by Mór Jókai
CHAPTER IV
Dr. Tromfszky had just returned from a _visum repertum_ in a criminalcase, and had concluded that he would go to bed so soon as he hadfinished his supper. The rain fell in torrents on the roof, and rushedthrough the gutters with a roaring noise.
"Now just let any one send again for me this night!" he exclaimed, whenhis housekeeper came to remove the remnants of cheese from thesupper-table. "I would n't go--not if the primate himself got afish-bone fast in his throat; no, not for a hundred ducats. I swear it!"
At that moment there came a knock at the street door, and a veryperemptory one, too.
"There! did n't I know some one would take it into his head to let thedevil fetch him to-night? Go to the door, Zsuzsa, and tell them that Ihave a pain in my foot--that I have just applied a poultice, and can'twalk."
Frau Zsuzsa, with the kitchen lamp in her hand, waddled into thecorridor. After inquiring the second time through the door, "Who is it?"and the one outside had answered: "It is I," she became convinced, fromthe musical feminine tone, that it was not the notorious robber, SatanLaczi, who was seeking admittance.
Then she opened the door a few inches, and said:
"The Herr Doctor can't go out any more to-night; he has gone to bed, andis poulticing his foot."
The door was open wide enough to admit a delicate feminine hand, whichpressed into the housekeeper's palm a little heap of money. By the lightof the lamp Frau Zsuzsa recognized the shining silver coins, and thedoor was opened its full width.
When she saw before her the veiled lady she became quite complaisant.Curiosity is a powerful lever.
"I humbly beg your ladyship to enter."
"Please tell the doctor the lady from the Nameless Castle wishes to seehim."
Frau Zsuzsa placed the lamp on the kitchen table, and left the visitorsstanding in the middle of the floor.
"Well, what were you talking about so long out yonder?" demanded thedoctor, when she burst into his study.
"Make haste and put on your coat again; the veiled lady from theNameless Castle is here."
"What? Well, that is an event!" exclaimed the doctor, hurriedlythrusting his arms into the sleeves of his coat. "Is the count withher?"
"No; the groom accompanied her."
These magic words, "the veiled lady," had more influence on the doctorthan any imaginable number of ducats.
At last he was to behold the mythological appearance--yes, and even hearher voice!
"Show her ladyship into the guest-chamber, and take a lamp in there," heordered, following quickly, after he had adjusted his cravat in front ofthe looking-glass.
Then she stood before him--the mysterious woman. Her face was veiled asusual. Behind her stood the groom, with whose appearance every child inthe village was familiar.
"Herr Doctor," stammered the young girl, so faintly that it wasdifficult to tell whether it was the voice of a child, a young or anold woman, "I beg that you will come with me at once to the castle; thegentleman is very seriously ill."
"Certainly; I am delighted!--that is, I am not delighted to hear of theworshipful gentleman's illness, but glad that I am fortunate enough tobe of service to him. I shall be ready in a few moments."
"Oh, pray make haste."
"The carriage will take us to the castle in five minutes, yourladyship."
"But we did not come in a carriage; we walked."
Only now the doctor noticed that the lady's gown was thickly spatteredwith mud.
"What? Came on foot in such weather--all the way from the NamelessCastle? and your ladyship has a carriage and horses?"
"Cannot you come with us on foot, Herr Doctor?"
"I should like very much to accompany your ladyship; but really, I have_rheumatismus acutus_ in my foot, and were I to get wet I shouldcertainly have an _ischias_."
Marie lifted her clasped hands in despair to her lips, but thebeseeching expression on her face was hidden by the heavy veil. Couldthe doctor have seen the tearful eyes, the trembling lips!
Seeing that her voiceless petition was in vain, Marie drew from herbosom a silken purse, and emptied the contents, gold, silver, and coppercoins, on the table.
"Here," she exclaimed proudly. "I have much more money like this, andwill reward you richly if you will come with me."
The doctor was amazed. There on the table lay more gold than the wholecounty could have mustered in these days of paper notes. Truly thesepeople were not to be despised.
"If only it did not rain so heavily--"
"I will let you take my umbrella."
"Thanks, your ladyship; I have one of my own."
"Then let us start at once."
"But my foot--it pains dreadfully."
"We can easily arrange that. Henry, here, is a very strong man; he willtake you on his shoulders, and bring you back from the castle in thecarriage."
There were no further objections to be offered when Henry, with greatwillingness, placed his broad shoulders at the doctor's service.
The doctor hastily thrust what was necessary into a bag, locked themoney Marie had given him in a drawer, bade Frau Zsuzsa remain awakeuntil he returned, and clambered on Henry's back. In one hand he heldhis umbrella, in the other the lantern; and thus the little company tooktheir way to the castle--the "double man" in advance, the little maidfollowing with her umbrella.
The doctor had sufficient cause to be excited. What usuriousgossip-interest might be collected from such a capitol! Dr. Tromfszkyalready had an enviable reputation in the county, but what would itbecome when it became known that he was physician in ordinary to theNameless Castle?
The rain was not falling so heavily when they arrived at the castle.
Marie and Henry at once conducted the doctor to Ludwig's chamber. Henryfirst thrust his head cautiously through the partly open door, thenwhispered that his master was still tossing deliriously about on thebed; whereupon the doctor summoned courage to enter the room. His firstact was to snuff the candle, the wick having become so charred itscarcely gave any light. He could now examine the invalid's face, whichwas covered with a burning flush. His eyes rolled wildly. He had notremoved his clothes, but had torn them away from his breast.
"H'm! h'm!" muttered the doctor, searching in his bag for hisbloodletting instruments. Then he approached the bed, and laid hisfingers on the invalid's pulse.
At the touch of his cold hand the patient suddenly sat upright anduttered a cry of terror:
"Who are you?"
"I am the doctor--the county physician--Dr. Tromfszky. Pray, Herr Count,let me see your tongue."
Instead of his tongue, the count exhibited a powerful fist.
"What do you want here? Who brought you here?" he demanded.
"Pray, pray be calm, Herr Count," soothingly responded the doctor, whowas inclined to look upon this aggressive exhibition as a result of thefever. "Allow me to examine your pulse. We have here a slight paroxysmthat requires medical aid. Come, let me feel your pulse; one, two--"
The count snatched his wrist from the doctor's grasp, and cried angrily:
"But I don't need a doctor, or any medicine. There is nothing at all thematter with me. I don't want anything from you, but to know who broughtyou here."
"Beg pardon," retorted the offended doctor. "I was summoned, and camethrough this dreadful storm. I was told that the Herr Count wasseriously ill."
"Who said so? Henry?" demanded the count, rising on one knee.
Henry did not venture to move or speak.
"Did you fetch this doctor, Henry?" again demanded the invalid, withexpanded nostrils, panting with fury.
The doctor, fancying that it would be well to tell the truth, nowinterposed politely:
"Allow me, Herr Count! Herr Henry did not come alone to fetch me, buthe came with the gracious countess; and on foot, too, in this weather."
"What? Marie?" gasped the invalid; and at that moment his face looked asif he had become suddenly insane. An involuntary epileptic convulsionshook his limbs. He
fell from the bed, but sprang at the same instant tohis feet again, flung himself like an angry lion upon Henry, caught himby the throat, and cried with the voice of a demon:
"Wretch! Betrayer! What have you dared to do? I will kill you!"
The doctor required nothing further. He did not stop to see the friendlypromise fulfilled, but, leaving his lances, elixirs, and plasters behindhim, he flew down the staircase, four steps at a time, and into thepouring rain, totally forgetting the ischias which threatened his leg.Nor did he once think of a carriage, or of a human dromedary,--not evenof a lantern, or an umbrella,--as he galloped down the dark road throughthe thickest of the mud.
When the count seized Henry by the throat and began to shake him, as alion does the captured buffalo, Marie stepped suddenly to his side, andin a clear, commanding tone cried:
"Louis!"
At this word he released Henry, fell on his knees at Marie's feet,clasped both arms around her, and, sobbing convulsively, pressed kissafter kiss on the little maid's wet and muddy gown.
"Why--why did you do this for me?" he exclaimed, in a choking voice.
The doctor's visit had, after all, benefited the invalid. Thespontaneous reaction which followed the violent fit of passion caused asudden turn in his illness. The salutary crisis came of its own accordduring the outburst of rage, which threw him into a profuseperspiration. The brain gradually returned to its normal condition.
"You will get well again, will you not?" stammered the little maidshyly, laying her hand on the invalid's brow.
"If you really want me to get well," returned Ludwig, "then you mustcomply with my request. Go to your room, take off these wet clothes, andgo to bed. And you must promise never again to go on another errand likethe one you performed this evening. I hope you may sleep soundly."
"I will do whatever you wish, Ludwig--anything to prevent your gettingangry again."
The little maid returned to her room, took off her wet clothes, and laydown on the bed; but she could not sleep. Every hour she rose, threw onher wrapper, thrust her feet into her slippers, and stole to the door ofLudwig's room to whisper: "How is he now, Henry?"
"He is sleeping quietly," Henry would answer encouragingly. The faithfulfellow had forgotten his master's anger, and was watching over him astenderly as a mother over her child.
"He did not hurt you very much, did he, Henry?"
"No; it did not hurt, and I deserved what I got."
The little maid pressed the old servant's hand, whereupon he sank to hisknees at her feet, and, kissing her pretty fingers, whispered:
"This fully repays me."
The next morning Ludwig was entirely recovered. He rose, and, as was hiswont, drank six tumblerfuls of water--his usual breakfast.
Of the events of the past night he spoke not one word.
At ten o'clock the occupants of the Nameless Castle were to be seen outdriving as usual--the white-haired groom, the stern-visaged gentleman,and the veiled lady.
That same morning Dr. Tromfszky received from the castle a packetcontaining his medical belongings, and an envelop in which he found ahundred-guilder bank-note, but not a single written word.
Meanwhile the days passed with their usual monotony for the occupants ofthe Nameless Castle, and September, with its delightfully warm weatherdrew on apace. In Hungary the long autumn makes ample amends for thebrief spring--like the frugal mother who stores away in May gifts withwhich to surprise her children later in the season.
Down at the lake, a merry crowd of naked children disported in thewater; their shouts and laughter could be heard at the castle. Ludwigfully understood the deep melancholy which had settled on Marie'scountenance. Her sole amusement, her greatest happiness, had been takenfrom her. Other high-born maidens had so many ways of enjoyingthemselves; she had none. No train of admirers paid court to her. Nostrains of merry dance-music entranced her ear. Celebrated actors cameand went; she did not delight in their performances--she had never evenseen a theater. She had no girl friends with whom to exchangeconfidences--with whom to make merry over the silly flatterers who paidcourt to them; no acquaintances whose envy she could arouse by themagnificence of her toilets--one of the greatest pleasures in life!
She had no other flatterers but her cats; no other confidantes but hercats; no other actors but her cats. The world of waves had been her soleenjoyment. The water had been her theater, balls, concert--the greatworld. It was her freedom. The land was a prison.
Again it was the full of the moon, and quite warm. The tulip-formedblossoms of the luxuriant water-lilies were in bloom along the lakeshore. Ludwig's heart ached with pity for the little maid when he sawhow sorrowfully she gazed from her window on the glittering lake.
"Come, Marie," he said, "fetch your bathing-dress, and let us try thelake again. I will stay close by you, and take good care that nothingfrightens you. We will not go out of the cove."
How delighted the child was to hear these words! She danced and skippedfor joy; she called him her dear Ludwig. Then she hunted up thediscarded Melusine costume, and hastened with such speed toward theshore that Ludwig was obliged to run to keep up with her. But the nearershe approached to the bath-house, the less quickly she walked; and whenshe stood in the doorway she said:
"Oh, how my heart beats!"
When Ludwig appeared with the canoe from behind the willows, thecharming Naiad stepped from the bath-house. The rippling waves bore themoonlight to her feet, where she stood on the narrow platform whichprojected into the lake. She knelt and, bending forward, kissed thewater; it was her beloved! After a moment's hesitation she droppedgently from the platform, as she had been wont to do; but when she feltthe waves about her shoulders, she uttered a cry of terror, and graspedthe edge of the canoe with both hands.
"Lift me out, Ludwig! I cannot bear it; I am afraid!"
With a sorrowful heart the little maid took leave of her favoriteelement. The hot tears gushed from her eyes, and fell into the water; itwas as if she were bidding an eternal, farewell to her beloved. Fromthat hour the child became a silent and thoughtful woman.
* * * * *
Then followed the stormy days of autumn, the long evenings, the weeksand months when nothing could be done but stay in doors and amuse one'sself with books--Dante, Shakspere, Horace. To these were occasionallyadded learned folios sent from Stuttgart to Count Ludwig, who seemed tofind his greatest enjoyment in perusing works on philosophy and science.Meanwhile the communication by letter between the count and the eruditeshepherd of souls in the village was continued.
One day Herr Mercatoris sent to the castle a brochure on which he hadproudly written, "With the compliments of the author." The booklet waswritten in Latin, and was an account of the natural wonder which is, tothis day, reckoned among the numerous memorable peculiarities of LakeNeusiedl,--a human being that lived in the water and ate live fishes.
A little boy who had lost both parents, and had no one to care for him,had strayed into the morass of the Hansag, and, living there among thewild animals, had become a wild animal himself, an inhabitant of thewater like the otters, a dumb creature from whose lips issued no humansound.
The decade of years he had existed in the water had changed his skin toa thick hide covered with a heavy growth of hair. The phenomenon woulddoubtless be accepted by many as a convincing proof that the human beingwas really evolved from the wild animal.
Accompanying the description was an engraved portrait of the naturalwonder.
The new owner of Fertoeszeg, Baroness Katharina Landsknechtsschild, hadbeen told that a strange creature was frightening the village childrenwho bathed in the lake. She had given orders to some fishermen to catchthe monster, which they had been fortunate enough to do while fishingfor sturgeon. The boy-fish had been taken to the manor, where he hadbeen properly clothed, and placed in the care of a servant whose taskit was to teach the poor lad to speak, and walk upright instead of onall fours, as had been his habit. Success had so far attended theeff
orts to tame the wild boy that he would eat bread and keep on hisclothes. He had also learned to say "Ham-ham" when he wanted somethingto eat; and he had been taught to turn the spit in the kitchen. Thekind-hearted baroness was sparing no pains to restore the lad to hisoriginal condition. No one was allowed to strike or abuse him in anyway.
This brochure had a twofold effect upon the count. He became convincedthat the monster which had frightened Marie was not an assassin hired byher enemies, not an expert diver, but a natural abnormity that had actedinnocently when he pursued the swimming maid. Second, the count couldnot help but reproach himself when he remembered that _he_ would havedestroyed the irresponsible creature whom his neighbor was endeavoringto transform again into a human being.
How much nobler was this woman's heart than his own! His fair neighborbegan to interest him.
He took the pamphlet to Marie, who shuddered when her eyes fell on theengraving.
"The creature is really a harmless human being, Marie, and I am sorry webecame so excited over it. Our neighbor, the lovely baroness, is tryingto restore the poor lad to his original condition. Next summer you willnot need to be afraid to venture into the lake again."
The little maid gazed thoughtfully into Ludwig's eyes for severalmoments; evidently she was pondering over something.
There had risen in her mind a suspicion that Ludwig himself had writtenthe pamphlet, and had had the monster's portrait engraved, in order toquiet her fears and restore her confidence in the water.
"Will you take me sometime to visit the baroness?" she asked suddenly.
"And why?" inquired Ludwig, in turn, rising from his seat.
"That I, too, may see the wonderful improvement in the monster."
"No," he returned shortly, and taking up the pamphlet, he quitted theroom. "No!"
"But why 'No'?"
