Tales from the German. Volume I.

by C. F. van der Velde

'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.'