Part 1 (2/2)
”I will come down as soon as I have washed,” was my reply.
”I will bring fresh water immediately;” and she hurried away, returning presently with a can of crystal-clear water, and a supply of fresh towels, and followed closely by two gigantic porters, each of whom bore upon his shoulders one of my heavy trunks. a.s.suredly thus far I could not complain of lack of prompt.i.tude in the service of a Slav inn.
When I had freed myself from the dust of travel, and had changed my coat, I went down to the dining-room; the way led through the kitchen, where several men were sitting or standing around the hearth, talking familiarly with the hostess, who was busy meanwhile with her cooking.
All greeted me politely as I pa.s.sed through the room.
When Mizka showed me into the s.p.a.cious dining-room, I took it all in with a rapid glance. Its arrangement could not be called elegant, but the cleanliness of the scoured tables atoned for its simplicity. There were but a few persons present. At a table near a window a young man sat alone, apparently absorbed in a newspaper. He looked up for a moment as I entered, disclosing a singularly handsome face, which was immediately hidden behind his paper. The face was thoroughly German.
Such deep blue eyes, such fair, close curls are to be found nowhere save in Germany. He was certainly handsome, but his expression was too grave, perhaps even too stern and hard to allow of his being thoroughly attractive.
As far from this young man as the size of the room would permit, at a large round table near the tall stove, sat six or eight men, smoking long cigars, with gla.s.ses of wine before them. They evidently saw me enter and look about for a seat, and one of them instantly rose and motioned courteously with his hand, placing a chair at the table, while the others moved aside to give it room.
I was amazed at so polite a reception in this notoriously hostile Slav country, and I was not quite pleased. I should have liked to observe the magnates of Luttach, who were apparently here a.s.sembled, from a distance, at my leisure, before making their acquaintance, whereas now, when I accepted their invitation, and introduced myself as a German, a Prussian, and worse than all, from Berlin, whose citizens are never popular, their amiability might decrease. ”Permit me to present myself to you, gentlemen,” I said, ”as Professor Dollnitz from Berlin, who hopes to spend some weeks with you here in your beautiful country, collecting plants and b.u.t.terflies, beetles and chrysalids. I am an old naturalist who looks forward to much gratification here in your richly endowed Southern Ukraine.”
I observed a fleeting smile pa.s.s around the circle upon hearing that I, so old a man, was running after b.u.t.terflies and beetles, but I am used to that; all sensible men regard us old entomologists as cranks, and sometimes jest rather rudely at our expense; but this was not the case here; the gentlemen, as I could see, suppressed their smiles at my b.u.t.terfly mania; they rose very politely and formally introduced themselves as the District Judge Foligno, his a.s.sistant Herr Einern, Burgomaster Pollenz, a retired Captain Pollenz, a landed proprietor, Gunther by name, Herr Weber, a merchant, and Herr Dietrich, a notary.
Strange! All German names save that of the district judge.
Chance had surely brought me among Germans. I was strengthened in this belief by finding that they all spoke excellent German, not merely with me, but among themselves; only now and then was there heard a brief remark in Slavonic. I soon found out my mistake, however, when in the course of conversation I mentioned that I had been warned in Vienna and in Gorz not to visit the Ukraine on account of the hostility of the Slavs to Germans. The Burgomaster Pollenz, a reverend old man, made reply, speaking with emphasis, and so loudly that even the young man sitting by the window at the other end of the room could hear every word distinctly: ”That is unfortunately a widespread error which has brought our good Ukraine into ill-repute. We are all Slavs, and are proud of being so. Our ancestors were Germans, but we are not. The Ukraine is our home. Whoever is born here and lives here must feel himself a genuine Slav. Those only do we hate among us who are disloyal sons of their native land, who would rob us of our language, our customs, and make Germans of us; we have no hatred for Germans born.
There are none of them dwelling among us; our entire population is Slavonic, and you will soon find that as a native-born German you will be kindly received everywhere. It is not so in Laibach, or where, as there, the population is mixed, and national prejudice has free sway, causing constant strife, but even there the Slavs are seldom the aggressive party.”
”Then you think I can chase my b.u.t.terflies alone among your woods and mountains without fear of insult? I was expressly warned in Vienna not to leave the house here without a loaded revolver in my pocket to protect me from robbers.”
I was answered by a burst of laughter. ”I a.s.sure you there is no tract of country in the realm of Austria as perfectly safe as ours,” the Burgomaster replied. ”We have had no robbery here for many years and I will guarantee you as a German against any insult, unless, indeed,” he raised his voice again, and spoke very loud, ”you should consort with the only Slav among us who is disloyal to his country; friends.h.i.+p with him would cause you to be suspected of hostility to our nation.”
The young man by the window had hitherto seemed heedless of our conversation; now he arose and approached us. His flas.h.i.+ng eyes seemed to defy each member of the circle, but their expression grew gentler as he addressed the Burgomaster. ”I cannot be angry with you, Herr Burgomaster,” he said gravely, but not unkindly. ”Your words were offensive, but I know that you mean well by me and by the strange gentleman. You have called me a disloyal son of my country, which I am not! I am a whole-souled Austrian, but one also who can never forget that he is sprung from German and Austrian blood. You have all of you forgotten this; I am true to the German tongue and to German customs.
You are the faithless ones, not I!”
”Do you want to pick a quarrel with us all, Franz?” asked the Burgomaster, regarding the young man disapprovingly.
”No, but I cannot allow you to give the strange gentleman a false idea of me. Moreover, you need not fear that I shall force my friends.h.i.+p upon him. I know too well that it might cause him annoyance.
Good-night!” He turned upon his heel and left the room without bestowing a further glance upon the company.
When the door had closed behind him, the District Judge said: ”Franz Schorn always was and always will be a most disagreeable fellow. He deserves a thras.h.i.+ng for his insolence in calling us all faithless.”
”Your cane is just beside you in the corner; why did you not use it!”
the Captain asked with a sneer. ”In fact, Franz is not altogether wrong. My brother irritated him unnecessarily; he would never have forced his company upon the Herr Professor. He lives so quietly and is so reserved that he cannot be accused of officiousness.”
”'Tis natural that you should espouse the cause of your future cousin,”
remarked the District Judge with a contemptuous emphasis upon the word ”cousin.”
”I should be glad to have him for my cousin; he is a thoroughly brave, honest fellow.”
”But a German.”
”I am half German myself, and at all events I should prefer a German to an Italian cousin. The Italians are always squinting over at Italy, and Franz is, as he says, a German-Austrian at least.”
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