CHAPTER V.
[DINNER AND DESSERT].
Herr Von Osternau had no fancy for aristocratic conventionalities. He lived the life of a plain country gentleman, was on the best of terms with his servants and peasants, and treated his inspectors quite as if they belonged to his family, gave them a place at his table, and frequently invited them to join the family circle in the evenings. Nevertheless he observed certain forms. When his inspectors appeared at dinner or at tea in the drawing-room they were expected to do so in simple evening dress. No orders were given to this effect, but they knew what Herr and Frau von Osternau desired, and conformed to their wishes.
As the clock struck three, dinner was announced: the most exact punctuality was observed. The lord of the castle always betook himself half an hour before the time to the large dining-hall, at one end of which the table was set. Here he paced the long room to and fro, and it pleased him to have the members of his family bear him company here. During this half-hour before dinner he liked to talk with his children. He would often pace to and fro with Lieschen hanging on his right arm and Fritz holding his left hand. Frau von Osternau would sit by with her constant knitting, and at times Cousin Albrecht, the Lieutenant, would join the small party.
After dinner coffee was served in the adjoining billiard-room, whither the inspectors followed the family only on holidays or when there was comparatively little to be done out of doors. They usually took their leave, to return to their duties of superintendence, so soon as Herr von Osternau rose from table. The only exception to this rule was the superintendent, Lieutenant von Osternau, who belonged to the family, and who was, besides, not very strict in the discharge of his duties, although he drew with great punctuality when quarter-day came round the very considerable sum which he received as salary. As he himself was wont to say, his office as superintendent of the entire estate did not require him to oversee the smaller details of its management, and he could therefore always find time for a game of billiards with his cousin and Lieschen, as well as for visits to the neighbouring estates, with frequent hunting expeditions. He could do this the more readily since Herr von Osternau himself always exercised a general supervision of all agricultural operations and kindly allowed his young cousin every possible liberty.
On the day upon which the Candidate Gottlieb Pigglewitch arrived at the castle, Lieutenant Albrecht von Osternau appeared in the dining-hall somewhat before half-past two. The third inspector, Herr von Wangen, was overseeing the harvesters in the Oster meadow and had excused himself from appearing at table, and Herr Storting was busy with the reception of the first instalments of hay. Therefore the superintendent had seen no necessity for exerting himself in the hot sun, but had taken a siesta from twelve to two, and was now awaiting his cousin in the cool, airy dining-hall.
He had not long to wait. Punctual as ever, Herr and Frau von Osternau entered. A minute later, Fritz rushed in, and Lieschen came to take her father's arm and accompany him in his daily promenade. Cousin Albrecht accosted her, but she slipped past him with an arch glance and the half-contemptuous inquiry, "Are you up again, cousin? I hope you enjoyed your nap."
"What makes you think I have been sleeping?" Albrecht asked, crossly, annoyed that Lieschen should betray him. Kind and courteous as was the castle's lord, he could hardly be pleased to learn that his superintendent had spent the precious time in a nap before dinner.
"Can you deny it, cousin?" Lieschen rejoined, with a laugh. "You had better not try that. So loud and sonorous a sound came from your room as I passed your door a while ago, that I stopped for a moment to wonder what it was. It was wonderful music. You say you are not very musical, but no one who has heard you snore will believe you."
"What were you doing at my room door? What did you want of me?"
Lieschen looked round scornfully at her cousin, who was following a few steps behind her father and herself. "You do not suppose, do you, that I was going to pay you a visit? No, Cousin Albrecht, I was on my way to one more worthy of such an honour, our new Candidate. Why do you look surprised? Oh, I understand, you do not know yet that we have a new inmate. You have been sleeping sweetly and snoring most musically while the Candidate was being installed in his rooms, which are just beyond yours. You cannot deny now that you have been asleep."
Albrecht was at a loss for a reply, and was relieved by Herr von Osternau's turning to Lieschen with the inquiry, "Did you pay the Candidate a visit in his room?"
"Of course, papa. I was frightfully curious to see him."
"And how did you like him?" asked her father.
"Do you know, papa, I have been thinking that over for an hour, and I cannot make up my mind?"
"Why, you laughed at him terribly, Lieschen, and told him he looked like a scarecrow," little Fritz interposed.
Her father and mother exchanged a glance of intelligence, and Herr von Osternau said, "The same comparison occurred to me as I saw him crossing the courtyard, so the resemblance must have been striking. But, Lieschen, you ought not to have used such a word to him: you are too old, my child, to let your tongue so run away with you. We ought not to say everything that we think, and, besides, it is impossible to judge a man by his exterior. The Candidate himself is a proof of this. At first sight he seems only an awkward, uncouth man, but no one can look into his eyes and not see intelligence sparkling there."
"I saw no sparks," interposed Fritz again.
"But I did," Lieschen said, thoughtfully, "and that was precisely why I told you just now, papa, that I could not make up my mind."
Again Herr von Osternau exchanged a glance of intelligence with his wife. They had each used almost the same words which Lieschen had just uttered to express their own inability to pronounce judgment upon the stranger.
"This sparkling-eyed Candidate must be an extraordinary man," Albrecht remarked. "What is his name? You have not mentioned his name, cousin."
"Pigglewitch."
The name produced an instant effect. Albrecht burst into a laugh, in which Lieschen and Fritz joined, while even Frau von Osternau could not suppress a smile.
"Pigglewitch! A charming name! I am really curious to make his acquaintance."
"You will stop laughing, and never bestow a thought upon either his ridiculous name or his odd appearance, when you see him at the piano and hear the wondrous charm of his music," Herr von Osternau replied to Albrecht's remark. "There's magic in his playing. It positively bewitched me. I scarcely ventured to breathe while the melody lasted, and when the tones had died away on the air the echo still rang on in my heart."
"He'll not bewitch me," Albrecht declared, still laughing. "The name of Pigglewitch will act as a counter-charm to provoke laughter in spite of all the melody imaginable."
Lieschen agreed with her cousin, and Fritz seemed quite of the same opinion, inasmuch as he repeated the name several times, and always with fresh merriment. Frau von Osternau had some difficulty in subduing the young people's mirthfulness, in which she was half tempted to join, strictly forbidding Fritz to offend the Herr Candidate by any show of amusement at his odd name. It would be best that, until he became used to its sound, he should address his tutor as Herr Candidate, "and Lieschen and Cousin Albrecht," she added, with a glance towards the pair, "would do well to observe the same rule." Whereupon Cousin Albrecht declared that he could not promise to do so, that ridiculous people existed in order that others might have the pleasure of chaffing them, and that if the Candidate's name was Pigglewitch he must expect to have it laughed at. Besides, there was no fear of offending the man, that sort of people ought to feel it an honour to be noticed at all, he would doubtless be flattered by their laughter.
Herr von Osternau objected to this remark of his cousin's, but Albrecht maintained that he was right, and there ensued a sharp war of words, in which Albrecht showed himself a thorough conservative aristocrat, despising all, even the most cultivated, of the bourgeoisie, and quite unable to conceive how a Candidate could prefer any claim to be received in what he called society, while the elder cousin with much greater persistence expressed his liberal views and declared that he required that the Herr Lieutenant should treat their new inmate with the courtesy due to every man of culture, whatever might be his social standing.
Herr von Osternau was always extremely forbearing in his treatment of Cousin Albrecht, for whose disappointment with regard to his inheritance he felt great compassion, but to-day he showed some irritation in the warmth of his defence of the Candidate's rights. He declared that he would not suffer any slight or want of courtesy to be shown in his house to a young man to whom he had confided the instruction of his children.
Albrecht rejoined that he would have no rules laid down for his conduct towards a man who was too much his inferior to be worthy of notice; he could not possibly treat the Candidate as a social equal; such people could not but be conscious that they were merely tolerated.
The dispute between the cousins threatened to become warmer still, and the gentle words of Frau von Osternau failed of their usual soothing effect, when fortunately the bell of the castle clock tolled three, and before it had finished the folding doors of the dining-hall were opened, and Herr Storting and the Candidate Pigglewitch appeared, followed by Johann bearing the soup-tureen.
But was this really the Candidate Pigglewitch? Herr and Frau von Osternau could scarcely believe their eyes, so complete was the transformation. There was no longer a trace to be seen of the awkwardness of gait or carriage that had seemed a part of his antique, dangling habiliments. So easy and unconstrained were his movements in the simple summer coat with which Herr Storting had provided him that there was hardly anything about him by which to recognize Pigglewitch. His first glance as he entered the room was for Lieschen, his first bow of course for her mother, whom he approached with respectful courtesy, while he was quite conscious of the roguish sparkle in the fairy's eyes, by which she showed her satisfaction in the metamorphosis her power had effected.
In consequence of the interrupted dispute the lord of the castle received the Candidate with extreme kindliness, offering him his hand as he said, "Welcome to our small circle, Herr Pigglewitch. Most of its members you are already acquainted with, my children have introduced themselves to you, and Herr Storting has become known to you as I see by your coming into the room together; my cousin, then, is the only stranger to you here. Herr Candidate Pigglewitch, Herr Lieutenant Albrecht von Osternau."
At this formal introduction Egon was about to bow courteously, but, observing that the lieutenant held himself haughtily erect with the faintest acknowledgment of his cousin's introduction, he only slightly inclined his head, with a half-smile at the scowl with which Albrecht noted his behaviour. Not a word was exchanged between the young men, but each felt instinctively that they were foes.
"The soup is upon the table," said Herr von Osternau, who had observed this little scene with some displeasure and was in a hurry to cut it short. "Let us be seated. Your place is here between Lieschen and Fritz, Herr Pigglewitch."
Herr von Osternau was wont during dinner to discuss with his inspectors the various agricultural interests of the estate. Of course it would have been natural that he should apply first in such matters to his superintendent, Cousin Albrecht, but he knew that he should receive unsatisfactory replies from that quarter, and accordingly he conversed upon these subjects directly with Herr Storting and the third inspector, Herr von Wangen. As, however, the latter had excused himself from dining with the family to-day, being too much occupied with the harvesting, Herr von Osternau directed his inquiries and remarks to Herr Storting only.
These farming disquisitions, questions as to the yield of hay to be expected from this or that meadow, as to the excellence of the crop, etc., matters of vivid interest to the landed proprietor, were utterly devoid of such for Egon. He knew perfectly well that hay was dried grass and was used for fodder for horses and cattle, but he had no idea of the importance of the labour which was necessary to gather in and duly store this precious product of the fields. He really could not follow the conversation which was carried on almost entirely between Herr von Osternau and Storting, with here and there a remark thrown in by Cousin Albrecht by way of asserting his dignity as superintendent, and he would have been very much bored had his attention not been entirely absorbed by his neighbour on his right.
As he took his place beside her Lieschen had given him a charming little nod, and when her father began his agricultural talk with Herr Storting, she turned to Egon and said, in a low tone,--
"I thank you, Herr Piggle----" She paused; "Herr Candidate," she added.
"Why do you interrupt yourself, Fräulein Lieschen?"
"I promised not to laugh at you at table, and I do not wish to break my word. You must not take it amiss, but indeed your name is too comical, I should laugh if I said it, and that would mortify you."
"Not in the least. I resign my ridiculous name with pleasure to your tender mercies. Laugh if you like, and I will join your laughter at 'Pigglewitch.' The owner of such a name must make up his mind to have it laughed at, so it is his best policy to laugh too."
Lieschen looked at him in surprise.
"That I cannot understand," she said. "How can any one laugh at his own name, however ridiculous it may be? For him who bears it a name must be something sacred, to be revered as a memento of parents and grandparents who have borne it."
"If you think thus, Fräulein Lieschen, you ought not to laugh at a ridiculous name."
"You are right, Herr Pigglewitch. I will call you by your name, and I promise you that not a muscle of my face shall stir as I do so."
"No, no, Fräulein Lieschen, I was not in such grave earnest. You will not mortify me, on the contrary it will please me if the name of Pigglewitch excite your merriment, and I am convinced that all the Pigglewitches now with God would take no offence at a smile upon such charming lips."
"Now you are laughing at your ancestors. I do not like to have you do that. Some things are too sacred to be trifled with. I do not know what to think of you. You really pleased me just now when you reproved me, but your sneer at what every man should hold sacred spoils it all. I am afraid you are not a good man, Herr Pigglewitch."
"I do not think I am, and yet I am not as bad as I might be," Egon replied. "I pray you, Fräulein Lieschen, take me for what I am; besides, I am capable of improvement, as I have proved to you. Have I not sacrificed to you my beautiful coat with its charming long tails, and consented to appear no longer in the part of scarecrow, but as an ordinary human being in Herr Storting's clothes?"
"I have already thanked you for that."
"Quite unnecessarily. I deserve no thanks. You read me a charming homily, and I deserved it. I knew you were right, and the result you have before you. I have even arranged with Herr Storting, who has been extremely kind to me, to go early to-morrow to Breslau, where my beautiful black coat is to find its grave in the shop of some humane old-clothes dealer until some needy wretch effects its resurrection. I shall return from Breslau stripped of the borrowed plumes which at present adorn me, but in attire, I trust, which will allow me to appear before you without being considered a ridiculously ugly scarecrow."
"You have not forgotten my thoughtless word," Leischen said, with a blush.
"No, I do not mean to forget it, it was just, and made a deep impression upon me. You see I am capable of being instructed. Perhaps you may be induced to be kind enough to occupy yourself somewhat with my neglected education."
Lieschen opened her eyes in wonder. "It would seem to be really necessary," she said, gravely. "I know you are laughing at me when you ask an inexperienced girl of seventeen and your future pupil to attend to your education, but indeed you might learn one thing from me,--frankness. Papa blamed me a little while ago for always speaking out my thoughts, but indeed I cannot help it, and I tell you plainly that I think your way odious of ridiculing everything, even yourself, your name, your parents and ancestors, and--me for venturing to declare your old clothes ugly. Your ridicule wounds and offends me. We shall never be good friends if you talk so to me."
The girl's sharp reproof surprised Egon so much that he was at a loss for a reply. He was used in society to meet with the greatest complaisance from any young lady upon whom he bestowed attention. It is true he understood the reason for this, he knew why the belles of the capital lent so ready an ear to him, manifesting the greatest interest in everything that he said, and from this knowledge he had acquired the habit--now become to him second nature--of treating them with an easy air of superiority. He was consequently greatly surprised to find a girl scarcely more than a child administering to him for the second time to-day a rebuke which he could not but be conscious was well merited. He was really in some embarrassment as to how he should reply to her, when he was fortunately relieved of the necessity for doing so.
The discussion of the important agricultural matters which had claimed Herr von Osternau's entire attention, and had been listened to with such interest by his wife that she had paid no heed to the conversation between the Candidate and her daughter, came to an end after Herr von Osternau had arranged operations for the next day, and he now turned to Egon, saying, kindly, "You must have been somewhat bored, Herr Pigglewitch: you can hardly take any great interest in agricultural pursuits, but if you are to live at Castle Osternau I trust you will find some in what concerns us here so nearly. It will come, I think, on a closer acquaintance with the subject. The management of an extensive landed estate, the pursuit of agriculture, always seems to one town-bred as an inferior, unintellectual occupation. To him the ordinary peasant is stupidity personified,--a man who follows his plough like some soulless machine,--and the landed proprietor is but slightly the superior of his peasants. Among our titled official circles, if a son is too dull for diplomacy they make a soldier of him, and if there are fears as to his passing his examination as an officer he is thought at all events clever enough for agriculture. They buy him an estate, and should he find a clever, well-taught superintendent, the machinery of his farms works well, and the opinion that the dullest fellow is not too dull for an agricultural career receives confirmation. The poor development of our agricultural resources in many parts of our country is owing to this wretched prejudice. The larger number of landed proprietors have no idea of the significance of their vocation, they farm after the fashions which have been handed down to them through long generations, without a thought of the study which should be devoted to the agriculture of to-day. For the enlightened management of a large farming interest a constant and keen observation of nature's methods is required, and an understanding that must be well directed by a cultivated intellect. It is so easy to tread the well-worn paths that our forefathers have trod, and in doing so one wins approval as a practical farmer from those who are always ready to point out the mistakes of others whom they regard as given over to theories, never suspecting how study might enable them to treble the produce of their fields and meadows. The intelligent farmer makes science his servant, by whom he wrings nature's secrets from her and turns them to the best advantage. The smallest agricultural details are of importance to him, for through exactitude in these the whole vast machinery of a large estate is kept in order, and small results will be reached by those who despise them. But I hardly meant, Herr Pigglewitch, to deliver you a lecture upon agriculture. I only wish to prove to you that an interest in the details of a large farming establishment is not so tiresome and belittling as you may have hitherto believed. When you have been here some time you will begin to perceive the complicated wheel-work of the vast machine, and will perhaps take some pleasure in our daily discussion of agricultural matters."
Egon listened attentively to this long explanation, and as he did so a new sphere of ideas lay revealed before him. He himself possessed an extensive estate in Western Prussia, Plagnitz, which he had inherited from his mother, but he had never concerned himself in the slightest degree with its management; indeed, he had never visited it but once, when, after a stay of somewhat less than a week, he had left it with the determination never to see it again, so flat, stale, and unprofitable did life seem to him in a country where the scenery was not particularly fine, in an old manor-house that might have been a mediæval castle. His administrator, who bore the reputation of a good, practical agriculturist, was interested in nothing save rye and wheat, cows and sheep. Upon no other subject could a word be exchanged either with him or with his wife, who was an admirable housekeeper. He had conducted his young master through stalls and stables, and would, if allowed, have told him the history and pedigree of every horse and ox. He knew just how much milk every cow gave daily, and the number of calves born on the estate in a year, all which details he was desirous of giving to his master. The sheep were passed in review before their lord, and the administrator grew enthusiastic over the merits of Negrettis and Merinos. Egon hardly understood a word of his explanation, and was simply bored. Then horses were brought, and the two men rode over the entire estate. Egon was called upon to admire the crops, when he really did not know the difference between wheat, oats, and rye. Everything that the administrator admired tired his master. Egon was delighted to leave Plagnitz at the end of four days; he made up his mind that nothing was more stupid or conducive to intellectual torpor than the pursuit of agriculture. Since this visit he had not even read his administrator's letters; he gave them to some one of his father's clerks to answer, and drew from his father's bank the income from the estate, heedless whether it was as large as it ought to be or not. Such details were too insignificant to occupy his attention. He had more money than he knew how to spend. He really had not thought of his West Prussian estate for a long time, when it suddenly occurred to him during Herr von Osternau's discourse. With the remembrance of it came, however, the memory of the intolerable tedium of his visit there. Could it have been his own ignorance that made the management of his estate so utterly devoid of interest for him? Was his administrator one of the practical farmers spoken of by Herr von Osternau? Was it possible to introduce more enlightened methods at Plagnitz,--methods with a scientific basis, which might make of it a model for the cultivation of the surrounding estates? He would consider this when he returned to Berlin. But should he ever return to Berlin? Had he then quite relinquished the purpose for which he had left the capital? His present existence was to have been only a short episode before the close of a useless career, and here he was thinking of the future and of something to be done after a while. It was folly. He must live in the present, there was no future for him.
For a moment he lost himself in memory and reflection. He was recalled to the present by a sneering remark of the Lieutenant's: "You are preaching to deaf ears, my dear cousin. Herr Pigglewitch does not find your admonitions worth listening to."
"You are mistaken, Herr Lieutenant," Egon rejoined, hastily, "I have not only been listening attentively, but have been drawing conclusions from what Herr von Osternau has been saying which may prove of advantage to me, and for which I thank him. I frankly confess that I have hitherto had no idea that the cultivation of the soil required any amount of intellectual capacity, and I cannot tell whether I shall ever feel any real interest in agriculture. At present I am so absolutely ignorant upon the subject that the meaning of various words and phrases that fell upon my ear during your discussion, as, for instance, four-course rotation, naked fallow, extirpator, is unknown to me."
Herr von Osternau laughed at the young man's frank confession of ignorance, at which Frau von Osternau was much surprised.
"You amaze me, Herr Pigglewitch," she said. "Director Kramser wrote me that you were the son of a country clergyman and had been brought up in the country."
"Again I have made a blunder," thought Egon. "Impudence, befriend me!" and, without seeming at all confused, he turned to the lady of the house. "I confess, to my shame, madame," he replied, "that as a boy I had a great dislike for every sort of occupation not connected with my books. And then the small farm attached to a country parsonage is a very insignificant affair. I took no kind of interest in it then, nor did my tastes change with years. A teacher who is not content with inferiority in his training has very little time for any occupation save what is connected with his future vocation."
"Ah! with such incessant study you must have become wonderfully learned," the Lieutenant observed.
Egon took no notice of the remark: he was only too glad that he had been able to satisfy the mistress of the house without telling a direct falsehood. He saw that he had come off conqueror when Frau von Osternau gave him a kindly nod and said, "You have turned your time to good account, Herr Pigglewitch, your wonderful music to-day was proof of that. I can understand how long and how diligent has been the practice which has given you so brilliant an execution. The expression, the feeling in your playing cannot be taught or learned, it is a God-given inspiration possessed by comparatively few of us. I shall be too happy if you are able to call forth only a hint of it in my children."
"Herr Pigglewitch is then an artist as well as a scholar," the Lieutenant observed. "Really, I begin to stand in awe of him, and to consider Fritz most fortunate in having such a light to illumine the path of wisdom for him. 'Tis a pity that for the present Fritz must confine himself to the A B C of learning, or Herr Pigglewitch could regale him with chemistry, physics, mathematics, Latin, Greek, French, English,--in short, with everything worth knowing."
"Add Italian, and your list of the subjects upon which I ought to be competent to teach will be complete," Egon rejoined, quietly, as if unconscious of any irony in the Lieutenant's words.
"What! you understand five languages besides your own?" Herr von Osternau asked in amazement that a Candidate should be thus accomplished. "I thought that modern languages were rather neglected in our first-class schools."
"I did not learn them at school," Egon said, smiling. "I was always ambitious to learn something more than was prescribed by the school curriculum, and I have a natural gift for languages. I like to read great poets in the original, translations are apt to be but weak transcriptions, therefore I studied English to read Shakespeare, and Italian for the sake of Dante. Every educated man understands French of course, and Greek and Latin form part of the usual classical education."
Frau von Osternau was indeed surprised. Were these quietly-uttered words true, or was Herr Pigglewitch boasting of accomplishments which he did not possess, in the belief that no one at Castle Osternau could put his knowledge to the test? If this last were the case he was mistaken. True, she herself had no knowledge of Greek, Latin, or Italian, but she spoke both French and English quite well. She addressed him in English, expressing her pleasure at his proficiency in languages; he answered her in the same tongue with an accent and with fluency superior to her own. French he spoke with equal purity and facility. She could not, after a short conversation in both tongues, forbear an expression of her admiration of his ability, and was a little embarrassed when he rejoined, in German, "I have then been undergoing a slight examination. Perhaps Lieutenant von Osternau will have the kindness to continue it, and to test my qualifications in Latin and Greek, mathematics, chemistry, and physics. I gladly place myself at his disposal."
"I have never had anything to do with school examinations, and feel no desire to begin to-day," the Lieutenant replied, giving the insufferable Pigglewitch a look that was meant to be crushing, but which was only furious.
"You are right there, Cousin Albrecht," Lieschen interposed; "you would come to grief if you attempted the part of an examiner."
The Lieutenant had no chance to reply to his young cousin, for Herr von Osternau rose from table and every one followed his example.
On week-days the inspectors always took their leave, returning to their duties, but to-day Herr Storting lingered and asked for leave of absence for the next morning. Herr von Osternau seemed surprised. "Is your business in Breslau so very pressing?" he asked. "You know every hour is precious during the harvesting."
"Yes, papa, Herr Storting has very urgent business in Breslau," Lieschen replied in the young man's stead. "He and Herr Pigglewitch must both pay a visit there to-morrow morning. Please, papa, do not ask why now, I will tell you by and by."
"And why not now?"
"Because Cousin Albrecht stands there pricking his ears most curiously, and the matter is no affair of his. I am sure, papa dear, you will allow Herr Storting and the Herr Candidate to go to-morrow without asking any questions. They will both be back by noon."
"Of course we must all do as you please, you witch," her father replied, stroking back the golden curls from his darling's forehead. "I will ask no questions. Certainly they should both have gone without your interference. I am sure Herr Storting has good reasons for wishing to spend any time away from Osternau during the hay-harvest."
Storting looked a little confused. "Indeed you are most kind, Herr von Osternau. I was perhaps in a trifle too much haste, I might postpone----"
"Do not believe him, papa, he cannot possibly postpone, and I'll tell you in your ear why,--you will allow me, Herr Pigglewitch?"
"No, Fräulein Lieschen, I beg you, on the contrary, to withdraw your request," Egon replied. "I cannot suffer Herr Storting to leave his duty here to do me a favour. The matter in question is a favour to me, Herr von Osternau, and I really cannot see why it should be kept secret. I could not appear at dinner in the only clothes which I possessed. Herr Storting therefore very kindly lent me one of his own suits, and offered to go with me to-morrow to Breslau and help me in the choice of attire suitable for a residence in Castle Osternau. This is the entire mystery."
"A ridiculous trifle!" exclaimed the Lieutenant. "And Herr Storting was to go to Breslau during harvest for this? An extraordinary idea!"
"Which never occurred to me," replied Egon. "Herr Storting offered to accompany me, and I accepted his proposal, not imagining that his short absence could be any disadvantage in the farming operations, which are carried on under the distinguished auspices of Herr Lieutenant von Osternau. Since, however, I am now better informed, I beg to decline his kind offer, and will, with Herr von Osternau's permission, go to Breslau alone."
"For Heaven's sake, do not let him, papa!" Lieschen whispered to her father. "Think of that black coat! No, you must not go alone, Herr Storting must go with you and advise you."
Herr von Osternau laughed at his daughter's zeal, nevertheless the remembrance of the black coat outweighed any objection he might have had to dispensing with Storting's services. The Herr Candidate might be a very accomplished and cultivated man, but he certainly had no idea of how to dress himself. Storting must look after him in this respect. He did not indeed give this as a reason for his ready acquiescence in his daughter's wishes, but cut short a remonstrance on the part of the Lieutenant by declaring that the matter was settled, Herr Storting and Herr Pigglewitch would start on the morrow for Breslau, and if they found their business required more time than was anticipated, they need be in no hurry to return, but could spend the entire day there. When the Lieutenant here ventured to remark that Herr von Wangen would find it difficult to superintend the harvesters alone, his cousin replied, with some asperity, "Then perhaps you, Cousin Albrecht, will have the kindness to take Herr Storting's place, since he is certainly going to Breslau. And now no more of this. We will take our coffee in the billiard-room. Do you play billiards, Herr Pigglewitch? Yes? So much the better, you can take part in our game. There are usually but three of us, Cousin Albrecht, Lieschen, and myself. Four players make the game much more entertaining. We usually spend an hour every day in billiards. When I am kept within-doors, as to-day, it is my only exercise. You must prepare yourself for a hard contest, Herr Pigglewitch, for Albrecht is a master of the game. Fortunately, we play for glory only, and Lieschen and I are always forced to yield this to the Lieutenant."
"Herr Pigglewitch will probably dispute this glory with me: he is, no doubt, also a master of the game," rejoined the Lieutenant.
Albrecht certainly was an extremely good billiard-player, he had had an admirable opportunity to become so during the hours spent at his military club, and he was inclined to resent the idea that he should find an actual antagonist in a man who could not possibly be a proficient in a game requiring for its mastery both time and money. Chance gave him precedence of Egon in the present game, and he made sure of soon establishing the Candidate's insignificance and his own supremacy as a player. But he was much mistaken; he could not but see very shortly that he had found his master. At Egon's first successful stroke Albrecht muttered something about "luck" and "beginners," but when the course of the game did but further reveal the Candidate's skill and brilliant play, the Lieutenant grew furious. He tried to preserve an appearance of equanimity, but when the game was at an end he refused to take part in another, declaring that he must ride out to the harvest-field. It did not improve his temper, when his cousin repeated his request to him to stay for one more round, for Lieschen to say, with a laugh, "Do not tease him, papa dear. How can you ask him to play on after his discomfiture? He must calm himself down with a ride,--
"'He scarcely breathes within these walls,
Forth to the meadows nature calls!'"
"Your school-girl quotation fails of its mark," the Lieutenant said, crossly; "I am not at all discomfited, and it would not in the least affect me if this gentleman, who appears to have used his time for study to such good purpose, really played a better game of billiards than I. My calling is not that of a billiard-player, and I have never attempted to acquire the artistic skill which I grant is possessed by Herr Pigglewitch. I leave that to professional gamblers."
He uttered the last words with an expression of great contempt, looking full at Egon, who had hitherto listened in silence, but who now turned with flashing eyes and addressed the Lieutenant in a voice which he forced to sound calm: "You have made use of a word, Herr Lieutenant, which I require you instantly to retract. Out of regard for the ladies and Herr von Osternau, I have hitherto taken no notice of your offensive expressions; your last remark touches my honour, and you will either retract it or give me satisfaction."
"The fellow is insane. He presumes to take me to task and to demand satisfaction of me!"
"Which you will give the gentleman, Cousin Albrecht," Herr von Osternau said, sharply, before Egon could reply to this fresh insult. "You will give it immediately by apologizing to him. Take care, cousin! I would advise you to reflect before uttering words that may be irrevocable. I told you an hour ago that I would not suffer the man to whom I have intrusted my children's instruction to be treated beneath my roof otherwise than as a gentleman. You have insulted Herr Pigglewitch without provocation; this I will not permit. I give you your choice: either you retract your offensive expressions, or you leave Castle Osternau this very day. I am not jesting, Cousin Albrecht, my word is immovable. You have insulted me in insulting Herr Pigglewitch. I require an apology not only for his sake, but for my own."
Was this the easy, good-natured man who had not spoken a harsh word for years to the cousin whom he had received into his household? His figure, usually slightly bent, stood erect, his keen glance scanned Albrecht's features, in which surprise was evident, as he spoke in a manner that admitted of no contradiction.
"You are very kind in thus espousing my cause, Herr von Osternau," Egon interposed. "I cannot think of causing any dispute between yourself and your relative by my presence beneath your roof. I thank you sincerely for your generous words, which make all the more clear to me the necessity for ending this contest by my departure from Castle Osternau. I see clearly that I am not fit for the position of tutor. I never should have undertaken to accept it. I shall know how to obtain satisfaction hereafter from Lieutenant von Osternau, and it only remains for me, my dear sir, to bid you a grateful farewell."
"Not at all! Not a word of that!" the old man replied. "You have made a contract which cannot he cancelled save by the consent of both parties. You will, as you have promised to do, attempt the duties of my children's tutor. Until that attempt has been made I shall not release you from your promise. And as you have just heard, I demand an apology, not only for you but for myself. This Cousin Albrecht will make, and immediately, or leave Castle Osternau forever. Forever, Albrecht! Reflect what you are doing!"
The Lieutenant could not meet his cousin's flashing eyes, before which he cast down his own. The fire of his anger had quickly died out, but from his very soul he hated this insolent plebeian Candidate who had thus humiliated him. And he must apologize to him,--he must, he could not refuse to do so. He knew how stern was his cousin's resolve when once made known, how implacable his resentment when once it had found a lodgement in his kindly nature. There was no choice left him. What was he to do if his generous relative refused to shelter him? He thought of the future with horror. He had lost at play during his occasional visits to Berlin the entire large sum of this year's salary received for his unimportant services at Osternau, and had contracted debts for which he was continually dunned, although his creditors knew that they would be paid, as had so frequently been the case before, by his magnanimous cousin. How should he satisfy them if he were banished from Castle Osternau?
"Well, Cousin Albrecht, I await your decision."
The Lieutenant bit his lip; he could no longer hesitate; he must submit to the humiliation, but he registered a mental vow that he would avenge it upon the man who had been the cause of it. His task now was to make this humiliation as little apparent as possible: so, although the blood tingled in his veins, he forced himself to appear calm, as he replied to his cousin, "There really was no need of harsh words from you, Cousin Fritz, to induce me to recall a thoughtless expression, which I regretted as soon as I perceived that it had been misunderstood. I had no idea of styling Herr Pigglewitch a professional gambler, and I should have told him this, and asked to be excused for my misunderstood expression, had he not demanded with such an air of menace the satisfaction which the difference in our rank makes it impossible that I should give him. This declaration, to which I add that I had no intention to offend, and that I gladly retract any expression that could be considered insulting, will, I hope, entirely accord with your wishes."
"Entirely, and I think Herr Pigglewitch too will be quite satisfied," said Herr von Osternau, kindly, offering Albrecht his hand.
Egon bowed. He was not satisfied, but the Candidate Pigglewitch was forced to be so since Herr von Osternau was. Egon von Ernau would have rejected the apology and demanded again the satisfaction that had been denied him, finding in the reference to a difference of rank a fresh insult, but in the Candidate Pigglewitch such conduct would be unjustifiable, he must submit to seem content. He was even forced to admit that his adversary had gone farther to conciliate him than was absolutely necessary when, upon leaving the room to ride out to the harvest-fields, the haughty Lieutenant von Osternau offered him his hand in token of amity.