Tales from the German. Volume I.

by C. F. van der Velde

CHAPTER II.

Alone, with folded arms, on the following evening, Arwed wandered up and down the northern bank of the Suedermalm in the new volunteer uniform, anxiously glancing across lake Malar towards the magnificent city of Stockholm, which there arose with its palaces, cupolas and towers, proud and lordly as became the queen of those waters. The sun had already gone down, but it yet glowed redly upon the waves of the lake, gently ruffled by a soft west wind, and its last rays glistened upon the knob of the high towers of St. Gertrude, which it lighted up like a giant star shining through the incipient twilight. With earnest attention the youth's eyes glided from tower to tower and from palace to palace, until they finally remained fixed upon that of the royal residence, which in consequence of the continued impoverishment of the treasury had not been rebuilt since the fire that destroyed it twenty years before.

'What horrible desolation in the midst of so much splendor!' said Arwed mournfully to himself. 'The ruins of the royal castle almost appear to me to be symbols of the decay of this noble realm! Yet also this palace,' proceeded he, consoling himself with the light-mindedness of youth, 'will one day again rise from its ashes, perhaps more beautiful than before. Lost lands can be conquered again, new generations will come to fill up the vacancies caused by the sword, and soon perhaps will Europe tremble again before the mighty roar of the Swedish lion.'

A splash in the water interrupted the proud prophecy. A row-boat from the Ritterholm cut through the stream and neared the bank. Two ladies in plain dark cloaks and covered with white veils, stepped from the boat. 'Georgina,' cried Arwed in ecstasy, springing towards her. With light, nimble steps one of the ladies, a slender and delicately formed figure, approached and affectionately extended to him her right hand, while her left was employed in withdrawing the veil from her youthful and lovely face.

'My Georgina!' he joyfully repeated, leading her to a seat upon the rocky bank, whilst the other lady remained standing at some distance, sending from under her veil in every direction her scrutinizing glances, so as to be enabled to warn the youthful pair betimes of any troublesome witness who might interrupt the happy interview.

The beauteous Georgina fixed her affectionate gaze upon the beloved youth, but with softened feelings which filled her dark eyes with tears. 'By your dress I see,' said she with emotion, 'that this is our parting hour--and I thank thee that I have been hitherto kept in ignorance of it, so that I was enabled to enjoy the anticipation of this meeting without alloy.'

'Yes, dearest maiden,' answered Arwed: 'my wishes are accomplished, my father's kindness has opened to me the path of honor, which I dare to hope will enable me to deserve and obtain thee. That I may hereafter be entirely thine, I now leave thee. Thou wilt again see me, crowned with the laurels of victory, or thou wilt hear that I have bravely fought and fallen worthy of thee and myself.'

'Oh, Arwed,' faintly murmured the almost breathless maiden, reclining her beauteous head upon his breast and turning her eyes upon his face with a look of gentle reproach. 'Must it then be so? Thou hast indeed always asserted this sad necessity, but I could never bring myself to believe it. Credit me, my father is good, and by no means so haughty and violent as the Swedes consider him. Ungrateful men indeed, hate him--but he loves his newly adopted country. Thy house is one of the most honorable--and even if he had other plans respecting me, he would not be able to withstand my prayers if I dutifully opened my heart to him.'

'I love thee with all my soul, Georgina,' said Arwed with flashing eyes: 'but at the same time Swedish pride claims its rights. It would be disgraceful to a Gyllenstierna to be indebted to the prayers and tears of the daughter for the consent of the proud stranger. And if your father should now ask me what I had hitherto done for the honor of the name which his child is to bear, and I could answer him nothing except that I had read Greek and Latin with my tutor and listened to a few college lectures at Upsala, I should sink into the earth for shame. Yet not for that cause alone do I grasp the sword. With it I hope to gain the favor of the king and independence of my father, who, though he truly loves me, will hardly with a good will consent to the proposed connection. Besides, having long since decided on my course, I beg that you will not make more difficult by your sorrow a step which is already sufficiently afflicting, since it separates me from you.'

'Cruel, perverse man!' said Georgina, kissing him. 'Yes, your sex are our tyrants, and the worst of it is, that the more pitilessly you torment us through your pride and severity, the more ardently we love you. What can the poor feeble maiden do but submit to the hard fate which her Arwed decrees--and henceforth weep, hope, wish, until her lot is indissolubly united with his.' She dried her tears, and then with assumed resolution asked; 'when do you leave?'

'This night I depart for Norway,' answered Arwed, 'but whether for the north or the south, you must decide for me.'

'I?' asked Georgina, trembling: 'you mock me.'

'You know the reasons,' proceeded Arwed, 'which induce me to desire to repair to Frederickshall. But my father insists with inexorable severity, that I shall go to Armfelt, which he prefers as the better path for promotion, and from fear that the reckless temerity of the king may expose my life to unnecessary danger. I believe, however, that the aversion which the fiery old aristocrat retains so firmly against the great Charles, is the principal cause of his obstinacy. Now counsel me Georgina. Uninfluenced by party hatreds, and all the low springs of action which prevail in this kingdom setting brother against brother, standest thou there, like a good angel, above the thunder and the death-cry of the battle field, and only lookest down compassionately upon the wild tumult.--With thee I shall find the truth, or nowhere. Shall I follow the conquering path of the great king, inspired by his presence, and perhaps rewarded with his approbation whenever an opportunity for good service may occur, and struggle to obtain the chaplet of honor through my own deservings; or shall I, in obedience to the arbitrary will of my father, repair to Armfelt's corps for the purpose of supplanting meritorious warriors by means of a wicked favoritism? Decide! What you advise, that will I do.'

'Thou art magnanimous, Arwed,' said Georgina, smiling through her tears. 'Thou wishest to flatter a maiden's vanity, so that she may the less acutely feel the sorrow of parting. How shall I be so presumptuous as to counsel a youth who is as headstrong as ever could have been the king himself?'

'Upon my honor!' cried Arwed impatiently, 'I desire thy counsel in real earnest. My own feelings have long since decided,--but I wish to be governed not by my own feelings, but by what is right, and that I find only in thy clear soul.'

'Thou demandest of me the performance of a delicate and responsible duty,' said Georgina with emotion. 'Were I to obey only the voice of anxiety which speaks so loudly for thee in a loving maiden's bosom, I had quickly decided--as, with the king is undoubtedly the greatest danger. But in this case the voice of honor must also be heard, and thy honor is also mine.'

'Such language is Worthy of a Swedish maiden!' cried Arwed, warmly embracing her.

'Nor is honor alone to be considered,' proceeded Georgina. 'The question of filial duty is also an important one. Thy father hath declared his will, and I am not presumptuous enough to counsel disobedience to him.'

'My God!' cried Arwed disconsolately. 'I now stand just where I did before--and if I would ever come to a conclusion, like Alexander I must cut the knot I cannot untie.'

'Move not towards the north, young hero!' whispered, all of a sudden in the evening stillness, a low hoarse voice, as if from heaven.

Georgina shrieked with alarm and covered her eyes with her hands. Arwed sprang in a rage from his rocky seat, and drew his sword. 'Who here gives his counsel unasked?' thundered he among the rocks above him, on whose top he observed through the fading twilight a tall human form, wrapped in a gray mantle.

'One wiser than thou,' answered the apparition, 'and who means thee well.'

'What have I to fear in the north?' hastily asked Arwed.

'An inglorious death!' answered the unknown, and instantly vanished.

'Strange,' said Arwed, slowly returning his sword to its scabbard.

'Now am I to decide!' cried Georgina, tremblingly attaching herself to him. 'Obey the voice, Arwed, it appeared to be that of a friend.'

'Prophecies were always disagreeable to me,' said Arwed. 'Imposition or fanaticism, it makes no difference. Now am I almost determined to go to Armfelt, merely to prove that I give no heed to such jugglery.'

'Hast thou forgotten what there awaits thee?' anxiously asked Georgina.

'An inglorious death would indeed be the greatest calamity that could befal me,' said Arwed; 'and the voice sounded so honest.'

'If thou lovest me, obey it,' implored Georgina,--and at that moment her companion approached to remind her that it was high time to return to the city.

'Fare thee well, my beloved life!' said Arwed, locking the sobbing maiden in his arms.

'Thou goest to Frederickshall?' inquired she, faintly.

'Hast thou not united the wish with my love?' asked the youth in return, and long and silently he pressed her beloved form to his bosom.

'Hasten, baroness!' anxiously entreated her companion.

Georgina finally forced herself from his embrace. 'I believe in a good God!' exclaimed she with a sort of inspiration: 'we shall meet again.'

The ladies proceeded to the boat which was waiting for them. Arwed remained standing silently on the spot where he had received Georgina's last kiss, gazing after the receding boat, until it disappeared in the shadow which the old Gothic church of the Ritterholm, behind which the moon was now rising, threw over the waters of the Malar.