“‘They told me,’ he replied, ‘that he had made a great deal of money in Italy. The man who sold him to me in Paris said that he had bought him of a well-dressed Italian gentleman, who declared that he had made his fortune with him. Perhaps it was you?’
“He went on to say that he had been quite successful in France in the public streets with our theatre and actors; and that as he knew several languages, he had tried travelling abroad, but that fortune had deserted him; he had gone on from bad to worse, up to the very moment when I met him. He had now resolved to sell ‘the shop,’ as he called it, and to try and train a bear, which he intended to catch in the mountains.
“‘Come,’ said I, ‘show me your theatre, and let me see what you can do.’
“He accordingly took me to a barn, where I helped him set up his establishment; and I recognized the best members of my troupe among wretched ordinary marionettes, covered with rags and injuries. Puffo proceeded to play me a scene as a specimen of his powers. He manœuvred the burattini dexterously enough, and was not without a certain coarse wit, but it really pained me to the heart to see my actors fallen into such hands, and reduced to playing such parts. But when I thought about it, I saw that Providence must have brought us together—myself and my actors—for our mutual good. I proceeded at once to give a representation in the village, and received in all a ducat for it, to the utter stupefaction of Puffo, who from that moment entirely abandoned to my guidance theatre, actors, and even the responsibility of his own destiny.
“I now felt that I was really under the protection of heaven, for I had found once more the means of prosecuting my travels with comfort, without incurring any indebtedness, and without exposing my name and my features to the caprice of the public. In a very few days all the marionettes were dismounted, cleaned, fresh painted, new clothed, and properly packed in a convenient and portable chest; the theatre was refitted in like manner, and enlarged to admit two operators. Puffo I engaged as an assistant, his duty being to keep the establishment in good order, to take charge of it, and, at the same time, to carry part of it on his stout shoulders, as he was already in the habit of doing; for I was more than ever determined to devote Jean to the service of science, and to employ him in carrying the materials and specimens which I was collecting.
“Puffo is certainly a poor assistant. He is slow-witted, and yet he never breaks down; for he has the gift of talking without saying anything. He has a bad accent in every language; but, at any rate, he can make himself understood in several, which is a great point, and his chief recommendation. In the dialogue he takes but little part, but I have succeeded in curing him of his coarse habit of swearing. I put into his hands the popular, low comedy scenes, which serve as interludes, to give me a few minutes’ rest. When three or four actors are on the stage, I make use of his hands, and carry on all the parts of the conversation myself, with sufficient skill to persuade the audience that they are listening to several different voices. But you have seen my performances, M. Goefle, and know that I succeed in amusing. However, we did nothing very remarkable in Germany, and it occurred to me that perhaps we should do better in Poland, for the Poles have the wit of the French and the taste of Italians. We accordingly traversed Poland, and at Dantzig, after a successful tour of six weeks, embarked for Stockholm, where we have done extremely well. It was while there that I received the invitation of the Baron de Waldemora. I accepted it with pleasure, knowing that it would enable me to see a country which I have found more interesting than any that I have hitherto visited. I have always loved the north, whether from the strong contrasts which it offers to southern countries, or from a patriotic instinct that has influenced me ever since my childhood. And yet nothing is less certain than the northern origin which was attributed to my childish language—altered, imperfectly spoken, or half-forgotten as it was—by the learned philologist to whom I have referred. No matter; whether dream or presentiment, I have always beheld in imagination the romantic country which is now before my eyes; and it was by way of affording myself a pleasure-trip that I lengthened my present journey. I came across Lake Malar, and thence down to Lake Wetter, so as to explore the whole region of the great lakes.
“It was, however, written that I was to be pursued by mishaps. Puffo, who has grown fat since I have supported him, and who is beginning to be afraid of fatigue, wanted to hire a sleigh to cross that mysterious Lake Wetter, whose depths are apparently troubled by volcanic disturbances. The ice broke in, and I lost my clothes and my money. Fortunately, Puffo was at that moment walking, and helped out the driver, but the horse and sleigh were lost. Fortunately also, I had followed the shore, with Jean, the theatre, my actors, and my scientific materials. So, thank heaven, all is not lost, and to-morrow I shall be in funds again, for I am to give a representation, for a sum agreed upon, at the chateau of the Snow Man.”
“Well,” said M. Goefle, as he once more took the hand of Christian Waldo, “your story has interested and amused me. I don’t know whether you told it with any particular pleasure, to yourself, but your quick way of talking while you walked about the room, your Italian gesticulation, and your face, which is certainly expressive and prepossessing, whatever country it may belong to, have made your recital very attractive. You have a fine mind and an excellent heart, and the faults of which you accuse yourself seem to me very trifling, compared with the evil courses into which you might easily have fallen, thrown, as you were, so early into the world, without advisers or resources, and with a handsome face, too—which is a real instrument of perdition for either sex, in a place so corrupt as Paris or Naples.”
“But do you believe, Monsieur Goefle, that society is more moral or pure here at the north? I should be pleased to think that such is the case, but what I have seen at Stockholm—”
“Ah, my dear boy! if you judge of us by the intrigues, vanity, violence, and infamous venality of our nobility, whether of the cap or hat faction, you will believe us the very last of all the nations in the universe. This would be wrong, however, for as a people we are really good. It only needs a revolution, or a considerable war, to bring to the surface our great qualities—the particles of pure gold sunk to the bottom. Just now you see only the froth on the surface. But to return to yourself: you have not explained to me about your residence in Stockholm. How is it, in a place so full of intrigue and distrust, that you could wear a mask, and yet escape annoyance from the three or four different police organizations that are at work for the different parties?”