"Do oblige me by leaving off those everlasting lamentations of yours, Doctor. I tell you, there is no changing the boy. I have tried often enough, and I have had six tutors, one after the other, to help me. We could none of us do anything with him; you can"t do anything either, so just let him go his own way."
This speech, delivered in the most vigorous tones, was addressed by Herr Witold, Squire of Altenhof, to the gentleman intrusted with his ward"s education. The room in which the two were seated was situated at the end of the house of which it formed a corner. Its windows were thrown open on account of the heat, and its whole appearance seemed to indicate that the dwellers therein held such things as elegance and comfort to be quite superfluous, if not absolutely harmful, indulgences. The plain and, for the most part, antiquated furniture was scattered here and there, without the least regard for tasteful, or even for commodious, arrangement--pushed right and left to serve the convenience of the moment. On the walls hung guns, sporting tackle, and antlers in indiscriminate confusion. Wherever room for a nail had been found, there that nail had been driven in, and the article on hand at the time hung thereon, without the smallest consideration for the figure it made in the place allotted to it. The bureau was loaded with piles of house and farm accounts, together with tobacco pipes, spurs, and half a dozen riding-whips. The newspaper lay on the carpet; for carpet there was, in name at least, though its absence would have proved a better ornament to the room, since it bore but too evident traces of serving the great setter as his daily couch. Not a thing was in the place to which it rightly belonged; but rather there where it had last been made use of, and where it remained ready for any future occasion. One single object in the room testified, and that in a truly appalling manner, to the owner"s artistic tastes, namely, a brilliant hunting-piece of most intense and vivid colouring, which hung in the place of honour over the sofa.
The Squire sat in his armchair by the window, lost in the dense clouds of smoke which issued from his meerschaum. A man of about sixty years, he looked relatively young, in spite of his white hair, and was evidently in the full enjoyment of health and strength. He was of an important presence, his height and bulk being alike considerable. There was, perhaps, not overmuch intelligence in the ruddy face; but, on the other hand, it wore an unmistakable air of good humour. His dress, made up partly of indoor raiment and partly of hunting gear, was decidedly negligent; and his whole ma.s.sive person, with its powerful, deep-toned voice, formed the strongest contrast to the lank figure of the tutor, now standing before him.
The Doctor might be thirty or thereabouts. He was of middle height, but his stooping att.i.tude made him appear short of stature. His face was not exactly unhandsome, but it wore too evident a look of sickliness, and of the depression bred of a painful position in life, to prove attractive. His complexion was pale and unhealthy, his brow deeply lined, and his eyes had that abstracted, uncertain expression peculiar to those who seldom, if ever, bring their thoughts altogether to bear on the realities around them. His black attire was ordered with scrupulous care; and there was an air of anxious timidity about the man"s whole being, betraying itself in his voice, as he replied in a low tone--
"You know, Herr Witold, that I never apply to you, save in an extreme case. This time I must call upon you to use your authority. I am at my wits" end."
"What has Waldemar been doing now?" asked the master of the house, impatiently. "I know he is unmanageable as well as you do, but I can"t help you in the matter. The boy got far beyond my control long ago. He will obey no one now, not even me. He runs away from your books, and prefers to be off with his gun, does he? Tut! I was no better at his age. They could never ram all their learned stuff into my head. He has no manners, has not he? Well, he does not want them. We live here among ourselves, and when we do have a neighbourly meeting now and again, we don"t make much ceremony about it. You know that well enough, Doctor.
You always take to your heels, and escape from our shooting parties and drinking bouts."
"But, only think," objected the tutor, "if Waldemar with his rough wild ways were, later in life, to be thrown into another sphere; if he were to marry ..."
"Marry!" exclaimed Witold, absolutely hurt by such a supposition. "He will never do such a thing. What should he marry for? I have remained a bachelor all my life, and find myself uncommonly comfortable; and poor Nordeck would have done better to keep single. No, thank G.o.d, there is no fear of our Waldemar! Why, he runs off at the sight of a petticoat, and he is right."
So saying, Waldemar"s guardian leaned back in his chair with an air of much contentment. The Doctor drew a step nearer.
"But to return to the point from which we set out," said he, hesitatingly. "You yourself admit that my pupil will no longer be guided by me. It must therefore be high time to send him to the University."
Herr Witold sprang up from his seat so suddenly that the tutor beat a hasty retreat.
"Did not I think something of the sort was coming! I have, heard nothing else from you for the last month. What should Waldemar go to the University for? To have his head stuffed with learning by the professors? I should think you have taken good care to do that for him by this time. All that an honest country gentleman needs to know, he knows. He is as great an authority about the land and the farm business as my inspector. He keeps the people in their place far more effectually than I can, and there is not a better man in the saddle or in the field. He is a splendid young fellow!"
The tutor did not appear to share this enthusiastic view of his pupil"s merits. He hardly ventured to express so much in words, but summoned up all his evidently slender stock of courage for the timid reply.
"But, sir, the heir of Wilicza requires, after all, something more than the qualifications which go to make a good inspector or land-steward.
Some higher culture, some academical study, appear to me extremely desirable."
"They don"t appear desirable to me at all," retorted Herr Witold.
"Isn"t it enough that, by-and-by, I shall have to let the boy, who is the very apple of my eye, go from me, just because his property lies in that cursed land of Polacks? Must I part from him now to send him to the University against his will? I"ll do nothing of the sort, I tell you, nothing of the sort. He shall stay here until he goes to Wilicza."
With this, he puffed so savagely at his pipe that for several minutes his face disappeared behind the clouds of smoke. The tutor sighed, and was silent. His quiet resignation touched the tyrannical Squire.
"Don"t trouble your mind any more about the University, Doctor," said he, in quite a changed tone; "you will never persuade Waldemar to consent to the plan as long as you live. And for yourself, too, it is better that you should stay at Altenhof. Here you are just in the midst of your tumuli and your Runic stones, or whatever you call the rubbish you are after all day long. I can"t understand, for my own part, what you can see so remarkable in the old heathen lumber; but the heart of man must take delight in something, and I am right glad you can find any pleasure to satisfy you, for you have often a hard time of it with Waldemar--and with me into the bargain."
The Doctor, much confused, made a deprecatory gesture. "Oh, Herr Witold!"
"Don"t put yourself out," said the other, good-naturedly. "I know that in your secret soul you look upon our life here as a G.o.dless business, and that you would have run away from us long ago, if it had not been for the heathen rubbish you have grown so fond of, and which you can"t bring yourself to part from. Well, I am not such a bad fellow after all, you know, though I do fly out in a pa.s.sion occasionally; and as you are always pottering about among the pagans, you must be just in your element here with us. I have heard say that people in those days had no manners at all. They used to fight and murder each other out of pure friendship."
The historical information displayed by Herr Witold appeared to the Doctor to have a dangerous tendency. Possibly he feared some practical ill.u.s.tration of it on his own person, for he backed by almost imperceptible degrees behind the sofa.
"Excuse me, the old Teutons ..."
"Were not cut out after your pattern, Doctor," cried the Squire with a shout of laughter, for the man[oe]uvre had not escaped him. "I know that much, at all events. I think, of us all, Waldemar comes the nearest to them, so I can"t make out what fault you can find with him."
"But, Herr Witold, in the nineteenth century ..." The Doctor got no further in his dissertation, for at that moment the crack of a shot was heard--of a shot fired close to the open window. A bullet whistled through the room, and the great stag"s antlers, which hung over the bureau, fell down with a crash.
The Squire jumped up from his seat. "Waldemar! What does this mean? Is the boy taking to shoot into the very rooms? Wait a moment; I"ll put a stop to that work!"
He would have hurried out, but was stopped at the entrance by a young man, who pushed, or rather flung, open the door, letting it fall to on its hinges again with a bang. He wore a shooting suit, and carried in his hand the gun which had caused the late report, while at his side stalked a great pointer. Without any sort of greeting, or of excuse for this violent mode of making his appearance, he went up to Witold, placed himself right before him, and asked triumphantly--
"Now, which of us was right, you or I?"
The Squire was really angry. "Is that the way to behave, shooting over people"s heads?" he cried, testily. "One is not sure of one"s life with you now. Do you want to put the Doctor and me out of the world?"
Waldemar shrugged his shoulders. "Where was the harm? I wanted to win my wager. You declared yesterday I should not hit that nail, where the twelve-year-old hung, from outside. There"s my ball, up there."
He pointed to the wall. Witold followed the direction.
"It really is!" said he, full of admiration, and altogether appeased.
"Doctor, just look--but what is the matter with you?"
"Doctor Fabian has got another of his nervous attacks, no doubt," said Waldemar ironically, laying aside his gun, but making no attempt to succour his teacher, who had sunk back on the sofa, half fainting with the fright, and was still trembling from head to foot. The good-natured Witold raised him up, and encouraged him to the best of his ability.
"Come, come, who would think of fainting because a little powder went off! Why, it is not worth speaking of. We had laid the wager, that is quite true; but how was I to know the young madcap would set to work in such a senseless fashion? Instead of calling us out, that we might look on quietly, he makes no more ado, but takes his aim straight over our heads. Are you better now? Ah, that"s right, thank G.o.d!"
Doctor Fabian had risen, and was striving to master his emotion; but as yet he could not quite succeed.
"You might have shot us, Waldemar," said he, with pale and trembling lips.
"No, Doctor, I might not," answered Waldemar, in a tone the reverse of reverential. "You and my uncle were standing to the right, and I aimed over there to the left, at least five paces off. You know I never miss."
"No matter, you will let it alone in future," declared Witold, with an attempt at a.s.serting his authority as guardian. "The deuce himself may be playing tricks with the b.a.l.l.s, and then there will be an accident.
Once for all, I forbid you to shoot anywhere near the house."
The young man crossed his arms defiantly. "You can forbid me, uncle, as much as you like, but I shan"t obey. I shall shoot if I choose."
He stood confronting his guardian, the very incarnation of rebellious wilfulness. Waldemar Nordeck"s whole appearance was of the true Germanic type; no single feature of his bore evidence to the fact that his mother had come of another race. His tall, almost gigantic, figure towered several inches above even Witold"s portly form; but his frame lacked symmetry, every line in it was sharp and angular. His light hair seemed in its overabundance to be quite a troublesome load on his head, for it fell low down over his brow, whence it was tossed back every now and then with an impatient gesture. His blue eyes had a sombre and, in moments of excitement like the present, almost a fierce expression. His face was decidedly plain. Here, too, the lines were sharp and unformed; all the boy"s softer contours had vanished, and were not as yet replaced by the set features of the man. In the case of this young man, the transition stage was so marked as to be almost repulsive; and the uncouthness of his manners, his complete disdain of all polite forms, did not tend to diminish the unfavourable impression created by his appearance.
Herr Witold was evidently one of those men whose person and bearing seem to argue an energy of which, in reality, they possess not a particle. Instead of meeting his ward"s defiant rudeness with steady resolution, the guardian thought proper to give way.
"I told you so, Doctor; the boy won"t mind me any longer," said he, with an equanimity which showed that this was the usual outcome of such differences, and that, whenever it should please the young gentleman to be in earnest, the uncle would be found powerless as the tutor.
Waldemar took no further notice of either of them. He threw himself at full length on the sofa, without the least regard to the fact that his boots, completely soaked by a journey through the marshes, were coming in contact with the cushions; while the pointer, who had also been in the water, followed his master"s example, and, with equal recklessness, settled himself down comfortably on the carpet.
A rather awkward pause ensued. The Squire, grumbling to himself, tried to light his pipe, which had gone out in the interval. Dr. Fabian had taken refuge by the window, and, gazing out, cast a look towards heaven which said more plainly than any words that, truly, he did consider the way of life here to be "a G.o.dless sort of business."
The Squire had meanwhile been hunting for his tobacco pouch, which was at last happily discovered on the bureau, under the spurs and riding-whips. As he drew it out, an unopened envelope fell close by his hand. He took it up.
"I had nearly forgotten that. Waldemar, there is a letter for you."
"For me?" asked Waldemar, indifferently, and yet with that touch of surprise called up by an event of rare occurrence.
"Yes. There"s a coronet on the seal, and a coat of arms with all sorts of heraldic beasts. From the Princess Baratowska, I presume. It is a long time since we have been honoured with her Highness"s gracious autograph."
Young Nordeck broke open the letter, and glanced through it. It seemed to contain but a few lines; nevertheless, a heavy cloud gathered on the reader"s brow.