"ltcr^ '"°'^-* ^° ^^^rlr^r^f^ZS'ZT^- '/'^ P--3. and followed after as Svifl,""' ''^ ^^tty the road and in the field^"Site tt S^s tH u« THE BENEFACTRESS KlerTh^l!°"*"«^*''"'^' "•"•ninated figure,' L 31' *=^^"<="ng groups. From the pump on nelpera had been formed, and buckets of water were being passed along from hand to ha„7 to Ae engines; and there was no other waten The engines were working farther down he road, keeping the hose turned on to the tree! between lie stables and the house. There wS SeXste'"?r™°"V'*l'"'^"'^ *^^*e^ v,n!,jl AT •*°i'''^ carry the fire across to Axel's house Men m the garden were hacking atVhem the blows of thtir axes indistinguishaBle in the uproan but every now and then one of the victims Shirik'"'''' """"^ ''' '^"°*^ **•" '^db| '• Oh, poor Axel, poor Axel ! " murmured Anna drawing her scarf across her face as she pS along to protect it from the intolerable helt.^ bS tri T^-f T™''**"^^'^ ^S^'^ '" he"- blue cloak and white dress, stumbling on to where the engines were; and the |roups of Sker^ " H07 did it happen ? " she asked, suddenly stop- ping before a knot of women. They were vE No one knows," said the edest, when Anna pu^S"'''^""^°"- "Theysayitwi'Soneon ful °°T °" P'J31°*^ ' " «'=J'o«d Anna, starine at onVu^t/p •• " '^'''' '^'^^ -°""^ -* «- *° ^ P^- But to this question no reply at all was forth- THE BENEFACTRESS her hand beforeT^tr ""'"^ ^"'^ '''^n Put ;^t'5L?r^.^^^^^^^^^ two storks, roofs now buming.Ld Sd i^*"" °" °"« o^ the «fety and were w^tchine ovf- S ^""-i?^ ""^ '" storks wer* only a fei^davs^w"- 7C^ young thrown out of tL nSrhTtL ''' ""^ ^ad^been dragged away out of d- nV • P''^"**' ""d then parents mounting guarf"/^'" lf° '^e field, the dislocated offspnKnl thf 'uT ^mised and formed in the llow^'n'o a £' T-Jt ^^"P ^^ns- white, into a family of snJWH^"''^"'- ""^V' dazzling «« they huddlerrSfy 2S''^'«^'°r^'' ''orki, refuge. Anna saw £°a„,'i^'V'^'''.P'^^« "f she saw them; there^Jre fc ih?°^'"« that one was dead. Th? nril^ ^^ ''ttle ones, and her standing beside th'lm"'. f?^ ^^tty f^und furnace of the s ableyS'S'""« «>« faring the Pn"cetf4!;7Ara? IZT^ '^-•" -^ she should not again sHd,„ ™; determined that buildings are fullfSsu Jd ^ If '',*^y^y the have much better ones " ^^ *"" he able to ^^^Bu^thetimelost-theycan-tbebuiltina bu2gsrdi:PstVrS3Sp,T- -ch old congratulate himself thatlhevS ^'if* ^*^' «" But of cou«e there w3l aS ^' ^^'? hurned. Have you seen him ? I ^,,^ ^e the time lost, shall be scorchedTo cinde«"heS"°° '^ ""^« — MO THE BENEFACTRESS Both Axel and Dellwig were superintending the working of the hose. " I do not want my treei destroyed,' he said to Dellwig, with whom in the stress of the moment he had resumed his earlier manner; "they are not insured." He had watched the stables eo with an impassiveness Hiat struck several of the bystaiders as odd. Dellwig and many others of the dwellers in that district were used to making a great noise on all occasions great and small, and they could by no means believe that it was natural to Axel to remain so calm at suclj a moment. " It is a great nui- sance," Axel said more than once; but that also was hardly an adeq[uate expression of feelings. "They are well msured, I believe?" said Dell- wig. "Oh yes. I shall be able to have nice tight buildings in their place." "They were certainly rather — rather dilapi- dated," said Dellwig, eyeing him. " They were very dilapidat jd," said Axel. Anna and the princess stood a little way from the engines watching the efforts to check the spread of the fire for some time before Axel noticed them. Manske, who had been the first to volun- teer as a link in the human chain to the pump, bowed and smiled from his place at them, and was stared at in return by both women, who wondered who the begrimed and friendly individual could be. " It is the pastor," then said the princess, smiling back at him ; on which Manske^ smiles and bows redoubled, and he spilt half the contents of the bucket passing through his hands. "So it is," said Anna. "THE BENEFACTRESS burning property. *°' ^''^ ''^""c owner of the tnis, Manske would hL ^^"^ 'os'ig much hv ao he would ^ saJ,! a ^ "*■ that cheerful and Smv^"""- '' "«J« reassured bv wande^d to AxtdT/S^r'"'''^'- «"% Je wanted done^ "hcaJ2 ''"'"^ jS^«i„g wha^' I'ke this." she said to h^^ * S""*! '"^ngfa fire A'U^'^Sire^ ^^'^ S^ "^^'-"*'^^ ,'"oment5d«K*^,'^^^ dragged down at that |o^. against a beech «! '"^i"" ^^'•^ from its fef jn 'ts fall, ruining the fc ?'^"'^''^^'^ *°re d'oS £r^i--s^^^^^^^ sird"tVhT4i? he heard her thinW if hi ^*"!,T^"*'« though nto her eyes. " Yof he^ r" T*^ '°?^^d ^'r^'g^t ^Ste^Ti-^^i^ o cV-'-^^- -^d- ---etourneigh^o^atfe^^^^^^^^ to. ^ ' '°"nd <^««t over LTPf'"'^^". and Stu«^°""*^'«"r. *>"* smiji,i^ , V^'^- She looked^ someone's Kone/™hefar>'?'=^''3' »* her'^auSr'!?; P^'^' u ''^hatisgl7,?;"^toherhea7' ^^^^' -who savedS?? ''^ ^° ^"^^ ^o' " g'h'^K Somebody nut f I,- u "^ Th«^^ "° °ff too." ^^ ^'"s off? If ' ^nepnncessfplf ,11 »IJ^ 344 THE BENEFACTRESS took the coat o£F, and restored it with effusive thanks to its sheepish owner. There was a mur- mur of sympathy from the women as Letty emerged, snom of those flowing curls that were her only glory. " Oh Weh, die htrrlichen Haare ! " sighed the women to one another, " Oh Weh, oh iVeh!" But the handkerchief tied so tightly round her head had saved her from a worse fate ; she had been an ugly little girl before — all that had happened was that she looked now like an ugly little boy, " I say, Aunt Anna, don't mind," said Letty ; for her aunt was crying, and kissing her, and tying and un'-ying the handkerchief, and arranging and rearranging it, and stroking and smoothing the singed irregular wisps of hair that were left as though she loved them. " I'm frightfully sorry — I didn't know you were so fond of my hair." "Come, we'll go to the house," was all Anna said, stumbling on to her feet and putting her arm round Letty. And they clung to each other so close that they could hardly walk. " We are going indoors a moment," called the princess, who was very pale, to Axel as they passed the engines. He smiled across at her, and lifted his hat. " I never saw anyone quite so composed," she observed to Anna, trying to turn her attention to other things. " Your man Dellwig, who has noth- ing to do with it all, is displaying the kind of behaviour the people expect on these occasions. I am sure that Axel has puzzled a great many people to-night" Anna did not answer. She was thinking only H». --^i THE BENEFACTRBSS I ofLetty. What a slender 345 had __ thread of chance ashes or nS? But LeT^ I'ff^!^ fr ''"™* ^ little niece, poor so itarl^l ^^^"^ *.? ^r• "^' «*" less, so ugly and 2- Sr/'*y'P'?'=*'<:ally mother- and the place dSSfed ■ AnJ /°°" "■■' »"»» with a sW f™.ftt,e.H5'',„'*rSv '^' ?KthttXrhirti^f*^'*P»^i; were real. *^ ''^^'" ^n^^ o^'y this The hall was in darkness, but there w« !;,»»,» QuietasrfMfl, i.'^'^^'^s 't The house was as W!'^l^i mi£^m m 34« THE BENEFACTRESS and the blows of the axes. The princess pushed open the door behind which the light was, and they found themselves in Axel's study, where the can- dles he had lit in order to read Letty's poem were still guttering and flaring in the draught from the open window. A clock on the writing-table showed that it was past midnight. The room looked very untidy and ill-cared for. " A man without a wife," said the princess, gaz- ing round at the litter, composed chiefly of cigar- ashes and old envelopes, " is a truly miserable being. What condition can be more wretched than to be at the mercy of a Mamsell ? I shall go and inquire into the whereabouts cf this one. Axel -vill want some food when he comes in." She took up one of the candles and went out. Letty had sat down at once on the nearest chair, and was looking very pale. Anna xintied the handkerchief, and tried to arrange what was left of her hair. " I must cut off these uneven ends," she said, " but there won't be any scissors here." " I say," began Letty, staring very hard at her. " I believe you were terribly scared, you poor little creature, ' said Anna, struck by her pale face, and passing her hand tenderly over the singed head. " Oh, not much. A bit, of course. But it was soon over. Don't worry. What will mamma say to my head ? " And Letty's mouth widened into a grin at this thought. " I say," she began again, relapsing into solemnity. " Well, what ? " smiled Anna, sitting down on the same chair and putting her arm round her. i«^ 4 1' «IS i THE BENEFACTRESS bu;,;!':"..''""'* ^'-^ *e whde of that poZ r^'^re'%^T[^^ ^l; 1^^^ Klut^^ Oh. do more ? I am so liL h ^^' ^''at did you that I td'e%7aX1it^t^ ^"^f 't that I_ know, and keep him ^uW I^ ''°'"^°'"* ^'n". you Jt came from you" S^^.k' ^"'l— and pretended ooked up atTer aunt ^''-Thi',^*^'^ ^-^ead and she said defiantly ^^'^^ now, it's out," breath. /hen she slfp^ dJ' ^''^^ ""der her and put both her anr,?^ ^T" °" *« the floor .T'e," she cried jS\™"?^dLetty " Don't tell "I don't want to kfow S?n " ^^"^'s knees, dreadfully hurt just n^„ u^P°^^ ^^^ had been -hat wojld it hC ZVdr'ou'-''^''''^' get all that ridiculous nnn?il ^^', "^^ '^'^ for- never be so silly again"°r,f^' ^"/l o^'y never, ffether =.nw «_:./ ^.K?"V Let us be happy to- was all so stupid, and itz for ever — it so little worth while." 348 THE BENEFACTRESS And she put up her face, and they both began to cry and kiss each other through their tears. And so it came about that Lettv was in the same hour relieved of the burden on her conscience, of most of her hair, and was taken once again, and with redoubled enthusiasm, into Anna's heart Logic had never been Anna's strong point II ! If If CHAPTER XXV ,. Letty and AnnaS Ti^ '•" ^^^ d'ning-nS,m cesss name and eve h^ ^uthonty of the orin worked with , -li ' "^ collected th^ .« • j ^ "" g-^d to find , he lJ:;rS t S^f ^^ °- water Thir ° P^^'^^e the gentlem^ ^" ^P™" Lohm so kr„H,f^l"^ ^n-. perhaps a?H:'*^.^y —"«! so jcmdly rjee.ctpj ' ^^'^fPS, as Herr von homes and bei ^^^.^^^l!: ^^^ then go to t^ -'^^y«s possible.- Mans£ k:«jni. jr 350 THE BENEFACTRESS by far the grimiest, was also the most decided in his refusal ; he was a godly man, but he did not love supererogatory washings, under which head- ing surely a washing at two o'clock in the mom- mg came. Axel left them in the hall a moment, and went into his study to fetch cigars ; and there he found Letty, hiding behind the door. "You here, young lady?" he exclaimed sur- prised, stopping short. "Don't let anyone see me," she whispered. I' Princess LudWig and Aunt Anna are in the din- ing-room. I ran in here when I heard people with you. My hair is all burnt off." " What, you went too near ? " " Sparks came after me. Don't let them come in " " You were not hurt ? " " No. A little— on the back of my neck, but it's hardly anything." " I am very glad your hair was burnt off," said Axel with ereat severity. " So am I," was the hearty reply. " The tangles at night were something awful. He stood silent for a moment, the cigar-boxes under his arm, uncertain whether he ought not to enlighten her as to the icprehensibility of her late conduct in regard to her aunt and Klutz. Evidently her conscience was cloudless, and yet she had done more harm than was quite calcula- ble. Axel was fairly certain that Klutz had set fire to the stables. Absolutely certain he could not be, but the first blaze had occurred so nearly at the moment when Klutz must have reached them on his way home, that he had hardly a doubt l^E BENEFACTRESS AnnHmuW ^^"*^- *he whole ^n"" <'"''ed in out at hirr,\TT' '°'' if he was th^^i. f /^'^ently *henhfthouttl"?^«' He ^uiw '"*''' 'a* ««»%. Ind »? ''• ""^ strode St r ?Pf?k -^^e^s.''--^epassedS'J-^xe,had them. exSpt ManT'1?, '**« tW M^"'"""'"' *« small fiu^'oft''''"*^'^*es; and &' -"^ weariness to Se fl u """""ng were , '^^"» his two deen hi. ^^*''- Deliwja hi -^ ^P^cial h's friends '^h"'^.*^ ^em. lookfrf "'"? '"^de How ^-ngiish. <^e%htful of you," said Axel to her f -:ii m JS* THE BENEFACTREaS m ' I am elad to hear," she replied stiffly in Ger- man, for sTje was still anmy with him because of Letty's hair. "I am glaS to hear that you w3 have no losses from this." / » wm " Losses ! •■ cried Manske. " On the contrary, ^B the best thing that could happen - the w? best thing. Those stables have long been almost unfit for use. Herr von Lohm, and fcan say from my heart that I was glad to see them go. They **« V '? P'**^^ *^*" '" y°"*" father's time." Yes, they ought to have been rebuilt long am), but one has not always the money in one's picket. HelD yourself, my dear pastor." ^1' Who is the enemy ? '* broke in Dellwig's harsh «tA'^'1° '"deed?" said Manske. looking sad. Ihat is the melancholy side of the affair— that •cmeone, presumably of my parish, should com- mit such a crime. - -j^' |^„^°"« ™e a great service, anyhow." said Axel, filling the glas^s. "y^w, IhaaL **" ™Pe"Med his immortal soul," said " Have you such an enemy? " asked Anna, sur- prised. "I did not know it. Most likely it was some ffi." • °' P«'l"P^-Perhaps a " f "* L^^^ ^'**' immediately after I passed throw of the stables, going home. I had hardly reached them when the fire broke out. Did vou then see no one on the road ? " " No, I did not," said Axel shorUy. There was *i*^. : ™B BENmCTMSB Some of us woul^ k °^^ expression have been chosen." ^ ^'^ ''»™e3 me. Zu5 " r eiT I? !p* °'' ' '* "^'*** =■ detestable £. ,WL^ S$4 THE BENEFACTRESS my man he was, always and at all times. His whole manner to-night struck her as specially offensive " What will be done to the poor wretch when he is caught ? " she asked Axel. "He will be imprisoned," Dellwig answered promptly. She turned her back on him. " Even though he is half-witted ? " she said to Axel. " Are you obliged to look for him? Can't you leave him alone ? He has done you a service, after all." " I must look for him," said Axel ; " it is duty as Amtsvorsteher." "And the gracious Miss should consider " shouted Dellwig from behind. " ni consider nothing," said Anna, turning to him quickly. " — should consider the demands of jus- tice——" ' " First the demands of humanity," said Anna, her back to him. " Noble," murmured Manske. " The gracious Miss's sentiments invariably do credit to her heart," said Dellwig, bowing pro- foundly. " But not to her head, he thinks," said Anna to Axel in English, faintly smiling. ;• Don't talk to him," Axel replied in a low voice; "the man so palpably hates us both. You must go home. Where is your carriage ? Prin- cess, take her home." " AcA, Herr Dellwig, seim Sie so freundlick — — " began the princess mellifluously ; and de- spatched him in search of Fritz. When the/ reached Kleinwalde, silent, worn- THE BENEFACTRESS out, and onlv devri.,^ * ** ^.eirbeds. &?rre^ -;7„„"';»«" '• • -. and the baroness, who hnfh .. -^P" Tr,;u...jnn approving face? Letty sln^''^ '"J""- '' "' ' -v at once afraid of criticltKrli'; ' """ _ VVe have waitpH f,^, . ,, . "ai'^if?s.!i sj Frau von Treuma„„ f„^°" ''" P'^hf .Annr ..-J " You ouKhtnTt "hT '• ^«^/''=^^'' v..,Ve , "We coufd'notXpose That''""^ "'^•'"^ looking at the fire ff /m! T" .^'-'^ ' ^' baroness. *" '''" t"ne," said the nu;n"''."^n:„^"--°"«.'>if Fn.u von Treu- anxious." ^ ''^"' ^^^ ^^o^'d not make us yo^^cfiKii^^-"^- or taken us with Lohmls'K;t^St'fur"^ '" "-^ von Frau von Treumann ^"dwigcan be." said "Oh I'll f«ii "" SO afterwards ? " I'c in hand. Good- 356 THE BENEFACTRESS X " What I Now that we have waited, and in such anxiety, you will tell us nothing ? " "There really is nothing to tell. And I am so tired— good-night." "We have kept the servants up and the kettle boiling in case you should want coffee." " That was very kind, but I only want bed. Good-night." " We too were weary, but you see we have waited m spite of it." " Oh, you shouldn't have. You will be so tired. Good-night." She went upstairs, pulling herself up each step by the baluster. The clock on the landing struck half-past three. Was it not Napoleon, she thought, who said something to the point about three- o clock-in-the-morning courage? Had no one ever said anything to the pol.it about three- oclock-in-the-moming love for one's fellow- creatures ? " Good-night," she said once more, turning her head and nodding wearily to them as they watched her from below with indignant faces. She glanced at the clock, and went into her room dejectedly ; for she had made a startling dis- covery: at three o'clock in the morning her feel- ing towards the Chosen was one of indifference verging on dislike. >i,^%jKr ,v» CHAPTER XXVI afterT-T "P ^^^ her breakfast ,h after the fire to see who ,>„•'.. *"^ momine JK ^"" Mansfield S.-*"^ ^?^" t*^! a«Js her garden gate H^.l. ?^* *=°'"ing tow- dressmg^own ^nf^Ljl^' Jf ^and was fn hT, early m tge day, and $S were S^'"^ ^^ aifected this fine weather at a "a?le L tS'"^ ^^^'^ """^^ There was, therefore no nJc-kv"'' "Jomy porch dressing-gown, nor ye" the faM'u'y °^ hiding the not as f?esh as a cap^o„ which ,*''*' ^^^ ^»P ^ ejfes were to rest, should S ^c ''^«'■^»t Deirw,^ wjg was not a star of the fi^t ''^ '^"^^ *at DeU- vonLohn, b„the4a'vXS*"'t"''^"'" of those of the second orSTnf I *"!!!* 'P'^""'^" "r^ ui ine second order an^Ti, II "Pecimen ch more imposing than Axel wh'' *''°"^'" ^im "«= had never underetood n.ii^^°^ *l"'et ways «> systematically and so hn,tn?".r« '""hbed her hut respect and idmh-e hi^ S' *"* '^^ *^°"ld nS women who enjoy S3nj?h.^5 '^^' °"e of tho« tershehurrieJCtheSeJ?; ^"f^'^atfl^ receiving i„ return neitgr thll^^" '* ^°' him. "Whei's JQuir^lTl^'-rrDd^T^ 157 "Pset His father 3S8 THE BENEFACTRESS ml " Where is he ? " "His father ? In bed, and not expected to " " Where's Klutz, I say — young Klutz ? Herr Manske, just step down here a minute — good- morning. I want to see your vicar." " My vicar has had bad news from home, and is gone.' "Gone?" "This very morning. Poor fellow, his aged father " , " I don't care a curse for his aged father. What train?" " The half-past nine train. He went in the post- cart at seven. ' Dellwig jerked his horse round, and without a word rode away in the direction of Stralsund. "Ill catch him yet," he thought, and rode as hard as he could. " What can he want with the vicar ? " wondered Frau Manske. ' "A rough manner, but I doubt not a good heart," said her husband, sighing ; and he folded his flappinfi; dressing-gcvn pensively about his legs. Klutz wjs on the platform waiting for the Berhn train, due 'n five minutes, when Dellwig came up behind and laid a hand c" his shoulder. " Whal I Are you going to jump out of your skin ? " Dellwig inquired with a burst of laughter. Klutz stared at him speechlessly after that first start, waiting for what would follow. His face was ghastly. "Father so bad, eh?" said Dellwig heartily. "Nerves all gone, what? Well, it's enough to THE BE;:2FAC"RESS makea boy look pale to have 3S9 last pale lipi mJs! le^ve" ri^iC -»''?Pe' -- j^^ want! i/oic lips. Several n«>rennc u'"".*'" "^'"^z witn his father on his 'red Klutz with ! staring. "youjSe Sa'J^ fe;r'^'"f ]l!5 -ice a little. few by the way Yo„ w^re i^ V"" y°" Lohm last night — don't W.u^r^^'^ "err von -if I did not know about vn "" /"f^^tened, man there was sometWng onvJr^- ^^^ ^^^ ^^ink to ask you-thSf I r,L ""^^ ^ 0"'y want about— !-•' "^ " * strange rumour going KlMfp ''°™«->W, do you hear? " said you. ^Who^do^you^'hink^.^ °"^ ^"'s *o stop stables ? " ^ ^'""'' *ey say set fire to the inalow^S^ht'^ySZS'S.t;"''^ °^"-? face. ■'^ "*ea on the young man? looSfdo,^,7oot?* -f^-'^ ""^''^ «d. He in the di«cti:^'tS^'i?r,^;47er his shoulder come. Small cold bpa^; -5 • • *™" would on his narrow forehead ^«"*''°" s^°«' out -i«L'aCemS,';Sha?f^«K-^''° ''^'^ "ot you must have Sen iTT'''"« '^^^' "that time when -you went^^iilJr w^'^l «" ^^e ing us ? " ^ straight to him after leav- ;iutz bowed his head. 1 hen you couldn't have him long before ato THE BENBFACTREaS I met him myself between the ate five minutes, two minutes, it broke out stables and his gate before the fire. He went past without a word, in a great hurry, as though he hoped I had not rec- ognised him. Now teU me what you know about it Just tell me if you saw anything. It is to both our interests to cut his claws." Klut2 pressed his hands together, and looked round again for the train. " Do you know what will certainly happen if you try to be generous and shield faimp He'U tay you did it and so get n'd of you and hush up the a£Fair with Miss Estcourt. I can see by your lace you know ndio did it Everyone is saying it is Lohm." " But why ? Why shouW he ? Why should he bum his own " stammered Klutz, in dreadful agitation. " Why? Because they were in ruins, and well insured. Because he had no money for new ones ; and because now the insurance company will give him the money. The thing is so plain — I am so convinced that he did it " They heard the train coming. Klutz stooped down quickly and clutched his ha%. " No, no," said Dellwig, catching his arm and gripping it tight " I shall not let you go till you say what you know. You or Lohm to be punished — which do you prefer ? " Klutz gave Dellwig a despairing, hunted look. " He — he " he began, struggling to get the words over his dry lips. " He did it ? You know it ? You saw it ? " " Yei, yes, I saw it — I saw him " THE BENEFACTRESS ^^ 5^"f '"*? ^^^^ «t °f sobbing. oneWathers'2:iiri^on hii^U"-£d-:StT trust Vu wl find Se i£ ^1 "T*^"*- "^ you expect." he shouSISrr Sf'' '^■"''" *^° " Don't give wav _h«;v • ** "o^^l *«!«. was standing nSr.^an*°)v^^"^''?*»"<^« »ho heard that hfs father is dv.W^ h"* •*°'^ '^^ ''^ J"** poor devil, with ^eT- ^"'»- ""^ >« overwhelmed. dea^T^ere'S' °" ''''^^' '^""^ »»« said. "My And thevhad a^^^ trouble us much logger." later ^^t'^nn:'^^^:^^^^'^^!'^' Pagne, and explaining to SservS?fK°! •^'"- an aunt's birthdav ,l«-i. il ^^'^'pt that it was and over again a J^.^ rt* "^"^ t '''^* °^' been for yl^' ^ '"'* ™^"^«' *an they had I CHAPTER XXVII It was an odd and a nearly invariable conse- quence of Anna's cold morning bath that she made resolutions in great numbers. The morn- ing after the fire there were more of them than ever. In a glow she assured herself that she was not going to allow dejection and discouragement to take possession of her so easily, that she would not, in future, be so much the slave of her bodily condition, growing selfish, indifferent, unkind, in proportion as she grew tired. What, she asked, tying her waist-ribbon with great vigour, was the use of having a soul and its longings after per- fection if it was so absolutely the slave of its encasing body, if it only received permission from the body to flutter its wings a little in those rare moments when its master was completely com- fortable and completely satisfied? She was ashamed of herself for being so easily affected by the heat and stress of the days with the Chosen. How was it that her ideals were cru^ed out of sight continualljr by the mere weight of the details of everyday existence? She would keep them more carefully in view, pursue them with a more unfaltering patience — in a word, she was going to be wise. Life was such a little thing, she reflected, so very quickly done ; how foolish, then, to forget so constantly that everything that vexed her and made her sorry was flying past and 362 THE MINEFACTRESS ^. What she had ^^'"uu'TP'?«° ^^"t •" our touShow «^s ofTf," rS" ' '^' ''^^^ ' b"* "meanwhile Ae souls of the Chosen were still enveloped in aegre^ «ye bodies that continued to shut ^ndow?fp^n telegmms, and convey food into their mo^hs'^H wJ^'t *JhL''f°"^'^« *° ^"^^ ^°" Treumann t^^r^^h U \ ^°"JI"*, f"8^?^'' '" writing with fevensh haste to Karlchen, bidding him llse no bme m coming, for mischief was afoot, and Anna ^s showing an alarming interest in the affair^ of that specious hypocrite Lohm. « Come une^ pectedly." she wrote; "it will be better to S h^rjy surprise; and above all things come at th.^^K^-'^ the letter herself to the postman, and neednoTs?r"''"«i°/?- ''"* needlework that need not be done, and feeling out of sorts after the long mghfs watch, and uneasy r.bout Axel into the drawing-room and spent the morninK elaboratelydiffeSng from the baroness. *^ They differed often; it could hardly be called .HIP j-:^' l W-ii THE BENEFACTRESS Perb disreeard for « ^'^ '" "'h ch, with 1 " up. well knXf tlSlrh^^"- ^™*heTtp^^V; nome more ancest«l Vi! ''*«>ness had harf ni begvn to sj^mpathise with thA P-. ^^"'"^"" had misfortune fn mcludfnra'^em. n'"''^^ '«""'¥« had been so much frilhten^T^'J'^^ ^o"'-; but mediate and dreadful pafo, 1^^ 'l" v'<:«n,4 fm- -hen toSrr "^ °" ^hi'h they agreed her; and^more t^h?n 'on'^'^^^ ^"^S Kuh^? young woman hSgone'^w '''''>' that hafe Frau von Treumann Ld U^ T""^^ to her that was abnormally sensitive 7 f"^"'^'" Kuhrauber ^g-n and again' when'tS/",!:' -^"l ^"'^ "'^" -rea ot sparring 3«6 THE BENEFACTRESS II together they returned to this subject, always in amiable tones and with pleasant looks, and always reducing the poor Fraulein to a pitiable state of confusion; which state being reached, and she gone out to hide her misery in her bedroom, they would look at each other and smile. In all that concerned Fraulein Kuhrauber they were in perfect accord, and absolutely pitiless. It troubled Anna, for the Fraulein was uie one member of the trio who was really happy — so long, that is, as the others left her alone. Invig- orated by her c61d tub into a belief in the pos- sibility of peace-making, she made one more resolution: to establish without delay concord between the three. It was so clearly to their own advantage to live together in harmony; surely a calm talking-to would make them see that, and desire it They were not children, neither were they, presumably, more unreason- able than other people; nor could they, she thought, having suffered so much themselves, be intentionally unkind. That very day she would make things straight. She could not of course dream that the period- ical putting to confusion ot Fraulein Kuhriluber was the one thing that kef-t the other two alive. They found life at Kleinwalde terribly dull. There were no neighbours, and they did not like forests. The princess hardly showed herself; Anna was English, besides bemg more or less of a lunatic — the combination, when you came to think of it, was alarming, — and they soon wearied of pouring into each other's highly sceptical ears descriptions of the splendours m their prosperous "^THKTJPI ^ !> ""' ™« BENEFACTRESS a -lcoS%tt°fo^^i?!"°"'^<' at first bT women who lovS 'to L^^' *'"^ "«>th rel.vK the amount of^i °fLy ^ "'^^ ''stenerCh when they knew Wm a «I. i.:'''8"»«°n;^ut the same things sev^«i *• ^"«='"' and had said advantages and joys of S '° «*Patiate on the wi h Mfss Estcourt of u- P"^"* mode of Be faJking.theywS;^.'^'!,'^'' "° °"e had be^n to see him. and felf &?'' '^^ «» being pJeSd ?J"l bickering. and^'^L"' '"?i"'^'"ent on tS Kuhrtuber's tSe' pjacl^'^ P'°'""« of FriiuiSn Get^r£Vth"eV''°.^ad been writing Pnncess. letten, of inouT.^"""* ''^'H by hf teacher for Lettv ca™"^"^ concernJng a new 5jde the drawS?S\7""d bv the fath "u^ CWandp«^StoS''ri°°'''"^ for the The window waTshut and i *.''*''" of concord. P^e r,.i„g t„ ^^ f "^ and she k^o.^^^ ^^ ^^d. prettier than ever out f^r -^ herself looked "Snf :ar tJ^" ^^^^^^^^^ £>"^^^' '^^ - "ann. lookTng^u^ tZ h^^^'^K^'^" ^°" ^reu- figure in the sun. "" ^^' embroidery at the ^„,„^ suppose she doe." aid the baroness tmn- M^^MMsm'' HWlUnON TBT OMIT (ANSI ond SO TfSr CHAKT No. 2) in I.I bs |2£ 1:25 iu 1^1^ ISM Coit kkiin SlrMt RochMtK. Nm York 14409 USA (716) *«2- 0300- PhooT^ 3« THE BENEFACTRESS Neither of them moved. Anna knocked again. _ "She will be sunstruck," observed Frau von Treumann. , , . " I think she will," agreed the baroness. Neither of them moved. . , ^ , , . .„ ^, „ Anna stooped down, and tried to look into the room, but could see nothing. She knocked agam ; waited a moment; and then went away. The two ladies embroidered in silence. " Absurd old maid," Frau von Treumann thought, glancing at the baroness. " As though a married woman of my age and standing coulS ^et up and open windows when she is in the room. " Ridiculous old Treumann," thought the baron- ess outwardly engrossed by her work. What dSs sKin^, I Tnder? 'l shall teach her that I am as good as herself, and am not here to open windows any more than she is. . "Why, you are here," said Anna, surprised, coming in at the door. •„>»;_ "WW have you been all the 'no^^g? In- quired Frau von Treumann amiably. We hardly ever see you, dear Anna. I hope you have come now to sft with us a little while. Come, sit next to me, and let us have a nice chat. She made room for her on the sofa. "Where is Emilie?" Anna asked; Emilie was Fraulein Kuhrauber, and Anna was the only person in the house who called her so. " She came in some time ago, but went away at once. She does not, I fear, feel at ease w,th us.^ "That is exactly what I want to talk about, said Anna. THE BENEFACTRESS 309 and we decided to tell tou wh!f ! Kuhrauber. came to on the first op^oS^/' '=°"^^"^'°"^ '^^ Certainly," said the baroneS not Il'i^iTnr/o^f^^e^'^-- Luclwig should ''BuuSi^are"?S"«";S't^ t^™"-" you are not very -Si a,Jte ^^.^^' ^^^" t'^^* '°« d^e'""'I ^-•' you liiTelei'p >?* ^"^ '^"'^ siblet^H^Fl^utinV^ff^ amiable c^Stire!" said A„n^"'^''"' •""''^ absolutely manl°" "" ^'"'"^^ '" ^'"'"'^^^ F"^" von Treu- '''^>^Sir^f^^^^--^-false forbear'Sa'cSafS^ebT ''''""?^""' ""-»"« *« ful thini" ^ ^''^ baroness, " is a very dread- A^n^/"'^'>F^ **>« bart)ness. sH(sSe^koTior^£-r ^tfa" &l g^h^'^: 'r^fhSe^- ' " ^''^T'h 370 THE BENEFACTRESS SO often — I have seen her coining out of this room so often with red eyes — that I was sure you must be tired of that now, and would like to begin to live happily with her, loving her for all that is so good in her, and not minding the rest." "My dear Anna," said Frau von Treumann testily, " it is out of the question that ladies of bi."th and breeding should tolerate her." " Certainly it is," emphatically agreed the baron- ess. " And why ? Isn't she a woman like ourselves ? Wasn't she poor, and miserable too ? And won't she go to heaven by and by, just as we, I hope, shall?" They thought this profane. " We shall all, I trust, meet in heaven," said Frau von Treumann gently. Then she went on, clearing her throat, "But meanwhile we think it our dutv to ask you if you know what her father was." " He was a man of letters," said Anna, remem- bering the very words of Fraulein Kuhrauber's reply to her inquiries. " Exactly. But of what letters ? " " She tried to give us that same answer," said the baroness. "Of what letters?" repeated Anna, looking puzzled. " He carried all the letters he ever had in a bag," said Frau von Treumann. "In a bag?" " In a word, dear child, he was a postman, and tiie has told you untruths." . There was a silence. Anna pushed at a neigh- f..mi'#.'^ -imSt THE BENEFACTRESS (ocBtool, "to tell „„Si*.."''"'=' '<" eye» oo tke mann. ' "'^ *^^e> sazd Frau von Treu .^J Yes. especially in this case." said Anna, ,00k- feit cTit jf;^°r&efr L^« *"•*■ -d understand Lw impossSble iH, f ''■ , ^°* y°" *'"" to associate with sucTapersL'/""- '^'« of family that you will not ask us trfj^*' t'"^ ^^ ''^^ suk away." *^^ "« ^ do so. but will send hw " No." said Anna, in a low voice No what, dear child?" Ini"" j ^ Treumann sweetly '"quired Frau von ; I cannot send her away." pJr;ChttnSir'^:jr/rr'-*^;^ --^ ^o- «ke?Trarrn^*^^4S"n^:?",*-* -* ''-? " such contract havings mJ?* ^^'"^ ''«»*. no , "J did not quite L what I ' '" »''' "J^" ^««- looking up again ''fl.\ '"^*"> «'d Anna ^Ily Ld hTlway fir of CO ""T *** ^ <^^"not E«ctly what I Sk'l^tLTn:-, rt» '^''°°^^- -SSSTSud^^-°^"^"^^'--Had -d pulled at^the ^i^^^^^!:^]:^ 31* THE BENEFACTRESS thread. Both she and the baroness had felt so certain that Anna would be properly incensed when she heard the truth. Her manner without doubt suggested displeasure, but the displeasure, strangely enough, seemed to be directed aeainst themselves instead of Fraulein Kuhrauber. What could they, with dignity, do next ? Frau von Treu- mann felt angry and perplexed. She remembered Karlchen's advice in regard to ultimatums, and wished she had remembered it sooner; but who could have imagined the extent of Anna's folly ? Never, she reflected, had she met anyone quite so foolish. " It is a case for the police," burst out the baron- ess passionately, all the pride of all the Elmreichs surging up in revolt againsi a fate threatening to condemn her to spend the rest o( her days with the progeny of a postman. " Your advertisement specially mentioned good birth as essential, and she is here under false pretences. You have the proofs in her letters. She is within reach of the arm of the law." Anna could not help smiling. " Don't denounce her," she said. " I should be appalled if anything approaching the arm of the law got into my house. Ill burn the proofs after dinner." Then she turned to Frau von Treumann. " If you think it over," she said, " I inow you will not wish me to be so merciless, so pitiless, as to send Emilie back to misery only because her father, who has been dead thirty years, was a postman." " But, Anna, you must be reasonable — you must look at the other side. No Treumann has ever yet been required to associate " «^ t' '^. THE BENEFACTRESS s'ei^^ V^^ aid tf '^ ^Jf -'" self/ We have no reason for i^ behaved him- t^nlfi '?°^.* ^«««ent Sman''?V,^''"« ^''^^ he SfctoTn;;-^^^^^^^^ e-ife^^ cned the baron- line nowhere ? All tL Vrf^ v ^°" '^'^w the , of gentlefolk are siJemSISff ""^ P'^J^^ices . Oh, I object to a^~!/ '"different to you ? » have liked itUe°i? &TtS^,'T- ' -°"'d the literary luminary- nnof^ -f" ^ad really been for her sake, and my sdce an"i*'''" ^''^ ^^ *« - I don't like untruths at^ ' "'^ y^""" ^^kes. And ..Ye\^"Jf's to remain here?" foseehV^SSeiirSV" ^"^ ^o, <^ t^. love m her. You have dol ^ '""^'' ^''ere is t^ Anna added, smiC^r^^^^u^ '■^^' service." on her mind any more 'nw^ 'n^^on•t have t 'eallv happy." ^ '"°'^^' ^^d will be able to be The baroness jratherpH i,„ i, . Fmu von Treun£ SedPat hL*^'"^ ""'^ ™«e- rose too. 'ooKed at her nervously, and '^ged JSdTl^d' p^priei' ^"°'''''' P^e with out- Then really -__:" u^^' ^ more faintly, but feeling Sund'ln T "^''^'""^'n follow her example. A^^f ,u ^^'^ ""^"er to a^ ow themselves'^to be pS^uai?7 T''^ ^'^^^^ minds again. persuaded to change their Anna got up too, and they stood facing each 374 THE BENEFACTRESS Other. Somethinc; awful was going to happen, she felt, but what ? Were they, she wondered, both going to give her notice ? The baroness, drawn up to her full height, looked at her, opened her lips to complete ner sentence, and shut them again. She was exceed- ingly agitated, and held her little thin, claw-like hands tightly together to hide how they were shaking. All she had left in the world was the pride of being an Elmreich and a baroness ; and as, with the relentless years, she had grown poorer, plainer, more ii^signincant, so had this pnde in- creased and strengthened, until, together with her passionate propriety and horror '""• ^^ forgive me?" he adS^d t^rS^"*f "'§''*• ^o" bowing over her hand "« *° ^""^ and . this tiS'e". st fSi'eSil'f ^ tKh? '''' -- "I wrote this verv mntl- 8« moment "«l..ri„kere,ciS." bT5nr" '5?" «, £to„t°£.re^^'SF»-H';"X — oh, sweet vision I f k ' ^™ '^^"'^ the dimples dimples. He SSiler Ifjr • '"^^"'' ^'Ss kissed it. The orett^rt^^^condtfmeand slender. And the^Si^KaTT.r ^f''^'^ ^"^ for dress-how dainty it w^r»v" ''^{^•"" ^^^ come quite overcomes mJ^h^ T?*"" ^'"'^ ^^el- ca^ y; and he looked so kv '^^ ^nthusiasti- satisfied with himSandfh^' v.^ '° '"t^^sely Anna laughed agab Besdit'' T^^' '^^' really surprisingly becon^n!i^'-^- Vn'fonn was on his fim visft^had been^^i" T''^ ^'°*es of thlt^StSrentb- n^^-^ ^^^^^ you," he said '°"' '*'^*'" *'th greeting for 37« THE BENEFACTKESB "Greetinm?" repeated the baronets, suiprisedl Then an odd look of fear came into her eyes. He had not meant to do it then ; he had not been certain whether he would do it this time at all ; but he was feel'ng so exhilarated, so buoyant, that he could no* resist " I was at the Winter- garten last night," he said, "and had a talk with your sister, feroness Lolli. She dances better than ever. She sends you her love, and says she is coming down to see you." The baroness made a queer little sound, shut her eyes, spread, out her hands, and dropped on to the carpet as though she had been shot. CHAPTER XXVIII Stralsund doctor was still »;^*'T **>«« the wheaershewouirseeA^ Lofe 'X'^^ ^""» 'ng downstaira and howd to f^'"V,' *'''' *« wait- qwred Anna; and wo,Jd n^f^ "'""S""*' in- »ure of that "^'' "°* 'nove tfll she was -taio;? "'^ '"■^ '"°*'>«r h« gone with him to the cairpE? 'gJitu!? n^"'"'^ «'^«' --e the ^e on thepillowfo?t2rJ°* wL*Sf """'"•ciow iMrbarous, such jnatuitn^^ , ^^'^ ever such "««n's? HisiSe?a'ffy^yo"n«W °n taptoe. the last S"e to ^V °"? °' twice 'eamg. and would she not 11^'^'^ ^''^ ''e was «»ght explain how somr he w^ f *^°r ?'' '''** ^^ hnglvdone so much^i^SR''f^>?« ">""■*• merely shaken her head Tn jl ^J'* ^""^ had P« eous little figua; ofthe bfd. T^ "8^" '° the told herself, wotld she ee S^teaWo W"u' *^« ihe movement with wKjX T *° Karichen. expressive; and FrTu von ^,^£V""''^ ^^^^ heaped bitter reproach onT"f T"* °"* »nd 'fil f' 377 pie time ir ST« THE BENEFACTRESS to heap all that were in her mind, and doing it the more thoroughly that he was in a crushed condi- tion and altoeether incapable of defending himself. For what had he really cared about the l^roness's relationship to Lolli ? He had thought it a huge joke, and had looked forward with enjoyment to seeing Anna promptly order her out of the house. How could he, thick of skin and slow of brain, have foreseen such a crisis ? He was very much in love with Anna, and shivered when he thought of the look she had given him as she followed the people who were carrying the baroness out of the room. Certainly he was exceedingly wretched, and his mother could not reproach him more bit- terly than he reproached himself. While she was vehemently pointing out the obvious, he meditated sadly on the length of the journey he had taken for worse than nothing. All the morning he had been roasted in trains, and he was about to be roasted again for a dreary succession of hours. His hot uniform, put on solely for Anna's bedaz- zlement, added enormously to his torments ; and the distance between Rislar and Stralsund was great, and the journey proportionately expensive — much too expensive, if all you got for it was one intoxicating glimpse of dimples, followed by a flashing look of wrath that made you feel cold vith the thermometer at ninety. He had not felt so dejected since the eighties, he reflected, in which dark ages he had oeen forced to fight a duel. Karlchen had a prejudice against duelling ; he thought it foolish. But, being'an officer — he was at that time a conspicuously gay lieutenant — whatever he might think about it, if anyone r ^ THE BENEFACTRESS 379 Driving with hrfustiv inl ^°'\'^>'-lchen's blood. theduitandhSt^to the s^i'ff'^ T^'^' '''™"«h the dismal nigh? he hid ^^^"a'u^. ^membered and thought how m.,rh1,'P^^'' ^^°^ the duel, fembled fn its ^iJitv hfs'^H'-'"?- '''*^" ^"^ -•'■ he had been afraid he S ^Jt^T^T t°^' ^^^ whatever people mav Tav £. ? '° '^ ''"'■*' ^nd really Hkes l.?ngSt ^V^n „er°h"'^«' P^^Y this business wit^ Ar,^, TJ P^'haps after all. just as that buTine^H T"'''.*"™ «"' ''H Hgh he had killed hnanann"^ '^'''f' "«''*• "^"-^ had been covered "^^11 at'r^'^'?^ o^ ""d^ endeavoured to snateh r£f^:* ^'l"' ^ ' chen yet his heart was vjj^'he"^'"^ ^ ''^ -. but in the ta;SeS":l5^^^^^ he was ar".theSfthi;reK-x^- h JkingScoHatlTpinl'l'^r''' '^P"«^^ «'y -- ;^h a«hearSn7;,a;ts; To' '^^^^'i"^ beer-boy to give hin? L S« ^JLhJ""'"^ Axel was in thp ^r-,, ■ "" i^tiien, beer. mains of Ka rchen's 3f;'°°"''/''^'-^ *e re- were littered on a tabl^ w^""! ^°^^^ ^'''^ ^'kes " I am so sor^for vou^: ^ "i^""*^ 'i'^^ ^''^^■ Wig has beenleSf^-e ^Tht L^iS."""''- 380 THE BENEFACTRESS 11 : Don t be sorry for me. Nothing is the matter with me. Be soriy for that most ui^ortunate little soul upstairs." Axel kissed Anna's right hand, which was, she knew, the custom ; and immediately proceeded to kiss her other hand, which was not the custom at all. She was looking woebegone, with red eyelids and white c:ieeks ; but a famt colour came into her face at this, for he did it with such unmis- takable devotion that for the first time she won- dered uneasily whether their pleasant friendship were not about to come to an end. "Don't be too kind," she said, drawing her hands away and trying to smile. "I — I feel so stupid to-day, and want to cry dreadfully." " Well then, I should do it, and get it over." " I did do it, but I haven't got it over." " Well, don't think of it. How is the baroness ? " " Just the same. The doctor thinks it serious. And she has no constitution. She has not had enough of anything for years — not enough food, or clothes, or — or anything." She went quickly across to the coffee table to hide how much she wanted to cry. " Have some coffee," she said with her back to him, moving the cups aimlessly about. " Don't forget," said Axel, " that the poor lady's past misery is over now and done with. Think what luck has come in her way at last When she gets over this, here she h, safe with you, sur- rounded by love and care and tenderness — bless- ings not given to all of us." " But she doesn't like love and care and tender- ness. At least, if it comes from me. She dislikes mfe." THE BENEFACTRESS sweet? HelookJEeW%?V''"*"™*t"'^Jy the cups with restles^n? ^} "^""a anangine^ for more. ^'"^'*' "^•^""s finger, and wffi i'er U?^to°hC "^*''^*'" ^''e asked, stillwith "Say what?" th^^'ittS^'XunX*'^^ ^'^^ -" h-a all when firet she came^hat S^ ^'■- ^°" ^old me pc«rdancingwoma^tst^^rlt\r"^ were the to keep herliere. Don't v«n ^^* *J" "oaccount ''Quite well. Butam r .''?'^™'»'-^" that you mV/keephJ^f v "^''^ '" supposing better now.than f 5id thin "'^°" ^^' ' "^^ yof -I -XX^iS'rd-J''*'"'^^^- happy world." ^P ''^'^ '" defiance of the whde "But as it is }" herhandrH^tS?!^ .'^"^ °' '^"^ coffee in " As it is," she^id • ■^h/-'"^ '* mechanically get well ag;in befS wetrinlP^ j"' •^.'^'^ '^^ t^' Perhaps," she add^H iJ: i • *^" *° decide thimrs '•this fcess'taf e'hang?fe-- ^ ^* '''™ ^^X He shook his head. "I am of -^ • said. "For a little «,h;u ^'^"' '* won't," he weeks at firet wh lelh.S Pe'-haps-for a few ■ng and then-^ ^h ^''Tl^mbers your nu'rs": ^ He put the untasted coffin ? "^^"^ ^g*""-" 3«» THE BENEFACTRESS ing back to her, "from one's old self. That is why this work you have undertaken is so hopeless." " Hopeless ? " she exclaimed in a startled voice. He was saying aloud what she had more than once almost — never quite — whispered in her heart of hearts. " You ought to have begun with the baroness thirty years ago, to have had a chance of success." " Wh^, she was five years old then, and I am sure quite cheerful. And I wasn't there at all." " Five ought really to be the average age of the Chosen. What is the use of picking out unhappy persons well on in life, and thinking you are going to make them happy ? How can you make them be happy ? If it had been possible to their natures they would have been so long ago, however poor they were. And they would not have been so poor or so unhappy if they had been willing to work. Work is such an admirable tonic. The princess works, and finds life very tolerable. You will never succeed with people like Frau von Treumann and the baroness. They belong to a class of persons that will grumble even in heaven. You could easily make those who are happy already still happier, for it is in them — the grati- tude and appreciation for life and its blessings; but those of course are not the people you want to get at You think I am preaching ? " he asked abruptly. " But are you not ? " " It is because I cannot stand by and watch you bruising yourself." " Olv said Anna, " you are a man, and can fight your way well enough through life. You are quite THE BENEFACTRESS wmfortable and prosperous H„ Pathise with women like SseJ^ r "*" ^^^ ^3™- not young you haven't a Wit ?^''^"«e she is indifference. You tSk If'l? ^°' ^^^ -only ' don't mind he" LtisJ '"^n?? ?« -"^^^'^ " V sure r am_ that you wou.d"Jj^llL ^^.^^ ^rty. t"" """ t mind her bruises A „ j -r ,* myself howsure I am that y™would"Jv '■ [^^'^ ^^y, ^ " Yes, I would," said >4«i v,^ """'^ mine." ^ hat she added qufcLlyA^:^!* ^J conviction talk about bruises." "^ ^^" — ^ don't want to c-el onff t£t stSvt" .T" ^^* -er the |nfl'cted. You agrSt^J^ «" S Tu^^^ ™^" has lariy brutal younfmln^t^ "^ ^^^ he «> a singu- •fl bsolutely." ;; K I knew howl "'^^ ^ '* "^^P^hle o? being." enoughVCi;;S,J-^go awav, and giving her fee *^^ ^- -- t^UdXr J^:-',^ Anna looked down "Tu, .. »nie thing," she said in / i ''^ ^^'^ thinking the though shf^erl h"au1i;;rdot h^L^''^ ^^^^ » „ perhaps you wilUetieS^.^'^^^^- P^bl^L?T:^:,Z'y^rnay I „„t be her advantage. Shrneed nTl^^' '* *'" he to are not u miflionaire " "°* ''"°^- And you /•iS^^SS:?^rcf^"p-Hi„. 384 THE BENEFACTRESS "But why should ^^ow help the baroness? I found her out, and brought her here, and I am the only person responsible for her." " It will be much more costly than just having her here." " I don't mind, if only she is happy. And I will not have you pay the cost of my experiments in philanthropy." "Is Frau von Treumann happy?" he asked abruptly. " No," said Anna, with a faint smile. " Is Fraulein Kuhrauber happy ? " " No." " " Tell me one thing more," he said ; " are you happy ? " Anna blushed. "That is a queer question," she said. " Why should I not be h^^py ? " " But are you ? " She looked at him, hesitating. Then she said, in a very small voice, " No." Axel took two or three turns up and down the room. " I knew it," he said ; and added something in German under his breath about Weiber. " After this, you will not, I suppose, receive young Treu- mann again ? " he asked, coming to a halt m front of her. " Never again." "You have a difficult time before you, then, with his mother." Anna blushed. " I am afraid I have," she ad- mitted. "You have a very difficult few weeks before you," he said. " The baroness probably danger- ously ill, and Frau von Treumann very angry THE BENEFACTRESS The odds, too wpri ~ ^«^^nst odds." "iqumes into the oriSn o7 ?^f T'' '" '"^'"'"g before, and every cirrnme* *^ ^""e the nieht ^ the culprit, l^e Ssenrf ^^T '^'^ *" « S,* they said, had gone home tk ^'u'^' ^"^ ^lutz, gram after him and huf% ^^^" ^^ sent a tele neither expeS^his l^''^'' "^P^'^d that he wS then, had S:I^"p«,^rS?n"orlT ''^ '"• ^lut? sequences of what hfhad S 1° ^':°'^ the con- question of days before th.""''v''"^'t ^« only a ^^ck again, an^ then he woffi'! ^^^ht him absurd story, and Pnm» -^ tell the whole Anna's expTAse Th^^u'^"'^ ^°"'d chuckle at n^ade Axef cold with^e""^''' °^ ''^'^ '^'^"SSing parchVdTarJS'^'SeT °'-'''^ ^-^o^ at the ha^y islafd aTros^'W^'S t."^'"^''«- the dropped, and a gray fiL hS'^ ''^ ^""^ bad sky- At the bottom of fh« ^.j'^''^'^" across the nut-tree, Miss Leech ,^1= ^"^^''' ""der a chest! aloud to her. The J^!f f^'"^' ^^ile Letty reld reading. btem^Sd by"h °'louw'^™"^°' L^^ttyl fame a mosquito stun^K °"^ complaints each he stood th^ere in Scf ' T^^^ ^'^^'^ ea^as gomg on within him He ^F'f f truggle was passion that would n^' longer ^^-j^""^ ^'th a knew that he must someh^ ,^. ^l^^^''- and he certain that sh^ d noTcarJ.K "^^ 't- "« ^ ^ so certain that she Z.,u ^''""t him. He was '"g him. And Jet'f everTw ''■^^'" °' -^"^■ P-eCon of an ^i-enfSSg\^°Tw2ttf 386 THE BENEFACTRESS that moment. " That child down there has made a pretty^fair amount of mischief for a person of her age," he burst out with a vehemence that star- tled Anna. "What child ? " she said, coming up behind him and looking over his shoulder. He turned round quickly. The feeling that she was so close to him tore away the last shred of his self-control. " You know that I love you," he said, his voice shaking with passion. Her face in ao instant was colourless. She stood quite still, almost touching him, as though she did not dare move. Her eyes wer« fixed on his with a frightened, fascinated look. " You know it You have known it a long time. Now what are you going to say to me ? " She looked at him without speaking or moving. " Anna, what are you going to say to me ? " he cried; and he caught up her hands and kissed them one aftpr the other, hardly knowing what he did, beside himself with love of her. She watched him helplessly. She felt faint and sick. She had had a miserable day, and was com- pletely overwhelmed by this last misfortune. Her good friend "Axel was gone, gone for ever. The pleasant friendship was done. In place of the friend she so much needed, of the fnendship she had found so comforting, there was — this. " Won't you — won't you let my hands go ? " she said faintly. She did not know him again. Was it possible that this agony of love was for her ? She knew herself so well, she knew so well what it was for which he was evidently going to break his heart. How wonderful, how pitiful be- „t^jr. 4 THE BENEFACTRESS 3 midst of her friirhttl^ • ^^^- ^"^ even in the 'opk like the baronet nr F "l^^ happened to while inwardly remaf^nr '■''!''^"' Kuhrauber. would not ha^e bS fi'lf^^^y ?« «he was, he let me go » chi u- ^ ^^"^ for her. "Oh head asSe. and sh^t ht'^^l't ' ?!?' '"^"^^^ ^^r ::ohfTn?/i7re^°.-'" suffer -il°V ^'^ «> «orry always for people who ;; Oh stop -oh, stop f» to look°' Irs '^^tl ' ^^- -""^-ned don't want it, don't l7keTt^J°''^ on people who who don't know >,«, •*' ^'^ wearied by it — it is, and how ram LES1\^^^^ starvinor, starving, for of e dfn^l thirsting -oh, voice sTiook. anf he feS M-^ °' '* His t, hands with kissJsteL'JdT-co^Stf bee?2oXd^&„^r ''^. f^^^ -' had never to stop him. She Suld noTsUnl.T"'' '^ ^°"e eyes shut and her hanrf, K»^ , ^''^'^ *'th her ^^asg let me so" f]f» .^^'"^ kissed for ever her helplessnessVn toc'r^^' ^^'"^^^ -d^ him c%?„?"%j,trh' '^i;',^^^^^ «tood before dreamtthatyo«-thatVou^''T "'"^^^^ •' she wept. jM THE BENEFACTRESS " What, that I loved you ? " he asked incredu- lously ; but more gently, subdued by her deep dis- tress. His face grew very hopeless. She was crying because she was sorry tor him. • " I don't know— I think I did dream that — lately — once or twice — but I never dreamt that it was so bad — that you were such a — such a — such a volcano. Oh, Axel, why are you a volcano ? " she cried, looking up at him, the tears rolling down her cheeks. " Why have you spoilt everything ? It was so nice before. We were such friends. And now — how can I be friends with a volcano? " " Anna, if you make fun erf me " "Oh no, no — as though I would — as though I could do anything so unutterable. But don't let us be tragic. Oh, don't let us be tr^c. You know my plans — you know my plans inside out, from beginning to end — how can I, how can I marnr anybody ? " " Good God, those women — those women who are not happy, who have spoilt your hairiness, they are to spoil mine now — ours, Anna ? He seized her arm as though he would w^e her at all costs from a fatal sleep. " Do you mean to say that if it were not for those women you would be my wife ? " " Oh, if only you wouldn't be tragic " " Do you mean to ssiy that is the reason ? " "Oh, isn't it sufficient " " No. If you cared for me it would be no rea- son at all." She cried bitterly. " But I don't," she sobbed. " Not like that — not in that way. It is atrocious of me not to — I know how good you are, how THE BENEFACTRESS H. f gi,.S,S1, tTir?"K« H" hand,. Look at me." '"^^ wnst. "See here, Anna. •^L^ootarS'TV"?'' »*'''■'"• own mind. I wan to see "^^'/r^ y°" know your "^ Md did it '^""'^ ■■" liandk/rehief her souT he might unHlrf* j "'^ ^« could read did he«e]£ TSe"det"et"' '^^^^ ^''-n she pity, full of distress hnfi^T^^y *ere full of co"W rind nothtg else ''"'"^ ^ ''^ "'ght he tragic we shall still be able to Lf-^ ?°" ^'^^ "ot |"t he did not look round ' ^"'"'^^ " ^""^" -^^'^ --^-outside comingi„.o r 390 THE BENEFACTRESS take the coffee away. "Oh," exclaimed Anna, seeing that it was impossible to hide her tear- stained face from the girl's calm scrutiny, "oh, Johanna, the poor baroness — she is so ill — it is so dreadful " And she dropped into a chair and hid herself in the cushions, weeping hvsteri- cally with an abandonment of woe that betolcened a quite extraordinary affection for the baroness. "Gott, die arme Baronesse" sympathised Jo- hanna perfunctorily. To herself she remarked, "This very moment has the Miss refused to marry gn&diger Herr^ CHAPTER XXIX ttiouKht, not once bu* oJ- ^ ^"'^ » mother." shl 't. "if I only had a mnfk ^'^ **>«" she though* «yself of 4 ve,^?"*''^';/ ''T* mother aS^to ?^.'^u"^'''^' ^"'J c^mvLlf ^h'ln'"^ head on her fee] so safe and sure an/ „ ^^^^ ""^^ ^ would .*eretwo/o;U?';otaK "' <^^th. The° Xfi^J on nur.inrto;r;ta^° "r^^j/nd An4 ail the more passion il ^ herself out with °; «o little imSanee Sv t''^" '^'* ''^t ^^^ Ae Uroness li^d o? died ^ ^ ° ^"^""^ 'whether *« 'Sl^;Le1'f:rK;,*^e people watchin. tj^and they watched witf 39» THE BENEFACTRESS the indifference natural to strangers. Here was a middle-aged person who would probably die ; if she died no one lost anything, and if she lived It did not matter either. The doctors and nurses, accustomed to these things, could not be expected to be interested in so profoundly uninterest- me a case; Frau von Treumann observed once at least every day that it was schreckliek, and went on with her embroidery; Fraulein Kuhrauber cned a little when, on her way to her bedroom, she heard the' baroness raving, but she cried easily, and the raving frightened her; the princess felt that death in this case would be a blessing- and Letly and Miss Leech avoided the houw,' and spent the burnint days rambling in woods that teemed with prodigal, joyous life. As for Anna, to see her in the sick-room was to suppose her the nearest and tenderest relative of the baroness; and yet the passion that pos- seted her was not love, but only an endless, un- fathomable pity. " If she gets well, she shall never be unhappy again," vowed Anna in those days when she thought she could hear Death's foot- steps on the stairs. " Here or somewhere else — anywhere she likes — she shall live and be happy. She will see that her poor sister has made no difference, except that there will be no shadow between us now." But what is the use of vowing? When June was in its second week the baroness slowly and hesitatingly turned the corner of her illness ; and immediately the corner was turned and the ex- haustion of turning it got over, she became frac- tious. "You will have a difficult time," Axel THE BENEFACTRESS had aaid on fk. j . •"•' «nd it wa, true * tL^I^'^' 'heir friendshin- that comer™, tur?!. '^'''''^"'t time S, ^f*^' one«, drew Tj^XmllV^' ''•^''S^ £ tr*" complete convale^sceS LI* "*"J^^ «»'« got to for Anna become For .>* "'°^^''^cult t& Jife and theyaJI resumed thefr 7J'"'f^ '^^ «" cour« fiRr'" \ »'' ' ?htdow''o?lT '''^ ^'"'^ °w bv no *^^" them, that Axihn^ ""mentioned t>y no means get awav fr«\L l ** **'d they would """M^l thw before S^ik? ""' "'»'^ pS approach the baroneS is T''^^' ^°^ St"" 394 THE BENEFACTRESS she had wondered often. Perhaps she had come now to announce her departure. She prepared herself therefore to listen with a willing ear. She was sitting in the shade of a copper beech facing the oily sea and the coast of Rugen quivering opposite in the heat-haze. She was not doing any- thing ; she never did seem to do anything, as these ladies of the busy fingers often noticed. " Blue and white," said Anna, looking up at the gulls and the sky to give Frau von Treumann time, " the Pomeranian colours. I see now where they come from." But Frau von Treumann had not come out to talk about the Pomeranian colours. " My Karl- chen has been ill," she said, her eyes on Anna's face. Anna watched the gulls overhead in the deep blue. '■ So has Else," she remarked. " Dear me," thought Frau von Treumann, " what rancour." She laid her hand on Anna's knee, and it was taken no notice of. " You cannot forgive him ? " she said gently. " You cannot pardon a momen- tary indiscretion ? " " I have nothing to forgive," said Anna, watch- ing the gulls ; one dropped down suddenly, and rose again with a fish in its beak, the sun for an instant catching the silver of the scales. " It is no affair of mine. It is for Else to forgive him." Frau von Treumann began to weep ; this way of looking at it was so hopelessly unreasonable. She pulled out her handkerchief. " What a heap she must use," thought Anna; never had she met people who cried so much and so easily as the JK15 THE BENEFACTRESS He could not bear . "^^""gs become. musHo^h^ ^^ suspected it "< if \ -^^ ^'^^ to : wTomlsTn'tl"'"^'^'''" ' "'■ ^''^ " We]i:lr;er3j|^^^ he thinks on]y of you , " contaminaW"''' ^^''^^""V-Idon'tSS^ "'■teio?- '' ' '""^ '"'''^'' ""^''^ *« you not afraid"of — ?f ^^^^ *'^"t youreeJf ? /i frightened by her75 *?" ^'"'nation ?"sL ^'^ tearful Ji't„?;3''';;/epJied that lady in ton., f Wo„'S,y?"* " '■■^"mMn has «ve,ye. fchd 396 THE BENEFACTRESS " I thought you would. It i '^or you to decide who you will have in your hous But what would you do if this — this Lolli came down to see her sister?" " I really cannot tell." Well, be sure o: one thing," burst out Frau von Treumann enthusiastically, " I will not for- sake you, dear Anna. Your position now is exceedingly delicate, and I will not forsake you." So she was not going. Anna got up with a faint sigh. " It is frightfully hot here," she said ; " I think I will go to Else." " Ah — and I wanted to tell you about my poor Karlchen — and you avoid me — you do not want to hear. If I am in the house, the house is too hot. If I come into the garden, the garden is too hot. You no longer like being with me." Anna did not contradict her. She was won- dering painfully what she ought to do. Ought she meekly to allow Frau von Treumann to stay on at Klemwalde, to the exclusion, perhaps, of someone really deserving? Or ought she to brace herself to the terriWe task of asking her to go? She thought, " I will ask Axel " — and then remembered that there was no Axel to ask. He never came near her. He had dropped out of her life as completely as though he had left Lohm. Since that unhappy day, she had neither seen him nor heard of him. Many times did she say to herself, " I will ask Axel," and always the remembrance that she could not came with a shock of loneliness; and then she would drop into the train of thought that ended with "if I had a mother," and her eyes growing wistful. THE BENEFACTRESS ^denfe said suT i-a^n-a K ^^^^fi^t weather that ^fees ■ arn,ned Anna's face It^'l^^n"'"'"^^' a"*! e^' the others were at church Th.lf^^''^""'^ »nd recovejy was slow, wi'up in her r^'°'''''' ^'^"^^ ^^^What.othe.P-n.C,lJ'^r^--thepHn. An4;SS;^^.th*^^^ ^-t - dreadful." said aman limp an/ soft. ax,d3iK fn^^I '^*- ' I believe I wouldn't want . S?^^ ^"tJ'er badly." want a mother half so "So you want a mothpr?" -j , taking Anna's hand in heS Ld nl*' P"""^^^' She thought she knew whv £ « '* ^"'^^y- house saw that somethLih^''^7°°e in the Axel Lohm to make K.Lf ^^^^ ^een said to Perhaps Anna S re^ntfrf'^ "^^ «° '4 'nother, help to set thinRhtaS "^""''^ ^ . I always thought it wonW K ^'?- .'"dependent." sail Annr«i„^ "^ «'°"°"^ *« be '«"t- It is tiring. I want ,1J?°^ '°'"^''°* it what I ought to So, andto seeTn^r^*" *^" '"e -i^spenmgme. Hong":? /o^ i^^^i^est" shal^/tTeKf rstt 7^fr"^''---'^. want. Do you know\h: coupLT- " ''''' ^^^ 398 THE BENEFACTRESS Ufan tedatf dtr Leitung CM der mdnnUchen BtgUilung t A truly excellent couplet." Anna smiled. "That is the German idea of female bliss — always to be led round by the nose by some husband." " Not some husband, my dear — one's own hus- band. You may call it leading by the nose if you like. I can only say that I enjoyed being led by mine, and have missed it giievously ever since." " But you had found the right man." " It is not very difficult to find the right man." " Yes it is — very difficult indeed." " I think not," said the princess. " He is never lar off. Sometimes, even, he is next door." And she gazed over Anna's head at the ceiling with elaborate unconsciousness. " And besides," said Anna, " why does a woman everlastingly want to be led and propped? Why can't she go about the business of life on her own feet? Why must she always lean on some- one?" " You said just now it is because it is hot." " The fact is," said Anna, " that I am not clever enough to see my way through puzzles. And that depresses me." " I well know that you must be puzzled." " Yes, it is puzzling, isn't it? I can talk to you about it, for of course you see it aU. It seems so absurd that the only result of my trying to make people happy is to make everyone, including my- self, wretched. That is waite, isn't it. Waste, I mean, of happiness. For I, at least, was happy before." *^ "^ THE BENEFACTRESS 399 h being wretched n J P^'"^"' ^''""ght. " If others happy it wouldn't h ""'"^^ed to Lke the !£ft 't wouldn't have beer '^"" ^° ^ad. At The only thing I can ?h.vl r^.° completely silll "TS the/ron?Je'i;i?..°^ '« '^^^ ' -"us't Se ' energy. "They are all 'i]f^ ^^If Pnncess with f" S^t them back in a ¥ff ^^"'^ tJ-^^e away And after all, it jc ^L^f. T'P' "^o^Ji of them see that the chief th.n^-Tv ' ^^^^ begun to ''^^Py a^ ?"« «n bit t"o\^\ '!^ ^« not to^ as The pnncess sighed "Pn.^^^Y^- your duty to eo on c, ??^ because you think if 40O THE BENEFACTRESS " What claims has he on me ? My plans were all made before I knew that he existed. ' "Oh, my dear, your plans are very irritating things. The only plan a sensible young woman ought to make is to get as good a husband as possible as quickly as she can. ' "Why," said Anna, rising in her indignation, and preparing to leave a princess suddenly be- come objectionable, "why, you are as bad as Susie!" " Susie ? " saidi the princess, who had not heard of her by that name. " Was Susie also one who told you the truth ? " But Anna walked out of the room without answering, in a veiy dignified manner ; went into the loneliest part of the garden ; sat down behind some bushes ; and cried. She looked back on those childish tears after- wards, and on all that had gone before, as the last part of a long sleep ; a sleep disturbed by troub- ling and foolish dreams, but still only a sleep and only ' eams. She woke up the venr next day, and remained wide awake after that tor the rest of her life. CHAPTER XXX lands of flowers were sttZ'^'^'^ ^"'^ t^at^ga?. "Why, how festive it S''l ^^^ 'g^* breeze denng. '«>''-. she exclaimed, won- Miss iS^^^ffc Pri^°'''">'''rthday,"said ^ " Oh/' said Anni Jf e " on? ^"^^-^^ ^^^ ^" turned her head awav fn/ 1 ,^ "J"^^ P"J"ed. She on the opposite sS S the t^"^ ^I '^' ^y^^^dl birthdays, of course Lh/^''\ ^""^^ must have things round h.S posts f/l,'''°"''^ ^' n°t put she would not lofk a^?n )^ *^"*«1 to ? Vet of the way; nor ,^ W' '"'^ ^^^ silent the rest to attempfio i^41h'eTon''> *^'^« Leech ant conversation AnL ."^^ *^"^e w»th pleas- it was too hot to Mk Wh^T''^^' ^^'S was that men were exceedSt k'^'-^' *^'"king and that life was a snare ^^ ^°""^' ^' "^ them, birthday w^s ^2 S'^' ^°^^^^^- ^^el's latest spent >he cSu^glSs ff^K*^ ""' '^^^ ^^ 401 Trudi had tele- 40* THE BENEFACTRESS graphed her blessings, administering them thus m their easiest form. His Stralsund friends had apparentUr forgotten him ; in other years they had been glaci of the excuse the birthday gave for driv- ing out into the country in June, but this year the astonished Mamsell saw her birthday cake remain untouched and her baiced meats waiting vainly for somebody to come and eat them. Axel neither noticed nor cared. The haymak- ing season had just begun, and besides his own aftairs he was preoccupied by Anna's. If she had not been shut up so long in the baroness's sick- room she would have met him often enough. She thought he never intended to come near her again, and all the time, whenever he could spare a mo- ment and often when he could not, he was on her property, watching Dellwig's farming operations. She should not suffer, he told himself, because he loved her; she should not be punished because she was not able to love him. He would go on doing what he could for her, and was certainly, at his age, not going to sulk and leave her to face her difficulties alone. The first time he met Dellwig on these incur- sions into Anna's domain, he expected to be received with a scowl ; but Dellwig did not scowl at all ; was on the contri^ry quite affable, even volunteering information about the work he had in hand. Nor had he been after all offensively zealous in search- ing for the person who had set the stables on fire ; and luckily the Stralsund police had not been very zealous either. Klutz was looked for for a little while after Axel had denounced him as the probable culprit, but the matter had been dropped, appar- jNf'^W^^'V^. THE BENEFACTRESS Hearing that th^ KS^ wf " '", ^"^ ^""'^ decidecT to go and mII af^i*^ "5^'^ well, he nothing halh^penS sST''^' "^ *''°"?h Pust meet AnnT TheycouW 'Tr °'' "^'^^^ *« »ng estates and never s^^ll "°*J'^^ «" adjoin- S-- again, \o^4^^ ithlt^^f s ji^'S,1;;[^^!:2^-inst.isun, .^tfSe-lXV^inr^^^^^^^ 'ceswith Miss Leech waC^^f^ ^*"'' *^^* o" and watched the unloinT^ . l""^" *» '^e quay while Fritz and the hSef had ^^ ^^hing-smlck^ veiT much stared at bv thf ^''t"".^'""^^' was seldom saw anything so Lh '">j),tants, who "as tt£^t!^?- ^"^^^ preparingVtuTn herfalfi' ^T' ^"^ ^^^^ was t.ous safety, a dosed 5S.Sf'°'" '^f °«te„ta- towarj's them, followed ^a Sort""' 1^"''''^^ '' second. " «it a short aistance by a speScle'':S'ortL"S^^^^^^ ^^^'^ ^'^^ these were the denartin!!. ^' '°'' ^''^ ^elt that she wondered howTmaSXT' J^' ^'^' ^""^ have the heart togivep^rtS 7^ '" ^f'" *=°"'d «ther. but watchid C'Spr^^ZT^^S^Js 404 THE BENEFACTRESS curiously. Axel was sitting in the first one, on the side near her. He wore his ordinary farming clothes, the Norfolk jacket, and the soft green hat. There were three men with him, Medy- looking individuals in black coats. She bowed instinctively, for he was looking out of the window full at her, but he took no notice. She turned very white. The second Droschke contained four more Queer-looking persons in black clothes. When tney had passed, Fritz pulled up his horses of his own accord, and twisting himself round stared after the receding cloud of dust. Anna had been cut by Axel; but it was not that that made her turn so white — it was some- thing in his face. He had looked straight at her, and ne had not seen her. " Who are those people ? " she asked Fritz in a voice that faltered, she did not know why. Fritz did not answer. He stared down the road after the Drosckkes, shook his head, began to scratch it, jerked himself round again to his horses, drove on a few yards, pulled them up a second time, looked back, shook his head, and was silent " Fritz, do you know them ? " Anna asked more authoritatively. But Fritz only mumbled something soothing and drove on. Anna had not failed to notice the old man's face as he watched the departing Droschkes; it wore an oddly amazed and scared expression. Her heart seemed to sink within her like a stone, yet she could give herself no reason for it. She THE BENEFACTRESS not come; and ^^Se Ss"tl^^^°«'' *°"W the gate v^ passed Th.^ i. ™«»^'"S to speak 't was passed.ffSw couW !t ""1 T^^'atron, was brutality itself. ' Why should you visit hir- ? ' he asked, sneering. ' The prison chaplain will do all that is needful for his soul.' ' Let it be, Manske, Tfn PENEFACTRESS ..uA. 'P"""• whoIsthech^ef?" awhiir"°^- ^'^-wnothing. Myheadisin only very seldom -trTXP^T'' ^"'^ ^^^ "« the moments were priceless " ^ ^o^H I felt spoke not a won!. ■ ffi'S F^\''^^'" P^^ron the man, making hideous ii ''^ ''^ one.' said J^new there is nf S-' fc"*"^«-he well one or a brother or a siste butf r'' ''/^"^ '« " Then t?eywTff*o them." The wonieta^d ^itt'^ ^^^^'Shf to look at AZlt SetSs^d *Ik^".^^« -"^ out them. Axel's house sto^ ^^^ '^'d not see overcome by the shame 0^^°^?"- J^^ ^amsS! ?erv.ce, was^n hysterics nt'^-"?.h^" ■" S"ch a ""Pector. a devot^ed semS win . '^^?: "'^'^ *e was upbraiding her with mL '°.''^'^ hJs master daring to sav S.I .u"^'*^ '""^rest indignation f^i Mamsell's l4ents and f L • "'^^ ^ ""^ter. The preaches echoed Throu J fh"''^'^*"^'^ ^"rious re! door, like the gate wfc ^''^i ^'"P*/ house. The Little more thafa^' h?ur ff "'^^ V'*^ ^^JJ^. P^sed out beneath them to ™S"' ^ ''""^ ^''^' 4IO THE BENEFACTRESS Anna went straight to the study. His papers were lying about in disorder ; the drawer of the writing-table was unlocked, and his keys hung in it. He had been writing letters, evidently, for an unfinished one lay on the table. She stood a mo- ment quite still in the silent room. Manske had fone to find the coachman, and she could hear is steps on the stones beneath the open windows. The desolation of the deserted room, the terrible sense of misfortune worse than death that brooded over it, struck her like a blow that for ever de- stroyed her cheerful youth. She never forgot the look and the feeling of that room. She went to the writing-table, dropped on her knees, and laid her cheek, with an abandonment of tenderness, on the open, unfinished letter. " How are such things possible — how are they possible " she murmured passionately, shuttmg her eyes to press back the useless tears. " So useless to cry, so useless," she repeated piteously, as she felt the scalding tears, in spite of all her efforts to keep them back, stealing through her eyelashes. And everything else that she did or could do — how useless. What could she do for him, who had no claim on him at all ? How could she reach him across this gulf of misery ? Yes, it was good to be brave in this world, it was good to have cour- age, but courage without weapons, of what use was it ? She was a woman, a stranger in a strange land, she had no friends, no influence — she was useless. Manske found her kneeling there, hold- ing the writing-table tightly in her outstretched arms, pressing her bosom against it as though it were somethmg that could feel, her eyes shut, THE BENEFACTRESS ^er face a desolation «n •n h,s turn, "dearest Miss 1"°*."^'" ^^ begged iJey SuS>t'n,r|h?tT'''r\^^^'^hing that t's :r "^^^^^'^'^- MS-'ir ''^'i^'^st ■ -^F^-^S^"Ma:^£ fvetJie order to drive to tt' ''■"" '"^'^ ^^^en he ^ i^^f "^"'ed up oveTfh *^ ''°"«es as the They went up the dirty "S f T""^ *° '^^'^■ ihe door was immedJ^fi^r ^^ ^"*^ rang the bell by an official wh^SS^^P,^"^"? -^f^- 'nches tones, that he wo "ii^L'"j'1:«t' ""ost conciliatorv -°"!d tell hiL^hl^trif^^y obliged 'fh^ ^^St^lli^e ^/ai^lL^^e to the steps. ,isSi:reagl"rr'^ at theVtio^^^f 7owho.shouldfaA."as.edManslce «■'-,.•(■■/* 7/,'<,' ■j< r- 4I» THE BENEFACTRESS " To the judge who has conducted the prelimi- naiy inquiries. The door was slammed, and locked from within with a great noise of rattling keys. The sound of the keys made Anna feel faint ; Axel was on the other side of that ostentation of brute force. She leaned against the wall shivering. The chil- dren tittered; she was a very fine lady, they thought, to have friends in there. "The judge who conducted the preliminary inauiries," repeated Manske, lookmg dazed. " Who may he be ? Where shall we find him ? I fear I am sadly inexperienced in these matters." There was nothing to be done but to face the official's wrath once more. He timidly rang the bell again. This time he was kept waiting. There was a little round window in the door, and he could see the man on the other side leaning against a table trimming his nails. The man also could see him. Manske began to knock on the glass in his desperation. The man remained absorbed by his nails. Anna was suffering a martyrdom. Her head drooped lower and lower. The children laughed loud. Just then heavy steps were heard approach- ing on the pavement, and the children fled with one accord. Immediately afterwards an official, apparently of a higher grade than the man within, came up. He glanced curiously at the two sup- pliants as he thrust his hand into his pocket and pulled out a key. Before he could fit it in the lock the man on the other side had seen him, had sprung to the door, flung it open, and stood at attention. THE BENEFACTRESS Manske saw that k- **' '"?.'^"{,^0'- God's sake'- ^"' ^^ ^"ed. "o/e '"^bT/'S •?•?"'■"■««." ■'^^' ''''° conducted the . The' official' 'looked t'Z '' ^' *° ''« found?" m the next street p • • ^' '"^ Law CnnVto ^nd^the dS'tasSu""""^ ^"^^^ SchuLT up a°nd ir^talrcat an^at"^' ^"'^ ^^^^^ dore, vainly 'ooking for soL. "^. ^"^^'^^^ corr^ to Exam nine furfa''g">sh in Anna"s At Jast they heaX distant w ^''"'^ '" ^anske's the emptiness. Theffo iS' ^^''°'"g through found two women diSJr '^' '°"'''^- ^"^ i^y uT ?StT;..\irjs °^ ^ ^-.-n- pojteh.. asked Manske. bowing hou?:rotrwL^l,f |one ''-e. Business -fctf rerhtf ^ ^=^ 't^ £^ the porter ? ^n^ u^ P°'^er knew. Wh^' *^^ 414 THE BENEFACTRESS {)orter. Another ten minutes was wasted looking or him. They saw him at last through the glass of the entrance door, airing himself on the steps. The porter gave them the address, and they lost some more minutes tiying to find their Droschke, for they had come out at a different entrance to tht one they had gone in by. By this time Manslce was speechless, and Anna was half dead. They climbed three flights of stairs to the Examining Judge's fiat, and after being kept wait- ing a long while — " Der Herr Untersuchungs- richter ist bet, Tisch" the slovenly girl had announced — were told by him very curtly that they must go to the Public Prosecutor for the order. Anna went out without a word. Manske bowed and apologised profusely for having dis- turbed the Herr Untersuchungsrichter at his re- past; he felt the necessity of grovelling before these persons whose power was so almighty. The Examining Judge made no reply whatever to these piteous amiabilities, but turned on his heel, leaving them to find the door as best they could. The Public Prosecutor lived at the other end of the town. They neither of them spoke a word on the way there. In answer to their anxious inquiry whether they could speak to him, the woman who opened the door said that her master was asleep; it was his hour for repose, having just supped, and he could not possibly be disturbed. Anna began to cry. Manske gripped hold of her hand and held it fast, patting it while he con- tinued to question the servant. " He will see no ^L^^ THE BENEFACTRESS one so Lie" «k. . •. '♦'S At«hatSme?" iJo not fet the coarhmf "" "'serable tM« "J^ust^o home nor fc u' ^V'^' ^h^- We We will come earl«\ ^ '® nothing to be\l^ success." "^ ^^^'y to-morro^v. anf have ^^o^ ^i: S^e^'wtl o"2 .tv^^^s S%^f The stare were sMnit °'^?^« ^way. "^'^• ^et county rSd aSf ftht^ P^^Sj along the with the fragiance'of clo"e*|„7?*?f °btain pe^ d^opmg, her voi5 4t that It ''^^'^^ ^'' ^ Certa,n]y she looked pSoJndlv Tk ^ S^*^^* bore- One cannot be to^Sf ^ "J?>PPy- lei in nioney mattere," 4M THE BENEFACTRESS remarked Frau von Treumann, alarmed by Anna's white looks, and afraid lest by some foolish neg- lect on her part supplies should cease. She en- thusiastically encouraeed these visits to the bank. "Take care of your bank," she said, "and your bank will take care of you. That is what we say in Germany." But Anna did not hear. There was but one thought in her mind, one cry in her heart — how could she reach, how could she help, Axel ? He was in a cell at)out five yards long by three wide. There was just room to pass between the camp bedstead and the small deal table standing agamst the opposite wall. Besides this furniture, there was one chair, an empty wooden box turned up on end, with a tin basin on it— that was his washstand— a little shelf fixed on the wall, and on the httle shelf a tin mug, a tin plate, a pot of salt, a small loaf of black bread, and a Bible. The walls were painted brown, and the window, fit'-'' with ground glass, was high up near the ceiling , It was barred on the outside, and could only be opened a few inches at the top. On the door a neat printed card was fastened, giving, besides in- formation for the guidance of the habitually dirty as to the cleansing properties of water, the quantity of oakum the occupant of the cell would be ex- pected to pick every day. The cell was used sometimes for condemned criminals, hence the mention of the oakum ; but the card caught Axel's eye whenever he reached that end of the room in his pacing up and down, and without knowing it he learnt its rules bv heart. At first he had been completely dazed, abso- THB BBNBFACTRKSS 'l»t shoot hin, „S .'ti'ff »" '"'»of>lle SC nad been searched on kj. i° Tavelost? Hp -f.c,h.?.'„rA^*w.ho™.SSwts ^"irf St" 4»« THE BENEFACTRESS less ancient and not in itself interesting name of Meyer. He had arrested Lohm, he had special charge of the case, he could not but be talked about at last. His zeal and satisfaction accord- ingly were great, carrying him far beyond the lim- its usual on such occasions. Axel stood amazed at the trick of fortune that had so suddenly flung him into the power of a young man called Meyer. Soon after he was locked in his cell, a warder came in with a great pot of liquid food, a sort of thick soup made chiefly of beans, with other bodies, unknown to Axeli floating about among them. " Your plate," said the warder, jerking his head in the direction of the little shelf on which stood Axel's dining facilities ; and he raised the pot pre- paratory to pouring out some of its contents. " Thank you," said Axel, " I don't want any." " You'll be hungry then," said the man, going away. " There is no more food to-day." Axel said nothing, and he went out. The smell of the soup, which was apparently of great potency, filled the little room. Axel tried to open the win- dow wider, but though he was tall and he stood on his table, he coulanot reach it. It began to get dark. The lamps in the street below were lit, and the shouts of the children at play came up to him. He guessed that it must be past nine, and wondered how long he was to be left there without a light. As it grew darker, his thoughts grew very dark. He paced up and down more and more restlessly, trying to force them into clearness. In the hurry and dismay he had left his keys at Lohm, he remembeiM, and all his money and papers were at the mercy THE BENEFACTRESS of the first-comer ii j l *'* afford to lose ^^mont'TK^'' ^^^°"W not come. WJiv a:a J. P"son. But hi> li,j leave hfmtlpLV? r^^ Wh/|d Te "^as determined to face h'^ ^ ?°™e°t? Axe! yet, the feeh-ng of a£!„f"-""'^°rtune quiSry f jt we,* bound hand anJ T'^'^ence. of S such dir« nece.«;t^ .°_ f °^ %t when there 3 Rnf •* "'^ resolution ^"°"' »™ost self i^S^thilr ''SV". he assured him miiv^« 4M THE BENEFACTRESS dowly, his shoulders bent, his head sunk, a dull "*»? on n»s face; he was thinking of Anna. The door was unlocked, and a warder with a bullft^ye lantern came in quickly. "The Public PrMecutor is coming up," he said breathlessly. When he comes in, you stand at attention and recite your name and the crime of which you are accused. He had hardly finished when the Public Prose- cutor appeared. The warder sprang to attention. Axel slowlv and unwillingly did the same. " Well ? ' snaried the great man, as Axel did not "''^v _j ^"^ *" °'** '"*°' ^'^^ * ^*ce grown sly and hard during years of association with criminals, of expenences confined solely to the ugly sides of life. " My name is Lohm," said Axel, feeling the folly of attempting to defy anyone so absolutely powers ful in the place where he was; and he proceeded to explan the crime of which he was suspected. The Public Prosecutor, who knew perfectly well everything about him, having himself arranged every detail of the arrest, said something incom- prehensible and was going away. "May I have a light of some sort?" asked AxeL and writing raatenals? I absolutely must be able "You cannot expect the luxuries of a Seiloss here, said the Public Prosecutor with a scowl turning on his heel and signing to the warder to lock the door again. And he continued his rounds, congratulahng himself on having demonstrated that m his independent eye the bearer of the most ancient name and the offscourings of the street. THE BENEFACTRESS tried or unfn'sr] _ **5 , ^t was now ouitp /J-. i of distrust bv *« i"*P«cred with everv on his face woke hhr, u °"*' '^''^n » bright liVhf >ng very nearly re«.rnlr ^ . ^"^ ^^ was. A f«.i i^e. He cou d see noH^.v u^ "®''' close to h« ^ -* ^-. bolting tunttat^. 4*6 THE BENEFACTRESS Axel lay down, reflecting that such surprises, added to anxiety and bad food, must wear out a suspected culprit's nerves with extraordinary rapidihr and thoroughness. There could not, he thought, be much Irft of a man in the way of brains and calmness by the time he was taken before the judge to clear himself. The incident completely banished all tendency to sleep. He remained wide awake after that, tormented by anxious thoughts. Towards dawn, for which he thanked God when It came, the silence of the prison was broken by screams. He started up again and listened, his blood frozen by the sound of them. They were terrible to hear, echoing through that place. Again a feeling of sheer horror came over him. How long would he be able to endure these things? The screams grew more and more ap- palling. He sprang up and went to the door, and listened there. He thought he heard steps out- ^de, and knocked. " What is that screaming ? " he cned out. But no one answered. The shrieks reached a climax of anguish, and suddenly stopped. Death-like stillness fell again upon the prison. Axel spent what was left »'.»^w# j!' -^ -2 •■'<..,- 4*8 THE BENEFACTRESS those other wretched human beings, his feilow- prisoners. " Oh, he is very happy there. He plays all day long at catching the rats." « The rats?" "They say there are no rats — that he only thinks he sees them. But whether the rats are real or not it amuses him trying to catch them. When he is quiet again, he is brought back to us." A warder appeared and said there was too much talking. The young man slid away swiftly and silently. He was a thief by profession, of superior skill and intelli^nce. Axel ate part of the bread, and succeeded in swallowing some of the cofifee, and then began his walk again, up and down, up and down, listening intently at the door each time he came to it for sounds of his lawyer's approach. The morning must be halfway through, he thought; why did he not come ? How could he let him wait at such a crisis? How could any of them — Gustav, Trudi, Manske — let him wait at such a crisis? He grew terribly anxious. He had expected Gus- tav by the first train from Beriin ; he might have been with him by nine o'clock. The other brother, he knew, would be less easily reached by the tele- gram — he was attached to the person of a prince whose movements were uncertain; but Gustav? Well, he must be patient ; he may not have been at home ; the next train arrived in the afternoon ; he would come by that. The door opened, and he turned eagerly ; but it was the Public Prosecutor again. "Name, name, and crime 1^ frantically whis- iFmas,^ - « THE BENEFACTRESS 419 before. Every tEhp! • ^"'* »' *e niX hisbodjr ri|d. P^"^"™*"". his heels together! Axel. • • '*P***«'*ne warder, glaring at •'S^v'h£d1h?L''L«''- -"d went out. His lawyer «me?„ ^''^^'■' """^ '°"owed him dinner. ^ ^'^^ "^ simultaneously with his ;; Plate." said th» warder with the nnf laji'^ IS a sad sigh, Herr tto^" said the .He'allo^^IdlS ottt'SelTo t^ ^'^ P^=^^- •t; he was not going to S. 'f ^"^ '"to soup was potent. ^ *^* ""'^ because the laJylr.'^'^*^'^ ^°" y'^te'^y." he said to the man. He was a native of S?rl?f V^*^ *^ "«ht employed him ever dnce h. ""'^' '"'^ ^^e' had ancThad found Ws work satisS '"'^ t^ ««*^te. ners exceedingly Ste-so^^^l^'^^ ^^ '"^n- verge on crinfrnrbut th!n^t%r'''^r^' '^ to have pointed out.1,e wSs a 1.;^ M "1** ^''"'d man was changed. S 1ni«;,- .^°* ^^ whole bows, the rublld hand^ Jk^ '^*'"8f ^'ni^es, the h'^^er sat at hTeS on the'^nJT •*!>: ' ^he >n h:s pockets, a S,^^ttn KSt^aSct 4S» THE BENEFACTRESS tinised Axel while he told him his case, with- an insolent look of incredulity. " He actually believes I set the place on fire," thought Axel, struck by the look. He did actually believe it. He always believed the worst, lor his experience had been that the worst is what comes most often nearest the truth ; but then, as Manske would have explained, he was a Jew. The interview was extremely unsatisfactory. " I have an appointment," said the lawyer, pulling out his watch before they had half discussed the situa- tion. " You appear to forget that this is a matter of enormous importance to me," said Axel, wrath in his eyes and voice. "That is what each of my clients invariably savs," replied the lawyer, stretching across the table for his gloves. " How can we arrange anything in a ten min- utes' conversation ? " inquired Axel indignantly. The lawyer shrugged his shoulders. " I cannot neglect all my other business." " I do not remember your having been so pressed for time formerly. I shall expect you a^in this afternoon." " An impossibility." " Then to-morrow the first thing. That is, if I am still here." The lawyer grinned. " It is not so easy to get out of these places as it is to get in," he said, draw- ing on his gloves. " By the way, my fees in such cases are payable beforehand." Axel flushed. He could hardly believe the evi- r\-m ~#«i THE BENEFACTRBS8 Pe«on who h3 fw J?^* *•"' *« »•»• obsequious ?*'%. - You know T^^"^«* ?V that," he said .ac^inif this iS^oL?."'^'* nothing hem H? he incK. tw ;"¥h2%fe -^P««»y. " I- ?^e of brotherly devotS' l * '^"'^''''aWe in- Je^rthat GooditeS'„ - he I^ Jf"'^ ^''"^ *« , ou^ feavi^g Axel in a iw' * "*^'^«''- *nd w«nt rials. He immedTtefy~SJ SS" "f "« "^ telegrams; urgent letters a„Hf!&«^ ^^"ers '"d Perate importSice to Wmself ^^\9^ * d«- ^ brought he gaveXm fn .J"^" h« coffee hegged him to sef tLt aT ° *^^ '^''er. and once; then he I^c^ up and^r'" ^^spatch^ a? at least by feeli^ v£t L rU " *«^'"' '^b'eved with the outer wi-ld '^ "°* communicate tiniehi'Lw IheSen ''" /SS,?'"'°"f'>'' "«t And gone they had, but oniiT /" "^^ ^e repjy, office of the EUS:ingj'Sl%±:![, ^^^ to t}J «y in a heap waiting till hf.k,]*^,' ^'he'* they and inclination to rid Lm "^""^^i have leisure f their contentJ^ oS tfc/»d'i he approved they lay for three days aM^' . ?*?ted. There passed after all, becaSe the P °- •^'" *^'* °°t bked the tone of the^5^?,^f.'°'ng Judge dis- wnter was innocent ftfe knf A" *^^?" thtt the pnsonerinvariablyprotested th^^ '* *'^^' ^^^^ these protestations were Jm.sS^.f^'"." *•""«• But we. of such strength Ke^t^J^^ J^^ 43* THE BENEFACTRESS in his own hardened and experienced mind a pros- ing doubt, absurd of course, and not for one mo- ment to be considered, whether the Stralsund authorities might not have blundered. It was a dangerous notion to put into people's heads, that the Stralsund authorities, of whom he was one, could blunder. Blunders meant a reproof from headquarters and a retarded career; uieir possi- bility, therefore, was not to be entertained for a moment. Even should they have been made, it must not get about that they had been made. He accordingly suppressed nearly all the letters. Gustav must have missed the second train as well, for when the sky grew rosy, and Axel knew that the sun was setting, he was still alone. The few hours he had thought to stay in that place were lengthening out into days, he reflected. If Gustav did not come soon, what should he do ? Someone he must have to look after his a£Fairs, to arrange with the lawyer, to be a link connecting him with outside. And who but his brother and heir? Still, he would certainly come soon, and Trudi too. Poor little Trudi — he was afraid she would be terribly upset. But the hours passed, and no one came. That evening he was given a lamp. It burnt badly and smelt atrociousfy. He asked if the win- dow might be opened a little wider. The request had to he made in writing, said the warder, and submitted through the usu^ channels to the Public Prosecutor, without whose permission no window might be touched. Axel wrote the request, and the warder took it away. It came back two days later with an intimation scrawled across it that if t « ^ •^ i THE BENEFACTRESS down on K Thettwl'S/'?^'" u*^ ««"l'n| nothing had ceased to «S?fh-''*' ^l^!*^ «1°"^ was right when he s5d tC ft "• ^^^ '**y" into such a place thTn m » . was easier to get had denounced him to sa^'V°"' ^•"- K'"*^ had not a doabt And n-^f ^""''*^ o^ that he greatly respected h»3 ? "** *^" ''"own and explained S^g'stnlTllf,'^^^*'- Th"2 Axel's couraee wm nZSh?^ '*'^'^ completely. he «cognisS SffiultthT^7.V»y^ proving thathewasinnSS \'^°''^^ have in him from outside, his caS^ iirfP^T ''"'P**' He d,d not remember^eT^o h?"'.'^*'P^"'*«- hack on a friend in dist,^« u '"'^ *"™ed his that not a friend w^JflJX^''.^ was it. then, in his extremity? Where »« '.?™"* *° hi", jovial companions wS. shotTfJ^r?"^ ""' ^''^^ him so often, drivine anv 5;=^ 'i'* ^^'"te with "re of killing hTs 12? WW '°'" ^^^ P'^a^ Gustav back? Wh?^id h^^^^l "^^ ^^'n« message? How Z^itt .1^°^ ^^^n send t fcssed^somuch atSSmeSl^n^^' *ho pr<^ such stores of ChriSchar£ L^°T' "^'^es effort to reach him? He K^'/*^ °°* "^e an wanted anything of anvrm- H "ever asked or was so ter4le, fis neeTwL'" ''" ^^"' ''"» this a failure his whole WelisH^ If ''i^?^ ^^t always. ^^During all thTyeaJ^i^n^alone. 434 THS BENEFACTRESS liave wivM and children he had been working h»rd. ^one. He had had no happy days, as the old Romans would have said. And now total ruin was upon him. Sitting there through the night, he bqfan to understand the despair that impels J?™PP3; beings in a like situation, forsaken of Ood and men, to make wild efforts to get out of •uch daces, consous that they avail nothing, but at least bruising and crushing themselves into the blessed mdifference of exhaustion. The hours dragged by, each one a lifetime, each one so packed with opportunities for gang mad, he thought, as he counted how many of them separated him already from his free, honourable past life. By the time morning came, added to his other torturing anxieties, was the fear lest he should fall ill in there before any steps had been taken for his release. He sat leaning his head against the wall, indifferent to what irent on around him, hardly listening any more for Gustav's footsteps. He had ceased to expect mm. He had ceased to expect anyone. He sat motionless, suffering bodily now, a strange feehng m his head, his thoughts dwelling dully on his physical discomforts, on the closeness of^the cdl, on the horrible nights. He made a great effort to eat some dinner, but could not. What would become of him if he couW neither eat nor weep? On what stores of energy would he be able to draw when the time came for defending himself? He was atting by the table, leaning ms head against the wall, his eyes closed, when the pnsoner-fittendant came to take away his din- ner, " 111 ? " inquired the young man cheerfully. THE BENEFACTRESS 4SS It was too much but not yet. These thf„« !^ tne pnson doctor, It was iIwaysthriLmT."'**\^'^ **'«•• cou«e warder twTn^y years J^H t°""''; ''e had been a the date on'USh"' Se??h7 ±? S "". ''°- would be required ^**' '*'* 'doctor abol.tlhrro&ti.edoor"^"^ Pf''^ -^^n. He did not ^^J;^,^^^^^^^^^ back across tlTe yS ?ote^^f''*''°"«''t» trothed? Had he Sard tJ,?''^*^''-'''^- "'« ^e- had he been dreamine ? H. ..'"'^iT? r'^'' °' poked vaguely S thtdr'^'in 'l^'^ ^"'^ light was out there in%i,- „-j . ' *he sun- ptic. ashamed 'teeVfS'„'!fh*^''P,ly ''P^'"" from her like a garment whpn ^"'^ ''e!: ?hame fell poor Axel _oh^;^rASl^^,.^/^ '''•"• "Oh. with a quick sob " ^"^ murmured stam sSt*° af hrs'Se'and S ''k,- ^" ^ '- on his knees, holding he; bvihe^'"^'.^' ^"" to her as to his salvatfon - if is L? n'.' 'i'"«'"§ he asked in a voice sharp w?^,^ ^feS^tr '■♦r'^^^3 43« THE BENEFACTRESS •JL? A"** ^'^ ^""'^^'^ ''y her teare, delib- ?Jw K ^•''*'°'?'''''^'' ""'^ herfuture\ntirely to him, hauling down for ever her flag of inde- to £ rr'W' ""^ '^"^'"g 'J"^* her face £d ht "P*"™«i f«=e o agonised questioning kid her hiM on his. "No," she whispered, an! ttT^ ^^ '^■*. '' passionate tendTmess b^ tween the words, " it is only love — only love -" jfej. ^ - ■ 'iM CHAPTER XXXII about^thL'SrotS'in^t"^- *" austerity almost. «>om for the arXes^ anlJ>!,'°"- ""^ ^ "o . away from them bo^ likf ti^^ *™P'^ ^^th fefi which thew .^ no uL ;n%^7*^'X °maments. for soul. unsepai"°breven thf JP'^«- Soil to conventionality, of a tom- * .''^s.est veil of vs.oned. steadfast. ^ t "1 \'°^^' ^'e"" quietly watching the 300^,.^^'^ ^^° a« looked into each other'sT^sfn'iu' ^^''^^' they were alone, he an/«v.» ^ •^"*' ''"^w that thev cleave to one anofher toTT *" ^^--W- T^ she, against the XV wSd'' Y^^' ^' ^"'^ their betrothal meant Axel c„7«r* *^ ^hat h's kind if he should nofSS to ^°'"'r-'"^'-°™ Anna, cutting herself off f^, ° '^'^*'" himself, Her feet hadVu„d the nVht'n'/K*° ^f'"°'' ^™ eyes were open As t«,nT- ^1* ** ^^t- Her - battle in Sch^£,th" mS"L? ^^ ^^^ «* end may be death, or a^ tl 0* 1"^ ^hose on a long journev wL« two fnends starting tuous ways^of sufferTn^* ""^ *°°> after tor? "^ best to be done. LX.^"'^'' °.^^'" *hat other, always with thflS^ ^"'^"""g'ng each fulness in their eves. H„^ .°' Perfect trust- getherl How abHo S. 7 """".^ ^^^V ^elt to- ^ *° 8° fearlessly towards the 438 m .!tM.\ THE BENEFACTRESS future to meet any pain, any sorrow, together! The warder standing by, the miserable little room the wretched details of the situation, no longer existed for either of them. Nothing could harm them, nothing could hurt them any more, if onl" they might be together. They were safe within a circle drawn round them by love — safe, and warm, and blest. So long as he had her and she him, though they saw how great t^ V misery would be if thejr came to be less brav ' ey could not but believe in the benevolence of the future they could not but have hope. If he were sen- tenced, she said, what, at the worst, would it mean ? Two years', three years', waiting, and then together for the rest of their life. Was not that worth look- ing forward to ? Would not that take away every sting? she asked, her hands on his shoulders, her face beautiful with confidence and courage. When he told her that she ought not now to cast in her lot with his, she only smiled, and laid her cheek against his sleeve. All her childish follies, and incertitudes, and false starts were done with now Life had grown suddenly simple. It was to be a cleaving to him till death. Yet they both knew that when that golden hour was over, and she must go, the suffering would begin again She was only to come twice a week ; and the days be- tween would be days of torture. And when the moment had come, and they had said good-lwe with brave eyes, each telling the other that so short a separation was nothing, that they did not mind it, that it would be over before they had had time to feel it, and the door was shut, and he was left behind, she went out to find misery again, ^M^M' THE MarePACTRESS 4» f the unutterable fS^„n./°*'-'/.«^'^«ion from him, how ,^k Se^^K '^''''"- ^^^7 brave. Would L^h, . j ^ ''°* ""able to be say some kiSwoS^r^?-?,^""**^ Would s£ anything, that 3t^X 1 ' 7°'A something! alone? With mfl!: ^ "^'" ^^el less terribRr told her trsto^jJoEinTatr ^?'*^""S^S hi'^d bv the tho7ghrof hfnf ^v ^^^ ^y^ tor- *e« tilf she s;:ouK4'^,^'*'K patiently ^asmuch by theproC .IS'lT'^.VT. struck. asTuchTy thJ'^l.^S''"- "v ™^ -we- S«^e as bv the Stir "S P"' °^ ^""^ that A»4 fc,j ^»««ition. i,he knew of couree -- — » uy ine K "^^^ ''"*^ ^en anest^d-Hw" "' """"^ «9thmg to say^Ld jJS out fr K ^^ •^"''^ «nd laid It on Anna's. - 1 am L rol5^"*^ *""''^^y ^nd ^. Her head droopin|TSdl^;-„j;An^a f ^hXre v's^'JhS^s'^^.^ His r-^ to h.m, she%hut her e^s sL °1§^' ^' "^t, «« happ^ summer Ss. at%r ,"°.* ^""J' at trowing U where he S n'^kP'^^ ^^^-'^s- H«s servants, not a ne^d r?u *He poorest of dust, not a wretchfrf^^K ^'"'^ '"""'ng in the ^ » a dS^*i^-«f --> dog lunni^ -pared to hi. iATyJ^,r.^-^^fi \.'%.^s^i *^-l«lL«^«! 440 THE BENEFACTRESS his hay on the waggons. Girls in white sun-bon- nets, with bare arms and legs, stood on the top of the loads catching the fragrant stuff as the men tossed it up. Their figures were sharply outlined against the serene sky; their shouts and laughter floated across the fields. Freedom to come and go at will in God's liberal sunlight— just that — how precious it was, how unspeakably precious It was. Of all God's gifts, surely the most pre- cious. And how,' ordinary, how universal. Only for Axel there was none. When they reached the house, the hall seemed to be full of people. The supper bell had lately rung, and the inmates, talking and laughing, were going into the dining-room. Dellwig, his hands full of papers, not having found Anna at home, was in the act of making elaborate farewell bows to the assembled ladies. After the two silent hours of suffering that lay between herself and Axel, how strange it was, this noisy bustle of daily life. She caught fragments of what they were saying, fragments of the usual prattle, the same nothmgs that they said every day, accompanied by the same vague laughs. How strange it was, and how awful, the tremendousness of life, the nearness of death, the absolute relentlessness of suffering, and all the prattle. " Um GotUs WiUen! " shrieked Frau von Treu- mann, when she caught sight of this white ir.iage of grief set suddenly in their midst. " It has smashed up, then, your bank ? " And she made a hastv movement towards the hall table, on which lay a letter for Anna from Karlchen, containing, as she knew, an offer of marriage. THE BENEFACTRESS Anna turned with a ki;-j and stretched o^hcrutff''"^,°^ movement, her to her side. instfnctiveTv sit' ^'">'' ^"^^'S ^ny support; and sh^stite^^S ^ ^-^fort! it|r^ at the lit«e?ol5SrslfeK cess unt'si^ ''*P^°«'' ^nna ? » asked the prin- •n S™-.trTeSSfd^";:->i'^ i^"- slowIy deathly whiteness. "^"^ '»«h. her face of a D4-f'e';;^Vtstsrn'^"/^^^ words that came nex? ^ "^'^^'^ *° hear the she safd'ThenlKlcir™ ^*«>*«d to^iay.- ;^gue, piteous look. an^^uVCl^*''^'" ^'^h^a throat "We shall be mariv/*"'' "P ^ her mamed-when-when h ^7^."'^' '^ CONCLUSION The moral of this story, as Manske. wise after the event, pointed out when relating those ports of It that he knew on winter evenings to a dear friend, plainly is that all females — alk WtiUr — aie best married. " Their aspirations," he said, "may be high enough to docredit to the noblest male spirit ■ indeed, our gracious lady's aspirations were wAA- ity Itself. But the flesh of females is very weak it cannot stand alone. It cannot realise the aspi- rations formed by its own spirit. It requires con- stant guidance. It is an excellent material, but it IS only material in the raw." "What?" cried his wife. "Peace, woman. I say it is only materia, in Sf <.'»fA A^A^}'^ "^''^'" °* *"y P'^^t'cal use till the hand of the master has moulded it into shape. " &>Jr ruhtigr agreed the friend ; with the more heartaness that he was conscious of a wife at home who had successfully withstood moulding durine a married life of twenty years. "That/' said Manske, "is the most obvious moral. But there is yet another " ., !1 Pi fu°'y 'n^"". °^ *'^^'^" "^'^ the friend, who had had them all pointed out to him, different ones each time, during those evenings of howling tem- pests and indoor peace — the perfect peace of pipes, hot stoves, and Gluhwein. 44a jTifWi *»■*._. ♦.# •?^« THE BENEFACTRESS °',M«S'''3re?„tr° •'■«««'-»'•'<.« Plete and perf^ th!n ' ''^PP'^ess more c.^. dreamed, th^ S^l ^" TZ 'i^^t^ ^he hS will, overcome by thTstate nf ^ °^"'^' *«ak of the possible terfore of th^ !^ conscience and Wood of three ge^r^L^J^^'K'^'^^' ^'"th rte every drop of *wS eTed^P^ 0.3 jn his vei„t n ght to «ve his soul affea^t 'ti"" '^^ ""** of h,s body, Klute had coSp^ » *''' ^'"^^ twenty, he knew himsdf to 1^^, ^^ *« only had never had anyTntent on, ^''"^ ^.^""'^^s, he and here he was,^rdned Thr^f ^'^^'^ ^°°''«h. ?ct of temporar; madnes J , ^''*- ^I^ ^^'^ an iPe"wig,hehadlved hTssk,„^i influenced by Je could. Now there wLIk. * -^^^^ ^ ^e^t heawprice,so tremendo^fJiln ''"*'" '° P^y- *e ^nalfness of the follies tStl^" IT Sf^f'^ *° ^^^ had led him on step 444 THE BENEFACTRESS , by Step. His bad nnius, Dellwig, went free; and later on lived sufficiently far away from Klein- walde to be greatly respected to the end of his days. Manske's eyes filled with tears when he came to the action of Providence in this matter — the mysteriousness of it, the utter inscrutable- ness of it, letting the morally responsible go un- punished, and Slowing the poor ^oung vicar, handicapped from his very entrance mto the world by his weakness of character, to be overtaken on the threshold of life by so terrific a fate. " Truly the ways of Providence are past finding out," said Manske, sorrowfully shaking his head. " I never did believe in Klutz," said his wife, thinking of her apple jelly. " Woman, kick not him who is down," said her husband, turning on her with reproachful stern- ness. " Kick 1 " echoed his wife, tossing her head at this rebuke, administered in the presence of the friend ; " I am not, I hope, so unwomanly as to kick." " It is a figure of speech," mildly explained the friend. . " I like it not," said Frau Manske gloomily. " Peace," said her husband. in- 118 he ter le- in- ar, rid on 33 ife. ler m- at he to he