CHAPTER VI.
THE WORLD A MASQUERADE.
If romantic affliction manifests itself in a pale face, a feeling ofloathing, obstinacy, and hatred of one's neighbor and of everything,then had Roland experienced a genuine romantic affliction. He sat nearEric in the carriage, and shut his eyes so as to see nothing but whatwas going on in his own imagination; he pressed his lips hard together,pale and trembling, determined not to say a word.
Am I a child still, he asked himself, that can be knocked about hitherand thither, that must obey and ask for no reason? Why didn't Eric givea reason for his returning so suddenly? Why did Knopf, with atriumphant smile, tell me that he didn't wake me on purpose? Then itflashed upon him that Knopf had taken upon himself the responsibilitythat Eric had assumed, and he might have thought that it would bebetter for Roland to be angry with an absent one, than with him inwhose hands he had to remain. In the meanwhile Roland glanced overtowards Eric, to see whether he wasn't on the point of beginning toexplain everything to him; but Eric was silent; he had also shut hiseyes.
In the bright day, through a landscape full of life, they both rode onwrapt in their own reveries.
Overcome with fatigue, Eric sat as if sunk in a half sleep, in whichthe rattle of the carriage sounded like a demoniacal rumble. At times,when they were descending, and the locked wheels squeaked and grated,he would look up, catch a glimpse of the Rhine in the distance, thenshut his eyes, and in his half dream pierce through the view of waterof mountain; and it seemed to him, as if everything was flooded over,and in the midst of the waves stood two men on rocks, far from, andstill beckoning to, each other. On one stood Clodwig, speaking of aRoman relic which he held in his hand, and on the other stood Weidmann,talking of life insurance, and between whiles they were talking aboutEric and Roland. And just as he woke up he heard quite distinctly, asif both had shouted out to each other, "Eric and Roland have reachedhome safely!"
"Here there are," they had shouted; "here they are," shouted a voicefrom without.
The horses stopped; Fraeulein Milch was standing at the garden hedge;they were at the Major's. Eric greeted her, and taking it for grantedthat they had not come to see her, Fraeulein Milch called out:--
"The Major drove over to the Villa more than an hour ago, and left wordwith me, that he would not be back to dinner."
Eric got out; he asked Fraeulein Milch about his mother, and whether sheknew what was going on at the villa. He learned that there must besomething unusual, for everything was in happy confusion; to-day,undoubtedly, the betrothal of Von Pranken and Manna would besolemnized.
Eric allowed Roland to go home alone; he had to shape his course anew.
"The whole world is a masquerade," said Fraeulein Milch.
Eric, who honored the good old lady sincerely, did not, however, feelin the mood for discussing generalities about mankind; and whenFraeulein Milch tried to get out of him what he had learned atMattenheim, he approached the limit of impoliteness in answer to herrepeated inquiries. He did not suspect that Fraeulein Milch, who kneweverything already, wished to come to an explanation with him.
He had desired to compose himself here as in a sort of ante-room, andto think matters over, and now he went away as if frightened. He sawthe handsome villa glistening in the bright sunshine, the blazing panesof the glass house and cupola; he saw the park, he saw the greencottage in which his mother lived--and all this was built and plantedfrom the profits of traffic in human beings.
Does Pranken know it? He must know it, and then it remains to be seenwhether he will extend his hand to the daughter of this house. Hatredand bitterness that Manna should belong to this house penetrated hiswhole being, made his hair stand on end, and clenched his fists; hewould dash the whole lying structure to pieces. But Manna--how wouldshe take it? He stood still, upbraiding himself that he had everthought himself capable of cherishing one noble thought within hissoul. He stood still and stared at the rocks as if he would have dashedthem down into the valley, crushing everything beneath. A physicalpain, a pang through his heart, almost took away his breath. Beamingout from the surrounding darkness it stood before him--he loved Manna;and without being aware of it, he laughed aloud.
"The daughter of this man thy wife, the mother of thy children? Theworld is a masquerade."
The words of Fraeulein Milch came back to him, and he added to them,--
"And I am not called to tear off the mask from the faces of themaskers?"
Inwardly composed he went to the villa.