'Perfectly!' answered the latter; and, troubled by the cloud hanging over the maiden's fate, as well as vexed that he had taken upon himself the thankless office of confidant, he gave his arm to the beauteous Finlander, and they proceeded back to the house in moody silence.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
At ten o'clock in the evening, which, however, was no evening there, the whole party found themselves assembled in the church of Tornea. The governor was standing near the altar in earnest contemplation of a suspended tablet which narrated in golden letters how Charles XI had observed the midnight sun from the tower of that church, in the year 1694. At the same time the pastor of the church, a venerable old man, was calling the attention of Christine to a medal which had been struck upon that occasion. Looking over her shoulder Arwed read the inscription: Soli inocciduo sol obvius alter,--and asked if this metaphor were not too much in the oriental style for Charles XI.
'Charles XI,' answered Megret, approaching the group, 'left to his son a throne well supported at home and respected abroad; with a full treasury, and many flourishing provinces, besides the hereditary states. How happy would it have been for Sweden had his son been willing to rest contented with the glory of having preserved his paternal inheritance.'
The uncle and nephew simultaneously turned towards the speaker, with noble indignation, to defend the character of their adored king against his foreign traducer;--but before they could find words, the pastor, accustomed to speak in that house, and stirred by the occasion, took the answer upon himself. 'The judgment,' cried he, in his deep, resounding voice, 'which you have passed upon our immortal king is as unjust as it is harsh. You forget that his first wars were purely defensive; that even his victories, which rendered Sweden illustrious in the eyes of all Europe, involved him in circumstances which at last brought misfortunes upon his head. You judge him by the situation in which he left his realm when God removed him from it in the bloom of manhood, and entirely overlook what he would have accomplished for Sweden had he been allowed time for the fulfilment of his designs for her prosperity. It is a sad truth that the country now finds itself on the brink of misery; but far be it from us to complain of our immortal king, on that account. Let us rather curse the murderous villain whose bullet ended that great man's life before Frederickshall! Him, him alone, has the kingdom to thank for its calamities; and may all the tears and blood which have flowed since that black night, and which must flow hereafter, be poured into the balance of his sins, until he may sink down to the regions of everlasting torment, overborne by their weight!'
'So you are one of those,' said Megret, with embarrassed mockery, 'who, from your passion for the romantic and marvellous, will have it that no man of consequence can die except by assassination! In consequence of the rashness with which the king exposed himself to the fire of the enemy, it would rather have been matter of astonishment had he escaped alive. The balls flew so thick, that the agency of assassins was not necessary to account for his death.'
'I have my convictions!' cried the pastor, in the heat of his indignation, 'and those convictions are neither to be sneered nor subtilized away! God, however, who proves the heart and the reins, must pass judgment upon the concealed guilt, and punish the murderer according to his deserts--here, through the worm that never dies, and there, in the fire that is never quenched! Amen.'
'You are pale, colonel!' cried Arwed, suddenly giving Megret a searching look. 'Are you ill?'
'I was heated when I entered the church,' answered Megret in a faint voice, placing his hand upon his forehead; 'and this place seems to me to be very cold. I feel as though suffering from an ague fit, which however a few moments in the open air will dissipate.'
He retired with uncertain steps. All followed him with looks of surprise and inquiry, and a long pause ensued.