CHAPTER XV.
Philip walked impatiently up and down his study, then seated himself at his writing-table, touched the spring of a secret drawer, and took out the Councillor's note, really only to assure himself that he had not mistaken the hour, but then as he had the letter in his hand, besides having nothing to do, he read it through as carefully as if it were for the first time:
"My Dear Friend,
"The Count is of the greatest importance to us, though you seem always to have under-rated him. The fact of his being over head and ears in debt is in my eyes only one more chance for us--we shall get him all the cheaper; and have him we must. The loss caused by Prince Prora's positive refusal to be one of the promoters, and taking part only as an ordinary shareholder, can only be met by the Count's siding with us. We must positively have a noble name to support us. You do not understand the insular feelings. The bell-wether must first jump over, and then, of course, the whole flock follow. You must provide a bait for the bell-wether; that is to say, in figures: you or Lübbener must advance fifty thousand thalers, which I know he is in great need of; then a promise of a tolerably big lump in case the Eastern Railway comes to anything--a case which is almost impossible; thirdly, to balance the fifty thousand and the big lump--a promise on his side to become a director of a Northern Railway. I will fire all these mines this evening, and bring him, with some excuse which I will notify on entering. Lübbener must be there too; or, still better, come later--quite by accident, of course! Should I still find the Count, contrary to my expectations, obstinate and quite disinclined to take the first step, I will break up the interview at nine o'clock, and come alone.
"P.S.--Get hold of young Werben. It is an expensive friendship, I know; but we must not shrink from cost now, and must encourage the relations between the Count and the Werbens in every way. It would be capital if you could serve him up this evening to us as dessert. But you must not openly invite him; and I beg you, above all things, to keep in mind that the whole thing throughout must have an appearance of accident and impromptu--you will understand that!"
Philip laughed to himself as he shut up the letter.
"I think I do understand it," said he; "but"--and he cast a glance at the clock--"if they do not come soon, all my beautiful arrangements may go to the devil."
He was about to rise impatiently, when the door-bell rang. He immediately seized some papers which he had laid ready on purpose, took up his pen, and was deeply engrossed in writing when the servant announced Count Golm and Councillor Schieler.
"Beg the gentlemen to come in," said Philip over his shoulder, bending again over the paper and scribbling away.
The servant had already opened the door for the two gentlemen. Philip threw down his pen, rose hastily, and passing his hand over his forehead, said:
"I beg you a thousand pardons! I had hoped to finish the thing--the report, you know, Herr Schieler. Count Golm, I consider myself happy."
"We disturb you, my dear fellow," said the Councillor; "but I have been saying so much about your beautiful gallery to Count Golm, and he is here for such a short time----"
"But quite long enough to be able to return at a more convenient hour," said the Count.
"I would not let you go on any account," exclaimed Philip; "there is no such hurry about this business."
"But we are keeping you from something else."
"From nothing more interesting or agreeable, Count Golm. I give you my word, I happened to have nothing for to-night--positively nothing. I think, any way, I should have stayed at home."
The Councillor shook his finger at him.
"Upon my honour, Herr Schieler." Philip rang the bell. "Light the lamps in the drawing-room and in the dining-room. And Count Golm, Councillor Schieler, will you do me the honour to join me in my bachelor supper? Now, that is most kind of you; so put three places, Johann."
"No ceremony, I beg!" said the Count.
"None, I assure you. May I show you the way?"
The servants had opened the folding-doors into the drawing-room.
"You seem to have some beautiful things here," said the Count, standing and looking round the exquisite little study.
"A few trifles, Count Golm, such as a man likes to have round him."
"But that is a Vautier," said the Count, stopping before a picture. "Do you call that a trifle?"
"Only from its size. I have a larger picture of his in the next room. And this little Scheurenberg ought to please you; at least, it is very much praised by connoisseurs."
"Charming--quite charming!" said the Count. "And this exquisite water-colour--Passini, of course?
"The office of showman is easy with Count Golm," said Philip to the Councillor.
"It runs a little in my family," said the Count. "My great-grandfather was a celebrated collector, also my father. You must some day come and see my small gallery at Golm."
"I only wish that you would give me an opportunity!"
"Is an invitation opportunity enough?"
Philip bowed. "I shall not fail, Count Golm."
"This autumn, I hope? Do you shoot?"
"Oh yes!"
"Then you will not lack amusement when you come to Golm."
"That I am certain of, in the company of the possessor of Golm."
The Count bowed. Philip turned to the servants who at that moment entered the room.
"How provoking! They have just let in a man who wants to see me for a few minutes on important business."
"I can only repeat my request," said the Count.
"And I protest again against your kind consideration, which is really quite unnecessary. I shall only be a minute."
Philip led the two gentlemen to the drawing-room, and shut the doors after him.
"Pleasant sort of fellow, this Herr Schmidt," said the Count.
"Is not he?" answered the Councillor. "This time your prejudices were at fault."
"It is not a prejudice. I made the acquaintance of a man of that name a few days ago--even had to entertain him at my own table--who was most objectionable to me."
The Councillor had heard from his friend the General an account of the circumstance, which had taken place at Golmberg, before he met the Count, and knew well enough whom the Count honoured with his dislike, and also in what relationship Reinhold stood to Philip. But why tell the Count that, and spoil his good humour? The Count cast a glance of astonishment through the splendid room, whose almost over-crowded pictures and magnificent furniture glittered in the light of chandelier and candelabra.
"But this is princely," said he.
"And still it is only a faint shadow of the splendour that the man has decked his new house in the Wilhelmstrasse with. It is all ready, except a few details; but will not, I think, be open before next spring. He must show it to you; you would delight in it."
"I don't know," answered the Count; "this luxury has something overpowering in the eyes of one of us."
"On the contrary, I should say something encouraging," said the Councillor. "When people with no name, or rather with such a name! without connections, without help from home--Herr Schmidt is by trade only a builder--bring matters to such a result, what is there in the world unattainable to such men as you who have such enormous advantages of birth, connections, and influence, provided that you free yourselves from certain very respectable prejudices and set to work heart and soul as these people do."
"And what has this man got to show that is so remarkable?"
"In the first place his intelligence, inventive genius and energy; in the second, certain lucky speculations in houses and lands, of which the crowning point is certainly the starting of our railway."
"Now it is quite clear to me why your shareholders are always lamenting so loudly that you build so extravagantly," said the Count, with a sarcastic smile.
"What do the poor devils understand about it?" answered the Councillor; "if they settled matters we should have to take the roasted chestnuts out of the fire without getting anything for it."
"Then there is fire?"
"Before which a man in his old age may warm his knees with much pleasure!"
And the Councillor waved his hand towards all the magnificence around them. The Count laughed, the Councillor himself thought that a smile was allowable. Philip came out of his study and shut the door behind him.
"I hope you will not mind," said he in a low voice, turning to the Count, "but I thoughtlessly mentioned your name, and my business friend begged so earnestly----"
"Who is it?" said the Count.
"Herr Hugo Lübbener."
The Count changed colour slightly and cast a quick furtive glance at the Councillor, who however met it unmoved.
"My banker," said the Count.
"He did not tell me that!" cried Philip; "then certainly I may venture."
"I shall be very happy," said the Count rather crossly.
"This all fits in wonderfully," whispered the Councillor to him, while Philip called through the door which he had left open into the study.
"Come in, you most discreet of men! I should have thought that the firm stood so well with the Count----"
"As well as the Count stands with the firm!" said Herr Hugo Lübbener as he came in. "Excuse my freedom, Count Golm, seeing you have not honoured me."
"Why, I assure you, I have not had time yet," exclaimed the Count, taking in the tips of his fingers the hand which Herr Lübbener offered somewhat timidly. "A world of business----"
"We can understand that, living in the business world as we do, can we not, Councillor?" said Herr Lübbener. "But now that I have had the honour and pleasure I will not stay a moment longer."
And he moved to the door; the Count glanced at the Councillor, who lifted his eyebrows.
"You are not going on my--our account, Herr Lübbener," said the Count; "we are here to admire the splendid collection of our kind host."
"Whose greatest admirer and appreciater is Herr Lübbener himself," put in the Councillor.
"Because I possess a few good things?" said Herr Lübbener. "Why, by Jove! a man must patronise art or at least the artists nowadays. Our friend Schmidt always fishes the best things away under our noses. Yesterday this Riefstahl was in Lepke's window, now of course it hangs here. What did you give for it?"
"What do you think?"
"Not more than half, I am sure."
Philip laughed as if he heard the old stockbroker joke for the first time; the Councillor cackled hoarsely like an old hen in rainy weather; the Count appeared highly amused.
"What would you have?" said he; "such a picture is really invaluable."
Philip turned the light of the reflector upon the picture, which now showed all its beauty for the first time.
"Really magnificent!" said the Count.
He had stepped a little nearer so that he himself was in the light of the lamp. The appearance of the Count standing there in the full light seemed to have something peculiarly comic for the three other men who were standing a little back. They glanced quickly at each other, and each face wore a malicious smile. The Councillor laid his finger on his long nose; Philip bit his lip.
"I have a Hildebrandt here," said he, "which I consider may be called the gem of my collection."
"At all events it is in his best style," said the Count.
They went from picture to picture, criticising and naming great artists, and not less great sums, till Philip, foreseeing danger to his plans, grew impatient.
"I do not know why," said he, "but nothing seems so good as usual to-day."
"It was just the same with me when I was a boy, I always thought my exercises were faultless till they came into the master's hands," said the Councillor.
"You really make too much of my small powers of criticising," said the Count in his best humour. "Why! are we not at the end yet?"
They were at the door of the dining-room, which the servants at that moment opened.
"You will find a few more pictures here," said Philip, "but before you look at them I must beg you to take some supper."
"Or the oysters will be cold," said Herr Lübbener.
"I begged there might be no ceremony," said the Count reproachfully as he took his place at table with the others.
"Not at all, Count Golm; the servants got the oysters from the nearest restaurant--and there is always a chicken to be found in a bachelor's kitchen."
"Long live the bachelors!" said the Councillor, lifting his glass.
"But how are they to do it?" cried Philip, swallowing an oyster.
"From hand to mouth!" said Herr Lübbener, who was busy in the same way.
"For heaven's sake, Lübbener!" cried Philip, "if you have no pity for us, at least spare Count Golm!"
"I think I can appreciate a good joke as well as the rest of you," said the Count.
"Listen to that!" exclaimed Herr Lübbener. "Come, Schmidt, forget your vexation! The fact is I came to tell him that with the best will in the world, I cannot allot him shares in the New Kaiserin-Königin for more than about a hundred thousand."
"If you say another word about business you shall not have a drop more of my Chablis," cried Philip.
"I was just going to ask for a glass of Bordeaux," answered Herr Lübbener.
The Councillor laughed aside to the Count, and shrugged his shoulders as though to say, "Boys will be boys! they go on like that all day." The Count returned the smile most courteously.
"At Rome one must do as the Romans do," said he. "I confess it would interest me very much to learn something authentic about the Kaiserin-Königin Iron Company which is so much talked about now."
The Count had given the signal; he could not be surprised that for the next half hour nothing was talked but business, in fact he was so interested and excited, that he drank glass after glass, while the blood mounted to his forehead. They went from the Kaiserin-Königin Company to the Lower Saxony Engine Manufactories; from that to the North Berlin Railway, and so arrived at the Berlin Sundin Railway. The other men were able to give him the most interesting details of the history of this railway, which after so glorious a beginning now stood on the verge of bankruptcy in the eyes of people who did not know that the stock had been artificially kept down in order to buy back the shares, shares which as soon as the concession for the construction of the railway was obtained, would rise like a Phœnix from the ashes.
Would Count Golm take any shares? Now was just the right moment! He had no spare money? Nonsense! Money had nothing to do with the matter. How much did the Count want--fifty thousand, a hundred thousand, a hundred and fifty? The Count had only to name the sum. It would be no gift to him. The statement that he would eventually be one of the directors of the Island Railway would be worth fifty thousand amongst friends!
"Take care that I do not take you at your word!" exclaimed the Count.
"Take care that we do not take you at your word!" answered Philip.
"By Jove! let us take each other at our word!" exclaimed Herr Lübbener.
"Had we not better put it in writing?" asked the Councillor.
"Are we not carrying the joke a little too far?" said the Count, with an uncertain, inquiring glance at the last speaker, who answered it with an encouraging smile.
But the right moment it seemed was past. For the first time there was a pause, which Philip assumed to think was caused by a servant bringing him a waiter, on which lay two visiting cards, and whispering something as he stood near him.
"Can't I have a moment to myself? Well, what is it?"
He took the cards from the waiter and broke into a laugh.
"This is a good joke!"
"May I ask what?"
"I hardly dare say, Count Golm, for fear of damaging my reputation as a serious man in the eyes of my friends here. I can show the cards to a man of the world."
"Then let us see the cards," said Herr Lübbener.
The Councillor looked astonished.
"Herr von Werben could not send in two cards!"
"But, good heavens!" exclaimed the Count, "don't let the ladies wait in the anteroom."
"Oh no. Ladies!" exclaimed Herr Lübbener.
"Two friends who are sometimes good enough to look in after the opera, or rather the ballet, to have a little supper," explained Philip. "I assure you, Lübbener, not what you are thinking of, so leave off grimacing, and imitate the deportment of our worthy friend the Councillor."
"Splendid fellow!" whispered the Councillor in Herr Lübbener's ear, as the gentlemen rose.
"He outdoes himself to-day," whispered Herr Lübbener in return.
Philip went to meet the two ladies, who stood in the doorway with well-acted dismay.
"Prisoners!" said he; "there is no use in resisting. Be reasonable!"
He seized them by the hands and drew them into the room.
"Permit me, Count Golm, to present you to Fräulein Victorine, the most beautiful mezzo-soprano that female throat can produce,--Fräulein Bertalda, called 'The Incomprehensible,' because no one can comprehend how she can jump so high off such little feet."
"You are intolerable!" said Victorine.
"For shame!" said Bertalda. "And give us something to eat instead, if you really won't let us go away again at once!"
"I will have another table laid," cried Philip. "Johann!"
"We will sit closer," said the Count, himself bringing a chair for Victorine, whose luxuriant beauty had delighted him from the very first moment. Bertalda seated herself opposite, between Philip and Herr Lübbener; two fresh places were laid in a moment; the Count had now nothing to say against champagne, which at first he had declined. He was already a little the worse for drink, and was the less likely to notice that the fumes were getting into his head; that since the entrance of these lively young ladies the tone of the party had become freer, and very soon got rather wild. It no longer surprised him that the young men called each other by their Christian names, to say nothing of familiar nicknames, such as "old fellow!" and "old boy!" and even the Councillor himself became a "dear old Councillor," and he thought it capital fun when Victorine drank off a full glass to Bertalda, saying, "Here's a bumper to you, Bertie!" and Bertalda replied, "Right you are, Vicky!" Presently they all moved from their places, and the Count seized the opportunity to seat himself by Bertalda, whose beautiful and, as he thought, inviting eyes deserved this response. Victorine pretended to be very jealous, and, to the intense delight of the other gentlemen, exclaimed, "Ungrateful man! he has forsaken me! Ungrateful!" while Bertalda, by her fascinating airs and graces, and other gestures, showed that she meant to keep the captive knight fast in her net. The Count, thinking it necessary to support the beauty in her part, put his arm round her--a spirited idea--which was loudly applauded by the company, when Bertalda suddenly sprang up from her chair with a slight shriek, and hastened forward to meet a gentleman, who had entered unperceived by the rest.
"Is it possible? No! is it possible? Herr von Werben--Ot----"
"Are you mad!"
The girl dropped her uplifted arms; the others had risen to greet Ottomar, whose apologies for coming so late were hardly heard amidst the din of voices which arose on all sides. A lecture at a military society which he had to assist at, endless discussions afterwards--his throat was dry with learned dust, pray let him have a glass of wine!
He tossed down the wine, certainly not the first glass he had drunk that evening; a gloomy fire shone in his beautiful eyes; he tried to drown memory in drink, and even if he could not accomplish that, in a few minutes he was the wildest of the wild. The Count, for his part, felt easier in the society of another man of his own rank, who, in passing him, whispered sarcastically in his ear, "Le roi s'amuse!" and proceeded to set him so good an example. They laughed, they sang, they romped; the young ladies' overflow of fun had hardly any limits. Being in the society of promoters, they would just like to know what promoters were? How did people promote? They would play at being promoters!
"Let the ladies form themselves into a provisional board!" cried Philip.
"But as an unlimited liability company, if I may venture to advise," said Herr Lübbener.
"Under the title of Love and Wine," said the Councillor.
"I propose as solicitor Councillor Schieler," cried the Count, who was not going to be behindhand.
The motion was carried with applause.
The Councillor accepted the honour with thanks, and began to draw up the prospectus of the company, in which the others helped, and each tried to outdo the rest in suggestions. The plan was of a railroad to the moon, with a proviso for a continuation of the line to the Great Bear as soon as the man in the moon should have converted his last silver crescent into cash. Philip proposed that the capital should be seven thousand million fixed stars; at which the company's lawyer thought it necessary to observe that this word might arouse an unpleasant connection of ideas on the Stock Exchange; would not "comets" inspire more confidence? But then it must be ten thousand million, as too many false ones were in circulation, which even in the weights could not be distinguished from falling stars. The ten millions were immediately subscribed. Ottomar and Bertalda, who subscribed for the smallest sums, were not permitted the honour of being amongst the directors, who were grouped at one end of the table, but had to take their places as mere shareholders at the other end. The Count was to be chairman, with Victorine as deputy. The Count protested that Victorine ought to be president; they argued, they fought, they quarrelled in due form. Bertalda seized the opportunity to draw Ottomar away from the table to a sofa close by.
"Why have you not been to see me for a year, Ottomar?"
"I am going to be married, my dear child."
"Have you got another love?"
"I have not got another love."
"Why are there clouds then on your beautiful brow? why do you look so sad, darling Ottomar?"
"Dear Bertalda!"
"Am I that indeed? Do you still love me a very little?"
"Yes! yes!"
"Then"--she throve her arm round his neck and, putting her mouth close to his ear, whispered a few words just as a roar of laughter came from the table. Ottomar sprang up. "They are calling us." The girl sank in the corner, and with closed eyes waited for his return and his answer, with her full lips pouting for a kiss.
She looked up and passed her hand over her heated eyes; what had happened? Ottomar was no longer in the room; perhaps he was in the anteroom? She stole in on tiptoe. Herr von Werben had taken his hat and coat and left the house. "Bah!" said the girl, "I must not make a fuss about it, I must laugh!" And she laughed madly as she sat down again at the table where Ottomar's disappearance was scarcely observed, and the others laughed wildly at a speech in which the Councillor, with wonderful dry humour, gave the health of the members of the committee, the first subscribers, the legal adviser and directors of the Earth, Moon, and Great Bear Railway, with double and treble honours, in case any of them should act in a double or treble capacity.
"The next step of respectable promoters will be made, according to all experience, behind the scenes," said Philip with a cynical smile, holding his glass out to the Count.
"In the green-room, in fact," replied the Count, casting a side-glance at Victorine.
"Long live the green-room!" cried Hugo Lübbener.
"Behind the scenes for me," said the Councillor.
The glasses rang together, the riot of mirth rose higher and higher, and finally overwhelmed the last remnants of propriety and good manners.