Rafael was now to enter upon a long course of study, for which, by his earlier education, his mother had prepared him, and for which, by painful privations, she had saved up sufficient money.
The property was to the last degree impoverished2, and burdened with mortgages, and the timber only fit for fuel.
Their neighbour the Dean, a clear-headed and practical man, took upon himself the management of affairs; as money was needed the work of devastation3 must begin at once. The mother and son did not wish to witness it.
They came to England like two fugitives4 who, after many and great trials, for affection's sake seek a new home and a new country.
Rafael was then twelve years old.
They were inseparable, and in the shiftless life that they led in their new surroundings they became, if possible, more closely attached to each other.
Yet not long afterwards they had their first disagreement.
He had gone to school, had begun to learn the language and to make friends, and had developed a great desire to show off.
He was very tall and slender and was anxious to be athletic5. He took an active part in the play-ground, but here he achieved no great success. On the other hand, thanks to his mother, he was better informed than his comrades, and he contrived6 to obtain prominence7 by this. This prominence must be maintained, and nothing answered so well as boasting about Norway and his father's exploits. His statements were somewhat exaggerated, but that was not altogether his fault, He knew English fairly well, but had not mastered its niceties. He made use of superlatives, which always come the most readily. It was true that he had inherited from his father twenty guns, a large sailing-boat, and several smaller ones; but how magnificent these boats and guns had become!
He intended to go to the North Pole, he said, as his father had done, to shoot white bears, and invited them all to come with him.
He made a greater impression on his hearers than he himself was aware of; but something more was wanted, for it was impossible to foretell8 from day to day what might be expected of him. He had to study hard in order to meet the demand.
As an outcome of this, he betook himself one evening to the hairdresser's, with some of his schoolfellows, and, without more ado, requested him to cut his hair quite close. That ought to satisfy them for a long time.
The other boys had teased him about his hair, and it got in the way when he was playing—he hated it. Besides, ever since the story of Absalom's rebellion and punishment, it had remained a secret terror to him, but it had never before occurred to him to have it cut off.
His schoolfellows were dismayed, and the hairdresser looked on it as a work of wilful9 destruction.
Rafael felt his heart begin to sink, but the very audacity10 of the thing gave him courage They should see what he dare do. The hairdresser hesitated to act without Fru Kaas's knowledge, but at length he ceased to make objections.
Rafael's heart sank lower and lower, but he must go through with it now. "Off with it," he said, and remained immovable in the chair.
"I have never seen more splendid hair," said the hairdresser diffidently, taking up the scissors but still hesitating.
Rafael saw that his companions were on the tiptoe of expectation. "Off with it," he said again with assumed indifference11.
The hairdresser cut the hair into his hand and laid it carefully in paper.
The boys followed every snip12 of the scissors with their eyes, Rafael with his ears; he could not see in the glass.
When the hairdresser had finished and had brushed his clothes for him, he offered him the hair. "What do I want with it?" said Rafael. He dusted his elbows and knees a little, paid, and left the shop, followed by his companions. They, however, exhibited no particular admiration13. He caught a glimpse of himself in the glass as he went out, and thought that he looked frightful14.
He would have given all that he possessed15 (which was not much), he would have endured any imaginable suffering, he thought, to have his hair back again.
His mother's wondering eyes rose up before him with every shade of expression; his misery16 pursued him, his vanity mocked him. The end of it all was that he stole up to his room and went to bed without his supper.
But when his mother had vainly waited for him, and some one suggested that he might be in the house, she went to his room.
He heard her on the stairs; he felt that she was at the door. When she entered he had hidden his head beneath the bedclothes. She dragged them back; and at the first sight of her dismay he was reduced to such despair that the tears which were beginning to flow ceased at once.
White and horror-struck she stood there; indeed she thought at first that some one had done it maliciously17; but when she could not extract a word of enlightenment, she suspected mischief18.
He felt that she was waiting for an explanation, an excuse, a prayer for forgiveness, but he could not, for the life of him, get out a word.
What, indeed, could he say? He did not understand it himself. But now he began to cry violently. He huddled19 himself together, clasping his head between his hands. It felt like a bristly stubble.
When he looked up again his mother was gone.
A child sleeps in spite of everything. He came down the next morning in a contrite20 mood and thoroughly21 shamefaced. His mother was not up; she was unwell, for she had not slept a wink22. He heard this before he went to her. He opened her door timidly. There she lay, the picture of wretchedness.
On the toilet-table, in a white silk handkerchief, was his hair, smoothed and combed.
She lay there in her lace-trimmed nightgown, great tears rolling down her cheeks. He had come, intending to throw himself into her arms and beg her pardon a thousand times. But he had a strong feeling that he had better not do so, or was he afraid to? She was in the clouds, far, far away. She seemed in a trance: something, at once painful and sacred, held her enchained. She was both pathetic and sublime23.
The boy stepped quietly from the room and hurried off to school.
She remained in bed that day and the next, and made him sit with the servant in order that she might be alone. When she was in trouble she always behaved thus, and that he should cross her in this way was the greatest trial that she had ever known. It came upon her, too, like a deluge24 of rain from a clear sky. NOW it seemed to her that she could foresee his future—and her own.
She laid the blame of all this on his paternal25 ancestry26. She could not see that incessant27 artistic28 fuss and too much intellectual training had, perhaps, aroused in him a desire for independence.
The first time that she saw him again with his cropped head, which grew more and more like his father's in shape, her tears flowed quietly.
When he wished to come to her side, she waived29 him back with her shapely hand, nor would she talk to him; when he talked she hardly looked at him; till at last he burst into tears. For he suffered as one can suffer but once, when the childish penitence30 is fresh and therefore boundless31, and when the yearning32 for love has received its first rebuff.
But when, on the fifth day, she met him coming up the stairs, she stood still in dismay at his appearance: pale, thin, timid; the effect perhaps heightened by the loss of his hair. He, too, stood still, looking forlorn and abject33, with disconsolate34 eyes. Then hers filled; she stretched out her arms. He was once more in his Paradise, but they both cried as though they must wade35 through an ocean of tears before they could talk to each other again.
"Tell me about it now," she whispered. This was in her own room. They had spoken the first fond words and kissed each other over and over again. "How could this have happened, Rafael?" she whispered again, with her head pressed to his; she did not wish to look at him while she spoke36.
"Mother," he answered, "it is worse to cut down the woods at home, at
Hellebergene, than that I—"
She raised her head and looked at him. She had taken off her hat and gloves, but now she put them quickly on again.
"Rafael, dear," she said, "shall we go for a walk together in the park, under the grand old trees?"
She had felt his retort to be ingenious.
After this episode, however, England, and more especially her son's schoolfellows, became distasteful to her, and she constantly made plans to keep him away from the latter out of school hours.
She found this very easy; sometimes she went over his studies with him, at others they visited all the Manufactories and "Works" for miles round.
She liked to see for herself and awakened37 the same taste in him.
Factories which, as a rule, were closed to visitors, were readily opened to the pretty elegant lady and her handsome boy, "who after all knew nothing at all about it;" and they were able to see almost all that they wished. It was a less congenial task to use her influence to turn his thoughts to higher things, but it was rarely, nevertheless, that she failed. She struggled hard over what she did not understand and sought for help. To explain these things to Rafael in the most attractive manner possible became a new occupation for her.
His natural disposition38 inclined him to such studies; but to a boy of thirteen, who was thus kept from his comrades and their sports, it soon became a nuisance.
No sooner had Fru Kaas noticed this than she took active steps. They left England and crossed to France.
The strange speech threw him back on her; no one shared him with her. They settled in Calais. A few days after their arrival she cut her hair short; she hoped that it would touch him to see that as he would not look like her, she tried to look like him—to be a. boy like him. She bought a smart new hat, she composed a jaunty39 costume, new from top to toe, for EVERYTHING must be altered with the hair. But when she stood before him, looking like a girl of twenty-five, merry, almost boisterous40, he was simply dismayed—nay, it was some time before he could altogether comprehend what had happened. As long as he could remember his mother, her eyes had always looked forth41 from beneath a crown; more solemn, more beautiful.
"Mother," he said, "where are you?"
She grew pale and grave, and stammered42 something about its being more comfortable—about red hair not looking well when it began to lose its colour—and went into her room. There she sat with his hair before her and her own beside it; she wept.
"Mother, where are you?" She might have answered, "Rafael, where are you?"
She went about with him everywhere. In France two handsome, stylishly44 dressed people are always certain to be noticed, a thing which she thoroughly appreciated.
During their different expeditions she always spoke French; he begged her to talk Norse at least now and then, but all in vain.
Here, too, they visited every possible and impossible factory. Unpractical and reserved as she was on ordinary occasions, she could be full of artifice45 and coquetry whenever she wished to gain access to a steam bakery and particular as she generally was about her toilette, she would come away again sooty and grimy if thereby46 she could procure47 for Rafael some insight into mechanics. She shrank from foul48 air as from the cholera49, yet inhaled50 sulphuric acid gas as though it had been ozone51 for his sake.
"Seeing for yourself, Rafael, is the substance, other methods are its shadow;" or "Seeing for yourself, Rafael, is meat and drink, the other is but literature."
He was not quite of the same opinion: he thought that Notre Dame52 de Paris, from which he was daily dragged away, was the richest banquet that he had yet enjoyed, while from the factory of Mayel et fils there issued the most deadly odours.
His reading—she had encouraged him in it for the sake of the language and had herself helped him; now she was jealous of it and could not be persuaded to get him new books; but he got them nevertheless.
They had been in Calais for several months; he had masters and was beginning to feel himself at home, when there arrived at the pension a widow from one of the colonies, accompanied by her daughter, a girl of thirteen.
The new comers had not appeared at meals for more than two days before the young gentleman began to pay his court to the young lady. From the first moment it was a plain case. Very soon every one in the pension was highly amused to notice how fluent his French was becoming; his choice of words at times was even elegant! The girl taught him it without a trace of grammar, by charm, sprightliness54, a little nonsense; a pair of confiding55 eyes and a youthful voice were sufficient. It was from her that he got, by stealth, one novel after another. By stealth it had to be; by stealth Lucie had procured56 them; by stealth she gave them to him; by stealth they were read; by stealth she took them back again. This reading made him a little absent-minded, but otherwise nothing betrayed his flights into literature: to be sure, they were not very wonderful.
Fru Kaas noticed her son's flirtation57, and smiled with the rest over his progress in French. She had less objection to this friendship, in which, to a great extent, she shared, than to those in England, from which she had been quite excluded. In the evenings she would take the mother and daughter out for short excursions; and these she greatly enjoyed. But the novel reading which the young people carried on secretly had resulted in conversations of a "grown up" type. They talked of love with the deep experience which is proper to their age, they talked with still greater discretion58 as to when their wedding should take place; on this point they indirectly59 said much which caused them many a delightful60 tremor61. As they were accustomed to talk about themselves before others, to describe their feelings in a veiled form, it often happened when there were many people near that they carried this amusement further, and before they were themselves aware of it, they were in the full tide of a symbolic62 language and played "catch" with each other.
Fru Kaas noticed one evening that the word "rose" was drawn63 out to a greater length than it was possible for any rose to attain64 to; at the same time she saw the languishing65 look in their eyes, and broke in with the question, "What do you mean about the rose, child?"
If any one had peeped behind a rose-bush and caught them kissing one another, a thing they had never done, they could not have blushed more.
The next day Fru Kaas found new rooms, a long way from the quay66 near which they were living.
Rafael had suffered greatly at being torn away from England just as he had come down from his high horse and had put himself on a par1 with his companions, but not the least notice was taken of his trouble; it had only annoyed his mother.
To be absolutely debarred from the books he was so fond of had been hard; but up to this time, being in a foreign land, amid foreign speech, he had always fallen back upon her. Now he openly defied her. He went straight off to the hotel and sought out Madame Mery and her daughter as though nothing had occurred. This he did every day when he had finished his lessons. Lucie had now become his sole romance; he gave all his leisure time to her, and not only that (for it no longer sufficed to see her at her mother's), they met on the quay! At times a maid-servant walked with them for appearance sake, at others she kept in the background. Sometimes they would go on board a Norwegian ship, sometimes they wandered about or strolled beneath some great trees. When he saw her in her short frock come out of the door, saw her quick movements, and her lively signals to him with parasol or hat or flowers, the quay, the ships, the bales, the barrels, the air, the noise, the crowd, all seemed to play and sing,
"Enfant! si j'etais roi je donerais l'empire,
Et mon char53, et mon septre, et mon peuple a genoux,"
and he ran to meet her.
He never dared to do more than to take both her chubby67 brown hands, nor to say more than "You are very sweet, you are very very good." And she never went further than to look at him, walk with him, laugh with him, and say to him, "You are not like the others." What experiences there had been in the life of this girl of thirteen goodness alone knows. He never asked her, he was too sure of her.
He learned French from her as one bird feeds from another's bill, or as one who looks at his image in a fountain, as he drinks from it.
One day, as mother and son were at breakfast, she glanced quietly across at him. "I heard of an excellent preparatory school of mechanics at Rouen," she said, "so I wrote to inquire about it, and here is the answer. I approve of it in all respects, as you will do when you read it. I think that we shall go to Rouen; what do you say to it?"
He grew first red, then white; then put down his bread, his table napkin; got up and left the room. Later in the day she asked him whether he would not read the letter; he left her without answering. At last, just as he was going to meet Lucie on the quay, she said, and this time with determination, that they were to leave in the course of an hour. She had already packed up; as they stood there the man came to fetch the luggage. At that moment he felt that he could thoroughly understand why his father had beaten her.
As they sat in the carriage which took them to the station he suffered keenly. It could not nave68 been worse, he thought, if his mother had stabbed him with a knife. He did not sit beside her in the railway carriage.
During the first days at Rouen he would not answer when she spoke to him, nor ask a single question. He had adopted her own tactics; he carried them through with a cruelty of which he was not aware.
For a long time he had been disposed to criticise69 her; now that this criticism was extended to all that she said or did, the spirit of accusation70 tinctured her whole life; their joint71 past seemed altered and debased.
His father's bent72 form, in the log chair on the hairless skin, malodorous and dirty, rose up before him, in vivid contrast with his mother in her well appointed, airy, perfumed rooms!
When Rafael stood by his father's body he had felt the same thing—that the old man had been badly treated. He himself had been encouraged to neglect his father, to shun73 him, to evade74 his orders. At that time he had laid the blame on the people on the estate; now he put it all down to his mother's account. His father had certainly adored her once, and this feeling had changed into wild self-consuming hatred75. What had happened? He did not know; but he could not but admit that his mother would have tried the patience of Job.
He pictured to himself how Lucie would come running with her flowers, search for him over the whole quay, farther and farther every time, standing76 still at last. He could not think of it without tears, and without a feeling of bitterness.
But a child is a child. It was not a life-long grief. As the place was new and historically interesting, and as lessons had now begun and his mother was always with him, this feeling wore off, but the mutual77 restraint was still there. The critical spirit which had first been roused in England never afterwards left Rafael.
The hours of study which they passed together produced good results. Beginning as her pupil, he had ended by becoming her teacher. She was anxious to keep up with him, and this was an advantage to him, on account of her almost too minute accuracy, but still more from her intelligent questions. Apart from study they passed many pleasant hours together, but they both knew that something was missing in their conversation which could never be there again.
At longer or shorter intervals78 a shy silence interrupted this intercourse79. Sometimes it was he, sometimes she, who, for some cause or other, often a most trivial one, elected not to reply, not to ask a question, not to see. When they were good friends he appreciated the best side of her character, the self-sacrificing life which she led for him. When they were not friends it was exactly the opposite. When they were friends, he, as a rule, did whatever she wished. He tried to atone80 for the past. He was in the land of courtesy and influenced by its teaching. When he was not friends with her he behaved as badly as possible. He early got among bad companions and into dissipated habits; he was the very child of Rebellion. At times he had qualms81 of conscience on account of it.
She guessed this, and wished him to guess that she guessed it.
"I perceive a strange atmosphere here, fie! Some one has mixed their atmosphere with yours, fie!" And she sprinkled him with scent82.
He turned as red as fire and, in his shame and misery, did not know which way to look. But if he attempted to speak she became as stiff as a poker83, and, raising her small hand, "Taisez-vous des egards, sil vous plait."
It must be said in her excuse that, notwithstanding the daring books which she had written, she had had no experience of real life; she knew no form of words for such an occasion. It came at last to this pass, that she, who had at one time wished to control his whole life and every thought in it, and who would not share him with any one, not even with a book, gradually became unwilling84 to have any relations with him outside his studies.
The French language especially lends itself to formal intercourse and diplomacy85. They grasped this fact from the first. It may, indeed, have contributed to form their mutual life. It was more equitable86 and caused fewer collisions. At the slightest disagreement it was at once "Monsieur mon fils" or simply "Monsieur," or "Madame ma mere43," or "Madame."
At one time his health seemed likely to suffer: his rapid growth and the studies, to which she kept him very closely, were too much for his strength.
But just then something remarkable87 occurred. At the time when Rafael was nineteen he was one day in a French chemical factory, and, as it were in a flash, saw how half the power used in the machinery88 might be saved. The son of the owner who had brought him there was a fellow-student. To him he confided89 his discovery. They worked it out together with feverish90 excitement to the most minute details. It was very complex, for it was the working of the factory itself which was involved. The scheme was carefully gone into by the owner, his son, and their assistants together, and it was decided91 to try it. It was entirely92 successful; LESS than half the motive93 power now sufficed.
Rafael was away at the time that it was inaugurated; he had gone down a mine. His mother was not with him; he never took her down mines with him. As soon as ever he returned home he hurried off with her to see the result of his work. They saw everything, and they both blushed at the respect shown to them by the workmen. They were quite touched when, the owner being called, they heard his expressions of boundless delight. Champagne94 flowed for them, accompanied by the warmest thanks. The mother received a beautiful bouquet95. Excited by the wine and the congratulations, proud of his recognition as a genius, Rafael left the place with his mother on his arm. It seemed to him as though he were on one side, and all the rest of the world on the other. His mother walked happily beside him, with her bouquet in her hand. Rafael wore a new overcoat—one after his own heart, very long and faced with silk, and of which he was excessively proud. It was a clear winter's day; the sun shone on the silk, and on something more as well.
"There is not a speck96 on the sky, mother," he said.
"Nor one on your coat either," she retorted; for there had been a great many on his old one, and each had had its history.
He was too big now to be turned to ridicule97, and too happy as well. She heard him humming to himself: it was the Norwegian national air. They came back to the town again as from Elysium. All the passers-by looked at them: people quickly detect happiness. Besides Rafael was a head taller than most of them and fairer in complexion98. He walked quickly along beside his elegant mother, and looked across the Boulevard as though from a sunny height.
"There are days on which one feels oneself a different person," he said.
"There are days on which one receives so much," she answered, pressing his arm.
They went home, threw aside their wraps, and looked at one another. Sketches99 of the machinery which they had just seen lay about, as well as some rough drawings. These she collected and made into a roll.
"Rafael," she said, and drew herself up, half laughing, half trembling, "kneel; I wish to knight100 you."
It did not seem unnatural101 to him; he did so.
"Noblesse oblige," she said, and let the roll of paper approach his head; but therewith she dropped it and burst into tears.
He spent a merry evening with his friends, and was enthusiastically applauded. But as he lay in bed that night he felt utterly102 despondent103. The whole thing might, after all, have been a mere chance. He had seen so much, had acquired so much information; it was no discovery that he had made. What was it, then? He was certainly not a genius; that must be an exaggeration. Could one imagine a genius without a victor's confidence, or had his peculiar104 life destroyed that confidence? This anxiety which constantly intruded105 itself; this bad conscience; this dreadful, vile107 conscience; this ineradicable dread106; was it a foreboding? Did it point to the future?
It was about half a year after this that his desultory108 studies became concentrated on electricity, and after a time this took them to Munich. During the course of these studies he began to write, quite spontaneously. The students had formed a society, and Rafael was expected to contribute a paper. But his contribution was so original that they begged him to show it to the professor, and this encouraged him greatly. It was the professor, too, who had his first article printed. A Norwegian technical periodical accepted a subsequent one, and this was the external influence which turned his thoughts once more towards Norway. Norway rose before him as the promised land of electricity. The motive power of its countless109 waterfalls was sufficient for the whole world! He saw his country during the winter darkness gleaming with electric lustre110. He saw her, too, the manufactory of the world, the possessor of navies. Now he had something to go home for!
His mother did not share his love for their country, and had no desire to live in Norway. But the money which she had saved up for his education bad been spent long ago. Hellebergene had had its share. The estate did not yield an equivalent, for it was essentially111 a timbered estate, and the trees on it were still immature112.
So it was to be home! A few years alone at Hellebergene was just what he wished for. But—something always occurred to prevent their departure at the time fixed113 for it. First he was detained by an invention which he wished to patent. Up to the present time he had only sketched114 out ideas which others had adopted; now it was to be different. The invention was duly patented and handed over to an agent to sell; but still they did not start. What was the hindrance115? Another invention with a fresh patent more likely to sell than the first, which unfortunately did not go off. This patent was also taken out, which again cost money, and was handed over to the agent to be sold. Could he not start now? Well, yes, he thought he could. But Fru Kaas soon realised that he was not serious, so she sought the help of a young relative, Hans Ravn, an engineer, like most of the Ravns. Rafael liked Hans, for he was himself a Ravn in temperament116, a thing that he had not realised before; it was quite a revelation to him. He had believed that the Ravns were like his mother, but now found that she greatly differed from them. To Hans Ravn Fru Kaas said plainly that now they must start. The last day of May was the date fixed on, and this Hans was to tell every one, for it would make Rafael bestir himself, his mother thought, if this were known everywhere. Hans Ravn spread this news far and near, partly because it was his province to do so, partly because he hoped it would be the occasion of a farewell entertainment such as had never been seen. A banquet actually did take place amid general enthusiasm, which ended in the whole company forming a procession to escort their guest to his house. Here they encountered a crowd of officers who were proceeding117 home in the same manner. They nearly came to blows, but fraternised instead, and the engineers cheered the officers and the officers the engineers.
The next day the history of the two entertainments and the collision between the guests went the round of the papers.
This produced results which Fru Kaas had not foreseen. The first was a very pleasant one. The professor who had had Rafael's first article published drove up to the door, accompanied by his family. He mounted the stairs, and asked her if she would not, in their company, once more visit the prettiest parts of Munich and its vicinity. She felt flattered, and accepted the invitation. As they drove along they talked of nothing but Rafael: partly about his person, for he was the darling of every lady, partly about the future which lay before him. The professor said that he had never had a more gifted pupil. Fru Kaas had brought an excellent binocular glass with her, which she raised to her eyes from time to time to conceal118 her emotion, and their hearty119 praise seemed to flood the landscape and buildings with sunshine.
The little party lunched together, and drove home in the afternoon.
When Fru Kaas re-entered her room, she was greeted by the scent of flowers. Many of their friends who had not till now known when they were to leave had wished to pay them some compliment. Indeed, the maid said that the bell had been ringing the whole morning. A little later Rafael and Hans Ravn came in with one or two friends. They proposed to dine together. The sale of the last patent seemed to be assured, and they wished to celebrate the event. Fru Kaas was in excellent spirits, so off they went.
They dined in the open air with a number of other people round them. There was music and merriment, and the subdued120 hum of distant voices rose and fell in the twilight121. When the lamps were lighted, they had on one side the glare of a large town, on the other the semi-darkness was only relieved by points of light; and this was made the subject of poetical122 allusions123 in speeches to the friends who were so soon to leave them.
Just then two ladies slowly passed near Rafael's chair. Fru Kaas, who was sitting opposite, noticed them, but he did not. When they had gone a short distance they stood still and waited, but did not attract his attention. Then they came slowly back again, passing close behind his chair, but still in vain. This annoyed Fru Kaas. Her individuality was so strong that her silence cast a shadow over the whole party; they broke up.
The next morning Rafael was out again on business connected with the patent. The bell rang, and the maid came in with a bill; it had been brought the previous day as well, she said. It was from one of the chief restaurateurs of the town, and was by no means a small one. Fru Kaas had no idea that Rafael owed money—least of all to a restaurateur. She told the maid to say that her son was of age, and that she was not his cashier. There was another ring—the maid reappeared with a second bill, which had also been brought the day before. It was from a well-known wine merchant; this, too, was not a small one. Another ring; this time it was a bill for flowers and by no means a trifle. This, too, had been brought the day before. Fru Kaas read it twice, three times, four times: she could not realise that Rafael owed money for flowers—what did he want them for? Another ring; now it was a bill from a jeweller. Fru Kaas became so nervous at the ringing and the bills that she took to flight. Here, then, was the explanation of their postponed124 departure: he was held captive; this was the reason for all his anxiety about selling the patent. He had to buy his freedom. She was hardly in the street when an unpretending little old woman stepped up to her, and asked timidly if this might be Frau von Kas? Another bill, thought Fru Kaas, eyeing her closely. She reminded one of a worn-out rose-bush with a few faded blossoms on it: she seemed poor and inexperienced in all save humility125.
"What do you want with me?" inquired Fru Kaas sympathetically, resolved to pay the poor thing at once, whatever it might be.
The little woman begged "Tausend Mal um Verzeihung," but she was "Einer Beamten-Wittwe" and had read in the paper that the young Von Kas was leaving, and both she and her daughter were in such despair that she had resolved to come to Frau von Kas, who was the only one—and here she began to cry.
"What does your daughter want from me?" asked Fru Kaas rather less gently.
"Ach! tausend Mal um Verzeihung gnadige Frau," her daughter was married to Hofrath von Rathen—"ihrer grossen Schonheit wegen"—ah, she was so unhappy, for Hofrath von Rathen drank and was cruel to her. Herr von Kas had met her at the artists' fete—"Und so wissen Sie zwei so junge, reizende Leute." She looked up at Fru Kaas through her tears—looked up as though from a rain-splashed cellar window; but Fru Kaas had reverted126 to her abrupt127 manner, and as if from an upper storey the poor little woman heard, "What does your daughter want with my son?"
"Tausend Mal um Verzeihung," but it had seemed to them that her daughter might go with them to Norway, Norway was such a free country. "Und die zwei Jungen haben sich so gern."
"Has he promised her this?" said Fru Kaas, with haughty128 coldness.
"Nein, nein, nein," was the frightened reply. They two, mother and daughter, had thought of it that day. They had read in the paper that the young Von Kas was going away. "Herr Gott in Himmel!" if her daughter could thus be rid at once of all her troubles! Frau von Kas had not an idea of what a faithful soul, what a tender wife her daughter was.
Fru Kaas crossed hastily over to the opposite pavement. She did not go quite so fast as a person in chase of his hat, but it seemed to the poor little creature, left in the lurch129, with folded hands and frightened eyes, that she had vanished faster than her hopes. On the other side of the waystood a pretty young flower-girl who was waiting for the elegant lady hurrying in her direction. "Bitte, gnadige Frau." Here is another, thought the hunted creature. She looked round for help, she flew up the street, away, away—when another lady popped up right in front of her, evidently trying to catch her eye. Fru Kaas dashed into the middle of the street and took refuge in a carriage.
"Where to?" asked the driver.
This she had not stopped to consider, but nevertheless answered boldly,
"The Bavaria!"
In point of fact she had had an idea of seeing the view of the city and its environs from "Bavaria's" lofty head before leaving. There were a great many people there, but Fru Kaas's turn to go up soon came; but just as she had reached the head of the giantess and was going to look out, she heard a lady whisper close behind her, "That is his mother." It was probable that there were several mothers up there in "Bavaria's" head beside Fru Kaas, nevertheless she gathered her skirts together and hurried down again.
Rafael came home to dine with his mother; he was in the highest spirits—he had sold his patent. But he found her sitting in the farthest corner of the sofa, with her big binocular glass in her hand. When he spoke to her she did not answer, but turned the glass with the small end towards him; she wished him to look as far off as possible.
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1
par
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| n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的 | |
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2
impoverished
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| adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化 | |
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3
devastation
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| n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤 | |
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4
fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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5
athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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6
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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7
prominence
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| n.突出；显著；杰出；重要 | |
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8
foretell
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| v.预言，预告，预示 | |
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9
wilful
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| adj.任性的，故意的 | |
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10
audacity
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| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
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11
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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12
snip
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| n.便宜货，廉价货，剪，剪断 | |
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13
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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14
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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15
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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16
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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17
maliciously
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| adv.有敌意地 | |
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18
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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19
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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20
contrite
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| adj.悔悟了的，后悔的，痛悔的 | |
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21
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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22
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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23
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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24
deluge
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| n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥 | |
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25
paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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26
ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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27
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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28
artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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29
waived
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| v.宣布放弃( waive的过去式和过去分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等） | |
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30
penitence
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| n.忏悔，赎罪；悔过 | |
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31
boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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32
yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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33
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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34
disconsolate
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| adj.忧郁的，不快的 | |
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35
wade
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| v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉 | |
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36
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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37
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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38
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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39
jaunty
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| adj．愉快的，满足的；adv.心满意足地，洋洋得意地；n.心满意足；洋洋得意 | |
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40
boisterous
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| adj.喧闹的，欢闹的 | |
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41
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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42
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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44
stylishly
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| adv.时髦地，新式地 | |
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45
artifice
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| n.妙计，高明的手段；狡诈，诡计 | |
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46
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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47
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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48
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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49
cholera
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| n.霍乱 | |
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50
inhaled
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| v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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51
ozone
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| n.臭氧，新鲜空气 | |
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52
dame
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| n.女士 | |
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53
char
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| v.烧焦；使...燃烧成焦炭 | |
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54
sprightliness
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| n.愉快，快活 | |
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55
confiding
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| adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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56
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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57
flirtation
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| n.调情，调戏，挑逗 | |
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58
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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59
indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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60
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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61
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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62
symbolic
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| adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的 | |
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63
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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64
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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65
languishing
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| a. 衰弱下去的 | |
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66
quay
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| n.码头，靠岸处 | |
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67
chubby
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| adj.丰满的，圆胖的 | |
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68
nave
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| n.教堂的中部；本堂 | |
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69
criticise
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| v.批评，评论；非难 | |
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70
accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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71
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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72
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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73
shun
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| vt.避开，回避，避免 | |
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74
evade
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| vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避 | |
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75
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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76
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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77
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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78
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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79
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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80
atone
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| v.赎罪，补偿 | |
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81
qualms
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| n.不安；内疚 | |
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82
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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83
poker
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| n.扑克；vt.烙制 | |
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84
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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85
diplomacy
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| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
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86
equitable
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| adj.公平的；公正的 | |
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87
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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88
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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89
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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90
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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91
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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92
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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93
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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94
champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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95
bouquet
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| n.花束，酒香 | |
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96
speck
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| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
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97
ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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98
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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99
sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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100
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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101
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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102
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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103
despondent
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| adj.失望的，沮丧的，泄气的 | |
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104
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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105
intruded
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| n.侵入的，推进的v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的过去式和过去分词 )；把…强加于 | |
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106
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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107
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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108
desultory
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| adj.散漫的，无方法的 | |
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109
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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110
lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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111
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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112
immature
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| adj.未成熟的，发育未全的，未充分发展的 | |
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113
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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114
sketched
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| v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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115
hindrance
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| n.妨碍，障碍 | |
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116
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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117
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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118
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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119
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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120
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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121
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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122
poetical
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| adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的 | |
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123
allusions
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| 暗指，间接提到( allusion的名词复数 ) | |
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124
postponed
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| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） | |
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125
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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126
reverted
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| 恢复( revert的过去式和过去分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
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127
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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128
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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129
lurch
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| n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行 | |
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