"Ofcourse,"thedoctorapologized,"youknowsomuchmoreaboutsuchthings。I’mafraiditwillberatherwastedonme。I’mnojudgeofmusic。"
"Nevermindthat。"Theyoungermanpulledhimselfupinhischair。"Shegetsitacrosstopeoplewhoaren’tjudges。That’sjustwhatshedoes。"Herelapsedintohisformerlassitude。"Ifyouwerestonedeaf,itwouldn’tallbewasted。It’sagreatdealtowatchher。Incidentally,youknow,sheisverybeautiful。Photographsgiveyounoidea。"
Dr。Archieclaspedhislargehandsunderhischin。"Oh,I’mcountingonthat。Idon’tsupposehervoicewillsoundnaturaltome。ProbablyIwouldn’tknowit。"
Ottenburgsmiled。"You’llknowit,ifyoueverknewit。
It’sthesamevoice,onlymoreso。You’llknowit。"
"Didyou,inGermanythattime,whenyouwroteme?
Sevenyearsago,now。Thatmusthavebeenattheverybeginning。"
"Yes,somewherenearthebeginning。ShesangoneoftheRhinedaughters。"Fredpausedanddrewhimselfupagain。"Sure,Iknewitfromthefirstnote。I’dheardagoodmanyyoungvoicescomeupoutoftheRhine,but,bygracious,Ihadn’theardonelikethat!"Hefumbledforanothercigarette。"Mahlerwasconductingthatnight。
Imethimashewasleavingthehouseandhadawordwithhim。`Interestingvoiceyoutriedoutthisevening,’I
said。Hestoppedandsmiled。`MissKronborg,youmean?
Yes,very。Sheseemstosingfortheidea。Unusualinayoungsinger。’I’dneverheardhimadmitbeforethatasingercouldhaveanidea。Shenotonlyhadit,butshegotitacross。TheRhinemusic,thatI’dknownsinceIwasaboy,wasfreshtome,vocalizedforthefirsttime。Yourealizedthatshewasbeginningthatlongstory,adequately,withtheendinview。Everyphraseshesangwasbasic。
ShesimplyWAStheideaoftheRhinemusic。"Ottenburgroseandstoodwithhisbacktothefire。"Andattheend,whereyoudon’tseethemaidensatall,thesamethingagain:twoprettyvoicesANDtheRhinevoice。"Fredsnappedhisfingersanddroppedhishand。
Thedoctorlookedupathimenviously。"Yousee,allthatwouldbelostonme,"hesaidmodestly。"Idon’tknowthedreamnortheinterpretationthereof。I’moutofit。It’stoobadthatsofewofheroldfriendscanappreciateher。"
"Takeatryatit,"Fredencouragedhim。"You’llgetindeeperthanyoucanexplaintoyourself。Peoplewithnopersonalinterestdothat。"
"Isuppose,"saidArchiediffidently,"thatcollegeGer—
man,gonetoseed,wouldn’thelpmeoutmuch。IusedtobeabletomakemyGermanpatientsunderstandme。"
"Sureitwould!"criedOttenburgheartily。"Don’tbe
aboveknowingyourlibretto。That’sallverywellformusicians,butcommonmortalslikeyouandmehavegottoknowwhatshe’ssingingabout。Getoutyourdictionaryandgoatitasyouwouldatanyotherproposition。Herdictionisbeautiful,andifyouknowthetextyou’llgetagreatdeal。Solongasyou’regoingtohearher,getallthat’scomingtoyou。YoubetinGermanypeopleknowtheirlibrettosbyheart!YouAmericansaresoafraidofstoopingtolearnanything。"
"IAMalittleashamed,"Archieadmitted。"Iguessthat’sthewaywemaskourgeneralignorance。However,I’llstoopthistime;I’mmoreashamednottobeabletofollowher。Thepapersalwayssayshe’ssuchafineac—
tress。"Hetookupthetongsandbegantorearrangethelogsthathadburnedthroughandfallenapart。"Isupposeshehaschangedagreatdeal?"heaskedabsently。
"We’veallchanged,mydearArchie,——shemorethanmostofus。Yes,andno。She’sallthere,onlythere’sagreatdealmoreofher。I’vehadonlyafewwordswithherinseveralyears。It’sbetternot,whenI’mtiedupthisway。Thelawsarebarbarous,Archie。"
"Yourwifeis——stillthesame?"thedoctoraskedsympathetically。
"Absolutely。Hasn’tbeenoutofasanitariumforsevenyearsnow。Noprospectofhereverbeingout,andaslongasshe’sthereI’mtiedhandandfoot。Whatdoessocietygetoutofsuchastateofthings,I’dliketoknow,exceptatangleofirregularities?Ifyouwanttoreform,there’sanopeningforyou!"
"It’sbad,oh,verybad;Iagreewithyou!"Dr。Archieshookhishead。"Buttherewouldbecomplicationsunderanothersystem,too。Thewholequestionofayoungman’smarryinghaslookedprettygravetomeforalongwhile。
Howhavetheythecouragetokeepondoingit?Itde—
pressesmenowtobuyweddingpresents。"Forsometimethedoctorwatchedhisguest,whowassunkinbitterreflec—
tions。"Suchthingsusedtogobetterthantheydonow,Ibelieve。SeemstomeallthemarriedpeopleIknewwhenIwasaboywerehappyenough。"Hepausedagainandbittheendoffafreshcigar。"YouneversawThea’smother,didyou,Ottenburg?That’sapity。Mrs。Kronborgwasafinewoman。I’vealwaysbeenafraidTheamadeamistake,notcominghomewhenMrs。Kronborgwasill,nomatterwhatitcosther。"
Ottenburgmovedaboutrestlessly。"Shecouldn’t,Archie,shepositivelycouldn’t。Ifeltyouneverunder—
stoodthat,butIwasinDresdenatthetime,andthoughIwasn’tseeingmuchofher,Icouldsizeupthesituationformyself。ItwasbyjustaluckychancethatshegottosingELIZABETHthattimeattheDresdenOpera,acomplica—
tionofcircumstances。Ifshe’drunaway,foranyreason,shemighthavewaitedyearsforsuchachancetocomeagain。Shegaveawonderfulperformanceandmadeagreatimpression。Theyofferedhercertainterms;shehadtotakethemandfollowitupthenandthere。Inthatgameyoucan’tloseasingletrick。Shewasillherself,butshesang。Hermotherwasill,andshesang。No,youmustn’tholdthatagainsther,Archie。Shedidtherightthingthere。"Ottenburgdrewouthiswatch。"Hello!Imustbetraveling。Youhearfromherregularly?"
"Moreorlessregularly。Shewasnevermuchofaletter—
writer。Shetellsmeaboutherengagementsandcontracts,butIknowsolittleaboutthatbusinessthatitdoesn’tmeanmuchtomebeyondthefigures,whichseemveryimpressive。We’vehadagooddealofbusinesscorrespond—
ence,aboutputtingupastonetoherfatherandmother,and,lately,aboutheryoungestbrother,Thor。Heiswithmenow;hedrivesmycar。To—dayhe’supatthemine。"
Ottenburg,whohadpickeduphisovercoat,droppedit。
"Drivesyourcar?"heaskedincredulously。
"Yes。TheaandIhavehadagooddealofbotheraboutThor。Wetriedabusinesscollege,andanengineering
school,butitwasnogood。Thorwasbornachauffeurbeforetherewerecarstodrive。Hewasnevergoodforany—
thingelse;layaroundhomeandcollectedpostagestampsandtookbicyclestopieces,waitingfortheautomobiletobeinvented。He’sjustasmuchapartofacarasthesteer—
ing—gear。Ican’tfindoutwhetherhelikeshisjobwithmeornot,orwhetherhefeelsanycuriosityabouthissister。Youcan’tfindanythingoutfromaKronborgnowadays。Themotherwasdifferent。"
Fredplungedintohiscoat。"Well,it’saqueerworld,Archie。Butyou’llthinkbetterofit,ifyougotoNewYork。WishIweregoingwithyou。I’lldropinonyouinthemorningatabouteleven。IwantawordwithyouaboutthisInterstateCommerceBill。Good—night。"
Dr。Archiesawhisguesttothemotorwhichwaswaitingbelow,andthenwentbacktohislibrary,wherehereplen—
ishedthefireandsatdownforalongsmoke。AmanofArchie’smodestandrathercredulousnaturedevelopslate,andmakeshislargestgainbetweenfortyandfifty。Atthirty,indeed,aswehaveseen,Archiewasasoft—heartedboyunderamanlyexterior,stillwhistlingtokeepuphiscourage。Prosperityandlargeresponsibilities——aboveall,gettingfreeofpoorMrs。Archie——hadbroughtoutagooddealmorethanheknewwasinhim。Hewasthinkingto—
nightashesatbeforethefire,inthecomforthelikedsowell,thatbutforluckychances,andluckyholesintheground,hewouldstillbeacountrypractitioner,readinghisoldbooksbyhisofficelamp。Andyet,hewasnotsofreshandenergeticasheoughttobe。Hewastiredofbusinessandofpolitics。Worsethanthat,hewastiredofthemenwithwhomhehadtodoandofthewomenwho,ashesaid,hadbeenkindtohim。Hefeltasifhewerestillhuntingforsomething,likeoldJasperFlight。Heknewthatthiswasanunbecomingandungratefulstateofmind,andhereproachedhimselfforit。Buthecouldnothelpwonderingwhyitwasthatlife,evenwhenitgavesomuch,
afterallgavesolittle。Whatwasitthathehadexpectedandmissed?Whywashe,morethanhewasanythingelse,disappointed?
Hefelltolookingbackoverhislifeandaskinghimselfwhichyearsofithewouldliketoliveoveragain,——justastheyhadbeen,——andtheywerenotmany。Hiscollegeyearshewouldliveagain,gladly。AfterthemtherewasnothinghewouldcaretorepeatuntilhecametoTheaKronborg。TherehadbeensomethingstirringaboutthoseyearsinMoonstone,whenhewasarestlessyoungmanonthevergeofbreakingintolargerenterprises,andwhenshewasarestlesschildonthevergeofgrowingupintosome—
thingunknown。Herealizednowthatshehadcountedforagreatdealmoretohimthanheknewatthetime。Itwasacontinuoussortofrelationship。Hewasalwaysonthelookoutforherashewentaboutthetown,alwaysvaguelyexpectingherashesatinhisofficeatnight。HehadneveraskedhimselfthenifitwasstrangethatheshouldfindachildoftwelvethemostinterestingandcompanionablepersoninMoonstone。Ithadseemedapleasant,naturalkindofsolicitude。Heexplaineditthenbythefactthathehadnochildrenofhisown。Butnow,ashelookedbackatthoseyears,theotherinterestswerefadedandinani—
mate。Thethoughtofthemwasheavy。ButwhereverhislifehadtouchedTheaKronborg’s,therewasstillalittlewarmthleft,alittlesparkle。Theirfriendshipseemedtorunoverthosediscontentedyearslikealeafypattern,stillbrightandfreshwhentheotherpatternshadfadedintothedullbackground。Theirwalksanddrivesandconfi—
dences,thenighttheywatchedtherabbitinthemoon—
light,——whywerethesethingsstirringtoremember?
Wheneverhethoughtofthem,theyweredistinctlydif—
ferentfromtheothermemoriesofhislife;alwaysseemedhumorous,gay,withalittlethrillofanticipationandmys—
teryaboutthem。Theycamenearertobeingtendersecretsthananyothershepossessed。Nearerthananythingelse
theycorrespondedtowhathehadhopedtofindintheworld,andhadnotfound。Itcameoverhimnowthattheunexpectedfavorsoffortune,nomatterhowdazzling,donotmeanverymuchtous。Theymayexciteordivertusforatime,butwhenwelookback,theonlythingswecher—
isharethosewhichinsomewaymetouroriginalwant;thedesirewhichformedinusinearlyyouth,undirected,andofitsownaccord。
III
FORthefirstfouryearsafterTheawenttoGermanythingswentonasusualwiththeKronborgfamily。
Mrs。Kronborg’slandinNebraskaincreasedinvalueandbroughtherinagoodrental。Thefamilydriftedintoaneasierwayofliving,halfwithoutrealizingit,asfamilieswill。ThenMr。Kronborg,whohadneverbeenill,diedsud—
denlyofcanceroftheliver,andafterhisdeathMrs。
Kronborgwent,asherneighborssaid,intoadecline。
Hearingdiscouragingreportsofherfromthephysicianwhohadtakenoverhispractice,Dr。ArchiewentupfromDenvertoseeher。Hefoundherinbed,intheroomwherehehadmorethanonceattendedher,ahandsomewomanofsixtywithabodystillfirmandwhite,herhair,fadednowtoaverypaleprimrose,intwothickbraidsdownherback,hereyesclearandcalm。Whenthedoctorarrived,shewassittingupinherbed,knitting。Hefeltatoncehowgladshewastoseehim,buthesoongatheredthatshehadmadenodeterminationtogetwell。Shetoldhim,indeed,thatshecouldnotverywellgetalongwithoutMr。Kron—
borg。Thedoctorlookedatherwithastonishment。Wasitpossiblethatshecouldmissthefoolisholdmansomuch?
Heremindedherofherchildren。
"Yes,"shereplied;"thechildrenareallverywell,buttheyarenotfather。Weweremarriedyoung。"
Thedoctorwatchedherwonderinglyasshewentonknitting,thinkinghowmuchshelookedlikeThea。Thedifferencewasoneofdegreeratherthanofkind。Thedaughterhadacompellingenthusiasm,themotherhadnone。Buttheirframework,theirfoundation,wasverymuchthesame。
InamomentMrs。Kronborgspokeagain。"HaveyouheardanythingfromThealately?"
Duringhistalkwithher,thedoctorgatheredthatwhatMrs。KronborgreallywantedwastoseeherdaughterThea。
Lyingtheredayafterday,shewanteditcalmlyandcon—
tinuously。Hetoldherthat,sinceshefeltso,hethoughttheymightaskTheatocomehome。
"I’vethoughtagooddealaboutit,"saidMrs。Kronborgslowly。"Ihatetointerrupther,nowthatshe’sbeguntogetadvancement。Iexpectshe’sseensomeprettyhardtimes,thoughshewasneveronetocomplain。Perhapsshe’dfeelthatshewouldliketocome。Itwouldbehard,losingbothofuswhileshe’soffthere。"
WhenDr。ArchiegotbacktoDenverhewrotealonglettertoThea,explaininghermother’sconditionandhowmuchshewishedtoseeher,andaskingTheatocome,ifonlyforafewweeks。Theahadrepaidthemoneyshehadborrowedfromhim,andheassuredherthatifshehap—
penedtobeshortoffundsforthejourney,shehadonlytocablehim。
AmonthlaterhegotafranticsortofreplyfromThea。
ComplicationsintheoperaatDresdenhadgivenheranunhoped—foropportunitytogooninabigpart。Beforethisletterreachedthedoctor,shewouldhavemadeherdebutasELIZABETH,in"Tannhauser。"Shewantedtogotohermothermorethanshewantedanythingelseintheworld,but,unlessshefailed,——whichshewouldnot,——sheabso—
lutelycouldnotleaveDresdenforsixmonths。Itwasnotthatshechosetostay;shehadtostay——orloseevery—
thing。Thenextfewmonthswouldputherfiveyearsahead,orwouldputherbacksofarthatitwouldbeofnousetostrugglefurther。Assoonasshewasfree,shewouldgotoMoonstoneandtakehermotherbacktoGermanywithher。Hermother,shewassure,couldliveforyearsyet,andshewouldlikeGermanpeopleandGermanways,andcouldbehearingmusicallthetime。Theasaidshewaswritinghermotherandbegginghertohelpheronelasttime;togetstrengthandtowaitforhersixmonths,and
thenshe(Thea)woulddoeverything。Hermotherwouldneverhavetomakeaneffortagain。
Dr。ArchiewentuptoMoonstoneatonce。HehadgreatconfidenceinMrs。Kronborg’spowerofwill,andifThea’sappealtookholdofherenough,hebelievedshemightgetbetter。Butwhenhewasshownintothefamiliarroomofftheparlor,hisheartsank。Mrs。Kronborgwaslyingsereneandfatefulonherpillows。OnthedresseratthefootofherbedtherewasalargephotographofTheainthecharacterinwhichshewastomakeherdebut。Mrs。
Kronborgpointedtoit。
"Isn’tshelovely,doctor?It’snicethatshehasn’tchangedmuch。I’veseenherlooklikethatmanyatime。"
TheytalkedforawhileaboutThea’sgoodfortune。Mrs。
Kronborghadhadacablegramsaying,"Firstperformancewellreceived。Greatrelief。"InherletterTheasaid;"Ifyou’llonlygetbetter,dearmother,there’snothingIcan’tdo。Iwillmakeareallygreatsuccess,ifyou’lltrywithme。
Youshallhaveeverythingyouwant,andwewillalwaysbetogether。Ihavealittlehouseallpickedoutwherewearetolive。"
"Bringingupafamilyisnotallit’scrackeduptobe,"
saidMrs。Kronborgwithaflickerofirony,asshetuckedtheletterbackunderherpillow。"Thechildrenyoudon’tespeciallyneed,youhavealwayswithyou,likethepoor。
Butthebrightonesgetawayfromyou。Theyhavetheirownwaytomakeintheworld。Seemslikethebrightertheyare,thefarthertheygo。Iusedtofeelsorrythatyouhadnofamily,doctor,butmaybeyou’reaswelloff。"
"Thea’splanseemssoundtome,Mrs。Kronborg。
There’snoreasonIcanseewhyyoushouldn’tpullupandliveforyearsyet,underpropercare。You’dhavethebestdoctorsintheworldoverthere,anditwouldbewon—
derfultolivewithanybodywholookslikethat。"Henoddedatthephotographoftheyoungwomanwhomusthavebeensinging"DICH,THEUREHALLE,GRUSS’ICHWIEDER,"
hereyeslookingup,herbeautifulhandsoutspreadwithpleasure。
Mrs。Kronborglaughedquitecheerfully。"Yes,wouldn’tit?Iffatherwerehere,Imightrousemyself。Butsometimesit’shardtocomeback。Orifshewereintrouble,maybeIcouldrousemyself。"
"But,dearMrs。Kronborg,sheisintrouble,"heroldfriendexpostulated。"Asshesays,she’sneverneededyouassheneedsyounow。Imakemyguessthatshe’sneverbeggedanybodytohelpherbefore。"
Mrs。Kronborgsmiled。"Yes,it’sprettyofher。Butthatwillpass。Whenthesethingshappenfarawaytheydon’tmakesuchamark;especiallyifyourhandsarefullandyou’vedutiesofyourowntothinkabout。MyownfatherdiedinNebraskawhenGunnerwasborn,——wewerelivinginIowathen,——andIwassorry,butthebabymadeituptome。Iwasfather’sfavorite,too。That’sthewayitgoes,yousee。"
ThedoctortookoutThea’slettertohim,andreaditovertoMrs。Kronborg。Sheseemedtolisten,andnottolisten。
Whenhefinished,shesaidthoughtfully:"I’dcountedonhearinghersingagain。ButIalwaystookmypleasuresastheycome。Ialwaysenjoyedhersingingwhenshewashereaboutthehouse。WhileshewaspracticingIoftenusedtoleavemyworkandsitdowninarockerandgivemyselfuptoit,thesameasifI’dbeenatanentertainment。
Iwasneveroneofthesehousekeepersthatlettheirworkdrivethemtodeath。AndwhenshehadtheMexicansoverhere,Ialwaystookitin。Firstandlast,"——sheglancedjudiciallyatthephotograph,——"IguessIgotaboutasmuchoutofThea’svoiceasanybodywilleverget。"
"Iguessyoudid!"thedoctorassentedheartily;"andI
gotagooddealmyself。YourememberhowsheusedtosingthoseScotchsongsforme,andleaduswithherhead,herhairbobbing?"
"`FlowGently,SweetAfton,’——Icanhearitnow,"
saidMrs。Kronborg;"andpoorfatherneverknewwhenhesangsharp!Heusedtosay,`Mother,howdoyoualwaysknowwhentheymakemistakespracticing?’"Mrs。Kron—
borgchuckled。
Dr。Archietookherhand,stillfirmlikethehandofayoungwoman。"Itwasluckyforherthatyoudidknow。
Ialwaysthoughtshegotmorefromyouthanfromanyofherteachers。"
"ExceptWunsch;hewasarealmusician,"saidMrs。
Kronborgrespectfully。"IgaveherwhatchanceIcould,inacrowdedhouse。Ikepttheotherchildrenoutoftheparlorforher。ThatwasaboutallIcoulddo。Ifshewasn’tdisturbed,sheneedednowatching。Shewentafteritlikeaterrierafterratsfromthefirst,poorchild。Shewasdown—
rightafraidofit。That’swhyIalwaysencouragedhertakingThorofftooutlandishplaces。Whenshewasoutofthehouse,thenshewasridofit。"
Aftertheyhadrecalledmanypleasantmemoriesto—
gether,Mrs。Kronborgsaidsuddenly:"Ialwaysunder—
stoodabouthergoingoffwithoutcomingtoseeusthattime。Oh,Iknow!Youhadtokeepyourowncounsel。
Youwereagoodfriendtoher。I’veneverforgotthat。"
Shepattedthedoctor’ssleeveandwentonabsently。
"Therewassomethingshedidn’twanttotellme,andthat’swhyshedidn’tcome。SomethinghappenedwhenshewaswiththosepeopleinMexico。Iworriedforagoodwhile,butIguessshe’scomeoutofitallright。She’dhadaprettyhardtime,scratchingalongalonelikethatwhenshewassoyoung,andmyfarmsinNebraskaweredownsolowthatIcouldn’thelphernone。That’snowaytosendagirlout。ButIguess,whatevertherewas,shewouldn’tbeafraidtotellmenow。"Mrs。Kronborglookedupatthephotographwithasmile。"Shedoesn’tlooklikeshewasbeholdingtoanybody,doesshe?"
"Sheisn’t,Mrs。Kronborg。Sheneverhasbeen。Thatwaswhysheborrowedthemoneyfromme。"
"Oh,Iknewshe’dneverhavesentforyouifshe’ddoneanythingtoshameus。Shewasalwaysproud。"Mrs。
Kronborgpausedandturnedalittleonherside。"It’sbeenquiteasatisfactiontoyouandme,doctor,havinghervoiceturnoutsofine。Thethingsyouhopefordon’talwaysturnoutlikethat,byalongsight。AslongasoldMrs。Kohlerlived,sheusedalwaystotranslatewhatitsaidaboutTheaintheGermanpapersshesent。Icouldmakesomeofitoutmyself,——it’snotverydifferentfromSwedish,——butitpleasedtheoldlady。SheleftTheaherpiece—pictureoftheburningofMoscow。I’vegotitputawayinmoth—ballsforher,alongwiththeoboehergrand—
fatherbroughtfromSweden。Iwanthertotakefather’soboebacktheresomeday。"Mrs。Kronborgpausedamomentandcompressedherlips。"ButIguessshe’lltakeafinerinstrumentthanthatwithher,backtoSweden!"
sheadded。
Hertonefairlystartledthedoctor,itwassovibratingwithafierce,defiantkindofpridehehadheardofteninThea’svoice。Helookeddownwonderinglyathisoldfriendandpatient。Afterall,oneneverknewpeopletothecore。
Didshe,withinher,hidesomeofthatstillpassionofwhichherdaughterwasall—compact?
"Thatlastsummerathomewasn’tveryniceforher,"
Mrs。Kronborgbeganasplacidlyasifthefirehadneverleapedupinher。"Theotherchildrenwereacting—upbecausetheythoughtImightmakeafussoverherandgiveherthebig—head。Wegaveherthedare,somehow,thelotofus,becausewecouldn’tunderstandherchangingteachersandallthat。That’sthetroubleaboutgivingthedaretothemquiet,unboastfulchildren;youneverknowhowfarit’lltake’em。Well,weoughtnottocomplain,doctor;she’sgivenusagooddealtothinkabout。"
ThenexttimeDr。ArchiecametoMoonstone,hecametobeapall—beareratMrs。Kronborg’sfuneral。Whenhe
lastlookedather,shewassosereneandqueenlythathewentbacktoDenverfeelingalmostasifhehadhelpedtoburyTheaKronborgherself。ThehandsomeheadinthecoffinseemedtohimmuchmorereallyTheathandidtheradiantyoungwomaninthepicture,lookingaboutattheGothicvaultingsandgreetingtheHallofSong。
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