"Christmas-tide,
When in the wood the snow shines bright."
OEHLENSCHLAGER'S Helge
We again let several weeks pass by; it was Christmas Eve, which brings us the beautiful Christmas festival. We find the two friends taking a walk.
Describe to an inhabitant of the south a country where the earth appears covered with the purest Carrara marble, where the tree twigs1 resemble white branches of coral sprinkled with diamonds, and above a sky as blue as that belonging to the south, and he will say that is a fairy land. Couldst thou suddenly remove him from his dark cypresses2 and olive-trees to the north, where the fresh snow lies upon the earth, where the white hoar-frost has powdered the trees over, and the sun shines down from the blue heaven, then would he recognize the description and call the north a fairy land.
This was the splendor3 which the friends admired. The large trees upon the fortification-walls appeared crystallized when seen against the blue sky. The Sound was not yet frozen over; vessels4, illuminated5 by the red evening sun, glided6 past with spread sails. The Swedish coast seemed to have approached nearer; one might see individual houses in Landskrona. It was lovely, and on this account there were many promenaders upon the walls and the Langelinie.
"Sweden seems so near that one might swim over to it!" said Wilhelm.
"The distance would be too far," answered Otto; "but I should love to plunge8 among the deep blue waters yonder."
"How refreshing9 it is," said Wilhelm, "when the water plays about one's cheeks! Whilst I was at home, I always swam in the Great Belt. Yes, you are certainly half a fish when you come into the water."
"I!" repeated Otto, and was silent; but immediately added, with a kind of embarrassment10 which was at other times quite foreign to him, and from which one might infer how unpleasant confessing any imperfection was to him, "I do not swim."
"That must be learned in summer!" said Wilhelm.
"There is so much to learn," answered Otto; "swimming will certainly be the last thing." He now suddenly turned toward the fortress12, and stood still. "Only see how melancholy13 and quiet!" said he, and led the conversation again to the surrounding scenery. "The sentinel before the prison paces so quietly up and down, the sun shines upon his bayonet! How this reminds me of a sweet little poem of Heine's; it is just as though he described this fortress and this soldier, but in the warmth of summer: one sees the picture livingly before one, as here; the weapon glances in the sun, and the part ends so touchingly,--'Ich wollt', er schosse mich todt!' It is here so romantically beautiful! on the right the animated15 promenade7, and the view over the Sund; on the left, the desolate16 square, where the military criminals are shot, and close upon it the prison with its beam-fence. The sun scarcely shines through those windows. Yet, without doubt, the prisoner can see us walking here upon the wall."
"And envy our golden freedom!" said Wilhelm.
"Perhaps he derides17 it," answered Otto. "He is confined to his chamber18 and the small courts behind the beam-lattice; we are confined to the coast; we cannot fly forth19 with the ships into the mighty20, glorious world. We are also fastened with a chain, only ours is somewhat longer than that of the prisoner. But we will not think of this; let us go down to where the beautiful ladies are walking."
"To see and to be seen," cried Wilhelm. "'Spectatum veniunt; veniunt spectentur ut ipsae,' as Ovid says."
The friends quitted the wall.
"There comes my scholar, little Jonas!" cried Wilhelm. "The boy was better dressed than at his last appearance; quickly he pulled his little cap off and stood still: a young girl in a wretched garb21 held him by the hand.
"Good day, my clever lad!" said Wilhelm, and his glance rested on the girl: she was of a singularly elegant form; had she only carried herself better she would have been a perfect beauty. It was Psyche22 herself who stood beside Cupid. She smiled in a friendly manner; the little lad had certainly told her who the gentlemen were; but she became crimson23, and cast down her eyes when Wilhelm looked back after her: he beckoned24 to Jonas, who immediately came to him. The girl was his sister, he said, and was called Eva. Wilhelm nodded to her, and the friends went on.
"That was a beautiful girl!" said Wilhelm, and looked back once more. "A rosebud25 that one could kiss until it became a full blown rose!"
"During the experiment the rosebud might easily be broken!" answered Otto; "at least such is the case with the real flower. But do not look back again, that is a sin!"
"Sin?" repeated Wilhelm; "no, then it is a very innocent sin! Believe me, it flatters the little creature that we should admire her beauty. I can well imagine how enchanting26 a loving look from a rich young gentleman may be for a weak, feminine mind. The sweet words which one can say are as poison which enters the blood. I have still a clear conscience. Not ONE innocent soul have I poisoned!"
"And yet you are rich and young enough to do so," returned Otto, not without bitterness. "Our friends precede us with a good example: here come some of our own age; they are acquainted with the roses!"
"Good evening, thou good fellow!" was the greeting Wilhelm received from three or four of the young men.
"Are you on Thou-terms with all these?" inquired Otto.
"Yes," answered Wilhelm; "we became so at a carouse27. There all drank the Thou-brotherhood. I could not draw myself back. At other times I do not willingly give my 'thou' to any but my nearest friends. _Thou_ has something to my mind affectionate and holy. Many people fling it to the first person with whom they drink a glass. At the carouse I could not say no."
"And wherefore not?" returned Otto; "that would never have troubled me."
The friends now wandered on, arm-in-arm. Later in the evening we again meet with them together, and that at the house of a noble family, whose name and rank are to be found in the "Danish Court Calendar;" on which account it would be wanting in delicacy28 to mention the same, even in a story the events of which lie so near our hearts.
Large companies are most wearisome. In these there are two kinds of rank. Either you are riveted29 to a card-table, or placed against the wall where you must stand with your hat in your hand, or, later in the evening, with it at your feet, nay30, even must stand during supper. But this house was one of the most intellectual. Thou who dost recognize the house wilt31 also recognize that it is not to be reckoned with those,--
"Where each day's gossiping stale fish
Is served up daily for thy dish."
This evening we do not become acquainted with the family, but only with their beautiful Christmas festival.
The company was assembled in a large apartment; the shaded lamp burned dimly, but this was with the intention of increasing the effect when the drawing-room doors should open and the children joyfully32 press in together.
Wilhelm now stepped to the piano-forte; a few chords produced stillness and attention. To the sounds of low music there stepped forth from the side-doors three maidens33 arrayed in white; each wore a long veil depending from the back of her head,--one blue, the other red, and the third white. Each carried in her arms an urn11, and thus they represented fortune-tellers from the East. They brought good or ill luck, which each related in a little verse. People were to draw a number, and according to this would he receive his gift from the Christmas-tree. One of the maidens brought blanks--but which of them? now it was proved whether you were a child of fortune. All, even the children, drew their uncertain numbers: exception was only made with the family physician and a few elderly ladies of the family; these had a particular number stuck into their hands--their presents had been settled beforehand.
"Who brings me good luck?" inquired Otto, as the three pretty young girls approached him. The one with a white veil was Wilhelm's eldest34 sister, Miss Sophie, who was this winter paying a visit to the family. She resembled her brother. The white drapery about her head increased the expression of her countenance35. She rested her gaze firmly upon Otto, and, perhaps, because he was the friend of her brother, she raised her finger. Did she wish to warn or to challenge him? Otto regarded it as a challenge, thrust his hand into the urn, and drew out number 33. All were now provided. The girls disappeared, and the folding-doors of the drawing-room were opened.
A dazzling light streamed toward the guests. A splendid fir-tree, covered with burning tapers36, and hung over with tinsel-gold, gilt37 eggs and apples, almonds and grapes, dazzled the eye. On either side of the tree were grottoes of fir-trees and moss39, hung with red and blue paper lamps. In each grotto38 was an altar; upon one stood John of Bologna's floating Mercury; upon the other, a reduced cast in plaster of Thorwaldsen's Shepherd-boy. The steps were covered with presents, to which were attached the different numbers.
"Superbe! lovely!" resounded40 from all sides; and the happy children shouted for joy. People arranged themselves in a half-circle, one row behind the other. One of the cousins of the family now stepped forth, a young poet, who, if we mistake not, has since then appeared among the Anonymouses in "The New Year's Gift of Danish Poets." He was appareled this evening as one of the Magi, and recited a little poem which declared that, as each one had himself drawn41 out of the urn of Fate, no one could be angry, let him have procured42 for himself honor or derision--Fate, and not Merit, being here the ruler. Two little boys, with huge butterfly wings and in flowing garments, bore the presents to the guests. A number, which had been purposely given to one of the elder ladies, was now called out, and the boys brought forward a large, heavy, brown earthen jug43. To the same hung a direction the length of two sheets of paper, upon which was written, "A remedy against frost." The jug was opened, and a very nice boa taken out and presented to the lady.
"What number have you?" inquired Otto of Wilhelm's sister, who, freed from her long veil, now entered the room and took her place near him.
"Number 34," she answered. "I was to keep the number which remained over when the others had drawn."
"We are, then, neighbors in the chain of Fate," returned Otto; "I have number 33."
"Then one of us will receive something very bad!" said Sophie. "For, as much as I know, only every other number is good." At this moment their numbers were called out. The accompanying poem declared that only a poetical44, noble mind deserved this gift. It consisted of an illuminated French print, the subject a simple but touching14 idea. You saw a frozen lake, nothing but one expanse of ice as far as the horizon. The ice was broken, and near to the opening lay a hat with a red lining45, and beside it sat a dog with grave eyes, still and expectant. Around the broken opening in the ice were seen traces of the dog having scratched into the hard crust of ice. "Il attend toujours" was the simple motto.
"That is glorious!" exclaimed Otto. "An affecting thought! His master has sunk in the depth, and the faithful log yet awaits him. Had that picture only fallen to my lot!"
"It is lovely!" said Sophie, and a melancholy glance made the young girl still more beautiful.
Soon after Wilhelm's turn came.
"Open the packet, thou shalt see
The very fairest gaze on thee!"
ran the verse. He opened the packet, and found within a small mirror. "Yes, that was intended for a lady," said he; "in that case it would have spoken the truth! in my hands it makes a fool of me.
"For me nothing certainly remains46 but my number!" said Otto to his neighbor, as all the gifts appeared to be distributed.
"The last is number 33," said the cousin, and drew forth a roll of paper, which had been hidden among the moss. It was unrolled. It was an old pedigree of an extinct race. Quite at the bottom lay the knight47 with shield and armor, and out of his breast grew the many-branched tree with its shields and names. Probably it had been bought, with other rubbish, at some auction48, and now at Christmas, when every hole and corner was rummaged49 for whatever could be converted into fun or earnest, it had been brought out for the Christmas tree. The cousin read the following verse:--
"Art thou not noble?--then it in far better;
Thyself alone is thy ancestral crown.
And if thou come where blood gives honor's place,
This tree shall prove thee first of all thy race!
From this hour forth thy soul high rank hath won her,
Not will forget thy knighthood and thy honor."
"I congratulate you," said Wilhelm, laughing. "Now you will have to pay the nobility-tax!"
Several of the ladies who stood near him, smiling, also offered a kind of congratulation. Sophie alone remained silent, and examined the present of another lady--a pretty pincushion in the form of a gay butterfly.
The first row now rose to examine more nearly how beautifully the Christmas tree was adorned52. Sophie drew one of the ladies away with her.
"Let us look at the beautiful statues," said she; "the Shepherd-boy and the Mercury."
"That is not proper," whispered the lady; "but look there at the splendid large raisins53 on the tree!"
Sophie stepped before Thorwaldsen's Shepherd-boy. The lady whispered to a friend, "It looks so odd that she should examine the figures!"
"Ah!" replied the other, "she is a lover of the fine arts, as you well know. Only think! at the last exhibition she went with her brother into the great hall where all the plaster-casts stand, and looked at them!--the Hercules, as well as the other indecent figures! they were excellent, she said. That is being so natural; otherwise she is a nice girl."
Sophie approached them; both ladies made room for her, and invited her most lovingly to sit clown beside them. "Thou sweet girl!" they flatteringly exclaimed.
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1
twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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cypresses
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| n.柏属植物，柏树( cypress的名词复数 ) | |
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3
splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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4
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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5
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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promenade
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| n./v.散步 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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9
refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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10
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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11
urn
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| n.（有座脚的）瓮；坟墓；骨灰瓮 | |
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12
fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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13
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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14
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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15
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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16
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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17
derides
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| v.取笑，嘲笑( deride的第三人称单数 ) | |
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18
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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19
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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20
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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21
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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22
psyche
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| n.精神；灵魂 | |
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23
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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24
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25
rosebud
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| n.蔷薇花蕾，妙龄少女 | |
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enchanting
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| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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carouse
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| v.狂欢；痛饮；n.狂饮的宴会 | |
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28
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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29
riveted
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| 铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意 | |
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30
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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31
wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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32
joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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33
maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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34
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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35
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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36
tapers
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| （长形物体的）逐渐变窄( taper的名词复数 )； 微弱的光； 极细的蜡烛 | |
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37
gilt
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| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
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38
grotto
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| n.洞穴 | |
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39
moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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40
resounded
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| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
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41
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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42
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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43
jug
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| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 | |
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44
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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45
lining
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| n.衬里，衬料 | |
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46
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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47
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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48
auction
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| n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖 | |
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49
rummaged
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| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的过去式和过去分词 )； 已经海关检查 | |
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50
debtor
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| n.借方，债务人 | |
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51
renown
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| n.声誉，名望 | |
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52
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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53
raisins
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| n.葡萄干( raisin的名词复数 ) | |
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54
awry
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| adj.扭曲的，错的 | |
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