"The towers pass by, even before we perceive them." OEHLENSCHL腅R'S Journey to F黱en.
Early the following morning, whilst Wilhelm still slept and dreamedof his beloved sisters, well-known footsteps sounded on the stairs,the door opened, and Otto stepped into the sleeping-room. Wilhelmopened his eyes. Otto was pale; a sleepless night and sorrow ofheart had breathed upon his brow and eyes.
"Thostrup!" cried Wilhelm, with joyous surprise, and stretchedforth his hand toward him, but it again sank; Otto seized it, andpressed it firmly in his own, adding at the same time, withgravity,--"You have humbled me! Is that sufficient satisfaction foryou?"
"We are then friends!" said Wilhelm. "Friends must be veryindulgent toward each other. Yesterday you were a little strange,to-morrow I may be so; that is the way in which one retaliates."
Otto pressed his hand. "We will never speak again of the occurrenceof yesterday!"
"Never!" repeated Wilhelm, affected by the strange gravity of hisfriend.
"You are a noble, a good creature!" said Otto, and bent over him;his lips touched Wilhelm's forehead.
Wilhelm seized his hand, and gazed frankly into his eye. "You arenot happy!" exclaimed he. "If I cannot assist you, I can, at least,dear Otto, honestly share the grief of a friend!"
"Even on that very point we may never speak!" replied Otto."Farewell! I have determined on travelling home; we have onlyvacation for a few weeks, and I have not been in Jutland since Ibecame a student. Even a month's sojourn there cannot throw meback; I am well prepared for the philosophicum."
"And when will you set out?" asked Wilhelm.
"To-morrow, with the steamboat. It is hot and sultry here in thecity: my blood becomes heated: it will, also, soon be a year sinceI saw my family."
"Thostrup!" exclaimed Wilhelm, through whom a thought suddenlyflashed, "I should also like to see my family; they have written tome to come. Listen: make your journey through Funen, and onlyremain three or four days with us. My mother's carriage shallconvey you then to Middelfart. Say 'Yes,' and we will set out thisevening."
"That cannot be done!" replied Otto; but half an hour later, asboth sat together over the tea-table, and Wilhelm repeated hiswish, Otto consented, but certainly more through a feeling ofobligation than through any pleasure of his own. Toward evening,therefore, they set out in the beautiful summer night to travelthrough Zealand.
Smartly dressed families wandered pleasantly through the city gatetoward the summer theatre and Fredericksberg. The evening sun shoneupon the column of Liberty; the beautiful obelisk, around whichstand Wiedewelt's statues, one of which still weeps,
"In white marble clothing, Hand upon the breast, Ever grief-oppressed, Looking down upon the gloomy sea,"
where were closed the eyes of the artist. Was it the remembrancewhich here clouded Otto's glance, as his eye rested upon thestatues as they drove past, or did his own soul, perhaps, mirroritself in his eyes?
"Here it is gay and animated!" said Wilhelm, wishing to commence aconversation. "Vesterbro is certainly your most brilliant suburb.It forms a city by itself,--a little state! There upon the hilllies the King's Castle, and there on the left, between the willows,the poet's dwelling, where old Rahbek lived with his Kamma!"
"Castle and poet's dwelling!" repeated Otto; "the time will be whenthey will inspire equal interest!"
"That old place will soon be pulled down!" said Wilhelm; "in sucha beautiful situation, so near the city, a splendid villa will beraised, and nothing more remind one of Philemon and Baucis!"
"The old trees in the park will be spared!" said Otto; "in thegarden the flowers will scent the air, and remind one of Kamma'sflowers. Rahbek was no great poet, but he possessed a true poet'ssoul, labored faithfully in the great vineyard, and loved flowersas Kamma loved them."
The friends hail left Fredericksberg behind them. The white wallsof the castle glanced through the green boughs; behind S鰊dermark,the large, wealthy village stretched itself out. The sun had setbefore they reached the Dam-house, where the wild swans, comingfrom the ocean, build in the fresh water fake. This is the lastpoint of beauty; nothing but lonely fields, with here and there acairn, extend to the horizon.
The clear summer's night attracted their gaze upward; the postilionblew his horn, and the carriage rolled toward the town ofRoeskilde, the St. Denis of Denmark, where kings turn to dust;where Hroar's spring still flows, and its waters mingle with thoseof Issefjords.
They drove to a public-house to change horses. A young girlconducted the friends into the public room; she lighted the way forthem. Her slender figure and her floating gait drew Wilhelm'sattention toward her; his hand touched her shoulder, she sprangaside and fixed her beautiful grave eyes upon him; but theirexpression became milder, she smiled and colored at the same time.
"You are the sister of little Jonas!" cried Wilhelm, recognizingthe young girl he had seen with him at Christmas.
"I must also thank you," said she, "for your kindness toward thepoor boy!" She quickly placed the lights on the table, and left theroom with a gentle glance.
"She is beautiful, very beautiful!" exclaimed Wilhelm. "That wasreally quite a pleasant meeting."
"Is it then you, Herr Baron, who honor me thus?" cried the host,stepping in--an elderly man with a jovial countenance. "Yes, theBaron will doubtless visit his dear relations in hunch? It is nowsome little time since you were there."
"This is our host!" said Wilhelm to Otto. "He and his wife wereborn upon my parent's estate."
"Yes," said the host, "in my youth I have shot many a snipe andwild duck with the Herr Baron's father. But Eva should spread thetable; the gentlemen will certainly take supper, and a glass ofgood punch the Herr Baron will certainly not despise, if he is likehis blessed father."
The young girl spread the cloth in an adjoining room.
"She is pretty!" Wilhelm whispered to the old man.
"And just as pious and innocent as she is pretty!" returned he;"and that is saying much, as she is a poor girl, and fromCopenhagen. She is of good service to us, and my wife says Evashall not leave us until she is well married."
Wilhelm invited the host to join them at a glass. The old manbecame more animated, and now confided to him, half mysteriously,what made Eva so honorable in the eyes of his wife, and what was,indeed, really very nice of her. "My old woman," said he, "was inCopenhagen, in search of a waiting-girl. Yes, there are enough tobe had, and they are fine girls; but mother has her own thoughtsand opinions: she has good eyes--that she has! Now, there camemany, and among others Eva; but, good Lord! she was very poorlyclad, and she looked feeble and weak, and what service could oneget out of her! But she had a good countenance, and the poor girlwept and besought mother to take her, for she was not comfortableat home, and would not remain at Copenhagen. Now, mother knows howto make use of her words: it is unfortunate that she is not at hometo-night; how pleased she would have been to see the Herr Baron!Yes, what I would say is, she so twisted her words about, that Evaconfessed to her why she wished to leave home. You see the girl ispetty; and the young gallant gentlemen of Copenhagen had remarkedher smooth face,--and not alone the young, but the old ones also!So an old gentleman--I could easily name him, but that has nothingto do with the affair--a very distinguished man in the city, whohas, besides, a wife and children, had said all sorts of things toher parents; and, as eight hundred dollars is a deal of money topoor people, one can excuse them: but Eva wept, and said she wouldrather spring into the castle-ditch. They represented all sorts ofthings to the poor girl; she heard of the service out here with us.She wept, kissed my old woman's hand, and thus came to us; andsince then we have had a deal of service from Eva, and joy also!"
Some minutes after Eva stepped in, Otto's eye rested with amelancholy expression upon the beautiful form: never had he beforeso gazed upon a woman. Her countenance was extraordinarily fine,her nose and forehead nobly formed, the eyebrows dark, and in thedark-blue eyes lay something pensive, yet happy: one might employthe Homeric expression, "smiling through tears," to describe thislook. She announced that the carriage was ready.
A keen observer would soon have remarked what a change the host'srelation had worked in the two friends. Wilhelm was no longer sofree toward poor Eva. Otto, on the contrary, approached her more,--and at their leave-taking they offered her a greater present thanthey would otherwise have given.
She stood with Otto at the door, and assisted him on with histravelling cloak.
"Preserve your heart pure!" said he, gravely; "that is more thanbeauty!"
The young girl blushed, and gazed at him with astonishment; in sucha manner had no one of his age ever before spoken to her.
"The poor girl!" said Otto; "but I think she is come to goodpeople."
"She has a strange glance!" said Wilhelm. "Do you know that thereis really a certain affinity between you and her? It was to mequite striking."
"That is a compliment which I cannot accept," returned Otto,smiling. "Yet, perhaps, I might resemble her."
It was not yet three o'clock when the friends reached Ringsted.
"I have never before been so far in Zealand," said Otto.
"Shall I be your guide?" returned Wilhelm. "Ringsted has a streetand an inn, and one is very badly served there, as you will soonboth see and experience yourself. Meanwhile, one can think ofHagbarth and Signe; not far from here, at Sigersted, he hung hismantle on the oak, and Signelil's abode stood in flames. Now onlyremain fields and meadows, a cairn, and the old popular song. Thenwe rush past the friendly Soroe, that mirrors itself with the woodin the lake, which forms itself into so many bays; but we do notsee much of it. We have here another romantic spot, an old castleconverted into a church, high up on the hill near the lake, andclose to it the dismal place of execution. We then reach Slagelse,an animated little town; with the Antvorskov convent, the poetFrankenau's grave, and a Latin school, celebrated on account of itspoets. It was there Baggesen and Ingemann learned their Latin. WhenI once questioned the hostess regarding the lions of the town, shewould only acknowledge two,--Bastholm's library, and the Englishfire-engine. The curtain in the theatre represents an alley with afountain, the jets of which are painted as if spouting out of theprompter's box; or is this, perhaps, the English fire-engine? Iknow not. The scene-decoration for towns represents the market-placeof Slagelse itself, so that the pieces thus acquire a home-feeling.This is the modern history of the little town; and, with regard toits older and romantic history, learn that the holy Anders waspreacher here! Yes, indeed, that was a man! He has been alsosung of by our first poets. We end with Kors鰁r, where Baggesenwas born and Birckner lies buried. In the more modern historyof this town, King Solomon and J鰎gen the hatter play a considerabler鬺e. Besides this, I know that the town is said once to havepossessed a private theatre; but this soon was done for, and thedecorations were sold; a miller bought them, and patched hiswindmill sails with them. Upon one sail was a piece of a wood,upon another a shred of a room, or a street; and so they rushedround one after the other. Perhaps this is mere slander, for I havemy information from Slagelse; and neighboring towns never speakwell of each other."
In this manner Wilhelm gossiped on, and the friends travelled overthe way he had described. Slagelse, and the peasant village ofLandsgrav, they had already behind them, when Wilhelm ordered thecoachman to diverge from the high-road toward the right.
"Where will you take us to?" asked Otto.
"I will give you a pleasure!" returned Wilhelm. "We shall reach theweariful Kors鰁r early enough: the steamboat leaves at ten, and itis not yet seven. You shall be surprised--I know well that you arehalf a Catholic; I will conduct you where you may believe yourselfcarried back several centuries, and may imagine yourself in aCatholic country. That is right pleasant, is it not?"
Otto smiled. The friends alighted from the coach and walked over acorn-field. They found themselves upon a hill, the whole landscapespread itself out before them--they saw the Belt, with Sprog鰁 andFunen. The surrounding country was certainly flat, but the varietyof greens, the near meadow, the dark stretch of wood in theneighborhood of Kors鰁r, the bay itself, and all this seen in awarm morning light, produced effect. The friends diverged to theright; and before them, upon a hill, stood a large wooden cross,with the figure of the Crucified One. Above the cross was built asmall roof to carry off the rain,--such as one may yet find inBavaria. The figure of the Redeemer was of wood, painted withstrong, tawdry colors; a withered garland of corn-flowers stillhung around his bowed head.
"It is extraordinary," said Otto, "to find in our time, in the year1830, such a Catholic symbol in Lutheran Denmark! And yet--yes, youwill laugh at me, but I find it lovely: it affects me, moves me toworship."
"That tawdry, tasteless figure!" cried Wilhelm. "Only see howcoarse! the hair is covered with tar to keep off the rain! Thepeasants here have their peculiar superstition. If they allow thecross to fall they have no luck with their lands. It was upon thishill that the holy Anders, the celebrated preacher of Slagelse,awoke. He visited the sepulchre of Christ, but through prayingthere too long the ship sailed without him, and he was forced tostay behind. Then came a man and took him upon his horse, and theywould ride to Joppa: the holy Anders fell asleep; but when he awokehe lay here, and heard the bells ringing in Slagelse. Upon a foal,only one night old, he rode round the extensive city lands, whilstKing Waldemar lay in his bath. He could hang his glove upon thebeams of the sun. This hill, where he awoke, was called Rest-hill;and the cross, with the figure of the Redeemer erected upon it,which still stands here, reminds us of the legend of the holyAnders."
A little peasant girl at this moment mounted the hill, but pausedwhen she perceived the strangers.
"Don't be afraid, my child!" said Wilhelm. "What hast thou there? agarland! shall it hang here upon the cross? Only come, we will helpthee."
"It should hang over our Lord," said the little one, holding, in anembarrassed manner, the garland of pretty blue cornflowers in herhand. Otto took the garland, and hung it up in place of the fadedone.
"That was our morning adventure!" said Wilhelm, and soon they wererolling in the deep sand toward Kors鰁r, toward the hill where thepoet watched the sun and moon sink into the sea, and wished that hehad wings that he might catch them.
Melancholy and silent lies the town on the flat coast, the oldcastle turned into a farm-house--high grass grows upon the walls.In a storm, when the wind blows against the city, the surf beatsagainst the outermost houses. High upon the church stands atelegraph; the black wooden plates resemble mourning-flags hungabove the sinking town. Here is nothing for the stranger to see,nothing except a grave--that of the thinker Birckner. The friendsdrove to the public-house on the strand. No human being met them inthe street except a boy, who rung a hand-bell.
"That calls to church," said Wilhelm. "Because there are no bellsin the tower, they have here such a wandering bell-ringer as this.Holla! there lies the inn!"
"Baron Wilhelm!" cried a strong voice, and a man in a green jacketwith pockets in the breast, the mighty riding-boots splashed abovethe tops, and with whip in hand, approached them, pulled his horse-haircap, and extended his hand to Wilhelm.
"The Kammerjunker from Funen!" said Wilhelm; "my mother's neighbor,one of the most industrious and rich noblemen in all Funen."
"You will come one of the first days to me!" said the Kammerjunker;"you shall try my Russian steam-bath: I have erected one upon myestate. All who visit me, ladies and gentlemen without anyexception, must try it!"
"And do the cherry-trees bear well this year?" asked Wilhelm.
"No, no," answered the Kammerjunker, "they are good for nothing;but the apples are good! All the old trees in the hill-garden standin full splendor: I've brought them into condition! Two years agothere was not, on all the trees together, a bushel of fruit. But Ihad all the horses which had to be bled led under the trees, andhad the warm blood sprinkled upon the roots; this happened severaltimes, and it has been a real inoculation for life."
"The wind is certainly favorable," said Otto, whom thisconversation began to weary.
"No, just the contrary!" said the Kammerjunker. "The vane upon thelittle house yonder lies; it points always to Nyborg, always showsa good wind for us when we want to leave. In Nyborg is also a vane,which stands even as firmly as this, and prates to the folk thereof good wind. I regard both vanes as a kind of guide-post, whichmerely says, There goes the way! No, if we had had a wind I shouldhave gone with the boat, and not with the little splashing thing,as the seamen call the steamboat. The carriage is doubtlessawaiting the young gentleman in Nyborg?" pursued he. "I will joincompany with you--my brown horse waits for me at Schalburg. Youshould see him! He has sinews like steel springs, and legs like adancing-master! He is my own brown."
"No one knows that we are coming," answered Wilhelm. "We shall,therefore, take a carriage from Nyborg."
"We will join company," said the Kammerjunker, "and then you willpay me a visit with the young gentleman. You shall sleep in theblack chamber! Yes, you will give me the pleasure?" said he toOtto. "If you are a lover of the antique, my estate will afford youpleasure; you find there moats, towers, guard-rooms, ghosts, andhobgoblins, such as belong to an old estate. The black chamber!after all, it is not quite secure there; is it, Herr Baron?"
"No, the deuce remain a night with you!" said Wilhelm; "one gets tobed late, and even then it is not permitted one to close one'seyes. You, your sister, and the Mamsell,--yes, you are a prettyclover-leaf! Yes, Thostrup, you cannot believe what pranks arehatched upon the Kammerjunker's estate! One must be prepared forit! It is said to be haunted, but if the dead will not take thattrouble the living do. The Kammerjunker is in the plot with hiswomen-folk. They sewed me lately live cockchafers into my pillow,and they crawled and scrambled about till I did not know what thedeuce it could be! A live cock they had also placed under my bed,and just in the morning, when I would go to sleep, the creaturebegan to crow!"
"The women-folk had done that," said the Kammerjunker. "Did theynot the very same night fasten a door-bell to the head of my bed? Inever thought of it; fat Laender slept in the same room, and hadfastened along the wall a string to the bell. I awoke with theringing. 'What the devil is that bell?' said I, and glanced aboutthe room, for I could not conceive what it was. 'Bell?' askedLaender--'there is no bell here!' The ringing also ceased. Ithought I must have dreamed, or that our merry evening must haveleft some buzzing in my ears. Again it began to ring. Laenderlooked so innocent all the time, I could not comprehend myself;I thought it must be my imagination. I became quite fainthearted, Idenied my own hearing, and said, 'No, I have only dreamed!' andcommenced reckoning and counting to employ my mind; but that didno good, and it nearly drove me mad! I sprang out of bed, and thenI found out the trick: but how Laender grinned! he was swollen andred in the face with his mirth."
"Do you play such jokes on your estate?" inquired Otto, addressinghimself to Wilhelm.
"No, not such refined ones!" returned the Kammerjunker; "perhaps apiece of wood, or a silly mask, is laid in your bed. Miss Sophiegives us other clever things for amusement--tableaux and the magic-lantern.I was once of the party. Yes, what was it I represented? Ah, I played,Heaven help me! King Cyrus: had a paper crown on my head, and MissSophie's cloak about me, the wrong side turned outward, for it islined with sable. I looked like Satan!"
The steamboat passengers were summoned on board, the company wentdown to the vessel, and soon it was cutting through the waves ofthe Belt.