Das landhaus am Rhein. English by Berthold Auerbach
CHAPTER II.
A GREEN TWIG.
Os the west side of the convent, under the lofty, wide-spreading,thickly-leaved chestnut-trees, beeches, and lindens, and far in amongthe firs with their fresh shoots, stationary tables and benches werearranged. Girls in blue dresses were sitting here, reading, writing, orbusy with their hand-work. Sometimes there was a low humming, but notlouder than the humming of the bees in the blossoming chestnut-trees;sometimes a moving this way and that, a change in one's position, butnot more than the fluttering of a bird in the trees overhead.
Manna sat at the table beneath a large fir-tree, and at a littledistance from her, on a low seat under a lofty beech on whose trunkmany names were carved, and on which was suspended a framed picture ofthe Madonna, sat a little child; she looked up frequently at Manna, whonodded to her, indicating that she must study her book more diligently,and be as busy as the rest. The child was nicknamed Heimchen, becauseshe had suffered so much from homesickness, and Heimchen had become thepet of all the girls. Manna had cured the child, to all appearance atleast, for on the day after the representation of the sacred play, shehad received permission from a lay-sister who presided over thegardening, to prepare for the child a separate little garden-plat; andnow she seemed to be taking root in the foreign land, as did the plantswhich she had since watered and cared for, but she was inseparable fromManna.
Manna worked diligently; some pale blue paper was lying before her, andshe was painting on it, with a fine brush, pictures of the stars incolor of gold from small shells.
She prided herself especially on having the neatest writing-books,every leaf ruled very regularly with lines close together, anduniformly written upon, neither too coarse nor too fine. Manna hadreceived, a few days since, the highest mark of honor ever conferred ona pupil, by being unanimously made the recipient of the blue ribbon,which the three classes of the children, namely, the children of Jesus,the angels of Mary, and the children of Mary, had adjudged to her.There had hardly been any election, so much a matter of course did itseem that nobody but Manna could be designated for the blue ribbon.This badge of distinction gave her a sort of right to be considered asuperior.
While she was thus drawing, and frequently running her eye over thechildren left under her care, she had a book open by her side; it wasThomas a Kempis. While putting in the stars, which she did with thatdelicate and beautiful finish attainable, perhaps, only in the convent,she snatched a few sentences out of Thomas a Kempis, that her soulmight be occupied with higher thoughts during this trifling occupation.
The stroke of oars sounded from the shore on that side: the girlslooked up; a handsome young man was standing in the boat, who liftedhis hat and waved it, as if saluting the island.
"Is he your brother? your cousin?" was whispered here and there.
No one knew the stranger.
The boat came to land. The girls were full of curiosity, but they darednot intermit their work, for everything had its allotted time. Luckily,a tall, fair-complexioned maiden had used up all her green worsted, sothat she must go to the convent for more, and she nodded significantlyto the others that she would find out who was the new arrival. Butbefore the blond girl could come back, a serving-sister appeared, andinformed Manna Sonnenkamp that she was to come to the convent. Mannaarose, and Heimchen, who wanted to go with her, was bidden to remain;the child quietly seated herself again on her little stool under thebeech-tree from which hung the picture of the Madonna. Manna broke offa little freshly-budding twig from the tree under which she had beensitting, and placed it in her book as a mark; she then followed thesister.
There was great questioning among those who remained: Who is he? Is hea cousin? But the Sonnenkamps have no relatives in Europe. Perhaps acousin from America.
The children were uneasy, and seemed to have no longer any inclinationfor their studies. Manna had given to a companion the blue sash whichshe wore on her right shoulder, and this one felt it incumbent on herto keep strict order.
Manna came to the convent. As she entered the reception-room, to findthe lady-superior. Otto von Pranken rose quickly and bowed.
"Herr von Pranken," said the superior, "brings you a greeting from yourparents and Fraeulein Perini."
Pranken approached Manna, and extended his hand, but as she had thebook in her right hand, she gave him in a hesitating manner her left.Pranken, the fluent talker, only stammered out--for Manna's appearancehad greatly impressed him--the expression of his satisfaction at seeingManna so well and so much grown, and of the joy it would give herparents and Fraeulein Perini to see her again, so much improved.
The stammering manner of Pranken, moved as he was by repressed feeling,lasted while he continued to speak further; for in the midst of hisinvoluntary agitation, he became suddenly aware that this evidentemotion could not fail to be noticed by Manna, and must produce someimpression upon her. He skilfully contrived to keep up the same tonewith which he had begun, and congratulated himself on his ability toplay so well a bashful, timid, and surprised part. He had manyanimating narratives to give of her family at home, and congratulatedthe maiden on being allowed to live on a blissful island until shecould return to the mainland, where a pleasant company of friendsformed also a social mainland. Pranken contemplated with a great dealof self-satisfaction this comparison, as pretty as it was new.
Manna did not say a great deal; at last she asked,--
"Who may this Captain Dournay be, of whom Roland writes to me soenthusiastically?"
Pranken winced a little, but he said smilingly,--
"I was so fortunate as to find a poor young man to instruct ourRoland--permit me to speak of him so, for I love him like a brother--ina variety of matters. I think that it will do Roland no harm to acquireinformation from the man."
"Roland writes me that he is an intimate friend of yours."
"Herr Dournay has probably said so to him, and I will not contradictit, if Roland is thus led to entertain a higher respect for a teacher.But, my dear Fraeulein, I may venture to say to you that I am somewhatsparing in the use of the word friend, and I would therefore rathernot--"
"Then tell me something of the character of this man who calls himselfyour friend."
"Excuse me from giving the particular details. You yourself willcertainly agree with me, that it is our duty to help toward the goodone who is striving to turn from the error of his ways, even if wecannot wholly blot out the past."
"What, then, has this Herr Dournay done?" interposed the superior. "Ishould be sorry on his mother's account, who was a companion of myyouth; she is a Protestant, to be sure, but she is what the world callsgood and noble."
Pranken appeared perplexed, but with a motion of the hand which impliedcareful consideration, kind intentions, and a sort of delicatereservation, he said, looking down at the floor,--
"Honored mother, and dear Fraeulein! Spare me from making such astatement here in the convent, and consider what I have touched upon asif it had not been said. When I look around me here--as little oughtcertain words, not perhaps so inappropriate in the world outside, to bespoken aloud in this pure air, as unsaintly pictures, to use a mildexpression, to hang by the side of the pious, transfigured forms uponthese pure walls. Permit me to say to you, I have special guarantiesthat the poor young man will not conduct himself unworthily."
Manna's countenance suddenly assumed an expression of noble indignationas she said,--
"But I cannot conceive how they can commit my brother to the charge ofa man, who--"
Pranken prayed to be excused for interrupting her. He conjured her bywhat was high and holy, to forget that he, in his zeal for the truth,had said anything against a former comrade; he had done itinvoluntarily in his contemplation of purity and loveliness. Hebesought so earnestly, he manifested so good a heart, so full of humanlove, that Manna now voluntarily extended to him her hand, and said,--
"I believe you. Ah, how rejoiced I am you are so good!"
"Might I venture to request you to show me the lines?" he now said. "Myobject is to see how good a judge of men Roland has become. Would yoube willing to show me what our splendid brother has written of thisHerr Dournay?"
Manna blushed, and replied that they had better say no more about thecaptain; and she besought Pranken to do all he could to remove the manout of the house, if it were still a possible thing. Pranken promisedto do all in his power, and he recovered his natural elasticity whilehe prayed Manna, in a lively tone, but subdued to the proprieties ofthe place, that instead of giving him so easy a task, she wouldcommission him, like a knight of the good old times, to contend againstthe dragon-brood. And yet, while calling it easy, he felt in his ownheart that the task could not rightly be called so.
The superior rose; she thought that it was high time, and a good time,too, to break off the conversation. Pranken had renewed hisacquaintance, and that must suffice for the present. The superior wasnot so resolutely bent upon the convent for Manna, as to desire thatPranken might not win her affections. Such a house and such a family,endowed with such incredible wealth, might be of great advantage to theconvent and to the Church.
"It was very kind in you to visit us," she now said. "Carry mygreeting, I pray, to your sister, the Countess Bella, and say to herthat she is remembered in my prayers."
Pranken saw that he was expected to take leave, and yet he wanted tosay something more definite, and to hear some word which should givehim the desired security. His countenance suddenly lighted up, as hesaid, with such modesty and such friendly feeling that one could notrefuse compliance,--
"Fraeulein Manna! We erring creatures outside like to have a lastingtoken in our hands."
"What do you want?" quickly and sharply struck in the superior.
"Honored mother! I would beseech you," Pranken said, turning quicklywith humble mien toward the severe lady, "I would beseech you to permitFraeulein Sonnenkamp to give that book into my hand."
"Wonderful!" cried Manna, "I wanted to do that! I wanted to give it toyou to carry to my brother. Ask him to read every day a chapter,beginning from the place where the green twig is put, so that he mayreceive every day the same thoughts into his soul that I do."
"What happiness this harmony of feeling, this oneness of sentiment,gives me! It would be a profanation to try to describe it!"
The superior was at a loss what to do, and Pranken continued:--
"I beseech you, then, my honored Fraeulein, to pardon my presumption; Iwould like to request you to give me this holy book for my ownedification, and that I too may be allowed to keep even step with yourbrother and you."
"But my name is written in the book," said Manna, blushing.
"So much the better," Pranken wanted to say, but luckily he was able towithhold it; he turned to the superior, folded his hands, and stood asif praying her to grant his petition. The superior nodded her headseveral times, and at last said,--
"My child, you may, perhaps, comply with this request of Herr vonPranken. And now, farewell."
Pranken received the book. He left the convent. As he sat in the boat,the ferryman said to him,--
"Perhaps some maiden over there is betrothed to you?"
Pranken did not reply, but he gave the ferryman a whole handful ofmoney. His heart throbbing with bliss, Pranken rushed up the bank, andimmediately sent a telegram to his sister.