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W A L D F R I E D 
 
 A NOVEL 
 
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 7RANSLA TED 
 
 BY 
 
 SIMON ADLER STERN 
 
 AUTHORS EDITION 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 
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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by 
 
 HENRY HOLT, 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
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r i it>i 
 
 s 
 
 V 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 BOOK FIRST. 
 
 i 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 N a letter bringing me his greetings for the New Year, 
 1870, my eldest son thus wrote to me from America : 
 
 " We have been sorely tried of late. Wolfgang, our only 
 remaining child, lay for weeks at death's door. I avoided 
 mentioning this to you before ; but now he is out of danger. 
 
 " ' Take me to your father in the forest,' were the first dis- 
 tinct words he uttered after his illness. He is a lusty youth, 
 and inherits his mother's hardy Westphalian constitution. 
 
 " In his feverish wanderings, he often spoke of you, and 
 also of a great fire, in strange phrases, none of which he can 
 now recall. 
 
 " He has awakened my own heartfelt desire to return, and 
 now we shall come. We have fully determined to leave in 
 the spring. I lose no time in writing to you of this, because 
 I feel that the daily thought of our meeting again will be 
 fraught with pleasure for both of us. 
 
 " Ah, if mother were still alive ! Oh, that I had returned 
 in time to have seen her ! 
 
 M637773 
 
2 WALDFRIED. 
 
 " Telegraph to me as soon as you receive tidings of brother 
 Ernst. I am anxious once again to behold Germany, which 
 is at last becoming a real nation. We who are out here in 
 America are beginning to feel proud of our Fatherland. 
 
 " We are surely coming ! Pray send word to my brothers 
 and sisters. 
 
 "YOUR SON LUDWIG." 
 
 The postscript was as follows : 
 
 "DEAR FATHER, I shall soon be able to utter those 
 dear words to you in person. 
 
 "YOUR DAUGHTER CONSTANCE." 
 
 "DEAR GRANDFATHER, I can now write again, and my 
 first words are to you. We shall soon join you at ' grand- 
 father's home.' 
 
 "YOUR GRANDSON WOLFGANG." 
 ******** 
 
 I had not seen Ludwig since the summer of 1849, and 
 now I was to see him, his wife, and his son. I instructed 
 Martella to send the news to my . children and sons-in-law ; 
 and to my sister who lives in the Hagenau forest I wrote 
 in person. 
 
 Joyous answers were returned from every quarter. But 
 the happiest of all was Rothfuss, our head servant. And well 
 he might be, for no one had loved and suffered so much for 
 Ludwig's sake as he had done. 
 
 Rothfuss is my oldest companion. We have known eacn 
 other so long that, last spring, we might have celebrated the 
 fiftieth anniversary of our first meeting. When that oc- 
 curred, we were both of the same age he a soldier in the 
 fortjress in which I was confined as a political prisoner. For 
 one hour every day I was permitted to leave my cell for a 
 short walk on the parapet. On those occasions a soldier 
 
WALDFRIED. 3 
 
 with loaded musket walked behind me ; and it often hap- 
 pened that this duty was assigned to Rothfuss. His orders 
 were not to speak to me ; but he did so, nevertheless. He 
 was constantly muttering to himself in an indistinct manner. 
 This habit of talking to himself has clung to him through 
 life, and I doubt if any human being has a greater fund of 
 curses than he. 
 
 One day, while he was thus walking behind me, I heard 
 him say quite distinctly : " Now I know who you are ! Oh ! " 
 and then came fearful oaths " O ! to imprison such a 
 man ! You are the son of the forest-keeper of our dis- 
 trict ! Why, we are from the very same part of the coun- 
 try ! I have often worked with your father. He was a 
 hard man, but a just one ; a German of the old sort." 
 
 " I am not allowed to accept money from you, but if you 
 were to happen to lose some, there would be no harm in 
 my finding it." 
 
 " Of course you smoke ? I shall buy a pipe, tobacco, and 
 a tinder-box for you, and what you give me over the amount 
 will not be too much for me." 
 
 From that day, Rothfuss did me many a service.- He 
 knew how to circumvent the jailer, a point on which we 
 easily silenced our scruples. Five years later I regained 
 my freedom, and when I settled on this estate, Rothfuss, as 
 if anticipating my wishes, was at my side. Since that time 
 he has been with us constantly, and has proved a faithful 
 servant to me, as well as the favorite of my children. 
 
 I had inherited the estate and the grand house upon it 
 from my father-in-law. As I was a forester's son, I found but 
 few difficulties in attending to the timber land, but the two 
 saw-mills and the farm that belonged to the estate gave me 
 much trouble. For this reason, so faithful and expert an as- 
 sistant as Rothfuss was doubly welcome to me. 
 
4 WALDFRIED. 
 
 He is a wheelwright by trade, and can attend to anything 
 that requires to be done about the house. Near the shed, 
 he built a little smithy, and rny boys were his faithful ap- 
 prentices. They never asked for toys, for they were always 
 helping him in making some article of use. But my son 
 Richard had no liking for manual labor. He was a dreamy 
 youth, and at an early age manifested a great love of study. 
 
 Of my daughters, Bertha was Rothfuss' favorite. Johanna 
 avoided him. She had a horror of his oaths, which, after all, 
 were not so seriously meant. 
 
 While quite young she evinced much religious enthusiasm, 
 and Rothfuss used to call her " The little nun," at which 
 she was always very angry, for she was quite proud of her 
 Protestantism. While preparing for confirmation she even 
 went so far as to make repeated attempts to convert both 
 myself and my wife. 
 
 While Richard was yet a mere student at the Gymnasium 
 of our capital, Rothfuss dubbed him " The Professor ; " but 
 when Ludwig came home from the Polytechnic School to 
 spend his holidays with us, he and Rothfuss were inseparable 
 companions. He taught Rothfuss all of the students' songs, 
 and insisted that this servant of ours was the greatest philos- 
 opher of our century. 
 
 Ludwig had settled in the chief town as a master builder. 
 He was also known as " The King of the Turners. " He 
 was President of his section, and his great agility and strength 
 gained him many a prize. He was of a proud disposition, 
 and followed his convictions, regardless of consequences. 
 Older persons remarked that in appearance and bearing he 
 was the very picture of what I had been in my youth. 
 
 I am glad that all of my children are of a large build. 
 Ludwig resembles me most of all. Fortunately his nose is 
 not so large as mine, but more like the finely chiselled nose 
 
WALDFRIED. 5 
 
 of his mother. His eloquence, however, is not inherited. 
 His oratorical efforts were powerful and convincing, and his 
 voice was so agreeable that it was a pleasure to listen to it. 
 He had very decided musical talent, but not enough to justify 
 him in adopting music as his profession. In spite of the 
 advice of his music teachers, he determined on a more prac- 
 tical calling. His refined and easy manner soon won all 
 hearts ; and he was beloved by those who were high in sta- 
 tion as well as by the lowly laborers. 
 
 In the year 1849, Ludwig was laying out a portion of 
 the great road which was being built along the low land 
 beyond the mountain. He was the idol of his workmen, 
 and always said, " For me they will climb about the rocks 
 that are to be blasted, like so many lizards, just because I 
 can myself show them how it is done." The road was di- 
 vided into many so-called tasks, each of which was assigned 
 to a separate group of workmen who had agreed to finish it 
 by a certain day. As one of these gangs was unfortunate 
 enough to chance upon springs at every few steps, the soft soil 
 gave it much trouble, and greatly prolonged its labors. 
 
 The other engineers avoided the soft places when making 
 their surveys. But Luchvig, with -his high boots, stepped right 
 into the midst of the laborers, and helped those who were 
 working with their shovels and spades. 
 
 He had also arranged the fire service of the whole valley, 
 and had so distinguished himself at the fire in the little town 
 that he received a medal in recognition of his having saved 
 a life. The more excited members of our political party 
 were of the opinion that he ought to refuse it, alleging that 
 it was wrong for him to receive so princely a decoration ; 
 but he replied : " For the present the Prince is the represent- 
 ative of the popular voice." He accepted the badge, but 
 fastened it to the fireman's banner. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 I HAD been elected a member of the Frankfort Par- 
 liament. 
 
 September's days of terror were doubly terrible to me. I 
 had been told that my son Ludwig was leading a body of 
 Turners who had joined the malcontents, and that they had 
 determined to reverse the decision of the majority of the 
 popular delegates, and to break up the Parliament. 
 
 At the imminent peril of my life, I climbed from barricade 
 to barricade, hoping to be able to induce the Turners to re 
 treat, and perhaps to find my son. 
 
 One of the leaders, who accompanied me as a herald, 
 called out at the top of his voice, " Safe-conduct for the 
 father of Ludwig Waldfried ! " 
 
 My sori's fair fame was my best protection ; but T could 
 not find Ludwig. 
 
 1 have suffered much, but those hours when, with my 
 wife and my next son Ernst, then six years old, I heard the 
 rattling of muskets without the door, were the most wretched 
 that 1 can now recollect. 
 
 In the following spring, when the Parliament was dis- 
 solved, the revolution had already begun with our neighbors 
 in the next state. 
 
 For a long time the fortunes of battle seemed doubtful. 
 I never believed that the uprising would succeed ; but yet I 
 could not recall my son. At that time we no longer heard 
 the rattling of musketry, and 1 can hardly bear to think of 
 how we sat at home in sad but fearful suspense. One thing, 
 however, I would not efttce from my memory. My wife 
 
WALDFRIED. 7 
 
 said, "We cannot ask for miracles. When the hailstorm 
 descends upon the whole land, our well-tilled fields must 
 suffer with the rest." Oh, that I could recall more of the 
 sayings of that wise and pure hearted being ! 
 
 The uprising had been quelled ; but of Ludwig we had 
 no tidings. We knew not whether he was lost, had been 
 taken prisoner, or had escaped into Switzerland. 
 
 One day a messenger came to me with a letter from my 
 wife's nephew, who was the director of ihe prison in the low 
 country. He wrote to me to come to him at once, to bring 
 Rothfuss also, and not to omit bringing passports for both of 
 us. He could tell me no more by letter, and cautioned me 
 to burn his epistle as soon as I had read it. 
 
 " It is about our Ludwig : he lives ! " said my wife. The 
 event proved that she was right. She induced me to take 
 my daughter Bertha with me. She was then but sixteen 
 years old a determined, courageous girl, and as discreet 
 withal as her mother. For to a woman paths often become 
 smooth which to men present insurmountable obstacles. 
 Bertha was glad to go ; and when in the cool of the morn- 
 ing she stood at the door ready to depart, with her mother's 
 warm hood on her head, and her face all aglow with health 
 and youth, she said to me roguishly : " Father, why do you 
 look at me so strangely? " 
 
 " Because you look just as your mother did when she was 
 a bride." 
 
 Her bright merry laughter at these words served in a 
 measure to raise our depressed spirits. 
 
 Terror and excitement reigned on every hand. When we 
 reached the first village of the next state, we found that the 
 side nearest the river bank had been destroyed by artillery. 
 I learned that Ludwig had been in command there, and had 
 shown great bravery. 
 
8 WALDFRIED. 
 
 On the way, Bertha's constant cheerfulness lightened our 
 sorrow. To know a child thoroughly, you must travel with 
 one alone. When Bertha saw that I sat brooding in silence, 
 she knew how to cheer me up with her childish stories, and 
 by engaging me in memories of an innocent past, to dispel 
 my sad thoughts. At that early day she gave an earnest of 
 what she was so well able to accomplish later in life. 
 
 In spite of our having the proper passports, we were 
 everywhere regarded with suspicion, until I at last fortu- 
 nately met the son of the commandant of our fortress. 
 While he was yet a lad, and I a prisoner at the fortress, I had 
 been his teacher, and he had remained faithful and attached 
 to me. I met him at an outlying village where he was sta- 
 tioned with a portion of his regiment. 
 
 He recognized me at once, and exclaimed, " I am doubly 
 glad to see you again. So you were not with the volunteers ? 
 1 heard your name mentioned as one of the leaders."^ 
 
 I was about to reply, " That was my son ; " but Bertha 
 quickly anticipated me, and said, "That was not my 
 father." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 AFTER that the young officer bestowed but littk atten- 
 tion upon me ; his glances were now all for Be: tha, to 
 whom he addressed most of his remarks. 
 
 Who can foretell what germs may awaken into Jife in 
 .the midst of the storm ? My young pupil, who had but the 
 day before been appointed first lieutenant, gravely delivered 
 himself of the opinion that there was no real military glory 
 in conquering volunteers. When speaking of me to Bertha, 
 he was profuse in his assurances of gratitude and esteem. 
 
 Bertha, generally so talkative, was now silent. The young 
 officer procured a safe-conduct for us, and we continued on 
 our journey. 
 
 I have never yet seen the ocean, but the country, as it 
 then appeared to me, awakened impressions similar to those 
 which must be aroused when the tide has ebbed and the ob- 
 jects which before that dwelt in the depths of the sea p-re left 
 lying upon the strand. 
 
 At last we reached my nephew's. He conducted me to 
 his official residence, where I followed him through numer- 
 ous apartments, until I at last reached his room, where we 
 were closeted under lock and key. 
 
 He then told me that, while walking through the town the 
 day but one before, he had met a young peasant with a rake 
 on his shoulder, who, while passing, had hurriedly said to 
 him, " Follow me, cousin ; I have something to tell you." 
 
 The director followed, but not without first making sure 
 of his revolver. 
 
I0 WALDFRIED. 
 
 When they had got into the thicket, the peasant suddenly 
 turned about and said to him, while he removed his hat, 
 "Don't you know me ? I am Ludwig Waldfried." The di- 
 rector's heart was filled with terror. Ludwig continued, 
 " You, and you alone, can save me. Put me in prison until 
 I have a chance to run away. Our cause is lost ; but for 
 my parents' sake as well as my own, I must escape." 
 
 The cousin was not unwilling to assist Ludwig, but was at 
 a loss how to go about it. Ludwig, however, had studied strat- 
 egy. He had carefully considered every step in advance, and 
 now caused the director to enter him on the list of prison- 
 ers under the name of Rothfuss. 
 
 A state of siege, dissolving as it does all forms of civil pro- 
 cedure, made it possible to carry out so irregular a proceed- 
 ing ; aside from which there was the inspiring effect of being 
 engaged in a task that required shrewd and delicate ma- 
 noeuvring. It was this, too, that helped to relieve my 
 meeting with Ludwig of much of its sadness. 
 
 Still it could not but pain me to find that in order to save 
 one person it was necessary to victimize others. Ludwig 
 guessed my thoughts, and said to me, " I am sorry, father, 
 that I am obliged to drag you into this trouble. I know that 
 such affairs are not to your taste ; but there is no help for 
 it." 
 
 Rothfuss looked upon the whole affair as a merry farce. 
 He did not see the least harm in outwitting and deceiving 
 the officers and the state. And in those days there were 
 many thousands who felt just as he did. It is a fit subject 
 for congratulation, and perhaps an evidence of the inde- 
 structible virtue of the German people, that in spite of Met- 
 ternich's soul-corrupting teachings there is yet so much 
 righteousness left in our land. 
 
 When Ludwig had donned the Rothfuss' clothes, one 
 
WALDFRIED. ! i 
 
 could hardly recognize him. The transformation afforded 
 Rothfuss great delight. 
 
 " They can do no more than lock me up by myself, and I 
 have always said that * he who is wet to the skin need not 
 dread the rain.' " 
 
 This was a favorite saying of his. He had but one regret, 
 and that was that he would not be allowed to smoke in the 
 prison ; but, for Lud wig's sake, he would gladly make that 
 sacrifice. 
 
 We departed, taking Ludwig with us. My heart trem- 
 bled with fear. The knowledge that I was committing a 
 breach of the law, even though it was only caused by 
 necessity and for the sake of rescuing my son, filled me 
 witli alarm. I felt as if every one knew what I was doing ; 
 but it seemed as if the people we met along the road did 
 not care to interfere. 
 
 Here again Bertha proved a great treasure to us. She had 
 a wonderfully cheerful flow of spirits; and perhaps, after all, 
 women are greater adepts in the arts of self-control and de- 
 ception than we are. 
 
 When we arrived near the borders of the Palatinate, Lud- 
 wig met a companion who had been hiding there. He was 
 a man of about my age. It now became my turn to take 
 part in the dangerous game. 1 was obliged to remain be- 
 hind and allow the fugitive to take my place at Bertha's side. 
 Bertha was equal to the situation, and at once addressed the 
 stranger as "father." 
 
 I followed on foot, imagining that every step would be my 
 last. 
 
 I passed the border without mishap, and in the first vil- 
 lage found the rescued ones awaiting me. As our old com- 
 rade had already become drunk on French wine, we left him 
 
12 WALD FRIED. 
 
 behind at tl/e village and took up our journey to my sister, 
 the wife of the forester at Hagenau. 
 
 The most difficult task of all was to endure the vainglori- 
 ous boasting of the Frenchmen. My brother-in-law treated 
 us as if he were a gracious nobleman, who had taken us un- 
 der his protection. His neighbors soon joined the party, and 
 proud words were heard on every hand : the French were 
 the great nation theirs was the republic their country the 
 refuge of the oppressed and persecuted. And we what 
 were we ? Rent asunder and bound down, while our Rhine 
 provinces were happy in the faith that they would soon be- 
 come a portion of proud and beautiful France. Another 
 brother-in-law, the pastor of Hunfeld, who had studied at 
 Erlangen, gave us some little consolation, for he said that 
 in science the Germans were the greatest of nations. 
 
 " Father," said Ludwig, " I cannot endure this ; I shall 
 not remain here another day." 
 
 I felt as he did, and we took pur departure for Strasburg. 
 At the Gutenberg Platz we were obliged to halt our horses, 
 for the guard were just inarching by. All seemed as happy 
 if a piece of good fortune had just befallen them. All was 
 as merry as a wedding-feast, while with our neighbors be- 
 yond the line there was funereal sadness. 
 
 Strasburg was crowded with fugitives, by some of whom 
 Ludwig was at once recognized. We went with a party of 
 them to the Grape Vine Tavern, and whom should we meet 
 at the door but the very comrade we had left behind. 
 
 He had a curious contrivance about his throat. It was a 
 simple rope with a knot tied in it ; and he called out to 
 Ludwig that he too was entitled to wear this grand cordon. 
 He conducted us into the room where, at a table apart from 
 the rest, were seated young men and old, all of whom had 
 ropes around their necks. 
 
WALDFRIED. l $ 
 
 "Ah ! here comes the father of 'the King of the Turn- 
 ers ' ! " were the words with which a large and powerfully 
 built man welcomed me. I recognized him as the man who 
 had been my guide during the September riots. " Hurrah, 
 comrades ! Here comes another companion. This way, 
 Ludwig ; this is the seat of honor. All who are seated here 
 are under sentence of death, and as a badge we weai this 
 rope about our necks." And they sang : 
 
 Should princes ask : " Where's Absalom ? " 
 
 And seek to learn his plight 
 
 Just tell them he is hanging high ; 
 
 The poor, unlucky wight. 
 
 And though he's dead, he hangeth not 
 
 From tree, nor yet from beam. 
 
 He dreamt that he could Germans free. 
 
 And 'twas a fatal dream. 
 
 Their ribald jokes disgusted me, and I was therefore glad 
 to chance upon one who had been a fellow-member of the 
 Frankfort Parliament, and who shared my feelings at such 
 distorted views of an unsuccessful attempt at revolution. 
 
 I have known many pure-hearted, unselfish men, but never 
 have I met with one whose love of freedom was greater than 
 that of our friend Wilhelmi. Over and above that, he had a 
 genuine love for his fellow-men. There are, unfortunately, 
 many lovers of. freedom who are not lovers of mankind, a 
 contradiction which I have never been able to understand. 
 
 Friend Wilhelmi gave me an insight as to the character of 
 the old refugee, who was by nature of a peaceable disposi- 
 tion, but, giving way to the frenzy which in those days 
 seemed to fill the very air, had lost all self-control. He was 
 unable to endure the sufferings of exile. A deep longing 
 for home preyed upon his spirits. To drown his grief, he 
 indulged in wine, and the result of his copious draughts was 
 
!4 WALDFRIED. 
 
 that he became bold and noisy. This seemed to be hig 
 daily experience. In his sober moments he sat brooding in 
 silence, and was often seen to weep. Wilhelmi had of course 
 painted his picture in mild colors. 
 
 I must add that the refugee at last died in a mad-house in 
 America. It is sad to think of the many noble beings who 
 were ruined and sacrificed during those terrible days. 
 
 There was something inspiring in the words and thoughts 
 of Doctor Wilhelmi. When I heard his voice I felt as if in 
 a temple. And at this very moment memory revives the 
 impression then made upon me. 
 
 Meanness and detraction were without any effect upon- him ; 
 for he could look over and beyond them. He had deter- 
 mined to emigrate to America with his wife, who was his 
 equal in courage and confidence. Bertha, who found but 
 little to her fancy in the rude and dreary life that here en- 
 vironed us, and who was especially indignant that the soldiers 
 who had simply done their duty were referred to so con- 
 temptuously, spent most of her time in Madame Wilhelmi's 
 room. She was constantly urging our speedy return. And 
 Wilhelmi could endure neither the mockery of one class 
 of Frenchmen nor the pity of the others. Ludvvig deter- 
 mined to join his friend. Wilhelmi had a serious task with 
 his comrades, for nearly all of them were firmly convinced 
 that the troubles in Germany would be renewed with the 
 morrow, and that it was their duty to remain on the borders 
 so that they might be at hand when needed. Wilhelmi, on 
 the other hand, warned them against such self-deception, 
 which, if persisted in, would only lead to the destruction of 
 the mere handful that was left of them. He often declared 
 to me that he at last acknowledged that our German nation 
 is not fitted for revolution. It has too many genial traits, 
 and is devoid of the passion of hate. He felt assured that. 
 
WALDFRIED. ! 5 
 
 when the crisis arrived, the German monarchs would of 
 themselves see that, both for their own sakes and that of 
 their people, it would be necessary to introduce an entire 
 change in our political system. But when and how this was 
 to be done (whether in our lifetime or afterwards), who 
 could foretell? 
 
 *' We should not forget," said Wilhelmi, " the significance 
 of the fact that the German people, so long bound down by a 
 system of police espionage, has at last become aroused ; nor 
 will its oppressors forget it. Now they are furious against 
 the evil-doers; but a second generation will not find so 
 much to blame in their deeds, and, as you well know, my 
 dear friend, for you are a forester, there is an old proverb 
 which tells us that ' vermin cannot destroy a healthy tree.' 
 The May beetles would rather prey on the oak than on any 
 other tree, but although they destroy every leaf, and cause 
 the tree to look like a dry broom, it renews its leaves with 
 the following year." 
 
 In olden times when men swore eternal friendship, a man 
 would sometimes say, "This is my friend, and without know- 
 ing what he intends to say, I will swear that it is the truth, 
 for he cannot tell a lie." In my own heart I had just such 
 faith in Wilhelmi. 
 
 1 found it as sad to part from him as from Ludwig, and 
 this circumstance overshadowed the grief I felt when saying 
 " farewell " to my son. 
 
 " What does fate intend by driving such men away from 
 home, and far beyond the seas ? " These were the parting 
 words of my friend Wilhelmi. They moved me deeply ; but 
 I could not answer his question. 
 
 I felt as if beholding a hail-storm beating down a field 
 of ripened grain. How many a full ear must have fallen to 
 the ground ? 
 
X 6 WALD FRIED. 
 
 I also met a young schoolmaster by the name of Funk. 
 Although there had been no real reason for his leaving home, 
 he had fled with the rest. I easily persuaded him to return 
 with me. 
 
 He was full of gratitude and submissiveness. In spite of 
 this, however, my daughter even then, with true foresight, 
 concluded that he was deceitful. I was for a long while un- 
 willing to believe this, but was at last forced to do so< 
 
 Funk had done nothing more than attend to some of the 
 writing in the ducal palace which the revolutionists had 
 taken possession of. But it was with great self-complacency 
 that he spoke of his having dwelt in the very palace which, 
 during his student years, he had never passed without a feel- 
 ing of awe. 
 
 I often thought of my son, but quite as frequently of that 
 good old fellow, Rothfuss. Ludwig is free, but how does 
 Rothfuss endure his captivity? And as it was just harvest 
 time, it was doubly inconvenient to be without him. 
 
 We were bringing home our early barley. I had walked 
 on ahead and the loaded wagon was to follow. I opened the 
 barn door, the wagon approached, and on it was seated Roth- 
 fuss, who call out at the top of his voice, " Here I am on a 
 wagon full of beer. So far it is only in the shape of barley. 
 Hurrah for freedom ! " 
 
 As Rothfuss had been imprisoned by mistake, he was soon 
 set at liberty, and it was both affecting and diverting to lis- 
 ten to his accounts of his experience as a prisoner. 
 
 He told us how good it is to be in jail and yet innocent. 
 While he was there, he was reminded of all the sins he had 
 ever committed, and he at last began to believe that he 
 deserved to be locked up. 
 
 "By rights," said he, "every one ought to spend a couple 
 of years in jail, just because of what he has done. When 
 
WALDFRIED. if 
 
 we meet a man who has just got out of prison we ought to say 
 to ourselves : ' Be kind to him for it is mere luck that you 
 have not been there yourself.' " Thus spoke Rothfuss. He 
 had thought he would find it pleasant to be sitting in his cell 
 while the other folks were hard at work with the harvest, but it 
 had proved terribly monotonous. The meals were not to his 
 taste, nor could he enjoy his sleep. He could not endure 
 such idleness, and after the second day, he begged the inspec- 
 tor to set him at chopping wood ; a request which was not 
 granted. 
 
 And was not Rothfuss the happiest fellow in the world, 
 when he heard the news of Lud wig's return ? 
 
 He complained that it was rather hard to know of a thing 
 so long beforehand. Impatience at the delay would make 
 one angry at every day that intervened. 
 
 When I consoled him with the idea that the chief part of 
 enjoyment lies in anticipation, his face lighted up with smiles, 
 and he said, " He is right." When he praises me, he always 
 turns away from me as if talking to some one in the distance, 
 and as if determined to tell the whole world how wise I am. 
 " He is perfectly right. It is just so. It is a pleasant thirst 
 when you know that there are just so many steps to the 
 next inn, and that the cooling drink which is to wash your 
 insides and make you jolly, lies in the cellar there, waiting 
 for you." 
 
 Rothfuss had already started for the village, when he came 
 running up the steps and called out : " I have found another 
 nest; the locksmith's Lisbeth and our three Americans will 
 be happiest of all when they hear the news. It is well to 
 drink, but if one can first pour out a joyous cup for another, 
 it is still better. I shall be back soon," he called out as he 
 hurried up the road. 
 
 The widow of Blum the locksmith lived in the back street. 
 2 
 
1 8 WALD FRIED. 
 
 Her husband had settled in the village, intending to follow 
 his trade, and also to till a small piece of land. Partly by his 
 own fault, and partly through misfortune, he had not suc- 
 ceeded. 
 
 He then desired to emigrate to America. His wife, how- 
 ever, had been unwilling to do so until she could feel assured 
 of their being able to get along in the new world. 
 
 At home she had her own little house and her three chil- 
 dren. For some time the locksmith worked at the factory in 
 the neighboring town, returning to his home only on Sundays. 
 His idea of emigrating had, however, not been given up, and 
 at last he departed for America with the hope of mending 
 his fortunes, and then sending for his wife and children. 
 
 When he arrived there, the war between the North and 
 the South was at its height. He heard my son's name men- 
 tioned as that of one of the leaders, and at once enlisted 
 under him. Ludwig was delighted to have one at Iris side 
 who was both a countryman of his and a good artilleryman. 
 . It was not until after the locksmith had enlisted that he 
 spoke of his having left a family at home. At the battle of 
 Bull Run he lost his life, and his wife and children, who 
 are still living down in the village, are in regular receipt of 
 the pension which Ludwig secured for them. 
 
 When the widow heard the news, she came to.me at once, 
 and told me with tears in her eyes, that she could hardly 
 await Ludwig's return. She speedily acquainted the whole 
 village with the event that was to prove a festival to my 
 household, and when I went out of doors every one whom 
 I met wished me joy ; especially happy was one of the vil- 
 lagers who had been among Ludwig's volunteers in 1848, 
 and was quite proud of his having been able to lie liinv 
 self out of that scrape. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 BEFORE I proceed further, I must tell you of Martella. 
 It were of course better if I could let her speak for 
 herself; for her voice, though firm, has an indescribably mel- 
 low and touching tone, and seems to hold the listener as if 
 spell-bound. She had thick, unmanageable brown hair, and 
 brown eyes in which there was hardly any white to be seen. 
 She was not slender, but rather short, although there were 
 moments when she would suddenly seem as if quite tall. 
 Her manner was not gentle, but rather domineering, as if she 
 would say, " Get out of the way there ! I am coming ! " In 
 disposition she was wayward and passionate, vain and con- 
 ceited. It was only in our house that she became pliant 
 and yielding, and acquired mild and modest ways. I do not 
 mean modest in the current acceptation of the word ; she had 
 genuine respect for those who were higher and better than 
 she. My wife effected a miraculous change in her without 
 ever attempting to instruct, but simply by commanding her. 
 She was the betrothed of my son Ernst, who, as I have 
 already mentioned, was with us at Frankfort in the year 1848. 
 
 It is difficult, and to us of an older generation perhaps 
 impossible, to discover what impression the events of 1848 
 must have made on a child's mind. 
 
 For my part, I have learned through this son, that failure 
 on the part of the parents induces in their offspring a feeling 
 which can best be described as pity mingled with a want of 
 respect. Like William Tell, we had long carried the arrow 
 of revolution in our bosoms, but when we sent it forth it 
 missed the mark. 
 
2O WALDFRIED. 
 
 In the autumn of 1848 my wife came to visit me at Frank- 
 fort and brought Ernst with her. 
 
 Old Arndt was particularly fond of the lad, and often took 
 him on his knee and called him his "little pine-tree." When 
 the Regent, on the day after his triumphal entry, appeared in 
 public, he met Ernst and kissed him. 
 
 During the summer Ernst attended a preparatory school 
 in the neighboring town. But he seemed to have no real 
 love for study, while the teachers were over-indulgent with 
 the handsome lad, who was always ready with his bold glances 
 and saucy remarks. 
 
 When I asked him what he intended to become, he would 
 always answer me, " Chief forester of the state." 
 
 To my great horror, I learned that he often repeated the 
 party cries with which members of the different factions 
 taunted each other. I sent him home after September, for 
 I saw that his intercourse with those who were high in station 
 was making him haughty and disrespectful. 
 
 I am unable to judge as to the proper period at which a 
 youthful mind should be induced to interest itself in political 
 questions. I am sure, however, that if such participation in 
 the affairs of the country be chiefly in the way of opposition, 
 it must prove injurious, for its immediate effect is to destroy 
 every feeling of veneration. 
 
 Years passed on, Ernst was educated at the house of my 
 wife's nephew, who was a professor at the Gymnasium at 
 the capital. He also spent much^of his time with his sister 
 Bertha, who had married Captain Von Carsten. 
 
 I must here remark that my son-in-law, in spite of the ob- 
 stinate opposition of his haughty family, and the strongly 
 marked disapproval of all of his superiors, up to the Prince 
 himself, had married the daughter of a member of the opposi- 
 tion, and had become the brother-in-law of a refugee who was 
 
WALDFRIED. 2 1 
 
 under sentence of death. He is a man of sterling charac- 
 ter. 
 
 When it was time for Ernst to leave for the university, or, 
 as he had always desired, to attend the forester's school, he 
 declared quite positively that it was his wish to enter the 
 army. He remained there but one year. " The army of 
 the lesser states," he said, " is either mere child's play, or 
 else all the horrors of civil war lurk behind it." He visited 
 the university only to remain there two terms, after which 
 he entered himself with Hartriegel, the district forester. 
 
 Ernst's unsteadiness gave us much concern, and I was 
 especially shocked by the sarcastic, mocking manner, in 
 which he spoke of those objects which we of the older gener- 
 ation held in reverence. 
 
 He was disputatious, and maintained that it was one's 
 duty to doubt everything. Indeed he did not even spare his 
 parents in that regard, and was bold enough to tell me and 
 my wife which of our qualities he most admired. 
 
 He once uttered these wicked words : "The present gen- 
 eration does not look upon the fifth commandment as really 
 a command : but I have a reason for honoring my parents ; 
 and I am especially grateful to you, father, for the good 
 constitution I have inherited from you." 
 
 My hand itched when I heard Ernst's words ; but a 
 glance from my wife pacified me, and I shall forever be 
 grateful to her that I succeeded in controlling myself. Had 
 I given way to my just anger, I would have had myself to 
 blame for Ernst's desperate course and his lost life. That 
 would have been adding guilt to misfortune, and would have 
 been insupportable. 
 
 I had yet much to learn. As a father I was sadly defi- 
 cient in many respects. But, with every desire to improve 
 herself, my wife was already a perfect being, and could there- 
 
22 WALDFRIED. 
 
 fore be more to the children than I was. I was disposed to 
 neglect my family on account of what was due my office. 
 She was vigilant and severe, and supplied what was lacking 
 on my part. But although she was sterner than I was, the 
 children were more attached to her than to me. 
 
 Although Ernst's views of life gave me deep concern, he 
 was often kind and affectionate ; for his good-nature was, at 
 times, stronger than his so-called principles. 
 
 I sought consolation in the thought that children will 
 always see the world in a different light from that in which it 
 appears to their parents. Even that which is ideal is sub- 
 ject to constant change, and we should therefore be careful 
 not to imagine that the form which is pleasing to us, and to 
 which we have accustomed ourselves, will endure forever. 
 And, moreover, was it not our wish to educate our children 
 as free moral agents, and was it not our duty to accord full 
 liberty even to those who differed with us ? 
 
 I have often seen it verified that a perfect development 
 cannot take place with those who, either through birth or 
 adverse circumstances, are deficient in any important moral 
 faculty. With all of Ernst's love of freedom, he was en- 
 tirely wanting in respect or regard for the feelings of others. 
 Piety, in its widest sense, he was utterly devoid of. From 
 his stand-point, his actions were perfectly just ; as to their 
 effects upon others, he was indifferent. 
 
 On the Wiesenplatz in Frankfort, during the autumn of 
 1848, I had gone through a heart-rending experience. And 
 now, after many years, I returned to the same spot only to 
 be reminded of my former grief by painful arid conflicting 
 emotions. I had gone to Frankfort to attend the Schiitzen- 
 fest. The city was alive with joy ; a spirit of unity had for 
 the first time become manifest. I was standing close by the 
 temple for the distribution of the prizes. Although sur- 
 
WALDFRIED. 03 
 
 rounded by a gay and laughing crowd, I was quite absorbed 
 in my own reflections, when suddenly a voice thus addressed 
 me : 
 
 " Ah, father ! Are you here, too ? " I looked around to 
 see who it was, and beheld my son Ernst. He carried his 
 rifle on his shoulder, and the rewards for his well-aimed 
 shots were fastened under the green ribbon of his hat. Be- 
 fore I could get a chance to congratulate him, he had said to 
 me, " Father, you should not have come ; I am sorry that I 
 meet you here." 
 
 " Why so ? " 
 
 " Why ! Because this is for us young lads. We are here 
 for the purpose of gaining prize-goblets by our lucky shots ; 
 and the great speeches that are being held in yonder hall 
 are nothing more than a mere flash in the pan. They are 
 trying to persuade each other that they are all heroes 
 and willing to bear arms for their Fatherland, and their talk 
 is, after all, a mefe sham. The good marksmen have not 
 come here for the sake of their Fatherland and such stuff : 
 all they desire is simply to gain the prize that, and nothing 
 more." 
 
 " Do you not know that I, too, made a speech in there 
 yesterday ? " 
 
 " No. I was informed that some one named Waldfried 
 had been speaking ; but I could not imagine it was you. 
 One should have nothing to do with such inflammable 
 thoughts when fire-arms are at hand. If we were to govern 
 ourselves by your speeches, our brotherly-feeling would very 
 soon be at an end, and there would be naught but violence 
 and murder among us riflemen." 
 
 I tried to explain to him that our hope lay in our able- 
 bodied youth, and that we would not rest content until we 
 had a real, united Fatherland. To which he answered: 
 
24 WALDFRIED. 
 
 "Ah, yes. The students, those of brother Richard's sort, 
 live on yesterday : the politicians live on to-morrow : we 
 live in the present." 
 
 His features trembled, and it was with an effort that he 
 added, "Forgive me, father; perhaps I, too, will have as 
 much confidence in mankind as you have, when I am as 
 old as you are." 
 
 What could I answer to this ? While all about me was 
 loud with joy, my soul was filled with sorrow. My youngest 
 son denied the gods to whom I offered up my prayers. 
 
 And yet, when I saw him among a group of riflemen, my 
 fatherly pride was aroused. His proud, lithe form towered 
 above the rest. New-comers saluted him, and the eyes of 
 all seemed to rest upon Ernst with serene satisfaction. 
 
CHAPTER V. . 
 
 ONE day Ernst visited us and went about for a long while 
 in silence, now going out to Rothfuss in the stable, 
 and then again joining us in the room ; but here again he ut- 
 tered no word. Although I could see that he was agitated, 
 I did not ask him the reason. I had been obliged to accus- 
 tom myself to allow him to speak when it suited him, and to 
 avoid any advances on my part until it pleased him to seek 
 them. 
 
 We were just about to rise from the dinner-table when he 
 said to us in a hurried manner, " Before you hear it from 
 others, I must announce it to you myself: I am engaged 
 to be married." 
 
 We looked at each other in silence. Not a sound was 
 heard, save the ticking of the two Black Forest clocks in 
 our room. At last my wife asked : " And with whom ? " 
 
 I could tell by the tone of her voice how many heavy 
 thoughts had preceded these words. 
 
 " With a healthy girl. I I know all about selection in 
 breeding," answered Ernst, while he lit his cigar. 
 
 I reprimanded him severely for his tone. Without chang- 
 ing a feature, he allowed me to finish my remarks. After 
 that he arose, threw his rifle over his shoulder, put on his 
 green hat, and left the house. I wanted to call him back, 
 but my wife prevented me. I reproached myself for the 
 violent manner in which I had spoken to him. Now he will 
 rush into misfortune who knows what he may do next? 
 With- mild words, I might have been able to direct him on 
 
2(5 WALDFRIED. 
 
 the right path; but now he may, perhaps, not return, and 
 will even persuade himself to hate me. 
 
 My wife consoled me with the words : " He will return 
 oefore nightfall." 
 
 And it was so. In the evening he returned, and address- 
 ing me with a voice full of emotion, said : " Father, forgive 
 me ! " 
 
 Rothfuss was in the room at the time, and I beckoned 
 to him to leave ; but Ernst requested that he should remain, 
 and continued : 
 
 " I have done wrong. I am heartily sorry for it. I have 
 also done wrong to Martella. I should not have acted as I 
 have done, but ought to have brought her to you first of all. 
 She deserves quite different treatment better indeed than I 
 do. I beg of you, give back the words that I uttered ! For- 
 give me ! and, above all things, do not make Martella suffer 
 for what I have said." 
 
 He uttered these words with a trembling voice. Roth- 
 fuss had left the room. I held out my hand to Ernst, and 
 he continued firmly : 
 
 " You have so often told me, and as I am always forget- 
 ting it, you will have to tell it to me many a time again, that 
 there is something in me which causes me at times to 
 express myself quite differently from the way in which I ini 
 tended to. I also know, dear father, that such a word lin- 
 gers in your memory like a smouldering spark, especially 
 when the word is uttered by your own child ; and that in 
 your grief you picture to yourself the utter ruin of a charac- 
 ter that can indulge in such expressions. I understand you, 
 do I not ? Trust in me : I am not so bad, after all. 
 
 " I do not believe in the possessed ; and yet there must 
 be something of that kind. Enough on that point, however. 
 Though I seemed cheerful, I had a heavy heart ; but now 
 
WALDFRIED. 27 
 
 I am one of the happiest beings alive; and if I weie 
 obliged to be a wood-cutter for the rest of my days, I could 
 still content myself. O mother, I would not have believed 
 that I could have found such a creature in a world in which 
 all others are mere pretence and rouge, lies and deceit. 
 
 " She is in perfect health, and as pure and as fresh as a dew- 
 drop. Although she has learned nothing, she knows every- 
 thing. She cannot couch it in words, but her eyes speak it. 
 Her heart is so thoroughly good, so strong, so pure, 
 indeed, I cannot find the right word for it. She has no 
 parents, no brothers or sisters. She is a child of the woods, 
 and as pure and as holy as the primeval forest itself. 
 
 " O, forgive me all ! I cannot describe my emotions. 
 Now I understand and believe everything. They tell us that 
 in the olden time, a Prince once lost his way while hunting 
 in the forest, and that he found a maiden whom he placed upon 
 his horse and led to his castle and then made her his queen. 
 Those stories are all true. I cannot make a queen of Mar- 
 tella, but through her I am ennobled ; and it grieves me that 
 it will not do to have our wedding at once. But I will wait. 
 I can wait. Or, if you like it better, we will wander forth to 
 America, and, far from the world, shall live there as our first 
 parents did in Paradise. Believe me, there is indeed a par- 
 adise. 
 
 " O mother ! You are certainly all that a human being 
 can be, but still you have one fault ; yes, yes ; you have 
 wept and the first commandment should be, ' Man, thou 
 shalt not weep.' And, just think of it, mother, Martella has 
 never yet wept ! She is as healthy as a doe, and I swear it 
 to you, she shall never know what it is to weep. O mother! 
 O father ! in the depths of the forest I have found this pure, 
 innocent child, so wise and clever, so strong and brave. 
 This flower has blossomed in the hidden depths of the 
 
2 8 WALDFRIED. 
 
 forest ; no human eye had ever seen her before. I am not 
 worthy of her, but I will try to become so." 
 
 His voice became thick. He beat his breast with both 
 hands, and drew a long deep breath. I have never yet seen 
 a being so refulgent with happiness. Thus, in the olden 
 time, must they have looked who thought they were behold- 
 ing a miracle ; and even now, when I write of these things, 
 feeble as my words seem, I tremble with emotion. 
 
 And could this be my child, my son, my madcap, who 
 now felt so humble and contrite. I had lost all memory of 
 his former rudeness and sarcasm. It was some time before 
 we could answer his words. * 
 
 The sun was going down in the west, its last broad rays 
 fell into the room, shedding a glow of light over all, and as 
 we sat we heard the evening chimes. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 " T BELIEVE in your love," said my wife at last. 
 
 L "O mother ! " cried Ernst, throwing himself at her 
 feet ; and then kissing her hands, he wept and sobbed while 
 he rested his head on her knee. 
 
 I lifted him up and said, "We are independent enough not 
 to ask where our daughter-in-law comes from, so that she be 
 but good and will make our child happy." 
 
 Ernst grasped both of my hands and said, " I knew it. I 
 do not deserve your love, but now I shall try to be worthy 
 of it." 
 
 "But where have you been since dinner-time?" said my 
 wife, trying to change the conversation. 
 
 Ernst replied that he had left the road and had wandered 
 far into the forest, where he had lain down and fallen asleep ; 
 and that within him two sorts of spirits had been battling. 
 The spiteful spirit had urged him not to take back the rude 
 words, and desired him, without heeding father or mother, to 
 wander forth into the wide world with his Martella ; she would 
 follow him wherever he led. 
 
 The humble spirit had, however, warned him to return and 
 undo the harm he had done. The conflict had been a long 
 one. At last he rose to his feet and ran home as if sent by a 
 messenger of happiness. 
 
 My wife listened attentively, and regarded him with that 
 glance of hers which seemed to penetrate the deepest re- 
 cesses of the soul. No other being can listen so attentively 
 as she could, and no glance is as soothing as hers was. She 
 
go WALDFRIED. 
 
 would not attempt to assist you when at a loss for words, or 
 by her manner imply that she knew what you meant. She 
 patiently permitted you to explain yourself, to stop or to 
 continue ; and when she was listening, you could not but 
 feel wiser than you really were. Her glance illumined your 
 very soul. 
 
 When Ernst had finished she said to him : " You are on 
 the right path at last. I know that you think you have al- 
 ready reached the goal, and that all is done. But, believe me, 
 and do not forget what I now tell you, the spiteful spirit 
 will return again ; now he only feigns death. But rest content, 
 for from this day you will be his master. I see this as clearly 
 as I see your very eyes. The best possession in the world 
 is now yours pure, righteous love. Yes, you may well 
 laugh, for now it is your goodness that laughs." 
 
 Rothfuss came to tell me that the Alsatian cattle-dealer 
 who wanted to purchase our fat oxen, wished to see me. I 
 was about to send word to him to wait or to come some other 
 time, but I understood my wife's glance, which told me that 
 I had better leave her alone with Ernst. 
 
 I left the room, and, while going, I heard her say, " Ernst, 
 you must now eat and drink something ; such emotions as you 
 have felt awaken hunger and thirst." 
 
 When I returned, Ernst sat at the table eating his supper. 
 He called out to me, " Father, mother has arranged every- 
 thing nicely, and if you are satisfied, why " 
 
 " Eat now, and let me speak," said my wife. And then 
 she continued : 
 
 " From all that Ernst has told me and we depend upon 
 his truthfulness I am convinced that Martella is a real treas- 
 ure-trove. No one but such a girl could banish this spirit of 
 unrest. We are, thank God, so circumstanced that besides a 
 good family name we can also bestow worldly goods upon our 
 
WALD FRIED. m 3! 
 
 children. Ernst and his bride* are both young and can work 
 for themselves. He loves in her the child of nature ; but 
 he understands that there is much of good which she can 
 and must yet take up into this pure nature of hers. He 
 used to say that he could never be happy except with a 
 woman who sang beautifully, but now he no longer finds 
 singing a necessity. But he cannot do without spiritual 
 sympathy and harmony in his higher life. She need not 
 learn French ; I have forgotten what I once knew of it. 
 But Ernst is accustomed to a refined home ; and when he 
 goes home to his wife in his forest house, he should be able 
 to find refreshment and rest in noble and elevating thoughts. 
 
 " If a forester is denied the proper delights of home and 
 married life, there is nothing left him but the pleasures of 
 the tavern ; and they will certainly ruin him. 
 
 " Martella must not be confused or taught in school-girl 
 fashion. That which is noble and refined in life cannot be 
 imparted by precept or command. It must become a ne- 
 cessity to her, just as it has become to our own son, and 
 not until then can they both be happy. 
 
 " Neither will the world be satisfied with mere nature and 
 forest manners. Does it not seem the very thing that she 
 of her own accord has said to Ernst, ' Let me spend a year 
 as a servant to your sister, the captain's wife, or what would 
 be still better, with your mother, and then come for me ? 
 If you do not object, I think we had better do this. Early 
 to-morrow morning I shall drive over into the valley with 
 Ernst, and in the evening I shall return with Martella, who 
 will remain with us until all is arranged and she has become 
 used to our ways and customs, so that Ernst may live hap- 
 
 * Throughout, the translator will, according to the German custom, 
 use the word " bride " to designate a woman who is only betrothed. 
 
32 . WALD FRIED. 
 
 pily with her, not only in his youth, but until his eighty-third 
 year for my father lived to that age." 
 
 I do not know which to admire most in my wife her 
 shrewdness or her kindness. She always had the right word 
 at the right time. 
 
 I, of course, approved of her plan, and on the morrow 
 she started off with Ernst in the wagon. Rothfuss drove 
 the two bays. 
 
 Towards evening, I walked down the road to meet them 
 on their return. 
 
 The sun was going down behind the Vosges Mountains. 
 The rosy sunset shed its glow over the rocks and the waters 
 of the brook. 
 
 The Englishman stood at the bank angling. He never 
 saluted those whom he met, but lived entirely for himself. 
 Every year, as soon as the snows began to melt, he came 
 to our valley, and remained until the winter returned. He 
 dwelt with Lerz the baker, and was always fishing up and 
 down the valley. He gathered up his complicated fishing- 
 tackle and departed, followed by a day laborer carrying a 
 fish basket. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 I WAITED down by the village saw -mill, where they 
 already knew that Ernst's bride was coming to live with 
 us. With all his gentleness and candor, Ernst had announced 
 this in order that we should be bound by it. I met Rauten- 
 kron the forester, who was known in the whole neighborhood 
 as "The wild huntsman." 
 
 He was the best of shots, and could endure no living ob- 
 ject. The people thought he merely avoided men, but I knew 
 that he hated them. He always considered it a piece of good 
 fortune when he heard bad news of any one. He lived in 
 solitude, for whenever he had been seduced into helping some 
 one he had always repented of it afterward. A ball had 
 once passed through his hat, and, during the examination, 
 the magistrate had said to the officer, " If he should ever be 
 killed by a shot, you had better examine the whole village, 
 for we shall all have had a share in it." He lived strictly 
 within the law, however. He did not want to be beloved : 
 it was his boast that every one could say, " He is severe, 
 but just." He had no consideration either for rich or poor. 
 
 He was in the vigor of life, with a gray beard, aquiline 
 nose, and wondrously clear liquid blue eyes, of a piercing 
 brilliancy. 
 
 He came up to me with a friendly air, that was quite un- 
 usual on his part, and told me that Ernst had been with him 
 that day. 
 
 Ernst had said nothing to me of this. Rautenkron de- 
 clared that he did not concern himself about other people, 
 but that he was really sorry that Ernst was about to throw 
 3 
 
34 WALDFRIED. 
 
 himself away. Here was another young man who was fit for 
 heroic deeds, but was ruined in this good-for-nothing age, 
 and was about to sacrifice his life to a coquettish forest girl. 
 It was unpardonable that we should countenance him in this, 
 and consent to take a creature from out of the thicket into a 
 house which had always borne so honorable a name. 
 
 " Mark my words ! She will be just like a young fox that 
 is caught before he has finished his growth, he will never 
 be perfectly tamed, but will run away to his home when you 
 least expect it, and be right in doing so." 
 
 It is always galling to hear pure affection thus abused and 
 misconstrued. 
 
 I endeavored to change the subject, but Rautenkron af- 
 fected not to hear me, and indulged in the most violent lan- 
 guage against the stranger. Indeed, he prophesied that our 
 thoughtless conduct would drag us into misfortune, and called 
 the miller to bear witness to what he thus told me. 
 
 I abruptly refused to continue the subject, and now Rau- 
 tenkron called out to me, his eyes beaming with joy, " Enough. 
 Let us speak of something else. I have to-day done 
 one of the prettiest deeds of my life. Shall I tell you what ? 
 All right ! You know Wollkopf the wood dealer. He has 
 such a mild, insinuating way about him, but always eyed me 
 as the usurer does a suspicious-looking pledge. He did not 
 trust me. 'But,' thought I to myself, 'just wait! I will 
 bide my time ; he will come yet.' And he has come at last, 
 within shooting distance too. At the last sale of wood in my 
 district, he had bought a large lot of logs, and then came up to 
 me and said that he wanted to speak plain German with me. 
 Now listen to what the honored town-councillor you know 
 that is his position the acknowledged man of honor, calls 
 plain speaking ! He offered me a bribe if I would keep such 
 and such logs out of his lot. Of course I agreed. Smoking 
 
WALDFRIED. 35 
 
 our cigars, we went on \valkingthrough the woods. I quickly 
 cut down an oak sapling, pulled the branches from it, and with 
 the green wood beat the lean man of honor to my heart's 
 content He cried out with all his might, but no one heard 
 him save the cuckoo, and I enjoyed beating him until he was 
 black and blue ; just as the cuckoo enjoys swallowing the 
 caterpillar which poisons the fingers of your soft-skinned 
 gentry. I tell you there is no greater pleasure than admin- 
 istering personal chastisement to a sharper. Men say that 
 the kiss of the beloved one is good ; perhaps it is, but this is 
 better. 
 
 "And when I was satisfied, and he too, I suppose, had 
 enough, I let him run, and said to him, 'Now, my sweet 
 gentleman, you may sue me if you choose; but, if you do, it 
 will be my turn to tell my story.' " 
 
 AVhile Rautenkron told his story, his features acquired an 
 uncanny expression of glee. I must admit that I did not be- 
 grudge the sharper the beating he had received ; and besides 
 that, the recital had engaged my attention, and thus had re- 
 lieved me from the sad thoughts which had before that filled 
 my mind. 
 
 It was already dusk when the wagon arrived. It halted. 
 My wife said to the girl who was sitting at her side, " This 
 is father. Speak to him." 
 
 " I hope you are well, father ! " exclaimed the girl. 
 
 I heard Rautenkron beside me muttering angrily. His 
 words, however, were unintelligible. Without saying more 
 he hurried off into the forest. 
 
 " What ails the misanthrope now ? " said my wife. " But 
 why need that trouble us ? My child, you had better get 
 out here and follow with father." 
 
 I helped the child to alight. She seemed loth to obey. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 I WAS obliged to halt. I felt as if trying to drag a 
 heavily laden wagon up the hill. 
 
 But let me proceed. I have many a steep path yet to 
 climb. 
 
 I stood with the girl on the highway. I extended my 
 hand and uttered a few words of welcome, but they did not 
 come from the heart. Our wayward son had imposed a 
 great burden on us. The young maiden appeared to pay 
 no attention to what I was saying, but -looked about in every 
 direction. As it was dusk, I could not see her distinctly. 
 I could perceive, however, that she was a powerful creature. 
 She did not regulate her step by mine, but I was forced to 
 keep step with her unless I wished to be left behind. 
 
 " What dog is this running after us ? " said I. 
 
 " It is my dog. Isn't it so, Pincher ? Aren't you my 
 dog?" 
 
 The dog answered with a bark, and kept running back and 
 forth, now up the road and now down. When she whistled 
 to him, in huntsman's style, he obeyed. 
 
 "Master," asked she, without resting a moment while 
 speaking, "and does all as far as the eye can reach belong 
 to you ? " 
 
 " Why do you inquire ? " 
 
 " Why ? because I want to know. It must be jolly here 
 in the daytime." 
 
 " Indeed it is." 
 
 " Is that the graveyard where I see the crosses and the 
 white stones ? " 
 
WALDFRIED. 37 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Can it be seen from your house ? " 
 
 " It can." 
 
 " Too bad ! that will never do. I can't beaf to look out of 
 the window. I can't stay there, I won't stay ; you must 
 take away that graveyard ; how can one laugh or sing with 
 that constantly before one's eyes ? Or how could I eat or 
 drink ? I once found a dead man in the forest. He had 
 been lying there ever so long, and was quite eaten away. I 
 can't bear to have Death always staring me in the face. I 
 won't stay here." 
 
 I was obliged to stop. I felt so oppressed that I could 
 not move from the spot. 
 
 The oxen that I had sold the day before were just being 
 led down the hill. When Martella saw them she cried out, 
 " Oh what splendid beasts ! are they yours ? " 
 
 " They are no longer mine. I sold them yesterday, and 
 they are to be led to France." 
 
 " A pleasant meal to you, France ! " said Martella, 
 laughing boisterously. I could not help noticing her hearty 
 laughter, for I felt quite shocked by it. What can this 
 child be, thought I ? What will become of our tranquil 
 household ? 
 
 We arrived at the house. The room seemed lighted up 
 more brilliantly than usual. We ascended the steps, Mar- 
 tella preceding me. My wife was waiting for us on the 
 threshold, and taking both of Martella' s hands in hers, said, 
 " Now, child, thou art at last at home." 
 
 " I am at home everywhere. And so is my dog. Isn't 
 it so, Pincher?" said Martella in a bold tone. 
 
 We entered the room. There were three lights on the 
 table. My wife's eloquent glance told me to ha're patience, 
 and when I saw her lay her hand on her heart I felt that she 
 
38 WALDFRIED. 
 
 was confident that she could direct everything for the 
 best. 
 
 I now, for the first time, had a good look at Martella. 
 In carriage and feature she seemed as wild and defiant as a 
 gypsy. Her face was full of an expression of boldness. But 
 she was indeed beautiful and fascinating when she spoke, 
 and even more so when she laughed. 
 
 " Why do you have three lamps on the table ? " said she. 
 
 "That is the custom," answered my wife, "when a bride 
 comes to the house." 
 
 "How lovely!" exclaimed Martella. "The one light 
 stands for us who are as one. The other two lights repre- 
 sent the parents." And she laughed most heartily. Her 
 next question was, " Why do you have two clocks in your 
 room ? " 
 
 " You ask a great many questions," I could not avoid 
 answering. But my wife said, " That is right. Always ask 
 questions, and you will soon learn all that you need know." 
 
 Martella may have imagined that she had been too pre- 
 cipitate, for she soon said : 
 
 " To-morrow is yet another day. I am so tired. I would 
 like to go to sleep now. But I must have my dog with me, 
 or else I cannot rest." 
 
 Indeed, her gentle good-night and her curtsey seemed 
 strangely at variance with her usually bold and defiant 
 manner. 
 
 When she had left us, my wife said to me, " Do not take 
 this affair to heart. It is indeed no trifle. But remember 
 that Ernst might have made a much more serious mistake. 
 He loves the wild creature, and our duty is to help him as 
 best we can. Let Rothfuss and me take charge of the girl. 
 For the present, you had better treat her with an air of re- 
 serve. We two will attend to all. You may be glad that we 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 39 
 
 have so faithful a servant as Rothfuss. They are friends al- 
 ready, and he says, ' By the time the potatoes are brought 
 home, she will lay aside her red stockings.' I was wishing 
 for that on our way here. But she refused so positively, 
 that I desisted from my endeavors to persuade her." 
 
 After a little while, she continued : 
 
 " A voice in the forest helped me to bring all things about 
 as they should be. I heard the cuckoo's cry, and was re- 
 minded by that, that he would leave his young in a strange 
 nest, and that other birds would patiently and affectionately 
 nurture the strange birdling. We are something like these 
 cuckoo parents. What they do without thought, we do con- 
 sciously." 
 
 When at early dawn on the following day, I looked out 
 of my window, I saw Martella and her dog at the fountain 
 in front of the house. Seen by day, and in her light attire, 
 she seemed wondrously beautiful and fascinating. 
 
 She washed her face and plaited her thick brown hair. 
 Her every movement seemed free and noble, and almost 
 graceful enough to please an artist's eye. 
 
 She sang in a low voice, and would from time to time 
 exclaim, " Cuckoo ! " 
 
 Rothfuss, who saw that she was washing herself, called 
 out to her that she must not do that again. " The cows 
 drink there, and if you wash yourself in that basin, they will 
 never go there again." 
 
 " I have already noticed," she replied, " that the cattle 
 have the first place in this house." 
 
 When she saw me, she called out in a clear, ringing voice : 
 
 " Good-morning, master. Ernst was certainly right when 
 he told me that it is lovely here. One can see so far in 
 every direction. I shall yet climb every one of those hills. 
 How good the water is ! Do you, too, hear the cuckoo ? 
 
40 WALDFRIED. 
 
 He is already awake, and has bid me good-morning. Old 
 Jaegerlies* has often told me that I was the cuckoo's child. 
 And do you know that the cow got a calf during the night ? 
 A spotted cow-calf? We have already given the cow some- 
 thing warm to drink. The calf drank milk when it was 
 hardly two minutes old. Rothfuss said it would be a pity 
 to kill the calf. I am going to drive out into the fields with 
 Rothfuss to get some clover. Yes, a cow has a good time of 
 it in your house. But look ! the cuckoo is flying over your 
 house ! That is an omen ! ". 
 
 She went to the stable, and I followed her a short time af- 
 terwards. She looked on dreamily while the cow was lick- 
 ing the new-born calf, and said at last, 
 
 "That is what you folks call kissing." 
 
 Rothfuss asked her : 
 
 " Are you fond of cows ? " 
 
 " I don't know ; I never had one." 
 
 He showed her our best cow and said, 
 
 " Three years ago, when she was a calf, she got the first 
 prize at the agricultural exhibition. She puts food to the 
 best use. Everything that she eats turns either to meat or 
 to milk." 
 
 Rothfuss told Martella to put on a little jacket. They 
 soon drove out to the fields, and when she held up the 
 scythe, she exclaimed, " Cuckoo ! " It seemed to me as if 
 I were dreaming, and yet I remembered quite distinctly 
 that my wife had spoken to me on the previous night of 
 the cuckoo's young ones. 
 
 What a strange coincidence it seemed ! 
 
 Martella returned from the fields in good spirits, and dur- 
 ing the morning lunch was quite cheerful. She was con- 
 
 * This name means : Lizzy, the huntress. 
 
WALDFRIED. 4 j 
 
 stantly talking of the daughter-in-law, and the cow-calf that 
 had come into the family during the night before. 
 
 I then said to her, " I will give you the cow-calf. It is 
 yours." 
 
 She made no answer, but looked at me with an air of 
 surprise. 
 
 Rothfuss told me that when in the stable, she had said to 
 the calf : " You belong to me. But of course, you know 
 nothing of it. You really belong to your mother. But your 
 mother belongs to the master, the master belongs to Ernst, 
 and Ernst belongs to me ; and that is how it is." 
 
 When evening came, Rothfuss expressed his opinion in 
 the following words : 
 
 " If her inside is like her outside, she need not be made 
 any better than she already is." 
 
 Our oldest maid-servant, Balbina, seemed quite kindly 
 disposed to the new arrival, and Martella said that Balbina 
 had told her something with the air of imparting a secret of 
 which she was the only possessor. And what was it? 
 "Why, nothing more than that it is sinful to lie and steal." 
 
 I have given the story of this first day in its smallest de- 
 tails. It is only for the first green leaves of spring that we 
 have an attentive eye. They go on, silently increasing, until 
 they become so numerous that they excite no comment. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MARTELLA did not become attached to any one in 
 the house except Rothfuss, whom she was con- 
 stantly plying with questions about Ernst's childhood. 
 When in pleasant evenings during the week, and on Sunday 
 afternoons in clear weather, the youths and maidens would 
 march through the village, with their merry songs, she would 
 sit with Rothfuss on the bench by the stable, or, unattended 
 by any companion save her dog, would be up in the woods 
 that lay back of our house. 
 
 When she had any special request, she would communi- 
 cate it through Rothfuss. 
 
 Among other things, she wanted to go out into the forest 
 with the wood-cutters. From her thirteenth year she had 
 wielded the axe, and could use it as cleverly as the men. 
 We did not grant this wish of hers. 
 
 Her craving for knowledge was insatiable, and I marvelled 
 at the patience and equanimity with which my wife told her 
 everything she wanted to know. 
 
 Things to which we had become accustomed were to her 
 occasions of the liveliest surprise. This did not seem to 
 change, for she never could get used to what with us had, 
 through daily habit, become a matter of course. To her all 
 seemed a marvel. 
 
 Her glance was full of courage. Her voice seemed so 
 full of sincerity, that her strangest utterances required no 
 added assurance of their truthfulness. Her laughter was so 
 hearty that it seemed contagious. 
 
 Rothfuss was quite proud that he could control Martella, 
 
WALDFRIED. 43 
 
 just as he did the two b.ays that he had raised from the 
 time they were foals, and delighted to speak of the fact, 
 that our youngest as he called Ernst was the best of 
 marksmen. He had secured the best prize. For there 
 could be no other girl so wise and merry as Martella. And' 
 she was so full of merry capers that the very cows looked 
 around and lowed, as if to say, " We, too, would be glad to 
 laugh with you, if we only could. But, alas ! we cannot 
 We have not the bellows to do it with." 
 
 She had named her calf " Muscat." She would nurse it 
 as if it were a younger sister. She maintained that it was a 
 perfect marvel of health and wisdom, and that the old cow 
 was jealous, and tried to butt her because she had noticed 
 that the calf had greater love for Martella than for its own 
 mother. 
 
 There was one point on which she and Rothfuss ahvays 
 quarrelled. She had an inexplicable aversion to America, of 
 which Rothfuss always spoke as if it were Paradise itself. 
 The manner in which Lisbeth, the locksmith's widow, had 
 been provided for, was his chief argument in its favor. 
 " None but a free state would provide so well for the families 
 of the men killed in battle. How different our Germans are 
 about that." 
 
 Towards my wife and myself, Martella was respectful, but 
 diffident. 
 
 Ernst came to us but twice during the summer, remain- 
 ing but a few hours each time. 
 
 He wanted Martella to walk or drive around the neigh- 
 borhood with him, but she refused, saying " that she would 
 not leave home. She had been away long enough." 
 
 Ernst was evidently provoked that Martella refused to go 
 with him, but kept his anger to himself. 
 
 In that summer, 1865, we had charming harvest weather, 
 
44 WALDFRIED. 
 
 and I shall never forget Martella's saying, " I shall help 
 gather the harvest. I was a gleaner once, and know that 
 this is good weather for the farmers. To cut the ears in the 
 morning and carry home the rich sheaves in the evening, 
 without having had a storm during the day, is good for the 
 farmer, but not so pleasant for the poor gleaner. Storms 
 during the harvest time scatter the grain for the poor ; for 
 the farmers give nothing away of their own accord." 
 
 Rothfuss looked towards me, and nodded approval of her 
 words. 
 
 Towards the end of summer, Richard paid us a visit. 
 
 Richard had written to us some time before, and had re- 
 ferred to Ernst's conduct in indignant terms. He felt 
 shocked that one who had not yet secured a livelihood for 
 himself, had already linked the fate of another with his own, 
 and had inflicted her presence upon the household. But 
 from the first moment that he saw Martella, he admired her 
 more than any of us had done. 
 
 When he offered her his first brotherly greeting, she gazed 
 at him with her brilliant eyes, and said, 
 
 " I can see ten years ahead." 
 
 " Have you the gift of prophecy?" 
 
 " Oh pshaw ! I don't mean that. What I mean is that in 
 ten years from now Ernst will look as you now do. But I 
 hope that when that time comes, he will not have to use 
 spectacles." 
 
 Richard laughed, and so did Martella quite heartily. 
 
 There is nothing better than when two people laugh to- 
 gether at their first meeting. 
 
 Later in the season, my daughter Johanna, who is the 
 wife of a pastor in the Oberland who had once been Lud- 
 wig's teacher, came with her groivn-uo daughter to pay us a 
 
WALDFRIED. 45 
 
 visit. Johanna's object in coming was to receive the bene- 
 fit of the milk cure. 
 
 At their very first meeting, she unintentionally affronted 
 Martelia. Johanna always wore black silk netted gloves, 
 and when, with too evident an air of assumed kindness, she 
 offered her hand to Martelia, the latter said to her : 
 
 " There is no need for a fly-net on your hand. I do not 
 sting." 
 
 After this trifling circumstance, there was many a heart- 
 burning between Martelia and Johanna. They were al- 
 ways at cross purposes. Rothfuss was provoked, as he was 
 unable to satisfy Martelia that the pastor's wife had not in- 
 tended to affront her. Martelia refused to be convinced, and 
 persisted in calling Johanna a " fly-net." 
 
 When she had once conceived an aversion for any one, 
 
 she was immovable. And when Johanna came to the cow 
 
 stables, which she did twice every day at milking-time, she 
 
 would always in an ironical tone say, " Good-day, madam 
 
 ister-in-law." 
 
 Johanna found in this a cause for continued ill-feeling, to 
 which, in her discontented and susceptible condition, she 
 readily gave way. 
 
 Johanna imagined that she had found the way to Martel- 
 la's heart, by assuring her how much she pitied her. But 
 that only served to make matters worse ; for Martelia re- 
 sented any manifestation of pity. 
 
 As our household was conducted on a generous scale, 
 there was much that, in Johanna's eyes, contrasted unpleas- 
 antly with her own home. She frequently alluded to the 
 small pay her husband was earning, and often gave us 
 cause to remember that he would have been advanced much 
 more rapidly, if he had not been the son-in-law of a member 
 of the party in opposition to the government. She, in fact, 
 
46 WALDFRIED. 
 
 made no concealment of her belief that I was the cause oi 
 her husband's and her daughter's infirm health. If it were 
 not that I was in such great disfavor with the government, 
 they would long ago have been stationed in a more genial 
 climate, and would thus have recovered their health. 
 
 She maintained that our mode of living was not pious 
 enough, and thought it most atrocious that we indulged 
 Martella in her heathenish ways. 
 
 She did not care to go to the village pastor, with whom 
 we had but little intercourse, for she was angry at him. His 
 position brought him little work but generous pay, and 
 she therefore coveted it for her own husband. But then, the 
 wife of our pastor happened to be the daughter of a member 
 of the consistory, which, of course, explains the whole mat- 
 ter. 
 
 One peculiarity of Martella's afforded Johanna many an 
 opportunity to read us homilies on our neglect of the child. 
 No matter whether you did her a service or gave her a 
 present, Martella never uttered a word of thanks. 
 
 I am unable to explain the trait. It may have been the re- 
 sult of the simple h'fe of nature in which she had been reared. 
 
 My son Richard, who passed a portion of the autumn 
 holidays with us, was of that opinion. 
 
 Richard had a way of laying aside his spectacles after he 
 had been with us for a day or two, and getting along without 
 them until the day of his departure. He thus, with every 
 succeeding year, did much to strengthen his overtasked 
 eyes. I think he used to put his spectacles in the keep- 
 ing of Rothfuss, who would return them to him on the day 
 he left home. 
 
 On this occasion, however, he retained his spectacles, and 
 spent less of his time with Rothfuss than with Martella, who 
 seemed to have- become fonder of him than of any of us. 
 
WALDFRIED. 47 
 
 In the evenings and on Sundays, she would take lon^ walks 
 with him in the woods, and would talk unceasingly. 
 
 One evening Richard said : 
 
 " I received the great academical prize to-day. Martella 
 said to me : ' I can hardly believe that you are a professor ; 
 you are so so wise, and have so much common-sense, and 
 can talk like like a wood-keeper's servant.' Can you im- 
 agine greater praise than that ? 
 
 " And let me tell you, moreover, that Martella is full of 
 wisdom. She knows every creature, the beasts of the field 
 and the birds of the air. And besides that, she can read the 
 human heart thoroughly. I could not repeat some of her 
 opinions to you without committing a breach of confidence. 
 But I can tell you that she has split many a log, and knows 
 how to swing her axe to the right spot. 
 
 11 Yes, Ernst is a lucky fellow ; I am only fearful that he 
 may not understand her simple nature. She is too wayward. 
 I trust that he may learn to see in her a real incarnation of 
 undefiled holiness and majesty. It is true that in her case 
 they manifest themselves in the form of a girl not given to 
 blissful tears, but the very embodiment of joy itself. 
 
 " While walking along the road, she was chewing twigs of 
 pine, and handed a few to me, with the words : ' Taste them ; 
 there is nothing half so good as these.' 
 
 " When I told her that, as she could get better and more 
 regular fare, she had better give up this habit of chewing pine 
 needles, especially as it excited her nerves, she answered : 
 - 1 think you are right. They always excite me terribly.' 
 
 " We were about to cross a meadow. I was afraid of the 
 wet places. ' Follow me,' said she, ' and be careful to look 
 out for the molehills, for there is always dry soil underneath 
 them.' " 
 
48 WALDFRTED. 
 
 While Richard was thus discoursing with unwonted en- 
 thusiasm, Johanna had risen from the table and had beck- 
 oned to her daughter to follow her. 
 
 Richard and my wife had noticed this as well as I had 
 done. They did not allude to it, however, but continued 
 their conversation, agreeing that it was best for the present 
 to let Martella have her own way. They thought that she 
 would in due time undoubtedly awaken to a longing for 
 life's nobler forms, and the deeper meaning that lay beneath 
 them. 
 
 My wife had no set plan on which to educate Martella. 
 
 " She is to live with us, and that of itself will educate her. 
 She sees every one of us attending to his appointed labor. 
 That will, of itself, soon teach her where her duty lies, and 
 will help to make her orderly and methodical. She sees that 
 our lives are sincere, and that, too, must do her good." 
 
 My wife was careful to caution Richard against teaching 
 her any generalities, as they could be of no use to her. 
 
 Martella was not gentle in her disposition. She was severe 
 towards herself as well as towards others. She had no com- 
 passion for the sufferings of others. Her idea was that every 
 one should help himself as best he could. 
 
 She had never cared or toiled for another being. Like 
 the stag in the forest, she lived for herself alone. My wife 
 nodded silent approval when Richard observed, "In a state 
 of nature, all is egotism ; gentleness, industry, and the dis- 
 position to assist others are results of culture." 
 
 On the very day on which Richard had to leave us, the 
 Major arrived at our house. He was on a tour of inspection, 
 and had been examining the horses which the law required 
 the farmers to hold ready for government uses. 
 
 Our village was not included in his district, and he had 
 
WALDFRIED. 49 
 
 gone out of his way to pay us this visit. He was in full 
 uniform. His athletic, hardy figure presented quite a stately 
 appearance, and his honest, cheerful manner was quite re- 
 freshing. 
 
 He was glad to be able to inform us that the ill-will of his 
 superior officers, in which even the minister of war had par- 
 ticipated, had not injured him with the Prince. Although 
 there had been three competitors for the position, the Prince 
 had selected him, and had personally informed him of his 
 promotion with the words, " I have great respect for your 
 father-in-law, and believe that he is a true friend of the 
 state." 
 
 The Major was not wanting in respect and affection for 
 me, and his behavior to my wife was marked by a knightly 
 grace, and filial veneration. When Richard told him how 
 Martella had in himself seen her own betrothed with ten 
 years added to his real age, he replied : "I have never said 
 so, but it has often occurred to me that, when she is older, 
 Bertha will be the very picture of her mother as we now see 
 her." 
 
 Richard was an excellent go-between for Martella and 
 the Major, who had brought a necklace of red beads which 
 Bertha had sent to the new sister-in-law. 
 
 Although Martella' s face became flushed with emotion, she 
 did not utter one word of thanks. She pressed the beads to 
 her lips, and then stepped to the mirror and fastened the 
 necklace on. Then she turned towards us, while she counted 
 us off on her fingers and said, " I am a sister-in-law. Now 
 I know everything, and have everything. I have a pastor, 
 a professor, a major, a forester, a great farmer, and what 
 else is there? Ah, yes, now I know a builder." 
 
 " Yes, we have one ; but he is in America." 
 
5Q WALDFRIZD. 
 
 " I will have nothing to do with America," said Martella. 
 
 The Major ventured the remark that Ernst had acted un- 
 wisely in leaving the service ; he seemed made for a soldier, 
 and the best thing he could do would be to return to the 
 army. But in that case he would have, for a while at least, 
 to postpone all thoughts of marrying. 
 
 *' He need not hurry on my account," interrupted Mar- 
 tella ; " I am sure I shall put nothing in his way. I, too, 
 shall need some time to make myself fit. I shall have to 
 put many a thing in here," pointing to her forehead, " before 
 I shall deserve to be a member of this family. Now I have the 
 necklace that my sister-in-law sent me, around my neck, and 
 do not mind being tied, and Good-night ! " 
 
 She reached out her hand to my wife, and then to each 
 one of us. After which she again grasped my wife's hand, 
 and then retired. 
 
 Richard explained Martella's peculiar characteristics to the 
 Major. Both in thought and in action she was a strange 
 compound of gentleness and rudeness. 
 
 The Major asked whether we knew anything about her 
 parents. Richard replied that she had imparted facts to him 
 that bore on the subject, but that they were as yet discon- 
 nected and unsatisfactory, and that he had given her his 
 word of honor that he would reveal naught, until she herself 
 thought that the proper time had come.- 
 
 We kept ' up our cheerful conversation for some time 
 longer. Suddenly it occurred to the Major to observe that 
 the dispute between Prussia and Austria was taking a dan- 
 gerous shape, and that, according to his views, Prussia was 
 in the right. The military system of the confederation could 
 not last long in its present condition. 
 
 Thus we were brought face to face with serious questions. 
 
WALDFRIED. 51 
 
 Of what import was the transformation of a child of the 
 forest, when such weighty matters were on the carpet. 
 
 But while the clouds pass by over our heads, and the 
 seasons depart, the little plant quietly and steadily keeps on 
 growing. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 IN the winter of 1865 I left home to attend a session of 
 the Parliament. 
 
 My neighbor Funk, who was also a delegate, accompanied 
 me. 
 
 It grieves me to be obliged to describe this man or even to 
 mention him. 
 
 He caused me much sorrow. He humiliated me more 
 than any other man has ever done, for he proved to me that 
 I have neither worldly wisdom nor knowledge of men. 
 How could I have so egregiously deceived myself in him ? I 
 am too hasty in determining as to the character of a man, 
 and when I afterwards find that his actions are not in keeping 
 with my conception of what they should be, the inconsist- 
 ency torments me as if it were an unsolved enigma. In 
 one word, I have suffered much because of a lack of reserve. 
 Unfortunately I must give all or nothing. Even now I can- 
 not help thinking that he must be better, after all, than he 
 seems. I find, on comparing myself with him, that he has 
 many an advantage over me. He is twenty years younger 
 than I am, and yet he seems as if he had matured long ago. 
 I shall never be that way, no matter how long I live. I am 
 always growing. 
 
 He had failed in the examination for a degree, and, disap- 
 pointed and vexed, had entered the teachers' seminary. He 
 afterward actually became a schoolmaster, but never forgot 
 that he had once aspired to enter a higher sphere of life. 
 
 When the revolution broke out he had hoped to find his 
 
WALDFRIED. 53 
 
 reckoning in it. He speedily found himself in a high position, 
 and had no trouble in accustoming himself to the princely 
 palace in which the provisional government had located itself. 
 
 I have already mentioned that I had brought Funk home 
 from Strasburg with me. I felt so firmly convinced of his 
 innocence that I used all my influence in his behalf, and 
 even deposited a considerable sum as his bondsman, in 
 order that he might be tried without having to surrender his 
 liberty. He was pronounced innocent. 
 
 He made me shudder one day when he told me that the 
 judges had evidently imbibed my belief in his innocence. 
 
 Funk was a handsome man, and still retains his good 
 looks. Annette, the friend of my daughter Bertha, called him 
 a perfect type of lackey beauty. She was sure, she said, 
 that he was born to wear a livery. There was something so 
 abject and cringing about him. She was not a little proud 
 of her discernment, when, some time after, I confirmed her 
 judgment by the announcement that Funk was actually a son 
 of the Duke's valet. 
 
 Funk did not resume his former position as a teacher. 
 He became an emigration agent. For during the first years 
 of the reaction there was a great increase in the number of 
 emigrants from this country to America. 
 
 Besides this, he had also become an agent for Insurances 
 of all sorts Fire, Life, Hail, and Cattle. His window- 
 shutters were so covered with signs that they presented quite 
 a gay appearance. 
 
 He was chosen as one of the town-council, but the gov- 
 ernment did not confirm him in office, which action of 
 theirs gained him much credit with the people. Two years 
 after that, when he was elected burgomaster, he knew how to 
 bring it about that a deputation should wait upon the Prince 
 in person to urge his confirmation. 
 
54 WALDFRIED. 
 
 Funk induced his wife always to wear the old-time cos- 
 tumes of the country people. 
 
 " That, you must know," he said to me one day, ** awak- 
 ens the confidence of the country people." When I re- 
 proved him for this trick, he laughed and showed his pretty 
 teeth. There was, to me at least, always something insin- 
 cere and repulsive in his laugh, and in the fact that he never 
 wearied of repeating certain high-sounding phrases. But 
 what was there to draw me towards this man ? I will hon- 
 estly admit that I have a certain admiration for combative- 
 ness, courage, and shrewdness qualities in which I am de- 
 ficient. ' 
 
 My unsuspecting confidence in others is a mistake. But 
 I have been thus for seventy years, and when I reckon up 
 results, I find that I am none the worse for it. Although 
 over-confidence in others has brought me many a sorrow, it 
 has also given me many a joy. 
 
 I have suffered much through others, and through Funk 
 especially ; but I still believe that there are no thoroughly 
 bad men, but that there are thoroughly egotistical ones, and 
 that the pushing of egotism beyond its due bounds is the 
 source of all evil. 
 
 If I had not helped him with all my influence, Funk would 
 not have been chosen a delegate to the Parliament. When 
 he visited me, on the day following the election, he ad- 
 dressed me in a tone of unwonted and unlooked-for familiar- 
 ity, much to the disgust of my wife. 
 
 After he had left she said to me, " I cannot understand 
 you. I did not interfere when I saw that you were trying to 
 gain votes for Funk ; that, I presume, is a part of politics, 
 and perhaps the party needs voters, and just such bold and 
 irreverent people. They can say things that a man of honor 
 would not permit himself to utter. But I cannot conceive 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 55 
 
 how you can allow yourself to be on so familiar a footing 
 with that man." 
 
 I assured her that the first advances had been made by 
 him, and that although they were undesired by me I did not 
 choose to appear proud. 
 
 She said no more. But there was yet another reproof in 
 store for me. 
 
 When I entered the stable Rothfuss said to me, " Why 
 did you let that grinning fellow get so near to you ? Is he 
 still calling out, * God be with thee, Waldfried ! You will come 
 to see me soon, will you not ? ' Such talk from that quarter 
 is no compliment." 
 
 I did not suffer him to go on with his remarks. My weak 
 fear of hurting the feelings of others had already worked its 
 own punishment on myself. 
 
 When I left home for- the session of 1865, Funk was 
 waiting for me down by the saw-mill. I found him with a 
 young man, the son of a schoolmaster who lived in the 
 neighborhood. He took leave of his companion, and turn- 
 ing to me exclaimed with a triumphant air, " I have already 
 saved one poor creature to-day. The simple-minded fellow 
 wanted to become a teacher. A mere teacher in a public 
 school ! A position which is ideally elevated, but financially 
 quite low. I convinced him that he would be happief 
 breaking stone on the road. We ought to make it impos- 
 sible for the Government to get teachers for its public 
 schools." 
 
 When I answered that he was wantonly trifling with the 
 education of our people, he replied, " From your point of 
 view, perhaps you are quite right." It was in this way that 
 I first got the idea that Funk thought he was controlling me. 
 His subordination was a mere sham, and we were really at 
 heart opposed to each other. 
 
tj6 WALDFRIED. 
 
 He voted as I did in the Parliament, but not for the same 
 reasons. 
 
 If Funk had been insincere towards me, it was now my turn 
 and that was the worst of it to be insincere towards him. 
 
 I was determined to break off my relations with him, and 
 only awaited a favorable opportunity for so doing. And yet 
 while awaiting that opportunity I kept up my usual relations 
 with him. 
 
 It is x indeed sad, that intercourse with those who are in- 
 sincere begets insincerity in ourselves. 
 
 We reached the railway station, where we found numerous 
 delegates, and indeed two of our own party, who were cor- 
 dially disliked by Funk. One of them was a manufacturer 
 who lived near the borders of Switzerland. He was a strict 
 devotee, but was really sincere in his religious professions, 
 which he illustrated by his pure and unselfish conduct. We 
 were on the friendliest footing, although he could not avoid 
 from time to time expressing a regret that I did not occupy 
 the same religious stand-point that he did. 
 
 The other delegate was a proud and haughty country mag- 
 istrate a man of large possessions, who imagined it was his 
 especial prerogative to lead in matters affecting the welfare 
 of the state. He had been opposed to Funk during the 
 election, and had ill-naturedly said, "Beggars should have 
 nothing to say." Funk had not forgotten this, but never- 
 theless forced him, as it were, into a display of civility. 
 
 The two companions were quite reserved in their manner 
 towards Funk, and before we had accomplished our journey 
 I could not help observing that there was a pressure which 
 would induce a clashing and a subsequent separation of 
 these discordant elements. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 DURING the winter session of the Parliament I did not 
 reside with my daughter Bertha. 
 
 At a future day it will be difficult to realize what a sepa- 
 ration there then was between the different classes of our 
 people. 
 
 There was a feeling of restraint and ill-will between those 
 who wore the dress of the citizen and that of the soldier. 
 The Prince was, above all things, a soldier, and when in 
 public always appeared in uniform. 
 
 We delegates, who could not approve of all that the Gov- 
 ernment required of us, were regarded as the sworn ene- 
 mies of the state, both by court circles and by the army, to 
 whom we were nevertheless obliged to grant supplies. 
 
 An officer who would suffer himself to be seen walking in 
 the street with a citizen who was suspected of harboring lib- 
 eral opinions, or with one of the delegates of our party, 
 might rely upon being reported at head-quarters. 
 
 Although he did not say anything about it, my son-in-law 
 was much grieved by this condition of affairs. Whenever I 
 visited him he treated me with respect and affection, as if 
 he thus meant to thank me for the reserve I had maintained 
 when we met in public, and desired to apologize for the 
 rigid discipline he was obliged to observe. 
 
 We had a long session, full of fury and bitterness on the 
 part of the ministers and officers of the Government, and of 
 the depressing consciousness of wasted effort on ours. The 
 
5 8 WALDFRIED. 
 
 morning began with public debate ; after that came commit- 
 tee-meetings, and in the evenings our party caucuses, which 
 sometimes lasted quite late. And all of these sacrifices of 
 strength were made with the discouraging prospect that the 
 fate of our Fatherland still hung in doubt, that our labors 
 would prove fruitless, and that our vain protest against the 
 demands of our rulers would be all that we could contribute 
 to history. 
 
 The air seemed thick as if with a coming storm. We felt 
 that our party was on the eve of breaking up into opposing 
 fragments. There was no longer the same confidence 
 among its members, and here and there one could hear it 
 said : " Yes, indeed, you are honest enough, and have no 
 ambitious or selfish views to subserve." 
 
 P'unk was one of the most zealous of all in the attempt 
 to break up the party. 
 
 For a while he had undoubtedly aspired to the leadership. 
 But when it was confided to a gifted man who had availed 
 himself of the declaration of amnesty and had returned to 
 his Fatherland some years before, Funk acted as if he had 
 never thought of the position. 
 
 Who can recall all of the changes in the weather that help 
 to ripen the crop ! 
 
 A spirit of fellowship is praised both in war and in voy- 
 ages of adventure. The life of a delegate, it seems to me, 
 combines the peculiar features of both of those conditions. 
 It is no trifling matter to leave a pleasant home and to bid 
 adieu to wife and children, and to stand shoulder to shoul- 
 der, laboring faithfully day and night for the common 
 weal. 
 
 I have had the good fortune to gain the friendship of 
 man. It differs somewhat from the love of woman, but is 
 none the less blessed. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 59 
 
 I was not only a delegate from our district but also a 
 member of the German Parliament. I was in accord with 
 the best men of my country, and we were true to one 
 another at our posts. May those who in a happier period 
 replace us act as faithfully and unselfishly as we did ! 
 
 During the winter session my wife's letters were a source 
 of great enjoyment to me. She kept me fully informed of all 
 that happened at home, and especially in regard to Martella. 
 
 On the morning that I left home she came to my wife and 
 said, "Mother I may call you so, may I not? and I shall 
 try to be worthy of it ; and when master returns, I shall call 
 him father." 
 
 She pointed to her feet. My wife did not know what she 
 meant by that, until she at last said, lt Rothfuss said that if I 
 were to lay aside my red stockings, I would be making a 
 good beginning." 
 
 And after this she began again : " I shall learn all that 
 you tell me, but not from the schoolmaster's assistant. 
 When he was alone with me the other day, he stroked my 
 cheeks and I slapped him for his impertinence. I shall 
 gladly learn all that you wish me to learn." 
 
 She remained with my wife, and appeared qtiite pliant and 
 docile. My wife had her sleep in her own bedchamber, 
 and on the first night she exclaimed, with a voice full of 
 emotion, " I have a mother at last ? O Ernst, you ought 
 to know where I am ! How happy you have been to have 
 had a mother all your life ! " 
 
 I took these letters to my daughter Bertha, who thoroughly 
 appreciated and loved Martella. She said that her own ex- 
 perience had been somewhat similar ; for her marriage had 
 introduced her to an aristocratic and military circle, in which 
 she was at first considered as an interloper, and where it 
 took some time before she could acquire the position due 
 
(5o WALDFRIED. 
 
 her. For even to this day the aristocracy retain the ad- 
 vantage that those who are well born can enter good society, 
 even though they be utterly devoid of culture. 
 
 Annette, who had also married an officer, had become 
 quite attached to her, and the result of their combined 
 efforts was that they at last achieved quite a distinguished 
 position. Annette, who was a Jewess by birth, and very 
 wealthy, had at first attempted to conquer her way into 
 society by dress and show. Yielding, however, to the coun- 
 sels of Bertha, she took the better course ; and by adopting 
 a simple and dignified manner, free from any craving for 
 admiration, the recognition she merited was accorded her. 
 
 This friend of Bertha was, I confess, not at all to my 
 liking. She had received a good education, and even had a 
 cultivated judgment ; but she was fain to mistake these gifts 
 for genius, and imagined herself a thoroughly superior woman 
 a piece of self-deception in which flatterers encouraged 
 her. 
 
 Her husband regarded her as a woman of superior gifts, 
 and succeeded in this way in consoling himself for the incon- 
 venient fact of her being of Jewish descent. His faith in 
 her genius seetned to increase rather than diminish, and it 
 was his constant delight to sound its praises to others. 
 
 Annette treated me with exceptional admiration, but she 
 always seemed desirous of making a parade of her apprecia- 
 tion of me, or in other words, having it minister to her 
 own glory. Mere possession or undemonstrative emotion 
 afforded her no pleasure. Her talents and her reflections 
 afforded her great enjoyment, and it was her constant desire 
 that others should have the benefit>of it. She was always' 
 inviting you to dine with her ; and if you accepted her in- 
 vitations, she was never satisfied until you had praised the 
 
WALD FRIED. 6 1 
 
 dishes which she could so skilfully prepare. She sang with 
 a powerful voice and drew very cleverly, but wanted the 
 world to know it, and to pay her homage accordingly. 
 
 She always addressed me as " patriarch," until I at last 
 forbade her doing so. I was, however, obliged to submit to 
 some of the other elegant phrases in which she was wont to 
 indulge. She had no children, and often spent the whole 
 day in the private gallery of the House of Parliament, where 
 she would not cease nodding to me until I at last returned 
 her salute. 
 
 One evening there was a party at Bertha's. The wife of 
 the Intendant-in-chief was among the guests. She was a 
 beautiful creature, slender and undulating in form, of majestic 
 carriage, and yet withal simple and unaffected. She had a 
 charming voice, and sang many pretty songs for us. She was 
 so obliging too, that, yielding to the repeated requests of her 
 delighted auditors, she sang song after song. 
 
 I had known her as a young girl. She was the daughter 
 of the chief forester, and seemed to retain the woodland 
 freshness of her childhood days. But she had always been 
 ambitious, and had thirsted for the pleasures of city life, with 
 which she had become acquainted while going to the 
 school which was patronized by the reigning Princess. 
 
 At one of the public examinations she had sung so de- 
 lightfully that the Princess had praised her performance ; 
 and I believe that her desire for a brilliant life dated from 
 that incident. 
 
 She was fond of dress and show, and had married the 
 Intendant, who was a dried-np, conceited fellow. 
 
 Her marriage had not been a happy one ; and now she 
 sang love-songs full of glowing passion, of sobs and tears. 
 
 I was thinking of this, and asking myself how it could be 
 
62 WALDFRIED. 
 
 possible, when Annette sat down by my side and softly 
 whispered to me : 
 
 " Do explain, if you can, how this woman, after singing 
 such songs, can leave the company and ride home with her 
 disagreeable husband ? I could not sing a note if I had 
 such a husband." 
 
 Annette cannot conceive of her ever having been in love. 
 All her singing of the pleasures and the pains of love is noth- 
 ing more than poetical or musical affectation. "But how 
 did she thus learn to simulate emotion. If she really felt 
 all this she would either die or become crazed on her way 
 home." 
 
 From that moment I began to like Annette. She had 
 gone much further than I had dared even in my thoughts, 
 and proved, at the same time, that her heart was true, and 
 that she could not separate her feeling for art from the rest 
 of her life. 
 
 Bertha showed my wife's letters to her friend, who con- 
 ceived the most enthusiastic affection for Martella. She 
 often inquired whether there was anything she could do for 
 the charcoal-burner's daughter. 
 
 There was danger of offending her by refusing her gifts. 
 Even a virtue may at times assume a repulsive form. 
 Annette's complaint I cannot express it otherwise was a 
 passion for helping others. 
 
 My wife wrote that Martella was like a fresh bubbling 
 spring, which only needed to be kept within bounds to be- 
 come a refreshing brook ; but that this must be carefully 
 done, for inconsiderate attempts to deepen the channel or 
 divert its course might ruin the spring itself. 
 
 My wife also informed us that Ernst had been home to 
 pay a short visit. He seemed quite pensive, and expressed 
 his dissatisfaction with 'the fact that Martella was looking 
 
WALDFRIED. 63 
 
 so pale. He approved of the education which she was re- 
 ceiving, but thought that her freshness and strength should 
 not be sacrificed. He said he had formed a plan to live 
 with Rautenkron, with whom he intended to practice, and 
 also said that when once in the quiet forest he would study 
 industriously. 
 
 My wife strenuously objected to this course. She main- 
 tained that where there was a will, one could attend to his 
 duty in any position ; and moreover, that at the present time 
 it was not well for Ernst and Martella to see each other 
 so often. 
 
 Martella was of the same opinion ; and my wife could 
 hardly find words to express her delight that Martella was 
 constantly acquiring gentleness and consideration for others. 
 Although at first she had been loud and noisy, there was now 
 something graceful and soothing in her manner. She would 
 arise early in the morning and dress herself in silence, while 
 my wife would feign sleep in order that Martella might be- 
 come confirmed in her gentle manners. 
 
 One evening, when Martella had been the subject of pro- 
 tracted conversation, I returned to my room, and for the 
 first time noticed a colored lithographic print that had been 
 hanging there. It was the picture of a danseuse who had 
 been quite famous some years before. It represented her 
 in a difficult pose, and with long, flowing hair. The print 
 startled me. 
 
 It was wonderfully like Martella ; or was it simply self- 
 deception caused by her having been in our thoughts during 
 the whole evening ? 
 
 I felt so agitated that I lit the lamp again and took another 
 look at the picture. The likeness seemed to have vanished, 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 TOWARDS the end of November, my wife wrote to 
 me that Ernst had been at home again, and that, 
 several hours after his arrival, he had, in the most casual 
 manner, mentioned that he had successfully passed his ex- 
 amination as forester. When my wife and Martella signified 
 their pleasure at this piece of news, he declared that he had 
 only passed his examination in order to prove to us and the 
 rest of his acquaintance, that he, too, had learned something, 
 but that he was not made to be put just where the state 
 desired to place him, and that, in the spring, he and Martella 
 would emigrate to America, as he had already come to an 
 understanding with Funk in regard to the passage. 
 
 When he asked Martella why she had nothing to say on 
 the subject, she replied : 
 
 " You know that I would go to the end of the world with 
 you. But we are not alone. If we go, your parents and 
 your brothers and sisters must give us their blessing at 
 parting." 
 
 " Oh ! that they will." 
 
 " I think so too. But just consider, Ernst ! We are 
 both of us quite young, and I have just begun to live. Do 
 not look so fierce ; when you do that, you do not look half 
 so handsome as you really are. And besides, there is some- 
 thing yet on my mind which I must tell you, and in which I 
 am fully resolved." 
 
 " I cannot imagine what you mean ; it seems, at times, 
 that I really do not know you as I once did." 
 
WALDFRIED. 6$ 
 
 " You do know me, and it grieves me to be obliged to 
 tell you so." 
 
 " What is it ? What can it be ? You have become quite 
 serious all at once." 
 
 " I am glad that you can say so much in my praise, for I 
 have need of it ; and I feel quite sure that you will approve 
 of what I am going to say. 
 
 "Just see, Ernst! I won't speak of anything else but 
 with mother's aid I have begun so much that is good, that I 
 cannot bear to think of hurrying away while the work is half 
 finished. You have passed your examination ; let me pass 
 mine too. First let mother tell me that my apprenticeship 
 is at an end, and then I will wander with you ; and we shall 
 be two jolly gadabouts, and have lots of money for travel- 
 ling expenses. Isn't it so? You will let me stay here ever 
 so long ; won't you ? 
 
 " Ah, that is right. You are laughing again, and I see 
 that you approve of what I have said. If you had not done 
 so you should have had no peace, for my mind is made up. 
 
 " The canopied bed next to your mother's is now mine ; 
 and indeed it is a heavenly canopy that one must be slow to 
 leave. And, as I told you before, I have just begun to 
 live." 
 
 Ernst looked towards my wife. It seemed as if doubt 
 and pride were struggling within him. When Martella had 
 left the room and my wife urged him to remain with us and 
 to afford us the joy of having such a daughter-in-law in our 
 home, he was vanquished, and exclaimed : 
 
 " Yes, I am indeed proud of her ! I must admit I never 
 expected so much of her. If she only does not grow over 
 my head." 
 
 My wife wrote me that she only remembered a portion of 
 what had happened. The wisdom and feeling evinced by 
 5 
 
66 WALDFRIED. 
 
 the child had surprised her ; and the subdued, heartfelt 
 voice in which she had spoken had been as delightful as the 
 loveliest music. She had been obliged to ask herself if this 
 really was the wild creature who had entered the house but 
 three-quarters of a year ago. The change that she had de- 
 voutly wished for had been brought about with surprising 
 rapidity. Martella had awakened to a sense of the duties 
 life imposes on all of us. 
 
 Nothing can be more gratifying than to find that a just 
 course of action has produced its logical results. 
 
 Thus all was well. Ernst went out hunting with Rauten 
 kron, and once even prevailed on him to visit our house. 
 
 Rautenkron had but little to say to Martella. He would 
 knit his heavy eyebrows, and cast searching side-glances on 
 the child. This was his custom with all strangers. When 
 taking leave of my wife, he inquired whether we knew any- 
 thing of Martella' s parentage. All that we knew was that 
 she had been found in the forest when four years old. 
 Jaegerlies had cared for her until Ernst brought her to our 
 house. Martella had told more than that to Richard, but 
 he had firmly refused to tell us what it was. When Rauten- 
 kron had left, Martella said : 
 
 " He looks like a hedgehog, and I really believe that he 
 could eat mice." 
 
 In the last letter that I received before returning to my 
 home, my wife wrote me that Martella had displayed a very 
 singular trait. 
 
 Rothfuss had become sick, and Martella, who was as much 
 attached to him as if she were his own child, could neither 
 visit nor nurse him. She had an unconquerable aversion to 
 sick people. She would stand by the door and talk to Roth- 
 fuss, but she would not enter his room. She was quite 
 angry at herself because of this, but could not act differently. 
 
WALDFRIED. 67 
 
 "I cannot help it I cannot help it," she said. "I can- 
 not go near a sick person." He begged her to procure 
 some wine for him ; some of the red wine down in the glass 
 house. He knew that would make him well again. Roth 
 fuss found as much pleasure in deceiving the doctor as he 
 usually did in outwitting the officers. 
 
 Martella cheerfully entered into his plan ; she got the 
 wine for him, and from that day he gradually improved in 
 health. 
 
 It was quite refreshing to me to have my thoughts recalled 
 to our life at home. While the most difficult political ques- 
 tions and a struggle against a system of police espionage 
 were engaging us, a concordat with the Pope had been sub- 
 mitted for our approval. It was the result of deep and long- 
 protracted intrigues, and was full of carefully veiled and 
 delicately woven fetters. I had been appointed as one of 
 the committee to whom the matter was referred, and after a 
 heated debate, we succeeded in securing its abrogation. 
 The minister who had made the treaty was disgraced. His 
 accomplices allowed him to fall while they saved themselves. 
 Funk, in his own name and that of two associates, gave his 
 reasons for declining to vote on the question. They de- 
 manded perfect freedom for every religions sect, and the 
 abandonment on the part of the state of its right to interfere 
 with matters of faith. 
 
 It had been proposed that my son Richard, who was Pro- 
 fessor of History at the University, should be appointed as 
 Minister of Education. 
 
 He had published a powerful work on this topic. My 
 son-in-law informed me that he had heard Richard's name 
 mentioned in Court circles. In a few days, however, the 
 rumor proved to be an ill-founded one. A declamatory 
 counsellor received the appointment. 
 
68 WALDFRIED. 
 
 Although encouraged by my success, it was with a sense 
 of overpowering fatigue that I returned home at Christmas- 
 time. I felt as though I had not been able to enjoy a night's 
 sleep while at the capital : it was only at home that I could 
 breathe freely again and enjoy real repose. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 AT home I found everything in excellent order. Roth- 
 fuss was still complaining, and was not allowed to 
 leave his bed ; but he was mending, and had naught to com- 
 plain of but ennui and thirst. 
 
 I cannot remember a merrier Christinas than that of 1865. 
 We could quietly think of our children we knew how they 
 lived. Every Christmas we would receive a long letter from 
 Ludwig ; and Johanna wrote us that affairs were improving 
 with her husband. 
 
 On the day before Christmas, Ernst arrived. He carried 
 a roebuck on his shoulder, and stood in front of the house 
 shouting joyously. He waited there until Martella went 
 out to meet him. He reached out his arms to embrace 
 her, but she said, " Come into the house. When you get in 
 there, I will give you an honest kiss." 
 
 When I congratulated Ernst on his success in his exami- 
 nation, he replied," No thanks, father; I was lucky; that is 
 all. I really know very little about the subjects they ex- 
 amined me upon. I know more about other things. But I 
 passed nevertheless." It was delightful to listen to Richard's 
 sensible remarks; Ernst's conversation, however, was so 
 persuasive and so varied as to prove even more interesting 
 than that of Richard. He expressed himself quite happily 
 in regard to the manner in which one should, by stealth as it 
 were, learn the laws of the forest by careful observation, and 
 referred to a point which is even yet in dispute among for- 
 esters whether a fertile soil or a large return in lumber is 
 
70 WALDFRIED. 
 
 most to be desired. I began to feel assured that my son, 
 who had so often gone astray, would yet be able to erect a 
 life-fabric that would afford happiness both to himself and to 
 others. 
 
 Towards evening, when we were about to light the lamps, 
 the Professor arrived, to Martella's great delight. 
 
 " I knew you would be glad to see me," said Richard, 
 " and I must confess I like to come to my parents ; but I 
 have come more for the sake of seeing you than any one 
 else." 
 
 Richard congratulated Ernst, and promised to prepare a 
 grand poem for the wedding day. 
 
 The lights shone brightly, and joy beamed from every 
 eye. 
 
 The Professor had brought some books for Martella, but 
 had not been fortunate in his selections. There were chil- 
 dren's books among them, and these Martella quietly laid 
 aside. 
 
 Bertha had sent her a dress, Annette had contributed 
 some furs, and Johanna had sent her an elegantly bound 
 Bible. 
 
 "I see already," said Martella, "that naught but good 
 things are showered down on me. Let them come. God 
 grant that the day may arrive when I, too, can bestow gifts. 
 But now let us be happy," she said, turning to Ernst. 
 " When we are alone together in the wild-woods, let us re- 
 member how lovely it is here. Look at the Christmas-tree. 
 It was out in the cold and was freezing ; but now they have 
 brought it into the warm room, and decked it with lights and 
 all sorts of pretty gifts. And thus was I, too, out of doors 
 and forgotten ; but now I am better off ; the tree is dead, 
 but I " Richard . grasped my hand in silence, and softly 
 whispered : 
 
WALDFRIED. yi 
 
 " Don't interrupt her. Always let her finish what she has 
 begun this way. When the bird singing on the tree ob- 
 serves that the wanderer is looking up to it with grateful 
 eyes, it flies away." 
 
 Martella tried on her furs, stroked them with her hand, and 
 then lit the lights on a little Christmas-tree on which were 
 hanging some. large stockings the first she had ever knit. 
 
 " Come along," she said to Ernst, "let us go to Rothfuss ; 
 and, Richard, you had better come with us, too, and help 
 us sing." 
 
 Carrying the burning tree in her hand, and accompanied 
 by Ernst and Richard, she went, singing on her way, to the 
 room in which Rothfuss lay. 
 
 "You are the first person," she said to Rothfuss, "to 
 whom I can give something. I only knit them ; the wool 
 was given me by my mother." 
 
 " Oh ! " exclaimed Rothfuss, " no wizard can do what is 
 impossible. Our Lord makes the wool grow on the sheep ; 
 but shearing the sheep, spinning the wool, and knitting the 
 stockings we have to do for ourselves." 
 
 On the next day, while we were seated at table, Rothfuss 
 entered, crying, " A proverb, and a true one ; she has put 
 me on my feet again. I have got well." 
 
 I cannot recall a merrier Christmas than the one we then 
 enjoyed. There were no more like it, for in the following 
 year the crown had departed. 
 
 My wife's father had, after withdrawing from his position 
 as a teacher, employed himself in translating Goethe's Jphi- 
 genia into Greek. He had left his task incomplete. As a 
 Christmas present for mother, Richard had brought lovely 
 pictures to illustrate the poem, and in the antique room of 
 our house, in which we had casts of the best Greek and Ro 
 man statues, Richard would read aloud to my wife. 
 
72 WALDFRIED. 
 
 Martella always had an aversion to this large room, and 
 when she was called in there would look around for a while, 
 as if lost, and then with scarcely audible steps leave the 
 apartment. 
 
 My wife loved all her children, but she was happiest of all 
 with Richard. He seemed to have succeeded to her father's 
 unfinished labors, and when he was in her presence she al- 
 ways seemed as if in a higher sphere. Richard had a thor- 
 oughly noble disposition and dignified bearing. 
 
 Mother repeatedly read Lud wig's letter, and said : . 
 
 " The Free-thinkers could not bring about what we are 
 now experiencing : that on a certain evening and at an ap- 
 pointed hour all mankind are united in the same feeling. 
 Do you believe, Richard, that you philosophers could bring 
 about such a result ? " 
 
 Richard thought not ; but added that the forms assumed 
 by higher intellectual truth were constantly changing, and 
 that just as they had given the church in heathen ages a dif- 
 ferent character, so they might at some future time effect 
 changes in later forms of religious belief. 
 
 Martella entered the room at that moment, and my wife's 
 significant glance reminded Richard that he had better not 
 prolong the discussion. We were a happy circle, and Rich- 
 ard was especially so because he had made common cause 
 with me in the last exciting question. The future of our 
 Fatherland, however, did not afford him a pleasant outlook. 
 He believed that the great powers were playing a false game 
 and were only feigning to quarrel in order that they might the 
 more successfully divide up the lesser states among them- 
 selves. He felt sure that their plan was to divide up all the 
 rest of Germany between Prussia and Austria. I, too, had 
 sad thoughts in this connection, but could not picture the 
 future to myself. This alone was certain : our present con- 
 
WALDFR1ED. 73 
 
 dition could not last. In the meanwhile we awaited Napol- 
 eon's New Year's speech. His words would inform the 
 world what was to become of it. 
 
 In our happy family circle we forgot for a little while the 
 feeling of deep humiliation that hung over all, and the doubts 
 that always caused us to ask ourselves, " To whom will we 
 belong?" 
 
 It is indeed sad when one is forced to say to himself, 
 " To-morrow you and your country may be handed over to 
 some King." 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 WHENEVER I returned from Parliament, it seemed as 
 if I had left a strange world. Although my labors 
 there were in behalf of those dearest to me, I was too far 
 removed from them to have them constantly in my mind. 
 And for many a morning after my return the force of habit 
 made me wonder why the usual amount of printed matter 
 that had been handed me while at the capital was not forth- 
 coming. 
 
 I found the affairs of the village in good order. 
 
 That was the only time that I can write about the time 
 when my wife was still . . 
 
 I have been gazing out over the mountain and into the 
 dark wood, that I, or rather she, planted, and then I lifted my 
 eyes up to heaven. The stars are shining, and it is said that 
 light from stars that have already perished is still travelling 
 towards us. May the light that was once mine thus flow 
 unto you when I am no longer here. But to proceed. 
 
 For three-and-twenty years I filled the office of burgo- 
 master, and was of great use to our parish. Above all things, 
 I built up its credit. To accomplish this I was obliged to be 
 severe and persistent in prosecuting the suit. But now things 
 have so far improved that the people at Basle regret that no 
 one in our village desires to borrow money from them. 
 
 The two chief benefits that I have procured for our vil- 
 lage are good credit and pure water. 
 
 Just as credit is the true measure of economical condition, 
 so is water the measure of physical well-being. 
 
WALDFRIED. $ 
 
 I converted the heath into a. woodland. It was twenty- 
 three years ago, and I was the youngest member of the town 
 council ; but, aided by my cousin Linker, I induced the peo- 
 ple of our parish to plant trees in the old meadow, and to 
 this day every one of our people derives a modefate profit 
 from the little piece of woodland that we now have there. 
 Its value increases from year to year. 
 
 My cousin Linker had been a book-keeper in the glass- 
 house down in the valley. He married a daughter of the 
 richest farmer in the village, and became quite a farmer him- 
 self. 
 
 I learnt a great deal from him. In business matters he 
 was greatly my superior, for he was shrewder, or in other 
 words, more distrustful, than I. 
 
 Until about five years ago, we were partners in an extensive 
 lumber business. We built the first large saw-mill in the 
 valley. It had three saws, and all the new appliances, and a 
 part of our business was to saw up logs and beams. I also 
 built a saw -mill, which is conducted on the co-operative 
 system, for the benefit of the villagers. 
 
 When the Parliament had determined upon having a for- 
 tress erected in our neighborhood, our business friends offered 
 us their congratulations. They well knew that this would 
 require so much lumber as to give rise to a profitable busi- 
 ness. And this, I must confess, is a point which I would 
 like to forget. But who, after all, leads a life which is en- 
 tirely pure, and without being in the slightest spoiled with 
 intercourse with the world. 
 
 Cousin Linker conducted a large business in his name and 
 mine. I did not take any active part in the negotiations, 
 although I was responsible for what was done. He would 
 often say, " You are absurdly virtuous. One like you will 
 never get on in the world." 
 
;6 WALDFRIED. 
 
 Joseph, my cousin's only son, and of the same age as our 
 Ludwig, had married my daughter Martina, who died shortly 
 after the birth of their first child. Her son Julius was a for- 
 ester'^ apprentice. Joseph married again, but he is still 
 faithful to me and mine, while we are quite attached to his 
 second wife and her three daughters. 
 
 Joseph is now burgomaster, and I hope he will one day 
 occupy my position as a member of the Parliament. He 
 works zealously for the public good, and has one great ad- 
 vantage that did not exist in my time. For nowadays there 
 are numerous good burgomasters in the neighborhood, and 
 it is therefore .easier to carry out desirable measures. 
 
 Last winter, Joseph induced the people of Brauneck, the 
 next village, to combine with ours in laying out a road 
 through the common woods, and the wood taken out was 
 worth more than twice the cost of the labor. 
 
 Joseph inherited my cousin's shrewd business notions. 
 He caused hundreds of little branches to be gathered up and 
 prepared for Christmas-trees, and at the proper time would 
 send them to the railway, and have them sent down the 
 country. I did my share in building the road, for it passes 
 right by my land, and is of great use to me. I do not think 
 of cutting down any of the lumber. The red pine may stand 
 for another twenty years. I could almost wish that this wood 
 might remain forever, for it is hers ! 
 
 In the following spring, a gust of wind tore away some of 
 the finest branches, and the first planks made of them were 
 used to construct a coffin. 
 
 But I will not anticipate. It was in the third year after 
 our marriage that I returned home one evening with a large 
 load of red-pine saplings. I was sitting on the balcony with 
 my wife, later in the evening, and was telling her that I in- 
 
WALDFRIED. jj 
 
 tended to set the five-year-old shoots down by the stone 
 wall, and that I had therefore chosen hardy plants, in which 
 the root was in proper proportion to the crown, but that it 
 was always difficult to find conscientious workmen, who 
 would look out for one's interest while attending to the 
 matter. 
 
 My wife listened patiently while I explained the manner in 
 which the shoots should be planted. 
 
 " Let me attend to this work," said she. " It is well that 
 forest-trees do not require the same care as animals, or fruit- 
 trees. Rude nature protects itself. But it will afford me 
 pleasure to tend the shoots with great care." 
 
 " But it is fatiguing." 
 
 " I know that, but I can do something for the forest that 
 brings us so many blessings." 
 
 I gladly consented. And thus we have a fine grove down 
 by the stone wall. 
 
 While the children were growing up, my wife knew how 
 to invest the planting of trees with a festive character. 
 Richard and Johanna soon grew tired of it. But Bertha, 
 Ludwig, Martella, and at a later day Ernst, were full of zeal, 
 and had an especial affection for the trees which they had 
 planted with their own hands. 
 
 My wife was perfectly familiar with every nook in the 
 woods, and when the new road was laid out she pointed 
 out to Joseph a clear and fresh spring which had remained 
 undisturbed, while we in the village were often poorly sup- 
 plied with good drinking water. She persuaded him to alter 
 its course so that it would flow towards the village ; and now, 
 thanks to her, we have a splendid spring which even in the 
 heat of summer furnishes us with an abundance of cool and 
 pure water. 
 
 To this day we call it the Gustava spring. 
 
78 WALDFRIED. 
 
 Every year, at my wife's birthday, it is decorated by the 
 youth of the village. 
 
 She seemed to live with the woods that she had planted. 
 Without a trace of sentimentality, I mean exaggerated sus- 
 ceptibility, she rejoiced in the sunshine and the rain, the 
 mists and the snow, because they helped the plants, and this 
 state of mind contributed to the quiet grace and dignity 
 which so well became her. 
 
 On Christmas afternoon we could, in our sleighs, ride as 
 far as the wood and the village beyond it. 
 
 Martella told us that she, too, had planted thousands of 
 white and red pines, but that there was not a tree that she 
 could call her own. 
 
 She called out unto the snow-covered plantation : " Say : 
 Mother." 
 
 " Mother," answered the distant echo. 
 
 "And now say : Waldfried." 
 
 " Waldfried" was the answer. We returned home, happy 
 and light-hearted. Ernst remained with us until New Year's 
 Day, and seemed to have regained his wonted cheerfulness. 
 
 It was with pleasure not unmixed with jealousy, that 
 Ernst saw how Martella hung on Richard's lips while listening 
 to his calm and clear remarks on the topics that arose from 
 day to day. His explanations were such that the simplest 
 intellect could comprehend them. I cannot help thinking 
 that Ernst's glances at Martella often were intended to 
 convey some such words as these : " Oh, I know all that, 
 too, but I am not always talking about it ! " 
 
 "I did not know that you could talk so well," said Mar- 
 tella on one occasion. At times we had quite heated dis- 
 cussions. 
 
 With my sons it cost me quite an effort to d-jfend my 
 faith in the people. 
 
WALDFRIED. 79 
 
 Ernst and Richard, who rarely agreed on any question, 
 united in their low opinion of the people. 
 
 Ernst despised the farmers, and said he would not con- 
 fide the charge of the woods to them, as they would incon- 
 siderately destroy the whole forest if they had the chance. 
 
 Hichard adduced this as a proof that it would always be 
 necessary to teach the people what, for their own good, 
 should be done as well as left undone. 
 
 He dwelt particularly on that severe sentence, terrent 
 nisi metuant. The mass of the people is terrible unless 
 held in subjection by fear. History, which was his special 
 science, furnished him with potent proofs, that the people 
 should always be ruled with a firm hand. 
 
 Joseph listened silently to the discussions carried on by 
 the brothers. He was always glad to hear what those who 
 were educated had to say. He never took part when gen- 
 eralities were discussed. It was not until they began to 
 conjecture as to what Napoleon, the ruler of the world, might 
 say in his next New Year's address, that his anger found 
 vent in sharp words. 
 
 Later generations will hardly be able to understand this. 
 These men were seated together in a well-ordered house in 
 the depths of the forest ; and even there the spirit of doubt 
 and questioning, that could not be banished, was constantly 
 at their side, and pooring wormwood into their wine. 
 
 There was no unalloyed happiness left us no freedom 
 from care. Will not the Emperor of the French hurl his bot- 
 tles at us in the morning ! What will he not attempt for the 
 sake of securing his dynasty and gratifying the theatrical 
 cravings of his people ! The whole world was in terror. 
 Everything was in a state of morbid excitement, and, as Ernst 
 said, " watching like a dog for the morsel that the great Pa- 
 
go WALDFRJED. 
 
 risian theatrical manager might throw to it ; " and here Rich. 
 ard interrupted him. . 
 
 Richard had a great love for established foims. He al- 
 ways expressed himself with moderation. Ernst, however, 
 would allow his feelings to run away with him, and would 
 often find that he had gone too far. 
 
 Richard, who had had his younger brother at his side during 
 the years spent at the Gymnasium, still regarded himself as 
 a sort of teacher and guide to Ernst, and could hardly realize 
 how that youth could have been so self-reliant as to get 
 himself a bride under such peculiar circumstances. 
 
 Richard confessed that he desired to achieve a career. 
 " My time will come. Perhaps I may have to wait until I 
 have gray hairs, or none at all ; but I shall, at all events, not 
 allow love to interfere with my plans. I shall not marry, 
 unless under circumstances that will help to secure the end 
 I have in view." 
 
 I had accustomed myself to leave both sons undisturbed 
 in their views of life. They both agreed in regarding me as 
 an idealist, although their reasons for reaching this con- 
 clusion were dissimilar. 
 
 I love to recall the passage in Plutarch's Lycurgus. The 
 old men are singing, " We were once powerful youths ; " 
 the men sing, " But we are now strong ; " and the youths 
 sing, " But we will be still stronger than you are ! " 
 
 The world progresses, and every new generation must de- 
 velop the old ideas and introduce new ones. It will go hard 
 with us eld folks to admit that these are better than ours; 
 but they are so, nevertheless. 
 
 When Richard was alone with me, he expressed his great 
 delight in regard to his youngest brother; and as the jour- 
 nals of that day contained a call for participants in the Ger- 
 man Expedition to the North Pole, Richard would gladly 
 
WALDFRIED. 81 
 
 have seen Ernst take a part in the enterprise. He main- 
 tained that Ernst was endowed with qualities that would 
 gain him distinction as a student of nature, and that a. 
 voyage of discovery would make a hero of him. For he hac 1 ^ 
 invincible courage, fertility of invention, fine perception, and 
 much general knowledge, combined with the ability to see 
 things as they are. 
 
 Ernst was full of youthful buoyancy, just as he had been 
 in the earliest years of his student life. He was the life of 
 the house, constantly singing and yodling ; and his special 
 enthusiastic friend, Rothfuss, one day said to me while in the 
 stable, " I knew it. I knew all about it. Our Ernst cannot 
 come to harm. Why, just listen to his singing. A tree 
 where a bird builds its nest is in TO danger from vermin." 
 4* 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 AT a meeting of the burgomasters of t'he neighborhood, 
 held on New Year's day, it was determined to call 
 a general meeting of electors, to assemble in the chief town 
 of the distiict, and to receive a report in regard to the last 
 session of the Parliament. 
 
 On New Year's Day Ernst left us, as the Prince and his 
 ministers intended to hunt during the next few days in 
 the district which was in charge of his chief. 
 
 When he was about to leave, Martella said to him, " You 
 have good reason to feel happy. The walls have heard you 
 with joy, and every being in there thinks well of you and 
 me." 
 
 "And you?" asked he. 
 
 " I need not be thinking of you. For you are my other 
 self." 
 
 It was a clear, mild, winter day when, accompanied by 
 Joseph and Richard, I drove to the neighboring town in 
 which the meeting was to be held. It was Richard's inten- 
 tion to return to the University at the close of the meeting. 
 
 Rothfuss had fully recovered. Displaying his new stock- 
 ings, and wearing his forester's coat, he sat up on the driv- 
 er's box, while he managed the bays. Although he enter- 
 tained a deep contempt for mankind in general, and for that 
 portion of it that lived in our neighborhood in particular, he 
 tvas always willing to take part in anything that was done in 
 *ny honor. 
 
 He often remarked that the people did not deserve that 
 
WALDFRIED. 83 
 
 one should walk three steps for their sake. He would never 
 forget the way in which they had treated the chieftains of 
 1848 ; or that a man like Ludwig, to whom he always ac- 
 corded most generous praise, was obliged to leave his home, 
 while no one had a thought for him, or for the one who had 
 suffered himself to be imprisoned for his sake. 
 
 The road led through the valley, and was cheerful with the 
 sound of the sleigh-bells. Rothfuss cracked his whip, and 
 soon distanced all the other drivers. 
 
 Here and there, sleighs might be seen coming down the 
 hillside. At the village taverns, teams were resting, and 
 from every window, as well as from passers on the highway, 
 came respectful greetings, and at times even enthusiastic 
 cheers. 
 
 In token of his thanks, Rothfuss cracked his whip still 
 more loudly. 
 
 He would look around from time to time, as if noting how 
 much pleasure these tokens of respect afforded me. But 
 once he said to Richard, " It is all very well, Mr. Professor ; 
 but if the weather were to change, all these cheers would 
 freeze in the mouths that are now uttering them. We have 
 known something of that kind already." 
 
 I must admit, however, that these attentions did my heart 
 good. There is nothing in the associations of home that is 
 more grateful than to be able to say to one's self, " I live in, 
 the midst of my voters. I do my duty without fear or favor, 
 and without my asking for office, my fellow-citizens select 
 me as their representative in the councils of the nation." 
 
 Like the breath of the woods such homage has a fragrance 
 peculiarly its own. I cannot believe in the sincerity of one 
 who, from so-called modesty, or affected indifference to the 
 opinions of his fellow-citizens, would refuse office when thus 
 offered to him. I frankly admit that it is not so unpleasant 
 
84 WALDFRIED. 
 
 to me to find that others think at least as well, or even bettel 
 of me, than I do. 
 
 This of course brings to mind Rautenkron the foi ester, 
 who would stoutly combat my opinion in this matter, for he 
 thinks that a love of such honors is the worst sort of depen- 
 dence. 
 
 When I arrived at the meeting, I made my report in a 
 quiet matter-of-fact manner. It is time for our people to 
 learn that the affairs of the state should have a higher use 
 than merely to serve as the occasion for fine speeches. Funk 
 was sitting on the front bench, with a follower of his on 
 either side of him. One of them was known as Schweitzer- 
 Schmalz. He was a fat, puffed up farmer, who, to use his 
 own words, took great delight in " trumping " the students 
 and public officials. 
 
 But a few words as to Schmalz. A man of his dimensions 
 requires more space than I have just given him. He was 
 one of those men who, when prosperous, continually eat and 
 drink of the best. A red vest decked with silver buttons 
 covered his fat paunch, and was generally unbuttoned. 
 
 His name was Schmalz, but he had been dubbed Schweit- 
 zer-Schmalz, because of his having once said, "I do not 
 see why we should not be as good as our neighbors the 
 Swiss." 
 
 He hi ted the Prussians ; first and foremost, for the rea- 
 son that t ic ought to hate them. This is the first article of 
 faith in th catechism of the popular journals. And al- 
 though quei.xions as to the religious catechism might be tol- 
 erated, this article must be received without a murmur. 
 Besides, *hey were impertinent enough to speak high Ger- 
 man ; and he knew, moreover, that abuse of the Prussians 
 was relished in certain high quarters. 
 
 He att sniped by his boasting to provoke every one, and 
 
WALDFRIED. 35 
 
 was himself at last provoked to find that the whole world 
 laughed at him. He had a habit of rattling the silver coins 
 in his pocket while uttering his unwelcome remarks. 
 
 Funk aided and encouraged him in his swaggering ways. 
 Funk's other follower was a lawyer of extremely radical views. 
 Funk always acted as if he were their servant, although, 
 as he himself said, he was the bear-leader. 
 
 In his confidential moments, he would often "say : " The 
 people is really a stupid bear ; fasten a ring in its nose, 
 and you can lead it about as you would a sheep, and the best 
 nose-ring for your purpose is the church." 
 
 The question of extending a branch of the valley road into 
 the neighboring state, gave rise to a lively debate. I de- 
 clared that no private association would undertake the enter- 
 prise, unless interest on the investment were guaranteed, 
 and that I would oppose it, because its promised advantages 
 were not sufficient to justify us in voting the money of the 
 state for the purpose, instead of spending our own. 
 
 The effect of this was a very perceptible diminution of the 
 favor with which I had been regarded. And when, afterward, 
 a vote of thanks to me was proposed, it was coldly received. 
 
 I was just about to descend from the tribune, when I heard 
 Funk say to Schmalz, who was sitting by his side, " Speak 
 out ! It is your own affair." Schmalz now asked me why 
 I had voted for the abolition of the freedom of the woods, 
 or, in other words, the privilege of gathering up the moss, 
 and the small sticks of wood with which to cover the floor 
 of the stables. To him personally it was a matter of little 
 concern, but humbler and poorer people could not so well 
 afford to do without it. 
 
 This gave rise to much loud talk. All seemed to be speaking 
 at once, and saying, "Such things should not be tolerated." 
 
 When I at last obtained an opportunity to make myself 
 
86 WALDFRIED. 
 
 heard, I told them that the community had an interest in the 
 preservation of the forests, and suggested that it was neces- 
 sary to seek other means of gaining the object to be attained, 
 in order that the forests need not suffer. 
 
 And when I went on to tell them that we would be un- 
 able to take proper care of our forests until we had a gen- 
 eral law on the subject applying to the whole empire, and 
 that the lines separating our different states ran through 
 the midst of our woods, I heard some one call out, " Of 
 course ! He owns forests on both sides of the line." And 
 Schmalz laughed out at the top of his voice, holding his fat 
 paunch the while. " What a fuss the man is making about 
 a few little sticks ! " he said. 
 
 I descended from the tribune, feeling that I had not 
 convinced my constituents. 
 
 At the banquet all was life again. Herr Von Rontheim 
 was among the guests. He had courage enough to confess 
 to being one of the opposition, of which he had become a 
 member against his will. He was an impoverished member 
 of the old nobility. In figure and in education he seemed 
 intended for a courtier. But now he was filling an office 
 that entailed much labor upon him. He attended to his 
 duties punctually and carefully, but in a perfunctory manner. 
 He had given in his adhesion to the late liberal ministry. In 
 view of his position at Court, this was an ill-considered step; 
 for, when the ministers were removed, he was at once or- 
 dered" to the capital, and assigned to official duties that he 
 found it hard to do justice to, for his education had better 
 fitted him for the life of a courtier than for that of a pains- 
 taking government deputy. 
 
 Rontheim sat beside me, and assured me that the fall of 
 the one man who had been appointed minister to the fed- 
 eration would soon draw that of the rest after him. 
 
WALDFRIED. 87 
 
 He spoke as if he knew all about the matter, and merely 
 wanted to find out how much I knew on the subject. The 
 artifice was too apparent, however ; he knew just as little as 
 I did. In the course of conversation, he asserted that the 
 existence of the lesser German States does not find its justi- 
 fication in greater privileges than are accorded by the gen- 
 eral government, but because they can thus secure a more 
 perfect administration of the minor details of government 
 a view on which I had touched in my report. 
 
 I was not a little astonished when he told me, in the 
 strictest confidence, that I had been mentioned at Court 
 with special approval. He assured me that he knew this, 
 for he had lots of relatives there. He had indeed once been 
 called upon to furnish information in regard to myself and 
 my family ; and he felt assured that his report had reached 
 the ears of the Prince. He felt convinced that, with the 
 next decided turn in affairs, it would not be my son Richard, 
 but myself, to whom an exalted position would be offered. 
 He said that he intended to report my behavior of that very 
 day, in a quarter where the courage which can face popular 
 disfavor would be appreciated. He treated me more cordi- 
 ally than ever, and plainly signified that he felt assured of 
 my good-will. 
 
 I had never given him an occasion to joke with me, and 
 when I replied that what he had told me was so great a 
 surprise that I did not know how to answer him, he said 
 that he fully appreciated my feelings. He furnished me with 
 another bit of information, which was a much greater sur- 
 prise. He told me that my son Ernst had, but a short 
 time before that, applied at the office of the kreis-director * 
 for permission to emigrate to America, and had requested 
 
 * Director or governor of the district or department. 
 
88 WALDFRIED. 
 
 them to furnish him with the requisite documents, at the 
 earliest possible moment. 
 
 Ernst still owed two years of military service, and his re- 
 lease could only be effected as an act of grace on the part 
 of the government. This, the director added, presented 
 no difficulty, if 1 chose to exert my influence. The whole 
 affair seemed a riddle to me. 
 
 Ernst had, in all likelihood, committed this hasty action 
 during a sudden fit of impatience, and I determined to re- 
 prove him at the first opportunity. It seemed very strange 
 that he should be so careful to prevent me from knowing 
 of an undertaking which he would be unable to accomplish 
 without my assistance. 
 
 I must have looked very serious, for several old friends of 
 mine approached me and assured me that in spite of the 
 popular opposition they still were true and faithful to me. 
 
 I feel tempted to give the names of a large number of 
 wealthy farmers and magistrates, who are of much more 
 consequence than Schweitzer-Schamlz, and who represent 
 the very backbone of our country life. But when I have 
 said that they are conscientious in public affairs and just 
 and honorable in private ones, I have told all that is neces- 
 sary. 
 
 Among the guests there was the so-called "peace captain," 
 a tall and well-dressed wealthy young dealer in timber. 
 While still an officer, he had fallen in love with a daughter 
 of the richest saw-mill owner in the valley. The father re- 
 fused his consent to the marriage unless the lieutenant 
 would give him a written promise to resign from the army as 
 soon as a war should break out The lieutenant did not 
 care to do this and preferred resigning at once, which he 
 did with the rank of captain. He had become quite con- 
 versant with his business, although there was something in 
 
WALDFRIED. 89 
 
 his manner that made it seem as if he had just laid off his 
 uniform. 
 
 He still retained one trait of his military life, and that was 
 an utter indifference to politics. It was merely to honor me 
 that he attended the banquet ; and besides, was I not the 
 father-in-law of an officer in active service ? The cap- 
 tain, whose name was Rimminger, seated himself at my 
 side. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 banquet seemed to be drawing to a close, and con- 
 JL versation had become loud and general, when we were 
 suddenly called to order and told that Funk was about to 
 address us. I ought to mention, in passing, that Funk 
 belonged to the next district, and was therefore not one of 
 our voters. He ascended the platform. He generally 
 seemed loth to ascend the tribune ; but when there, his flu- 
 ent discourse and ready wit enabled him to control the most 
 obstinate audience. 
 
 He began, as usual, by saying that it hardly became him 
 to speak on this occasion. He was not a voter, and if he 
 were to express the praise and the thanks due me, to whom 
 he owed his present position, it might appear as if he were 
 endeavoring to make his private feelings the sentiment of 
 the audience. 
 
 He repeatedly referred to me as the "estimable noble 
 patriarch," and inveighed in fierce terms against those who 
 would, by a vote of want of confidence, express their disap' 
 proval of the actions of their representative, who had fol- 
 lowed his honest convictions instead of the opinions of this 
 or that constituent. 
 
 He then indulged in an explanation of his reasons for 
 having voted with the opposition. He possessed the art of 
 repeating the speeches of others as if they were his own. 
 He repeatedly used the expression " a free church in a free 
 state," and several times used the word " republic," when he 
 would immediately correct himself in an ironical manner, 
 and to the great delight of many of his auditors. 
 
WALDFRIED. 9! 
 
 Funk's words filled me with indignation. 
 
 When 1 beheld him standing up before this audience and 
 expressing such sentiments, I felt as if it were a punishment 
 that I had richly deserved ; for in his case I had assisted a 
 man in whom I had not full confidence, to a position of 
 honor and importance. I was so occupied with thoughts of 
 the speaker that I hardly noticed what he was saying, until 
 I was aroused by hearing him defend me against the charge 
 of being a Prussian. 
 
 " And even if he were a Prussian, we should not forget 
 that the Prussians are Germans as well as the rest of us. 
 We are far ahead of them, and for that very reason it is our 
 duty to help them." And then he began to praise me again, 
 and told them what a noble action it was that a man who 
 had a pastor for one son-in-law, and one of the first nobles 
 in the land for another, whose son was to-day a professor, 
 and might to-morrow be a minister, to receive into his 
 house a girl who had come to him naked and destitute. 
 
 Uproarious laughter followed these words, and Funk ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 " O you rogues ! you know well enough that when I said 
 1 naked and destitute,' I only meant/^r and without family 
 connections" 
 
 He described me and my wife as the noblest of beings, 
 and repeatedly referred to Martella. 
 
 I asked myself what could have been his reason for intro- 
 ducing Martella's name before this audience ; and then it 
 occurred to me that he had cherished hopes that my son 
 Ernst would have married his daughter, who was at that 
 time receiving her education at a school in Strasburg. 
 
 He closed by proposing cheers in my honor. They 
 were immediately followed by cries of " Hurrah for citizen 
 Funk ! ' 
 
92 WALDFRIED. 
 
 Funk was impudent enough to walk up to me afterwards 
 and offer me his hand, while he assured me that he had put 
 a quietus on the opposition of the stupid bushmen, a term 
 which he was fond of using when referring to the farmers. 
 
 I declined to shake hands, and ascended the tribune with- 
 out looking at him. "We have had enough speeches," 
 cried several of the audience, while others began to stamp 
 their feet and thus prevent me from speaking. Silence was 
 at last restored, and I began. I am naturally of a timid dis- 
 position, but when in danger, I am insensible to fear, and 
 quietly and firmly do that which is needed. 
 
 I told them that Herr Funk had spoken as if he were a 
 friend of mine, but that I here publicly declared that he was 
 not my friend, and that I was no friend of his ; and that if he 
 and his consorts really believed the opinions that they pro- 
 fessed, I had nothing in common with . them. For reasons 
 best known to himself, Herr Funk had dragged my family 
 affairs before the assembly. I was happy to say that I had 
 done nothing which I need conceal. And further, as Herr 
 Funk had found it proper to defend me against the charge 
 of being a friend of Prussia, I wished it known that I was a 
 friend of Prussia, on whose future course I based all my 
 hopes for the welfare of Germany. 
 
 I should not give up my office until the term for which I 
 was elected expired : when that time came* they might re- 
 elect me, or replace me by another, as they thought best. 
 
 Virtuous indignation aided me in my effort, and when I 
 finished my remarks, Richard told me that he had never 
 heard me speak so well. I am by nature soft-hearted, per- 
 haps indeed too much so ; but I can deal unmerciful blows 
 when they are needed. There is an old saying that a rider 
 should alight and kill the mole-cricket that he sees while 
 on his way, for it destroys the roots of the grass. It was a 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 93 
 
 similar feeling that made me refer to Funk in the way I had 
 done. 
 
 To the best of my knowledge, I had never before that had 
 an enemy ; now I knew that I had one. And an enemy may 
 be likened to a swamp with its miasmatic vapors and noisome 
 vermin. It had been reserved for my later years to teach 
 me what it is to have enemies and how to meet their works. 
 
 The worst of all is, that a fear of committing injustice 
 makes us insincere. And when at last this fear gives way to 
 one's horror of wickedness, they say, " He was not truthful ; 
 he was hypocritical, and simulated friendship for one whom 
 he despised." 
 
 Be that as it may, I was, at all events, glad that I would 
 not again have to take Funk by the hand. It has been my 
 great fault and misfortune that I could never learn to believe 
 in the utility of falsehood. Perhaps it was nothing more 
 than a love of comfort that actuated me ; for it is very trou- 
 blesome to be always on one's guard. Where I might have 
 done myself good through shrewdness and foresight, I had 
 simply made myself an object of pity. 
 
 It seemed that the affair was not to pass over without a 
 fracas. The anger which I had controlled found vent through 
 another channel, none other than Rothfuss. 
 
 I saw him standing in the midst of a crowd, and heard 
 Schmalz cry out, " Let me talk ; I would not soil my hands 
 to beat the servant of that man ! " 
 
 "What?" cried Rothfuss; "I want nothing to do with 
 the ' fat Switzer,' for wherever his shadow falls you can find 
 a grease-spot." 
 
 Uproarious laughter followed this sally. Funk forced 
 himself into the midst of the crowd, and placing himself be- 
 fore Schmalz called out, " You had better hold your tongue, 
 Rothfuss, or you will have to deal with me." 
 
94 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 " With you ? " said Rothfuss, " with you ? I have but one 
 word to tell you." 
 
 " Out with it ! " 
 
 " Yes," said Rothfuss, ".I will tell you something that no 
 human being has ever yet said to you." 
 
 " Out with it ! " 
 
 " What I mean to tell you has never before been said to 
 you You are an honest man." 
 
 Contemptuous laughter and wild shouts followed this sally, 
 and, when it looked as if blows were about to fall, and the 
 kreis-director approached and ordered them to desist, Roth- 
 fuss called out, " Herr Director, would you call that an in- 
 sult? I said Herr Funk was an honest man. Is that an in- 
 sult?" 
 
 The officer succeeded in restoring order and we departed, 
 taking Rothfuss with us. 
 
 I had paid the full penalty of my acquaintance with Funk, 
 but felt so much freer and purer than when I entered the 
 banqueting room, that I did not regret what had occurred. 
 
 Richard wanted to meet his train, and Joseph left for a 
 point down the Rhine in order to close a contract for rail- 
 road ties. I went to the station with them, and when the 
 train had left, I accepted the invitation of Rontheim, who 
 had walked down to the railroad with us, and went home 
 with him. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THERE are houses in which you never hear a loud word, 
 not because of any previous agreement on the part ol 
 its inmates, but as a natural result of their character. He who 
 enters there is at once affected, both in mood and in the 
 tones of his voice, by his surroundings. Such is the peace- 
 ful household in which kind and gentle aspirations fill all 
 hearts and where every one works faithfully in his own allotted 
 sphere. 
 
 I felt as if entering a new and strange phase of life when 
 Rontheim ushered me into the richly carpeted and tastefully 
 furnished drawing-room. I was cordially received by his 
 wife, a graceful and charming woman, and his two beautiful 
 and distinguished-looking daughters. 
 
 Although in exile, as it were, the mother and the daughters 
 had succeeded in creating a pure and lovely home, and had 
 held aloof from the petty jealousies and small doings of the 
 little town in which they were residing. Although they saw 
 but little company, they exchanged visits with some of the 
 so-called gentry. They had paid several visits to our village, 
 and a friendly intimacy with my wife had been the result. 
 She did not allow this, however, to induce her to visit the 
 town more frequently than had been her wont. She care- 
 fully avoided excursions of any kind, from a fear that they 
 might interrupt the quiet tenor of her life or render society 
 a necessity. 
 
 Rontheim' s wife and daughters had been used to the life 
 of a court, and even now acted as if with the morrow they 
 might be recalled to court. When they accompanied the 
 
C)6 WALDFRIED. 
 
 director, on his fiequent official journeys, they would discover 
 every spot in which there were natural beauties. Scenes that 
 we had become indifferent to, through habit, or in which we 
 saw nothing but the uses to which they might be put, had in 
 their eyes quite a different meaning. They would spend whole 
 days in the valleys where no one resorted but the harvesters, 
 or on the mountains where they would meet no one but the 
 foresters. They sketched and gathered flowers and mosses, 
 and their tables and consoles were decorated with lovely 
 wreaths of dried leaves and wild flowers. They would often 
 assist the poor children who were gathering wild berries, and 
 show them how to weave pretty baskets out of pine twigs. 
 They were in frequent intercourse with our schoolmaster's 
 wife, who was quite a botanist. 
 
 The second daughter, who was interested in drawing, 
 asked me about the new paintings in the Parliament House ; 
 and the elder daughter jokingly declared that it was a pity 
 that one could never find out what had been played at the 
 theatre until the day after the performance. 
 
 I was forcibly impressed by the evident effort with which 
 Herr Von Rontheim endeavored to suppress any sign of a 
 consciousness of superior birth. He showed me a recently 
 restored picture of one of his ancestors, who had been a com- 
 rade of Ulrich Von Hutten, and had distinguished himself 
 during the Reformation. He intimated that although the 
 noble families had built up the state, he cheerfully admitted 
 that its preservation had fallen into other hands. 
 
 His kind manner did not quite serve to veil a certain air 
 of condescension. 
 
 During the course of our rather desultory conversation, 
 Madame Rontheim had rung for the servant, and had given 
 her orders to him in a whisper, of which I heard the last 
 words, " Please tell Herr Ernst to come in." 
 
WALDFRIED. 97 
 
 The words startled me. Could she have me;.nt my son? 
 
 A few moments afterward, a bright-cheeked and erect- 
 looking ensign entered the room, and saluted us in military 
 fashion. I had forgotten that Rontheim's only son was also 
 named Ernst, and I -now recalled the fact of his being in my 
 son-in-law's regiment. The ensign referred to the fact, and 
 also told me that all of his comrades had regretted my son's 
 leaving the army. His constant flow of spirits and fertility 
 of invention, had won him the admiration of all of his com- 
 panions. 
 
 Madame Rontheim spoke of. my daughter Bertha in the 
 kindest terms, and praised the tact she had displayed in in- 
 troducing a ne\v element into their circle. 
 
 The eldest daughter ventured to speak in disparagement 
 of Bertha.' s friend, Annette, but the mother adroitly changed 
 the subject, and began talking about Martella. 
 
 As I felt that, in all probability, there had been all sorts 
 of false tales in regard to Martella, I told them her story. 
 When I ended, Madame Rontheim said to me, " In taking 
 such a child of nature into a well-ordered and cultured 
 home, you have pursued the very best plan. I feel assured 
 that the result of your wife's quiet and sensible course will 
 both surprise and delight you. Pray tell your wife that I 
 have for some time intended to visit her, but have concluded 
 to wait until it may be convenient to her and her charge to 
 receive me." 
 
 While seated with this charming circle at their tea-table 
 an institution which this family had introduced in our forest 
 neighborhood I had quite forgotten that Rothfuss was out- 
 side taking charge of the sleigh. But now I heard the loud 
 crack of his whip, and bade my hosts a hasty farewell. 
 
 When I got into the sleigh, Rothfuss said, "Madame, 
 7 
 
9 8 
 
 WALDFRIED* 
 
 the baroness, has sent out a hot jug as a foot-warmer for 
 you." 
 
 On our way down the hill, Rothfuss walked at the side of 
 the sleigh, and said to me, " She sent me some tea : it is 
 by no means a cooling drink, but does not taste so bad after 
 all ; it warmed me thoroughly. Before I drank it, I felt as wet 
 as a drenched goat. Ah, yes ! One of your people of rank 
 is worth more than seventy-seven of your stupid voters. In 
 all of the crowd that we met to-day there were not a dozen 
 people with whom I would care to drink a glass of wine." 
 
 Rothfuss judged of all persons by their fitness as boon 
 companions. He would drink gladly with this one, but 
 would not care to drink with the next ; and he would often 
 say that there were some whose very company sours the wine 
 they pay for. 
 
 I felt sure that he had heard some one abusing me. 
 
 When I left home in the morning, I felt as if supported 
 by the consciousness of the respect and confidence of my 
 fellow-citizens, but now 
 
 Suddenly the remarks of the kreis-director recurred to me. 
 
 Had the confidence of one party been withdrawn from me, 
 Decause it was suspected that the others were trying to lure 
 me to their side ? I have neither the desire nor the proper 
 qualifications for a more exalted position in the service of 
 the State. 
 
 And what could Ernst's notion of emigrating have meant ? 
 "Who knows," thought I to myself, " what I may yet have 
 to witness on the part of this son who is always flying the 
 track ? " 
 
 The night was bitter cold ; the snow which had melted 
 during the day had frozen hard, and our sleigh creaked and 
 rattled as we hurried along the road. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII, 
 
 I HAVE always discouraged a belief ir. omens, and yet 
 when I saw the strange cloud-forms that floated before 
 the face of the moon that night, shadowy forebodings filled 
 my soul. The ringing of the sleigh-bells was full of a strange 
 melody, and, down in the valley, I could hear the raging of 
 the torrent which seemed as if angered at the thought that 
 the frost king would soon again bind it with his fetters. 
 
 The sleigh halted at the saw-mill. When I looked up 
 towards the house I saw that there was a light in the room. 
 
 "What are you doing?" I asked Rothfuss. 
 
 " I am taking the bells off, so that the mistress may not 
 hear us." 
 
 Although we had supposed that no one had noticed our 
 coining, we heard soft steps advancing to meet us when we 
 reached the house. Martella opened the door for us. 
 
 I entered the room. It was nicely warmed and lighted. 
 The meal which had been prepared for me was still on the 
 table. 
 
 Rothfuss drew off his boots and went off to his room on 
 tiptoe. 
 
 " Do you not want to go to bed, Martella ? Have you 
 been sitting up all this time ? " 
 
 " Indeed I have ; and oh, do take it from me ! " 
 
 " What ails you ? " 
 
 " Oh, what a night I have passed ! I do not know how it 
 all came about; but mother had gone to bed, and I sat 
 here quite alone in this great, big house. I looked at the 
 
100 WALDFRIED. 
 
 meal that was waiting for our master; at the bread that 
 had once been grain, the meat that had once been alive, 
 and the wine that had once been grapes in the vineyard. 
 
 " It seemed to me as if the fields and the beasts all came 
 up to me and asked, ' Where are you ? What has become 
 of you?' And then I could not help thinking to myself, 
 ' You have so many people here a father, a mother, one 
 brother who is so learned, and another who is in another 
 world, a sister who is a major's wife, and one who is a pas- 
 tor's, and besides this, my own Ernst; and all these say: 
 " We are yours and you are ours." ' When I thought of that, 
 I felt so happy and yet so sad. And then the two clocks 
 kept up their incessant ticking. It seemed as if they were 
 talking to me all the time. The fast one said to me, 
 ' How did you get here, you simple, forlorn child, whom 
 they found behind the hedge ? Run away as fast as you 
 can ! Run away ! you cannot stay here ; you must go 
 off. All these people* about you have made a prisoner of 
 you ; they feel kindly towards you, but you cannot stay. 
 Run, run away ! Run, child, run ! ' 
 
 " But the other clock, with its quiet and steady tick, would 
 always say, ' Be thankful, be thankful, be thankful ! You 
 are snugly housed with kindly hearts ; do what you can to 
 earn their kindness by your goodness.' 
 
 "They kept it up all the time. All at once I heard the 
 cry of an owl. I had often heard them in the forest, and I 
 am not afraid of any of the birds or beasts. Then the owl 
 went away and all was still. I don't know how it happened, 
 but all at once I thought of summer and cried out * Cuckoo ! ' 
 quite loud. I was frightened at the sound of my own voice, 
 for fear that I might wake up the mistress ; and when I thought 
 of that I felt as if I could die for grief. And then again I felt 
 so happy to think that the heart that was sleeping there was 
 
WALDFRIED. IO I 
 
 one that had taken me up as its own. When the large 
 clock would say ' Quite right, quite right/ the busy little 
 one would interrupt with 'Stupid stuff, stupid stuff; run 
 away, run away ! ' 
 
 " When the hour struck midnight, I opened the window and 
 looked out towards the graveyard. I am no longer afraid 
 of it ; the dead lie there ; they are now resting and were once 
 just as happy and just as sad as I now am. 
 
 " I do not know how all these things should have come 
 into my mind. I felt cheered up at last, and closed the 
 window. Everything seemed so lovely in the room, and I 
 felt as if I were at home. At home in eternity, and could 
 now die. I did not fear death. I had fared so well in the 
 world better than millions and master," said she, kneel- 
 ing down before me and clasping my knee, " I will surely 
 do all in my power to deserve this happiness. If I only 
 knew of something good and hard that I might do. Tell 
 me if there is such a thing ; I will do it gladly." 
 
 It seemed that night as if an inexhaustible spring had 
 begun to bubble up in the heart of the child. 
 
 She sat down quite near me and told me, with a pleased 
 smile, that mother had bidden her to go to bed ; but that 
 she had stealthily gotten up, had sent Balbina, the servant, 
 to bed, and had herself watched for me ; and that she now 
 felt as if she did not care to sleep again. 
 
 " I am living in eternity, and in eternity there is no sleep," 
 she repeated several times. 
 
 The child was so excited that I thought it best to engage 
 her mind in some other direction. I asked her about Ernst's 
 plan of emigration. She told me that he had had that in 
 view some time ago, but had now given up the idea. 
 
 We remained together for some time longer, and when I 
 
IO2 WALDFR1ED. 
 
 told her that she should always call me father now, she cried 
 out with a happy voice : 
 
 "That fills my cup of joy ! Now I shall go to bed. He 
 whom you have once addressed as * father ' can never find 
 it in his heart to send you out into the world. I shall stay 
 here until they carry me over to the graveyard yonder ; but 
 may it be a long while before that happens ! Father, good 
 night ! " 
 
 How strange things seem linked together ! On the very 
 day that Funk had so unfeelingly dragged the child's name 
 before the public, her heart had awakened to a grateful sense 
 of the world's kindness. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 XT OTHING so nerves a man for the battle with the 
 .1 N| outer world as the consciousness of his having a 
 pleasant home, not merely a large and finely arranged 
 household, but a home in which there reigns an atmosphere 
 of hope and affection, and where, in days of sorrow, that 
 which is best in us is met by the sympathy of those who 
 surround us. Through Gustava, all this fell to my- lot. 
 Although the battle with the world would, at times, almost 
 render me distracted, she would again restore my wonted 
 spirits ; and it is to her faithful and affectionate care that I 
 ascribe the fact that the long struggle did not exhaust me. 
 She judged of men and actions with never-failing equanim- 
 ity, and her very glances seemed to beautify what they 
 rested upon. Where I could see naught but spite or malice, 
 she only beheld the natural selfishness of beings in whom 
 education and morals had not yet gained complete ascend- 
 ancy. 
 
 She judged everything by her own lofty standard, but 
 strange to say, instead of belittling men, this seemed to 
 make them appear better. When she found that she could 
 not avoid assenting to evil report in regard to any one, she 
 did so with an humble air that plainly signified how grieved 
 she was that men could be thus. 
 
 Speaking of Funk, she would say, " I have no desire to 
 nurt any one's feelings. In nature there is nothing that can 
 properly be called aristocratic. In botany the nettle is re- 
 lated to hemp and to hops; and if Funk seems to have 
 
104 WALDFRIED. 
 
 somewhat of the nettle in his composition, one should be 
 careful to handle him tenderly, and thus avoid pricking one's 
 fingers." 
 
 It was during that very winter, in 1866, that the purity 
 and dignity that were inborn with her seemed more than 
 ever infused with new and added grace. She always lived 
 as if in a higher presence. 
 
 It soon proved that my anticipations of evil were over- 
 wrought. My compatriots were, for the greater part, in 
 accord with me. On every hand I received assurances of 
 that fact ; and, above all, Joseph omitted no opportunity of 
 repeating to me the respectful terms in which he had heard 
 my name mentioned among the people. I really think that 
 he was instrumental in causing others to bring these good 
 reports to my notice. Martella had become the blessing, the 
 life and the light, I may say, of our house. Her readiness 
 to oblige, her adaptability and her desire for self-improve- 
 ment, had so increased that we felt called upon to restrain 
 rather than to urge their exercise. 
 
 My wife had learned of Funk's attempt to injure us by 
 dragging the child's name into publicity. Perhaps the news 
 had been carried even further ; for a letter reached us from 
 my daughter, the pastor's wife, in which she informed us that 
 the illness of her husband made such demands upon her 
 time that she required an assistant about the house, and 
 desired us to send Martella to her. She added that her hus- 
 band joined her in this wish, because it seemed improper that 
 Martella should remain in our house any longer. My wife 
 was not unwilling to send Martella to her for a while ; but I 
 insisted that she should stay with us in spite of all idle talk. 
 
 About that time we received letters from the major and 
 from Richard, both of whom wrote without the other's knowl- 
 edge, and to the eifect that Prussia's proposal to the German 
 
WALDFR1ED. 
 
 Diet might lead to a conflict, the consequences of which it 
 was impossible to foretell. Thus public and private affairs 
 kept us in unusual excitement, when an unexpected event 
 claimed our attention. 
 
 A rumor had long been current in our family that we had 
 relatives of high rank living in Vienna. Up to the year 
 1805, our village and the whole district had belonged to 
 Austria. All of the more ambitious and talented among our 
 people had been drawn to Vienna, either by their own desire 
 to advance themselves, or by the inducements the govern- 
 ment held out to them ; for it was the constant aim of Aus- 
 tria to gain the attachment of the landed interests. 
 
 At the beginning of the last century, an uncle of my 
 father had moved to the Imperial city, where he attained a 
 high position. He had embraced the Catholic religion, and 
 had been ennobled. Ernst, who always called that branch 
 of the family " the root brood," had long cherished the plan 
 of hunting up our relatives, in the hope of thus finding a 
 better opening for himself. 
 
 Towards spring we received a visit from our neighbor, 
 Baron Arven. He was accompanied by a young bridal 
 couple. He introduced the husband, who was an officer at 
 the garrison of Mayence, as a relative of mine. The wife 
 belonged to the family of the Baroness Arven, and was from 
 Bohemia. They seemed sociable and charming people, and 
 both sides were inclined to make friends with each other, 
 but without success. Our thoughts and feelings were pitched 
 in different keys. 
 
 The young couple left us in order to repair to the capital. 
 On their departure, I gave them a letter to Bertha, and the 
 Major. They wrote to me in the kindest manner, and re- 
 marked that they would be pleased if Ernst could assume the 
 charge of the forests on their estate in Moravia. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 SPRING had come, and the air was filled with the resin- 
 ous odor of the pines. I was sitting by the open win- 
 dow, and reading in a newspaper that Bismarck had asked the 
 Diet for a constituent national assembly, to be voted for 
 directly by the people. Could it be possible ? I took up 
 the country journals : they reviled this proposal, and could 
 not conceal their fear that the most powerful weapon of the 
 revolutionary party had been destroyed. 
 
 While I was sitting there, buried in thought, I heard a rider 
 rapidly approaching. It was Ernst. He hurriedly greeted 
 us, and showed us an order recalling him to his regiment. 
 
 Martella cried out aloud. Ernst pacified her. He told us 
 that he was no longer a subject of this country. He had 
 given notice of his intention to emigrate, and that would pro- 
 tect him. It was spring-time, and the best season of the year 
 to go forth into the wide world. I could only tell him that 
 I doubted whether he would be allowed to leave the confed- 
 eration. 
 
 " Confederation ! " he exclaimed ; " what a glorious name ! " 
 
 He gave me a look that I shall, alas ! never forget. He 
 seemed to be collecting his senses, and as if struggling with 
 his thoughts, and then said : " As far as I am concerned, my 
 life is of no consequence to me. But, father, there will be 
 war, in which what the books call Germans will be fighting 
 against Germans. Have you raised me for this ? Is this all 
 that you are in the world for that your son should perish, 
 or even conquer, in a war between brethren ? Either issue 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 107 
 
 is equally disgraceful. I do not know what I would noi 
 rather do than take part in that." 
 
 I endeavored to pacify Ernst, and told him that these were 
 diplomatic quarrels, that would not lead so far after all. 
 I could not conceive of the possibility of war. However, I 
 consented to Ernst's request to accompany him to the bor- 
 ough town, in order to confer with the kreis-director in re- 
 gard to the steps that were necessary. I sincerely hoped to 
 obtain further particulars there, and felt that all would again 
 be peacefully arranged. 
 
 My wife had sent for Joseph and had asked him to accom- 
 pany us, for she saw how fearfully excited Ernst was, and 
 desired us to have a mediator with us. 
 She judged wisely. 
 
 " I shall return to-morrow," said Ernst to Martella, when 
 all was ready for our departure. 
 
 " And if you do not return to-morrow," she answered, 
 " and even if you must go to war at once, nothing will hap- 
 pen to you. You are the cleverest of all ; and if you care to 
 become a major, do so ; and I shall learn how to be a ma- 
 jor's wife for I can learn anything." 
 
 She was wondrously cheerful ; she seemed to have van- 
 quished her fears, and thus, both for herself and Ernst, light- 
 ened the pain of parting. 
 
 Joseph informed me that Funk was everywhere joyously 
 proclaiming that noxv at last the crash must come, and that 
 proud Prussia with its Junkers would be cut to pieces, or, 
 to use his own words, demolished. Ernst beat the bays so 
 unmercifully and drove so furiously, that I ordered him to 
 halt, and insisted on Joseph's taking the reins. Ernst, in a 
 sullen mood, seated himself beside me. 
 
 In the valley we a saw lumber wagon halting on the road, 
 and from afar recognized the horses as Joseph's. 
 
108 WALDFRIED. 
 
 Carl, a servant of Joseph's, and son to the spinner who 
 lived up on the rock, was surrounded by a group of raftsmen, 
 woodsmen, and teamsters, who were all gesticulating in the 
 wildest manner. 
 
 We halted as soon as we reached the team. Carl, a hand- ' 
 some, light-haired fellow, with a cheerful face and good- 
 natured eyes, came up to us and told us that this would be 
 his last load ; he had been summoned as a conscript, and 
 would have to leave that very evening and walk all night, in 
 order to reach the barracks in time. 
 
 The old meadow farmer, who had joined the crowd ex- 
 claimed, "Yes, Napoleon is master. When he fiddles, Prus- 
 sia and Austria must dance as he chooses, and the small folk 
 will soon follow suit. Yes, there is a Napoleon in the 
 world again. I knew the old one." 
 
 We did not think it necessary to answer the man. While 
 Joseph was giving his servant money to use by the way, 
 others approached and declared that they, too, had been con- 
 scripted, and requested us to tell them why there was war. 
 
 "You simple rogues," cried out Ernst, " that is none of 
 your business ! If you didn't wish it, there could be no war. 
 You are fools, fearful fools, if you obey the conscription ! " 
 
 I snatched the whip from Joseph's hand, and beat the 
 horses furiously while I called out to the crowd : 
 
 " He was only joking ! " 
 
 Joseph assumed the task of bringing Ernst to reason. He 
 declared that if I had not been present, he would have 
 written the answer that Ernst deserved in his face. 
 
 " Do so, you trusty Teuton ! " replied Ernst. 
 
 Speedily controlling himself, Joseph added, " Forgive me ; 
 but you are most exasperating. How can you bear to drag 
 yourself and your father to the very brink of ruin with such 
 idle speeches ? You are unworthy of such a father." 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 109 
 
 " Or of such a Fatherland," answered Ernst. 
 
 I felt so oppressed that I could hardly breathe. 
 
 We rode on for a little while, and at last Ernst inquired, in 
 a submissive tone, " Will you permit me to smoke a cigar ? " 
 I nodded approval, and from that time until we reached the 
 town, not a word was uttered. 
 
 On the road that led up to the kreis-di rector's house, we 
 saw the young iron merchant, Edvvard Levi, an honorable and 
 well-educated young man. He was standing at the door of 
 his warehouse, and saluted us in military fashion. 
 
 Ernst beckoned to him to approach. 
 
 ' Have you not already received your discharge ? " 
 
 " I have ; and you, I suppose, will now soon be an offi- 
 cer?" 
 
 " So I have heard." 
 
 We reached the director's house. The director could of 
 course only confirm the fact that Ernst's notice of his inten- 
 tion to emigrate was as yet without legal effect. He furnished 
 us with a certified copy of it, and added that he might be 
 able to procure Ernst's discharge ; but that, at all events, 
 Ernst would be obliged for the present to join the troops. 
 
 Rontheim believed that war was imminent, and I could 
 not help noticing an expression of deep emotion in the feat- 
 ures of the man whose face was always veiled in diplomatic 
 serenity. In those days I heard the sad question which so 
 often afterward would seem to rend our hearts : 
 
 " What will become of Germany what will become of the 
 world if Austria be successful ?" 
 
 I could easily see that it was as painful to him as it was 
 to me to have a son go forth to war. 
 
 On our way down the steps we met the director's daughter. 
 
 She extended her hand to Ernst, while she said, " I con- 
 gratulate you." 
 
1 10 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 " For what, may I inquire ? '* 
 
 " Your betrothal." 
 
 "Ah, yes; I thank you." 
 
 " I presume your intended is full of sad thoughts now." 
 
 " She does not do much thinking on the subject." 
 
 " Is your nephew obliged to join the army ?" 
 
 " My nephew ! Who can you mean ? " 
 
 " Julius Linker," blushingly answered the young girl. 
 
 " No ; he is not yet liable to military duty." 
 
 " Will you be good enough to give my kindest greetings 
 to my brother ? " 
 
 " With pleasure." 
 
 On our way Ernst seemed quite amused, and indulged in 
 jokes at the thought of Julius' being such a child of fortune. 
 His life was evidently moving in a smooth current, for the 
 half-fledged youth had already been lucky enough to win the 
 love of so charming a girl. 
 
 I felt quite reassured to find that Ernst's thoughts had 
 taken another direction. He emphatically declared himself 
 ready to join his regiment, and asked me to let him have 
 some money. He thought there was no need of my accom- 
 panying him to the capital, but I felt loth to leave him, and, 
 although I should not have done so, I promised to endeavor 
 to procure his discharge. 
 
 We again met Joseph, who expressed his regret that the 
 conscription of his valuable servant Carl would oblige him 
 to return to his home, for he had intended to accompany 
 us to the capital. 
 
 It was necessaiy for him, however, to go to the fortiess, 
 for he had accepted a contract to furnish fence rails. 
 
 Joseph is a very active patriot, but he is quite as active as 
 a business man. He has the art of combining both func- 
 tions, and Richard once said of him with justice : " With 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Joseph, everything is a stepping stone, and all events con- 
 tribute to the success of his business plans." 
 
 We were seated in the garden of the Wild Man Tavern, 
 when we heard a great uproar in front of the house of Kramm- 
 kopf, the lumber merchant. 
 
 A company of conscripts had marched up before the 
 house, in which there resided a young man who had pur- 
 chased his discharge from military service, and they cursed 
 and swore that they who were poor were obliged to go to 
 war, while the rich ones could remain at home. 
 
 Joseph, who recognized many of his workmen among the 
 young folks, succeeded in pacifying them. 
 
 We accompanied Ernst to the railway. At the depot I 
 found Captain Rimminger, the lumber merchant, who was 
 just superintending the loading of some planks. When I told 
 him that he ought to feel glad that he was no longer a soldier, 
 he silently nodded assent. He did not utter a word, for he 
 was always exceedingly careful to avoid committing himself. 
 
 At the depot we saw conscripts who were shouting and 
 cheering, mothers who were weeping, and fathers who bit 
 their lips to control their emotion. 
 
 At every station where Ernst left the train, I feared that he 
 would not come back ; but he did return and sat by my side 
 quietly, speaking only in reply to my questions. For a while 
 he would sit absorbed in thought, and then he would stand 
 up and lean against the side of the railway coach, in which 
 position he would remain immovable. I felt much grieved 
 that the -heart of this child had become a mystery to me. 
 
 We arrived at the capital. I had lost sight of Ernst in 
 the crowd, but afterwards found him talking with the ensign, 
 the director's son. Ernst desired to go to the barracks at 
 once. I accompanied him to the gate, which he entered 
 without once turning to look back. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 I REMAINED standing near the gate and saw constant 
 arrivals of more young men. Men and women desired 
 to accompany them inside the barracks, but were always or- 
 dered back by the guard. 
 
 Carl, the son of the spinner who lived on the rock, was 
 also among the arrivals. Without any solicitation on my 
 part, he promised to keep an eye on Ernst. 
 
 It had become night ; the gas-lamps were lit, and yet I 
 stood there so buried in thought, that the lamp-lighter was 
 obliged to tell me to move on. 
 
 There I was, in the capital in which there lived so many 
 of my friends, and my own child ; indeed, two of my children. 
 
 Where should I go first ? Our club-house was in the 
 vicinity, and I went there. They praised me for having 
 come so soon, for while I had been at the borough town they 
 had telegraphed for me. 
 
 They were in hourly expectation of a government order, 
 convoking the Parliament. What we were expected to discuss 
 no one knew ; but every one felt that it was necessary for 
 us to assemble. I could not bring myself to believe that 
 war was really possible, and there were many who shared 
 my opinion. 
 
 Funk was there also. He offered me his hand in a care- 
 less manner, and, feeling that in such times enmity should 
 be at an end, I shook hands with him. 
 
 Funk rejoiced that the grand crash was at last to come. 
 Prussia would have to be beaten to pieces, and a federation 
 founded ; for the present, with a monarchical head. 
 
WALDFRIED. II3 
 
 The minister, who was well known as an arch-en smy of 
 Prussia, had sent word to the committee of our party that 
 he would come to us that same evening, and bring the order 
 convoking us with him. He did not come in person, but 
 contented himself with sending the written order. Of what 
 use could we be when the harm had already been done. 
 What were we ? Nothing but a flock without any will of 
 our own. 
 
 I went to Bertha's house. I found her alone ; her husband 
 was at his post, busy day and night. It had suddenly been 
 discovered that the troops were not fully prepared. 
 
 I had not been there long, before her friend Annette en- 
 tered, from whom as usual I was obliged to endure much 
 praise. Annette found it quite she was about to say 
 " patriarchal," but checked herself in time that I had come 
 to assist Bertha. 
 
 "Only think of it," she continued, putting all her remarks 
 in the form of questions, as was her wont : " Would you have 
 thought that Bertha would be much less resigned than I ? I 
 have always wished that I might be so gentle and self-con- 
 trolled as Bertha ; and now I am the quieter of the two. 
 Have I not as much love for my husband as any woman can 
 have for hers? Have I not given up everything for his 
 sake ? Now I say to myself, ' Did you not know what you 
 were doing when you married a soldier ? Is the uniform 
 merely for the parade and the court ball ? Therefore, rest 
 content. In this world everything must be paid for. It is 
 necessary to accept the consequences of one's actions.' Am 
 I right or wrong ? " 
 
 Annette always closed with a note of interrogation, and of 
 course I was obliged to respond affirmatively. 
 
 Bertha smiled sadly, and said in a weary voice : " Yes, 
 father, I must admit it ; I have always thought that war was 
 8 
 
H4 WALDFRIED. 
 
 one of those things of which one only learned in the hour 
 devoted at school to history. I only knew of the Punic 
 wars and the Peloponnesian war for we never got as far as 
 modern history and thought of these things as of-what had 
 once been. But I honestly admit that I did not think they 
 would come to pass again in our time." 
 
 "Just think of it, Bertha," said Annette, while she drew a 
 thick volume from her satchel, " this is the Bible. You 
 know that I never take quotations at second-hand, but pre- 
 fer looking them up myself. This morning while the hair- 
 dresser was with me, it occurred to me that the Bible says 
 the wife should leave her father and her mother for his sake. 
 So I sent for the Bible, the very one that the dowager prin- 
 cess presented me with when I was christened. I hunted 
 up the passage, but what did I find ? Why, that for this the 
 'man would leave his father and mother,' the man. Now 
 just look, it says the man ; and why should it say the man ? 
 He is not a domestic plant, like us girls ! " 
 
 The vivacity of the pretty and graceful woman cheered 
 me, and I must admit that from that time my opinion of An- 
 nette changed. She seems imbued with much of that power 
 of self-reliance which is a peculiar characteristic of the Je^vs ; 
 they are nothing by inheritence, and are obliged to make 
 themselves what they are. 
 
 But Annette seemed to guess at my silent thoughts, and 
 continued, " Do not praise me, I beg of you ! I do not de- 
 serve it. I am quite different when I am alone ; then I am 
 tormented with horrible fancies. And let me tell you, 
 Bertha, when our husbands leave, you must keep me with 
 you. I cannot be alone. I am beginning to hate my piano 
 already. I do not go into the room in which it stands. Ah, 
 here come our husbands ! " 
 
WALD FRIED. U^ 
 
 We heard advancing steps. The Major entered, and 
 greeted me politely, but seemed quite gloomy. 
 
 I told him that I had brought Ernst. 
 
 " I hope he will do himself credit," said the Major in a 
 hard voice. 
 
 I told him that the Parliament was about to reassemble, 
 whereupon the Major with great emphasis said, " Dear father, 
 I beg of you do not let us talk politics now. I have the 
 greatest respect for your patriotism, your liberalism, and for 
 all your opinions. But now it is my uniform alone that 
 speaks ; what is inside of it has not a word to say." 
 
 He pressed both hands to his heart, and continued : 
 
 " Pshaw ! I, too, once believed in ' German unity,' as they 
 are fond of calling it, ...... and even had hopes of Prus- 
 sia. But now we will show these impudent,mustachioed Prus- 
 sian gentlemen what we are made of." 
 
 I was careful not to reply to his remarks, in which I could 
 easily notice the struggle that was going on within him. He 
 was on duty ; and it is wrong to talk to a man who is at 
 his post. 
 
 What sort of a war is it in which they know no other cry 
 but " Let us show them what we are made of! " 
 
 And if the victory is achieved, what then ? An invisible 
 demon sat crouching on the knapsack of every soldier, 
 making his load heavier by a hundred-fold. 
 
 We seated ourselves at the table. The Major seemed to 
 feel that he had been harsh towards me, and was now partic- 
 ularly polite. He asked about mother, Martella, and Roth- 
 fuss. He told us that he had that day heard from our newly 
 discovered cousin, in a letter from Mayence, in which he 
 had expressed the hope that they might stand side by side 
 on the battle-field, and thus again become bound to each 
 other. 
 
U(5 WALDFRIED. 
 
 The Major had nothing more to say. He poured out a 
 glass of wine for me, and drank my health in silence. An- 
 nette used every exertion to dispel the dark cloud under 
 which we were laboring. 
 
 She asserted that her saddle horse seemed to know that it 
 would soon be led forth to battle, and told us a number of 
 marvellous stories about that clever animal. She was very fond 
 of telling anecdotes, and had considerable dramatic talent. 
 
 " Dear father," said the Major, " I believe I have not yet 
 acquainted you with my darling wish." 
 
 " I do not remember your having done so." 
 
 " My request is, that when we leave, Bertha and the chil- 
 dren should remain with you until the end of the campaign, 
 which from present indications will not extend to your neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 "They are now, at last, constructing a telegraph line 
 through your valley it has been deemed a military neces- 
 sity, and that will enable us to hear from each other with 
 dispatch." 
 
 " And will you accept an unbidden guest ? " interposed 
 Annette. " I know that you will say ' yes,' and I promise 
 you that I will be quite good and docile." 
 
 I extended my hand to her, while she continued : 
 
 " You know that it has for a long while been my wish to 
 be permitted to spend some time with your wife. Iphigenia 
 in the forest, in the German pine forest ! Oh, how charming 
 it was of your father-in-law to name his daughter so ! Are 
 pretty names only intended for books? Of course, Gre- 
 cian Iphigenia should not knit stockings. Did not your 
 father-in-law begin to translate Goethe's 'Iphigenia' into 
 Greek, but fail to complete it ? Is not Iphigenia too long a 
 name for daily use ? How do you address your wife?" 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 117 
 
 " By her middle name, Gustava." 
 
 " Ah, how lovely ! * Madame Gustava.' And the forest 
 child ? I presume she is still with you ? And now I shall 
 at last become acquainted with your noble and faithful ser- 
 vant, Rothfuss, who said that ' one who is drenched to the 
 skin need not dread the rain.' " 
 
 As far as our all-engrossing anxiety would permit it, An- 
 nette's volubility and liveliness contributed greatly to our 
 relief. 
 
 We had just left the table when Rolunt, the Major's most 
 intimate friend, entered. He had at one time been an offi- 
 cer in the service of the Duke of Augustenberg, and had 
 thence returned to his home, where he was now professor 
 at the military school. 
 
 Now political conversation could not be restrained, al- 
 though the Major refrained from taking part in it. 
 
 Rolunt was furious that, no matter how the war might end, 
 Germany would be obliged to give an idemnity, in the shape 
 of Nice, to France. 
 
 We had the galling consciousness that one nation pre- 
 sumed to decide the affairs of another, with as much freedom 
 as it would regulate the taxes or the actions of its own citi- 
 zens. 
 
 We remained together until it was quite late, and when 
 we separated, it was with crushed hearts. 
 
 The Major insisted on my staying at his house ; the war, he 
 said, had done away with all minor considerations. 
 
 On the following day there was another session of the 
 Parliament. The government demanded an extraordinary 
 credit, which was accorded, although it was hoped that we 
 might escape being drawn into war ; for both the govern- 
 ment and the legislature fondly expected that our troubles 
 might be arranged by diplomacy. 
 
H8 WALDFRIED. 
 
 Who, after all, was the enemy that we were fighting 
 against ? 
 
 I went to the barracks. I was refused admission. Fortu- 
 nately, I saw the ensign approaching, and, under his pro- 
 tection, I was allowed to enter. Ernst, who had already 
 donned the uniform, was lying on a bench. He seemed 
 surprised to see me. 
 
 " Pray do not say a word until we get outside." 
 
 He received permission to go out for half an hour, and soon 
 stood before me in his smart attire. There was something 
 graceful and yet determined in his bearing. 
 
 When we gained the street, he asked me whether there 
 was any chance of his discharge. 
 
 I was in a sad dilemma. I had taken no steps, because 
 it was only too evident that my efforts would have been of 
 no avail. 
 
 It was this that made me hesitate in answering him, and 
 Ernst exclaimed, "All right. I know all about it." 
 
 My very heart bled, pierced as it was by the same sword 
 that rent my Fatherland in twain. 
 
 I endeavored to persuade my son that there are times 
 when our own wills and thoughts are of no avail against the 
 great current of Fate. 
 
 "Thanks, father, thanks," answered Ernst, in a strangely 
 significant tone. 
 
 I could only add, " I feel assured that you will do your 
 duty. Do not forget that you have parents and a bride." 
 
 He seemed to pay but little attention to my words. 
 
 He took off his helmet, and said, "This presses me so: 
 I am unused to it. It seems to crush my brain." 
 
 He looked very handsome, but very sad. We were 
 standing before the office of the State Gazette, when sud- 
 denly the street seemed filled with groups of excited people, 
 
WALDFRTbd. 
 
 IIQ 
 
 listening to a man who had climbed to the top of a wagon 
 and was reading off a dispatch just received from Berlin, to 
 the effect that there had been an attempt to shoot Bismarck, 
 but that the ball had missed aim. 
 
 " Curse him ! " cried Ernst ; " I would not have missed 
 aim." 
 
 I reproved him with great severity, but he insisted that 
 one had a right to commit murder. I replied that no one 
 would ever have that right, and that this deed had been as 
 culpable as the assassination of Abraham Lincoln ; for if 
 any one man has the right to be both the judge and the 
 executioner of his enemies, you will have to accord the priv- 
 ilege to the democrat as well as to the aristocrat. 
 
 44 Let us cease this quarrelling," he answered ; " I have no 
 desire to dispute with you. I am firm in my belief that one 
 is justified in doing wrong for the sake of bringing about a 
 good result. But, I beg of you, father, let us now and for- 
 ever cease this quarrelling." 
 
 His face showed his conflicting emotions, and he kissed 
 my hand when I gently stroked his face. 
 
 The crowd had dispersed in the meanwhile, and we pro- 
 ceeded on our way. 
 
 Ernst suddenly stopped and said to me : " Farewell, 
 father. Give my love to mother and Martella." 
 
 He held on to my hand quite firmly for a moment or two 
 longer, and then said, " I must go to the barracks." 
 
 His eyes plainly told me that he would like to say more 
 that he could not express ; but he merely nodded, and then 
 turning on his heel, departed. 
 
 " Write to us often ! " I called out to him. He did not 
 look back. 
 
 I followed after him for a while, keeping near enough to 
 hear his firm step and the rattling of his spurs. I fondly 
 
I20 WALDFRIED. 
 
 hoped that he would yet return to me, and tell me of the 
 thoughts that oppressed his heart. 
 
 I met many acquaintances on the way, who saluted me 
 and extended their hands. They wanted me to stop and 
 talk with them, but I merely nodded and passed on. 
 
 In my eager haste I ran against many people, for I did 
 not want to lose sight of my son. There he goes ! Now 
 he stands still now he turns. Surely At that moment a 
 company of soldiers marched down the street to the sound 
 of lively music ; we were now separated. I could not see 
 my son again. I returned to Bertha and the Major, and 
 the latter promised me to keep a watchful eye on Ernst, and 
 to send us frequent tidings in regard to him, in case he 
 should neglect to write. 
 
 I rode to the depot. I was fearfully tired, and felt as if I 
 could not walk another step. 
 
 As the trains were quite irregular, I was obliged to wait 
 there for a long while. 
 
 I felt no, I cannot I dare not revive the painful 
 emotions that rent my bosom. Of what avail would it be ? 
 My son was going forth to war, and I had brought him here, 
 myself. 
 
 " Brother fighting against brother." I fancied that I had 
 been talking to myself and had tittered these words ; but I 
 found that they were frequently repeated by the excited 
 groups that were scattered about the depot. All about me 
 there was ceaseless turmoil. People were rushing to and 
 fro, yelling, shouting, cursing, and laughing. I sat there 
 absorbed in thought, not caring to see or hear anything 
 more of the world, when a familiar voice said to me, " How 
 charming, father, that I should meet you here ! " 
 
 My son Richard stood before me ; he had finished his 
 lectures and was about to return home. 
 
WALDFRIED. I2 i 
 
 Accompanied by him, I started for home. 
 
 Richard informed me of the political divisions among the 
 professors, and thus afforded me a glimpse of a sphere of life 
 entirely different from my own. Even the immovable altars 
 of science were now trembling, and personal feeling had 
 become so violent that the friends of Prussia, of whom 
 Richard was one, could not appear in public without being 
 subjected to insults. On our way home, we stopped for 
 dinner at the garrison town, where we heard the most con- 
 temptuous allusions to the " Prussian braggarts," as they were 
 termed. 
 
 It was said that they had no officers who had ever smelt 
 powder. That what had been done in Schleswig-Holstein 
 had been achieved by the Austrians; and that if they ever 
 dared go so far as to fight, they would be sent home in dis- 
 grace. 
 
 I do not know whether they really believed what they 
 said, or whether they were simply trying to keep up their 
 courage. But, on every hand, one could hear them say, 
 " They will not let matters proceed so far ; they are loud 
 talkers and nothing else." 
 
 I was quite beside myself; but Richard begged me to re- 
 main silent. He thought it was well that matters had come 
 to this pass. 
 
 Whoever had brought on this war had assumed a great, 
 but perhaps unavoidable, responsibility. It was the sad 
 fiat of fate, and none could foretell where the sacrifice and 
 suffering would end. History would march on in its ap- 
 pointed path, even though sin and suffering be its stepping- 
 stones. 
 
 And then he pointed to our surroundings, and added, 
 " Such fellows as these will never be converted by speeches ; 
 nothing but a thorough beating will teach them reason." 
 
122 WALDFRIED. 
 
 I have found that sober history tells us very little of all 
 those things. She brings the harvest under shelter and 
 enters the result ; but who stops to ask how the weather 
 may have changed while the grain was ripening ? 
 
 But to us who live in the present, such things are 
 not trifles ; and I cannot help maintaining that the war of 
 1866 was forced on the people against their will, as far as I 
 can judge, and I have spoken to many on the subject. The 
 Prussians did not desire war ; the conservatives did cer- 
 tainly not wish for it, for Austria was, spite of all, the bul- 
 wark of their principles. The liberals did not want it; nor 
 did the soldiers go forth with cheerful hearts. But necessity 
 had become incarnate in the brain of a single statesman : 
 separation from Austria was the end to be gained, and 
 though it went hard, that result must be achieved. 
 
 But the operation was a difficult and a painful one. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 EFORE the train left the station, the newsboys were 
 running about offering copies of extra issues of. the 
 journals, with news that the Diet had raised the German 
 colors : black, red, gold. 
 
 And thus the Diet dared to unfurl the flag which we had 
 always regarded with devotion, for the sake of which we 
 had been persecuted, imprisoned, or exiled. It seemed as 
 if the holiest of holies had been denied and dishonored. 
 
 " It is the death-bed repentance of a sinner who has not 
 enough time left to do good in," said Richard, who divined 
 the thoughts that were passing through my mind. 
 
 A large company of soldiers was on the train, and went 
 as far as the next garrison town. 
 
 But how could they have found it in their hearts to sing ? 
 
 Haymaking had begun, the cars were filled with the fra- 
 grant odor of the newly mown grass. The laborers in the 
 fields would look up from their work, and raise their scythes 
 on high when they saw us pass. 
 
 And now, when it seemed as if my Fatherland was to be 
 laid waste and destroyed, I became more than ever sensible 
 of my great affection for it. 
 
 These woods, these fields and villages, were all to be 
 laid waste, and shrieks of woe would resound from the 
 flames. I felt it as keenly, as if beholding a beloved rela- 
 tive in the grasp of death. 
 
 The train was just moving away from the station when I 
 heard a soldier call out to me, " Grandfather ! " 
 
124 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 I recognized him : it was my grandson Martin, the son of 
 my daughter Johanna. He nodded to me, and when I 
 turned to look at him, I saw the lieutenant collaring and 
 buffeting him for speaking without orders while in the ranks. 
 
 We had proceeded but a short distance when I observed 
 that Funk was on the train. He kept at a distance from us. 
 He had bought a large bundle of extra newspapers, which he 
 distributed to the people at the different stations. 
 
 When we reached our circuit town we repaired to the 
 Wild Man Tavern, where, while waiting for a conveyance, we 
 seated ourselves under the newly planted lindens. While 
 sitting there, engrossed by thoughts of the country's troubles, 
 I learned of another trouble nearer home. 
 
 I am old enough to know something of human wicked- 
 ness, but I admit that I am, even to this day, frequently sur- 
 prised by the shape that human meanness will sometimes 
 take. 
 
 At a side table was seated Funk's special satellite the 
 baker Lerz, of Hollerberg. He was accompanied by his 
 wife, and both looked about them with an air of serene con- 
 tentment. The baker was a sensual, self-complacent man, 
 who had a habit of smiling and moving his lips, as if he were 
 smacking them at the thoughts of a feast he had just been 
 enjoying. He had just been involved in an unclean piece 
 of business, in which he had sworn that he was innocent, 
 although, according to my conviction and the general belief, 
 he had perjured himself in so doing. But what does such 
 an unconscionable voluptuary care for that? When the 
 peril was gassed, all care was at an end. 
 
 The baker approached me and inquired if I would like to 
 ride home with him ; for the government levies had rendered 
 it difficult to obtain a conveyance. I declined; Fortu- 
 nately, my neighbor, the young meadow farmer, who had 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 125 
 
 been taking hay over to the railway station, was passing by 
 at the time, and so I rode home with him. 
 
 A little way out of the town, we came up with a young 
 woman who was walking along the road. She had covered 
 her head with a large white kerchief, and was carrying an 
 infant in her arms. 
 
 Her. head was bent forward ; and it is generally a sign of 
 deep thought if one who is walking along a road does not 
 look around at the rapid approach of a vehicle. And this 
 woman was Lerz's victim. 
 
 The meadow farmer, who was, usually, a man of few 
 words, leaned back from his seat on the front bench, and 
 whispered to me, "Such a fellow as Lerz ought not to be 
 permitted to take an oath." 
 
 The meadow farmer had for a long while been my worst 
 enemy, simply because I had deprived him of his greatest 
 enjoyment venting his spite on others. 
 
 Although it may, in these pages, seem as if I had cher- 
 ished too high an ideal of the people, I desire right here to 
 say that I have found among the lower classes that which is 
 noblest and highest in man. But I have also found much 
 that is mean and revolting. Envy and malice are charac- 
 teristics almost peculiar to the farmer, and are especially 
 shown about the time of irrigating the meadows. It affords 
 him peculiar pleasure to wait until a neighbor has set his 
 water-traps, and to sneak out and reverse them so as to 
 make the water flow on to his own meadows. 
 
 The authorities had forbidden the watering of meadows 
 after two o'clock on Sunday morning, but it availed nothing. 
 I appointed a servant who was to have the sole right of 
 setting the water-gates and opening them again ; and the 
 meadow farmer could not forgive me for this. I had 
 robbed him of the pleasure of wreaking his spite on. others. 
 
I2 6 WALDFRIED. 
 
 It was not so much on account of the advantage he had 
 gained thereby ; but, like the rest of them, he had found it 
 great sport to outwit the "gentleman farmer," as they called 
 me. 
 
 The meadow farmer really hated me and Joseph ; for if it 
 had not been for us he would have been the first man in the 
 village. Wherever he went, they inquired, " How goes it 
 with Waldfried ? " or " How is Joseph Linker ? " It annoyed 
 him that they did not ask after him first of all. 
 
 He would have been glad to take a share in politics, but 
 was too mean to bestow the requisite amount of time upon 
 such matters ; and then he would say, " Such folks as Funk 
 should not be permitted to put in their say ; there is noth- 
 ing behind him." 
 
 We had just reached the saw-mill, down in the valley, 
 when we saw a large hay-wagon coming along the road in 
 the direction of the meadow. Martella sat on top : Rothfuss 
 was walking beside the horses. 
 
 Martella alighted. She looked quite troubled. She wel- 
 comed Richard, and asked me, " Where have you left Ernst ? " 
 
 " He is not with us." 
 
 "Where then?" 
 
 We had no time to reply before Martella called out, " So 
 he must go to war after all! " 
 
 " Of course." 
 
 " Of course ? Of course ? " Martella asked repeatedly. 
 She stopped for a moment, and removing the rake from her 
 shoulder rested herself upon it. 
 
 I told her that in all likelihood there would be no war, 
 and that all the clamor was nothing more than angry threat- 
 ening on both sides. 
 
 "That is not true!" cried Martella; "you should not 
 tell me an untruth ! " 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 127 
 
 " Martella, this is my father ! " cried Richard. 
 
 "And mine too," she interrupted; " forgive me! Be- 
 cause you are my father you should forgive me ; if you did 
 not you would not and could not be my father. Forgive 
 me ! Oh ! they will shoot my good, kind Ernst ! " 
 
 She sat down by the roadside and covered her face with 
 both her hands. In a little while, however, she yielded to 
 our entreaties, and accompanied us to the house, but with- 
 out speaking a word on the way. As soon as we arrived 
 there, she hurriedly left us and hastened to the barn. In a 
 few moments she returned and cried out with a loud voice, 
 " Mother, Richard is here ! " 
 
 The child's temperament was strangely variable. 
 
 My wife was especially delighted at Richard's return. 
 lt With one exception," she said, smiling (for she could not 
 reconcile herself to Richard's remaining unmarried), " you 
 always did the right thing at the right time. We need both 
 a son and a Professor. Perhaps you will be able to make 
 Martella understand what is meant by the words State and 
 Fatherland." 
 
 She told us that Martella, who was generally so quick of 
 apprehension, found it impossible to form any conception of 
 those ideas, and that, naturally enough, in her present 
 troubles, this was doubly difficult. For, even in our eyes, 
 the events as well as the duties of that sad period seemed 
 like a horrible enigma. 
 
 It seemed as if thinking of Martella had relieved my wife 
 from the weight of her own trouble. When I informed her 
 of the expected arrival of Bertha and the children, her face 
 beamed with joy. She at once repaired to the rooms that 
 they were to occupy, and seemed, in anticipation, to enjoy the 
 thought of entertaining those who were dearest to her. 
 
 I had told my wife nothing of Annette's coming. She 
 
I2 8 WALDFRIED. 
 
 was, however, gifted with a prophetic insight that bordered 
 on the marvellous. Results which to others were yet in- 
 visible were, by her, discerned with unerring foresight. She 
 at once devoted two large rooms opening on the garden to 
 Annette. 
 
 Martella hurried about, helping to get the house in order, 
 and seemed as if there was nothing to depress her spirits. 
 
 Rothftiss complained to me that the " forest imp," as he 
 at times called Martella, left him no peace, day or night. 
 She wanted him to tell her why people had to be soldiers, 
 and why there was such a thing as war ; and she had abused 
 the Prince in terms that would secure her seven years in the 
 fortress of Illenberg, if her remarks were reported to the 
 authorities. 
 
 She had once even wanted to run off to the Prince and tell 
 him how wicked it was to command human beings to shoot 
 one another, and that he should, at all events, give her lover 
 back again, for the war was nothing to Ernst or to her. 
 
 Rothfuss called the professor to his assistance. 
 
 Richard declined the commission, remarking that it was 
 not necessary for every maiden to know why her lover was 
 forced to go to the wars, and that, in the present instance, 
 he hardly knew the reason himself. 
 
 Notwithstanding this remark, he essayed to speak with 
 Martella on the subject, and I have never seen him so ner- 
 vous and confused as on that occasion ; for Martella called 
 out to him, " Do not say a word : it is all of no use." Then 
 she embraced him, and kissed him, and pressed him to her 
 heart. 
 
 Martella's ardent kisses had so surprised and confused 
 him that it was some time before he could collect himself. 
 I had never seen him so unnerved before. I believed that 
 I understood the cause of his emotion. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 129 
 
 Martella was a riddle which to Richard ssemed more 
 difficult of solution than to any of us. 
 
 What we had all failed to accomplish was brought about 
 by the simple-minded Spinner. 
 
 Had she been told that she could be of use, or had she 
 divined it ? She came up to Martella and said, " Child, 
 your lot is a hard one ; but look at me : mine is still harder. 
 My best child, indeed my only one, for the others had left 
 me to starve, has also gone to the war ; and though a lover 
 be ever so dear, he is not a son, as you will sometime know 
 when you have a son of your own." 
 
 After that, Martella was quite resigned. She had, of 
 course, not acquired any idea of the significance of the word 
 " State ; " but she now felt that the fate of all beings was 
 ordained by a great overruling power. 
 
 Joseph kept us constantly informed of the excitement that 
 reigned through the neighborhood. Funk was the chief 
 spokesman. He announced that the time was about to ar- 
 rive when Germany would become a free confederation like 
 our neighbor Switzerland. 
 
 I do not think that one of those loud talkers believed in 
 the fulfilment of such hopes ; but, for the time being, it af- 
 forded them an opportunity of indulging in high-sounding 
 phrases. On the other hand, we knew that to " abolish 
 Prussia," as their phrase ran, would simply be the first step 
 towards preparing for Germany the fate of Poland. And 
 yet my own kindred my son, my son-in-law, and Martin, 
 my grandson were fighting to accomplish that very object. 
 9 
 
BOOK SECOND, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 WE were seated on the balcony when we saw Bertha 
 and her children coming up the hill towards the 
 house. My wife at once arose, and opened the two folding- 
 doors, as if with that action she were opening wide our 
 hearts to receive them. 
 
 Realizing the fact that there was no escaping from our 
 troubles, Bertha had conquered her sorrow, and now ap- 
 peared as fresh and cheerful as if she had just been drinking 
 at the fountain of youth. 
 
 As soon as trie first greetings were over, my wife inquired 
 about Ernst. 
 
 Bertha had seen him but once, as his captain had sent him 
 up the country to get transportation for horses. 
 
 "That is bad; they should not have sent him there. O 
 Ernst, poor, dear Ernst ! " suddenly shrieked my wife. 
 
 She grew pale and fell back on a chair. We feared that 
 she would faint. Bertha rushed to her aid, but she speedily 
 recovered herself, and her trembling lips were the only sign, 
 of the emotion she had passed through. She did not tell us 
 why she had found it so wrong of them to send Ernst on 
 that errand. She accompanied Bertha to her room, and 
 
WALDFRIED. I3I 
 
 stroking the light locks of little Victor, whom she had taken 
 on her lap, said, "He looked just as you do when he was 
 a little boy, except that he had blue eyes." 
 
 " Yes," said Bertha, " my husband has often noticed that 
 Victor bears great resemblance to Ernst." 
 
 " And Uncle Ernst promised me a horse," said Victor. 
 
 " Did he ? " said my wife, with pleased looks : " If he did 
 that, it is all right, but sad enough for all. Still, others have 
 their burdens to bear as well as we." 
 
 Martella's first meeting with Bertha as well as with An- 
 nette, resulted in mutual attraction. 
 
 Bertha was obliged to tell Martella all that she knew 
 about Ernst, and while she was holding the hand of the 
 strange child, the latter must have felt a consciousness of 
 the candor and straightforwardness of Bertha's character, for 
 she looked into her face with sparkling eyes. 
 
 Martella asked Bertha whether Ernst had sent the broken 
 ring by her. 
 
 Bertha said he had not. 
 
 She removed a ring from her finger and offered it to Mar- 
 tella, who declined it. 
 
 When Annette offered both her hands to Martella, and 
 said that she had for a long while been anxious to make her 
 acquaintance, Martella was quite confused, and looked 
 down towards the ground. When she raised her head, her 
 eyes fell on a light green necktie which Annette wore. 
 
 " How pretty it is ! " were her first words. 
 
 Annette immediately removed the tie, and fastened it 
 about Martella's neck. 
 
 " It is quite warm, yet," said Martella ; and Annette 
 replied, " How lovely ! Let us regard that as a good 
 omen." 
 
 When Bertha, who rarely gave way to sentiment, returned 
 
T32 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 and joined us again, she said, " Let us now be thrice as kind 
 and loving to one another as we have been, and be indul- 
 gent with each other's moods. It is only by such means 
 that we can manage to live through these terrible times." 
 
 Bertha and her daughter Clotilde, a charming, graceful 
 child about nine years of age, were so clever in anticipating 
 every wish of my wife's, that, although it had always been 
 her wont to be serving others and providing for their com 
 fort, she was now obliged to let them have their own way. 
 
 Martella seemed almost inseparable from Rothfuss, and 
 Victor was always with the two. He accompanied them 
 out to the fields and into the woods; and it was difficult to 
 say which of the two was the happier, Rothfuss the old, or 
 Victor the young, child. 
 
 It would have been difficult also to say which of the two, 
 Victor or Martella, cut wilder capers, for the young play- 
 fellow with the soldier cap seemed to make her forget all 
 her trouble. She was quite proud of her skill in leaping, and 
 loved to display it. 
 
 Bertha maintained that, in spite of rough manners, many 
 of Martella's movements were full of wondrous grace ; and 
 when she would turn around five or six times on one foot, 
 Victor could never imitate her. 
 
 On the very day of her arrival, Annette awakened great 
 interest in the village. 
 
 She ascended to the top of the church steeple, where none 
 of us had ever been. She waved her handkerchief from the 
 little window in the belfry, until we took notice of her and 
 returned her salute. All of the villagers who were not en- 
 gaged in the fields had gathered in groups, and were look- 
 ing up at the church steeple. 
 
 When she joined us at dinner, she told us that she 
 had already found out everything. The school-master 
 
WALDF1UED. j^ 
 
 had told her of the woods that had been pl.mted by my wife, 
 that she had already been at the Gustava Spring, and that 
 the water had tasted as if it were pure dew. 
 
 " Ah, how fortunate you are to own all this I The very 
 air you breathe is your own." 
 
 She talked incessantly, and many of her remarks were 
 quite entertaining. She plied Richard with so many questions 
 that hje looked quite displeased, and soon left the table. 
 
 " I can tell by the professor's looks that he is musical ; is 
 he not ? " 
 
 "Indeed he is; he is esteemed an excellent violincello 
 player." 
 
 "I can assure you that I asked no one, and I am so glad 
 that my intuitions did not deceive me." 
 
 While Annette was paying a visit to the school-mistress, 
 Richard gave vent to his anger at her ; but my wife pacified 
 him. Annette could not enjoy the quiet possession of any- 
 thing, and was always anxious to impart what she knew and 
 felt to others. She was evidently of a very hospitable 
 natare, and would, in good -time, acquire repose of manner. 
 During the first few days, while we were yet without news 
 of any kind, and before the journals had given us any infor- 
 mation as to the movements of the troops, Annette did not 
 allow us to get a moment's rest. 
 
 The way she worried us all, and Richard in particular, 
 was quite provoking ; and yet this lesser trouble made us 
 forget the greater one. 
 
 My father-in-law had converted the large .corner room on 
 the ground floor of our house into a veritable temple of 
 beauty. He had, from time to time, purchased casts of the 
 best antique startues, and had carefully arranged them along 
 the walls and on pedestals, placing beautiful engravings be- 
 tween them. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 He had thus brought the immortal types of beauty into 
 the depths of the forest. The room in which he had placed 
 the statues, and which Richard jokingly entitled "Athens,' 
 was a favorite haunt of ours. 
 
 Annette was greatly surprised to find such treasures with 
 us, and said to Richard, " These undying types of a past 
 great civilization are at home everywhere. It is because 
 they no longer have, and indeed never did have, anything 
 in common with the life of fashion, that they are thus im- 
 mortal. Do you not agree with me ? " 
 
 She always insisted on having an answer to her ques- 
 tions. Then she would briskly add : " Now I understand 
 the meaning of the Niobe ; she is the old spinner who 
 lives out on the rock." When we laughed at this con- 
 ceit of hers, she told us, " Oh ! I beg your pardon, I mean 
 that she is the embodiment of a mother's grief in time of 
 war." 
 
 Pointing to a statue of Iphigenia, she inquired, " Herr 
 Professor, can you tell me how the Grecian priestesses spent 
 their time ? Do you think it possible to be constantly offer- 
 ing sacrifices and uttering lofty thoughts ? " 
 
 Richard admitted that he could not give her the desired 
 information ; and Annette was quite delighted that she had 
 posed the professor. She did not give up troubling him, 
 however. 
 
 All her notions of life in the country had been derived 
 from books, and she was quite shocked to find that the mere 
 money value or utility of trees was the only point of view 
 in which they were regarded. 
 
 Notwithstanding her overflowing, emotional temperament, 
 she had quite a taste for details, and even .for figures. At 
 the first sight of a prettily situated village, she would always 
 make inquiries in regard to the number of its inhabitants, 
 
WALDFRIED. ^c; 
 
 tlieir means, and manner of living. I was obliged to tell 
 her all about my own household how many acres of timber 
 there were ready to cut, and how much was young timber ; 
 the amount of our annual production, how much live-stock 
 my meadows would support, how much fruit my orchards 
 gave me, and also how the work was divided amongst the 
 four men-servants and three maids that we employed. 
 
 She examined the whole establishment, from the stable to 
 the loft. She seemed to take especial delight in the happy 
 combination we had effected between the fruits of culture 
 and the pursuit of husbandry. There was a certain air of 
 solid comfort and good taste in our home. It had de- 
 scended from the times of my father-in-law, and had been 
 kept up by us. 
 
 With good judgment, Annette thought that the very best 
 site had been selected for our house. The hill Beyond the 
 hollow at the back of the house protected us on three sides, 
 but was not near enough to deprive us of fresh air, or to keep 
 out the gentle breezes that would come up from the valley 
 after sunset and carry away the miasmatic vapors, thus 
 affording us healthful and refreshing sleep during the night. 
 A barn, which the meadow farmer had so placed that it de- 
 stroyed part of the view down the valley, was a great eye- 
 sore to Annette. 
 
 She asked Richard why the air with us was so cool and 
 invigorating, and was very grateful when he explained the 
 theory of the dew-fall to her. 
 
 She was full of charming ingenuousness, for she once said. 
 " I do not doubt that you enjoy the singing of the birds, but 
 I honestly confess that I do not. It is pleasant to know 
 that the little animal up in the trees is so joyful ; but, never- 
 theless, there is no beauty in tones without connection or 
 expression. I find that there are no more tones in the scale 
 
136 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 of the finch than in that of the barn-yard rooster ; and why 
 do we prefer the notes of the finch ? " 
 
 Richard often felt annoyed that Annette was constantly 
 keeping every one about her on pins and needles, and seemed 
 to desire his special approval of all that she did. He main- 
 tained that she was entirely deficient in mental balance. 
 
 The temperaments of Annette and Bertha were in marked 
 contrast to each other. 
 
 When they were seated opposite each other and engaged 
 in conversation, Bertha would bend forward, while Annette 
 would lean back in her chair, as if immovable. 
 
 Bertha's mere presence exerted a grateful influence, while 
 Annette felt that she must always be doing something, in 
 order to inspire others with an interest in her. 
 
 Bertha, with all her affection for Martella, remained some- 
 what reserved towards her, while Annette was open and 
 confiding, as with a sister. She was incapable of any other 
 relations than those of perfect intimacy or absolute indiffer- 
 ence. 
 
 Richard noticed all these peculiarities, and when he men- 
 tioned them to me, I was almost startled to find how care- 
 fully he had been observing Annette. 
 
 He was obliged, however, to agree with my wife when 
 she said, "Annette's habit of requiring her friends to interest 
 themselves in whatever engages her attention, is both inno- 
 cent and childlike. A child will always think that its whip 
 or its ball is of as much importance to others as to itself. 
 Bear in mind, moreover, that Annette takes a lively interest 
 in all that others do, and naturally enough supposes that they 
 resemble her in that respect." 
 
 Annette had gone from the schocl-house one day, to pay a 
 visit to my nephew Joseph, who was a friend of her brother, 
 the lawyer, who resided in the capital. She found that there 
 
WALD FRIED. 
 
 were well-furnished rooms in his house, and a few days later 
 removed there. She frankly admitted that she was too noisy 
 for our home, and that it were better that she should visit us 
 for a few hours at a time, instead of living with us. 
 
 She at once set about rearranging the furniture and re- 
 moving unnecessary decorations in her new quarters ; and, 
 on the next day, while the carpenters were busily engaged 
 in making the changes she had ordered, she drove over to 
 the city to visit the family of the kreis-director, with whom 
 she had formerly been intimate. 
 
 She returned in the evening, bringing their eldest daughter, 
 whom she intended to keep with her as a companion. A 
 large wagon carrying sofas, rocking-chairs, and all sorts of 
 furniture followed. 
 
 Although Annette had intended to lead a quiet and con- 
 templative life, she might have been seen in the village at 
 any hour of the day. She speedily acquainted herself with all 
 of its features. She had, by rearranging the furniture in her 
 own rooms, made them habitable and tasteful, and she now 
 desired to effect a corresponding transformation in the 
 houses of the wood-cutters ; but the wives of the well-to-do 
 farmers looked askance. Whenever she met one of the vil- 
 lagers, she would greet him or her politely, and would ask 
 both old and young what they had had for dinner. She in- 
 sisted that this was the most important of all questions. 
 The people, however, found it great sport to answer her 
 with lies. 
 
 She had speedily become attached to the wife of the 
 school-master, but disliked to go to the clergyman's house. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 OUR clergyman was the son of poor parents. His 
 father had been a beadle. He is without a single 
 spark of genius, but is said to have distinguished himself by 
 great application. He attends to his duties methodically, 
 but in a cold and perfunctory manner. During the sum- 
 mer, he spends much of his time fishing ; in the winter, he is 
 almost always at home. He is well-skilled in that game of 
 chess which requires but one player. He lost his father 
 while he was quite young, and in order to be able to aid his 
 mother and his many brothers and sisters, he married a 
 wealthy, but half-witted girl, whom he never cared to take 
 into society. Politics had no attractions for him. 
 
 Formerly, if a beggar applied to him for alms he would 
 have him sent up into his room, and would ask him, " What 
 good will it do if I give you that which will only help you 
 for a moment or so ? Come and listen " and he would 
 then read the beggar a sermon, or a chapter out of the Bible. 
 But, of late years, the beggars had piously avoided his 
 house. 
 
 Our school-master, on the other hand, is a clever and 
 wide-awake man. He, too, had taken part in the political 
 movements of 1848, but when placed on trial was acquitted. 
 Ever since that time, he has held aloof from political affairs. 
 He married a woman who is exceedingly clever, and who 
 brought him some money besides. 
 
 The clergyman has no children : the school-master has 
 three two sons, one of whom is a merchant down by the 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 fortress ; the other is a machinist, and resides in America. 
 He is said to have quite a large business. The daughter is 
 the wife of the inspector of roads. The school-master is 
 quite proud that he can say, " If I were to give up my position 
 to-morrow, I could afford to live without work " a state of 
 affairs to which the skill and economy of his wife has greatly 
 contributed. The couple lead a loving and tranquil life. 
 They are hale and hearty, and, as it often happens when two 
 persons have lived together many years, they have grown to 
 look very much alike. Their garden was filled with 
 teeming flower-beds. Florists from the neighboring wa- 
 tering-places would come daily to purchase flowers, and 
 thus the garden had become a source of considerable 
 profit. 
 
 But now that the war had emptied the watering-places, 
 the flowers were left to perish for want of purchasers. 
 
 Annette instructed the school-master's wife in the art of 
 drying flowers, and making pretty bouquets of them. 
 
 Carl's mother, who lived in a little house out by the rock, 
 worked every day in the garden of the school-master's wife. 
 
 Annette was attracted by the woman. She was short and 
 thin, old and stooping, but had wonderfully clear and spark- 
 ling eyes, and Annette felt quite happy to think that this old 
 woman, who was almost deaf, could by means of her eyes 
 still have so much enjoyment. 
 
 During the summer, the spinner, as had been her wont 
 every year, would scrape off the bark from the branches of 
 the elderberry tree, and afterward tie up the branches in 
 bundles. Annette did great damage by explaining to her 
 she had only learned it herself the day before that they 
 would be used to make gunpowder. When the old woman 
 heard that, she felt as if she could not bear to touch the 
 wood ; but, as she had undertaken the task, she was obliged 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 to finish it, and so went on with her work, although it was 
 not without murmuring. 
 
 Through Annette's insinuating herself into the intimacy of 
 others, much that happened in our village acquired clearer 
 colors, and greater importance in my eyes. 
 
 I told her the history of the spinner. She had had a hus- 
 band, a tall, handsome man. He had been employed as a 
 laborer on the road, but had wasted all his earnings at the 
 tavern. 
 
 Besides that, he had been a sportsman, and had loved, 
 above all things, to roam through the woods with the forester 
 and his attendants, in search of game. 
 
 While these things were going on, the wife had, with her own 
 earnings, reared four children, who were always among the 
 tidiest in the village. Whenever anyone expressed pity that 
 she had so thoughtless and inconsiderate a husband, she 
 would say, " Oh, that's all right. If he were not so shiftless 
 a fellow, he would never have married me ; he would have 
 gone and married some woman better, handsomer, and 
 richer than I was." 
 
 When the building of the railway was begun, he gave up 
 his situation and went to work in the valley ; but he would 
 never bring home a groschen of money. Indeed, on one 
 occasion, when he received a larger sum than usual, he drove 
 up in a carriage with two comrades, and the three were not 
 content until the last kreutzer had been spent. 
 
 But yet with all this no word of complaint ever fell from 
 the lips of his wife ; and when, at last, her husband lost, his 
 life while blasting a rock, she bewailed his death, saying that 
 he was the best man in the world. 
 
 Two of her sons and one daughter were employed at 
 Mulhausen ; but they would not help the mother. Carl, 
 who had been Joseph's servant, and was now with the troops, 
 
WALDFRIED., j^j 
 
 gave all his earnings to her, and would not suffer her to 
 accept a gift from any one. 
 
 When Annette knew this, she was all attention to the 
 spinner ; but it required much clever management to be 
 able to do her a service. Besides that, it was awkward that 
 the spinner was so indistinct of speech, that with the excep- 
 tion of her son Carl and the school-master's wife, there was 
 hardly any one who could understand her. 
 
 Richard and Bertha shook their heads while watching 
 Annette's movements, and could not refrain from comment- 
 ing on them. But my wife would always tell them that An- 
 nette was of an active temperament, and was only happy 
 when assisting others. She also told them that Annette had 
 interested herself for the baker Lerz's victim and her child, 
 and that she had given the clergymen of the neighboring 
 villages considerable sums to be distributed among the poor. 
 And, further, that it was much to her credit that she would 
 not allow herself to be driven away from her work by rude- 
 ness on the part of those whom she was trying to benefit. 
 
 We soon had an amusing instance of this. 
 
 One Sunday afternoon, while we were up in the arbor, 
 Annette had seated herself with Rothfuss and Martella on 
 a bench in front of the house. She was trying to find out 
 from Rothfuss how much he loved his horses and cattle. 
 
 Rothfuss knew nothing about loving them. All he said 
 was, " Feed them well, and they will work for you." 
 
 She was quite provoked that the tinkling of the bells of 
 the cows that were grazing on the mountain patches was in- 
 harmonious. She said that she would buy bells that were in 
 accord with each other, and present them to the owners of 
 the cows.- 
 
 She conversed quite familiarly with Rothfuss and Martella, 
 and asked them to look upon her as their companion. 
 
142 
 
 WALDFRTED. 
 
 To which Rolhfuss replied, " I have nothing against the 
 Jews they are all the same to me. In the place where I 
 was born, there were lots of Jews, and I was on good terms 
 with all of them. Two of them served in the same regiment 
 with me ; and in my village there was a splendid girl whom 
 they called ' the little beauty ; ' she was strong and healthy 
 and jolly. She loved to dance with me ; and, if I could 
 only have afforded to marry, I would have been bound to 
 have her. And you may take my word for it, she would not 
 have refused me. 
 
 " You are a sensible woman ; one can talk to you about all 
 sorts of things. You are not like Baroness Arven, who once 
 ordered me to take my cap in my hand while I was speaking 
 to her. You are better than she is. 
 
 " Yes, indeed ; my first love was a Jewess. 
 
 " And then there was Myerle the horse-dealer, who often 
 came to see us. He looks just like you ; are you related 
 to him ? I know him intimately ; he is a sharp fellow, and 
 a man of his word, and always gives two crown thalers 
 drink-money. Of late he has been trying to make it Prus- 
 sian thalers, but that won't go down. 
 
 " The Jews are just like us in everything. There is only 
 one thing that they cannot do they don't know how to 
 drink ; and they don't try it, either. But in all other re- 
 spects they are just like us. ' He who is wet to the skin 
 need not dread the rain.' " 
 
 " And you, Martella," asked Annette, " what do you think 
 of the Jews?" 
 
 " I ? I don't think of them at all. I want nothing to do 
 with them. In the forest they always told me that my mother 
 must have been a Jewess ; but it is not true." 
 
 " Who is your mother, then ? " 
 
 " Who ? Why, Madame Cuckoo ; just ask her." 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 143 
 
 Martella walked away. 
 
 Annette joined us and told us all that had happened, add- 
 ing : "One is always getting new and interesting ideas. 
 Rothfuss and Martella, comparing their religion with mine, 
 look upon themselves as nobles who vouchsafe me their 
 favor. I accept it with thanks." 
 
 My wife, however, looked over to us with a significant 
 glance that seemed quite distinctly to say, " There, you can 
 see now that she is free from prejudice, and full of imperturb- 
 able kindness." 
 
 Notwithstanding her love and respect for us, Annette 
 found great pleasure in her intimate relations with the 
 neighboring family of Baron Arven. This may have been 
 the result of her having formerly been kept in the back- 
 ground. 
 
 Her constant journey ings to and fro were the occasion of 
 our making some delightful acquaintances. 
 
 Just beyond the boundary line, where I owned a large 
 piece of woodland, there resided a young forester, who was 
 of noble birth, and a relative of Annette's husband. We had 
 before that been strangers to each other ; but Annette knew 
 how to draw him and his wife into our circle, and we were 
 charmed by the simple manners of these highly cultivated 
 people. 
 
 Our family was so widely extended that we found it quite 
 easy to trace a distant relationship to our newly discovered 
 friends. The young wife was the daughter of a high official. 
 Though living in the woods, she did not neglect her intellect- 
 ual life, and found good music of great assistance in that 
 regard. She had also been able to bring up sturdy boys ; 
 and we were quite pleased to learn that her only rule with 
 them had been truthfulness and obedience. These two re- 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 quisites had been firmly and inexorably insisted upon, and 
 as a result the boys did their parents great credit. 
 
 The new element that Annette had thus introduced into 
 our circle often caused us to forget that the very next hour 
 might bring us the saddest news. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 IT was eventide. The clear tones of the village bell filled 
 the valley and were echoed back from the mountains 
 opposite. The young woods down by the stone wall seemed 
 transparent with the reflection of the rosy sunset, and all 
 looked as if bathed in golden clouds. 
 
 We were sitting in the arbor, and every one was probably 
 thinking to himself, "Perhaps at this very moment men of 
 the same nation yea, brothers may be murdering one 
 another on the battle-field." 
 
 In a low voice, and with an absence of all that resembled 
 her usual excessive excitability, Annette remarked that my 
 wife ought to feel very happy to think that she had planted 
 yonder wood. 
 
 At that moment we saw a carriage coming up the hill. 
 
 "It is father ! " exclaimed the daughter of the kreis-direc- 
 tor, and ran to meet him. 
 
 We observed that he opened the carriage door for her, and 
 that she entered it and remained with him. 
 
 Annette remarked that she had given orders that all tele- 
 grams should be sent to Herr Von Rontheim, who would for- 
 ward them to us as speedily as possible. This must be a 
 matter of importance, however, as he had come in person. 
 But let his tidings be what they may, we would stand by and 
 support one another. 
 
 Rontheim entered. 
 
 He brought us the news of a great victory gained by the 
 Austrians, who were said to have penetrated into Silesia. 
 10 
 
146 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 His manner of imparting this was in accord with our feel- 
 ings, and was quite free from any spirit of rejoicing. A brief 
 telegram had brought the news. 
 
 Rontheim seemed quite ill at ease and soon left, taking 
 his daughter and Annette with him. A little while after that, 
 Joseph arrived, and told me privately that he wished that 
 Richard and I would come over to his house. 
 
 I was struck with fear, and felt that there was bad news in 
 store for me. 
 
 Without knowing why, I felt alarmed. 
 
 When I entered Annette's apartment, Rontheim was 
 seated at a table on which there was a lighted lamp. In 
 his hand there was a newspaper. He did not rise to receive 
 me, but requested me to be seated. 
 
 He grasped my hand firmly while he said, "You are a 
 strong man, a just father no father can be blamed for what 
 his child may do. Your son Ernst has deserted." 
 
 Those were his words : I have written them down with 
 my own hand. " Could I, at that time, have believed that I 
 would ever be able to do this ! But to this day, I cannot 
 tell what rent my heart and crazed my brain. All that I 
 can recollect is that I felt as if a bullet were piercing my 
 brain, and found it strange that I knew even that much of 
 what was going on. I remember Richard's throwing his 
 arms about my neck, and crying, " Father ! Dear father ! " 
 and all was over. 
 
 When I recovered consciousness my first thought was, 
 " Why live again ? Death has been conquered." 
 
 The next thought that flashed upon me was, "But my 
 wife ! She foresaw it all, yet how will she bear this bur- 
 den?" 
 
 Annette came up to me and seemed to guess at my 
 thoughts, for with a voice choked with tears she said : 
 
WALDFRTED. 
 
 147 
 
 " Do not tell your wife of this to-night. In the morning, 
 when day approaches, if you wish me to tell her of this, I 
 am at your service. But how cold your hands are !" 
 
 She knelt down and kissed my hands. 
 
 The director handed the newspaper to Richard. I 
 noticed how his hand trembled while he held it. I asked to 
 have it handed to me, and read the proclamation of my 
 son's dishonor and the order for his arrest. 
 
 When I at last started to return home, I was obliged, for 
 the first time in my life, to lean on my son Richard for sup- 
 port. Annette had asked permission to accompany me. 
 We declined her proffered aid. The kind-hearted, impulsive 
 creature was all gentleness and desire to assist me. 
 
 I arrived in front of the house. There stands the large and 
 well-ordered house, but no joy will ever enter there again. 
 
 The wind from the valley was swaying the red beech to 
 and fro ; the fountain swelled and roared while its waters 
 glistened in the broad moonlight. All this to be seen again 
 and again, and yet " daily suicide " 
 
 " What are you saying, father ? What do you mean by 
 those words ? " asked Richard. 
 
 It was not until then that 1 became aware of my having 
 uttered them. 
 
 For Ernst, for my poor child, no day would ever more- 
 begin with the love of life. " Daily suicide" in this phrase 
 his deed and its consequences seemed to concentrate them- 
 selves. I was obliged to sit clown on the steps, and not 
 until then was I able to shed tears. 
 
 How often Ernst had run up and down there ! I could 
 yet remember the first time that he climbed those steps on 
 all fours, turning his pretty head with its light curls towards 
 me when I called out to him, and waiting quietly until I 
 would come and take him up in my arms! 
 
148 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 But now he had conjured up a restless demon whom no 
 cry or supplication could exorcise. 
 
 At this very moment I can distinctly remember how I 
 wished that all the sorrow and pain might descend on my 
 own head and be gathered up into my own heart, in order 
 that I might bear them for others. 
 
 "Master, why are you sitting at your own threshold like 
 a strange beggar?" were the words with which Rothfuss 
 surprised me. "I have already heard what our madcap 
 Ernst has done ; do not let that grieve you to death that 
 will do you no good. In this world, every one must carry 
 his own hide to market. It is bad enough in all conscience, 
 but there is courage in it for all. There are hundreds and 
 thousands of them who would like to do what he has done ; 
 but they follow the drum with its rat-tat-tat, and put on airs 
 into the bargain. Do you know what I think of this mat- 
 ter? Do not interrupt me, Heir Professor; I know what I 
 am talking about I say that every large family must have 
 its black sheep, and I would rather a thousand times have a 
 good-for-nothing than an idiot, the very sight of whom makes 
 one's hair stand on end. 
 
 " Yes, indeed ; my mother was right. Her favorite maxim 
 was : ' Better sour than rotten/ and ' To be hard of hear- 
 ing is not half so bad as to have poor eyes.' 
 
 " In every family there is something ; or, as the poor 
 woman once said : * There is something everywhere, ex- 
 cept in my lard-pot, where there is nothing at all.' " 
 
 Rothfuss would not rest until I got up again. 
 
 I went up the steps with him and into the room. He 
 drew off my boots, and was full of kind attentions. 
 
 Addressing me in a whisper, he offered to tell the news to 
 his mistress in the morning, as he thought that he was best 
 fitted for the task. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 149 
 
 He meant to speak of it in such a way that she would 
 take it as his stupid talk and give him a thorough scolding, 
 and thus wreak her anger on him. He thought that would 
 be the best way, because that would help to break the first 
 shock of the news, and then it would be easier to endure 
 the rest. 
 
 The only other thrng that troubled Rothfuss was how he 
 might stop Funk's evil tongue. He felt sure that with the 
 exception of Funk, others would be as much grieved as we 
 were. 
 
 That was the trouble. The news would enlist the atten- 
 tion of the busy world, those who pitied as well as those who 
 rejoiced in the sufferings of others. 
 
 But what matters the world : it can neither help nor hin- 
 der our griefs. 
 
 I have experienced much bitter suffering : I have gazed 
 into the grave that had received all that had been dearest to 
 me on earth, but no pain can be compared to that of grief 
 for a son, who, though living, is lost. 
 
 Morning had already dawned. The birds were singing in 
 the trees ; the sun had returned ; all life seemed to awake 
 anew ; and at last I found an hour's sleep. 
 
 "Destroyer of sleep!" were the first words I uttered 
 when I awoke. 
 
 How can he enjoy a moment's rest, or swallow a morsel 
 of food while he knows that his parents are sorrowing for 
 him. 
 
 I have often been advised it is easy enough to say the 
 words " Make up your mind to blot his name from your 
 memory." But it is not so easy to follow such counsel. 
 
 My wife softly slumbered through the whole night. Will 
 she ever again have so refreshing a sleep ? 
 
CHAPTER IV. - 
 
 THE morning was bright and clear. We were seated 
 around the breakfast table, every one of us doubly 
 oppressed. We were grieved on our own account, and 
 troubled by the thought that the mother's heart was soon to 
 become rent by the sad tidings. 
 
 Richard had told the news to Bertha. 
 
 My wife seemed to be watching Bertha, and at last re- 
 proved her for having been weeping again. " It is our 
 duty," said she, "to accept the inevitable with resignation. 
 Mankind might well be likened to the plants in the field, 
 which are obliged quietly to submit to the storm that de- 
 scends on .their heads." 
 
 We exchanged hurried glances, but Bertha did not reply. 
 
 " Will my wife be as strong in a few moments from now ? " 
 was the question I inwardly asked myself. 
 
 Rothfuss was heard crack-ing his whip in front of the 
 house. He was about to drive out into the fields, taking 
 Martella with him. 
 
 His intention was to tell her all that had happened as 
 soon as he reached the fields, so that she might there spend 
 her rage, and not annoy the household by her noise. 
 
 Victor rode along with them. 
 
 My wife inquired whether the newspaper had not yet come, 
 or why I was not reading it, and wished to know what was 
 the matter. 
 
 The moment had arrived. I gathered up all the courage 
 that was yet left me, and said, " We will take you at your 
 
WALDFRIED. i$i 
 
 word ' It is our duty to accept the inevitable with resig- 
 nation.' " 
 
 "What is it? Tell me." 
 
 " Our son Ernst has deserted ! " 
 
 "After all!" exclaimed my wife, while she laid her 
 clinched fists on her heart, as if to prevent it from bursting, 
 and with compressed lips stared into vacancy. 
 
 Fearing that she would faint, the children and I rushed to 
 her assistance. 
 
 " Never mind ; all will be over in a moment. I can 
 now breathe again. And now, I beg of you all, be silent." 
 She closed her eyes. We remained standing around her in 
 silence. Not a sound was heard, save the rapid ticking of 
 the clocks and the innocent singing of the thistle-finch. 
 
 At last, she removed her hands from her face and gave 
 way to a torrent of 'tears. With her hands folded on her 
 breast, and softly, without a loud sign of pain, she thus 
 lamented : 
 
 " O my son ! My poor son ! My poor, unhappy child ! 
 You are now a fugitive in the wide world, and without a 
 home lost and distracted a wandering proof of the con- 
 fusion of our broken household, now rent in twain and 
 bereft of peace. His heart is a wayward one. It is easier 
 to spoil a human being than to improve one. Let him who 
 believes that this war is just before God rise up and plunge 
 his sword into my son's heart ! " 
 
 She had raised herself while uttering the last sentence ; 
 when she finished, she fell back in her seat again. She 
 then suddenly and energetically sat up again, and asked, 
 ''Does Martella know of this?" 
 
 I replied that Rothftiss had taken her out into the fields 
 with him in order to tell her all. 
 
 "It is well," she answered. "Give me the newspaper, 
 
j 2 WALDFR1ED. 
 
 that I may read the letter of arrest. This was the reason 
 the director came to us yesterday and departed without 
 saying good-by. Give me the advertisement which thou- 
 sands are now reading I am his mother." 
 
 1 was obliged to tell her that I had given the paper to 
 Rothfuss, who had asked for it in order that he might show it 
 as a proof to Martella. 
 
 My wife nodded approvingly, and said, " Yes, Martella. 
 Listen to what I am about to say. Ernst has run away 
 because he was unwilling to fight in this fratricidal war. 
 That is true enough, as far as it goes ; I feel assured of that. 
 But let me tell you something more he is unfaithful 
 unfaithful to his parents, his brothers and sisters, and his 
 betrothed. I beg of you, Henry, do not contradict me ! 
 Promise me one thing." 
 
 "Whatever you wish." 
 
 "You, my husband, and you, my children, faithfully 
 promise me that, when I am no longer with you, you will 
 firmly and inviolably cherish Martella as a child of the 
 house and as one of the family." 
 
 We promised all that she asked. 
 
 "I have one other request to make. Whatever may 
 happen, do not for a moment conceal aught from me ; do 
 no violence to yourselves for my sake. I can support 
 everything as long as I know all." 
 
 Her next wish was that we should all go out into the 
 fields, for she felt sure that Rothfuss would not be able to 
 control Martella, who, she feared, might run away and rush 
 into suffering or death. 
 
 Richard said that he would be able to assist Rothfuss, 
 and that he knew the direction in which they had gone. 
 
 He hurried away to meet them. 
 
 " You had better go in and join them," we heard Rich- 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 153 
 
 ard say as he left the house, and then he ran off on his 
 errand. 
 
 A moment later, Annette joined us. Although usually 
 quite courtly in her manner, she was now diffident ar/d 
 timid, and in heartfelt tones begged us to consider her as 
 one of us, and permit her to assist in bearing our affliction. 
 
 My wife extended her arms towards her, and for the first 
 time embraced and kissed Annette. 
 
 " I have brought smelling-salts and other restoratives," 
 said Annette in a cheerful tone, while the thick tears were 
 running down her cheeks. " But, dear Madame Gustava, 
 you need nothing of that kind ; you are as firm as a forest- 
 tree." 
 
 " Ernst will never again return to his forest," complained 
 my wife. 
 
 Neither Bertha nor I were able to utter a word, but 
 Annette said to my wife, " You have a right to indulge in 
 the deepest grief. I shall never attempt to persuade you 
 otherwise. I know how galling it is when friends come and 
 imagine that they can console us by smoothing over or 
 belittling our griefs. It is well, after all, that I am with you. 
 It is indeed true that I only feel your sorrows through sym- 
 pathy, while the blow itself has descended on your heads. 
 With all my sincere sympathy, there are hours when I can 
 forget your sorrows, and am thus better able to be of use to 
 you." 
 
 My wife again took Annette's hand and pressed it to her 
 own forehead. 
 
 " Do you believe," said my wife, addressing Annette ; "do l 
 you believe that Ernst sees his actions in their true colors ? " 
 
 " I do not." 
 
 " I hope that it is so. Indeed, I really trust that my 
 child docs not reason clearly on this subject. I would 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 rather have him think himself right in what he is doing ; for 
 he will then be able to endure his days, and to sleep peace- 
 fully at night." 
 
 " How happy one is to watch the growth of bright, youth- 
 ful memories in a child's soul ; but after such a deed, it were 
 kindest to wish that he might forget everything." And then 
 turning towards me, she added, " I feel so badly to think 
 that my favorite maxim is now dead." 
 
 " Which ? " 
 
 " When I was asked how one could best bring up chil- 
 dren, I would always answer, * Let your married life be 
 pure, for thus alone can you have good, righteous children.' 
 But it seems that even this is no longer the case." 
 
 No one replied. Annette told us that she had just 
 received a dispatch. The tidings of victory were false, and 
 the very reverse of the first news was the true report, for the 
 Prussians had penetrated into Bohemia. 
 
 " Ah, how soon there will be more grieving mothers ! If 
 the woful cries of all these mothers could be concentrated 
 into one utterance, who is there that could hear it, and still 
 live?" 
 
 Thus lamented my wife. We sat in silence. 
 
 Richard entered, saying, " Mother is right ; she looks far 
 ahead." He told us that Martella had shouted with joy 
 when Rothfuss had lold her of Ernst's flight ; she had praised 
 his adroitness. 
 
 And Victor called out, " For shame ! Uncle Ernst is a 
 coward ! For shame ! Uncle Ernst is a bad man ! " 
 
 Martella raised the scythe and was about to hurl it at 
 Victor, but Rothfuss fortunately parried the stroke. Mar- 
 tella now wrestled with Rothfuss, and called out to Victor, 
 "You soldier's child! Keep quiet, you soldier's child!" 
 She seemed to use the words reproachfully. 
 
WALDFRIED. 155 
 
 Suddenly she exclaimed, " I know where Ernst is ! I 
 am going to him away, away from all of you ! " 
 
 She started on. a brisk run, but was caught in the arms of 
 Richard, who was just coming up. 
 
 When Richard told ns all this, his voice seemed broken, 
 and, for some time, he stood with his eyes cast on the 
 ground. Then he went on to tell us that Martella had be- 
 come quiet and gentle, and had willingly consented to ride 
 home again, when he told her that mother wanted to see her ; 
 and that now she was down in the barn, and' was sitting on 
 the clover, waiting until she was sent for. 
 
 Martella was called up to the house. When she entered 
 the room, my wife requested us to leave. I have never 
 learned what passed between them. 
 
 I was quite surprised at what Rothfuss told me. 
 
 When Richard caught Martella in his arms, she cried out, 
 " No, no ; you shall not kiss me ! " and pushed him from 
 her with such force, that he would have been thrown to the 
 ground if Rothfuss had not come to his assistance. 
 
 Richard had told us nothing of that. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 WHEN Edward Levi, the iron merchant, came to out 
 village, he cautiously went, first of all, to my nephew 
 Joseph ; he then sent for me, and handed me a letter from 
 Ernst. It was' written in a firm hand, and read as follows : 
 
 "To my parents I say farewell. I leave my so-called 
 Fatherland forever. 
 
 " It grieves me to know that I must grieve yon, but I 
 cannot help it. 
 
 " If thousands had done what I did, it would have been 
 praised as a noble deed. Must we sacrifice ourselves to this 
 degenerate Fatherland ? 
 
 " I cannot murder my compatriots, nor do I care to allow 
 them to murder me. 
 
 " Take care of Martella for my sake. I will write to her 
 myself. 
 
 "YOUR LOST SON." 
 
 "You must pluck such a child from your heart you must 
 forget him entirely." 
 
 These were Joseph's words after he had read the letter. 
 Many others spoke just as he did. But he who has ever 
 heard the word " father " from the lips of his child, knows 
 that this is impossible. From that time I always said to 
 myself, " No day without sorrow." Do you know what it 
 means never to have a pure, bright, happy day ? " no day 
 without sorrow ? " And yet, I admit it, I was not without 
 hope. I felt a quiet assurance that Ernst would be all right 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 in the end. How it was to be brought about, I d'd not 
 know ; but I felt that the seeds of indestructible virtue and 
 purity were yet lurking amidst this mass of ruin and rotten- 
 ness. There might yet be a turn in the tide of affairs, that 
 would draw the. current of my son's life into the proper chan- 
 nel. My wife mentioned his name only once after that. 
 But her love for the child was stronger and firmer than her 
 resolution. 
 
 She took pains to be about and to keep up an interest in 
 all that was going on : but, from the moment that she was 
 shocked by the news of Ernst's desertion, it was evident that 
 it cost her an effort to control her will. 
 
 She seemed constantly tired. She rarely went out hardly 
 ever as far as the garden, where she would walk but a short 
 distance before sitting down on a bench. She would often 
 sit in an absent manner, gazing into vacancy, and when ad- 
 dressed would seem as if hurriedly collecting her thoughts. 
 
 Martella had also received a letter. It contained a ring ; 
 but she would not show any one, not even my wife, what 
 Ernst had written. Edward Levi, the iron merchant, acted 
 with great good sense and delicacy. He attempted neither 
 to explain things nor to console us ; but gave us the simple 
 account of how the affair had happened. If it had not re- 
 lated to my own son, and had not been so full of sadness, 
 Ernst's ingenuity in the matter would even have afforded us 
 amusement. 
 
 It was late in the evening when he arrived at the town in 
 which Levi resided. He went to the police-office at once, 
 and ordered a -forester whom he found there to produce Ed- 
 ward Levi, who arrived shortly afterward, and to whom 
 Ernst used these words : 
 
 " You have been a soldier and can be trusted. I shall 
 confide my secret to you." 
 
WALDFRILD. 
 
 He then informed him, with an air of great secrecy, that 
 he had been ordered to enter the Prussian lines as a spy, 
 and requested him to provide him at once with some French 
 money and the dress of a Jewish cattle-dealer ; and also to 
 bring to him a cattle-dealer provided with a correct pass- 
 port. 
 
 After all this had been successfully accomplished, Ernst 
 wrote the two letters and handed them to Levi, with instruc- 
 tions not to deliver them until three days had elapsed. 
 
 He started off with his companion. On the way, he 
 asked him to show him his passport : it was handed to him 
 but not returned. He carefully instructed the cattle-dealer 
 to address him by the name of Rothfuss. 
 
 "Why, that is the name of the old serv.v/c that your father 
 thinks so much of . L " 
 
 "That is the very reason I have cho^n it ; you will have 
 no difficulty in remembering it. Whal .is my name ? 
 
 " The same as the servant's." 
 
 No but what is it ? " 
 
 " Rothfuss. Why, every child knov 3 the name. Might I 
 inquire " 
 
 " No ; you need ask no questions." 
 
 They journeyed on together as far as Kehl, where Ernst 
 suddenly disappeared. The drover waited all day, in the 
 vain hope of seeing him again, and at last returned home. 
 
 Ernst had in all likelihood gone to my sister, who lives 
 in the Hagenau forest, or to my brother-in-law, the director 
 of the water-works on the Upper Rhine. Before, leaving, he 
 handed a bag of money that belonged to the state to Ed- 
 ward Levi, for safe-keeping. 
 
 Joseph, who was always ready t^ assist others, at once of- 
 fered to journey, after Ernst, in tl c hope of overtaking him 
 and consulting wvh him as to hi? future. 
 
WALDFRIED. ! 59 
 
 I had instructed Rothfuss to make up a package of the 
 clothes that Ernst had left behind him, and I was at Joseph's 
 house when he brought the bundle there. 
 
 Martella wanted to accompany Joseph ; but, finding that 
 he would not consent, she turned around to her dog, and 
 said: "Pincher, go with Joseph and hunt your master !" 
 
 The dog looked up at her, as if knowing what she said, and 
 then ran after Joseph. 
 
 While I was yet with Joseph, a copy of our newspaper 
 came to hand ; it had been sent to me marked. 
 
 The marked passages read as follows : 
 
 "Father Noah, the Prussian lickspittle" I recognized 
 Funk by these very words " has allowed a dove to desert 
 from his ark. 
 
 "We cannot but regard the rumor that the father had 
 urged his son to take this step, because of his own aversion 
 to fighting against the beloved Prussians, as a malicious 
 invention. 
 
 " We do not believe the party of these beggarly Prussians, 
 or this weak-minded old gray-beard, endowed with the requi- 
 site firmness. 
 
 "But the noble Caffre's pride in his virtue must have re- 
 ceived a fearful blow." 
 
 I must admit that this low personal attack gave me much 
 pain. I was, however, more grieved to think that party 
 hatred could induce men to indulge in such abuse. 
 
 Joseph remarked, "One should indeed always have an 
 enemy, in order to find out what criticism and explanation 
 our deeds may be subjected to." 
 
 Joseph was a burgomaster. The game-keeper came to 
 report to him. 
 
 My very heart trembled with fear, and I felt ashamed of 
 myself in the presence of the game-keeper. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 He had the description and order of arrest for my son in 
 his pocket. 
 
 One does not find how far and how deep honor has spread 
 its roots, until it is lost. 
 
 Unrest, the most hateful demon in the world, had been 
 conjured up in our house. 
 
 Now that our pride was broken, we at last noticed how 
 proud we had been. 
 
 One day, when walking through the village, I met the 
 perjured baker, Lerz of Hollerberg. He extended his hand 
 to me in a friendly manner. Did he regard me as one of 
 his equals? I withdrew my hand. 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders contemptuously and went on 
 his way. 
 
 The first neighbor who visited me was Baron Arven, who 
 lives about a mile and a half from our house. 
 
 I believe I have not yet referred to this man. His digni- 
 fied and quiet demeanor betokened a really brave and noble 
 character. He was just what he seemed to be free from 
 all pretence or deceit. 
 
 I must add a few words in regard to his family. Follow- 
 ing the bent of most of the dwellers in our part of the coun- 
 try, he had gone down the Danube and had entered the 
 Austrian army. He afterward left the service and returned 
 to the family estate, bringing with him a wife who was a na- 
 tive of Bohemia, and who held but little intercourse with the 
 neighborhood. Her only familiar companions were the 
 clergy. 
 
 The Bishop had stopped there on two occasions while 
 making his pastoral journeys. 
 
 She led a life of seclusion in the castle, or rather the con- 
 vent ; for the estate on which they lived had, at one time, 
 belonged to a religious order. 
 
WALD FRIED. jgj 
 
 The Baron had two sons, splendid fellows, who were serv- 
 ing in the cavalry. He is a member of our upper chamber. 
 He is a man of but few words, but always votes with the 
 moderate liberals. 
 
 He has no respect for the people ; their coarse morals 
 and manners are repugnant to him. He does not deny that 
 mankind in general have equal rights ; but, as individuals, 
 he would only accord them such consideration as their edu- 
 cation, their means, or their social position would entitle them 
 to. In this respect he is a thorough aristocrat. 
 
 The farmers speak of him with love and veneration, al- 
 though he is never friendly towards them. He is very active 
 as the President of our Agricultural Association. He has 
 the finest cattle and the best machines, and his special 
 hobby is to stock the many woodland streams and lakes of 
 our vicinity with fish. 
 
 He is passionately fond of the chase and of fishing, and 
 possesses the art of getting through with his day in the most 
 approved and knightly manner. Rautenkron acts as his 
 forest-keeper. 
 
 That very day, the Baron came riding along, followed by 
 his two fine, large dogs. He alighted at Joseph's house and 
 saluted Annette, with whom he had become acquainted at 
 the capital, for he spent several months there with his 
 family every winter. The family of Von Arven owned an 
 old mansion in the city. 
 
 He came up to me, offered me his hand in silence, and 
 seated himself. 
 
 I could not help thinking of some words from the Book 
 of Job, that had always so deeply affected me : "And none' 
 spake a word unto him, for they saw that his grief was very 
 great." 
 
 "My dear neighbor," he at las^said, "I see that you, too, 
 
 X 
 
jfo WALDFRIED. 
 
 have been highly assessed in the impost of misfortune that 
 every one of us must pay. I shall spare you any words of 
 attempted consolation, and only add that there are thousands 
 who would like to do just as your son has done." 
 
 And then, in his calm and collected tone, he spoke of 
 this horrid war, in which Germans were righting against each 
 other. Napoleon's darling hope was that Austria and Prus- 
 sia might mutually weaken each other, so that he might be 
 the master and the arbiter of peace, and could then dictate 
 his own terms. Arven had at one time been an Austrian 
 officer, and was naturally not partial to Prussia. He had an 
 inborn aversion to Northern harshness ; but with his knowl- 
 edge of the organization of the Austrian armies, he felt free 
 to say that Prussia would be victorious. Although both of 
 his sons were in our army, he said this with great calmness. 
 
 The Baron's presence exerted a gentle, soothing influence 
 on our household. When I told my wife that he had ex- 
 pressed a wish to speak with her, she came into the room ; 
 and when the two were conversing with each other, it was 
 like a beautiful song of mourning. 
 
 The Baron's presence always produ'ced a subdued tone, 
 an atmosphere of quiet refinement an influence like a 
 subtile, pleasing perfume lingered in the room long after he 
 had taken his departure. 
 
 And now, when he was conversing with my wife, she gave 
 utterance to thoughts that otherwise we might never have 
 become acquainted with. When conversing with strangers, 
 she revealed far more of her pure and elevated views of the 
 v/orld than when she was with us alune. 
 
 Shortly after the Baron's departure, we were visited by 
 Counsellor Reckingen, who came over from the city to see 
 us. He usually lived in strict seclusion from the world. 
 While sailing on Lake Constance, he had lost his young 
 
WALDFRIED. 16$ 
 
 wife. He had plunged in after her, and had succeeded in 
 reaching the bank with her, only to find that life had fled. 
 Since that time, he had lived in solitude, devoting himself to 
 the education of the little daughter who was left to him. 
 
 Under these circumstances, I could not but appreciate 
 his kindness in paying me this visit. 
 
 He seemed to have become quite unused to conversa- 
 tion. He said but little, and soon went out into the garden 
 in front of our house, in order to plant some rose-slips that 
 he had brought with him. 
 
 I was greatly gratified by the visit of a deputation of 
 n:y constituents. It consisted of three esteemed farmer- 
 burgomasters of the neighborhood. They made no allusion 
 to the grief which had befallen me ; our conversation re- 
 ferred only to the war ; and when Martella brought in wine, 
 they looked at the child with curious eyes. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 OUGHT we to bear the blame of our son Ernst's hav- 
 ing wandered from the right path ? 
 
 By our example and precept we have guided our children 
 in the path of virtue, but who can control their souls ? I 
 have caused many a fallow soil to bear fruit, and up on the 
 bleak hills have raised sturdy trees. Nature's law is un- 
 changing ; but if not even a tree can mature without harm 
 coining to it, how much less can a human soul be expected 
 to do so. We have lived to see naught but what is good and 
 proper in our son Richard. His development is so natural 
 and consistent. In his earliest youth, he decided to devote 
 himself to science. He has steadily advanced, swerving 
 neither to the right nor the left, and has always been full of 
 the conscious power of the clear and temperate mind that 
 grasps the laws underlying the phenomena presented by the 
 world of thought and of action. 
 
 We can neither take credit to ourselves, in the one 
 instance, nor acknowledge that we were in fault in the 
 other. 
 
 My wife had been true to herself, and yet full of resigna- 
 tion in the first shock of this bitter grief; but now there 
 came an insurmountable desire to quarrel with her lot, and 
 the puzzling question, "Why should this happen just to 
 us ? " was again awakened. 
 
 I dislike to admit it, but truth forces me to say that 
 this was brought about by the arrival of my daughter 
 Johanna. 
 
WALDFRIED. 165 
 
 Johanna also had her troubles. Her husband was sickly, 
 her son was in the army, and she seemed chosen for suffer- 
 ing; but chosen by reason of a higher faith. With inconsid- 
 erate zeal, she attempted to awaken the same faith in us. 
 At that very moment, she thought, when we were crushed 
 and bowed down by sorrow, our redemption should take 
 place. She assigned the impiety of our household as the 
 cause of our scon's disobedience. 
 
 The education which my wife had received from her father 
 was, as some would call it, a heathen one; for she had 
 received more instruction from the classics than from the 
 Bible. 
 
 We were seated in our statue gallery. The door that led 
 to the garden was open ; my wife had been eagerly reading 
 from a book, which she now laid aside with the remark, 
 " That does one good." 
 
 " What were you reading ? " inquired Johanna. 
 
 My wife made no answer, and Johanna repeated her ques- 
 tion, when she said, *' I have been reading the Antigone of 
 Sophocles, and I find that I am right." 
 
 "In what respect?" 
 
 " It has renewed my recollection of an idea of my father's. 
 When I was reading the Antigone aloud 'to him for the 
 first time, he said, If a woman acted in this way, she would 
 be doing right ; but a brother should not have done so. With 
 a sister, or with a mother, the natural law of love of kindred 
 is above that of the state, which would have treated the 
 brother as a traitor to his country. And in this lies the deeply 
 tragic element that innocence and guilt are so closely 
 interwoven, and that two considerations are battling with 
 each other. You men may pass judgment on Ernst ; you 
 require unconditional submission to the lawful authorities. 
 You are right, because you are men of the law. But, with 
 
I( 56 'WALDFRIED. 
 
 Antigone, I rest myself upon that higher law which is far 
 above all laws that states may frame ! 
 
 " * It lives neither for to-day nor for yesterday, but for all time, 
 And none can know since when.' 
 
 This book is to me a sacred one." 
 
 " Mother ! " cried Johanna, with a voice trembling with 
 emotion, " mother, how can you say that, white I here have 
 the only sacred book in my hand ? " 
 
 . "In its own sense, that, too, is sacred; but it teaches me 
 nothing of the deep struggles 'between the human heart and 
 the laws of the state. " 
 
 "Mother," cried Johanna, kneeling before her; "here is 
 the Bible. I implore you to give up those profane books ; 
 they cannot help you. Listen to the Word of God ! " 
 
 " To me he speaks through these books," answered my 
 wife. 
 
 "Mother, we are mourning for the lost son." 
 
 " Our son is not lost ; he is a sad sacrifice." 
 
 Richard entered. Mother said to him, " Read me the 
 story from the Gospel." 
 
 "What do you refer to ?" inquired Richard. 
 
 " Mother means the Parable of the Prodigal Son," inter- 
 rupted Johanna ; and holding the Bible on high, she contin- 
 ued : " Here it is : Gospel of St. Luke, fifteenth chapter, 
 eleventh verse." 
 
 " Not you, but Richard, shall read it." 
 
 "But, mother" 
 
 "Richard, I wish you to read it." 
 
 He had just taken the book, when Annette entered. She 
 asked whether she was disturbing them. 
 
 My wife said that she was not, and requested her to sit 
 down at her side. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 In a calm and full voice Richard read : 
 
 " ' And he said, A certain man had two sons : 
 
 " ' And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give 
 me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided 
 unto them his living. 
 
 " ' And not many days after, the younger son gathered all 
 together, and took his journey into a far country, and there 
 wasted his substance with riotous living. 
 
 " ' And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine 
 in that land ; and he began to be in want. 
 
 " * And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that 
 country ; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 
 
 " 'And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks 
 that the swine did eat ; and no man gave unto him. 
 
 " ' And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired 
 servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and 
 I perish with hunger ! 
 
 " ' I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto 
 him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before 
 thee. 
 
 " ' And am no more worthy to be called thy son : make me 
 as one of thy hired servants. 
 
 " ' And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was 
 yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, 
 and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 
 
 " ' And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against 
 heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be 
 called thy son. 
 
 " ' But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best 
 robe, and put it on him ; and put a ring on his hand, and 
 shoes on his feet: 
 
 " ' And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us 
 cat, and be merry : 
 
j68 WALDFRIED. 
 
 " ' For this my son \vas dead, and is alive again ; he was 
 lost, and is found. ' And they began to be merry. 
 
 " * Now his elder son was in the field : and as he came and 
 drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing, 
 
 " * And he called one of the servants, and asked what these 
 things nTearit. 
 
 " 'And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy 
 father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received 
 him safe and sound. 
 
 " * And he was angry, and would not go in : therefore 
 came his father out and entreated him. 
 
 " ' And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many 
 years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy 
 commandments ; and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that 
 I might make merry with my friends. 
 
 " ' But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath de- 
 voured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the 
 fatted calf. 
 
 " * And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and 
 all that I have is thine. 
 
 " ' It was meet that v:e should make merry, and be glad : 
 for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again ; and was 
 lost, and is found.' '* 
 
 When Richard had finished, he placed his hand on the 
 open book and said, " This story has much dramatic inter- 
 est. The father, the two sons, the servant, are clearly and 
 strikingly drawn ; and with correct judgment; the mother is 
 not mentioned, for here it would not do to have double 
 notes a variation of emotion on the part of the father and 
 one on the part of the mother. I might, indeed, say that a 
 mother would have dwelt on the appearance her son pre- 
 sented on his return; while here it is left unnoticed. 
 Further" 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 " What do you mean ? You are not among your stu- 
 dents," angrily interrupted Johanna. 
 
 "You are right," continued Richard, with a quiet smile; 
 " my students are polite enough to permit me to finish a 
 sentence without interrupting me. 1 will also state, first of 
 all, that this ingenious parable makes no mention of the 
 sister. I do not know what a sister would have said in that 
 affair." 
 
 Johanna jumped from her seat in anger ; her features 
 seemed distorted with passion. She opened her mouth to 
 answer him, but could not utter a word. 
 
 "Shall I go on, mother?" asked Richard. 
 
 " Of course ; speak on." 
 
 " In the first place, the pure spirit which here reveals it- 
 self is as fully acknowledged by us as by the pious be- 
 lievers. 
 
 " To me the all-important point is, that it illustrates a view 
 of the relation between parents and children, which is com- 
 pletely the reverse of that fostered by the ancient civiliza- 
 tion, in which the children suffer for the sins of their parents. 
 Just think of the curse of the Atrides. In our days, it is 
 quite different, and the fate of the parents their happiness 
 as well as their sorrow depends upon the conduct of their 
 children. 
 
 " The individual to whom such affliction conies is subject 
 to the great and universal law of the newer life." 
 
 " Is there anything else you would like to say ? " inquired 
 Johanna, in an angry voice. She had some time before that 
 snatched the Bible out of Richard's hands, and had been 
 reading in it ever since, as if she thought that the best way 
 to counteract the influence of the heresies he had been ut- 
 tering. With all that, she seemed to hear every word that 
 was said. 
 
I/O 
 
 V/ALDFRIED. 
 
 " I certainly have, if you will permit me. To me this 
 story seems a repetition, in anew shape, of a subject already 
 treated in the same book. The story of Joseph in Egypt is 
 a family history that borders on the region of fable, narrated 
 without any regard to the moral that underlies it, and yet 
 representing to us the reward of innocence. This story 
 which tells of a son who had been a real sinner, and for that 
 reason was not permitted to return as a viceroy amid joy and 
 splendor, but in the garb of a beggar, has another lesson for 
 us. Viewed from the stand-point of the Old or New Testa- 
 ment, or even by our own feelings, it tells the story of redemp- 
 tion. Yes, every human being who falls into sinful ways, shall 
 be obliged to eat the husks ;".'... but he is not lost. 
 When through self-knowledge his soul has been humbled in 
 the dust, He who never fails will lift him up again, for it is 
 far easier to avoid sin than, before God and one's own soul, 
 to confess having sinned." 
 
 After a pause of a few moments, Richard continued : 
 " There is an excellent painting of the Prodigal's Return. 
 It is by Fiihrich. The artist has chosen the moment when 
 the father is embracing his long-lost son, now kneeling at 
 his feet ; the son, however, dares not venture to embrace his 
 father ; bent down towards the earth, he folds his hands 
 upon his breast in humble, silent gratitude." 
 
 Johanna seemed to think that she might as well abandon 
 all attempts to change our views of religious matters. She 
 arose from her seat and, pressing the Bible to her bosom, 
 left the room without uttering another wurd. 
 
 " Come into the garden with me," said my wife to Rich- 
 ard. I was left alone with Annette. Great tears were 
 rolling down her cheeks. After a little while she said that 
 now she. was at last really converted, but not in the way 
 that the church would wish her to be. She could at last 
 
WALDFRIED. \ fi 
 
 understand that the best consolation and the most elevating 
 reflection, in time of sorrow, is to consider individual suffer- 
 ing a part of a great whole, and as a phase of the soul-ex- 
 perience of advancing humanity. 
 
 She regretted that Bertha had not been with us. She felt 
 sure, also, that her husband would have been a delighted 
 listener. He had always felt attracted to Richard, although 
 he had never become intimate with him. 
 
 She hurried home in order, as I fancy, to write out for her 
 husband's benefit her impressions of what she had just heard. 
 
 Johanna left us that very day. She said that she now felt 
 as a stranger in our home, and consoled herself with the 
 thought that she could feel at home in the house of a Father 
 whom we, alas ! did not know. 
 
 We were neither anxious nor able to prevent her depart- 
 ure. And why should I not confess it? we felt more at 
 our ease without her. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 AS far as she could, Bertha led a self-contained and se- 
 cluded life. She frankly admitted that she was not in 
 the mood to worry about her lost brother ; her heart v as 
 filled with thoughts of her husband, the father of her chil- 
 dren. 
 
 When haymaking began on the mountain meadows, 
 Bertha would go out and assist in scattering the newly mown 
 grass. She hoped that physical exercise would enable her 
 again to enjoy the refreshing sleep of her childhood, and 
 was quite happy when, in the morning, she found herself able 
 to tell us that she had passed a night in dreamless sleep. 
 
 Annette suffered greatly from the heat. Bertha, however, 
 said that it was best to expose one's self to the sun, because 
 the heat would then be less oppressive. She was quite de- 
 lighted to see how the sun browned her own children. 
 
 Annette again introduced the subject of the parable 
 of the Prodigal Son, when Richard, with an ironical smile, 
 replied, " I am glad to see that you can dwell on a subject 
 and again return to it ; and I shall only add, that in the Old 
 Testament the history of a nation is conceived in a popular 
 manner, while the New Testament is a history in which one 
 exalted and idealized man serves as the sole and central 
 figure. The real life of the family, the relations of parents 
 and kindred, is not emphasized in the latter. Life, there, is 
 isolated, and looks only towards heaven. 
 
 " In the Old Testament, the life of the family is in constant 
 action, and superfluous figures which serve no moral in 
 themselves are also introduced. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 " To express myself symbolically, I should say Moses has 
 a brother and a sister who are also important figures. Jesus, 
 on the other hand, stands alone against the golden back- 
 ground, and no relationship of His is mentioned except 
 that to His mother, which was afterward poetically invested 
 with a higher significance." 
 
 " Accept my thanks ; I believe I understand you. If one 
 were able always to regard individual suffering as merely 
 part of the world's development, one would be saved from 
 all pain," said Annette. 
 
 Richard's look was one of suqmse, almost of anger, at 
 these words. 
 
 When we were together, most of his attentions were 
 for the daughter of the kreis-director. Her calm and gen- 
 tle manner seemed to him the very opposite of Annette's ; 
 and it may have been his desire to let Annette see that culti- 
 vated womanhood consists of something more than inces- 
 santly propounding questions, or in keeping a man in a 
 constant trot to prove his gallantry by providing for the in- 
 tellectual requirements of the ladies. 
 
 " I greatly fear," said Richard to my wife, " that Annette 
 is one of that class of beings with whom everything resolves 
 itself into talk, and of whom one might well say that what to 
 us is a church, is to them a concert." And he went on to 
 complain that, in the strict sense of the word, Annette did 
 not have a nice ear ; that where she thought she fully under- 
 stood one's meaning, she usually misconceived it. When 
 he had finished, my wife answered with a quiet smile : 
 
 " Be careful : the professor is again showing himself in 
 you. It seems to me that the professor finds it^annoying to 
 have listeners who are not all attention." 
 
 Richard was a severe judge of his own motives and 
 actions, and frankly confessed that he deserved the reproach. 
 
WALD FRIED. 
 
 Nevertheless ne could not accustom himself to Annette's 
 presence. 
 
 He had much knowledge of men, and constantly lived in 
 a certain equable atmosphere of his own ; and the impulsive, 
 changeable traits of Annette were therefore repugnant to 
 him. 
 
 She, too, felt the antagonism, and one day said to him, 
 quite roguishly, "The forester is the type of many men. 
 I had always thought that he found it refreshing to breathe 
 the pure air of the woods ; but I find that he is constantly 
 smoking his vile tobacco." 
 
 The petty war between Richard and Annette enabled us, 
 for many an hour, to forget the greater war that was raging 
 out of doors. Annette was quite anxious in her care for 
 my wife, and could never fully gratify her desire to be with 
 her always. 
 
 Although Richard attempted to conceal it, it was quite 
 evident that he had a decided aversion to Annette. 
 
 He would sometimes spend whole days with Rautenkron 
 the forester, and was more frequent in his visits to Baron 
 Arven than he had formerly been. 
 
 But in the evenings, when we were all together, Annette 
 seemed to possess the .art of drawing him out in spite of 
 himself. 
 
 And thus we led a simple and yet intellectual life, while, 
 without doors, armies speaking the same language were 
 arrayed against each other with deadly intent. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 "TRENCHER is here again; he could not find him," 
 JL said Martella one morning. Her dog had returned 
 during the night. 
 
 At noon, Joseph returned from Alsace. He had not suc- 
 ceeded in finding Ernst, who had remained at my sister's 
 house but one day, and had seemed excited and troubled 
 while there. 
 
 He had understood that Ernst had met some one at the 
 railway station, as if by appointment. 
 
 Joseph, who was always so cool and collected, seemed 
 remarkably nervous and excited. 
 
 I thought that he had perhaps seen Ernst after all, and 
 was not telling us all that he knew ; but he assured me, in a 
 somewhat confused manner, that he had concealed nothing. 
 He told me that he was out of 'sorts, simply because of the 
 triumphant and malicious airs that the Alsatians had dis- 
 played. Business friends of his, among whom there was a 
 deputy who seemed to be well posted, insisted upon it as a 
 fact that the Prussian statesman had offered the French Em- 
 peror a considerable portion, if not all, of the left bank of 
 the Rhine, on condition that the Emperor would not pre- 
 vent him from using his own pleasure towards Germany, if 
 conquered. 
 
 The left bank of the Rhine ! How often I, too, while in 
 Alsace had heard it said that France must take possession 
 of this left bank, as a matter of course ; for the Frenchmen 
 thought themselves the lords of creation, with whom it was 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 only necessary to express a wish in order to have it 
 gratified. 
 
 Would I yet live to see the ruin of my Fatherland ? At 
 that very moment, Germans were battling against Germans, 
 in order that the aims of France might be served. 
 
 I asked Joseph and Richard whether they could conceive 
 of such a thing as a German selling and betraying his Father- 
 land. 
 
 We had no assurance of this, and thought it best to en- 
 courage each other's faith in humanity. 
 
 The failure of Joseph's mission had only served to arouse 
 my own deep sorrow anew. 
 
 My son lost ! When night came, I could not make up my 
 mind to retire. For a long while, I sat gazing at the starry 
 heavens, and the dark forest-covered mountains. Where is 
 he now ? Can it be possible that he is not thinking of us ? 
 He is in danger, and may work his own ruin. How gladly 
 would I fly to his help, if I only knew how ! 
 
 At last one goes to his couch, thinking : " To-morrow 
 something definite must be done." But the morning comes, 
 and the deed is left undone. Thou hast waited this long, 
 and shalt wait still longer. And thus the days pass by, while 
 naught is accomplished. When I lay awake at nights, think- 
 ing of my son, I felt as if with him ; and when, by chance, 
 other thoughts arose in my mind, the one great grief would 
 thrust them aside. It seemed as if my soul had for a time 
 left the body and had now returned to it again. 
 
 The fear f sleeplessness is almost worse than the reality ; 
 but one falls asleep at last without knowing how, and so it 
 shall some day be with our final sleep. 
 
 And, often, when the tired body had fallen asleep, the 
 troubled soul would awaken it again. 
 
 At these moments I would say to myself, " Life is a 
 
IVALDFR2ED. 177 
 
 solemn charge." It went hard with me to renounce perfect 
 happiness. 
 
 One morning, when I was just about to go out into the 
 fields, Martella came running towards me. She was almost 
 out of breath, and told me that the captain's wife was over 
 in the garden of the school-master's wife, and had fainted. 
 She had received a letter with bad news. Her husband had 
 been shot in the forehead, and was dead. 
 
 My wife hurried on ahead of me, and stepped as quickly 
 as in the days of her youth. 
 
 When J reached the garden gate, Annette was already 
 sitting on a bench. She had her arms around Gustava's 
 neck, and had buried her face in my wife's bosom. 
 
 She raised her head and said, " The flowers still bloom." 
 Then she covered her face with her hands, and sobbed 
 bitterly. 
 
 My wife placed her hand on Annette's head, and said, 
 " Weep on. You have a right to lament. Let them not 
 dare come and say, ' Conquer your pain, for hundreds suffer 
 just as you do.' Were there thousands to suffer this same 
 grief, every one must suffer it for himself, and through life carry 
 a wounded heart. You are very, very unhappy. You were 
 life and joy itself: you must now know what it is to be sad. 
 It is a hard lesson, and although I bear my burden, that 
 will not lighten yours. That you must bear for yourself, as 
 none besides you can." 
 
 Annette raised her head, and when she saw me, extended 
 her hand, saying at the same time : 
 
 " You knew him well ; but no one knew him as I did. 
 He was a hero, with a soul as pure as a child's. Can it be ? 
 Can it be possible that he lives no more ? Can a mere bul- 
 let put in end to so much beauty, so much happiness? 
 Surely it cannot be ! Why should it have been he ? Why 
 12 
 
178 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 should this stroke fall on me ? Forgive me, Bertha, you 
 were stronger and more determined than I. And how your 
 husband will mourn him ! Victor, do you know what has 
 happened ? Uncle Hugo is dead ! And in the very hour 
 of his death I may have been laughing. Alas, alas ! For- 
 give me for making you all so sad. I cannot help my- 
 self." 
 
 We had not yet left the garden, when the kreis-director 
 entered. He was accompanied by a tall gentleman who was 
 a stranger to us. 
 
 " Max, you here ! " exclaimed Annette. " While I was 
 happy, you did not come to me, but now you do come. 
 How kind ! " 
 
 She threw her arms around his neck, and I then learned 
 that he was her brother. 
 
 We retired, leaving them together. 
 
 I had known that Annette was an orphan. I now learned 
 that her brother, who was a lawyer of renown, had given up 
 all intercourse with his sister, because of her having em- 
 braced Christianity. He had wished her to remain true to 
 the faith of her ancestors, and to contract only a civil mar- 
 riage. For her husband's sake, however, she had embraced 
 the Catholic religion. This was the first intimation I had 
 of her being a Catholic. 
 
 A sudden shower forced us to withdraw into the house. 
 
 It is depressing to think that while we were absorbed by 
 the deepest despair, a petty annoyance could cause us to flee. 
 We entered the school-room. 
 
 " There it is ! " exclaimed Annette, pointing to the black- 
 board ; " there it stands ! " 
 
 On the blackboard were the words, " War, Victory, Fa- 
 therland, Germany," as a writing-copy for the children. 
 
 "Children are taught to write it," said Annette, "but 
 
WALDFRIED. ! 7 g 
 
 where is it ? All life is a blackboard, and on it are written 
 the words, ' Death, Grief, Tears: " 
 
 The old spinner entered. She walked up to Annette, took 
 her by the hand, and uttered a few words which none of us 
 could understand. 
 
 Annette called upon us all to bear witness, that from that 
 very hour she would give the spinner a considerable 
 annuity in case her son should lose his life ; but that, 
 even if he were to return in safety, she would nevertheless 
 make her a yearly allowance. 
 
 Her brother objected that at such a time it were wrong to 
 make a vow. She could, from year to year, give the old 
 woman as much as she thought proper ; but that she ought 
 not, at this moment, to make a promise which would be ir- 
 revocable, and for life. 
 
 We all looked at him with surprise! 
 
 He added that he, too. would be happy to contribute a 
 generous sum to the annuity. 
 
 Annette returned to her dwelling, in order to prepare for 
 her departure. Her orders were, that her rooms should re- 
 main in the same condition as she left them, as it was her 
 intention to return. 
 
 " Your master is dead," she said to the brown spaniel ; 
 "your eye tells me that you understand my words. You 
 must remain here ; I shall return again. He loved you, too ; 
 but rest quiet : we can neither of us die yet. You arc well 
 off you can neither wish for death for yourself, nor seek 
 it : you cannot think of these things. Yes, you are well 
 off." 
 
 I can hardly find room to mention all the strange images 
 that were called up by Annette's words. Her richly endowed 
 and many-sided mind was in unwonted commotion. 
 
 The shower had passed away ; the grass and the trees 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 v/ere radiant with the sunlight, and the lines of the opposite 
 hills were clear and distinct. 
 
 Annette stood at her window gazing into the distance, 
 while she uttered the words : 
 
 " While the earth decks itself with verdure and brings forth 
 new life, it receives the dead. Let no one dare come to 
 me again and say that he understands the world and life ! 
 
 " Where is the professor ? " 
 
 My wife was the only one who could quiet Annette, and 
 she said, " If I could only go with you ! " 
 
 "You will be with me in spirit, I am sure," replied An- 
 nette. 
 
 She extended her hand to my wife, saying, " I can assure 
 you of this : I will so conduct myself, that you could at any 
 moment say to me, * This is right.' I have been wild and 
 wayward ; I am so no longer ; hereafter, I will be strong and 
 gentle." 
 
 The carriage drove up and we accompanied Annette down 
 the hill as far as the saw-mill. 
 
 There was a rainbow over our heads ; it reached from 
 our mountains to the Vosges. 
 
 Annette held a handkerchief to her eyes. My wife and 
 Bertha were walking on either side of her. 
 
 The only time I heard her speak was when she said to 
 Bertha : 
 
 " Your husband has lost his best comrade. The Major 
 will live ; there shall yet be some happy ones on earth. I 
 shall write you from the camp." 
 
 Rothfuss was ploughing the potato field. He was walking 
 with his back towards us. 
 
 Annette called to him. He came out into the road and 
 inquired what was the matter. 
 
 " My husband is dead. I am going to bring him and 
 
WALDFRIED. I Si 
 
 lay him in the earth which you are now ploughing/' said An- 
 nette in a firm voice. 
 
 Rothfuss extended his hand to her. He seemed unable to 
 utter a word, and was excitedly swinging his cap about with 
 his left hand. 
 
 At last, in a loud voice, and stopping after every word, he 
 exclaimed : 
 
 " I would rather not be King or Emperor than 
 have that rest on me." 
 
 He returned to the field and continued his work. 
 
 When we reached the valley, Annette said, " I shall not 
 say ' good by ; ' I shall need all my strength for the other 
 sad affair." 
 
 She quickly stepped into the carriage ; her brother, Ron- 
 theim, and the daughter of the latter following her. 
 
 The carriage rolled away. 
 
 On our way back to the house, my wife was several times 
 obliged to sit down by the roadside. The sad events of this 
 day had deeply affected her. 
 
 We were seated under an apple-tree, when my wife, taking 
 me by the hand, said, "Yes, Henry, how full of blossoms 
 that tree once was ; but May-bugs and caterpillars and frost 
 and hail have destroyed it. And thus it is with him, too." 
 
 She was not as demonstrative as I was ; she could bear 
 her sorrow silently ; but the thought of Ernst did not leave 
 her for a moment. 
 
 When we got back to the house she fell asleep in the arm- 
 chair, and did not awaken until sunset, when Richard, whom 
 we had not seen all day, returned. 
 
 He admitted that he had heard of Annette's bereavement, 
 but had kept out in the woods to be out of the way, as he 
 thought there were enough sympathizers without him, 
 and that he could not have been of any service. 
 
!32 WALDFRIED. 
 
 My wife looked at him with surprise. 
 
 Richard told us that during the rain-storm, which had 'been 
 quite heavy in the woods, he had been with Raiitenkron. 
 
 The gloomy man had spoken of Ernst with great interest, 
 and had incidentally inquired in regard to Martella. He 
 was quite enraged that he, who never read a newspaper and 
 did not want to have anything to do with the world, was 
 obliged to know of this war, as one of his assistants and a 
 forest laborer had been conscripted. He felt quite convinced, 
 too, that Prussia would be victorious. 
 
 For a long while there was no news from the seat of war, 
 except reports of marching and countermarching. 
 
 After that, there came a letter from the Major, who la- 
 mented the death of the Captain, and wrote in terms of ad- 
 miration of the noble and composed bearing of Annette. 
 
 Richard, who, during Annette's presence, had, as far as pos- 
 sible, affected solitude, was now again with us almost con 
 stantly. 
 
 He spoke quite harshly of Annette, and said that she was 
 ahvays expressing a desire for repose and a quiet life, while 
 at the same time she was constantly disturbing every one. 
 She would allow no one to live in his own thoughts ; her 
 only desire was, that the thoughts and feelings of others 
 should be the reflection of her evanescent emotions. 
 
 He thought it likely, however, that she might emerge from 
 the refining fire of a great grief, purer and firmer than she 
 had ever been. 
 
 " I know now," said my wife to me one evening, " why 
 Richard went out into the woods. It was well of him." 
 
 I did not understand it, and she, in order to tease me, re- 
 fused to explain. She seemed quite pleased with her secre f , 
 and I was only too happy to see her smile once again. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 " 'HT^HANK God, they have beaten us ! " were the words 
 JL with which Joseph entered our house the next morn- 
 ing, carrying an extra paper in his hand. In those words 
 was concentrated the whole misery of those days. "If 
 Prussia would only march into the South German palaces ! 
 That is the only way to bring about a proper understand- 
 ing." 
 
 This was the second idea that Joseph expressed. 
 
 An armistice was concluded. Bertha wished to return 
 home at once. A letter from her husband was received, re- 
 questing her to remain at our house, and informing her that 
 he would join her there immediately after the return of the 
 troops. 
 
 He also informed us that he had received a letter from 
 the widow of our Austrian cousin ; her husband had lost his 
 life at Koniggratz. 
 
 We also received news from Annette. In a few short 
 words she informed us of her wretched journey with the 
 corpse of him who had been all her joy, and had been sacri- 
 ficed to no purpose. 
 
 The postscript contained special greetings for Richard, 
 both from her and from his friend, a medical professor, who 
 had introduced himself to Annette as a friend of ours, and 
 had been of great service to her. 
 
 Sad tidings threw the village into excitement. 
 
 Carl, who had been the favorite of the whole village, 
 had fallen. It was both sad and gratifying to hear how 
 every one praised him. Even the taciturn meadow farniei 
 
i8 4 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 stopped me on my way to the spinner's cottage, and said, 
 " He was a steady young fellow." 
 
 If I had replied by asking him to contribute a stated sum 
 for the support of the destitute widow, he would have looked 
 at me as if I were crazy, to think of making such a sugges- 
 tion to him. According to his views of life, poor people 
 were sent into the world to starve, and the rich in order 
 that they might eat to their heart's content and fill their iron 
 cooking-pots with gold. 
 
 The meadow farmer was accompanied by a peasant- 
 prince from the valley on the other side of the mountains, 
 where the succession falls to the minor, the youngest son 
 inheriting the estate. 
 
 It was said that the only daughter of the meadow farmer 
 had been determined on as the wife of this young peasant. 
 He had inherited a considerable sum in securities, and now 
 sought a wife. Love did not enter into the question ; all 
 that was required was to keep up the name and the honor 
 of the peasant-court ; and, while a noble life cannot result 
 from such a union, it generally proves a respectable and 
 contented marriage. 
 
 I remembered that there had been a rumor in the village 
 that Marie, the daughter of the meadow farmer, loved Carl. 
 
 When I drew near to the house of the spinner, I saw 
 Funk coming out, Lerz the baker following him. I think 
 Funk must have seen me ; otherwise there could have been 
 no reason for his remarking to his companion in quite a loud 
 voice, "What do you think of your beggarly Prussians now ? 
 This is their work to kill the son of a poor widow. If he 
 had been a prince, they would have gone into mourning, and 
 for seven weeks would have eaten out of black bowls and 
 with black spoons ! " 
 
 It went hard with me to enter the widow's cottage, after 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 hearing those words. The old woman, who had always 
 been so quiet and contented, and who had never left her 
 dwelling, unless it was to go earn her daily bread, was now 
 quite urgent in her demands. She asked for money, so that 
 she might go and witness the burial of her son, and know 
 where they laid his body. She also wanted to go to the 
 Prince, for whom her son had lost his life. She knew that 
 she, a poor woman, had a better right to a good pension 
 than the Captain's widow, who was a great lady. 
 
 When my wife came, the old woman said, "You are 
 better off than I am. Your son still lives, but mine is 
 dead. They told me that you once said your son was more 
 than dead. But, tell me, what does it mean to be more 
 than dead ? Ah, you do not know. The Prussian sought 
 out the best heart of them all. He knew what he was 
 about. Of all the thousands who say ' mother,' there was 
 no better child than my Carl. Your Ernst is also a good 
 lad. They were born on the same day. Don't you remem- 
 ber? My husband was quite tipsy when he came home 
 that evening. He was gloriously full, and so jolly ! He 
 must have known that he was soon to be the father of such 
 a splendid boy. 
 
 " Oh, my poor Carl ! You may hunt the land through, 
 but you will never find so handsome a lad as my Carl. He 
 did not get his good looks from me ; but his father was just 
 as good-looking as he nay, almost more so. 
 
 " Ah, it will be a long while before you find so pretty a 
 fellow as Carl one who will sit down beside his mother of 
 a Sunday afternoon and tell her merry jokes, so that her 
 heart may be gladdened, although his own be sad. 
 
 " Yes, go and seek another such as he ! 
 
 "Don't go away, Waldfried ! There is no one left with 
 whom I can talk. Or send Martella to me she will do." 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 On our way home, my wife gently said, " His regiment 
 was not once in battle." 
 
 This was the first intimation I had received of her careful 
 reading of the newspapers. Ernst's regiment had not fired 
 a single shot, and all our suffering had been to no purpose. 
 
 We sent Martella over to the spinner's cottage, where she 
 remained all night. 
 
 On the following morning, Martella returned. She was 
 quite joyful, and maintained that Ernst had been saved and 
 would soon return to us. 
 
 She had arranged everything with the old spinner. The 
 two of them would go to the Prince, and the spinner would 
 say to him, " My son is dead ! but give me the one who was 
 born on the same day, and wipe out all that stands against 
 him ! " Or else the spinner would say, " My tears shall 
 wash away all the charges that stand written against him on 
 the slate." 
 
 It went hard to make Martella understand that this plan 
 was nothing more than an idle dream. 
 
 The battle was over, and peace had been concluded. 
 
 Although Austria was separated from Germany, there was, 
 as yet, no real Germany. While the high contracting par- 
 ties were framing the chief clauses of their treaty, the 
 Frenchman who was looking over their shoulders took the 
 pen in his own hand and drew a black mark across the 
 page, and called it " the line of the Main." 
 
 The Major came home, and the joy of Bertha and her 
 children knew no bounds. The Major, however, seemed 
 unable to shake off a deep fit of melancholy. 
 
 He was a strict disciplinarian. He never allowed himself 
 to say aught against his superiors or their orders; but now, 
 he could not keep down his indignation at the manner in 
 which the war had been conducted. When a nation really 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 18 7 
 
 goes to war it should be in greater earnest about its 
 work. 
 
 There was much distrust, both as to the courage and the 
 loyalty and firmness of the leaders. While the Major's feel- 
 ings as a soldier had been outraged, there were many other 
 thoughts which suggested themselves to him as a lover of 
 his country, and in regard to which he maintained silence. 
 
 He told us that Annette had behaved with dignity and 
 composure when she went to receive the body of her hus- 
 band. But now it was evident that she had attempted too 
 ;mich ; that she was unwell, and would be obliged until 
 autumn to repair to the sea-side, where her mother-in-law 
 would be with her. 
 
 When the Major remarked that he had heard it said that 
 in this war even slight wounds might prove fatal, because 
 every one was so filled with mortification, on account of this 
 unholy strife, that the very idea itself would serve to aggra- 
 vate even the slightest wound, my wife exclaimed, " Yes, it 
 is indeed so. There are wounds which are made fatal by the 
 thoughts of those who receive them." 
 
 We all felt that she was thinking of Ernst, and remained 
 silent. 
 
 The Major did not mention Ernst's name, nor did he in- 
 quire whether we had heard from him. 
 
 He had heard of the death of Carl, and was just about to 
 pay a visit to his mother, when Rothfuss came rushing into 
 the room in breathless haste, and told us that Carl was down 
 in the stable, and begged that we would go to his mother 
 and gently break the news of his safe return to her. 
 
 We had Carl come up to us, and learned from him that he 
 had been cut off from his companions during a reconnois- 
 sance, and taken prisoner, and had thus by mistake been 
 entered in the list of the killed. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 When he heard this, the Major inveighed furiously at the 
 want of system that obtained everywhere. 
 
 I decided that I would go to his mother, and that Carl 
 and the Major should follow me a little while later. 
 
 I went to the spinner's cottage. She sat at her spinning- 
 wheel ; and I could not help believing myself the witness of 
 a miracle, for as soon as she saw me, the old woman called 
 out, " Will he come soon ? " 
 
 She then told me that she had awakened during the night 
 she was quite sure it was not a dream and had heard the 
 voice of her son saying quite distinctly, " Mother, I am not 
 dead I will soon be with you. I am coining I am com- 
 ing ! " And she had heard his very footsteps. 
 
 "I went to the pastor's," she said, taking off one spindle 
 and putting on a new one ; " the pastor had given orders to 
 have the church-bell tolled on account of Carl's death ; but 
 I will not allow it my Carl is alive, and I do not want to 
 hear the bells tolling for his death." 
 
 I told her that in time of war there was necessarily much 
 confusion, and that I, too, believed that her son was still 
 alive, and would return again. I was just about to say that 
 I had already seen Carl, when he stepped out from behind 
 the wood-pile, and called out, " Mother ! " 
 
 The spinner remained seated, but threw her spindle to the 
 far end of the room. 
 
 Carl fell on his knees before her and wept. 
 
 " You need not weep I have done enough of it myself, 
 already," said she. "But I knew it you are a good child, 
 and you would not be so cruel as to die before me. Get up 
 and pick up my spindle. Have you eaten anything, Carl ? 
 You must be hungry." 
 
 When Carl told her that he did not wish for anything, she 
 replied, " Indeed, I have nothing but cold boiled potatoes. 
 
WALDFRIED. 189 
 
 Now, do tell me, how did it seem when you were dead ? 
 You surely thought of me at the last moment ? Tell me, 
 did you not last night at three o'clock, wherever you 
 were, say to yourself, ' Mother, I am not dead : I shall soon 
 be with you I will come soon I will come soon ? " 
 
 Carl answered that he had really uttered those very words 
 at the time mentioned. 
 
 " That is right," said the old woman. 
 
 She arose from her seat, took her son by the hand, and 
 went on to say, " Now, come up into the village with me. 
 Let us go with these gentlemen. Major, 1 thank you for 
 the honor of your visit. I suppose I may go along with 
 you?" 
 
 We returned homewards. 
 
 It was already known through the whole village, that the 
 young man who had been lost and so sincerely deplored had 
 returned. Friends poured forth from every doorway, while 
 from the windows cries of " Welcome Carl ! " were heard. 
 
 On our way we met Marie, carrying a bundle of clover on 
 her head. She threw her bundle away and hurried towards 
 Carl ; but when she came up to him she suddenly stopped, 
 as if frightened. 
 
 " Good-day, Marie. I am glad that you, too, have come 
 to bid me welcome," said Carl. 
 
 He extended both his hands to her, and she took hold of 
 them, but did not utter a word. 
 
 We walked on, and when I turned to look back, I saw 
 Marie sitting on the bundle of clover, with her face buried 
 in her hands. 
 
 Rothfuss was the j oiliest in the party. 
 
 " Now one can see how untruthful the world is," he ex- 
 claimed. " Did not every one say how much he would give 
 if only Carl were alive ! He is here, now, and is alive 
 
190 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 again, and what do they give ? Nothing. One ought not 
 to do people the favor to die ; anything in the world but 
 death." 
 
 We reached the house. Carl's mother walked up to my 
 wife and said, " Madame Waldfried, here he is my son 
 Carl. Just as he has come back to all that is good, so will 
 Ernst surely return. They were born on the same day 
 do you remember ? There was a great storm at the time ; 
 and the nurse came directly from your house to mine. And 
 at that very moment the lightning struck the tree that 
 stands behind my house and tore it to pieces ; and then the 
 nurse said, * This boy will see something of war.' 
 
 "You did not believe in it, but it came to pass, neverthe- 
 less. Down in the valley there is a spring, and a mother's 
 heart is like a spring, for it flows by day and night. Your 
 Ernst my Ernst will return again." 
 
 No one dared reply, but with Ernst everything was differ- 
 ent. 
 
 The old woman now begged that we would inform " the 
 great lady," as she always called Annette, of Carl's return. 
 The Major promised to do so; and when he and I were 
 alone together, he mentioned Ernst's name for the first time, 
 and informed me that the commander of his division had, in 
 the presence of the entire corps of officers, expressed his 
 great regret that his brother-in-law had deserted. 
 
 Ernst had brought pain and disgrace on us all ; but there 
 was still another trouble in store for us. 
 
 A letter reached us from Johanna, in which she informed 
 us in short, hard sentences that her son Martin had died of 
 the wound he had received ; and that her husband, who had 
 been an invalid for many months, could not long survive 
 him. I told the Major of this, but kept the news from the 
 rest of the family. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 On the day before the Major left us, we had received a 
 letter from Ludwig in America. He was delighted to know 
 that the Diet had been dissolved, and thought that he now 
 saw the dawning of a great era for our Fatherland. The 
 Americans already spoke with great respect of Germany, and 
 of the power of Prussia and its leaders. 
 
 There was a bitter tone in the remarks of the Major when 
 he said, " Ah, yes ; thus things seem to those who are far 
 away, and get all their information from newspaper reports. 
 If I only knew how I could turn my talents to use in the 
 New World, I would ask for my discharge and emigrate to 
 America." 
 
 This man, who had never known anything of discord or 
 dissension, was now, like many others, torn by conflicting 
 doubts. 
 
 The children had left ; the house was quiet again, and 
 winter approached. 
 
 Martella seemed filled with new life, and was glad that she 
 could be alone with my wife again. When Annette wrote 
 to us that she would spend the whole or a part of the winter 
 in the village, Martella said, " That is well, too : she is so 
 entertaining to mother." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE Diet was again convoked ; and I can hardly de- 
 scribe how hard I found it to leave my home and re- 
 sume the disagreeable and exhausting occupations that now 
 devolved on me. 
 
 In company with Joseph, I drove into town, on my way 
 to the capital, when Annette called to me from the ware- 
 house of Edward Levi. Her mourning attire invested her 
 with an air of majestic gloom ; but her brilliant glance and 
 her clear complexion prevented her black habit from looking 
 too sombre. She must have noticed that I was pleased with 
 this, for she said, " I am trying to recover my health, and 
 avail myself of the two greatest remedies; I have just left 
 the ocean, and shall now go into the woods. My mother-in- 
 law has gone to Paris to join her daughter, who is the wife 
 of our minister. She has an idea that one cannot exist, save 
 in Paris. I shall come and see you ; you and your wife can 
 do me much good, and I may perhaps be of some use to 
 you. I have never learned how to lead a life of repose. I 
 shall now learn it; in your house I shall find the best 
 school, and your wife will have patience with a sad, yet way- 
 ward pupil." 
 
 She bought an ingeniously constructed stove with all sorts 
 of cooking utensils belonging to it, and presented it to Carl's 
 mother. Besides this, she had bought all sorts of new furni- 
 ture for herself, as she intended to spend the winter at the 
 village. She was so glad to see Rothfuss again that she left 
 her carriage and got into ours, so that he might tell her of 
 all that had happened during her absence. Her driver had 
 
WALDI'Rrr.D. 
 
 193 
 
 been instructed to take all her new purchases up to Joseph's 
 house and deliver them to her maid. 
 
 I went on towards the capital, and Annette towaids the 
 village. 
 
 On the way, Joseph told me that he had done very well 
 by the war. The South Germans, he told me. had been 
 such violent partisans of Austria because the greater portion 
 of the proprietors in the neighborhood had invested their 
 money in Austrian securities. 
 
 Annette's brother had, however, in good season, called his 
 attention to the fact that a great change was taking place in 
 financial affairs. America had already successfully passed 
 through a great war, and the current of capital was now 
 tending in the direction of the United States, where its 
 investment was both safe and profitable. 
 
 Joseph's object in visiting the city was to dispose of his 
 American bonds, which were then commanding a very high 
 price. 
 
 It has always been, and will ever remain, a marvel to me 
 how Joseph, with all his real interest in public life, could at 
 the same time manage to reap a profit from the movements 
 of capital. 
 
 I had the good fortune to travel in company with Baron 
 Arven, who was a member of the Upper Chamber, and was 
 also on his way to the capital. He seemed greatly depressed, 
 and admitted that the realization of hopes one could not help 
 entertaining sometimes produced new and unforeseen griefs. 
 
 Thus it had been, he said, with the separation of Austria 
 from the rest of Germany. It had long been recognized as 
 necessary to the proper development of our own political 
 life, and as an advantage to Austria ; and yet, when it was 
 brought about, it seemed more like a death that one had felt 
 it his duty to wish for. 
 13 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 From many hints that he threw out, I could not but feel 
 assured that the painful political dissensions had been deeply 
 felt by the Arvens, who were connected with the empire 
 through so many family ties. 
 
 The Baron invited me to take up my quarters, while in the 
 capital, in his mansion, as his wife did not intend going there 
 during that winter. I declined with thanks, as I had 
 promised Annette to make use of the vacant dwelling that 
 belonged to her. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE deputies were all in a state of great exc.tement. 
 There is no greater test of accord among a body of 
 men than a sudden calamity. Just as, with an individual, a 
 lazy resignation will, in times of doubt and indecision^ alter- 
 nate with vehement energy, and self-distrust succeed over- 
 confidence, so did it happen with this large assembly. All 
 felt that a bold operation was necessary, but who was to be 
 the surgeon, and whence was he to come. It was necessary 
 to wait for the hour of danger, and even then there was 
 great reason to fear that when the treatment had been 
 decided on, our cousin on the other side of the Rhine, who 
 had been praised as the great saviour, might interpose his 
 objections. 
 
 In a secret session, we were informed of the stipulations 
 that had been determined on by the North German Confed- 
 eration in regard to a union of German forces, in case of 
 coming danger. We were sworn to secrecy, for all were 
 afraid of our neighbor in the west. 
 
 My son-in-law, the Major, left on a long furlough. I have 
 never yet been able to discover whether he passed his time 
 in Paris or in Berlin. 
 
 The work and the angry debates in Parliament taxed our 
 patience and endurance to the utmost. 
 
 When I returned to my home, I was frightened by my 
 wife's appearance ; her face showed the traces of great suf- 
 fering. Although 1 took all pains to prevent her from see- 
 ing that I noticed it, she discovered my concern, and assured 
 
196 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 me that she was feeling quite well, but was sometimes weak ; 
 and that all would be right again in the summer, when she 
 would accompany Annette to the springs. She was so 
 active and cheerful that I silenced my fears. She had 
 already learned of the death of our grandson Martin, and 
 spoke of it with calmness. 
 
 She informed me of Martella's kind and considerate be 
 havior. Rothfuss had been sick again, and even now wa? 
 only able, with great exertion, to drag himself about the house. 
 Martella took charge of all his duties, and, what with this 
 and her instructions from mother and Annette, was kept 
 quite busy ; but she was never so happy and cheerful as 
 when full of work. 
 
 My wife took great pleasure in explaining to me what 
 strange counterparts Annette and Martella were. 
 
 Annette was endeavoring to free herself from the effects of 
 overwrought culture and to get back to simplicity. Martella, 
 who had become conscious of her own simplicity, was vexed 
 thereat, and with iron industry sought to acquire the rudi- 
 ments of an education. Annette had always lived out of 
 herself; Martella had always lived within herself. Annette 
 had always tried to subject everything to critical analysis : 
 Martella was merely artless impressibility. 
 
 It was certainly a strange pair that my wife was teaching 
 to keep step with each other. 
 
 With great self-control Annette had accustomed herself to 
 the quiet winter life of the village. She often said that she 
 would leave in a few days. She seemed determined not to 
 commit herself by any promise, in order that she might 
 from day to day make new resolutions. When I told her 
 that she was thus making both herself and us uncomfortable, 
 she promised to remain until I should advise her to leave. 
 She admitted that it was pleasant to her to be guided by 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 197 
 
 another's will. She spun assiduously, and, like a diligent 
 child, showed me the result of her labor. 
 
 The old spinner maintained that Annette was learning all 
 the secrets of her art. In spite of this, she was at times 
 unable to control her' restless spirits. She had the snow 
 cleared away from the pond, and went skating on the ice, 
 while half of the village stood around looking at her. My 
 sons had sometimes skated on this pond ; but it was quite a 
 different sight to see the tall, handsome lady, with the black 
 feather in her hat and the closely fitting pelisse trimmed with 
 fur. She ordered a pair of skates for Martella, but could 
 never induce the child to try them. 
 
 Annette left us occasionally in order to spend a few days 
 with Baroness Arven. On her return it would always seem 
 as if a wondrous change had come over her. 
 
 One day she came back in great excitement and ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 " Oh, if I could only have faith ! I think I shall have to 
 administer chloroform to my soul." 
 
 We could make no reply to this, and she soon again 
 adapted herself to the quiet tenor of our life. 
 
 I was obliged to introduce a change that gave me almost 
 as much trouble as my opponents in the House of Delegates 
 had done. It was necessary to engage some one to re- 
 place or assist Rothfuss. I could do nothing without his 
 consent ; several whom I had proposed he had rejected, 
 and when I at last obtained Joseph's consent to engage 
 Carl, Rothfuss was scarcely pleased, although he interposed 
 no objections. 
 
 Rothfuss always insisted that Carl, while a soldier, had 
 behaved in the same way as the girl who said, " Catch me : 
 I'll hold still." 
 
198 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 He had allowed himself to be caught. If Ernst had only 
 been smart enough to do likewise ! 
 
 For the sake of his affection for Ernst, Carl submitted to 
 this unjust reproach. He was indeed a brave and daring 
 soldier, and felt provoked that during the whole war there 
 had been nothing but marching hither and thither, back and 
 forth, without once meeting the foe. 
 
 Rothfuss and Martella had much to say to each othe^ 
 about Ernst, to whom Martella clung with unshaken con 
 fidence. 
 
 Whenever the letter-carrier came, she was all anxiou? 
 expectation, but had enough self-control to conceal her feel 
 ings for my wife's sake. 
 
 My wife never mentioned Ernst's name, but ever since 
 the day on which news had come from him, her sleep had 
 been restless. 
 
 When I returned from the session she said to me, " I am 
 sure you have no news that you are concealing from me?" 
 
 I could truthfully assure her that I had none, and after 
 that she seemed as tranquil as if she had been speaking o/ 
 an indifferent subject. And yet this grief preyed on her in- 
 cessantly. 
 
 Annette received many letters; and, as she could have 
 nothing to do with any one without feeling a personal in- 
 terest in him, she would always have something to eat and 
 drink ready for the country letter-carrier. She soon knew 
 all about the toil and trouble inseparable from his work, and 
 also inquired in regard to his family circumstances, and 
 assisted him as well as she could. 
 
 She ordered a sheep-skin coat for him, but he was obliged 
 to decline it, because in his walks over hill and dale the 
 weight of it would have been insupportable. She presented 
 the skin to a poor old man; and, indeed, tried to do 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 199 
 
 good to every one in the village and neigh Do; Jiood. The 
 oldest house in the neighborhood is yet standing down in 
 the valley. It is built of logs, and is known as the hut. The 
 smoke fills the whole house and forces its way out through 
 the crevices. 
 
 Annette found this smoky atmosphere particularly grate- 
 ful. She often went down to the hut, and the people would 
 come from the houses near by and listen to her stories 
 and her strange jokes. She was always in good spirits on 
 her return. 
 
 Annette had once encountered Rautenkron. She at- 
 tempted to engage him in conversation, but he rudely turned 
 on his heel ; and when she was telling us of the manhater, 
 my wife made a remark which I shall never forget : 
 
 " This man must have come from a respected and well-to- 
 do family, for the child of poor parents can never become a 
 misanthrope." 
 
 Although Annette kindly cared for the poor and did not 
 permit herself to be repelled by any rudeness or vulgarity 
 on their part, she was both severe and void of pity with the 
 faults of those who were in better circumstances. 
 
 Rimminger, who had taken his discharge and had mar- 
 ried the only daughter of the rich owner of the saw-mill, 
 endeavored, as an old comrade of her deceased husband, to 
 bring about friendly relations between Annette and his 
 household. She kept him at a distance, however, and ex- 
 pressed herself quite forcibly on the subject. She main- 
 tained tha* the young wife always looked like an ennuied 
 duchess, and was constantly trying to show that she had been 
 educated in Paris. 
 
 My wife said that she disapproved of such personalities. 
 Annette looked at her \\ith surprise and then cast her eyes 
 to the ground. 
 
200 WALD FRIED. 
 
 Our days were full of work, our evenings all leisure ; and 
 Annette called our attention to something that had never 
 occurred to us. She found it very strange that there were 
 no playing-cards in our house. She could not conceive 
 how, living in the country, we could have overlooked this 
 pastime. But we had never felt the want of it. 
 
 Annette had a rich, musical voice, and would often read 
 aloud to us. 
 
 Joseph and his wife would come and listen, while Martella 
 would spin so softly that one could not hear her wheel. 
 
 Roth fuss would sit on the bench near the stove, and 
 would artfully prevent us from noticing when he fell asleep. 
 When the reading was over, he was always wide-awake, and 
 would insist on being permitted to light the way to Joseph'* 
 house for Annette. 
 
 In her letters to Richard, my wife described our pleasant 
 genial life ; and yet, for the first time, Richard did not 
 visit us once during the whole winter. He regretted that 
 he had an extensive work in hand which could not be laid 
 aside, and believed that he was about to finish a novel anc 3 
 important contribution to his favorite science. 
 
 Annette had procured various fugitive articles of Richard's 
 that had been published in scientific journals, and during 
 the winter had read all of his books, as well as an essay of 
 his on the ''Origin of Language." 
 
 She once said : " I do not consider it vanity when a writer 
 asks me, 'Have you read such and such work of mine?' 
 How can he believe that one faithfully listens to his words 
 if one does not care to become acquainted with the best 
 that he has done the fruit of the deepest labors of his 
 calmer hours ? 
 
 "1 read the Professor's writings, and find much in them that 
 I cannot understand ; but he wrote them, and I read them 
 
WALD FRIED. 2OI 
 
 for that reason, if for no other. And then again, I ofter 
 chance on passages which are quite clear to me." 
 
 My wife looked at me with a significant glance, and for 
 the first time it occurred to me that it might be possible 
 that Richard was in love with Annette, and for that reason 
 held himself aloof from her. 
 
 It was towards the end of February. There was grief 
 among our nearest friends. Joseph's father died. On the 
 day that he was buried, Annette received a letter informing 
 her of the illness of her mother-in-law in Paris. 
 
 I, of course, advised her to depart at once ; and thus we 
 were again left to ourselves. We all felt the void that An- 
 nette's departure had made, but soon after new and heavy 
 troubles fell upon us. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 DAYS have passed in which I did not once take my pen 
 in hand ; I could not. Must I indeed write of this ? 
 What forces me to do so ? 
 
 " Above all things, leave nothing unfinished that you have 
 once begun," was a maxim of hers ; and I must therefore tell 
 of her death. When the fogs of autumn and the frosts of win- 
 ter scatter the foliage of the trees, a branch may here and 
 there be seen to which a few leaves are still clinging. Why 
 should those alone have remained ? 
 
 My memory has remained true to me ; but of that grief 
 which seemed to divide my life I have but little recollection. 
 I constantly thought of the saying of Carl's mother, "You are 
 a good child : you cannot be so cruel as to die before me." 
 From the garret, I looked on while they were filling up her 
 grave. The spade shone in the sunshine. No one knew 
 that I was looking on. Shall I again renew the feelings that 
 then passed through my soul? Let it be so. 
 
 My wife was ill. She uttered no complaint, but she was 
 feeble, and took no interest in what was going on about her. 
 During the day, she would sleep for hours ; and at night, when 
 she awoke, would seem surprised by the surrounding objects. 
 During her sleeping hours, she may have dwelt in quite a 
 different region ; but she never alluded to it. The physician 
 gave her but little medicine, and consoled us with the hope 
 that the return of summer, and a visit to a watering-place, 
 with cheerful companions, would help her. 
 
 Annette soon returned to us. She was followed by my 
 daughter Johanna, who had, in the meanwhile, lost her hus- 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 203 
 
 band, and was accompanied by her daughter Christiane. She 
 took up her abode with us. Her only son was living as a 
 vicar in the Unterland. 
 
 Assisted by Balbina, Johanna took charge of our entire 
 household. When my wife told Martella that she had better 
 submit to Johanna in all things, she replied, " I shall gladly 
 do so ; this was her home before it was mine ; and I shall 
 thus be better able to spend all of my time with mother." 
 My wife indeed preferred to have this stranger-child about 
 her ; for Johanna could not help treating us in a patronizing, 
 pitying manner, because we were not as pious as she would 
 have us be. 
 
 Spring returned, and my wife's health seemed to improve. 
 I was quite happy again. At that time, I did not under- 
 stand what the prudent and sensible physician meant, when 
 he told me that it would be better for me to moderate my 
 joy. 
 
 All preparations for a journey to the springs had been made. 
 Bertha had promised to join us there, and bring her daughter 
 with her. 
 
 Suddenly the physician decided that it would be better if my 
 wife would remain yet awhile among the surroundings she was 
 accustomed to. He was a young and kind-hearted man, con- 
 stantly endeavoring to improve himself by study ; full of love 
 for his calling, and beloved by all throughout the valley. 
 His visits now became longer than they had been. He 
 would, at times, acquaint me with the details of his own life, 
 and tell me that, although he had lost his wife while quite 
 young, he endeavored to console himself by the remem- 
 brance of the happy days he had passed in her society. I 
 listened to his words without giving them further thought ; 
 but afterwards it became clear to me why he had spoken so 
 impressively on the subject. 
 
204 WALDFRIED. 
 
 The clays passed on. I gradually accustomed myself to 
 the thought of my wife's illness ; but when out in the fields, I 
 would suddenly become alarmed, and imagine that something 
 terrible must have taken place at the house. I would hurry 
 home and find that all was going on as usual. 
 
 Back of my house, where the road makes a descent, th' 
 young teamsters would crack their whips quite loudly. 1 
 observed that this startled Gustava, and she overheard me 
 telling Rothfuss to ask the young fellows not to make so 
 great a noise. 
 
 "Do not interfere with them," said she. **A man who 
 saunters along the road and has an instrument that is capable 
 of making a noise, finds pleasure in using it. Do not stop 
 him." 
 
 I had never, before that, seen Rothfuss in tears ; but when 
 he heard those words, he wept, and that evening he said to 
 me, " The angels who look down from heaven to see what 
 we human beings on earth are doing, must be just as she is. 
 She is no longer human she will not stay with us. Par- 
 don me : I am a stupid fellow to be talking this way. 
 You know I am a simpleton, and do not understand such 
 things. She is right, though ; stupid people must always 
 make a noise, be it with their mouths or with their whips." 
 
 He had, however, in the meanwhile persuaded the youths 
 not to crack their whips. 
 
 My wife was determined that Annette and Bertha should 
 go to the springs without her ; and, as she would listen to no 
 refusal, they were obliged to comply with her desire. 
 
 Several weeks had gone by, when, one evening, the physi- 
 cian told me that she could last but a few days longer. I 
 cannot describe my feelings at that moment. 
 
 Joseph telegraphed for the children. They came. 
 
 Strangely enough, my wife was not surprised by their 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 2O5 
 
 speedy return. She conversed with them as if they had not 
 been away more than an hour. 
 
 The physician said that perhaps there might still be a 
 chance to save my wife by injecting another's blood into her 
 veins, and that, at all events, the attempt should be made. 
 Johanna immediately declared her readiness, and though 
 her offer was well meant, the manner in which it was made 
 jarred on my feelings. She said that, as a daughter, she had 
 the first right ; but, if they did not want her blood her child 
 must be willing. 
 
 The physician declared that neither her blood nor that 
 of her child would serve the purpose. 
 
 The choice now lay between Martella and Annette, and 
 when the physician decided in favor of Martella, her face 
 brightened, and she exclaimed : 
 
 " Take my blood every drop of it all that I have." 
 
 Some of Martella's blood was injected into my wife's veins, 
 and during the night, she gained in strength. But it was 
 very sad to find that she had almost lost her hearing, and 
 that the only medium of pleasure yet left her was the sense 
 of sight. 
 
 Martha, the eldest daughter of the kreis-director, had 
 painted a picture of the view from our balcony, looking to- 
 wards the woods down by the stone wall, and now brought 
 it to my wife, who was delighted with it. The only figure 
 was a hunter coming out of the woods. 
 
 Martha told us that she could not draw figures, and that 
 Annette had been kind enough to sketch the huntsman for 
 her ; and she kissed my wife's hands on hearing her say, 
 " I think the hunter looks like our grandson, Julius." 
 
 It was on the 22d of July, when she said, "Have a little 
 pine-tree brought for me, from my woods, and placed here 
 beside my bed." 
 
2 o6 WALDFRIED. 
 
 I sent Rothfuss out to the woods ; he brought a little pine, 
 placed it in a flower-pot, and I observed, while he was lean 
 ing over it, how his tears dropped upon the branches. 
 
 He turned around to me and said, " I hope that will not 
 harm the little tree." 
 
 When I placed the tree at her bedside, she smiled and 
 moved her left hand among its branches, but the hand soon 
 fell down by her side. 
 
 What wonderful powers of memory lie in a mother's 
 heart ! She would tell us of a thousand and one little stones 
 'and sayings of Ernst, and of his bright, clever freaks, with 
 as much detail as if they had happened but the moment be- 
 fore ; but, strangely enough, she did all this without mention- 
 ing his name. She praised his flaxen hair, and moved her 
 hand as if passing it through his locks. 
 
 " Do you not recollect how he once said, ' Mother, I can- 
 not imagine how you could have been in the world without 
 me : of course I have never been in the world without 
 yoif'?" 
 
 She repeated the words, " without you without me," per- 
 haps a hundred times during the night : and she was almost 
 constantly humming snatches of old songs. 
 * In the morning, just as day was breaking, she turned 
 around to me, and said with a smile, " This is his birthday." 
 And that was her last smile. " This is Ernst's birthday." 
 
 And when the lost son returned, there was no mother to 
 receive him. 
 
 Her silent thoughts had always been of him, but now 
 they were deeper than ever. 
 
 She had lost her hearing. Suddenly she exclaimed in a 
 loud voice, " God be praised ; Richard will marry her after 
 all!" and then I cannot go on with the story I must 
 stop. 
 
WALDFRIED. 2O/ 
 
 It was eleven o'clock (I do not know why I was always 
 looking towards the clock that day) when she said, " Water 
 from my spring." 
 
 Richard hurried to bring it. 
 
 What must his thoughts have been while on his way there 
 and back ! 
 
 He soon returned, bringing the water with him, but she 
 seemed to have forgotten that she had asked for it. When 
 Richard lifted her up in bed, and placed the glass to her lips, 
 she motioned him away. 
 
 I heard a voice from without the house. A cold shudder 
 came over me ; my hair stood on end. 
 
 It is the voice of our son Ernst ! 
 
 If Ernst were to come at this time ! Could he have been 
 drawn here by a presentiment of what is happening ? And 
 if he were here, what power could dare take him away from 
 us, at this moment and how will he enter his mother's 
 presence ? 
 
 I hurried out. It was Julius his voice is just like Ernst's. 
 He brought a letter that Edward Levi had handed to him. 
 It was from Ernst, and was dated at Algiers. 
 
 I could not stop to read the letter. I could not remain 
 away from the bedside every moment was yet a drop of 
 blood to me, and everything glimmered before my eyes. I 
 hurried back to the sick-room ; my wife looked at me with 
 strangely bright eyes. 
 
 " There is a letter here from Ernst ! " I called out. 
 
 I do not know whether she understood me, but she reached 
 for the sheet that was in my hand, and held it with a con- 
 vulsive grasp. 
 
 I lifted her head, and moved it towards the cooler side of 
 the pillow ; she opened her eyes, and tried to raise her arms ; 
 I berit towards her and she kissed me. 
 
208 WALDFRIED. ; 
 
 It was just striking the hour of noon, when she breathed 
 her last. 
 
 I tottered to her room at 'last ; it seemed to me as if I 
 must still find her alive ; and when I was in her chair, I 
 could not realize that I was seated there, and that she lay 
 so near me, while I could do nothing for her. 
 
 I do not know how it was, but I felt awed by the very 
 silence of the place. 
 
 Martella said, " I have stopped the clock; it, too, shall 
 stand still." 
 
 They had withdrawn the letter from her convulsively closed 
 hand, and I read it. It has since disappeared whither, I 
 know not. I remember only this that it contained news 
 from Algiers, and that Ernst said in it that if Martella and 
 Richard were fond of one another, he was quite ready to re- 
 lease her from any promise to him. 
 
 With the exception of Ernst and Ludwig, all of my children 
 were present. Many friends, too, were there. I recollect 
 that I grasped the hands of many of them ; but what avails 
 that ? They all have their own life left them I have none. 
 
 All arose to attend to the funeral. They set down the 
 coffin in front of the house, and not far from the spring. 
 They told me that my grandson, the vicar, delivered an im- 
 pressive address in the name of the family. I heard nothing 
 but the rushing of the water. 
 
 How I reached her grave, or who led me, I know not. 
 
 This alone do I know. I saw how Martella kissed the 
 handful of earth that she threw into the empty grave, and 
 when I returned homeward, the waters were still roaring in 
 our fountain. It roars and roars. 
 
 I felt borne down as if by a load of lead. Tears were 
 not vouchsafed me. I could not realize that my hands 
 could move, my eyes see in fact that I was still alive. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 209 
 
 When I looked out again over the valley and towards the, 
 hills,- it suddenly seemed as if my eyes had become covered 
 with a film, and then all the forest, the meadows, and the 
 houses seemed of a blood-red color, as if steeped in the 
 dark glow of evening. 
 
 I closed my eyes for a long while, and when I opened 
 them again, I saw that the meadows and the woods were 
 green, and everything had its natural color. 
 
 The water flows over the weir and bubbles and rushes and 
 sparkles to-day, just as it did yesterday, and as it will to- 
 morrow. How can it be possible that all continues to live 
 on, and she not here. Do not tell me that nature can com- 
 fort us against real grief. Against a loss for aye she availeth 
 nothing. 
 
 If, in your closet, you have grieved because of insult and 
 falsehood and meanness, do but go out into the fields or 
 woods. While gazing upon the bright and kindly face of 
 nature, or inhaling the sweet perfume of the trees and 
 flowers, you will soon learn to forget such troubles. How 
 weak is all the world's wickedness, when compared with 
 such undying grandeur? That which is best on earth is 
 still yours, if these things but preserve their sway over you. 
 But, if your wife has been torn away from you, neither tree,' 
 nor stream, nor the blue heavens, nor the flowers, nor the 
 singing birds will help you. All nature lives a life of its 
 own, and unto itself, and of what avail is it all, when she no 
 longer shares it with me ? 
 
 The first thing that recalled me to myself, was hearing the 
 old spinner say to Carl, " Why am I yet here ? She was so 
 good and so useful, and I am- nothing but a burden to you 
 and to the world. Why must I stay behind ? I would so 
 gladly have gone in her stead." 
 
 The poor people were gathered all about the house, and 
 
2io WALD FRIED. 
 
 one old woman cried out, through her tears, " The bread 
 she gave us was doubly welcome, for it was given cheer- 
 fully." 
 
 I felt that my energies would never again arouse them- 
 selves. I cannot say that the thought alarmed rne ; I merely 
 felt conscious that my mental powers were either failing or 
 torpid. For days I could not collect my thoughts, and led 
 a dull, listless, inanimate life. My children were about me, 
 but their sympathy did not help me. Ernst's evil letter was 
 the only thing that had any effect on me. 
 
 I could not realize that what had once been life, was now 
 nothing more than a thought, a memory. 
 
 When I heard some one coming up the steps, I always 
 thought it must be she returning and saying, " I could not 
 stay away; I must return to you, you are so lonely. The 
 children are good and kind, but we two cannot remain 
 apart." And then I would start with affright, when I no- 
 ticed how rny thoughts had been wandering. 
 
 When I walked in the street, I felt as if I were but half 
 of myself. As long as she was with me I had always felt 
 myself rich, for my home contained her who was best of all. 
 
 No one can know what a wealth of soul had been mine ; 
 through her, and with her, I had felt myself moving in a 
 higher spiritual sphere. But now I felt so broken, so bereft, 
 as if my entire intellectual possessions had gone to naught. 
 The children are yet here ; but they are for themselves. 
 My wife alone was here for me was indeed my other self. 
 
 Before that, when I awakened of a morning it was always 
 a pleasure to feel conscious of life itself; but now with every 
 morrow I had to begin anew and try to learn how to recon- 
 cile myself to my loss. But that is a lesson I shall never 
 learn. My sun had gone down ; I did not care to live any 
 longer, because all that I experienced seemed to come in 
 
WALDFRIED. 2 ll 
 
 between her and me, and I did not wish to live but in 
 thoughts of her. 
 
 I looked at her lamp, her table, her work-basketall 
 these had survived her, are still here, and will remain. The 
 one clock was never wound up afterward. From that day, 
 there was but one clock heard in our room. 
 
 I can now understand why the ancients buried the working 
 implements with their dead. 
 
 I looked out of the window. The neighbors' children 
 were in the street ; their noise grated on my ears. I could 
 not but think how she once said to me, "Why should it 
 annoy us ? Is it anything more than the singing of the 
 birds ? The children are like so many innocent birds." 
 
 All things remind me of her. I could sit by the window 
 for hours and look at the chickens running back and forth, 
 picking up crumbs, and watching the strutting cock. 
 
 I must have been like a little child that, for the first time, 
 begins to take notice of the objects that surround it. 
 
 I seemed as if awaking from darkness, as if .dreaming with 
 my eyes open. Everything seemed new and strangely 
 mysterious to me, although I had nearly attainqd my 
 seventieth year. 
 
 When, after many weeks, I again saw my face in the mir- 
 ror, I was surprised at the saddened, sunken features of the 
 old man. Could that be I ! 
 
 I had gone to the neighboring village to order a grave- 
 stone. On my way home, night overtook me. Suddenly 
 a storm burst upon the valley. " Like a child, I counted the 
 interval between the lightning and the thunder. At first I 
 could count up to thirty-two, afterwards only to seven ; and 
 then I stopped counting. I saw the houses by the road- 
 side, and knew who lived in them here and there, I might 
 have found shelter, but what should I do in a strange house, 
 
212 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 wet to the skin as I was? I kept in the middle of the road, 
 on the broken stone. When I came to where the little 
 bridge was, I had to wade through the water. 
 
 I noticed that I was in the midst of the storm-cloud. 
 How glorious it would have been to die at that moment to 
 be struck dead by lightning ! 
 
 "But my children, my children ! " I uttered the words in 
 a loud voice, but the thunder drowned my cries. 
 
 The flashes of lightning succeeded each other so rapidly 
 that they blinded me ; I could see nothing more. I closed 
 my eyes and held fast to a rock by the wayside. I had 
 never heard such fearful roaring of the thunder, or seen such 
 uninterrupted flashes of lightning. I stood still and con- 
 cluded to wait there, while I thought of the many other be- 
 ings who were also exposed to this storm ; and at last, 
 I could weep. I had not wept since her death, and now it 
 did me good. The hail beat into my face, already wet with 
 tears. 
 
 Suddenly Rothfuss appears and exclaims : " Martella 
 sends me. Oh, God be praised ! there is a good bed waiting 
 for yoij at home." 
 
 Guided by Rothfuss, I reached the house. Although my 
 family were greatly concerned as to the effect it might have, 
 the shock that I had undergone had really benefited me. I 
 slept until noon, and when I arose I felt as if breathing a 
 new life. 
 
 I must stop here. I cannot go on. I was obliged to 
 learn how to begin life anew. When one has buried his 
 dearest love in the earth, the earth itself becomes a changed 
 world, and one's step upon it a different one. I trust that I 
 shall not be obliged hereafter to repeat my lamentations for 
 my own life. The first tranquillizing influence 1 found was 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 213 
 
 in the statue gallery, with its figures from another world, so 
 silent, so unchanging. We can offer them nothing, and yet 
 they give us so much : they are without life or color, but 
 they represent life in its imperishable beauty. 
 
 Rothfuss offered me a strange solace. He said, " Master, 
 there must be another woman somewhere in this world just 
 as she was." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " I always thought that God only suffered the sun to shine 
 because she was here, but I see that the sun still shines, and 
 so there must be others like her." 
 
 Martella, however, could not realize that she was dead. 
 
 " It cannot be : it is not true : she is not dead. She is 
 surely coming up the steps now. How is it possible that a 
 being can remain away from those who love her so ? I have 
 one request to make. I wish you would give the pretty 
 dresses to Madame Johanna and Fraulein Christiane ; a 
 few of the work-day clothes you can give to me, and the 
 good woollen dress you can give to Carl's mother. Let no 
 one else have any of her clothes. It would grieve me to the 
 heart to know that a strange person was wearing anything 
 that she had worn. Whoever wears a dress of hers can 
 neither think an evil thought nor do an evil deed." 
 
 My son Ludwig wrote a letter, in which he lamented my 
 wife's death with all the feeling of which a son is capable, 
 and yet spoke of death as a wise man should. My daughter 
 Johanna lost the letter. I think she must have destroyed it 
 on account of the heresies it contained. 
 
 My consolation is that I have been found worthy of the 
 perfect love of so pure a being ; that, of itself, is worth all 
 the troubles of life. Let what may come hereafter, what 1 
 have experienced cannot be taken from me. 
 
214 WALDFRIED. 
 
 I have had a tomb-stone placed at her grave. It has two 
 tablets on one are the words : 
 
 "HERE LIES 
 
 IPHIGENIA GUSTAVA WALDFRIED, 
 
 Born December i5//z, 1807, 
 
 Died July 23^, 1867." 
 
 On the other, my name shall one day be placed. 
 
BOOK THIRD. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 LIFE is indeed a sacred trust. 
 I now began to feel that great and noble duties yet 
 claimed me. 
 
 I had become dull and listless. I had taken life as it 
 came, resigning my will to outer influences, just as one with- 
 out appetite sits down to a meal, merely to gain nourish- 
 ment. 
 
 I had become morbidly sensitive ; every effort that was 
 made to alleviate my sufferings and restore my accustomed 
 spirits only served to pain me anew. 
 
 I was now experiencing the worst effect of grief indif- 
 ference to the world. 
 
 My path seemed to lie through dismal darkness ; but at 
 last I stepped out into the bright light of day and into the 
 busy haunts of men. 
 
 The village street leads into the highway ; the forest-brooks 
 flow on until they reach the river that empties itself into the 
 ocean. 
 
 Thus too has it been with my life. 
 
 Yielding to Joseph's earnest wishes, I had made a collec- 
 tion of specimens illustrating every stage in the cultivation 
 and growth of the white pine. When the collection was 
 complete, I sent it to the great Paris Exposition. 
 
2I 6 WALDFRIED. 
 
 I received a medal of honor. I did not really deserve it ; 
 it should in justice have gone to Ernst, who had acquainted 
 me with the results of his careful study of the subject. 
 
 I have the diploma, and the medal bearing the effigy of 
 Napoleon. I looked at them but once, and then enclosed 
 them under seal. They will be found in the little casket thai 
 contains my discharge from the fortress and other strange 
 mementoes of the past. 
 
 Joseph asked me to accompany him to Paris, and would 
 listen to no refusal. He wanted to acquaint himself with the 
 new methods of kyanizing railroad ties, and insisted that he 
 could not get along without my aid. 
 
 I had not yet escaped from that condition in which it is 
 well to resign one's self to the guidance of others. 
 
 I saw Paris for the second time. My first visit was in 
 1832 or 1833, and was undertaken with the object of mak- 
 ing the acquaintance of La Fayette. In those days we 
 fondly believed that Paris was to save the world. 
 
 Compared with what I now saw, all that had been done in 
 the Parliament that was held in the High street of our little 
 capital seemed petty and trifling. 
 
 Though storms were gathering, Jupiter Napoleon sat 
 enthroned over all Europe, and ruled the thunder and the 
 lightning. 
 
 I saw him surrounded by all the European monarchs, and 
 often asked myself whether the world's life is, after all, any- 
 thing but mummery. 
 
 One day, while I was sitting on a bench in the Champs 
 ElysSes, and gazing at the lively, bustling throng that passed 
 before me, I was approached by a Turco, who said to me : 
 
 " Are you not Herr Waldfried ? " 
 
 My heart trembled with emotion. 
 
 Was it not Ernst's voice? Before I could collect my 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 217 
 
 thoughts, the stranger had vanished in the great crowd that 
 followed in the wake of the Emperor, who was just passing 
 by. 
 
 I caught another glimpse of the man with the red fez and 
 called out to him ; but he had vanished. 
 
 Had I been awake or dreaming ? 
 
 It could not have been Ernst. He would not have left 
 me after thus addressing me. And if it were he after all ! 
 I felt sure that he would return ; so I waited in the hope of 
 again seeing the stranger. The people who passed me 
 seemed like so many shadows, and I felt as if withdrawn 
 from the world. 
 
 Night approached, and I was obliged to go to my lodgings. 
 I told Joseph of all that had happened. He stoutly main- 
 tained that I must have been dreaming ; but nevertheless 
 went with me the next day to the Champs Elysees where, 
 seated on a bench, we waited for hours without seeing any 
 sign of the stranger. 
 
 On my journey homeward, I spent a whole week with my 
 sister who lives in the forest of Hagenau. She can cheer 
 me up better than any of my children can. Her excellent 
 memory enabled her to remind me of many little incidents 
 connected with our childhood and our parental home. In 
 her house, I was, for the first time since my affliction, able 
 to indulge in a hearty laugh. 
 
 In the eyes of my brother-in-law, the medal awarded me 
 at the Exposition invested me with new importance ; he 
 never omitted to allude to this mark of distinction, when in 
 troducing me to his acquaintances. On the i5th of August, 
 Napoleon's fete day, he actually wanted me to wear the 
 medal on my coat. He could not understand why I would 
 not carry it about with me constantly, so as to make a show 
 of my medal of honor, notwithstanding the fact that the 
 
218 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 French consider their whole nation as the world's legion of 
 honor. Every individual among them seems anxious to 
 thrust himself forward at the expense of the rest. 
 
 My sister privately informed me that the young sergeant 
 whom I met at her house was a suitor for the hand of her 
 eldest daughter, and was only awaiting the satisfactory settle- 
 ment of the proper dowry on his future wife. He was a 
 young man of limited information, but was very polite and 
 respectful towards me. He hoped to win his epaulets in an 
 early war with Prussia, which had been so bold as to gain Sa- 
 dowa and conclude a peace without paying France the trib- 
 ute of a portion of her territory. 
 
 The young man evidently thought himself vastly my supe- 
 rior, and spoke of the future of the South German States in 
 a patronizing and pitying tone. As I did not think it worth 
 while to contradict him, he fondly thought that he was in- 
 structing me. 
 
 As a German, I found the Hagenau Forest of especial in- 
 terest, from the fact that a part of it had been presented 
 to the town of Hagenau by the Empeior Frederick Barba- 
 rossa. 
 
 I gave my brother-in-law m<my councils in regard to ar- 
 boriculture ; but, as the new ideas entailed work, he declined 
 making use of them. He was very proud of his epaulets 
 which were displayed in a little frame that hung on the wall ; 
 but he was devoid of all love for the forest, and indifferent 
 to anything that helped the State without at the same time 
 contributing to his personal advancement. 
 
 I passed a delightful day with my brother-in-law the pastor. 
 
 I accompanied him to church, and was greatly moved 
 to once again hear German preaching and German hymns. 
 The organist was one of the most respected men of the 
 neighborhood, and was the owner of a large forge. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 219 
 
 I was introduced to him after the ser /ice. In the pres- 
 ence of others, he was quite reserved towards me ; but dur- 
 ing the afternoon, he visited the pastor, and, while we were 
 seated in the arbor under the walnut-tree, we conversed freely 
 in regard to the dangers that, in Alsace, menaced the last 
 remnant of German institutions and the Evangelical 
 Church. 
 
 " France was happiest under Louis Philippe," said the 
 pastor ; and when the manufacturer ventured to inveigh 
 against the Emperor, he replied that Napoleon was not so 
 bad a man after all, but that the Empress was spoiling every- 
 thing ; that she was a friend of the Pope, and was endeavor- 
 ing, at one and the same time, to destroy Protestantism and 
 increase luxury. 
 
 1 returned home. Johanna superintended my household 
 affairs, and also the farm, with great judgment. 
 
 During the whole winter I was in delicate health, and in 
 the following year I was obliged to visit the springs of Tar- 
 asp. Richard accompanied me. 
 
 I was indeed unwell, for when I rode through the Prattigau 
 and the wild waters of the Land-quart roared at the side of 
 the road, it seemed to me as if the stream were a living mon- 
 ster that was climbing up and seeking to devour me. 
 
 When on Fluella, I plucked the first Alpine rose. I wept. 
 There was no one left to whom I could carry the flower that 
 bloomed by the wayside. 
 
 Richard regarded me for a long while in silence, and at 
 last said, " Father, I know what it is that moves your soul. 
 Let it content you that you did so much to make her life a 
 lovely one." 
 
 On those heights, where no plant can live, where no bird 
 sings, where nothing can be heard but the rushing of the 
 snow currents, where the fragments of rocks lay bare and 
 
22O WALDFRIED. 
 
 bleak, and eternal snows fill the ravines, I felt as if I were 
 floating in eternity released from all that belonged to earth 
 and I called out her name " Gustava ! " 
 
 Ah, if one could wait until death should overtake him in 
 this cold, bleak region, where naught that has life can 
 endure. 
 
 I went on, and met people who had pitched their dwell- 
 ings in lofty spots, in order to shelter and entertain tourists. 
 My heart seemed congealed ; but I can yet remember 
 where I was when it again thawed into life. Neither the 
 lofty mountains nor the mighty landscape helped me. I sat 
 by the roadside and saw a little bush growing from among 
 the rubble-stones and bearing the blue flowers called snake- 
 weed. And it was there that I became myself again. 
 
 But look ! A bee comes flying towards the bush. She 
 bends down into the open blossoms ; she overlooks none 
 of them, from the top to the bottom of the bush, but seems 
 to find nothing, and flies off to another flower. On the next 
 branch she sucks for a long while from every flower-cup. 
 
 A second bee, apparently a younger one, approaches. 
 She, too, tries flower after flower, and does not know that 
 some one has been there before her. At last, however, she 
 seems to become aware of the fact, and skips two or three 
 of the blossoms until she at last finds one that contains 
 nourishment for her. 
 
 Here by the wayside, just as up above where human foot- 
 steps do not reach, there grows a flower that blooms for 
 itself, and yet bears within it nourishment for another. 
 
 I do not know how long I may have been seated there, 
 but when I arose I felt that life had returned to me, and 
 that I was in full sympathy with all that was firmly rooted in 
 the earth or freely moving upon its surface. 
 
 My soul had been closed to the world, but was now again 
 
WALDFRIED. 221 
 
 open to the air and the sunshine of existence. From that 
 moment, I felt the spell of the lofty peaks and lovely scenery, 
 and, yielding to it, at last became absorbed in self-corn 
 m union. 
 
 I was again living in unconstrained and cheerful intercourse 
 with human beings ; and indeed I could not, at times, refrain 
 from showing some of the w'.-ll-in formed Swiss that I met 
 how carelessly and sinfully their countrymen were treating 
 the forests. They complained that the independence of the 
 cantons and the unrestrained liberty of individuals rendered 
 it useless to make any attempt to protect the forests. 
 
 I made the acquaintance of many worthy men, and that, 
 after all, is always the greatest acquisition. 
 
 We met the widow of our cousin who had fallen at Kbnig- 
 gratz. She was exceedingly gay, was surrounded by a train 
 of admirers, and flaunted in elegant attire. She nodded to 
 us formally and seemed to take no pride in her citizen 
 relatives. 
 
 I must report another occurrence. 
 
 On the very last morning, Richard had succeeded in 
 plucking a large bunch of edelweiss. He was coming down 
 the mountain where the wagon was waiting for us. Just 
 then another wagon arrived, and in it was Annette with her 
 maid. 
 
 RichaiJ offered the flowers to Annette. 
 
 " Were you thinking of me when you plucked them ? " 
 she asked. 
 
 " To be truthful, I was not." 
 
 " Thanks for the flowers and for your honesty." 
 
 " I did not know, when plucking them, for whom they 
 were ; but I am glad to know that now they are yours." 
 
 " Thanks ; you are always candid." 
 
 We continued our journey. On the way, Richard said, 
 
222 WALDFRIED. 
 
 "Our cousin, the Baroness, is quite a new character; she 
 ought to be called * the watering-place widow.' She travels 
 from one watering-place to another, wears mourning or half- 
 mourning, is quite interesting, and always has a crowd buzz- 
 ing around her. It were a great pity if Annette were to 
 turn out in the same way." 
 
 I replied, "If she were to marry, which indeed, were 
 greatly to be desired, she would no longer be ' the watering- 
 place widow.' " 
 
 He made no answer, but bit off the end of a cigar which 
 he had been holding in his hand for some time. 
 
 On our way home, we rested in the shadow of a rock on 
 a high Alpine peak, and there I found a symbol of what was 
 passing between Annette and Richard a forget-me-not 
 growing among nettles. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 I REACHED home refreshed and invigorated. The 
 china-asters that she had planted were blooming. Mar- 
 tella had decorated her grave with the loveliest flowers, and 
 maintained that the wild bees affected that spot more than 
 any other. Her memory gradually began to present itself 
 to me as overgrown with flowers. 
 
 I went to attend the winter session of the Parliament, and 
 Martella accompanied me. We lived with Annette she 
 would take no refusal, and we were both at ease in her 
 beautiful house. 
 
 Annette always wanted to have Martella about her. 
 but Martella had an unconquerable I cannot say aversion, 
 but, rather, dread of Annette ; for Annette had an un- 
 pleasant habit of calling attention to every remark of Mar- 
 tella' s, and had even quoted several of them in society. 
 
 Richard, who, as the representative of the University, had 
 become a member of the Upper Chamber, seemed pro- 
 voked ; not on account of my having brought Martella with 
 me, but because 1 had allowed myself to be induced to stay 
 at Annette's house. 
 
 He hinted that Annette's marked hospitality was not 
 caused by regard for me ; and it really seemed as if she 
 desired to see much of Richard at her house, although he 
 had been cold and distant, and, at times, even scornful 
 towards her. Nevertheless, he often visited us and allowed 
 Annette to draw him into all sorts of discussions. 
 
 One evening when we three were alone, Annette had 
 been invited to the house of a friend, Martella said : 
 
224 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 " Richard, do you know what Madame Annette admires 
 most in you ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Your fine teeth. She lets you use your good teeth to 
 crack her hard nuts." 
 
 Richard jumped up from his seat embraced Martella, and 
 kissed her. 
 
 Martella blushed crimson and called out, "Richard, you 
 are so polite and yet so rude ! Is that proper ? " 
 
 But Richard was quite happy to know that Martella had 
 guessed at what had so often displeased him. 
 
 Martella, who never wanted to leave me, one day sud- 
 denly expressed a wish to return home. Annette had on 
 the previous evening taken her to the theatre, where a ballet 
 had been produced in addition to the drama. A little child, 
 representing a winged spirit, had descended from above, 
 and Martella had called out in a loud voice, " That hurts ! " 
 
 All eyes were turned to Annette's box, in which Martella 
 sat with her eyes wide open and looking towards the stage 
 as if oblivious of aught else. 
 
 Annette left the theatre with her. Martella could not be 
 induced to utter a single word in explanation of her sudden 
 fright. I was surprised to find how Annette bore this mis- 
 hap, in which she herself had been subjected to the unkind 
 glances of all the audience. " How strange," said she ; " we 
 are all, unconsciously, slaves of ceremony. There seems to 
 be a tacit understanding that every member of a theatre 
 audience or art-gathering must either remain silent or con- 
 fine himself to one of two childish expressions clapping 
 the hands and hissing. And here this child is perfectly in- 
 *nocent, and I thank her for having solved another problem 
 for me." 
 
 In the morning, Martella wanted to go home. We ac- 
 
WALDFRIED. 225 
 
 companied her to the depot, and I telegraphed to Rothfuss 
 to meet her at the station. 
 
 My active labors for the Fatherland had restored me. In 
 my solitary walks, my mind was now occupied by something 
 besides constant thoughts of myself. 
 
 Spring was with us again, and the wondrous power that 
 revives the human soul had its influence on me. 
 
 I was often invited to consultations in regard to matters 
 affecting the common weal, and it seemed as if my little 
 world was extending its area, when I made the acquaintance 
 of many brave men, who lived in a neighboring district, and 
 who kept alive their hopes for the future of our Fatherland. 
 
 During the summer holidays, Richard paid us a visit. He 
 and Baron Arven had stocked the forest-streams with choice 
 varieties of fish. In some instances they had not succeeded 
 in getting a pure breed ; there were pikes among their fish. 
 
 He was fortunate enough with several of the streams, but 
 was greatly provoked to find that the farmers of the neigh- 
 boring villages would not wait until the young brood had 
 grown, and had already begun to catch the fish. He induced 
 the authorities to threaten the farmers with a fine, but on the 
 next day found the notice floating on the stream. 
 
 He appointed a forester as watchman, and spent the night 
 in a log cabin hastily built near by. Once they were fortu- 
 nate enough to catch the thief. 
 
 Richard and the forester brought the culprit before the 
 authorities, and he was sentenced to six weeks' imprison- 
 ment. While we were seated at table, Richard expressed 
 his satisfaction at the punishment which had been meted 
 out to the offender. This made Martella as angry as I have 
 ever seen her, and she became the more provoked when 
 Richard quickly took down the mirror and held it up to her, 
 saying : 
 
 15 
 
22 6 WALDFRIED. 
 
 " Here, look at yourself; you are prettiest when you are 
 angry." 
 
 " It is nothing to you, how I look ! " cried Martella. " Tell 
 such things to your Madame Annette, but not to me." 
 
 The color left Richard's cheeks. 
 
 Annette had for several weeks been living in the neighbor- 
 hood, with Baroness Arven, and Martella had hardly finished 
 speaking, when we heard the clatter of horses' hoofs in front 
 of the house. Annette and Baron Arven came riding up 
 the road. The Baron congratulated Richard on having 
 caught the first of the pirates, and Annette was in quite a 
 merry mood. 
 
 The Baron also brought us a piece of news that he had 
 just received from his brother, the forester-in-chief, to the 
 effect that my grandson Julius had been appointed assistant 
 forester, and that the next official gazette would announce 
 the appointment. 
 
 We sent for Joseph. We were all very happy at the news, 
 and Martella exclaimed, " That is the position Ernst wished 
 for. But I congratulate Miss Martha with all my heart 
 she will make a handsome young wife for the town forester." 
 
 We had always avoided alluding to this connection, but 
 now that it had been openly mentioned, we made no conceal- 
 ment of our joy. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 RICHARD and the Baron rode over to the Wild Lake 
 which they had intended to stock. Annette accom- 
 panied them. 
 
 It was already night, but Richard had not returned ; 
 
 I was seated alone at the table, and waiting for him. It had 
 always been his habit to tell us when he intended to remain 
 out longer than the usual time. 
 
 Martella entered. Her cheeks were flushed, and she said, 
 
 II Father, send me away wherever it be. I cannot remain 
 here. It shall not be my fault if any one is bad." 
 
 Trembling, and covering her face with her hands, she de- 
 clared that Richard had told her that Ernst was unworthy of 
 her, even if he were yet living, and that he would never re- 
 turn again. And after that he said it was some time before 
 she would tell what it was, and at last she exclaimed : " that 
 he loves me with all his heart, and wanted to make me his 
 wife ! He ! His brother ! I would rather he should tie a 
 stone about my neck, and throw me into the lake where his 
 young fishes are ! I could hardly believe at first, that he 
 had said it, and answered him : ' That is a poor joke : just 
 think of how your mother would feel if she knew that you 
 would joke in this way ! ' and then he swore that mother had 
 said Ernst was untrue to me, and had for that very reason 
 gone out into the wide world. Can mother have said that ? 
 My eyes would start from their sockets, before Ernst would for- 
 sake me. But let me never sec Richard again. Never ! Let 
 
22 8 WALDFRIED. 
 
 me go away. You can send me away, but Richard cannot 
 cease to be your son. Nor can I cease to be your child, 
 but I can go away." 
 
 It is impossible to find words for all that bubbled forth 
 from Martella's soul. I pacified her, and she promised to 
 remain until the next day. 
 
 I sat up alone to await Richard's return. He did not 
 come until near midnight. 
 
 He wanted to bid me a short " good-night," but I detained 
 him. He sat down and told me that the Baron and Annette 
 had met Rautenkron down by the lake, and that he had 
 ridiculed their undertaking. He had said, and rightly too : 
 " Where there are no frogs, there is no stork ; where there 
 are no flies and worms, there are no birds or fishes. In 
 what was called 'all-bountiful nature' one beast used the 
 other for its blessed meal ; and, besides that, the lake was 
 entirely frozen over every winter, and had no outlet that was 
 open through the whole year. If fishes were in it, they 
 would become suffocated-for want of air." 
 
 Rautenkron had displayed much knowledge in the matter, 
 but he would not consent to" assist them. He was delighted, 
 moreover, that nature contained much that was egotistic and 
 was of no use to mankind. Thus spoke Richard. 
 
 I was indignant. I could hardly conceive how Richard 
 could talk about such subjects, and not make the slightest 
 allusion to what had happened between him and Martella. 
 I thought of Ernst's letter that I had received on the day of 
 my wife's death. No one had seen it but I ; for why should 
 I have cared to spread the knowledge of Ernst's wickedness 
 in offering his betrothed to another ? Could it be that an 
 open rupture with Annette had urged Richard to this un- 
 heard-of deed ? 
 
 I endeavored to stifle my indignation, and said, "You 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 229 
 
 talk of the Wild Lake Wild Lake, indeed ; you have an un- 
 fathomable one in yourself." 
 
 He looked at me with surprise. 
 
 "What do you mean, father ?" 
 
 " How can you ask ? You dare to touch that which 
 should be holy in your eyes the betrothed of your brother ! " 
 
 " Father, did she tell you herself? " he said hesitatingly. 
 
 And I replied : 
 
 "What matters that? Until now, I had always thought 
 that you were even a better man than I was at your age ; 
 do not undeceive me." 
 
 I said nothing more, and that was enough. 
 
 On the following morning, Richard announced that he 
 was about to depart, and it cost me a great effort to induce 
 Martella to permit him to take leave of her. At last she 
 came, on condition that I would remain present while Rich- 
 ard bade her farewell. 
 
 Richard said : 
 
 " Martella, you have a right to be angry with me, but I 
 am angrier at myself than you can possibly be. I make no 
 protestations, no oaths ; but I pledge my honor as a man, 
 that you will nevermore hear a wrong word or receive a 
 wrong glance from me. Farewell." 
 
 Thus, this trouble was arranged ; but it seemed as if there 
 could be nothing perfect in this world. 
 
 I do not know whether Johanna had been eavesdropping, 
 or how she happened to find it out ; but, at dinner, she 
 spitefully hinted at what had happened, for when we were 
 talking of the imprisoned fish poacher, she said, " People 
 who are without religion are capable of anything, and the 
 irreligious ones who catch a thief are no better than the thief 
 himself. They stretch forth their hands to grasp things that 
 ought to be sacred in their eyes."- 
 
230 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 During the whole of that winter I saw nothing of Richard, 
 and received but one letter from him, in which he informed 
 me that he had been offered an appointment at a distant 
 university, and that, for many reasons, he would gladly have 
 accepted it, but that the Prince had requested him to remain! 
 in the country. He added that he was now again able to 
 say that his only happiness lay in the pursuit of science. 
 
 It was a great pleasure to me to have Julius stationed in 
 our neighborhood. He was so pure, so fresh, and so bright, 
 that whenever he came to our house, his presence seemed 
 like the odor of flowers. 
 
 I am indebted to Julius for joys which even transcend 
 those my children have given me, and my pride in my eldest 
 grandson was now about to be mingled with that I cherished 
 for my eldest son. 
 
 My joy was fully shared by Rothftiss. He counted how 
 many days it would be before Ludwig arrived, and said : 
 
 " There are but seven steps yet right foot, sleep ; left 
 foot, get up ; or, taking it the other way, the two together 
 make one step." 
 
 The last days of waiting seemed long, even to me. Lud- 
 wig had particularly requested that I should not go to meet 
 him. 
 
 On the night before his arrival, I suddenly felt so op- 
 pressed that I thought I should die. 
 
 I heard footsteps on the stairs, and, afterward, the breath- 
 ing of some one in front of my door. Assuredly, he has 
 wished to prevent my worrying he is here already. 
 
 "Who is there?" 
 
 " It is I, Rothfuss. I thought to myself that you would 
 not be able to sleep, and then it suddenly occurred to me 
 that everybody says I am so entertaining that I can put any 
 one to sleep, and so I thought " 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 231 
 
 Rothfuss* allusion to this peculiar art made me laugh so 
 heartily that I felt quite well again. After he left the room, 
 I was obliged to laugh again at the thought of what he had 
 said ; and then I fell asleep, and did not awake until the 
 bright daylight shone into my room. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 May 28, 1870. 
 
 OOD-MORNING, dear Henry," she said to herself, 
 this day forty-six years ago, when she awoke on the 
 last morning she spent in her own chamber. 
 
 " Good-morning, Gustava," said I, opening my eyes. It 
 was the anniversary of our wedding-day, and every year 
 while we were together, these were the first accents from 
 her lips and mine in joy and in sorrow, always the same. 
 
 And this very morning, when awakening, I heard her 
 quite distinctly in my dream saying, " Good-morning, 
 Henry." But I am* alone. She has been snatched away 
 from me. 
 
 On this day our first-born returns from the new world. I 
 am writing these words in the early dawn, as it will be a 
 long while before I again have a chance quietly to set down 
 my recollections. I will now prepare myself to go forth and 
 meet my son. 
 
 June, 1870. 
 
 Ludwig and Richard have gone to the capital, and I have 
 at last quiet and time to note down his arrival and. his 
 presence with us. 
 
 I had just finished writing the above lines, on the twenty- 
 eighth of May, when I heard Rothfuss drawing the chaise up 
 from the barn to the front of the house. He then placed 
 the jack-screw under the frame and took off one wheel after 
 the other and greased the axles, singing and whistling while 
 at his work. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 233 
 
 He saw me seated at the window, and called out in a joy- 
 ful voice : 
 
 " One waits ever so long for the Kirchweih,* but it comes 
 at last. Martella is up already, and has been fixing up the 
 beehives with red ribbons ; the bees, too, are to know that 
 joy comes to this house to-day. While busy at her work, 
 she called out Ernst's name, as if she could drag him here 
 that way. But to-day we must not let ourselves remember 
 that any one is missing." 
 
 There it was again. No cup of joy without its drop of 
 gall. 
 
 But the mind has great power, and one can force himself 
 to forget things. 
 
 It would be wrong towards my son Ludwig, if I were to 
 mix other feelings with joy at his return ; and it is also wrong 
 towards myself not to permit a single pleasure to be with- 
 out alloy. 
 
 My spirits were, however, not a little checked on my be- 
 ing reminded of. Ernst. Every nerve in me trembled, so 
 that I began to believe that I would not be able to survive 
 the hour in which I should again see Ludwig. But now the 
 sad thought that had floated across my mental horizon 
 soothed my excited nerves. 
 
 Ludwig had sent me his photograph from Paris, in order 
 that I might recognize him at once. 
 
 He had placed the pictures of his wife and of his son in 
 the same package. 
 
 I read over his last two letters again. 
 
 In a letter from Paris, dated Sunday, April 24th, he 
 wrote : 
 
 "Here I am in the midst of the hubbub in which the 
 * saviour of the world ' is permitting the people to vote. It 
 
 * Feast commemorative of the dedication of a church. 
 
234 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 is truly a demoniac art, this power of counterfeiting the last 
 word of truthfulness. In order that nothing may remain 
 uncorrupted, the ministers declare that the question of the 
 day is to secure tranquillity to the land for the future, so 
 that, both on the throne and in the cottage, the son may 
 peacefully succeed his father. The last lingering traces of 
 modesty and purity are being destroyed ; the last remnant 
 of piety is appealed to in order to carry out the deceit. 
 
 " How glad I should be, on the other hand, to bathe my 
 soul in the pure waves of great harmonies. The thought 
 that I shall enter my Fatherland in time to assist in celebrat- 
 ing the Centennary of Beethoven's birth is an inspiring and 
 an impressive one to me." 
 
 Joseph was at Bonn, awaiting the expected guests. He 
 was again successful in combining high objects with business 
 profits ; he concluded a contract to build the festival building 
 out of trees from the Black Forest. 
 
 I looked at Ludwig's picture, and it seemed to me, indeed, 
 as if I were looking at my father in his youth. All genera- 
 tions seemed to be combined in one, as if there were no 
 such thing as time. 
 
 Martella came into the room, dressed in her Sunday attire. 
 
 "Good-morning, father," said she. "To-day you will 
 hear somebody else say, ' Good-morning, father.' " 
 
 I could not help wondering how Martella would appear to 
 Ludwig. She seemed new to me. It seemed as if during 
 the four years that she had been with .us she had become 
 taller and more slender. She wore the pearl-colored silk 
 dress that had been my wife's, and had about her throat the 
 red coral necklace that Bertha had sent her. Her unman- 
 ageable brown hair was arranged in the form of a coronet ; 
 and her walk and carriage were full of grace and refinement. 
 Her face seemed lengthened, instead of being as round as it 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 235 
 
 had once been ; and her old defiant expression had given 
 way to one of gentleness. Indeed, since the death of Gus- 
 tava, a certain look of pain seemed to have impressed itself 
 on her features, her large eyes had become more lustrous, 
 and seemed full of unsatisfied longing. 
 
 Johanna and her daughter had also arrayed themselves in 
 their best clothes ; at least, as far as that was possible with 
 Johanna, for, since the death of her husband, she had always 
 worn mourning. 
 
 I rode off in the chaise with Rothfuss ; Julius, with Johanna 
 and her daughter, followed us. 
 
 Martella remained in the house with Carl ; and the school- 
 master's wife had come to assist in baking and cooking. 
 
 When we reached the saw-mill, the miller said, " I have 
 heard the news already this is Ludvvig's day." 
 
 We drove on, and after a while Rothfuss said, " It seems 
 to me that the trees are stretching and straightening them- 
 selves in order to appear at their best when our Ludwig goes 
 by." 
 
 When we arrived at the top of the last hill, Gaudens, who 
 was breaking stones on the road, said : " Ludwig will have 
 to own that the roads are not kept better in America than 
 here." It was strange how the news of his return had been 
 noised about. 
 
 At the last village before reaching the station, Funk came 
 out of the tavern and called out, " Rothfuss ! Stop ! " 
 
 Rothfuss turned towards me with an inquiring look, and I 
 told him to stop. 
 
 Funk now informed me that he had succeeded in induc- 
 ing the members of Lud wig's party to refrain from receiving 
 him at the railroad station with a festive procession. He did 
 not wish to interfere with the family festivities ; but on the 
 following Sunday, the friends of freedom would take the 
 
2 3 6 
 
 WALDFKIED. 
 
 liberty of greeting Ludwig as one who belonged to man 
 kind. 
 
 I could only reply that I could decide nothing for my son, 
 that he was free and would act for himself. 
 
 Funk went back into the tavern. We drove on. Roth- 
 fuss remarked, " That fellow is like a salamander ; when he 
 tries to climb a rock and falls on his back, he turns about 
 and is on his feet again quicker than thought." 
 
 We were much too early when we got into town, and I 
 walked about the streets as if I had never been there be- 
 fore, and as if there were nowhere a chair on which one 
 might rest. 
 
 It suddenly occurred to me that I ought to have sent my 
 picture to Ludwig, so that he might know me ; I had grown 
 a full beard since his departure, and it would grieve me if he 
 did not at once recognize me. 
 
 I decided at once. There was yet time enough to have 
 my beard removed; and when I returned, Johanna and 
 Rothfuss were greatly. astonished by the change in my ap- 
 pearance. But I did not tell them my reason for removing 
 my beard. 
 
 I had a presentiment that Ludwig would bring Ernst with 
 him. I note this down, because we frequently speak of ful- 
 filled presentiments, but never of those which are not ful- 
 filled. 
 
 At the depot, there were numbers of emigrants who were 
 about to leave the valley. I knew many of them, and they 
 guessed at my innermost thought ; for now one, and then 
 another, would come to me and say, " If I learn anything 
 about Ernst, I. will write to you immediately." 
 
 The locksmith's widow was there, with her three children. 
 The children had bouquets in their hands, and I begged them 
 to stand aside until the first meeting was over. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 237 
 
 A young slone-cutter who lived 'at a village in our neigh- 
 borhood, and was employed in the shops at the depot, 
 greeted the locksmith's widow in the most friendly manner. 
 He held her hand in his for some time, and she seemed 
 pleased thereat. How strange that at such moments one 
 can see more than is transpiring about him! It suddenly 
 occured to me, "Who knows they may yet be a couple." 
 
 The Inspector invited me to his dwelling ; I accompanied 
 him. A short time afterward, he returned and told me that 
 the train had been signalled. He led me down the steps 
 and remained at my side. Now we hear the whistle ; 
 now the train is coming round the curve ; now it is slack- 
 ing its speed. No one is beckoning to me from the car 
 windows. Can he have failed to come ? Many passengers 
 alight ; but I see no sign of my son. 
 
 Suddenly a guard calls out to me, " Herr Waldfried, you 
 are to come this way ! " He opens the door of the car and 
 I arn lifted up into it. 
 
 I hear a voice exclaim, " Father ! " and I know nothing of 
 what happened for some time afterward. 
 
 "Grandfather, give me your hand," says another voice. 
 But, before that, I am embraced by a lovely woman, who 
 sheds tears of joy. 
 
 Leading my son with my right hand and my grandson 
 with the left, I walked out as if marching in triumph. My 
 daughter-in-law was escorted by Johanna and her daughter. 
 
 Suddenly Ludwig dropped my hand and called out, 
 " You here, Ernst ? " 
 
 " I am not your brother Ernst ; I am Julius, the son of 
 your sister Martina." 
 
 " Where is Rothfuss ? " inquired Joseph, who had also 
 come on the train with Ludwig. 
 
 I had already seen him. He stood aside, lighting one 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 match after another, and seemed to be waiting for Ludwig 
 to come to him to get a light for his cigar. 
 
 At last he threw the match away and called out, " Hur- 
 rah ! Shout till you burst your throats ! " 
 
 They all shouted "hurrah," and when Ludwig and his son 
 had shaken hands with Rothfuss, and the wife had taken him 
 by the hand, Rothfuss said, " She has a firm hand ; you have 
 done this thing well, Ludwig." 
 
 A middle-aged man, erect in figure, and with a red mus- 
 tache, was looking after Lud wig's luggage. Ludwig now 
 called to him, "Willem, just leave those things and come 
 here. Here, Rothfuss, let me recommend to you my 
 servant and friend, Willem. Shake hands with each other, 
 and be good friends." 
 
 Rothfuss extended his hand, and asked, with an air of 
 doubt : 
 
 " He speaks German, of course does he not ? " 
 
 " Yours to command ; I know nothing else." 
 
 It was on a Saturday, and the Jews of the little town were 
 accustomed on that day to loiter about the station. We 
 were just about to leave, when the Jewish teacher came up 
 to me and said, " Herr Waldfried, the verse in the Bible 
 which tells of Jacob again seeing his son Joseph, applies to 
 you. It says, ' And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me 
 die, since I .have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.' " 
 The words of the little old man did me much good. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 FUNK had been unable to deny himself the pleasure 
 of being on hand. 
 
 When we passed the garden of the "Wild Man " tavern he 
 stood at the fence, surrounded by several of his companions. 
 They lifted their foaming beer-glasses on high, and cried, 
 " Long live Ludvvig, the republican ! " Ludwig merely 
 nodded his thanks, and then said to me : 
 
 " Father, let us get in and ride home." 
 
 The carriages were awaiting us. 
 
 I wanted my daughter-in-law to sit with me, but she in- 
 sisted that Ludwig and Wolfgang should do so, while she 
 joined Johanna and the rest of the party. 
 
 Rothfuss, who at other times took so great a pleasure in 
 cracking his whip, now sounded it but lightly. 
 
 " Rothfuss, how long have you been with us ? " asked 
 Ludwig. 
 
 "Longer than you have been in this world," was the 
 answer. 
 
 My grandson, Wolfgang, laughed out loud, and told us 
 that his father had prophesied that very answer. 
 
 As we drove through the village, every one came to the 
 windows to greet us. 
 
 We were passing the house of the kreis-director. The 
 family were seated in the garden, and we were obliged to 
 stop with them for a little while. The roses were lovely, and 
 the faces of our friends were bright with kindness. 
 
 The husband, the wife, and the daughters welcomed the 
 
240 WALDFRIED. 
 
 new-comers most cordially, and the \\ife handed my 
 daughter-in-law a bouquet of roses. 
 
 Their son was also present. He had become a lieuten- 
 ant, and his countenance seemed to combine the clear,. 
 bright expression of the mother, with the sternness of the 
 father. 
 
 Julius and Martha were standing a little way off, beside a 
 blooming rose-bush, and when I said to Ludwig, " Behold 
 your future niece," they were both so suffused with blushes, 
 that they resembled the roses. My daughter-in-law embraced 
 Martha, and was afterward embraced by the Privy Council- 
 lor's wife. 
 
 Ludwig urged our departure for home, and the charming 
 woman thanked us heartily for the short visit we had paid 
 her. In the meantime, Rontheim had opened a bottle of 
 wine and filled our glasses. 
 
 Our glasses clinked ; we emptied them, and started on 
 our way ; and Rothfuss said, " The Privy Councillor did the 
 right thing in pouring out some wine ; eating and drinking is 
 the best half of nourishment." Ludwig laughed heartily. 
 
 Ludwig held me by the hand while we drove along the 
 valley road. 
 
 " The houses have been rebuilt," he said, pointing to- 
 wards the right bank of the stream. It was there that, dur- 
 ing the uprising of 1848, he had been in command, and 
 where the houses had been burned to the ground. 
 
 " We have him in a sack ; if we could only keep him 
 there for ourselves for a couple of weeks," called out Roth- 
 fuss. 
 
 My grandson did not understand him, and I was obliged 
 to explain how Rothfuss always managed to catch my very 
 thought. 
 
 I had wished to be able to have Ludwig's society for my- 
 
WALDFRIED. 241 
 
 self, and to give no one a part of him, except of course his 
 brothers and sisters. From a few remarks of Ludwig's, I 
 gathered that he was aware of my thoughts, and the first 
 thing he said to me was a text for all that followed. 
 
 " I have not forgotten mother's saying, and it has often 
 been a guide for me : ' We have part in the world, and the 
 world ought to have part in us.' " 
 
 It seemed to me that Rothfuss was laughing to himself. 
 I had been mistaken, however, for Wolfgang, who was seated 
 on the box with Rothfuss, now called out, " Father, Roth- 
 fuss is crying ! " 
 
 " Is there anything that such an American wouldn't no- 
 tice ? " replied Rothfuss, sitting upright on the box, and 
 cracking his whip with all his might. 
 
 " And so the new road through the valley is finished," said 
 Ludwig; "I suppose Antonin built that. It would have 
 been better, though, if they had carried it along the other 
 bank." 
 
 The new road had, however, only been laid out as far as 
 the boundary line ; from there unto my dwelling, which was 
 fully two hours distant, there was only the old road, which 
 was in a horrible condition. 
 
 " Father," exclaimed Wolfgang, " here are the boundary 
 posts that you told me of." 
 
 "Yes," said Ludwig; " this is yet old Germany. Here, 
 there is still separation." 
 
 I believe that I have not yet mentioned that I live near 
 the border. Our village is the last point in our territory, 
 and further down the valley is the beginning of the neighbor- 
 ing principality. 
 
 How strange ! There was so much that we wished to 
 speak of to one another, and the first subject of conveisation 
 was the laying out of the new road. 
 16 
 
242 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 And it is well that it is so ; for this helps one over the 
 heart-throbs that otherwise would be almost insupportable. 
 
 Ludwig had mentioned mother, and for the present she 
 was not referred to again. 
 
 He had a quick glance, and always thought of what might 
 benefit the community ; and when Wolfgang expressed his 
 delight at the wild, rushing valley stream, Ludwig said to 
 me, " That stream could do much more work. There is a 
 fortune floating there, thrown into the water, as it were, and 
 flowing away from our valley out into the ocean." 
 
 "To whom does water-power belong?" inquired Wolf- 
 gang- 
 
 We gave him the desired information, and this question 
 was a happy proof of his active, inquiring mind. 
 
 " Over yonder," said Rothfuss, " there is a miller who has 
 his water-power direct from the heavens." He pointed 
 to the house of the so-called " thunder miller," who had 
 built his mill in such a way that its wheel would only go after 
 there had been a storm. 
 
 The ground for some distance before we reached the tun- 
 nel, was covered with cherry-trees with straight trunks, the 
 branches of which looked like a well-arranged bouquet ; and 
 on the heights were the beech-trees with their red buds, and 
 one could follow the gradual development of the foliage. 
 
 " Look, Wolfgang," said Ludwig, " you can see here how 
 spring gradually climbs up the mountain side." 
 
 " Father," exclaimed Wolfgang, " the people in the fields 
 are all looking up at us." 
 
 " They all know grandfather," replied Ludwig ; and, turn^ 
 ing to me, he explained : " It seems strange to the boy, 
 for the American never looks up from his work, even if 
 seven trains of cars rush by within ten paces of him." 
 
 At the boundary line, Gaudens greeted us. 
 
WALDFRIED. 243 
 
 We halted there for a while. He came up to the carriage, 
 stretched out his hand, and exclaimed, " Do you know me 
 yet ? " 
 
 " Certainly I do ; you are Gaudens." 
 
 "Yes, it is easy to find me ; from here around the corner, 
 down to the Maiengrund is my district. I was in the rev- 
 olution too, but I lied my way out. Yes, Luclwig, you have 
 wandered about a great deal in the wide world. It is best 
 at home, after all ; isn't it ? Is this your son ? " 
 
 " It is." 
 
 " God bless him. And what a splendid wife you have ! 
 What a pity about Ernst ; he has such a good heart and is 
 such a sensible fellow, and yet commits such wicked and 
 foolish tricks. All I wish for is to have a place where I 
 might have some little extra profits from fruit and grass by 
 the road ; nothing ripens here but pine cones." 
 
 When Wolfgang shook hands with him at parting, he said, 
 " He has a soft hand ; he cannot swing the pickaxe as you 
 did when you were building your first road." 
 
 " How lovely it is here," said Wolfgang. " Here you know 
 every one, and every one knows you ; you cannot meet a 
 stranger." 
 
 He was right ; it is so ; and this makes a full life, but a 
 a hard one too. 
 
 We left the forester's house, where the forester's pretty 
 wife, holding a child on her arm, greeted us. Our way lay 
 along the crest of the mountain, and looked down into the 
 valley, where the haystacks were scattered about the 
 meadow, in the hollow, and along the hillside. Ludwig 
 said : 
 
 "Whenever I thought of home, this view of the valley al- 
 ways came back to me. I was walking here once with 
 Ernst, while he was yet quite a little fellow, and he said to 
 
244 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 me, * Lud\vig, look at the haystacks. Don't they look like 
 a scattered herd of cows on the meadow ? ' " 
 
 He must have noticed that his allusion to Ernst had agi- 
 tated me, and he added, " Father, we must be strong 
 enough to think calmly of the dead and of the lost ones." 
 
 When we passed the woods that belonged to Uncle Lin- 
 ker and me, Ludwig was delighted to find how nicely they 
 had been kept. 
 
 He then inquired about Martella, and when I said that 
 she had a strange aversion to America, and disliked to hear 
 it mentioned, he replied : 
 
 " Do you not believe, father, that she has an unexplained, 
 and perhaps sad, past, which is in some way associated 
 with America ? " I was startled ; the case seemed to 
 present new and puzzling difficulties. 
 
 Ludwig was pleased with the meadow-valley where he 
 had arranged the trench with sluices. In very good seasons, 
 there were four crops ; but one was always sure of at least 
 three. The value of the meadow-farmer's property had in 
 this way been doubled. 
 
 Down by the saw-mill, we met Carl, who was just using the 
 windlass to drag a large beam from the wagon. 
 
 He turned around as we approached and saluted us, and 
 Lud wig's wife said, "What a handsome fellow ! He is just 
 as I have imagined all your countrymen to be." 
 
 We alighted, and walked up the hill and on towards the 
 village. 
 
 When Ludwig saw the churchyard, he removed his hat 
 from his head, remained standing for a moment in silence, 
 and then walked on briskly. 
 
 At the steps of the house he extended his hand to his 
 wife and said, " Welcome to the house of my parents 1 " 
 
WALDFRIED. 24$ 
 
 Martella was standing on the piazza : she stood there 
 immovable, holding herself by the railing. 
 
 " That pretty girl there, with large staring eyes, is Ernst's 
 betrothed, I presume ? " said Ludwig. 
 
 I said, "Yes." 
 
 We went up the steps and entered the room. Without 
 speaking a word, Martella offered her hand to every one of 
 the new arrivals. She seemed absent minded and was 
 silent. 
 
 My daughter-in-law and Wolfgang were surprised to find 
 that we still had fires in our stoves. 
 
 A little pleasantry at once made us all feel at home with 
 one another. I told my new daughter-in-law how happily I 
 had lived with my wife, but that even we had been obliged 
 to adapt ourselves to each other's ways. 
 
 From the earliest days in autumn until far into the sum- 
 mer, it had been our custom to have our sitting-room heated 
 every morning and evening. At first it went hard with me, 
 but after a while we accustomed ourselves to the same outer 
 temperature, and the nicely warmed room at last became a 
 great comfort to me, whenever I returned from the fields. 
 
 " I understand perfectly, and thank you for telling me of 
 mother first of all," said my daughter-in-law. 
 
 Martella remained silent and reserved towards the new- 
 comers, and, for the rest of the evening, we did not see her 
 again. She remained in the kitchen and instructed one of 
 the servants to serve the meal. With the help of the school- 
 master's wife she had prepared us a fine feast. 
 
 Wolfgang suddenly asked to see the family woods, and as 
 it was still broad daylight, Ludwig took him out to gratify 
 his curiosity. 
 
 I was left alone with my daughter-in-law, and when I 
 conducted her through the house and showed her, above all 
 
246 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 things, the apartment with the plaster casts, her pure and 
 tranquil nature became revealed to me for the first time. 
 
 When Ludwig returned, he expressed great pleasure with 
 the fountain that mother had ordered to be repaired at the 
 time the new forest path was laid out. He promised to send 
 to the iron foundry at once, and order a pretty column with 
 a pipe through it. 
 
 " Mother inspired me with an affection for this spring," 
 said he. "While building the aqueduct, I thought of her 
 almost every day ; and along the space where the pipes were 
 running under ground, I planted pines, in order that pretty 
 woods might grow there, and the temperature of the water 
 always remain the same. Of all the great and impressive 
 things I beheld in America, one little monument impressed 
 me most of all ; it was that to Fredrick Graff, who built the 
 waterworks of Philadelphia." 
 
 Night approached. We were seated in the arbor, and 
 Wolfgang exclaimed, " The stars shine more brightly here 
 than elsewhere." 
 
 " The dark woods make it appear so," said Ludwig. And 
 just over the family woods, seeming to touch the tops of the 
 trees as if fixed there, a star glistened and shone with a 
 brightness that was marvellous even to me. 
 
 Ludwig conducted himself with great self-control and 
 moderation. He spoke slowly and in a low voice, in order 
 to keep down all agitation. 
 
 Long after the new-comers had retired to rest, Rothfuss 
 and I were still sitting in front of the house. 
 
 Rothfuss could not come to an understanding with him- 
 self. He said, " Our Ludwig is still the same, and .is changed 
 for all ; he has not grown, and yet he is larger." 
 
 He told me that Ludwig had come out into the stable to 
 him, and when he had told Ludwig that the sorrel horse was 
 
WALDFR1ED. 
 
 247 
 
 the son of our gray stud, he had taken the horse firmly by 
 the mane and said, " Rothfuss, you have been faithful to my 
 father ; I cannot fully recompense you for it, but express a 
 wish and I will do what I can for you." 
 
 Rothfuss had heard no more of what was said. 
 
 He could not help crying like a child ; and now he would 
 like to know what he ought to wish for. He said that he 
 wanted no one to advise him ; he must find it out himself. 
 For a long while, neither of us spoke a word. There was 
 not a sound to be heard, save the bubbling of the fountain 
 in front of the house. 
 
 I retired to my room, but could find no rest, and sat by 
 the window for a long while. 
 
 It seemed to me as if an invisible and inaudible spirit was 
 wandering through the house and bestowing upon it peace 
 and quiet, above all other spots upon this earth. 
 
 Just then the watchman called the hour of midnight ; the 
 window of Ludwig*s chamber opened, and Ludwig called 
 out, " Tobias, come and see me to-morrow :. I have some- 
 thing for you." 
 
 " Are you still awake ? " cried I. 
 
 " Yes, father ; and when I heard the watchman I knew 
 for sure that I am at home. Now I understand the proverb, 
 'He who does not wander, does not return. 1 It is only 
 among strangers that one learns to appreciate his home. 
 
 " But now go to sleep. Good-night, father." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Herr Professor has arrived," were the words with 
 which Martella greeted me early the next morning. 
 I must observe that Martella now always spoke of Richard 
 as " Herr Profeosor." The meeting of the brothers was a 
 most affectionate one. 
 
 Lud\vig's wife and Richard were friends at once. She in- 
 troduced herself to him as the daughter of a professor, and 
 Richard's impressive manner seemed to please her greatly. 
 Wolfgang was greatly moved, and whispered to me : 
 " I can now for the first time, say the best words : 
 'grandfather,' 'uncle; ' and" turning quickly to Johanna 
 'aunt;' to Julius I have already said 'cousin,' and I shall 
 soon have more cousins." 
 
 The brothers were soon involved in a most zealous dis- 
 cussion of the great questions of the day. Richard warned 
 Ludwig against permitting the demagogues to make use 
 of him, as their only aim was to foment disturbance, and to 
 abuse all existing institutions. They were wholly without 
 lofty or honest aims of their own. When he warned him 
 to be on his guard and not to permit this or that one to in- 
 fluence his views of affairs in the Fatherland, Ludwig replied : 
 " Wi'li your permission, I shall begin with you." 
 Richard observed that, just as time helps to correct our 
 judgments, in regard to past events, so does distance aid us 
 in criticising contemporary history. It may take ten years 
 before we can see the Europe of the present in the light 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 249 
 
 in which it appears to the unprejudiced American of to-day; 
 and when he asked Ludvvig whether we might not cherish the 
 hope that he would now remain in the old world, Ludwig 
 answered that, with all his love of home, he did not believe 
 he would be able to give up the perfect independence of 
 American life. 
 
 " And what do you think on the subject, my dear sister- 
 in-law ?" 
 
 " I am of the same opinion as my husband." 
 
 Richard expressed a wish that Ludwig might, at some fu- 
 ture day, take charge of the family estate, as there was no 
 one else who could do it. It seemed to me, indeed, that, in 
 all that he said, Richard was trying to determine Ludwig to 
 unite his fortunes with those of the Fatherland. 
 
 Ludwig, who had come by way of France, could tell us 
 much of the great excitement that had been produced there 
 by the plebiscite. 
 
 The brothers were agreed that the expression of the pop- 
 ular will had been accompanied by fearful deceit on the 
 part of the authorities ; but they did not agree as to the ob- 
 ject contemplated by that deceit. 
 
 " I was often obliged," said Ludwig, " to think of our old 
 schoolmaster, who explained the philosophic beauty of the 
 Latin language to us by the fact that rolo has no impera- 
 tive; but the author of the 'Life of Caesar' has shown us, 
 by means of ti\z plebiscite, that volo has an imperative." 
 
 Ludwig asserted that the majority of educated French- 
 men hated and despised Napoleon ; for all the large cities, 
 with the exception of Strasburg, which gave a small major- 
 ity on the other side, had voted no. At the same time, 
 what they hated and despised in him was just what they 
 themselves were ; for every individual Frenchman really de- 
 sires to be a Napoleon ; and the no that a portion of the 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 army had voted, simply meant, " We want war." Napoleon 
 had undermined every sense of duty, and the misfortune 
 of France was that no one there believed in the honesty or 
 the unselfishness of another creature. 
 
 " I have also made the acquaintance of French emigrants 
 in America. It is, of course, unfair to judge of a nation by 
 its emigrants ; but I could not help being struck by the fact 
 that those whom I met had no confidence in any one." 
 
 Richard, on the other hand, had a very good opinion of 
 the French. He told us that about the time he was working 
 in the library at Paris, he had travelled much through France, 
 and had made the acquaintance of Frenchmen of every 
 station in life. 
 
 " The French are industrious and temperate, and a people 
 of whom that can be said, has a noble destiny awaiting it. 
 They have a great desire to please, which makes them agree- 
 able, and gives all their work the impress of good taste. 
 They are fond of all that partakes of the decorative, whether 
 it be a glittering phrase or a badge. If that which, from its 
 very nature, ought to be general, could gain distinction for 
 them if there could be an aristocracy in republican virtue, 
 I cannot help believing that the Frenchmen would be un- 
 bending republicans." 
 
 "Yes," said Ludwig; "and they are humane, also. The 
 vain and conceited man is usually generous and communica- 
 tive : he thinks he has so many advantages that he is glad to 
 bestow a share on others, and is annoyed and almost angry if 
 they do not care to accept his bounty; for ie considers 
 their declining it as a want of belief in his superiority, and 
 is surprised to find that others do not hunger and thirst for 
 the things that he regards as delicacies." 
 
 The brothers became involved in all sorts of discussions, 
 and, although Richard was the younger of the two, he 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 251 
 
 showed, in a certain patronizing way, how pleased he was to 
 find that the school of experience had moderated Ludwig's 
 views. For the brothers agreed on one point that, as there 
 was no one church which could alone save mankind, so there 
 was no one form of government which could alone make all 
 men free. After all, everything depended on the honesty 
 and the morality of the citizen, and, for that reason, it could 
 not be maintained that the republican form of government 
 was a guarantee of freedom, or that a monarchy necessarily 
 implied a condition of servitude. 
 
 The brothers now understood each other better than they 
 had done in former times. 
 
 Richard always occupied himself with general principles, 
 while I can only interest myself in particulars. The first 
 question that I ask myself is, How does the rule apply to 
 this or that one ? Richard is different. He has no eye for 
 isolated cases, but a far-seeing glance where general prin- 
 ciples are concerned. He looks upon everything from a 
 certain lofty historical point of view. He regards the hilly 
 region in which we live with the eye of an artist and a 
 scientist, noticing the elevations and the depressions, without 
 giving a thought to the people who dwell among them. He 
 does not see the villages, much less a single villager. 
 
 My experience with Richard solved a question which had 
 always been a riddle to me. He has no love for the people, 
 and is, nevertheless, an advocate of liberty. Until now, I 
 could not understand how it was possible ; now it is clear 
 to me. 
 
 Advocites of liberty are of two classes. The one class 
 ask for it as a logical necessity ; the other are disappointed 
 when the people, or portions thereof, become obstinate or 
 prove themselves unworthy of freedom. The former have 
 nothing to do with mankind, but simply busy themselves 
 
252 
 
 WALDFR1ED. 
 
 with the idea of liberty, and are, for that reason, more posi 
 tive and exacting and less given to fine talk. 
 
 Formerly, Richard had been dissatisfied with all of Lud- 
 wig's actions and opinions. He was opposed to all that was 
 violent ; but now Richard had become the more liberal, 
 and Ludwig the more conservative, of the two. It was in 
 America, where the tendency seemed towards a loosening of 
 all restraint, that Ludwig had for the first time learned to at- 
 tach importance to the preservation of established institu- 
 tions. While they were yet children under the instructions 
 of Pastor Genser, who afterward became my son-in-law, the 
 two boys had given much of their time to music. To listen 
 to Richard playing the violincello and Ludwig playing the 
 piano, was one of the greatest pleasures that our household 
 afforded Gustava and myself. 
 
 Ludwig has given up music, and they can now no longer 
 play together. But when I heard them talking in unre- 
 strained converse, and observed how the one transposed the 
 mood r' J the thoughts of the other into his own key, and 
 developed it, adding new combinations of ideas ; and when 
 I noticed how the eye of either speaker would, from time to 
 time, rest upon the other with a joyful expression, it seemed 
 yet more beautiful and more grateful to my heart than any 
 music could oe. And withal, each temperament preserved 
 ii.3 own melody. Richard looked forward for some event that 
 would mark a turning-point in the affairs of men, or for the 
 advent of some great man, to utter the command, " Come > and 
 follow me." Ludwig added that liberation could only be 
 brought about by one who possessed a cool head and a firm 
 hand, so that, without swerving a hair's breadth to either 
 side, he could put in the knife where it was needed. 
 
 Richard, with more than his wonted animation, spoke 
 joyfully of being released from the opposition party, and 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 253 
 
 when Ludwig approvingly said that the time was now com- 
 ing for Germany in which those who were dissatisfied with 
 its laws and institutions would not be the only free ones, 
 Richard again urged him to consider how hard it would be 
 if no one of us should take charge of the estate, and it should 
 thus at some day fall into the hands of strangers. 
 
 " That is no misfortune," replied Ludwig. " Our posterity 
 may again become poor, just as our ancestors were; all 
 property must change hands at some time or other. To 
 encourage the fond desire of retaining possession of a so 
 called family estate, savors of aristocratic feeling." 
 
 Richard was struck by this reply, and said : " You are 
 more familiar with the history of the Indians than I am ; 
 but do you recollect the reply of the chief whom they were 
 endeavoring to persuade to move off with those who be- 
 longed to him, into another territory ' Give us the graves 
 of our ancestors to take with us?' And, Ludwig, over 
 there is the grave of our mother." 
 
 There was a long silence after that, and Ludwig merely 
 replied, "You do wrong to urge me so." 
 
 Martella had been sitting near by while the two had been 
 carrying on their familiar conversation. In all likelihood, 
 she had understood but little of what was said, for, while 
 discussing the improvement of the whole world, they indulged 
 themselves in vistas of the distant future. But Martella 
 would look first at one and then at the other, and then at 
 me, nodding approval each time. And afterward, when she 
 and I were alone together, she said, " Father, your eyes told 
 me how happy you were, and you must have thought just as 
 I did ; did you not ? Ah, if Ernst only knew how his brothers 
 are here talking with each other from their very hearts ! In- 
 deed, if he were here he would be the most sensible of all, 
 for there is no one like Ernst." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 LUD WIG'S servant entered and inquired whether he 
 might accompany " madame " (meaning Johanna) to 
 church. 
 
 " You may go," replied Ludwig to the servant, who 
 saluted in curt military style and left the room. 
 
 Richard inquired where the man was from, for his pro- 
 nunciation would prove him a North German. 
 
 Ludwig replied, "Yes, he is a specimen of North German 
 discipline and reliability. 
 
 "Although he was willing to work at anything, he was 
 almost perishing with want when I made his acquaintance. 
 I took him into my service, and every order I gave was 
 executed by him as implicitly as if he were obeying an im- 
 perative law of nature. 
 
 " One evening I had an appointment to meet several per- 
 sons at the town hall ; I took him with me, and said to him, 
 '* Willem, wait here for me.' 
 
 " I entered and had a lengthy interview forgot Willem, 
 and left through another door. 
 
 " The next morning I came back to the town hall, and 
 there stood Willem. 
 
 " ' What are you doing there ? ' I asked. 
 
 "'Ikwartej* said he. 
 
 " He had waited there all night, and would probably have 
 waited the whole of that day, if I had not by chance come 
 there. 
 
 * I am waiting (dialect). 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 255 
 
 "After that, we always called him 'Ik-warte.'" 
 
 We were so happy together. It was one of those moments 
 that one wishes might be prolonged forever, and in which 
 one dreads to move from his seat for fear of breaking the 
 spell. Our happiness was, however, not to be of long dura i 
 tion. 
 
 The locksmith's widow came, bringing her children with 
 her. They brought a pot of fine honey, and fresh garlands 
 of daisies and violets. 
 
 Ludwig advised the children they were two girls and a 
 boy above all things not to consider themselves Americans ; 
 for if Germans would work as they do in America, they 
 could do just as well as the Americans. 
 
 The widow said that she would like to have a talk with 
 Ludwig alone, for she looked upon him as the guardian of 
 her children. Ludwig promised to pay her a visit at an 
 early day. 
 
 She was about leaving when new guests arrived. 
 
 Funk called, but he had discreetly sent in advance his 
 parade horse, Schweitzer-Schmalz, who was attired in the 
 national costume she was so fond of, with large, round, silver 
 buttons. He walked along with an air of great importance, 
 with his bull neck, his face shining with good living, and his 
 thick eyelids, from beneath which his little eyes cast their 
 contemptuous glances. He was followed by the village 
 lawyer, a man of pleasing appearance, and, indeed, a noble 
 being who had but one fixed idea, and that was that the world 
 was to be protected against all corporalism. 
 
 Funk followed after these two fit companions of his. He 
 had not been in my house for four years. 
 
 Schweitzer-Schmalz was the first to speak, and uttered a 
 short, hearty, " Welcome, Ludwig ! " 
 
 For the first time, he avoided his haughty manner of treat- 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 ing every one as "little fellow." The tall, commanding ap- 
 pearance of Ludwig awed him. 
 
 After that, the lawyer delivered a somewhat longer and 
 quite fervent speech, and I was obliged to beg Richard to 
 keep quiet, for he whispered to me, "All this so early in 
 the morning, and without an audience of empty bottles ! " 
 
 Funk extended his hand in silence and nodded signifi- 
 cantly, as if he meant to say, " You know already what I 
 mean." 
 
 Martella brought wine and glasses. It hurt me to feel 
 that she was in the presence of Funk, who had, years ago, 
 so maliciously dragged her name before the political meeting. 
 
 I had told Ludwig nothing of my rupture with Funk. 
 
 Funk inquired about several who had been their com- 
 panions in revolution and who had emigrated. Of many, 
 Ludwig could give no information, while of some he could 
 give us good report, and of many others, sad news. 
 
 Ludwig disapproved of the emigration fever. 
 
 The turn that the conversation had taken did not seem to 
 Funk's taste ; but Ludwig was able to direct it as he de- 
 sired, and, addressing himself more especially to the lawyer, 
 he spoke of the intimate relations that existed between our 
 country South Germany in particular and America. 
 
 Owing to their innate energy, and in spite of want, misery 
 and ignorance of the language, the proportion who succeed 
 in attaining wealth, position, and honors is much larger with 
 the first generation of emigrants than with their children who 
 are born in America. 
 
 Statistics had proven that, in spite of want and temptation, 
 the first generation offered far fewer objects for the jails than 
 did the second. On the other hand, the former were more 
 largely represented in the insane asylums. 
 
 Funk was evidently displeased, and emptied his glass at 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 257 
 
 one draught. Although he laughed, he seemed ill at ease 
 when Schvveitzer-Schmalz said, " There you have it. I have 
 always told you little folk may emigrate; but the right sort 
 of a man," he said, stroking his fat belly at the same time, 
 " knows where he is best off, and keeps at home." 
 
 " I believe that you are also one of the deceived ones," 
 said Ludwig, supplementing his remarks. "You cannot 
 know, or, at all events, only know it superficially, that the 
 projectors of new railroads attempt to help the price of their 
 shares by encouraging emigration into the territory traversed 
 by their road, and that many who get gratuities by them do 
 not even know this." 
 
 Funk suggested that a festive gathering of people from 
 the village and surrounding country should take place on 
 any Sunday that Ludwig might fix upon. The meeting was 
 to be in honor of his arrival. At this time he was doubly 
 welcome, for he would assist in dispelling the Prussian pesti- 
 lence. 
 
 " I see you are still fond of set phrases," replied Ludwig, 
 and added : " How strange it is since the congress of 
 Vienna, all friends of the Fatherland have been clamoring 
 for a man who, with firm hand and shrewd judgment, would, 
 regardless of consequences, force Germany into unity ; and 
 now that he is with us, they hurl stones at him. And do 
 you know, Professor, what it is that particularly pleases me 
 in Bismarck ? " he exclaimed roguishly. 
 
 " How should I know ? " 
 
 " He has fortunately one of those rare names that can be 
 pronounced the same in all languages." 
 
 " We had thought we should meet an old republican an 
 enemy of tyrants ! " exclaimed Funk. 
 
 " I have not changed in that respect," answered Ludwig. 
 " The question whether a republic or a monarchy should be 
 17 
 
2 5 8 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 preferred, is about the same as if one were to ask which is 
 better, meat or farinaceous food ? All depends upon the man- 
 ner in which the food is prepared, and upon the digestive 
 powers of the stomach. But don't let us dispute now. I 
 trust we shall have a chance yet to discuss these matters 
 more calmly." 
 
 " What day have you determined on ? " inquired Funk. 
 
 Ludwig said that he desired no such compliment. He 
 preferred to renew his acquaintance with the people and 
 their circumstances in a quiet, unobtrusive manner. 
 
 The church bells began tolling, and Funk said : " Perhaps 
 you wish to go to church ? You have probably grown 
 religious, too ? " 
 
 "Thanks for catechizing me," said Ludwig. 
 
 " Ah, I forgot to address you as ' Colonel/ " said Funk. 
 
 " That makes no difference, although my rank is that of 
 colonel. I was promoted at the front, and it is the greatest 
 pride of my life that I did my duty in the war for wiping out 
 slavery." 
 
 I do not know whether it was shrewdness or arrogance 
 towards his companion or ourselves, that induced Schweitzer- 
 Schmalz to assume his wonderfully self-complacent air. 
 
 " Yes, Colonel," said he, " another American war would 
 not be so unpleasant to us after all ? " 
 
 " What do you mean by that ? " 
 
 " Why, that we gained one great advantage from it, or, as 
 my student says, ' pitch.' " 
 
 " I do not understand you." 
 
 " Yes," began Schweitzer-Schmalz, after emptying his glass, 
 "your father doesn't like rosin; but, for the little farmers, 
 the pine-trees which give rosin are just like so many milch- 
 cows. I have a piece of woodland that I milked hard, be- 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 259 
 
 cause, so long as the war lasted, no rosin came from America, 
 and the price of ours went up very much." 
 
 Richard could not refrain from remarking on the wonder- 
 ful connection that made changes in one country affect the 
 most distant portions of the globe. And thus the visit, 
 which had promised to be so disagreeable, ended quite 
 pleasantly. 
 
 Funk and his companions left, and when Richard was 
 about to speak of Funk's emptiness, Ludwig replied : 
 
 " You are deceived in him. He is full of what we, in 
 America, call * steam.' He has a restless spirit of enter- 
 prise." 
 
 My daughter-in-law and Johanna went to church together, 
 and Ikwarte followed after them. 
 
 The watchman came, and Ludwig gave him a considerable 
 present. 
 
 After that, Ludwig requested me to accompany him 
 to the statue gallery, where he said : " Father, I have 
 brought nothing for you ; but I know that your greatest 
 pleasure is to do acts of beneficence; let me, therefore, 
 place this sum of money in your hands, so that you may dis- 
 tribute it according to your best judgment. If I can do good 
 through you, I shall be doing good to myself; and, as mother 
 is no longer living, I must -ask you to attend to this for me." 
 
 I doubt whether in yonder church there was one heart 
 more piously inclined than ours were on that day. 
 
 But it seems that nothing in life can remain perfectly pure 
 and undisturbed. 
 
 We were just about sitting down to dinner, when a wretch- 
 ed-looking creature, called Wacker, entered. He lived in 
 the neighboring valley, and had once been a comrade of Lud- 
 wig' s at the Polytechnic school. He had left school at an 
 early day, in order to take charge of a beer brewery, and 
 
2 6O WALDFRIED. 
 
 had become a drunkard. His place had been sold out, and 
 he now wandered about from one little tavern to another, 
 where he would spend the day between maudlin curses and 
 drunken slumbers. When he entered the house, it was only 
 noon, and he was already intoxicated. 
 
 " Brother," he exclaimed, " give me one of your Califor- 
 nia lumps of gold ; or, if that is asking too much, see that I 
 have free tap for one year at the * Lamb.' . Here is my hand. 
 If the war begins again, I will help. Give me hand-money 
 throat-money throat-money ! " 
 
 He offered his hand to Ludwig, who declined it. I saw 
 his indignation ; his glance fell on Ludwig's wife and on 
 Wolfgang, for the latter seemed surprised that the degraded 
 creature should address his father in such familiar terms. 
 Wacker begged for a gift, but Ludwig refused it with the 
 words, " Get some employment, and then I will help you, 
 but not before." 
 
 Wacker replied in vile, abusive terms. 
 
 Ludwig instantly collared him and led him from the room. 
 
 We could hear him cursing, after he got out into the road ; 
 and then he staggered down the hillside. 
 
 There was something cold and hard as iron in Ludwig's 
 manner towards all except his nearest kindred, to whom he 
 was kind and gentle. 
 
 This interruption was a shrill dissonance in our Sunday's 
 pleasure. We soon forgot it, however. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 IN the afternoon, Julius and his betrothed visited -us, and, 
 in a little while, letters containing uniform mes- 
 sages were sent in all directions. The Professor, my daugh- 
 ter-in-law, Wolfgang, Johanna and her daughter, Julius and 
 his intended, all wrote ; for every one was to have a separ- 
 ate invitation to the great family gathering on the following 
 Sunday. At Ludwig's request, all of our relatives were in- 
 formed that he insisted on their making the journey at his 
 charge. Those who did not need it should state the amount, 
 nevertheless, and if they so wished might give it to the poor. 
 In this way, no one who could not afford the expense would 
 be prevented from undertaking the journey. 
 
 Rothfuss and Ikwarte walked off to town to mail the let- 
 ters, of which there were nearly fifty. To my sister who lived 
 in the Hagenau forest, I wrote in person. 
 
 Rothfuss had told Ikwarte all that he had done for Lud- 
 wig, and was not a little surprised to receive, instead of 
 praise, a nod of disapproval and the reproach, "It was not 
 right, after all." He told me of it, and could not understand 
 how that "up there in Prussia," they were not all opposed to 
 the government and glad to deceive it. He seemed to think 
 that Ikwarte, and all like him, were exceedingly simple. 
 
 Rothfuss was as jealous of Carl as a reigning prince of the 
 heir apparent. He noticed that Ikwarte was well inclined 
 toward Carl, whose good looks and military air were much 
 in his favor, and he went so far as to confide to Ikwarte that 
 Carl had suffered himself to be taken prisoner in order to* 
 avoid fighting. 
 
262 WALDFRIED. 
 
 After that Rothfuss was the sole favorite of Ikwarte, who 
 hardly bestowed a glance on Carl, and barely answered his 
 questions. 
 
 A soldier who voluntarily allows himself to be captured ! 
 He could not understand how such a man could walk erect, 
 and on Sundays wear his soldier's cap with the red pom- 
 pon. 
 
 " He knows nothing about oxen, but he is a first-rate 
 judge of horses," said Rothfuss, speaking of Ikwarte ; "and 
 he holds the plough as if he were screwed fast to it. And he 
 can work, too ; that's certain. And he is modest. Instead 
 of saying ' No,' he always says, ' I am not sure ; ' and in- 
 stead of saying 'Yes,' he says, ' It is so.' He can't sing, nor 
 even yodel ; and the greatest praise he gives any one is 
 to say, ' He is a steady fellow.' And when he wishes to say 
 that you are right, he says, * It agrees.' And he is not at all 
 inquisitive ; he never asks who any one is." 
 
 Willem was just as sparing of words as Rothfuss was lav- 
 ish of them ; and it was a droll sight to watch the two sitting 
 together. I think that each one considered himself the su- 
 perior of the other and patronized him accordingly. Roth- 
 fuss did it with words, Ikwarte with glances. He evidently 
 regarded Rothfuss as an old child ; and Rothfuss, in turn, 
 looked upon him as a poor awkward being who had not 
 learned how to express himself properly. When they spoke 
 to each other, they always screamed at the top of their 
 voices ; each only understood about half of what was 
 said by the other, and they thought they might help matters 
 by screaming. 
 
 Rothfuss could hardly be brought to believe that Ikwarte 
 had not emigrated on account of his being unable to endure 
 German oppression ; but Ikwarte was without a trace of 
 political opinion. All that he knew of the state was that one 
 
WALDFRIED. 263 
 
 should serve it as a soldier and pay taxes. Of Ludwig, he 
 said, " My master is a man, and a man of his word at that." 
 
 Towards his master, he had a certain feeling of implicit 
 and dutiful obedience; he was fond of saying, "Let every- 
 thing be well grounded." 
 
 Rothfuss consoled him with the words : " Don't mind it, 
 if they try to tease and worry you here. If you plant a 
 strange tree in the forest, the stags will rub their horns 
 against it and tear the bark, but the tree is not harmed, 
 after all." 
 
 Rothfuss was quite beside himself with laughter when 
 Ikwarte asked him what bodily infirmity had prevented my 
 two servants, who had not been soldiers, from entering the 
 army. He could not understand that we still drew lots in 
 our neighborhood. 
 
 Ludwig had gone to the capital to make various arrange- 
 ments for the family meeting, and I remained at home work- 
 ing in the forest with Carl and Ikwarte, whose clever wa) i 
 and even temper greatly pleased me. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 r I ^HE schoolmaster's wife and Martella had decorated 
 JL our steps and the doorway with flowers and garlands, 
 to the great delight of all of us, and Ludwig in- particular. 
 But on the second day, Ludwig said to Rothfuss : 
 
 " Take down the wreaths ; nothing is uglier than to let 
 flowers hang until they wilt." 
 
 " He is right," said Rothfuss, smiling. " My mother 
 always said that Sunday clothes should not be worn on 
 week days. Ludwig's mother had good sense, and so had 
 mine." 
 
 On the third day, Ludwig said, " Father, I shall now leave 
 my wife and son with you for a few days." 
 
 He sent his little trunk ahead, and, throwing his plaid 
 over his shoulder, took up his walk through the valley and 
 over the mountains. Richard, who was obliged to examine 
 several candidates for the doctor's degree, accompanied 
 him. 
 
 I felt surprised that Ludwig should leave me so soon, but 
 by noon it was clear to me that he had acted wisely. His 
 wife and son were much more at their ease when they 
 found themselves alone with me ; for, with all his kindness, 
 there was something commanding in Ludwig's manner which 
 made every one feel as if under restraint while in his presence. 
 
 His wife was quiet and self-contained, and, seeing that I 
 noticed this, told me that she had been living on a lonely 
 farm with her father, who was very sparing of his words, 
 and that she had thus acquired a habit of silence. After her 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 265 
 
 marriage and her father's death, which soon followed it, 
 Ludwig had been obliged, by his engagements as con- 
 structor of water-works, to spend days and weeks away from 
 home. It was not until the last year, when they had moved 
 into a city, that he was more at home ; but, even then, pub- 
 lic affairs claimed a great share of his time. During the 
 war, he had been in the field with the army for at least 
 two years. 
 
 She had seen much trouble. She was but twelve years 
 old when the family emigrated to America. During the 
 first few years, her parents employed themselves as teachers ; 
 and when, in rapid succession, the mother and her brother 
 and sister died, she and her father moved to the farm. As- 
 sisted by a couple of free negroes who helped in the field, 
 she was obliged to conduct the whole household. The two 
 children she had lost had died because medical assistance 
 could not be obtained in time, and, for that reason, they had 
 moved to the city. Their eldest son had died while Ludwig 
 was in the army, fighting against the secessionists. 
 
 She gently hinted that it was her wish to remain in Europe, 
 but that she would not urge this, as she feared Ludwig would 
 not find a large enough field for his energy. She said that 
 he was accustomed to constant and varied activity, and stood 
 very high at home. 
 
 It was with some hesitation that she asked me whether I 
 objected to the fact of her having only been married by civil 
 process, and that Wolfgang belonged to no church. I re- 
 assured her, for J felt well satisfied that Johanna had already 
 made persistent attempts at conversion in this quarter. My 
 daughter-in-law became much attached to Joseph's wife and 
 the school-master's. She was very fond of raising flowers, 
 and determined to take many different kinds of seeds back 
 to America with her. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 While the presence of my newly found daughter was a 
 quiet pleasure, my grandson was an incomparable joy to me. 
 He was at my side from morning till night. I think he 
 must have asked Martella to tell him what pleased me, for 
 he seemed to anticipate my every wish. 
 
 I showed him our own saw-mill, and also the one that 
 belonged to the village. He readily understood the prin- 
 ciple of the machinery, and seemed to have quite a store cf 
 general information. 
 
 I had a little nursery of forest- trees ; it was well situated. 
 Martella was always my best assistant : she knew all about 
 planting and how to care for the plants that had been raised 
 from the seed, and, morever, had a watchful eye for the grub- 
 worm. Since she came to us there had not been one of 
 these to destroy the seed. 
 
 I now went there with Wolfgang, and his first question, 
 on seeing the thriving bed, was whether it were still early 
 enough in the year to sow seeds of forest-trees. 
 
 We had some soaked one-year-old seeds. We marked his 
 name in the ground., and he laid the seeds in the furrow, after 
 the subsoil had been trodden down so that the seeds might 
 at once have firm soil in which to take root. After that, we 
 placed loose and fertile earth on top. 
 
 I explained to him our manner of working : how we 
 mixed lime with the barren soil of the heath, and thus pro- 
 duced the best and most nourishing soil for the young shoots ; 
 how the seed should be sown after spring had fairly set in, 
 and how, after the tender plants had reached the age of two 
 years, they should be transferred to the nursery, there to re- 
 main until their fifth year, when they were to be set out in 
 the place they were finally to occupy ; how the new nursery 
 should not face directly towards the north, on account oi 
 the absence of light, and because the plants could not 
 
WALDFRIED. 2 6? 
 
 then be transplanted to land exposed to direct rays of 
 the sun, on account of their not being accustomed to such 
 intense light. 
 
 " Grandfather, how long does it take, after planting the 
 seeds, before the plant shows itself through the soil ? " 
 
 " Two, or, at the most, three weeks ; it generally shows 
 before that time." 
 
 I shall never forget the look that Wolfgang then gave me, 
 and it moved my heart to think that my grandson, who 
 was born in America, had planted his name in German 
 soil. 
 
 I asked Wolfgang if he did not wish to accompany me up 
 into the woods where my wood-cutters were at work. He 
 took my hand in silence. 
 
 I took my gun with me, for I was on the lookout for a .ox 
 which had its cave a short distance from the road ; but it 
 had slipped out with its young ones. I handed my second 
 gun to Wolfgang ; we shot wild pigeons, and my setter 
 brought them to us, laid them down before Wolfgang, and 
 looked up into his face. 
 
 I must be brief, however. I have always been fortunate 
 enough to see something more in the forest than merely so 
 many cords of wood. But how weakly words describe the 
 sunshine, the forest-breezes, the singing of the birds, or 
 cheerful walks through shady groves, with resting-places on 
 heights where the lovely valley is spread before one's eyes. 
 It had never been so charming as on that very day. 
 
 We met Rautenkron, and he was carrying two young does 
 whose mother had been driven away by a strange hound. 
 I introduced Wolfgang to him ; but he shook his head and 
 made no reply. 
 
 " What a sullen, gloomy man," said Wolfgang. " Can one 
 become so in these lovely woods, so full of sunshine and 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 the songs of birds ? But yet he must be good, for all that ; 
 he carried the does." 
 
 I felt obliged to explain how that might have come about. 
 The roe lures the dogs on false scents, in order to save its 
 young ones. 
 
 We heard sounds of a church-bell coming up from the 
 valley, and met Rautenkron's laborers carrying their caps in 
 their hands ; they passed us in silence. 
 
 I explained to Wolfgang that these were Catholics, and 
 that they were praying. 
 
 I grasped his hand, and said, " Since you confess no espec- 
 ial form of religion, it is doubly your duty, both for your own 
 sake and for that of freedom, always to remain brave and 
 steadfast, so that people shall not be able to say " 
 
 "I know already, grandfather, what you wish to say. 
 You can depend upon me." 
 
 We continued our walk up the mountain, which was known 
 as Silvertop. From its peak one can see far over the 
 mountain-peaks, with their dark-green mantle, in which the 
 ravines form majestic folds. There were remnants of a fire 
 at which the forest-laborers had prepared their noonday 
 meal. I threw a few handfuls of brushwood on the fire ; 
 the flames arose on high. Wolfgang exclaimed : " Grand- 
 father, it was just like this ! It was just so that I saw you in 
 my dreams. And now I can remember what you said. It 
 often annoyed me to think that I had forgotten it ; the voice 
 was powerful, and said, ' The water nourishes the tree, and 
 the fire destroys it ; the water roars, and the fire gently 
 sleeps.' Thus . . . and so on." 
 
 Wolfgang's eye glowed with a strange expression, and I 
 had just opened my lips to address him, when he vehemently 
 motioned me away with both hands, and, gazing into the 
 
WALDFRIED. 2 6$ 
 
 distance, said in an impressive tone, " Yes, I hear the sound; 
 it came from the blazing fire." 
 
 Far above us, 
 In the heavens, 
 Hovers now 
 The darkening cloud. 
 Still united, 
 Soon divided ; 
 Now creating, 
 Now destroying : 
 Joined divinely, 
 Fire and water 
 In its bosom, 
 Peaceful, dwell. 
 
 The youth looked about him as if in ecstasy, and then 
 grasping my hand in both of his, he said : " Yes. grandfather ; 
 daring my illness I saw you standing in the forest at such 
 a fire. You can ask father but you believe me, don't 
 you ? " 
 
 " Of course." 
 
 The countenance of the youth seemed illumined with joy. 
 
 We seated ourselves on a bench, and silently gazed at the 
 distant prospect. 
 
 At last Wolfgang spoke. " Grandfather, now I have it. 
 In your forest garden are your grandson trees. The seed 
 comes from the trees that you planted. And now I know 
 something. I know it quite positively, but I can keep 
 it to myself. Father always says that one should not be too 
 hasty in talking of important things that one intends to 
 do ; it is best to sleep on them first. If one is of the same 
 mind the next morning, it is all right. I shall 'tell it you to- 
 morrow, but not to-day. My idea is a good one, and I think 
 it will please you as much as it docs me." 
 
270 WALDFRIED. 
 
 We took up our path, and stopped where some wood- 
 cutters were rolling the trunk of a tree down the mountain- 
 side ; it bounded over young trees in its way, and Wolfgang 
 said. " Won't it crush them ? " 
 
 "Oh, pshaw!" said a wood-cutter, "They'll straighten 
 themselves again. We have to do the same thing our- 
 selves." 
 
 We reached the spot where my woodmen were at work. 
 Wolfgang at once took hold of an axe and helped them lus- 
 tily. But here, too, he showed his good judgment. He 
 was not hasty, as novices usually are, and soon succeeded in 
 copying the manner of the workmen. 
 
 We kept up our walk until we reached the mountain lake. 
 The last time I had been in this spot was twenty years ago, 
 with Gustava ; and now it seemed as if I were there for the 
 first time in my life. 
 
 There lay the lake, surrounded by steep, pine-covered 
 walls ; not a sound was heard, save at times the roaring of 
 the trees, and the solemn beating of the waves against 
 the shore. The sun shone on the water, and its ripples 
 sparkled like so many glittering diamonds. 
 
 " Do you come here often ? " asked Wolfgang. 
 
 "No; the last time I was here was with grandmother, 
 twenty years ago." 
 
 It went hard with me to leave the lake. Who knows 
 whether I shall live to return there again ? It will ever re- 
 main unchanged ; for generation after generation shall come 
 here, as to a shrine, and yield itself up to the mysterious in- 
 fluence of the place. 
 
 When we at last started to leave, I was often obliged to 
 turn and look back. I constantly felt that now it must be 
 full of its awful beauty, and that I had seen it for the last 
 time. 
 
WALDFRIED. 2 /I 
 
 It was towards evening when I reached the house. I 
 had not been so tired for a long time ; for climbing forest-clad 
 mountains, while excited by emotions, be they ever so joyous, 
 is apt to exhaust one. But I was looking forward into a 
 happy future. 
 
 When I awoke on the following morning, Wolfgang stood 
 at my bedside, and said : " Grandfather, it has rained dur- 
 during the night ; our plants are thriving beautifully. Now 
 I can tell you I have determined to become a forester." 
 
 I had, on the previous day, explained to Wolfgang a beau- 
 tiful provision of nature ; how, when, through accident, the 
 growth of the main trunk of the pine-tree is interfered with, 
 a side branch becomes converted into the main trunk. 
 None of my sons had become foresters, and now Julius and 
 Wolfgang were side-branches that made up for it. 
 
 I believe it was fortunate that Wolfgang's resolve to be- 
 come a forester sprang from his affection for the forest, and 
 not from his love of the hunting. 
 
 Unfortunately, the other motive had been Ernst's. I had 
 often warned him, but in vain. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 A FEW days after that, I was surprised by a newspaper 
 article, which had been written by my son Ludwig. 
 I have preserved it. It read as follows : 
 
 " THREE QUESTIONS AND THREE ANSWERS. 
 
 " All hail to the friends of my youth, and of my Father- 
 land ! 
 
 "Every one has a right to address three questions to me ; 
 and, as it is not one of the pleasures of life to repeat the 
 same thing a hundred times, I hope I may be permitted to 
 answer in this public manner. 
 
 "First: How goes it with you, and do you intend to re- 
 main with us ? 
 
 "It goes well with me. For the first few years I spent in 
 America, I had hard times ; but I worked my way through. 
 I am not rich, but have enough. I married a German, 
 the daughter of Professor Uhlenkemp. I lost my eldest 
 son during the war with the South, and have another 
 son sixteen years of age, who belongs to no religious denom- 
 ination. 
 
 " As to my remaining here, or leaving, I am for the pres- 
 ent, unable to answer. 
 
 "Second: What do you think of emigration to America? 
 
 "Answer: The United States afford elbow-room and 
 freedom, and are a good refuge for people who are willing to 
 work hard in order to achieve independence. But he who 
 emigrates must make up his mind to forego many pleasures, 
 with which we at home are so familiarized that we do not 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 273 
 
 know that we are enjoying them ; just as we do not miss the 
 drink of fresh, pure water, until it can no longer be had, and 
 do not think of the pure air while it is ours to breathe. 
 
 " Third: How do you find Germany? 
 
 " I find only halves of Germany ; but they must and will 
 who knows how soon become a whole Germany. 
 
 "The German people have become more practical and 
 well-to-do than they were formerly. As far as I have been 
 able to observe, there is an abundance of well-directed 
 energy ; great activity in all that pertains to the trades, to 
 science or to art, and enough liberty to achieve what is still 
 needed to make a complete whole. Let all remain strong 
 and firm, and, without faltering, faithfully labor for the com- 
 mon weal. 
 
 " These are my answers ; and to every one whom I meet 
 and find true to the Fatherland and to liberty, I shall cor- 
 dially extend the hand of fellowship. 
 
 "LUDWIG WALDFRIED, 
 
 " Hydraulic and Civil Engineer, 
 
 " Chicago." 
 
 This explanation of Ludwig's naturally caused me some 
 surprise. But it was practical, at all events, although the 
 reference to Wolfgang seemed unnecessary, and calculated 
 to provoke unpleasant comment. 
 
 I soon became aware of its effect, in a manner which, at 
 first, promised to be unpleasant, but afterward proved for 
 the best. 
 
 Although Annette was still living in our neighborhood, I 
 have not mentioned her for some time. She would ride over 
 to see us, but paid us only short visits, and would occasion- 
 ally inquire about the Professor, as she, too, now termed 
 Richard. 
 
 18 
 
274 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 She seemed provoked at him, and probably felt resentment 
 that the friendship, and, perhaps, affection, which she had 
 offered him were not returned. 
 
 She visited the spinner and the schoolmaster's wife ; she 
 greeted Martella and Rothfnss, but her whole manner seemed 
 strange and constrained. I soon knew the reason for this ; for 
 Johanna expressed her satisfaction that Annette, who had 
 been so worldly, had at last been saved ; " for," as she said, 
 " safety can be found even in the Catholic faith." 
 
 The Baroness and her clerical assistants had succeeded in 
 drawing Annette into their toils. 
 
 One day, Annette came to us looking pale and greatly 
 excited. She said that, although I had so many guests, she 
 begged me to permit her to stay with us for a few days. She 
 frankly confessed that she had, now and forever, broken with 
 the Baroness and all her adherents. The Baroness had en- 
 deavored to bind all who were in the faith to break off in- 
 tercourse with our family ; for it is written, " woe to that 
 man by whom the offense cometh," and the worst offense 
 had issued from our house. The fact that my daughter-in- 
 law considered herself a wife, although her marriage had not 
 been solemnized by a clergyman, might have been passed 
 over in silence ; but the public proclamation of the grand- 
 son's want of religion was exasperating. 
 
 Annette had determined to flee from such fanatical sur- 
 roundings. 
 
 I told her of Wolfgang's power of self-control, and how he 
 had held back a resolution which illumined his whole being 
 until he had quietly matured it ; and Annette exclaimed, 
 " Yes ; that is the best religion ; that is a holy spirit." 
 
 1 was obliged to restrain her from expressing herself thus 
 to Wolfgang. On the following day, Ludwig returned ; and 
 this afforded her an opportunity to unbosom herself to him, 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 275 
 
 At their first meeting, he conceived a great liking for 
 her. 
 
 He told her of the great family gathering that was to be 
 held. 
 
 As she was not related by ties of kindred, she did not wish 
 to remain with us. 
 
 But Ludwig induced her to stay ; and when he and I were 
 alone, he said, " I cannot understand why Richard does not 
 sue for her hand ; she seems to be made for him." 
 
 I told him that, on her deathbed, mother had said, " He 
 will marry'her for all." 
 
 I now felt satisfied that Gustava had, in all likelihood, re- 
 fen id to Annette. Ludwig felt sure of it; but, as if at the 
 san e time marking out his own course, he said, " Father, do 
 not let Richard notice our feelings in this matter, or we may 
 fri s .)ten him away." 
 
 Wolfgang's desire to become a forester met with the glad 
 approval of his father, who said : " It will soon turn out with 
 the American forests just as it does with the fishes of the sea. 
 One cannot always be harvesting and preying on others ; it 
 is necessary to plant and to cultivate as well." 
 
 He requested Annette, who was very much interested in 
 Wolfgang, and spent much time with him, not to interfere 
 with his wonted equanimity ; for she was constantly trying 
 to discover how Wolfgang felt when he saw a church-steeple, 
 or heard the church-bells. She had just emerged from an at- 
 mosphere which was religious to the exclusion of all other con- 
 siderations, and the youth was therefore a mysterious and 
 marvellous contrast to all that she had left behind her. He 
 seemed to her the representative being of later centu- 
 ries ; and she tried to discover how things would be after 
 our generation. She was pleased to call Wolfgang < Emile, 
 and reminded us of Rousseau's work of the name. 
 
276 . WALDFRIED. 
 
 Ludwig's wife avoided Annette, who, in her impulsive 
 way, had at once desired to cultivate intimate relations with 
 her. Conny, who was quiet and reserved, had a dread 
 of the restless fluttering of such a being as Annette. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ONE evening, Martella came to me, and, with a timid 
 manner to which I was quite unused in her, asked me 
 to allow her to return to Jaegerlies, with whom she had for- 
 merly lived. She had heard that the old woman was sick, and 
 at the point of death. She had left her quite suddenly, and 
 now wanted to return ; and thought it would be far bet- 
 ter if she were not to come back until our guests had left. 
 
 She extended her hand to me, and said, " I promise you 
 that I will surely return." 
 
 Her behavior puzzled me ; and when I endeavored to 
 find out why she really wished to leave, she said that it might 
 be a stupid feeling, but she had a constant presentiment of 
 some great misfortune near at hand. 
 
 I tried to persuade her that there were no grounds for this 
 uneasy feeling, as Ludwig, his wife, and Wolfgang all treated 
 her as one of the family. She persisted in her determina- 
 tion ; and I at last reminded her that she had promised my 
 wife never to leave me. 
 
 " I did not think you would remind me of that," she said ; 
 " but, of course, if you fall back on that, I shall remain here 
 'even if they try to drive me away." 
 
 Martella might well feel anxious, for she was a living proof 
 that our family was incomplete ; she, too, had been obliged 
 to accustom herself to constant sorrow, and to learn to lead 
 a life tranquil and resigned. 
 
 Nearly all to whom invitations had been sent, promptly 
 answered that they would come. My sister wrote that she 
 
2 7 8 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 would bring her daughter, and her future son-in-law ; but, 
 that, on account of his duties, her husband would be unable 
 to leave home. My brother-in-law, the pastor, who lived in 
 Alsace, was also unable to come. 
 
 With every letter that came, I felt as if I must read it to 
 my wife. Who could so help me to celebrate such a day, as 
 she would have done? The life of the best of children is 
 really for themselves. It is only the wife who lives entirely 
 for and with her husband one life consisting of two lives 
 inseparably united. Inseparably ! They have been sep- 
 arated, and a portion yet lives, leading a fragmentary exist- 
 ence. 
 
 I succeeded in repressing my emotions, and prepared my- 
 self for the great joy which was yet vouchsafed me. 
 
 On his return from his short trip, Ludwig had much to tell 
 us, giving us quite a medley of merry and sad experiences. 
 He had met many of his old comrades ; and, among others, 
 had visited his most intimate friend, a Professor at the teach- 
 ers' seminary, in a town of the Oberland. The Professor was 
 a model of quiet unobtrusive learning. 
 
 " I am shaping my block of stone," were the Professor's 
 words : " what place it may occupy in the great Pantheon 
 I do not know ; but, nevertheless, 1 fulfil my little task as 
 well as I know how." 
 
 He felt quite sad to find one of his old comrades in the 
 very position he had occupied twenty-five years before. He 
 might have become one of the best of men, for he has a 
 good wife, and fine children ; but he is the slave of drink, 
 and is intoxicated from morning till night. Indeed, in the 
 country one must constantly renew his intellectual life, or 
 there is danger of giving way to drunkenness. 
 
 Ludwig had also visited his uncle, the Inspector of the 
 water-works at the Upper Rhine, under whom he had worked 
 
WALDFRIED. 2/9 
 
 for a year. He regretted his inability to attend our festival, 
 but promised to send his son ; and Ludwig was quite pleased 
 when he told us how his uncle had said : 
 
 "The Rhine seems as if lost, and does not know whither 
 it should flow. It is against nature that one bank of a 
 stream should belong to one country, and the opposite bank 
 to another." 
 
 Sister Babette and her family were the first to arrive ; and, 
 shortly after their first greeting of Ludwig and his family, 
 they inquired for Martella. She was delighted to find that 
 they were so much interested in her, and also to obtain from 
 them some little news in relation to Ernst's short stay with 
 them. Even Pincher recognized the Alsatians. 
 
 The bridegroom-elect, who was now an officer of the cus- 
 toms, had come in his uniform, and was quite condescending 
 in his manner, as if he intended, with every word, to say, " I 
 am superior to you all, for I am a Frenchman." And yet, 
 in spite of this, he had the very German name of Iviiiutle. 
 
 Annette did him the favor to speak French with him. He 
 was quite delighted, and Annette asserted that he and his 
 bride were ashamed of the Alsatian language ; when speak- 
 ing French, they evidently felt that they appeared at their 
 best, and to ask them to forego that pleasure would be 
 much the same as requiring one never to wear his Sunday 
 clothes. 
 
 Annette was embroidering a silk ribbon ; and Richard 
 picked up the end of it and held it in his hands. But 
 she generally managed to spoil the effect of her pretty 
 speeches, and added that people could talk French without 
 having ideas ; but that, when speaking German, they noticed 
 the absence of costume, and were ashamed thereat. When 
 she uttered these last words, Richard dropped the ribbon 
 he had been holding, and walked away. 
 
2 So WALDFRIED. 
 
 Annette was happy whenever she could express her pleas- 
 ure with any one, and Ludwig was not wrong in saying : 
 
 " She will be one of the best of wives when she is once a 
 mother. Now she is fluttering about, hither and thither ; is 
 herself restless, and disturbs others." 
 
 With every hour, new guests arrived, and Martella said : 
 " It was stupid of me to have wanted to go away ; I am 
 needed here, where there are so many strangers no, not 
 strangers O dear Lord, so many beings who belong to one ! 
 If mother were only living yet, she could help me love them. 
 O dear father, when we step over into eternity, and meet all 
 the beings who belong to us so many ! so many ! Indeed, 
 father, you are now experiencing a part of eternity." 
 
 And it was so. 
 
 But I felt that age was coming on me. I could not 
 walk about much, and was obliged almost constantly to re- 
 main seated in my room, where they all came to me. To 
 see Wolfgang and Victor together, was to me joy unuttera- 
 ble. My sister asserted that, when a child, I had looked 
 just as these two now did. I cannot imagine that I ever 
 looked so elegant and distinguished-looking. 
 
 After the Major joined us, the customs officer became much 
 quieter in his manner ; for the Major had come in full uniform. 
 
 Johanna, who, since Ludwig' s arrival, had become even 
 more reserved and austere, seemed to find the meeting with 
 her son, the vicar, a pleasant change. Nothing daunted by 
 my presence, she complained to him that, with a sister-in-law 
 who had only been married by a civil magistrate, and with 
 a nephew who had not even been christened, -she felt as if 
 living among heathens. 
 
 The vicar, who was more liberal in his views, and yet felt 
 quite at home in his vocation, pacified his mother, and she 
 concluded to take part in the family festival. 
 
WALDFRIED. 2 gj 
 
 The eldest son of the inspector of the water-works came 
 with his two sisters, and the Major was delighted to find that 
 this young man, my godson, had determined to follow the sea. 
 
 Ludwig told us that a sea-captain had assured him that the 
 naval cadets were principally recruited from the inland prov- 
 inces, while the sailors naturally came from among the 
 dwellers along the sea-coast. 
 
 The medical counsellor, who had formerly been director of 
 the jail in which Ludwig and Rothfuss had been imprisoned, 
 but who had now retired on a pension, was also among the 
 guests, and Rothfuss was delighted beyond measure to meet 
 him again. 
 
 Baron Arven did not fail to offer his congratulations. He 
 seemed quite surprised to find Annette dressed in colors. 
 He cordially greeted us all, and constantly addressed Lud- 
 wig as " Colonel." He remained but a short time, and had 
 probably only visited us in order to show that it was his de- 
 sire to keep on good terms with us, and that he wished to 
 have nothing to do with any enmities or unpleasant feelings 
 which other members of his household might cherish towards 
 us. 
 
 Ah, I thought I could have given the names of them all, 
 but I find it impossible. The hearty greetings of so many 
 guests had so fatigued me, that I slept until late on Sunday 
 morning. When I awoke, I heard a lovely chorus, accom- 
 panied by an harmonium ; and, after that, a quartette of fe- 
 male voices. 
 
 This was the first intimation we had of Conny's powerful 
 and sympathetic contralto voice. 
 
 The other voices I recognized at once. They were Ber- 
 tha's, Annette's, and Martha's. 
 
 If it was pleasant to see Wolfgang and Victor together, it 
 was, perhaps, yet more lovely to see the sympathy be- 
 
2 82 WALDFRIED. 
 
 tween Conny and Bertha; and Martella expressed my own 
 feelings, when she said, " Dear sister Conny, you did not 
 have the happiness to know mother, but Bertha is very much 
 like her." 
 
 When I at last joined all my kindred, there was a new sur- 
 prise in store for me. Before retiring, I had inquired about 
 Julius. I do not know whether you have already observed 
 it, but he is a special favorite of mine. He is well-off in 
 every respect well provided for, both intellectually and in 
 regard to the world's goods, though without great riches or 
 luxury. He is like a healthy forest-tree ; without bright 
 blossoms, but silently thriving, nevertheless. I shall not in- 
 dulge in further praise of him, for he dislikes praise. 
 
 And now Julius came and told me that Ludwig had ob- 
 tained a dispensation for the marriage of the young people 
 without the delay of publishing the banns. Rontheim and 
 his wife had at first been disinclined to consent to such 
 haste, but Ludwig had persistently urged them. And 
 now it was determined that the wedding should take place 
 to-day, and that his cousin, the vicar, should marry them, 
 for Martha had insisted that they should be married by a 
 clergyman. Whereupon Ludwig said : " We are certainly 
 very tolerant towards these believers." 
 
 I had ceased to be surprised by anything. 
 
 We marched towards the church to the sound of music, 
 the ringing of bells, and the noise of cannon, which the 
 mountains re-echoed. But when we reached the spring, 
 which, as I afterwards learned, had been decorated by Mar- 
 tella, I felt a pang. Why could Gustava not have lived to 
 enjoy this ? And then, repressing the sad thought, I let joy 
 descend upon me, and said to myself, " Keep thyself erect, 
 and in health, so that thou mayest not disturb the happiness 
 of the many who belong to thee." 
 
WALDFRIED. 283 
 
 ' When we reached the spring at the edge of the woods, we 
 halted. What to us had seemed impossible, Ludxvig had al- 
 ready accomplished. The iron column was already there, 
 and around it were stone seats, and also a high bench, where 
 people might lay aside their burdens. 
 
 " One learns these things in America," said Ludwig. 
 " There they do not care for yesterday, and do not console 
 themselves with the hope of to-morrow : all must live in the 
 present." 
 
 After leaving the church, where the wedding was cele- 
 brated in a simple manner, we marched in procession to the 
 family woods, where, by Ludwig' s orders, great tables had 
 been erected ; and on our way there he told me how clever 
 Ikwarte had been in the work. 
 
 I cannot find words to speak of the great table in the woods. 
 
 Before we seated ourselves, we were all obliged to remain 
 perfectly still for a short time. Ludwig had made arrange, 
 rnents to have the whole group photographed. 'They all say 
 that I look very sad in the picture ; it may be so, for I could 
 not help thinking, " Where is Ernst now ? Does the sun that 
 now shines on us, shine on him too ? " It is especially 
 pleasant to see Martella and Rothfuss in the background, 
 holding each other's hands. Annette is also in the family 
 picture ; her eyes are downcast, while Richard is looking 
 towards her. Since the loss of her husband, she had never 
 laid aside her mourning, but to-day she wore colors. 
 
 The Major's speech at the dinner was even better than 
 the vicar's in the church. 
 
 Martella's best and only treasure was Ernst's prize cup. 
 She had placed it before me on the table, and Annette had 
 wound a garland of flowers around it. 
 
 After the Major's speech, the wine-cup travelled the rounds 
 of the whole table. 
 
284 WALDFRIED. 
 
 After the clinking of glasses, and the drinking of healths, 
 the conversation had become loud and excited ; after that, 
 all became as noiseless as in a church during silent prayer. 
 It was one of those pauses that ensue after the soul has 
 unburdened itself, and when, for a moment, there is nothing 
 new to engage it. 
 
 And during that pause I could hear Annette saying to 
 Conny, " Yes, dear Conny, I, as a stranger, beloved and 
 loving in return, can speak more impartially than relatives 
 can. I cannot describe the mother to you ; and yet I have 
 seen her to-day, or at least her counterpart. When Julius 
 was standing at the altar, he had her very expression. He 
 resembles her more than any one he has her eyes. 
 
 " Ah, what a pity that you did not know her ! She was 
 full of life, and yet gentle withal ; and when she spoke with 
 you, she never looked to right or left. She never tried to 
 create an impression, and yet in her presence one always 
 felt exalted ; and while her jjance rested on one, it was im- 
 possible to indulge in vile or ignoble thoughts. What to 
 others seemed exalted and great, was with her a matter of 
 course. She practised and expressed all that is highest as 
 easily as others say Good-morning.' In her hands, even the 
 common-place became invested with beauty. She judged 
 of people with love, and yet with freedom. 
 
 " Thus, she once said, I felt inclined to be angry with 
 Baroness Arven, because she does not understand her excel- 
 lent husband ; but he, on the other hand, does not do his 
 wife justice. She is created for society for interesting, 
 witty small talk and he desires to feed her soul with 
 thoughts of nature and Fatherland. Fanaticism, in every 
 one of its thousand shapes, endeavors to force its own con- 
 victions on others, and this is both good and evil at the same 
 time.' 
 
WALDFRIED. 285 
 
 " She said something to me which I have worn as an 
 amulet, and it is, after all, but a simple maxim. 
 
 " When I complained to her that it was so difficult with 
 me to fix the proper relation towards others, she replied : 
 
 " ' Child, you do not maintain the right distance between 
 yourself and others. With every one, even though it be a 
 Rothfuss, you move into most familiar contiguity.' Her 
 words impressed me deeply, and were of great help to me. 
 
 " She understood herself, and that made every one else feel 
 on sure ground. When one felt depressed or sad, without 
 hardly knowing why, the mere fact that you were suffering 
 was enough to arouse her sympathy : and that would always 
 cure the pain. 
 
 " But what avails it to speak of separate disconnected traits. 
 I might as well try to give you an idea of a glorious sym- 
 phony by singing a few bars of one of its melodies. When 
 with her I felt in a higher world." 
 
 Thus spoke Annette. She did not seem to notice that all 
 were silent while she was talking. 
 
 And then Bertha and Conny arose from their seats and 
 covered her with their caresses. 
 
 I could not move from the spot. I saw Richard rising, 
 but he sat down again at once. 
 
 Ludwig turned to him and said : " Her mind and her ex- 
 terior correspond. At first she does not impress one as won- 
 drously beautiful ; but, day by day, she grows in loveliness." 
 
 This invocation of my wife had, for the time being, in- 
 vested the festival with a certain solemn impressiveness ; but 
 soon mirth burst all bounds, and the young couple again be- 
 came the centre of joy. 
 
 Rontheim was so happy that he drank fellowship with the 
 Major, with Ludwig, and with Richard. A blissful feeling oi 
 brotherly affection seemed to unite all. 
 
2 86 WALDFRIED. 
 
 Rothfuss afforded us great amusement. He wore a bou- 
 quet in his hunter's coat, and another, with a red ribbon 
 streaming from it, in his hat. " Colonel," he called out to 
 Ludwig, " may I be permitted to say one word ?" 
 
 " Have you made up your mind what to wish for ? " 
 
 " No ; this is something else. All I wish is that you shall 
 say * Yes,' and that will do." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " Listen. You are Colonel of the negroes of the blacks 
 and there are people who say that negroes are not human 
 beings. Now listen ! What is it that man alone can do, 
 and that neither horse nor ox nor stag can do like him?" 
 
 "Why, speak, to be sure." 
 
 "Wrong: The beasts do speak; but we are too stupid 
 to understand them. No ; I mean something quite different : 
 man alone can drink wine. If the negroes can drink wine, 
 they are men just as we are. Tell me, can negroes drink 
 wine ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " All right, then. Here's to the health of our black 
 brethren." 
 
 He emptied his glass and was about to walk away, when 
 Richard called out : "Stop ! I ask all to -join me in drink- 
 ing the health of the great man who has solved the question 
 of slavery, in wine. Long live our great philosopher 
 Rothfuss ! " 
 
 It seemed as if the cheers would never end, and Roth- 
 fuss called out, " To-day I will get jolly drunk seven times 
 at least no, seven times is not enough ! " 
 
 When we at last arose from the table, I inquired for Roth- 
 fuss. I was concerned about him, for he had been acting 
 like a crazy man. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 28 7 
 
 Ikwarte said that, although Rothfuss showed signs of hav- 
 ing drunk too much, he had gone up into the woods and had 
 taken a bottle of champagne with him. 
 
 They hunted and hunted, and at last found him. He was 
 asleep, and the empty bottle was lying on the ground by his 
 side. 
 
 " Oh," he complained, " why did you wake me ? I died 
 so happy. To die drunk is the best way, after all ; now, 
 I've got to die over again. No matter ; I'll wait for master, 
 and then we will ride to heaven in double harness ; or, if 
 the parson is right in what he says, to hell. It's all the same 
 to me ; I shall stay with master." 
 
 Then he embraced Ludwig, and repeatedly said to him ; 
 " Let me go to jail once more for you." They managec 
 to get him home without further trouble. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE newly married couple left ; but the young people 
 were averse to breaking up, and kept up the dance 
 until long after nightfall. A little circumstance occurred 
 which greatly excited Martella. 
 
 Julius's friends had come in their smart hunter's suits ; 
 even Rautenkron had overcome his scruples, and attended 
 the festival, although he did not join us at table. 
 
 We were told that Rautenkron had always been angry that 
 Martella was permitted to keep her own dog, and Pincher, 
 moreover, had a special aversion to Rautenkron. 
 
 At the same time that Rothfuss was being looked up, a 
 terrible barking and yelling arose. The strange dogs had 
 fallen upon Pincher, and it was even said that Rautenkron 
 had called out to his dog, " At him, Turenne ! Break his neck 
 for him!" 
 
 When they at last succeeded in separating the dogs, Pincher 
 was dead, and Martella' s lamentations were heart-rending. 
 She indulged in expressions that I would not have expected 
 of her : " It was the only living thing that belonged to me, 
 and that Ernst had left me. Now I am all alone in the wide 
 world ! " 
 
 When I spoke to her, she hastily said, " Forgive me ; I 
 am sometimes very silly." 
 
 She could not bear the sight of the dead dog, and begged 
 that he might be buried in the woods. 
 
 In the meantime, Rautenkron was explaining to Wolf- 
 gang that his ambition to become a forester was based on a 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 289 
 
 false ideal ; that dealing in rags was a much prettier occu- 
 pation. For then one need know nothing of the people who 
 once wore the rags ; but that the forest people were all 
 cheats, and, if they could, would convert the trees into as 
 great cheats as they were. 
 
 We were still engaged watching the dancers, and it was 
 a great pleasure to see Wolfgang dance with Clotilde, the 
 Major's daughter. Wolfgang arranged an American dance, 
 which was so wild that it evidently originated with the 
 Indians. 
 
 The young Alsatian couple also joined in the dance. 
 
 Carl had allowed Marie to dance with another one of the 
 village lads, and stood holding the hand of Martella, whom 
 he had led to the dancing floor. She said that she did not 
 wish to dance, and that for tenfold reasons she ought not 
 to, especially as her betrothed was far away. But all per- 
 suaded her. Rothfuss who, having been aroused by the 
 music, had gathered himself up again, and was no\v seated 
 at the table by the side of Ikwarte was especially anxious 
 that she should dance. 
 
 When Martella began to dance, a great change seemed to 
 come over her. There was something uncanny in her features 
 and in her eyes. 
 
 Nearly all of us left the dancing floor, and Annette re- 
 quested Martella to go with us. 
 
 " Oh, no," she exclaimed, while her eyes rolled and her 
 lips quivered ; " I have now begun, and I cannot stop so 
 soon. Good-night, my lady." 
 
 She remained, and all were filled with admiration of her 
 light movements and her wonderful tours de force. 
 
 " Why, you can jump about like a squirrel, and fly like a 
 bird," said Rothfuss. 
 
 " So I can," cried Martella. " Do you know how it is 
 19 
 
290 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 when one of the cuckoo's brood leaves its nest in which the 
 simple tomtits have fed it ? None of you have ever seen it, 
 but I have. I, too, am one of the cuckoo's brood. It flies 
 aw ay it flies away. Play on, fiddlers. Let us have the 
 cuckoo's song. Keep quiet, all of you ; I will dance for 
 you." 
 
 And then she began to dance, raising herself and bending 
 towards the ground again as if she really had wings ; and all 
 were delighted. 
 
 When she stopped all cried out, " Again ! again ! " and 
 the Alsatian exclaimed, "Da-capo /" 
 
 Ikwarte arose and said, "Miss, do not let them abuse 
 your good-nature ; do not let them make a fool of you. 
 There is enough of it." 
 
 "This is not your affair, " exclaimed Carl,' " you Prussian ! 
 you starveling ! " 
 
 " I have nothing to say t.o you," answered Ikwarte; "you 
 are not worth answering." 
 
 Martella danced again, to the great delight of all. 
 
 But while she was dancing, one could see that it took 
 several of the lads to hold Carl. 
 
 When the dance was over, Carl rushed up to Ikwarte, and 
 cried : 
 
 41 You cursed Prussian ! why do you think that I am not 
 worthy of being answered ? " 
 
 " I have no respect for a man who would put himself in 
 the way of being captured." 
 
 "Is that it?" 
 
 " Carl, take none of the Prussian's impudence," called 
 out Martella. " It is the Prussians' fault that my Ernst 
 had to go forth into misery. Pay him up for it ! " 
 
 And then followed terrible scuffling and fighting. 
 
 Ikwarte seemed, at first, unable to realize that he was 
 
WALDFRIED. 2QI 
 
 actually involved in a fight ; but when he saw that matters 
 were in earnest, he seized Carl, and held him as firmly as in 
 a vise. Rothfuss urged them on, for fighting was his delight. 
 They were at last separated, and then Martella threw herself 
 on the ground, tore her hair, and cried out, " It is all my 
 fault ! It is my fault ! I am ruined ! " 
 
 Rothfuss succeeded in leading her away. She tried to 
 escape from him and to run out into the woods, saying, 
 " Anything rather than go back home, for I don't deserve 
 to go there." 
 
 He succeeded, at last, in inducing her to enter the house 
 of Carl's mother. Accompanied by Annette and Conny, I 
 went there to bring her home, and was startled when I saw 
 what a change had come over the poor child. Nevertheless, 
 her agitation had not disfigured her; she seemed more 
 lovely than ever almost supernaturally beautiful. 
 
 " O father ! " she cried. " Indeed, I have no longer the 
 right to use those words. I knew it ; I felt a presentiment 
 of it all, and I wanted to go away. Why didn't you let me 
 go? I don't belong here, and now less than ever. The 
 worst that could have happened to me has happened. I 
 have relapsed into savage folly. And yet she who is up 
 there said, ' Do not lose faith in yourself and in your good- 
 ness, and you can accomplish everything.' The worst pun- 
 ishment is mine, for I have lost faith in myself. I may be- 
 come crazed again any moment ; I no longer believe in 
 myself." 
 
 When Conny and Annette spoke to her in their kind way, 
 she exclaimed, " Every kind word of yours gives me new 
 pain. Scold me, beat me, kick me I deserve such treatment, 
 and shall find it less painful than kind words that I do not 
 deserve. I was so happy in thinking that I had accom- 
 plished all, but it is not so. Now I see how much love and 
 
292 WALDFRIED. 
 
 respect you all had for me ; and when Ernst returns I shall 
 tell him everything, He may scold me heartily, for I have 
 deserved it." 
 
 We conducted her to the house, where we found Ikwarte, 
 whose appearance seemed the very opposite of what it 
 usually was. He seemed as if crushed, and continually 
 said, " Colonel, I admit that it was highly improper on my 
 part, especially as it happened in a strange land." 
 
 Ludwig took it all in good part, and laughingly remarked 
 that North and South Germany had again been scuffling 
 with each other. Then he apologized for Ikwarte, by say- 
 ing that he could not stand wine ; that, except when taking 
 communion, he had not tasted a drop of wine up to his 
 twentieth year. 
 
 Ikwarte stood by, nodding his assent and pulling his red 
 mustache. After that, he went off with Rothfuss. 
 
 In the meanwhile, Martella sat crouching on the floor in 
 a corner of the room. 
 
 Ludwig softly said to me, "Now is the time to let Mar- 
 tella tell us who and whence she is." 
 
 I thought that as the child was overmuch agitated, it 
 might be better to wait until the next day ; but he insisted 
 that this was the proper time. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 LUDWIG went up to Martella and said, " Martella, 
 there is a woman in America who knows you." 
 
 Martella jumped to her feet and, brushing her hair from 
 her face with both hands, asked, " How do you know that ?" 
 
 " I will tell you how, when you have told your history. 
 Will you do so ? " 
 
 " I will. It is well and proper that I should. But no one 
 shall be present but you and father. Forgive me, kind 
 ladies," she said, addressing Conny and Annette in an un- 
 wonted tone. " I can only tell this to father and to brother." 
 
 She drank a few drops of water, and then, seating her- 
 self behind the table that was next to the wall, began : 
 
 " I can only remember as far back as my sixth year. I 
 have no distinct recollection of anything that happened be- 
 fore that time. We lived in a city on the Rhine, I believe 
 it is called Mayence. There are two sorts of soldiers there 
 Prussians and Austrian s. The Austrian s have white coats, 
 like the cousin who once visited us with Baron Arven. Un- 
 der the small golden mirror in my mother's room on the 
 opposite wall, there was quite a large glass that reached 
 from the ceiling to the floor there was a portrait of a hand- 
 some officer, whom I believe I have already seen. My 
 mother always addressed him as ' Prince,' and he laughed 
 when she did so. His eyes were of a light blue ; I cannot 
 recall any of his other features. My mother would often say 
 to me, while she pointed to the picture, ' Martella, do not 
 forget, this is your father. He has great love for me, and 
 
294 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 for you too.' It was a long while before I knew how my 
 mother gained her living. She would sleep until near mid-day, 
 and would often stand on her toes, or walk on them around 
 the room. Then she would suddenly let herself fall to the 
 ground, spring up again and take long steps. Then she 
 would place herself before the mirror, and bow and kiss her 
 hands to herself. Once she looked so lovely, with a thin 
 gauze-like robe about her body, and various kinds of gauze 
 over that. She looked just like a beautiful bird, and 
 almost like the peacock down in the garden. And I was 
 prettily dressed also. I had wings on my shoulders, and 
 they had two mirrors for me, so that I might see how I 
 looked in front, and in the back. And I had golden shoes 
 on, and had to learn how to spread out my hands and then 
 bring them together quite slowly. With a girdle around my 
 waist it was golden, and studded with diamonds I floated in 
 the air, and could hear the people screaming with delight 
 and clapping their hands ; but I could not see where I was, 
 or how many people were there. We rode home in a car- 
 riage I can recollect that, but cannot remember what hap- 
 pened for some time afterward. One day, my mother 
 showed me a man who wore a green dressing-gown and had 
 curled hair ; then she said to me : ' My child, this is your 
 father now you must say "father" to him.' 
 
 " He spoke to me, but I could not understand what he 
 said ; and mother said, ' The child is worth ten thousand 
 florins, and can earn a great deal of money.' 
 
 " About that time, I often heard the word ' America,' and, 
 as I was told to call everybody uncle,' I once inquired where 
 ' Uncle America lived ? ' whereupon they laughed very loud, 
 and the man with the curled hair, whom I had to call father, 
 kissed me. 
 
 " There was a maid living with us, who would always say, 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 295 
 
 'You poor child, you must go to America, among the sav- 
 ages. O you poor child ! ' 
 
 " And one morning, I heard them say that we would go 
 to America that day. Down by the Rhine there was a great 
 crowd and noise, and when we were on the vessel, some one 
 said, ' Keep your seat here, or you will be left behind ? ' 
 And when all was confusion on shipboard, I stealthily crept 
 on shore, and hid myself behind some hogsheads in which 
 the bees were humming ; they did not trouble me. I heard 
 the ringing of the bell, and the paddling of the wheels 
 but did not move. I had a little satchel full of cakes, which 
 I ate. 
 
 " The embroidered satchel had been presented to me by 
 the Prince, whose picture hung under the mirror. I still 
 own it ; it is the only memento I have of that time. And 
 we had a dog whose name was Pincher, and for that reason 
 I called my poor departed dog by the same name. 
 
 " When at last evening came, I crept out of my hiding- 
 place, and saw a great crowd gathered about an old woman 
 who was sitting on the ground and lamenting : They have 
 purposely left me behind ; they did not want to take me with 
 them ! ' 
 
 " The people told her they would help her, and would 
 give her money that she might follow her relatives. But she 
 always replied, * No, I will not do that ; they do not want 
 me.' And they gave the old woman money and went on 
 their way. And when they had all gone, I said to h^r, 
 ' Take me with you ; I am worth ten thousand florins.' 
 
 " Then she laughed and said, ' Indeed you are ! ' And 
 then I told her that I had secretly remained behind that I 
 did not want to go to America. 
 
 " She laughed again, and took me on her lap, saying : ' That 
 is right. We two will stay together.' 
 
296 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 "And we wandered far and near, and she told every one 
 that I was her granddaughter. We received many gifts, 
 and every one told me that I was so pretty ; and I told the old 
 woman her name was Jaegerlies that I had wings, and she 
 said, ' I believe it : they will grow again when I am dead.' 
 But I am telling you silly stuff am I not ? " 
 
 " No, no ; go on." 
 
 " At last we reached yonder forest, and then Jaegerlies 
 said, ' Let us stay here.' She had acquaintances who lived 
 in the neighborhood, but she had no desire to meet any 
 one, as they always laughed at her because her folks had 
 left her behind when they emigrated to America. 
 
 " The gifts that we had received, had enabled us to buy 
 cooking utensils, coverings for our moss beds, and a goat ; 
 and of food we could always have plenty. 
 
 " The summers were pleasant, but the winters were not 
 so. We caught many birds, which served as food. 
 
 " I was also sent to school, and it was quite humilating to 
 me to be always told that I was a ' Jew girl.' I did not 
 know what was meant by Jew, but I knew, that it was in- 
 tended as a term of disgrace. I am not sure, but I think 
 my mother was a Catholic. 
 
 " And thus I grew up and could wield the axe as well as 
 the strongest wood-cutter ; and no one dared to lay a finger 
 on me. 
 
 " You might blind-fold me, and I could, by my sense of 
 smell, recognize trees or their leaves. I carried a serpent's 
 egg on my person ; I had found it one morning between 
 eleven and twelve, and had pocketed it. I had also a gift 
 of finding wild honey, and the bees never harmed me when 
 I took the combs. I was once employed that way, when 
 Ernst came up to me. He acted as if he were about to 
 punisii me for what I had done ; but I told him that this 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 297, 
 
 was not breaking of the laws of the forest, and that it was not 
 poaching. And then he said to me, ' You are wild honey 
 yourself.' 
 
 " Thus Ernst found me and brought me here, where I now 
 am. But I do not deserve it. They say that Ernst is in 
 Algiers, with the wild Turks. Give me some money that I 
 may go to him I can find him. 
 
 " But tell me now, Ludwig, how do you know that my 
 mother is in America ? " 
 
 " I know nothing of it ; I simply guessed so, because you 
 always have such a fear of America." 
 
 " So you are the son of such parents and yet can lie ? 
 Your mother in heaven will never forgive you for that." 
 
 Ludwig was moved by this apostrophe, and asked Martella 
 to forgive him. She nodded assent and shook hands with 
 him and with me, saying at the same time : " Father, I shall 
 do nothing more but what you tell me to do. I shall never 
 again act of my own free will." 
 
 " Were you always called Martella ? " inquired Ludwig. 
 
 " No." 
 
 " How, then ? " 
 
 " Conradine." 
 
 "Who gave you the name of Martella?" 
 
 " Jaegerlies." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Because, she said, ' No one will know you by that name, 
 and if they seek you they cannot find you.' " 
 
 "But how did she chance on that name ?" 
 
 " That you ought to have asked her. And that is enough. 
 Good-night." 
 
 Martella walked away. 
 
 Ludwig afterward told me that lie had been making in- 
 quiries over in the valley where Jaegerlies had been living. 
 
^298 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 He could not understand why we had not done so long be- 
 fore. Now it might be very difficult to discover anything, 
 as Jaegerlies had died a few days before. 
 
 He had learned, from the neighbors, that she often spoke 
 of America in a mysterious and indistinct manner, and that, 
 together with Martella's aversion to the very mention of 
 America, caused him to question her in the way he had 
 done. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 IN spite of Martella's and Ikwarte's trouble, the great feast 
 was pleasantly remembered in our house and throughout 
 the village. Annette said : " Whenever I gave a large 
 entertainment, it always grieved me to see the many people, 
 who had just been together so cheerful and so lively, sud- 
 denly disappear. And it was always especially agreeable to 
 me when several of my more intimate friends would remain. 
 We would then gather together for a little quiet enjoyment, 
 and so a smaller and more congenial circle succeeded the 
 larger one ; for that reason, I think some of us ought to re- 
 main here." 
 
 I saw Richard looking at Annette^ and it was the first con- 
 tented, happy glance I had ever seen him direct towards her. 
 He had intended to leave, but now concluded to stay. It 
 seemed as if, in spite of themselves, they had always chanced 
 on points on which they could not agree, but now at last, 
 and to their great delight, found themselves in accord. 
 
 Annette had greatly changed. She wotild no longer sud- 
 denly bound from one subject to another. Her manner had 
 become calmer. She had learned how to put her questions 
 modestly and yet firmly, and also how to be quiet. 
 
 Once she said, "Martella has told us what is the se- 
 verest punishment. It is this : to lose faith in one's self, 
 and to learn that excitement and weakness place us in the 
 hands of chance or of strangers, and cause us to express the 
 very things that we have desired most of all to keep within 
 ourselves." 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 The festival brought painful consequences to Rothfuss, 
 Ikwartc, and Carl, as well as to Martella. They went about 
 without saying a word, and Annette, who was anxious to help, 
 and quick to sympathize with others, tried her best to cheer 
 them up. 
 
 One morning, we were sitting in the garden. Richard and 
 Conny had gone over to the village, and Ludwig said to An- 
 nette, " We do not know how to thank you for having given 
 my wife so true and feeling a description of mother." 
 
 Ar .':te now expressed her delight with Conny, and when 
 she asked Ludwig how he had made her acquaintance, he 
 said, 
 
 " If father does not object to hear the story over again, I 
 will tell you." 
 
 I consented, and Ludwig went on : 
 
 "The Americans have one thing in common with the 
 old Romans ; whenever they found a city, they provide, 
 above all things, for pure water. There happened at the 
 time to be a lively discussion in regard to the building of 
 water- works. I hoped that the contract would be assigned 
 to me, and travelled about for some distance through the 
 neighboring country, in order to find 'the best springs. A 
 mountain brook whose stream could easily be led into an- 
 other, seemed to^me best adapted for the purpose. 
 
 " I followed it up to its source, and was fortunate enough to 
 find rich and copious springs. I had been wandering all day, 
 when, towards evening, I saw a log-cabin half-way down the 
 hillside. I walked up to it, and at last reached the house. 
 The doors were open, and a dog, that seemed to be the only 
 guardian of the place, jumped towards me as if glad to wel- 
 come me. I went into the entry and called out, but no one 
 answered. I opened the door, and found a cosy, pretty 
 room. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 301 
 
 " Mother always used to say that the walls of a room are 
 an index of the culture of its inmates. There were two en- 
 gravings, copied from the paintings of the great masters, an 
 open piano, and above it a bust of Mozart. I ventured to 
 approach the piano. Mozart's G minor symphony lay open 
 on the music-desk. 
 
 "Although I had not touched an instrument for a great 
 while, I felt a great longing to touch the keys. 
 
 " I began to play, and felt as happy as a skilful swimmer 
 breasting the waves. I played on and on, forgetting where I 
 was ; and when I stopped and looked around, I saw a fine- 
 looking old man and a lovely, blooming maiden standing in 
 the doorway. 
 
 " I suppose I need not tell you more. 
 
 "I remained in the hospitable house over-night, and soon 
 discovered that my host was a refugee, and had been a com- 
 rade of father's. Constance, or, as she was familiarly called, 
 Conny, became my betrothed, and afterwards my wife ; and 
 our son, who was born on the anniveasary of Mozart's 
 birthday, received his name. 
 
 " Our marriage is a happy one, blest with perfect harmony 
 in thought and feeling. 
 
 " When I entered the army my wife merely said, ' You are 
 doing right.' 
 
 " When my eldest son died, she was deeply afflicted, but 
 soon resigned herself to the thought that all must make sac- 
 rifices. 
 
 " I was not a good commander not that I was deficient 
 in courage or endurance ; but soldiering must be studied 
 just like other things. My long experience in topographi- 
 cal studies, was, however, of great use to me. I had a quick 
 eye for the advantages and the disadvantages of positions 
 on our side, or that of the enemy. On the other hand, the 
 
302 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 Southerners had much better leaders than myself and many 
 others who, like me, had not studied the art of war. . 
 
 " Now you know the most important facts ; and I must 
 stop, for I see Conny and Richard coming." 
 
 They came, and Annette had enough self-command not to 
 betray what she had just heard. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 IP) ICHARD and Ludwig left with the intention of enter- 
 JLV ing Wolfgang at the forester's school. Richard and 
 Annette now understood one another, and Richard's parting 
 words were : " I think you will do well to remain here for 
 some time. Your stay will be of benefit to yourself as well 
 as to others." 
 
 Annette made no answer, but I could not help observing 
 how her breast heaved with emotion. 
 
 She and Conny seemed also to be on excellent terms 
 with each other. 
 
 Annette now understood how the intellectual life can be 
 kept up, and even developed, in solitude, and, as usual, she 
 was always delighted to find words in which to couch a new 
 impression. She said to me, " There are hermits of educa- 
 tion as well as of religion, and they attain the highest de- 
 gree of development." 
 
 She often expressed her admiration of Conny's light 
 hair, and endeavored to persuade her that it might be dressed 
 in a far more effective style than the braids in which she wore 
 it. Conny, however, did not care to act on this suggestion 
 of Annette's. 
 
 On his return, Ludwig told me that he would not be able 
 to remain through the summer, unless he had some fixed oc- 
 cupation. He was anxious to carry out a plan for a new 
 and large builder's mill. He would be willing to superintend 
 the erection of the building, but did not have enough ready 
 money to undertake the enterprise. When I told him that I 
 was no better off than he, Annette asked that she might be 
 
304 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 permitted to advance the sum. I declined, but, as Ludwig 
 at once accepted her offer, I could make no further objec- 
 tion. 
 
 " Father," exclaimed Ludwig, with unwonted enthusiasm, 
 " I firmly believe that water-power will assist us to solve the 
 great labor question. 
 
 *' What we are about to undertake makes me, in many re- 
 spects, feel both free and happy. I hope to be able to set 
 the two great levers of our age enterprise and economy 
 in operation. I felt the so-called social question as a per- 
 sonal affront. I asked myself, ' Are you so old that you need 
 fear a great change ? In your younger years, you felt offend- 
 ed when you heard the old ones say, that is overdone, or 
 Utopian or demagogical, or whatever it might be, but now 
 you use these very terms yourself.' I honestly examined 
 myself in this, and felt obliged to act as I have done. 
 
 " If we domesticate industry, and open new sources of 
 profit to those who dwell in the neighborhood, we are 
 strengthening the best possession we have in this woodland 
 region our love of home. 
 
 " Love of home is a life artery, which, if not killed, is at 
 least compressed by emigration. 
 
 " The old maxim advises us to remain at home and gain a 
 living among those whom we know best. We extend its ap- 
 plication by enabling others to do as we would do. We 
 must learn how to keep up with the progress of the age. At 
 first, we sent rough logs down the stream, towards Holland ; 
 now we send planks ; and after this we must send them 
 doors and window-frames and steps." 
 
 It was a pleasure to hear him explain his plans. He was 
 determined that the people hereabouts should have better 
 doors and windows, steps and flooring, than ever before. 
 Besides that, he would see that there should be pretty de- 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 305 
 
 signs for balconies. "The result of all which will be, that 
 both we and our countrymen will make lots of money. Ac- 
 tions which are for the benefit of the general public will, if 
 managed rightly, turn out to the profit of the individual." 
 
 Annette wanted to know whether he would not de- 
 stroy all individuality, by attempting to provide people with 
 ready-made houses just as they could buy ready-made 
 clothes. 
 
 "That is what I propose to do," exclaimed Ludwig, cheer- 
 fully. " All should be uniform, for, after all, every one wears 
 his coat in his own peculiar way. And I think I can antici- 
 pate another objection you are about to make that the ma- 
 chines will disturb the landscape." 
 
 " That is my meaning exactly." 
 
 " And there are thousands who think just as you do. But 
 mankind must accustom themselves to new ideas. It is the 
 question of spinning-wheel or sewing-machine over again. 
 Just as, in old times, the spinning-wheel occupied the most 
 exalted station in the household, so does the sewing- 
 machine now occupy the place of honor ; and the spirit of 
 beauty and the force of custom will soon adorn the latter as 
 it once did the former although that was a simple ma- 
 chine, while this is a complicated one." 
 
 "Thanks," said Annette, extending her hand to Ludwig ; 
 " you are really a citizen of the new world." 
 
 Ludwig's plan was to connect an island which lay in the 
 valley-stream with the mainland, by blasting out and turning 
 in some rocks from shore. He would thus be able to turn what 
 had heretofore been useless, to good account, and at the same 
 time increase the water-power. He went to work in true Amer- 
 ican style, and was delighted when I told him that the raftsmen 
 were not allowed to pass down the stream except during two 
 hours of the day, and that we could thus arrange our time in 
 
306 WALDFRIED. 
 
 such a way that they would not interfere with us. He felt 
 pleased that the people were no longer allowed to dilly-dally 
 about their work, but were obliged to make use of an appointed 
 time. He decided that the time for floating the rafts past 
 the" island should be fixed for the dinner hour, when the work- 
 men in the mill were taking their rest. 
 
 "Ah," said he at last, " I can remember the very minute 
 when mother explained to me what work really is. We 
 were standing at the blacksmith's shop when she said to 
 me, ' Look, Ludwig, this pound of iron is worth but a few 
 groschen, but a pound of watch-springs is worth many hun- 
 dred thalers. This shows you what labor is.' The recol- 
 lection of that moment at the blacksmith's shop has re- 
 mained alive in my memory ever since. I can yet see the 
 blacksmith's journeyman at his work, forging the spikes with 
 which the rafts were held together, and while he was shap- 
 ing one spike the other was heating in the fire. I have al- 
 ways worked on the same principle." 
 
 We were visited by Annette's brother, who was just from 
 Wildbad, and told us that on the day previous the French 
 Ambassador had left there under instructions to visit the 
 King of Prussia; and, it was further rumored, to bring it 
 about that no German Prince should ascend the Spanish 
 throne. There was great excitement everywhere, and he 
 thought it hazardous to invest large sums in new enterprises ; 
 especially so for those who were near the French borders. 
 The air seemed heavy as with an impending storm, and no 
 one could tell how soon the cloud might burst. 
 
 Napoleon would be obliged to justify the new lease of 
 power that the plebiscite had given him ; he would find it 
 necessary to furnish amusement for the French, who looked 
 upon a war with us as a most agreeable diversion. Any- 
 thing would serve him as an excuse. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 307 
 
 For this reason, he thought it his duty to dissuade Annette 
 from joining in our enterprise. He was willing, however, 
 to advance the required sum out of his own funds, for, after 
 all, there must be peace at last; and, if the undertaking 
 should prove successful, it was his intention to transfer either 
 the whole or a half of his share to Annette. 
 
 Ludwig wanted to employ none but discharged soldiers. 
 He had no confidence in workmen who had not served in 
 the army ; and, as the stonecutter had been a soldier, he 
 appointed him as chief of the stone-masons. He engaged 
 an older man to superintend the erection of the building, 
 who had been recommended as thoroughly honest ; and it 
 was Lud wig's intention to take him back to America with 
 him. 
 
 We learned that this man had formerly been an officer of 
 engineers. He had been obliged to resign, and now led a 
 simple and industrious life, eating and sleeping with the 
 quarry-men. It was only when at work, that one could no- 
 tice that he was of a higher caste. But he seemed to have 
 no judgment of his own, and always required instructions; 
 when he received these he would execute them with care and 
 precision. He was a man of very few words, and always 
 seemed as if seeking something which he either could not 
 or dared not name. 
 
 And then Ludwig sent for Wacker, the dissipated fellow 
 who lived in the valley beyond the mountains. He was 
 only slightly intoxicated when he arrived, and Ludwig said 
 to him, " Wacker, I will give you a good situation on one 
 condition : you may get drunk three times ; but after the 
 third, you will be summarily discharged. If you are agreed, 
 all right; and I shall only add, beware of the first time: 
 it will not cost you your situation, but it will make an inroad 
 on your capital." 
 
308 WALDFRIED. 
 
 For a while, Wacker conducted himself properly ; but he 
 gave way at last. He had his three drunks, and was conse- 
 quently discharged. 
 
 It was now time to begin measuring and other prepara- 
 tions, and to employ the laborers ; for the first thing in order 
 was to regulate the bed of the stream. 
 
 Annette found great pleasure in watching the progress of 
 the building. 
 
 Ludwig had ascertained where the stream had the greatest 
 fall. He had an instrument, by means of which one can, 
 while on land, quickly ascertain the descent of the current ; 
 and this, too, afforded Annette much amusement. She was 
 anxious to know whether the power of water was measured 
 by so many horse-power. In her desire for information, she 
 was constantly asking questions. Ludwig, being more prac- 
 tical than Richard, was naturally more indulgent with An- 
 nette's questionings. Annette had, moreover, ceased to 
 speak as if she felt herself a privileged person ; she had 
 become more simple and retiring in her ways. 
 
 One day when Annette exclaimed, "Ah, what a pity to 
 make the pure water work so ! " Ludwig imitated her 
 voice, and replied, " Ah, what a pity that the beautiful 
 horses must draw Madame Annette's carriage ! " 
 
 Annette blushed crimson ; but she controlled herself, and 
 said, " You are right ; I spoke quite childishly." 
 
 " Oh, you angel ! " cried Ludwig ; " a woman who can 
 say, You are right ; I have been wrong,' really is a 
 marvel." 
 
 We received permission to carry the road farther down 
 the mountain, and in that way secured the best place to store 
 our material. 
 
 There was another obstacle which we were obliged to over- 
 come, and one of which we had never thought The En- 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 309 
 
 glishman had leased the right to fish in the valley, from the 
 villagers and farmers along the banks of the stream ; and he 
 now attempted, through the courts, to enjoin us from blasting 
 the rocks ; for just there was the best spot for trout. 
 
 Ludvvig went before the court in person, and he succeeded 
 in having the injunction set aside. 
 
 Before that, the Englishman had been a mere stranger to 
 us ; but now he was our enemy, and would not deign to be- 
 stow a glance on us. When any one of us walked or drove 
 by, he would turn his back on us. 
 
 In all this trouble, Ludwig was calm and kind ; but care- 
 less work made him so indignant that he characterized it as 
 crime and villany. He was dissatisfied, because, in their 
 own home, he found that the German workmen had two 
 great faults they were awkward, and wasted too much time. 
 In the new world, these very people would act quite differ- 
 ently. 
 
 Annette wanted to erect kitchens down by the banks of 
 the stre'am for the workmen. She had already discussed the 
 matter with the schoolmaster's wife, and the locksmith's 
 widow was ready to assist ; but the people took no interest 
 in the affair. 
 
 Although she had already made up her mind, the lock- 
 smith's widow considered it her duty to consult Ludwig in 
 regard to her marrying again. She had chosen the young 
 stone-mason, who was hardly as old as she. 
 
 The wedding took place on a Sunday; and Annette busied 
 herself conjecturing how the three children must have felt at 
 their mother's marriage. 
 
 We were obliged, out of compliment, to be present at the 
 marriage feast ; and Schweitzer-Schmalz, who was a relative 
 of the bridegroom, called out, at the top of his voice, 
 that the bridegroom had not needed to marry so soon 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 for fear of being obliged to go to war again. The blatant 
 Prussian would not venture to try conclusions with France ; 
 and if he did really attempt it, the real Germans, that is, the 
 South Germans, would not assist. 
 
 In a loud voice, he retailed the wisdom of the popular 
 journals ; and I verily believe that he did it with the inten- 
 tion of drawing us out. 
 
 Ludwig whispered to me, " It is not worth while trying to 
 convert this man ; events will teach him." 
 
 Although I did not believe there would be war, Ludwig 
 looked forward to it with great certainty, and only feared 
 that we might neglect the proper moment to let the whole 
 world see that it was France that was wantonly and impiously 
 forcing war upon us. 
 
 We went down to the valley stream in order to see that 
 no accident should happen while the rocks were being 
 blasted. 
 
 Ludwig superintended the blasting in person. With An- 
 nette and Conny, I was stationed down the road, while Roth- 
 fuss and Martella were on the other side, in order that all 
 might be warned of the danger. 
 
 Suddenly there was a loud report which reverberated 
 through the valleys and the forests ; the blasting was a com- 
 plete success. 
 
 Soon after, we were assembled on the road, and even 
 the quarry-men were with us, when Ikwarte, accompanied 
 by one of the forester's men, came running up to us, out of 
 breath, exclaiming, before he reached us : 
 
 " War has been declared ! " 
 
 The forester brought me a message informing me that 
 France had declared war, and calling on me to repair to the 
 meeting of the Parliament at once. 
 
 Ludwig gave instructions that the work should be contin- 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 ued without interruption, and placed the completion of the 
 new building in charge of the engineer. That very evening 
 he accompanied me to the capital, Martella going with us. 
 
 The Englishman stood by the bank, angling. 
 
 It was not until after I had left home, that I began to 
 realize what was in store for us. 
 
BOOK FOURTH. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 great crisis which we have dreaded and yet hoped 
 JL for has at last arrived. We are again obliged to 
 contend with our hectoring neighbor, whose lust of power 
 goads him to trample on our rights. We must fight, if we 
 wish to endure ; and will all Germany be united ? If in this 
 juncture we are not as one, our ruin is assured, and will be 
 richly deserved. 
 
 To know that the decisive moment is at hand, and that 
 you cannot actively participate that you are only a single 
 wave in the current, is at once an oppressive and an exalt- 
 ing thought. 
 
 In my mind, I go over the list of my fellow-members in the 
 Parliament. The decision seems to hang in doubt. Ec- 
 centricity is still rampant, and decks itself with all sorts of 
 revolutionary ideas. 
 
 And how is the Prince inclined ? Were it better if it 
 rested with one man to decide whether we should have war 
 or peace ? 
 
 And there is another bitter experience that is forced upon 
 us in periods of doubt and indecision ; namely, that fixed 
 principles begin to waver. 
 
 I found it a great comfort to have Ludwig with me. He 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 was so thoroughly in sympathy with me, and yei, at the same 
 time, a foreigner. He had become a citizen of the New 
 World, in which he had lived over twenty years, and his 
 views were freer from prejudice than ours could be. 
 
 In spite of the declaration of war on the part of the 
 French government, the ravings in the French Legislative 
 Chambers, and the outcry in the streets of Paris, I yet en- 
 couraged a hope that war might be averted. But Ludwig 
 thought and I was obliged to agree with him that it were 
 both treachery and folly now, when the right was on our 
 side, not to accept the battle which would thus only be post- 
 poned. For this constant waiting and watching for what 
 others may do, is a painful state of dependence. 
 
 Ludwig was younger; his pulse was steadier. He had 
 already fought in this country with undisciplined crowds, 
 and, in the United States, had taken part in the great 
 war. 
 
 He said in confidence that if he had known that the de- 
 cision was so near at hand, he would have kept on better 
 terms with Funk ; because, at that moment, the great object 
 was to gain his allegiance and that of his party, in which 
 there was no lack of noble enthusiasts. Ludwig held that, 
 in politics, it was not alone permissible, but even necessary, 
 to use strategy and double-dealing. 
 
 Martella so urgently entreated me to permit her to ac- 
 company us, that, for her sake, Lud wig's wife remained at 
 home. 
 
 At the village down by the railway station, and at nearly 
 every station on the road, I was asked whether I believed 
 there would be war, and whether I would advise the people 
 to drive their cattle into out-of-the-way ravines and valleys, 
 and to hide their household goods, on account of the threat- 
 ened invasion of the French hordes. 
 
3 14 WALDFRIED. 
 
 I took great pains to explain my views ; but, at the 
 second station, Ludvvig said : " Father, you are giving your- 
 self unnecessary trouble. The people do not wish to learn 
 anything. They think that you cannot know any more 
 about it than they do. They simply ask you idle and 
 anxious questions, just as they would at other times, 'What 
 kind of weather do you think we will have ? ' Father, do 
 not pour out the deepest feelings of your heart." 
 
 After that, I replied that one could not say much upon 
 the subject ; and I observed that the people, were more 
 respectful because I was so reserved. They assumed that, as 
 1 was a delegate, I was fully informed on all subjects, and 
 neither dared nor desired to unbosom myself. 
 
 It was rather late, but not too late. From that day, I 
 learned that it is not best to open one's soul to anothei and 
 reveal all that is within it ; and for that reason, it is said of 
 me that, since the beginning of the war, I am a changed 
 man. In those days, I learned things that never were suf- 
 fered to pass my lips. 
 
 The first one whom we met at the capital was rny son-in- 
 law, the Major. 
 
 " What is the opinion in the army? " inquired Ludwig. 
 
 The Major looked at him steadily, and, after a pause, 
 answered, ''Opinion? In the army there is obedience." 
 With forced composure, he added, " As far as I know, the 
 army neither debates nor votes." 
 
 He turned to me and said that this time we were better 
 prepared than four years ago. 
 
 I asked whether the army orders had already been pro- 
 mulgated. 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders, and evidently did not care to 
 divulge anything. He told me, though, that since the even- 
 ing previous, he had been advanced to the rank of colonel, 
 
WALDFRIED. 3! 5 
 
 and had been placed in command of a regiment. When I 
 spoke of this, as indicating that the Prince had decided for 
 war, he lapsed into silence. 
 
 We soon parted, regretting that we could not go to his 
 house, for Annette had already prepared quarters for our 
 reception. 
 
 I then went to our club-house and learned that our party 
 was already broken up. The Funk faction I must give it 
 this name, although he was not its leader held separate 
 meetings. 
 
 Ludwig determined logo at once to the meeting of Funk's 
 party, because it was important above all things to know 
 what was being done there. 
 
 "I believe in Lincoln's maxim," said he, "that 'it will 
 never do to swap horses while crossing streams.' " 
 
 In little more than an hour, he returned and told us that 
 he had been coldly received, although the leadership was 
 shared with Funk by two members who had once been 
 among his most intimate friends. He was now, however, 
 able to tell that their plan was to insist on neutrality. They 
 did not dare to think, much less to speak, of an alliance with 
 France. Their intention, however, was to call together a 
 large meeting of the popular party, in order to exert a moral 
 inlluence on Parliament, and perhaps to overawe it. 
 
 At our meeting, we were expecting the arrival of the prime 
 minister; the right wing of our party sided with the min- 
 istry. 
 
 The minister did not come ; but sent one of his council- 
 lors, who informed me that the session would not be opened 
 unless a quorum of delegates was present. 
 
 He told us that there was great disorder among the tele- 
 graphs. 
 
 After the councillor had left, Loedinger, my old associate 
 
316 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 and prison-mate, told me in confidence, that he expected a 
 coup d'etat. He felt that the Prince had no desire to take 
 counsel with the country, and had determined that his glon 
 as a warrior should be shared by no one. 
 
 Loedinger was one of those imaginative persons who, 
 whenever they form suspicions against any one, carry them 
 to their extremest consequences. 
 
 The President, who was a member of our party, told us 
 under the seal of secrecy, that the reason for delaying the 
 opening of our session was that they might first ascertain 
 what action the delegates in the next state would decide 
 upon. 
 
 We were thus held in anxious suspense. 
 
 During the night, I found it impossible to sleep; and 
 Ludwig, who was in the next room, called out to me : 
 " Father, you must sleep ; to-morrow will be a trying day. 
 Just think of it ! the Emperor of Germany I should say, 
 the King of Prussia must also sleep to-night, and he is 
 three years older than you are." 
 
 Yes, it was on that night, the i6th of July, that my son 
 announced the German Emperor to me. I could not help 
 smiling with joy, and at last fell asleep. And, strange to 
 say, I dreamed that I was again at Jena, and that the fan- 
 tastic mummery of those days was being renewed. Be- 
 cause I had a round head and a ruddy complexion, I was 
 termed the "Imperial Globe," and they maintained that, 
 with my large stature and broad shoulders, the imperial man- 
 tle would fit me best of all. They placed it on me, and I 
 was obliged forthwith to distribute offices. And suddenly, 
 I was no longer the Emperor, but Rothfuss, who laughed 
 most terribly. I, too, was obliged to laugh and, laughing, 
 I awoke. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 WHEN I opened my eyes, Luclwig stood at my bed- 
 side and said, " You have slept well, father, and it 
 is well that you did. You will need all your strength to-day ; 
 for to-day it will be Good-morning, Germany." 
 
 I cannot describe how my son's presence helped to 
 strengthen me. I felt that, with his power added to mine, I 
 was doubly prepared for all that might happen. 
 
 There is nothing more encouraging, in troubled times, 
 than to have a faithful friend at one's side, a truth which 
 was proved to me on that day and many a time since. 
 
 I could not help recounting my strange dream, and when 
 I added that it gave me incomparable joy to think that the 
 day had at last arrived in which one might say the hearts of 
 all Germans throbbed in unison, Ludwig begged me not to talk 
 so much. He said that he could sympathize with me, and 
 feel what a satisfaction it must be to me. after having fought 
 and suffered for fifty years, at last to witness the fruition of 
 my hopes, even though the price paid be war and bloodshed. 
 
 He was indeed right. He responded to all my feelings ; 
 I may indeed say that he anticipated them. 
 
 When I reached the street, the throng was such that it 
 seemed as if all the houses had been emptied of their 
 inhabitants. Here and there, were groups talking aloud, 
 and before the printing-office of the principal newspaper, it 
 was almost impossible to work one's way through the 
 crowd. 
 
 It was there that I met an old friend, the incorruptible 
 Molder. In 1866 he had resigned a high position under 
 
3 1 8 WALDFRIED. 
 
 the state, in order, thenceforth, to devote himself to his 
 Fatherland, and, above all, to the cause of German unity. 
 
 " It is well that I meet you," he said ; " we have war now, 
 and have stolen a march on the French. Here, in the 
 capital, the majority of the citizens are on our side, but in 
 the country, as you well know, the so-called popular party 
 is to a certain extent in the majority. The common people 
 are not so willing to follow our advice, for they are in the 
 hands of the clergy and the demagogues, who, for a little 
 while longer, will travel together on the same road. Foi 
 this reason, we have issued the call for a mass meeting at 
 the Turners' Hall for this evening." 
 
 " Would it not be best for us delegates to hold aloof from 
 it ? " I inquired. 
 
 <: No ; it is too late for that. You will have to speak 
 there, and so will your son from America. We did not care 
 to arouse you so late last night, and I have, therefore, on my 
 own responsibility, signed your name to the call. But 
 look!" 
 
 I saw crowds standing at the street corners, and reading a 
 large placard, calling on all whose hearts beat with love 
 of Germany to meet together and I really found my name 
 at the foot of it. 
 
 I could not object; our actions were no longer at our own 
 disposal. 
 
 Excited crowds filled the streets during the whole day. 
 The whole population seemed like one restless being in anx- 
 ious suspense. It was said that the telegraph wires had been 
 connected with the palace, and as the people knew nothing 
 of this before, the information caused great surprise. The 
 afternoon paper brought the official news that they had wanted 
 the King of Prussia to address the French Emperor in an 
 humble letter, in which he was particularly forbidden to refer 
 
WALDFRIED. 3x9 
 
 to the relationship existing between the French Emperor 
 and the Prince of Hohenzollern, who had been elected 
 King of Spain a pleasant preparation for what was to en- 
 sue in the evening. 
 
 I did not see the Colonel during the whole day, but his 
 friend, Professor Roltint, hunted me up; and, from the 
 manner in which he spoke of our project, it seemed to me 
 that my son-in-law approved of it, and that the popular 
 movement about to be set on foot, was not looked upon with 
 disfavor by the government. Moreover, the Professor had 
 become very cautious, and was known to stand well with 
 government circles. He was believed to be an anonymous 
 contributor to the official organ. 
 
 In the evening, we repaired to the place of meeting. 
 
 Molder arrived, and with pale and trembling lips, told 
 us : 
 
 " It is rumored that the friends of the French will attempt 
 to break up the meeting. But I have called on the Turners. 
 They are all on our side, and your son stands as well with 
 them as he once did." 
 
 The proceedings began. 
 
 Molder was the first speaker. I have never seen any one 
 more excited than he was. His lips trembled, and he held 
 fast to the rail with a convulsive grasp, while he began : 
 
 " We do not desire to become Prussians ; but we wish to 
 be Germans, as we must and shall be. Is there one among 
 you who would dare to utter the accursed words, ' Rather 
 French than Prussian ! ' If there be one who dares to think 
 it, let him dare to say it." 
 
 He paused for a while, and then exclaimed : 
 
 " Is there such a one among you ? Answer me ! Yes or 
 no!" 
 ': " No ! " resounded from a thousand throats, and he re- 
 
32O WALDFRIED. 
 
 sponded with joyous voice, " Then we are all friends." He 
 then concluded his address, eloquently maintaining that to 
 attempt to remain neutral were both treachery and folly. 
 
 A young advocate who had been defeated in the recent 
 elections, by one of the clerical party, followed. He spoke 
 with that studied eloquence which talks glibly and in nicely 
 rounded phrases. He concluded by demanding that the 
 whole meeting should proceed to the palace and request 
 the Prince to discharge his hesitating ministry ; or, at all 
 events, the one minister who seemed to be unpatriotically 
 inclined. 
 
 Enthusiastic and joyous shouts of approval were showered 
 upon him. 
 
 I saw the danger that threatened, and asked for the floor. 
 
 "There has been enough talking; it is time now for 
 deeds ! " cried a voice in the assembly, and it seemed as if 
 the crowd were already on the move. 
 
 My heart stood still. We were no longer masters of our 
 own actions. 
 
 Then Ludwig cried out, in a voice so powerful that the 
 very walls seemed to tremble, " If you are men, listen ! My 
 father wishes to speak." 
 
 " Hurrah for the King of the Turners ! Let old Waldfried 
 speak ! Silence ! Order ! Let old Waldfried speak ! " 
 
 It was a long while before the shouting and the cheering 
 ceased, and I think I spoke the right word at the right 
 time. 
 
 I had a right to refer to my past, and to explain to them 
 that it would only create disturbance and confusion to adopt 
 such violent measures before anything had really been de- 
 cided upon. If I were the Prince, I would not yield to their 
 wishes until the voice of the representatives of the people 
 had been heard. 
 
WALDFRIED. 321 
 
 The temper of the meeting changed, and I received many 
 signs of approval. 
 
 When I had finished, there were shouts of, " We want to 
 hear the King of the Turners speak ! " 
 
 Ludwig mounted the rostrum ; but so great was the ap- 
 plause, that it was several minutes before he could speak. 
 
 At last he began, in a cheerful tone, saying that we Ger- 
 mans were still full of the haughty arrogance of youth, and 
 that this very meeting was a proof of it. 
 
 Then, with words that carried conviction to all who list- 
 ened, he told them how the events of the last year had been 
 a blessing to the emigrants in America ; a blessing, indeed, 
 which could not thoroughly be appreciated by those who 
 were yet at home. The German had been respected, if he 
 could call himself a Prussian ; but now the time had come 
 when the word German must be an honored name. And 
 if, as some maintained, the South Germans are the real Ger- 
 mans, let them prove it. 
 
 If the Prussians are not yet Germans, they shall, and 
 must, and will become so. They delivered us from the real 
 Napoleon ; they will also be able to free us from the coun- 
 terfeit one. The first was not made of gold, but this one is 
 mere pinchbeck. 
 
 " I have fought against negro slavery ; now the battle is 
 against the slavery that French ambition would submit us 
 to." 
 
 While Ludwig was speaking, the chairman handed me a 
 little slip of paper, on which were written the words, " Your 
 son knows how to allow the heated steed to cool off before 
 tying him." 
 
 Ludwig could, indeed, direct the mood of the meeting at 
 will. 
 
 To the great amusememt of his audience, he said that he 
 21 
 
322 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 had the rare good fortune of having been born near the 
 boundary line, and that, consequently, the first object he 
 had become sensible of, were the two brightly painted posts 
 which stood side by side on the road ; and that, while yet a 
 child, he had often looked up to the trees in the woods, to 
 see whether they knew to which of the posts they belonged 
 
 " And when I returned, the abject life that we had been 
 leading was again brought to my mind. On the one side 
 marked by the bright post, all is Catholic, and on the other 
 side all is Protestant, because in those tinies the people 
 wore obliged to accept their so-called religion from their 
 masters. 
 
 " Allow me to take a comparison from my own trade. It 
 requires many strong posts to make the scaffolding of a 
 building. The departed martyrs for German unity were the 
 scaffolding. It has been torn down, and now we behold the 
 building, pure and simple, firmly and regularly built, and 
 appropriately adorned. 
 
 " Or another simile: Have you ever observed a raft in 
 the valley stream? It floats along slowly and lazily, but 
 when it reaches the weir it hurries ; and then is the time to 
 find out whether the withes are strong and hold the planks 
 firmly together. 
 
 "The German logs must now pass through the weir. 
 There is a cracking and a straining, but they hold fast to 
 each other, and right merrily do they float down into the 
 Rhine and out into the ocean. 
 
 "The bells in the neighboring state have a different tone 
 from ours ; but if the two are in accord, the effect is so 
 much the more beautiful. And from this moment let all 
 bells chime in harmony." 
 
 Ludvvig had the rare faculty of introducing apt illus- 
 trations while his audience was all aglow with enthusiasm, 
 
WALL FRIED. ^23 
 
 and thus kept the meeting in the best of humoi and ready to 
 agree with him when he concluded by saying: "We have 
 been patient so long for more than half a century : indeed, 
 ever since the battle of Leipzig that we can well afford to 
 be patient for a few days, perhaps only a few hours longer." 
 
 The meeting which had been so excited closed with sing- 
 ing. It was on that evening that I heard " Die Wacht am 
 Rhein," for the first time. It must, before that, have been 
 slumbering on every lip, and had now at last awakened. 
 
 The young advocate who had proposed the immediate re- 
 moval of the minister, whispered to me, " I thank you for 
 having defeated my motion." 
 
 I looked at him with surprise, and he continued : " I 
 do, indeed, thank you. The only object was to show the 
 friends of the French that even though it might require ex- 
 treme measures, no demand that liberalism could make 
 would surprise us." 
 
 That sort of worldly wisdom was not to my taste. 
 
 The chairman then put the following resolution to a vote : 
 
 That we would remain true to the articles of confedera- 
 tion and to the German cause, with all our means and at 
 every sacrifice. 
 
 They shouted their approval with one voice ; and now he 
 closed the meeting with a few cheerful remarks, announcing 
 that we would adjourn to the garden, where the beer was 
 very good, and where there would be no more speeches ex- 
 cept the clinking of the mugs. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 " 1T7ATHER, you had better go home ; you need sleep. 
 
 .L I will accompany you to our quarters, but I must re- 
 return again, as they all insist upon my doing so." 
 
 Ludwig and I took our way through the streets. They 
 were still filled with a surging crowd, and in front of the 
 pajace the entire guard was under arms. They had evi- 
 dently made preparations against a popular disturbance. 
 
 When I arrived at the dwelling, Ludwig left me. 
 
 Annette was still awake, and informed me, as soon as I 
 entered, that a member of the cabinet had been there, had 
 left word that I should come to the palace that evening, 
 and that if I would mention my name at the left entrance I 
 would be admitted. He had also said that, no matter how 
 late it was when I returned, I should not fail to come. I 
 said that there must have been some mistake that they 
 probably meant my son Richard, or Ludwig ; but Annette 
 repeated that "Father Waldfried" had been especially men- 
 tioned. 
 
 I replied that I was so tired that I would have to leave it 
 until the next day, but Annette thought that such a command 
 must be implicitly obeyed, and believed that the Prince 
 himself desired to speak with me. 
 
 I repaired to the palace. The whole of the left wing was 
 illuminated. 
 
 When I gave my name to the lackey at the foot of the 
 staircase, he called it out, and a secretary appeared and 
 said, in a respectful voice ; " The Prince awaits you." 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 325 
 
 I pointed to my workday dress, but was assured that that 
 made no matter. 
 
 I ascended the staircase. On every hand there were 
 guards. I was conducted into a large saloon, where the 
 secretary left me. He soon reappeared, holding the door 
 open and saying, " Please enter." 
 
 I went in. The Prince advanced to meet me, and took 
 me by the hand, saying : " I thank you sincerely for having 
 come. I would gladly have allowed you to rest overnight, 
 but these times do not permit us to rest. Pray be seated." 
 
 It was well that I was allowed to take a seat. 
 
 The Prince must have observed that I was almost out of 
 breath, and said : " Do not speak ; you are quite exhausted. 
 Permit me to tell you that, in this trying hour, I repose full 
 confidence in you. I have, for a long while, desired to make 
 your acquaintance. I have known your son, the Professor, 
 ever since he was at the university." 
 
 He added other highly complimentary remarks. 
 
 A pause ensued, during which I noticed, on the opposite 
 wall, a picture of the deceased Princess, who, as I had often 
 heard, had been a great benefactress to the country during 
 the famine of 1817. This picture revived my recollections 
 of Gustava, and I felt as if I were not alone, but as if she 
 were with me. 
 
 All this passed through my mind during the few moments 
 of silence. 
 
 The Prince went on to say that he had been informed of 
 what I had said an hour ago at the popular meeting. It had, 
 for several days, been his desire to act in union with me, but 
 that he had entertained doubts on various points, among 
 others as to whether I could attach myself to him ; and that 
 the information he had just received had at last aided him 
 to form his conclusion. 
 
326 WALDFRIED. 
 
 " Excuse the question, but are you a republican ? " 
 
 "I have sworn to support the government," was my 
 answer. 
 
 " Are you a republican in theory ? " 
 
 "In theory ? The days of Pericles and Scipio are reflected 
 in the soul of every German who has received a classical 
 education, and, logically considered, a republic is the only 
 form of free government. But neither the life of nature, 
 nor that of human history, is absolutely logical, for 
 actual necessity sets aside the systems erected by abstract 
 reason." 
 
 " That is well, and we shall, therefore, no doubt agree on 
 all that follows. But let me ask you one other question : 
 Do you candidly and heartily desire the continued existence 
 of my sovereign dynasty ? " 
 
 " Sovereign no ; dynasty yes." 
 
 At these words the Prince arose from his seat, and 
 hurriedly walked across the floor. It seemed as if he invol- 
 untarily placed a distance between himself and me. He re- 
 mainded standing in a dark corner of the room. 
 
 There was a long pause, during which nothing broke the 
 silence except the ticking of the little clock on his table. 
 
 Such words had never been uttered in those halls. I had 
 done my duty ; but I distrusted the Prince. Although sus- 
 picion is foreign to my nature, his entire behavior aroused 
 it in me. The Prince returned, and stood opposite me, 
 while he rested his clenched fist on his writing-desk. The 
 full light was streaming on his face. 
 
 " Explain yourself more fully," he said. 
 
 " Your Highness," I replied, " what I said to you was said 
 after full reflection." 
 
 " I feel assured of that ; but speak out fearlessly." 
 
 " I have fought, thought, and lived for this during my 
 
WALDFRIED. 327 
 
 whole lifetime. If we are to gain a real Fatherland, the 
 princes must relinquish their claim to sovereignty : that be- 
 longs only to the whole. 
 
 " The growth of the idea of German unity has been in 
 geometrical progression. During the period of the rotten 
 restoration, from the battle of Leipzig down to 1830, those 
 who entertained it might have been counted by hundreds, 
 or, at most, thousands, and they were to be found only 
 among the cultured or learned classes. After 1830, they 
 were counted by hundreds of thousands, and after 1848, by 
 millions ; and to-day the thought of German unity is alive 
 in ail who know that they are Germans. 
 
 " One system of laws within our borders, a united army, 
 and united representation in foreign lands. But the league of 
 the states, that through joy and sorrow have achieved unity 
 for themselves, should be faithfully preserved. The forest is 
 one united whole, and yet every tree has its individual life. 
 
 " Your Highness, I live near the borders. The obstinacy of 
 the Vienna congress has so cut up the country that we are 
 obliged to go out of our state to get salt. I have 
 fields and woods beyond the boundary post, and this has 
 given rise to a thousand and one annoyances. Even the 
 protection of the forests, on which depends the life of our 
 landed interests, is obstructed by the diversity of laws. The 
 hailstorm we had last week paid no regard to boundary 
 posts." 
 
 From the depths of my heart, I said : " Your dynasty, you 
 and your house, should remain our chief; but they should 
 be subject to the greater commonwealth." 
 
 " Subject ? " said the Prince. He evidently expected that 
 I would withdraw or modify the word ; but I felt that I 
 could not do so. 
 
 And then he took my hand in his and said : 
 
328 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 11 1 knew that these were your thoughts ; I assumed as 
 much. But I feel grateful that you have allowed me to hear 
 them from your own lips. Do you believe that the majority 
 of my or our people feel as you do ? " 
 
 " No, I do not believe so. That is, they do not feel so 
 to-day, but they will to-morrow. Deeds deeds of sacrifice 
 are the most powerful instructors ; they teach men what 
 they should think, and even find a voice for what has been 
 slumbering in their souls, but which through pride and anger, 
 or through want of courage they have not even dared to 
 think of." 
 
 " You are not an enthusiast." 
 
 " I do not believe I am one. The people love the princes 
 from force of habit, and will be none the less glad to love 
 them when reflection and reason permit them to do so." 
 
 " Have you ever had the desire to occupy a position of 
 authority under the government ?" 
 
 " Certainly ; it was my greatest desire, and I believe " 
 
 "You ought to be President of the ministry." 
 
 I replied that I was a practical farmer, and had never been 
 in the government service. 
 
 " Tell me how you have become what you are," said the 
 Prince, taking a seat opposite me. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 I SHALL gladly tell you all." 
 " The less reserve on your part, the greater my 
 thanks." 
 
 " I was one of those who were persecuted on account of 
 what at that time was called demagogism. 
 
 " The soldier who guarded me he is now a servant in 
 my employ informed me that I had been sentenced 
 to death, and offered to change clothes with me, in order 
 that I might escape. I refused the offer and remained. We 
 were not sentenced to death, but to imprisonment for ten 
 years. Ten years ! A long, long night stared us in the 
 face. 
 
 " Your Highness has taken me by the hand. Your father 
 declared that he would never voluntarily offer his hand to me 
 or my confederates, although it were necessary to do so if we 
 meant to give him a pledge of our allegiance. 
 
 " You cannot remember the circumstance. 
 
 " After being imprisoned for five years, we were pardoned, 
 and I and two of my prison-mates were elected members of 
 the Parliament. 
 
 " The Jurists objected to our assuming the privileges of 
 citizenship. 
 
 " The House which acknowledged our election was dis- 
 solved, naturally enough, by Metternich's order. A new one 
 met, and, as we had in the meanwhile been re-elected, it 
 confirmed the validity of our election. Your father I fully 
 acknowledge his many acts of benevolence was obliged to 
 
330 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 extend his hand to us in order that we might take the 
 oath. 
 
 " There are no words that fitly describe the wicked man 
 who lived in the imperial city, and to whom the sovereign 
 German princes were obedient subjects. In future days it 
 will seem incredible, that, in obedience to orders from Vi- 
 enna, the German princes ordered our youth, under heavy 
 penalties, to desist from improving their physical strength 
 by gymnastic exercises. 
 
 " Perhaps you never knew that even singing clubs were 
 forbidden, and that officials who had been connected with 
 them were regarded with suspicion. 
 
 " Is it conceivable that a government which forbids phys- 
 ical development by means of gymnastics, and spiritual ele- 
 vation by means of song, can for a moment have faith in its 
 own stability ? 
 
 " I am not easily moved to hatred ; but, even now, the 
 name of that man fills me with indignation. 
 
 "What crime had we been guilty of? Why, only this : 
 with a youthful confidence in solemn promises, we had sim- 
 ply held fast to the idea that Germany had freed itself from 
 the Corsican yoke in order to become a free, united em- 
 pire. 
 
 " You cannot conceive, your Highness, how many noble- 
 hearted men were thrown into dungeons, or driven into exile 
 in those days. Who can measure what noble gifts ran to 
 waste. 
 
 "When I think of these things, a sad picture presents it- 
 self to my mind's eye. 
 
 " Among our fellow-prisoners at the fortress, there was a 
 young man who had already begun to lecture at the university. 
 
 " His father was an eminent philologist, and had been re- 
 moved from his professorship for permitting himself, while 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 331 
 
 lecturing, to indulge in expressions in favor of liberty. In a 
 material sense, he was, fortunately, well-to-do. His family 
 owned a large estate in the forest country, whither he re- 
 paired, takfng with him his collections of antiques and his 
 books. 
 
 " The son sickened while in prison, and a wasting fever 
 undermined his youthful strength ; and, as his days were 
 numbered, the physician at the fortress requested the author- 
 ities to release him. 
 
 " I have positive information as the sister of that young 
 man afterward became my wife that our Prince, your father, 
 was willing to grant the discharge. But, before it could be 
 carried into effect, it was necessary to ask for Metternich's 
 permission and Metternich refused it. 
 
 " The commandant of the fortress held me in great es- 
 teem, and permitted me, on his own responsibility, to be 
 placed in the same cell with the sick prisoner. 
 
 " I nursed him faithfully, and watched his every movement. 
 I shall never care to recall the thoughts that passed through 
 my mind during the long days, and still longer nights, that I 
 passed at his bedside. He was slowly sinking ; for confine- 
 ment was killing him, and yet no word of complaint ever fell 
 from his lips. 
 
 "His father came and could you imagine it? was 
 not allowed to converse with his son except in the presence 
 of a guard. 
 
 " Then came his sister, only fifteen years old but of that no 
 matter at present. 
 
 "The noble martyr died. He was buried in the village at 
 the foot of the fortress. 
 
 " While these things were going on, there was dancing and 
 dining at Court, and Metternich was writing witty billet-doux. 
 
 "You, of course, have never heard of these things. 
 
332 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 "Through the bars of our prison, we could look out into 
 the fortress-yard and see the coffin placed on the wagon that 
 was to carry it to the grave. But why should I revive the 
 anger and sense of disgrace that filled our hearts at that mo- 
 ment ? And who, on the other hand, would have the right 
 to condemn us prisoners if, when at last free, we should in- 
 dulge in deeds of vengeance? 
 
 " Your Highness will understand that I am only telling you 
 of these matters so that you may have an idea of the sacri- 
 fices that were made to bring about the result which is now to 
 be consummated through a struggle of life and death." 
 
 " I know it I know it well ; pray go on." 
 
 I plucked up my courage and continued : " My parents 
 died while I was a prisoner. When I was at last discharged, 
 I had lost all taste for a clerical calling. I was down in the 
 village standing by the smithy, saw the blazing fire and 
 watched the heavy hammers, and I yearned for just such 
 hard manual labor. I begged the smith to take me as his 
 apprentice, and he at once handed me a hammer. I was 
 there but a week, when the father of the young man who 
 had died in prison came and took me to his estate." 
 
 "And you married his daughter ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " And does she still live ? " 
 
 " No ; she died, as I am unfortunately forced to believe, 
 through grief on account of the desertion of our youngest son 
 just before the war of 1866." 
 
 " I know it, I know it. I hear that your son is serving in 
 the French army in Algiers ? I know," he said, interrupting 
 himself when he saw my painful agitation, " what grief this 
 son has caused you. If it were in your power to send him 
 word, he might, if he would deliver himself up of his own 
 will, be received back into the army with some trifling pun- 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 333 
 
 ishment, and might afterward by his bravery distinguish 
 himself, and all would be well again. But, of course, at 
 present, communication is impossible either through diplo- 
 matic or private channels." 
 
 I was obliged to admit that I did not know of Ernst's 
 whereabouts. 
 
 Strange it is how a poet's words will suddenly come to 
 one's aid. 
 
 " * My son is like a different man,' " said I, with the words 
 taken from the history of my friend ; and I was myself as- 
 tonished by the tone in which I spoke. I had enough self- 
 command to say that our present troubles required that all 
 should be united, and, that we should, therefore, not compli- 
 cate them by introducing our own personal interests ; nor 
 did I conceal the fact that I had lived down my sorrow on 
 account of Ernst, and had almost ceased to be haunted by 
 the thought of him. It pained me, nevertheless, to listen 
 to the well-rounded, sentences in which the Prince praised 
 the Roman virtue that indulged my love of country at the ex- 
 pense of my feelings as a father. He seemed pleased with this 
 conceit of his, and repeated it frequently. 1 felt quite disen- 
 chanted. 
 
 Thoughts of Ernst almost made me forget where I was, or 
 what I was saying, until the Prince requested me to resume 
 my story, unless I found it too fatiguing. 
 
 I continued : 
 
 " When I think of the times before 1830, I see opposed 
 to each other extravagant enthusiasm and impotence, 
 courageous virtue and cowardly vice, chaste and devoted 
 faith in the ideal, and mockery, ridicule, and frivolous dis- 
 belief in all that was noble the one side cherishing right- 
 eousness, the other scoffing at it. In other words, on the 
 one side, Uhland ; on the other, Metternich. 
 
 " My relations with my family, with the community in which 
 
334 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 I lived, and even in a wider circle, were happy enough. But 
 the thought of my distracted Fatherland remained, and filled 
 my heart with grief that could not be assuaged. I lived and 
 suffered for the general good, and my associates did the like ; 
 but the storm-cloud was always impending over us, and we 
 were obliged to learn how to go about our daily work with 
 fresh and cheerful hearts, although danger threatened ; to be 
 patient for the sake of the people, and to look into our own 
 hearts for strength. 
 
 "The best men of our Fatherland were deeply anxious to 
 be up and doing, but we were condemned to the worst lot 
 of all : a life-long opposition. 
 
 "While we were languishing for healthy political action, our 
 minds were filled with a bitter and consuming protest against 
 the miserable condition of our affairs. 
 
 " It is hard when one's whole being is in conflict with his 
 surroundings." 
 
 I went on to tell him of the great hopes that the spring of 
 1848 had inspired us with, and that I, too, had had (.he good 
 fortune to be permitted to assist in building up the great 
 Fatherland, and to have been in the confidence of the best 
 men of my time. I told him of the sad days when our so- 
 called " Rump Parliament " was dispersed by the soldiers, 
 and also spoke of my son Ludvvig. 
 
 " I understand that your son has become a man of great 
 ability and force of character, and that he distinguished him- 
 self in the war with the slave States ? " sard the Prince. 
 
 I was surprised to find how well he was informed. 
 
 And then the Prince added, in an animated voice : " You 
 are an enthusiastic friend of Prussia ? " 
 
 " I am ; for in Prussia I recognize the backbone of our 
 national existence ; she is not prepossessing, but steadfast 
 and reliable. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 335 
 
 " I lived at the time of the war of liberation ; mary who 
 were of my age took part in the war that saved us. Our 
 section stood with Napoleon, but Prussia saved Germany. 
 She has dallied a great while before claiming her reward for 
 that service ; but at last she receives it." 
 
 The Prince arose, and, resting both hands on his writing- 
 table, said, " That is the very reason I sent for you. Both 
 they and we both high and low must extinguish the mem- 
 ories of 1866. We have all much to forgive, and much to 
 learn." 
 
 And then the Prince asked me whether I believed that 
 the majority of the House of Delegates agreed with us ? 
 
 I was obliged to express my doubts on that head. 
 
 " I have made up my mind, however," exclaimed the 
 Prince, "whether the delegates agree with me, or otherwise. 
 You are an old, tried soldier. Are you ready to ally yourself 
 with me no, not with me with the Fatherland ? " 
 
 " How ? " 
 
 "Call it a coup tfetat, if you choose we dare not let 
 names frighten us these are times in which legal forms 
 must be disregarded. Are you willing to accept the presi- 
 dency of my cabinet, so that your fair name may lend its 
 lustre to my actions ? You shall bear testimony to my love 
 of country." 
 
 " I am willing, your Highness, to sacrifice the short span 
 of life that is yet left me ; but I am not an adept in state 
 affairs." 
 
 " That is no matter ; others will attend to that. What I 
 require is the moral influence of your presence. Your son- 
 in-law, Colonel Karsten, is willing 'o accept the portfolio of 
 Secretary of War." 
 
 I informed the Prince that I would be obliged to insist on 
 important conditions : not from distrust of him, but of his 
 
336 WALDFRIED. 
 
 noble associates who had deserted us in 1848, and had used 
 us liberals as cat's-paws. 
 
 I told him that, in my opinion, Germany would either 
 emerge from this war as a great power, or disappear from 
 the roll of nations. 
 
 " We hope for the best, and we must conquer, for defeat 
 would be destruction." 
 
 As a first condition, I requested the Prince to give me a 
 written assurance that he resigned all privileges which would 
 interfere with German unity. 
 
 He smiled. I do not know whether it was in scorn, or 
 whether he had not heard my last words. He rose, placed 
 his hand on my shoulder, and said, *' You are a good man." 
 
 I, too, was obliged to smile, and answered, " What else 
 should I be, your Highness ? " 
 
 " Is not what you demand of me equivalent to an abdica- 
 tion ? " 
 
 " No ; it is nothing more than retiring to the position held 
 by the princes before domestic dissensions enabled Louis 
 XIV. to wrest Alsace and Lorraine from the German Em- 
 pire." 
 
 It was with an air of embarrassment that the Prince said : 
 
 " Here is my hand. I have a right to do this, and desire 
 to be the first to hail the victorious King of Prussia as Em- 
 peror." 
 
 The Prince touched a bell, and a lackey entered, whom he 
 told to bid Colonel Karsten come. 
 
 My son-in-law Minister of War, and I president of the 
 cabinet ! Was it all a dream ? My eye fell on the picture 
 of the deceased Princess, and it seemed to resemble Gus- 
 tava and to smile upon me. 
 
 The Colonel entered. He remained standing, in the erect 
 attitude of a soldier. 
 
WALDFRIED. 337 
 
 The Prince informed him, in a few words, that we agreed 
 with each other, and submitted a proclamation with which the 
 Chamber was to be dissolved, in case the majority should 
 decide for neutrality. For the present, this was to be kept 
 a secret. 
 
 The Prince then withdrew. 
 
 Arm in arm with my son-in-law, I returned to my dwell- 
 ing. 
 
 To think of all that had happened to me during that one 
 day 
 
 Could this be myself? I could scarcely collect my senses. 
 
 Ludwig had not returned, and I was almost glad that it 
 was so, for I was not permitted to reveal what had been 
 secretly determined on. 
 
 Martella was still awake. She came to meet me with the 
 words : 
 
 " Father, you have heard news of Ernst. Did the Prince 
 give you his pardon ? " 
 
 I could not conceive how the child could have had this 
 presentiment, and when I asked her, she told me that a 
 brother of the porter at Annette's house had returned from 
 Algiers and had told her about Ernst. 
 
 I could not enter into Martella's plans. What mattered 
 the life of a son, or the yearning affection of a girl? I 
 scarcely heard what she said my heart was filled to over- 
 flowing ; there was no room left for other cares. 
 
 One memory was revived. Years ago, the Privy Coun- 
 cillor had told me that I was well thought of at court. At 
 that time it was scarcely probable. But could it have been 
 true, after all ? 
 
 Morning was dawning when I reached my bed. I felt 
 that I would never again be able to sleep, and only wished 
 that I might live a few days longer, so that, if nothing else 
 
338 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 was left, I might plunge myself into the yawning abyss for 
 the sake of my country. 
 
 It was fortunate that the session was not to begin until 
 noon. I slept until I was called. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE Colonel came and told me that the troops were 
 under orders. 
 
 I was startled. I shuddered at the idea of using force 
 against our fellow-citizens, and felt as if I could by my own 
 strength, oppose and conquer the demon of dissension. I 
 felt assured that I must succeed, and as co nfident as if success 
 had already been achieved. 
 
 Ludwig accompanied me through the streets ; they were 
 even more crowded than on the day before. 
 
 Annette and Martella had preceded us, in order to se- 
 cure good seats. It was with difficulty that we forced our 
 way through the crowd. Ludwig was obliged to shake hands 
 with many whom we met, and was often greeted by men 
 whom he did not recognize, and who seemed annoyed that, 
 in spite of the changes that twenty-one years had made in 
 them, he did not at once address them by their names. 
 
 A company of soldiers were mounting guard before, the 
 House of Parliament. Ernst Rontheim, son of the Privy 
 Councillor, was in command. He saluted me in military 
 fashion. 
 
 I gazed upon the vigorous youth, with his ruddy face and 
 bright eyes, and asked myself: "Will he this very day be 
 forced to command his troops to fire upon his fellow-citizens ? " 
 Did he know how full of danger his post was ? It required 
 a great effort, on my part, to refrain from speaking to him. 
 At that moment, the minister of war arrived, and the young 
 officer called out, " Present arms ! " 
 
34O WALDFRIED. 
 
 In the ante-chamber, and in the restaurant attached to 
 the House, there were many groups engaged in lively and 
 animated discussions, in which the speakers accompanied 
 their remarks by forcible gesticulations. 
 
 The three members who had been fellow-prisoners o f 
 mine at the fortress, were still faithfully attached to me 
 The one whom we had termed " The Philosopher " had dis 
 tinguished himself by new theories in political science, and 
 the other two were eminent lawyers. 
 
 Only one of the members of the old student corps had 
 gone over to the radicals, but he was recognized as the mos< 
 independent and the purest of men, and was everywhere 
 spoken of as " Cato." 
 
 The others had remained true to our colors ; and one who 
 was known as Baribal called out " What ! Bismarck ? If that 
 black devil will bring about union, I shall sell my soul to him ! " 
 
 I spoke with " Cato," when no others were by, and he 
 frankly confessed that he feared that this war would 
 strengthen monarchism, and lhat, therefore, he still was, and 
 ever would be, a republican. 
 
 " We have, thus far, been forced to act against our wishes, 
 and have complained in secret, " he said, " but if we con- 
 quer in this war, we shall have voluntarily become subjects, 
 and be happy in the favor of their high mightinesses. I am 
 not a subject, and do not wish to become one." 
 
 He gave me a fierce look, and I felt obliged to tell him 
 that he could not be at his ease while receiving honors from 
 people whom he despised. 
 
 He did not feel that war was inevitable, but was inclined 
 to favor it, if the German princes would promise that the 
 constitution of the German Empire, as proposed in the 
 Frankfort Parliament, would be adopted in the event of our 
 . success. 
 
WALD FRIED. 34 r ! 
 
 " Cato " assured me that even if we were to bring about 
 a union, it would be such only in name. Organic life can- 
 not become a harmonious whole unless there is freedom of 
 action ; and therefore, we must, first of all, insist on guaran- 
 tees for freedom. 
 
 " Why do you," said he in conclusion, " who aided and 
 abetted the Frankfort Parliament, never mention it ? " 
 
 When I told him that this was political orthodoxy, he paid 
 no regard to what I said. 
 
 Funk once furtively looked towards me, and then turned 
 to his neighbor, with whom he conversed in a low voice. 
 
 Various members who, it was evident, desired to take the 
 lead, were walking up and down absorbed in thought. 
 
 I heard that telegrams had been received to the effect that 
 France would not consent to further delay, and insisted that 
 all must be absolutely neutral or else avowedly take sides. 
 
 Loedinger, my former prison-mate, approached me and 
 said that it would be necessary to prevent any conclusion 
 being reached on that day, and that we should govern our- 
 selves by the course that the neighboring state decided upon. 
 
 I asked him whether the party had determined on this. 
 He said, " No," and told me that his only object was to 
 bring about a postponement in case the probable issue 
 seemed adverse to us. 
 
 I felt that this would be impossible. I entered the cham- 
 ber more agitated than I have ever been. I had never in 
 all my life been obliged to conceal anything, and now I had 
 to face my associates with a weighty secret on my mind. I 
 saw the ministers enter and take their seats, and could not 
 help thinking, " You will soon be seated there." 
 
 One minister whom we knew to be of our party came 
 down to where I was sitting and shook hands with me. He 
 spoke with confidence and hopefulness. 
 
342 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 I noticed Funk pointing at me, and could hear the loud 
 laughter that followed on the part of the group that sur- 
 rounded him. 
 
 The President took his seat ; the ringing of the bell agi- 
 tated me ; the decisive moment approached. 
 
 I looked up. Annette nodded to me. Richard was 
 seated at her side. 
 
 1 was obliged to drive out all roving thoughts, for it was 
 now necessary to concentrate all my energies on one object. 
 
 The proceedings began. My friend Loedinger, who had 
 been seated at my side, was the first speaker, and supported 
 the motion in favor of taking the field. He spoke with great 
 fervor, and invoked the spirits of those who had gone before us. 
 
 " Would that the mighty spirits of the past could descend to 
 us this day," were his words, while his own utterances were 
 those of a spirit pure and beyond reproach. When he fin- 
 ished his remarks, a storm of applause followed. I grasped 
 his hand ; it was cold as ice. 
 
 Funk requested the President to preserve order in the 
 galleries, and said that this was not a Turners' festival. 
 
 The President reminded him that he knew his duty, and 
 meant to perform it, and that Funk, in his eagerness, had 
 only anticipated him. 
 
 The next speaker was " Cato." He unearthed all the 
 grievances that Prussia had inflicted on the patriots. He 
 called on the spirits of those who had fallen during the war 
 of 1866, and said they might well ask those who now coun- 
 selled aiding Prussia, "Are you willing to stand side by 
 side with those who murdered us in a fratricidal war ? " 
 
 When he closed, it was evident that his words had deeply 
 moved the assembly. 
 
 I was the next to have the floor, and explained that, al- 
 though brothers may quarrel among themselves, they are 
 
WALDFRIED. 343 
 
 brethren nevertheless, and that, when an insolent neighbor 
 endeavors to invade and destroy their home, they must 
 unite to defend it. Addressing my opponents, I exclaimed, 
 " You know full well what the decision will be, and I am 
 loth to believe that you desire to embarrass or disgrace it by 
 opposition and dissension." 
 
 Great excitement followed this remark, and prevented me 
 from going on. I was called to order, but the President 
 decided that my remarks had not been personal. 
 
 I endeavored to keep calm, and to weigh every word be- 
 fore uttering it. 
 
 In spite of this resolution, I forgot myself, and aroused a 
 perfect storm of anger, when I expressed my deepest con- 
 victions in the following words : 
 
 " You who are seated on the other side do not believe in 
 neutrality. Ask yourselves whether this be an honest game 
 that you are playing. Neutrality is a hypocritical word 
 which, translated into honest German, means willingness to 
 aid France, a Rhenish confederation, and treason to the 
 Fatherland ! " 
 
 I was called to order and was obliged to admit that I 
 had gone a little too far. 
 
 The President interrupted the debate, and inquired 
 whether the Chamber would permit him to read a telegram 
 which had just been received, and was of some importance 
 in relation to the subject under consideration. 
 
 " No ! No ! " " We are debating this among ourselves ! " 
 " Our deliberations must be free and untrammelled ! " " No 
 outside parties have a right to interfere ! " cried the one side. 
 
 " Yes ! Yes ! " " Let us have it ! " " Read it to us ! " cried 
 the others, and all was confusion. 
 
 The President at last restored order, and then informed 
 us that the telegram was from the House of Parliament of the 
 
344 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 neighboring state. He desired to know whether he might 
 read it to the assembly. He would permit no debate on 
 the subject ; those who were in favor of the reading, would 
 simply rise. 
 
 The majority arose, and Loedinger was almost trembling 
 with emotion when he grasped my hand and said, " Brother, 
 the day is ours ! " 
 
 The President read the telegram. It was to the effect 
 that- a small though decided majority of the Parliament of 
 the next state had determined that their forces should take 
 the field. 
 
 Then followed, both on the floor and in the galleries, a 
 few moments of terrible confusion and excitement. 
 
 Order was at last restored, and the President announced 
 that the business would now be proceeded with. 
 
 I had the floor. 
 
 " Make no speech ask for a vote at once," said Loedin- 
 ger, as I arose. I acted on his advice. 
 
 The vote was taken ; the majority was ours. 
 
 Loud shouts of joy filled the air, but I felt happier than 
 all the rest. I had been saved from a fearful danger. 
 
 Annette's carriage stood in a by-street, awaiting us. We 
 rode to our dwelling, and, when I reached there, I felt like 
 one who, after long and weary wandering over hill and 
 dale, can at last sit down and rest. And while I sat there, 
 with myriad thoughts passing through my brain, I could not 
 help thinking, " The dream of my youth has repeated itself 
 they only tried the mantle on me." 
 
 Shortly after that, Ludwig returned home to join his wife 
 and to look after his workmen. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOW often we had yearned for unity of feeling, and 
 an interchange of sympathy with our compatriots ! 
 How sad it was to keep in our path with the knowledge that 
 the feelings and aspirations of those whom we met had noth- 
 ing in common with our own ! 
 
 The unity of feeling had at last been brought about. 
 Every street had become as a hall of the great temple in 
 which love of country testified its readiness to sacrifice itself. 
 Every valley resounded with the joyful message, " Awake ! 
 Our Fatherland has arisen in its might ! Hasten ! for the 
 battle is not yet over. The soul of him who falls will live on 
 in the comrade who marched at his side. Now none can 
 live for himself alone, but for the one great cause." 
 
 After my sad bereavement, life had ceased to be aught 
 but duty, and I would have been ready, at any time, calmly 
 to leave the world. But now my only desire was to live long 
 enough to witness the fruition of the hopes which, during 
 my whole life, had filled my soul. 
 
 My children and grandchildren, each in his own way, showed 
 their love of country. 
 
 Society at large was now like one great family, united in 
 sentiment. 
 
 The vicar was the first of my family to visit me. He 
 came to offer his services as chaplain to the troops. 
 Julius followed soon after. It had gone hard with him 
 to leave his wife, but he was happy to know that he could 
 at last serve his country. It moved me deeply when he 
 
346 WALDFRIED. 
 
 told me of the courage and resignation his wife had shown at 
 parting. He was accompanied by his brother-in-law, the 
 lieutenant, who joyously confessed that he was filled with 
 hopes of glory and rapid advancement. He drew his s\vord 
 a few inches from its scabbard, and said, " This blade has 
 lost patience it is all athirst." 
 
 My grandson Wolfgang returned from the forester's 
 chool. 
 
 " Grandfather, have my pine-seeds sprouted ? " was his 
 i~irst question. 
 
 " They do not grow so fast, my child ; the bed is still cov- 
 ered with brushwood." 
 
 He wanted to enter the army as a volunteer, and was 
 quite sad when we told him that foreigners would not be ac- 
 cepted, and that it would, moreover, take a good while be- 
 fore he could learn the drill. He could with difficulty recon- 
 cile himself to the fact that he was not permitted to take 
 part in the war, and with a voice full of emotion, exclaimed, 
 " Although my name is growing on its soil, I am not allowed 
 to fight for Germany !" 
 
 Wolfgang was accompanied by Annette's nephew, the son 
 of Offenheimer the lawyer. He desired to offer his services 
 as a volunteer. He was a comrade of Wolfgang's, and a stu- 
 dent in the agricultural department of the forester's school. 
 His face was marked by several scars, and although he was 
 not of a quarrelsome disposition, he had been in several 
 duels. He had served in the Young Guard, which, during 
 the past few years, had been recruited from the students of 
 Gymnasiums and polytechnic schools. 
 
 I inquired whether his father consented to his entering the 
 service, and he answered me in the affirmative. 
 
 Shortly afterward, his father entered the room. In a 
 few words he told us that he had expected this war, and 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 347 
 
 then, turning to his sister, he remarked that his son Alfred 
 had entered the regiment which had formerly been the Cap- 
 tain's, as Colonel Karsten could not take him in his regi- 
 ment. He also told me that he had fully determined, in 
 case the war resulted in our favor, to withdraw from prac- 
 tice, and to devote himself to public affairs. 
 
 Offenheimer was an able, clear-minded man, of liberal 
 opinions, and free from prejudice ; and yet it seemed as if 
 this vow of his had been made in order to assure himself of 
 the success of our cause and the preservation of his only 
 son. 
 
 Annette had always observed a certain distance with her 
 kindred, and was, indeed, kinder to Martella than to her 
 own nephew. But now, the war and the unanimity of feel- 
 ing which it had induced, seemed, even in her case, to awaken 
 new sympathies. 
 
 On the following morning, when I was preparing for my 
 journey homeward, a messenger came from the palace to in- 
 form me that the Prince required my presence. And now I 
 went, in bright daylight and with a peaceful soul, to the 
 same place that I had approached during the night, ignorant 
 of what was in store for me. I was happy to know that the 
 serious charge, which I was hardly fitted to undertake, had 
 not been imposed on me, and I was, at the same time, en- 
 couraged by the feeling that I had shown my willingness to 
 do all in my power. 
 
 On the staircase, I met the French ambassador, who had 
 just received his parting audience ; and thus I saw the last 
 French ambassador who witnessed our dissensions. 
 
 The antechamber of the Prince's apartments was full of 
 life and bustle. Adjutants and orderlies were constantly com- 
 ing and going. 
 
 I saw my son-in-law, but only for a few moments. .He 
 
348 WALDFRIED. 
 
 shook me by the hand, and said, "My regiment marches 
 through your valley ; I shall see you again at home." 
 
 I was called into the Prince's presence. His cheeks were 
 flushed and his eye sparkled. He took me by the hand and 
 said : " I can only briefly thank you. I shall never forget 
 your fidelity and your candor. Unfortunately, I can be of 
 no service to you, for you need no favors ; but my heart 
 shall ever be filled with gratitude to you." 
 
 His kind words so moved me that I was unable to utter a 
 word in reply, and the Prince continued : " Like you, I am 
 forced ro remain at home. It is well and proper that 
 princely rank does not require its possessor to command his 
 armies Leaders have been selected, from whom we have a 
 right 10 look for the greatest results with the least bloodshed. 
 Excuse me ; I regret that I cannot speak with you any 
 longer. I shall be glad to have you visit me soon again." 
 
 He shook hands with me again, and I was about to with- 
 draw in silence, when a lackey entered and said that a 
 daughter of mine had requested to see the Prince, and begged 
 that she might speak with me in his presence. 
 
 "Let her enter. You had better remain here, Herr 
 Waldfried." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 r I ^HE door was opened and in rushed Martella, who 
 
 JL threw herself on her knees at the Prince's feet and 
 exclaimed : " Your Highness, Prince by the grace of God, 
 be gracious and merciful ! Give me my betrothed, my 
 Ernst ! I shall not rise from this spot until you have re- 
 stored him to me again ! " 
 
 The Prince gazed at me in surprise, and I told him that 
 this was Ernst's betrothed. 
 
 The Prince extended his hand to Martella. She kissed it 
 and covered it with tears, when he said to her : 
 
 "I shall do all that I can." 
 
 " Oh, God is gracious to you ! you are all-powerful. G 
 how happy you are that you can do all these things ! I knew 
 it!" 
 
 The Prince said that he was occupied at the moment; 
 that she might go, and he would attend to all that was nec- 
 essary afterwards. 
 
 "No, no ! " cried Martella; " not so. I shall not leave 
 in that way. Now is the right time. Let the whole world 
 wait until this is done." 
 
 " I have already informed his father that the deserter will 
 receive but a mild punishment, if he now returns and helps 
 us to fight for our Fatherland." 
 
 " Yes, yes ; I believe all that; but I must have it in writ- 
 ing, with a great seal under it, or else it is of no avail, and 
 your subordinates will not respect it. 
 
 " O Prince ! the winter before the fearful war you were 
 
350 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 hunting in the district to which my Ernst belonged, and he 
 had much to tell me about you ; and he said that, if one 
 considered how you had been spoiled, it was wonderful to 
 find our Prince so well behaved, so just and upright a man. 
 
 " And Rothfuss said, 'In such a war as that of 1866, the 
 Prince would have been just as willing to desert as Ernst 
 was, if he only could have done so ; but he could not get 
 away." 
 
 The Prince gave me a look full of meaning, while a sad 
 srnile played on his lips. Suddenly he turned to Martella 
 and asked, " And do you know where your lover is ? " 
 
 " Yes ; he is with the savages in Algiers. He, too, was a 
 savage, but, by this time, he must have become tamed. O 
 Prince ! give me the writing, and what you write will be set 
 down to your credit in heaven ! " 
 
 The Prince seated himself, and then looked up from his 
 desk and asked, " But what will you do with this letter of 
 pardon ? " 
 
 " Let your gracious Highness leave that to me. Just you 
 write and blessed be the pen and the ink and your 
 hand" 
 
 I implored her to remain quiet, so that the Prince could 
 write, and she grasped my hand with one of hers, and with 
 her other pointed towards the Prince's pen and moved her 
 finger as if following its every stroke. 
 
 When the Prince bad finished writing, he lit a lamp, and 
 Martella exclaimed : " Oh, if Ernst were only here, that he 
 might thank you ! But mother, who is above, knows of this 
 already, and joins me in thanking you." 
 
 Her vigor and beauty, her touching voice, the powerful 
 and dazzling brilliancy of her eyes, all seemed as if increased 
 by an irresistible charm. 
 
 The Prince attached the seal to the document and handed 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 351 
 
 it to her with the words, " I wish you success ; " and, turning 
 to me, added, " I am glad, at all events, that I have been 
 able to be of some service to you." 
 
 Martella was about to kneel to him again, but he begged 
 her to withdraw. 
 
 We went through the antechamber and down the steps, 
 and, when we reached the foot of the staircase, Martella 
 suddenly stopped and said : " I have something in which I 
 can keep the letter of pardon. I still have the embroidered 
 satchel, but now I will put in it something better and sweeter 
 than the cake it once held." 
 
 When we left, the guard was just marching up to the 
 palace, and the band was playing " Die Wacht am Rhein." 
 A crowd extending farther than the eye could reach joined in 
 the song, and Martella exclaimed, " The whole world is 
 singing while " and then her clear voice helped to swell 
 the chorus. 
 
 No one was happier at Martella' s good fortune than 
 Annette, who, to give vent to her joy, overwhelmed Martella 
 with presents. 
 
 Richard rushed into the room, exclaiming, " The Crown- 
 Prince of Prussia has been appointed commander of the 
 South German forces ! " His face beamed with emotion, and 
 he triumphantly declared that this would seal the union of 
 North and South Germany. 
 
 Although the younger members of my family were full of 
 ardent courage, Richard had more determination and elas- 
 ticity of spirit than any of them. We had at one time 
 mockingly called him " Old Negligence." But he was no 
 longer the man who procrastinated in all things, and who, 
 while conscientious withal, was nevertheless so swayed by 
 a thousand imaginary obstacles that it was difficult for him 
 to make up his mind on any subject. He told us that he 
 
352 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 had offered to accompany the commander of our army ; he 
 had written enough of history in dead letters, and now he 
 was anxious to witness living history, and perhaps to assist 
 in making it. 
 
 Annette had ordered the servant to bring wine, and 
 Richard exclaimed : " O father ! it has come at last. Self- 
 reliance now fills every heart, and that is the rock of safety 
 for the whole nation. I see it now ; a new element has 
 entered our German world a feeling that we are all one. It 
 is not a mere conglomerate of many thousand individuals ; 
 it is something quite new and exalted a divine revelation 
 the fire of pure patriotism. We stand in the midst of a pillar 
 of fire; every individual is a spark; of no value by itself, 
 but only as a portion of the pillar of fire." 
 
 Richard's tall and commanding form trembled with 
 emotion. 
 
 Annette placed her hand upon her heart and exclaimed, 
 " And I too I too." 
 
 She had stretched forth her hand, but suddenly cast her 
 eyes upon the picture of her dead husband, and buried her 
 face in her hands. 
 
 After a short pause, she said to Richard : 
 
 " Your mother announced this to me. ' He will live to 
 see the day,' she said, t on which great things will happen to 
 the world and to you all.' I did not understand her words 
 then, but now I believe I understand them." 
 
 Richard replied, " How strange it is that you should be 
 thinking of mother at this moment ; for I was thinking of 
 her at the same time. 
 
 " Ah, father, when mother asked for water from her 
 spring, and I ran through the village down into the valley, 
 and was nothing but a child running to fetch a draught that 
 would cool her parched lips and, perhaps, save her, I could 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 353 
 
 not, at times, help thinking of the story told by Apuleius 
 how Psyche was obliged to bring water from the rocky 
 springs of the Styx. 
 
 " And, father, hard and puzzling as it then was to under- 
 stand how trees and houses could exist, and that men were 
 working in the fields, while the breath of life was flickering 
 and expiring now, all is clear to my vision. I shall go 
 off with the army ; and if I can do nothing more, I will, 
 at all events, endeavor to refresh the spiritual and phys- 
 ical wants of the children of the Fatherland for the sake 
 of our mother unity. It would be glorious and happy 
 to die when filled with such emotions ; but it is more genu- 
 ine and more brave to persevere in small services and sacri- 
 fices." 
 
 Annette, with her hands clasped upon her breast, gazed at 
 .Richard. Bertha entered the room at that moment, and, by 
 her presence, brought about a calmer and serener atmos- 
 phere than we had just been moving in. 
 
 Bertha, four years before, had been full of unrest ; but now, 
 her calm, equable disposition manifested itself in all its beauty. 
 
 " That war," she said, " was an unnatural one, but this 
 contest is waged in a holy and just cause, and its consequen- 
 ces must therefore be calmly accepted. And things, too, 
 have changed with my husband; for now fortune smiles 
 upon him." 
 
 She told us that an association had been formed under 
 the auspices of the Princess, for the purpose of aiding the 
 families of those who were obliged to go to the war, and to 
 prepare aid for the sick and wounded. 
 
 " I shall be one of you," exclaimed Annette. " I, too, 
 wish to do my share in the good work. And, Professor, I 
 shall remember your words, 'It is braver to persevere in 
 small services and sacrifices.' " 
 
354 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 Richard soon left for the university town, where he had 
 yet to make some preparations before starting with the army. 
 He grasped Annette's hand, and it seemed to me as if he 
 held it longer than usual; but he only said, "We shall meet 
 again." 
 
 His long face, with its large, full brown beard, bright blue 
 eyes, and arched forehead, seemed more beautiful than ever, 
 and his splendid, powerful form seemed almost heroic. 
 
 In the evening I was crossing our principal street, and 
 met Annette carrying several packages under her arm. 
 
 War kills one weakness which in men is insufferable, 
 and in women difficult to bear ; namely, false pride. 
 
 In such times, who can stop to think how he may appear 
 to others ? You are nothing more than a wonderfully small 
 fraction of a great and complete whole. And it is this idea 
 which makes you great, and lifts you above all petty 
 thoughts. 
 
 How absurd we had grown to be. It had come to be re- 
 garded as improper for a well-dressed man or woman to 
 carry a package while in the street ; the dress of the ladies 
 was so fashioned that they were obliged to use their hands 
 to prevent it from dragging, and thus it was impossible for 
 them to carry even the smallest package ; but now all that 
 was changed. 
 
 Annette told me that she and some other ladies were 
 about to take a course of instruction from a surgeon, in the 
 art of dressing wounds. She said this simply and unosten- 
 tatiously. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 WHILE Martella and I were on our way to the depot, 
 in order to return to our home, we were encountered 
 by a dense and impenetrable crowd. 
 
 What could be the matter? 
 
 " The Crown-Prince of Prussia is coming." 
 
 We stopped. 
 
 The sounds of distant music were heard mingling with the 
 joyous shouts of thousands of voices. It was the 'cry with 
 which a race welcomed its brothers from whom it had long 
 been estranged, and who were now advancing to save it. 
 How this must have stirred the heart of the Crown-Prince ! 
 
 I was so wedged in by the crowd, that I could see noth- 
 ing. Martella had ascended some steps back of me, and 
 called me to follow her ; but it was impossible to do so. 
 
 I heard a carriage approach ; the men who were in front 
 of me spoke of the splendid appearance, and the calm, yet 
 determined expression of the Prince. 
 
 "Father !" exclaimed Martella, "he looks just like him 
 indeed, more like Richard." 
 
 The crowd at last scattered, and cheers were still heard 
 in the distance. 
 
 We started for home. The railway on the other side, 
 which for some distance ran into our valley, was obstructed. 
 They were momentarily expecting an invasion of the French, 
 and, after that day, the other line was only to be used for 
 military trains. 
 
 We rode on for a part of the way, and, at the intersection, 
 
356 WALDFRIED. 
 
 met a large crowd of persons from the watering-places. 
 They had suddenly been obliged to give up the springs and 
 the amusements that had there been at their disposal. 
 
 The gambling banks are closed, it was said. I hoped that 
 they might never again be reopened. 
 
 Ludwig and his servants were there awaiting me. I also 
 met Carl, who had been conscripted, and with him were two 
 of the meadow-farmer's servants. 
 
 Carl laughed while he told us how the meadow-farmer 
 grumbled that he was now obliged to harness and feed his 
 oxen himself. He cheerfully added that Marie could do the 
 service of two laborers. 
 
 His joyous face made it plain that before leaving home 
 he had come to an understanding with Marie. When he 
 spoke of her he pressed his left hand to his heart. I think 
 he must have had a keepsake there. 
 
 When Carl saw Ikwarte, he went up to him and extended 
 his hand saying: "I forgive you. I cannot remain at 
 enmity with any one whom I leave behind when I go forth 
 to battle. Forgive me, too." 
 
 Ludwig asked Ikwarte, " Willem, would you like to go ? " 
 
 " I am waiting until the Colonel gives me leave." 
 
 " You have never asked my permission." 
 
 "I have waited until the Colonel would speak of it him- 
 self." 
 
 " Pray speak a few kind words to my mother, for my sake," 
 said Carl; and I saw the old spinner sitting on the lower 
 step of the depot. She gazed into vacancy as if she were 
 dreaming with open eyes. 
 
 "This gentleman will take you home with him," said 
 Carl to his mother. 
 
 " Then you will not take me along ? I must go home 
 home home," said the old woman ; and Carl told me that 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 357 
 
 Rothfuss had brought the conscripts to this spot, and was in a 
 neighboring inn where he was feeding the horses. 
 
 I endeavored to persuade the spinner to control her feel- 
 ings. She murmured a few words that I could not under- 
 stand, and which Carl explained to me. She had, by hard 
 savings, gotten seven thalers together, and wanted Carl to 
 take them with him, because he would need them while 
 away ; and that now she was quite inconsolable, because he 
 wanted to leave the money at home with her. 
 
 I took the money from her, and promised to send it to 
 Carl whenever he should need it, through my son-in-law the 
 Colonel. 
 
 " And how is the great lady ? " said the old spinner. 
 " She ought to have married my Carl she always looked at 
 him with so much favor ; and if he were now married, he 
 would not have to go to war." 
 
 His mother's words were unintelligible to me, and it was 
 with a sad smile that Carl interpreted them. 
 
 " Why have you not told her about Marie ? " 
 
 " I have done so, but she wishes to know nothing about 
 her." 
 
 Ludwig, accompanied by Ikwarte, started towards the 
 Rhine. He said that he did not yet know how he could 
 take part in the war, as he was an American citizen ; but 
 he was resolved not to remain a quiet spectator. 
 
 Carl's parting from his mother was heart-rending. She 
 refused to get on our wagon, and Carl, with tears in his eyes, 
 lifted her in his arms and placed her there. During the 
 greater part of our journey home, she bewailed the loss ot 
 her son, and we drove on in silence, for we felt so sad that 
 we could not utter a word. 
 
 Martella was the first to speak, saying, " It is, after all, 
 the greatest happiness to have a mother." 
 
353 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 I could well understand what it was that agitated her. 
 
 Up at the top of the mountain, where we always stopped 
 to rest our horses, there is a large and shady beech-tree, to 
 which was fastened the image of a saint. 
 
 While at a distance I could see a white object on the tree, 
 and when I drew near, I recognized it. It was the procla- 
 mation of the King of Prussia, in which, in simple but well- 
 considered words, he declared that he was forced into wag- 
 ing this war. 
 
 Soon after that, I met Joseph, who was delighted to see 
 me again. He had engaged the guard of the stage-coach 
 that passed by there every day to fasten the " extra" papers 
 to the tree, so that the forest laborers, who at this point 
 separated in order to repair to their different villages, could 
 know what was going on. 
 
 On the following day, the young Catholic pastor of the 
 village had the words of the heretical king removed from the 
 tree on which the holy image had been placed, and was 
 about to lodge a complaint against Joseph for his sacrile- 
 gious conduct. But, on the advice of a lawyer who be- 
 longed to his own party, he desisted, and the tree, to this 
 day, is known as "the newspaper tree." 
 
 I crossed the boundary line and was in* our own territory. 
 The people were busily employed in changing the bed of the 
 stream ; and the newly married stone-mason asked me 
 whether work would be continued during the war. I told 
 him that it would be, and that we intended to give employ- 
 ment to the people as long as possible. 
 
 Shortly after that, I even employed the old spinner's two 
 sons who had been ordered out of Mlihlhausen ; and it was 
 a very happy thought to do so, as the younger of the two 
 was an excellent cabinet-maker. 
 
 I walked on. All along the. roadside I had planted pear- 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 359 
 
 trees ; they were laden with fruit. Will the enemy pluck 
 the fruit or destroy the trees ? 
 
 I saw the young meadow-farmer. He was setting his 
 water-gates, and appeared as unconcerned as if we were liv- 
 ing in peaceful times. When I passed, he looked up from 
 his work, and said, " The war does not affect me, thank God. 
 None of my kindred are in it." 
 
 The first house in the village belongs to the meadow- 
 farmer. He had relinquished the farm to his son, and was 
 now living on a pension which the latter had settled on him. 
 When he saw me, he called out, tf Now you have it ! The 
 accursed Prussian is at the root of the whole affair ; but the 
 Frenchman will give him a beating, for he has caught hold 
 of the wrong fellow this time." 
 
 At home all were in good spirits, and for the first time in 
 a long while, I found myself in some sort of sympathy with 
 Johanna. 
 
 " It will soon be seen," she said, " whether the godless 
 Frenchmen are as willing to sacrifice themselves for their 
 country as we are." 
 
 She praised the King as a God-fearing man ; but to me he 
 was simply a righteous German. 
 
 A happy change had taken place with Johanna's daughter. 
 She had always been sickly, and had thought herself of no 
 use in this world ; but now she knew nothing more of sick- 
 ness. She had determined to join a society which had just 
 been organized by the wife of the Privy Councillor, in order to 
 obtain instruction in the art of nursing the sick and wounded. 
 
 I was now again in my own calm and peaceful home. 
 Rothfuss informed me that during my absence parties had 
 been there to buy up oats and hay, we still had a good sup- 
 ply left from last year, and Rothfuss had promised the re- 
 fusal of it to Kuhherschel, whom he always favored. 
 
360 WALDFRIED. 
 
 The old hay was sent off, and the new was brought in. In 
 Carl's place we engaged a Tyrolese farmer. The early bar- 
 ley was harvested, the ground was ploughed over again, and 
 the potatoes were dug up. How long would affairs remain 
 thus? The enemy might break in on us the very next 
 day, as we were very near the border. Our enemies claimed 
 that they were fighting in the interests of civilization, but 
 sent Asiatic hordes against us. 
 
 The schoolmaster's wife told us that Baroness Arven had 
 left for Switzerland, taking a great amount of luggage with 
 her. 
 
 I was determined to await the enemy in my own home, and 
 when Johanna asked me whether she, too, could go to the 
 city and try to be of some use, I consented. 
 
 " But you will remain with me, Martella, for you do not 
 fear the French ? " 
 
 " Oh, I am not afraid of them," answered Martella. 
 
 She had only answered the latter portion of my question, 
 but I did U ot think of that until afterwards. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MY solitude was soon broken in upon by a visit from 
 Baron Arven. I was astonished to find him looking 
 so sad. " Is there still so much of the old Austrian officer 
 left in him ? " I asked myself. He soon relieved me of all 
 doubts on that head, and, in a tone which showed how he 
 had struggled with and conquered his grief, told m~ that in 
 many things, and especially in religious matters, he and 
 his wife had not agreed. He had, at last, conquered him- 
 self, and had determined to let her have her own way ; 
 but now he said it with apparent reluctance the long- 
 impending rupture had occurred, under circumstances 
 almost too terrible to bear. Although he knew that, as 
 a Czech and a Catholic, his wife hated Prussia, he could 
 hardly believe his ears when she said, " All saints be praised ! 
 The French are coming ! Our deliverance is at hand ! " 
 Her words had provoked him into unpardonable vehemence 
 of language. 
 
 He hardly dared say it, but she had actually made -a 
 French flag, with the intention of displaying it as soon as 
 the enemy should arrive, an event of which she had felt 
 perfectly assured. He never thought that his wife had politi- 
 cal opinions of any kind, because mere abuse of Prussia 
 does not argue the presence of political convictions. He had 
 carefully avoided affronting her feelings as a Czech ; for he 
 well knew how the Czechs resent the fact of their being 
 dependent on German culture. But he could never have 
 believed that her hatred of Germany could have carried her 
 
362 WALDFRIED. 
 
 so far as to allow her to connive at the correspondence with 
 France, which was carried on under cover of her address, 
 and with complete ignorance, on her part, of its origin. 
 
 The village clergyman had been to see her, and must have 
 given her strange information, for she now insisted on leav- 
 ing for Switzerland at once. 
 
 " God be praised ! " said I, " let her go." I told him that 
 her intended departure was already the topic of common 
 talk. 
 
 The Baron, however, feared that her course might be 
 fraught with evil consequences to the whole neighborhood, 
 as he thought that her fleeing to Switzerland might awaken a 
 panic. 
 
 To me, it seemed as if he were trying to justify his course 
 in allowing her to leave. I assured him that no one doubted 
 his patriotism, and he begged me not to divulge what he had 
 told me. 
 
 I succeeded in reassuring him, and he seemed to recover 
 from his depression. He felt that I fully sympathized with 
 him. And can anything be sadder than to find that one's 
 love of country is opposed and ridiculed in his own home ? 
 The antagonism which had so long been veiled under courte- 
 ous forms, now broke forth with redoubled venom and fury. 
 
 " Your hearty sympathy does me good," said the Baron ; 
 " and I feel like a changed being since I have unbosomed 
 myself to you just as if I had withdrawn my hand 'from a 
 bleeding wound, which can now flow freely." 
 
 I understood him. Grief which has been long repressed, 
 and at last finds vent in words, renews itself while the suf- 
 ferer speaks of it. 
 
 When I mentioned this to him, he took my hand and held 
 it in his for a long while. 
 
 "But we must not think of our own little lives/' he 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 363 
 
 added ; " great questions now claim us. If France should 
 fail of success, she is still France ; but if we meet with de- 
 feat, we shall become the prey of others." 
 
 I learned from him, for the first time, that the opposing 
 bishops had handed in a protest against the promulgation of 
 the doctrine of Papal infallibility, and that, as the measure 
 had been determined on, in spite of their protest, they had 
 left Rome. 
 
 When I told him of what had happened in the city omit- 
 ting, of course, all mention of my interviews with the Prince 
 his features assumed an expression of cheerfulness. 
 
 He was about to leave, when Martella entered, and 
 asked, " May I show it to the Baron ? " 
 
 Before I could answer her questipn, she took the letter of 
 pardon from her satchel and spread it out on the table, at 
 the same time saying that Rothfuss and Ikwarte were fool- 
 ish enough to think that it was of no account, because it 
 came from so petty a prince. 
 
 Baron Arven assured her that the paper would be of im- 
 mense importance, if Ernst could be found again. 
 
 " Now I shall not ask another person," joyfully exclaimed 
 Martella; " that seals it doubly and just see how nicely it 
 fits into my little satchel ! " 
 
 She replaced it in the satchel and rubbed her hands over 
 the embroidery, which represented a dog carrying a bird be- 
 tween his teeth. 
 
 The Baron rode off just as the letter-carrier arrived. He 
 brought me a letter from my sister-in-law, who lives in the 
 forest of Hagenau. She wrote to tell me that, on account 
 of the war, her daughter's marriage had been hastened, and 
 that, as there was danger that the incendiaries might come, 
 she had instructed her daughter to remain at Strasburg, to 
 which place she had sent all her stores of linen and other 
 
364 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 valuables. In case any of our ladies were alarmed, she 
 would be willing, she wrote, to place them under protection 
 at Strasburg. 
 
 About that time, we had sorrow in our house on account 
 of the death of old Balbina. She had been our faithful ser- 
 vant for thirty years. When we attempted to console her 
 by saying that she would recover from her illness, she would 
 answer, " Don't mind me ; I shall go to my good mistress, 
 and she will give me the best place." 
 
 It was not until after my wife's death that I learned how 
 much she had done for this servant, for then Balbina said to 
 me: 
 
 " I was very wicked, but she converted me ." 
 
 "Wicked ? why, what could you have done?" 
 
 " I committed a theft when I had only been in the house a 
 week. She caught me and spoke to me in private, saying : 
 ' Balbina, I dare not send you off ; for then you will steal 
 from others, just as you have done here. I must keep you 
 with us until you conquer this habit.' And it turned out just 
 as she said, for during the thirty years I've lived in this 
 house, my hands and lips have never touched a morsel that 
 was not mine." 
 
 Balbina died without receiving extreme unction. She re- 
 garded her confession to my wife as having fully absolved 
 her. 
 
 We never interfered with the religious opinions of our ser- 
 vants, but when the priest told Balbina that Protestants 
 would not go to heaven, she answered, " I don't want to 
 go to any other heaven but the one where my mistress is." 
 
 We were now on the high road towards political unity, 
 but was not the antagonism in religious matters greater than 
 ever before ? 
 
 Ludwig wrote to Conny, informing her that he would 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 365 
 
 soon return. She often told me that her father, had, until 
 his dying hour, cherished a love of the Fatherland, and that 
 no two men had ever had more beautiful and affectionate 
 relations with each other than Ludwig and her father. 
 
 Their projected journey to Italy was out of the question. 
 How could they now find pleasure in works of art ? Lud- 
 wig would not rest content until he could, in some way, be 
 of service to his country. 
 
 Suddenly, there was great commotion in the village and 
 cries of " The French are coming ! " were heard. 
 
 Lerz the baker had been driving along the valley-road at 
 full tilt, and had called out to the people who were working 
 in the fields, " Unhitch your horses ! the French are coming ! " 
 They took the animals from their wagons and ploughs and 
 hurried homeward. But it soon turned out that the news 
 was false. 
 
 I do not think that this was wanton spite on the part of 
 Lerz. He swore although his oath was of but little value 
 that a farmer from down the valley had told him that he 
 had seen the French. The rumor had indeed been spread 
 far and near, but no one could tell who had started it. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 WHAT could it have been that made me feel so proud 
 when my fellow-citizens elected me as their delegate ? 
 I was still full of self-love, for, when I searched in my own 
 heart, for the real cause, it lay in a self-complacent satisfac- 
 tion in the fact of my being the chosen representative of 
 many others. 
 
 All this was now changed. Now none were chosen, but 
 all were called. The whole people had become freed from 
 egotism, and no one was isolated. Of course the sacrifice 
 was not made without a pang. All thoughts were no longer 
 centred on one man, but were directed towards a great in- 
 visible object which was cherished by the whole people. 
 
 Sunbeams seemed to light up every tree and house, and 
 the whole world seemed to have undergone a change. 
 
 And how all felt drawn towards each other; they had 
 ceased to be strangers we could not have enemies in our 
 own land. 
 
 I met Funk and could not avoid shaking hands with him 
 and saying, " I admit that you thought you were acting for 
 the best, in all you have done." 
 
 "Thanks for your good opinion," answered . Funk, while 
 he barely returned the pressure of my hand. I made no 
 reply. I had followed my own convictions, and that is always 
 well, even though others do not approve of one's course. 
 
 I drove to town with Joseph, in order to attend the weekly 
 market. It had never been so numerously attended, for 
 every one that could manage to procure a vehicle, or get 
 away from home, hurried to town in order to learn what was 
 
WALDFRIED. 367 
 
 going on in the world. And, besides that, all wanted to as- 
 sure themselves whether it would be best to sell supplies to 
 the dealers at present prices, or, to wait for an advance, 
 and run the risk of being plundered by the French in the 
 meanwhile. 
 
 It was soon seen who believed that the Germans would 
 succeed, and who believed in the French. Schweitzer- 
 Schmalz, and a large number who followed his example, sold 
 their hay, their oats, and their bacon. 
 
 Joseph speedily became the centre of a large crowd. He 
 excels us all in knowing how to adapt himself to people of 
 every kind. His fine, large figure and cordial manner make 
 him a universal favorite, while his well-known riches are 
 not without weight. 
 
 The crowd were impatient, and complained that we had 
 not yet heard of any actual hostilities. He asked them : 
 
 " Have you never been in a saw-mill ? " 
 
 " Certainly we have." 
 
 " Well, how do they manage there? They set the wheel 
 and let the water run until the log is in the proper position ; 
 then they go ahead and saw it right through. Have a care. 
 The Prussian, or, as we had better say, the German, waits 
 until the log is in the proper position, and then he goes to 
 work with seven saws at once." 
 
 Joseph understood the feelings of the people, and felt 
 especial satisfaction that Schweitzer-Schmalz seemed quite 
 lonely and deserted in the midst of the crowd. He simply 
 smiled, when Schweitzer-Schmalz said, "This little fellow. 
 Joseph is all talkj like the Prussians." 
 
 Joseph and I called on Martha, for I had promised Julius 
 to visit his wife as soon as possible. 
 
 We found her and the rest of the family calm and resigned, 
 although the son and the son-in-law were in the field. 
 
368 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 For the first time since I had known him, the Privy Coun- 
 cillor revealed a sense of his noble birth. He dwelt on the 
 fact that, as a member of one of the oldest families in the 
 land, he belonged to the order of St. John, and that he and 
 JJaron Arven would soon enter on their duties as members. 
 He explained to me that it was an old order, but that a man 
 like myself might also become a member. I had never 
 thought of that before, but now it struck me forcibly. 
 
 The ladies requested me to accompany them to the court- 
 house, where the Sanitary Commission was to assemble. On 
 the steps, I met Remminger, the so-called "peace-lieuten- 
 ant." 
 
 He seemed quite agitated, and urgently requested me to 
 accompany him to the house of his father-in-law, where he 
 wanted me to act as umpire. He gave me no further infor- 
 mation, but said that I should find out all about it when we 
 arrived there. 
 
 I found the family in great distress. The lieutenant, who 
 had left the army on account of marrying the daughter of 
 Blank, the rich lumber-merchant, had become quite an adept 
 in his new calling, but had been even more devoted to the 
 pleasures of the chase. He had just announced his inten- 
 tion to enter the army again ; in justice to himself, he could 
 not remain a mere looker-on in the moment of danger. 
 
 Old Blank maintained that this was a breach of promise, 
 and I saw how the lieutenant clenched his fists when he 
 heard that expression ; but he controlled himself and calmly 
 explained the matter, stating, at the same time, that he asked 
 me to decide between them. 
 
 I knew all about Blank. He was one "of those men of 
 whom one can say nothing evil, and nothing good. All 
 that he asked of the world was to be left undisturbed while 
 attending to his business and adding to his wealth. He 
 
WALDFRIED. 369 
 
 was a zealous reader of the newspapers, at J would smoke 
 his good cigar while enjoying them. It suited him best when 
 there was lots of news. Others might act for the state, the 
 district, and even for the community, so that he might read 
 about what they had done. He could not realize that one who 
 belonged to his family could care to exert himself for the 
 general good. I saw this in every word that he uttered. I 
 allowed him to speak for some time without replying. 
 
 "And what is your opinion?" I said, addressing the 
 lieutenant's wife, who stood by the window, plucking dead 
 leaves from the plants that were placed there. 
 
 " Shall I call in our three children, so that you can ask 
 them ? " she answered, in a harsh voice. 
 
 " Little children have no opinions as yet ; but their pa- 
 rents ought to think for them." 
 
 I asked old Blank whether he would be satisfied with my 
 decision. 
 
 " Since you ask in that way, you are, of course, opposed 
 to me, and for that reason I say no." 
 
 I saw that I could be of no use, declared that I would not 
 attempt to decide, and left the family to settle their dispute 
 among themselves. 
 
 When I left there, I was the more pleased to meet the 
 Councillor Reckingen, who lived in the town, and who had 
 visited me shortly after Ernst's flight. He had conquered 
 his feeling of loneliness and grief at the shocking death of 
 his wife. He lived alone with his only daughter, and had 
 devoted all his time to her education. She was just budding 
 into womanhood. 
 
 This man, who had always seemed troubled and absent- 
 minded, now approached me with a cheerful smile, and said 
 that he had the good fortune to be again permitted to enter 
 on his calling; and that, as a result, his child, who had been 
 24 
 
370 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 so constantly with him that he had begun to be alarmed for 
 her future, would now be obliged to accustom herself to a 
 life of self-reliance and activity; for the wife of the Privy 
 Councillor had already expressed her willingness to have his 
 daughter stay with he* during the campaign. 
 
 We were standing b) the stream, where the water rushes 
 over the dam with a mighty roar, and he said : 
 
 " You are like me ; in great times all little troubles dis- 
 appear, just as the thundering of these falling waters drowns 
 all other sounds." 
 
 I passed a delightful hour with the Councillor in his lovely 
 garden, which was carefully and tastefully kept. He had 
 been very fortunate in cultivating roses, and I was obliged 
 to permit him to pluck a lovely one for me from every bush. 
 
 " She loved roses, and cared for them above all things," 
 were his words while he handed me the nosegay. 
 
 According to promise, Ludwig returned, bringing Ikwarte 
 with him. He had written to Conny and Wolfgang to come 
 to town. He told us that he had caused his name, and also 
 Wolfgang's and Ikwarte's, to be entered with the Sanitary 
 Corps. They wore the white band with the red cross on 
 their arms, and soon started in the direction of the Rhine to 
 join the main army. 
 
 Conny went home with me. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 WHEN we reached the saw-mill, a wood-cutter was 
 waiting for me, and told me that Rautenkron, the 
 forester, urgently requested that I would come to him at 
 the bone-mill which lay in the adjacent Ilgen valley. 
 
 The wood-cutter told me that one could hardly recognize 
 Rautenkron something horrible must have happened to him. 
 
 I found Rautenkron seated in the bone-miller's room. He 
 said to the miller, " Put enough bones into your kiln, old 
 Adam, so that you may keep away for an hour, and then go 
 and leave us by ourselves." 
 
 The miller left. 
 
 " Take a seat," he said, in a tone to which I was unused 
 in him ; his features and his manner seemed changed. 
 
 After a forced laugh, he thus began : "I have bought 
 my bones back from this man I had sold them to him for 
 a bottle of gentian ; and it used to amuse me to think how 
 my noble self would, at some fu-ture time, be converted into 
 grass and flowers on the hillside, and perhaps furnish food 
 for cattle. 
 
 "But, pardon me," he said, interrupting himself; "for- 
 give me, I beg of you ; I ought not to address you in that 
 tone. Forget this, and listen to me with patience. I will 
 confide my last will to you ; you have often provoked me, 
 but now I am glad that you are here. The thought of you 
 followed me in the woods, sat by me at my bedside, and has 
 deprived me of rest. I have always wanted to learn what 
 your weak side was, and now I have ^found it out 
 
372 WALDFRIED. 
 
 " My father was a worldly-wise man. He divided mankind 
 into two classes charlatans and weaklings. He maintained 
 that in all that is termed love, be it love of woman or love 
 of the people, there is a large portion of charlatanry, which 
 at first consciously, and afterward without our knowing it, 
 deceives both ourselves and others. You are not a charla- 
 tan but you are vain. 
 
 "Do not shake your head, for it is so. Of course, vanity 
 is not a vice ; but it is a weakness, for it shows dependence 
 on others. You offered your hand to Funk, because you 
 felt too weak to have an enemy running about in this world. 
 Since I have made that discovery and convinced myself on 
 that point, you no longer worry me. You too have your 
 share in the misery that belongs to the species of vermin 
 that terms itself man. It is out at last now I have noth- 
 ing more against you. Indeed, I cannot better prove this 
 than by the fact of my asking you to help me. Usually, I 
 have not required the assistance of others, but now I need 
 yours ; and I think that is enough to make you feel that you 
 must aid me." 
 
 I consented, but in my own mind I felt a dread of this 
 man, who, in . his bitter candor, seemed much more terrible 
 than when taciturn. 
 
 " I request, nay I demand " he continued " do not 
 interrupt me ; let me speak for myself. 
 
 " Do you know who I am ? For years, I have been called 
 by a strange name. You cannot imagine how pleasant it is 
 to be so constantly a masker, in the mummery known as 
 life. I shall not, at present, mention my true name, but you 
 may rest assured it is an old and a noble one, and related to 
 that of Johannisberg. 
 
 " My father he was indeed my father had become re- 
 duced, and he led a merry life, although 1 did not know 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 373 
 
 where the means came from. At a later day, I discovered 
 all. He purchased a captaincy for me. 'Purchased,' he 
 said, but it had really, so to say, been presented to him. He 
 had carried others' hides to market ; perhaps a couple of 
 human skins to be tanned. His master had many of these 
 tanners in the state vade mecums known as prisons. 
 
 " I was, as I have told you, a captain at Mayenfie, and 
 my father lived near there, at Wiesbaden. He was .known 
 as Hofrath. 
 
 " I do not know whether what people call con science ever 
 pricked him, but he was always merry and fond of good liv- 
 ing, and enjoyed it as much as the stupidest monk might do. 
 He would always say to me, * Conrad, life is a comedy ; he 
 who does not take it in that light, but looks upon it in a 
 serious manner, spoils his own game.' 
 
 " I thought I had much to tell you, but I have not. My 
 story is simply this : 
 
 " My father had a habit of asking me about my comrades, 
 what they were doing, what they were thinking of, and to 
 whom they wrote ; and I faithfully told him all I knew. You 
 may believe me ! I, too, was once open-hearted. But, one 
 day, two of my comrades were suddenly cashiered. Letters 
 of theirs had been found not found, but sought which, it 
 was said, contained treasonable expressions. All of us at 
 the garrison were beside ourselves with surprise, aid I sus- 
 pected nothing. 
 
 "Until the year 1848, our regiments had recruiting stations 
 where soldiers were enlisted and received a good bounty. 
 In a Gallician regiment which formed part of the garrison of 
 the fortress there were also Italian regiments in it a very 
 clever young Pole had been enlisted. He learned the drill, 
 was a good horseman, and his captain wished that he would 
 study German, in oider that he might become an officer; 
 
374 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 but he did not care to do so, and said that he could not 
 write. One day we learned that he had deserted. They 
 found a letter from him, although he had said that he could 
 not write. It was in choice French, thanked the captain 
 for his kind treatment, and added that" he had come and 
 gone by the command of others, high in station. For some 
 days th'ey spoke of the fact that the Russians were even 
 more successful than we as spies. For this man had evi- 
 dently joined us only in order to inform himself as to the 
 disposition of the Gallicians. It did not strike me at first, but 
 afterward I could not but notice the fact that they always 
 talked to me about spies. 
 
 " A young Prince joined our regiment. He became an in- 
 timate associate of mine, and seemed to take a special liking 
 to me. My father seemed much pleased with this, but gave 
 me less money than he had formerly done. I was obliged 
 to borrow from the young Prince and to ask favors at his 
 hands. Yes, the world is wise, if one only knew it at the 
 right time. I found it out too late. Is it not ingenious, and 
 does it not do all honor to the human intellect, to discover 
 that it is well to incur an obligation in order to acquire more 
 perfect confidence on the part of those to whom we owe a 
 debt ? Although the - lynx out there is ever so cunning, it 
 cannot do such work ; that is reserved for the image of God. 
 
 " One day my father said to me yes, my father ' Conrad, 
 (that is my baptismal name), ' you are now employed at the 
 officers' quarters ; the adjutant of the post cannot be 
 trusted ; be careful that you get hold of something that in- 
 volves him ; but let it be in writing. That aroused my sus- 
 picions that something was wrong. One day, a fellow-officer 
 said to me, * There is a spy in our regiment,' and all the 
 other comrades laughed. I challenged the one who had thus 
 spoken to me, and shot. him. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 375 
 
 " But I am anticipating I must first tell you of another 
 matter. I always had a great desire to be a forester. I often 
 begged my father to permit me to leave the army, but he 
 would not consent. And I would have been so glad to 
 marry and live quietly in the woods ; for I had a child, a 
 lovely, beautiful child. 
 
 " And then, on account f tne duel, I was imprisoned in 
 the citadel. No comrade visited me. 
 
 " When I left the prison, my child and the mother had van- 
 ished. She had received a letter, in my handwriting my 
 father knew how to imitate the writing of others in which 
 vas contained a considerable sum, to enable her to emigrate 
 and she had left. A companion of hers in the ballet, who 
 had been a suitor for her affection, and had, heretofore, been 
 rejected, had accompanied her. 
 
 " My papers had been confiscated, and I feel quite sure 
 that it was done at my father's instance, for he distrusted me, 
 and wished to get me out of harm's way. 
 
 " Among them there was also a memento of my beloved ; 
 it was a little narrow red ribbon tied in a knot and torn 
 off at both ends. She had given it to me in a happy moment, 
 and I had fastened it on a sheet of paper and had written 
 under it ' talisman.' 
 
 " All of my papers were returned to me, but not the ribbon. 
 My father had sent it in the letter to my beloved, and had, 
 moreover, written, in my name, * By this sign I request you 
 to obey the bearer of this in all that he may require of 
 you.' 
 
 " My father said to me : ' She whom you call your wife has 
 left by my orders.' Through a former friend of hers, I re- 
 ceived a letter in which she asked me whether I had caused 
 the child to be taken from her ; because it had suddenly 
 vanished about the time the vessel was leaving." 
 
376 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 " What ails you ? What alarms you ? " suddenly ex- 
 claimed Rautenkron. 
 
 I controlled myself and begged him to go on with hi? 
 story. 
 
 " I left my father and led an adventurous life. Pshaw ! I 
 have even been croupier at a gaming-table. And there I 
 heard that my father was dead. On the day before, I had 
 seen him staking rouleaus of gold he had not recognized 
 me. 
 
 " By chance I made the acquaintance of Baron Arven, and 
 through him I received the appointment of forester in his 
 woods, after having, as assistant-forester, learned my pro- 
 fession from Hartriegel. 
 
 " I bear a strange name, and shall die with it. But, be- 
 fore I die, I shall put my living bones to use. 
 
 " I could not make up my mind, but now something has 
 helped me to decide. The engineer whom you are employ- 
 ing down by the new mill which you are building is one of my 
 victims. I recognized him at once, although he has changed 
 greatly. I do not know whether he remembered me, but I 
 almost believe that he did. He looked at me carelessly and 
 then turned away. It is well that I have had a look at one 
 of my victims. That destroyed the last traces of indolence 
 and the desire to hide myself from the world. I must and 
 will live. The French are coming. They have made all 
 preparations to burn our woods. The little spectacled 
 forest Junker you know that I dislike him ; he still acts, the 
 proud and overbearing corps student, and, besides that, is 
 happily married, has a fine hearty wife and boys like young 
 wolves. I have always avoided him ; but I met him to-day 
 and he handed me the French newspaper, in which it is 
 joyfully proclaimed that our woods will soon be in flames. 
 When I read that, I fled. That was enough for me. I am 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 377 
 
 a good shot. If they wish me to, I can single out my man 
 among the enemy and bring him down at the first fire. The 
 little forest Junker has promised to look after my duties as 
 forester. He said that would be the same as helping in the 
 war, as he could not leave home. Let him make a virtue 
 of it if he chooses. My woods are in safe hands, and I can 
 
 go." 
 
 He now requested me to use my influence with my son- 
 in-law, the Colonel, and I faithfully promised that I would. 
 
 I asked him whether he had no memento of the mother 
 and the child. He said that he had none. 
 
 " And has the child, perhaps, a keepsake from you ? " 
 
 " I can remember none. But, yes ! When I saw it for 
 the last time, I brought it cakes in a satchel on which was 
 embroidery representing a dog holding a bird between his 
 teeth." 
 
 My hair stood on end. 
 
 "What was the name of your child ?" 
 
 " Conradine." 
 
 " Then all agrees Martella is your child." 
 
 And the man seized my arm as if he would break it, and 
 gave a cry like a felled ox. 
 
 After a while, he regained his self-control. We hurried to 
 the village. On the way, he told me that he would now 
 confess to me that he had had a letter from Ernst. He was 
 in Algiers ; had entered the army there and had become an 
 officer. He had told me nothing about it, because he had 
 thought it was of no use. Ernst had also given him mes- 
 sages for his betrothed : but he had always kept them to 
 himself. " Spare me all reproaches," he concluded ; " I am 
 punished bitterly enough. Oh, if they had only been 
 united ! How shall I utter the word ' child,' and how can I 
 listen to the word ' father ' ? " 
 
378 . WALDFRIED. 
 
 When, after leaving the saw-mill, we began to ascend the 
 'hill, he called out in a hoarse voice : " It was here, in this 
 spot, that she stepped down from the wagon in the twilight. 
 Here, by this very tree, I heard her voice. It was that of 
 her mother I could not believe it at the time. Here, by 
 this very tree." 
 
 Rothfuss came towards us. " Have you seen her is she 
 with you ? " 
 
 " Whom do you mean ? " 
 
 " She is gone off with Lerz the baker, who has become a 
 sutler. Oh, the damned hound ! " 
 
 "Who?" 
 
 " Martella is gone ! " 
 
 Rautenkron grasped a young tree by the roadside, and 
 broke it in two ; then he sank on his knees. We lifted him 
 up. 
 
 "It is right thus. So it should be," he said. " Here, on 
 this very spot do you remember ? I warned you when 
 your wife went to bring her home. Tell me, wise man, what 
 was that ? I heard something in her voice, and did not wish 
 to believe it. Turenne," he said, turning to his dog, " you 
 killed her dog. Be quiet ; I told you to do it." 
 
 He followed us to the house, but did not utter a word on 
 the way. 
 
 We went to her room. She had taken nothing with her 
 but the embroidered satchel, which, before that, had always 
 hung over the mirror; and also Ernst's prize cup. The 
 clothes that she had inherited from my wife she had carefully 
 arranged and placed to one side. 
 
 We asked Rothfuss how long it was since she had 
 disappeared. 
 
 They had been hunting for her ever since the morning of 
 
WALDFR1ED. 379 
 
 the day before, but in vain. No sign of where she had gone 
 could be found. 
 
 Rautenkron left the room and went out into the garden. 
 He sat there for a long while, holding his rifle between his 
 knees. I begged him to return to the house with me. He 
 was looking on the ground, and did not raise his head. I 
 asked him to give me his rifle. He looked up towards me, 
 and, with a strange smile, said : " Don't be alarmed ; I 
 am not such a fool as to shoot myself." 
 
 I walked away. A little while afterward, I heard a shot, 
 and hurried out again. Rautenkron sat there, holding his gun 
 with both hands, but his beautiful brown spaniel lay dead at 
 his feet. 
 
 When he saw me, he exclaimed : 
 
 " Now I am quite alone. I had intended to give Turenne 
 to you, but it is better thus. The beast might have been 
 stupid enough to long for me." 
 
 The sound of drums was heard from over the hills. The 
 Colonel arrived Avith his regiment, and all hurried out to 
 meet him. 
 
 And the Englishman stood at the brook, angling. 
 
BOOK FIFTH. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 'T^RUMPETS sounded, drums rolled, and songs from 
 -1- thousands of voices were heard in the valley and on 
 the hills. All was joyous commotion. Thus, singing, does a 
 nation take the field for its protection and salvation. 
 
 In the midst of anxiety for great things, for one's country, 
 we ought to be troubled by no mere personal cares. But 
 who can avoid them? The general sorrow is infinitely 
 divided, and every one must bear his share. 
 
 That my son-in-law, two grandchildren, and a faithful ser- 
 vant had gone to face the dangers of the battlefield, was a 
 sorrow like that which many thousands besides myself had to 
 bear. What a heavy burden is that borne by the lonely 
 widow down by the rock ! But the knowledge that one child 
 is already in the whirlpool of trouble, and is dragging 
 another after him that has been given to me alone. How 
 often it occurred to me at that time : had my wife but lived 
 to see the uprising of our Fatherland ! It was better thus. 
 She was spared the sight of our youngest son enrolled in 
 the enemy's ranks. That phrase from the Bible, which, when 
 thinking of her, I had so often consoled myself with, re- 
 mained true : " But for the elect those days shall be short- 
 ened." Why had Rautenkron, after keeping his story so 
 
WALDFRIED. 381 
 
 long to himself, now divulged it ? Had the secret become 
 too burdensome ? And why did he cast the load on me ? 
 Enough, I had to overcome it. 
 
 The presence of my son-in-law had given me new courage, 
 and I agreed with Rothfuss, who said, " When the Colonel 
 is about, every one is more erect in his movements. Yes, 
 he commands even when he says nothing." 
 
 I had never seen the Colonel thus. Such joviality beamed 
 from his face that a glance from him was strengthening and 
 reassuring. His only fear was that a premature peace might 
 be concluded with the insolent successor of the tyrant, be- 
 fore all was decided by battle ! 
 
 Our village and the entire neighborhood were in commo- 
 tion while the regiment was quartered there. They even 
 constructed a redoubt on Silvertop. 
 
 My son-in-law confided to me that the redoubt was per- 
 haps unnecessary, but that his men would lose their good 
 qualities if allowed to lounge about idly ; he also hoped that 
 the news of their doings would spread across the Rhine. 
 
 The peasants became refractory, arid appointed a deputa- 
 tion, and among them was their ruler, the meadow farmer. 
 They said that they had not forgotten how dreadfully the 
 French had behaved in 1796, on account of the building of 
 a fortification in the neighborhood. But the Colonel an- 
 nounced that whoever opposed any military ordinance, 
 would be brought before a court-martial and shot forthwith. 
 From that moment my son-in-law received the name of 
 " Colonel Forthwith." Several of the most notable farmers 
 from the neighboring valley, earnest, patriotic men, led by 
 the burgomaster of Kalkenbach, wanted me to help them to 
 an interview with the colonel. They complained that a 
 young lieutenant wanted to destroy the bridges over the 
 creek, and that he was about to cast burning rosin and tar- 
 
382 WALDFRIED. 
 
 barrels into the stream, without reflecting that he thereby 
 ran the risk of setting fire to the whole valley. 
 
 The Colonel countermanded this at once. He sent small 
 
 detachments hither and thither in all directions to build 
 
 , camp-fires on all the hills, leaving often only men enough 
 
 about them to keep up the fires, which were visible from 
 
 across the Rhine. 
 
 People were to be made to believe that a large army was 
 collected here, and he therefore notified all the towns and 
 villages lying far beyond our valley, of the fact that large 
 numbers of soldiers would be quartered there. On the 
 houses they would chalk the number of men and of horses 
 that were to be provided for. To judge by appearances, it 
 seemed as if hundreds of thousands were at hand. 
 
 The Colonel asked Rothfuss if he knew any French sym- 
 pathizers. He evidently wished that the French should get 
 the most alarming news from us. Rothfuss thought that 
 Funk would be his man ; but when my son-in-law consulted 
 me about Funk, I dissuaded him from employing such an 
 instrument. Rothfuss then brought us the news that a 
 journeyman baker from Alsace, who had worked for Lerz, 
 was prowling around and preparing to return home. 
 
 The Colonel got Rothfuss to carry the news to this jour- 
 neyman, that more than a hundred thousand men were en- 
 camped in the forest. The few pieces of artillery under his 
 command were constantly moved from place to place, so 
 that all were led to suppose that he had a large number of 
 guns. 
 
 The Colonel had orders, in case the enemy should advance 
 on us, to destroy the roads ; we supposed that Napoleon's 
 plan must be to separate North and South Germany by a 
 sudden invasion. This was no small matter : we were the 
 first who would have to resist the shock of the enemy's 
 
WALDFRIED. 383 
 
 advance, and, so far as I could learn, I felt that the main 
 forces of Germany could not furnish us with immediate pro- 
 tection. We would be sacrificed first, and afterwards would 
 be helped by an offensive movement from the Middle Rhine 
 region. 
 
 Rautenkron received, provisionally, the uniform of a 
 hospital steward ; for the Colonel was waiting for permission 
 to enroll him. I was present when he asked Rautenkron : 
 
 " Do you speak French well ? " 
 
 " Perfectly." 
 
 The Colonel whispered something to him ; but Rautenkron 
 with burning cheeks, cried : 
 
 " I can never do that ; never ! " 
 
 He then talked confidentially and excitedly to the Colonel ; 
 I believe he imparted to him his real. name. 
 
 The Colonel then ordered him, as he was so well ac- 
 quainted with the wooded heights, to attend to the further 
 extension of the camp-fires on their tops. 
 
 Conny carefully helped in attending to the wants of the 
 numerous garrison. The soldiers were treated in the best 
 manner by the villagers, all of whom were anxious to do 
 their share in the good work. 
 
 The old meadow farmer was the only one who did not 
 show himself. He, who was always either at his door or 
 window, and who stopped every passer-by to have a chat 
 which should drive dull care away, lay in his little back room 
 and declared that he was ill. 
 
 Carl's mother, on the contrary, did not stay in her house 
 for a minute. She would approach one group of soldiers 
 after another, and ask each man if he had a mother at home. 
 And then she would begin to talk of her Carl, how he was 
 in the lancers, and how they could hunt through every regi- 
 ment and not find a better or a handsomer fellow. The two 
 
334 WALDFRIED. 
 
 sons, who were working as carpenters, had estranged them, 
 selves from their mother. They lived down in the valley, 
 and did not even visit her on Sundays. They boasted in 
 the taverns that they could sing French songs. 
 
 While all this bustle was going on, I was constantly 
 searching for Martella. 
 
 Rothfuss was of opinion that she had escaped in male 
 attire ; for, wherever . he asked after Lerz, the baker, he 
 had quickly lost all traces of him, however, he was told of 
 a young man that had been in his company, and who would 
 never enter the room with him. 
 
 The Colonel had, of course, no time to sympathize with 
 ray concern about Martella, and once when I spoke of her 
 he said : 
 
 " We should be glad to be thus rid of her. Such a creat- 
 ure does not, after all, belong in our family. You and 
 mother have very likely been wasting all your kindness on 
 a-n unworthy person." 
 
 I did not agree with him. Yes, now at last I could un- 
 derstand many things in Martella' s disposition that had here- 
 tofore been mysteries to me. But I dared not talk about 
 them, and the time to mourn for a single grief had not 
 arrived. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 ON the evening of the last day of July, the Colonel 
 returned, heated from the effects of a long ride. A 
 sharpshooter brought in a despatch. He opened it, and 
 forthwith sent his adjutant off; then he asked me to have 
 a good bottle of wine brought up* and to sit down beside 
 him. He confided to me that his detachment was getting 
 ready to march, that he would move off by daylight, and that 
 he would leave but a few men behind to attend to the camp- 
 fires. I became much moved on Bertha's account, and 
 asked the Colonel whether he had any wishes which he 
 desired to have attended to. 
 
 " No," answered he, " my will is in the hands of Herr 
 Offenheimer, the lawyer. But the time is come for me to 
 speak to you, dear father, of myself. Perhaps we shall 
 never be together again. I do not wish to leave the world 
 and not be really understood by you." 
 
 And so, leaning back in the large chair, he began in his 
 peculiarly sonorous, firm voice : " I do not like to speak of 
 myself. I have learned to move through life with closed 
 lips. You are my father, and were my comrade in a bold 
 and hazardous undertaking. I am your pupil, although you 
 have shown great discretion in keeping everything from me 
 which might interfere with the profession I was to follow. 
 Without your knowing it, I developed at an early age. When 
 crossing the prison yard as a boy, I often saw the brother of 
 Bertha's mother leaning against the iron bars; The picture 
 of this refined man, with his delicate features, his large eye, 
 his white brow, and light beard, haunted me in my dreams. 
 25 
 
386 WALDFRIED. 
 
 Do criminals look like that ? I do not know whether my 
 childish heart put that question, but I believe it did. I stood 
 on the balcony as they carried his body away. I saw it 
 placed on the wagon. At that moment a feeling awoke in 
 me that there are other and higher objects in this world than 
 princes, discipline, parole, epaulettes, and orders. 
 
 "On that same day, I heard, for the first time, the words, 
 German unity. It became a sort of secret watchword for 
 me ; of that I am sure. % My father spoke of the noble en- 
 thusiast; the post-adjutant called him a demagogue. I 
 looked the word up in my Greek dictionary. 
 
 " I entered the military school. I learned about the Greek 
 and Roman heroes ; I heard of Socrates, and always pict- 
 ured him to myself like the pale man behind the prison 
 bars. I soon became reserved, and kept my thoughts to 
 myself; outwardly I was obedient and punctilious. My 
 father became commandant of the capital ; as ensign, I was 
 appointed as page to our Prince. I was present at the 
 great festivities in honor of the sons of Louis Philippe, who 
 were visiting our Court. I heard some one in the crowd 
 say they were only princes of the revolution. I studied 
 modern history in secret. The Opposition in our Parlia- 
 ment was also often discussed. I heard some names men- 
 tioned with derision and hate yes, with scorn. These men 
 were pointed out to me in the street. I did not understand 
 how they could thus walk the streets, since they were in 
 opposition to our Prince. 
 
 ''The year 1848 came. The men that had been named 
 with scorn became ministers of state ; they were entitled 
 the saviours of the Fatherland. 
 
 "On that 6th of August, on which we did homage to the 
 regent Archduke John, I was as in a dream. The face of 
 that man behind the prison bars accompanied me every- 
 
IVALDFRIED. 
 
 337 
 
 where. That for which he suffered and died had it not 
 come ? What are we soldiers ? Are we nothing but the 
 body-guard of the Prince ? Against whom are we fighting ? 
 
 "Soldiering does not allow of much thinking. In the 
 spring of 1849 we took the field. The first order I gave 
 was directed against the revolutionary volunteers ; the first 
 man I killed looked wonderfully like him who had been be- 
 hind the bars. I tried to forget all this, and succeeded. 
 Then I met you and Bertha. 
 
 "What has happened since, you know; what went on 
 within me I will not bring to light. 
 
 " For a long time I have lived quietly, and have worked 
 industriously. I desired, above all things, to be a good 
 soldier ; to be well grounded in my profession. 
 
 " I had asked for leave of absence to fight the Circas- 
 sians; I wanted to see real war. Leave was not granted me, 
 but I was appointed as teacher in the school for non-com- 
 missioned officers. I studied many things there, and worked 
 earnestly with my friend, Professor Rolunt. 
 
 " In 1859 I felt our alienation most bitterly. We were not 
 allowed to join in the Schiller festival. What would our 
 civilization be without our poets? Whole dynasties of 
 princes can be wiped away, and no one misses them ; but 
 just think of Schiller's name and works being obliterated ! 
 And why should we soldiers not join in the festivities? Has 
 he not elevated our Fatherland and all of us ? But he who 
 would have dared to give utterance to such thoughts at that 
 time would have been cashiered. 
 
 " In the year 1866, 1 had the good fortune to fight against a 
 foreign foe in Schleswig-Holstein, and while at the front was 
 promoted to a captaincy. I had a major who was, now that 
 I consider it, merely stupid, and who was, therefore, of most 
 revolting military orthodoxy. Had he not been of nobl/s 
 
388 WALDFRIED. 
 
 birth, he would scarcely have been made a woodcutter. As 
 it was, he barely managed to get himself advanced in grade. 
 As long as I was a lieutenant, it was easier to bear; but 
 when I was made a company commander, I was inwardly 
 rebellious and had to remain silent. Yes, you political gen- 
 tlemen complain of tyranny, but we suffer far more from it 
 than you do. Discipline is necessary, but to bear with such 
 blockheads who disgrace you, arid can do nothing but curse 
 and swear and this fellow did not even understand his duties 
 is harder than you think. 
 
 "The year 1866 came. No one, not even you, could see 
 what was going on within me. My misery began. What 
 are we ? Were we to have a different commander every 
 day? We were now I can utter the word praetorians, 
 nothing else ; and Prussia is quite right in altering our mili- 
 tary system. We must know who our chief is. " Up to now, 
 we merely fought as soldiers, and dared not ask what the 
 end would be. Everything was discipline ; we partook of 
 the Lord's Supper on account of discipline, and as an 
 example for the troops. 
 
 " When Annette's husband fell, I thought him lucky ; I had 
 a wife and child, and yet wished for death. That fratricidal 
 war was fortunately soon over. I can see now that it was 
 necessary for our preparation. My feelings always revolted 
 at the recollection of it, but now events are at hand which 
 will remove those memories. I shuddered when I learned 
 that monuments were being raised to those who had fallen 
 in 1866. Now I can see that they have died twice over for 
 their Fatherland; they had already sacrificed their hearts 
 while living. Our profession is now at last in entire sympa- 
 thy with the nation's wishes, and it is revolting that those 
 who call themselves 'liberals' refuse to acknowledge the 
 ' casus belli.'" 
 
WALDFRIED. '389 
 
 " Is -the Prince aware of the patriotic ideas which you 
 have kept to yourself for so long a time ? " I asked as the 
 Colonel paused. 
 
 " No ! at least I do not think so ! He merely knows that 
 I sometimes write for our Military Journal, and that I am a 
 good soldier. I never dreamt that I would be appointed 
 Minister of War. And on that night I knew that we were 
 simply to act as a reserve, and to be a sort of target for the 
 enemy's bullets. You must surely have been of the same 
 opinion." 
 
 I could not boast of having been so wise. 
 
 But the time had not come to think of the past. The 
 Colonel gave me a copy of his will, which I was to deposit 
 with the recorder. He did this calmly, without showing the 
 slightest emotion. A few hours later we went to bed. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE reveille was sounded. The soldiers marched off, 
 and nearly the whole town, young and old, followed 
 them on their way. When I saw these merry men, and 
 thought in how short a time so many of them would lie 
 down in death, I became oppressed with the thought that I 
 had raised my voice for war. But this feeling soon passed 
 away. We are acting in self-defence, and this will bring 
 about a happy ending, for we shall no longer have to live in 
 dread of the insolence and presumption of our neighbors. 
 
 The soldiers sang as they marched along, and up by the 
 newspaper-tree sat Carl's mother, looking at them passing 
 by. Marie stood at her side, but the old woman motioned 
 her away, and when I asked her to return home with us, she 
 said : 
 
 " I have seen the thousands and thousands of mothers, 
 who bore them all in pain, and have cared for and raised 
 them, floating in the air over their heads. O my Carl ! 
 Have you heard nothing of him yet ? " 
 
 We found it difficult to get her back to the village. Marie 
 walked along at her side, and said : 
 
 " Do you know what I should like to be ? " 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " Do you hear the hawk that is circling in the air over the 
 hill-top ? Alas, you cannot hear him, but you can see him. 
 Like him, I should wish to fly, and I would fly to Charles 
 and back again, and tell you everything." 
 
 The village and the country round about had been in an 
 uproar; but now that the troops had left, everything was 
 
WALDFRIED. 29 1 
 
 wonderfully quiet. Rothfuss was right ; for if we had not 
 seen the occasional remains of a camp-fire, we would not 
 have known that the soldiers had been there. The old 
 meadow farmer, who had been pensioned off by his son, and 
 whom the departure of the troops had aroused, sat at his 
 door, and seemed to enjoy watching the little pigs that were 
 disporting themselves in the gutter. 
 
 A little coach stood before him, in which lay a child that 
 he had to feed with milk ; for his son wanted to get all he 
 could from his father. He thought of nothing but the in- 
 crease of his property, and acted meanly towards his father. 
 He made him presents of the cheapest kind of tobacco, so 
 that he should not buy an expensive sort ; but the old man 
 saw through the trick, and gave the tobacco money away, so 
 that his son should not inherit it. 
 
 I gladly avoided all intercourse with these people. 
 
 As I approached the house, the old man beckoned to me to 
 come to him, and, like a child, told me of his latest pleasure. 
 
 " I kept them locked up in my room as long as the soldiers 
 were here. Soldiers have a great liking for such tender 
 morsels. I used to be so myself." 
 
 I knew, of course, that he was talking about his pigs, and 
 he added as a sort of consolation : 
 
 "Yes, yes, Mr. Ex-Burgomaster" he gave me my title 
 "yes, yes, you are also retired at last, and squat by the 
 stove. Yes, yes, we are old fellows and must stick at home, 
 while the young ones are out yonder, fighting the enemy." 
 
 The old man kept on steadily smoking his pipe, and 
 talked of war times, and particularly of the Russian cam- 
 paign, of which he was a survivor. But on this day I could 
 not listen to him, and while walking home I began thinking, 
 am I really fit for nothing but to observe from afar the great 
 deeds that are now being wrought ? 
 
392 
 
 WALDFRJED. 
 
 Just as I was turning away from the old man,. his son, the 
 meadow farmer, came along with a large load of hay, and 
 said in a mocking manner, "The French let us gather our 
 hay; our houses will burn so much the better when they 
 come to set them on fire." Then he added with malicious 
 pleasure, " Your house is insured, but there is no insurance 
 on your woods." Here he laughed aloud. When troubles 
 are on us, a man's true nature shows itself. 
 
 After telling me his fears, he repeated them more fully to 
 Rothfuss. The latter shifted his pipe from one side of his 
 mouth to the other, and asked, " What would you give not 
 to suffer any damage ? " 
 
 " How ? what do you mean ? 
 
 "They won't hurt my house; my father has the cross 
 of St. Helena. And I have no cash. I can swear that I 
 haven't a farthing in the house." 
 
 He spoke the truth, for he had buried his money. 
 
 " You need no money ; it's something else. Do you 
 know the story of the dragon of Rockesberg ? " 
 
 " What do you want ? What do you mean ? " 
 
 " Why, to quiet the dragon, they had to sacrifice a 
 maiden." 
 
 " Those are old tales. Don't try to make a fool of me. 
 If you want a fool, whittle one for yourself." 
 
 " Stay ! I know how you can buy yourself free. You 
 needn't deliver your daughter Marie to the dragon. Will 
 you promise to give her to Carl in case everything should 
 turn out well ? " 
 
 " Ho ! he'll never come back." 
 
 " But in case he should ?" 
 
 " Weil do you think that will be of any use ? " 
 
 " Certainly. Such a promise will save you." 
 
 " You ought to be ashamed of yourself for being so super- 
 
WALDFRIED. 393 
 
 stitious. You are a fool," said the meadow farmer, and went 
 off. 
 
 The exciting events of the last few days had so entirely 
 exhausted me that I could not keep my eyes open in the 
 day-time, if I sat down ; and I was so tired. I still refused 
 to believe that I was growing old. But I was strongly re- 
 minded of it, for I feared to die. Formerly, since I stood 
 alone, I thought death an easy matter ; now I wanted to live 
 long enough to be laid in the soil of a united Fatherland. 
 
 I was much refreshed by the arrival of Julius's wife. When 
 I awoke from my afternoon nap and saw her standing 
 before me, it seemed as if it were my wife in her youth. 
 She had a most charming presence, and the resignation with 
 which she bore her separation from husband and brother 
 gave great impressiveness to her manner. Every movement 
 of hers had a quiet grace. She lived in entire harmony with 
 my daughter-in-law Conny ; and these two children, who had 
 now become mine, petted and caressed me with such kind- 
 ness and consideration, and listened so attentively to all I 
 said, that I could speak to them of things which I usually 
 kept to myself. Martha was an adept in making remarkably 
 beautiful bouquets out of grasses and wild flowers, and when 
 I entered the room in the morning, I always found a fresh 
 nosegay on the table. She was such a pleasant table com- 
 panion that the dishes tasted twice as good, and I soon re- 
 gained my strength. 
 
 Marie often came to visit me. Martha felt very kindly 
 towards the girl ; besides, there was a bond of union between 
 them, for each had her greatest treasure in the field. 
 
 Marie had hitherto confided in no one in the village ; for 
 it would be contrary to the peasant's standard of honor to 
 tell any one how she loved, and what her father made her 
 suffer. Her grandfather strengthened her in her love, and 
 
394 WALDFRIED. 
 
 when I said that the old fellow did it merely to hurt his son's 
 feelings, Martha declared I was wronging him. 
 
 Martha, like my wife, embellished what she looked upon. 
 The light of her eyes made all things radiant with light, and 
 as a happy young wife she was particularly inclined to favor 
 and give consolation in an unhappy love affair. Forgetting 
 all her own troubles, she gave me a lively account of the 
 patience and energy with which Marie worked, while her 
 father would go about the house, scolding and cursing, be- 
 cause he now was forced to do things which his servants had 
 formerly attended to. Yesterday, while she was engaged in 
 stacking some green clover, the father called out in the 
 direction of the shed behind the cattle-rack. "To whom 
 are you talking there ? " 
 
 " To him." 
 
 " To whom ? " 
 
 Marie shoved the clover aside, and said, "Father, look 
 at me ! Can you not see that it is written here that Carl 
 loves me ? There is not a spot in my face that he has not 
 kissed. See here, father, look at this half-ducat. We 
 chopped one in two; Charles has the other half. There!" 
 
 Then she piled the clover up again so that her father 
 should not see her. He kept on cursing and swearing. 
 She was glad, however, that she had spoken out at last. 
 Still, Marie was greatly embarrassed. The little circle in 
 which she moved was her world, and she could not bear be- 
 ing talked about by the world, for preferring the son of the 
 poorest cottager to the son of the rich miller. 
 
 On the other hand, she took great pleasure in hearing 
 Carl discussed. He had always said, " I don't like it that 
 Marie is so rich. I don't need much. If I have enough to 
 eat and drink and! my clothes, I am satisfied ; and if I have 
 any children, they shall be like me in this respect. 1 do not 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 395 
 
 care to be like the great farmers, and have money in the 
 funds. I do not find that they are happier, more jovial, and 
 healthier than their servants." 
 
 The schoolmaster also spoke of Carl : " He was my best 
 pupil, and learnt the most ; and when, as a soldier, he re- 
 ceived his first furlough, he came to visit me first of all. He 
 waited before the door until the school was dismissed, when 
 he accompanied me home and thanked me. Yes, he will 
 succeed in life." 
 
 In short, Carl has the qualities which we wish the people 
 to possess : he is bright, clever, and active ; is not dissatis- 
 fied with his lot, and is modest and frugal. 
 
 Martha did not merely place the flowers from the meadow 
 before me, she also brought blossoms from the kind hearts 
 of our villagers ; for, as beautiful flowers grow among nettles, 
 so can genuine feeling be found coupled with rudeness. 
 We had to return to our quiet life, for, in spite of our heavy 
 thoughts which were far away, the present demanded our 
 attention. 
 
 In irrigating our meadows, we were frequently forced 
 to protect ourselves against the tricks of the meadow 
 farmer. The traps are set in the evening, and at night or 
 early in the morning they are drawn up ; for the meadows 
 need cool water, that which the sun has warmed being 
 injurious. 
 
 As the meadow farmer did not sleep well, he used to go 
 out to the ditch and turn our water into his meadows. 
 
 Rothfuss found this out, and I caught the meadow farmer 
 stealing the water. He feared the French, and yet he tried 
 to rob his neighbors. 
 
 Martha, when she heard of this, thought that his love for 
 his meadows might excuse this wickedness ; but my daughter- 
 in-law reproved her with a severity which I had never observed 
 
396 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 before. She looked upon such trespassing as being a most 
 serious matter ; for the growth of all that belongs to us out 
 of doors depends on public confidence. 
 
 Alas ! how we cared for such little matters, while such 
 great affairs were being settled yonder. The French might 
 come upon us at any moment. But it is always thus. You 
 stoop to pick a strawberry, and do not notice the mountain 
 range. Why, as I was walking through the woods I was 
 delighted at the prospect of a good crop of huckleberries. 
 This is of importance to the poor people ; for the produc- 
 tions which those who are better off do not care to cultivate, 
 furnish food for the poor. 
 
 On the evening of the ist of August, I was again on top 
 of the Hochspitz Mountain, where Wolfgang had been with 
 me the last time. The whole valley of the Rhine was 
 bathed in the glow of the setting sun, which filled the air 
 like a golden stream, and beyond lay the blue Vosges 
 Mountains. 
 
 What is going on there ? Will the French soon be here, 
 killing and burning as they go ? 
 
 To protect the pine-tree seeds against the birds, Wolfgang 
 had placed brushwood over the spot on which he had sowed 
 them. This had already become dry, and the leaves, there- 
 fore, covered the ground from which the young plants were 
 starting. 
 
 On my way home I could hear the murmur of the brook 
 below ; and everything was so still, that I could even heai 
 the noise made by the fountain in front of my house. 
 Sometimes the shrill sound of the saw-mill would be carried 
 up to me by the breeze. The grain-fields were in bloom ; a 
 nourishing haze lay upon them ; the forest-trees were 
 silently growing ; the sun shone so clear by day ; the moon 
 was so bright by night. We seemed to be separated 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 from that world in which a dreadful slaughter was just be- 
 ginning. 
 
 The next morning I looked from out my quiet home, 
 into the far distance. It had rained during the night. 
 Everything was cooled off, the sun shone brightly, and the 
 air from the fields was most refreshing. We had brought in 
 our hay the day before, and the thunder-storm during the 
 night had nourished the meadows. It seemed as if the 
 myriads of refreshed plants joyfully gave token of new 
 vigor. I said to myself: Thus may it be with our country 
 and our people ; perhaps, while you slept, a dreadful storm 
 and, let us hope, a beneficent one may have passed over us. 
 
 Just then Joseph brought the news: "Fighting has begun. 
 We have been beaten at Saarbriicken." 
 
 " None of our people are there : only Prussians are 
 there," cried Rothfuss. 
 
 Joseph saw how angry these words made me, and, to turn 
 away my wrath, he begun to tell about Funk, who was down 
 in the tavern boasting of his knowledge of French, and say- 
 ing that he would get along with the Frenchmen. He also 
 had several little books for sale, from which the ordinary 
 French phrases could be learnt. 
 
 Funk went about in jack-boots, carrying on a heavy busi- 
 ness in grain, butter, and bacon with the army. Schweitzer- 
 Schmalz had advanced him money for the purpose. He 
 boasted of his generosity in putting the poor fellow on his 
 feet, but at the same time had wisely bargained for the lion's 
 share of the profits. 
 
 An hour afterwards, the wife of the councillor sent word 
 that the news of our defeat was false. 
 
 That afternoon a message came from Hartriegel, inform- 
 ing us that, from the top of a hill in his neighborhood, a 
 great movement of the opposing armies could be seen. I 
 
398 WALDFRIED. 
 
 hurried up there with Joseph, Martha, and Conny. The 
 engineer, who had been engaged at a neighboring stone- 
 quarry while the troops had been stationed about us, reap- 
 peared and accompanied us. 
 
 We stood on the top of the tower of the ruined castle 
 and gazed over into Alsace, where we could see the move 
 ments of the battle. 
 
 It was going on near Weissenburg, the region which was so 
 familiar to me. Looking on thus from a distance, with fear 
 and trembling as we saw the sudden flashes, the clouds of 
 smoke, the burning villages, and hearing, occasionally, the 
 sound of the guns which the echo from the hills brought us 
 all this oppressed me so much that Martha persuaded me 
 to take some wine. It went hard with me to do so, for I 
 first had to drown the thought of the many men yonder who 
 might be restored to life if we could but wet their lips. 
 
 Martha prayed; I could only think of the new epoch 
 that was just beginning. Happiness and victory must be the 
 share of those who desire their own good and that of others. 
 One great step was already gained, for the war had been 
 carried into the enemy's country. 
 
 We did not return before nightfall. Joseph drove to 
 town to bring the latest news. The morrow came, so calm 
 and clear. What has been the result ? 
 
 At noon a shot was fired down at the saw-mill ; this was 
 the signal that Joseph was to give in case we had triumphed. 
 He came and brought the news of the glorious victory at 
 Worth. 
 
 " We have beaten the French on their own ground," he 
 cried; " it was their own ground, but it must be ours again. 
 Our boys were there," he added, after a pause. " Father I 
 sisters ! let us be prepared for everything." 
 
 Our resolve was a timely one. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MARTHA, who had hitherto shown such self-posses- 
 sion, was now seized with the greatest anxiety. She 
 changed color constantly. She tried in vain to control her 
 feelings, but at last her anxiety as well as mine became so 
 great that we drove to the city. The crops were being al- 
 ready gathered from such fields as lay facing the south; 
 nearly all the reapers were women. 
 
 While driving up the hill towards the court-house, I saw 
 Edward Levi, the iron merchant, turn about suddenly as he 
 caught sight of us and go towards his house. That was not 
 the way he usually received us ; so at once I feared that there 
 was some bad news awaiting us, and that he did not wish to 
 be the first one to tell it to us. 
 
 We halted before the court-house, but no one came to the 
 windows ; no one came to meet us. We went upstairs into 
 the hall. The councillor's wife stood by the round table in 
 the centre. She kept her hand on the table for a moment ; 
 then advancing towards Martha, and taking her hand, she said, 
 " I awaited you here ; I did not wish to cause you any emo- 
 tion on the stairs, much less in the street. Your brother 
 dear Martha your brother died an heroic death." 
 
 She said this with a firm voice ; but when she had finished, 
 she sobbed aloud and embraced Martha. The latter sank 
 down beside her. We raised her ; her faintness was of short 
 duration, and her mother whispered, " Don't be alarmed ! 
 the shock will not harm her." 
 
 " My brother ! " cried Martha, " I shall never see you 
 
WALD FRIED. 
 
 more ; never call you brother again. Pardon me, mother, 
 I distress you instead of helping you. Where is father ? " 
 
 " He is gone to the battle-field with Baron Arven. He 
 has telegraphed that he is bringing the body with him. Lud- 
 wig, Wolfgang, and that sturdy Ikwarte are of the greatest 
 assistance to him." 
 
 " Where is my sister ? " 
 
 " She is at work in the town-hall. That is the best, the 
 only thing to do to care for others while you are bowed 
 down with grief. As soon as you are restored, we will go 
 to work together. Only do not idly mourn now ! I have 
 had your brother's room put in order ; we will take charge 
 of soine wounded man and nurse him." 
 
 Martha looked wonderingly at her mother. How was 
 such self-control possible ! That is the blessing which long 
 and careful culture brings, while it, at the same time, 
 strengthens the moral sense. Her mother was dressed with 
 care ; she looked as she did in more peaceful days, and dis- 
 played no emotion, deeply as her heart was torn by the loss 
 of her dearly beloved son. She told me that a messenger 
 had come after bandages and to get help for the battle-field, 
 and that her husband had sent word by him that the young 
 lieutenant had been the first officer that had fallen. He 
 had not been rash, but had moved forward at the head of 
 his men with steadfast courage, had broken the ranks of the 
 enemy, and, while crying, " The day is ours ! the day is 
 ours ! " he had fallen with a bullet in his heart. 
 
 Martha was now restored, and a half hour after our arri- 
 val we were on our way to the town-hall. Her sister, who 
 was engaged in cutting out garments, came towards us, gave 
 Martha her hand, and repressed the rising tears. She spoke 
 softly to Martha : she evidently begged her not to give vent 
 
WALD FRIED. 40 r 
 
 to her grief before those who were present. Martha accom- 
 panied her quietly to the table, and helped to spread out 
 the linen. 
 
 The daughter of Councillor Reckingen, who was just 
 budding into womanhood, and who had hitherto been a 
 stubborn, proud girl, lording it over every one, sat among 
 the workers and was in 'entire harmony with them, while her 
 father had cast aside his grief and joined his comrades in the 
 field. She \vas placed specially in Christiane's charge. 
 
 The children, who were making lint in the basement, were 
 singing the song of " The Good Comrade " in the hall up- 
 stairs everything was still. Orders were given quietly, and 
 the women and maidens passed silently to and fro. It 
 seemed as if some one was lying dead in the adjoining room ; 
 but, above all this affliction and sorrow, there was a spirit 
 which had never before shown itself among those present. 
 All class distinctions had ceased, for all were united in their 
 sympathy for their fellow-men. 
 
 Why does this spirit of friendship, this unanimity, appear 
 only in times of trouble and sorrow ; why not in every-day 
 life? 
 
 I felt sure that this union of hearts would remain with us 
 and beautify our lives, and this thought was strengthened by 
 the remark of the lady at whose side I sat, who said, " You 
 see, this activity is the salvation of many, as you can per- 
 ceive in your grand-daughter Christiane. She is untiring, 
 and the dissatisfied air her face used to wear is gone. We 
 are now all united. It will not last; but hereafter the 
 thought that there once was a time when the children of the 
 poorer and of the upper classes did not ask Who are you, 
 after all ? ' will greatly benefit us." 
 
 I stayed in the city. The next evening, just as it was 
 growing dark, the councillor arrived with his son's body. 
 26 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 The whole town, young and old, was collected at the railway 
 station. The children carried wreaths and flowers, the bells 
 were ringing, and thus was the body taken from the station 
 to the churchyard. After a hymn was sung, the clergy- 
 man delivered his address. What could he say ? He ex- 
 plained in few words that this was not an ordinary funeral, but 
 that we were now parts of one great whole, even in death. 
 
 The father, mother, and sisters cast the first clods of earth 
 on the young hero's coffin ; the grave was then filled in and 
 covered with flowers. 
 
 We had buried the first one who had died for the union 
 and independence of our Fatherland. I was staying with 
 the family which had thus lost its only son. They sat at 
 home in silence; indeed, what could be said? 
 
 The parson had added a text from the Bible, and had made 
 some earnest remarks thereon ; yet I thought, and am sure 
 that these stricken ones thought as I did, that all political 
 feeling is foreign to that holy book. Patient endurance here, 
 and the hope of better things beyond, suit a nation that is 
 kept in subjection, but not one that is gladly battling and 
 sacrificing itself for its existence. What an entirely different 
 comprehension the Greeks had of exertion carried to its ut- 
 most limit. I remembered how, while in prison, the speech 
 of Pericles, delivered at the funeral rites in Athens, had il- 
 lumined and elevated my soul ; and I could almost see the 
 words, for they seemed to have been hewn out of stone, 
 like a finely chiselled piece of sculpture. I found the book 
 in the house, and read the address to the parents and 
 children. I had to stop frequently, for sometimes the father 
 and sometimes the mother would exclaim : " That is intended 
 for us, for to-day." 
 
 " No enemy has ever seen our entire forces," says Pericles, 
 and so say we. 
 
WALDFRIED. 403 
 
 " Bold, daring, and calm consideration of what we under- 
 take, are united in us. He among us who does not concern 
 himself about matters of state, is not regarded as a peaceable, 
 but as a useless, man." Pericles shows that he possesses the 
 true religion when he cries : " You must constantly keep 
 before your eyes the powers of the state, and must love, 
 them. Seek for happiness in liberty, and for liberty in your 
 own courage." 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 *" A PRUSSIAN doesn't let go his grip from anything he 
 
 JL\. holds," said Ikwarte to the councillor, when the latter 
 called to him not to let a badly wounded man, who was be- 
 ing carefully carried by, drop. This was, in a certain sense, 
 a motto for us all. 
 
 Prussia has the Frenchman in her grip, and will not let 
 him go ; and our troops have gone bravely on. The blood 
 of the South and North German has been shed together. 
 Grief for the individual was assuaged by the thought of the 
 result which would be achieved. 
 
 The union of the German people is now indissoluble. 
 
 The councillor returned to the army. 
 
 I was greatly grieved that I could not also lend a hand, 
 and that I was forced to return home, there to watch and 
 wait. But the councillor assured me, and I dare say he was 
 right, that I would be unable to stand the sights of the 
 battle-field. On the first day, he himself, even before he 
 knew of his son's fate, had become so crushed and dazed 
 that he could hardly keep his feet. Now he no longer 
 thought of the. misery itself, but solely of the means of 
 remedying it. 
 
 Rontheim related, to our momentary amusement, how the 
 vicar had lost the trunk containing his robes of office, and how 
 he therefore had to perform his duties without his distinctive 
 dress : a circumstance which worked no harm, as he was of 
 great service at any rate. Martha took a quantity of goods 
 along, which she wanted either to finish up at home, or to 
 
WALDFRIED. 40 - 
 
 use as a means of instructing the children of our village. 
 We drove home. It seemed like a dream to me that the 
 saw-mill was running, that wagons loaded with wood met us, 
 and that people were at work in the fields. Everything goes 
 its ga^c, and yonder rages the battle. 
 
 At the newspaper-tree we met Carl's mother and Marie, 
 and she called out to me, " Do you see the flock of hungry 
 crows ! They are flying beyond the Rhine, to where the 
 boys who used to sing are lying dead and each of them had 
 a mother." 
 1 " Your Carl has written that he is safe and sound." 
 
 " Yes, yes, until to-morrow. Come ! We'll go home." 
 
 The two boundary posts were united by means of a black, 
 red, and gold flag, which had been wound around them. 
 Joseph, whom we met there, had done it. He was greatly 
 shocked- at the sight of Martha in mourning, although he had 
 already heard that her brother had fallen ; but all life was 
 now so uncertain, that he feared she might also be mourning 
 for Julius. She gave him a letter which her father had 
 brought from Julius. It was full of sadness, but at the same 
 time he wrote with pride of his dead brother-in-law, and ex- 
 pressed himself as being convinced that he would return 
 from the war uninjured. 
 
 The days passed by quietly. The school-master reported 
 that the children had become so inattentive 'that he did not 
 know what to do, for they would not study their lessons, and 
 talked of nothing but the war. He determined to let the 
 children read the newspapers aloud, and copy the reports 
 from the seat of war. 
 
 The game-keeper who reported to Joseph told us tr.at fewer 
 crimes were being committed than usual, although the tav- 
 erns were constantly full. There was a good deal of tres- 
 passing on the woods ; but that was none of his business. 
 
406 WALDFRIED. 
 
 Short and precise letters came from Carl, and he never 
 forgot to mention that he had enough to eat and drink, foi 
 he knew that such news would gladden his mother's heart. 
 
 Martha reported that Marie and Carl's mother had 
 stopped going to the newspaper-tree. Marie had learned, to 
 her astonishment, that you could buy your own newspapers, 
 and so she procured one daily. Living in constant dread of 
 her father, she subscribed for it in the name of the school- 
 master, and receiving it every evening, she undertook the 
 troublesome task of reading it aloud to the old woman at 
 night. The worst part of it was that the latter insisted on 
 having the lists of the dead and wounded read to her. She 
 did not know what she should do in case the awful news 
 were to come. 
 
 I live among peasants, and see a great deal of rudeness, as 
 well as good feeling ; but the greatest affection I ever saw 
 lay in the conduct of Marie towards Carl's mother. 
 
 The wagons of our district were ordered to Alsace, and 
 my wagon and team of bays had to go along. I wanted to 
 employ one of the workmen engaged in regulating the course 
 of the river to drive them, but Rothfuss insisted on taking 
 charge of the team himself, so I had to let him go. He was 
 in great spirits, and declared that he would return with the 
 wagon wreathed in flowers, and that Martella and Ernst 
 would sit in it. 
 
 Our house became still more quiet now, and when our 
 horses were gone, we felt as if we were cut off from the 
 world. 
 
 The nights were so calm and peaceful, the moon shone 
 so clear ; no leaf stirred, and even the brook ran dreamily 
 along. And yet, at this time, there were thousands attempt- 
 ing to kill each other. 
 
 Martha was often busy looking at the pages of an album 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 407 
 
 through a magnifying glass. This book contained a collec- 
 tion of mosses and ferns, which Julius had arranged for her. 
 Underneath each specimen was noted the place from which 
 it came and when it had been gathered; and there were 
 always added the words " for Martha." 
 
 We were in almost daily receipt of postal cards from 
 Julius, and with the same minuteness which he had shown in 
 the album, he gave us the day, hour, and place of writing. 
 Sometimes a sealed letter from him would also reach us. 
 Martha let me read them, and only once did she blushingly 
 cover a postscript with her hand. Conny called my atten- 
 tion to Martha ; what a touching and hallowed vision she 
 seemed to be, and how humbly and modestly she bore her 
 life's great secret ! 
 
 While I was examining the mosses, Martha told me, with 
 radiant face and sparkling eyes, how she had become 
 acquainted with Julius. She had danced with him at a 
 country ball, but they had seen no more of each other. 
 
 On the next morning, as she and her sister were walking 
 in the "Rockenthal" and were passing through the shrub- 
 bery, they suddenly came to a large pine-tree under which a 
 hunter was sleeping. His dog sat at his side, and they 
 motioned to him to remain quiet, while they both stood 
 there examining the man's youthful, browned features and 
 white brow. Martha summoned up her courage, seized his 
 hat and took out the feathers, replacing them with a bunch 
 of freshly gathered flowers. After this bold deed, the sisters 
 fled to the shrubbery ; but the dog barked, and the hunter 
 awoke. He stared about him, seized his gun and hat, 
 apparently puzzled to find the alteration that had been 
 made, and uttered an energetic oath. He just caught sight 
 of the two sisters in their light-blue summer dresses, as they 
 disappeared in the shrubbery. He called after them, and 
 
408 WALDFR1ED. 
 
 they ran, until Martha stumbled over the root of a tree and 
 fell. "Your voice is too good to swear with," said the sister 
 who had remained standing, and then the young hunter 
 pulled off his hat, and looked confused. Recovering him- 
 self immediately, he said, " It was not you, but your sister, 
 who played the robber. She has the feathers yet. I I 
 thank you for the exchange." Then, as Martha handed 
 him the feathers, and as he held his hat out towards her, he 
 succeeded in touching her hand with his lips. He escorted 
 the two girls through the woods, and starting with the joke 
 of having caught them trespassing, they ended by having a 
 merry talk. He soon begged Martha to sing, for he said 
 that he could see that she, like him, was in the humor of 
 singing. So these two began to sing their favorite songs, 
 which, strangely enough, were the same ; and when they 
 reached the road, both of the sisters stretched out their 
 hands to Julius. He held Martha's hand in his the longest, 
 and from that moment their fate was fixed, and became 
 more blissful every day. 
 
 He arranged the album while they were engaged. It was 
 filled with the fondest memories, and even I learned much 
 from it that was new to me. Each tree showed me new 
 forms of existence, and in a little while I was able to forget, 
 while contemplating these minute products of nature, the 
 great commotion that was raging so near us. A bird is 
 perched on the telegraph wire, while beneath it the most 
 stirring news is passing silently and invisibly. I often re- 
 garded the wires that were stretched in front of my woods. 
 Who knows the news that is flashing through them ? We 
 were soon to hear it. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 " T T thunders, booms, tumbles, and crashes ; the moun- 
 
 JL tains are falling, the world is coming to an end ! " 
 thus did Carl's mother cry out in the village street. She 
 refused to be comforted, and when she saw Martha in mourn- 
 ing, she began to shriek out : " Black ! black ! We shall all 
 be charred to death ! " 
 
 We succeeded at last in calming her, and then led her 
 home, while round about us a noise like thunder seemed to 
 come from the hills ; although not a cloud was visible in the 
 sky. 
 
 We knew that Strasburg was being bombarded. The fact 
 was, that the sound of the cannonade struck against the rock 
 behind the spinner's cottage, and rolled thence along the little 
 valleys between the hills. 
 
 This lone woman, who could scarcely hear a man's voice, 
 could distinctly perceive the roar of the artillery which 
 shook her cottage. 
 
 " My boy is there, my good, my brave son," she cried, 
 when she was told that Strasburg was being bombarded. 
 Then she broke out into a sort of chant : " In Strasburg is 
 the minster ; I was in service for five years in the Blauwol- 
 ken Street ; in Strasburg, in Strasburg, in Strasburg," it 
 sounded like a doleful song. We wanted to induce her to 
 come to us ; even Marie wanted to take charge of her ; but 
 she caught hold of her table, crying, "No, no ! I shall not 
 go from here until I am carried out." 
 
 That evening Joseph came for me, saying, that from the 
 top of the stone-wall, the shells could be seen Hying through 
 
4io 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 the air. We accompanied him to the spot, and could see 
 the shells rising, then falling and disappearing in little clonds 
 of smoke. The stone-cutter, who had seen service as a 
 soldier, pointed out to us the shells that exploded harmlessly 
 in the air, and those which spread destruction as they burst. 
 
 How is it with the people over there on whom this rain of 
 fire is falling ? What are they doing at home ? What do they 
 say, and think, and what consolation and support do they 
 bring each other? I imagined myself among them, living 
 with them. And my niece was there, too. She had 
 thought to find protection there, and now she was in the 
 greatest danger. And how must my sister, yonder in the 
 forest of Hagenau, be wringing her hands at these sounds 
 and sights ! And we are sending death and destruction 
 among those to whom we want to cry, " Come to us, stay 
 with us." The language the cannon speak is a dreadful one. 
 
 We had to return home at last. I was so confused and 
 shocked, that Joseph had to lead me. I could hear the guns 
 as I lay in bed ; but after a while sleep comes to you in 
 spite of noise and sorrow. 
 
 Marie told me the next morning that the spinner had 
 counted the shots by the hour during the night. When she had 
 reached one hundred, beyond which she could not count, she 
 buried her head in the pillow, crying, " I can count no. fur- 
 ther; I cannot ; it is enough ! " and had then fallen asleep. 
 Marie asked our aid, for the spinner had said that, when 
 daylight came, she would stand it no longer ; she would go 
 to her son. 
 
 However, when the next day came she had forgotten her 
 intention. She sat in her room, spinning, and whenever she 
 heard the sound of a gun, would merely open her mouth, 
 but say nothing. Not a word passed her lips for days. 
 
 Joseph wanted to visit the besiegers, but I asked him to 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 remain with us, as I wanted to have one of my men about 
 the house. 
 
 Every evening the young folks from the village would climb 
 to the top of the hill behind the little stone wall, and, with the 
 light-heartedness of youth, would enjoy themselves in spite 
 of the destruction that was going on before their very eyes. 
 
 My sister and her daughter surprised us. The former had 
 visited the camp ; had luckily found Julius, and through 
 him had obtained permission for her daughter to leave the 
 fortress. She had left all her property at the mercy of the 
 shells and of the plundering soldiers ; for the opinion of the 
 citizens was, that the German soldiers would sack the 
 city. As Germans, they had been regarded with aversion 
 by their neighbors and acquaintances. She left us soon 
 again, so as to be with her husband ; but her daughter, who 
 was greatly overcome, remained with us. 
 
 Martha and Conny nursed the young wife carefully ; and 
 Martha spoke French to her, so as to please her. 
 
 A large detachment of captured and wounded French and 
 Algerians came through our valley. The people from all the 
 villages flocked to the high-road to see them pass. I feared 
 that the people would show their irritation, and jeer these 
 unfortunates : but, as if by a tacit agreement, every one 
 kept aloof, and only words of sympathy were heard. It was 
 only when the fantastic, and sometimes terrible-looking 
 Africans appeared, that the dismay of the people showed it- 
 self, as they called out, " There they are, the men that were 
 going to burn our towns and forests, the cannibals ! " 
 
 Rothfuss, with my team of bays, was also in the proces- 
 sion. He halted a moment at the saw-mill near the bridge, 
 and gave a merry account of the kind of load he was carry- 
 ing. It consisted of wounded Turcos, and he laid great 
 stress on the fact that the French would have nothing in 
 
412 WALD FRIED. 
 
 common with these wicked apes. He had to keep on his 
 way. 
 
 Great excitement was caused in the village when it was 
 reported that Carl had returned. We all accompanied his 
 mother and Marie down the valley, where he had halted with 
 a squad of prisoners. Marie embraced him before us all, 
 and the prisoners smiled, and imitated the sound of their 
 smacking lips. 
 
 Carl had much to tell me, and could not find words to say 
 all he wanted to, particularly in praise of the Pomeranian 
 lancers. He said they were the right sort of fellows as 
 quiet and strong as the pine-trees ; and it was strange to 
 see, when they first saw the Rhine, about which so much had 
 been sung and said, how, in their enthusiasm, they wanted 
 to ride directly into the stream. 
 
 His mother and sweetheart accompanied him for some 
 distance on the road, and when they turned to come back 
 the old woman said, " Now I am satisfied ; now no one shall 
 hear me complain ; I am sure that nothing will happen to 
 him in this war." 
 
 We harvested our crops ; we placed the green bough on the 
 top of the new mill down in the valley ; we began to cut 
 wood in the forest ; yet still the thunder of the bombard- 
 ment of Strasburg continued. 
 
 The old meadow farmer lay at home very ill, and often 
 said, " I shall be buried like a soldier ; they will fire over 
 my grave." 
 
 We buried the old fellow on the morning of September 
 2d. He had given orders that his St. Helena medal should 
 be buried with him ; but his son did not see fit to let this be 
 done. He looked upon this so-called mark of distinction as 
 a means of preservation, in case the French should come 
 after all. 
 
I'/ALDFRIED. 
 
 413 
 
 While we were standing at the open grave, Joseph came 
 riding up the hill, his horse very much blown, and cried, 
 " Napoleon is a prisoner ! " We all hurried to the road where 
 Joseph, still on horseback, read the extra aloud. It was 
 the account of the capture of Napoleon at Sedan. 
 
 What strange coincidences occur in life ! We had just 
 buried the last man in our village who wore on his breast the 
 badge of the infamy of our alliance with Napoleon ; and now 
 we had his successor and heir a prisoner in our hands. 
 
 As if by a preconcerted signal, the young people of the 
 village struck up, " Die Wacht am Rhein." 
 
 Without awaiting the parson's permission very likely he 
 wouldn't have given it the church-bells were rung, and the 
 German flag was thrown to the breeze from the top of the 
 church spire. We returned home as if in a dream. 
 
 When my niece, the Alsacienne, heard the news, she 
 shook her head, and refused to be convinced of its truth. 
 
 She had been always accustomed to hear the lying de- 
 spatches of her countrymen. 
 
 After the Sedan campaign, we all thought that the war 
 was ended ; but the French people, in their overweening con- 
 fidence, still insisted on retaining the first place among na- 
 tions, and resented the idea of their giving up the German 
 provinces, of which in former days they had robbed us. 
 
 The war went on without ceasing. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 WE cannot be astonished anew every day at the phe- 
 nomena of existence : how the sun rises, how the 
 plants grow and bloom. We must accustom ourselves to 
 the homely changes that are being wrought ; to life and death 
 among us, to love and hate, to union and discord. 
 
 We ended by becoming accustomed to the fact that the 
 war was raging, and as surely as the sun rose we expected 
 news of another victory ; for that we should ever be beaten 
 seemed, to judge from what had happened, impossible. 
 
 The daily question was, " Has Strasburg surrendered 
 yet ? " 
 
 On the morning of the 2Qth of September, I attended the 
 weekly market to sell my grain. It was the crop of 1870. 
 
 Everything went on as usual ; there wa's the same chaffer- 
 ing, bargaining, and cheating, and occasionally the war was 
 discussed. 
 
 Suddenly I heard a noise of shouting and rejoicing, and 
 saw flags hung out of the windows. "Strasburg has fall- 
 en," was the cry. 
 
 People called to each other, " Strasburg has fallen at 
 last," as if some one who had been long lost had returned at 
 last. 
 
 Joseph brought the Alsacienne to town. We^made up a 
 store of food and clothing for her, and accompanied by 
 Christiane, who had been despatched to the afflicted' city by 
 the Aid Society, she returned to Alsace. Every one went 
 over to Strasburg, partly from curiosity, and partly out of pity. 
 I refused to go. 
 
WALDFRIJZD. 
 
 Then came letters from Alsace for Martha and me. 
 
 I did not know the handwriting of the one for me. It 
 turned out to be from Baron Arven. He wrote that he had 
 had frequent conferences with those high in office on the 
 importance of quieting the minds of the Alsatians, and of 
 coming to an understanding with them. Unfortunately they 
 had been forced to take sharp measures against those who 
 were un tractable and traitorous, and now they desired to 
 take such measures as would stop any further sacrifices. 
 There were other nurses required besides those who attended 
 the wounded, and he believed I would suit his purpose. 
 
 The following sentence in his letter pierced my heart like 
 a dagger: "Your family ties make it your duty to aid the 
 lost son to return to his father's house." 
 
 How ? Has Ernst been found, and is the preceding por- 
 tion of the letter simply written to prepare me for the 
 shock ? 
 
 I read on, and found I was mistaken. A troubled mind 
 interprets everything in its interest. Arven simply meant that 
 I should aid in the work of attaching Alsace to Germany ; 
 for he informed me that men of all classes, who were known 
 to have friends and relatives in Alsace, had been requested 
 to visit those sections of the country with which they were 
 acquainted, there to work in the interest of union. Those 
 who had been in opposition to the government were espec- 
 ially wanted, for the reason that their conduct would be re- 
 garded as being founded on a pure love for the Fatherland. 
 
 He asked me to visit the villages in the forest of Hag- 
 enau, with which I was acquainted through my relations, and 
 see what I could do towards furthering the good work. 
 
 I had to laugh when he added : "Your presence and your 
 white hair will do much, I think, to create confidence in 
 you." 
 
41 6 17ALDFRTED. 
 
 The Baron was in the confidence of the government. It 
 seemed, therefore, to be decided that we should take back 
 the provinces of which we had been robbed. Yes, I am 
 ready to do what I can. It is true, I doubted my capacity ; 
 but a love of the cause and encouraging hopefulness 
 strengthened me. Arven's letter gave me courage. He had 
 never praised me to my face, but he displayed the best feel- 
 ing in his letter. 
 
 "I am going to Alsace," said I. to Martha. 
 
 " Oh, that is splendid, and you can take me along." 
 
 She showed me a letter from Julius, in which he asked her 
 to visit him in Strasburg for a short time, until he should 
 march off again. 
 
 He wrote : " We will meet among saddening ruins, but 
 we shall remain erect, and while we help rebuild the great 
 fabric of the state, shall also strengthen our own life-fabric." 
 
 We journeyed to Strasburg. Julius met us in Kehl. 
 What a meeting between the young couple ! 
 
 " I have also seen Martella," Julius said. " I wanted her 
 to enter a hospital as nurse, but she has retained her old dis- 
 likes, and refuses to have anything to do with the sick. She 
 was engaged with a number of other women in distributing 
 supplies, but I don't know whether she is near here now. I 
 have been told that she lias gone to Lorraine with another 
 detachment of the supply commission. She parted from 
 Lcrz, the baker, after a few days. The Prince's letter of 
 pardon has passed her everywhere, and she is now with 
 Ikwarte and Wolfgang, who will protect her." 
 
 I shall not speak of the effect the appearance of the bom- 
 barded city produced on me. I had been in Strasburg 
 frequently, and knew many there who could not forget the 
 tics which bound them to Germany. Forty years ago I was 
 here with Buchmaier, and at that time this great broad fellow 
 
WALDFRIED. 4 j j 
 
 planted himself before the Cathedral, and called out, " 1 
 say, tumble down, or turn German." 
 
 Now it stood there, a German monument. It had been, 
 unfortunately, struck by our shot, but had been only slightly 
 injured ; and from far and near one could behold this edi- 
 fice, every stone and ornament of which is German. 
 
 Martha could look on nothing but the face of her Julius, 
 and on one other thing the iron cross on his breast. She 
 asked why he had not written about having received it ; and 
 Julius confessed that he had not done so because a promise 
 that was not yet binding, but which required him to arrive 
 at some conclusion, was connected with it. 
 
 He related that the commanding general, while fastening 
 the cross on his breast, had said, " You intend remaining 
 in the service ? " to which he had not answered, but believed 
 that he had nodded " yes," although he was not sure. 
 
 And now he wanted to learn from Martha's lips whether 
 he had nodded or shaken his head. 
 
 Martha looked at me and said, " What do you say, 
 grandfather ? " 
 
 I said, of course, that this could be decided on when the 
 war was over, and that meanwhile Julius could consider 
 himself a professional soldier. I thought him too tender- 
 hearted for a soldier, for he had said to me, " Grandfather ! 
 the worst feature about war, is not the fighting, but the for- 
 aging. It is heart-rending to force people to deliver up 
 everything, yet it must be done." 
 
 The thought that Julius would remain a soldier was pain- 
 ful to me, for I had cherished the hope that, at some time 
 or other, he would take charge of his patrimonial estate. I 
 could not agree with Lud wig's American ideas, that all 
 property should be personal. But what matters all that at 
 present ? 
 
 27 
 
41 3 WALDFRIED. 
 
 I hunted up Baron Arven. Although he had written such 
 hearty letters to me, I found that he had again become formal 
 and brusque. I had to learn that in war times small matters 
 can receive but little attention. 
 
 The Baron directed a servant to accompany me to the 
 provisional governor of the province. Although I had been 
 sent for, I found myself treated as if I were a suitor. I had 
 to accustom myself to the North-German manner, which re- 
 gards every sacrifice you may bring as a mere matter of 
 duty. 
 
 The governor remembered that Arven had spoken of me. 
 He begged me to take a look, for the present, at the part of 
 the country with which I was acquainted, and then to report 
 to him. 
 
 This interview sobered me. Was this the frame of mind in 
 which a part of our country was to be regained ? I decided 
 to visit my sister, and then to return home. That evening 
 Arven changed my resolution. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ARVEN lived in the hospital, and on my arrival there 
 I was welcomed by a tall, fine-looking woman in a 
 white cap and white apron. It was Annette, and I was 
 not a little astonished to meet her there ; but even she 
 had no time to spare, for she said she had to return to 
 her patients, and that Arven was waiting for me in his 
 room. 
 
 This was really the case. Arven gave me a hearty wel- 
 come, and said that he had given orders that he was not to 
 be disturbed excepting in case something of great importance 
 needed his attention, and that, for this evening, he would be 
 a thorough egotist. 
 
 When I told him how repellent the angularity and cold- 
 ness of the Prussians had appeared to me, he said that this 
 was just what he wanted to talk to me about. 
 
 He had been exceedingly provoked at their cold-blooded 
 manner. He had already determined to leave them ; but 
 after a while he had made up his mind that this sharpness, 
 bitterness, and decision were the forces that made them the 
 men they were. Obedience is with them a habit that can 
 be depended on. We South Germans are too soft and easy- 
 going, and we ought to breathe some of the salt-sea air that 
 blows across that northern country. This want of attention 
 towards others, this disregard of people's feelings, lay in the 
 fact that they had no consideration for themselves. The 
 French, who, whatever they do, want to be observed and 
 applauded, will be beaten by these men, whose whole power 
 
42O I'/ALDFRIED. 
 
 rests in their self-respect We used to think the Prussians 
 were braggarts ; bat now we found no trace of boastfulness, 
 and in spite of their constant victories, they took every pre- 
 caution as they advanced, and were prepared for defeat. 
 Yes, orders describing the manner of retreat were issued be- 
 fore every battle. 
 
 He could not cease praising them, and only stopped when 
 he added that he thought their self-esteem was a result of 
 Protestantism. The Baron stopped when he had said this, 
 and, after we had eaten and drunk to our hearts' content, he 
 said that, although he was a Catholic, he would never confess 
 to a priest again, but that he would confess to me ; and in 
 case he should not return from the war, he would have 
 the satisfaction of feeling that his inner life had been laid 
 before another, for an hour at least. 
 
 He confessed to me that his desire had been to die in this 
 campaign, and it was for this reason that he had exposed 
 himself so recklessly when collecting the wounded. It 
 seemed strange to him that people should praise his courage, 
 while he was engaged in seeking death. He thought it 
 would be the best thing for himself and his children, if the 
 great sorrows that had come upon them, and which might 
 come again, could be buried with him. 
 
 He then groaned aloud, saying, " I do not want to die 
 before their eyes." 
 
 I saw before me a life that had been most cruelly broken. 
 The Baron had once been in the Austrian army. He had 
 never expected to find himself at the head of his family, for 
 he belonged to the younger branch. 
 
 In Bohemia he made the acquaintance of a girl belonging 
 to a noble family, and was subdued by her. 
 
 Feodora was tall and majestic, of a warm, sensual nature, 
 but cold-hearted. Persuaded by his sister, he became en 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 421 
 
 gaged to her ; but felt that he would have to stand alone in 
 life, with her as his spouse. 
 
 On the day after his engagement, he suddenly awoke to a 
 horror of what he had done. He was visiting the large estate 
 of her father. He walked through the park, wrestling with 
 the resolve to drown himself in the pond ; but he did not do 
 so, because he considered it his duty to keep his plighted 
 word ; and besides, the hope arose in his breast that, at some 
 future time, a closer sympathy would be brought about. Her 
 beauty fettered him ; in short, the marriage was celebrated, 
 and he lived for thirty-one years married, but lonely. One 
 by one, his hopes had all been shattered. He had persuaded 
 himself that congeniality was not necessary to happi- 
 ness. 
 
 But after awhile he discovered what it was to be united 
 to some one, and at the same time to be alone. The sud- 
 den death of the last of the main line of his family placed 
 him at the head of the house. He resigned his position 
 in the army, and devoted himself to agriculture. He had 
 no control over his children scarcely any influence in fact, 
 but as his sons grew up, they espoused the cause of Ger- 
 many, and would have nothing to do with the conflict which 
 their mother and her ghostly advisers tried to stir up. 
 
 In the campaign of 1866, the Baron suffered unspeaka- 
 bly. He was homeless in his own house. But when the 
 present war began, and he discovered plots that he would 
 never have suspected, the conflict broke out openly. The 
 two sons joined the German army, and did not, or would not, 
 knOvv of what was going on at home. I dare not speak of 
 the bitterness, hate, and despair that filled the soul of this 
 naturally good-hearted man, and appeared in the course of 
 his story. " I had to confess to you some time," said he 
 finally, " and I chose the best time. 
 
422 WALDFRIED. 
 
 " I believe that your wife intuitively knew everything that 
 I have told you." 
 
 The deep misery of his life seemed again renewed when 
 he cried, " I do not wish to die before their eyes." 
 
 He mentioned Rautenkron, and said that their cases 
 were similar. Their devotion in the present great movement 
 was not a joyful sacrifice, but indifference and contempt for 
 life ; they wanted to die. 
 
 I was deeply pained, and also gratified, when he took my 
 hand at last, saying that my wife and I had kept him up in 
 the faith that happiness was yet to be found on earth. 
 "And now I must make a further confession. It was a 
 great sacrifice on my part, considering the comfort I enjoyed 
 in your house, and the deep sympathy your wife showed me, 
 to deny myself frequent, yea, daily visits, whenever I felt like 
 a stranger in my house ; and as one banished from home, I 
 would ride across the hills, and down into the valley towards 
 you and your wife ; but when I had reached the saw-mill, I 
 would turn back. It was better thus. I felt that your wife 
 knew everything. Though I was a man who had sons in the 
 army, I was again tossed hither and thither by youthful feel- 
 ings ; but I overcame them. I think I ought to tell you this 
 too ; it relieves me, and cannot oppress you. Of all men 
 who were affected by her sterling qualities, there is no one 
 who worshipped her more profoundly than I did," said the 
 Baron finally, again taking my hand. 
 
 We sat there in silence for some time, and I was made 
 happy by the thought that her spirit was hovering over us, 
 bringing us peace. The Baron then arose and said, " Now 
 I have unburdened myself, and am free. I thank you for 
 your share in this relief. And now, no more of this. Now 
 duty calls." 
 
 He again told me how much good I could accomplish, by 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 423 
 
 going from village to village, and from house to house, in the 
 region in which I had long been known, there to teach the 
 Alsatians what they ought to learn. 
 
 " You may depend on one thing," said he : "you will have 
 bitter experiences. You will be looked upon as a spy. 
 But do you remember what your wife once called you ? " 
 
 I did not know what he meant. 
 
 "She called you the spy of what was good, because you 
 always discover the good qualities in every one. Well, be 
 one again." 
 
 I made up my mind to cope willingly with everything, and 
 went to my sister's the next day. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WE of the mountains had heard the cannonading ; bui 
 how differently had it affected those of the neighbor- 
 hood, whose homes and whose all were at stake. We could 
 see the destruction that had been wrought on the houses, but 
 not that which had wasted the nerves of the people. Where- 
 ever I went, I found every one feeling restless and homeless, 
 like the swallows that flew about, settling here and there ; 
 but only for a moment, for their nests had been destroyed, 
 along with the houses and towers and fortifications. 
 
 Every one I met had a puzzled look : the alarm and fear 
 caused by the incredible disasters that had overwhelmed 
 them, had dazed them, and they seemed hurt by friendly 
 greetings yes, even by offers of assistance. 
 
 My brother-in-law, the forester, a man who ordinarily bore 
 himself well, seemed entirely broken down. He stared at 
 me in silence as I entered his house, and scarcely answered 
 my greeting with a slight nod. 
 
 My sister told me that, since the siege of Strasburg, he 
 had suffered from asthma, and that he constantly repeated, 
 " General Werder's shots have taken my breath away." 
 
 On looking at the pictures hanging on the wall, I could 
 see plainly what these people would have to thrust aside. 
 The pictures on the walls, as well as those that dwelt in 
 their memory, were to be changed. In our every-day life, 
 we soon forget what the ornaments on the wall are like. 
 But if they are not in accord with the times, then we find 
 out what was once ours, but has now ceased to belong to 
 
V/ALDFRIED. 435 
 
 us. On my hinting that Germany would adopt the regained 
 provinces with increased affection, my brother-in-law sprang 
 up, rolling his eyes and striking the table with his fist, and 
 swore that he would emigrate. My sister then said that an 
 oath at such a time was worthless ; but he answered in bit- 
 ter scorn he could speak nothing but French "And if 
 no one will accompany me I cannot force the trees in the 
 forest to go along my dog, at least, will be my companion. 
 What do you say, Fidele you'll go with me? You won't 
 take bread from a German ; you will rather starve with me ? " 
 The dog barked and licked his master's hand. 
 
 I could see what a difficult task I had before me, but I 
 did not give it up. In the village, in the houses, and before 
 the court-house, wherever the people were gathered to- 
 gether, I spoke words of peace and encouragement to 
 them. They would listen to me as if they were forced to do 
 so ; and once I heard a man behind me say, "The whole 
 thing is a lie, white hairs and all ; he is some young fellow 
 in disguise." I seldom received a straightforward answer ; 
 the nearest approach to a reply was, " What are we to 
 do ? " " What are we to learn." The feeling at the bottom 
 of all this was, to-morrow the French will be back, and 
 drive the Germans away. It is impossible to conquer the 
 French. 
 
 I then visited my brother-in-law, the parson, who lived a 
 few miles further on. He spoke of nothing but the excel- 
 lent behavior of the soldiers that had been quartered on 
 them. They went to church on Sundays and joined in the 
 singing; and officers of high rank had been there, too. He 
 seemed nervous, and did not dare to express his joy either 
 because he feared the maid-servant who was going in and 
 out, or else because he disliked to lay bare his thoughts. 
 It was only while walking in the woods that he unbosomed 
 
426 WALDFRIED. 
 
 himself. I do not like to repeat what h 5 related, as I pre- 
 ferred not to believe his story. He told me that the French 
 government had received the assurance from the priesthood, 
 that the South Germans would not take the field against 
 France. I do not believe this, but it is the current opinion, 
 and so I feel forced to repeat it. 
 
 He also said that the beggars from the Catholic villages of 
 the vicinity had, for some time past, ceased asking for alms. 
 They had walked around boldly in his village, selecting the 
 houses they intended to occupy as soon as the Protestants 
 had been exterminated. 
 
 Thus wickedly had religion been mixed up with this war. 
 
 "The thought of Germany," said the parson, "always 
 seemed to me like a silent, yea, a criminal dream. Now 
 I see it realized in broad daylight. We are like the 
 prodigal son of Scripture, but the truant in Alsace is this 
 time not in fault, and it is that which makes his return to 
 his home so painful. I have often thought that the father 
 of the prodigal must have offended against his son, although 
 the Scriptures do not say so, otherwise he would not have 
 been thus afflicted." 
 
 He was merely drawing a parallel, yet he made my heart 
 beat with the thought of Ernst. 
 
 The father of the prodigal son is also at fault. What had 
 I been guilty of? 
 
 When we returned from our walk, we were told that a 
 French soldier, who had served his time, had called to 
 see me ; he had not given his name, and would return. 
 
 Who can he be? I must wait to find out. But I met a 
 man in the village whom I had forgotten. 
 
 The advocate Offenheimer, Annette's brother, met me, 
 and his first words were, "You are a great consolation to 
 me. Come with me and give my son an escort." 
 
WALDFRIED. 427 
 
 I now perceived that his only son had fallen, and that the 
 father desired him to be buried in the Jewish cemetery 
 here. 
 
 As he divined my thoughts, he said, " It is true, I could not 
 allow them to bury my son out there with the others ; but it 
 is, perhaps, well if there is some sign here of our having 
 fairly and joyfully taken our part in the fight. Perhaps it 
 will have a mollifying effect upon our new countrymen of 
 the Jewish faith, who were particularly contumacious." 
 
 I was astounded to find the man so placid. But, as if 
 guessing my thoughts, he said he had no more strength for 
 complaints and tears, and that a fact must at last be ac- 
 cepted. 
 
 I thought of the handsome, spirited lad, that had one 
 time come to me with Wolfgang. But I greatly desired to 
 find a favorable opportunity for addressing the Jewish inhab- 
 itants of the village. They had an especial fear of the 
 Germans, and were proud of PYench equality. 
 
 The advocate's son was buried with all the ceremonies of 
 his church. Two slightly wounded South German officers, 
 who were lying in the village, acted as the escort. They 
 recognized in me the Colonel's father-in-law, and had much 
 to tell me in his praise. 
 
 " He shows that we are not inferior to the Prussians." 
 Such appeared to be the highest compliment they could be- 
 stow upon him. 
 
 Upon our return from the cemetery, to which the Jews 
 here in Alsace give the peculiar name of the " good place," * 
 the advocate leaned upon my arm, and, as I sat next to him 
 in the little room, after quietly meditating for a long while, 
 he exclaimed, "In my youth I had willingly died for the 
 
 * Guten Ort. 
 
428 WALDFRIED. 
 
 true Fatherland ; how, my son has been permitted to die 
 for it." 
 
 For years had I been in constant intercourse with this 
 man ; now, in his grief and in the hour of civil commotion, 
 I first learned to know him ; and to learn to know an up- 
 right man is to learn to love him. 
 
 I have, like suffering Odysseus, participated in the ex- 
 periences of many men ; Rautenkron, the Colonel, and 
 Arven have revealed to me their life-secrets. Now I was 
 to hear still another's : the history of a step-child in his step- 
 fatherland, who still longed for affection, for the closest 
 friendship, and who, though repulsed and oppressed by the 
 laws and his fellow-men, had not yet lost his love for them. 
 
 As Offenheiiner recounted the grievances he had suffered 
 in the schools, and the incivilities and insults of later years, 
 it seemed to me that I should ask his forgiveness for all 
 this suffering and uncharitableness, of which, because of 
 what we had done to him, and of what our ancestors had 
 done to his, we were to-day guilty. Those who style them- 
 selves believers in the religion of love, would be much 
 astonished at the strength of this man's affections, who, 
 though repulsed and scorned; still preserved them pure. 
 We live a whole human life and know nothing of the in- 
 ward emotions of many of our contemporaries. Offen- 
 heimer spoke with great severity concerning the attempt to 
 obtain recognition by means of extravagant display, that 
 caused many Jews to appear unpatriotic and presumptuous. 
 He explained this, indeed, as arising from the necessity, im- 
 posed by the prejudice against his race, of proving its claim 
 to respectability, and was frank enough to refer to the early 
 conduct of his sister as an example. 
 
 Offenheimer then told me how happy it had made him to 
 find his son growing up in comparative ignorance of such 
 
WALDFRIED. 429 
 
 persecutions he had thus developed naturally. He smiled 
 sadly, as he added that he, though he had grown physically 
 larger and more active, had acquired a lightness of heart 
 which the man who is obliged to win his freedom before en- 
 joying it, never acquires. 
 
 " I do not mourn for my son," were his words : ' ' he had 
 reached the most beautiful period of life, and it is all the 
 same, whether a man lives seventeen years or seventy. No 
 man liveth to himself, and no one dieth to himself, says the 
 apostle; and that is true. J understand it to be true in 
 another sense as well. Each of us dies only to his connec- 
 tions and his posterity." 
 
 It was a novelty to me to hear Holy Writ referred to as 
 simply the teachings of wisdom. I have since then often 
 found educated Israelites are not so much Jews, as simply 
 not Christians. 
 
 Offenheimer thanked me with great tenderness for the 
 wonders that we had accomplished with Annette. She had 
 been proud and selfish ; now she had become humble, and 
 lived for others. 
 
 As I sat with him, the Rabbi of the place came and ex- 
 pressed his thanks for the generous subscription that had 
 been made in memory of the fallen. 
 
 One word, which the priest then uttered, went straight to 
 my heart. He said the bereaved father would find consola- 
 tion ; for the Talmud declared that the patriarch Jacob 
 could not suppress his sufferings and his tears for his lost son 
 Joseph, because he felt within himself that his son still lived. 
 Grief for one who is dead vanishes when the corpse becomes 
 clay ; for a living lost one, the grief endures. 
 
 Oh ! my lost son Ernst ! 
 
 Upon my return home, I found, awaiting me in the village, 
 a man in a blue blouse, with a short pipe in his mouth, and 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 wearing bis cap awry. He approached me with a military 
 salute, and said, "Yes, it is you." 
 
 "Who am I?" 
 
 " His father." 
 
 "Whose father?" 
 
 " Our sergeant's, Ernst Tannling." 
 
 " That is not my name." 
 
 " Of course ! But he has confided to me he took me, 
 indeed, for a German that his name was Waldfried. Do 
 you remember that I met you in Paris during the World's 
 Exposition. Your son deserted in 1866, and has a bride. 
 Have I the correct signs now ? " 
 
 Alas ! he had them, and again I heard that Ernst had en- 
 tered the service in Algiers, and now, probably, was in the 
 onward movement against Germany. 
 
 The veteran allowed me no time for reflection. He con- 
 fided to me, with great urgency and secrecy, that he could 
 be of great service. He knew that I had great influence, 
 and wanted me to conduct him to some officer of high 
 rank ; he could be of great service, but must receive liberal 
 pay. 
 
 I had learned much in life, but for the first time there 
 stood before me a man who offered me his services as a 
 spy. He had seized my hand, and it seemed as if his touch 
 had soiled it. 
 
 I sought further- intelligence from him concerning Ernst, 
 but he knew nothing more. I took him with me and 
 handed him over to an officer that lay here. I considered 
 it to be my duty not to discard the dirty, but perhaps use- 
 ful, tool. 
 
 With thoughts of Ernst in my breast, with the conscious- 
 ness that my only son was in arms against the Fatherland, I 
 was not in the mood to unburden my heart to others ; and 
 
WALDFRIED. 43 1 
 
 besides, it was evidently too early. Now, since force yet 
 speaks, the good-will of the oppressed cannot be won. 
 
 I turned back to my sister's, and was much delighted 
 to meet Hartriegel, the so-called forest professor, who had 
 been sent by the administration to inspect the forests. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 WITH Hartriegel and my brother-in-law, who had 
 again in a measure regained his composure, I 
 roamed through the great forest district ; and this refreshed 
 my soul, though the terrible thoughts about Ernst accom- 
 panied me by day and by night like a restless ghost. 
 
 It was the night of the twenty-sixth of October. Hart- 
 riegel remained in the town. I had stayed with my sister ; 
 a storm was raging that seemed to portend the destruc- 
 tion of the world. Dogs howled, the cattle in the stalls 
 bellowed unceasingly ; there seemed a fearful wailing in the 
 rattling of the thunder, and the turmoil and uproar of the 
 elements. We heard sounds like the splitting of trees, con- 
 tinually nearer and nearer. We all sat together in the room, 
 keeping watch, and my brother-in-law exclaimed, "It is just 
 so ! The trees even will clear out forthwith. They will not 
 be German." 
 
 As he said this, a tree behind the house cracked and fell 
 over on the roof: the slates rattled, the timbers bent, 
 and the storm now raged through the house, which we 
 could not forsake ; for out of doors the tempest raged so 
 wildly, that it seemed as if everything that stood upright 
 would be stricken to the ground. We waited until daylight, 
 and at early morning a messenger arrived who came to 
 tell me that Julius must depart, and to ask whether I would 
 not bring Martha home with me. The messenger also 
 showed us an " extra," that announced the capture of Metz, 
 and the capitulation of 173,000 men. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 433 
 
 When my brother-in-law heard this, he exclaimed, " We 
 are betrayed!" tore down the epaulettes, and the portrait 
 of Bazaine, under whom he had served, from the wall, threw 
 them on the floor, and trampled them under his feet. 
 
 The messenger told us the roads were impassable ; every 
 where there lay trunks of trees, and near the house a slain 
 stag. He, a very credulous man, had spent the night at the 
 Oak of Saint Arbogast, and with pious fervor praised the 
 saint who had protected him. 
 
 After he had partaken of refreshments, he escorted my 
 brother-in-law, who soon came back with the dead stag. 
 
 We were separated from the world, and my sister rejoiced 
 that she still had something for us to eat. . 
 
 At noon there came a neighboring forester with his men, 
 and everybody was called upon, and worked through the en- 
 tire night to make the roads again passable. Soldiers were 
 also ordered from Hagenau to assist, and soon I heard the 
 singing of German songs in the woods. 
 
 The next morning Joseph arrived with his companion. 
 He had been ordered by the chief forester to buy wood here, 
 and had now decided, since it was so conveniently arranged, 
 to purchase the greater portion of the windfall. What terri- 
 fied us, awakened in him a speculation. 
 
 " In the forest of Hagenau," said he, " there's also oak 
 wood for Lud wig's mill." 
 
 It was, and remained so ; everything served as a stepping- 
 stone to Joseph. 
 
 He gave us further particulars of the capture of Metz, and 
 of the march towards Paris. At the name of Paris, my 
 brother-in-law's face became flushed and excited. "That 
 you will never get, never ! " he said ; "the world will go to 
 pieces, first! But Metz, indeed ! And i73> men * 
 believe in nothing after this ! " 
 28 
 
434 WALDFRIED. 
 
 I told Joseph of Ernst ; I must impart it to some one. 
 But Joseph urgently implored me to eradicate every thought 
 of the lost one from my breast. 
 
 I went to Strasburg, but the governor there had nothing 
 to tell me. I was so weak that I longed for home again ; 
 there I hoped to regain my strength. I journeyed home- 
 wards with Martha. 
 
 At the last railway station I met a large force of Tyrolese 
 woodsmen that, upon Joseph's order, had been sent to work 
 for him in Alsace, and as I neared home, I saw, here and 
 there, clearings in the woods. The tempest had also raged 
 here, and the newspapers brought the intelligence that over 
 the whole continent great devastation had been occasioned 
 by it. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 WE had much to do to set up trees that had been 
 prostrated by the wind ; for dead trees, because of 
 their harboring all sorts of noxious insects, imperil the ex- 
 istence of a whole forest. 
 
 There came good letters from Julius, Richard, and the 
 vicar, and we saw war life from three quite different aspects. 
 Bertha sent us letters from the Colonel. He wrote but 
 briefly. He must have been suffering great hardships, es- 
 pecially in the protracted rains ; but he wrote, " when one 
 feels inspired, he can endure much." 
 
 They tell me of the noble courage of the olden time. 
 When man fights with man, he receives invigorating impulse 
 from the personal struggle. But to stand under a shower of 
 fire, then advance on the enemy and be struck by far-carry- 
 ing bullets, without firing a shot until one is at the right dis- 
 tance all that is much more. 
 
 Away off, the cannon thundered ; we at home heard noth- 
 ing but the measured beat of the thrasher, and that lasted a 
 long while, for we lacked men at home. 
 
 When it rained and snowed, and we sat sheltered in the 
 room, we naturally fell to thinking of those who, for nights 
 and weeks, fought on the now thoroughly drenched soil, and 
 for their brief rest had no couch but the wet or icy earth. 
 
 Ludwig wrote from Hamburg that he was about going to 
 America. He was to make the journey with the secret 
 approval and authority of an officer of high rank, in order 
 to prevent the transmission of arms and ammunition to 
 our foes. 
 
436 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 How much war demands of human nature ! 
 
 Snow had fallen ; it snowed again and again, and we knew 
 that what here was snow, up there was cold rain. 
 
 I sat in the large arm-chair, and read the gazette. Here 
 stands in few words, in peaceful paragraphs, what up there is 
 blood and mangling of human bodies. It is indeed grand 
 and sublime how the French, after the annihilation of their 
 forces, again quickly gather together, and venture every- 
 thing. A nation cannot surrender, and a nation that is so 
 consciously proud and all-powerful cannot easily acknowl- 
 edge, " I am conquered, and am wrong." 
 
 They would not give us security for our boundary, and so 
 the fighting and the devastation must still go on. 
 
 While I thus sat quietly thinking, a telegram from the cab- 
 inet of the Prince was brought to me ; I must forthwith has- 
 ten to the capital, and upon my arrival at the palace should 
 cause myself to be immediately announced, be it night or 
 day. 
 
 What could be the matter ? why was I so urgently sum- 
 moned? Was it on Ernst's account ? or Richard's, or the 
 Colonel's ? It seemed to me a great injustice that not a 
 word of explanation accompanied the message, yet I 
 equipped myself immediately for my departure. The stone- 
 cutter conducted me to the railway station. Joseph was not 
 there ; he had gone on to Lorraine. I was not familiar with 
 his business enterprises. 
 
 That it was indeed, strange kept my thoughts busy 
 during the journey, and yet was I much oppressed by sus- 
 pense as to the reason of my being called away. But hap- 
 pily the human mind can engage itself with new problems, 
 and thus, for a while at least, forget the care and vexation 
 that lie near at hand. 
 
 I reached the capital, and found it as I had expected. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 437 
 
 What was snow with us in the mountains, was here a pene- 
 trating rain. 
 
 On my way to the palace, I passed a brilliantly lighted 
 theatre, and heard from within the sounds of music. Ah, 
 that men should sing and juggle at such a time ! But is not 
 life a mighty aggregation of many incongruous individual ac- 
 tivities? ' 
 
 I reached the castle ; the great entrance hall was lighted up 
 and thoroughly warmed ; I was obliged to wait a long time. 
 When, at last, I saw the Prince, I found him unusually dis- 
 tressed or disturbed. He began by observing how different 
 times were when we last had met ; he said how deeply it 
 pained him that so much blood must be shed so much noble 
 blood. He said this with deep emotion, and finally added, 
 he had faith in me as a man of stout heart ; I had so nobly 
 borne *so much suffering, that he had courage to tell me 
 that the Colonel had been wounded by a shot through the 
 breast. He was still living, but quite unconscious, when the 
 bearer of the news left, and perhaps we had already a dead 
 one to mourn. 
 
 I could not utter a word ; what was there to say ? 
 
 The Prince continued to speak of his grief at the shedding 
 of so much blood, and expressed his dissatisfaction that his 
 countrymen should have placed themselves in alliance with 
 foreigners. 
 
 I had no time nor mind for such discussions. I asked if 
 the news had been sent to my daughter. He appeared dis- 
 turbed by my question, and somewhat unwillingly answered, 
 " I considered that a father's right and duty." 
 
 He added, that this evening a sanitary commission would 
 depart, with whom I and the Colonel's wife could go to the 
 front. 
 
 I know not what suggested the thought, but suddenly it 
 
438 WALDFRIED. 
 
 occurred to me : The Prince would never make a minister of 
 you ; you were only a clever story-teller, who drove away the 
 recollections of his own sufferings by the recital of your life- 
 history. And of that was I thinking all the while I was talk- 
 ing to the Prince of other things. 
 
 The demeanor of the Prince towards me seemed cold and 
 distant. He called after me without extending his hand, 
 "Adieu, Herr Waldfried ! " 
 
 Formerly, I had been called " dear Waldfried ; " yes, at 
 times, " dear friend." 
 
 I mention this here, although it first struck me like a wak- 
 ing dream, during the journey. I was glad to be independ- 
 ent, and to be relieved from rendering homage to princes, 
 and troubling myself as to whether I was addressed in one 
 way or another. Although in my inmost heart I believe in a 
 constitutional monarchy, I tell you, keep yourself free, and 
 be dependent on no stranger's favor, or else you will be the 
 most degraded of slaves. 
 
 But now I must tell of my sad journey ; and I think of the 
 saying of the Colonel's : Human nature in its elevated 
 moods can endure much. 
 
 I came to Bertha's house. My heart beat wildly at the 
 thought of the news I should bring to her. But as I as- 
 cended the steps, Professor Rolunt, the Colonel's friend, 
 approached me, and said, " After the first dreadful shock, 
 you were your daughter's first thought. She has asked for 
 you." 
 
 "And so she knows of it?" 
 
 "Yes ! I have told her, and we are off in an hour." 
 
 " We ! " 
 
 " Yes ! I go with her ; and keep up Bertha's spirits. 
 Should the worst have happened, we must bear it all." 
 
 I went to Bertha. Speechless, she threw herself upon my 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 439 
 
 neck, clasped me to her bosom, and wept and sobbed ; nor 
 could I utter one word. 
 
 "Father!" she said, at last, <; you will remain here with 
 the children or will you take them home with you ? " 
 
 "No, I will go with you. Don't refuse me. Don't let 
 us waste useless words. I will go with you." 
 
 We departed in the evening. We rested in beds, upon 
 which soon should lie the sorely wounded. But, indeed, we, 
 too. bore painful wounds in our hearts. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 IT was well that Rolunt accompanied us ; for I had not 
 the strength to support Bertha in this wearisome 
 journey, and to distract and lead her away from her quiet, 
 noiseless brooding, and her counting the minutes as they 
 slowly passed. 
 
 The Professor had continually something to tell us, either 
 of the points that we hurriedly passed, or of the sanitary 
 aids who were with us. He told us of this and that one who 
 had been a spoiled child the pet of some fond mother and 
 now was suffering great hardships. This was the second 
 supply train that he had accompanied ; he had been the 
 chief of the first one, and had much that was moving to tell 
 us of the self-sacrificing conduct of the non-combatants. 
 The employes of the post-office and the railroads were 
 specially endeared to him, and he related wonderful instances 
 of their activity and endurance. 
 
 Bertha scarcely uttered a word; for the most part she 
 only quietly held my hand. At times, she said, " Ah ! the 
 locomotive might be urged to move faster ; it seems to me 
 that it goes much too slowly." 
 
 The Professor assured her that we should esteem ourselves 
 lucky to reach our destination. Who knows how soon we 
 should hear, " Halt, we go no further." 
 
 Once Bertha arose; her face had in it something mys- 
 terious and strange, and she cried out, "Father, hold 
 me ! " - 
 
 " What is the matter ? What is it ? " 
 
WALDFRIED. 44! 
 
 " I think I must escape from myself. I will not live if he 
 is dead. Oh ! pardon me," she again exclaimed, sinking 
 back into her seat, "i cannot endure the torment of my 
 thoughts. How is it possible how can it agree with any 
 order in human affairs, that a piece of lead can destroy a 
 full, rich, noble, human life ! " 
 
 She gazed at me with a peculiarly alarming expression ; it 
 was as if pale, pulsating strands were tightly drawn under 
 the surface of her skin. Then she seized my hand and said, 
 " Pardon me for inflicting all this upon you. I dare not 
 now waste my strength in suffering ; it is sinful, it is selfish, 
 and it is terrible to wish for death. All my strength belongs 
 to him. I will no longer complain, and will no longer give 
 up to despair. Oh ! if I could only sleep ! One can give 
 to another the sleep of death, but I will be very quiet ; 
 indeed, I will not think any more." 
 
 She leaned back and closed her eyes. 
 
 While Bertha appeared to sleep, I told Rolunt of the last 
 interview with the Prince. He explained matters to me. 
 He said the Prince had believed that I knew all, and merely 
 feigned ignorance for his sake. It was no secret that the 
 Prince was beside himself with rage, because the general 
 commanding had telegraphed the news not only to him, but 
 also to the Prussian embassy. The latter made no secret 
 of it, and the Prince saw in this an attempt to obtain 
 popularity and favor at his expense. He hated the ambas- 
 sador, as a legalized superintendent over him, who left him 
 daily conscious that he no longer possessed his former 
 sovereignty. 
 
 It was fortunate that the Professor had prepared us ; for 
 I cannot give the name of our halting place we suddenly 
 came to a stop. We had to wait an entire day, and it was 
 only a day's journey to where the Colonel lay. 
 
442 IVALDFRIED. 
 
 Rolunt tried negotiations here and there; he had be- 
 come hoarse from much talking. At last he carr.e to us 
 with a cheerful countenance. A shrewd, energetic man, he 
 had succeeded in obtaining a wagon, and \ve travelled through 
 the country. During the entire night we drove over torn-up 
 roads. In the distance we saw burning villages. How 
 many hundreds of peaceful homes were there destroyed. 
 We turned our eyes from the sight. We went through vil- 
 lages riddled with shot and shell, and through others, in 
 which here and there a light shone, and where we halted to 
 feed the horses, we were observed with ugly, threatening 
 glances. But the country was safe ; Tor it was everywhere 
 occupied by detachments of our troops. 
 
 We reached the village where the Colonel was reported to 
 be lying. We inquired here and there, but found him not: 
 he must be in the next village. Thither we now journeyed. 
 
 We met an artillery corps, and had to move into a field 
 and await its passing. This took a terribly long while. 
 They mocked us and cried at us in sport as they passed, and 
 we were almost beside ourselves with impatience. And still 
 we sat there protected from the drizzling rain, while our 
 soldiers were steaming like horses. 
 
 Rolunt got out. He asked the officers of the column after 
 the Colonel. They knew nothing of him ; they had only 
 just arrived from a long march. 
 
 At last we were permitted to proceed. 
 
 At the entrance of the next village, Bertha recognized a 
 soldier of her husband's regiment. 
 
 " Is your Colonel living ? " she asked. 
 
 " Yes, yesterday he was still alive." 
 
 " And to-day ? " 
 
 " Don't know. Haven't heard anything about him." 
 
 I felt confident that he was yet living. I could 
 
WALDFRIED. 443 
 
 not think that the strong, powerful man could be dead, and 
 my hopefulness helped to support Bertha. We reached the 
 nouse from which the white flag with the red cross was 
 floating. I commanded my daughter to remain seated in the 
 wagon, and to inquire of no one until I returned. She gave 
 me her promise, but she could not keep her word, and it was 
 indeed requiring too much of her. She saw her husband's 
 servant, and called to him, and the lad said, "The Colonel is 
 living, but " 
 
 "But what?" 
 
 " He is very low." 
 
 We entered the house, and the first one we met was An- 
 nette. 
 
 " Be composed, Bertha ! he lives. I came here imme- 
 diately on receiving the intelligence of his being wounded, 
 that I might do all that was possible for him," she said. 
 She embraced her friend, and added, that we could not see 
 him : he could not bear the shock. 
 
 The Professor begged that he, at least, might be admitted. 
 Annette called the doctor, and he gave permission to the 
 Professor to see the wounded man. 
 
 Annette remained with us, and said, " The bullet has not 
 yet been found." The shot had entered the breast just 
 above the heart, only escaping it by a hair's-breadth. 
 
 The Colonel led his regiment independently and separated 
 from the Prussians, and it was a piece of jealousy, and the 
 ambition to distinguish himself, that caused him to press for- 
 ward so recklessly and thrust himself in danger's way. He 
 had to march over a plain, to take a battery planted on a 
 height, and it was there that he was struck. 
 
 When he had fallen, and saw death before him, he ex- 
 claimed, "The Romans were right; it is glorious to die for 
 one's country. \ want no other grave; let me be buried 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 - 
 
 with my soldiers." Then for a long while he was uncon- 
 scious. 
 
 After a little while Rolunt came to us, and said that the 
 Colonel was unable to speak, but by his glances had shown 
 that he recognized him. 
 
 Bertha begged for the dress of a nurse, so that she could 
 at least venture into the sick-room. She promised not to 
 go near her sick husband. But the doctor emphatically for- 
 bade it There was no certainty that the wounded man 
 would not recognize her, if only by her step or carriage. 
 He almost feared that the sick man might suspect some- 
 thing from the presence of the Professor ; for he opened and 
 shut his eyes so quickly. And so we had to wait and listen, 
 and were condemned to inactivity. 
 
 We met still another friend : Baron Arven. He had for- 
 gotten his own griefs, was restlessly active and appeared 
 wondrously rejuvenated. In an hour he had to go to 
 another hospital, and transferred to us his quarters, in which 
 we could rest. 
 
 Bertha said she could not sleep; but consented to lie 
 down and rest herself, in order to gather strength for what 
 might be in store for her. She lay down and was soon fast 
 asleep. She often moved convulsively, as if troubled with 
 fearful dreams, but still continued to slumber. I at last also 
 fell asleep. Towards morning, I was awakened by a loud 
 voice : 
 
 " I must see him ; I have found him." 
 
 Is not that the voice of Rothfuss ? Yes, it was. 
 
 Bertha also awoke, and asked, "Where are we? Has 
 the train stopped ? " I explained to her where we were. 
 With difficulty, she collected herself. She went directly with 
 us to the house where the Colonel lay, and remained with 
 Annette. She heard that the Colonel had also slept, and 
 
WALDFRIED. 445 
 
 Annette, who had sat with him, remarked, he had lightly 
 whispered, " Bertha;" he must suspect that she is here. 
 
 Rothfuss took me aside and said, " We have him and 
 her also." 
 " Yes, the Colonel and Bertha." 
 
 " No, no ! Ernst and Martella. ' The Lord God is the 
 best child's nurse for wild lads,' my mother has often said." 
 
 I felt as if reason had forsaken me. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ONLY gradually did I clearly comprehend all that had 
 happened to me. 
 
 I can no longer count the shots, nor specify whence or by 
 whom they were discharged against me, and how it was 
 that I remained unharmed. But I have passed through it 
 all, and must also permit you to experience it. 
 
 Rothfuss related to me, very composedly, that he had 
 done Carl injustice ; one might be imprisoned, although in- 
 nocent, and it happened to him with horse and wagon. He 
 and the bays had been captured by the wild Turcos, and he 
 had almost fancied himself in hell while with those savages, 
 who did not even know how to talk intelligibly. 
 
 " Sir ! they would have shot me for a spy. They placed 
 me against the wall. And there I stand and they aim at me. 
 I take a last look at the sky and the trees, something dims 
 my sight, and I think to myself, if it were only over ! 
 Then some one calls out, ' Halt ! ' And I think I recognize 
 the voice. He talks gibberish, of which I do not compre- 
 hend a word, but they don't shoot. He orders me to be 
 tied tighter. And there I lie in a miserable stall and can't 
 stir. And then comes some one sneaking along, and whis- 
 pers, 'Keep yourself quiet, Rothfuss.' And who do you 
 think it is ? Our Ernst. And then we cried together, like 
 little children, and Ernst said, ' Keep yourself quiet ! What 
 I have been through, couldn't be told in a thousand years. 
 Now come with me ! ' And for a long while there we 
 were, creeping along the ground like frogs, until we reached 
 the horses/ which were fastened outside. To unloose them, 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 447 
 
 spring upon them, and gallop away, took but a moment. 
 The French fired at us, but they didn't hit us, and away we 
 went until we reached our lines, and there Ernst said to me, 
 * You once passed for my brother Ludwig ; now do as much 
 for me ! Give me your clothes ! ' " 
 
 Rothfuss had to give him his blue blouse. Then Ernst 
 transferred his horse to him, and said, " Leave me now ! we 
 will soon meet again." 
 
 Rothfuss was about relating how he had found Martella, 
 ft'hen she entered. She had become very thin, but otherwise 
 unchanged ; was gayly attired, and cried out as she perceived 
 me : " Oh ! father, happily met again ! To-day is Ernst's 
 wedding-day, and my Sunday, my greatest holiday, my ascen- 
 sion-day." 
 
 She offered no excuse for having run away ; she made no 
 mention of her recent experiences, and as I could not avoid 
 telling her what pain and anxiety she had occasioned me, 
 she exclaimed, "I know it better than you can tell me ; but 
 indulge me for to-day : to-morrow, when I have Ernst by the 
 hand, we will set everything straight. He rescued Carl, who 
 would have bled to death, if he had not found him. 
 
 " Ernst carried him ; yes, he is strong ; he brought him all 
 the way here. His face, his hands, his clothes, were all 
 full of blood. But that doesn't hurt ; it can all be washed 
 off. Everything can be washed away if one is sound within ; 
 and now everything, everything will be washed away. 
 
 " Now I heard that Ernst had come to the regiment in 
 which Carl was. He introduced himself as a German with 
 the name of Frohn." Martella added, " That is the name of 
 a comrade, who on the voyage threw himself in despair into 
 the sea." 
 
 Ernst had declared that he w<j aid not fight against his 
 countrymen, but with them against he French. What proofs 
 
448 WALDFRIED. 
 
 of loyalty he was submitted to have never been made known 
 to me. He was uniformed and placed at a post of danger, 
 where a strict watch could be kept upon him. He conducted 
 himself bravely, and when Carl was struck, he rescued him 
 at the risk of his own life. But he was never recognized, 
 and none but Carl, Martella, and Rothfuss knew who he 
 was. 
 
 They had, during the night, heard of my arrival, and Ernst 
 had stood guard before the house for hours. Martella had 
 shown him the letter of pardon ; but he exclaimed that he 
 wished no pardon, and would not examine the letter. 
 
 Martella begged him to show himself to me. But he said, 
 " I know of how many nights of rest I have robbed my 
 father ; I will not now disturb his slumbers, and will for the 
 first time appear before him, and clasp his knees, when by 
 I have done something to show him what I am at heart. 
 When I come out of the battle, I will go to my father : then 
 I can look him in the face." 
 
 "Right, right," said Martella; "if you go into the fight 
 with such thoughts, you will surely come out of it safe and 
 sound, and your mother in heaven will stretch her hands in 
 blessings over you." 
 
 " My mother in heaven ? Is she dead ? " 
 
 " Didn't you know it ? Alas ! already over three years ; 
 she died upon your birth-day." 
 
 " On my birth-day ! " He said this, and was then for a 
 long time silent. Then again he said, " I think I dare not 
 kiss you again to-day." 
 
 "Your mother loved you to her latest breath, and she 
 kissed me just before she died." 
 
 " He sighed heavily and then kissed me," said Martella, 
 " Only once again ; for the last time. No, not for the last 
 time ! he must live ! " 
 
WALDFRIED. 449 
 
 Just as Ernst had again gone away, there came the order 
 to march immediately without baggage. The people never 
 knew beforehand when there was to be a battle ; but such a 
 command naturally gave rise to anticipations of a fight. 
 
 As Martella turned away, while Ernst prepared for his de- 
 parture, she heard the voice of Rothfuss, who told the baker 
 Lerz that his bays were ruined, but that he had received two 
 fine Burgundians in exchange. 
 29 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 IT was now highly important to find Ernst. We left the. 
 house before day-break ; Bertha was still sleeping. 
 
 I permitted Martella and Rothfuss to conduct me to the 
 hospital in which the Colonel was lying. I was scarcely con- 
 scious where I was, or whither I was going ; 1 felt as if there 
 W9S a heavy burden upon my shoulders, and could not help 
 looking to Hhe right and left, as if something was threat- 
 ening me. But I could endure ft and could proceed without 
 assistance. 
 
 Rolunt seemed to have expected me. He said the Col- 
 onel was in about the same condition, neither better nor 
 worse. I bade him send one of the female attendants to 
 Bertha ; I could not tell him who it was I sought. 
 
 When we left the house, my grandson, the vicar, ap- 
 proached me. " Grandfather, I know all," said he, " but at 
 such a time one can bear manifold troubles. I also endure 
 them ; I have just come from my sad duties at a death- 
 bed." 
 
 I told him that we were seeking Ernst, and we thought he 
 might be with those with whom, just before the march, he 
 had held a brief divine service. We went with him. The 
 day began to dawn. 
 
 The graceful figure of Martella seemed to hover in the 
 gray twilight, and as she turned and looked upon me, it 
 seemed to me that the extraordinary depth of the sockets 
 of her eyes was greater than ever. There was something 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 sadly brilliant in her glance, and it seemed directed to a dis- 
 tance. 
 
 Before the village, on a plain in front of a small hill, the 
 regiments were formed in deep squares, presenting masses 
 that looked like church walls. 
 
 We searched around. Martella went to the left, Rothfuss 
 to the right. They came back ; they had not found Ernst, 
 and yet he must be there. Martella stood qui'&ly near me ; 
 only once did she look up at me, and her eye was pifircingly 
 brilliant. She folded her hands together convulsively, ap- 
 parently, also, to conceal her trepidation. 
 
 A chorale was performed by the band, in which all the 
 troops present joined, while the heavens reddened as the 
 vicar, with steady steps, descended the hill, and wended his 
 way towards us. Every one held his breath ; perhaps Ernst 
 is down there among them. 
 
 The vicar spoke with a clear voice. He had pleased by 
 his written words, but when he spoke, it was still better and 
 more inspiring. 
 
 " See here ! " he exclaimed. " I have come here without 
 any Bible. Holy is the Book of Revelation, thrice holy. 
 With it the world has learned to comprehend itself and God, 
 and will gather instruction from it to all eternity. 
 
 " I carry it in my heart, and from my heart I call out to 
 you in the words of the Apostle Paul (Romans xiv. 7) : 
 1 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to him- 
 self.' That should be in your soul, in your memory, should 
 your soul be in a struggle, and, if it must be so, in 'Jeath. 
 Thou art not for thyself in this world, and goest not for 
 thyself from this world. Thou art called, thou art mustered 
 for the great universal battle for the holy kingdom of the 
 spirit, of honor, of freedom, of unity. 
 
 " Just imagine, ye who have achieved the victory and must 
 
452 
 
 WALDFRIED 
 
 again win it, how it would be if all these things were re- 
 versed. 
 
 " The spirit of darkness hovers in the air like millions of 
 black ravens, hiding the sun and blighting everything that hath 
 life. Through the streets of thy native villages rage the wild 
 hordes of Asia, and murder, robbery, outrage, and fire prevail 
 everywhere. 
 
 " Thou who mournest thy brother, or thy fallen comrade, 
 thou that liest wounded, forget thy pain. Open thine eyes ! 
 Through thee, through thy comrades, the light of the world 
 is rescued : knowledge, justice, decency, honor, integrity. I 
 say it to you and you may say it to each other ; for thus has 
 God willed it. 
 
 " And thou who still holdest the weapon in thy firm grasp, 
 be of cheerful heart \ The saints hover over the banners 
 that you shall victoriously bring home ; and when the bloody, 
 cruel, terrible work is done, then you will permit no other 
 pride to possess you, than that you were summoned to labor 
 for the kingdom of freedom and unity, for the kingdom of 
 the spirit, in which there is no enemy to be conquered, but 
 in which each shall be a moving temple of the Holy Spirit, 
 Keep yourselves firm : for none of us liveth to himself, and 
 no man dieth to himself. Amen ! " 
 
 A quiet prayer was offered up ; then the regiments moved 
 into column, and the whole army set itself in motion. 
 
 The vicar came to me, and for a long while held me by 
 the hand. We uttered no word. Then he followed the 
 army, and I went with Rothfuss and Martella back to the 
 hospital. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 WE met Annette, whose presence had greatly improved 
 Bertha's spirits. 
 
 Annette took us into an out-of-the-way room, and there 
 said, " I have for a long time called you father from mere 
 sentiment. You allowed me, but now I dare to do so because 
 it is my right." 
 
 She gave me a letter from Richard, from head quarters, and 
 the letter was addressed, " My beloved bride." 
 
 Annette kissed my trembling hands, and she kissed me 
 again and again, when I told her that my wife in her dying 
 hour had called out, " Richard will marry her after all." 
 
 Annette added that they did not intend to get married 
 until peace was concluded. 
 
 " Of course," said Bertha, as if addressing me, "you will 
 understand that we can give no expression to our joy just 
 now." 
 
 Annette, indeed, did not permit us to linger long over 
 this joyful message. She said that her patients now claimed 
 all her time, and only while we were descending the 
 steps, she once stopped and quietly related to us how 
 her old custom of pouring out her feelings with every new 
 experience had suddenly opened the hearts that had so 
 long been as if sealed towards each other. She had 
 said to Richard, who recently passed through here, " So 
 long as men are well, they are all alike. When they 
 are wounded or sick, each one displays the traits that 
 are peculiar to him." Then Richard replied, " You speak 
 
454 WALDFRIED. 
 
 from my mother's soul ; " and on that day they were be- 
 trothed. 
 
 " Now I no more need," said Annette, as we went on, 
 " to chloroform my soul with religion. I have learned to 
 apply the real chloroform, and in helping others we help 
 ourselves also." 
 
 Annette invited us to go with her to the patients ; she 
 might thereby make the tedious hours of watching more 
 easy for Bertha. She first conducted us to a handsome 
 young man with a full, blond beard, whose thigh had been 
 fractured. Her mere appearance seemed to revive the sick 
 man. 
 
 It was a pathetic look with which he gazed upon her, and 
 stretched his thin hand towards her. 
 
 Annette introduced him to us as an artist of great repute, 
 and, assuming a merry tone of voice, she said, "He has 
 painted me in other colors. He does not like the dull and 
 sombre black ; indeed, the silver-gray dress with the white 
 apron is much more cheerful. And why should we not be 
 cheerful?" 
 
 The face of the young man brightened, and Annette bade 
 Bertha to read something to him. In going the rounds, she 
 made us acquainted with a wounded German officer, who 
 never ceased heaping extravagant praises upon his nurse. 
 Annette bade me to come quickly to a man from my vil- 
 lage, for whom I could perhaps do something, and, with a 
 trembling voice, mentioned Carl's name to me. 
 
 We approached his bed. He gazed upon me with staring 
 eyes, and cried, in heart-rending tones, " Mother, mother ! " 
 I spoke to him ; I asked him if he knew me. But he contin- 
 ually exclaimed, " Mother, mother, mother ! " 
 
 The surgeon came and bade us leave the patient. Then 
 he said to Annette, " Have a screen placed here. This 
 
WALDFRIED. 455 
 
 young man may die at any moment, and the others should 
 neither see nor know of it." 
 
 Just as the screen was put in its place, the door opened, 
 and a voice was heard, " My child ! my child ! Carl ! my 
 child! Carl!" 
 
 "Mother, mother!" cried the wounded man, and he 
 raised himself up, and mother and son were folded in each 
 other's arms. Then Carl cried out, " Marie ! you too ! you 
 too, there ! Come ! " 
 
 He then fell back. 
 
 The surgeon then approached and said, " He is extremely 
 weak, and in a critical condition ! " Restoratives were ap- 
 plied and he opened his eyes. 
 
 After a while he said, " How did you know that I " 
 
 " Be quiet ! don't speak so much ! Don't exert yourself 
 too much. Your eyes have already told me everything. 
 And now, yes, it was the vicar, Waldfried's grandson, who 
 wrote me where you were." 
 
 11 1 am hungry. Give me something to eat ! " 
 
 " I have brought you one of our hens ; I brought it all 
 the way from home," said the old woman. 
 
 " I must eat, I must eat ! " exclaimed Carl. His strength, 
 wasted and exhausted through loss of blood, appeared to 
 return, and he seemed rescued by the magic of love. 
 
 His mother ought to have left him, but she would not 
 obey the surgeon. She obeyed me, however. When she 
 saw Bertha, she cried out, " My son, my Carl, my child 
 lives ! Bertha ! I tell you, your husband who lies there 
 Bertha, your husband is saved too : he will be saved." 
 
 " Bertha ! " We heard a call from the adjoining room; 
 it was the voice of the colonel. 
 
 Bertha almost swooned ; I caught her in my arms. She 
 collected herself and hurried towards the door; it was 
 
456 WALDFRIED. 
 
 closed. Annette called to us from within, that we should 
 wait quietly, for it was a critical moment. 
 
 What anxious moments were those, while we stood at 
 the door listening to the movements and groans within. 
 
 After a while, the surgeon hastily opened the door, and 
 said, "Now go away softly ! . There has been a hemorrhage, 
 and the ball has come with it. There is now a chance of his 
 recovery, but I must insist on perfect quiet ! " 
 
 Bertha sank to the floor, while she placed her finger on 
 her lips, and motioned me to be silent. They say that 
 we were only waiting a quarter of an hour. But oh ! how 
 long it seemed ! Then the surgeon opened the door again, 
 and, seeing Bertha on the floor, said, " You may go in now 
 and shake hands with the Colonel, but do not say anything 
 to him, as he is not allowed to speak for the present." 
 
 Bertha went in. She reached her hand to her husband. 
 He moved his eyes in recognition ; then the surgeon mo- 
 tioned us to depart. 
 
 We went away. From afar, we could hear the rattle of 
 musketry and the roar of artillery, and the reports constantly 
 became louder and more frequent. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 EVENING was approaching, when the surgeon sent us 
 \vuid that his patient had been sleeping. He had 
 awakened and asked for Bertha and me. 
 
 We went to him. He could only recognize us by glances, 
 and a wonderful smile overspread his features. He turned 
 his eyes to the surgeon, who understood him, and said, 
 " Yes, your wife may sit here for a quarter of an hour. But 
 you must both be perfectly quiet." 
 
 And so we sat there speechless, and heard the din of 
 battle gradually cease; only occasional shots were now 
 fired. 
 
 I was called to the front of the house. Martella and 
 Rothfuss stood before me. Martella, breathless, told me that 
 Ernst's company had again been in the fight, many were 
 missing, and, among them, Ernst ; he ought to be hunted up. 
 
 Rothfuss desired that I should stay behind ; but Martella 
 exclaimed, seizing my arm, " What do you mean ? Father 
 goes with us ! " 
 
 She had made a wreath to take to Ernst, and she held it 
 in her trembling hands. She carried Ernst's prize-cup and 
 a bottle of wine in a basket on her arm. * 
 
 We went through the village towards the hill. Four men 
 approached with a litter. 
 
 " Ernst ! Ernst ! " cried Martella. 
 
 The two men stopped, and one asked, " Who's there? 
 Who calls?" It was Ikwarte's voice. 
 
 "Set it down!" commanded the other. "Isn't that 
 Martella ? " It was Wolfgang who spoke. 
 
453 
 
 IVALDFRIED. 
 
 We stepped nearer. They carried a man who had been 
 shot in the leg. The man raised his head, and said, " That 
 is his father." It was the son of the owner of the saw-mill 
 down in the valley. " He commissioned me to carry his 
 love to you. He made himself known to me." 
 
 " Where is he ? Is he dead ? " 
 
 " He must be lying up there. Oh ! he has done great 
 things." 
 
 " What has he done ? Where is he ? " anxiously inquired 
 Martella. " Speak ! be quick ! listen, father ! " 
 
 The wounded man raised himself with difficulty and 
 spoke : 
 
 " We stood within range of the enemy's batteries. Shot 
 after shot tore through our ranks. Many were falling. 
 Everybody sheltered himself. Ernst stood upright, and said 
 in a clear voice, 'Stand firm! Face the bullets! That's 
 the way to' be brave.' Finally, we advanced, when a lieu- 
 tenant was shot in the forehead ; our sergeant stepped into 
 his place, and he also fell. Then Ernst took command, and 
 marched along by the drummer. Bang ! then the drummer 
 was shot. Ernst unloosened the drum from his body, and 
 drummed for us. He beat a powerful flourish, and cried out, 
 ' Give it to them ! ' Then there came a shell, and I lay on 
 the ground and saw nothing more. When I came to myself, 
 I still heard drumming. But all at once there was a report, 
 a cry and the drumming ceased." 
 
 Martella tore up the wreath ; but she quickly seized the 
 grasses and flowers and held them with a convulsive grasp. 
 
 "Away! away! we must find him!" she exclaimed. 
 "We must find him ! He is living ! " 
 
 Ikwarte and Wolfgang hastened with the wounded man 
 into a neighboring house. Not far off, a wagon stopped. 
 They returned with it, and Wolfgang and Martella sat in it 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 459 
 
 with me. So we drove on through the entire night. Ikwarte 
 knew where the miller's son was sheltered. We were silent ; 
 only Martella murmured to herself, " Keep up, Ernst ; keep 
 up ! We are coming ! Oh ! mother in heaven, look down 
 upon him ! " 
 
 We were obliged to get out the road crossed the fields. 
 I went a little distance, but could go no farther. Both 
 of the faithful servants begged that Wolfgang would stay 
 with me. We sat down by the roadside, and noticed a mov- 
 ing object quite near us. It was a wounded horse, that raised 
 its head, and then, with a rattle in its throat, fell back dead. 
 
 We heard Martella, across the field, calling, " Ernst J 
 Ernst ! my Ernst ! where are you ! Ernst 1 we are here, 
 your father and I ! " Then we heard nothing more. 
 
 A chill seized me. The ground was damp, and Wolfgang 
 insisted that I should sit upon the dead horse, whose body 
 was still warm. We quietly waited. In the heavens the 
 clouds were scudding by, and here and there the stars 
 sparkled. In the village a clock commenced striking. 
 Wolfgang counted aloud : it struck eleven. 
 
 Now some one approached; rny name was called. It 
 was Ikwarte. 
 
 "We have found him," he joyfully exclaimed. "Come 
 quickly ! " 
 
 "Is he living?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Accompanied by Ikwarte and Wolfgang, I went along. 
 Oh ! I cannot tell the horrors I then saw and heard. 
 
 " There, by the torch, there he is ! " 
 
 My knees shook under me. Then a man came again 
 towards us, and cried out, " Grandfather, come ! There is 
 yet time ! " 
 
 It was my grandson, the vicar. We reached the place. 
 
46o 
 
 WALDFRIED 
 
 There lay Martella on the ground bending over a figure. 
 Rothfuss stood by her with the torch, and Martella cried, 
 " Ernst, wake up ! Your father is here ! " 
 
 I kneeled down by him. I saw his face. His eyes were 
 closed, but his breast rose and fell quickly. 
 
 " Ernst ! my beloved child ! my long-lost child ! Ernst ! 
 your father calls you ! Your mother calls you from eternity ! 
 Ernst, you shall live ! you have repented ; you have atoned ! 
 Ernst, Ernst ! my son, my son ! " 
 
 He opened his eyes and moved his hand towards me. I 
 seized it ; it was stiff. 
 
 " Father, forgive ! " he moaned. " Martella, pardon ! 
 Oh ! mother father ! " 
 
 He breathed his last breath. I just saw" Martella throw 
 herself upon him, with an agonizing cry; then I saw and 
 heard nothing more. 
 
BOOK SIXTH. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " Q TAND firm ! Face the bullets ! " With these words, 
 
 Vv3 Ernst had encouraged his men to the last. My own 
 experience illustrated them. 
 
 For a considerable time, I did not know what had hap 
 pened, either to me or to those about me. I only knew 
 that I lay behind a white curtain with blue flowers, and 
 could not keep my eyes open for any length of time. The 
 flowers assumed all sorts of odd shapes, and the fantastic 
 figures seemed to be ever changing and rushing towards 
 me. 
 
 I think I was not really sick, only inexpressibly weak ; 
 and the fatigue and exhaustion prevented me from directing 
 my thoughts at will. I was childishly grateful for everything. 
 I looked at the wood in the door and rejoiced that it was 
 firm ; I heard the fire in the stove and was delighted that it 
 warmed me ; I was grateful to the bed that supported me, 
 so that I did not need to do it myself. 
 
 I remember that Bertha and Annette would occasionally 
 visit me ; but my grandson Wolfgang stayed with me nearly 
 all the time. Through the hardships of war and constant 
 exposure, Wolfgang had almost ripened into manhood. He 
 
462 ' WALDFRIED. 
 
 had become stronger and stouter than of old, and his voice 
 was now more manly. 
 
 " I am so glad, grandfather, to hear you call me by my 
 own name again ; you always used to call me Ernst," said 
 Wolfgang one day, and from that hour I felt that the heavy 
 clouds were slowly clearing away ; and when they had disap- 
 peared, I saw everything around me distinctly, and by 
 degrees I remembered what had happened. 
 
 " Is Ernst buried ?" 
 
 "Yes, grandfather." 
 
 I no\v asked Wolfgang to inform me what had occurred 
 while I was unconscious, and what had become of Martella 
 
 " Grandfather," said Wolfgang, " I must tell you the truth. 
 Martella is no longer separated from Ernst. She has 
 reached the goal." 
 
 I felt as if the clouds were again gathering before my 
 eyes, but, through the mists, I met Gustava's lustrous eyes, 
 saying, " She was true till death." 
 
 Wolfgang took my hand in his, and the youth's firm grasp 
 gave me renewed strength. I begged him to tell me all, 
 and he began : 
 
 " We brought you down to Aunt Annette, who, forebod- 
 ing evil, had met us half-way. It then suddenly occurred to 
 us that in our dreadful excitement and anxiety about you, 
 no one had taken care of Martella, and that she had not 
 followed us. Rothfuss said he was completely worn out, 
 and must stay with his master. Ikwarte has nerves and 
 muscles of steel. I felt as if my eyes burnt in their sockets ; 
 never before had I been so tired; but I returned with him, 
 nevertheless, to the battle-field, half dead with sleep and 
 fatigue." Wolfgang shivered, stopped awhile, and then con- 
 tinued : "We knew the place where Ernst lay, and soon 
 found him. The moon lit up his face wonderfully. Beside 
 
WALDFRIED. 463 
 
 him lay Martella, motionless ; she clung to him in a close 
 embrace, cheek to cheek, hand in hand. Is she dead, too ? 
 It were best ! I bent down to her ; she breathed heavily. 
 I called her name. Ho\v she stared at me wildly and 
 vacantly! Then she motioned us to be quiet, and whis- 
 pered, ' He will soon be warm again ; soon, very soon.' I 
 tried to persuade her to follow us ; she answered, ' O Wolf- 
 gang ! you are so good ; bring some wild honey. Oh, wait, 
 Ernst ! your nephew is coming with wild honey, and here 1 
 have your cup, your hunting cup.' I tried to persuade her, 
 and she answered, ' Oh, you have mother's voice. Mother, 
 tell him, oh, tell him to rise again.' She threw herself beside 
 the corpse, and when I cried, * Martella, get up ; come with 
 us,' she answered, ' You see he cannot move now, but I will 
 follow you ; you have my mother's voice.' She did not then 
 seem to remember the dead. She went with me and let me 
 lead her by the hand ; but suddenly she tore away and re- 
 turned, crying, 'They leave him lying alone on the cold 
 giound, in the dark night.' 
 
 " She broke down. We tried to administer some restora- 
 tive, but her mouth was firmly closed, and her breast was 
 heaving violently. At last Ikwarte succeeded in administer- 
 ing the draught. We brought her to a ruined house in the 
 vicinity. The doors had all been taken off I had helped 
 at the work myself; they had done service as litters. 
 
 " We placed Martella on a seat by the hearth, and I succeed- 
 ed in gathering some wood and starting a fire. ' Oh, how good ! 
 Oh, how warm ! ' said she to the flickering flames. Her 
 teeth chattered. We hoped that, after she was well warmed, 
 she would be able to go farther with us. She sat there 
 quietly, her elbows resting on her knees, her face covered 
 with both her hands. 
 
 " 'Wolfgang, keep me with you,' she said suddenly. 'Be 
 
464 WALDFR1ED. 
 
 good to me ; you are his brother's child ; keep me with you- 
 do not leave me. Tell me how many years it is since he 
 died? O Ernst, you are so happy that I cannot weep. 
 Why are you glad ? Oh, if I could but weep ! You have 
 been away so long, and why do you not return ? What 
 shall I do in this world without you ! Mother, Ernst is 
 with you ; you do not need him ; send him to me he 1*3 
 mine. I have nothing more in this world. My dog is dead, 
 too. My little red stockings oh, I was so happy. Mar- 
 tella is lost. Hunt for her in the woods where the wild 
 honey grows. Do you hear the cuckoo ? Cuckoo ! ' 
 
 " She stared vacantly into the flames ; then she cried : ' My 
 eyes burn like fire ! I cannot weep. O Ernst ! Ernst ! ' 
 
 " She tore the satchel from her girdle, tore the letter of 
 pardon into fragments, and cried : ' Everything shall burn 
 just as my eyes do. Come here, your Highness, and see 
 how your handwriting burns.' 
 
 " Dawn was breaking. Through the open door, we saw 
 some men approaching with a litter. 
 
 "'Here is Herr Rautenkron,' said Ikwarte. Martella 
 rushed out and saw the men carrying Ernsf s body. She 
 rushed towards them, sank beside the litter and cried : ' My 
 Ernst ! You are not dead ! ' 
 
 " A fearful shriek, which rang out far over the barren fields, 
 was forced from her tortured breast. She clasped her hand 
 to her heart while a flood of tears streamed over her cheeks. 
 Suddenly she broke down and sank on the body of Ernst. 
 A physican, who had come with the men, laid his hand on 
 her heart. It was still : he listened for her breathing ; it had 
 ceased. 
 
 "'My child! my child!' cried Rautenkron; she heard 
 nothing more." 
 
WALDFRIED. 465 
 
 So ended Wolfgang's story. His firm hand clasped mine, 
 and I felt as if that alone held me there among the living. 
 
 "And what became of Rautenkron?" I was able to ask 
 after a long interval. 
 
 " He had suddenly become an old man, with hollow 
 cheeks and lustreless eyes. He sat on the ground, stared at 
 the corpse, and did not speak a word. It rained in torrents. 
 Every one endeavored to induce Rautenkron to seek the 
 shelter o/ the hut, but he did not answer. At last he arose, 
 pulled the hood of his cloak over his head, lit a cigar, and 
 said to me, ' Stay here ; I shall come back presently.' After 
 a while, he returned with axe and spade. Alone, he dug the 
 grave in which Ernst and Martella were laid." 
 
 Wolfgang paused, and I remembered the sacred verses 
 from the lament of David for Jonathan : 
 
 "In death they were not divided." 
 
 " Where is Rautenkron ? " I asked at last. 
 
 " When the grave was filled up, he disappeared. Later, we 
 learned his fate. You remember that our men had taken the 
 city near by and occupied it; but the French had so 
 strengthened the castle which commanded it, that it seemed 
 impossible to drive them out. Rautenkron volunteered to 
 discover the mines which doubtless were under it. No 
 one knows how he gained an entrance, but on the following 
 day the powder-magazines in the cellars of the castle ex- 
 ploded and destroyed part of the castle, which was then 
 stormed. Great numbers of the enemy were killed. Careful 
 search was made for Rantenkron, but no trace of him was 
 discovered, and as, up to this time, nothing has been heard 
 of him, it seems sure that he was buried beneath the ruins." 
 30 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 BERTHA informed me that the Colonel was out of 
 danger, and was staying in the city during his conva- 
 lescence. The physician thought he would be able to lead 
 his regiment within a few weeks. The old spinner had re- 
 turned homewards with Carl. He had been taken to the 
 hospital of our capital. 
 
 "And Anton, of the saw-mill is he dead?" 
 
 " Father, I am telling you the whole truth ; but I beg of 
 you, do not seek to learn all these things to-day. Take 
 care of yourself, for our sakes." 
 
 I was soon again able to be up, and Bertha could not 
 say enough in praise of the kindness and sympathy of the 
 French people, in whose house I lay. 
 
 The housewife now wanted to speak to me, too. 
 
 She came, and was quite delighted to receive my heart- 
 felt thanks. 
 
 A few days later, I was permitted to visit the Colonel, 
 and the first words he uttered were, " Bertha, now I firmly 
 believe in my recovery. You wear your hair in curls again." 
 
 He informed me that he had considered it an ill omen, 
 when Bertha had worn her hair plain. Now that he was out 
 of danger, the curls and happiness were back again. 
 
 Then he recounted everything, from the first moment 
 of his being wounded, when he seemed to realize what 
 death is. It seemed like a stroke of lightning ; then all 
 was night and utter darkness. His adjutant stepped to 
 his couch, grasped his hand, kissed it, and wept over it 
 He felt the kisses and the tears, but was unable to give a 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 467 
 
 sign of consciousness, either by a pressure of the hand or by a 
 word ; within him, all was life, like a subterranean stream. 
 
 I did not long have have the pleasure of listening to the 
 reminiscences of the convalescent Colonel. I longed to re- 
 turn h&me. When the next train started for Germany, 
 it was in charge of Professor Rolunt, who had nursed the 
 Colonel like a brother ; they yielded to my entreaties, and, 
 in a well-heated car, I journeyed homewards. 
 
 Wolfgang accompanied me to the State capital, and then, 
 in company with Christiane, returned with a load of medi- 
 cines and delicacies to the theatre of war. 
 
 I felt as if I could not get thoroughly well again except at 
 home, and so it proved. When I inhaled the air of our forest- 
 covered mountains, it gave me new life. 
 
 The Privy Councillor's wife insisted on my resting at her 
 house for a few days, and by the careful nursing of our physi- 
 cian as well as his confident manner, which of itself was a 
 remedy, I soon gained fresh vigor. It did me good to hear 
 Lady Von Rontheim entwine the memories of our fallen sons. 
 She informed me, briefly and clearly, of what had happened 
 during my illness ; for now, when I could again read and un- 
 derstand the papers, I noticed many lapses in my knowledge 
 of events. 
 
 While I was living in the little town, Ludwig came. I 
 did not comprehend how I could have omitted to inquire 
 about him ; and now he brought with him a refreshing 
 breeze from another hemisphere. As he had previously in- 
 formed me by letter, he had journeyed to England and then 
 to America, to prevent shipments of arms for the French. 
 He had not had much success, although he offered, through 
 the newspapers, a large reward for any information regarding 
 such shipments. 
 
 I feJt pained when he said, "We Germans have no friends 
 
468 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 abroad, because we have not hitherto presented to the world 
 an imposing front. During the last half-century, the Ger- 
 man nation was like a man who has the consciousness of 
 honest intentions, and who counts on the recognition of 
 them by others. But neither an individual nor a people ob- 
 tains recognition gratuitously. They must wrest it from the 
 world ; and the best and the easiest way is not to wait for it, 
 but to put your shoulder to the wheel. Now the nations 
 speak in another key ; but they would all have rejoiced if 
 the brilliant Frenchman had overpowered us." 
 
 This pained me, and I did not wish to believe it. Ludwig 
 proved to me that, in England and America, some of the 
 more far-sighted favored our cause, and that the governments 
 could have easily prevented the shipment of arms and much 
 useless carnage, had they seriously desired it. He considered 
 it infinitely better that we did not need to ask, as we 
 had hitherto done, "What do other nations think of us? 
 How are they inclined towards us?" but that in future 
 others would have to ask, " What do the Germans think of 
 us ? How are they inclined ? " Ludwig, while abroad, had, 
 with delight, perceived the general curiosity and amazement, 
 in regard to the newly discovered wonder-land Germany. 
 He declared that we had no idea of the effect our wonder- 
 ful achievements had had upon the people of all lands. He 
 had everywhere announced the German Emperor, before he 
 even was proclaimed at home. 
 
 We at home scarcely know how much we have gained in 
 the esteem of others, and how gigantically our future looms 
 up before the eyes of astonished mankind. They see a 
 thousand different effects flow from this new birth ; and I 
 believe they are in the right. 
 
 Conny came to town, and, with her and Ludwig, I returned 
 home. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 WHEN I rode along the forest road, I saw Gaudens 
 at his work. He wore a soldier-cap, and whis- 
 tled " Die VVacht am Rhein," while clearing up the ditch 
 beside the footpath. 
 
 The valley stream was frozen tight, the trees were heavily 
 laden with snow. Ludwig reported that he had purchased 
 machines in America and England for our mill. With 
 the aid of these, the winter would, in future, not prevent 
 operations. Finished work could be set up, except when 
 the orders were to ship the articles in separate parts. It 
 seemed as if he contemplated remaining with us, as he 
 had settled up much of his business in America. Be- 
 sides, on his way home, he had taken some large con- 
 tracts from building associations. When I expressed 
 surprise at the varied fields of his activity, he said, 
 " Father, I have remembered this from what I have learned 
 of music ; you may play a different air with each hand, and 
 still both must be in harmony. My right hand plays the 
 melody ' personal advantage,' my left, the melody ' public 
 weal;' sometimes they change about, too. I have built 
 water- works, that were for the good of many ; but they were 
 good for me, too, and I do not think that without this I 
 would have built them so cheerfully. Just now a great 
 mania for building prevails among the people, and we 
 shall be able to give employment to many good laborers 
 who have been driven out of France." 
 
 We came to the saw-mill near the bridge. Here, on the 
 
47O WALDFRIED. 
 
 same day that the news arrived of Anton's death, a workman 
 had lost three of his ringers by the circular saw. Ludwig 
 went to the man and engaged him as sorter of the different 
 kinds of timber. 
 
 The saw-mill was stopped, and all the shutters were closed. 
 Here we met Joseph, who informed us that since the death 
 of his son, the owner of the mill had lost all energy and 
 pleasure in his business. He had removed to a daughter of 
 his in the opposite valley, and wanted to sell the property. 
 " You must buy this, and work for us," cried Ludwig. 
 
 Joseph answered sadly that he could not ; he said he was 
 in danger of losing everything. He had invested almost his 
 entire property in wood in the Hagenau forest, and if 
 Bourbaki and his army should force their way through, all 
 would be lost over there as well as here. 
 
 These were certainly very gloomy prospects, and we 
 could not get any comfort at home ; we daily expected the 
 advance of Bourbaki' s army, and it was said that prepara- 
 tions were being made to lay the whole country waste. 
 
 My sister wrote that in Alsace it was the general belief 
 that there would now be a change. Bourbaki would strike 
 down Germany. Her husband had hung up the pictures and 
 epaulettes again ; but with this proviso, that if the French 
 would not deliver them this time, he would have nothing 
 further to do with them, and would become a forester in 
 Germany. 
 
 Bertha had returned to the capital, and wrote that the 
 Colonel, with whom Rothfuss had remained, was again at 
 the head of his regiment in the division that opposed Bour- 
 baki's advance towards the Rhine. 
 
 At home, I found another cause for deep emotion ; it 
 was a letter for me from Ernst. It had been forwarded from 
 the field by the army post. The paper showed the traces of 
 
WALD FRIED. 47! 
 
 many tears. I was so much overcome, every time I read the 
 letter, that my children took it away from me ; but I asked 
 them to return it, and here it is : 
 
 " DEAR FATHER AND MOTHER : See me prostrate at 
 your feet ; what I desired to do a thousand times, and again 
 and again postponed, I must now finish. 
 
 " I know that, both for you and for me, my deeds have 
 filled many days and nights nay, whole years with sadness. 
 I cannot express in words what I have thought and felt while on 
 the march in the hot sun, or at night when I looked up to the 
 stars that shone also on my paternal home. And, oh ! how, 
 when on the march and parched with thirst, I longed for 
 a drop of water from our fountain. I write with burn- 
 ing tears, but they cannot blot out the past, nor recall 
 a single wasted hour. Lost ! lost ! I repent, I suffer 
 deeply. You often told me, mother, * You must curb 
 four spirit.' I could not succeed in my peaceful home, al- 
 though I had so many to help me you, father, Martella, my 
 brothers and sisters. From afar, the sound of ardent prayer 
 s\vells into an eager wail for redemption. I have wasted ail. 
 Am I a sacrifice to my country's misery? And now comes 
 the most dreadful consequence of my misdeeds. We have 
 received orders to take ship to fight against Germany. No, 
 not against Germany. The old misery is here again with re- 
 doubled force. An officer has confided to me, that several 
 of the lesser German states had called upon France to re- 
 lease them from the tyranny of Prussia. 
 
 " I had loaded my gun and pointed it at my head, but, 
 thinking of you, I fired into the air. 
 
 4 'Is it my guilt, or am I but a drop in the stream that 
 overflows its bed ? 
 
 " O my parents ! He who leaves his country is suspended 
 
472 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 in mid-air, and has no ground to stand upon. It is well 
 that the end is near ; but I wish you to know that my soul 
 is with you at home. At this moment, I feel your hands 
 on my head, blessing me. 
 
 " May Martella remain forever true ! I can say nothing to 
 her. Oh, Richard was in the right. How dared I, who was 
 nothing for myself, bind another life to mine ? 
 
 " I thank you a thousand times for all the kindness, all the 
 love you bestowed upon me who am unworthy of it, and 
 upon Martella who deserves it. 
 
 "I beg forgiveness of my brothers and sisters for the 
 wrongs I have done them. 
 
 " Do not mourn for me ; I shall find the way to atonement. 
 Console and comfort yourselves with the thought of one 
 who will remember you till death. 
 
 " ERNST." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 "TT|*ATHER, I did not hitherto wish to speak of it, but 
 
 i now I must tell you," said Ludwig, one day. 
 
 "For God's sake, what can have happened?" 
 
 " Nothing bad, quite the contrary ; I am resolved to re- 
 main here. I did not wish to tell you until peace was 
 restored, but I think that this is the time when the news will 
 do you most good." 
 
 I deemed it my duty to advise him to delay before mak- 
 ing up his mind, but he replied, " I have considered every- 
 thing. Whatever a man may achieve in this world, be it 
 ever so great or important, if he has not done his whole 
 duty to his parents, all else is vain. I remain with you, and 
 to public duties I will devote as much of my life as can be 
 spared from you." 
 
 Thus spoke my son, whose roving life in America we 
 thought had made him harsh and cold. 
 
 I inquired whether he had already consulted his wife. 
 He replied that there was no doubt of her consent, because 
 she would simply and gladly consent as soon as he should 
 tell her that it was for the best. 
 
 Conny at once consented. She mentioned that her 
 father had always prophesied that she would some time re- 
 turn to Europe. She now felt particularly happy, because, 
 if it should turn out that a German confederation with an 
 emperor at its head would be established, the ideal of her 
 father's life, and for the sake of which he went into exile, 
 would be realized. 
 
474 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 While our eyes were wandering from the the warlike past 
 to a peaceful future, we were thrilled over and over again by 
 the thought that our army stood like a gigantic wall in the 
 path of the advancing Bourbaki. 
 
 Ludwig told me that, in connection with some friends, he 
 intended to start a new building association for the public 
 benefit. He had found the starting point with some former 
 friends from the gymnasium. Their object was to locate 
 some grand industrial establishments in the country, in 
 order to avert the threatened overcrowding of the large cities, 
 by giving profitable employment to the dwellers in the rurai 
 districts. He intended to transfer his mill to the company, 
 and also to enlarge it. 
 
 Martha, who had remained with her mother in the city, 
 sent us a letter from Julius. He wrote about the great sor- 
 tie from Paris, and what heavy sacrifices it had cost us. He 
 was very happy to have been able to give proofs of his valor, 
 and he had received the Iron Cross of the first class on the 
 field of battle. 
 
 Madam Von Rontheim begged me to hold myself in 
 readiness to return to the city within a few days. 
 
 It was towards evening when the sounds of great rejoicing 
 were heard in the village. All flocked together, and we 
 heard loud cries, " Rothfuss is here again ! " Rothfuss came 
 with two horses harnessed to his vehicle, and two following in 
 the rear. 
 
 "I bring four captured Frenchmen," he cried : "I have 
 bought them honestly. Of course I paid only for their 
 hides. They are not much more than skin and bone any- 
 way, but in a week I shall feed four new horses into their 
 skins. When they taste the fodder from our mountain for- 
 ests, they will think, ' What a fine country Germany is ; there 
 they feed horses on sweet herbs.' " 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 475 
 
 Rothfuss also brought the great news that our German 
 troops had pushed Bourbaki and his men to the wall ; just as 
 might have been done in a tavern fight. 
 
 We did not quite understand what he really meant. Then 
 Joseph brought the newspaper. Alsace was free ; and his 
 joy over the victory was enhanced by the certainty that his 
 timber in the Hagenau forest was now all safe. 
 
 We read about the three days' battle before Belfort ; and 
 as long as valor and endurance are remembered, history will 
 have a glorious page to unfold there. 
 
 My daughter Johanna came down to enjoy a few days' 
 rest with us. In spite of the great hardships she had under- 
 gone, she had become stronger, and looked more cheerful. 
 She wanted to deliver her good news in person. Her 
 daughter had become engaged to a man who had lost his 
 right arm. Christiane had nursed him faithfully, and fallen 
 in love with him, and Johanna is right in saying, " She will 
 always love him the more because of her having to take 
 care of him ; she is just the wife for an invalid." 
 
 On the very next day, we had a triumphal entry in our 
 village. Carl- was well again, but carried his left arm in a 
 sling. Rothfuss harnessed his four "Bourbakis" (they were 
 lean as yet, but lively) and drove Carl and his mother, four- 
 in-hand. Down at the saw-mill, Marie mounted beside 
 Carl and rode along into the village. 
 
 Rothfuss stopped before the house of the meadow- 
 farmer. Nobody was to be seen there, but all cried, 
 " Hurrah for the meadow-farmer ! " 
 
 " You must say the old farmer," commanded Rothfuss, 
 "because Carl is now the young meadow farmer. Come 
 out, old fellow ; Napoleon had to abdicate, too. Give 
 up your flail to Carl, the conqueror." 
 
 At last the door opened. The old meadow farmer came 
 
476 WALDFRIED. 
 
 out and welcomed Carl. It seemed as if the cheering would 
 never end. Carl becomes the meadow farmer ! After this 
 everything is possible. 
 
 " Have you any news of my faithful nurse, the Captain's 
 wife ? " asked .Carl, when he entered our room ; and the old 
 woman, who had not heard a word, also asked, " How is the 
 worthy lady ? " 
 
 Just then, as it happened, a letter arrived from her. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 A NNETTE wrote : 
 
 " What happiness it is to write to you ! This is the first 
 time that I address you as your real and true daughter. Do 
 you remember how ill you took it when I once called you 
 Patriarch? You were right, because bandying sharp 
 speeches was a great fault of mine. Too much of the 
 intellectual was my misfortune and that of all of us. 
 Now I am nothing but a quiet ant, crawling up a tree 
 and bearing my tiny mite; to be one ant amongst a 
 thousand is now my only ambition. I do not wish to be 
 anything for myself. I must give you an extract from 
 Richard's lettei. What is dearest and most beautiful in 
 it, I cannot, of course, repeat to you. He writes : 
 
 " * Hitherto, our happiness consisted in the general belief 
 that every one was a nobody, unless he was something 
 quite apart, because the people as a whole were held in but 
 little esteem. Germany was like the educated Jew, who is 
 always intent on hearing from others, " How do they regard 
 me ? " " What do they think of me ? " You yourself,' but 
 here he begins praising me enough of that. 
 
 " ' It gave me great pleasure to have Johanna with us in the 
 hospital for a few days, which enabled us, by working to- 
 gether, to gain a better appreciation of each other. She has 
 gathered experience and insight from other sources than my- 
 self, and she insists that nature is better than what we call 
 principle. We can afford to let the latter pass, here and 
 
478 WALDFRIED. 
 
 there. She acknowledges that unbelievers, as she calls us, 
 are capable of virtuous actions. This war has taught all of 
 us not to ask for dogmas, but for deeds. 
 
 " ' I am scarcely able to-day, to write a letter in my own 
 name. It was general mail-day, and I sat for hours at the 
 bedside of the sick, writing word for word as they dictated. 
 I am glad to have learnt enough French to be able to write 
 for the officer whom you may remember. How manifold 
 are the relations of life with which I have become familiar- 
 ized ! There is much wonderful beauty hidden in the world, 
 and every people and every station in life has its share. 
 
 " ' I had to add postscripts to two letters announcing the 
 death of those in whose name they were written. One was 
 the son of honored parents, and the other was himself the 
 head of a family, and leaves four children. 
 
 " ' Midnight. I could not write further. Now all is 
 hushed ; and I do not wish to sleep before fulfilling my duty 
 towards you. I find it hateful, when in full health, to say, 
 " I cannot," and, therefore, continue writing. I feel as if 
 mother were sitting beside me and saying, "Tell my husband 
 everything. The best remedy against fear is to know the 
 whole truth." But I must inform y9u about Martella. 
 
 " ' The next day. Last night, while I was writing the last 
 sentence, Wolfgang came. He informed me that he had 
 told you all. I may then speak of ourselves again.' 
 
 " Richard has written me : * Remember that you once told 
 me you would go through the wide world with me. That 
 may now come to pass. Through varied labors which 
 have given entire satisfaction, I have received an offer of 
 employment in the foreign service, and it may happen that 
 we shall have to begin our married life in the new world. I 
 leave my quiet study, or rather I shall not return to it. I 
 may be able to influence the living present, and you, my 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 good and lovely wife, shall win admiration and respect in 
 the highest circles. I am proud to place you in life's highest 
 stations, and for this reason I joyfully surrender my solitary, 
 peaceful studies and long-cherished plans of scientific invest! 
 gation.' 
 
 " How I replied to Richard you will see by these lines, 
 which I copy for you without conventional modesty ; they 
 are from a second letter, in answer to mine : 
 
 " ' A thousand times, I kiss your hands and press you to 
 my heart. You are my good genius. Pardon every un- 
 pleasant thought which, in the erring past, I may have 
 harbored against you. Even then, despite myself, my 
 mother knew you better than I did ; her blessing rests upon 
 your head. You have liberated me and brought me back to 
 myself ; I receive all willingly from your hands. 
 
 " * How clever and how pointed are your accounts of the 
 nothings of diplomatic life which you noticed in Paris at the 
 house of your sister-in-law, the wife of our ambassador. 
 
 " ' Pardon me that I was just a little jealous of the title of 
 nobility, and that I thought you might regret having to 
 change it for a plain civilian name. I thank you for scolding 
 me so merrily about it ; but I reproach myself very seriously 
 that I could entertain such a thought for a single instant. 
 
 " ' How much you are in the right ! I dare not abandon my 
 innermost convictions. Your Christian admonition has gone 
 right to my heart : yes, I would have been doing violence to 
 my soul. 
 
 " ' Now all is bright and free within and around me. It is 
 settled. I shall keep on the straight line marked out for me ; 
 I am born and bred a man of letters. You see clearly what 
 I could not confess to you or myself. For your sake the 
 glitter of life allured, and attracted me. I fondly im- 
 
480 WALDFRIED. 
 
 agined your queenly form moving among those the world call 
 noblest; but you, my lovely wife, are greater, purer, and 
 freer than I am. You do not wish to shine ; you will live 
 for me, and I am to live for my ideal. It is decided ; I am 
 fortified against all temptation. I shall remain true to my 
 calling, to you, and to myself.' 
 
 " I have told you all. I hope the time is not far off when 
 this horrible war, this killing and dying, will be but as a 
 shadowy dream in our memories. There must be peace at 
 last, and peace will bring home to you 
 
 " Your happy daughter, 
 
 "ANNETTE." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HE very same day, a messenger arrived from the Coun- 
 Ciller's wife, to call me, and I drove to the city with 
 Joseph and Ludwig. From afar, we heard the booming of 
 cannon, and at the new saw-mill the lumber merchant 
 Scrnvarzenberg, an ever-faithful patriot, told me : " We have 
 an Emperor ; he has been proclaimed at Versailles." This 
 was as it should be. Our great achievements in war were 
 consecrated by the establishment of the German Empire. 
 
 Ludwig was dissatisfied because the celebration was held 
 on a Prussian anniversary. He had to acknowledge, how- 
 ever, that the history of Prussia now glided into that of 
 Germany,' and that it was not improper thus to exalt a family 
 festival. 
 
 O fortunate posterity ! you can never know or appreciate 
 our feelings during those days. We had long cherished these 
 aspirations for our country, for a United Germany ; the less 
 we could hope for their realization, the deeper they lay in 
 our hearts. Patriotism was like religious martrydom. Our 
 country did not return our love. On the contrary, it was 
 requited by hate and persecution from those high in station, 
 and by neglect and ridicule from the lowly. And, in spite 
 of all, for more than fifty years we stood firm and true, without 
 hope of reward. 
 
 In the city, the bells were ringing and all the houses were 
 decorated with flags. The Councillor's wife received us on 
 the stairs and said, " Welcome, great-grandfather ! Martha 
 has given birth to a son." 
 31 
 
482 WALDFRIED. 
 
 How can I express the emotions that filled my heart ! My 
 country united under a powerful, victorious chief, and on the 
 same day a great-grandchild born to me. How can I de- 
 serve such unspeakable bliss ! 
 
 I was allowed to speak to Martha for a minute, and to 
 take my great-grandson in my arms. He opened his eyes, 
 and Martha cried, " He has liis grandmother's eyes. 
 When at Strasburg, Julius asked that his name should be 
 Erwin." 
 
 The Councillor's wife ordered her to be quiet, adding : 
 " You can now be perfectly happy ; the conflict is over, and 
 your husband returns full of honors. You are blessed in- 
 deed, and we are blessed through you. Sleep now ; when 
 you really want to sleep, you can do so." 
 
 I had to leave the room ; and, after a while, the new grand- 
 mother came to tell me that Martha was sleeping quietly. 
 
 I remained in the city. The grandfather came for a day, 
 and told me that he agreed with Julius, who, as he had so 
 greatly distinguished himself, wished to remain in the mili- 
 tary service. 
 
 My eyes have looked upon the third generation ; I was also 
 to see the dream of my youth realized in the establishment 
 of the German Empire, and my family had fairly done their 
 share towards it. But our joys are never unalloyed. No 
 tree in the forest has an uninterrupted growth. A raven 
 comes, rests on its top, and bends and blights the tender 
 sapling. 
 
 Yes, a raven of misfortune came. A letter from Annette 
 reported, in a few hasty words, that Richard had disappeared, 
 and that he had probably fallen into the hands of the franc 
 tireurs. There was still some hope of his life. She had 
 started out with Wolfgang to hunt him up. Wolfgang, being 
 an American citizen, could get through the lines. She asked 
 
WALDFRIED. 483 
 
 us to move heaven and earth to save Richard. In a post- 
 script, she reminded me of the wounded French officer whom 
 she was nursing when I searched for the Colonel. How 
 wonderful ! every good deed meets its reward. The officer 
 had given her a pass, from which she promised herself the 
 best results. 
 
 Ludwig was not for a moment alarmed by the danger into 
 which his only son had ventured. He had full confidence 
 in Wolfgang's discretion, and his words were full of assur- 
 ance that he would not be found wanting. 
 
 I believe that this confidence was genuine, but I also be- 
 lieve that he tried, for my sake, to mitigate the shock which 
 the news about Richard had given me. 
 
 It puzzled me how Richard, who did not belong to the 
 combatants, could be captured by the enemy ; but Ludwig 
 stopped all brooding over it by saying : u Father, will you 
 accompany me to the capital ? I wish to see our ambassa- 
 dor ; he must give me all possible assistance." 
 
 In the capital, all the bells were ringing, and at the rail- 
 road station " extras " were announced with the Emperor's 
 proclamation. In the midst of a group of people in the 
 street stood a man reading the words of the Emperor. I 
 knew him ; it was Loedinger. His voice trembled ; and when 
 he had finished, and the joyful crowd marched through the 
 streets, he saw me and embraced me heartily. 
 
 "What have we lived to see?" he cried. "Now we can 
 die in peace. But what is the matter with you ? Why do 
 you not cheer with us ? " 
 
 I told him, in a few words, of the capture of my son, and 
 the worst fears which it justified. 
 
 Ludwig went at once to his ambassador, and I to the pal- 
 ace to see the Prince, who would doubtless use his influence 
 for the rescue of my son. In the palace, there was great 
 
484 WALDFRIED. 
 
 commotion. They said that no message could be taken to 
 the Prince now, as he was presiding at a session of the Privy 
 Council. I had to wait a long while. In the streets, the 
 rejoicing went on ; it could be faintly heard from afar. 
 The whole city was illuminated. 
 
 At last I was told that the Prince could not see me to- 
 day ; I must leave my petition with the chief of the Cabinet. 
 He was a relative of my son-in-law, and was favorably inclined 
 towards me. He said that from there no effective steps 
 could be taken ; that it was the business of the Imperial gov- 
 ernment, and that I should address myself to the Prussian 
 ambassador, to whom he gave me a few lines. I felt like a 
 beggar who is sent from house to house. 
 
 At the Prussian Embassy, I was informed that the Ameri- 
 can Minister was attending a conference, and that there 
 was a stranger with him. 
 
 I was called in, and found Ludwig with the two ambassa- 
 dors. All necessary steps had already been agreed upon, 
 and dispatches were at once forwarded to Versailles. 
 
 We drove to the station in the American Minister's 
 coach, and Ludwig started for France, at once. 
 
 I went to Bertha, and, in spite of the new trouble that 
 poured in upon me, I felt somewhat relieved when with my 
 daughter and her children. Victor looked splendidly in his 
 cadet uniform. Bertha met me with outstretched arms, say- 
 ing, " Father, we shall soon have peace, and he is now al- 
 most a general." 
 
 It was not the least part of my sorrow that I had to inform 
 Bertha of our deep anxiety for Richard. In the gladness of 
 her heart, she ascribed it all to the exaggerated fears of An- 
 nette. The human heart is selfish ; in moments of great 
 happiness it wants to hear nothing of the sorrows of others, 
 and refuses to believe them. 
 
WALDFRIED. 455 
 
 I was compelled to mar the joy of the proud, loving wife ; 
 and when Bertha too was filled with alarm, she pitied 
 Annette even more than her brother. She thought it par- 
 ticularly hard that Annette, who was so good and self-sacri- 
 ficing, should again and again be overwhelmed with sorrow. 
 She believed that Richard had loved Annette before the 
 death of her husband, and that his repentance and severity 
 towards himself caused him to be so bitter to her. He 
 struggled with his love for the woman on whom his eyes had 
 rested with admiration at a time when such admiration was 
 sinful. 
 
 On the other hand her natural good humor and buoyancy of 
 spirits made her confident that Richard would surely soon be 
 saved. Richard always \vas a lucky fellow. She remem- 
 bered, from childhood, that once while I was coming down 
 the river on a raft with my raftsmen, Richard stood on shore, 
 and, crying " Father !" rushed out into the stream till the 
 water came up to his chin. Balbina ran to the rescue, and, 
 when he was safely ashore he laughed heartily. He had 
 not been conscious of danger or fear. 
 
 While Bertha recalled all this, I became more tranquil, 
 and when she expressed her confident hope that we would 
 not live to see another war, I heartily agreed with her. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 IT was well that I had come up to the capital, for Par- 
 liament had been convoked, in order to consider the new 
 constitution, or rather, the question of giving in our adhesion 
 to the North German Confederation. 
 
 I scarcely heard the speeches, and did not have the 
 strength to take the floor myself. 
 
 When a vote was at last reached, it went hard with me to 
 vote " aye." In spite of my joy that there was now a United 
 Germany, I had labored too long for the establishment of 
 German landed rights, to content myself without their 
 being embodied in laws. 
 
 I was deeply moved by a remark of my old and faithful 
 colleague, Loedinger : " I fear that in the new German consti- 
 tution, it will only be too evident that the movement which 
 brought it about, was not initiated by the people." 
 
 We heard from Annette and Wolfgang, who wrote that they 
 had at last obtained a clue to aid them in the search for 
 Richard. He had, for a long time, been dragged about the 
 country, and had then been sent to the Isles d'Hyeres. 
 
 Now, for the first time, I % learned the details of his cap. 
 ture. Richard had crossed our lines into the enemy's 
 country, being tempted to do so by a desire to investigate 
 certain points of local history. He was arrested by the 
 franc tireurs, who took him for a spy and wanted to shoot 
 him. It was only through the interference of a man who 
 was able to read Richard's journal that he was saved from 
 instant death. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 This was all they had been able to discover, up to the 
 arrival of Ludvvig, who sent Wolfgang home, and continued 
 the search with Annette. 
 
 They were often led astray, and shown prisoners whom 
 they did not know. They would have liked to console and 
 encourage them by the news of the progress of our victorious 
 armies and the certainty of a speedy peace, but they dared 
 not risk it. 
 
 Ludwig added to his letter minute directions concerning 
 the mill. 
 
 We were now perfectly safe in pushing the enterprise for- 
 ward, as Bourbaki's forces had been driven into Switzerland 
 and disarmed. 
 
 I could not content myself at the capital, and journeyed 
 homewards. On the way, I met Baron Arven, who had re- 
 turned from the field seriously ill, and who hoped to regain 
 his health at home. I accompanied him, and found some 
 pleasure in bearing him company in his deserted mansion 
 his wife was in Rome, both his sons still in the field. " I 
 shall die at home after all," was his invariable answer when- 
 ever we attempted to console him. Our excellent physi- 
 cian prepared me for the worst. I was with Arven in his 
 last hour, and was present when his remains were deposited 
 in the family vault. 
 
 Joseph came to take me home. 
 
 In war times, one's feelings at last become familiarized with 
 death scenes. 
 
 I soon again was called upon to take a part in public life. 
 
 The election campaign opened. Remminger, who had 
 returned from the field to get cured of severe rheumatism, 
 brought me the paper which represented our party. In it, he 
 was recommended as delegate to the Reichstag from our 
 district, as a man of merit, and of experience in military 
 
4 S8 WALDFRIED. 
 
 matters. I did not begrudge him the honor, nor the office. 
 It gave his life a greater value, though I did not know that 
 he ever took any part in political matters, or even showed 
 any desire in that direction. 
 
 I thought it remarkable that in the article, particular 
 stress was laid on the fact, that he was a friend and former 
 comrade of my son-in-law, who had so greatly distinguished 
 himself in the three days' battle against Bourbaki. 
 
 What motive could there have been for referring to that 
 fact ? However, if it could be of any use to the man, I was 
 content. 
 
 He asked me whether I had had any hand in the publica- 
 tion of the article. He had never thought of taking part in 
 politics, but if the place were offered him, he would not 
 shirk the duty. I heard that the article was supposed to have 
 emanated either from Joseph or myself. 
 
 We inquired at the office, and were informed that the 
 nomination had been sent in with the stamp of our nearest 
 post-office, and with a rather indistinct signature, which 
 might well be Joseph's. 
 
 Joseph asserted that Funk was the author. I did not be- 
 lieve it, because the entire article did not contain a single 
 superlative. He never could, even while writing, restrain his 
 peculiar talent for screaming. 
 
 Great thoughts stirred the hearts of men, but littleness, 
 cunning, and mischief-making had not ceased either. But 
 what matters it ? A tree grows all the same, whether ants 
 and beetles crawl upon it or not. 
 
 A second article shortly afterward appeared in the country 
 papers, in which it was said that military despotism had un- 
 masked its batteries. But the people were awake ; the peo- 
 ple, who did not pray to the god whose name is Success ; but 
 were true to their o\vn eternal aims and ideas. The clamor of 
 
WALDFRIED. 489 
 
 victory must not drown the cries for liberty. We still had 
 approved champions in our midst ; our district still owned 
 an independent man of large landed property ; he should 
 be deputy ; they should be made to see at Berlin what plain, 
 strong men tilled our land. 
 
 Joseph asserted that the papers of the popular party 
 wanted to draw me to their side. There were inquiries in 
 the journals from different quarters as to who was meant by 
 " the firm man of solid worth," until he was named at last. 
 It was Schweitzer- Schmalz. As usual, it was claimed that 
 South Germany was the only' real Germany, just as peasants 
 were said to be the only genuine people. To-day, the peas- 
 ants ; to-morrow, perhaps the so-called laborer. The red 
 waistcoat of Schweitzer-Schmalz was to do service as the 
 popular flag. 
 
 Joseph was filled with anger and disgust, and I urged him 
 to accept the nomination himself. He had much influence, 
 and there were few other men in the district so well thought 
 of as he. 
 
 I can say much in Joseph's favor; he wishes to see the 
 state honestly served ; but he also likes to attend to his 
 business. Just then, Joseph had indeed a heavy load to 
 carry. He had brought a large squad of foresters from the 
 Tyrol, and had to provide several new teams. 
 
 We heard that Schweitzer-Schmalz had, at first, declined 
 the proffered offer; but when he found the election was not 
 to cost him any money, only some little condescension tow- 
 ards the poorer people, a few casks of beer, and, more than 
 all else, strong language against military dictation, he de- 
 clared his readiness. He was plain spoken, and yet cunning 
 enough to declare, at the valley tavern, that, if he should be 
 defeated it would be more of an honor than a disgrace to 
 him. People would then always say, "Here is the man who 
 
490 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 ought to have been our deputy at the Reichstag. He is a 
 man of the right sort." 
 
 The movement continued. It was a sorrowful spectacle 
 for me, to see how the domestic enemies of the Empire in- 
 scribed our Frankfort Constitution on their flag, and cried 
 that it must be accepted without debate. What should be 
 done in case it was not accepted, they would not say ; they 
 knew as well as we did, that the adoption of the constitution 
 of 1848 was an impossibility. But they wanted to start an 
 opposition, and to surround it with a halo of glory. 
 
 On the last day of February, we received the news that the 
 preliminaries of peace were agreed upon, and our German 
 Emperor announced, " We have arrived at the end of the 
 glorious but bloody war which was so wantonly and wick- 
 edly forced upon us." 
 
 We who lived on the borders were delighted beyond 
 measure to know that Alsace-Lorraine had been brought 
 home to us again ; and when I was speaking with my folks 
 about it, Rothfuss remarked : 
 
 " Now I know how it worked. Those who live along the 
 Rhine, from Basle downward, felt the way you do, when you 
 lie abed in winter time and have too narrow a blanket. 
 Whenever you move, you are uncovered and get cold. Now 
 we have a good double bed ; now we can stretch ourselves, 
 and, over there, stand the Vosges mountains ; that is a good 
 solid wall ; no draft gets through that." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HE ides of March had returned as they had twenty-three 
 1- years before, but how different now ! We stood on a 
 basis of real power, which had been wrested in battle from 
 our restless neighbor. 
 
 The armistice with the enemy without was concluded, but 
 .at the polls we had to struggle against adversaries within. 
 
 The best men of our district came and explained to me 
 how false a game was being played. " They are electioneer- 
 ing for Schweitzer-Schmalz, who would not be so bad a man, 
 but, at the last moment, they mean to drop him and trans- 
 fer the votes to Funk, who has acquired a considerable for- 
 tune by the war." 
 
 The men urged me, and Schwarzenberg, the lumber mer- 
 chant, was not the least among them, to allow myself to be 
 put up as a candidate, both as a matter of right and 
 duty. He claimed that I, who had assisted at the vex- 
 atious and fruitless labors at Frankfort, should have the 
 nomination. Only in that way, could the defeat of the Funk 
 party be assured. 
 
 I told them what trouble I had, and that I was too old, 
 and unequal to the duties the office would impose upon me. 
 
 Then the burgomaster of Kaltenbach, a quiet, worthy 
 man, reminded me that I had often said one should drown 
 domestic griefs in active labors for the Fatherland. He bade 
 me consider what would become of us Germans, if we should 
 fail to secure true unity. 
 
492 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 Those who had fallen in France, would, in that case, be 
 disgraced and dishonored by the result. 
 
 I could not yield, in spite of all that was said ; and Joseph 
 asked me, " If Richard is saved, will you consent ? " 
 
 " I do not make vows ! " 
 
 " I did not mean it in that way ; but would your mind be 
 sufficiently at ease ? " 
 
 I asked for time to consider the matter. 
 
 There was to be a meeting of electors on the next even- 
 ing. I was alone, buried in thought ; but soon a true and 
 encouraging companion arrived. It was a letter, the hand- 
 writing of which I did not recognize ; but when I had broken 
 the seal and read the signature, I seemed to hear the voice 
 of sincerity itself it was a letter from Doctor Wilhelmi, of 
 Berlin. 
 
 Ludwig had already informed me that Wilhelmi had re- 
 turned years ago, and I had heard of his labors with genuine 
 delight. I had often wished to send him a word of cheer, 
 but had not found the opportunity. Now he wrote : 
 
 "All hail! thus do I salute you in your forest home. And 
 now let me tell you all about ourselves. My wife and other 
 ladies are at work day and night at the railroad depots, pro- 
 viding the troops, and particularly the sick and wounded ones, 
 with refreshments. One day, a large body of prisoners ar- 
 rived in charge of one of your country people. My wife ob- 
 served this as soon as he opened his mouth, and asked him 
 about you. The man had been servant to a sullen and ill- 
 natured forester in your neighborhood, and you may imagine 
 how glad we were to hear of you. For years I have often 
 read your name, and often intended to write to you ; now, 
 a messenger had come to us from you. 
 
 " We provided him with quarters. He is really becoming 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 493 
 
 spoiled by our friends, for the Berlin folks find the Suabian 
 dialect ' charming, delightful,' and your countryman is a 
 rogue. 
 
 " He outherods Herod ; speaks the dialect more emphati- 
 cally than ever Suabian did before, and, when his bravery is 
 praised (he has received many orders) is condescending 
 enough to confess, * We did not do everything ; the Prussians 
 too behaved quite decently.' 
 
 " 'Quite decently,' is the highest compliment your coun- 
 trymen ever bestow on any one. When the man gets home 
 he will tell you that the Berlinese are all angels. I sin- 
 cerely trust that you, too, will soon make their acquaint- 
 ance. 
 
 " How are your children ? above all, the daughter who was 
 with you in Strasburg years ago. 
 
 " I hear that Ludwig is with you. Tell him to remain ; we 
 need men like him. 
 
 " What has become of the handsome boy, Arndt's favorite, 
 who was with us in Frankfort ? And what of the young 
 student who came to visit us there ? 
 
 " Write to me, or, what would be better still, come here 
 soon. We need old masons to build up the new state." 
 
 His wife had added a postscript saying : " When you 
 come to Berlin, you must stay with us." 
 
 Joseph thought the best way to keep Ludwig at home 
 would be to elect him a member of the Reichstag. He had 
 made inquiries of an attorney in the little neighboring town, 
 and had been told that Ludwig had not resided long enough 
 in Germany to be eligible ; but that as these were extraordi- 
 nary times, the Reichstag would probably admit him. 
 
 The matter was brought before the election committee, 
 but was not carried, as we should not be so sure of our voters 
 
494 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 if we had to go before the county a secofid time. The 
 country people could with difficulty be induced to lose a 
 work-day ; the high pitch of patriotic sentiment that now ob- 
 tained might not last long. 
 
 I accepted the nomination. 
 
 I have nothing to report in regard to the election cam- 
 paign, except this ; it was the first time we had been obliged 
 to fight the new clerical party. 
 
 I do not like to speak of clerical machinations. France 
 was conquered, and France was the last stay of the Papal 
 power. Our victories had enabled the King of Italy to enter 
 Rome. There was now an attempt to set on foot a carefully 
 disguised opposition in our own country. A prebendary be- 
 longing to the diocese, travelled through our district, and held 
 secret conferences with the pastors, to induce them to in- 
 fluence votes for a champion who had made himself noto- 
 rious, by the strong language he had used. 
 
 Joseph finds out everything, and thus he soon learned that 
 the lower clergy leaned towards the patriotic side, but that 
 they would not risk open opposition. And, apropos of that, 
 an amusing story was in circulation. 
 
 The prebendary asked the sleek and wily pastor of Rot- 
 tenhoch, "And how do matters stand in your village? What 
 are you able and willing to do ? " 
 
 " Whatever the Right Reverend Bishop commands, shall 
 be done." 
 
 The Right Reverend turned and twisted as best he might : 
 but the priest could not be made to understand that his su- 
 periors desired to avoid giving explicit orders ; and the others, 
 who saw that the attempts to secure his compliance always 
 elicited the same reply, bit their tongues to keep from laugh- 
 ing outright. 
 
 It was the first Sunday after Easter, on a bright spring day, 
 
WALDFRIED. 495 
 
 when my friends came to take me to the meeting of the 
 voters. 
 
 Rothfuss went with Carl, the young meadow-farmer, and 
 said, " Yes, Carl, you are lucky ; you begin in your young 
 days. This is the first chance I have ever had to tell our 
 man what he should say to the Emperor for me. But it is a 
 good thing after all ; and mind what I tell you before the 
 election we will only take one drink ; not a drop more." 
 
 At the same time, he swore at the workmen at the 
 mill, who had allowed themselves to be influenced by 
 Funk. He declared that they were even capable of voting 
 against me. Carl said that, as far as his two brothers were 
 concerned, it was true. They had been expelled from Alsace, 
 had received employment in Ludwig's mill, and now pub- 
 licly said that they would give their votes to Funk. 
 
 At the meeting, it happened just as Joseph had predicted. 
 Schweitzer-Schmalz stepped forward and declared that a man 
 like himself could not leave his large estate and go to Ber- 
 lin ; they should, therefore, give the votes intended for him, 
 to that intrepid man of the people Funk. 
 
 But now something happened that took us all by surprise. 
 Funk mounted the rostrum. He laid it down that a consti- 
 tution without fundamental rights was a farce, and it cut me 
 to the quick when he dared to add, " We uphold the old 
 German flag the sacred flag of freedom immaculate, and 
 shall not desert our colors." 
 
 In conclusion, he s&d. " I implore you not to call on me 
 now. The time will come when they must call us to save 
 our liberties ; that time has not' yet arrived. 
 
 " For the present, we will leave the pseudo-Prussian to the 
 undisturbed enjoyment of the national beggars' broth filled 
 with imperial dumplings, which is being served up in the 
 famous spiked helmet. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 " I thank you," he cried, when the yelling which followed 
 this speech had somewhat abated, " for the votes with which 
 you honor me. I esteem them highly, but we must wait. 
 So let us bide our time." 
 
 Joseph prevented me from answering. He mounted the 
 stand, and said that Herr Funk deserved all possible praise 
 for his shrewdness. He knew that he could not be success- 
 ful, and had therefore declined, in order to try his chances 
 at some future time. " Herr P'unk waits ; we, too, can wait." 
 
 I was elected by a large majority ; and the walk home- 
 ward, surrounded by my electors, was one of the happiest 
 hours of my life. It was even more joyful than when, 
 twenty-three years earlier, I was elected a delegate to 
 Frankfort. I forgot my anxiety about Richard. 
 
 When I took leave of Rothfuss at the railway station, he 
 held me by the hand, a long while, and said : " Oh master, if 
 it was only not so far to Berlin, you should have taken me 
 along, anyhow. Keep yourself well, right well ; and don't 
 drink any water ; Willem says there is good wine to be had 
 at Berlin, too." 
 
 A tear glistened in his eye, and the leave-taking from 
 this faithful companion moved me deeply. He had never 
 before been so anxious and concerned about me. 
 
 Many friends told me, "This new labor will wear you 
 out." 
 
 Be it so, I am here to be of use. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE old Burschenschafter* ! Yes, treasured in secret 
 and worn like an amulet of magic power, for the sake 
 of which we suffered, are the colors of the new confederation. 
 At first, the thought pained me ; but perhaps it is all for the 
 best. The Empire which is now being established, is not quite 
 the one of which we sang and dreamed, or for the love of 
 which we were thrown into dungeons. But it is full of a 
 new and vigorous life, and instead of the golden glitter of 
 poesy, we have the simple white of prose. 
 
 I am not of a combative disposition, and have always 
 longed for a condition of affairs to which I could heartily 
 assent. And now my greatest happiness is to know that I 
 am no longer condemned to what I had feared would prove 
 a life-long opposition to the powers-that be. 
 
 The newly elected members had their rendezvous at the 
 railroad junction. A majority were faithful to the Em- 
 pire. The few who belonged to the progressives, or to the 
 ultramontanes, were loud in their protestation of love for our 
 newly-cemented union. 
 
 My friend Loedinger, that true old soul, was also elected. 
 He studied with me at Jena, was with me in prison, and, for 
 many years, sat near me in the Parliament. " We two have 
 by this time become quite used to each other," were "his 
 words, as he took the seat next to me. And, as if by pre- 
 
 * A member of the Burschenschaft, the name of an association of the 
 students of Germany, formed in 1815, and having for its object the 
 political regeneration of their Fatherland. 
 33 
 
498 WALDFRIED. 
 
 vious agreement, we were always together during the whole 
 journey. 
 
 The days were fresh and spring-like, and, although our 
 hearts were filled with solemn thoughts, nothing but jokes 
 were heard. Next to Baribal, the gayest was Professor 
 Rolunt, who, before he entered the military service, had 
 studied in Berlin, and had here received the so-called finish- 
 ing touch. On the way, there was much cheerful discussion 
 of the peculiarities that distinguish various sections of our 
 country and the fanaticism with which every district believes 
 that its customs and modes of expression alone represent 
 the real German mind. 
 
 Orfenheimer, the lawyer, who had also been elected a 
 member of the Reichstag, spoke quite forcibly on this sub- 
 ject, by demonstrating that we South Germans believed 
 ours to be trie veritable language of the soul. When there 
 is a prejudice to combat, Offenheimer always is particularly 
 eloquent. He knows Berlin, and lives here with relatives 
 of his. 
 
 Cato Debold, the inveterate South German, thought it 
 hard that the rough North German manner should now 
 gain the supremacy. When he saw the first windmills, he 
 scoffed at North German windbags ; and when the Professor 
 added that in North Germany there were no running springs, 
 but only pumps, he was quite happy, and vaunted the number 
 of springs we possessed at home. 
 
 Rolunt allowed him to finish his harangue, and then re- 
 plied that the North Germans, finding themselves without 
 fast flowing streams, had made an invisible power, the 
 winds, work for them ; and that pump water was as re- 
 freshing as that from fountains. 
 
 But, against that, Debold showed that the portion of Ger- 
 many, that lay on the other side of the Thuringian Mountains 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 had, through being divided into small farms, become quite 
 different, and far advanced in comparison with the North. 
 And in municipial liberty, we also stand far ahead of North 
 Germany ; and shall we now submit to have that encroached 
 upon ? 
 
 " That will regulate itself. The others will become more 
 agreeable, and we will get sharper," said the Professor. 
 
 At many stations we heard the people say : " Here are 
 the South German Representatives." 
 
 Our reception was not so stormy and excited as the one 
 accorded us twenty-three years before when we went to 
 Frankfort. The public mood was now calm and earnest. 
 
 On the road, one of the members said, " If your Richard 
 had returned, he would doubtless have been elected." Ah ! 
 when one has a sorrow, he expects others to have some 
 consideration, and not touch upon it, even though it be in 
 the way of kindness. 
 
 At Gotha, where many new delegates joined us, we all 
 received bouquets, and the principal of the gymnasium 
 cleverly said that we should adorn ourselves with wedding 
 favors, as we were going to the wedding of North and South 
 Germany. 
 
 At Eisenach, my granddaughter Christiane and her affianced 
 awaited me. He was still walking on crutches, but hoped 
 to lay them aside in a few months, and to depend upon his 
 wife's arm for support. Christiane had become quite youth- 
 ful in appearance. She fairly beamed with happiness, as 
 she looked now at me, and now at her betrothed. 
 
 The others continued on their journey, but Loedinger and 
 I remained behind to visit a hallowed shrine. I spent the 
 evening with Christiane and her betrothed. I promised to 
 attend the wedding on my return from the Reichstag. 
 
 At early dawn, Loedinger and I ascended the Wartburg. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 We knew that each other's thoughts wandered back to the 
 companions who, more than half a century ago, had come 
 here, filled with the enthusiasm of youth. An invisible 
 band of warriors marched at our side. 
 
 Silently, we walked through the halls of the castle. When 
 we looked out over the country, far and wide, Loedinger 
 grasped my hand and said : "It is hard, after all, that our 
 flag, with its sacred colors, does not float here in the morning 
 breeze. They should have left us that. There is great 
 danger in the fact that it is now the banner of the opposi- 
 tion, and is raised by the hands of those who are against us 
 and the unity we have labored so hard to win." 
 
 While trying to console him, I consoled myself, and the 
 ardor of youth seemed to return to us. 
 
 Descending the mountain, we sang our old student songs, 
 and felt young again. 
 
 Yes, this mountain is the altar of all that is great and pure 
 and beautiful in our united Fatherland. 
 
 When we passed Weimar, where the creators of the unity 
 of German thought had dwelt and labored, Loedinger said, 
 " We might well cry out : ' Hearken, ye heroes of the mind, 
 your words have become deeds.' " 
 
 Doctor Wilhelmi and his wife received me at the rail- 
 road depot. 
 
 Friend Wilhelmi, once a handsome, slender man, has grown 
 stout, but the sound of his hearty, musical voice, the warm 
 and kindly glance, the grasp of his hand, are all unchanged. 
 
 Loedinger was lodged with a friend of his, who lived in 
 the neighborhood, and I soon felt at home with my old friends. 
 The best people of the city, yes of the whole country, made 
 their house a rendezvous. I have here made the acquain- 
 tance of a great number of men of distinguished merit. We 
 are well supplied in that respect. 
 
WALDFRIED. 50 1 
 
 I also made the nearer acquaintance of some of those 
 sharp Prussians. I felt at first as if they were setting my 
 teeth on edge. But, after awhile, I recognized their good 
 traits. 
 
 Doctor Wilhelmi still has an album of the members of the 
 Frankfort Reichstag. We renewed our memories of olden 
 days while looking at the pictures, and supplemented each 
 other's information with what we knew of this or that old 
 friend. 
 
 In every word that Wilhelmi speaks, I recognize his lofty 
 ideality ; but life in America has made him more practical 
 than he once was. 
 
 The hospitality of the Greeks is vaunted. We possess it 
 in a new shape ; for a whole city considers itself our host. 
 
 I had to tell my friend Wilhelmi of my troubles ;'of my grief 
 for Ernst, of my deep anxiety about Richard, and the thought 
 struck me : " Must the old friend, whom we meet after long 
 absence, have his heart saddened by the recital of our woes." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 I MAKE no mention of the proceedings of the Reichs- 
 tag ; you can read all about them in the newspapers. 
 
 I did not once take the floor. 
 
 In committee, I protested energetically, when we under- 
 stood that some of the states were to be rewarded for their 
 share in our triumph, by having certain portions of Alsace as- 
 signed to them. This plan was barely alluded to in the 
 public meetings, and I am inclined to think that the rumor 
 was merely a piece of diplomatic finesse. 
 
 I cannot avoid repeating the words addressed to me by 
 the Emperor, when I was presented at the palace. " I have 
 a son and you have a grandson in the field, and they have, 
 both of them, proved their courage." 
 
 His voice betokened sincerity ; his countenance was kind 
 and gentle. 
 
 I was surprised ; even if the Emperor had informed him- 
 self beforehand, it was so kind of him to speak thus of 
 Julius. 
 
 In replying I told him that, during the absence of my grand- 
 son in the field, a son had been born to him. 
 
 The Emperor congratulated me. He took me by the 
 hand ! For a second, I held the palm of my beloved Em- 
 peror in warm, living embrace. He must have felt my glance 
 tollowing him when he walked away. For the great and 
 glorious monarch turned again and nodded to me. 
 
WALDFRIED* 
 
 (THE NIGHT BEFORE THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY.) 
 
 SOS 
 
 The festivities have been gloriously ushered in. The bells 
 were ringing, and the streets were alive with a gay and bust- 
 ling throng. 
 
 I roamed about alone, admiring all that was beautiful and 
 enjoyable in the streets that had been transformed by the 
 beautiful festal decorations. A bit of Olympian life had 
 descended upon our homes. 
 
 We sometimes persuade ourselves that we have often 
 thought of, or wished for, something that suddenly comes to 
 pass : the rapidity with which our ideas succeed each other is 
 apt to deceive us. But I am sure that while looking at the 
 Academy of Arts, decorated as it was with the portraits of 
 heroes, I involuntarily thought, "If I only had one of 
 my own family with me now ; I am so lonely in this surging 
 crowd." 
 
 All at once, I heard a clear, ringing voice exclaim, 
 " Good evening, grandfather." 
 
 My grandson Julius stands before me, sunburnt, and with 
 several orders glistening on his breast. He belongs to the 
 combined South German Corps that is detailed here to take 
 part in the triumphal entry. His quarters are in a neigh- 
 boring village, and he must return early. 
 
 Julius asked me whom his son resembled, and when I told 
 him that little Erwin had the eyes of his grandmother, his 
 face was radiant with joy. 
 
 Taking his arm in mine, I went as far as the city gate 
 with him. I had to tell him all about Richard, but my pride 
 in this noble, happy grandson, in a great measure thrust 
 aside my grief for my son, 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 (June i8M.) 
 
 AND now I write of the great day, the greatest known 
 to me and to all men living. - 
 
 It was the morning of the triumphal entry. I went out early 
 and wandered through the joyous streets. I saw, beneatl? 
 the chain of gay triumphal arches, the long row of con- 
 quered cannon, and, behind them, the seats for the wounded, 
 the convalescents and their nurses. Music resounded from 
 all the side streets. It was the great jubilant heart-throb of 
 a whole people. 
 
 For a long time, I sat on a chair, which had been placed 
 there for some invalid. My heart was so full when I thought 
 that I had lived to see this day ; and, amidst this high swell- 
 ing tide of joy, I could not help looking into my own heart, 
 and asking myself how I had met the duties that life imposed 
 upon me. 
 
 Were I to die now this very day I have served the 
 truth to the best of my ability; I have intentionally offended 
 no one, and have loved mankind and my country with all 
 my soul. I was often weak, but my weakness has harmed 
 no one but myself. 
 
 As this was passing through my mind, I had to stop sud- 
 denly. My friend Wilhelmi said to me in the heartiest man- 
 ner, and without sarcasm, " You have within you an over- 
 flowing fountain of sentimentality." It is true; it has 
 brought me much sorrow, but it has afforded my soul many 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 505 
 
 pure and tranquil experiences, and I said to myself, " This 
 is not the time for tender sensibility. To be strong is now 
 the word. . Look at the Emperor ! What must this man 
 who, to-day, bears the impress and the majesty of great 
 historical memories, feel in his innermost soul ; and yet he 
 stands erect and firm." And as I thought this, I, too, 
 walked along more firmly than before. 
 
 I went to the stand which had been erected for the depu- 
 ties. It was, as yet, almost empty ; gradually, it filled up. 
 My early walk, my deep emotions, and, more than all, the 
 heat and strained expectation had thoroughly fatigued me. 
 
 Then came my friend Wilhelmi. He motioned to me from 
 afar and waved his hat. " Waldfried, I bring you glorious 
 news ! " he cried. " Just read this ; you had gone out so 
 early ; we hunted everywhere, but could not find you. A 
 telegram for you has arrived ; your children are coming." 
 
 " My children ! " 
 
 " Yes. Richard and Ludwig and their wives, and your 
 grandson Wolfgang." 
 
 I read the telegram ; there it was they were all coming. 
 Richard was saved. At Bertha's house, he was married to 
 Annette. 
 
 Wilhelmi saw me turning pale, and called to a stately 
 Rhenish deputy behind us, one who had brought some good 
 wine of his own raising: " Westerwalder, give us a glass of 
 your best Riidesheimer." 
 
 O how the drink refreshed me ! Then Wilhelmi contin- 
 ued : " I have more to tell you, for now you are strong 
 enough to bear the joyful news. Your children are already 
 here. The telegram had been delayed, and they arrived 
 half an hour in advance of it. They could not push through 
 to this place, and so they went to the house of one of An- 
 nette's relations, with whom Offenheimer lives. That is 
 
506 WALDFRIED. 
 
 what I am to tell you. After the procession we will meet 
 them there." 
 
 Wilhelmi had to tell me, first of all, how my children 
 looked. He said that Richard still bore traces of his recent 
 sufferings, but that his eyes would brighten and his whole 
 face light up, whenever he looked at his wife. Wilhelmi re- 
 gretted that he did not have a son to bring him such a 
 daughter-in-law. 
 
 He evidently wanted to cheer me up, for he bade 
 me review in memory the triumphal march of my joys, 
 my children, my grandchildren, my sons and daughters-in- 
 law, and my great-grandson. 
 
 During the last words of Wilhelmi, we heard from afar, a 
 noise as of the roaring sea a wave of history came rolling 
 onward. 
 
 Cannon thundered, bells rang, and on came the great pro- 
 cession ; and when the French flags were carried by and 
 fluttered in the gentle breeze, I felt that I had seen the 
 world wing itself for a new flight. - 
 
 From among the South German troops, a young officer 
 nodded to me. It was Julius. My grandson was among 
 the marching conquerors. 
 
 The Emperor comes, and with him, all the heroes. The 
 Emperor steps to the statue of his father, and the old man 
 so greatly exalted by fortune, now becomes an humble son, 
 and lays the captured flags at the feet of his father. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 LED by Wilhelmi, I went to the house of our friends. 
 Ikvvarte stood in the door ; he saluted me silently. 
 I asked him whether my family were above. 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 As we go up the stairs, we hear, behind us, hasty footsteps 
 and a clattering sabre. It is Julius, his helmet adorned with 
 a wreath of oak leaves. 
 
 "Grandfather, have you seen them ?" 
 
 "Whom?" 
 
 " Martha and Erwin." 
 
 " Are they here, too ? " 
 
 "Julius" is called from above, and, the next moment, he 
 is in Martha's arms. Then he embraces his father. 
 
 " Come in ; he sleeps," said Martha. " Come in all, 
 fathers three." 
 
 We walked through a glass-covered entry, then across a 
 wide floor to the quietly-situated back-building, where the 
 noise of the street could not penetrate. 
 
 In the silent room, Julius knelt beside the cradle. Gently 
 he raised the curtain ; the boy awoke, and, for the first time, 
 the eyes of father and son met. 
 
 " Envin, my son ! " cried Julius, and kissed the child, who 
 stared at him, and tried to clutch his eyes with his hands. 
 
 Martha, too, knelt beside the cradle. She laid her hand 
 on the husband's forehead, and said, "And at this head 
 hostile bullets were aimed ! " 
 
 " Oh don't let us give way to our feelhgs," said Julius, 
 rising. 
 
5o8 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 Martha took the wreath from her husband's helmet, and 
 wanted to place it on my head. I seized it and laid it on 
 the cradle of my great-grandson. After that, we left the 
 young couple, and hunted up the other returned wanderers. 
 . Our hosts resigned their house to us, and saved us from 
 all restraint by kindly keeping themselves in the back- 
 ground. 
 
 Richard and Annette, Ludwig, Conny, and Wolfgang, by 
 turns clasped ie in their arms. O how many good, true 
 hearts beat against mine to-day ! How many lives I could 
 call my own ! 
 
 Richard was still somewhat pale. Annette was radiant 
 with glorious beauty, and her modest, gentle demeanor was 
 the more attractive because she had the appearance of one 
 born to command. 
 
 When the first emotions awakened by the overwhelming 
 fulness of my joy had subsided, I had a wonderful vision. I 
 saw great tables loaded with meat and drink and fra- 
 grant flowers, and from the streets resounded cheering and 
 song. One of those wonderful visions, or phantasms, as you 
 may call it, that supplement our life and withdraw us from 
 the actual world, seized me. The beaming faces, the bril- 
 liant lights reflected again and again in the mirrors and 
 the wine-glasses, the sumptuous table, and the lovely flowers, 
 methought I had seen them all before. I felt as if in the 
 midst of one of those wonderful, color-steeped groups of 
 Paul Veronese, and, like soft music, or an apparition gently 
 gliding through the air, memories of Gustava filled my 
 soul. 
 
 " You seem so happy," said Annette ; and I could only 
 tell her this : " The dreams of former days, and the loftiest 
 impressions that our souls have taken up from art, are now 
 our actual life ; our highest ideal has been attained." 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 509 
 
 Joseph informed me that the army corps consisting of the 
 troops from our State, would make its entry into our capi- 
 tal under the Crown Prince, who had commanded it during 
 the war, and thajt the Colonel, who was now a General, 
 would take part in the ceremony. Bertha expected that we 
 would all be with her on that day of honor. 
 
 Richard told us of his experiences while with the French, 
 and we could not help asking ourselves : " Shall we ever be 
 at peace with these neighbors of ours ? " 
 
 " I have learned to know the French," said Richard, " and 
 suffered much at their hands. The people amused them- 
 selves by insulting me while I was being led through the 
 streets ; I had to march in chains for a whole day ; and still, 
 through all the ravings of this sanguine people, I could see 
 its mighty soul." 
 
 At these words, Offenheimer rushed up to Richard, and, 
 embracing him, said, <; A wounded enemy is an enemy no 
 longer, and thus we have ceased to be enemies of suffering 
 France." 
 
 He begged Richard to tell him more, and so he continued : 
 " In spite of their impassioned feelings, and of the fact, utterly 
 incomprehensible to them, that we were impolite enough not 
 to let them whip us, there is a real elevation of soul in them, 
 although it is obscured by their theatrical phrases. But their 
 belief in themselves is something grand. They cling to it, 
 even now, when they are sorely beaten. I am confident 
 that the French will, in time, become honestly tolerant, and 
 not in the sham sense that makes its professors say : * You, 
 poor fellow, have a false belief, but I do not attack it.' The 
 French have a beautiful faith in themselves, but they must 
 acquire faith in others, and not consider themselves the 
 whole of humanity." 
 
 Nations have much the same ideas as individuals. After 
 
510 WALDFRIED. 
 
 a silent combat, they can scarcely believe that it arose from 
 a trifling cause, and now the French will not remember what 
 a trivial pretext they had for this war. 
 
 The Chinese self-sufficiency of the French, who believed 
 themselves to be the sole representatives of civilization, is 
 now broken down. Their morbid desire for revenge can 
 only be temporary. The people, deeply wounded in its van 
 ity, and swindled out of its love of truth by sycophantic 
 word-mongers, will come to reason. 
 
 Wilhelmi based great hopes on the projected university of 
 Strasburg. It was to form an intellectual bond of union. 
 With great warmth of feeling, he demonstrated that it was 
 typical of the real character of our people, that, first of all, 
 an institution of learning was established in the newly recov- 
 ered province. 
 
 Then Ludwig rose, and with an enthusiasm in which all 
 the fervor of his youth broke forth, again said : " And some- 
 thing more is in store for us, and, for that reason, I 
 wish to remain an American citizen. You, Wilhelmi, and 
 I have learned to know America. We love our old home, 
 but we also love the New World, which is the land to initiate 
 great thoughts, the land in which humanity, through untram- 
 melled liberty, cannot but reach great results. It is pitiful 
 and, at the same time, sad, that the American who has 
 made money, and wishes to do something for the public 
 good, knows of nothing better than to build a church. 
 
 "My idea and I have distinguished friends who agree with 
 me is to establish, as our celebration of the centennial of 
 American independence, a German University in America; 
 an International High-School. I need not point out to 
 you, how great a significance such an institution would pos- 
 sess for the New World, as well as for the Old. After 
 our German students have studied for a year at the American 
 
WALDFRIED.i $u 
 
 Athens, how much wider their range of vision will be, and 
 how much greater their knowledge of the world ! In this 
 way, a cable of quite a different kind would be laid; an 
 intellectual electric current, binding the Old World to the 
 New." 
 
 Richard took Ludwig's hand, and congratulated him on 
 having conceived this grand idea. 
 
 "Thus should it be," he cried; "let Germany be fully 
 and entirely its own, and then send the messengers of its in- 
 tellectual life to all the world. The ancients carried their 
 gods of marble and bronze, wherever they went ; we carry 
 divine thoughts over the whole inhabited globe." 
 
 Offenheimer whispered something to Richard, who pressed 
 his hand gratefully. 
 
 I sat there quietly and felt unutterably happy, because my 
 children possessed new ideals so different from our own. 
 Their clear, organizing minds stretched into the far distance, 
 and their schemes embraced the welfare of all mankind. 
 
 When in Strasburg, I felt deeply pained that such men 
 as Luclwig and Wilhelmi should be driven into exile. Not 
 always does our life give an answer to such questions. I re- 
 ceived one now. 
 
 We were interrupted by Ikwarte, who begged to be ex- 
 cused. He had noticed his brother among the marching 
 soldiers. He was sergeant and had received the Iron Cross ; 
 he had recognized him, and called out to him from the pro- 
 cession. Ikwarte now asked permission to go and seek 
 his brother. 
 
 Ludvvig granted it of course. We were all pleased with 
 Ikwarte's firm sense of duty, to which even his brotherly 
 love had to yield. 
 
 As Ikwarte was leaving the room, Julius entered with his 
 wife. She carried my great-grandson on her arm. 
 
512 
 
 WALDFRIED. 
 
 For a while, every one turned to them. Then Ludwig 
 began : 
 
 "It is well that you have come, Julius! We are here 
 among friends ; are you ready to answer a question regard- 
 ing your future? " 
 
 In a quiet tone, Julius answered, he would first have to 
 know what it was all about. 
 
 Smiling, Ludwig said : " Allow me to tell you that I am 
 a Colonel." 
 
 Julius bowed, and Ludwig continued : " How grand it 
 was that the American officers, at the end of their war, re- 
 turned to civil life, while here in Germany a standing army 
 draws our best energies away from productive labor." 
 
 Quietly but not without confidence, Julius replied: "It 
 seems to me that Uncle Ludwig is still thinking of the revo- 
 lutionary times, of the long forgotten stone age of Ger- 
 man history. There is no separation now between sol- 
 dier and citizen, and it is very questionable whether any one 
 has the right to call us soldiers unproductive laborers. Our 
 work creates a race of men who give firmness and character 
 to our political life. What the schools are unable to finish, 
 we perfect. To cultivate the great forest of men, is a higher 
 aim than to reclaim a forest of trees." 
 
 " Oh," interrupted Wolfgang, and Julius turned to him 
 and said : " Dear Wolfgang, I do not think meanly of that 
 either ; it is also a part of the work that society has before it. 
 But each one must choose his post and guard it faithfully."- 
 
 Ludwig insisted to the contrary, and squarely put it to 
 Julius that he should leave the army, and take charge of 
 his grandfather's estate. He could, if his country called him, 
 always return to his duty. He hinted, and not very del : 
 cately, that one should not allow one's self to be seduced by 
 the outward glitter of the soldier's life. 
 
WALDFRIED. 
 
 Without any irritation, but in determined language, Julius 
 declared that he fully recognized how great a spectacle it 
 was to see a victorious army return home in triumph, and 
 lay down its arms ; that it would have been desirable that 
 the conclusion of peace should produce the disarmament of 
 Europe. Such a disarmament, however, is only possible in 
 America, where there is but one powerful nation. In con- 
 clusion, he eulogized the high mission of the soldier's life as 
 a school for men. 
 
 Ludwig rose and said : " Here is my hand ; I am con- 
 verted. Father, I have now decided. I shall accept the 
 estate." 
 
 I do not know how it came to pass, but Martha had laid 
 my great-grandson in my arms, and when the boy raised his 
 eyes to mine, I felt as if I was looking forward into the 
 future. 
 
 You, my child, rested beside a mother's heart during 
 the battles ; you slept during the triumphant march, and 
 now, around you, great words and thoughts wander forth 
 into the world. When, at some future time, you shall learn 
 how your father fought and suffered for home and country, 
 may it sound to you like a fable from the old, dark days, 
 that, long ago, we had to fight the monsters who despised the 
 people. Stand firm and pure in the new life of nations, 
 amongst whom the battle will only be for the possession of 
 the noblest treasures of the intellectual world. 
 
 AT HOME, July 22. 
 
 I did not find my comrade Rothfuss. He died full of hap- 
 piness and peace. On the last morning, he said to Jo- 
 hanna : " The German Empire is not the right thing after all. 
 One must die in it, just as before. Our Emperor should 
 order a different state of things, but never mind. ' He who 
 33 
 
514 WALDFRIED. 
 
 is wet to the skin, need not dread the rain.' If I could only 
 lie down in my grave for my master, as I once had myself 
 locked up for Ludwig." 
 
 My grandson the vicar, who is chaplain at the neighbor- 
 ing fortress, was with him in his last hours. 
 
 Ludwig has taken the family estate for his son Wolfgang ; 
 not, as is customary, at the family valuation, but at its full 
 market value. 
 
 I shall resign my post. 
 
 So far, the memoirs up to the evening before the anni- 
 versary of Gustava's death. They were written in the after- 
 noon, with a firm hand. After that, he walked out into the 
 forest. Carl, who was in the fields, saw him drinking from 
 the Gustava fountain, and rejoiced to see the master* walk- 
 ing so sturdily. 
 
 He was found in the woods he had planted, beneath a 
 white pine tree, stretched out in death. His face was 
 toward the earth, and rested on the wild thyme. 
 
 The second tablet of the grave-stone bears the following 
 inscription : 
 
 HERE RESTS, 
 
 IN THE SOIL OF OUR UNITED COUNTRY, 
 
 HEINRICH WALDFRIED, 
 
 BORN MAY THE IOTH, 1800 ; 
 
 DIED JULY THE 220, 1871. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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