Waldfried: A Novel

It was a pleasure to hear him explain his plans. He was determined that the people hereabouts should have better doors and windows, steps and flooring, than ever before. Besides that, he would see that there should be pretty designs for balconies. "The result of all which will be, that both we and our countrymen will make lots of money. Actions which are for the benefit of the general public will, if managed rightly, turn out to the profit of the individual."

Annette wanted to know whether he would not destroy all individuality, by attempting to provide people with ready-made houses just as they could buy ready-made clothes.

"That is what I propose to do," exclaimed Ludwig, cheerfully. "All should be uniform, for, after all, every one wears his coat in his own peculiar way. And I think I can anticipate another objection you are about to make-that the machines will disturb the landscape."

"That is my meaning exactly."

"And there are thousands who think just as you do. But mankind must accustom themselves to new ideas. It is the question of spinning-wheel or sewing-machine over again. Just as, in old times, the spinning-wheel occupied the most exalted station in the household, so does the sewing-machine now occupy the place of honor; and the spirit of beauty and the force of custom will soon adorn the latter as it once did the former-although that was a simple machine, while this is a complicated one."

"Thanks," said Annette, extending her hand to Ludwig; "you are really a citizen of the new world."

Ludwig's plan was to connect an island which lay in the valley-stream with the mainland, by blasting out and turning in some rocks from shore. He would thus be able to turn what had heretofore been useless, to good account, and at the same time increase the water-power. He went to work in true American style, and was delighted when I told him that the raftsmen were not allowed to pass down the stream except during two hours of the day, and that we could thus arrange our time in such a way that they would not interfere with us. He felt pleased that the people were no longer allowed to dilly-dally about their work, but were obliged to make use of an appointed time. He decided that the time for floating the rafts past the island should be fixed for the dinner hour, when the workmen in the mill were taking their rest.

"Ah," said he at last, "I can remember the very minute when mother explained to me what work really is. We were standing at the blacksmith's shop when she said to me, 'Look, Ludwig, this pound of iron is worth but a few groschen, but a pound of watch-springs is worth many hundred thalers. This shows you what labor is.' The recollection of that moment at the blacksmith's shop has remained alive in my memory ever since. I can yet see the blacksmith's journeyman at his work, forging the spikes with which the rafts were held together, and while he was shaping one spike the other was heating in the fire. I have always worked on the same principle."

We were visited by Annette's brother, who was just from Wildbad, and told us that on the day previous the French Ambassador had left there under instructions to visit the King of Prussia; and, it was further rumored, to bring it about that no German Prince should ascend the Spanish throne. There was great excitement everywhere, and he thought it hazardous to invest large sums in new enterprises; especially so for those who were near the French borders. The air seemed heavy as with an impending storm, and no one could tell how soon the cloud might burst.

Napoleon would be obliged to justify the new lease of power that the plebiscite had given him; he would find it necessary to furnish amusement for the French, who looked upon a war with us as a most agreeable diversion. Anything would serve him as an excuse.

For this reason, he thought it his duty to dissuade Annette from joining in our enterprise. He was willing, however, to advance the required sum out of his own funds, for, after all, there must be peace at last; and, if the undertaking should prove successful, it was his intention to transfer either the whole or a half of his share to Annette.

Ludwig wanted to employ none but discharged soldiers. He had no confidence in workmen who had not served in the army; and, as the stonecutter had been a soldier, he appointed him as chief of the stone-masons. He engaged an older man to superintend the erection of the building, who had been recommended as thoroughly honest; and it was Ludwig's intention to take him back to America with him.

We learned that this man had formerly been an officer of engineers. He had been obliged to resign, and now led a simple and industrious life, eating and sleeping with the quarry-men. It was only when at work, that one could notice that he was of a higher caste. But he seemed to have no judgment of his own, and always required instructions; when he received these he would execute them with care and precision. He was a man of very few words, and always seemed as if seeking something which he either could not or dared not name.

And then Ludwig sent for Wacker, the dissipated fellow who lived in the valley beyond the mountains. He was only slightly intoxicated when he arrived, and Ludwig said to him, "Wacker, I will give you a good situation on one condition: you may get drunk three times; but after the third, you will be summarily discharged. If you are agreed, all right; and I shall only add, beware of the first time: it will not cost you your situation, but it will make an inroad on your capital."

For a while, Wacker conducted himself properly; but he gave way at last. He had his three drunks, and was consequently discharged.

It was now time to begin measuring and other preparations, and to employ the laborers; for the first thing in order was to regulate the bed of the stream.

Annette found great pleasure in watching the progress of the building.

Ludwig had ascertained where the stream had the greatest fall. He had an instrument, by means of which one can, while on land, quickly ascertain the descent of the current; and this, too, afforded Annette much amusement. She was anxious to know whether the power of water was measured by so many horse-power. In her desire for information, she was constantly asking questions. Ludwig, being more practical than Richard, was naturally more indulgent with Annette's questionings. Annette had, moreover, ceased to speak as if she felt herself a privileged person; she had become more simple and retiring in her ways.

One day when Annette exclaimed, "Ah, what a pity to make the pure water work so!" Ludwig imitated her voice, and replied, "Ah, what a pity that the beautiful horses must draw Madame Annette's carriage!"

Annette blushed crimson; but she controlled herself, and said, "You are right; I spoke quite childishly."

"Oh, you angel!" cried Ludwig; "a woman who can say, 'You are right; I have been wrong,' really is a marvel."

We received permission to carry the road farther down the mountain, and in that way secured the best place to store our material.

There was another obstacle which we were obliged to overcome, and one of which we had never thought. The Englishman had leased the right to fish in the valley, from the villagers and farmers along the banks of the stream; and he now attempted, through the courts, to enjoin us from blasting the rocks; for just there was the best spot for trout.

Ludwig went before the court in person, and he succeeded in having the injunction set aside.

Before that, the Englishman had been a mere stranger to us; but now he was our enemy, and would not deign to bestow a glance on us. When any one of us walked or drove by, he would turn his back on us.

In all this trouble, Ludwig was calm and kind; but careless work made him so indignant that he characterized it as crime and villany. He was dissatisfied, because, in their own home, he found that the German workmen had two great faults-they were awkward, and wasted too much time. In the new world, these very people would act quite differently.

Annette wanted to erect kitchens down by the banks of the stream for the workmen. She had already discussed the matter with the schoolmaster's wife, and the locksmith's widow was ready to assist; but the people took no interest in the affair.

Although she had already made up her mind, the locksmith's widow considered it her duty to consult Ludwig in regard to her marrying again. She had chosen the young stone-mason, who was hardly as old as she.

The wedding took place on a Sunday; and Annette busied herself conjecturing how the three children must have felt at their mother's marriage.

We were obliged, out of compliment, to be present at the marriage feast; and Schweitzer-Schmalz, who was a relative of the bridegroom, called out, at the top of his voice, that the bridegroom had not needed to marry so soon for fear of being obliged to go to war again. The blatant Prussian would not venture to try conclusions with France; and if he did really attempt it, the real Germans, that is, the South Germans, would not assist.

In a loud voice, he retailed the wisdom of the popular journals; and I verily believe that he did it with the intention of drawing us out.

Ludwig whispered to me, "It is not worth while trying to convert this man; events will teach him."

Although I did not believe there would be war, Ludwig looked forward to it with great certainty, and only feared that we might neglect the proper moment to let the whole world see that it was France that was wantonly and impiously forcing war upon us.

We went down to the valley stream in order to see that no accident should happen while the rocks were being blasted.

Ludwig superintended the blasting in person. With Annette and Conny, I was stationed down the road, while Rothfuss and Martella were on the other side, in order that all might be warned of the danger.

Suddenly there was a loud report which reverberated through the valleys and the forests; the blasting was a complete success.

Soon after, we were assembled on the road, and even the quarry-men were with us, when Ikwarte, accompanied by one of the forester's men, came running up to us, out of breath, exclaiming, before he reached us:

"War has been declared!"

The forester brought me a message informing me that France had declared war, and calling on me to repair to the meeting of the Parliament at once.

Ludwig gave instructions that the work should be continued without interruption, and placed the completion of the new building in charge of the engineer. That very evening he accompanied me to the capital, Martella going with us.

The Englishman stood by the bank, angling.

It was not until after I had left home, that I began to realize what was in store for us.

BOOK FOURTH

CHAPTER I

The great crisis which we have dreaded and yet hoped for has at last arrived. We are again obliged to contend with our hectoring neighbor, whose lust of power goads him to trample on our rights. We must fight, if we wish to endure; and will all Germany be united? If in this juncture we are not as one, our ruin is assured, and will be richly deserved.

To know that the decisive moment is at hand, and that you cannot actively participate-that you are only a single wave in the current, is at once an oppressive and an exalting thought.

In my mind, I go over the list of my fellow-members in the Parliament. The decision seems to hang in doubt. Eccentricity is still rampant, and decks itself with all sorts of revolutionary ideas.

And how is the Prince inclined? Were it better if it rested with one man to decide whether we should have war or peace?

And there is another bitter experience that is forced upon us in periods of doubt and indecision; namely, that fixed principles begin to waver.

I found it a great comfort to have Ludwig with me. He was so thoroughly in sympathy with me, and yet, at the same time, a foreigner. He had become a citizen of the New World, in which he had lived over twenty years, and his views were freer from prejudice than ours could be.

In spite of the declaration of war on the part of the French government, the ravings in the French Legislative Chambers, and the outcry in the streets of Paris, I yet encouraged a hope that war might be averted. But Ludwig thought-and I was obliged to agree with him-that it were both treachery and folly now, when the right was on our side, not to accept the battle which would thus only be postponed. For this constant waiting and watching for what others may do, is a painful state of dependence.

Ludwig was younger; his pulse was steadier. He had already fought in this country with undisciplined crowds, and, in the United States, had taken part in the great war.

He said in confidence that if he had known that the decision was so near at hand, he would have kept on better terms with Funk; because, at that moment, the great object was to gain his allegiance and that of his party, in which there was no lack of noble enthusiasts. Ludwig held that, in politics, it was not alone permissible, but even necessary, to use strategy and double-dealing.

Martella so urgently entreated me to permit her to accompany us, that, for her sake, Ludwig's wife remained at home.

At the village down by the railway station, and at nearly every station on the road, I was asked whether I believed there would be war, and whether I would advise the people to drive their cattle into out-of-the-way ravines and valleys, and to hide their household goods, on account of the threatened invasion of the French hordes.

I took great pains to explain my views; but, at the second station, Ludwig said: "Father, you are giving yourself unnecessary trouble. The people do not wish to learn anything. They think that you cannot know any more about it than they do. They simply ask you idle and anxious questions, just as they would at other times, 'What kind of weather do you think we will have?' Father, do not pour out the deepest feelings of your heart."

After that, I replied that one could not say much upon the subject; and I observed that the people, were more respectful because I was so reserved. They assumed that, as I was a delegate, I was fully informed on all subjects, and neither dared nor desired to unbosom myself.

It was rather late, but not too late. From that day, I learned that it is not best to open one's soul to another and reveal all that is within it; and for that reason, it is said of me that, since the beginning of the war, I am a changed man. In those days, I learned things that never were suffered to pass my lips.

The first one whom we met at the capital was my son-in-law, the Major.

"What is the opinion in the army?" inquired Ludwig.

The Major looked at him steadily, and, after a pause, answered, "Opinion? In the army there is obedience." With forced composure, he added, "As far as I know, the army neither debates nor votes."

He turned to me and said that this time we were better prepared than four years ago.

I asked whether the army orders had already been promulgated.

He shrugged his shoulders, and evidently did not care to divulge anything. He told me, though, that since the evening previous, he had been advanced to the rank of colonel, and had been placed in command of a regiment. When I spoke of this, as indicating that the Prince had decided for war, he lapsed into silence.

We soon parted, regretting that we could not go to his house, for Annette had already prepared quarters for our reception.

I then went to our club-house and learned that our party was already broken up. The Funk faction-I must give it this name, although he was not its leader-held separate meetings.

Ludwig determined logo at once to the meeting of Funk's party, because it was important above all things to know what was being done there.

"I believe in Lincoln's maxim," said he, "that 'it will never do to swap horses while crossing streams.'"

In little more than an hour, he returned and told us that he had been coldly received, although the leadership was shared with Funk by two members who had once been among his most intimate friends. He was now, however, able to tell that their plan was to insist on neutrality. They did not dare to think, much less to speak, of an alliance with France. Their intention, however, was to call together a large meeting of the popular party, in order to exert a moral influence on Parliament, and perhaps to overawe it.

At our meeting, we were expecting the arrival of the prime minister; the right wing of our party sided with the ministry.

The minister did not come; but sent one of his councillors, who informed me that the session would not be opened unless a quorum of delegates was present.

He told us that there was great disorder among the telegraphs.

After the councillor had left, Loedinger, my old associate and prison-mate, told me in confidence, that he expected a coup d'etat. He felt that the Prince had no desire to take counsel with the country, and had determined that his glory as a warrior should be shared by no one.

Loedinger was one of those imaginative persons who, whenever they form suspicions against any one, carry them to their extremest consequences.

The President, who was a member of our party, told us under the seal of secrecy, that the reason for delaying the opening of our session was that they might first ascertain what action the delegates in the next state would decide upon.

We were thus held in anxious suspense.

During the night, I found it impossible to sleep; and Ludwig, who was in the next room, called out to me: "Father, you must sleep; to-morrow will be a trying day. Just think of it! – the Emperor of Germany-I should say, the King of Prussia-must also sleep to-night, and he is three years older than you are."

Yes, it was on that night, the 16th of July, that my son announced the German Emperor to me. I could not help smiling with joy, and at last fell asleep. And, strange to say, I dreamed that I was again at Jena, and that the fantastic mummery of those days was being renewed. Because I had a round head and a ruddy complexion, I was termed the "Imperial Globe," and they maintained that, with my large stature and broad shoulders, the imperial mantle would fit me best of all. They placed it on me, and I was obliged forthwith to distribute offices. And suddenly, I was no longer the Emperor, but Rothfuss, who laughed most terribly. I, too, was obliged to laugh-and, laughing, I awoke.

CHAPTER II

When I opened my eyes, Ludwig stood at my bedside and said, "You have slept well, father, and it is well that you did. You will need all your strength to-day; for to-day it will be-Good-morning, Germany."

I cannot describe how my son's presence helped to strengthen me. I felt that, with his power added to mine, I was doubly prepared for all that might happen.

There is nothing more encouraging, in troubled times, than to have a faithful friend at one's side, – a truth which was proved to me on that day and many a time since.

I could not help recounting my strange dream, and when I added that it gave me incomparable joy to think that the day had at last arrived in which one might say the hearts of all Germans throbbed in unison, Ludwig begged me not to talk so much. He said that he could sympathize with me, and feel what a satisfaction it must be to me, after having fought and suffered for fifty years, at last to witness the fruition of my hopes, even though the price paid be war and bloodshed.

He was indeed right. He responded to all my feelings; I may indeed say that he anticipated them.

When I reached the street, the throng was such that it seemed as if all the houses had been emptied of their inhabitants. Here and there, were groups talking aloud, and before the printing-office of the principal newspaper, it was almost impossible to work one's way through the crowd.

It was there that I met an old friend, the incorruptible Mölder. In 1866 he had resigned a high position under the state, in order, thenceforth, to devote himself to his Fatherland, and, above all, to the cause of German unity.

"It is well that I meet you," he said; "we have war now, and have stolen a march on the French. Here, in the capital, the majority of the citizens are on our side, but in the country, as you well know, the so-called popular party is to a certain extent in the majority. The common people are not so willing to follow our advice, for they are in the hands of the clergy and the demagogues, who, for a little while longer, will travel together on the same road. For this reason, we have issued the call for a mass meeting at the Turners' Hall for this evening."

"Would it not be best for us delegates to hold aloof from it?" I inquired.

"No; it is too late for that. You will have to speak there, and so will your son from America. We did not care to arouse you so late last night, and I have, therefore, on my own responsibility, signed your name to the call. But look!"

I saw crowds standing at the street corners, and reading a large placard, calling on all whose hearts beat with love of Germany to meet together-and I really found my name at the foot of it.

I could not object; our actions were no longer at our own disposal.

Excited crowds filled the streets during the whole day. The whole population seemed like one restless being in anxious suspense. It was said that the telegraph wires had been connected with the palace, and as the people knew nothing of this before, the information caused great surprise. The afternoon paper brought the official news that they had wanted the King of Prussia to address the French Emperor in an humble letter, in which he was particularly forbidden to refer to the relationship existing between the French Emperor and the Prince of Hohenzollern, who had been elected King of Spain-a pleasant preparation for what was to ensue in the evening.

I did not see the Colonel during the whole day, but his friend, Professor Rolunt, hunted me up; and, from the manner in which he spoke of our project, it seemed to me that my son-in-law approved of it, and that the popular movement about to be set on foot, was not looked upon with disfavor by the government. Moreover, the Professor had become very cautious, and was known to stand well with government circles. He was believed to be an anonymous contributor to the official organ.

In the evening, we repaired to the place of meeting.

Mölder arrived, and with pale and trembling lips, told us:

"It is rumored that the friends of the French will attempt to break up the meeting. But I have called on the Turners. They are all on our side, and your son stands as well with them as he once did."

The proceedings began.

Mölder was the first speaker. I have never seen any one more excited than he was. His lips trembled, and he held fast to the rail with a convulsive grasp, while he began:

"We do not desire to become Prussians; but we wish to be Germans, as we must and shall be. Is there one among you who would dare to utter the accursed words, 'Rather French than Prussian!' If there be one who dares to think it, let him dare to say it."

He paused for a while, and then exclaimed:

"Is there such a one among you? Answer me! Yes or no!"

"No!" resounded from a thousand throats, and he responded with joyous voice, "Then we are all friends." He then concluded his address, eloquently maintaining that to attempt to remain neutral were both treachery and folly.

A young advocate who had been defeated in the recent elections, by one of the clerical party, followed. He spoke with that studied eloquence which talks glibly and in nicely rounded phrases. He concluded by demanding that the whole meeting should proceed to the palace and request the Prince to discharge his hesitating ministry; or, at all events, the one minister who seemed to be unpatriotically inclined.

Enthusiastic and joyous shouts of approval were showered upon him.

I saw the danger that threatened, and asked for the floor.

"There has been enough talking; it is time now for deeds!" cried a voice in the assembly, and it seemed as if the crowd were already on the move.

My heart stood still. We were no longer masters of our own actions.

Then Ludwig cried out, in a voice so powerful that the very walls seemed to tremble, "If you are men, listen! My father wishes to speak."