Delphi Collected Works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe \(Illustrated\) pdfdrive com

CHAPTER XV.

Undetermined  what  to  do  with  this  unhappy  man,  who  displayed  such

indubitable symptoms of madness, Wilhelm would have been in great perplexity,

had not Laertes come that very morning, and delivered him from his uncertainty.

Laertes, as usual, rambling everywhere about the town, had happened, in some

coffee-house,  to  meet  with  a  man,  who,  a  short  time  ago,  had  suffered  under

violent attacks of melancholy. This person, it appeared, had been intrusted to the

care of some country clergyman, who made it his peculiar business to attend to

people  in  such  situations.  In  the  present  instance,  as  in  many  others,  his

treatment had succeeded: he was still in town, and the friends of the patient were

showing him the greatest honor.

Wilhelm  hastened  to  find  out  this  person:  he  disclosed  the  case  to  him,  and

agreed  with  him  about  the  terms.  The  harper  was  to  be  brought  over  to  him,

under certain pretexts. The separation deeply pained our friend; so used was he

to  see  the  man  beside  him,  and  to  hear  his  spirited  and  touching  strains.  The

hope of soon beholding him recovered, served, in some degree, to moderate this

feeling. The old man’s harp had been destroyed in the burning of the house: they

purchased him another, and gave it him when he departed.

Mignon’s little wardrobe had in like manner been consumed. As Wilhelm was

about  providing  her  with  new  apparel,  Aurelia  proposed  that  now  at  last  they

should dress her as a girl.

“No!  no!  not  at  all!”  cried  Mignon,  and  insisted  on  it  with  such  earnestness,

that they let her have her way.

The  company  had  not  much  leisure  for  reflection:  the  exhibitions  followed

close on one another.

Wilhelm  often  mingled  with  the  audience,  to  ascertain  their  feelings;  but  he

seldom heard a criticism of the kind he wished: more frequently the observations

he  listened  to  distressed  or  angered  him.  Thus,  for  instance,  shortly  after

“Hamlet” had been acted for the first time, a youth was telling, with considerable

animation,  how  happy  he  had  been  that  evening  in  the  playhouse.  Wilhelm

hearkened, and was scandalized to learn that his neighbor had, on that occasion,

in contempt of those behind him, kept his hat on, stubbornly refusing to remove

it till the play was done; to which heroical transaction he still looked back with

great contentment.

Another  gentleman  declared  that  Wilhelm  played  Laertes  very  well,  but  that

the  actor  who  had  undertaken  Hamlet  did  not  seem  too  happy  in  his  part.  This

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permutation was not quite unnatural; for Wilhelm and Laertes did resemble one

another, though in a very distant manner.

A  third  critic  warmly  praised  his  acting,  particularly  in  the  scene  with  his

mother;  only  he  regretted  much,  that,  in  this  fiery  moment,  a  white  strap  had

peered  out  from  below  the  Prince’s  waistcoat,  whereby  the  illusion  had  been

greatly marred.

Meanwhile,  in  the  interior  of  the  company,  a  multitude  of  alterations  were

occurring.  Philina,  since  the  evening  subsequent  to  that  of  the  fire,  had  never

given  our  friend  the  smallest  sign  of  closer  intimacy.  She  had,  as  it  seemed  on

purpose, hired a remote lodging: she associated with Elmira, and came seldomer

to Serlo, — an arrangement very gratifying to Aurelia. Serlo continued still to

like her, and often visited her quarters, particularly when he hoped to find Elmira

there.  One  evening  he  took  Wilhelm  with  him.  At  their  entrance,  both  of  them

were  much  surprised  to  see  Philina,  in  the  inner  room,  sitting  in  close  contact

with a young officer. He wore a red uniform with white pantaloons; but, his face

being  turned  away,  they  could  not  see  it.  Philina  came  into  the  outer  room  to

meet her visitors, and shut the door behind her. “You surprise me in the middle

of a very strange adventure,” cried she.

“It  does  not  appear  so  strange,”  said  Serlo;  “but  let  us  see  this  handsome,

young, enviable gallant. You have us in such training, that we dare not show any

jealousy, however it may be.”

“I  must  leave  you  to  suspicion  for  a  time,”  replied  Philina  in  a  jesting  tone;

“yet I can assure you, the gallant is a lady of my friends, who wishes to remain a

few days undiscovered. You shall know her history in due season; nay, perhaps

you shall even behold the beautiful spinster in person; and then most probably I

shall  have  need  of  all  my  prudence  and  discretion,  for  it  seems  too  likely  that

your new acquaintance will drive your old friend out of favor.”

Wilhelm stood as if transformed to stone. At the first glance, the red uniform

had reminded him of Mariana: the figure, too, was hers; the fair hair was hers;

only the present individual seemed to be a little taller.

“For  Heaven’s  sake,”  cried  he,  “let  us  know  something  more  about  your

friend! let us see this lady in disguise! We are now partakers of your secret: we

will promise, we will swear; only let us see the lady!”

“What  a  fire  he  is  in!”  cried  Philina:  “but  be  cool,  be  calm;  for  to-day  there

will nothing come of it.”

“Let us only know her name!” cried Wilhelm.

“It were a fine secret, then,” replied Philina.

“At least her first name!”

“If you can guess it, be it so. Three guesses I will give you, — not a fourth.

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You might lead me through the whole calendar.”

“Well!” said Wilhelm: “Cecilia, then?”

“None of your Cecilias!”

“Henrietta?”

“Not at all! Have a care, I pray you: guess better, or your curiosity will have to

sleep unsatisfied.”

Wilhelm  paused  and  shivered:  he  tried  to  speak,  but  the  sound  died  away

within him. “Mariana?” stammered he at last, “Mariana?”

“Bravo!”  cried  Philina.  “Hit  to  a  hair’s-breadth!”  said  she,  whirling  round

upon her heel, as she was wont on such occasions.

Wilhelm could not utter a word; and Serlo, not observing his emotion, urged

Philina more and more to let them in.

Conceive the astonishment of both, when Wilhelm, suddenly and vehemently

interrupting  their  raillery,  threw  himself  at  Philina’s  feet,  and,  with  an  air  and

tone of the deepest passion, begged and conjured her, “Let me see the stranger,”

cried he: “she is mine; she is my Mariana! She for whom I have longed all the

days of my life, she who is still more to me than all the women in this world! Go

in to her at least, and tell her that I am here, — that the man is here who linked

to her his earliest love, and all the happiness of his youth. Say that he will justify

himself, though he left her so unkindly; he will pray for pardon of her; and will

grant her pardon, whatsoever she may have done to him; he will even make no

pretensions further, if he may but see her, if he may but see that she is living and

in happiness.”

Philina shook her head, and said, “Speak low! Do not betray us! If the lady is

indeed  your  friend,  her  feelings  must  be  spared;  for  she  does  not  in  the  least

suspect that you are here. Quite a different sort of business brings her hither; and

you  know  well  enough,  one  had  rather  see  a  spectre  than  a  former  lover  at  an

inconvenient time. I will ask her, and prepare her: we will then consider what is

further to be done. To-morrow I shall write you a note, saying when you are to

come, or whether you may come at all. Obey me punctually; for I protest, that,

without  her  own  and  my  consent,  no  eye  shall  see  this  lovely  creature.  I  shall

keep  my  doors  better  bolted;  and,  with  axe  and  crow,  you  surely  will  not  visit

me.”

Our  friend  conjured  her,  Serlo  begged  of  her;  but  all  in  vain:  they  were

obliged to yield, and leave the chamber and the house.

With what feelings Wilhelm passed the night is easy to conceive. How slowly

the hours of the day flowed on, while he sat expecting a message from Philina,

may also be imagined. Unhappily he had to play that evening: such mental pain

he had never endured. The moment his part was done, he hastened to Philina’s

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house, without inquiring whether he had got her leave or not. He found her doors

bolted: and the people of the house informed him that mademoiselle had set out

early in the morning, in company with a young officer; that she had talked about

returning shortly; but they had not believed her, she having paid her debts, and

taken every thing along with her.

This  intelligence  drove  Wilhelm  almost  frantic.  He  hastened  to  Laertes,  that

he might  take  measures for  pursuing  her, and,  cost  what it  would,  for attaining

certainty  regarding  her  attendant.  Laertes,  however,  represented  to  him  the

imprudence of such passion and credulity. “I dare wager, after all,” said he, “that

it is no one else but Friedrich. The boy is of a high family, I know; he is madly

in love with Philina; it is likely he has cozened from his friends a fresh supply of

money, so that he can once more live with her in peace for a while.”

These considerations, though they did not quite convince our friend, sufficed

to  make  him  waver.  Laertes  showed  him  how  improbable  the  story  was  with

which Philina had amused them; reminded him how well the stranger’s hair and

figure answered Friedrich; that with the start of him by twelve hours, they could

not  easily  be  overtaken;  and,  what  was  more  than  all,  that  Serlo  could  not  do

without him at the theatre.

By so many reasons, Wilhelm was at last persuaded to postpone the execution

of  his  project.  That  night  Laertes  got  an  active  man,  to  whom  they  gave  the

charge  of  following  the  runaways.  It  was  a  steady  person,  who  had  often

officiated  as  courier  and  guide  to  travelling-parties,  and  was  at  present  without

employment.  They  gave  him  money,  they  informed  him  of  the  whole  affair;

instructing him to seek and overtake the fugitives, to keep them in his eye, and

instantly  to  send  intelligence  to  Wilhelm  where  and  how  he  found  them.  That

very hour he mounted horse, pursuing this ambiguous pair; by which exertions,

Wilhelm was in some degree at least, composed.

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