Part 66 (1/2)
Mining turned red a little, over the last line, and fell upon Lining's neck, laughing and scolding Brasig; but in heart she waved him a friendly kiss. And so Mining was here, Rudolph at Rexow, and Brasig with the Frau Pastorin and Habermann at Rahnstadt.
There was not much change in Habermann, he still kept by himself, although many troubled themselves about him; the rector preached him a little sermon now and then, Kurz entertained him with agricultural conversation, and old Moses hobbled up the stairs, and asked his advice about his business; but this did not cheer the old man, he tormented himself, day and night, with thoughts of his child, and with the long-deferred hope that the day-laborer Regel might return, and by a full confession free him from these shameful suspicions. The laborer had sent letters, and also money, to his wife and children; but never let himself be seen. The little Frau Pastorin had a secret anxiety lest her old friend should become incurably morbid, and she felt truly thankful, when Brasig finally came. Brasig could help her, and Brasig would; if any one could, he was the man. His restless and yet good-natured disposition left his Karl no peace, Karl must do this, and do that, he must go walking with him, he must listen to all the stupid books that Brasig got out of the Rahnstadt Circulating Library, and if nothing else would rouse him, Brasig would make the most extravagant a.s.sertions, till he had stirred Karl up to contradict him, and engaged him in a dispute. In this way, there seemed a real improvement in Habermann; but if the conversation turned upon Pumpelhagen or Franz, it was all over, and the evil spirit came upon him again.
Louise was much better off, she was not one of the woman who believe that if their love is blighted they must doctor themselves all their lives, and must show the world, through a weary, dreamy behavior, how sick their poor hearts are, that death alone can heal them, and that they are of no more use in the world. No, she did not belong to this species, she had strength and courage to bear a great grief by herself, she needed not the compa.s.sion of the world. Deep, deep at the bottom of her heart lay her love, like pure gold, and she granted no one a sight of it, its very s.h.i.+ning was locked up from the world, and when she went into this secret place, in quiet hours, and looked at her treasure, she changed it into little money for every-day use, and gave it out, here and there, to all with whom she had to do; and _this_ love the world perceived, but not the other. When our Lord sees such a heart striving bravely against misfortune, and trying to turn it into good, then he helps it, and sends many a chance to its help, of which no one thinks.
Chances men call them, but, rightly viewed, they are the consequences of many other consequences, of which the first cause is hidden from our sight.
Such a chance befell Louise, in the Spring after the Female Vehmgericht. She was coming home from Lining's at Gurlitz, and going between the Rahnstadt gardens, along a footpath, when a garden gate opened, and a pretty little maiden stepped out, blus.h.i.+ng rosy red, and put into her hand a nosegay of lilacs and tulips and narcissus. ”Ah, take them,” said the little a.s.sessor,--for it was she,--and as Louise stood, rather astonished, not knowing how she came there, the tears ran down the little a.s.sessor's cheeks, and she covered her hand over her eyes, and said, ”I should be so glad to give you a pleasure.”
Well, that was so kind and friendly! Louise threw her arm about her, and kissed the little a.s.sessor, and the latter drew her into the garden, to the arbor, and then they sat under the blossoming lilacs, and Louise and the innocent little girl conceived a warm friends.h.i.+p for each other, for from the coals of love friends.h.i.+p is easily kindled, and from this time the little a.s.sessor was a daily guest at the Frau Pastorin's, and all in the house rejoiced at her coming. When Habermann heard the first tone of the Frau Pastorin's old piano, he came down stairs, and sat in the corner, and listened, while the little a.s.sessor brought sweet music out of the old instrument, and when that was over, the Frau Pastorin had her diversion, for the little a.s.sessor was a doctor's daughter, and doctors and doctors' children always have something new to tell, and although the Frau Pastorin was not exactly inquisitive she was very glad to know what was going on in the world, and since the time she had lived in the city this little peculiarity had developed in her, and she said to Louise, ”I don't know; but it seems as if one was glad to know what is going on around one; but when my sister Triddelsitz tells me anything, it all sounds so sharp, but when little Anna tells anything it sounds so innocent and gay; she must be a good little child.”
But the real significance of this friends.h.i.+p first appeared when the bad year came, and its consequences entered the little city,--poverty and hunger and misery. Little Anna's father was a doctor, and he had no t.i.tle at all; but he had something better, he had a compa.s.sionate heart, and when he had told of this and that, at home, the little a.s.sessor would go to the Frau Pastorin and Louise, and tell it over again, and the Frau Pastorin would go to her store-room, and into the pantry, and down into the cellar, and pack a basket,--she always did that herself, n.o.body else must meddle with it,--and the two little maidens carried it off, in the half-twilight, and when they came back, they gave each other a kiss, and the Frau Pastorin one, and Habermann one, and that was all. And when the soup-kitchen was to be started, the ladies of Rahnstadt held a great ”perpendicle,” as Brasig called it, to decide what it was best to do, and the Frau Syndic said, ”It should be something n.o.ble,” and when she was asked what she meant by that, she said it was all one to her; but it must be n.o.ble, otherwise she would have nothing to do with it. And the old Vehmgerichters said there must be a distinction made between the wicked and the good poor, the wicked might go hungry; and a young lady, who was just married, said they ought to have gentlemen at the head; but that was a great mistake, all were opposed to her, and the Frau Syndic said, so long as she had lived--and that must be a good many years, interjected Frau Krummhorn--cooking and nursing had come under the rule of the ladies, what did men know about such things? but the business must be n.o.ble.
And the conventicle separated, as wise as it had been when it came together, and when the soup-kitchen was started, two pretty little maidens, in white ap.r.o.ns, served together at the fire, and put the gifts for the poor into the soup-kettles, and sat down with the wicked and the good poor, on the same bench, and peeled potatoes for the next day, and sc.r.a.ped turnips, and this was the small money into which Louise had changed her golden treasure, and the little a.s.sessor added her groschens to the sum.
Now came Brasig, and relieved the little a.s.sessor of the out-door errands, for he was peculiarly fitted for such duties, and when he had not the confounded Podagra, he ran about the city, saying to Habermann, ”Karl, Dr. Strump says Polchic.u.m and exercise, and the water-doctor says cold water and exercise; they both agree on the exercise, and I find that it is good for me. What I was going to say--Moses sends his regards to you, and is coming to see you this afternoon.”
”What? Has he got back from Doberau, from the baths? I thought he was not to come back until August.”
”Yes, Karl, it is St. James' day, to-day, and August is almost here.
But--what I was going to say,--the old Jew has quite renewed his youth, he looks really well, and he ran about the room, just to show me how spry he was. But I must go to old widow Klahn, she is waiting in her garden for me, because I promised her some turnip-seed, and then I must go to Frau Krummhorn, she wants to show me her young kittens, to see which one she shall keep for us, for, Karl, we need a good mouser; and then I must go to Risch, the blacksmith, to see about the shoes for Kurz's old saddle-horse. The old thing has wind-gall, as bad, I tell you, Karl, as Moses' David's corns. You don't know, perhaps, if your young Herr has got a horse with a wind-gall, he might like to buy the old thing from Kurz, for the completeness of his lazaretto. And, towards evening, I must go to the Frau Burgomeister, for they have three or four bushels of rye, and I shall have a sort of feast, since it was cut to-day, and I shall of course have Streichelbier, so that it will seem quite like farming. Well, good-bye, Karl, this afternoon I will read to you, for I have brought home an amusing book.” And so he ran off again, up street and down, like a Jack of all trades, toiling for other people; for since in our little Mecklenburg towns the chief interests turn upon farming matters, he advised here and prophesied there, helped this one and that, and was soon the oracle and errand boy of the whole city. After dinner he sat down by his Karl, with a book in his hand, to read to him out of it, and if we peep over his shoulder we may read the t.i.tle; ”The Frogs of Aristophanes, translated from the Greek.” We open our eyes; but how would the old Greek have opened his eyes over the cultivation of the Rahnstadters, had he, after two thousand years, peeped over uncle Brasig's shoulder, and perceived, from the stamp, that his confounded Frog-nonsense was ranged with the various ”Blossoms” and ”Pearls,” and ”Forget-me-nots” and ”Roses,” in the Rahnstadt Circulating Library. How the rogue would have laughed!
Uncle Brasig did not laugh, he sat there very sober, he had on his horn spectacles with the great round gla.s.ses, which shone like a pair of coach-lanterns, he held the book as far from his body as his arm would reach, and began:
”The Frogs of Aristop-Hannes--I read 'Hannes,' Karl, for I think 'Hanes' must be a mistake in the printing; for it told about 'Schinder-Hannes,' in a book I read once, and if this is only half as dreadful, we may be well contented, Karl.” Then he began, and read on, in Schoolmaster Strull's style, and Habermann sat there, as if he were paying close attention, but soon his old thoughts slipped in, and when Brasig moistened his finger, to turn over the fourth leaf, he saw, with righteous anger, that his old friend had closed his eyes. Brasig stood up, and placed himself before him, and looked at him. It is an old story, that the miller wakes when the mill stops grinding, and the listeners wake when the sermon is at an end, and so it was with Habermann; he opened his eyes, took a couple of puffs at his pipe, and said, ”Fine, Zachary, very fine!”
”How? you say 'fine,' and you are fast asleep.”
”Don't take it unkindly,” said the old man, coming, for the first time, to full consciousness, ”but I havn't understood a word. The book must be very dry, or do you understand any of it?”
”Not much, Karl, but I have paid a groschen for it, and when I pay a groschen, I want to get my money's worth.”
”Yes; but if you don't understand it?”
”People read for other things than understanding, Karl; people read _pour paster la tante_, with the books. Just see,” and he was going to explain this remark, when some one rapped at the door, and Moses came in.
Habermann went up to him: ”This is good, Moses! And how fresh you look, really handsome!”
”So my Blumchen tells me, but she has said that for these fifty years.”
”Well, how did you like it, at the bath?”
”Do you want to hear some news, Habermann. One is pleased twice at the bath, first, when one arrives, and secondly, when one goes away. It is just as it is with a horse and a garden and a house, one is glad to get them, and glad to get rid of them.”
”Yes, you are not used to being idle, you had too much business in your head.”
”Well, what is business? I am an old man. My business is not to get into new affairs, and to get my money out of the old. And I came to talk to you about that; I am going to give notice of my seven thousand thalers at Pumpelhagen.”
”Oh, Moses, not yet! You would throw the Herr von Rambow into great embarra.s.sment.”
”Well, I don't know, he must have money, he must have a great deal of money. David and the notary and Pomuchelskopp have been at him, and wanted to clear him out of his nest, this last New-year, but he paid them eleven thousand thalers, at one time. I made it out from David. I also heard it from Zod.i.c.k. 'Where did you go yesterday?' I asked him.