Books: Peter Schlemihl etc.

C >> Chamisso et. al. >> Peter Schlemihl etc.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Lovely forms floated in airy measures before me, and filled up my
delightful dreams. Minna, with a garland of flowers entwined in her
hair, was bending over me with a smile of goodwill; also the worthy
Bendel was crowned with flowers, and hastened to meet me with
friendly greetings. Many other forms seemed to rise up confusedly
in the distance: thyself among the number, Chamisso. Perfect
radiance beamed around them, but none had a shadow; and what was
more surprising, there was no appearance of unhappiness on this
account. Nothing was to be seen or heard but flowers and music; and
love and joy, and groves of never-fading palms, seemed the natives
of that happy clime.

In vain I tried to detain and comprehend the lovely but fleeting
forms. I was conscious, also, of being in a dream, and was anxious
that nothing should rouse me from it; and when I did awake, I kept
my eyes closed, in order if possible to continue the illusion. At
last I opened my eyes. The sun was now visible in the east; I must
have slept the whole night: I looked upon this as a warning not to
return to the inn. What I had left there I was content to lose,
without much regret; and resigning myself to Providence, I decided
on taking a by-road that led through the wooded declivity of the
mountain. I never once cast a glance behind me; nor did it ever
occur to me to return, as I might have done, to Bendel, whom I had
left in affluence. I reflected on the new character I was now going
to assume in the world. My present garb was very humble--consisting
of an old black coat I formerly had worn at Berlin, and which by
some chance was the first I put my hand on before setting out on
this journey, a travelling-cap, and an old pair of boots. I cut
down a knotted stick in memory of the spot, and commenced my
pilgrimage.

In the forest I met an aged peasant, who gave me a friendly
greeting, and with whom I entered into conversation, requesting, as
a traveller desirous of information, some particulars relative to
the road, the country, and its inhabitants, the productions of the
mountain, &c. He replied to my various inquiries with readiness and
intelligence. At last we reached the bed of a mountain-torrent,
which had laid waste a considerable tract of the forest; I inwardly
shuddered at the idea of the open sunshine. I suffered the peasant
to go before me. In the middle of the very place which I dreaded so
much, he suddenly stopped, and turned back to give me an account of
this inundation; but instantly perceiving that I had no shadow, he
broke off abruptly, and exclaimed, "How is this?--you have no
shadow!"

"Alas, alas!" said I, "in a long and serious illness I had the
misfortune to lose my hair, my nails, and my shadow. Look, good
father; although my hair has grown again, it is quite white; and at
my age, my nails are still very short; and my poor shadow seems to
have left me, never to return."

"Ah!" said the old man, shaking his head; "no shadow! that was
indeed a terrible illness, sir."

But he did not resume his narrative; and at the very first cross-
road we came to, left me without uttering a syllable. Fresh tears
flowed from my eyes, and my cheerfulness had fled. With a heavy
heart I travelled on, avoiding all society. I plunged into the
deepest shades of the forest; and often, to avoid a sunny tract of
country, I waited for hours till every human being had left it, and
I could pass it unobserved. In the evenings I took shelter in the
villages. I bent my steps to a mine in the mountains, where I hoped
to meet with work underground; for besides that my present situation
compelled me to provide for my own support, I felt that incessant
and laborious occupation alone could divert my mind from dwelling on
painful subjects. A few rainy days assisted me materially on my
journey; but it was to the no small detriment of my boots, the soles
of which were better suited to Count Peter than to the poor foot-
traveller. I was soon barefoot, and a new purchase must be made.
The following morning I commenced an earnest search in a
marketplace, where a fair was being held; and I saw in one of the
booths new and second-hand boots set out for sale. I was a long
time selecting and bargaining; I wished much to have a new pair, but
was frightened at the extravagant price; and so was obliged to
content myself with a second-hand pair, still pretty good and
strong, which the beautiful fair-haired youth who kept the booth
handed over to me with a cheerful smile, wishing me a prosperous
journey. I went on, and left the place immediately by the northern
gate.

I was so lost in my own thoughts, that I walked along scarcely
knowing how or where. I was calculating the chances of my reaching
the mine by the evening, and considering how I should introduce
myself. I had not gone two hundred steps, when I perceived I was
not in the right road. I looked round, and found myself in a wild-
looking forest of ancient firs, where apparently the stroke of the
axe had never been heard. A few steps more brought me amid huge
rocks covered with moss and saxifragous plants, between which whole
fields of snow and ice were extended. The air was intensely cold.
I looked round, and the forest had disappeared behind me; a few
steps more, and there was the stillness of death itself. The icy
plain on which I stood stretched to an immeasurable distance, and a
thick cloud rested upon it; the sun was of a red blood-colour at the
verge of the horizon; the cold was insupportable. I could not
imagine what had happened to me. The benumbing frost made me
quicken my pace. I heard a distant sound of waters; and, at one
step more, I stood on the icy shore of some ocean. Innumerable
droves of sea-dogs rushed past me and plunged into the waves. I
continued my way along this coast, and again met with rocks, plains,
birch and fir forests, and yet only a few minutes had elapsed. It
was now intensely hot. I looked around, and suddenly found myself
between some fertile rice-fields and mulberry-trees; I sat down
under their shade, and found by my watch that it was just one
quarter of an hour since I had left the village market. I fancied
it was a dream; but no, I was indeed awake, as I felt by the
experiment I made of biting my tongue. I closed my eyes in order to
collect my scattered thoughts. Presently I heard unintelligible
words uttered in a nasal tone; and I beheld two Chinese, whose
Asiatic physiognomies were not to be mistaken, even had their
costume not betrayed their origin. They were addressing me in the
language and with the salutations of their country. I rose, and
drew back a couple of steps. They had disappeared; the landscape
was entirely changed; the rice-fields had given place to trees and
woods. I examined some of the trees and plants around me, and
ascertained such of them as I was acquainted with to be productions
of the southern part of Asia. I made one step towards a particular
tree, and again all was changed. I now moved on like a recruit at
drill, taking slow and measured steps, gazing with astonished eyes
at the wonderful variety of regions, plains, meadows, mountains,
steppes, and sandy deserts, which passed in succession before me. I
had now no doubt that I had seven-leagued boots on my feet.

I fell on my knees in silent gratitude, shedding tears of
thankfulness; for I now saw clearly what was to be my future
condition. Shut out by early sins from all human society, I was
offered amends for the privation by Nature herself, which I had ever
loved. The earth was granted me as a rich garden; and the knowledge
of her operations was to be the study and object of my life. This
was not a mere resolution. I have since endeavoured, with anxious
and unabated industry, faithfully to imitate the finished and
brilliant model then presented to me; and my vanity has received a
check when led to compare the picture with the original. I rose
immediately, and took a hasty survey of this new field, where I
hoped afterwards to reap a rich harvest.

I stood on the heights of Thibet; and the sun I had lately beheld in
the east was now sinking in the west. I traversed Asia from east to
west, and thence passed into Africa, which I curiously examined at
repeated visits in all directions. As I gazed on the ancient
pyramids and temples of Egypt, I descried, in the sandy deserts near
Thebes of the hundred gates, the caves where Christian hermits dwelt
of old.

My determination was instantly taken, that here should be my future
dwelling. I chose one of the most secluded, but roomy, comfortable,
and inaccessible to the jackals.

I stepped over from the pillars of Hercules to Europe; and having
taken a survey of its northern and southern countries, I passed by
the north of Asia, on the polar glaciers, to Greenland and America,
visiting both parts of this continent; and the winter, which was
already at its height in the south, drove me quickly back from Cape
Horn to the north. I waited till daylight had risen in the east of
Asia, and then, after a short rest, continued my pilgrimage. I
followed in both the Americas the vast chain of the Andes, once
considered the loftiest on our globe. I stepped carefully and
slowly from one summit to another, sometimes over snowy heights,
sometimes over flaming volcanoes, often breathless from fatigue. At
last I reached Elias's mountain, and sprang over Behring's Straits
into Asia; I followed the western coast in its various windings,
carefully observing which of the neighbouring isles was accessible
to me. From the peninsula of Malacca, my boots carried me to
Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Lombok. I made many attempts--often with
danger, and always unsuccessfully--to force my way over the numerous
little islands and rocks with which this sea is studded, wishing to
find a north-west passage to Borneo and other islands of the
Archipelago.

At last I sat down at the extreme point of Lombok, my eyes turned
towards the south-east, lamenting that I had so soon reached the
limits allotted to me, and bewailing my fate as a captive in his
grated cell. Thus was I shut out from that remarkable country, New
Holland, and the islands of the southern ocean, so essentially
necessary to a knowledge of the earth, and which would have best
assisted me in the study of the animal and vegetable kingdoms. And
thus, at the very outset, I beheld all my labours condemned to be
limited to mere fragments.

Ah! Chamisso, what is the activity of man?

Frequently in the most rigorous winters of the southern hemisphere I
have rashly thrown myself on a fragment of drifting ice between Cape
Horn and Van Dieman's Land, in the hope of effecting a passage to
New Holland, reckless of the cold and the vast ocean, reckless of my
fate, even should this savage land prove my grave.

But all in vain--I never reached New Holland. Each time, when
defeated in my attempt, I returned to Lombok; and seated at its
extreme point, my eyes directed to the south-east, I gave way afresh
to lamentations that my range of investigation was so limited. At
last I tore myself from the spot, and, heartily grieved at my
disappointment, returned to the interior of Asia. Setting out at
morning dawn, I traversed it from east to west, and at night reached
the cave in Thebes which I had previously selected for my dwelling-
place, and had visited yesterday afternoon.

After a short repose, as soon as daylight had visited Europe, it was
my first care to provide myself with the articles of which I stood
most in need. First of all a drag, to act on my boots; for I had
experienced the inconvenience of these whenever I wished to shorten
my steps and examine surrounding objects more fully. A pair of
slippers to go over the boots served the purpose effectually; and
from that time I carried two pairs about me, because I frequently
cast them off from my feet in my botanical investigations, without
having time to pick them up, when threatened by the approach of
lions, men, or hyenas. My excellent watch, owing to the short
duration of my movements, was also on these occasions an admirable
chronometer. I wanted, besides, a sextant, a few philosophical
instruments, and some books. To purchase these things, I made
several unwilling journeys to London and Paris, choosing a time when
I could be hid by the favouring clouds. As all my ill-gotten gold
was exhausted, I carried over from Africa some ivory, which is there
so plentiful, in payment of my purchases--taking care, however, to
pick out the smallest teeth, in order not to over-burden myself. I
had thus soon provided myself with all that I wanted, and now
entered on a new mode of life as a student--wandering over the
globe--measuring the height of the mountains, and the temperature of
the air and of the springs--observing the manners and habits of
animals--investigating plants and flowers. From the equator to the
pole, and from the new world to the old, I was constantly engaged in
repeating and comparing my experiments.

My usual food consisted of the eggs of the African ostrich or
northern sea-birds, with a few fruits, especially those of the palm
and the banana of the tropics. The tobacco-plant consoled me when I
was depressed; and the affection of my spaniel was a compensation
for the loss of human sympathy and society. When I returned from my
excursions, loaded with fresh treasures, to my cave in Thebes, which
he guarded during my absence, he ever sprang joyfully forward to
greet me, and made me feel that I was indeed not alone on the earth.
An adventure soon occurred which brought me once more among my
fellow-creatures.

One day, as I was gathering lichens and algae on the northern coast,
with the drag on my boots, a bear suddenly made his appearance, and
was stealing towards me round the corner of a rock. After throwing
away my slippers, I attempted to step across to an island, by means
of a rock, projecting from the waves in the intermediate space, that
served as a stepping-stone. I reached the rock safely with one
foot, but instantly fell into the sea with the other, one of my
slippers having inadvertently remained on. The cold was intense;
and I escaped this imminent peril at the risk of my life. On coming
ashore, I hastened to the Libyan sands to dry myself in the sun; but
the heat affected my head so much, that, in a fit of illness, I
staggered back to the north. In vain I sought relief by change of
place--hurrying from east to west, and from west to east--now in
climes of the south, now in those of the north; sometimes I rushed
into daylight, sometimes into the shades of night. I know not how
long this lasted. A burning fever raged in my veins; with extreme
anguish I felt my senses leaving me. Suddenly, by an unlucky
accident, I trod upon some one's foot, whom I had hurt, and received
a blow in return which laid me senseless.

On recovering, I found myself lying comfortably in a good bed,
which, with many other beds, stood in a spacious and handsome
apartment. Some one was watching by me; people seemed to be walking
from one bed to another; they came beside me, and spoke of me as
NUMBER TWELVE. On the wall, at the foot of my bed--it was no
dream, for I distinctly read it--on a black-marble tablet was
inscribed my name, in large letters of gold

PETER SCHLEMIHL

Underneath were two rows of letters in smaller characters, which I
was too feeble to connect together, and closed my eyes again.

I now heard something read aloud, in which I distinctly noted the
words, "Peter Schlemihl," but could not collect the full meaning. I
saw a man of benevolent aspect, and a very beautiful female dressed
in black, standing near my bed; their countenances were not unknown
to me, but in my weak state I could not remember who they were.
Some time elapsed, and I began to regain my strength. I was called
Number Twelve, and, from my long beard, was supposed to be a Jew,
but was not the less carefully nursed on that account. No one
seemed to perceive that I was destitute of a shadow. My boots, I
was assured, together with everything found on me when I was brought
here, were in safe keeping, and would be given up to me on my
restoration to health. This place was called the SCHLMEIHLIUM: the
daily recitation I had heard, was an exhortation to pray for Peter
Schlemihl as the founder and benefactor of this institution. The
benevolent-looking man whom I had seen by my bedside was Bendel; the
beautiful lady in black was Minna.

I had been enjoying the advantages of the Schlemihlium without being
recognised; and I learned, further, that I was in Bendel's native
town, where he had employed a part of my once unhallowed gold in
founding an hospital in my name, under his superintendence, and that
its unfortunate inmates daily pronounced blessings on me. Minna had
become a widow: an unhappy lawsuit had deprived Rascal of his life,
and Minna of the greater part of her property. Her parents were no
more; and here she dwelt in widowed piety, wholly devoting herself
to works of mercy.

One day, as she stood by the side of Number Twelve's bed with
Bendel, he said to her, "Noble lady, why expose yourself so
frequently to this unhealthy atmosphere? Has fate dealt so harshly
with you as to render you desirous of death?"

"By no means, Mr. Bendel," she replied; "since I have awoke from my
long dream, all has gone well with me. I now neither wish for death
nor fear it, and think on the future and on the past with equal
serenity. Do you not also feel an inward satisfaction in thus
paying a pious tribute of gratitude and love to your old master and
friend?"

"Thanks be to God, I do, noble lady," said he. "Ah, how wonderfully
has everything fallen out! How thoughtlessly have we sipped joys
and sorrows from the full cup now drained to the last drop; and we
might fancy the past a mere prelude to the real scene for which we
now wait armed by experience. How different has been the reality!
Yet let us not regret the past, but rather rejoice that we have not
lived in vain. As respects our old friend also, I have a firm hope
that it is now better with him than formerly."

"I trust so, too," answered Minna; and so saying she passed by me,
and they departed.

This conversation made a deep impression on me; and I hesitated
whether I should discover myself or depart unknown. At last I
decided; and, asking for pen and paper, wrote as follows:-

"Matters are indeed better with your old friend than formerly. He
has repented; and his repentance has led to forgiveness."

I now attempted to rise, for I felt myself stronger. The keys of a
little chest near my bed were given me; and in it I found all my
effects. I put on my clothes; fastened my botanical case round me--
wherein, with delight, I found my northern lichens all safe--put on
my boots, and leaving my note on the table, left the gates, and was
speedily far advanced on the road to Thebes.

Passing along the Syrian coast, which was the same road I had taken
on last leaving home, I beheld my poor Figaro running to meet me.
The faithful animal, after vainly waiting at home for his master's
return, had probably followed his traces. I stood still, and called
him. He sprang towards me with leaps and barks, and a thousand
demonstrations of unaffected delight. I took him in my arms--for he
was unable to follow me--and carried him home.

There I found everything exactly in the order in which I had left
it; and returned by degrees, as my increasing strength allowed me,
to my old occupations and usual mode of life, from which I was kept
back a whole year by my fall into the Polar Ocean. And this, dear
Chamisso, is the life I am still leading. My boots are not yet worn
out, as I had been led to fear would be the case from that very
learned work of Tieckius--De rebus gestis Pollicilli. Their
energies remain unimpaired; and although mine are gradually failing
me, I enjoy the consolation of having spent them in pursuing
incessantly one object, and that not fruitlessly.

So far as my boots would carry me, I have observed and studied our
globe and its conformation, its mountains and temperature, the
atmosphere in its various changes, the influences of the magnetic
power; in fact, I have studied all living creation--and more
especially the kingdom of plants--more profoundly than any one of
our race. I have arranged all the facts in proper order, to the
best of my ability, in different works. The consequences deducible
from these facts, and my views respecting them, I have hastily
recorded in some essays and dissertations. I have settled the
geography of the interior of Africa and the Arctic regions, of the
interior of Asia and of its eastern coast. My Historia stirpium
plantarum utriusque orbis is an extensive fragment of a Flora
universalis terrae and a part of my Systema naturae. Besides
increasing the number of our known species by more than a third, I
have also contributed somewhat to the natural system of plants and
to a knowledge of their geography. I am now deeply engaged on my
Fauna, and shall take care to have my manuscripts sent to the
University of Berlin before my decease.

I have selected thee, my dear Chamisso, to be the guardian of my
wonderful history, thinking that, when I have left this world, it
may afford valuable instruction to the living. As for thee,
Chamisso, if thou wouldst live amongst thy fellow-creatures, learn
to value thy shadow more than gold; if thou wouldst only live to
thyself and thy nobler part--in this thou needest no counsel.

APPENDIX.

[From the prefatory matter prefixed to time Berlin edition, 1839,
from which the present translation is made.]

PREFACE BY THE EDITOR.

The origin of "Peter Schlemihl" is to be ascribed in a great degree
to circumstances that occurred in the life of the writer. During
the eventful year of 1813, when the movement broke out which
ultimately freed Germany from the yoke of her oppressor, and
precipitated his downfall, Chamisso was in Berlin. Everyone who
could wield a sword hastened then to employ it on behalf of Germany
and of the good cause. Chamisso had not only a powerful arm, but a
heart also of truly German mould; and yet he was placed in a
situation so peculiar as to isolate him among millions. As he was
of French parentage, the question was, not merely whether he should
fight on behalf of Germany, but, also, whether he should fight
against the people with whom he was connected by the ties of blood
and family relationship. Hence arose a struggle in his breast. "I,
and I alone, am forbidden at this juncture to wield a sword!" Such
was frequently his exclamation; and instead of meeting with sympathy
on account of his peculiar situation, he was frequently doomed to
hear, in the capital of Prussia, the head-quarters of the
confederation against France and Napoleon, expressions of hatred and
scorn directed against his countrymen. He was himself too equitable
to mistake the cause of such expressions, which were perfectly
natural under the circumstances, but they nevertheless deeply
afflicted him when they reached his ears. In this state of things
his friends resolved to remove him from such a scene of excitement,
and to place him amid the quiet scenery of the country. An asylum
was offered him in the family of Count Itzenplitsch, where he was
sufficiently near to become acquainted with the gradual development
of the all-important crisis, and yet free from any unpleasant
personal contact with it. Here, at the family-seat of Cunersdorf,
scarcely a day's journey from Berlin, wholly devoted to botany and
other favourite pursuits, Chamisso conceived the idea of "Peter
Schlemihl," and with rapid pen finished off the story. Chamisso's
letters of this date (in the first volume of his Life, by the writer
of this notice) afford evidence of this.

The first edition of the incomparable story appeared in 1814, with a
dedication dated May 27, 1813; and it was just beginning to be known
in the world at the commencement of 1815, when the author left
Germany on a voyage round the world, of which the story contains a
remarkable anticipation. "Peter Schlemihl" was his parting
salutation to his second fatherland, and the first foundation-stone
of his future fame.

Chamisso was often pestered with questions respecting what he really
meant by the story of Schlemihl. These questions amused as well as
annoyed him. The truth is, that his intention in writing it was
perhaps scarcely of so precise a nature as to admit of his giving a
formal account of it. The story sprang into being of itself, like
every work of genius, prompted by a self-creating power. In a
letter to the writer of this notice, after he had just commenced the
story, he says, "A book was the last thing you would have expected
from me! Place it before your wife this evening, if you have time;
should she be desirous to know Schlemihl's further adventures, and
particularly who the man in the grey cloak is--send me back the MS.
immediately, that I may continue the story; but if you do not return
it, I shall know the meaning of the signal perfectly." Is it
possible for any writer to submit himself to the scrutiny of the
public more good-naturedly?

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8