Chapter II: The Hartz (2)

Without keeping to the path, he hastened straight to the cottage, and Adelbert followed him through thick and thin, for the threatened storm was coming up quickly, and the rolling thunder sounded nearer and nearer. Suddenly a rushing noise was heard through the forest, and the air became dark as night, although the sun was still above the horizon.

"What is that?" asked Adelbert fearfully.

"Oh, it is only the storm sighing in the tops of the trees," said Bastel. "It will be here directly, do you hear?"

Adelbert listened, and the roaring and rushing came swelling up from the distance, ever louder and louder, like the sound of the surf that the wind hurls against the rocks. And now it broke immediately above the two boys; the tall heads of the trees bent like weak reeds, the boughs cracked and strained, and clouds of leaves were whirled through the air. At the same time, the thunder rolled and crashed with threefold fury, and woke the echoes from valley and cliff, whilst the lightning flashed with dazzling brightness out of the dark clouds.

Adelbert was pale as death; he had never seen such a storm in his life; mountains and hills seemed to be whirled round by the fury of the storm, as if the end of the world were come. Awe-struck and frightened, he remained rooted to the spot.

"What are you stopping for?" cried Bastel to him. "Run, I say, the rain will come down like a waterspout directly. There! The first drops are beginning to fall; luckily, we have not much farther to go."

As Adelbert could not regain his courage directly, Bastel took him by the arm and dragged him unceremoniously along. "We can hardly see or hear," said he, "but yonder lies the cottage."

The sight of the sheltering roof reanimated Adelbert's failing courage, and he hastened on at Bastel's side, and by great efforts they reached the door just in the nick of time, for hardly had they passed the threshold, when the rain came down in torrents, and the very foundations of the earth were shaken by the fearful claps of thunder and the raging storm.

"Thank Heaven, we escaped it by a hair's breadth," said Bastel to his parents, who had been watching rather anxiously for the boy's return, as he stopped into the parlour and shook the rain-drops off him. "That is a bad storm, father."

"Yes, indeed; I am all the more glad now that I sent Hans to Ilsenburg," answered the charcoal-burner. "Your parents would be in sad anxiety, if they did not know you were safely housed, Adelbert; you must see now how foolish it was to wander into the forest in such a thoughtless manner."

Adelbert nodded, and looked very penitent; besides, he did not feel quite easy, for the storm, the lightning, and the claps of thunder raged faster than ever, and the rain fell in streams. At home in his father's house in Hamburg, where there was a lightning-conductor, he always felt secure, but here, in the forest, it seemed very dangerous, and, to tell the truth, he was afraid. The life of a charcoal-burner did not seem so desirable as he had before thought, and he began to see its disadvantages.

After the storm had raged for an hour or more, the thunder subsided into distant grumbling, though the rain did not stop, but pattered continually on the leaves of the trees.

"It is over," said the old woodman, as he looked out for a moment into the dark night, "at least, the thunder is, and now we can think about supper; how does the trout get on, mother?"

"It will be ready in a minute," answered the woman, hastening actively into the kitchen.

They talked a little at supper, but Adelbert soon felt so dead tired that he closed his eyes.

"The dustman has come," said Master Severin laughing, "take him to bed, mother, and let him sleep, he must be tired, for he left home betimes this morning."

Adelbert threw himself on the bed prepared for him, and was instantly so fast asleep that the crashing thunder itself would not have awakened him.

On the following morning, the cloudless blue sky smiled again on the newly-refreshed earth, but the ground was so saturated with wet, and the brooks so swollen by the rain, that it was impossible for Adelbert to go all the way to Ilsenburg.

"You must wait till the middle of the day," said Master Severin, "by that time the water will have subsided and the ground dried up, then you can go, my lads. In the meantime come with me, you must help me to split logs to build up a fresh kiln, Bastel, as Hans has not come back yet; the weather has kept him, I daresay."

"Yes, father," said Bastel willingly.

And Adelbert also asked to be allowed to help with the work. "It will be great fun to be a charcoal-burner for a little while," said he.

"You!" said Severin, laughing. "Hardly, I should think; but try it by all means, you will soon be tired of your extraordinary fancy."

After the simple breakfast, consisting only of goat's milk, with bread and cheese, both the boys accompanied the charcoal-burner to the kiln.

Severin pointed out to each of them a great heap of wood already sawn into logs, that had to be split, and provided them with the necessary tools, axes, and mallets. Bastel set to work bravely, and Adelbert took great pains to follow his example; he chopped and chopped with all his might at the logs, without being able to hew a single one in pieces; whilst Bastel had already quite a heap of split logs lying round him.

Adelbert was ashamed of his awkwardness, and redoubled his efforts, but gained nothing save tired arms, wounded fingers, and blistered hands.

At last, quite discouraged, he threw down the axe.

"It won't do," he sighed, as he wiped the perspiration from his face. "I see now, Severin, that you are right,—I am not fit for a charcoal-burner; and besides, I only like the forest in fine weather; after all, I think I prefer a town life."

"I thought you would be cured of your fancy before you were an hour older," said the charcoal-burner, laughing heartily. "Yes, yes, 'every man in his place.' You are about as likely to make a charcoal-burner as an oak-tree to turn into a birch. Providence has ordered it so. The good God gives to each one different talents and powers; and every one should be brought up and trained in his proper sphere, or he will be good for nothing.

"Bastel there, I am thinking, will be a first-rate charcoal-burner one of these days, and doubtless Heaven will also mark out your path in life; you will discover all in good time what you are fit for. One cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, or a sow's ear out of a silk purse, though both are useful in their way; that is an old saying, but a very true one.

"Now, let alone the axe, and amuse yourself some other way, if you can. Up yonder you will find lots of strawberries, go and get some, they are ripe and sweet, and when Bastel has done what he is about, he shall come and help you."

Adelbert followed the old man's advice, and betook himself to the strawberry-bed. Whilst he was gathering the luscious fruit and putting it in a little basket that Bastel had given him, he thought over the words of the simple-minded but sensible charcoal-burner, and was more and more convinced, that with his plain, straightforward common sense, he had hit the right nail on the head.

"I am a very foolish boy, with all my ridiculous whims and fancies," he argued, rather ashamed. "I have annoyed my dear father and mother with them, and will try to make up for it in the future. From this time, I will be guided by my father, he will know what is best for me, and I will give up all other nonsense after this; that's what I'll do."

Two hours passed quickly whilst he was thus engaged, and he was in the act of coming back to the kiln with his basket full of the most beautiful strawberries, when the sound of a well-known voice filled him with surprise and delight.

"Adelbert, Adelbert! Where are you?"

"Here I am, mother," cried he joyfully.

And bounding down the slope, he threw himself into the outstretched arms of his mother, who overwhelmed him with kisses and tender reproaches; whilst his father said a few words, to which Adelbert listened very attentively and humbly.

"Forgive me, my dear father and mother, for all my past follies," he cried, full of repentance, "I see now how silly and absurd I have made myself with all my ridiculous whims and fancies; this honest man, who so kindly received me into his house, when I was wandering like a fool in the forest, has opened my eyes; only forgive me this once, and as long as I live, I will never try again to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear."

His father laughed, whilst his mother once more pressed her son to her heart.

"Make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!" cried Herr Brockmann. "What does that mean?"

"Come to Master Severin, father; he will explain it all to you."

Herr Brockmann turned to the old charcoal-burner, shook him warmly by the hand, and entered into conversation with him, in which he appeared soon to become much interested. Adelbert in the meantime told his mother all that had passed since they parted, and she looked at Bastel in the most friendly manner, as Adelbert praised his conduct, and told gratefully of all his kindness.

"We are much indebted to you, my dear boy," said she, "you must come back to Ilsenburg with us, and remain as long as we stay. But you, naughty Adelbert, what sorrow and anxiety you have caused us! If your kind host had not sent the messenger, we should not have closed our eyes all night, especially after the dreadful storm in the evening. Early this morning, we started from Ilsenburg with donkeys and horses, as the messenger told us there was no carriage-road up here into the forest. And now come and dress yourself properly, for at present you are not fit to be seen. My goodness, Adelbert, what a sight you are!—Ragged and dirty as the veriest little beggar-boy. Luckily we have brought linen and clean clothes, and all that is necessary; come, be quick and change your things, that you may look like a decent boy again."

Adelbert accompanied his mother to the cottage, one of the baggage-horses was unloaded, and he soon reappeared clean and tidy, as he had been when he started the morning before from Ilsenburg.

Bastel looked at him admiringly, but the old charcoal-burner said, laughing,—

"There now, that fine gentleman is just fit to burn charcoal, that is the sort of thing we are used to up here in the forest; eh, Bastel?"

They all laughed, Bastel included, but Adelbert hung down his head ashamed.

"It serves me right to be laughed at and made fun of," said he, "I have deserved it, but it shall not happen again; 'every man in his place,' you have said, Master Severin, and I shall remember that."

"It will be the best thing you can do," said his father drily. "But now we will let bygones be bygones, and hope that experience has at last taught you wisdom. Let us talk of something else. We have only an hour or two to stay here."

So they chatted away whilst they ate the good things which Adelbert's parents had brought from Ilsenburg. Afterwards, they had a full account of all the little adventures that had befallen Adelbert during his wanderings in the forest. And Herr Brockmann listened with marked attention to all that he said of the kind-hearted hospitality of his host, and of Bastel's good nature.

"I see we are much indebted to our new friends," said he, "and it will give me the greatest pleasure if I can be of use to them. Tell me candidly, Master Severin, what I can do for you; speak freely, for I am rich, and would gladly do what I could to help an honest man like you."

The charcoal-burner looked embarrassed, and was obliged to consider whether he had anything to wish for; at last he said, "If I had land and gold, what good would it do me in the end? I am no longer young, and have learnt nothing but how to burn my charcoal. Certainly, if the tar-boiling and potash-works, and all the rest of it, which make the woods so valuable to the Count up yonder, belonged to me, I know all about that, and could go on in the old way: but I am too old to learn anything new, and I am content to earn my daily bread in my accustomed manner, till it please the good God to close my eyes. That's how it is, sir, and you must not take it amiss, and I thank you heartily for your kindness, but I will remain here as I always have been, sir."

Herr Brockmann shook his head, glanced at Bastel, and whispered a few words to his wife, to which she replied with a nod of approval.

"Well, well," said he, turning again to Severin, "perhaps you are right not to alter the style of living to which you have been so long accustomed. But there is your son Bastel; he is young, and, from what I have seen and heard, possesses a good understanding and a clear head, it is a pity he should be buried here in the forest; let me take him back with me to Hamburg. I will keep him and send him to school with my son, and some day I will make a merchant of him."

"That requires a good deal of consideration," said Severin, in answer to this well-meant proposition. "If I felt sure that it was for the boy's advantage, I would not say a word against it. But you see, sir, Bastel is a forest flower, and forest flowers belong to the woods, and very seldom thrive in the close air of the city. There are exceptions, I daresay, and perhaps this may be one, as you are kind enough to interest yourself in the boy, sir, but it must be considered. What do you think about it yourself, Bastel? And you, mother? You have a voice in the matter too."

Bastel's eyes sparkled and his cheeks glowed. Adelbert had already told him many strange and wonderful things of the life and customs in the great city, and he longed to become acquainted with all the grandeur he described.

"I should like to try it, father," said he, after a little consideration.

Master Severin had not apparently expected such an answer, for he was not a little astonished.

"What!" said he. "Have you forgotten going to Wernigerode, Bastel, and how you could not get away quick enough to come back to the woods and mountains?"

"Yes, yes, father, I remember quite well," answered the boy rather embarrassed; "but, after all that Adelbert has told me, I see it is quite different in Hamburg: the large ships in the harbour, the magnificent houses, and the great wide sea. All that and much more besides, not to be found in Wernigerode, I should like to see and become acquainted with."

Master Severin shook his head. "I do not think you will like it," said he; "but I will not stand in your light, Bastel. That be far from me. And you, mother, what do you think?"

"I don't know, I don't know," answered the simple-minded woman; "let me alone and don't ask me, it is always hard for a mother to part with her child. But if it is for Bastel's good, then the yearning mother's heart must be still. Do what you please, you two, only don't ask me."

"The parting is not for ever, my good woman," answered Madame Brockmann, in a friendly tone. "Bastel will come home again after a time, and then you will be pleased to find him a clever and accomplished young man."

"But will he wear as fine clothes as Adelbert?" asked the mother anxiously. "And live in your grand house, and eat at your table?"

"Certainly he will," said Herr Brockmann interposing; "I promise you he shall be treated in everything as my own son; you may rely upon that and it will not be to his loss."

"Well, be it so then," said the woman with a sigh, "his welfare comes first of all. I will not hinder you, Bastel, only you must not quite forget the old home in the woods, and the poor old father and mother."

"Oh no, mother, no fear of that," cried Bastel in heartfelt tones; "and besides, I can always come back if I do not like Hamburg. Is it not so, Herr Brockmann? You will not compel me to stay?"

"With regard to that, you will always have your own way; and should it be the case, I shall make it my business to see that you return safely and comfortably. So do not be anxious, good people, I have Bastel's welfare in view, and I do not think you will ever repent having trusted your boy to our care."

"Very well, so be it then," exclaimed Master Severin, "I will say nothing more against it; nevertheless, I stick to what I have always said, 'Every man in his place,' and wild flowers belong to the woods. But I see Bastel wishes it, and you, sir, mean it so kindly, therefore it shall be so: take him with you, and let him try how he likes the great wide world. If the worst come to the worst, he has always one sure refuge,—his old home and his parents' hearts."

So it was decided that Bastel should leave his native woods and mountains, and be launched on the broad stream of public life.

Herr Brockmann did not wish to delay his departure, so the hour of separation soon arrived. Some tears were shed, but as they had both agreed to Bastel's determination, his parents restrained their feelings as much as possible, for they said to themselves, "It is for his good."

The next night Bastel slept for the first time in his life under a strange roof, and in as soft and luxurious a bed as he had never even seen before. So the wild flower was transplanted from its native woodland soil to the cultivated gardens of civilization. The future will show how it throve.