FREDERICK GETS THE SILVER CROSS.
At no period of Frederick's career did his prospects seem more promising than now. Renier, who had been the only person in the colony who was acquainted with his past record, was dead, and instead of being punished as he might have been for putting an end to the days of the man who had possessed so dangerous a knowledge concerning him, he had been rewarded for the deed as if it had been one of the most brilliant feats that he could possibly have accomplished. Not only had he received a decoration ordinarily conferred for acts of valor on the field of battle, but about three months later he had the pleasure of learning that he had been promoted to the rank of a lieutenant. His colonel, who had taken a great fancy to him, now frequently invited him to his quarters, where he spent many agreeable hours.
The regiment having been transferred to Batavia, he had the opportunity of meeting at his colonel's house all the most prominent members of the Dutch East India Society. The colonel's young wife was extremely fond of amusements of all kinds and held open house. Many were the dinners, soirees, balls, or croquet parties which Frederick helped her to organize; besides this, he often accompanied her to the houses of her numerous friends, where his good looks, charming manner, talents, and witty conversation soon made him a universal favorite.
Among the most brilliant entertainments of the season was a superb ball given by a Mr. and Mrs. Van der Beck, who were intimate friends of the colonel and his wife. The dance was preceded by some private theatricals. The piece performed was “La Belle Helene,” the role of Paris being filled by Frederick and that of Helene by Mme. Van der Beck, who, although no longer in the first bloom of youth, was still a remarkably handsome woman. Tall, with magnificent auburn hair and lustrous hazel eyes, she was, like many of the Dutch ladies in the far East, slightly inclined to embonpoint, a disposition due to their lazy and indolent existence and to the high living in which they indulged. When, in the second act of the operetta, she made her appearance in the great scene with Paris she was greeted with a murmur of admiration and approval. Her skirt of primrose-colored satin was parted, Greek fashion, from the hem to the hip on the left side in such a manner as to reveal an exceedingly shapely leg, and her magnificent hair, loosened and falling far below her waist, covered her low-cut and gold-embroidered “peplum” like a royal mantle. Frederick as Paris, in a costume of pale-blue and silver, looked like a Greek god, and when they began the “duo du Reve” a perfect storm of applause broke out. It was noticed by many of those present that Mme. Van der Beck acted her part with rather more fervor and feeling than might have been considered strictly necessary for a drawing-room performance. However, as Mr. Van der Beck himself was in raptures about his wife's acting, there was nothing more to be said in the matter.
From that time forth Frederick became a constant visitor at the Van der Beck villa, and strange to say, was as great a favorite of the husband as he was of the wife. Mr. Van der Beck was one of the most prominent and wealthy merchants of the East India trade, and owned vast warehouses, not only at Batavia, but also at Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
LEFT IN CHARGE OF MRS. VAN DER BECK.
The life in these Dutch colonies is an extremely agreeable one. Hospitality is practised on a scale unknown in Europe. No invitation is considered necessary to dine or lunch with one's friends, for everybody keeps open house, and an addition of half a dozen impromptu guests at the dinner-table is quite an ordinary occurrence. The ladies in particular are accustomed to a life of such indolence and ease that they are utterly incapable of doing anything for themselves. They lie all day on their sofas or in their hammocks, clad in diaphanous muslin peignoirs, eating bonbons, smoking cigarettes or drinking small cups of coffee. In the cool hours of the evening, however, they seem to wake up, and go to the dinners, balls, and the theater, and are then as lively and loquacious as possible, banishing their laziness and languor till the moment when they return home and have nobody except their husbands to fascinate.
Some time had elapsed since Frederick had made the acquaintance of the Van der Becks, when one day a letter arrived from Holland informing Mr. Van der Beck of the death of his eldest brother, and demanding his immediate presence in Amsterdam. As it was the worst season of the year for traveling, and he was extremely solicitous of his wife's health, he decided that it would be imprudent for her to accompany him. Madam submitted to this with much more equanimity than she usually displayed in her relations with her lord and master, and three days later, escorted by Frederick, she accompanied her husband to the steamer. As Mr. Van der Beck's absence was to last six months, if not more, he intrusted his wife with all the interests of his house and business and even with the signature of the firm. She was a remarkably clever and shrewd woman, and had on more than one occasion given him proof of her ability in business matters. In taking leave he especially recommended her to the care of Frederick, adding that he knew how much he could depend on the young man's friendship and devotion.