Transcriber's Notes:
1. Page Scan Source:
https://archive.org/details/selfdoomednovel00farj
(The Library of Congress)
CONTENTS | |
| [I.] | MASTER FINK RELATES CERTAIN INTERESTING PARTICULARS CONCERNING HISAPPRENTICE, GIDEON WOLF. |
| [II.] | A LOVE-CHAPTER IN THE LIFE OF MASTER FINK. |
| [III.] | MASTER FINK HAS A SINGULAR DREAM. |
| [IV.] | MASTER FINK HAS A SINGULAR DREAM. |
| [V.] | RELATES HOW GIDEON WOLF WAS SEEN BY OLD ANNA PLAYING CARDS WITH THE DEVIL. |
| [VI.] | PRETZEL THE MISER, WITH THE EVIL EYE. |
| [VII.] | GIDEON WOLF PROPOSES TO ADOPT MASTER FINK AS HIS FATHER. |
| [VIII.] | MASTER FINK RESOLVES TO UNDERTAKE A JOURNEY. |
| [IX.] | RELATES WHAT KIND OF HARVEST MASTER FINK GATHERED IN THE COURSE OF HISJOURNEY. |
| [X.] | MASTER FINK HAS AN INTERVIEW WITH THE WOMAN HE LOVED. |
| [XI.] | RELATES HOW GIDEON WOLF LEFT MASTER FINK'S EMPLOYMENT. |
| [XII.] | MASTER FINK ENDEAVORS TO RESCUE KATRINE LOEBEG FROM THE EVIL INFLUENCE OFPRETZEL THE MISER. |
| [XIII.] | GIDEON WOLF AND HIS MOTHER BEGIN THE NEW YEAR TOGETHER. |
SELF-DOOMED.
[CHAPTER I.]
MASTER FINK RELATES CERTAIN INTERESTING PARTICULARS
CONCERNING HIS APPRENTICE, GIDEON WOLF.
I am truly glad to see you; this meeting has warmed my heart. It is one of life's pleasantest experiences to shake the hand of an old friend, and to learn from his own lips that he has not forgotten you in his wanderings. I am sorely grieved to hear that you have lost your faithful mate, the dear woman who was your companion for so many years. Be comforted; we shall meet them again, these beloved ones. Resignation, friend, resignation. There are griefs which all mortals have to bear. Happy the man in whose heart shines the bright star of Hope, and who derives consolation from it. It is a solace born of Faith the comforter, and it is beyond price.
You are anxious to know what has become of my people? Name them, friend. Gideon Wolf, my apprentice? And pretty Katrine Loebeg, too--you are curious about her? Strange that you should bring their names into association, for when you last visited me, twelve years ago, there was nothing between those two; I may say that with confidence. Indeed, it is scarcely possible there could have been, for Katrine was but thirteen. A beautiful maiden, truly, but her heart was not then ripe enough for love; she was a mere child. Twelve years ago! Ah me, ah me! How time flies! The three best seasons have passed over my head, and I am in the winter of my life. But I feel young sometimes even now--yes, indeed, I am good for many a year, I hope. I am fond of life, and I have much to be grateful for, though I stand alone in the world, without wife or child.
Gideon Wolf and Katrine Loebeg! Gracious heavens, the contrast! Truly a wolf and a lamb; a hawk and a dove; a poisonous weed and a pure white lily. But you were as much a stranger to those two when you were here last as you are at the present moment. Old Anna was my house-keeper then. You remember Anna; you had good jokes with her, and she liked you; she said you were a proper man. Where is she now, you ask? In her grave. She served me faithfully, and lived till she was nearly eighty. Ah, she was a treasure--you don't often meet with such. Everything went on in the house from hour to hour, from day to day, from week to week, like a well regulated clock. And what beautiful stews she made! Never, never shall I taste the like again. I have another house-keeper now. Hush! She is here.
* * * * * *
She has gone, and will not trouble us again tonight. You are thoughtful--you observed something strange in her. Her dead-white face, her long silvery hair, her great fixed eyes have impressed you. Why, yes--she never seems to see anything that is before her, but to be forever gazing into a world invisible to all other human beings. What she beholds there, Heaven only knows, though I sometimes fancy I can see with my mind's eye the terrible scene which shall abide with her to the last hour of her life, and the figures who played their parts therein. On rare occasions I have heard her addressing them, but in a tone so low that her words have not reached my ears. To me she never speaks except upon the duties of the house, or in reply to a question I ask her. You will scarcely believe that she was beautiful once--very, very beautiful--and that she might have picked and chosen. No, she was never married. What a pitiful look in her eyes? Yes, yes; it is enough to move one to sadness. What is it you desire to know? Is she in her right mind? No, she is mad!