Books: Peter Schlemihl etc.
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Chamisso et. al. >> Peter Schlemihl etc.
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Anxiety now hastened my steps. Unseen I met some peasants coming
from the town; they were talking of me, of Rascal, and of the
ranger. I would not stay to listen to their conversation, but
proceeded on. My bosom thrilled with expectation as I entered the
garden. At this moment I heard something like a hollow laugh which
caused me involuntarily to shudder. I cast a rapid glance around,
but could see no one. I passed on; presently I fancied I heard the
sound of footsteps close to me, but no one was within sight. My
ears must have deceived me.
It was early; no one was in Count Peter's bower--the gardens were
deserted. I traversed all the well-known paths, and penetrated even
to the dwelling-house itself. The same rustling sound became now
more and more audible. With anguished feelings I sat down on a seat
placed in the sunny space before the door, and actually felt some
invisible fiend take a place by me, and heard him utter a sarcastic
laugh. The key was turned in the door, which was opened. The
forest-master appeared with a paper in his hand. Suddenly my head
was, as it were, enveloped in a mist. I looked up, and, oh horror!
the grey-coated man was at my side, peering in my face with a
satanic grin. He had extended the mist-cap he wore over my head.
His shadow and my own were lying together at his feet in perfect
amity. He kept twirling in his hand the well-known parchment with
an air of indifference; and while the ranger, absorbed in thought,
and intent upon his paper, paced up and down the arbour, my
tormentor confidentially leaned towards me, and whispered, "So, Mr.
Schlemihl, you have at length accepted my invitation; and here we
sit, two heads under one hood, as the saying is. Well, well, all in
good time. But now you can return me my bird's nest--you have no
further occasion for it; and I am sure you are too honourable a man
to withhold it from me. No need of thanks, I assure you; I had
infinite pleasure in lending it to you." He took it out of my
unresisting hand, put it into his pocket, and then broke into so
loud a laugh at my expense, that the forest-master turned round,
startled at the sound. I was petrified. "You must acknowledge," he
continued, "that in our position a hood is much more convenient. It
serves to conceal not only a man, but his shadow, or as many shadows
as he chooses to carry. I, for instance, to-day bring two, you
perceive." He laughed again. "Take notice, Schlemihl, that what a
man refuses to do with a good grace in the first instance, he is
always in the end compelled to do. I am still of opinion that you
ought to redeem your shadow and claim your bride (for it is yet
time); and as to Rascal, he shall dangle at a rope's end--no
difficult matter, so long as we can find a bit. As a mark of
friendship I will give you my cap into the bargain."
The mother now came out, and the following conversation took place:
"What is Minna doing?" "She is weeping." "Silly child! what good
can that do?" "None, certainly; but it is so soon to bestow her
hand on another. O husband, you are too harsh to your poor child."
"No, wife; you view things in a wrong light. When she finds herself
the wife of a wealthy and honourable man, her tears will soon cease;
she will waken out of a dream, as it were, happy and grateful to
Heaven and to her parents, as you will see." "Heaven grant it may
be so!" replied the wife. "She has, indeed, now considerable
property; but after the noise occasioned by her unlucky affair with
that adventurer, do you imagine that she is likely soon to meet with
so advantageous a match as Mr. Rascal? Do you know the extent of
Mr. Rascal's influence and wealth? Why, he has purchased with ready
money, in this country, six millions of landed property, free from
all encumbrances. I have had all the documents in my hands. It was
he who outbid me everywhere when I was about to make a desirable
purchase; and, besides, he has bills on Mr. Thomas John's house to
the amount of three millions and a half." "He must have been a
prodigious thief!" "How foolishly you talk! he wisely saved where
others squandered their property." "A mere livery-servant!"
"Nonsense! he has at all events an unexceptionable shadow." "True,
but . . . "
While this conversation was passing, the grey-coated man looked at
me with a satirical smile.
The door opened, and Minna entered, leaning on the arm of her female
attendant, silent tears flowing down her fair but pallid face. She
seated herself in the chair which had been placed for her under the
lime-trees, and her father took a stool by her side. He gently
raised her hand; and as her tears flowed afresh, he addressed her in
the most affectionate manner
"My own dear, good child--my Minna--will act reasonably, and not
afflict her poor old father, who only wishes to make her happy. My
dearest child, this blow has shaken you--dreadfully, I know it; but
you have been saved, as by a miracle, from a miserable fate, my
Minna. You loved the unworthy villain most tenderly before his
treachery was discovered: I feel all this, Minna; and far be it
from me to reproach you for it--in fact, I myself loved him so long
as I considered him to be a person of rank: you now see yourself
how differently it has turned out. Every dog has a shadow; and the
idea of my child having been on the eve of uniting herself to a man
who . . . but I am sure you will think no more of him. A suitor has
just appeared for you in the person of a man who does not fear the
sun--an honourable man--no prince indeed, but a man worth ten
millions of golden ducats sterling--a sum nearly ten times larger
than your fortune consists of--a man, too, who will make my dear
child happy--nay, do not oppose me--be my own good, dutiful child--
allow your loving father to provide for you, and to dry up these
tears. Promise to bestow your hand on Mr. Rascal. Speak my child:
will you not?"
Minna could scarcely summon strength to reply that she had now no
longer any hopes or desires on earth, and that she was entirely at
her father's disposal. Rascal was therefore immediately sent for,
and entered the room with his usual forwardness; but Minima in the
meantime had swooned away.
My detested companion looked at me indignantly, and whispered, "Can
you endure this? Have you no blood in your veins?" He instantly
pricked my finger, which bled. "Yes, positively," he exclaimed,
"you have some blood left!--come, sign." The parchment and pen were
in my hand!
CHAPTER IV.
I submit myself to thy judgment, my dear Chamisso; I do not seek to
bias it. I have long been a rigid censor of myself, and nourished
at my heart the worm of remorse. This critical moment of my life is
ever present to my soul, and I dare only cast a hesitating glance at
it, with a deep sense of humiliation and grief. Ah, my dear friend,
he who once permits himself thoughtlessly to deviate but one step
from the right road, will imperceptibly find himself involved in
various intricate paths, all leading him farther and farther astray.
In vain he beholds the guiding-stars of Heaven shining before him.
No choice is left him--he must descend the precipice, and offer
himself up a sacrifice to his fate. After the false step which I
had rashly made, and which entailed a curse upon me, I had, in the
wantonness of passion, entangled one in my fate who had staked all
her happiness upon me. What was left for me to do in a case where I
had brought another into misery, but to make a desperate leap in the
dark to save her ?--the last, the only means of rescue presented
itself. Think not so meanly of me, Chamisso, as to imagine that I
would have shrunk from any sacrifice on my part. In such a case it
would have been but a poor ransom. No, Chamisso; but my whole soul
was filled with unconquerable hatred to the cringing knave and his
crooked ways. I might be doing him injustice; but I shuddered at
the bare idea of entering into any fresh compact with him. But here
a circumstance took place which entirely changed the face of things
. . .
I know not whether to ascribe it to excitement of mind, exhaustion
of physical strength (for during the last few days I had scarcely
tasted anything), or the antipathy I felt to the society of my
fiendish companion; but just as I was about to sign the fatal paper,
I fell into a deep swoon, and remained for a long time as if dead.
The first sounds which greeted my ear on recovering my consciousness
were those of cursing and imprecation; I opened my eyes--it was
dusk; my hateful companion was overwhelming me with reproaches. "Is
not this behaving like an old woman? Come, rise up, and finish
quickly what you were going to do; or perhaps you have changed your
determination, and prefer to lie groaning there?"
I raised myself with difficulty from the ground and gazed around me
without speaking a word. It was late in the evening, and I heard
strains of festive music proceeding from the ranger's brilliantly
illuminated house; groups of company were lounging about the
gardens; two persons approached, and seating themselves on the bench
I had lately occupied, began to converse on the subject of the
marriage which had taken place that morning between the wealthy Mr.
Rascal and Minima. All was then over.
I tore off the cap which rendered me invisible; and my companion
having disappeared, I plunged in silence into the thickest gloom of
the grove, rapidly passed Count Peter's bower towards the entrance-
gate; but my tormentor still haunted me, and loaded me with
reproaches. "And is this all the gratitude I am to expect from you,
Mr. Schlemihl--you, whom I have been watching all the weary day,
until you should recover from your nervous attack? What a fool's
part I have been enacting! It is of no use flying from me, Mr.
Perverse--we are inseparable--you have my gold, I have your shadow;
this exchange deprives us both of peace. Did you ever hear of a
man's shadow leaving him?--yours follows me until you receive it
again into favour, and thus free me from it. Disgust and weariness
sooner or later will compel you to do what you should have done
gladly at first. In vain you strive with fate!"
He continued unceasingly in the same tone, uttering constant
sarcasms about the gold and the shadow, till I was completely
bewildered. To fly from him was impossible. I had pursued my way
through the empty streets towards my own house, which I could
scarcely recognise--the windows were broken to pieces, no light was
visible, the doors were shut, and the bustle of domestics had
ceased. My companion burst into a loud laugh. "Yes, yes," said he,
"you see the state of things: however, you will find your friend
Bendel at home; he was sent back the other day so fatigued, that I
assure you he has never left the house since. He will have a fine
story to tell! So I wish you a very good night--may we shortly meet
again!"
I had repeatedly rung the bell: at last a light appeared; and
Bendel inquired from within who was there. The poor fellow could
scarcely contain himself at the sound of my voice. The door flew
open, and we were locked in each other's arms. I found him sadly
changed; he was looking ill and feeble. I, too, was altered; my
hair had become quite grey. He conducted me through the desolate
apartments to an inner room, which had escaped the general wreck.
After partaking of some refreshment, we seated ourselves; and, with
fresh lamentations, he began to tell me that the grey withered old
man whom he had met with my shadow had insensibly led him such a
zig-zag race, that he had lost all traces of me, and at last sank
down exhausted with fatigue; that, unable to find me, he had
returned home, when, shortly after the mob, at Rascal's instigation,
assembled violently before the house, broke the windows, and by all
sorts of excesses completely satiated their fury. Thus had they
treated their benefactor. My servants had fled in all directions.
The police had banished me from the town as a suspicious character,
and granted me an interval of twenty-four hours to leave the
territory. Bendel added many particulars as to the information I
had already obtained respecting Rascal's wealth and marriage. This
villain, it seems--who was the author of all the measures taken
against me--became possessed of my secret nearly from the beginning,
and, tempted by the love of money, had supplied himself with a key
to my chest, and from that time had been laying the foundation of
his present wealth. Bendel related all this with many tears, and
wept for joy that I was once more safely restored to him, after all
his fears and anxieties for me. In me, however, such a state of
things only awoke despair.
My dreadful fate now stared me in the face in all its gigantic and
unchangeable horror. The source of tears was exhausted within me;
no groans escaped my breast; but with cool indifference I bared my
unprotected head to the blast. "Bendel," said I, "you know my fate;
this heavy visitation is a punishment for my early sins: but as for
thee, my innocent friend, I can no longer permit thee to share my
destiny. I will depart this very night--saddle me a horse--I will
set out alone. Remain here, Bendel--I insist upon it: there must
be some chests of gold still left in the house--take them, they are
thine. I shall be a restless and solitary wanderer on the face of
the earth; but should better days arise, and fortune once more smile
propitiously on me, then I will not forget thy steady fidelity; for
in hours of deep distress thy faithful bosom has been the depository
of my sorrows." With a bursting heart, the worthy Bendel prepared
to obey this last command of his master; for I was deaf to all his
arguments and blind to his tears. My horse was brought--I pressed
my weeping friend to my bosom--threw myself into the saddle, and,
under the friendly shades of night, quitted this sepulchre of my
existence, indifferent which road my horse should take; for now on
this side the grave I had neither wishes, hopes, nor fears.
After a short time I was joined by a traveller on foot, who, after
walking for a while by the side of my horse, observed that as we
both seemed to be travelling the same road, he should beg my
permission to lay his cloak on the horse's back behind me, to which
I silently assented. He thanked me with easy politeness for this
trifling favour, praised my horse, and then took occasion to extol
the happiness and the power of the rich, and fell, I scarcely know
how, into a sort of conversation with himself, in which I merely
acted the part of listener. He unfolded his views of human life and
of the world, and, touching on metaphysics, demanded an answer from
that cloudy science to the question of questions--the answer that
should solve all mysteries. He deduced one problem from another in
a very lucid manner, and then proceeded to their solution.
You may remember, my dear friend, that after having run through the
school-philosophy, I became sensible of my unfitness for
metaphysical speculations, and therefore totally abstained from
engaging in them. Since then I have acquiesced in some things, and
abandoned all hope of comprehending others; trusting, as you advised
me, to my own plain sense and the voice of conscience to direct and,
if possible, maintain me in the right path.
Now this skilful rhetorician seemed to me to expend great skill in
rearing a firmly-constructed edifice, towering aloft on its own
self-supported basis, but resting on, and upheld by, some internal
principle of necessity. I regretted in it the total absence of what
I desired to find; and thus it seemed a mere work of art, serving
only by its elegance and exquisite finish to captivate the eye.
Nevertheless, I listened with pleasure to this eloquently gifted
man, who diverted my attention from my own sorrows to the speaker;
and he would have secured my entire acquiescence if he had appealed
to my heart as well as to my judgment.
In the meantime the hours had passed away, and morning had already
dawned imperceptibly in the horizon; looking up, I shuddered as I
beheld in the east all those splendid hues that announce the rising
sun. At this hour, when all natural shadows are seen in their full
proportions, not a fence or a shelter of any kind could I descry in
this open country, and I was not alone! I cast a glance at my
companion, and shuddered again--it was the man in the grey coat
himself! He laughed at my surprise, and said, without giving me
time to speak: "You see, according to the fashion of this world,
mutual convenience binds us together for a time: there is plenty of
time to think of parting. The road here along the mountain, which
perhaps has escaped your notice, is the only one that you can
prudently take; into the valley you dare not descend--the path over
the mountain would but reconduct you to the town which you have
left--my road, too, lies this way. I perceive you change colour at
the rising sun--I have no objections to let you have the loan of
your shadow during our journey, and in return you may not be
indisposed to tolerate my society. You have now no Bendel; but I
will act for him. I regret that you are not over-fond of me; but
that need not prevent you from accepting my poor services. The
devil is not so black as he is painted. Yesterday you provoked me,
I own; but now that is all forgotten, and you must confess I have
this day succeeded in beguiling the wearisomeness of your journey.
Come, take your shadow, and make trial of it."
The sun had risen, and we were meeting with passengers; so I
reluctantly consented. With a smile, he immediately let my shadow
glide down to the ground; and I beheld it take its place by that of
my horse, and gaily trot along with me. My feelings were anything
but pleasant. I rode through groups of country people, who
respectfully made way for the well-mounted stranger. Thus I
proceeded, occasionally stealing a sidelong glance with a beating
heart from my horse at the shadow once my own, but now, alas,
accepted as a loan from a stranger, or rather a fiend. He moved on
carelessly at my side, whistling a song. He being on foot, and I on
horseback, the temptation to hazard a silly project occurred to me;
so, suddenly turning my bridle, I set spurs to my horse, and at full
gallop struck into a by-path; but my shadow, on the sudden movement
of my horse, glided away, and stood on the road quietly awaiting the
approach of its legal owner. I was obliged to return abashed
towards the grey man; but he very coolly finished his song, and with
a laugh set my shadow to rights again, reminding me that it was at
my option to have it irrevocably fixed to me, by purchasing it on
just and equitable terms. "I hold you," said he, "by the shadow;
and you seek in vain to get rid of me. A rich man like you requires
a shadow, unquestionably; and you are to blame for not having seen
this sooner."
I now continued my journey on the same road; every convenience and
even luxury of life was mine; I moved about in peace and freedom,
for I possessed a shadow, though a borrowed one; and all the respect
due to wealth was paid to me. But a deadly disease preyed on my
heart. My extraordinary companion, who gave himself out to be the
humble attendant of the richest individual in the world, was
remarkable for his dexterity; in short, his singular address and
promptitude admirably fitted him to be the very beau ideal of a rich
man's lacquey. But he never stirred from my side, and tormented me
with constant assurances that a day would most certainly come when,
if it were only to get rid of him, I should gladly comply with his
terms, and redeem my shadow. Thus he became as irksome as he was
hateful to me. I really stood in awe of him--I had placed myself in
his power. Since he had effected my return to the pleasures of the
world, which I had resolved to shun, he had the perfect mastery of
me. His eloquence was irresistible, and at times I almost thought
he was in the right. A shadow is indeed necessary to a man of
fortune; and if I chose to maintain the position in which he had
placed me, there was only one means of doing so. But on one point I
was immovable: since I had sacrificed my love for Minna, and
thereby blighted the happiness of my whole life, I would not now,
for all the shadows in the universe be induced to sign away my soul
to this being--I knew not how it might end.
One day we were sitting by the entrance of a cavern, much visited by
strangers, who ascended the mountain: the rushing noise of a
subterranean torrent resounded from the fathomless abyss, the depths
of which exceeded all calculation. He was, according to his
favourite custom, employing all the powers of his lavish fancy, and
all the charm of the most brilliant colouring, to depict to me what
I might effect in the world by virtue of my purse, when once I had
recovered my shadow. With my elbows resting on my knees, I kept my
face concealed in my hands, and listened to the false fiend, my
heart torn between the temptation and my determined opposition to
it. Such indecision I could no longer endure, and resolved on one
decisive effort.
"You seem to forget," said I, "that I tolerate your presence only on
certain conditions, and that I am to retain perfect freedom of
action."
"You have but to command, I depart," was all his reply.
The threat was familiar to me; I was silent. He then began to fold
up my shadow. I turned pale, but allowed him to continue. A long
silence ensued, which he was the first to break.
"You cannot endure me, Mr Schlemihl--you hate me--I am aware of it--
but why?--is it, perhaps, because you attacked me on the open plain,
in order to rob me of my invisible bird's nest? or is it because you
thievishly endeavoured to seduce away the shadow with which I had
entrusted you--my own property--confiding implicitly in your honour!
I, for my part, have no dislike to you. It is perfectly natural
that you should avail yourself of every means, presented either by
cunning or force, to promote your own interests. That your
principles also should be of the strictest sort, and your intentions
of the most honourable description,--these are fancies with which I
have nothing to do; I do not pretend to such strictness myself.
Each of us is free, I to act, and you to think, as seems best. Did
I ever seize you by the throat, to tear out of your body that
valuable soul I so ardently wish to possess? Did I ever set my
servant to attack you, to get back my purse, or attempt to run off
with it from you?"
I had not a word to reply.
"Well, well," he exclaimed, "you detest me, and I know it; but I
bear you no malice on that account. We must part--that is clear;
also I must say that you begin to be very tiresome to me. Once more
let me advise you to free yourself entirely from my troublesome
presence by the purchase of your shadow."
I held out the purse to him.
"No, Mr. Schlemihl; not at that price."
With a deep sigh, I said, "Be it so, then; let us part, I entreat;
cross my path no more. There is surely room enough in the world for
us both."
Laughing, he replied, "I go; but just allow me to inform you how you
may at any time recall me whenever you have a mind to see your most
humble servant: you have only to shake your purse, the sound of the
gold will bring me to you in an instant. In this world every one
consults his own advantage; but you see I have thought of yours, and
clearly confer upon you a new power. Oh this purse! it would still
prove a powerful bond between us, had the moth begun to devour your
shadow.--But enough: you hold me by my gold, and may command your
servant at any distance. You know that I can be very serviceable to
my friends; and that the rich are my peculiar care--this you have
observed. As to your shadow, allow me to say, you can only redeem
it on one condition."
Recollections of former days came over me; and I hastily asked him
if he had obtained Mr. Thomas John's signature.
He smiled, and said, "It was by no means necessary from so excellent
a friend."
"Where is he? for God's sake tell me: I insist upon knowing."
With some hesitation, he put his hand into his pocket; and drew out
the altered and pallid form of Mr. John by the hair of his head,
whose livid lips uttered the awful words, "Justo judicio Dei
judicatus sum; justo judicio Dei condemnatus sum"--"I am judged and
condemned by the just judgment of God." I was horror-struck; and
instantly throwing the jingling purse into the abyss, I exclaimed,
"Wretch! in the name of Heaven, I conjure you to be gone!--away from
my sight!--never appear before me again!" With a dark expression on
his countenance, he arose, and immediately vanished behind the huge
rocks which surrounded the place.
CHAPTER V.
I was now left equally without gold and without shadow; but a heavy
load was taken from my breast, and I felt cheerful. Had not my
Minna been irrecoverably lost to me, or even had I been perfectly
free from self-reproach on her account, I felt that happiness might
yet have been mine. At present I was lost in doubt as to my future
course. I examined my pockets, and found I had a few gold pieces
still left, which I counted with feelings of great satisfaction. I
had left my horse at the inn, and was ashamed to return, or at all
events I must wait till the sun had set, which at present was high
in the heavens. I laid myself down under a shady tree and fell into
a peaceful sleep.
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