Part 13 (2/2)
Cornelia sat in silence, with her eyes fixed upon the floor.
”You are silent! you have no answer for me! Prison Fairy, Prison Fairy, must I remind you of your mission? Oh, girl! do not let me be perplexed by you; do not let me think that those eyes,--that the mighty pulsations of a breast animated by a lofty idea,--have deceived me; that you are less n.o.ble than they seem: it would be the last, the most terrible disappointment of my life.”
Cornelia gazed at the ardent speaker with a searching glance. Her breath came more quickly, her lips parted several times before she could utter the words, ”We will be friends, Herr von Ottmar.”
_Heinrich_ bent over her with a winning smile. ”You are forcing back something that hovers on your tongue, Fraulein! Do you know that on that first meeting you promised to be good to me if I would be good to the prisoners! I have redeemed my promise; but _you_?”
”That is not sufficient; you must abide by it still longer. Keep your word, and I will keep mine.”
”Dear Fairy,” said _Heinrich_, ”cast aside this cold formality, which is ill-suited to you and not at all in place towards me. Be the warm, earnest creature, loving both G.o.d and mankind, whom I found in the dungeon, and who, by her rich soul, could transform the prisoner's punishment to reward. Be gentle; you know not how necessary you are to this wounded heart, burdened by heavy chains. We are nearly akin to each other, and you will perceive it some day. I see it in the flas.h.i.+ng of those mysterious eyes; in you also slumbers a secret before whose revelation you would recoil in terror did not the faithful arm of an experienced friend guard you from the horrors in your own breast. Come, give me your hands,--so,--now you look kindly at me; that haughty brow grows smooth,--does that mild, thoughtful glance rest willingly upon my features? Say nothing, our souls are talking together, and confiding things of which neither of us has any knowledge. Oh, dear one our souls already understand each other better than we.”
”We and our souls are one,” murmured Cornelia; ”if they understand each other, so do we. Let me confess that I believe I have done you a great wrong; if that is the case, forgive me, for the sake of this moment.”
”There is no wrong, Cornelia, for which a single moment of true love could not make amends.”
Cornelia pressed his hand with the half-grave, half-friendly smile which had so great a charm for _Heinrich_.
”So I have found you at last, you dear, beautiful child!” he exclaimed.
”Cling to me faithfully; you shall not be mistaken in me.”
She rose to return to the guests. ”Surely you will not deceive me?” she asked, half doubtfully and half firmly, but with charming sincerity.
”Prison Fairy, do you need any other a.s.surances? Only try yourself, and you will refute your doubt better than modesty allows me to do.”
”Are you so sure of that?” she asked, smiling; ”now I think your modesty does not weigh very heavily upon you.” An expression of the most charming petulance gleamed over her face as she glided away.
”You are caught, wild, changeful soul; yet not to cause you pain, only to do me good, I impose upon you this chain, whose weight you shall never feel,” said _Heinrich_. ”You soar towards the sun; let us see whether you will have the strength to draw me up with you!”
”You can be borne towards the sun on the wings of her aspiring spirit!”
cried _Henri_, ”if only the lovely form which enthrals me as no other ever did before remains upon the earth. Guide her _soul_ whither you please, and leave me alone with its _earthly husk_. Then we can both possess a happiness we have never yet known.”
”So long as I can be with her I shall maintain my place,” said _Heinrich_; ”and this time I do not think you will obtain the victory over me!”
”Indeed! Well, let us see who will first conquer the other,” said the aroused spirit of sensuality. ”Will you all at once meet me in a hostile encounter, after letting me have my own way so long? What will come of it if the gulf between us should be so greatly enlarged?”
”What will come of it?” asked _Heinrich_. ”I do not know; probably merely what has always happened,--a loss of peace; and, although I have hitherto indulged you, it has only been because I could share your pleasures as little as you could find joy in mine. Here, for the first time, we unite in a common desire; our mutual interest is captivated by one and the same object, but it is our curse that the very thing which ought _unite_ us _severs_ us most violently. Her n.o.ble mind attracts me as greatly as her beautiful person charms you, and I will not voluntarily resign to you a single hour I can spend conversation with her. Therefore, we must struggle.”
”Yes, we will,” said _Henri_.
”Herr von Ottmar,” cried Veronica from the door, ”will you join the young people's games, or do you prefer the salon?”
”Don't grudge me the privilege of mingling with the young people for a time,” he answered, and entered the room where Cornelia, radiant with mirth and mischievousness, was bantering the young girls who were standing around her.
”Veronica,” she cried, ”the ladies have been industrious; we sha'n't play games any longer. There are poems and essays to be read aloud.
Come in, Messrs. Critics; collect your thoughts; we have a severe judge to-day.”
”Will you take part in our little college, Herr von Ottmar?”
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